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དགོངས་པ་ངེས་འགྲེལ།

Unraveling the Intent
Chapter 6

Saṃdhinirmocana

འཕགས་པ་དགོངས་པ་ངེས་པར་འགྲེལ་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།

’phags pa dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “Unraveling the Intent”

Āryasaṃdhinirmocananāmamahāyānasūtra

Toh 106

Degé Kangyur, vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 1.b–55.b

Translated by the Buddhavacana Translation Group (Vienna)
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2020

Current version v 1.0.24 (2024)

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co.

Summary

s.1

In Unraveling the Intent, the Buddha gives a systematic overview of his three great cycles of teachings, which he refers to in this text as the “three Dharma wheels” (tridharmacakra). In the process of delineating the meaning of these doctrines, the Buddha unravels several difficult points regarding the ultimate and relative truths, the nature of reality, and the contemplative methods conducive to the attainment of complete and perfect awakening, and he also explains what his intent was when he imparted teachings belonging to each of the three Dharma wheels. In unambiguous terms, the third wheel is proclaimed to be of definitive meaning. Through a series of dialogues with hearers and bodhisattvas, the Buddha thus offers a complete and systematic teaching on the Great Vehicle, which he refers to here as the Single Vehicle.

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Acknowledgements

ac.1

Translation by the Buddhavacana Translation Group.

The text was translated by Gregory Forgues and edited by Casey Kemp. With special thanks to Harunaga Isaacson, Matthew Kapstein, Klaus-Dieter Mathes, Jonathan Silk, Lambert Schmithausen, Tom Tillemans, and William Waldron for their helpful comments and advice.

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

ac.2

The generous sponsorship of Qiang Li (李强) and Ya Wen (文雅), which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

Setting and Summary

i.1

In Unraveling the Intent, the Buddha gives a systematic overview of his three great cycles of teachings, which he refers to in this text as the “three Dharma wheels” (tridharmacakra). In the process of delineating the meaning of these doctrines, the Buddha unravels several difficult points regarding the ultimate and relative truths, the nature of reality, and the contemplative methods conducive to the attainment of complete and perfect awakening, and he also explains what his intent was when he imparted teachings belonging to each of the three Dharma wheels. Through a series of dialogues with hearers and bodhisattvas, the Buddha thus offers a complete and systematic teaching on the Great Vehicle, which he refers to here as the Single Vehicle .

The Context

Main Points of the Subject Matter

The Basis

The Path

The Result

Source Text and Various Versions

Translation Issues and Academic Research

1. Identifying and organizing source texts

2. Evaluating the available translations

3. Checking intertextual patterns and delineating the scope of primary sources

4. Collating academic research

5. Organizing academic resources according to the text structure and specific translation issues

Translating the text

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra
Unraveling the Intent

Prologue

[F.1.b]

p.1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in an unfathomable palace, built with the blazing seven precious substances,34 that emitted35 great light rays suffusing countless universes.36 Each of its rooms was well arranged and its design was infinite. It was the undivided maṇḍala, the domain transcending the three worlds. Arising from the supreme roots of virtue of the one who transcends the world,37 it was characterized by the perfectly pure cognition of the one who has achieved complete mastery.38 Abode of the Tathāgata where the assembly of innumerable bodhisattvas gathered, it was attended by countless gods, nāgas, [F.2.a] yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans. Supported by the great joy and bliss of savoring the Dharma and designed to accomplish the complete welfare of all beings, it was free of any harm caused by the stains of afflictions and clear of any demon. Surpassing all manifestations, this unfathomable palace was displayed by the sovereign power of the Tathāgata. Mindfulness, intelligence, and realization were its pathway;39 mental stillness and insight were the vehicle leading to it; the great gates of liberation‍—emptiness, appearancelessness, and wishlessness‍—were its entrance. It was set on foundations adorned with an infinite accumulation of excellent qualities, which were like great kings of jeweled lotuses.40

Chapter 1

1.1

At that time, the bodhisattva Vidhivatparipṛcchaka questioned the bodhisattva Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana on the ultimate whose defining characteristic is inexpressible and nondual:53 “O son of the Victorious One, when it is said that all phenomena are nondual, what are these phenomena? In what way are they nondual?”

Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana replied, “Noble son, all phenomena, what we refer to as all phenomena, are of just two kinds: conditioned and unconditioned. With respect to these, the conditioned is neither conditioned nor unconditioned. The unconditioned is neither unconditioned nor conditioned.”

Chapter 2

2.1

Then the bodhisattva Dharmodgata spoke these words: “Blessed One, very long ago in ancient times, beyond as many universes as there are grains of sand in seventy-seven Ganges rivers, I was residing in the world Kīrtimat of the tathāgata Viśālakīrti. There I saw 7,700,000 non-Buddhists, together with their teachers, who had gathered in one place to consider the ultimate defining characteristic of phenomena.65 [F.5.b] Although they had examined, analyzed, investigated, and considered in detail the ultimate defining characteristic of phenomena, they did not understand it. They had changing opinions, lacked certainty, and were slow-witted as well as argumentative. Insulting one another with harsh words, they became abusive, agitated, unprincipled, and violent. Then, Blessed One, I thought to myself, ‘This is so sad, and yet, how marvelous, how wonderful are the manifestations of the tathāgatas in the world and, through their manifestations, the realization and actualization of the ultimate whose defining characteristic is beyond all speculation!’ ”66

Chapter 3

3.1

Then the bodhisattva Suviśuddhamati addressed the Blessed One, “Blessed One, at an earlier time, you spoke these words: ‘The ultimate is subtle and profound. Characterized as transcending what is distinct or indistinct74 [from conditioned phenomena], it is difficult to understand.’ How wonderful indeed are these words of yours! Blessed One, regarding this point, I once saw many bodhisattvas who, having attained the stage of engagement through aspiration,75 assembled in one place to discuss in the following way whether conditioned phenomena and the ultimate are distinct or indistinct. Among them, some declared, ‘The defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are indistinct.’76 Others replied, ‘It is not the case that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are indistinct, for they are distinct indeed.’ [F.7.a] Some others, who were perplexed and lacked certainty, said, ‘Some pretend that the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena and the defining characteristic of the ultimate are distinct. Some pretend that they are indistinct. Which bodhisattvas speak the truth? Which speak falsity? Which are mistaken? Which are not?’ Blessed One, I thought to myself, ‘So, none of these noble sons understands the ultimate whose subtle defining characteristic transcends whether it is distinct or indistinct from conditioned phenomena. These bodhisattvas are truly77 naive, confused, dull, unskilled, and mistaken.’ ”

Chapter 4

4.1

Then the Blessed One spoke these words to Subhūti: “Subhūti, do you know how many beings in the world90 display their knowledge91 under the influence of conceit? Do you know how many beings in the world display their knowledge without conceit?”

Subhūti answered, “Blessed One, according to my knowledge, there are only a few in the world of beings who present their knowledge without conceit, but countless, innumerable, and inexpressible in number are those who do so under its influence. Blessed One, at one time I was staying in a hermitage set in a great forest. There were many monks living in the vicinity who had also established themselves there. At sunrise, I saw them gather together. They showed their knowledge and revealed their understanding by taking various aspects of phenomena as referential objects.92

Chapter 5

5.1

Then, the bodhisattva Viśālamati asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when bodhisattvas who are skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition are called ‘skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition,’ what does it mean?101 When they are designated in this way, what does it refer to?”

The Blessed One answered, “Viśālamati, you are asking this for the benefit and happiness of many beings, out of compassion for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of all beings, including gods and humans. Your intention is excellent when questioning the Tathāgata on this specific point. Therefore, listen, Viśālamati. I will explain to you in which way bodhisattvas are skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition.

Chapter 6

6.1

Then, the bodhisattva Guṇākara asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when bodhisattvas who are skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena are called ‘skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena,’ what does it mean? Moreover, when the Tathāgata designates them as such, what does it refer to?”

6.2

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva Guṇākara, “Guṇākara, for the benefit and happiness of many beings, out of compassion for the world, for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of all beings, including gods and humans, you are asking this. Your intention is excellent when questioning the Tathāgata on this specific point. Therefore, listen, Guṇākara, I will explain to you in which way bodhisattvas are skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena.

6.3

“Guṇākara, the defining characteristics of phenomena are three. What are these three? They are the imaginary defining characteristic, the other-dependent defining characteristic, and the actual defining characteristic.120

6.4

“Guṇākara, what is the imaginary defining characteristic [of phenomena]? It is what is nominally and conventionally posited 121 as the essence or the distinctive [characteristic] of phenomena, even just122 in order to designate123 [them].124

6.5

“Guṇākara, what is the other-dependent defining characteristic [of phenomena]? It is the dependent arising of phenomena. It is like this: ‘When this is, that arises; because this arises, that arises.’ It is also from ‘[in dependence upon ignorance as a condition,] conditioning mental factors [arise]’ up to ‘thus, the whole great mass of suffering comes to be.’ [F.14.b]

6.6

“Guṇākara, what is the actual 125 defining characteristic [of phenomena]? It is their true reality, namely, the unsurpassable complete and perfect awakening that is finally attained by bodhisattvas as they realize this [true reality] through their diligence and correct application of mind and then become perfectly familiar with the realization of this [true reality].126

6.7

“Guṇākara, it is like this: you should consider the imaginary defining characteristic to be just like127 the falsity of the visual aberrations [perceived] by someone suffering from the timira visual disorder.

“Guṇākara, it is like this: you should consider the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like the phenomenal appearances manifesting to this very person suffering from the timira disease, such as [actually nonexistent] hairs, flies, sesame seeds, [or patches of] blue, yellow, red, or white [in their visual field].

“Guṇākara, it is like this: you should consider the actual defining characteristic to be just like the original and unerring visual object seen by the same person when their vision is healthy and free from the visual aberrations resulting from the timira disease.

6.8

“Guṇākara, it is like this: when a pure crystal is in contact with something blue, it appears to be a sapphire. Because people perceive it by mistake as a sapphire, they are deceived by it. When this pure crystal is in contact with something red, green, or yellow, it appears to be a ruby, an emerald, [F.15.a] or gold. Because people perceive it by mistake as a ruby, an emerald, or gold, they are deceived by it.

6.9

“Guṇākara, it is like this: You should consider the mental imprint of conventions in terms of an imaginary defining characteristic 128 upon the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like the contact of colors with a pure crystal. Thus, you should consider the perception of an imaginary defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like the mistaken perception of a sapphire, ruby, emerald, or gold [superimposed] on the pure crystal.

Guṇākara, it is like this: You should consider the other-dependent defining characteristic to be just like this pure crystal itself. Thus, you should consider the actual defining characteristic as the permanent and immutable lack of any actuality or essence in the imaginary defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic,129 just as there is permanently and immutably no actuality or essence in the defining characteristic of a sapphire, ruby, emerald, or gold [superimposed] on a pure crystal.

6.10

Thus, Guṇākara, bodhisattvas distinctly perceive 130 the imaginary defining characteristic on the basis of names denoting phenomenal appearances.131 They distinctly perceive the other-dependent defining characteristic on the basis of the erroneous conception 132 [that superimposes] an imaginary defining characteristic 133 on the other-dependent defining characteristic.134 They distinctly perceive the actual defining characteristic on the basis of the nonexistence of any erroneous conception [that superimposes] an imaginary defining characteristic on the other-dependent defining characteristic.

6.11

“Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the imaginary defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic of phenomena exactly as it is, they distinctly perceive the phenomena devoid of any defining characteristic exactly as they are. [F.15.b] Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the other-dependent defining characteristic exactly as it is, they distinctly perceive the phenomena characterized by affliction exactly as they are. Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the actual defining characteristic exactly as it is, they distinctly perceive the phenomena characterized by purification exactly as they are. Guṇākara, when bodhisattvas distinctly perceive the phenomena devoid of a defining characteristic [superimposed] on the other-dependent defining characteristic exactly as they are, they abandon the phenomena characterized by affliction. Once they have abandoned the phenomena characterized by affliction, they will obtain the phenomena characterized by purification. Guṇākara, since bodhisattvas distinctly perceive in this way the imaginary, other-dependent, and actual defining characteristics of phenomena exactly as they are, they distinctly perceive the phenomena devoid of a defining characteristic, those characterized by affliction, and those characterized by purification exactly as they are.135 Having distinctly perceived the phenomena devoid of a defining characteristic exactly as they are, they abandon the phenomena characterized by affliction. Once they have abandoned the phenomena characterized by affliction, they will obtain the phenomena characterized by purification. For all these reasons, bodhisattvas are skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena. Moreover, when the Tathāgata designates the bodhisattvas as ‘skilled in the defining characteristics of phenomena,’ it is for these reasons.”

6.12

Then, at that moment, the Blessed One spoke these verses:

“Once the phenomena devoid of defining characteristics have been distinctly perceived,

The phenomena characterized by affliction will be abandoned. [F.16.a]

Once the phenomena characterized by affliction have been abandoned,

The phenomena characterized by purification will be obtained.

“Careless beings, overcome by wrongdoing and indulging in laziness,

Do not realize the imperfection of conditioned phenomena.

Falling apart in the midst of fleeting phenomena,

They deserve136 compassion.”

This was the chapter of Guṇākara ‍—the sixth chapter.

Chapter 7

7.1

At that time, the bodhisattva Paramārthasamudgata asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when I was alone in a secluded place, I had the following thought: ‘The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the five aggregates, mentioning the defining characteristic of their arising, disintegration, abandonment, and comprehension.137 In the same way, he spoke of the twelve sense domains, dependent arising, and the four kinds of sustenance. The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic of the four noble truths, mentioning the comprehension of suffering, the abandoning of the cause of suffering, the actualization of the cessation of suffering, and the practice of the path. The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the eighteen constituents, mentioning their varieties, manifoldness, abandonment, and comprehension. The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the four applications of mindfulness, mentioning their adverse factors, antidotes, practice, their arising from being non-arisen, their remaining after they arose, and their maintaining, resuming, or increasing. Similarly, he also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the four correct self-restraints, the four bases of supernatural powers, the five faculties, the five forces, and the seven branches of awakening. [F.16.b] The Blessed One also spoke in many ways of the defining characteristic specific to the eight branches of the path, mentioning their adverse factors, antidotes, and practices, their arising from being non-arisen and remaining after they arose, and their maintaining, resuming, or increasing.’

Chapter 8

8.1

Then, the bodhisattva Maitreya asked a question to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when bodhisattvas practice mental stillness and insight in the Great Vehicle, what is their support and basis?”

The Blessed One answered, “Maitreya, their support and basis are the discourses teaching Dharma and the constant aspiration to attain the unsurpassable, complete and perfect awakening.

8.2

“The Blessed One taught that four things are the referential objects of mental stillness and insight: the image with conceptualization; the image without conceptualization; the point where phenomena end; and the accomplishment of the goal.”

Chapter 9

9.1

Then the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara addressed the Blessed One, “Blessed One, the ten stages of the bodhisattva are called (1) Utmost Joy, (2) Stainless, (3) Illuminating, (4) Radiant, (5) Hard to Conquer, (6) Manifest, (7) Far Reaching, (8) Immovable, (9) Excellent Intelligence, and (10) Cloud of Dharma. When taken together with the eleventh, [called] Buddha Stage, in how many kinds of purification and subdivisions are they included?”

10.

Chapter 10

10.1

Then the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī addressed the Blessed One, “Blessed One, when you mention ‘the truth body of the tathāgatas,’ what is the defining characteristic of this truth body of the tathāgatas?”

The Blessed One answered, “Mañjuśrī, the truth body of the tathāgatas is characterized when one has fully achieved a shift in one’s basis of existence, the emergence [from cyclic existence] through the practice of the stages and the perfections.308 Because of the two [following] reasons, you should know that this truth body is characterized by inconceivability: (1) it is beyond mental elaborations and is not produced by intentional action,309 (2) while beings are fixated on mental elaborations and produced by intentional action.”

ab.

Abbreviations

Bd	Bardan (Zanskar) canonical collection
C	Choné xylograph Kangyur
Cbeta	Chinese Electronic Buddhist Association, (www.cbeta.org)
Cz	Chizhi Kangyur
D	Degé xylograph Kangyur
Dd	Dodedrak Kangyur
Dk	Dongkarla Kangyur
Do	Dolpo canonical collection
F	Phukdrak manuscript Kangyur
Go	Gondhla (Lahaul) canonical collection
Gt	Gangteng Kangyur
H	Lhasa xylograph Kangyur
He	Hemis I Kangyur
J	’jang sa tham/Lithang xylograph Kangyur
Kʙ	Berlin manuscript Kangyur
Kǫ774	Peking 1737 xylograph Kangyur
L	London (Shelkar) manuscript Kangyur
Lg	Lang mdo Kangyur
Mvyut	Mahāvyutpatti
N	Narthang xylograph Kangyur
Ng	Namgyal Kangyur
Np	Neyphug Kangyur
O	Tawang Kangyur
Pj	Phajoding I Kangyur
Pz	Phajoding II Kangyur
R	Ragya Kangyur
S	Stok manuscript Kangyur
Saṃdh.	Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra
Saṃdh_dh	Dunhuang manuscript: Stein Tib. n°194 (49 folios) and Stein Tib. n°683 (1 folio) (Hakamaya 1984–1987)
T	Tokyo manuscript Kangyur
Taishō 676	解深密經, translated by Xuanzang (596–664 ᴄᴇ)
TrBh	Sthiramati’s Triṃśikāvijñaptibhāṣyam
U	Urga xylograph Kangyur
V	Ulaanbaatar manuscript Kangyur
VD	Degé; xylograph of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi from the Tengyur
VG	Golden; xylograph of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi from the Tengyur
VP	Peking; xylograph of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi from the Tengyur
VinSg	Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi
X	Basgo manuscript Kangyur
YBht P ’i	Tibetan translation of Acarya Asanga’s Yogācārabhūmi from the Peking Tengyur (n°. 5540, sems-tsam, ’i 143aI-382a5 (vol. I l l : 121-217)
Z	Shey Palace manuscript Kangyur

Notes

n.1

See glossary entry “ultimate.”

n.2

See Brunnhölzl 2018, p. 1590, n. 89 on this point.

n.3

The numbering of paragraphs of the Saṃdhinirmocanasūtra follows Lamotte’s critical edition.

n.4

See Radich 2007, p. 1257 on the relationship between āśrayaparivṛtti and dauṣṭhulyakāya. Saṃdh. is the only text in the entire Kangyur in which the term dauṣṭhulyakāya is found.

n.5

In bold are textual resources I used to translate the text into English.

n.6

See Powers 2015. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to consult this reference work at the time of completing this translation.

n.7

Here is a list of the sigla I used to identify the various witnesses of Saṃdh.:

(1) Witnesses of the sūtra found in the available Kangyurs and canonical collections (MsK = manuscript Kangyur, PK = xylograph): Kʙ: Berlin MsK, C: Choné PK, Cz: Chizhi, D: Degé PK, Dd: Dodedrak, Dk: Dongkarla, F: Phukdrag MsK, H: Lhasa PK, Gt: Gangteng, He: Hemis I, J: ’jang sa tham/Lithang PK, L: London (Shelkar) MsK, Lg: Lang mdo, N: Narthang PK, Ng: Namgyal, Np: Neyphug, O: Tawang, Pj: Phajoding I, Pz: Phajoding II, Kǫ: Peking 1737 PK, R: Ragya, S: Stok MsK, T: Tokyo MsK, U: Urga PK, V: Ulaanbaatar MsK, W: Wangli supplement, X: Basgo MsK, Z: Shey Palace MsK. Other canonical collections: Ba: Basgo fragments (Ladakh), Bd: Bardan (Zanskar), Go: Gondhla (Lahaul), Do: Dolpo. Source: http://www.rkts.org (last accessed on July 20, 2020). I am following the typology of Kangyur groups suggested by rKTs (Vienna University). I would like to warmly thank Professor Helmut Tauscher and Bruno Lainé for making available to me the editions I used for this translation project. For a general discussion of some Tibetan sources, see Skilling 1994, p. 775.

(2) Xylographs of the Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī of the Yogācārabhūmi from the Tengyur: VD Degé, VG Golden, VP Peking. My thanks go to Kojirō Katō for having shared with me the bibliographical detail of these witnesses. The Viniścayasaṃgrahaṇī is also available in Chinese under the following title: 瑜伽師地論卷第七十六攝決擇分.

n.8

For the reference of possible additional folios, see Chayet 2005, p. 67 (n°615‍—1 folio, n°590‍—6 folios).

n.34

rin po che sna bdun does not refer to jewels only, as found in Lamotte (1935) and Keenan (2000). I follow here Powers (1995), Cornu (2005), and Cleary (1999).

n.35

The logical subject of ’jig rten gyi khams dpag tu med pa rgyas par ’gengs pa’i ’od zer chen po shin tu mnga’ ba is the palace (khang). Cornu (2005) and Keenan (2000) seem to read this phrase as a qualifier for the seven precious substances.

n.36

The first paragraph of the nidāna is a presentation of the place where the Buddha is dwelling. As already mentioned in the introduction, a succession of compounds, mainly bahuvrīhis, enables the topicalization of the temple (khang). Lamotte’s translation reflects this literary device, contrary to Powers who does not topicalize the palace to the same degree on account of some ambiguities regarding the logical subject of a few clauses describing this palace. To illustrate this point, it seems unclear whether the adjectives “steadfast,” “enduring,” or “free” in Powers’ translation qualify the temple or the beings attending it. Cornu mainly follows Powers here but the grammatical necessity to indicate the gender and number of qualifiers in French limits the risk of confusion, which is obviously not the case in English. Regarding the usage of tenses, Lamotte is the only translator who uses both narrative past and present in this first paragraph. He thus switches from the past tense to the present tense in order to describe the characteristics of the temple, a decision I chose not to follow in the present translation.

n.37

Lamotte, Cornu, and Powers do not translate the anaphoric pronoun de in ’jig rten las ’das pa de’i bla ma’i dge ba’i rtsa ba las byung ba. Powers explains in a footnote (see Power 1995, p. 313, n. 3) that this pronoun refers to gnosis according to Wonch’uk, although his translation does not reflect this interpretation. Since wisdom has not been mentioned earlier in the text and since the pronoun de is anaphoric, I read de as referring to the Buddha. Moreover, the concept of “root of virtue” is usually associated with persons and we have a reference to dbang sgyur ba in the next qualifying phrase.

n.38

The clause dbang sgyur ba’i rnam par rig pa shin tu rnam par rig pa’i mtshan nyid is problematic. Lamotte translates it in the following way: “très pur, il se caractérise par une pensée maîtresse de soi.” Cornu and Powers follow the reading found in D, folio 2.a; S, folio 4.a; Kǫ, folio 1.a; L, folio 3.a; and H, folio 3.a ( dbang sgyur ba’i rnam par rig pa shin tu rnam par rig pa’i mtshan nyid) and render the two occurrences of rnam par rig pa by an apposition: “It was characterized by perfect knowledge, the knowledge of one who has mastery.” (Powers 1995, p. 5). However, in F, folio 4.b we find a variant reading which, I believe, makes more sense: dbang byed pa’i rnam par rig pa shin tu rnam par dag pa’i mtshan nyid. The Tibetan verbal prefix shin tu rnam par is used to render the upasarga su- in Sanskrit, like in suviśuddha. In Mvyut 351, blo shin tu rnam par dag pa thus translates the Sanskrit suviśuddhabuddhiḥ.

n.39

nges par ’byung ba. In Skt. niḥsaraṇa or niryāṇa, which have the meaning of setting forth, issue, exit, departure, escape, a road out of town. The analogy here is not about emancipation or renunciation as Powers and Cornu translated it but rather with the metaphor of the journey. In that sense, what is meant here is the departure to reach the palace. Lamotte (1935), Keenan (2000), and Cleary (1999) follow Xuanzang’s translation: 大念慧行以為游路 (Cbeta, Taishō 676). Interestingly enough, F does not have nges par ’byung ba but just ’byung ba.

n.40

rin po che’i pad ma’i rgyal po chen po yon tan gyi tshogs mtha’ yas pas brgyan pa’i bkod pa la rten pa na bzhugs te. This clause has been translated in various ways depending on how one understands the compound rin po che’i pad ma’i rgyal po chen po yon tan gyi tshogs mtha’ yas pas. Lamotte (1935), Powers (1995), and Cornu (2005) read it as a dvandva: “II est orné de qualités infinies, de joyaux, de lotus et de grands rois” (Lamotte 1935, p. 167); “this pattern was adorned with boundless masses of excellent qualities, and with great kingly jeweled lotuses” (Powers 1995, pp. 5–6); “paré d’infinies qualités et de grands lotus royaux incrustés de pierreries” (Cornu 2005, p. 26). However, it seems to me that it would be better to read this compound as a karmadhāraya. Folio 5.a offers a variant reading that could support this interpretation: yon ten gyi tshogs mtha’ yas pas/ brgyan pa’i rin po che chen po pad mo’i rgyal po’i bkod pa’i gnas na nyan thos kyi dge ’dun tshad med pa dang / thabs gcig tu bzhugs te. In addition to this problem, one should note that Lamotte’s translation of the compound rin po che’i pad ma’i rgyal po chen po as a dvandva is inaccurate here. Powers’ reading of this term is correct.

n.53

brjod du med pa dang / gnyis su med pa’i mtshan nyid. I read this compound as a bahuvrīhi. The full clause [brjod du med pa dang / gnyis su med pa’i mtshan nyid] + [don dam pa] is a karmadhāraya meaning literally “the ultimate that is that whose defining characteristic is inexpressible and absolute.” Powers’ suggestion is also possible here (“the ultimate whose defining characteristic is inexpressible and non-dual”). Lamotte leaves out mtshan nyid. Cornu somewhat mixes qualifiers and qualified terms in his rendering of this clause.

n.65

brtsams pa; ārabhya with the meaning of “referring to/having to do with,” a frequent occurrence in Saṃdh. See Edgerton 1953, p. 102.

n.66

rtog ge thams cad las yang dag par ’das pa; sarvatarkasamatikrānta. Regarding the translation of the term rtog ge (tarka), Powers 1995, p. 25 suggests “argumentation,” but the emphasis in the present context is not on logical reasoning. The term tarka denotes here any kind of assumption, presupposition, representation, or conjecture regarding the absolute that is the product of the intellect (manas).

n.74

I am using the adjective “indistinct” here in the sense of the first definition given in the Oxford English Dictionary: “1. Not distinct or distinguished from each other, or from something else; not kept separate or apart in the mind or perception; not clearly defined or marked off.” Oxford English Dictionary Online, s.v. “indistinct,” accessed July 20, 2020, https://www-oed-com.ezproxy.leidenuniv.nl:2443/view/Entry/94602?redirectedFrom=indistinct#eid.

n.75

mos pa; praṇidhāna. See mos pa spyod pa’i sa. See Mvyut 897: mos pa spyod pa’i sa; adhimukticaryābhūmiḥ.

n.76

Schmithausen reads don dam pa’i mtshan nyid (paramārthalakṣaṇa) as “the defining characteristic that is the ultimate” in 3.5 (see Schmithausen 2014, p. 558, §512.3). However, Saṃdh. chapter 3 is about conditioned phenomena in relation to the ultimate when their respective defining characteristics are examined. The question here is not to determine whether the ultimate is the defining characteristic of conditioned phenomena. Rather, it is to determine whether the conditioned and the ultimate are different by examining their defining characteristics. Therefore, I read don dam pa’i mtshan nyid as “the defining characteristic of the ultimate,” namely, as a genitive tatpuruṣa and not as a karmadhāraya.

n.77

To render sha stag.

n.90

Lit. “in the world of beings.”

n.91

F reads here shes pa in agreement with D. See F, folio 14.bff.

n.92

dmigs pa; ālambana. I think it is important here to read dmigs pa as meaning “object” because in folio 11.a the Buddha contrasts these various objects (aggregates, sense sources, constituents, truths, etc.) with the “object conducive to purification” (rnam par dag pa’i dmigs pa, *viśuddhyālambana; see Schmithausen 2014, p. 362, §306.5 and n. 1644). Translating dmigs pa here as “observing” would weaken the central opposition between (a) the objects taken as a reference point for their practice by those who have not realized the defining characteristic of the ultimate and (b) the object conducive to purification, which is present within all phenomena. The purpose of this chapter is to introduce this fundamental point.

n.101

ji tsam gyis; kiyant. The complete sentence reads, “In what sense are they skilled in the secrets of mind, thought, and cognition?”

n.120

yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid; pariniṣpannalakṣaṇa. I read these compounds as karmadhārayas, not as genitive tatpuruṣas. For an analysis of these compounds, see Schmithausen 2014, p. 359, n. 1626.

n.121

rnam par bzhag pa; vyavasthā, which has the connotation of something being agreed upon, represented, arranged, settled, decreed, or established.

n.122

Frauwallner and Lamotte do not translate ji tsam du (see Frauwallner 1969, p. 285: “um sie im täglichen Sprachgebrauch zu bezeichnen” and Lamotte 1935, p. 188: “permettant de les mentionner dans le langage courant”). The Chinese term 乃至 in Xuanzang’s translation (乃至為令隨起言說, Cbeta, Taishō 676) corresponds to the Tibetan ji tsam du (for yāvat or kiyat), which I understand here in the sense of “at least, only, even just.” Interestingly enough, the Go witness has ci tsam gis (see Go, folio 12.a); F, folio 20.a reads gang ji skad du, and He, folio 77.a returns gang ji snyed du (while rjes su is omitted) for ji tsam du in D.

n.123

The Tibetan rjes su tha snyad gdags pa and the Chinese 隨起言說 correspond to anuvyavahāra.

n.124

D: ji tsam du rjes su tha snyad gdags pa’i phyir chos rnams kyi ngo bo nyid dam bye brag tu ming dang brdar rnam par gzhag pa gang yin pa’o. Frauwallner’s translation of this passage is slightly ambiguous and could be potentially misleading on account of the German preposition “nach”: “Es ist jede Festsetzung eines Namens und einer Vereinbarung für die Gegebenheiten nach Wesen oder Besonderheit, um sie im täglichen Sprachgebrauch zu bezeichnen.” (Frauwallner 1969, p. 286). If one reads this sentence as “a determination in terms of being and specific defining characteristic,” then the translation is correct. However, if one reads it as meaning “the determination of … in accordance with/corresponding to [their] being or specific defining characteristic,” then the translation becomes problematic since the point made in the text is precisely that there is no such thing. The determination (Festsetzung) of a name and convention for phenomena (für die Gegebenheiten) is not made according to the essence or defining characteristic of phenomena (nach Wesen oder Besonderheit). Hence the term “imaginary defining characteristic.” If this determination occurred according to the essence of phenomena, it would be illogical to call this defining characteristic “imaginary.” Lamotte’s translation is therefore more accurate in the present case, although his rendering of rnam par bzhags pa (vyavasthāna) as a present participle qualifying ming dang brda slightly modifies the original meaning of the sentence. Sanskrit compounds with vyavasthāna can be read as instrumental tatpuruṣa, for example saṃjñākaraṇavyavasthāna, mātrāvyavasthāna, or aṅgavyavasthāna. Xuanzang translates this passage as 云何諸法遍計所執相。謂一切法名假安立自性差別。乃至為令隨起言說。 (Taishō 676), in which nāmasaṃketa (“names and common references”) seem at first glance to be the grammatical passive subject of the main verb of the clause (安立) or an adverb. In fact, F, folio 20.a and He, folio 77.a read ming dang brdas rnam par bzhag pa instead of ming dang brdar rnam par bzhag pa in D and other witnesses mentioned in the preceding notes. The terminative of the Tibetan ming dang brdar could be read adverbially in the sense of “nominally and conventionally” in the sense of “by means of/in terms of names and common references” for nāmasaṃketa.

n.125

Regarding the choice of terminology for pariniṣpanna, Edgerton mentions two possible meanings (see Edgerton 1953, p. 325): (1) “completely perfected” in the sense of “accomplished/attained,” which corresponds to the second clause in the present definition (6.6) in which the yong su grub pa is glossed in the sense of yang dag par ’grub pa (D) and yang dag par bsgrub pa (F). (2) The second meaning of pariniṣpanna according to Edgerton is “absolute.” The term is also translated into English as meaning “real.” Understanding pariniṣpanna as “established” or “perfected” is indeed problematic. Reality in the sense of tathatā cannot be referred to as “perfected,” because it is not perfectible. If it were, it would be conditioned (see Saṃdh. chapter 3). Likewise, tathatā cannot be termed “established” because if it were, it would be impermanent, but it is said to be the only permanent reality (see Saṃdh. chapter 4). As a consequence, it appears clearly from the context of the definition given above and Edgerton’s explanations that pariniṣpannalakṣaṇa refers to both the “character accomplished [by bodhisattvas]” in the sense of the accomplishment of the defining characteristic of the ultimate as the ultimate attainment of the bodhisattva’s spiritual path, and the “absolute or real character” in the sense of reality itself (tathatā). As emphasized throughout Saṃdh., pariniṣpannalakṣaṇa is indeed none other than the defining characteristic of the ultimate (don dam pa’i mtshan nyid; paramārthalakṣaṇa), the object conducive to purification, (rnam par dag pa’i dmigs pa; *viśuddhyālambana). In the present translation, I opt for “actual,” a term that fits well with the metaphors found in Saṃdh. chapter 6, to explain the three natures (Lamotte chose “absolu,” and Frauwallner “vollkommen”). The term “actual” obviously induces a clear dichotomy between what is imaginary and what is real, which was most probably at the origin of these terminological choices in the source language. On the opposition between the imaginary and the actual by equating the imaginary with the unreal through the usage of the same terminology (i.e., pariniṣpanna and parikalpa/parikalpita), see 1.2.

n.126

The syntax of this sentence differs according to the various available editions of the text with little bearing on the meaning of the sentence. For example, compare D; VD, folios 55.a–b: chos rnams kyi de bzhin nyid gang yin pa ste/ byang chub sems dpa’ rnams kyis rtun pa’i rgyu dang / legs par tshul bzhin yid la byas pa’i rgyus de rtogs shing de rtogs pa goms par byas pa yang dag par grub pas kyang bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i byang chub kyi bar du yang dag par ’grub pa gang yin pa’o; F, folio 20.a–b: gang chos rnams kyi de bzhin nyid de/ byang chub sems dpa’ rnams kyis brtson ba’i rgyu dang / yang dag par tshul bzhin yid la byed pa’i rgyud gang rtogs par ’gyur ba yin te rtogs dang / bsgoms pa bsgrubs pas/ bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i byang chub kyi bar du yang dag par bsgrub pa’o; and S, folio 20.b: gang chos rnams kyi de bzhin nyid/ gang byang chub sems dpa’ rnams kyis brtson ba’i rgyu dang / yang dag par tshul bzhin yid la byed pa’i rgyus rtogs par ’gyur ba yin te/ de rtogs pa goms par byas pa yang dag par grub pas kyang / bla na med pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i byang chub kyi bar du yang dag par ’grub pa’o. Frauwallner reads this passage in the following way: “Es ist die Soheit der Gegebenheiten, ihr Erschauen durch die Bodhisattva auf Grund ihrer Energie und richtigen Beobachtung (yoniśomanasikāraḥ), und durch das Zustandekommen der Übung dieses Erschauens schließlich das Zustandekommen der hochsten vollkommenen Erleuchtung.” (Frauwallner 1969, p. 286). Lamotte 1935, p. 189 is similar to Frauwallner’s reading. It is plausible that Frauwallner simply followed Lamotte’s translation of this passage. Schmithausen suggests that the relative clause starting with gang byang chub specifies the tathatā, which I agree with, although reading the two clauses defining pariniṣpannalakṣaṇa as being in apposition would not negate the fact that the second one merely specifies the first one (tathatā) as being that which is attained by bodhisattvas: “(Suchness) into which the bodhisattvas, in consequence of their zeal and in consequence of their appropriate contemplation, obtain direct insight (*prativedha, cf. Saṃdh_DH: so sor chud pa), and, through the accomplishment of the repeated practice of this insight, finally attain the Highest Perfect Awakening.” (Schmithausen 2014, p. 540, n. 2241). It is important here to note that rtogs shing de rtogs pa goms par byas pa stands on the same level in relation to yang dag par grub pas, which is not apparent in Schmithausen’s translation. Thus, “obtain direct insight” (de rtogs shing) is part of a larger argument: rtogs shing de rtogs pa goms par byas pa (D) or rtogs par ’gyur ba yin te rtogs dang / bsgoms pa bsgrubs pas (F). This meaning unit should therefore not be put on the same level as yang dag par ’grub pa gang yin pa’o as it is in Schmithausen’s translation, since it is one of the reasons why there is an accomplishment according to the available testimonies. Regarding the translation of bar du (yāvat), I followed Schmithausen’s way of solving the problem. Powers understands it in its usual sense of “up to,” but it does not work here, since this would imply that what are accomplished are also inferior realizations, which Powers refers to between square brackets as “stages”; see Powers 1995, p. 83. Schmithausen’s reading of the second clause as specifying tathatā seems preferable.

n.127

de lta bur ni; evam eva.

n.128

Lamotte translates this term with “essentiellement fantaisiste”; see Lamotte 1935, p. 190. This is missing the point that this actually refers to the imaginary defining characteristic.

n.129

D; VD, folio 56.a: gzhan gyi dbang gi mtshan nyid de/ kun brtags pa’i mtshan nyid der rtag pa rtag pa’i dus dang / ther zug ther zug gi dus su yongs su ma grub cing ngo bo nyid med pa nyid kyis yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid blta bar bya’o. F, folio 21.b: gzhan gyi dbang de nyid la/ kun brtag brtags pa’i mtshan nyid de rtag pa rtag pa’i dus dang / ’khor bar ’khor ba’i dus su ma grub cing rang bzhin med pa nyid ni/ yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid du blta’o; S, folio 21.b: gzhan gyi dbang de nyid kun brtags pa’i mtshan nyid der rtag pa rtag pa’i dus dang / ther zug ther zug gi dus su yongs su ma grub cing rang bzhin med pa nyid ni/ yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid du blta’o. F and S are helpful here to interpret the syntax of D. The following simple emendation would improve the syntax of D: gzhan gyi dbang gi mtshan nyid de la/ kun brtags pa’i mtshan nyid der rtag pa rtag pa’i dus dang / ther zug ther zug gi dus su yongs su ma grub cing ngo bo nyid med pa nyid kyis yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid blta bar bya’o. Lamotte’s translation of 6.9 is more intelligible than that of Frauwallner. who is more Literal and strictly follows the syntax found in D. Xuanzang’s translation reads: 即依他起相上由遍計所執相於常常時於恆恆時無有真實無自性性圓成實性當知亦爾 (Cbeta, Taishō 676). In my translation I chose to topicalize yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid (in agreement with D) because the purpose of this dialogue is to define the three defining characters.

n.130

rab tu shes; prajānāti with the meaning of pratijānāti; see Edgerton 1953, p. 357. Lamotte translates this term with “repose,” which does not convey the meaning of prajānāti; see Lamotte 1935, p. 190. In the following paragraph, Lamotte uses the verb “connaître” for the same term.

n.131

mtshan ma dang ’brel pa’i ming la brten nas. VD, folio 56.a: ming dang ’brel ba’i mtshan ma la brten nas.

n.132

mngon par zhen pa; abhiniveśa. Usually with a negative connotation; see Edgerton 1953, p. 53. Powers reads it as meaning “strongly adhering”; see Powers 1995, p. 87.

n.133

See the definition of the imaginary defining characteristic in 6.4: “Guṇākara, what is the imaginary defining characteristic? It is what is nominally and conventionally posited as the essence or the distinctive [characteristic] of phenomena, even just in order to designate [them].” See also 7.4: “Paramārthasamudgata, what is the essencelessness of all phenomena as a defining characteristic? It is the imaginary defining characteristic. Why? Because as much as this defining characteristic is nominally and conventionally posited, it is not posited on the basis of an essence or a distinctive [characteristic]. This is why it is called ‘the essencelessness of all phenomena [that is] a defining characteristic.’ ”

n.134

See 6.5: “Guṇākara, what is the other-dependent defining characteristic? It is the dependent arising of phenomena. It is like this: ‘When this is, that arises; because this arises, that arises;’ and also: from ‘[in dependence upon ignorance as a condition,] conditioning mental factors [arise]’ up to ‘thus, the whole great mass of suffering comes to be.’ ” And also 7.5: “Paramārthasamudgata, what is the essencelessness of all phenomena [that is] arising? It is the other-dependent defining characteristic of phenomena. Why? Because this is [the defining characteristic] arising on account of causes other [than itself], and not by itself. This is why it is referred to as ‘essencelessness with regard to arising.’ ”

n.135

I read mtshan nyid med pa dang / kun nas nyon mongs pa’i mtshan nyid dang / rnam par byang ba’i mtshan nyid (D) as in the previous clauses, namely, as bahuvrīhis.

n.136

Lamotte 1935: 191: “Ils excitent la pitié.” A la rigueur, one could have accepted “ils suscitent la pitié”!

n.137

This enumeration follows the structure found in 4.2.

n.308

See translation of VinSg 16 in Sakuma 1990, p. 202: “Der Dharmakāya der Tathāgatas ist dadurch charakterisiert, daß die [ihn konstituierende] ‘Umgestaltung der Grundlage’ daraus hervorgegangen ist, daß man die [Bodhisattva-]Stufen und Vollkommenheiten durch intensive Übung gemeistert hat.”

n.309

mngon par ’du bya ba med pa; anabhisaṃskāraṇa.

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Glossary

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

Attested in source text

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

Attested in other text

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

Attested in dictionary

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

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.

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

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

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

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

Source unspecified

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

g.1

abiding in phenomena

chos gnas pa nyid

ཆོས་གནས་པ་ཉིད།

dharmasthititā

g.2

absorption

snyoms par ’jug pa

སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།

samāpatti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit literally means “attainment,” and is used to refer specifically to meditative attainment and to particular meditative states. The Tibetan translators interpreted it as sama-āpatti, which suggests the idea of “equal” or “level”; however, they also parsed it as sam-āpatti, in which case it would have the sense of “concentration” or “absorption,” much like samādhi, but with the added sense of “attainment.”

g.3

absorption in the state of cessation

’gog pa la snyoms par zhugs pa

འགོག་པ་ལ་སྙོམས་པར་ཞུགས་པ།

nirodhasamāpatti

g.4

accept

ལེན།

ādadante

g.6

accomplishment of the goal

dgos pa yongs su grub pa

དགོས་པ་ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པ།

kṛtyānuṣṭhāna

g.10

actual

yongs su grub pa

ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པ།

pariniṣpanna

g.11

actual defining characteristic

yongs su grub pa’i mtshan nyid

ཡོངས་སུ་གྲུབ་པའི་མཚན་ཉིད།

pariniṣpannalakṣaṇa

g.13

actualization

mngon du bya ba

མངོན་དུ་བྱ་བ།

sākṣātkāra

g.15

affliction

kun nas nyon mongs pa

ཀུན་ནས་ཉོན་མོངས་པ།

saṃkleśa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”

g.16

aggregate

phung pho

ཕུང་ཕོ།

skandha

g.17

analysis

brtag pa

བརྟག་པ།

parīkṣā

g.24

appearancelessness

mtshan ma med pa

མཚན་མ་མེད་པ།

animitta

g.25

applications of mindfulness

dran pa nye bar gzhag pa

དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་གཞག་པ།

smṛtyupasthāna

g.28

aspiration

smon lam

སྨོན་ལམ།

praṇidhāna

g.30

assumption

mngon par zhen pa

མངོན་པར་ཞེན་པ།

abhiniviśanti

g.34

Avalokiteśvara

spyan ras gzigs
’phags pa spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug

སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས།
འཕགས་པ་སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་ཕྱུག

avalokiteśvara
āryāvalokiteśvara

g.35

awakening

byang chub

བྱང་ཆུབ།

bodhi

g.39

bahuvrīhi

bahuvrīhi

g.40

bases of supernatural powers

rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa

རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།

ṛddhipādaḥ

g.45

blessed one

bcom ldan ’das

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།

bhagavān
bhagavat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

g.47

branches of awakening

byang chub kyi yan lag

བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཡན་ལག

bodhyaṅgāni

g.51

Buddha Stage

sangs rgyas kyi sa

སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ས།

buddhabhūmi

g.55

changing opinions

blo gros tha dad pa

བློ་གྲོས་ཐ་དད་པ།

matibheda

g.56

characterized by

rab tu phye ba

རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།

prabhāvita

g.59

Cloud of Dharma

chos kyi sprin

ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྤྲིན།

dharmameghā

g.60

cognition

rnam par shes pa

རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།

vijñāna

g.66

comprehension

yongs su shes pa

ཡོངས་སུ་ཤེས་པ།

parijñā

g.68

concentration

ting nge ’dzin

ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།

samādhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.

In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

g.69

conception

’du shes

འདུ་ཤེས།

saṃjñā

g.71

conceptualization

rnam rtog
rnam par rtog pa

རྣམ་རྟོག
རྣམ་པར་རྟོག་པ།

vikalpa

g.74

conditioned

’du byas

འདུ་བྱས།

saṃskṛta

g.75

conditioned phenomena

’du byed

འདུ་བྱེད།

saṃskāra

g.76

conditioning mental factors

’du byed

འདུ་བྱེད།

saṃskāra

g.78

conducive

grogs

གྲོགས།

sahāya

g.83

consisting in

rab tu phye ba

རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།

prabhāvita

g.85

constant

rnam par gnas pa

རྣམ་པར་གནས་པ།

vyavasthita

g.86

constituent

khams

ཁམས།

dhātu

g.87

constituted

rab tu phye ba

རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།

prabhāvita

g.88

contemplation

bsams pa

བསམས་པ།

cintā

g.89

convention

rjes su tha snyad

རྗེས་སུ་ཐ་སྙད།

anuvyavahāra

g.90

conventionally

brda

བརྡ།

saṃketa

g.91

correct concentration

yang dag pa’i ting nge ’dzin

ཡང་དག་པའི་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།

samyaksamādhi

g.99

defining characteristic

mtshan nyid

མཚན་ཉིད།

svabhāvalakṣaṇa

g.106

determination

rnam par bzhag pa

རྣམ་པར་བཞག་པ།

vyavasthā

g.110

Dharmodgata

chos ’phags

ཆོས་འཕགས།

dharmodgata

g.112

diligence

brtson ’grus

བརྩོན་འགྲུས།

viryā

g.118

discourses teaching Dharma

chos gdags pa rnam par gzhag pa

ཆོས་གདགས་པ་རྣམ་པར་གཞག་པ།

dharmaprajñaptivyavasthā(pa)na

g.120

discrimination of dharmas

chos rab tu rnam par ’byed pa

ཆོས་རབ་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ།

dharmapravicaya

g.121

distinct

tha dad pa

ཐ་དད་པ།

bheda

g.122

distinctive

bye brag

བྱེ་བྲག

viśeṣa

g.124

distinctly perceive

rab tu shes

རབ་ཏུ་ཤེས།

prajānāti

g.130

dvandva

dvandva

g.136

emancipation

nges par ’byung ba

ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་བ།

niḥsaraṇa
niryāṇa

g.137

emptiness

stong pa nyid

སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།

śūnyatā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.

g.141

equanimity

btang snyoms

བཏང་སྙོམས།

upekṣā

g.142

erroneous conception

mngon par zhen pa

མངོན་པར་ཞེན་པ།

abhiniveśa

g.143

essence

ngo bo nyid

ངོ་བོ་ཉིད།

svabhāva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term denotes the ontological status of phenomena, according to which they are said to possess existence in their own right‍—inherently, in and of themselves, objectively, and independent of any other phenomena such as our conception and labelling. The absence of such an ontological reality is defined as the true nature of reality, emptiness.

g.144

essencelessness

ngo bo nyid med pa nyid

ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།

niḥsvabhāvatā

g.145

essencelessness regarding arising

skye ba ngo bo nyid med pa nyid

སྐྱེ་བ་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།

utpattiniḥsvabhāvatā

g.146

essencelessness regarding defining characteristics

mtshan nyid ngo bo nyid med pa nyid

མཚན་ཉིད་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།

lakṣaṇaniḥsvabhāvatā

g.147

essencelessness regarding the ultimate

don dam pa ngo bo nyid med pa nyid

དོན་དམ་པ་ངོ་བོ་ཉིད་མེད་པ་ཉིད།

paramārthaniḥsvabhāvatā

g.149

established

rnam par bzhag pa

རྣམ་པར་བཞག་པ།

vyavasthā

g.152

examine

’jal ba

འཇལ་བ།

g.155

Excellent Intelligence

legs pa’i blo gros

ལེགས་པའི་བློ་གྲོས།

sādhumatī

g.163

faith

dad pa

དད་པ།

śraddhā

g.164

falsity

skyon chags pa

སྐྱོན་ཆགས་པ།

duṣṭatā

g.165

Far Reaching

ring du song ba

རིང་དུ་སོང་བ།

dūraṅgamā

g.167

five faculties

dbang po lnga

དབང་པོ་ལྔ།

pañcendriyāṇi

g.168

five forces

stobs lnga

སྟོབས་ལྔ།

pañcabalāni

g.171

flexibility

shin tu sbyangs pa

ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱངས་པ།

praśrabdhi

g.177

four correct self-restraints

yang dag par spong ba bzhi

ཡང་དག་པར་སྤོང་བ་བཞི།

catvāri prahāṇāni

g.179

four kinds of sustenance

zas bzhi

ཟས་བཞི།

catvārāhārāḥ

g.181

four noble truths

’phags pa’i bden pa bzhi

འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ་བཞི།

catvāri āryasatyāni

g.185

Gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana

don zab dgongs pa nges par ’grel

དོན་ཟབ་དགོངས་པ་ངེས་པར་འགྲེལ།

gambhīrārthasaṃdhinirmocana

g.186

gandharva

dri za

དྲི་ཟ།

gandharva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

g.187

garuḍa

garuḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

g.188

gates of liberation

rnam par thar pa’i sgo

རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པའི་སྒོ།

vimokṣamukha

g.193

gone forth

nges par ’byung ba

ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་བ།

niryātaka
parivrājaka

g.195

Guṇākara

yon tan ’byung gnas

ཡོན་ཏན་འབྱུང་གནས།

guṇākara

g.197

Hard to Conquer

shin tu sbyang dka’

ཤིན་ཏུ་སྦྱང་དཀའ།

sudurjayā

g.198

hearer

nyan thos

ཉན་ཐོས།

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.”

g.200

how

ji tsam du

ཇི་ཙམ་དུ།

tāvatā
tāvat
yāvat

g.202

Illuminating

’od byed pa

འོད་བྱེད་པ།

prabhākarī

g.203

image

gzugs brnyan

གཟུགས་བརྙན།

pratibimba

g.204

imaginary

kun brtags pa

ཀུན་བརྟགས་པ།

parikalpita

g.205

imaginary defining characteristic

kun brtags pa’i mtshan nyid

ཀུན་བརྟགས་པའི་མཚན་ཉིད།

parikalpitalakṣaṇa

g.207

imagination

kun tu rtog pa

ཀུན་ཏུ་རྟོག་པ།

saṃkalpa
parikalpa

g.208

Immovable

mi g.yo ba

མི་གཡོ་བ།

acalā

g.213

Inexpressible

brjod du med

བརྗོད་དུ་མེད།

anabhilāpya

g.219

insight

lhag mthong

ལྷག་མཐོང་།

vipaśyanā

g.220

intelligence

blo gros

བློ་གྲོས།

mati

g.221

intention

bsam pa

བསམ་པ།

āśaya

g.223

investigation

dpyod pa

དཔྱོད་པ།

vicāra

g.225

joy

dga’ ba

དགའ་བ།

prīti

g.226

karmadhāraya

karmadhāraya

g.230

kinnara

kinnara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

g.231

Kīrtimat

grags pa can

གྲགས་པ་ཅན།

kīrtimat

g.233

lacked certainty

yid gnyis can

ཡིད་གཉིས་ཅན།

vimati

g.239

mahoraga

mahoraga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

g.240

Maitreya

byams pa

བྱམས་པ།

maitreya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”

For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

g.241

Manifest

mngon du gyur pa

མངོན་དུ་གྱུར་པ།

abhimukhī

g.242

Mañjuśrī

’jam dpal

འཇམ་དཔལ།

mañjuśrī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

g.245

meditative absorption

bsam gtan

བསམ་གཏན།

dhyāna

g.247

mental elaboration

spros pa

སྤྲོས་པ།

prapañca

g.249

mental imprint

bag chags

བག་ཆགས།

vāsanā

g.252

mental stillness

zhi gnas

ཞི་གནས།

śamatha

g.254

mind

sems

སེམས།

citta

g.256

mindfulness

dran pa

དྲན་པ།

smṛti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This is the faculty that enables the mind to maintain its attention on a referent object, counteracting the arising of forgetfulness, which is a great obstacle to meditative stability. The root smṛ may mean “to recollect” but also simply “to think of.” Broadly speaking, smṛti, commonly translated as “mindfulness,” means to bring something to mind, not necessarily something experienced in a distant past but also something that is experienced in the present, such as the position of one’s body or the breath.

Together with alertness (samprajāna, shes bzhin), it is one of the two indispensable factors for the development of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas).

g.257

nāga

ཀླུ།

nāga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

g.261

negate

skur pa ’debs

སྐུར་པ་འདེབས།

apavāda

g.264

nidāna

gleng gzhi

གླེང་གཞི།

nidāna

g.265

nirvāṇa

mya ngan las ’das pa

མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།

nirvāṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering has permanently ceased.

More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates. (3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace. This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.

g.268

non-Buddhist

mu stegs pa

མུ་སྟེགས་པ།

tīrthika

g.269

nonduality

gnyis su med pa

གཉིས་སུ་མེད་པ།

advaya

g.270

object

dngos po
yul

དངོས་པོ།
ཡུལ།

vastu

g.271

object conducive to purification

rnam par dag pa’i dmigs pa

རྣམ་པར་དག་པའི་དམིགས་པ།

*viśuddhyālambana

g.277

of a single nature

ro gcig pa

རོ་གཅིག་པ།

ekarasa

g.280

other-dependent

gzhan gyi dbang

གཞན་གྱི་དབང་།

paratantra

g.281

other-dependent defining characteristic

gzhan gyi dbang gi mtshan nyid

གཞན་གྱི་དབང་གི་མཚན་ཉིད།

paratantralakṣaṇa

g.283

Paramārthasamudgata

don dam yang dag ’phags

དོན་དམ་ཡང་དག་འཕགས།

paramārthasamudgata

g.285

pathway

nges par ’byung ba

ངེས་པར་འབྱུང་བ།

niḥsaraṇa
niryāṇa

g.288

perfection

pha rol tu phyin pa

ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།

pāramitā

g.290

perfectly pure cognition

blo shin tu rnam par dag pa

བློ་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ།

suviśuddhabuddhiḥ

g.292

phenomenal appearance

mtshan ma

མཚན་མ།

nimitta

g.294

point where phenomena end

dngos po’i mtha’

དངོས་པོའི་མཐའ།

vastvanta

g.296

posited

rnam par bzhag pa

རྣམ་པར་བཞག་པ།

vyavasthā

g.301

primordially in the state of peace

gzod ma nas zhib

གཟོད་མ་ནས་ཞིབ།

ādiśānta

g.309

purification

rnam par dag pa

རྣམ་པར་དག་པ།

viśuddhi

g.312

Radiant

’od ’phro ba can

འོད་འཕྲོ་བ་ཅན།

arciṣmatī

g.316

referential object

dmigs pa

དམིགས་པ།

ālambana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

dmigs (pa) translates a number of Sanskrit terms, including ālambana, upalabdhi, and ālambate. These terms commonly refer to the apprehending of a subject, an object, and the relationships that exist between them. The term may also be translated as “referentiality,” meaning a system based on the existence of referent objects, referent subjects, and the referential relationships that exist between them. As part of their doctrine of “threefold nonapprehending/nonreferentiality” (’khor gsum mi dmigs pa), Mahāyāna Buddhists famously assert that all three categories of apprehending lack substantiality.

g.317

reflection

gzugs brnyan

གཟུགས་བརྙན།

pratibimba

g.319

room

gnas

གནས།

sthāna

g.324

sense domain

skye mched

སྐྱེ་མཆེད།

āyatana

g.325

sentient being

sems can

སེམས་ཅན།

sattva

g.327

seven precious substances

rin po che sna bdun

རིན་པོ་ཆེ་སྣ་བདུན།

saptaratna

g.329

shift in one’s basis of existence

gnas gyur pa

གནས་གྱུར་པ།

āśrayaparivṛtti

g.330

Single Vehicle

theg pa gcig pa

ཐེག་པ་གཅིག་པ།

ekayāna

g.332

slow-witted

blo gros ngan pa

བློ་གྲོས་ངན་པ།

kumati

g.334

sovereign power

byin gyi rlabs

བྱིན་གྱི་རླབས།

adhiṣṭhāna
adhiṣṭhita

This term is usually translated into English with “blessings.” However, as explained in Edgerton 1953, p. 15; Eckel 1994, pp. 90–93; Gómez 2011, pp. 539 and 541; and Fiordalis 2012, pp. 104 and 118, adhiṣṭhāna conveys the notions of control (of one’s environment as a result of meditative absorption), authority, or protection (see Abhidharmakośa VII.51, cf. La Vallée Poussin 1925, p. 119ff.). Adhiṣṭhāna is also used to convey the idea of transformation through exerting one’s control over objects, people, and places. The term “sovereign power” seems to cover all these shades of meaning as well as the various usages of the Sanskrit term, for example satyādhiṣṭhāna “the sovereign power of truth” and adhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭita “empowered by the sovereign power (of the Tathāgata).”

g.335

space

nam mkha’

ནམ་མཁའ།

ākāśa

g.336

specific defining characteristic

rang gi mtshan nyid

རང་གི་མཚན་ཉིད།

svalakṣaṇa

g.339

stage

ས།

bhūmi

g.340

stage of engagement through aspiration

mos pa spyod pa’i sa

མོས་པ་སྤྱོད་པའི་ས།

adhimukticaryābhūmiḥ

g.342

Stainless

dri ma med pa

དྲི་མ་མེད་པ།

vimalā

g.343

Subhūti

rab ’byor

རབ་འབྱོར།

subhūti

g.348

superimpose

sgro btags

སྒྲོ་བཏགས།

samāropa

g.353

Suviśuddhamati

blo gros shin tu rnam dag

བློ་གྲོས་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་དག

suviśuddhamati

g.354

tathāgata

de bzhin gshegs pa

དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།

tathāgata

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

g.355

tatpuruṣa

tatpuruṣa

g.363

thing

dngos po
ngo bo

དངོས་པོ།
ངོ་བོ།

bhāva

g.366

thought

ཡིད།

manas

g.368

three worlds

khams gsum

ཁམས་གསུམ།

tridhātu
traidhātuka

g.369

timira

rab rib pa

རབ་རིབ་པ།

timira

g.373

true reality

de bzhin nyid
de kho na
de nyid

དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
དེ་ཁོ་ན།
དེ་ཉིད།

tathatā
tattva

g.374

truly

ji tsam du

ཇི་ཙམ་དུ།

yāvat
tāvatā
tāvat

g.375

truth

bden pa

བདེན་པ།

satya

g.376

truth body

chos kyi sku

ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུ།

dharmakāya

g.377

two truths

bden pa gnyis

བདེན་པ་གཉིས།

satyadvaya

g.378

ultimate

don dam pa
don dam

དོན་དམ་པ།
དོན་དམ།

paramārtha

g.382

unborn

ma skyes pa

མ་སྐྱེས་པ།

anutpanna

g.383

unconditioned

’du ma byas

འདུ་མ་བྱས།

asaṃskṛta

g.389

unreal

yongs su ma grub pa

ཡོངས་སུ་མ་གྲུབ་པ།

apariniṣpanna

g.391

upasarga

upasarga

g.393

Utmost Joy

rab tu dga’ ba

རབ་ཏུ་དགའ་བ།

pramuditā

g.398

Vidhivatparipṛcchaka

tshul bzhin kun ’dri

ཚུལ་བཞིན་ཀུན་འདྲི།

vidhivatparipṛcchaka

g.399

vigor

brtson ’grus

བརྩོན་འགྲུས།

vīrya

g.401

Viśālakīrti

viśālakīrti

g.402

Viśālamati

blo gros yangs pa

བློ་གྲོས་ཡངས་པ།

viśālamati

g.406

whose defining characteristic is beyond all speculation

rtog ge thams cad las yang dag par ’das pa

རྟོག་གེ་ཐམས་ཅད་ལས་ཡང་དག་པར་འདས་པ།

sarvatarkasamatikrānta

g.408

wisdom

shes rab

ཤེས་རབ།

prajñā

g.409

wishlessness

smon pa med pa

སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ།

apraṇihita

g.414

yakṣa

yakṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the jurisdiction of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.

Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

Unraveling the Intent Chapter 6

Toh 106

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Unraveling the Intent
Chapter 6