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སྙིང་རྗེ་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ།

The White Lotus of Compassion
Turning the Wheel of the Dharma

Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka
སྙིང་རྗེ་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
snying rje pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The White Lotus of Compassion”
Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra

Toh 112

Degé Kangyur, vol. 50 (mdo sde, cha), folios 129.a–297.a

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Jinamitra
  • Surendrabodhi
  • Prajñāvarman
  • Bendé Yeshé Dé

Imprint

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Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2023

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Bodhisattvas’ Aspirations Determine Their Activity as Buddhas
· Evolution, History, and Context
· Sources and Comparison
· Chapter Summaries
+ 6 sections- 6 sections
· Chapter 1: Turning the Wheel of the Dharma
· Chapter 2: The Dhāraṇī Entranceway
· Chapter 3: Generosity
· Chapter 4: The Prophecies to the Bodhisattvas
· Chapter 5: The Practice of Generosity
· Chapter 6: Conclusion
tr. The Translation
+ 6 chapters- 6 chapters
1. Turning the Wheel of the Dharma
2. The Dhāraṇī Entranceway
3. Generosity
4. The Prophecies to the Bodhisattvas
5. The Practice of Generosity
6. Conclusion
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Selected Versions of The White Lotus of Compassion
· Kangyur and Tengyur Texts
· Secondary Literature
· Other Resources
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Buddha Śākyamuni recounts one of his most significant previous lives, when he was a court priest to a king and made a detailed prayer to become a buddha, also causing the king and his princes, his own sons and disciples, and others to make their own prayers to become buddhas too. This is revealed to be not only the major event that is the origin of buddhas and bodhisattvas such as Amitābha, Akṣobhya, Avalokiteśvara, Mañjuśrī, and the thousand buddhas of our eon, but also the source and reason for Śākyamuni’s unsurpassed activity as a buddha.

s.­2

The “white lotus of compassion” in the title of this sūtra refers to Śākyamuni himself, emphasizing his superiority over all other buddhas, like a fragrant, healing white lotus among a bed of ordinary flowers. Śākyamuni chose to be reborn in an impure realm during a degenerate age, and therefore his compassion was greater than that of other buddhas.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

The sūtra was translated from the Tibetan with reference to the Sanskrit by Peter Alan Roberts. Tulku Yeshi Gyatso of the Sakya Monastery, Seattle, was the consulting lama who reviewed the translation. Guilaine Mala was the consultant for the Chinese versions. Emily Bower was the project manager, editor, and proofreader.

ac.­2

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


ac.­3

The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of an anonymous donor.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The White Lotus of Compassion describes the origin of many buddhas and bodhisattvas, focusing in particular on the Buddha Śākyamuni. The “white lotus of compassion” in the title refers to Śākyamuni himself, emphasizing his superiority over all other buddhas, like a fragrant, healing white lotus among a bed of ordinary flowers.

i.­2

Most of the sūtra’s narrative, recounted by the Buddha on Vulture Peak Mountain, takes place in the distant past and concerns the cakravartin king Araṇemin, his thousand sons, his chief court priest Samudrareṇu, and Samudrareṇu’s followers and eighty-one sons, one of whom has sought enlightenment and become the Buddha Ratnagarbha. Samudrareṇu encourages people throughout the kingdom to aspire to attain enlightenment too, and eventually brings about the conditions for the king and many members of his court to make their own aspirations in the presence of the Buddha Ratnagarbha. On these occasions the Buddha Ratnagarbha prophesies the buddhahood of the individuals concerned. He prohesies that King Araṇemin will become the Buddha Amitābha; that 999 of Samudrareṇu’s disciples, together with five of his attendants, will become the 1,004 buddhas of our Fortunate Eon;1 and that Samudrareṇu himself will become the Buddha Śākyamuni. Origin stories for the Buddha Akṣobhya, for the Buddha Amitābha’s accompanying bodhisattvas Avalokiteśvara and Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and for the bodhisattvas Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra are also told.

Bodhisattvas’ Aspirations Determine Their Activity as Buddhas

Evolution, History, and Context

Sources and Comparison

Chapter Summaries

Chapter 1: Turning the Wheel of the Dharma

Chapter 2: The Dhāraṇī Entranceway

Chapter 3: Generosity

Chapter 4: The Prophecies to the Bodhisattvas

Chapter 5: The Practice of Generosity

Chapter 6: Conclusion


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The White Lotus of Compassion

1.
Chapter 1

Turning the Wheel of the Dharma

[B1] [F.129.a]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time:14 the Bhagavat was residing at Rājagṛha, on Vulture Peak Mountain, accompanied by a great saṅgha of 62,000 bhikṣus who, with the exception of one individual‍—which is to say, Venerable Ānanda‍—were all arhats whose outflows had ceased, who were without kleśas, who were self-controlled, who had liberated minds, who had completely liberated wisdom, who were noble beings,15 who were great elephants, who had done what had to be done, who had accomplished what had to be accomplished, who had put down their burden, who had reached their goals, who had ended the fetters to existence, who had liberated their minds through true knowledge, and who had attained all the perfect, highest, most complete powers of the mind.16

1.­3

Also present were eighty million irreversible bodhisattva mahāsattvas, such as Maitreya, who were established in retention, acceptance, samādhi, and emptiness.

Also present was Brahmā, the lord of Sahā, with many hundreds of thousands of Brahmā-realm devas.

Also present was Para­nirmitavaśavartin with eighty million Para­nirmitavaśavartin devas.

1.­4

Also present was Sunirmita with seventy million Nirmāṇarata devas.

Also present was Saṃtuṣita with sixty million Saṃtuṣita devas.

Also present was Suyāma with 70,200,000 Yāma17 devas.

1.­5

Also present was Śakra, lord of the devas, with eighty million Trāyastriṃśa devas.

Also present was the mahārāja Vaiśravaṇa with a hundred thousand yakṣas.

Also present was the mahārāja Virūpākṣa with a hundred thousand nāgas.

1.­6

Also present was the mahārāja Virūḍhaka [F.129.b] with a hundred thousand kumbhāṇḍas.

Also present was the mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra with a hundred thousand gandharvas.

Also present were a thousand nāga kings, such as the nāga kings Nanda and Upananda.

1.­7

They and others had all entered the Mahāyāna, practiced the six perfections, and perceived, understood, and comprehended the Dharma of the four errors.18 They were all gathered around and they looked upon the one before them who teaches the Dharma in order that the four noble truths will be realized, and so that bodhisattva mahāsattvas will attain the various samādhis, the level of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas will be transcended, and through samādhi the highest, most complete enlightenment will be attained.19


1.­8

At that time, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin, the bodhisattva Varuṇa, the bodhisattva Siṃhamati, the bodhisattva Vairocanamati, and ten thousand other bodhisattvas rose from their seats together, removed their robes from one shoulder, knelt on their right knees, bowed with their hands placed together, and, facing southeast and looking in that direction with great joy and delight, said these words: “Tathāgata Arhat Samyaksam­buddha Padmottara, you attained complete buddhahood and soon after manifested great miraculous powers, caused the good karma of many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of beings to ripen, and established them in irreversible progress toward the highest, most complete enlightenment. That is a marvel! We pay homage to you! We pay homage to you!”

1.­9

Then the bodhisattva Ratnavairocana rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, [F.130.a] placed his hands together, bowed in the direction of the Bhagavat, and inquired of the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, why did the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, the bodhisattva Amoghadarśin, the bodhisattva Varuṇa, the bodhisattva Siṃhamati, the bodhisattva Vairocanamati, and ten thousand other bodhisattvas rise from their seats together, remove their robes from one shoulder, kneel on their right knees, bow with their hands placed together, and, facing southeast and looking in that direction with great joy and delight, say these words: ‘Tathāgata Arhat Samyaksam­buddha Padmottara, you attained complete buddhahood and soon after manifested great miraculous powers, caused the good karma of many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of beings to ripen, and established them in irreversible progress toward the highest, most complete enlightenment. That is a marvel! We pay homage to you! We pay homage to you!’?

1.­10

“How long was the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara on the path? How long has it been since he attained the highest, most complete enlightenment, becoming a complete buddha? What is the name of the realm in which the Tathāgata Padmottara resides? In what way is that realm adorned by an array of qualities? For what reason did the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara perform that kind of great miracle? What is the reason why some bodhisattvas can see the bhagavat buddhas who reside in other innumerable realms in the ten directions, [F.130.b] and can see the miracles of those buddha bhagavats, while we cannot see them?”

1.­11

The bodhisattva Ratnavairocana said those words, and then the Bhagavat addressed him in return: “Noble son, excellent! Excellent! Noble son, it is excellent that you have made this request. In order to ripen the good karma of many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of beings, you have asked about the Tathāgata Padmottara’s manifestation of the miracle of attaining enlightenment and the qualities of his buddha realm. You have asked this because of the virtue of your confidence. Noble son, listen carefully and pay attention, for I will explain it to you.”

1.­12

“Bhagavat, I will do so,” said the bodhisattva Ratnavairocana. As he listened to the Bhagavat, the Bhagavat recounted to the bodhisattva Ratnavairocana the following description.


1.­13

“Noble son, in the southeast, beyond buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in a hundred thousand million trillion Ganges Rivers, there is a realm by the name of Padmā, which is adorned with a variety of good qualities, scattered with a variety of flowers, pervaded by a variety of fragrances, adorned with precious trees, and filled with precious lotuses.20 Its ground is made of blue beryl. It is filled with bodhisattvas and pervaded by the sound of the Dharma. The ground made of beryl is as soft and pleasant to the touch as down. A foot stepping on it sinks to the depth of four finger-widths, and when the foot is raised, the ground rises back up four finger-widths. Varieties of lotuses cover the ground.

1.­14

“The trees there are made of the seven jewels and are seven yojanas in height. [F.131.a] They are hung with divine orange cloth, and they emit beautiful, divine music. On those trees there are a variety of birds that sing the beautiful words of the powers, strengths, and factors of enlightenment. When the leaves of those trees touch each other, they create music of the five tempos, which surpasses that of the deva realms. Each of those trees has a pervasive fragrance, which surpasses that of the deva realms and spreads over a hundred thousand21 yojanas, and each of those trees is hung with divine adornments.

1.­15

“In between those trees are kūṭāgāras made of the seven jewels, which are each five hundred yojanas high and a hundred yojanas wide.22 Around all these kūṭāgāras, in each of the four directions, there is an ornamental arch. Between these ornamental arches and the kūṭāgāras, there are pools that are eighty-eight yojanas long and fifty yojanas wide. On the four sides of those pools there are steps made of the seven jewels. Those ponds are covered with blue lotuses and red lotuses.23 Each flower is one yojana across. Bodhisattva mahāsattvas are born from the pericarps of those flowers. They appear on the pericarps of those lotuses in the first watch24 of the night. They spend the night sitting cross-legged, experiencing the joy and bliss of liberation. When the night turns to dawn, there come cool,25 fragrant, gentle breezes, the touch of which is delightful, and which cause the closed flowers to open and the bodhisattvas to emerge from their meditation. Leaving behind the joy and bliss of liberation, they come down from the pericarps and enter the kūṭāgāras, where they sit cross-legged on seats made of the seven jewels [F.131.b] and listen to the Dharma.

1.­16

“Surrounding the trees and kūṭāgāras are mountains made of Jambu River gold. They are each twenty yojanas high and three yojanas wide. Between those mountains, many hundreds of thousands of moonstones, sunstones, sapphires, and jyotīrasas are visible. When the light of the Buddha Padmottara strikes the mountains and jewels, the light of that buddha and the light of the jewels becomes a continuous great radiance throughout the Padmā realm. The light of a sun or moon is unknown, but when the lotuses close and the birdsong diminishes, that is called night, and the opposite is day.

1.­17

“On top of the mountains are kūṭāgāras of blue beryl, which are sixty yojanas high and twenty yojanas wide. In each of the four directions from the kūṭāgāras there are ornamental archways made of the seven jewels. Within the kūṭāgāras, there are thrones made of the seven jewels, upon which bodhisattvas in their last lifetime sit and listen to the Dharma.

1.­18

“Noble son, in the Padmā realm there is the excellent presence of a Bodhi tree called Indra, which is three thousand yojanas high with a trunk five hundred yojanas wide. Its branches, leaves, and petals are a thousand yojanas wide.

1.­19

“At the foot of this Bodhi tree there is a silver lotus stalk, which is five hundred yojanas high. It has a hundred thousand million gold petals, five yojanas in height. All the pericarps have emerald stamens, and the pericarps, which are made of the seven jewels, are ten yojanas high and seven yojanas wide.26 It is upon this that the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara attained the highest, most complete enlightenment, becoming a complete buddha. [F.132.a]

1.­20

“Encircling that buddha’s lotus seat are other lotuses, upon which sit bodhisattvas who see the miracles of the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara.”


1.­21

The bodhisattva Ratnavairocana then asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, what kind of miracles did the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara manifest?”

1.­22

The Bhagavat replied to the bodhisattva Ratnavairocana, “Noble son,27 in the last watch of the night, the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara attained the highest, most complete enlightenment, becoming a complete buddha, and at dawn he performed a miracle. He transformed himself to the height of the Brahmā realm and his uṣṇīṣa radiated a hundred thousand million trillion light rays.28 Those light rays illuminated the upper region’s realms, which are as numerous as the particles in a buddha realm. At that time, the bodhisattvas who dwelt in the upper regions looked downward. They did not perceive Sumeru or the Cakravāḍa, Mahācakravāḍa, or Kāla mountain ranges. In those worlds, the bodhisattvas who had received prophecy, who had attained samādhi, who had attained retention, who had attained acceptance, and who had completely transcended the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas,29 and those bodhisattva mahāsattvas who were in their final lifetime, were illuminated, placed their palms together in reverence, and saw the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara’s [F.132.b] body, which was perfectly adorned by the thirty-two signs and eighty excellent features of a great being.

1.­23

“They also saw the assembly of bodhisattvas and the array of good qualities of that buddha realm, the world known as Padmā. The bodhisattva mahāsattvas became perfectly joyous and happy when they saw that. Countless bodhisattvas, from realms as numerous as the particles in a buddha realm, through their miraculous powers left their buddha realms and came to the Padmā realm in order to make offerings to, pay homage to, and honor the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara.

1.­24

“Noble son, the Tathāgata Padmottara, while sitting, standing, and walking, extended his tongue from his mouth and covered that entire world of four continents with his tongue. Then the bodhisattvas who were in meditation arose from their samādhi and applied themselves to making offerings to the Tathāgata and the entire assembly.30

1.­25

“Noble son, when the Tathāgata Padmottara ceased manifesting the miraculous power of his tongue, he emitted six thousand trillion light rays from each pore of his entire body. This vast radiance reached realms in all the ten directions as numerous as the particles in a buddha realm. There were bodhisattva mahāsattvas in those realms who received prophecies and attained samādhi. [F.133.a] Those bodhisattva mahāsattvas, through their miraculous powers, departed from their own buddha realms31 and came to the Padmā realm in order to see, pay homage to, and honor the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara.

1.­26

“Noble son, when the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Padmottara concluded his miraculous manifestations, in order to benefit many beings, for the sake of the happiness of many beings, from compassion for the world, in order to bring benefit and happiness32 to devas and humans, and in order to perfectly complete the purpose of the Mahāyāna, he turned the righteous wheel of the Dharma called the Irreversible Wheel for the entire assembly of bodhisattvas.”

1.­27

That concludes “Turning the Wheel of the Dharma,” which is the first chapter of the Mahāyāna sūtra titled The White Lotus of Compassion.


2.
Chapter 2

The Dhāraṇī Entranceway

2.­1

Then the bodhisattva Ratnavairocana asked the Bhagavat, “Bhadanta Bhagavat, how does one distinguish day and night in the Padmā realm? What kinds of sounds are heard there? What kind of mental states do the bodhisattvas there have? What kind of dwelling do they dwell in?”

2.­2

“Noble son,” answered the Bhagavat, “the Padmā realm is continuously illuminated by the Buddha’s light. The time there that is known as night is when the flowers close, the songs of the birds diminish, and the Bhagavat and the bodhisattvas enjoy meditation and experience liberation’s joy and bliss. The time that is known as day is when the flowers are opened by a breeze, the birds sing beautifully, a rain of flowers falls, and supremely fragrant, pleasant, gentle breezes, the touch of which is delightful, blow in the four directions. The Bhagavat arises from his samādhi, the bodhisattvas [F.133.b] arise from their samādhis,33 and the Bhagavat Padmottara teaches the bodhisattva mahāsattvas the bodhisattva piṭaka, which transcends completely what is spoken of to śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.


3.
Chapter 3

Generosity

3.­1

When the Bhagavat had concluded his miraculous manifestation, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Śāntimati asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, by what cause and circumstances are the pure buddha realms of other buddhas unpolluted, free from the five degeneracies, and have the array of the various qualities of a buddha realm? All the bodhisattva mahāsattvas there have a perfection of the various kinds of good qualities and possess the various kinds of happiness. Even the words śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha are unknown there, let alone the word rebirth.


4.
Chapter 4

The Prophecies to the Bodhisattvas

4.­1

“Then, noble son, the tathāgata arhat samyaksam­buddha Ratnagarbha thought, ‘The brahmin Samudrareṇu has made many millions of beings aspire to, be fixed upon, and be dedicated to the highest, most complete enlightenment and has brought them to an irreversible level. I shall give them prophecies, telling them what their buddha realms will be.’

4.­2

“Then the Bhagavat entered the samādhi called never forgetting bodhicitta, and he smiled. That smile illuminated countless buddha realms with a vast radiance. He showed the array of qualities of those buddha realms to King Araṇemin and the many millions of beings. [F.170.a] At that time, the bodhisattva mahāsattvas in countless buddha realms in the ten directions saw that radiance, and through the power of the Buddha, they came to this world in order to see, pay homage to, and honor the Bhagavat and his saṅgha of bhikṣus.


5.
Chapter 5

The Practice of Generosity

5.­1

“Noble son, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahākāruṇika bowed down the five points of his body to the feet of the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha. He then sat down in front of the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha [F.261.a] and respectfully addressed this question to the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha: ‘Bhadanta Bhagavat, you have taught the path of bodhisattvas, the Dharma discourse on the entranceway instruction to samādhi and the entranceway to the purity of accumulations. Bhadanta Bhagavat, how much have you taught of the path of bodhisattvas, the Dharma discourse on the entranceway instruction to samādhi and the entranceway to the purity of accumulations? Bhadanta Bhagavat, what is the complete extent of the teaching on samādhi entranceways and the Dharma discourse on pure accumulations? Bhadanta Bhagavat, how should a noble son or noble daughter remain within your teaching? In what way should they be adorned by the teaching on samādhi entranceways?’


6.
Chapter 6

Conclusion

6.­1

“Noble son, I, with my buddha eyes, see in the ten directions as many bhagavat buddhas passing into parinirvāṇa as there are particles in a buddha realm. It was I who first brought them all to the aspiration for the highest, most complete enlightenment and made them enter and remain in it.

6.­2

“Thus, [F.284.a] I see innumerable, uncountable bhagavat buddhas who reside, live, and remain in the eastern direction, teaching the Dharma, having turned the Dharma wheel that possesses the Dharma. It was I who first brought them, too, to the aspiration for the highest, most complete enlightenment and made them enter and remain in it. I was the one who made them first obtain, enter, and remain in the six perfections.


c.

Colophon

c.­1

This was translated and revised by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, Prajñāvarman, and the chief editor Lotsawa Bendé Yeshé Dé and others.


n.

Notes

n.­1
The origin story in this sūtra for the 1,004 buddhas of our eon is one among several others. The sūtra The Good Eon (Bhadrakalpika, Toh 94) itself contains two origin stories for them (see Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2022, 2.­1 ff, and 2.C.­1019 ff.), The Secrets of the Realized Ones (Tathāgatācintya­guhya­nirdeśa, Toh 47, Degé Kangyur vol. 39, F.117.b–125.b) another, and The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimala­kīrti­nirdeśa, Toh 176) yet another (see Thurman 2017, 12.­6 ff.)
n.­2
See Roberts, Peter Alan. trans., The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, Toh 113 (2018).
n.­3
Consequently, although the notion of multiple buddhas arising over time, as well as over space, is most fully developed in the Mahāyāna tradition, it is also a theme present in the texts of Nikāya Buddhism, including several in the Pali Canon and the Mahāvastu of the Lokottaravāda-Mahāsāṅghika. For a general survey of accounts of multiple buddhas, see The Good Eon i.­10–i.­18. See also Salomon 2018, pp. 265–293.
n.­4
In essence the process begins with a period in which an individual accumulates merit independently, followed by the first vow to attain awakening, made in the presence of a buddha; the subsequent prophecy of awakening, made by the same or another, later buddha; a long period of maturation during which the six (or more) perfections are practiced and the successive bodhisattva levels are traversed; the attainment of a stage of irreversible progress leading to inevitable awakening; being anointed as the next buddha to come by the preceding buddha; taking birth in the Heaven of Joy; and being reborn in the lifetime during which awakening as a tathāgata will occur. The stages of a bodhisattva’s practice are the topic of numerous scriptures, treatises, and commentaries, some in vast detail such as the Buddha­vataṃsaka­sūtra (Toh 44) and the Yogācārabhūmi (Toh 4035–4037). Perhaps the most succinct summary comes in the opening lines of the Mahāvastu, where four stages are described: (1) prakṛticaryā (“natural career”), (2) pranidhāna­caryā (“resolving stage”), (3) anulomacaryā (“conforming stage”), and (4) anivartana­caryā (“preserving career”). See Mahāvastu, vol. I, 1.2; the four stages are explained in more detail in vol. 1, ch. 5 and are a feature of other works including the Bahubuddhaka sūtras of Gandhāra. See also Jaini 2001, p. 453, and Salomon 2018, pp. 276–279.
n.­5
Taishō 158: 大乘悲分陀利經 (Dasheng beifen tuoli jing); Taishō 157: 悲華經 (Bei hua jing). A Chinese bibliography written in 730 by Zhi Seng claims that the sūtra was first translated by Dharmarakṣa (ca. 230–317), and that there was also another lost translation by Dao Gong made between 401 and 412. However, Yamada’s research shows the first attribution to have been a misunderstanding of the earlier Seng Min bibliography, which also records that the Dharmakṣema translation had been mistakenly ascribed to Dao Gong. See Yamada 1967, vol. 1, pp. 15–20.
n.­6
The opening section that features the Buddha Padmottara seems to have only a tenuous connection to the main body of the text. There are also some internal inconsistencies, such as an unexplained name change for King Araṇemin.
n.­7
Yamada 1967, 1:167–71.
n.­8
Denkarma, F.296.b.7. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 44, no. 78.
n.­14
There are two ways to interpret this traditional beginning of a sūtra, with such Indian masters as Kamalaśīla claiming that both are equally correct: the version used in this translation, and the alternative interpretation “Thus did I hear: At one time, the Bhagavat…” The various traditional and modern arguments for both sides are given in Galloway (1991).
n.­15
Skt. ājāneya; Tib. cang shes. The term ājāneya was primarily used for thoroughbred horses but was also applied to people in a laudatory sense.
n.­16
From this point on, the Sanskrit version of the introduction is more elaborate.
n.­17
This paradise is not to be confused with the subterranean realm of Yama, the lord of death, which is inhabited by pretas.
n.­18
The four errors are mistaking the impermanent as permanent, the impure as pure, nonself as self, and suffering as happiness.
n.­19
The syntax of the Tibetan is awkward in this passage, for which there is no surviving Sanskrit equivalent. In the Sanskrit at this point there is a long passage where light rays from the Buddha reveal to the assembly other buddha realms and their buddhas and inhabitants.
n.­20
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has parvata (“filled with precious mountains”) instead of padma (“filled with precious lotuses”).
n.­21
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has sahasra (“one thousand”).
n.­22
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “one hundred and a quarter (i.e., 125) yojanas.”
n.­23
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “filled with lotuses made of the seven jewels.”
n.­24
A period or watch of three hours: the eighth part of a day.
n.­25
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “pleasant” (yid di ’ong ba).
n.­26
One would expect this to be describing the lotus’s distinctive pericarp, or seed pod, which forms a flat circular seat ringed by the stamens, but it is clearly in the plural.
n.­27
According to the Tibetan. The word kulaputra (“noble son”) is absent in the Sanskrit.
n.­28
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has ṣaṣtiraśmi koṭinayutaśata­sahasrāṇi, which comes to six thousand million trillion.
n.­29
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit does not have the description “who have transcended the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.”
n.­30
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has, “Then the bodhisattvas who are in meditation arise from their samādhi and that entire assembly applies itself to making offerings to the Tathāgata,” which seems to be the better version.
n.­31
According to the Chinese. The Sanskrit has kṣetrābhayā, which is probably a scribal corruption. The Tibetan therefore translates this as zhing gi snang ba (“radiance of the realm”).
n.­32
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “for the benefit, welfare, and happiness.”
n.­33
According to the Tibetan. “The bodhisattvas arise from their samādhis” is absent in the Sanskrit.

b.

Bibliography

Selected Versions of The White Lotus of Compassion

’phags pa snying rje pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 50, pp. 345–736.

’phags pa snying rje pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 112, Degé Kangyur vol. 50 (mdo sde, cha), folios 129a–297a.

’phags pa snying rje pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Lhasa 119, Lhasa (lha sa) Kangyur vol. 52 (mdo sde, cha), folios 209b–474b.

’phags pa snying rje pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Sheldrima 76, Sheldrima (shel mkhar bris ma) Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, nga), folios 1b–243b.

’phags pa snying rje pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Stok 45, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, nga), folios 1a–243b.

’phags pa snying rje pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Urga 112, Urga Kangyur vol. 50 (mdo sde, cha), folios 128a–296a.

Kangyur and Tengyur Texts

bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Niṣṭhāgatabhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratnānanta­nāma­mahāyāna-sūtra). Toh 99, Degé Kangyur vol. 47 (mdo sde, ga), folios 1b–275b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee, 2019.

bde ba can gyi bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Sukhāvatīvyūha­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 115, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 195b–200a. English translation in Sakya Pandita Translation Group, 2011.

dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Saddharma­puṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 113, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b–180b. English translation in Roberts 2022.

kun nas sgo’i le’u zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Samantamukha­parivarta­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 54, Degé Kangyur vol. 40 (dkon brtsegs, kha), folios 184a–195b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee, 2020.

nam mkha’i mdzod kyis zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Gaganagañja­pari­pṛcchā­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 148, Degé Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde, pa), folios 243a–330b.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭāsāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā). Toh 12, Degé Kangyur vol. 33 (sher phyin brgyad stong pa, ka), folios 1b–286b.

snying rje chen po’i pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Mahākaruṇā­puṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 111, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, cha), folios 56a–128b.

za ma tog bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karaṇḍavyūha­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra). Toh 116, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 200a–247b. English translation in Roberts 2013.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan [/lhan] dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 207 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294b–310a.

Secondary Literature

Davids, T.W. Rhys & William Stede. The Pali Text’s Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. London: Pali Text Society, 1921–25.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Exposition on the Universal Gateway (Toh 54). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty (Toh 99). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.

Dīpaṃkarajñāna. dbu ma’i man ngag rin po che’i za ma tog kha phye ba (Ratna­karaṇḍodghāṭa­nāma­madhyamakopadeśa). Toh 3930, Degé Tengyur vol. 212 (dbu ma, ki), folios 96b1–116b7.

Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary (2 vols). New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.

Galloway, Brian. “Thus Have I Heard: At one time…” Indo-Iranian Journal 34, no. 2 (April 1991): 87–104.

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

Jaini, Padmanabh S. “Stages in the Bodhisattva Career of the Tathāgata Maitreya,” in Sponberg and Hardacre (eds.), Maitreya, the Future Buddha, pp 54-90. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1988. Reprinted with additional material in Jaini, Padmanabh S. Collected Papers on Buddhist Studies, ch. 26. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2001.

Mañjuśrīkīrti. ’jam dpal gyi mtshan yang dag par brjod pa’i rgya cher bshad pa (Mañjuśrī­nāma­saṃgītiṭīkā). Toh 2534, Degé Tengyur vol. 63 (rgyud, khu), folios 115b–301a7.

Mipham (Ju Mipham Gyatso, ’ju mi pham rgya mtsho). thub chog byin rlabs gter mdzod kyi rgyab chos pad+ma dkar po. In gsung ’bum/ mi pham rgya mtsho. Degé: sde dge spar khang, 195?. BDRC: WA4PD506.

Roberts, Peter Alan. trans. The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Toh 113). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Roberts, Peter Alan. and Tulku Yeshi, trans. The Basket’s Display (Toh 116). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.

Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans. The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī (Toh 115). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2011.

Salomon, Richard. The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra: An Introduction with Selected Translations. Classics of Indian Buddhism series. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2018.

Yamada, Isshi. Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka (vols. 1 & 2). London: School of Oriental and African Studies, 1967.

Other Resources

Peking Tripitaka Online Search.

Sanskrit and Tamil Dictionaries.

Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon.

Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies, Universität Wien.


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

Abhaya

Wylie:
  • ’jigs med
Tibetan:
  • འཇིགས་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • abhaya

The fifth of the thousand sons of King Araṇemin, who becomes the bodhisattva Gaganamudra and is prophesied to become the Buddha Padmottara.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 3.­33
  • 4.­86
  • 4.­88-89
  • g.­166
g.­2

Abhi­bhūta­guṇa­sāgara­rāja

Wylie:
  • yon tan rgya mtsho’i zil mnan rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • ཡོན་ཏན་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་ཟིལ་མནན་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhi­bhūta­guṇa­sāgara­rāja

One of the hundred names prophesied by the Buddha Ratnagarbha for 2,500 buddhas, presumably the name of twenty-five of those buddhas.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­144
g.­3

Abhigarjita

Wylie:
  • mngon par sgrogs pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་སྒྲོགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhigarjita

A southern buddha realm that the Buddha Śākyamuni sees.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 6.­43
g.­5

Abhirati

Wylie:
  • mngon par dga’ ba
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་དགའ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhirati

The eastern realm where the ninth son of King Araṇemin has become the Buddha Akṣobhya, and after Akṣobhya’s nirvāṇa, where the tenth son will become the Buddha Suvarṇapuṣpa. It will be renamed Jayasoma when the eleventh son, Siṃha, becomes the Buddha Nāga­vinarditeśvara­ghoṣa there.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­172
  • 4.­182
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­39
  • g.­22
  • g.­218
  • g.­361
  • g.­561
  • g.­623
g.­10

acceptance

Wylie:
  • bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣānti

A term also translated as “patience” and “forebearance” in this text, and in others sometimes as “receptivity”; here, often in the context of its association with dhāraṇī and samādhi, the term is probably to be understood as related to “forbearance that comes from realizing the birthlessness of phenomena” (q.v.).

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­70
  • 2.­101
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­56
  • 3.­114
  • 4.­115
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­342
  • 4.­344
  • 5.­154
  • 6.­77
  • 6.­86
  • n.­221
  • g.­158
g.­22

Akṣobhya

Wylie:
  • mi ’khrugs pa
Tibetan:
  • མི་འཁྲུགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • akṣobhya

The buddha whom the bodhisattva Akṣobhya, the ninth son of King Araṇemin, is prophesied to become in the realm Abhirati. His name as a bodhisattva and buddha is the same. At the time when this sūtra appeared, he was already a well-known buddha and later become important as the head of one of the five buddha families in the higher tantras. Śākyamuni states that he can see Akṣobhya in the eastern buddha realm Abhirati.

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­4
  • i.­37
  • 4.­155-156
  • 4.­172-173
  • 4.­175-177
  • 4.­182
  • 4.­435
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­39
  • n.­251
  • g.­5
  • g.­33
  • g.­218
  • g.­361
  • g.­455
  • g.­623
g.­28

Amitābha

Wylie:
  • ’od dpag med
  • snang ba mtha’ yas
Tibetan:
  • འོད་དཔག་མེད།
  • སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­4
  • i.­13
  • i.­36-37
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­526
  • g.­29
  • g.­40
  • g.­317
  • g.­379
  • g.­500
  • g.­599
g.­29

Amitāyus

Wylie:
  • tshe dpag med
Tibetan:
  • ཚེ་དཔག་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • amitāyus

The buddha in the realm of Sukhāvatī. Later and presently better known by his alternative name Amitābha, while Amitāyus is most commonly used as the short form of the Buddha Aparamitāyurjñāna’s name.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • i.­36
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­29-30
  • g.­47
  • g.­599
g.­30

Amoghadarśin

Wylie:
  • mthong ba don yod
Tibetan:
  • མཐོང་བ་དོན་ཡོད།
Sanskrit:
  • amoghadarśin

A bodhisattva present at the teaching of The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8-9
g.­32

Amṛtaśuddha

Wylie:
  • —
Tibetan:
  • —
Sanskrit:
  • amṛtaśuddha

The name of King Araṇemin in the latter half of The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra.

Located in 136 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • i.­28
  • i.­31
  • i.­36
  • 3.­5-6
  • 3.­9-13
  • 3.­16
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­21-22
  • 3.­24-25
  • 3.­27-29
  • 3.­31-35
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­43
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­60
  • 3.­64
  • 3.­79
  • 3.­94
  • 3.­119-120
  • 3.­123
  • 3.­125-127
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­4-5
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­16
  • 4.­19
  • 4.­22-23
  • 4.­26-27
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­417
  • 4.­526
  • 5.­52
  • n.­6
  • n.­11
  • n.­106
  • n.­224
  • n.­254
  • n.­358
  • n.­374
  • g.­1
  • g.­5
  • g.­15
  • g.­19
  • g.­22
  • g.­24
  • g.­26
  • g.­27
  • g.­33
  • g.­35
  • g.­38
  • g.­40
  • g.­41
  • g.­47
  • g.­49
  • g.­51
  • g.­53
  • g.­55
  • g.­103
  • g.­112
  • g.­131
  • g.­166
  • g.­168
  • g.­180
  • g.­185
  • g.­193
  • g.­198
  • g.­201
  • g.­214
  • g.­216
  • g.­242
  • g.­244
  • g.­279
  • g.­292
  • g.­305
  • g.­317
  • g.­324
  • g.­326
  • g.­337
  • g.­351
  • g.­353
  • g.­354
  • g.­361
  • g.­366
  • g.­375
  • g.­378
  • g.­379
  • g.­393
  • g.­403
  • g.­429
  • g.­431
  • g.­432
  • g.­433
  • g.­435
  • g.­437
  • g.­439
  • g.­440
  • g.­451
  • g.­455
  • g.­467
  • g.­495
  • g.­496
  • g.­524
  • g.­553
  • g.­561
  • g.­588
  • g.­621
  • g.­623
  • g.­633
  • g.­673
  • g.­676
  • g.­691
  • g.­740
  • g.­744
  • g.­746
  • g.­750
  • g.­751
g.­34

Ānanda

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

The Buddha Śākyamuni’s cousin, who was his attendant for the last twenty years of his life. He was the subject of criticism and opposition from the monastic community after the Buddha’s passing, but he eventually succeeded to the position of the patriarch of Buddhism in India after the passing of the first patriarch Mahākāśyapa.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­48
  • 1.­2
  • g.­261
g.­47

Araṇemin

Wylie:
  • rtsibs kyi mu khyud
Tibetan:
  • རྩིབས་ཀྱི་མུ་ཁྱུད།
Sanskrit:
  • araṇemin

The name of the king in the distant past who eventually became Amitāyus. Later he is named Amṛtaśuddha.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • g.­32
g.­50

arhat

Wylie:
  • dgra bcom pa
Tibetan:
  • དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • arhat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

Located in 89 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­8-10
  • 1.­19-23
  • 1.­25-26
  • 2.­17-18
  • 2.­20-23
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­46-48
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­76
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­90
  • 2.­92
  • 3.­8-9
  • 3.­11-13
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­33-34
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­79-80
  • 3.­109
  • 3.­123-124
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­10-11
  • 4.­13-15
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­80
  • 4.­92
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­121
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­146
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­177
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­326
  • 4.­415
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­469
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­479
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­492
  • 4.­504
  • 4.­514-515
  • 4.­544
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­50
  • 5.­54
  • 5.­82-85
  • 6.­11
  • n.­117
  • g.­153
  • g.­576
g.­61

Avalokiteśvara

Wylie:
  • spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug
Tibetan:
  • སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་ཕྱུག
Sanskrit:
  • avalokiteśvara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­9
  • i.­13
  • i.­37
  • 4.­32-35
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­419
  • n.­178
  • n.­180-181
  • g.­40
  • g.­500
  • g.­546
g.­68

bhadanta

Wylie:
  • btsun pa
Tibetan:
  • བཙུན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhadanta

“Venerable One.” A term of respect used for Buddhist monks.

Located in 103 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­49
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­73
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­62
  • 3.­123
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­9
  • 4.­16
  • 4.­19
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­60
  • 4.­62
  • 4.­82
  • 4.­87-88
  • 4.­96-97
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­125-126
  • 4.­129-132
  • 4.­134-135
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­150-153
  • 4.­156
  • 4.­165
  • 4.­173
  • 4.­176
  • 4.­178
  • 4.­183
  • 4.­196
  • 4.­198
  • 4.­205
  • 4.­207
  • 4.­218
  • 4.­229
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­235
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­247
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­280-281
  • 4.­283
  • 4.­305-307
  • 4.­309-310
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­346
  • 4.­357
  • 4.­359
  • 4.­362
  • 4.­381
  • 4.­393-394
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­408
  • 4.­415
  • 4.­463
  • 4.­468
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­479-481
  • 4.­483
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­492
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­537-538
  • 4.­543
  • 4.­547-549
  • 4.­552-553
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­10-13
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­53
  • 6.­59
  • 6.­61
  • 6.­82
  • 6.­84
  • 6.­90
g.­69

Bhadraka

Wylie:
  • bzang po
Tibetan:
  • བཟང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhadraka

Our present eon in which over a thousand buddhas will appear. The meaning is “good” because of the number of buddhas that will appear. In this sūtra it is usually called bhadraka.

Located in 59 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­233
  • 4.­236
  • 4.­240-241
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­255
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­268-273
  • 4.­276-278
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­305
  • 4.­307
  • 4.­310
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­326
  • 4.­332
  • 4.­396
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­415
  • 4.­432
  • 4.­522
  • 4.­525-526
  • n.­278-279
  • n.­285
  • g.­74
  • g.­142
  • g.­191
  • g.­207
  • g.­254
  • g.­268
  • g.­271
  • g.­275
  • g.­289
  • g.­307
  • g.­323
  • g.­405
  • g.­422
  • g.­469
  • g.­536
  • g.­541
  • g.­558
  • g.­562
  • g.­587
  • g.­600
  • g.­647
  • g.­690
  • g.­712
  • g.­730
  • g.­731
g.­72

Bhagavat

Wylie:
  • bcom ldan ’das
Tibetan:
  • བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
Sanskrit:
  • bhagavat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 356 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­9-12
  • 1.­21-22
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­14-15
  • 2.­20-23
  • 2.­34-39
  • 2.­44
  • 2.­46
  • 2.­48-49
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­55-56
  • 2.­68
  • 2.­70
  • 2.­73
  • 2.­76-79
  • 2.­81
  • 2.­90
  • 2.­93-94
  • 2.­98-99
  • 2.­101
  • 3.­1-5
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­12-13
  • 3.­15-16
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­20-22
  • 3.­25-29
  • 3.­31-34
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­41-44
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­53
  • 3.­55-56
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­60-64
  • 3.­66-67
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­77
  • 3.­81-83
  • 3.­89-94
  • 3.­96-97
  • 3.­99-104
  • 3.­106-111
  • 3.­114-115
  • 3.­117
  • 3.­123-128
  • 4.­2-3
  • 4.­5-6
  • 4.­9
  • 4.­16-17
  • 4.­19-21
  • 4.­24
  • 4.­27-29
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­34-36
  • 4.­39-43
  • 4.­46-47
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­57
  • 4.­60
  • 4.­62
  • 4.­66
  • 4.­69
  • 4.­73-75
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­80
  • 4.­82
  • 4.­84
  • 4.­87-88
  • 4.­90
  • 4.­92-93
  • 4.­96-99
  • 4.­102
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­114
  • 4.­117-118
  • 4.­120
  • 4.­125-127
  • 4.­129-137
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­150-154
  • 4.­156
  • 4.­165
  • 4.­172-173
  • 4.­176-178
  • 4.­182-183
  • 4.­196-198
  • 4.­202-203
  • 4.­205-207
  • 4.­211
  • 4.­215
  • 4.­218-219
  • 4.­221
  • 4.­228-230
  • 4.­232-233
  • 4.­235-237
  • 4.­240-241
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­247
  • 4.­255-256
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­270-271
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­280-283
  • 4.­287-288
  • 4.­290
  • 4.­292
  • 4.­305-307
  • 4.­309-311
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­325-326
  • 4.­346
  • 4.­357
  • 4.­359
  • 4.­362
  • 4.­381
  • 4.­393-394
  • 4.­398
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­403-405
  • 4.­407-408
  • 4.­410
  • 4.­414-416
  • 4.­461
  • 4.­463-464
  • 4.­467-468
  • 4.­473-474
  • 4.­477
  • 4.­479-481
  • 4.­483-484
  • 4.­486-487
  • 4.­491-492
  • 4.­497
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­517-519
  • 4.­524-525
  • 4.­537-538
  • 4.­543-544
  • 4.­546-549
  • 4.­552-553
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­77
  • 5.­82-86
  • 5.­92
  • 5.­106
  • 5.­158
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­4
  • 6.­6-8
  • 6.­10-13
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­22-24
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­41-42
  • 6.­44
  • 6.­46-47
  • 6.­49
  • 6.­53
  • 6.­59
  • 6.­61
  • 6.­63
  • 6.­66
  • 6.­69
  • 6.­73
  • 6.­77
  • 6.­80-85
  • 6.­88-91
  • n.­14
  • n.­64
  • n.­106
  • n.­122
  • n.­149
g.­75

bhikṣu

Wylie:
  • dge slong
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་།
Sanskrit:
  • bhikṣu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.

In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).

Located in 62 passages in the translation:

  • i.­28
  • i.­52
  • 1.­2
  • 2.­76
  • 2.­79
  • 3.­12-13
  • 3.­20-22
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­27-29
  • 3.­31-34
  • 3.­41-43
  • 3.­64
  • 3.­67
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­79-80
  • 3.­82-83
  • 3.­89
  • 3.­92-94
  • 3.­96-97
  • 3.­101
  • 3.­103-104
  • 3.­107
  • 3.­114-115
  • 3.­117
  • 3.­124
  • 3.­126-127
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­46
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­266-268
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­385
  • 4.­525
  • 4.­545-546
  • 5.­55
  • 6.­87
  • n.­106
g.­77

bhūmi

Wylie:
  • sa
Tibetan:
  • ས།
Sanskrit:
  • bhūmi

A level of enlightenment; typically the ten levels of a bodhisattva’s development into a fully enlightened buddha.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­42-43
  • 2.­50
  • 2.­69
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­342
  • 4.­344
  • 4.­369
  • n.­315
  • g.­158
g.­79

bodhicitta

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhicitta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the general Mahāyāna teachings the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) is the intention to attain the complete awakening of a perfect buddha for the sake of all beings. On the level of absolute truth, the mind of awakening is the realization of the awakened state itself.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­2
  • 4.­262
  • g.­302
g.­80

bodhisattva

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems dpa’
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhisattva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.

Located in 523 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1-3
  • i.­7-9
  • i.­13
  • i.­23-28
  • i.­35
  • i.­37
  • i.­39-41
  • i.­45-47
  • i.­49-50
  • i.­57-59
  • 1.­1
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­7-13
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­17
  • 1.­20-26
  • 2.­1-5
  • 2.­7-8
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­20-23
  • 2.­35-40
  • 2.­42-71
  • 2.­73
  • 2.­76-79
  • 2.­90-92
  • 2.­101
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­3-4
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­57-58
  • 3.­60-61
  • 4.­2-3
  • 4.­5-7
  • 4.­16-18
  • 4.­28-30
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­47-50
  • 4.­52-57
  • 4.­59-62
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­67-68
  • 4.­72-74
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­92-93
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­102
  • 4.­104-105
  • 4.­109
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­122
  • 4.­125-127
  • 4.­131
  • 4.­134
  • 4.­138
  • 4.­140-141
  • 4.­150-151
  • 4.­153-154
  • 4.­157
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­170
  • 4.­173
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­183-185
  • 4.­187
  • 4.­195
  • 4.­213-214
  • 4.­222
  • 4.­227
  • 4.­230
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­242
  • 4.­244
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­248-254
  • 4.­270
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­280
  • 4.­283-285
  • 4.­287-288
  • 4.­309-310
  • 4.­312-313
  • 4.­317-318
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­348
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­376-377
  • 4.­380
  • 4.­398-399
  • 4.­423
  • 4.­425
  • 4.­427
  • 4.­429
  • 4.­433
  • 4.­452
  • 4.­457
  • 4.­461-469
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­476-489
  • 4.­492
  • 4.­494-497
  • 4.­499
  • 4.­513
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­520-523
  • 4.­527-529
  • 4.­533
  • 4.­535
  • 4.­537
  • 4.­539
  • 4.­541-544
  • 4.­547
  • 4.­554-557
  • 5.­1-47
  • 5.­49-51
  • 5.­53-54
  • 5.­56-57
  • 5.­79
  • 5.­81-83
  • 5.­85
  • 5.­114
  • 5.­123
  • 5.­146
  • 5.­154
  • 5.­158
  • 6.­7-8
  • 6.­10-16
  • 6.­19-21
  • 6.­33
  • 6.­36-37
  • 6.­39-40
  • 6.­45
  • 6.­47
  • 6.­49
  • 6.­51-53
  • 6.­56
  • 6.­58
  • 6.­60
  • 6.­62-63
  • 6.­70
  • 6.­72-73
  • 6.­77-78
  • 6.­82
  • 6.­85
  • 6.­88-90
  • n.­4
  • n.­30
  • n.­33
  • n.­51
  • n.­54
  • n.­56
  • n.­68
  • n.­78
  • n.­143
  • n.­145-146
  • n.­169
  • n.­178
  • n.­180
  • n.­190
  • n.­209
  • n.­229
  • n.­237
  • n.­251
  • n.­272
  • n.­283
  • n.­315
  • n.­325
  • n.­327
  • n.­358
  • n.­373-374
  • n.­389
  • n.­393
  • n.­394
  • n.­419
  • n.­447
  • n.­460
  • g.­1
  • g.­9
  • g.­14
  • g.­17
  • g.­22
  • g.­24
  • g.­26
  • g.­27
  • g.­30
  • g.­33
  • g.­35
  • g.­38
  • g.­40
  • g.­46
  • g.­60
  • g.­61
  • g.­65
  • g.­70
  • g.­73
  • g.­74
  • g.­77
  • g.­97
  • g.­102
  • g.­120
  • g.­121
  • g.­122
  • g.­158
  • g.­166
  • g.­168
  • g.­193
  • g.­198
  • g.­223
  • g.­229
  • g.­242
  • g.­243
  • g.­244
  • g.­245
  • g.­258
  • g.­293
  • g.­303
  • g.­307
  • g.­309
  • g.­310
  • g.­316
  • g.­317
  • g.­323
  • g.­330
  • g.­335
  • g.­347
  • g.­348
  • g.­379
  • g.­386
  • g.­387
  • g.­406
  • g.­408
  • g.­409
  • g.­414
  • g.­430
  • g.­455
  • g.­456
  • g.­462
  • g.­477
  • g.­480
  • g.­481
  • g.­489
  • g.­490
  • g.­494
  • g.­495
  • g.­497
  • g.­509
  • g.­513
  • g.­514
  • g.­533
  • g.­538
  • g.­539
  • g.­543
  • g.­561
  • g.­563
  • g.­566
  • g.­568
  • g.­569
  • g.­571
  • g.­593
  • g.­612
  • g.­617
  • g.­631
  • g.­632
  • g.­645
  • g.­659
  • g.­660
  • g.­666
  • g.­668
  • g.­669
  • g.­670
  • g.­673
  • g.­685
  • g.­691
  • g.­693
  • g.­695
  • g.­700
  • g.­702
  • g.­707
  • g.­711
  • g.­713
  • g.­726
  • g.­731
g.­82

Brahmā

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

Located in 39 passages in the translation:

  • i.­30
  • i.­33-34
  • i.­48
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­8
  • 3.­33
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­40-41
  • 3.­44-45
  • 3.­101
  • 3.­105-108
  • 3.­124
  • 3.­129
  • 4.­44
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­294
  • 4.­298
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­502
  • 4.­509
  • 4.­527
  • 5.­102
  • 5.­120
  • 6.­14
  • 6.­85
  • n.­115
  • n.­127
  • n.­375
  • g.­87
  • g.­281
g.­89

brahmin

Wylie:
  • bram ze
Tibetan:
  • བྲམ་ཟེ།
Sanskrit:
  • brāhmaṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.

Located in 192 passages in the translation:

  • i.­28
  • i.­39-40
  • i.­42-43
  • i.­53-54
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­34-36
  • 3.­40-42
  • 3.­44-49
  • 3.­51-52
  • 3.­54-56
  • 3.­59
  • 3.­65
  • 3.­68
  • 3.­71-82
  • 3.­84-90
  • 3.­92-94
  • 3.­98-99
  • 3.­101-102
  • 3.­108-109
  • 3.­116-118
  • 3.­123-124
  • 3.­127-128
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­19-20
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­77
  • 4.­86
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­125
  • 4.­150
  • 4.­176
  • 4.­181
  • 4.­191-192
  • 4.­195-197
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­202
  • 4.­205-206
  • 4.­208
  • 4.­210-218
  • 4.­221
  • 4.­224-226
  • 4.­230
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­235-237
  • 4.­240-241
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­264-265
  • 4.­267
  • 4.­269-273
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­286-287
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­292-293
  • 4.­304
  • 4.­306
  • 4.­308-309
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­328
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­417
  • 4.­457
  • 4.­459-460
  • 4.­476-478
  • 4.­496-497
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­503-505
  • 4.­508
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­519
  • 4.­522-523
  • 4.­535-536
  • 5.­118
  • 5.­129-132
  • 6.­85
  • n.­272
  • n.­285
  • n.­375
  • g.­65
  • g.­74
  • g.­121
  • g.­141
  • g.­207
  • g.­229
  • g.­257
  • g.­271
  • g.­307
  • g.­310
  • g.­428
  • g.­469
  • g.­470
  • g.­475
  • g.­502
  • g.­520
  • g.­522
  • g.­524
  • g.­525
  • g.­536
  • g.­537
  • g.­587
  • g.­619
  • g.­659
  • g.­660
  • g.­689
  • g.­690
  • g.­693
  • g.­713
g.­93

Cakravāḍa

Wylie:
  • khor yug
Tibetan:
  • ཁོར་ཡུག
Sanskrit:
  • cakravāḍa

Literally, “circular mass.” There are at least three interpretations of what this name refers to. In the Kṣitigarbha Sūtra, it is a mountain that contains the hells. In that case it is equivalent to the Vaḍaba submarine mountain of fire, also said to be the entrance to the hells. More commonly it is the name of the outer ring of mountains at the edge of the flat disk that is the world, with Sumeru in the center. This is also equated with Vaḍaba, the heat of which evaporates the ocean so that it does not overflow. Jambudvīpa, the world of humans, is in this sea to Sumeru’s south. However, it is also used to mean the entire disk, including Meru and the paradises above it. The Tibetan here is just ’khor yug, but later on it is ’khor yug gi ri, which means the circle of mountains around the world.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­34
  • 3.­119
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­101
  • 5.­105
  • 6.­65
g.­94

cakravartin

Wylie:
  • ’khor los sgyur ba
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • cakravartin

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.

Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • i.­28
  • i.­52-54
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­33
  • 3.­41
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­334
  • 5.­56
  • 5.­62
  • 5.­67
  • 5.­73-74
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­109
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­129
  • n.­90
  • n.­115
  • g.­25
  • g.­60
  • g.­101
  • g.­111
  • g.­144
  • g.­323
  • g.­404
  • g.­423
  • g.­510
  • g.­516
  • g.­545
g.­114

Deva

Wylie:
  • lha
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • deva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the most general sense the devas‍—the term is cognate with the English divine‍—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

Located in 118 passages in the translation:

  • i.­14
  • i.­27
  • i.­33
  • 1.­3-5
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­26
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­54
  • 2.­76
  • 2.­79
  • 2.­81
  • 2.­83
  • 2.­93
  • 2.­96
  • 2.­101
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­56
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­85-86
  • 3.­88
  • 3.­90-97
  • 3.­101-104
  • 3.­107
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­117
  • 3.­119
  • 3.­121
  • 3.­125
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­44
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­81-82
  • 4.­113
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­156-158
  • 4.­160-161
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­287
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­292
  • 4.­296
  • 4.­304
  • 4.­306
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­327
  • 4.­329
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­346
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­391-392
  • 4.­405-406
  • 4.­416
  • 4.­459
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­495
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­540
  • 4.­549-550
  • 4.­556
  • 5.­69
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­101-105
  • 5.­114
  • 5.­120-121
  • 5.­127
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­23
  • 6.­81
  • 6.­85
  • 6.­91
  • n.­115
  • n.­119
  • n.­421
  • n.­423
  • n.­426
  • n.­428
  • g.­59
  • g.­62
  • g.­197
  • g.­288
  • g.­329
  • g.­471
  • g.­485
  • g.­545
  • g.­692
g.­119

dhāraṇī

Wylie:
  • gzungs
Tibetan:
  • གཟུངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dhāraṇī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings‍—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula‍—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.

Located in 67 passages in the translation:

  • i.­14
  • i.­18
  • i.­24-26
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­34-48
  • 2.­50
  • 2.­52
  • 2.­54-58
  • 2.­63-64
  • 2.­67-73
  • 2.­75-76
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­101-102
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­56
  • 3.­114
  • 4.­6-7
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­420
  • 4.­464
  • 4.­484
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­24
  • 5.­154
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­77
  • 6.­86
  • n.­51
  • n.­67
  • g.­10
g.­134

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Wylie:
  • yul ’khor srung
Tibetan:
  • ཡུལ་འཁོར་སྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • dhṛtarāṣṭra

One of the four mahārājas, he is the guardian deity for the east and traditionally lord of the gandharvas, though in this sūtra he appears to be king of the nāgas. There is a Dhṛtarāṣṭra in each four-continent world.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­6
  • 3.­84-85
  • 6.­14
  • g.­314
g.­139

dhyāna

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན།
Sanskrit:
  • dhyāna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

Located in 61 passages in the translation:

  • i.­58
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­24
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­91
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­47
  • 3.­55
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­102
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­153-154
  • 4.­157
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­214-217
  • 4.­243
  • 4.­251
  • 4.­294
  • 4.­315-316
  • 4.­318
  • 4.­326
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­345
  • 4.­348
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­372
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­385
  • 4.­407-408
  • 5.­10
  • 5.­48
  • 5.­52
  • 5.­113
  • 5.­118
  • 6.­22
  • 6.­69
  • 6.­73
  • n.­30
  • n.­340
  • g.­87
  • g.­151
  • g.­156
  • g.­397
  • g.­501
  • g.­581
  • g.­582
  • g.­583
  • g.­584
  • g.­585
  • g.­586
  • g.­718
g.­149

emptiness

Wylie:
  • stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • śunyatā

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.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 2.­67-68
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­153-154
  • 4.­164
  • 4.­169
  • 4.­316
  • 4.­367
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­384-385
  • 4.­390
  • 5.­3
g.­150

excellent features

Wylie:
  • dpe byad bzang po
Tibetan:
  • དཔེ་བྱད་བཟང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • anuvyañjana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The eighty secondary physical characteristics of a buddha and of other great beings (mahāpuruṣa), which include such details as the redness of the fingernails and the blackness of the hair. They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two major marks or signs of a great being.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 2.­93
  • 2.­98
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­110
  • 4.­278
  • 4.­359
g.­151

factors of enlightenment

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhi­pakṣaka­dharma

These are (1–4) the four mindfulnesses, which are of body, sensations, mind, and phenomena; (5–8) the four eliminations, which are eliminating the bad that has been created, not creating the bad that has not been created, creating good that has not been created, and increasing what good has been created; (9–12) the four bases of miracles, which are aspiration, diligence, contemplation, and analysis; (13–17) the five powers, which are faith, diligence, mindfulness, meditation, and wisdom; (18–22) the five strengths, which are also faith, diligence, mindfulness, meditation, and wisdom; (23– 29) the seven branches of awakening, which are mindfulness, wisdom, diligence, joy, being well trained, meditation, and equanimity; and (30–37) the eight branches of the noble path, which are right view, thought, speech, effort, livelihood, mindfulness, meditation, and action.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­14
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­44
  • 2.­69
  • 4.­160
  • 4.­263
  • n.­56
g.­154

five degeneracies

Wylie:
  • snyigs ma lnga
Tibetan:
  • སྙིགས་མ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcakaṣāya

The degeneration of lifespan, view, kleśas, beings, and time.

Located in 53 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 3.­1-2
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­61-62
  • 4.­57
  • 4.­153-155
  • 4.­157-158
  • 4.­225-227
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­255
  • 4.­328
  • 4.­359
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­402-403
  • 4.­466
  • 4.­468
  • 4.­485
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­515-517
  • 4.­519-520
  • 4.­524
  • 4.­542
  • 5.­78
  • 5.­81-84
  • 5.­109
  • 5.­116-118
  • 5.­122-124
  • 5.­126
  • 5.­145
  • 5.­147
  • 5.­151-152
  • n.­83-84
  • g.­293
g.­157

five tempos

Wylie:
  • yan lag lnga dang ldan pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡན་ལག་ལྔ་དང་ལྡན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcāṅgika

The five tempos of classical music in southern India: chauka (one stroke per beat), vilamba (two strokes per beat), madhyama (four strokes per beat), dhuridha (eight strokes per beat), and adi dhuridha (sixteen strokes per beat).

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­14
  • 4.­34
  • 4.­198-199
g.­158

forbearance that comes from realizing the birthlessness of phenomena

Wylie:
  • mi skye ba’i chos la bzod pa
  • mi skye ba’i chos kyi bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • མི་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཆོས་ལ་བཟོད་པ།
  • མི་སྐྱེ་བའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • anutpattikadharmakṣānti

This is often also interpreted as the acceptance that phenomena are birthless (or nonarising), but strictly speaking the acceptance is not so much an acquiescence regarding the view of nonarising itself as the forbearance regarding phenomena themselves (and the difficulties they may present) that is made possible by realizing that they are birthless. This is said to occur on the first, or in some texts the sixth, bhūmi. It enables bodhisattvas to bear any difficulties entailed by remaining within saṃsāra for eons, and is often said to coincide with the attainment of irreversibility in their progress toward enlightenment.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­54
  • 4.­374
  • 5.­49-50
  • g.­10
g.­162

four errors

Wylie:
  • phyin ci log bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱིན་ཅི་ལོག་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturviparyāsa

Taking what is impermanent to be permanent, what is suffering to be happiness, what is unclean to be clean, and what is not self to be a self.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 4.­328
  • n.­18
g.­166

Gaganamudra

Wylie:
  • nam mkha’i phyag rgya
Tibetan:
  • ནམ་མཁའི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • gaganamudra

The bodhisattva who was Abhaya, the fifth son of King Araṇemin. As prophesied, he became a pupil of the Buddha Candrottara. After Candrottara’s passing, he became the Buddha Padmottara in the southeastern buddha realm, Padmā, and he is present there during Śākyamuni’s lifetime.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • i.­24
  • i.­37
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­46
  • 2.­48-51
  • 2.­53-54
  • 4.­92-93
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­187
  • 4.­425
  • n.­209
  • n.­327
  • g.­1
  • g.­386
g.­168

Gandhahasti

Wylie:
  • spos kyi glang po che
Tibetan:
  • སྤོས་ཀྱི་གླང་པོ་ཆེ།
Sanskrit:
  • gandhahasti

The bodhisattva who was Himaṇi, the tenth son of King Araṇemin.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 4.­177-179
  • 4.­181
  • 4.­437
  • n.­255
  • g.­193
g.­172

gandharva

Wylie:
  • dri za
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་ཟ།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.”

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • i.­33
  • i.­57
  • 1.­6
  • 2.­79
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­84
  • 3.­117
  • 4.­287
  • 4.­304
  • 4.­405-406
  • 4.­459
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­540
  • 4.­556
  • 6.­22-23
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­85
  • 6.­91
  • n.­40
  • g.­134
  • g.­391
g.­183

great elephants

Wylie:
  • glang po chen po
Tibetan:
  • གླང་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahānāga

Mahānāga here could be a middle-Indic word possibly originating from the Sanskrit mahānagna, meaning “a great champion,” “a man of distinction and nobility.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­2
g.­193

Himaṇi

Wylie:
  • gangs kyi nor bu
Tibetan:
  • གངས་ཀྱི་ནོར་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • himaṇi

The tenth son of King Araṇemin who becomes the bodhisattva Gandhahasti and is prophesied to become the Buddha Suvarṇapuṣpa.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 4.­176
  • n.­254
  • g.­168
  • g.­623
g.­197

Indra

Wylie:
  • dbang po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • indra

The lord of the devas, a principal deity in the Vedas. With Brahma, he was one of the two most important deities during the Buddha’s lifetime. He was later eclipsed by the increasing importance of Śiva and Viṣṇu. See also Śakra.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­18
  • 3.­129
  • n.­426
  • g.­82
  • g.­110
  • g.­485
g.­206

irreversibility

Wylie:
  • phyir mi ldog pa
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱིར་མི་ལྡོག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • avaivartikatva

A stage in the gradual progression toward buddhahood, from which one will no longer regress to lower states.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­50
  • 2.­52
  • 3.­47
  • 4.­132
  • 4.­387-388
  • 4.­393
  • 4.­396-397
  • 4.­473
  • 4.­491
  • 4.­548-549
  • 5.­48
  • 5.­50
  • 6.­25-26
  • 6.­75-76
  • 6.­89-90
  • n.­462
  • g.­158
g.­208

Jambu River gold

Wylie:
  • ’dzam bu chu bo’i gser
Tibetan:
  • འཛམ་བུ་ཆུ་བོའི་གསེར།
Sanskrit:
  • jāmbunadasuvarṇa

The best gold in the human world, said to be formed from the fruits of a mythical tree at the Himalayan source of north India’s major rivers.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­16
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­25
g.­211

Jambudvīpa

Wylie:
  • ’dzam bu’i gling
Tibetan:
  • འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • jambudvīpa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

Located in 39 passages in the translation:

  • i.­29
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­44
  • 3.­79
  • 3.­90-94
  • 3.­96-97
  • 3.­114
  • 4.­292
  • 5.­62-64
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­95-98
  • 5.­108-109
  • 5.­113-116
  • 5.­118-119
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­129
  • 5.­141-142
  • 5.­148
  • g.­93
  • g.­474
  • g.­664
g.­218

Jayasoma

Wylie:
  • rgyal ba’i zla ba
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་བའི་ཟླ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jayasoma

The future name of the eastern realm Abhirati when the Buddhas Akṣobhya and Suvarṇapuṣpa are succeeded by the Buddha Nāga­vinarditeśvara­ghoṣa.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­182
  • g.­5
  • g.­361
  • g.­561
g.­222

Jinamitra

Wylie:
  • dzi na mi tra
Tibetan:
  • ཛི་ན་མི་ཏྲ།
Sanskrit:
  • jinamitra

Jinamitra was invited to Tibet during the reign of King Trisong Detsen (r. 742–98 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with the translation of nearly two hundred texts, continuing into the reign of King Ralpachen (r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He was among the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahā­vyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • c.­1
g.­255

jyotīrasa

Wylie:
  • skar ma mdog
Tibetan:
  • སྐར་མ་མདོག
Sanskrit:
  • jyotīrasa

A type of crystal or quartz (sphaṭika) that may in some cases be blue in color.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­16
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­126
g.­262

Kāla

Wylie:
  • nag po
Tibetan:
  • ནག་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • kāla

The Kāla Mountains of Bharatavarṣa (i.e., India).

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 2.­11
  • 4.­5
g.­287

kleśa

Wylie:
  • nyon mongs
Tibetan:
  • ཉོན་མོངས།
Sanskrit:
  • kleśa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.

Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

Located in 69 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­5-6
  • 2.­10
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­55
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­72
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­94
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­134
  • 4.­139
  • 4.­209
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­217
  • 4.­227
  • 4.­231
  • 4.­233
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­260
  • 4.­262
  • 4.­274-276
  • 4.­279
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­287
  • 4.­290
  • 4.­296
  • 4.­303
  • 4.­305
  • 4.­313
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­346
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­355-356
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­402-403
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­432
  • 4.­436
  • 4.­446
  • 4.­448
  • 4.­454
  • 4.­458
  • 4.­466
  • 4.­468
  • 4.­485
  • 4.­487
  • 4.­522
  • 4.­525
  • 4.­533
  • 4.­542
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­31
  • 5.­76
  • 6.­86
  • n.­229
  • n.­298
  • n.­318
  • g.­154
g.­296

kumbhāṇḍa

Wylie:
  • grul bum
Tibetan:
  • གྲུལ་བུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • kumbhāṇḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of dwarf beings subordinate to Virūḍhaka, one of the Four Great Kings, associated with the southern direction. The name uses a play on the word aṇḍa, which means “egg” but is also a euphemism for a testicle. Thus, they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (from kumbha, or “pot”).

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • i.­33
  • 1.­6
  • 2.­36
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­84
  • 3.­117
  • 4.­347
  • 4.­411
  • 4.­550
  • g.­723
g.­300

kūṭāgāra

Wylie:
  • khang pa brtsegs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཁང་པ་བརྩེགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kūṭāgāra

Distinctive Indian assembly hall or temple with one ground-floor room and a high ornamental roof, sometimes a barrel shape with apses but more usually a tapering roof, tower, or spire, it contains at least one additional upper room within the structure. Kūṭāgāra literally means “upper chamber” and is short for kūṭāgāraśala, “hall with an upper chamber or chambers.” The Mahābodhi temple in Bodhgaya is an example of a kūṭāgāra.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­15-17
  • 2.­53
  • 3.­14-15
  • 3.­89-91
  • 4.­159
g.­304

lotsawa

Wylie:
  • lots+tsha ba
Tibetan:
  • ལོཙྪ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • locāva

Honorific term for a Tibetan translator.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • c.­1
g.­306

Magadha

Wylie:
  • ma ga dha
Tibetan:
  • མ་ག་དྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23
  • g.­436
g.­308

Mahācakravāḍa

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gyi bar dag
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་བར་དག
Sanskrit:
  • mahācakravāḍa

Name of a mountain range in Buddhist cosmology.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 2.­34
  • 3.­119
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­101
  • 6.­65
g.­310

Mahākāruṇika

Wylie:
  • thugs rje chen po dang ldan pa
Tibetan:
  • ཐུགས་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ་དང་ལྡན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahākāruṇika

The bodhisattva name given to the brahmin Samudrareṇu (who would eventually become the Buddha Śākyamuni) on account of his great compassion for beings. It means “One Who Has Great Compassion.”

Located in 54 passages in the translation:

  • i.­45-51
  • 4.­464
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­469-470
  • 4.­484
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­496
  • 4.­524-526
  • 4.­528-534
  • 4.­536-537
  • 4.­539
  • 4.­541-547
  • 4.­554-556
  • 5.­1-3
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­51
  • 5.­53-54
  • 5.­56-58
  • 5.­72
  • g.­223
  • g.­303
  • g.­316
  • g.­568
  • g.­569
  • g.­571
g.­314

mahārāja

Wylie:
  • rgyal po chen po
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahārāja

Deities on the base of Mount Meru, each one the guardian of his direction: Vaiśravaṇa in the north, Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east, Virūpākṣa in the west, and Virūḍhaka in the south.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­33
  • 1.­5-6
  • 3.­72
  • 3.­77
  • 3.­79
  • 3.­81
  • 3.­84
  • g.­134
  • g.­671
  • g.­723
  • g.­724
g.­316

mahāsattva

Wylie:
  • sems dpa’ chen po
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་དཔའ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsattva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term can be understood to mean “great courageous one” or "great hero,” or (from the Sanskrit) simply “great being,” and is almost always found as an epithet of “bodhisattva.” The qualification “great” in this term, according to the majority of canonical definitions, focuses on the generic greatness common to all bodhisattvas, i.e., the greatness implicit in the bodhisattva vow itself in terms of outlook, aspiration, number of beings to be benefited, potential or eventual accomplishments, and so forth. In this sense the mahā- (“great”) is close in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna.” While individual bodhisattvas described as mahāsattva may in many cases also be “great” in terms of their level of realization, this is largely coincidental, and in the canonical texts the epithet is not restricted to bodhisattvas at any particular point in their career. Indeed, in a few cases even bodhisattvas whose path has taken a wrong direction are still described as bodhisattva mahāsattva.

Later commentarial writings do nevertheless define the term‍—variably‍—in terms of bodhisattvas having attained a particular level (bhūmi) or realization. The most common qualifying criteria mentioned are attaining the path of seeing, attaining irreversibility (according to its various definitions), or attaining the seventh bhūmi.

In this text:

In chapter 4 of this text (see 4.­513) the Buddha Ratnagarbha states that bodhisattvas who have vowed to attain awakening under relatively easier circumstances do not deserve the title mahāsattva, which should be reserved for those like Mahākāruṇika who have vowed to attain awakening only in the most degenerate and difficult times and places. However, this statement is best taken as highlighting a specific point of perspective rather than as a general gloss, since throughout the text the term is nevertheless used‍—just as it is in most Mahāyāna sūtras‍—as an epithet for bodhisattvas in general regardless of their individual status, qualities, or aspirations.

Located in 132 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • i.­47
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­7-9
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­22-23
  • 1.­25
  • 2.­2-4
  • 2.­7-8
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­21-23
  • 2.­35-36
  • 2.­38-39
  • 2.­43
  • 2.­45-51
  • 2.­53-71
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­60-61
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­16-17
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­74
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­287
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­380
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­457
  • 4.­461
  • 4.­463-464
  • 4.­467-469
  • 4.­471
  • 4.­478-484
  • 4.­486-489
  • 4.­496
  • 4.­499
  • 4.­513
  • 4.­516-517
  • 4.­521-523
  • 4.­537
  • 4.­539
  • 4.­542-544
  • 4.­547
  • 4.­554-556
  • 5.­1-5
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­50-51
  • 5.­53-54
  • 5.­56-57
  • 5.­114
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­56
  • 6.­77
  • 6.­88
  • n.­38-39
  • n.­56
  • n.­68
  • n.­145-146
  • n.­393
  • n.­394
  • n.­448
g.­317

Mahāsthāmaprāpta

Wylie:
  • mthu chen thob
Tibetan:
  • མཐུ་ཆེན་ཐོབ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsthāmaprāpta

One of the two principal bodhisattvas in Sukhāvatī and prominent in Chinese Buddhism. In Tibetan Buddhism he is identified with Vajrapāṇi, though they are separate bodhisattvas in the sūtras. The second of the thousand sons of King Araṇemin, on becoming a bodhisattva, is given the name Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and as such in the future will be in Sukhāvatī as that bodhisattva when his father becomes the Buddha Amitābha. He will eventually become the Buddha Supra­tiṣṭhita­guṇa­maṇikūṭa­rāja in that realm.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • i.­13
  • i.­37
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­421
  • n.­185
  • g.­379
  • g.­612
g.­319

Mahāyāna

Wylie:
  • theg pa chen po
Tibetan:
  • ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāyāna AD

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

When the Buddhist teachings are classified according to their power to lead beings to an awakened state, a distinction is made between the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle (Hīnayāna), which emphasizes the individual’s own freedom from cyclic existence as the primary motivation and goal, and those of the Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna), which emphasizes altruism and has the liberation of all sentient beings as the principal objective. As the term “Great Vehicle” implies, the path followed by bodhisattvas is analogous to a large carriage that can transport a vast number of people to liberation, as compared to a smaller vehicle for the individual practitioner.

Located in 47 passages in the translation:

  • i.­3
  • i.­10-11
  • i.­13
  • i.­29
  • i.­35
  • 1.­7
  • 1.­26-27
  • 2.­102
  • 3.­44
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­125
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­249
  • 4.­342
  • 4.­344
  • 4.­352
  • 4.­360
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­366
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­380-382
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­479
  • 4.­481
  • 4.­495
  • 4.­498
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­513
  • 4.­543
  • 4.­557
  • 5.­4
  • 5.­53
  • 5.­159
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­92
  • n.­3
  • n.­369
  • g.­316
  • g.­493
  • g.­575
g.­321

Maheśvara

Wylie:
  • dbang phyug chen po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་ཕྱུག་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • maheśvara

One of the most frequently used names for Śiva.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­361
  • 6.­14
  • n.­11
  • g.­573
g.­323

Maitreya

Wylie:
  • byams pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱམས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • maitreya

The bodhisattva who became Śākyamuni’s regent and is prophesied to be the next buddha, the fifth buddha in the Bhadraka eon. In early Buddhism he appears as the human disciple sent to pay his respects by his teacher, and the Buddha gives him the gift of a robe and prophesies he will be the next Buddha, while his companion Ajita will be the next cakravartin. As a bodhisattva he has both of these names. In The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra, the Buddha Ratnagarbha prophesies that Vimalavaiśayana, the fourth of the thousand young Veda-reciting pupils of Samudrareṇu, will be the Buddha Maitreya.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­16
  • i.­26
  • i.­41
  • i.­58-59
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­8-9
  • 2.­76
  • 2.­78
  • 4.­255
  • 4.­258
  • 6.­70
  • 6.­72
  • 6.­88
  • g.­489
  • g.­544
  • g.­712
g.­330

Mañjuśrī

Wylie:
  • ’jam dpal
Tibetan:
  • འཇམ་དཔལ།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­2
  • i.­37
  • 4.­69-73
  • 4.­77
  • 4.­423
  • n.­202
  • g.­198
  • g.­331
  • g.­497
  • g.­593
g.­334

Māra

Wylie:
  • bdud
Tibetan:
  • བདུད།
Sanskrit:
  • māra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:

(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree‍—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1‍—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputra­māra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • i.­33
  • 2.­6
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­100
  • 3.­105-107
  • 4.­157
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­363
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­378
  • 4.­432
  • 4.­446
  • 4.­525
  • 5.­48
  • 5.­102
  • 5.­106
  • 5.­153
  • 6.­14
  • 6.­85
  • n.­115
  • n.­119
  • n.­245
  • g.­72
  • g.­165
  • g.­425
g.­342

Meru

Wylie:
  • lhun po
Tibetan:
  • ལྷུན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • meru

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­295
  • 4.­371
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­87
  • 5.­104-105
  • n.­335
  • n.­380
  • g.­93
  • g.­314
  • g.­754
g.­358

nāga

Wylie:
  • klu
Tibetan:
  • ཀླུ།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.

Located in 46 passages in the translation:

  • i.­14
  • i.­27
  • i.­33
  • i.­54
  • 1.­5-6
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­79
  • 2.­85
  • 2.­88
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­84
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­117
  • 4.­133
  • 4.­153
  • 4.­297
  • 4.­299
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­343
  • 4.­347
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­406
  • 4.­534
  • 4.­550
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­103
  • 5.­114-115
  • 5.­120-121
  • 5.­125-126
  • 5.­141-142
  • 5.­145
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­85
  • n.­236
  • n.­421
  • n.­433
  • g.­134
  • g.­367
  • g.­376
  • g.­724
g.­361

Nāga­vinarditeśvara­ghoṣa

Wylie:
  • glang po rnam par bsgrags pa’i dbang phyug dbyangs
Tibetan:
  • གླང་པོ་རྣམ་པར་བསྒྲགས་པའི་དབང་ཕྱུག་དབྱངས།
Sanskrit:
  • nāga­vinarditeśvara­ghoṣa

The buddha who succeeds the Buddhas Akṣobhya and Suvarṇapuṣpa in the realm Abhirati, by then renamed Jayasoma, as prophesied of King Araṇemin’s eleventh son, Siṃha.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 4.­182
  • g.­5
  • g.­218
  • g.­455
  • g.­561
g.­367

Nanda

Wylie:
  • dga’ ba
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • nanda

One of the eight great nāga kings.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­6
  • 4.­153
g.­379

Nimi

Wylie:
  • mu khyud
Tibetan:
  • མུ་ཁྱུད།
Sanskrit:
  • nimi

The second of the thousand sons of King Araṇemin, who in becoming a bodhisattva is given the name Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and as such in the future will be in Sukhāvatī as that bodhisattva when his father becomes the Buddha Amitābha. He will eventually become in that realm the Buddha Supra­tiṣṭhita­guṇa­maṇikūṭa­rāja.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 3.­120
  • 4.­38-39
  • n.­155
  • g.­612
g.­380

Nirmāṇarata

Wylie:
  • ’phrul dga’
Tibetan:
  • འཕྲུལ་དགའ།
Sanskrit:
  • nirmāṇarata

The fifth (counting from the lowest) of the six paradises in the desire realm.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • g.­609
g.­381

nirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • mya ngan las ’das pa
Tibetan:
  • མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nirvāṇa AD

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.

Located in 39 passages in the translation:

  • i.­26
  • i.­50
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­78
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­55
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­66
  • 4.­68
  • 4.­106-107
  • 4.­217
  • 4.­227
  • 4.­233
  • 4.­277-278
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­330
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­338
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­384-385
  • 4.­410
  • 4.­544
  • 5.­54-55
  • 5.­69
  • 5.­81
  • 5.­84-85
  • g.­5
  • g.­72
  • g.­249
  • g.­623
g.­384

outflows

Wylie:
  • zag pa
Tibetan:
  • ཟག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āsrava

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • g.­163
g.­385

Padmā

Wylie:
  • pad ma
Tibetan:
  • པད་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • padmā

The southeastern realm of the Buddha Padmottara.

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23-24
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­18
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­25
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­4
  • 2.­7-8
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­18-19
  • 2.­36
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­92
  • g.­98
  • g.­166
g.­386

Padmottara

Wylie:
  • pad ma dam pa
Tibetan:
  • པད་མ་དམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • padmottara

The buddha whom the bodhisattva Gaganamudra becomes, who is a contemporary of Śākyamuni and seen in his southeastern realm by many of Śākyamuni’s bodhisattva disciples.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23-24
  • i.­37
  • 1.­8-11
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­19-26
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­17-18
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­36
  • 4.­92
  • n.­6
  • g.­1
  • g.­98
  • g.­106
  • g.­166
  • g.­385
  • g.­462
g.­392

paṇḍita

Wylie:
  • mkhas pa
Tibetan:
  • མཁས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • paṇḍita

An official title for a learned scholar in India.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • g.­222
g.­395

Para­nirmitavaśavartin

Wylie:
  • gzhan ’phrul dbang byed
Tibetan:
  • གཞན་འཕྲུལ་དབང་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • para­nirmitavaśavartin

The principal deity in the Para­nirmitavaśavartin paradise, which is the highest in the desire realm.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 3.­85-86
  • 3.­92
  • 3.­96
  • 3.­102
  • 3.­104
  • 3.­106-107
  • 4.­5
g.­396

parinirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • parinirvāṇa AD

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This refers to what occurs at the end of an arhat’s or a buddha’s life. When nirvāṇa is attained at awakening, whether as an arhat or buddha, all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence have ceased, but due to previously accumulated karma, the aggregates of that life remain and must still exhaust themselves. It is only at the end of life that these cease, and since no new aggregates arise, the arhat or buddha is said to attain parinirvāṇa, meaning “complete” or “final” nirvāṇa. This is synonymous with the attainment of nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa).

According to the Mahāyāna view of a single vehicle (ekayāna), the arhat’s parinirvāṇa at death, despite being so called, is not final. The arhat must still enter the bodhisattva path and reach buddhahood (see Unraveling the Intent, Toh 106, 7.14.) On the other hand, the parinirvāṇa of a buddha, ultimately speaking, should be understood as a display manifested for the benefit of beings; see The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Toh 186), 1.32.

The term parinirvāṇa is also associated specifically with the passing away of the Buddha Śākyamuni, in Kuśinagara, in northern India.

Located in 50 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­14
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­20-21
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­53
  • 3.­47
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­7-8
  • 4.­13-14
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­103
  • 4.­157
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­177
  • 4.­182
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­280
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­318
  • 4.­363
  • 4.­386-388
  • 4.­396
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­408
  • 4.­526
  • 4.­545
  • 4.­553
  • 5.­48
  • 5.­54-55
  • 5.­80
  • 6.­1
  • g.­42
  • g.­344
  • g.­721
g.­397

perfections

Wylie:
  • pha rol tu phyin pa
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pāramitā

The six perfections of generosity, conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­149
  • 4.­160
  • 4.­250
  • 4.­275
  • 4.­310
  • 4.­318
  • 4.­324
  • 4.­374
  • 4.­382-383
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­398-399
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­535
  • 5.­106
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­49
  • 6.­73
  • 6.­85
  • n.­4
g.­399

piṭaka

Wylie:
  • sde snod
Tibetan:
  • སྡེ་སྣོད།
Sanskrit:
  • piṭaka

A collection of canonical texts according to subject, the piṭakas are usually Vinaya, Sūtra and Abhidharma. There is also, as in this sūtra, the collection of Mahāyana teachings known as the bodhisattvapiṭaka. Originates from the term “baskets” originally used to contain these collections.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­2
  • 2.­45
  • 2.­48
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­390
  • g.­715
g.­400

powers

Wylie:
  • dbang
Tibetan:
  • དབང་།
Sanskrit:
  • indriya

The five powers: faith, mindfulness, diligence, samādhi, and wisdom.

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­8-9
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­25
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­70
  • 3.­46
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­160
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­263
  • 4.­329
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­372
  • 4.­379
  • 4.­476
  • 4.­496
  • 4.­499
  • 4.­530
  • 5.­30
  • 6.­10
  • 6.­12
  • n.­86
  • g.­140
  • g.­151
  • g.­340
  • g.­394
  • g.­590
  • g.­638
g.­411

Prajñāvarman

Wylie:
  • pradz+nyA bar+ma
Tibetan:
  • པྲཛྙཱ་བརྨ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñāvarman

An Indian scholar who came to Tibet during the reign of Tri Songdetsen and was involved in the translation of this text. He is listed as a translator of seventy-seven works.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • c.­1
g.­417

pratyekabuddha

Wylie:
  • rang sangs rgyas
Tibetan:
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • pratyekabuddha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation, without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyeka­buddha is not regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit, compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as “congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • i.­7
  • 1.­7
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­2
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­49
  • 4.­57
  • 4.­109
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­247-248
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­513
  • 4.­519
  • 4.­521
  • 5.­158
  • n.­29
  • g.­418
  • g.­528
g.­421

preta

Wylie:
  • yi dags
Tibetan:
  • ཡི་དགས།
Sanskrit:
  • preta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance.

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • i.­33
  • 2.­97-98
  • 2.­100-101
  • 3.­49
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­117
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­113
  • 4.­133
  • 4.­156
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­347
  • 4.­350
  • 4.­413
  • 6.­85
  • n.­17
  • n.­80
  • n.­82
  • n.­154
  • n.­392
  • g.­146
g.­436

Rājagṛha

Wylie:
  • rgyal po’i khab
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
Sanskrit:
  • rājagṛha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha‍—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)‍—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23
  • 1.­2
g.­451

Ratnagarbha

Wylie:
  • rin po che’i snying po
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • ratnagarbha

One of the eighty-one sons of Samudrareṇu, the chief court priest of King Araṇemin. The Buddha Ratnagarbha prophesies the buddhahood of Samudrareṇu’s thirty million pupils.

Located in 414 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2-3
  • i.­14
  • i.­28-31
  • i.­33-34
  • i.­36-38
  • i.­41
  • i.­43-47
  • i.­49-50
  • 3.­7-9
  • 3.­11-13
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­24-25
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­33-34
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­79-80
  • 3.­94
  • 3.­109
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­123-124
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­22-23
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­46
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­83
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­122-123
  • 4.­138
  • 4.­141
  • 4.­148
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­174
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­181-182
  • 4.­184-185
  • 4.­187-191
  • 4.­196-197
  • 4.­199-200
  • 4.­202-203
  • 4.­205-206
  • 4.­208
  • 4.­218
  • 4.­221-222
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­228
  • 4.­230
  • 4.­232-237
  • 4.­240-242
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­269
  • 4.­272
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­284-285
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­293
  • 4.­304
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­460
  • 4.­464
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­469
  • 4.­474-476
  • 4.­484
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­492-494
  • 4.­496
  • 4.­499-504
  • 4.­514-515
  • 4.­536-537
  • 4.­539
  • 4.­543-544
  • 4.­547
  • 4.­554
  • 5.­1-2
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­50-51
  • 5.­53-55
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­72
  • n.­87
  • n.­117
  • n.­285
  • n.­375
  • g.­2
  • g.­4
  • g.­6
  • g.­7
  • g.­8
  • g.­9
  • g.­12
  • g.­21
  • g.­23
  • g.­31
  • g.­36
  • g.­37
  • g.­43
  • g.­46
  • g.­52
  • g.­56
  • g.­57
  • g.­62
  • g.­64
  • g.­66
  • g.­70
  • g.­71
  • g.­74
  • g.­81
  • g.­85
  • g.­86
  • g.­90
  • g.­91
  • g.­92
  • g.­96
  • g.­102
  • g.­108
  • g.­116
  • g.­122
  • g.­124
  • g.­125
  • g.­126
  • g.­127
  • g.­129
  • g.­130
  • g.­135
  • g.­137
  • g.­138
  • g.­167
  • g.­170
  • g.­171
  • g.­173
  • g.­174
  • g.­175
  • g.­178
  • g.­179
  • g.­186
  • g.­187
  • g.­188
  • g.­189
  • g.­194
  • g.­207
  • g.­209
  • g.­210
  • g.­214
  • g.­217
  • g.­220
  • g.­223
  • g.­226
  • g.­227
  • g.­228
  • g.­230
  • g.­231
  • g.­232
  • g.­233
  • g.­234
  • g.­235
  • g.­236
  • g.­237
  • g.­238
  • g.­239
  • g.­240
  • g.­241
  • g.­243
  • g.­246
  • g.­247
  • g.­248
  • g.­249
  • g.­250
  • g.­251
  • g.­252
  • g.­254
  • g.­256
  • g.­260
  • g.­266
  • g.­267
  • g.­268
  • g.­269
  • g.­270
  • g.­271
  • g.­273
  • g.­277
  • g.­280
  • g.­281
  • g.­282
  • g.­284
  • g.­285
  • g.­288
  • g.­290
  • g.­294
  • g.­297
  • g.­301
  • g.­303
  • g.­307
  • g.­309
  • g.­311
  • g.­313
  • g.­316
  • g.­318
  • g.­320
  • g.­323
  • g.­327
  • g.­332
  • g.­336
  • g.­338
  • g.­339
  • g.­348
  • g.­349
  • g.­356
  • g.­357
  • g.­359
  • g.­362
  • g.­363
  • g.­364
  • g.­368
  • g.­370
  • g.­371
  • g.­372
  • g.­382
  • g.­383
  • g.­401
  • g.­405
  • g.­407
  • g.­408
  • g.­410
  • g.­412
  • g.­414
  • g.­420
  • g.­424
  • g.­426
  • g.­428
  • g.­442
  • g.­443
  • g.­444
  • g.­447
  • g.­450
  • g.­453
  • g.­455
  • g.­456
  • g.­458
  • g.­459
  • g.­461
  • g.­463
  • g.­465
  • g.­469
  • g.­471
  • g.­475
  • g.­476
  • g.­478
  • g.­482
  • g.­483
  • g.­484
  • g.­488
  • g.­491
  • g.­492
  • g.­499
  • g.­502
  • g.­503
  • g.­510
  • g.­511
  • g.­519
  • g.­522
  • g.­523
  • g.­524
  • g.­525
  • g.­526
  • g.­527
  • g.­530
  • g.­532
  • g.­536
  • g.­542
  • g.­549
  • g.­558
  • g.­559
  • g.­560
  • g.­562
  • g.­564
  • g.­565
  • g.­567
  • g.­568
  • g.­569
  • g.­572
  • g.­577
  • g.­578
  • g.­579
  • g.­580
  • g.­587
  • g.­592
  • g.­595
  • g.­596
  • g.­597
  • g.­601
  • g.­602
  • g.­604
  • g.­606
  • g.­607
  • g.­608
  • g.­611
  • g.­613
  • g.­616
  • g.­618
  • g.­620
  • g.­625
  • g.­627
  • g.­628
  • g.­631
  • g.­632
  • g.­647
  • g.­648
  • g.­661
  • g.­662
  • g.­663
  • g.­674
  • g.­677
  • g.­678
  • g.­680
  • g.­681
  • g.­682
  • g.­687
  • g.­688
  • g.­690
  • g.­692
  • g.­694
  • g.­695
  • g.­696
  • g.­697
  • g.­698
  • g.­699
  • g.­701
  • g.­703
  • g.­706
  • g.­708
  • g.­709
  • g.­712
  • g.­714
  • g.­717
  • g.­719
  • g.­720
  • g.­722
  • g.­725
  • g.­729
  • g.­730
  • g.­731
  • g.­733
  • g.­735
  • g.­736
  • g.­748
  • g.­749
g.­455

Ratnaketu

Wylie:
  • rin po che’i tog
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་ཏོག
Sanskrit:
  • ratnaketu

The bodhisattva who received this name from the Buddha Ratnagarbha when he was the eleventh son of King Araṇemin. The Buddha Ratnagarbha prophesied he will succeed the buddhas Akṣobhya and Suvarṇapuṣpa as the Buddha Nāga­vinarditeśvara­ghoṣa.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 4.­182-185
  • 4.­439
  • g.­561
g.­462

Ratnavairocana

Wylie:
  • rin po che rnam par snang byed
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེ་རྣམ་པར་སྣང་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • ratnavairocana

The bodhisattva who asks the Buddha to teach about Buddha Padmottara.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­23-25
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­11-12
  • 1.­21-22
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­55
g.­479

Sahā

Wylie:
  • mi mjed
Tibetan:
  • མི་མཇེད།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.

Located in 68 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­40
  • 1.­3
  • 2.­41
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­233
  • 4.­236
  • 4.­241
  • 4.­276
  • 4.­307
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­332
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­337-339
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­346
  • 4.­361
  • 4.­363
  • 4.­389
  • 4.­391-393
  • 4.­525-526
  • 5.­105
  • 6.­8-9
  • 6.­11-17
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­23
  • 6.­28-30
  • 6.­32-34
  • 6.­36-37
  • 6.­40
  • 6.­45
  • 6.­47
  • 6.­52-54
  • 6.­56-60
  • 6.­63-64
  • 6.­66
  • 6.­68
  • n.­53
  • g.­45
  • g.­104
  • g.­169
  • g.­419
  • g.­643
  • g.­705
g.­485

Śakra

Wylie:
  • brgya byin
Tibetan:
  • བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • śakra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • i.­30
  • i.­48
  • i.­57
  • 1.­5
  • 3.­33
  • 3.­40-41
  • 3.­85-86
  • 3.­91-92
  • 3.­94
  • 3.­102-103
  • 3.­106-107
  • 4.­294
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­502
  • 4.­530-531
  • 5.­102
  • 5.­120
  • 5.­147
  • 6.­22-24
  • 6.­26
  • n.­115
  • n.­119
  • n.­380
  • n.­426
  • g.­107
  • g.­197
  • g.­278
  • g.­394
  • g.­529
  • g.­552
  • g.­658
g.­486

Śākyamuni

Wylie:
  • shAkya thub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śākyamuni

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.

Located in 202 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1-2
  • i.­1-4
  • i.­9
  • i.­17
  • i.­23-26
  • i.­39-41
  • i.­47-48
  • i.­51
  • i.­56-58
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­526
  • 4.­553
  • 5.­49-50
  • 6.­8-9
  • 6.­11-15
  • 6.­17-21
  • 6.­23-25
  • 6.­27-29
  • 6.­31-32
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­40
  • 6.­44-45
  • 6.­47
  • 6.­49-50
  • 6.­52
  • 6.­54-57
  • 6.­59
  • 6.­61
  • 6.­63-64
  • 6.­69
  • 6.­78
  • n.­278
  • n.­285
  • n.­376-377
  • n.­379
  • n.­381-384
  • g.­3
  • g.­18
  • g.­22
  • g.­25
  • g.­34
  • g.­48
  • g.­54
  • g.­58
  • g.­84
  • g.­88
  • g.­97
  • g.­99
  • g.­101
  • g.­107
  • g.­111
  • g.­115
  • g.­118
  • g.­120
  • g.­128
  • g.­132
  • g.­133
  • g.­141
  • g.­143
  • g.­144
  • g.­166
  • g.­177
  • g.­190
  • g.­192
  • g.­200
  • g.­212
  • g.­213
  • g.­219
  • g.­245
  • g.­253
  • g.­258
  • g.­261
  • g.­272
  • g.­278
  • g.­289
  • g.­291
  • g.­293
  • g.­295
  • g.­298
  • g.­299
  • g.­310
  • g.­323
  • g.­328
  • g.­333
  • g.­335
  • g.­341
  • g.­343
  • g.­345
  • g.­346
  • g.­347
  • g.­355
  • g.­365
  • g.­373
  • g.­374
  • g.­376
  • g.­386
  • g.­387
  • g.­388
  • g.­390
  • g.­394
  • g.­404
  • g.­406
  • g.­409
  • g.­423
  • g.­424
  • g.­430
  • g.­434
  • g.­445
  • g.­452
  • g.­454
  • g.­460
  • g.­464
  • g.­473
  • g.­477
  • g.­487
  • g.­490
  • g.­498
  • g.­505
  • g.­507
  • g.­508
  • g.­510
  • g.­512
  • g.­513
  • g.­514
  • g.­516
  • g.­520
  • g.­524
  • g.­529
  • g.­537
  • g.­538
  • g.­539
  • g.­540
  • g.­545
  • g.­547
  • g.­551
  • g.­552
  • g.­558
  • g.­570
  • g.­594
  • g.­603
  • g.­619
  • g.­622
  • g.­624
  • g.­629
  • g.­630
  • g.­635
  • g.­652
  • g.­658
  • g.­665
  • g.­670
  • g.­683
  • g.­686
  • g.­700
  • g.­702
  • g.­704
  • g.­707
  • g.­710
  • g.­711
  • g.­716
  • g.­719
  • g.­726
  • g.­727
  • g.­730
  • g.­734
g.­493

samādhi

Wylie:
  • ting nge ’dzin
Tibetan:
  • ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.

Located in 130 passages in the translation:

  • i.­24
  • i.­47
  • i.­50
  • i.­57
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­7
  • 1.­22
  • 1.­24-25
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­37-39
  • 2.­51-53
  • 2.­68
  • 2.­70
  • 2.­90-91
  • 2.­93
  • 2.­101
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­56
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­109
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­124
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­5-7
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­88-90
  • 4.­97-98
  • 4.­102-104
  • 4.­106
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­115-116
  • 4.­118-119
  • 4.­126-132
  • 4.­135
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­164
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­173
  • 4.­253
  • 4.­310
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­336-338
  • 4.­341-342
  • 4.­344
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­424
  • 4.­440
  • 4.­464
  • 4.­467
  • 4.­469
  • 4.­475
  • 4.­484
  • 4.­486
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­493
  • 4.­496
  • 4.­499
  • 4.­501
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­3-4
  • 5.­48-50
  • 5.­53
  • 5.­82
  • 5.­154
  • 6.­22-24
  • 6.­66
  • 6.­86
  • n.­11
  • n.­30
  • n.­33
  • n.­56
  • n.­226-227
  • n.­283
  • n.­325
  • n.­327-328
  • n.­330-331
  • n.­333
  • n.­335-338
  • n.­341
  • n.­356
  • n.­395-397
  • n.­399-400
  • n.­407
  • g.­10
  • g.­400
g.­494

Samantabhadra

Wylie:
  • kun tu bzang po
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • samantabhadra

One of the eight principal bodhisattvas who figures strongly in the Gaṇḍavyūha, which is the final chapter of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, and also in the Lotus Sūtra.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • 4.­189
  • 4.­433
g.­515

saṃsāra

Wylie:
  • ’khor ba
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃsāra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A state of involuntary existence conditioned by afflicted mental states and the imprint of past actions, characterized by suffering in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. On its reversal, the contrasting state of nirvāṇa is attained, free from suffering and the processes of rebirth.

Located in 45 passages in the translation:

  • i.­16
  • i.­26
  • 2.­56-57
  • 2.­77-78
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­52-54
  • 4.­196
  • 4.­214-216
  • 4.­233
  • 4.­247-248
  • 4.­260
  • 4.­262
  • 4.­264
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­306-307
  • 4.­310
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­335-336
  • 4.­360
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­410
  • 4.­413
  • 4.­517
  • 4.­543
  • 5.­48
  • 5.­52
  • 5.­69
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­106
  • 6.­73
  • n.­272
  • g.­72
  • g.­158
g.­521

Saṃtuṣita

Wylie:
  • yongs su dga’ ldan
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་དགའ་ལྡན།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃtuṣita

The principal deity in the paradise of the same name, Saṃtuṣita. More commonly referred to in English, as elsewhere in the sūtra, as Tuṣita.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 3.­85-86
  • 3.­92
  • 3.­96
  • 3.­102
  • 3.­104
  • 3.­106-107
  • 4.­55
  • 4.­59
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­334
  • 4.­363
  • 5.­57
  • n.­193
g.­524

Samudrareṇu

Wylie:
  • rgya mtsho’i rdul
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱ་མཚོའི་རྡུལ།
Sanskrit:
  • samudrareṇu

The past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni as a brahmin priest, who is the principal figure in The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra. In this sūtra, he is the court priest of King Araṇemin and the father of the Buddha Ratnagarbha.

Located in 127 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2-3
  • i.­6
  • i.­14
  • i.­28-34
  • i.­38-40
  • i.­43
  • i.­45-47
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­34-36
  • 3.­42
  • 3.­44
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­59
  • 3.­65
  • 3.­68
  • 3.­71-72
  • 3.­79-82
  • 3.­84-86
  • 3.­92-94
  • 3.­98
  • 3.­101-102
  • 3.­108-109
  • 3.­117-118
  • 3.­123-124
  • 3.­127-128
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­19-20
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­77
  • 4.­86
  • 4.­95
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­125
  • 4.­150
  • 4.­176
  • 4.­181
  • 4.­191
  • 4.­193
  • 4.­211
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­265
  • 4.­267
  • 4.­286-287
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­304
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­416
  • 4.­460
  • 4.­500
  • 4.­503-504
  • n.­11
  • n.­285
  • n.­375
  • g.­65
  • g.­66
  • g.­74
  • g.­107
  • g.­121
  • g.­207
  • g.­229
  • g.­261
  • g.­271
  • g.­274
  • g.­307
  • g.­310
  • g.­323
  • g.­394
  • g.­405
  • g.­428
  • g.­448
  • g.­451
  • g.­457
  • g.­469
  • g.­476
  • g.­502
  • g.­508
  • g.­522
  • g.­525
  • g.­529
  • g.­536
  • g.­551
  • g.­558
  • g.­562
  • g.­587
  • g.­659
  • g.­660
  • g.­667
  • g.­690
  • g.­693
  • g.­713
  • g.­719
  • g.­730
g.­528

samyaksam­buddha

Wylie:
  • yang dag par rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པར་རྫོགས་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • samyak­sambuddha

A perfect buddha: a buddha who teaches the Dharma and brings it into a world, as opposed to a pratyekabuddha, who does not teach the Dharma or bring it into a world.

Located in 92 passages in the translation:

  • i.­7-8
  • 1.­8-10
  • 1.­19-23
  • 1.­25-26
  • 2.­17-18
  • 2.­20-23
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­46-48
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­75-78
  • 2.­90
  • 2.­92
  • 3.­8-9
  • 3.­11-13
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­33-35
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­79-80
  • 3.­109
  • 3.­123-124
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­10-11
  • 4.­13-15
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­29-30
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­80
  • 4.­92
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­121
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­146
  • 4.­177
  • 4.­233
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­326
  • 4.­415
  • 4.­462
  • 4.­469
  • 4.­474
  • 4.­479
  • 4.­488
  • 4.­492
  • 4.­504
  • 4.­514-515
  • 4.­544
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­50
  • 5.­54
  • 5.­82-85
  • 6.­11
  • n.­117
g.­531

saṅgha

Wylie:
  • dge ’dun
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་འདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saṅgha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Though often specifically reserved for the monastic community, this term can be applied to any of the four Buddhist communities‍—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen‍—as well as to identify the different groups of practitioners, like the community of bodhisattvas or the community of śrāvakas. It is also the third of the Three Jewels (triratna) of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community.

Located in 84 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­3
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­76
  • 2.­79
  • 2.­94-95
  • 2.­99-100
  • 3.­12-13
  • 3.­20-21
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­27-29
  • 3.­31-34
  • 3.­41-43
  • 3.­64
  • 3.­67
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­79-83
  • 3.­89
  • 3.­92-94
  • 3.­96-97
  • 3.­101
  • 3.­103-104
  • 3.­107
  • 3.­114-117
  • 3.­124
  • 3.­126-127
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­5-6
  • 4.­39
  • 4.­46
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­157
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­169
  • 4.­205
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­266-268
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­281-282
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­394
  • 4.­498
  • 4.­545
  • 4.­548
  • 5.­48
  • 5.­106
  • n.­82
  • n.­106
  • n.­391
  • n.­427
  • g.­153
g.­533

Śāntimati

Wylie:
  • blo gros zhi ba
Tibetan:
  • བློ་གྲོས་ཞི་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • śāntimati

A bodhisattva present at the teaching of The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra who asks the Buddha why he appeared in an impure realm.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­28
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­4
g.­534

sapphire

Wylie:
  • an da rnyil
Tibetan:
  • ཨན་ད་རྙིལ།
Sanskrit:
  • indranīla

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­16
  • 4.­394
  • 5.­124
  • 5.­126
  • g.­556
g.­556

seven jewels

Wylie:
  • rin po che sna bdun
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེ་སྣ་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saptaratna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The set of seven precious materials or substances includes a range of precious metals and gems, but their exact list varies. The set often consists of gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, emeralds, and white coral, but may also contain lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphire, chrysoberyl, diamonds, etc. The term is frequently used in the sūtras to exemplify preciousness, wealth, and beauty, and can describe treasures, offering materials, or the features of architectural structures such as stūpas, palaces, thrones, etc. The set is also used to describe the beauty and prosperity of buddha realms and the realms of the gods.

In other contexts, the term saptaratna can also refer to the seven precious possessions of a cakravartin or to a set of seven precious moral qualities.

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­14-15
  • 1.­17
  • 1.­19
  • 3.­14-15
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­44
  • 3.­116
  • 3.­118
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­159-160
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­267
  • 4.­323
  • 4.­501
  • 4.­503
  • 5.­54
  • 6.­20
  • n.­23
  • n.­196
  • g.­535
g.­561

Siṃha

Wylie:
  • seng ge
Tibetan:
  • སེང་གེ
Sanskrit:
  • siṃha

The name of the eleventh son of King Araṇemin, who becomes the bodhisattva Ratnaketu and is prophesied to become the Buddha Nāga­vinarditeśvara­ghoṣa in the realm Abhirati, when it is renamed Jayasoma.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 4.­181
  • g.­5
  • g.­361
g.­566

Siṃhamati

Wylie:
  • seng ge’i blo gros
Tibetan:
  • སེང་གེའི་བློ་གྲོས།
Sanskrit:
  • siṃhamati

A bodhisattva present at the teaching of The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8-9
g.­573

Śiva

Wylie:
  • gu lang
Tibetan:
  • གུ་ལང་།
Sanskrit:
  • śiva

Otherwise called Maheśvara, one of the principal deities of the Brahmanical tradition.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • 5.­114
  • g.­197
  • g.­321
g.­575

śrāvaka

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­2
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­8-9
  • 3.­16
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­23-24
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­49-50
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­57
  • 4.­109
  • 4.­127
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­157
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­169
  • 4.­247-248
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­513
  • 4.­519
  • 4.­521
  • 5.­158
  • 6.­78
  • n.­29
  • n.­119
  • g.­340
  • g.­434
  • g.­576
g.­590

strengths

Wylie:
  • stobs
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས།
Sanskrit:
  • bala

The five strengths are a stronger form of the five powers.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­14
  • 2.­13
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­160
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­243
  • 4.­263
  • 5.­31
  • 5.­53
  • g.­151
g.­599

Sukhāvatī

Wylie:
  • bde ba can
Tibetan:
  • བདེ་བ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • sukhāvatī

The realm of the Buddha Amitāyus, more commonly known as Amitābha, as first described in the Sukhāvatīvyūha Sūtra.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • i.­36
  • 2.­16
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­29
  • 6.­66
  • g.­29
  • g.­40
  • g.­317
  • g.­379
  • g.­612
g.­605

Sumeru

Wylie:
  • ri rab
Tibetan:
  • རི་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • sumeru

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­34
  • 3.­119
  • 3.­121
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­409
  • 5.­105
  • 6.­65
  • g.­93
  • g.­485
  • g.­646
g.­609

Sunirmita

Wylie:
  • ’phrul dga’
Tibetan:
  • འཕྲུལ་དགའ།
Sanskrit:
  • sunirmita

The principal deity in the Nirmāṇarata paradise, the second highest paradise in the desire realm.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 3.­85-86
  • 3.­92
  • 3.­96
  • 3.­102
  • 3.­104
  • 3.­106-107
g.­610

sunstone

Wylie:
  • me shel
Tibetan:
  • མེ་ཤེལ།
Sanskrit:
  • sūryakānta

In Sanskrit their name means “sunstone” and in Tibetan “fire crystal.” The Indian sunstones are orange to gold-colored gems that exhibit aventurescence in that they are filled with speckles that appear to emit light.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­16
  • 3.­31
g.­612

Supra­tiṣṭhita­guṇa­maṇikūṭa­rāja

Wylie:
  • rab du brtan pa yon tan nor bu brtsegs pa’i rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • རབ་དུ་བརྟན་པ་ཡོན་ཏན་ནོར་བུ་བརྩེགས་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • supratiṣṭhita­guṇa­maṇikūṭa­rāja

The name at buddhahood of the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmaprāpta when he becomes the buddha in Sukhāvatī. The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra describes how he became a bodhisattva while being Prince Nimi.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 4.­40
  • g.­317
  • g.­379
g.­614

Surendrabodhi

Wylie:
  • su ren dra bo dhi
Tibetan:
  • སུ་རེན་དྲ་བོ་དྷི།
Sanskrit:
  • surendrabodhi

An Indian master who came to Tibet during the reign of King Ralpachen (r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ) and helped in the translation of forty-three Kangyur texts.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • c.­1
g.­623

Suvarṇapuṣpa

Wylie:
  • gser gyi me tog yongs su myan nga las ’das
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་གྱི་མེ་ཏོག་ཡོངས་སུ་མྱན་ང་ལས་འདས།
Sanskrit:
  • suvarṇapuṣpa

The Buddha that Himaṇi, the tenth son of King Araṇemin, is prophesied to become in Abhirati after the Buddha Akṣobhya has passed into nirvāṇa.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • 4.­177
  • 4.­182
  • g.­5
  • g.­193
  • g.­218
  • g.­361
  • g.­455
g.­626

Suyāma

Wylie:
  • rab ’thab bral
Tibetan:
  • རབ་འཐབ་བྲལ།
Sanskrit:
  • suyāma

The principal deity in the Yāma paradise.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 3.­85-86
  • 3.­92
  • 3.­96
  • 3.­102
  • 3.­104
  • 3.­106-107
g.­634

tathāgata

Wylie:
  • de bzhin gshegs pa
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • 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.

Located in 323 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8-11
  • 1.­19-26
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­17-18
  • 2.­20-23
  • 2.­35-36
  • 2.­44
  • 2.­46-48
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­72
  • 2.­76
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­90-92
  • 3.­7-9
  • 3.­11-15
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­24-25
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­33-34
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­55-56
  • 3.­58
  • 3.­79-80
  • 3.­94
  • 3.­109
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­123-124
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­10-11
  • 4.­13-15
  • 4.­22-23
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­32-33
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­39-40
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­46
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­80-81
  • 4.­83
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­92-93
  • 4.­98-99
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­121-123
  • 4.­134
  • 4.­137-138
  • 4.­140-142
  • 4.­146
  • 4.­148
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­167
  • 4.­172
  • 4.­174
  • 4.­177
  • 4.­179
  • 4.­181-182
  • 4.­184-185
  • 4.­187-191
  • 4.­196-197
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­202-206
  • 4.­208
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­218
  • 4.­221-222
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­228
  • 4.­230
  • 4.­232-237
  • 4.­240-242
  • 4.­245-246
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­255-256
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­269
  • 4.­272-273
  • 4.­278
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­284-285
  • 4.­289
  • 4.­293
  • 4.­304-305
  • 4.­308
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­326
  • 4.­372
  • 4.­375-376
  • 4.­379
  • 4.­399-401
  • 4.­405
  • 4.­408
  • 4.­415-416
  • 4.­430
  • 4.­460
  • 4.­462-464
  • 4.­467-469
  • 4.­474-477
  • 4.­479-484
  • 4.­486-488
  • 4.­492-494
  • 4.­496-497
  • 4.­499-504
  • 4.­510
  • 4.­514-519
  • 4.­523
  • 4.­525-526
  • 4.­536-537
  • 4.­539
  • 4.­543-547
  • 4.­553-555
  • 5.­1-2
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­49-51
  • 5.­53-55
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­72
  • 5.­80-85
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­108
  • 5.­117
  • 5.­123
  • 5.­146
  • 5.­158
  • 6.­4-5
  • 6.­7-15
  • 6.­17-21
  • 6.­23-25
  • 6.­27-29
  • 6.­31-40
  • 6.­42-47
  • 6.­49-52
  • 6.­54-64
  • 6.­68-72
  • 6.­76-78
  • n.­4
  • n.­30
  • n.­87
  • n.­117
  • n.­140
  • n.­272
  • n.­389
  • n.­417
  • g.­42
  • g.­202
  • g.­309
  • g.­344
  • g.­546
  • g.­638
  • g.­721
g.­639

Thirty-two signs of a great being

Wylie:
  • skye bu chen po'i mtshan sum cu rtsa gnyis
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་བུ་ཆེན་པོའི་མཚན་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvātriṃśanmahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa AD

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 2.­4
  • 2.­93
  • 2.­98
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­110
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­106
  • 4.­278
  • 4.­359
  • 5.­143
  • 5.­146
g.­646

Trāyastriṃśa

Wylie:
  • sum cu rtsa gsum pa
Tibetan:
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • trāyastriṃśa

The paradise on the summit of Sumeru.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 3.­94-95
  • 3.­103
  • 4.­161
  • 5.­108
  • 6.­22
g.­650

Upananda

Wylie:
  • nye dga’ bo
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་དགའ་བོ།
Sanskrit:
  • upananda

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of eight mythological nāga kings. The story of the two nāga kings Upananda and Nanda and their taming by the Buddha and Maudgalyāyana is told in the Vinayavibhaṅga (Toh 3, Degé vol. 6, ’dul ba, ja, F.221.a–224.a).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­6
  • 4.­153
g.­657

uṣṇīṣa

Wylie:
  • gtsug tor
Tibetan:
  • གཙུག་ཏོར།
Sanskrit:
  • uṣṇīṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the thirty-two signs, or major marks, of a great being. In its simplest form it is a pointed shape of the head like a turban (the Sanskrit term, uṣṇīṣa, in fact means “turban”), or more elaborately a dome-shaped extension. The extension is described as having various extraordinary attributes such as emitting and absorbing rays of light or reaching an immense height.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 3.­114
g.­668

Vairocanamati

Wylie:
  • rnam par snang byed blo gros
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་སྣང་བྱེད་བློ་གྲོས།
Sanskrit:
  • vairocanamati

A bodhisattva present at the teaching of The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8-9
g.­671

Vaiśravaṇa

Wylie:
  • rnam thos kyi bu
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་ཐོས་ཀྱི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaiśravaṇa

As one of the four mahārājas, he is the lord of the northern region of the world and the northern continent, though in early Buddhism he is the lord of the far north of India and beyond. He is also the lord of the yakṣas and a lord of wealth. There is one in each four-continent world.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 3.­72
  • 3.­74
  • 3.­78-79
  • 3.­81
  • 3.­85
  • 3.­108
  • 6.­14
  • g.­314
g.­685

Varuṇa

Wylie:
  • chu yi lha
  • chu lha
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་ཡི་ལྷ།
  • ཆུ་ལྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • varuṇa

The name of a bodhisattva present at the teaching of The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8-9
g.­715

Vinaya

Wylie:
  • ’dul ba
Tibetan:
  • འདུལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • vinaya

The vows and texts pertaining to monastic discipline. One of the three piṭakas, or “baskets,” of the Buddhist canon, the one dealing specifically with the code of monastic discipline.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­384
  • 4.­408
  • g.­399
g.­723

Virūḍhaka

Wylie:
  • ’phags skyes po
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • virūḍhaka

One of the four mahārājas. He is the guardian of the southern direction and the lord of the kumbhāṇḍas. There is one in each four-continent world.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­6
  • 3.­84-85
  • 6.­14
  • g.­296
  • g.­314
g.­724

Virūpākṣa

Wylie:
  • mig mi bzang
Tibetan:
  • མིག་མི་བཟང་།
Sanskrit:
  • virūpākṣa

One of the four mahārājas. He is the guardian of the western direction and the lord of the nāgas. There is a Virūpākṣa in each four-continent world.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 3.­84-85
  • 6.­14
  • g.­314
g.­728

Viṣṇu

Wylie:
  • khyab ’jug
Tibetan:
  • ཁྱབ་འཇུག
Sanskrit:
  • viṣṇu

One of the primary gods of the Brahmanical tradition, he is associated with the preservation and continuance of the universe.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • n.­332
  • g.­197
  • g.­369
g.­732

Vulture Peak Mountain

Wylie:
  • rgod kyi phung po
Tibetan:
  • རྒོད་ཀྱི་ཕུང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • gṛdhrakūṭa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Gṛdhra­kūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir, in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras, especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • i.­23
  • 1.­2
  • 2.­35-36
  • 5.­49
  • 5.­105
  • 5.­140
  • 6.­36
  • 6.­60
g.­737

watch

Wylie:
  • thun
Tibetan:
  • ཐུན།
Sanskrit:
  • yāma

One of the divisions of the night into four night-watches, each being approximately three hours long.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­15
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­20
  • n.­24
g.­741

yakṣa

Wylie:
  • gnod sbyin
Tibetan:
  • གནོད་སྦྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • 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 rule 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.

Located in 55 passages in the translation:

  • i.­27
  • i.­33
  • i.­55
  • i.­57
  • i.­59
  • 1.­5
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­79
  • 2.­87
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­71-72
  • 3.­74-75
  • 3.­77
  • 3.­79-80
  • 3.­82-83
  • 3.­114
  • 3.­117
  • 4.­133
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­347
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­406
  • 4.­411
  • 4.­413
  • 4.­549-550
  • 5.­69
  • 5.­103
  • 5.­105-106
  • 5.­115
  • 5.­121
  • 5.­148
  • 5.­152
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­22-23
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­55
  • 6.­85
  • 6.­88
  • 6.­90
  • n.­421
  • n.­428
  • g.­200
  • g.­346
  • g.­671
g.­742

Yama

Wylie:
  • gshin rje rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • གཤིན་རྗེ་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • yama

The lord of death who judges the dead and rules over the hells.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­10
  • 2.­93
  • 3.­108
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­331
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­549
  • 5.­106
  • 6.­68
  • n.­17
  • n.­154
  • n.­369
g.­743

Yāma

Wylie:
  • thab bral
Tibetan:
  • ཐབ་བྲལ།
Sanskrit:
  • yāma

Third (counting from the lowest) of the six paradises in the desire realm.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 3.­96
  • 4.­82
  • g.­626
g.­752

Yeshé Dé

Wylie:
  • ye shes sde
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
Sanskrit:
  • none

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • c.­1
g.­753

yojana

Wylie:
  • dpag tshad
Tibetan:
  • དཔག་ཚད།
Sanskrit:
  • yojana

The longest unit of distance in classical India. The lack of a uniform standard for the smaller units means that there is no precise equivalent, especially as its theoretical length tended to increase over time. Therefore, it can mean between four and ten miles.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • i.­58
  • 1.­14-19
  • 2.­4
  • 2.­15
  • 3.­36
  • 4.­5-6
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­160
  • 4.­355
  • 4.­385
  • 4.­505
  • 4.­507
  • 4.­510
  • 5.­54
  • 5.­104
  • 5.­126
  • 5.­140
  • 6.­64
  • n.­22
  • n.­34
  • n.­45
  • n.­413
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    84000. The White Lotus of Compassion (Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka, snying rje pad ma dkar po, Toh 112). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024. https://84000.co/translation/toh112/UT22084-050-003-chapter-1.Copy
    84000. The White Lotus of Compassion (Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka, snying rje pad ma dkar po, Toh 112). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024, 84000.co/translation/toh112/UT22084-050-003-chapter-1.Copy
    84000. (2024) The White Lotus of Compassion (Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka, snying rje pad ma dkar po, Toh 112). (Peter Alan Roberts and team, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh112/UT22084-050-003-chapter-1.Copy

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