co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

While the Buddha is staying in the kingdom of Magadha with an immense assembly of bodhisattvas, the bodhisattva Acintya­prabha­rāja gives a teaching on the relativity of time between different buddhafields. Eleven buddhafields are enumerated, with an eon in the first being equivalent to a day in the following buddhafield, where an eon is, in turn, the equivalent of a day in the next, and so forth.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated, edited, and finalized by the Subhashita Translation Group. The translation was produced by Lowell Cook, who also wrote the introduction. Benjamin Ewing checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text and introduction.

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

i.

Introduction

i.­1

The sūtra Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields takes place in the kingdom of Magadha where the Buddha is dwelling amid an incalculable assembly of bodhisattvas. Among the bodhisattvas is the sūtra’s primary speaker, Acintya­prabha­rāja, who offers a discourse on the relativity of time between buddhafields. He enumerates eleven buddhafields, with an eon in the first being equivalent to a day in the following buddhafield, where an eon is, in turn, the equivalent of a day in the next, and so forth. The sūtra thus presents a hierarchy of buddhafields that begins with our world and culminates with the paramount buddhafield, Padmaśrī. This language of incredibly vast scales of time has the effect of testing the limits of human conception, thereby demonstrating that the qualities of the buddhas and their buddhafields are beyond quantification or conceptualization. Acintya­prabha­rāja concludes his discourse by presenting the benefits of engaging with this sūtra, foremost of which is being visited by buddhas from an infinite number of buddhafields at the moment of death.

i.­2

Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields is nearly identical to “The Chapter on the Scale of Life,” the thirty-seventh chapter of A Multitude of Buddhas (Toh 44, Skt. Buddhāvataṃsaka),1 and The Sūtra of King of the Inconceivable (Toh 268).2 Of the three texts, Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields is the most elaborate in that it includes an introductory narrative (Skt. nidāna) and a conclusion whereas “The Chapter on the Scale of Life” does not, and it explicitly names the buddhafields and their buddhas while The Sūtra of King of the Inconceivable gives only the names of the buddhas.

i.­3

Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields is not mentioned in either the Denkarma (Tib. ldan/lhan dkar ma) or Phangthangma (Tib. ’phang thang ma) catalogs, the two extant indexes of translations from the Imperial Period (629–841 ᴄᴇ). Despite this, the Tibetan translation might be roughly dated to between the late eighth and early ninth century based on its colophon, which states that it was translated by the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé alongside the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla. It is worth noting, however, that the colophon that contains the names of the Indian and Tibetan translators is not found in any of the Thempangma (them spangs ma) Kangyurs.

i.­4

There is an extant Sanskrit witness for Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields with the nearly identical title Ananta­buddha­kṣetraguṇodbhāvana­nāma-mahāyāna­sūtra (The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Proclaiming the Qualities of the Infinite Buddhafields”). This sūtra in Sanskrit is the seventeenth in a manuscript collection of twenty sūtras that is presently held in Lhasa at the Potala Palace. The full manuscript, which was scribed by a single hand, is missing the final colophon that would have provided key information on the date and provenance of the collection, making it impossible to say when, where, or by whom the Sanskrit manuscript was compiled.3 In terms of content, the Sanskrit witness and Tibetan translation align closely, with only a handful of variants that have been noted below. The Sanskrit witness is particularly noteworthy for stating in its colophon that it belongs to “the extensive collection, A Multitude of Buddhas,” making it one of the few Sanskrit sources to attest to the possible existence in India of A Multitude of Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka) with that name, whether as a collection, a compilation, or a single long text.4 The Tibetan translation of Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields, unlike the Ananta­buddha­kṣetraguṇodbhāvana, does not explicitly identify itself as part of A Multitude of Buddhas, suggesting that it arrived in Tibet as an independently circulating sūtra without being so recognized. Because both “The Chapter on the Scale of Life” of A Multitude of Buddhas and The Sūtra of King of the Inconceivable are nearly identical in content to Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields, the Ananta­buddha­kṣetraguṇodbhāvana serves as an important Sanskrit resource for studying those texts as well.

i.­5

The translation offered here is based on the version found in the Degé Kangyur in close comparison with the Sanskrit text of the Ananta­buddha­kṣetraguṇodbhāvana. Additionally, the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyurs were also consulted, and “The Chapter on the Scale of Life” and The Sūtra of the Inconceivable King informed this translation. A Chinese translation of the sūtra was produced by Faxian (337–ca. 422) and is included in the Chinese canon (Taishō 290 Jiao liang yi qie fo cha gong de 較量一切佛刹功德). An English translation of the Ananta­buddha­kṣetraguṇodbhāvana has been published in Vinītā 2010 alongside a critical edition of the Sanskrit text and transcription of the Tibetan and Chinese translations.

Text Body

The Noble Dharma Discourse
Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields
1.

The Translation

[F.285.b]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.


Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling at the seat of awakening,5 in a Dharma hermitage in the land of Magadha,6 where he was seated upon a lion throne in the center of a lotus, inlaid with jewels and vajras. He was accompanied by a great bodhisattva assembly of as many bodhisattva great beings as there are atoms throughout tens of trillions of indescribable buddhafields.

1.­2

Present within that assembly of bodhisattvas was a bodhisattva great being by the name of Acintya­prabha­rāja. Through the power of the Buddha, the bodhisattva great being Acintya­prabha­rāja rose from his seat and addressed the group of bodhisattvas: [F.286.a] “O children of the Victorious One, an eon in this Sahā world is but a single day in the realm of Sukhāvatī, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Amitābha.

1.­3

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in Sukhāvatī is but a single day in the realm of Abhirati, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya.7

1.­4

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Abhirati is but a single day in the realm of Kaṣāyadhvajā,8 the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Vajra­sāra­pramardin.

1.­5

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Kaṣāyadhvajā is but a single day in the realm of Avaivartika­cakra­nirghoṣā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Suniścita­padma­phullitagātra.

1.­6

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Avaivartika­cakra­nirghoṣā is but a single day in the realm of Virajā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Dharmadhvaja.

1.­7

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Virajā is but a single day in the realm of Pradīpā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Siṃha.

1.­8

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Pradīpā is but a single day in the realm of Suprabhā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Vairocana.

1.­9

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Suprabhā is but a single day in the realm of Duratikramā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone Dharma­raśmi­prajvalitagātra.

1.­10

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Duratikramā is but a single day in the realm of Vyūhā, [F.286.b] the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Sarvābhijñāmati­rāja.

1.­11

“O children of the Victorious One, an eon in the realm of Vyūhā is but a single day in the realm of Ādarśamaṇḍala­cakra­nirghoṣā, the buddhafield of the blessed Thus-Gone One Candrabuddhi.

1.­12

“O children of the Victorious One, continuing with this system of examining and calculating realms, after a distance equal to the total atoms in one million buddhafields we arrive at the equivalent of a single day in the realm of Padmaśrī, the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfect Buddha Bhadraśrī. This is a land where the bodhisattvas who follow the conduct of Samantabhadra make special preparations for the bodhisattva levels.9

1.­13

“O children of the Victorious One, if any son or daughter of noble family holds, memorizes, recites,10 masters, or teaches in detail to others this Dharma discourse, Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields,11 then blessed buddhas from infinite oceans of limitless buddhafields throughout the ten directions will be seated before them at the time of their death. They will recollect their lifetimes until they fully awaken to unsurpassed and completely perfect buddhahood.”

1.­14

This was spoken with joy by the bodhisattva great being Acintya­prabha­rāja with the authorization of the thus-gone, worthy, completely perfect Buddha. The entire assembly of bodhisattva great beings praised what he had taught.

1.­15

This completes the noble Dharma discourse “Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields.”12

c.

Colophon

c.­1

This was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla and the senior translator-editor, the venerable monk Yeshé Dé.

n.

Notes

n.­1
See Subhashita Translation Group, trans., The Chapter on The Scale of Life, Toh 44-37 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022).
n.­2
See Subhashita Translation Group, trans., The Sūtra of King of the Inconceivable, Toh 268 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022).
n.­3
Though the manuscript itself is not presently accessible, a critical edition of the complete collection was edited and translated by Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā Tseng (2010).
n.­4
For the complexities regarding the origin, content, and structure of the A Multitude of Buddhas, see 84000’s Knowledge Base article on the subject; an accessible and informative discussion is also to be found in Hamar 2015.
n.­5
Tib. byang chub kyi snying po na; Skt. bodhimaṇḍale. The Tibetan term is typically a translation of bodhimaṇḍa, referring to the “seat of awakening.” The Skt. bodhimaṇḍala can be taken as either a variant or scribal corruption that conveys the same meaning.
n.­6
Tib. mnyam dga’. On the use of the Tib. term mnyam dga’/mnyam dka’ as a translation of the Skt. term magadha, see Hahn 2012, an article dedicated to precisely this equivalence. The Skt. text confirms magadheṣu, “in Magadha.”
n.­7
This line is not found in the Skt. witness.
n.­8
Because the previous line was not included in the Skt. text, the Skt. sūtra proceeds from Sukhāvatī here instead of Abhirati. The Skt. reads, “an eon in the realm of Sukhāvatī is but a single day in the realm of Kaṣāyadhvajā…” (sukhāvatyāṃ lokadhātau kalpaṃ tat kaṣāyadhvajāyāṃ lokadhātau … ekaṃ rātridivasam).
n.­9
Skt. yatra samantabhadracaritrāṇām bodhisattvānām mahāsattvānām bhumīparikarmaviśeṣaḥ.
n.­10
Here the Skt. text includes “promotes it” (bhāvayiṣyati), which is not found in the Tib. translation.
n.­11
In this line the Skt. text attests to a near-identical rendering of the title of the sūtra as provided in the Tib. translation: Tathāgatānām buddha­kṣetraguṇodbhāvana­dharma­paryāyam.
n.­12
The colophon of the Skt. sūtra reads, “This completes the seventeenth sūtra, the Mahāyāna sūtra titled Proclaiming the Qualities of the Infinite Buddhafields, which belongs to the extensive collection, A Multitude of Buddhas (buddhāvataṃsakād vaipulyapiṭakād anantabuddhakṣetraguṇodbhāvanaṃ nāma mahāyānasūtram saptadaśaṃ samāptam).
b.

Bibliography

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa rnams kyi sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon tan brjod pa’i chos kyi rnam grangs (Ārya­tathāgatānām buddha­kṣetraguṇokta­dharma­paryāya). Toh 104, Degé Kangyur vol. 48 (mdo sde, da), folios 285b4–286b7.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa rnams kyi sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon tan brjod pa’i chos kyi rnam grangs (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 48, pp. 739–42.

’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa rnams kyi sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon tan brjod pa’i chos kyi rnam grangs. Stok 176. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma). Leh: smanrtsis shesrig dpemzod, 1975–80, vol. 70 (mdo sde, dza), folios 407.a–409.a.

Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.

Hahn, Michael. “Mnyam dka(r) and Dharmakīrti’s Praise of the Buddha’s Nirvāṇa: Miscellanea Etymologica Tibetica IX.” Journal of Buddhist Studies X (2012): 1–20.

Hamar, Imre. “Buddhāvataṃsakasūtra.” In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, edited by Jonathan Silk et al., vol. 1, Literature and Languages, 115–28. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.

Skilling, Peter and Saerji. “ ‘O, Son of the Conqueror’: A note on jinaputra as a term of address in the Buddhāvataṃsaka and in Mahāyāna sūtras.” Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology (ARIRIAB) at Soka University 15 (2012): 127–30.

Subhashita Translation Group, trans. The Chapter on the Scale of Life (chapter 37 of the Buddhāvataṃska, Toh 44). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Subhashita Translation Group, trans. The Sūtra of King of the Inconceivable (Toh 268). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Vinītā, Bhikṣuṇī, ed. and trans. A Unique Collection of Twenty Sūtras in a Sanskrit Manuscript from the Potala. Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region 7/1. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House; Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2010.

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

Abhirati

  • mngon par dga’ ba
  • མངོན་པར་དགའ་བ།
  • abhirati

Abhirati (Delightful) is the buddhafield to the east inhabited by the Buddha Akṣobhya.

g.­2

Acintya­prabha­rāja

  • ’od bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i rgyal po
  • འོད་བསམ་གྱིས་མི་ཁྱབ་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • acintya­prabha­rāja

Acintya­prabha­rāja (King of Inconceivable Light ) is a bodhisattva who is the main speaker in Toh 104.

g.­3

Ādarśamaṇḍala­cakra­nirghoṣā

  • me long gi dkyil ’khor dbyangs
  • མེ་ལོང་གི་དཀྱིལ་འཁོར་དབྱངས།
  • ādarśamaṇḍala­cakra­nirghoṣā

Ādarśamaṇḍala­cakra­nirghoṣā (Sound of the Mirror Disk) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Candrabuddhi.

g.­4

Akṣobhya

  • mi ’khrugs pa
  • མི་འཁྲུགས་པ།
  • akṣobhya

The buddha in the eastern realm, Abhirati. Akṣobhya (Unshakable) was well known early in the Mahāyāna tradition.

g.­5

Amitābha

  • ’od dpag med
  • འོད་དཔག་མེད།
  • amitābha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.

Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.

g.­6

Avaivartika­cakra­nirghoṣā

  • phyir mi ldog pa’i ’khor lo dbyangs
  • ཕྱིར་མི་ལྡོག་པའི་འཁོར་ལོ་དབྱངས།
  • avaivartika­cakra­nirghoṣā

Avaivartika­cakra­nirghoṣā (Sound of the Wheel of Nonregression) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Suniścita­padma­phullitagātra. “Nonregression” (Skt. avaivartika, Tib. phyir mi ldog pa) refers to a stage on the bodhisattva path where the practitioner will never turn back, or be turned back, from progress toward the full awakening of a buddha.

g.­7

Bhadraśrī

  • dpal bzang po
  • དཔལ་བཟང་པོ།
  • bhadraśrī

Bhadraśrī (Excellent Glory) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Padmaśrī.

g.­8

bodhisattva level

  • sa
  • ས།
  • bhūmi

The stages a bodhisattva must traverse before reaching perfect buddhahood; traditionally ten in number, though some systems present more.

g.­9

buddhafield

  • sangs rgyas kyi zhing
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་།
  • buddhakṣetra

A buddhafield is the particular world system over which a specific buddha presides. There are innumerable such fields in Mahāyāna Buddhist cosmology.

g.­10

Candrabuddhi

  • zla ba’i thugs
  • ཟླ་བའི་ཐུགས།
  • candrabuddhi

Candrabuddhi (Moon-Like Mind) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Ādarśamaṇḍala­cakra­nirghoṣā.

g.­11

Dharmadhvaja

  • chos kyi rgyal mtshan
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
  • dharmadhvaja

Dharmadhvaja (Dharma Banner) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Virajā.

g.­12

Dharma­raśmi­prajvalitagātra

  • chos kyi ’od zer rab tu rgyas pa’i sku
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་འོད་ཟེར་རབ་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པའི་སྐུ།
  • dharma­raśmi­prajvalitagātra

Dharma­raśmi­prajvalitagātra (Body of Blazing Dharma Light) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Duratikramā.

g.­13

Duratikramā

  • ’da’ bar dka’ ba
  • འདའ་བར་དཀའ་བ།
  • duratikramā

Duratikramā (Difficult to Transcend) is a buddhafield inhabited by the buddha Dharma­raśmi­prajvalitagātra.

g.­14

Kaṣāyadhvajā

  • ngur smrig gi rgyal mtshan
  • ངུར་སྨྲིག་གི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
  • kaṣāyadhvajā

Kaṣāyadhvajā (Saffron-Colored Banners) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Vajra­sāra­pramardin.

g.­15

Magadha

  • mnyam dga’
  • མཉམ་དགའ།
  • magadha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges River in what today is the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and later by Bimbisāra's son, Ajātaśatru. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir) but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). Over the centuries, with the expansion of the Magadha’s might, it became the capital of the vast Mauryan empire and seat of the great King Aśoka.

This region is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, where the Buddha attained awakening; Vulture Peak (Gṛdhra­kūṭa), where the Buddha bestowed many well-known Mahāyāna sūtras; and the Buddhist university of Nālandā that flourished between the fifth and twelfth centuries ᴄᴇ, among many others.

g.­16

Padmaśrī

  • pad mo dpal
  • པད་མོ་དཔལ།
  • padmaśrī

Padmaśrī (Lotus Glory) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Bhadraśrī.

g.­17

Pradīpā

  • mar me ldan
  • མར་མེ་ལྡན།
  • pradīpā

Pradīpā (Bright Lamp) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Siṃha.

g.­18

Sahā world

  • mi mjed
  • མི་མཇེད།
  • sahā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name for our world system, the universe of a thousand million worlds, or trichiliocosm, in which the four-continent world is located. Each trichiliocosm is ruled by a god Brahmā; thus, in this context, he bears the title of Sahāṃpati, Lord of Sahā. The world system of Sahā, or Sahālokadhātu, is also described as the buddhafield of the Buddha Śākyamuni where he teaches the Dharma to beings.

The name Sahā possibly derives from the Sanskrit √sah, “to bear, endure, or withstand.” It is often interpreted as alluding to the inhabitants of this world being able to endure the suffering they encounter. The Tibetan translation, mi mjed, follows along the same lines. It literally means “not painful,” in the sense that beings here are able to bear the suffering they experience.

g.­19

Samantabhadra

  • kun tu bzang po
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ།
  • samantabhadra

Samantabhadra (Entirely Excellent) is one of the eight principal bodhisattvas. He is known for embodying the conduct of bodhisattvas through his vast aspirations, offerings, and deeds for the benefit of beings.

g.­20

Sarvābhijñāmati­rāja

  • mngon par shes pa thams cad blo gros ’od zer rgyal po
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་བློ་གྲོས་འོད་ཟེར་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • sarvābhijñāmati­rāja

Sarvābhijñāmati­rāja (King with a Mind of All Supernatural Abilities) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Vyūhā.

g.­21

seat of awakening

  • byang chub kyi snying po
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སྙིང་པོ།
  • bodhimaṇḍa

The exact place where every buddha in this world will manifest the attainment of buddhahood. Specifically, this is the place beneath the Bodhi tree in Bodh Gayā.

g.­22

Siṃha

  • seng ge
  • སེང་གེ
  • siṃha

Siṃha (Lion) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Pradīpā.

g.­23

Sukhāvatī

  • bde ba can
  • བདེ་བ་ཅན།
  • sukhāvatī

Sukhāvatī (Blissful) is the buddhafield to the west inhabited by the buddha Amitābha, who is also known as Amitāyus. It is classically described in The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī (Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra).

g.­24

Suniścita­padma­phullitagātra

  • shin tu rnam par gdon mi za bar pad mo rab tu rgyas pa’i sku
  • ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་གདོན་མི་ཟ་བར་པད་མོ་རབ་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པའི་སྐུ།
  • suniścita­padma­phullitagātra

Suniścita­padma­phullitagātra (Lotus Body Blooming with Utter Certainty) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Avaivartika­cakra­nirghoṣā.

g.­25

Suprabhā

  • ’od bzang po
  • འོད་བཟང་པོ།
  • suprabhā

Suprabhā (Beautiful Light) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Vairocana.

g.­26

Vairocana

  • rnam par snang mdzad
  • རྣམ་པར་སྣང་མཛད།
  • vairocana

Vairocana (Brilliance of the Sun) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Suprabhā.

g.­27

Vajra­sāra­pramardin

  • rdo rje snying pos rab tu ’dul ba
  • རྡོ་རྗེ་སྙིང་པོས་རབ་ཏུ་འདུལ་བ།
  • vajra­sāra­pramardin

Vajra­sārapramardin (Vajra Essence Vanquisher) is a buddha who inhabits the buddhafield Kaṣāyadhvajā.

g.­28

Virajā

  • rdul dang bral ba
  • རྡུལ་དང་བྲལ་བ།
  • virajā

Virajā (Dustless) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Dharmadhvaja.

g.­29

Vyūhā

  • rnam par brgyan pa
  • རྣམ་པར་བརྒྱན་པ།
  • vyūhā

Vyūhā (Ornamented) is a buddhafield inhabited by the Buddha Sarvābhijñāmati­rāja.

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84000. Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields (Buddha­kṣetraguṇokta­dharma­paryāya, sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon tan brjod pa’i chos kyi rnam grangs, Toh 104). Translated by Subhāṣita Translation Group. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025. https://84000.co/translation/toh104.Copy
84000. Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields (Buddha­kṣetraguṇokta­dharma­paryāya, sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon tan brjod pa’i chos kyi rnam grangs, Toh 104). Translated by Subhāṣita Translation Group, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh104.Copy
84000. (2025) Expounding the Qualities of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Buddhafields (Buddha­kṣetraguṇokta­dharma­paryāya, sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon tan brjod pa’i chos kyi rnam grangs, Toh 104). (Subhāṣita Translation Group, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh104.Copy
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