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དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ།

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
Herbs

Saddharma­puṇḍarīka
དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Mahāyāna Sūtra “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma”
Saddharma­puṇḍarīka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra

Toh 113

Degé Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Surendrabodhi
  • Yeshé De

Imprint

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

First published 2018

Current version v 1.2.20 (2025)

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
+ 9 sections- 9 sections
· Introduction
· The Lotus Sūtra in India
· The Sūtra in China and Beyond
· The Sūtra in Tibet
· Translations into Western Languages
· This Translation
· Translation of the Title
· Translation of Specific Terms
· Detailed Summary of “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma”
tr. The Translation
+ 27 chapters- 27 chapters
1. The Introduction
2. Skill in Methods
3. The Parable
4. The Aspiration
5. Herbs
6. The Prophecies to the Śrāvakas
7. The Past
8. The Prophecy to the Five Hundred Bhikṣus
9. The Prophecies to Ānanda, Rāhula, and Two Thousand Bhikṣus
10. The Dharmabhāṇakas
11. The Appearance of the Stūpa
12. Resolutions
13. Dwelling in Happiness
14. The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the Ground
15. The Lifespan of the Tathāgata
16. The Extent of the Merit
17. Teaching the Merit of Rejoicing
18. The Benefits of the Purity of the Six Āyatanas
19. Sadāparibhūta
20. The Tathāgata’s Miracles
21. Dhāraṇīs
22. The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja
23. Gadgadasvara
24. Facing Everywhere: The Teaching of the Miracles of Avalokiteśvara
25. The Past of King Śubhavyūha
26. Samantabhadra’s Encouragement
27. The Entrusting
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 7 sections- 7 sections
· Tibetan Editions of the Sūtra
· Sanskrit Editions of the Sūtra
· Translations of the Sūtra
· Other Kangyur Texts
· Tengyur Texts
· Secondary Tibetan Sources
· Secondary Non-Tibetan Sources
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, is taught by Buddha Śākyamuni on Vulture Peak to an audience that includes bodhisattvas from countless realms, as well as bodhisattvas who emerge from under the ground, from the space below this world. Buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has long since passed into nirvāṇa, appears within a floating stūpa to hear the sūtra, and Śākyamuni enters the stūpa and sits beside him. The Lotus Sūtra is celebrated, particularly in East Asia, for its presentation of crucial elements of the Mahāyāna tradition, such as the doctrine that there is only one yāna, or “vehicle”; the distinction between expedient and definite teachings; and the notion that the Buddha’s life, enlightenment, and parinirvāṇa were simply manifestations of his transcendent buddhahood, while he continues to teach eternally. A recurring theme in the sūtra is its own significance in teaching these points during past and future eons, with many passages in which the Buddha and bodhisattvas such as Samantabhadra describe the great benefits that come from devotion to it, the history of its past devotees, and how it is the Buddha’s ultimate teaching, supreme over all other sūtras.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra was translated from Tibetan with reference to the Sanskrit by Peter Alan Roberts. Ling Lung Chen was the consultant for the Chinese versions. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor. Ben Gleason was the proofreader.

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


ac.­2

The generous sponsorship of May & George Gu, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.


i.

Introduction

Introduction

i.­1

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, not only contains one of the fullest expressions of the transcendent nature of the Buddha, but also, through its successive descriptions of astonishing events and its vivid parables, is imbued with a distinctive literary power of its own. The sūtra inspired a devoted following in India, but it is above all in east Asia that it has been particularly popular. There it has been the impetus for a range of exquisite artistic and architectural forms, and indeed, whole traditions of study and practice that thrive to this day. An extensive body of literature, too‍—both scholarly and popular‍—is based upon the sūtra.1

The Lotus Sūtra in India

The Sūtra in China and Beyond

The Sūtra in Tibet

Translations into Western Languages

This Translation

Translation of the Title

Translation of Specific Terms

Detailed Summary of “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma”


Text Body

The Translation
The Mahāyāna Sūtra
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma

1.
Chapter 1

The Introduction

[B1] [F.1.b]


1.­1

Homage to the buddhas and the bodhisattvas.


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time.56 The Bhagavān was dwelling on Vulture Peak in Rājagṛha together with a great saṅgha of twelve hundred bhikṣus,57 all of whom were solely arhats whose defilements had ceased; who were without kleśas; who had mastered themselves; who had liberated minds; who had completely liberated wisdom; who were noble beings;58 who were great elephants;59 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 engagement with existence; and who had liberated their minds through true knowledge, had perfectly attained all the powers of the mind, were renowned for their higher knowledge,60 [F.2.a] and were mahāśrāvakas.


2.
Chapter 2

Skill in Methods

2.­1

Then the Bhagavān mindfully and knowingly arose from that samādhi. Having arisen from it, he addressed Brother Śāriputra.99

“Śāriputra, the wisdom of the buddhas, which is profound, difficult to see, and difficult to understand, has been realized by the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas. It is difficult for all śrāvakas and pratyeka­buddhas to know. Why is that? Śāriputra, the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas have served many hundred thousand quintillions of buddhas; they have practiced for the highest, complete enlightenment with many hundred thousand quintillions of buddhas; they have followed them for a long time; they have been diligent; [F.13.a] they have obtained marvelous, amazing Dharma; and they know the Dharma that is difficult to know.


3.
Chapter 3

The Parable

3.­1

Then at that time, Śāriputra felt contented, delighted, elated, and joyful. With happiness and gladness he bowed with palms together toward the Bhagavān. Facing the Bhagavān, gazing solely upon the Bhagavān, he said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, I am astonished and amazed. I am overjoyed to have heard this kind of speech from the Bhagavān.

3.­2

“Why is that? Bhagavān, it is because I have never heard this kind of Dharma from the Bhagavān. When I saw other bodhisattvas and heard the names of the buddhas that those bodhisattvas will become in the future, and yet, still had not heard this kind of Dharma teaching from the Bhagavān, I imagined that I was deprived of that kind of vision of the tathāgatas’ wisdom,169 and was extremely grieved and extremely distressed. [F.25.a]


4.
Chapter 4

The Aspiration

4.­1

Then Brother Subhūti, Brother Mahākātyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, and Mahā­maudgalyāyana, having heard from the Bhagavān this kind of Dharma that they had never heard before, and having heard directly from the Bhagavān the prophecy of Brother Śāriputra’s attainment of the highest, supreme enlightenment, were amazed, astonished, and overjoyed.

At that time they rose from their seats, approached the Bhagavān, uncovered one shoulder, knelt on their right knees, and with palms together in homage to the Bhagavān, looking directly at the Bhagavān, they inclined their bodies, they bowed their bodies, they bowed well, bowed perfectly.


5.
Chapter 5

Herbs

5.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to Brother Mahākāśyapa and the other great sthaviras, “Excellent! Excellent, Kāśyapa! It is excellent, Kāśyapa, that you have praised the true qualities of the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, those are qualities of the Tathāgata. There are immeasurably and innumerably more than those. It would not be easy to enumerate them entirely even in countless eons.

5.­2

“Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata is the Lord of the Dharma. He is the principal King of All the Dharmas. Kāśyapa, whatever Dharma the Tathāgata presents, and the way he presents it, that is how it is. Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata presents all dharmas correctly.250 He presents them through the wisdom of a tathāgata, so that those dharmas lead to the state of omniscience. The Tathāgata sees the stages of meaning in all the dharmas. [F.47.a] He has attained the superior motivation concerning all the dharmas. He has attained the supreme, highest wisdom of skillful methods in bringing certainty in all the dharmas. Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha teaches the wisdom of omniscience, he brings the realization of omniscience, and he presents the wisdom of omniscience.

5.­3

“Kāśyapa, it is like this: There are all the plants, bushes, herbs, and forest trees of many different colors and different kinds, and herbs with various names that grow on the plains, the mountains, and mountain valleys in this world realm of a billion worlds. A great cloud filled with water rises up, and having risen covers all the worlds in the all-containing realm of a billion worlds. Having covered them all, rain falls simultaneously and equally everywhere on all of them.

5.­4

“Kāśyapa, the young and tender stems, branches, leaves, and petals,251 and the half-grown stems, branches, leaves, and petals, and the fully grown stems, branches, leaves, and petals among the plants, bushes, herbs, and forest trees in this world realm of a billion worlds all drink the element of water released from the great cloud in accordance with their strength and location. That great water with a single taste that was released from one great cloud appropriately makes the seeds sprout, develop, and grow. Similarly it produces flowers and fruits. Each one of those acquires its own individual name. There are multitudes of herbs and multitudes of seeds all on the same earth that are soaked by the water that has a single taste.

5.­5

“Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha appears in the world in that way. Just as the great cloud rises, the Tathāgata appears [F.47.b] and causes the entire world, with its devas, humans, and asuras, to hear his speech.

5.­6

“Kāśyapa, just as that great cloud covers all the worlds in the all-containing world realm of a billion worlds, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha emits sound before the world with its devas, humans, and asuras, so that they hear his voice, declaring, ‘Devas and humans! I am the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha! I have crossed over and I bring across! I am liberated and I liberate! I am relieved and I bring relief! I have attained nirvāṇa and bring others to the attainment of nirvāṇa! With perfect wisdom I have correct knowledge of this world and the next world! I am omniscient and all-seeing! Devas and humans, you should come to me in order to hear the Dharma! I am one who makes known the path! I am one who teaches the path! I am one who knows the path! I am one who is skilled in the path!’

5.­7

“In that way, Kāśyapa, many hundred thousand quintillions of beings come to the Tathāgata in order to hear the Dharma. The Tathāgata knows their higher and lower levels of capacity and diligence and provides them with Dharma teachings. I have taught many different kinds of Dharma discourses to various kinds of individuals so as to delight them, please them, bring them joy, and bring them benefit and happiness. Through those teachings those beings will have happiness in this life and at death will be reborn in happy existences. Wherever they are reborn, even though they enjoy many desires, they will listen to the Dharma, and having heard the Dharma they will become devoid of obscurations and finally they will enter the Dharma of omniscience, in accordance with their strength, location, and power.

5.­8

“Kāśyapa, it is like when a great cloud covers all the worlds in the all-containing realm of a billion worlds and lets fall rain equally everywhere on the plants, bushes, herbs, and forest trees, and satisfies them with water. [F.48.a] The plants, bushes, herbs, and forest trees drink the water in accordance with their strength, location, and power, and each of them grows in accordance with their individual species.

“Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha teaches the Dharma in that way. The entire Dharma has one taste‍—the one taste of liberation, freedom from desire, cessation, and the ultimate wisdom of omniscience.

5.­9

“Kāśyapa, the beings who listen to, retain, and practice the Dharma that the Tathāgata teaches do not comprehend, know, or understand themselves. Why is that? Kāśyapa, it is the Tathāgata who knows those beings‍—who they are, how they are, and what kind they are; what they think, how they think, and why they think; what they meditate on, how they meditate, and why they meditate; and what they attain, how they attain it, and why they attain it.

“Kāśyapa, it is the Tathāgata who has direct knowledge of them, direct perception of them, and sees them as they are.

5.­10

“Kāśyapa, I have realized the one taste of the Dharma: the one taste of liberation, ultimate nirvāṇa, the eternal nirvāṇa, the single level, and the domain of space. However, in order to preserve the faith of beings‍—the beings who are on this and that level, higher, middling, and lower, like the plants, bushes, herbs, and forest trees‍—I do not immediately teach them the wisdom of omniscience.

5.­11

“Kāśyapa, you are astonished because you were not able to penetrate into the Tathāgata’s teaching that contained an implied meaning. Why was that? Kāśyapa, it is because the teachings with implied meaning given by the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas [F.48.b] are difficult to understand.”

5.­12

Then the Bhagavān taught this meaning in detail, at this time giving his teaching in verses:

“I am the Dharma King who has appeared in the world.
I am the crusher of existence.
Knowing their aspirations
I teach the Dharma to beings. {1}
5.­13
“With unwavering understanding I have maintained
The teaching of the great heroes for a long time.
They also possess that which is secret,
Which they do not teach to beings. {2}
5.­14
“That wisdom is difficult to understand
For the foolish who suddenly hear it.
They will have doubts, complete misunderstanding,
And they will fall away and wander. {3}
5.­15
“I teach according to their range
And according to their strength.
By using different meanings,
I make their view correct. {4}
5.­16
“Kāśyapa, there is a cloud
That appears in the world
And spreads over the land
And covers over everything. {5}
5.­17
“That great cloud, flashing with lightning,
Is completely filled with water.
It resounds with sound,
Bringing joy to all beings. {6}
5.­18
“It obscures the sunlight
And it cools the land.
When it is within hand’s reach,
Its rain falls everywhere. {7}
5.­19
“Although it falls equally,
The mass of water is vast.
It flows everywhere,
Satiating this earth. {8}
5.­20
“Whatever herbs there are
That grow from this ground;
Plants, bushes, and forest trees,
Small trees and great trees; {9}
5.­21
“The many kinds of crops
That will become green;
Whatever grows on mountains,
In ravines, forests, and dells, {10}
5.­22
“The cloud satiates them all.
It satiates the parched earth
And the plants, bushes, and forest trees,
And it bathes the herbs. {11}
5.­23
“Those waters have one taste.
They fall from the cloud and remain here.
The plants and bushes drink them
According to their strength and location. {12}
5.­24
“The small trees and the great trees, [F.49.a]
Whether young, middling, or full grown,
They drink the water according to their strength,
And having drunk it they grow as they wish. {13}
5.­25
“Because the rain falls from the cloud, the great herbs
Grow their stems, hollow stalks, and skins,
Their spreading branches and their leaves,
And likewise their fruits and flowers. {14}
5.­26
“According to their strength and location,
The fallen rain, which has a single taste,
Germinates each and every thing
That is dwelling within its seed. {15}
5.­27
“Kāśyapa, in that way the Buddha in this world
Appears like a rain-bearing cloud over the world.
The Lord of the World, having appeared, teaches,
Expounding the true practice to beings. {16}
5.­28
“In that way the great Rishi,
Revered by the world and its devas, proclaims:
‘I am the Tathāgata, the supreme human, the Jina,
Appearing like a cloud in this world. {17}
5.­29
“ ‘I bring satiation to all beings who have withered bodies
And are attached to the three existences.
I bring happiness to those who are withered by suffering
And give them their desires and nirvāṇa. {18}
5.­30
“ ‘Multitudes of devas and humans, listen to me!
Approach so that you may look upon me!
I am the Tathāgata, the unsurpassable Bhagavān!
I have been born into this world to bring liberation. {19}
5.­31
“ ‘I teach thousands of millions of beings.
I shall fully reveal to them the pure Dharma.
Its true nature is a single equality,
Which is liberation and nirvāṇa. {20}
5.­32
“ ‘I teach the Dharma with one voice,
Doing so always for the sake of enlightenment.
It has equality and has no inequality.
There is no desire, and there is no aversion. {21}
5.­33
“ ‘I never need to be appeased,
I have no affection or malice for anyone.
I teach the Dharma equally to all beings,
As if others were all one being. {22}
5.­34
“ ‘I teach the Dharma and do nothing else. [F.49.b]
Whether walking, standing, or sitting,
Whether seated on a cushion, or lying on a bed,
I never give rise to weariness. {23}
5.­35
“ ‘I bring satiation to all the world,
Like a cloud that rains equally on all,
With an outlook of equality, on the superior and inferior,
On those with good conduct and those without good conduct, {24}
5.­36
“ ‘And the same for people who have lost their practice,
And those who are endowed with proper practice and conduct,
Those who hold the view, and those who have lost the view,
And those who have the true view, and those who have a pure view. {25}
5.­37
“ ‘I teach the Dharma to those with little capacity,
To those with inferior and those with higher understanding.
I have eliminated all weariness
And perfectly send down a rain of the Dharma. {26}
5.­38
“ ‘Listening to me, according to their strengths,252
They are established on various levels:
As beautiful devas and humans,253
As Śakras, Brahmās, and as cakravartins. {27}
5.­39
“ ‘Listen! I shall explain all
These tiny, minute herbs,
Those that are small in the world,
And the other medium and large herbs.254 {28}
5.­40
“ ‘Those humans who know the immaculate Dharma
And remain in the attainment of nirvāṇa,
Those who have the six higher knowledges and the three insights
Are declared to be the tiny herbs. {29}
5.­41
“ ‘Those humans who dwell in mountain defiles
And aspire to pratyeka­buddhahood,
Those who have a medium pure understanding,
Are declared to be the medium-sized herbs. {30}
5.­42
“ ‘Those who aspire to be the leaders of beings,
Thinking, ‘I will be a buddha, lord of devas and humans,’
And are practicing diligence and dhyāna,
Are declared to be the highest herbs. {31}
5.­43
“ ‘Those dedicated children of the Sugata,
Who practice kindness and whose conduct is peaceful,
And have no doubts about the Leader of Beings
Are in this way said to be the trees. {32}
5.­44
“ ‘Those who turn the wheel of irreversibility,
Are brave and established in strengths and miracles,
And liberate many millions of beings
Are declared to be the great trees. {33} [F.50.a]
5.­45
“ ‘The Jina teaches the Dharma equally,
Like the rain falling equally from a cloud.
Those who have various higher knowledges
Are like the herbs upon the surface of the ground. {34}
5.­46
“ ‘Understand the method of the Tathāgata
Through the teaching of this analogy.
While he teaches one Dharma
The various words255 are like the drops of rain. {35}
5.­47
“ ‘I send down a rain of the Dharma
That satiates all these beings in the world.
The Dharma that is taught has but one taste
But beings contemplate it according to their abilities. {36}
5.­48
“ ‘When it rains, the plants and bushes,
The medium-sized herbs,
The trees and big trees
In all ten directions are beautified. {37}
5.­49
“ ‘The Dharma256 thus benefits the world constantly,
Satiating the entire world with Dharma.
The entire world having been satiated,
Flowers arise from the herbs. {38}
5.­50
“ ‘The medium-sized herbs that grow
Are the arhats whose defilements have ceased,
And the pratyeka­buddhas who in the forests
Practice257 the well-taught Dharma. {39}
5.­51
“ ‘Many unwavering bodhisattvas, endowed with mindfulness,
Who have comprehended the entirety of the three realms,
Who are seeking this supreme enlightenment,
Are like the continually growing trees. {40}
5.­52
“ ‘Those who have miraculous powers and reside in the four dhyānas,
Who are overjoyed to hear the teaching of emptiness,
And who radiate thousands of light rays
Are said to be the great trees.’ {41}
5.­53
“Kāśyapa, the Dharma is taught in this way:
Like the rain falling equally from a cloud
And an endless multitude of human flowers,
A multitude of great herbs grow. {42}
5.­54
“I teach the Dharma that I have myself realized,
And teach buddhahood’s enlightenment at the appropriate time.
My skill in methods is supreme,
And that of all the guides of the world. {43} [F.50.b]
5.­55
“In this way I teach the true ultimate truth:
All those śrāvakas have not attained nirvāṇa.
When they have practiced the way of enlightenment
Then all those śrāvakas will become buddhas.258 {44}
5.­56

“Moreover, Kāśyapa, the Tathāgata guides beings equally, without any inequality.

“Kāśyapa, it is like this: The light of the sun and moon illuminates the entire world. The light shines equally, without any inequality, on the good and the bad, the high and the low, the aromatic and the foul-smelling.

5.­57

“Kāśyapa, in that way the light of the omniscient wisdom of the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas brings the Dharma equally to all beings who have been born in the five states of existence, whatever their aspirations, whether they are of the Mahāyāna, of the Pratyeka­buddha­yāna, or of the Śrāvakayāna. In that way the wisdom of the Tathāgata is never lacking and never superfluous,259 so that there is thus the attainment260 of merit and wisdom. [B5]

5.­58

“Kāśyapa, there are not three yānas. It is only because of the different practices of beings that there are said to be three yānas.”

5.­59

Then Brother Mahākāśyapa asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, if there are not three yānas, why at this time are there said to be the designations of śrāvakas, pratyeka­buddhas, and bodhisattvas?”

The Bhagavān said to Brother Mahākāśyapa, “Kāśyapa, it is like this: A potter makes all bowls from clay equally. Some of them become bowls that hold molasses, some of them become bowls that hold ghee, and some of them become bowls that hold curds or milk, some of them become bowls that hold bad and impure substances. [F.51.a] There is no difference in their clay. It is only because of the substances placed within them that they are said to be different kinds of bowls.

“Kāśyapa, in that way there is this one yāna, which is the Buddhayāna, and there is no second or third yāna.”

5.­60

Then Brother Mahākāśyapa asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, when beings with different aspirations depart from the three realms, do they have the one nirvāṇa or is there a second or third nirvāṇa?”

“Kāśyapa,” replied the Bhagavān, “nirvāṇa is the realization of the equality of all phenomena, and therefore there is the one nirvāṇa, and there is no second or third nirvāṇa.

5.­61

“Kāśyapa, some wise beings will understand the meaning through the teaching of a parable, and therefore I shall teach you a parable.

5.­62

“Kāśyapa, it is like this: A man who is blind from birth says, ‘There are no forms with good color or bad color. There is no one who sees forms with good color or bad color. There are no sun and moon. There are no stars. There are no planets. There is no one who sees planets.’

“Then some other people say in front of that born-blind man, ‘There are good colors and bad colors. There are those who see forms with good color or bad color. There are a sun and moon. There are stars. There are planets. There are those who see planets.’

5.­63

“The born-blind man does not have faith in those people, and does not believe what they have said.

“A physician who knows every illness sees the blind man and thinks, ‘That man has an illness because of his past bad karma. Every illness is one of four261 kinds: caused by air, caused by bile, caused by phlegm, or caused by their combination.’ [F.51.b]

5.­64

“Then the physician thinks again and again as to what method would cure the man of his illness. He thinks, ‘The medicines that are available here will not be able to cure him, but there are four kinds of herbs on the king of mountains, the Himalayas.’ What are these four? First there is the one named endowed with all colors and tastes,262 the second is called freedom from all illness,263 the third is called elimination of all poisons,264 and the fourth is called bestowing happiness anywhere.265 Those are the four herbs.

5.­65

“Then the physician, feeling compassion for the born-blind man, contemplates by what method he would be able to go to the king of mountain ranges, the Himalayas. He goes there and, searching for them, he climbs up, climbs down, and traverses their slopes. Searching in that way he finds the four herbs. After finding them, some he gives after grinding them with his teeth, some he gives after crushing them, some he gives after mixing them with other substances and then cooking them, some he gives after mixing them with other substances uncooked, some he gives after piercing a point on the body with a needle, some he gives after burning them with fire, and some he gives after mixing them with each other, and also mixing them with food, drink, and so on. Through the application of these methods the born-blind man gains sight.

5.­66

“When he has gained sight he sees outside and inside, far and near, the light of the moon, the sunlight, the stars, the planets, and all forms. He says, ‘Oh, I was so stupid before in not believing what was taught to me, not accepting what was said. Now I can see everything! I am freed from blindness!’

“At that time there are rishis who have the five higher knowledges: divine sight, divine hearing, the knowledge of others’ minds, memory of previous lives, and mastery of miraculous powers. They say to the man, ‘Oh, all you obtained is your sight. If you have no other knowledge, why are you proud? You have no wisdom. [F.52.a] You have no sagacity.’

5.­67

“They also say to him, ‘You know, when you are sitting inside a house, you do not see the forms that are outside. You do not know the kind thoughts or malicious thoughts of beings. You do not know, do not hear, the sounds of people speaking, or the sounds of drums, conches, and so on, which are five yojanas away. You are not able to travel one krośa without taking a step with your feet. You are not able to remember the activity of being conceived and growing in your mother’s womb. So how can you be sagacious? How can you say that you see everything? Oh, you think that light is darkness. You think that darkness is light!’

5.­68

“Then that man says to the rishis, ‘Through what method and through what good actions can I attain such wisdom as that, and through your benevolence attain these qualities?’

“ ‘If you wish for those you must dwell in a solitary place,’ say the rishis to that man, ‘or, staying in a cave, you should contemplate the Dharma. You should forsake all the afflictions of the mind. If in this way you have the qualities of a mendicant, you will attain higher knowledge.’

5.­69

“That man then adopts that goal and entering homelessness he resides in solitude. With a one-pointed mind he abandons craving for this world and attains the five higher knowledges. Having obtained the five higher knowledges, he thinks, ‘I did not attain any qualities whatsoever through the other actions I had performed in the past. Now I can go wherever I think of. In the past, I had little wisdom and little insight. I was blind.’

“Kāśyapa, I have made this parable so that its meaning can be understood. Its meaning should be seen in this way:

5.­70

“Kāśyapa, the blind man represents the beings who dwell in the saṃsāra of the five266 kinds of existences. Those who do not know the good Dharma generate the black darkness of the kleśas and have the blindness of ignorance. Those who are blind with ignorance accumulate formations. [F.52.b] Through the factor of formation there is name-and-form, and so on until the arising of a great mass of sheer suffering. In that way they are blinded by ignorance. The Tathāgata has compassion for the beings in saṃsāra, and although he has transcended the three realms he has love for them like that of a father for his only son. With great compassion he goes to the three realms. The Bhagavān looks with eyes of wisdom upon the beings who are afflicted and wandering in the cycle of saṃsāra and do not know how to leave saṃsāra. Seeing them he knows, ‘These beings, because of their previous good actions, have little anger and great desire, while these have little desire and great anger; some have little wisdom, some are wise; and some are ripened and pure, and some hold wrong views.’ The Tathāgata, using a skillful method, teaches three yānas to those beings.

5.­71

“The rishis with the five higher knowledges and pure vision are the bodhisattvas who have developed the aspiration for enlightenment, attained receptivity to the birthlessness of phenomena, and attained the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood.

“The great physician should be seen to be the Tathāgata.

“The born-blind man should be seen to be beings who are blinded by ignorance.

5.­72

“Air, bile, and phlegm should be seen as desire, anger, ignorance, and the sixty-two fabricated views.

“The four kinds of herbs should be seen as (1) the doorway of emptiness, (2) the doorway of the absence of attributes, (3) the doorway of the absence of aspiration, and (4) nirvāṇa.

“The herbs are given in such and such a way so as to cure such and such an illness, and in that way through meditation on the doorways to liberation‍—emptiness, the absence of attributes, [F.53.a] and the absence of aspiration‍—they bring an end to ignorance. Because of the cessation of ignorance there is the cessation of formation, and so on until there is the cessation of the great mass of sheer suffering. And thus their minds neither dwell on virtue nor on sin.

5.­73

“The born-blind man who gains sight should be seen as those who follow the Śrāvakayāna and the Pratyeka­buddha­yāna. They cut through the bondage of saṃsāra’s kleśas. Freed from the bondage of the kleśas, they are liberated from the six existences of the three realms. Therefore, those following the Śrāvakayāna think and say, ‘There is no other Dharma for attaining complete buddhahood and I have attained nirvāṇa.’ Then the Tathāgata teaches them the Dharma, saying, ‘How can one who has not attained the entire Dharma have nirvāṇa?’ and he then leads them to the attainment of enlightenment. Having gained realization they see the world of the three realms in the ten directions as empty, like an emanation, like an illusion, like a dream, a mirage, and an echo. They see that all phenomena are unborn and unceasing, without bondage or liberation, without darkness and without light.

“The ones who thus see and hear these profound dharmas see, without seeing, the different thoughts and aspirations of beings that fill the entire three realms.”


5.­74

Then the Bhagavān, teaching this in greater detail, recited these verses:

“The light of the sun and moon
Shines equally upon humans,
Both those with qualities and the sinful,
Without increase or diminution. {45}
5.­75
“The wisdom light of the Tathāgata
Shines equally like the sun and moon,
And it guides all beings
Without diminution or excess. {46} [F.53.b]
5.­76
“A potter makes clay pots
Equally from the same clay
But they become pots
For molasses, milk, ghee, or water. {47}
5.­77
“Some are for impurities
And others for curds,
Though the potter makes the pots
By using the same clay. {48}
5.­78
“A pot is characterized in accordance
With the substance that is contained within it.
In the same way there is no difference between beings
But there are those who become tathāgatas because of their aspirations. {49}
5.­79
“They describe separate yānas
But the Buddhayāna is the definitive one.267
If there is no knowledge of the circle of saṃsāra
There can be no knowledge of nirvāṇa. {50}
5.­80
“The one who knows emptiness
And that phenomena are without self
Truly knows the enlightenment
Of the bhagavāns, of the buddhas. {51}
5.­81
“Someone who is classified as having
Medium wisdom is said to be a pratyekajina.
Someone who is lacking268 the knowledge of emptiness
Is proclaimed to be a śrāvaka. {52}
5.­82
“The one who comprehends all phenomena
Is said to be a perfectly enlightened buddha.269 {53}
5.­83
“Someone who is born blind says,
Not having ever seen
The sun, moon, planets, or stars,
‘There are no forms whatsoever.’ {54}
5.­84
“A great physician has great compassion
For the one who is born blind,
And goes to the Himalayas,
Ascending, descending, and traversing them. {55}
5.­85
“From the mountains he finds herbs
Of four kinds such as the one called
Endowed with all colors and tastes,270
And he blends them together. {56}
5.­86
“Some he grinds with his teeth,
And others he crushes, or moreover
Inserts them into a limb with a needle’s point,
Thereby using them on the born-blind man. {57}
5.­87
“The blind man gains his sight and sees the sun,
The moon, the planets, and the stars,
And then he thinks that in the past
He had spoken out of ignorance. {58}
5.­88
“In that way, beings have great271 ignorance
Like the born-blind man, and continue in saṃsāra.
Because they do not know the cycle of dependent origination
Their path is the river of suffering.272 {59}
5.­89
“The supreme all-knowing one,273 [F.54.a]
The Tathāgata, the great physician,
Who has the nature of compassion,
Appears in the world that is stupefied by ignorance. {60}
5.­90
“That Teacher, skillful in methods,
Teaches the good Dharma.
To those in the highest yāna he teaches
The supreme enlightenment of buddhahood. {61}
5.­91
“The Guide expounds the medium
To those who have medium wisdom,
And also describes another enlightenment
To those who are frightened of saṃsāra. {62}
5.­92
“Śrāvakas274 who have freed themselves
From the three realms understand in this way:
‘I have gained the attainment
Of peace, of stainless nirvāṇa. {63}
5.­93
“ ‘I have understood the entire Dharma
And thereby attained immortal nirvāṇa.’275 {64}
5.­94
“Then the great rishis have
Great compassion for the once-blind man,
And they say, ‘You are a fool!
Do not think, “I am wise!” {65}
5.­95
“ ‘When you are staying
In the interior of a house,
You, who are an ignoramus,
Do not know what is outside. {66}
5.­96
“ ‘How can you, ignoramus, say you have knowledge
When still, while you are inside,
You do not know what is done
Or not done on the outside? {67}
5.­97
“ ‘You are not even able to hear
The sounds that are made
Merely five yojanas distant,
Let alone any further. {68}
5.­98
“ ‘You are not able to know
What malicious thoughts others have
Or what kind thoughts they have,
So how can you be proud? {69}
5.­99
“ ‘You are not able to go even one krośa
Without having to take a step.
You have immediately forgotten
Whatever happened in your mother’s womb. {70}
5.­100
“ ‘Someone who is called omniscient
Is someone who has the five higher knowledges.
You are stupid and know nothing,
And yet you say, “I am omniscient.” {71}
5.­101
“ ‘If you wish to be omniscient,
You must attain higher knowledge.
In order to accomplish higher knowledge
You must contemplate in solitude
The pure Dharma, and then through that
You will accomplish higher knowledge.’276 {72}
5.­102
“Having that as his goal he enters solitude
And contemplates with perfect concentration.
He attains the five higher knowledges,
And soon possesses those qualities. {73} [F.54.b]
5.­103
“In that way, all the śrāvakas
Believe they have attained nirvāṇa.
The Jina teaches to them,
‘This is not nirvāṇa, it is a rest. {74}
5.­104
“ ‘This way of teaching
Is the method of the buddhas.
There is no other nirvāṇa
Than omniscience‍—strive to attain it! {75}
5.­105
“ ‘The infinite wisdom of the three times,
And the excellent six perfections;
Emptiness, the absence of attributes,
And the elimination of aspiration; {76}
5.­106
“ ‘The aspiration to enlightenment,
And the other dharmas that lead to nirvāṇa;277 {77}
5.­107
“ ‘The four brahmavihāras, the methods of attracting disciples,
And whatever else has been taught,
Has been taught by the supreme rishis
For the purpose of guiding beings. {78}
5.­108
“ ‘The one who knows that phenomena
Have the nature of dreams and illusions,
Are without an essence like a plantain tree
And are the same as echoes, {79}
5.­109
“ ‘That one knows the nature
Of the entire three realms,
Has no bondage, is liberated,
And knows nirvāṇa. {80}
5.­110
“ ‘All phenomena are empty and equal,
And their nature is without diversity or differentiation.
If that is not perceived,
There is no insight into any phenomenon. {81}
5.­111
“ ‘The one with great wisdom sees
The entire dharmakāya.
There are no three yānas at all;
There is only the single yāna. {82}
5.­112
“ ‘All phenomena are the same;
All are the same, always the same.
Knowing that, one knows
Nirvāṇa, deathlessness, and peace.’ ” {83}
5.­113

This concludes “Herbs,” the fifth chapter of the Dharma teaching of “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.”


6.
Chapter 6

The Prophecies to the Śrāvakas

6.­1

When the Bhagavān had finished reciting those verses, he announced to the complete saṅgha of bhikṣus, “Oh bhikṣus! I declare to you,278 I make it known to you, that this śrāvaka bhikṣu of mine, Kāśyapa, will serve three hundred billion buddhas, will venerate them, honor them, make offerings to them, praise them, and respect them.279 He will hold the Dharma of those buddha bhagavāns. [F.55.a] In his last life, in an eon named Mahāvyūha, in a world named Avabhāsaprāptā, he will appear in the world as the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct,280 the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Raśmiprabhāsa. His lifespan will be twelve intermediate eons. His Dharma will remain for twenty intermediate eons, and the outer form of his Dharma will remain for a further twenty intermediate eons. His buddha realm will be pure and clean, without stones, pebbles, or gravel, without chasms or cliffs, without drains or cesspools.281 It will be flat, pleasant, beautiful, delightful, made of beryl, adorned by jewel trees, divided eightfold like a checkerboard by golden cords,282 and filled with flowers. There will be many hundred thousands of bodhisattvas there. There will be countless hundred thousand quintillions of śrāvakas there. The evil Māra and his followers will not appear there. Even if Māra and Māra’s followers were to appear there they would become dedicated to maintaining the Dharma taught by the bhagavān tathāgata Raśmiprabhāsa.”


7.
Chapter 7

The Past

7.­1

“Bhikṣus, in the past, in a time gone by, beyond and even further beyond the most countless, innumerable, incalculable, unquantifiable, inconceivable asaṃkhyeya eons ago, at that time, in that era, in an eon named Mahārūpa, in a world named Saṃbhavā, there appeared in that world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Mahābhijñā­jñānābhi­bhū.


8.
Chapter 8

The Prophecy to the Five Hundred Bhikṣus

8.­1

Brother Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇī­putra, having heard directly from the Bhagavān about this wisdom insight into skillful methods, about the teachings with implied meaning, and having heard the prophecies made to the great śrāvakas, and having heard of the connections with the past, and having heard of the preeminence of the Bhagavān, was astonished and amazed, without worldly concerns, and filled with delight and joy. Then with great delight and joy and great reverence for the Dharma, he rose from his seat, bowed down to the feet of the Bhagavān, [F.75.b] and thought, “Bhagavān, it is wonderful! Sugata, it is wonderful! The tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas accomplish that which is extremely difficult‍—they teach the Dharma to beings according to the different concerns of the world, through many wisdom insights into skillful methods, and they liberate330 beings attached to this and that.331 Bhagavān, what are we able to do? The Tathāgata is the one who knows our aspirations and our past.”


9.
Chapter 9

The Prophecies to Ānanda, Rāhula, and Two Thousand Bhikṣus

9.­1

At that time, Brother Ānanda thought, “May I obtain a prophecy like these!” Thinking that, contemplating it, and wishing for it, he rose from his seat and bowed down to the Bhagavān’s feet. Brother Rāhula also, thinking, contemplating, and wishing for the same thing, bowed down to the Bhagavān’s feet, and they said, “Bhagavān, may we have such an opportunity! Sugata, may we have such an opportunity! Bhagavān, you are our father, our progenitor, our refuge, our support, and our protector. Bhagavān, we are honored by the world with its devas, humans, and asuras as the sons of the Bhagavān, the attendants of the Bhagavān, and the keepers of the Dharma treasure of the Bhagavān. Therefore, Bhagavān, it would be fitting if the Bhagavān were quickly to give us the prophecy of our attainment of the highest, complete enlightenment.”


10.
Chapter 10

The Dharmabhāṇakas

10.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja and eighty thousand other bodhisattvas, “Bhaiṣajyarāja, do you see this assembly’s numerous devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas and upāsikās, and followers of the Śrāvakayāna and the Bodhisattva­yāna who have heard this Dharma teaching directly from the Tathāgata?” [F.84.a]


11.
Chapter 11

The Appearance of the Stūpa

11.­1

Then a stūpa made of the seven precious materials arose from the center of the assembly, directly in front of the Bhagavān. It was five hundred yojanas tall and of a corresponding circumference. Having risen up, it remained suspended in the air, bright and beautiful, adorned with five thousand encircling railings358 covered in flowers, and beautified by many thousands of toraṇas, hung with thousands of sacred flags and banners of victory, [F.89.a] hung with thousands of strings of jewels, hung with thousands of streamers and bells, and emitting the aroma of bay leaves and sandalwood. That aroma spread throughout the entire all-containing world. Its crowning parasol reached as high as the palaces in the paradises of the Four Mahārājas. It was made of the seven precious materials, which are gold, silver, beryl, white coral, emerald, red pearl, and chrysoberyl. At the stūpa, devas of the Trāyastriṃśa paradise scattered coral tree and great coral tree flowers on the precious stūpa, bestrewing it with them, and covering it with them.


12.
Chapter 12

Resolutions

12.­1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāpratibhāna, together with a following of two hundred thousand bodhisattvas, facing the Bhagavān, said, “Bhagavān, have no concern over this matter. Bhagavān, we will teach, we will expound this Dharma teaching to beings after the nirvāṇa of the Tathāgata.

“Bhagavān, in that time beings will be wicked, have few roots of merit, be arrogant, be devoted to gain and honor, engage in roots of demerit, be difficult to guide, have no interest, and be filled with disinterest, but, Bhagavān, we will demonstrate the power of patience and in that time we will teach this sūtra, we will uphold it, we will expound it, we will write it out, we will honor it, we will venerate it, and we will make offerings to it. Bhagavān, we will cast aside body and life and teach this sūtra. Therefore, Bhagavān, have no concern.”


13.
Chapter 13

Dwelling in Happiness

13.­1

Then Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what these bodhisattva mahāsattvas are resolved to do because of their reverence for the Bhagavān is a difficult task, extremely difficult. Bhagavān, how should these bodhisattva mahāsattvas expound this Dharma teaching in the later times, in a later era?”

The Bhagavān said to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, “Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should expound this Dharma teaching in the later times, in a later era, by maintaining four qualities. What are these four?


14.
Chapter 14

The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the Ground

14.­1

Then the bodhisattvas who had arrived from other world realms, who were as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers, stood up in the circle of the assembly, bowed to the Bhagavān with hands together in homage, and said these words:

“Bhagavān, if the Bhagavān will permit us, [F.111.a] after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, we too will teach this Dharma teaching in the Sahā world realm. We will read it, write it, and make offerings to it. We shall be dedicated to this Dharma teaching. Bhagavān, teach well this Dharma teaching to us.”


15.
Chapter 15

The Lifespan of the Tathāgata

15.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the complete assembly of bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak.”

The Bhagavān said a second time, and a third time, to those bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak. Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak.”


16.
Chapter 16

The Extent of the Merit

16.­1

When the teaching of the Tathāgata’s lifespan was taught it benefited innumerable, countless beings. The Bhagavān said at that time to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, “Ajita, when the Dharma teaching that teaches the Tathāgata’s lifespan was given, a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-eight Ganges Rivers, developed receptivity to the birthlessness of phenomena.


17.
Chapter 17

Teaching the Merit of Rejoicing

17.­1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya asked the Bhagavān, [F.129.a] “Bhagavān, if a noble man or noble woman rejoices after hearing this Dharma teaching explained, how much merit, Bhagavān, does that noble man or noble woman create?” And at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya also addressed to him this verse:

17.­2
“After the nirvāṇa of the great Hero,
How much merit will there be
For someone who listens to this kind of sūtra,
And having heard it, rejoices?” {1}

18.
Chapter 18

The Benefits of the Purity of the Six Āyatanas

18.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Satata­samitābhiyukta, “If any noble man or noble woman possesses, reads, teaches, or asks questions about this Dharma teaching, that noble man or noble woman will gain eight hundred qualities of the eyes, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the nose, will gain eight hundred qualities of the ears, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the tongue, will gain eight hundred qualities of the body, and will gain twelve hundred qualities of mind.


19.
Chapter 19

Sadāparibhūta

19.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahā­sthāma­prāpta, “Mahā­sthāma­prāpta, you should know that this Dharma teaching is like this: Whoever rejects this Dharma teaching, and scolds, rebukes, and speaks crudely489 and harshly to the bhikṣus, [F.139.b] bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess such a sūtra as this, will experience the undesirable result ripening from that, which is that they will be unable to speak words. Whoever possesses such a sūtra as this, reads it, studies it, teaches it, and teaches it extensively to others will have the desirable result ripening from that, which is, as I have said before, that they will attain purified eyes, nose, ears, tongue, body, and mind.


20.
Chapter 20

The Tathāgata’s Miracles

20.­1

Then those hundreds of millions of quintillions of bodhisattvas who had emerged from the ground, as numerous as the atoms in a world realm, placed their hands together in homage and said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, we will teach this Dharma teaching in all the buddha realms where the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, and in the buddha realms where the Bhagavān will pass into nirvāṇa.


21.
Chapter 21

Dhāraṇīs

21.­1

498Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, [F.147.a] and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, how much merit will a noble man or noble woman generate by carrying this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma on their body or making a text of it?”


22.
Chapter 22

The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja

22.­1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, through what cause is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja active in this Sahā world realm? Bhagavān, he must have undergone many hundred thousands of quintillions of hardships. I request the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha to speak of just a fraction of what the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja has practiced, so that those who have heard the Bhagavān‍—the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, and the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have arrived here from other world realms and these great śrāvakas‍—will all be pleased, delighted, and happy.”


23.
Chapter 23

Gadgadasvara

23.­1

Then at that time the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni emitted light from the ūrṇā hair between his eyebrows, which was a sign of a great being. That light shone throughout hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms in the east, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers. Beyond those hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers, there was the world realm named Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā, in which there lived, was present, and remained the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha named Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña. He was accompanied and revered by an immeasurably great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. Then the ray of light emitted by the bhagavān tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni from his ūrṇā hair shone at that time throughout the world realm Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā.


24.
Chapter 24

Facing Everywhere: The Teaching of the Miracles of Avalokiteśvara

24.­1

596Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, why is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara called Avalokiteśvara?” [F.164.b]

24.­2

The Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati, “Noble one, if the hundred thousand quintillion beings in this world who are experiencing suffering were to hear the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara they would all become freed from that mass of suffering.


25.
Chapter 25

The Past of King Śubhavyūha

25.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the all-inclusive assembly of bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, in the past, in a time gone by, countless eons ago, at that time, in that era, in an eon named Priyadarśana, in a world named Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā, there appeared in that world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the one who knows the world’s beings, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Jala­dhara­garjita­ghoṣa­susvarana­kṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña­.


26.
Chapter 26

Samantabhadra’s Encouragement

26.­1

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra, leading a following of countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas, and leading a following of countless devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans, came from the east, and the realms shook, a rain of lotuses fell, and a hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments played. With the great power of a bodhisattva, with the great manifestations of a bodhisattva, with the great miraculous power of a bodhisattva, with the great majesty636 of a bodhisattva, with the great brilliant magnificence of a bodhisattva, with the great way637 of a bodhisattva, with the great miracles of a bodhisattva, and with the great miraculous manifestation of leading a following638 of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans‍—it was with such an inconceivable miraculous manifestation that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra came to this Sahā world realm.


27.
Chapter 27

The Entrusting

27.­1

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni [F.179.b] rose from his Dharma seat and manifested the miracle of his right hand taking hold of the right hands of those in the entire gathering of bodhisattvas. At that time he said, “Noble ones, this highest, complete enlightenment that I accomplished after a hundred thousand quintillion asaṃkhyeya eons I place in your hands: I entrust it to you, I present it to you, and I pass it on to you. Noble ones, you should do whatever will make it extensively widespread.”


c.

Colophon

c.­1

Translated, revised, and finalized by the Indian Upādhyāya Surendrabodhi and the chief editor Lotsawa Bandé Nanam Yeshé Dé.


n.

Notes

n.­1
See Jamieson (2002) for a list of the numerous scholarly works.
n.­2
Karashima (2015).
n.­3
Dessein (2009): 36–37.
n.­4
Zhongxin (1997).
n.­5
Karashima (2001).
n.­6
Karashima (2001): 212.
n.­7
Lopez (2016): 21.
n.­8
Deeg (1999).
n.­56
There have been two ways to interpret this traditional beginning of a sūtra, with such Indian masters as Kamalaśīla claiming that both are equally correct. The alternative interpretation is “Thus have I heard: at one time, the Bhagavān…,” and so on. The various arguments, both traditional and modern, for either side are given by Brian Galloway in “Thus have I heard: At one time…,” Indo-Iranian Journal 34, no. 2 (April 1991): 87–104.
n.­57
This figure is from the Sanskrit. The Tibetan in all Kangyurs has twelve thousand, as do the Chinese translations by Kumārajīva (T.262, early fifth century) and by Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta (T.264, early seventh century). The Chinese translation by Dharmarakṣa (T.263, late third century), however, has 1,200 like the Sanskrit, while the other early Chinese translation, which is anonymous, has 42,000 (大比丘眾四萬二千人俱).
n.­58
Sanskrit ājāneya; Tibetan cang shes. Ājāneya was incorrectly defined as meaning “all-knowing” and was translated therefore into Tibetan as cang shes (“all-knowing”). The term ājāneya was primarily used for thoroughbred horses, but was also applied to people in a laudatory sense.
n.­59
This term probably has its origins in being a translation into Sanskrit from the Middle Indic mahānāga, the Sanskrit equivalent of which should have been mahānagna, which has the meaning of “a great champion, a man of distinction and nobility.”
n.­60
According to the BHS abhi­jñatābhijña­ta, where the same word is repeated with different meanings. The Tibetan translates both identically in most Kangyurs as mngon par shes pa mngon par shes pa, and in others such as Degé and Lhasa as mngon par shes pas mngon par shes pa.
n.­99
According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: Śāridvataputra.
n.­169
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “deprived of the scope of wisdom of the tathāgatas, and of the vision of their wisdom.”
n.­250
According to the Stok Palace Kangyur rigs, and the Sanskrit yukti. The other Tibetan versions consulted have rig in error for rigs.
n.­251
According to the Tibetan. The BHS has “shoots, tender stalks, branches, leaves, foliage.”
n.­252
According to the Sanskrit and most Kangyurs consulted. The Degé and the Comparative Edition have spobs (“eloquence,” “confidence”) instead of stobs.
n.­253
In Sanskrit, martya means literally “mortals.”
n.­254
According to the Stok Palace Kangyur sman, and the Sanskrit oṣadhī. The other Tibetan versions consulted have dman (“inferior”) in error for sman (“herb”).
n.­255
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has nirukti (“definitions”).
n.­256
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has dharmatā (“the nature of the Dharma”).
n.­257
According to the Sanskrit niṣpādayī and the Yongle and Kangxi Kangyurs bsten. The Degé has bstan (“teach”).
n.­258
In the Chinese version the chapter concludes at this point.
n.­259
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “born” instead of “superfluous,” which appears to be a corruption.
n.­260
According to the BHS samudāgamāya. The Tibetan translates as sdud, which could be interpreted as “gathering together.”
n.­261
According to the Sanskrit, and the Lhasa and Stok Palace Kangyurs. Other Kangyurs consulted have zhi (“pacified”) in error for bzhi (“four”).
n.­262
Sarva­varṇa­rasa­sthānānugatā.
n.­263
Sarva­vyādhi­pramocanī.
n.­264
Sarva­viṣa­vināśanī.
n.­265
Yathā­sthāna­sthita­sukha­pradā.
n.­266
According to the Tibetan and in agreement with Burnouf. The Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit and Kern have “six.”
n.­267
The Comparative Edition has des in error for nges; the Stok Palace Kangyur has nges and the Sanskrit has niścita (online Vaidya: niṃścita).
n.­268
According to the Sanskrit vihīna. The Tibetan has btul (“subdued”).
n.­269
The second half of this verse does not appear in Tibetan: “Through hundreds of skillful methods / He constantly teaches the Dharma to beings” (See Vaidya ed., tenopāyaśatair­nityaṃ dharmaṃ deśeti prāṇinām //).
n.­270
Sarva­varṇa­rasa­sthānā. In the prose it has a longer form of the name: Sarva­varṇa­rasa­sthānānugatā.
n.­271
According to the Sanskrit mahā and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné Kangyurs. The Degé and Comparative Edition have tshe in error for che.
n.­272
According to the Tibetan, which appears to be a free translation of avartmanaḥ (“to repeat,” “to continue with”).
n.­273
According to the Sanskrit sarvavid. Absent from the Tibetan.
n.­274
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit is in the singular.
n.­275
Only half of this verse appears to have been translated into Tibetan, thereby altering the meaning. In comparison, the Sanskrit has: “I then teach to them, / ‘This is not what is called nirvāṇa; / It is through understanding the entire Dharma / that immortal nirvāṇa is attained’ ” (see Vaidya, ed.: tāmeva tatra prakāśemi naitannirvāṇa­mucyate / sarva­dharmāvabodhāttu nirvāṇaṃ prāpyate ’mṛtam //).
n.­276
The Sanskrit has this as a six-line verse instead of the usual four lines.
n.­277
The Tibetan has the first half only of the Sanskrit verse, the second half of which is: “And all the imperfect and the immaculate, / which are peace, and are equal to space” (Vaidya, ed.: sāsravānāsravāḥ śāntāḥ sarve gagana­saṃnibhāḥ).
n.­278
According to the BHS ārocayāmi. The Tibetan mos par bya could be interpreted as “make you aspire.”
n.­279
According to the Sanskrit. The last two activities are absent from the Tibetan, but when this passage is repeated further on in this chapter they are included in the Tibetan, and so there appears to be an unintended omission here.
n.­280
According to the commentary this refers to the eightfold path, with wisdom being the right view and conduct being the other seven aspects of the path.
n.­281
According to the BHS gūtholigalla. The Tibetan translates obscurely as sme ba (“spots”).
n.­282
See n.­179.
n.­330
According to the Sanskrit pramocayanti and, in part, the Stok Palace Kangyur ’grol ba. The other Tibetan versions consulted have ’grel ba; a Tibetan translation of the causative Sanskrit verb form would more likely be sgrol ba.
n.­331
The syntax is according to the Sanskrit; the Tibetan reverses the order of the sentences.
n.­358
According to the Sanskrit vedikā. The Tibetan translates as stegs bu, “platforms,” Burnouf as “balconies,” and Kern as “terraces.” However, vedikā here refers to the railings in which the toraṇas, or “gateways,” are set. While the vedikās do serve as railings for elevated platforms, which serve as circumambulatory walkways, they also encircle the stūpa on the surrounding flat ground.
n.­489
According to the Tibetan tshogs par mi dbyung ba (“unfit for a gathering”), which will have been a translation of asabhya. The Sanskrit has asatya (“falsely”), which appears to have been the source of the Chinese translation.
n.­498
In the Chinese translation this chapter is later, following the chapter on Avalokiteśvara.
n.­596
“Facing everywhere” in the chapter title is translated according to the Sanskrit samantamukha, which has also became an epithet for the many-faced forms of Avalokiteśvara. The Tibetan translates as kun nas sgo (taking the alternative meaning of “door” from mukha) which could be literally translated as “doors on all sides.” However, in the Mahāvyutpatti we find samanta-spharaṇa-mukha translated as bzhin kun tu khyab pa (“face that pervades everywhere”). Other translations have included “all-sided one” and “all-sidedness.” Burnouf translates as “Celui dont la face regarde de tous les côtés,” correcting his earlier translation based on a misreading of samantamukha as samantasukha (“complete bliss”). The meaning, however translated, refers to Avalokiteśvara regarding all beings.
n.­636
According to the Sanskrit. “Great” is absent from the Tibetan. The Sanskrit mahata bodhi­sattva­māhātmyena manages to keep the two similar words apart.
n.­637
According to the Sanskrit mahatā bodhi­sattvayānena. The Tibetan could be interpreted to mean specifically the mahāyāna.
n.­638
“leading a following” is absent from the Tibetan.

b.

Bibliography

Tibetan Editions of the Sūtra

dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo (Saddharma­puṇḍarīka­sūtra) [The White Lotus of the Good Dharma]. Toh 113, Degé Kangyur, 103 vols. New Delhi: Karmapae Chodhey Gyalwae Sungrab Patrun Khang, 1976–79, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1a–180b.

dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), pp. 3–427.

dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. Choné Kangyur (co ne bka’ ’gyur). 108 vols. Choné: co ne par khang, 1926, vol. 31 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1–212b.

dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. Lhasa Kangyur (lha sa bka’ ’gyur). 100 vols. Lhasa: zhol bka’ ’gyur par khang, 1934, vol. 53 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b–285b.

dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. Narthang Kangyur (snar thang bka’ ’gyur). 102 vols. Narthang: snar thang par khang, eighteenth century, vol. 53 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b–281b.

dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma bka’ ’gyur). 109 vols. Leh: smad rtsis shes rig dpe mdzod, 1975–80. vol. 67 (mdo sde, ma), folios 1a–270b.

dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. Urga Kangyur (ur ga bka’ ’gyur). New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1990–94. vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1a–180b.

Khangkar, Tsultrim Kelsang (ed.) bod gyur dam pa’i chos padma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo: Tibetan Translation of Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra. Nyin bod nang rig deb grangs (Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist Culture Series) XI. Kyoto: Tibetan Buddhist Culture Association, 2009.

Sanskrit Editions of the Sūtra

Zhongxin, Jiang. Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from the Lüshun Museum Collection. Tokyo: Sōka Gakkai, 1997.

Vaidya, P. L. Saddharma­puṇḍarīka­sūtra. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning, 1960.

Watanabe, Shōkō. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Manuscripts Found in Gilgit. Tokyo: Reiyukai, 1972–75.

Wogihara, Unrai and Tsuchida, Chikao. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtram: Romanized and Revised Text of the Bibliotheca Buddhica publication by consulting a Sanskrit Ms. & Tibetan and Chinese translations. Tōkyō: Seigo-Kenkyūkai, 1934–35.

Translations of the Sūtra

Borsig, Margareta von. Lotos-Sutra: Das Große Erleuchtungsbuch des Buddhismus. Freiburg: Herder, 2003.

Burnouf, Eugene. Le lotus de la bonne loi. Paris: L’imprimerie Nationale, 1852.

Hurvitz, Leon. Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma. New York: Columbia University Press, 1976.

Katō, Bunnō. “The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law.” In The Threefold Lotus Sutra, translated by Bunnō Katō, Yoshirō Tamura, and Kōjirō Miyasaka, with revisions by W. E. Soothill, Wilhelm Schiffer, and Pier P. Del Campana, 18–213. New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill and Kosei, 1993.

Kern, H. Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka or the Lotus of the Good Law. Sacred Books of the East XXII. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1884.

Kubo, Tsugunari and Akira Yuyama. The Lotus Sutra. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research (revised second edition), 2007.

Montgomery, Daniel B. The Lotus Sutra: The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Tokyo: Nichiren Shu Headquarters, 1991.

Murano, Senchū. The Lotus Sutra: Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma. Hayward, CA: Nichiren Buddhist International Center, 1974.

Reeves, Gene. The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2008.

Soothill, W.E. The Lotus of the Wonderful Law, or The Lotus Gospel. Richmond: Curzon Press, 1987.

Watson, Burton. The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.

Other Kangyur Texts

rgya cher rol pa’i mdo (Lalita­vistara­sūtra, Toh 95. Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1b–216b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation committee (2013).

ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po’i mdo (Samādhi­rāja­sūtra), Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1a–175b. English translation in Roberts (2018).

de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi gsang ba’i mdo (Tathāgata­ghuyaka­sūtra) [The Secret of the Tathāgatas Sūtra]. Toh 443, Degé Kangyur vol. 81 (rgyud, ca), folios 90a–157b.

phal po che’i mdo (Avataṁsaka­sūtra) [A Multitude of Buddhas Sūtra]. Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vols. 35–38 (phal chen, ka–a), folios ka 1a–nga 363a.

lang kar gshegs pa’i mdo (Laṅkā­vatāra­sūtra) [The Entry into Laṅka Sutra]. Toh 107, Degé Kangyur vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 56a–191b.

shes rab pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses]. Toh 12, Degé Kangyur vol. 33 (brgyad stong pa, ka), folios 1b–286a.

sa bcu pa’i mdo (Daśa­bhūmika­sūtra) [The Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis]. Chapter 31, in Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, kha), folios 166a–283a. English translation in Roberts (2021).

gser ’od dam pa’i mdo (Su­varṇa­prabhā­sūtra) [The Golden Light Sūtra]. Toh 556, Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud, pa), folios 151b–273a. English translation in Roberts (2024).

Tengyur Texts

Abhayākaragupta. thub pa’i dgongs pa’i rgyan (Muni­matālaṁkāra). Toh 3903, Degé Tengyur vol. 210 (dbu ma, a), folios 73b–293a.

Asaṅga. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa (Mahāyānottara­tantra­śāstra­vyākhyā). Toh 4025, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 74b–129a.

Candrakīrti. dbu ma la ’jug pa’i bshad pa (Madhyamakāvatāra­bhāṣya). Toh 3862, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (dbu ma, ’a), folios 220b–348a.

Candrakīrti. byang chub sems dpa’i rnal ’byor spyod pa bzhi brgya pa’i ’grel pa (Bodhi­sattva­yoga­caryā­catuḥ­śataka­ṭīkā) Toh 3865, Degé Tengyur vol. 205 (dbu ma, ya), folios 30b–239a.

Daṃṣṭrāsena, Vasubandhu, or neither. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa dang nyi khri lnga stong pa dang khri brgyad stong pa’i rgya cher bshad pa (Śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṁśati­sāhasrika­ṣṭāda­śasāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā). Toh 3808, Degé Tengyur vol. 93 (sher phyin, pha), folios 1a–292b. English translation in Sparham (2022).

Dharmamitra. tshig rab tu gsal ba (Prasphuṭapadā). Toh 3796, Degé Tengyur vol. 87 (sher phyin, nya), folios 1a–110a.

Jānavajra. de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan (Tathāgata­hṛdayālaṁkāra). Toh 4019, Degé Tengyur vol. 224 (mdo ’grel, pi), folios 1a–310a.

Kamalaśīla. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa bdun brgya pa rgya cher bshad pa (Sapta­śatikā­prajñā­pāramitā­ṭīkā). Toh 3815, Degé Tengyur vol. 95 (sher phyin, ma), folios 89a–178a.

Maitreya-Asaṅga. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos (Mahāyānottara­tantra­śāstra) [A Mahāyāna Treatise on the Supreme Continuum]. Toh 4024, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 54b–73a.

Nāgārjuna. mdo kun las btus pa (Sūtrasamuccaya). Toh 3934, Degé Tengyur vol. 212 (dbu ma, ki), folios 148b–215a.

Saitsalak (sa’i rtsa lag, Kuiji, Pṛthivībandhu). dam pa’i chos padma dkar po’i ’grel pa. Toh 4017, Degé Tengyur, vol. 120 (mdo ’grel, di), folios 175b–302a.

Saitsalak (sa’i rtsa lag, Kuiji, Pṛthivībandhu). dam pa’i chos padma dkar po’i ’grel pa. bstan ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Tengyur], 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). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 69 (mdo sde, di, vol. 135), pp. 476–826.

Śāntideva. bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya). Toh 3940, Degé Tengyur vol. 111 (dbu ma, khi), folios 3a–194b.

Vasubandhu. theg pa chen po bsdus pa’i ’grel pa (Mahā­yāna­saṁgraha­bhāṣya). Toh 4050, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, yi), folios 121b–190a.

Wantsik (wan tshig, Yuan Tso). dgongs pa zab mo nges par ’grel pa (Gambhīra­saṁdhi­nirmocana­sūtra­ṭīkā). Toh 4016, Degé Tengyur vols. 220–22 (mdo ’grel, ti–ti), folios ti 1a–di 175a.

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Heirman, Ann. “Yijing’s View on the Bhikṣunīs’ Standard Robes.” Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 21 (2008): 145–158.

Hinüber, Oskar von. “A Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra Manuscript from Khotan: The Gift of a Pious Khotanese Family.” Journal of Oriental Studies 24 (2014): 134–156.

Hinüber, Oskar von. “The Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra at Gilgit: Manuscripts, Worshippers, and Artists.” Journal of Oriental Studies22 (2012): 52–67.

Hinüber, Oskar von. Bronzes of the Ancient Kingdom of Gilgit and Royal Patronage in Early North-Western India and Pakistan. Online lecture: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2010).

Jamieson, R. C. “Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscripts from Cambridge University Library (Add. 1682 and Add. 1683).” Journal of Oriental Studies 12, no. 6 (2002): 165–173.

Jeffus, Ryusho. Lotus Sutra Practice Guide: 35-Day Practice Outline. Charlotte, NC: Myosho-ji, 2012.

Karashima, Seishi. “Who Composed the Mahāyāna Scriptures?‍—the Mahāsāṃghikas and Vaitulya Scriptures.” ARIRIAB XVIII (2015): 113–162.

Karashima, Seishi. “Some Features of the Language of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.” Indo-Iranian Journal 44 (2001): 207–230.

Kim, Young-ho. Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra: A Study and Translation. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.

Lancaster, L. R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue.

Laufer, Berthold. “Sanskrit Karketana.” Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique 22 (1922): 43–46.

Lopez Jr., Donald S. The Lotus Sutra: A Biography. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016.

Miller, Robert, et al. The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1, ch. 1). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.

Mookerji, Radha Kumud. Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989.

Reeves, Gene. The Stories of the Lotus Sutra. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2010.

Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2018). The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Samādhi­rāja­sūtra, Toh 127). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.

Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2021). The Ten Bhūmis (Daśabhūmika, Toh 44-31). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.

Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2024). The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (2) (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtra, Toh 556). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.

Sparham, Gareth, trans. The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (*Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā, Toh 3808). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Schoening, Jeffrey. “Translated Sutra Commentaries in Tibet.” In Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, edited by José Cabezón and Roger Jackson, 111–124. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1996.

Silk, Jonathan Alan. “The Yogācāra Bhikṣu.” In Beiju: Buddhist Studies in Honor of Professor Gadjin M. Nagao, edited by J. Silk, 256–314. Studies in the Buddhist Traditions 3. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997.

Suguro, Shinjō. Introduction to the Lotus Sutra. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, 1998.

Tanabe, George J. and Willa Jane Tanabe. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989.

Teiser, Stephen F. and Jacqueline I. Stone. Readings of the Lotus Sūtra. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.

Tiantai Lotus Texts. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Berkeley, CA: Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America, 2013, 93–149.

Tola, Fernando and Carmen Dragonetti. Buddhist Positiveness: Studies on the Lotus Sūtra. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2009.

Winder, Marianne. “Vaidurya.” Studies on Indian Medical History (1987): 85–94.

Yuyama, Akira. A Bibliography of the Sanskrit Texts of the “Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.” Canberra: Faculty of Asian Studies in Association with Australian National University Press, 1970.

Zengwen, Yang. “Saddharmapundarikasutra in Chinese History and its Significance in the 21st Centry.” Journal of Oriental Studies vol. 10 (2000): 10–20.

Zhongxin, Jiang. Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from the Lüshun Museum Collection (Tokyo: Sōka Gakkai, 1997).


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

Ābhāsvara

Wylie:
  • ’od gsal
Tibetan:
  • འོད་གསལ།
Sanskrit:
  • ābhāsvara

The highest of the three paradises that are the second dhyāna paradises in the form realm.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 18.­19
  • 18.­54
g.­2

Abhi­jñā­jñānābhi­bhū

Wylie:
  • mngon shes ye shes zil gnon
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་ཤེས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཟིལ་གནོན།
Sanskrit:
  • abhi­jñā­jñānābhi­bhū

A shorter form of the name of Buddha Mahābhijñā­jñānābhi­bhū.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­6
  • 7.­141
g.­3

Abhijñaprāpta

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes thob
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་ཐོབ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhijñaprāpta

A short form of Sāgara­vara­dhara­buddhi­vikrīḍitābhijña, the name that Ānanda will have when he is a buddha.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­8
g.­6

absence of aspiration

Wylie:
  • smon pa med pa
Tibetan:
  • སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • apraṇihita

The absence of any conceptual goal that one is focused upon achieving, knowing that all composite phenomena create suffering. One of the three doorways to liberation.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­3
  • 5.­72
  • n.­219
  • n.­667
g.­7

absence of attributes

Wylie:
  • mtshan ma med pa
Tibetan:
  • མཚན་མ་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • animitta

The absence of the conceptual identification of perceptions. Knowing that the true nature has no attributes, such as color, shape, etc. One of the three doorways to liberation.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­3
  • 5.­72
  • 5.­105
  • n.­219
  • n.­667
g.­16

Ajita

Wylie:
  • ma pham pa
Tibetan:
  • མ་ཕམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ajita

The other name of Maitreya, the bodhisattva who became Śākyamuni’s regent and is prophesied to be the next buddha, the fifth buddha in the fortunate eon. In early Buddhism he appears as the human disciple Maitreya Tiṣya, sent to pay his respects by his teacher. 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 in the Mahāyāna he has both these names.

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­77
  • 1.­79-80
  • 1.­82-83
  • 1.­85-86
  • 1.­88
  • 14.­49
  • 14.­55-56
  • 16.­1
  • 16.­25-27
  • 16.­48-56
  • 16.­59-61
  • 17.­3-8
  • 17.­10-13
  • 17.­15-16
  • g.­235
g.­20

Akṣayamati

Wylie:
  • blo gros mi zad pa
Tibetan:
  • བློ་གྲོས་མི་ཟད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • akṣayamati

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • i.­62
  • 1.­4
  • 24.­1-2
  • 24.­9
  • 24.­11-12
  • 24.­14-16
  • 24.­18-19
  • n.­599-600
  • n.­602
  • n.­612
g.­22

Amitābha

Wylie:
  • snang ba mtha’ yas
Tibetan:
  • 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 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­62
  • 24.­46
  • n.­622
  • g.­23
  • g.­49
  • g.­403
g.­23

Amitāyus

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

The Buddha in the western realm of Sukhāvatī. Later and presently better known by his alternative name Amitābha. Not to be confused with the buddha of long life, Aparimitāyus, whose name has been incorrectly back-translated into Sanskrit as Amitāyus also.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­128
  • 22.­35
  • 24.­47
  • 24.­49
  • g.­22
  • g.­403
g.­27

Ānanda

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

Buddha Sākyamuni’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 eventually succeeded to the position of the patriarch of Buddhism in India after the passing of the first patriarch, Mahākāśyapa.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • i.­47
  • 1.­3
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­5-7
  • 9.­13-15
  • 9.­24-26
  • 9.­34
  • g.­3
  • g.­31
  • g.­32
  • g.­246
  • g.­344
  • g.­345
g.­39

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 213 passages in the translation:

  • i.­11
  • i.­46
  • i.­55
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­71-72
  • 1.­76-77
  • 1.­79-80
  • 1.­84-86
  • 2.­1-3
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­53-59
  • 2.­61-64
  • 2.­153
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­31
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­54
  • 3.­65
  • 3.­70
  • 3.­74-76
  • 4.­86
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­5-6
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­50
  • 5.­57
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115-118
  • 7.­122
  • 7.­126-129
  • 7.­138-140
  • 7.­185-186
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­45
  • 8.­49
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­5-6
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­17-19
  • 9.­25
  • 10.­5
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­7-8
  • 11.­10
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­24-27
  • 11.­61
  • 11.­82-83
  • 12.­5-6
  • 13.­13
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­62-63
  • 14.­5-6
  • 14.­47-48
  • 14.­50
  • 15.­6
  • 16.­8
  • 17.­7
  • 17.­9-11
  • 17.­21
  • 18.­30
  • 19.­2-8
  • 19.­11
  • 19.­13
  • 19.­15
  • 19.­17-18
  • 20.­4-6
  • 20.­8-9
  • 21.­10
  • 22.­1-5
  • 22.­11
  • 22.­13
  • 22.­16-18
  • 22.­29
  • 22.­35
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­1-5
  • 23.­7
  • 23.­9-15
  • 23.­23
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­16
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­4
  • 25.­6
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­18-20
  • 25.­23-30
  • 26.­2
  • 26.­18
  • 27.­1
  • 27.­4-6
  • n.­246
  • n.­451
  • n.­591
  • g.­45
  • g.­77
  • g.­147
  • g.­182
  • g.­217
  • g.­295
  • g.­357
  • g.­423
g.­41

asaṃkhyeya

Wylie:
  • grangs med pa
Tibetan:
  • གྲངས་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • asaṃkhyeya

The designation of a measure of time on the scale of eons, literally meaning “incalculable.” The number of years in such an eon differs in various sūtras that give a number. Also, twenty intermediate eons are said to be one incalculable eon, and four incalculable eons are one great eon. In that case those four incalculable eons represent the eons of the creation, presence, destruction, and absence of a world. Buddhas are often described as appearing in a second incalculable eon.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­72
  • 7.­1
  • 19.­2
  • 27.­1-2
  • n.­592
g.­44

asura

Wylie:
  • lha ma yin
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
Sanskrit:
  • asura

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

Located in 54 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 3.­46
  • 5.­5-6
  • 6.­28
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­68
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­94
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­142
  • 7.­144
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­6
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­19
  • 11.­21
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­103
  • 13.­81
  • 15.­3
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­17
  • 18.­41
  • 18.­70
  • 18.­81
  • 18.­89
  • 19.­3
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­3
  • 22.­20
  • 23.­19
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­23
  • 24.­30
  • 26.­1
  • 27.­6
  • n.­319
  • g.­54
  • g.­185
  • g.­316
  • g.­461
g.­47

Avabhāsaprāptā

Wylie:
  • snang ba thob pa
Tibetan:
  • སྣང་བ་ཐོབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • avabhāsaprāptā

“Attainment of Light,” the world in which Kāśyapa will become a buddha.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 6.­1
g.­49

Avalokiteśvara

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

First appeared as a bodhisattva beside Amitābha in the Sukhāvati Sūtra. The name has been variously interpreted. In “The lord of Avalokita,” Avalokita has been interpreted as “seeing,” although, as a past passive participle, it is literally “lord of what has been seen.” One of the principal sūtras in the Mahāsāṃghika tradition was the Avalokita Sūtra, which has not been translated into Tibetan, in which the word is a synonym for enlightenment, as it is “that which has been seen” by the buddhas. In the early tantras, he was one of the lords of the three families, as the embodiment of the compassion of the buddhas. The Potalaka Mountain in southern India became important in southern Indian Buddhism as his residence in this world, but Potalaka does not yet feature in the Kāraṇḍa­vyūha Sūtra, which emphasized the premeninence of Avalokiteśvara above all buddhas and bodhisattvas and introduced the mantra oṁ maṇi­padme hūṁ.

Located in 50 passages in the translation:

  • i.­27
  • i.­62
  • 1.­4
  • 24.­1-19
  • 24.­22-33
  • 24.­40-44
  • 24.­50-51
  • 24.­53
  • n.­498
  • n.­596
  • n.­600
  • n.­602-603
  • n.­606
  • n.­620
  • g.­154
g.­55

Bandé

Wylie:
  • ban de
Tibetan:
  • བན་དེ།
Sanskrit:
  • bande

A Middle Indic word derived from the Sanskrit bhadanta. Meaning “venerable one” it is a term of respectful title for Buddhist monks.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • c.­1
g.­57

bay leaves

Wylie:
  • ta ma la’i ’dab ma
Tibetan:
  • ཏ་མ་ལའི་འདབ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • tamālapatra

Cinnamomum tamala, which is specifically the Indian bay leaf. Called tamalpatra in Marathi, and tejpatta in Hindi. The Sanskrit and Marathi means “dark-tree leaves.” Also called Malabar leaves, after the name of the northern area of present-day Kerala in southwest India.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­1
  • 18.­27
  • 18.­32
g.­59

beryl

Wylie:
  • bai dU rya
Tibetan:
  • བཻ་དཱུ་རྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaiḍūrya

Although this has often been translated as lapis lazuli, the descriptions and references in the literature, both Sanskrit and Tibetan, match beryl. The Pāli form is veḷuriya. The Prākrit form verulia is the source for the English beryl. This normally refers to the blue or aquamarine beryl, but there are also white, yellow, and green beryls, though green beryl is called “emerald.”

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • i.­56
  • 1.­97
  • 1.­99
  • 2.­106
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­39
  • 4.­6
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 9.­5
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­22
  • 11.­71
  • 13.­61
  • 16.­49
  • 17.­5
  • 18.­76
  • 18.­79
  • 22.­3
  • 24.­3
  • g.­98
  • g.­376
g.­63

bhagavān

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

“One who has bhaga,” which has many diverse meanings, including good fortune, happiness, and majesty. In the Buddhist context, it means one who has the good fortune of attaining enlightenment.

Located in 408 passages in the translation:

  • i.­63
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­9-14
  • 1.­72
  • 1.­79-86
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­126
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­5
  • 2.­26-27
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­41-43
  • 2.­47-50
  • 3.­1-5
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­29-30
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­45-46
  • 3.­53-54
  • 3.­64-65
  • 3.­77
  • 4.­1-15
  • 4.­20-22
  • 4.­24-32
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­30
  • 5.­59-60
  • 5.­70
  • 5.­74
  • 5.­80
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­19-20
  • 6.­28-29
  • 6.­34-35
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­3-4
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­15-17
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­42-43
  • 7.­47-49
  • 7.­51
  • 7.­60-62
  • 7.­66-67
  • 7.­69
  • 7.­75-76
  • 7.­79-80
  • 7.­82
  • 7.­90-91
  • 7.­102-103
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­110
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115-118
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­122-125
  • 7.­131-132
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­144
  • 7.­163
  • 8.­1-4
  • 8.­7-8
  • 8.­28-30
  • 8.­32
  • 8.­45
  • 8.­47-49
  • 8.­58-59
  • 9.­1-3
  • 9.­5-7
  • 9.­13-14
  • 9.­17-18
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­24-26
  • 9.­31-32
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­11
  • 10.­38
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­6-7
  • 11.­9-14
  • 11.­16-17
  • 11.­23-30
  • 11.­44
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­75
  • 11.­84-86
  • 11.­94-95
  • 11.­99-100
  • 11.­104
  • 12.­1-3
  • 12.­5-13
  • 12.­27
  • 13.­1
  • 13.­10
  • 13.­36
  • 13.­53
  • 13.­65
  • 14.­1-3
  • 14.­5
  • 14.­7-8
  • 14.­10-11
  • 14.­13
  • 14.­16-18
  • 14.­47-51
  • 14.­55
  • 14.­57
  • 14.­65-69
  • 14.­75
  • 14.­79
  • 15.­1-3
  • 15.­5-6
  • 15.­17-18
  • 16.­1
  • 16.­7-8
  • 16.­25
  • 16.­28
  • 16.­62
  • 16.­86
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­9-10
  • 17.­16-17
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­3
  • 18.­22
  • 18.­31
  • 18.­66-67
  • 18.­79
  • 18.­87
  • 19.­1-6
  • 19.­15
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­22
  • 20.­1-4
  • 20.­6-8
  • 20.­10
  • 21.­1-4
  • 21.­6-8
  • 21.­10-11
  • 21.­13-14
  • 21.­16-18
  • 21.­20
  • 21.­24
  • 22.­1-4
  • 22.­7
  • 22.­9-11
  • 22.­13-14
  • 22.­16-21
  • 22.­35-36
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­1
  • 23.­3-5
  • 23.­7-17
  • 23.­23
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­1-2
  • 24.­8-12
  • 24.­14
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­51-52
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­3-4
  • 25.­6
  • 25.­9-11
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­18-20
  • 25.­23-30
  • 26.­2-6
  • 26.­8
  • 26.­10-18
  • 27.­1-2
  • 27.­4-6
  • n.­56
  • n.­219
  • n.­365
  • n.­372
  • n.­591
  • n.­599
g.­64

Bhaiṣajyarāja

Wylie:
  • sman gyi rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • སྨན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhaiṣajyarāja

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.

Located in 47 passages in the translation:

  • i.­48
  • i.­50
  • i.­59-60
  • i.­63
  • 1.­4
  • 10.­1-10
  • 10.­26-37
  • 12.­1
  • 21.­1-4
  • 21.­7
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­22-23
  • 22.­34-35
  • 22.­37
  • 22.­41-42
  • 23.­3
  • 23.­26
  • 25.­33-34
  • n.­499
g.­69

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 221 passages in the translation:

  • i.­40
  • i.­46-47
  • i.­50
  • i.­63
  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­47
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­84-85
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­114
  • 1.­117-118
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­62-63
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­152
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­53-54
  • 3.­146
  • 3.­151
  • 3.­183
  • 4.­2
  • 6.­1-3
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­19-20
  • 6.­28-29
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­1-5
  • 7.­12-13
  • 7.­15
  • 7.­17-19
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32-33
  • 7.­35-37
  • 7.­41-43
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­49
  • 7.­51-54
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­62
  • 7.­66-67
  • 7.­69-72
  • 7.­74-76
  • 7.­79-80
  • 7.­82
  • 7.­84-86
  • 7.­89-91
  • 7.­102-103
  • 7.­105-106
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­110-129
  • 7.­131-140
  • 7.­172
  • 7.­184
  • 7.­188
  • 8.­2-8
  • 8.­15
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­49
  • 8.­62
  • 9.­2
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­34
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­50
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­29-30
  • 11.­59
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­80-84
  • 12.­2
  • 12.­19
  • 12.­21
  • 12.­24
  • 12.­27
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­7
  • 13.­13
  • 13.­23
  • 13.­32
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­39
  • 13.­46
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­59-60
  • 13.­80
  • 15.­7
  • 15.­11
  • 15.­24
  • 16.­53
  • 16.­55
  • 16.­79
  • 17.­3
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­20
  • 18.­55-56
  • 18.­65
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­6-10
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­23-24
  • 19.­29-30
  • 20.­2
  • 22.­40
  • 23.­11
  • 23.­18
  • 24.­45
  • 25.­29-30
  • 26.­4-5
  • 26.­8
  • 26.­19-22
  • 26.­24
  • n.­283
  • g.­149
  • g.­219
  • g.­262
  • g.­267
  • g.­406
  • g.­436
  • g.­442
g.­70

bhikṣuṇī

Wylie:
  • dge slong ma
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhikṣuṇī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.

For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • i.­50
  • i.­63
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­117
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­65
  • 3.­46
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­50
  • 12.­3-4
  • 12.­6-7
  • 12.­9
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­7
  • 13.­14
  • 13.­39
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­80
  • 17.­3
  • 18.­65
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­7-10
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­20
  • 19.­29-30
  • 20.­2
  • 23.­18
  • 26.­4
  • 26.­8
  • g.­219
  • g.­380
  • g.­493
g.­77

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 449 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­10
  • i.­39
  • i.­41-43
  • i.­47-54
  • i.­56-65
  • 1.­1
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­12-15
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­36-37
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­64
  • 1.­67
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­82-86
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­102
  • 1.­106
  • 1.­108
  • 1.­115
  • 1.­132
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­10
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­77
  • 2.­95
  • 2.­115
  • 2.­149
  • 2.­158
  • 2.­167
  • 3.­2-3
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­26-29
  • 3.­31-34
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­73
  • 3.­128
  • 3.­133
  • 3.­137
  • 3.­146
  • 4.­3-4
  • 4.­29-31
  • 4.­70
  • 5.­51
  • 5.­59
  • 5.­71
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­8
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­24
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­33-34
  • 6.­42
  • 7.­11
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­121
  • 7.­124-125
  • 7.­131-132
  • 7.­134
  • 7.­162
  • 8.­3-4
  • 8.­7-10
  • 8.­23
  • 8.­35
  • 8.­48
  • 9.­4
  • 9.­9
  • 9.­12-13
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­29
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­29
  • 10.­31-33
  • 10.­35
  • 10.­57
  • 11.­6-7
  • 11.­9-12
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­85-89
  • 11.­94
  • 11.­98
  • 11.­101-102
  • 11.­104
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­4-6
  • 12.­10-11
  • 12.­13
  • 13.­1-5
  • 13.­7-10
  • 13.­27
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­51-52
  • 13.­56
  • 13.­59-60
  • 13.­63
  • 13.­66
  • 14.­1-11
  • 14.­13-14
  • 14.­16-19
  • 14.­22-23
  • 14.­28
  • 14.­30
  • 14.­33
  • 14.­38
  • 14.­41
  • 14.­43
  • 14.­45-50
  • 14.­55-58
  • 14.­64-67
  • 14.­69
  • 14.­72
  • 14.­75
  • 14.­79-80
  • 15.­1-2
  • 15.­5-6
  • 15.­19
  • 16.­1-9
  • 16.­21
  • 16.­25
  • 16.­30
  • 16.­43
  • 16.­49
  • 16.­57
  • 16.­59
  • 16.­87
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­9-10
  • 17.­15
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­9-10
  • 18.­21-22
  • 18.­26
  • 18.­30
  • 18.­35-36
  • 18.­46
  • 18.­52
  • 18.­54-55
  • 18.­57
  • 18.­59
  • 18.­76
  • 18.­78
  • 18.­83
  • 18.­85
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­3
  • 19.­6-11
  • 19.­13-15
  • 19.­18-21
  • 19.­23
  • 19.­27-28
  • 20.­1-4
  • 20.­6
  • 20.­8
  • 20.­16
  • 20.­22-23
  • 21.­1-2
  • 21.­4
  • 21.­7-9
  • 22.­1-11
  • 22.­13-14
  • 22.­16-24
  • 22.­30
  • 22.­35-36
  • 22.­38
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­1-10
  • 23.­13-27
  • 24.­1-17
  • 24.­51
  • 25.­1-2
  • 25.­30-32
  • 26.­1-6
  • 26.­8
  • 26.­10-12
  • 26.­15
  • 26.­18
  • 26.­25
  • 27.­1-2
  • 27.­4
  • 27.­6
  • 27.­9
  • n.­86
  • n.­219-220
  • n.­363
  • n.­412
  • n.­420
  • n.­464
  • n.­490
  • g.­16
  • g.­20
  • g.­28
  • g.­30
  • g.­34
  • g.­49
  • g.­61
  • g.­64
  • g.­65
  • g.­78
  • g.­111
  • g.­124
  • g.­142
  • g.­157
  • g.­220
  • g.­227
  • g.­229
  • g.­231
  • g.­235
  • g.­241
  • g.­242
  • g.­270
  • g.­271
  • g.­282
  • g.­288
  • g.­301
  • g.­302
  • g.­313
  • g.­325
  • g.­330
  • g.­331
  • g.­342
  • g.­354
  • g.­369
  • g.­371
  • g.­375
  • g.­379
  • g.­388
  • g.­390
  • g.­407
  • g.­427
  • g.­449
  • g.­452
  • g.­456
  • g.­481
  • g.­483
  • g.­485
  • g.­492
g.­78

Bodhisattva­yāna

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems dpa’i theg pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhisattva­yāna

The way or vehicle of the bodhisattvas.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­54
  • 3.­70-71
  • 7.­123
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­32
  • 10.­35
  • 13.­49-50
  • 14.­67-68
  • 22.­23-24
  • 22.­28
  • 22.­31
  • 22.­34
  • 22.­40
g.­79

Brahmā

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

The personification of the universal force of Brahman, the deity in the form realm, who was during the Buddha’s time considered the supreme deity and creator of the universe. In the cosmogony of many universes, each with a thousand million worlds, there are many Brahmās.

Located in 64 passages in the translation:

  • i.­38
  • i.­45
  • i.­58
  • 1.­6
  • 1.­84
  • 2.­142
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­46
  • 5.­38
  • 7.­33-35
  • 7.­37
  • 7.­41-42
  • 7.­52-54
  • 7.­60-61
  • 7.­70-72
  • 7.­74-75
  • 7.­84-86
  • 7.­89-90
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­147-148
  • 7.­151
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­98
  • 16.­8
  • 16.­17
  • 16.­21
  • 16.­54
  • 16.­64
  • 17.­14
  • 17.­32
  • 18.­19
  • 18.­53
  • 18.­64
  • 18.­74
  • 20.­4
  • 20.­11
  • 22.­19
  • 22.­28
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­12
  • 24.­41
  • 25.­9
  • n.­295
  • n.­627
  • g.­81
  • g.­82
  • g.­83
  • g.­169
  • g.­207
  • g.­277
  • g.­378
g.­83

brahmavihāra

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa’i gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པའི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmavihāra

The four qualities that are said to result in rebirth in the paradise of Brahmā and were a practice already prevalent before Śākyamuni’s teaching: limitless love, compassion, rejoicing, and equanimity.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 5.­107
g.­85

brother

Wylie:
  • tshe dang ldan pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚེ་དང་ལྡན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āyuṣmat

Literally “long-lived.” A title referring to an ordained monk.

Located in 39 passages in the translation:

  • i.­8
  • i.­63
  • 1.­3
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­27-28
  • 2.­39-41
  • 2.­43-44
  • 2.­47
  • 2.­49
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­53-54
  • 4.­1
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­59-60
  • 6.­11
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­29
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­17
  • 9.­24
  • 19.­7-8
  • 25.­20
  • g.­101
  • g.­149
  • g.­267
  • g.­338
  • g.­442
  • g.­480
g.­86

buddha

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • buddha

Literally “Awakened One” in Sanskrit, the Tibetan translation interprets this as one who is “purified and perfected.”

Located in 461 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1-5
  • i.­10-11
  • i.­14
  • i.­23
  • i.­38-65
  • 1.­1
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­9-14
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­68
  • 1.­72
  • 1.­79-82
  • 1.­84
  • 1.­86-87
  • 1.­99
  • 1.­113-114
  • 1.­119-121
  • 1.­125
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­6-7
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­69
  • 2.­73-74
  • 2.­77-79
  • 2.­82
  • 2.­85
  • 2.­93
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­120-121
  • 2.­123
  • 2.­125
  • 2.­127
  • 2.­129-132
  • 2.­145-146
  • 2.­148
  • 2.­160
  • 2.­165
  • 2.­172
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­27-29
  • 3.­32-35
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­51-52
  • 3.­130-131
  • 3.­150
  • 3.­156
  • 3.­161
  • 3.­176
  • 3.­179-180
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­68-69
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­73-74
  • 4.­81-82
  • 4.­91
  • 5.­27
  • 5.­42
  • 5.­55
  • 5.­80
  • 5.­104
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­15-16
  • 6.­19-21
  • 6.­24
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­32-34
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­40
  • 7.­57
  • 7.­59
  • 7.­63
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­88
  • 7.­91
  • 7.­95
  • 7.­99
  • 7.­112
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­123-125
  • 7.­138
  • 7.­168
  • 7.­189
  • 8.­3-7
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­15-16
  • 8.­19
  • 8.­21
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­33-34
  • 8.­36
  • 8.­41
  • 9.­2-6
  • 9.­13-14
  • 9.­17-18
  • 9.­21
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­27-28
  • 10.­3
  • 10.­7
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­56-57
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­10-14
  • 11.­16
  • 11.­18-20
  • 11.­22-23
  • 11.­29
  • 11.­35-36
  • 11.­40
  • 11.­84-85
  • 11.­103
  • 12.­4-6
  • 12.­23
  • 13.­23
  • 13.­57
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­63
  • 13.­71
  • 14.­13
  • 14.­27
  • 14.­48
  • 14.­64-65
  • 15.­28
  • 15.­40
  • 16.­7-8
  • 16.­29
  • 16.­33
  • 16.­49
  • 16.­58
  • 16.­86
  • 17.­16
  • 18.­22
  • 18.­66
  • 18.­75
  • 18.­83
  • 18.­91
  • 19.­2
  • 19.­6
  • 19.­14
  • 19.­27
  • 19.­30
  • 19.­32
  • 20.­1
  • 20.­6
  • 20.­8
  • 20.­12
  • 20.­18
  • 21.­6
  • 21.­16
  • 22.­2-3
  • 22.­9-10
  • 22.­21
  • 22.­24
  • 22.­33
  • 22.­36
  • 23.­1
  • 23.­4
  • 23.­6-7
  • 23.­14
  • 23.­16
  • 23.­25
  • 24.­8-10
  • 24.­12
  • 24.­20
  • 24.­44
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­7
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­17
  • 25.­30
  • 25.­34
  • 26.­2
  • 26.­4
  • 26.­12
  • 26.­15
  • 27.­9
  • n.­78
  • n.­129
  • n.­164-166
  • n.­219
  • n.­303
  • n.­363-364
  • n.­441
  • n.­448
  • n.­471
  • n.­600
  • n.­602
  • n.­633-634
  • g.­2
  • g.­3
  • g.­4
  • g.­12
  • g.­15
  • g.­16
  • g.­19
  • g.­21
  • g.­22
  • g.­23
  • g.­27
  • g.­31
  • g.­32
  • g.­35
  • g.­39
  • g.­41
  • g.­45
  • g.­47
  • g.­49
  • g.­52
  • g.­60
  • g.­62
  • g.­67
  • g.­71
  • g.­76
  • g.­77
  • g.­79
  • g.­80
  • g.­87
  • g.­94
  • g.­95
  • g.­96
  • g.­101
  • g.­106
  • g.­107
  • g.­113
  • g.­117
  • g.­118
  • g.­121
  • g.­126
  • g.­135
  • g.­136
  • g.­147
  • g.­148
  • g.­149
  • g.­153
  • g.­157
  • g.­159
  • g.­161
  • g.­164
  • g.­167
  • g.­168
  • g.­170
  • g.­172
  • g.­174
  • g.­177
  • g.­178
  • g.­182
  • g.­196
  • g.­204
  • g.­206
  • g.­207
  • g.­210
  • g.­211
  • g.­212
  • g.­214
  • g.­215
  • g.­217
  • g.­219
  • g.­226
  • g.­228
  • g.­235
  • g.­244
  • g.­249
  • g.­254
  • g.­255
  • g.­256
  • g.­257
  • g.­259
  • g.­260
  • g.­262
  • g.­266
  • g.­267
  • g.­274
  • g.­281
  • g.­287
  • g.­289
  • g.­293
  • g.­295
  • g.­300
  • g.­302
  • g.­304
  • g.­312
  • g.­317
  • g.­318
  • g.­322
  • g.­323
  • g.­324
  • g.­328
  • g.­330
  • g.­333
  • g.­334
  • g.­335
  • g.­341
  • g.­344
  • g.­345
  • g.­346
  • g.­348
  • g.­349
  • g.­351
  • g.­352
  • g.­354
  • g.­357
  • g.­362
  • g.­364
  • g.­365
  • g.­367
  • g.­368
  • g.­371
  • g.­374
  • g.­378
  • g.­379
  • g.­380
  • g.­381
  • g.­382
  • g.­395
  • g.­397
  • g.­398
  • g.­402
  • g.­403
  • g.­406
  • g.­413
  • g.­415
  • g.­416
  • g.­418
  • g.­419
  • g.­420
  • g.­436
  • g.­442
  • g.­448
  • g.­452
  • g.­455
  • g.­459
  • g.­466
  • g.­471
  • g.­472
  • g.­476
  • g.­477
  • g.­482
  • g.­493
g.­87

Buddhayāna

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi theg pa
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • buddhayāna

According to the Lotus Sūtra the one true way to buddhahood, equivalent to the Mahāyāna, which is the only teaching given by buddhas who do not live in a degenerate eon.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­43
  • 1.­30
  • 2.­53-54
  • 2.­56
  • 2.­58
  • 2.­60-62
  • 2.­64
  • 3.­75
  • 3.­129
  • 5.­59
  • 5.­79
g.­90

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 18 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­81
  • 2.­38
  • 5.­38
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­114
  • 11.­98
  • 17.­14
  • 18.­34
  • 18.­65
  • 18.­72
  • 22.­32
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­12
  • g.­16
  • g.­53
  • g.­214
  • g.­235
g.­98

chrysoberyl

Wylie:
  • ke ke ru
Tibetan:
  • ཀེ་ཀེ་རུ།
Sanskrit:
  • karketana

This stone is not a type of beryl in spite of its name. The Tibetan has adopted the Prakrit form of its name: ke ke ru. It is the third hardest gemstone. It comes in three main varieties: the eponymous yellow or green chrysoberyl; cat’s eye (cymophane), which is light green or yellow with a band of light, resembling a cat’s eye; and the third form, alexandrite, which can change color from red to green to yellow according to the light. All three kinds have been mined since ancient times, in Sri Lanka in particular.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­106
  • 11.­1
  • g.­376
g.­99

coral tree

Wylie:
  • man dA ra ba
Tibetan:
  • མན་དཱ་ར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • māndārava

Erythrina indica or Erythrina variegate. Mandarava, flame tree, tiger’s claw. In the summer it is covered in large crimson flowers, which are believed to also grow in Indra’s paradise. The coral tree is the most widespread species of Erythrina or māndārava, taller than the others, and all are collectively known as coral trees.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­61
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­94
  • 3.­46
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­22
  • 15.­30
  • 16.­7
  • 16.­17
  • 18.­29
  • 18.­48
  • 22.­6
  • g.­279
g.­100

crystal

Wylie:
  • man shel
Tibetan:
  • མན་ཤེལ།
Sanskrit:
  • śilā

A Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit term.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­106
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­61
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 11.­12
  • 11.­71
  • 13.­61
  • 13.­69
  • 17.­5
  • 24.­3
  • n.­67
  • g.­376
g.­103

defilements

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

A term of Jain origin, meaning “inflows.” It refers to uncontrolled thoughts as a result of being influenced by sensory objects and thus being sullied or defiled. It is also defined as “outflows,” hence the Tibetan zag pa (“leaks”) as the mind is “flowing out” toward the sensory objects.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­104
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­63
  • 2.­160
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­8
  • 5.­50
  • 6.­9
  • 7.­109-110
  • 17.­7
  • 17.­21
g.­105

deva

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

A being in the paradises from the base of Mount Meru upward. Also can refer to a deity in the human world, or can be used as an honorific form of address for kings and other important personages.

Located in 162 passages in the translation:

  • i.­37
  • i.­51
  • 1.­5-7
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­62
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­84
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­98
  • 1.­110
  • 1.­121
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­57
  • 2.­59
  • 2.­101
  • 2.­131
  • 2.­164
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­26-27
  • 3.­43
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­68
  • 3.­73
  • 3.­143
  • 4.­86
  • 5.­5-6
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­30
  • 5.­38
  • 5.­42
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­26
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­40
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­15-16
  • 7.­28-29
  • 7.­33
  • 7.­39
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­56
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­62
  • 7.­64
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­68
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­88
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­95
  • 7.­99
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­142
  • 7.­144
  • 8.­5
  • 8.­39
  • 8.­42
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­6
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­54
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­6-7
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­19
  • 11.­21
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­83-84
  • 11.­103
  • 12.­8
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­77
  • 13.­81
  • 14.­56
  • 15.­3
  • 15.­30
  • 16.­17
  • 16.­61
  • 16.­84
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­14
  • 18.­19
  • 18.­29-30
  • 18.­41
  • 18.­50-54
  • 18.­64
  • 18.­70
  • 18.­74
  • 18.­81-82
  • 18.­89
  • 19.­3
  • 19.­22
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­3
  • 22.­17
  • 22.­20-21
  • 22.­27-28
  • 22.­36
  • 22.­38
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­34
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­4
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­30
  • 25.­34
  • 26.­1
  • 26.­6
  • 26.­13
  • 26.­15
  • 27.­6
  • n.­319
  • n.­481
  • g.­44
  • g.­54
  • g.­81
  • g.­82
  • g.­169
  • g.­249
  • g.­250
  • g.­251
  • g.­331
  • g.­347
  • g.­355
  • g.­385
  • g.­399
  • g.­422
g.­113

Dharma

Wylie:
  • chos
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma

A term that predates Buddhism, Dharma/dharmas has a wide range of meanings and usages in Buddhist texts depending on context:

As Dharma, it is the teaching of Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas, preached by their followers, and transmitted in the form of scripture; or, alternatively, it means ultimate reality itself, the referent of the teaching and what is realized through it.

As dharmas, it is variously the different teachings given by Buddha Śākyamuni, other buddhas, and their followers; the trainings enjoined in those teachings; the positive qualities acquired through applying those trainings; mental phenomena in general; or phenomena in general or their characteristics. Often in Buddhist literature there is a play on the multiple interlinked senses of this term.

Located in 616 passages in the translation:

  • i.­8
  • i.­10
  • i.­16
  • i.­23
  • i.­34-35
  • i.­43
  • i.­45-47
  • i.­49-50
  • i.­56-58
  • i.­62-63
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­35
  • 1.­40-42
  • 1.­55-56
  • 1.­70-71
  • 1.­73-75
  • 1.­77-78
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­82-85
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­92-93
  • 1.­99
  • 1.­104
  • 1.­107-111
  • 1.­118
  • 1.­122
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­133
  • 2.­1-4
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­25-27
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­40
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­44-45
  • 2.­50-51
  • 2.­53-60
  • 2.­63-64
  • 2.­67
  • 2.­69
  • 2.­86
  • 2.­95
  • 2.­99
  • 2.­101-103
  • 2.­124
  • 2.­127-130
  • 2.­136
  • 2.­138
  • 2.­144
  • 2.­152-153
  • 2.­156-157
  • 2.­162-163
  • 2.­165-166
  • 2.­173
  • 3.­2-4
  • 3.­8-9
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­20-23
  • 3.­28-29
  • 3.­31-32
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­43-44
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­49
  • 3.­53-54
  • 3.­69
  • 3.­76
  • 3.­142-143
  • 3.­145
  • 3.­149
  • 3.­167
  • 3.­175
  • 3.­182
  • 3.­188
  • 4.­1-3
  • 4.­25-26
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­72
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­92-95
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­6-10
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­31-34
  • 5.­37
  • 5.­40
  • 5.­45-47
  • 5.­49-50
  • 5.­53-54
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­70
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­101
  • 5.­106
  • 5.­113
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­9-10
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­27-28
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­43
  • 6.­45
  • 7.­28-29
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­47-49
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­65-67
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79-81
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­95
  • 7.­97
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­104-105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­110
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­118
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­122-125
  • 7.­131-134
  • 7.­146
  • 7.­150
  • 7.­154
  • 7.­156-157
  • 7.­159
  • 7.­172
  • 7.­186
  • 7.­191
  • 8.­1-4
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­15
  • 8.­17-21
  • 8.­26
  • 8.­36
  • 8.­38-39
  • 8.­41
  • 8.­49
  • 8.­62
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­4-5
  • 9.­10
  • 9.­13-16
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­34
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­4-8
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­26-29
  • 10.­31-37
  • 10.­48
  • 10.­56
  • 10.­58
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­7-8
  • 11.­10-12
  • 11.­23
  • 11.­25-26
  • 11.­29-34
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­39
  • 11.­41-42
  • 11.­49
  • 11.­58
  • 11.­63
  • 11.­72-73
  • 11.­75-79
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­85
  • 11.­90
  • 11.­97
  • 11.­103
  • 11.­105
  • 12.­1-2
  • 12.­9-12
  • 12.­17
  • 12.­33
  • 13.­1-2
  • 13.­4-6
  • 13.­16
  • 13.­22
  • 13.­34-36
  • 13.­39
  • 13.­43
  • 13.­45
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­51-52
  • 13.­55
  • 13.­58-66
  • 13.­71
  • 13.­73
  • 13.­80-83
  • 13.­86-88
  • 13.­91-92
  • 13.­94
  • 14.­1-2
  • 14.­39
  • 14.­52
  • 14.­54-56
  • 14.­61-62
  • 14.­66-68
  • 14.­76
  • 14.­80
  • 15.­6-10
  • 15.­12
  • 15.­18
  • 15.­20
  • 15.­26
  • 15.­32-33
  • 15.­40-41
  • 16.­1-7
  • 16.­9-10
  • 16.­13
  • 16.­15
  • 16.­25-26
  • 16.­46
  • 16.­48-49
  • 16.­51-52
  • 16.­55-59
  • 16.­88
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­6-7
  • 17.­10
  • 17.­12-16
  • 17.­19-21
  • 17.­24
  • 17.­29
  • 17.­31
  • 17.­33
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­20-22
  • 18.­26
  • 18.­29
  • 18.­57-59
  • 18.­61
  • 18.­63-66
  • 18.­69-70
  • 18.­72
  • 18.­75-76
  • 18.­78
  • 18.­83
  • 18.­85-86
  • 18.­91-94
  • 18.­96-97
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­3-6
  • 19.­11-14
  • 19.­16-19
  • 19.­21
  • 19.­23
  • 19.­31-34
  • 20.­1-4
  • 20.­6-9
  • 20.­19-20
  • 20.­24
  • 21.­1
  • 21.­3-4
  • 21.­24-25
  • 22.­4-5
  • 22.­8-9
  • 22.­11
  • 22.­13
  • 22.­24-34
  • 22.­36-37
  • 22.­39-42
  • 23.­2
  • 23.­6-7
  • 23.­11
  • 23.­17-21
  • 23.­27-28
  • 24.­11-12
  • 24.­14-15
  • 24.­39
  • 24.­45
  • 24.­53
  • 25.­3-5
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­15-17
  • 25.­19-21
  • 25.­25
  • 25.­27
  • 25.­35-36
  • 26.­2-8
  • 26.­11
  • 26.­14-21
  • 26.­24
  • 26.­26
  • 27.­1
  • 27.­3
  • 27.­7
  • 27.­9
  • n.­100
  • n.­102
  • n.­104
  • n.­127
  • n.­149
  • n.­160
  • n.­162-163
  • n.­219
  • n.­256
  • n.­269
  • n.­275
  • n.­363
  • n.­420
  • n.­475
  • g.­10
  • g.­25
  • g.­40
  • g.­115
  • g.­118
  • g.­128
  • g.­129
  • g.­133
  • g.­136
  • g.­157
  • g.­266
  • g.­293
  • g.­294
  • g.­310
  • g.­311
  • g.­312
  • g.­320
  • g.­413
  • g.­463
g.­118

dharmakāya

Wylie:
  • chos kyi sku
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུ།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmakāya

In distinction to the rūpakāya, or form body of a buddha, this is the eternal, imperceivable realization of a buddha. In origin it was a term for the presence of the Dharma, and has become synonymous with the true nature.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 5.­111
g.­123

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 lord of the gandharvas.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • g.­222
g.­125

dhyāna

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

Generally one of the synonyms for meditation, referring to a state of mental stability. The specific four dhyānas are four successively subtler states of meditation that are said to lead to rebirth into the corresponding four levels of the form realm, which are composed of seventeen paradises.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­3
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­83
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­75
  • 3.­131
  • 5.­42
  • 5.­52
  • 7.­134
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­24
  • 8.­26
  • 18.­53
  • 18.­57
  • g.­1
  • g.­18
  • g.­82
  • g.­394
g.­128

eloquence

Wylie:
  • spobs pa
Tibetan:
  • སྤོབས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratibhāna

The Tibetan word literally means “confidence” or “courage” but it refers to confident speech, to being perfectly eloquent, especially in expressing the Dharma.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 10.­56
  • 16.­2
  • 16.­11
  • 19.­12
  • 20.­20
  • n.­252
g.­130

emerald

Wylie:
  • rdo’i snying po
Tibetan:
  • རྡོའི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • aśmagarbha

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­106
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­71
  • 24.­3
  • g.­59
  • g.­376
g.­131

enlightenment

Wylie:
  • byang chub
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhi

The Sanskrit can mean knowledge, realization, waking, blossoming, etc., according to context. The Tibetan translates as “purified and accomplished.”

Located in 275 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­40
  • i.­45
  • i.­49
  • i.­51-52
  • i.­57
  • i.­62
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­25
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­32
  • 1.­44-47
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­54-56
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­78-79
  • 1.­85-86
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­115
  • 1.­117
  • 1.­120
  • 1.­126
  • 1.­131-132
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­46
  • 2.­54
  • 2.­56
  • 2.­58
  • 2.­60
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­80
  • 2.­84
  • 2.­88
  • 2.­103-104
  • 2.­106
  • 2.­109-113
  • 2.­115
  • 2.­118
  • 2.­123-124
  • 2.­127
  • 2.­135
  • 2.­143
  • 2.­145
  • 2.­155
  • 2.­157
  • 2.­159
  • 2.­166
  • 2.­168
  • 2.­170
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­26-27
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­51-54
  • 3.­66
  • 3.­142
  • 3.­154
  • 3.­161
  • 3.­167
  • 3.­175
  • 3.­187
  • 4.­1-2
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­69
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­94
  • 5.­32
  • 5.­51
  • 5.­54-55
  • 5.­71
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­80
  • 5.­90-91
  • 5.­106
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­26
  • 6.­44
  • 7.­13-15
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­24
  • 7.­30
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­68
  • 7.­101
  • 7.­112-113
  • 7.­116
  • 7.­121
  • 7.­123-125
  • 7.­130-131
  • 7.­141-142
  • 7.­144
  • 7.­161
  • 7.­169-172
  • 8.­3-4
  • 8.­9-10
  • 8.­31
  • 8.­34
  • 8.­45
  • 8.­49-50
  • 9.­1-2
  • 9.­4
  • 9.­11
  • 9.­13-14
  • 9.­16
  • 9.­19-21
  • 9.­23
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­27
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­7
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­29
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­67
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­88
  • 11.­90
  • 11.­92-94
  • 11.­97-98
  • 11.­100
  • 11.­103-104
  • 12.­2-3
  • 12.­5
  • 12.­7
  • 12.­26
  • 13.­16
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­41
  • 13.­50
  • 13.­59
  • 13.­67
  • 13.­75
  • 13.­90-91
  • 14.­23
  • 14.­39
  • 14.­48
  • 14.­55
  • 14.­58
  • 14.­60
  • 14.­62-67
  • 14.­69
  • 14.­77
  • 15.­3
  • 15.­6-7
  • 15.­17-18
  • 15.­25
  • 15.­30
  • 15.­40
  • 16.­3-6
  • 16.­11
  • 16.­13
  • 16.­15-16
  • 16.­24
  • 16.­26-27
  • 16.­32
  • 16.­39
  • 16.­60
  • 16.­84
  • 19.­3
  • 19.­9
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­14
  • 19.­16-17
  • 19.­19-21
  • 19.­24
  • 19.­27-29
  • 20.­9
  • 20.­11
  • 20.­23
  • 22.­17
  • 22.­23
  • 24.­45
  • 24.­52
  • 25.­11
  • 25.­24
  • 26.­4
  • 27.­1-2
  • 27.­9
  • n.­90
  • n.­97
  • n.­151
  • n.­244
  • n.­363
  • n.­441
  • g.­49
  • g.­63
  • g.­76
  • g.­77
  • g.­135
  • g.­148
  • g.­149
  • g.­182
  • g.­204
  • g.­249
  • g.­267
  • g.­395
  • g.­442
g.­132

eon

Wylie:
  • bskal pa
Tibetan:
  • བསྐལ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kalpa

The Indian concept of an eon of millions of years, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world appears, exists, and disappears. There are also the intermediate eons during the existence of a world, and the longest, which is called asamkhyeya (literally, “incalculable,” even though the number of its years is calculated).

Located in 182 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­10
  • i.­39
  • i.­41
  • i.­45-46
  • i.­48
  • i.­52-54
  • i.­60
  • 1.­72
  • 1.­83-85
  • 1.­89
  • 1.­108
  • 1.­112
  • 1.­118
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­19
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­163
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­31
  • 3.­33-35
  • 3.­38
  • 3.­42-44
  • 3.­132
  • 3.­135
  • 3.­152
  • 3.­168
  • 3.­173
  • 3.­187
  • 4.­87-88
  • 4.­90
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­9-10
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­27-28
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­40
  • 6.­43
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­4
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­9-10
  • 7.­12-17
  • 7.­21-22
  • 7.­63-64
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­76
  • 7.­93
  • 7.­104
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­118-120
  • 7.­122
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­144
  • 7.­153
  • 7.­158
  • 7.­164
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­22
  • 8.­32-33
  • 8.­38
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­25
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­24-25
  • 10.­48
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­27
  • 11.­31
  • 11.­56
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­75
  • 11.­79
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­94
  • 11.­98
  • 13.­48
  • 13.­91
  • 14.­7-8
  • 14.­29
  • 14.­31
  • 14.­34
  • 14.­37
  • 14.­57
  • 14.­65-66
  • 14.­70
  • 14.­75
  • 15.­3
  • 15.­6
  • 15.­10-11
  • 15.­17-19
  • 15.­27
  • 15.­35
  • 16.­26
  • 16.­29
  • 16.­32
  • 16.­36-38
  • 16.­40
  • 16.­43
  • 16.­54
  • 17.­24
  • 19.­2
  • 19.­4
  • 19.­6
  • 19.­19
  • 19.­32
  • 20.­8
  • 20.­14
  • 22.­2
  • 22.­4
  • 23.­14
  • 24.­10
  • 24.­20
  • 24.­45
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­16
  • 25.­30
  • 27.­1-2
  • n.­93
  • n.­303
  • n.­349
  • n.­446
  • n.­592
  • g.­5
  • g.­12
  • g.­16
  • g.­41
  • g.­71
  • g.­87
  • g.­224
  • g.­232
  • g.­235
  • g.­246
  • g.­300
  • g.­308
  • g.­309
  • g.­324
  • g.­334
  • g.­379
  • g.­475
  • g.­476
g.­139

formation

Wylie:
  • ’du byed
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃskāra

The meaning of this term varies according to context; as one of the skandhas, it means “various mental activities.” In terms of the twelve phases of dependent origination it is the second, “formation” or “creation”: activities with karmic results.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­70
  • 5.­72
  • 7.­106-107
g.­143

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 31 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­98
  • 2.­32
  • 3.­46
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­103
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­73
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­20
  • 22.­38
  • 24.­12
  • 24.­16
  • 26.­1
  • 27.­6
  • n.­556
  • g.­123
  • g.­202
  • g.­203
  • g.­245
  • g.­247
g.­145

garuḍa

Wylie:
  • nam mkha’ lding
Tibetan:
  • ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • garuḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 3.­46
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­103
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­64
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­20
  • 23.­19
  • 24.­16
  • 26.­1
  • g.­213
  • g.­221
  • g.­223
  • g.­230
g.­155

higher knowledge

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhijñā

There are six kinds of higher knowledge: divine sight, divine hearing, knowing how to manifest miracles, remembering previous lives, knowing what is in the minds of others, and knowing that all defects have been eliminated. Sometimes listed as five, without the sixth.

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • i.­43
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­38
  • 3.­32
  • 3.­128
  • 3.­147
  • 5.­40
  • 5.­45
  • 5.­66
  • 5.­68-69
  • 5.­71
  • 5.­100-102
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­41
  • 7.­21
  • 7.­109
  • 7.­162
  • 8.­3
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­17
  • 8.­23
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­59
  • 11.­61
  • 11.­67
  • 12.­17
  • 14.­66
  • 20.­10
  • 22.­35
  • n.­381
g.­156

Hīnayāna

Wylie:
  • theg pa dman pa
Tibetan:
  • ཐེག་པ་དམན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • hīnayāna

Literally “the lesser way” or “lesser vehicle.” It is a collective term for the śrāvakayāna and pratyeka­buddha­yāna, which have nirvāṇa instead of buddhahood as their goal.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­2
  • g.­39
g.­161

Jala­dhara­garjita­ghoṣa­susvarana­kṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña­

Wylie:
  • ’brug sgra sbyangs snyan skar ma’i rgyal po me tog kun tu rgyas pa
Tibetan:
  • འབྲུག་སྒྲ་སྦྱངས་སྙན་སྐར་མའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • jala­dhara­garjita­ghoṣa­susvarana­kṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña­

A buddha in the distant past. Also the name of a prince in the distant past.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • i.­63
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­4
  • 25.­6
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­18-20
  • 25.­23-24
  • 25.­26-29
g.­167

jina

Wylie:
  • rgyal ba
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jina

One of the synonyms for buddha. Literally, “victor” but only used for founders of religious traditions.

Located in 109 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­41
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­47
  • 1.­50-51
  • 1.­57-58
  • 1.­61-62
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­89
  • 1.­108-110
  • 1.­112
  • 1.­115
  • 1.­129
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­22-23
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­95
  • 2.­101
  • 2.­104-105
  • 2.­108-109
  • 2.­125
  • 2.­135
  • 2.­156
  • 2.­161
  • 2.­169
  • 3.­13-14
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­41-43
  • 3.­129
  • 3.­137
  • 4.­71-73
  • 4.­76-78
  • 4.­91
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­45
  • 5.­103
  • 6.­3
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­24
  • 6.­31
  • 6.­35
  • 6.­38
  • 6.­41
  • 6.­43-44
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­26
  • 7.­44-45
  • 7.­93
  • 7.­142-143
  • 7.­157
  • 7.­159
  • 7.­161
  • 7.­164
  • 7.­168-170
  • 7.­189
  • 8.­33
  • 8.­40
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­9
  • 9.­11
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­21
  • 10.­17
  • 10.­45
  • 11.­41-42
  • 11.­64
  • 13.­57
  • 13.­83
  • 13.­87
  • 15.­34
  • 16.­12
  • 16.­18
  • 16.­65
  • 18.­56
  • 18.­59
  • 18.­86
  • 19.­23
  • 20.­17
  • 24.­18
  • 24.­46
  • 24.­48
  • 25.­13
  • n.­106
  • n.­318
  • n.­323
g.­174

Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña

Wylie:
  • pad ma’i ’dab ma dri ma med pa skar ma’i rgyal po me tog kun tu rgyas pa
Tibetan:
  • པད་མའི་འདབ་མ་དྲི་མ་མེད་པ་སྐར་མའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña

A buddha in a realm far away in the eastern direction.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • 23.­1
  • 23.­3-5
  • 23.­7
  • 23.­10-11
  • 23.­26
g.­175

Kamalaśīla

Wylie:
  • ka ma la shI la
Tibetan:
  • ཀ་མ་ལ་ཤཱི་ལ།
Sanskrit:
  • kamalaśīla

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­10
  • n.­56
g.­180

Kāśyapa

Wylie:
  • ’od srung
Tibetan:
  • འོད་སྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • kāśyapa

See “Mahākāśyapa.”

Located in 35 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­69
  • 5.­1-11
  • 5.­16
  • 5.­27
  • 5.­53
  • 5.­56-62
  • 5.­69-70
  • 6.­1-3
  • 8.­29-31
  • 8.­44
  • g.­47
  • g.­210
  • g.­322
  • g.­459
g.­181

kātyāyana

Wylie:
  • kA tyA’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ཀཱ་ཏྱཱའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • kātyāyana

See “Mahākātyāyana.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­29
  • g.­211
g.­186

kinnara

Wylie:
  • mi’am ci
Tibetan:
  • མིའམ་ཅི།
Sanskrit:
  • kinnara
  • kiṃnara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­98
  • 3.­46
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­103
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­64
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­20
  • 23.­19
  • 24.­16
  • 26.­1
  • g.­116
  • g.­127
  • g.­209
  • g.­398
g.­187

kleśa

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

Literally “pain,” “torment,” or “affliction.” In Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit it literally means “impurity” or “depravity.” In its technical use in Buddhism it means any negative quality in the mind that causes continued existence in saṃsāra. The basic three kleśas are ignorance, attachment, and aversion.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­61
  • 5.­70
  • 5.­73
  • 7.­138
  • 7.­184
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­82
  • 13.­63
  • 13.­72
  • 15.­7
  • 24.­39
  • n.­433
g.­188

krośa

Wylie:
  • rgyang grags
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱང་གྲགས།
Sanskrit:
  • krośa

A quarter of a yojana, sometimes called an “Indian league.” It is said to be about two miles. The Tibetan means “an earshot.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­67
  • 5.­99
g.­192

kumbhāṇḍa

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

Dwarf spirits said to have either large stomachs or huge, pot-sized testicles.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­88
  • 3.­96
  • 3.­99
  • 3.­104
  • 21.­8
  • 21.­14
  • 21.­19
  • n.­556
  • g.­478
g.­197

liberations

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar ba
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • vimokṣa

This can include any method for liberation. The most common list is of eight liberations: (1) form viewing form, the view of dependent origination and emptiness; (2) the formless viewing form, having seen internal emptiness, seeing the emptiness of external forms; (3) the view of the pleasant, seeing pleasant appearances as empty and contemplating the unpleasant; (4) seeing the emptiness of the formless meditation of infinite space; (5) seeing the emptiness of the formless meditation of infinite consciousness; (6) seeing the emptiness of the formless meditation of nothingness; (7) seeing the emptiness of the formless meditation of neither perception nor nonperception; (8) seeing the emptiness of the state of cessation.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­3
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­83
  • 3.­9
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­75
  • 3.­131
  • 6.­25
  • 7.­109
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­24
  • 17.­7
  • 26.­21
  • g.­394
g.­200

lotsawa

Wylie:
  • lo tsA ba
Tibetan:
  • ལོ་ཙཱ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Honorific term for a Tibetan translator.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • c.­1
g.­201

lotus

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

Nelumbo nucifera. True lotus with a central pericarp. The Indian or sacred lotus.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • 3.­32
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­84
  • 11.­86
  • 11.­88
  • 14.­71
  • 18.­27
  • 20.­4
  • 22.­35
  • 23.­6-7
  • 23.­10
  • 23.­25
  • 24.­48-49
  • 26.­1
  • n.­586
  • g.­75
  • g.­278
  • g.­487
g.­204

Magadha

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

This ancient kingdom is in what is now southern Bihar, within which the Buddha attained enlightenment. During most of the life of the Buddha it was ruled by King Bimbisara. During the Buddha’s later years it began to expand greatly under the reign of King Ajataśatru. In the third century ᴄᴇ, during the reign of Aśoka, it become an empire that controlled most of India.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • g.­15
  • g.­148
  • g.­318
  • g.­446
g.­206

Mahābhijñā­jñānābhi­bhū

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa’i ye shes chen pos zil gyis gnon pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆེན་པོས་ཟིལ་གྱིས་གནོན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahābhijñā­jñānābhi­bhū

A buddha in the distant past. Also the name of a prince in the distant past.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • i.­45
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­4
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115-118
  • 7.­122
  • g.­2
  • g.­26
  • g.­168
  • g.­214
  • g.­378
  • g.­398
g.­210

Mahākāśyapa

Wylie:
  • ’od srung chen po
Tibetan:
  • འོད་སྲུང་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahākāśyapa

One of the Buddha’s principal pupils, who became the Buddha’s successor on his passing. Also rendered here as “Kāśyapa.”

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­42-44
  • 1.­3
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­33
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­59-60
  • 8.­29
  • g.­27
  • g.­180
g.­211

Mahākātyāyana

Wylie:
  • kA tyA’i bu chen po
Tibetan:
  • ཀཱ་ཏྱཱའི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahākātyāyana

One of the ten principal pupils of the Buddha. He was renowned for his ability to understand the Buddha’s teachings. Also rendered as “Kātyāyana.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 1.­3
  • 4.­1
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­28
  • g.­164
  • g.­181
g.­215

Mahā­maudgalyāyana

Wylie:
  • maud gal gyi bu chen po
Tibetan:
  • མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahā­maudgalyāyana

One of the two principal pupils of the Buddha, along with Śariputra. He was renowned for miraculous powers. He was assassinated during the Buddha’s lifetime.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 1.­3
  • 4.­1
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­34
  • g.­244
  • g.­324
  • g.­418
g.­220

Mahāpratibhāna

Wylie:
  • spobs pa chen po
Tibetan:
  • སྤོབས་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāpratibhāna

A bodhisattva who appears mainly in chapters 11 and 12 of this sūtra. In the Chinese version, like other bodhisattvas who appear in the second half of the sūtra, considered to be of a later date than the first half, he is not in the initial list of bodhisattvas given in the first chapter.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • i.­49-50
  • 1.­4
  • 11.­6-11
  • 12.­1
g.­222

mahārāja

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

Four 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 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­59
  • 1.­5
  • 7.­16
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­98
  • 21.­11
  • 21.­14
  • g.­123
  • g.­450
  • g.­478
  • g.­479
g.­224

Mahārūpa

Wylie:
  • gzugs chen po
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahārūpa

“Great Form.” The name of a past eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­1
g.­226

Mahāsāṃghika

Wylie:
  • dge ’dun phal chen po’i sde
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་འདུན་ཕལ་ཆེན་པོའི་སྡེ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsāṃghika

One of the early schools of Buddhism, within which views such as the transcendence of the Buddha formed the basis for the rise of Mahāyāna.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • g.­49
g.­227

mahāsattva

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

Literally “great being.” An epithet for a bodhisattva of great accomplishment.

Located in 185 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­12-15
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­83
  • 1.­85
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­73
  • 4.­29
  • 7.­124
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­31
  • 10.­33
  • 11.­6
  • 11.­9-11
  • 11.­85
  • 11.­104
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­4
  • 12.­11
  • 12.­13
  • 13.­1-5
  • 13.­7-9
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­51-52
  • 13.­59-60
  • 14.­4-5
  • 14.­7
  • 14.­9-10
  • 14.­13-14
  • 14.­16-18
  • 14.­47-49
  • 14.­55-56
  • 14.­64-66
  • 14.­69
  • 15.­2
  • 15.­5-6
  • 16.­1-6
  • 16.­8-9
  • 16.­25
  • 16.­57
  • 16.­59
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­9-10
  • 17.­15
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­10
  • 18.­26
  • 18.­76
  • 18.­85
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­3
  • 19.­6-11
  • 19.­13-15
  • 19.­18-21
  • 20.­2-3
  • 20.­6
  • 20.­8
  • 21.­1-2
  • 21.­4
  • 21.­7-9
  • 22.­1-2
  • 22.­4-11
  • 22.­13-14
  • 22.­16-23
  • 22.­36
  • 22.­38
  • 23.­2-10
  • 23.­13-27
  • 24.­1-17
  • 24.­51
  • 25.­31-32
  • 26.­1-5
  • 26.­11
  • 26.­15
  • 26.­18
  • 27.­4
  • 27.­6
g.­228

mahāśrāvaka

Wylie:
  • nyan thos chen po
Tibetan:
  • ཉན་ཐོས་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāśrāvaka

An epithet for the Buddha’s principal students who had attained the goal of the path.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­2
g.­229

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.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • i.­57
  • 1.­4
  • 19.­1-9
  • 19.­11
  • 19.­13-18
  • 19.­20-21
g.­232

Mahāvyūha

Wylie:
  • bkod pa chen po
Tibetan:
  • བཀོད་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāvyūha

Literally “Great Array” or “Great Display.” The name of a future eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 6.­1
g.­234

mahoraga

Wylie:
  • lto ’phye chen po
Tibetan:
  • ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahoraga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 2.­32
  • 3.­46
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­103
  • 18.­64
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­20
  • 22.­38
  • 23.­19
  • 24.­16
  • 26.­1
  • n.­484
g.­235

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 fortunate eon. In early Buddhism he appears as the human disciple Maitreya Tiṣya, sent to pay his respects by his teacher. 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 in the Mahāyāna, he has both these names.

Located in 34 passages in the translation:

  • i.­8
  • i.­10
  • i.­39
  • i.­52
  • i.­54-55
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­13-15
  • 1.­69-70
  • 1.­126
  • 14.­17-18
  • 14.­48-49
  • 14.­55
  • 14.­64-65
  • 14.­69
  • 15.­2
  • 15.­5
  • 16.­1
  • 16.­9
  • 16.­25
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­9-10
  • 26.­15
  • n.­13
  • g.­16
  • g.­492
g.­240

Mañjughoṣa

Wylie:
  • ’jam dbyangs
Tibetan:
  • འཇམ་དབྱངས།
Sanskrit:
  • mañjughoṣa

See “Mañjusvara.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­26
  • 1.­57
  • 13.­93
  • g.­243
g.­241

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.

In this text:

Also called here “Mañjusvara” and “Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.”

Located in 34 passages in the translation:

  • i.­39
  • i.­49
  • i.­51
  • i.­61
  • 1.­13-15
  • 1.­34
  • 11.­87
  • 11.­91
  • 11.­93
  • 13.­1-5
  • 13.­7-9
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­52
  • 13.­59-64
  • 20.­2
  • 23.­7
  • g.­242
  • g.­243
  • g.­390
  • g.­456
g.­242

Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta

Wylie:
  • ’jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa
Tibetan:
  • འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུར་གྱུར་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • mañjuśrī­kumārabhūta

The bodhisattva who is considered the embodiment of wisdom, with the additional honorific title for a young man. Also rendered here as “Mañjusvara” and “Mañjuśrī.”

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­13-15
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­89
  • 11.­85-89
  • 13.­1
  • 23.­3
  • 23.­7-9
  • 23.­13
  • 23.­26
  • g.­241
g.­243

Mañjusvara

Wylie:
  • ’jam dbyangs
Tibetan:
  • འཇམ་དབྱངས།
Sanskrit:
  • mañjusvara

Meaning “gentle or beautiful voice,” this is an alternative name for Mañjuśrī. It is synonymous with Mañjughoṣa, which is also translated into Tibetan as ’jam dbyangs. See also “Mañjuśrī.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­64
  • 1.­69
  • g.­240
  • g.­241
  • g.­242
g.­249

Māra

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

(1) A deva, sometimes said to be the principal deity in Paranirmitavaśavartin, the highest paradise in the desire realm; also one of the names of the god of desire, Kāma in the Vedic tradition. He is portrayed as attempting to prevent the Buddha’s enlightenment. In early soteriological religions, the principal deity in saṃsāra, such as Indra, would attempt to prevent anyone’s realization that would lead to such a liberation.

(2) The devas ruled over by Māra, and assisting his attempts to prevent the Buddha’s enlightenment; they do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra. More generally, they are symbolic of the defects within a person that prevent enlightenment. These four personifications are: Devaputra-māra (lha’i bu’i bdud), the Divine Māra, which is the distraction of pleasures; Mṛtyumāra (’chi bdag gi bdud), the Māra of Death; Skandhamāra (phung po’i bdud), the Māra of the Aggregates, which is the body; and Kleśamāra (nyon mongs pa’i bdud), the Māra of the Afflictions.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • i.­51
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­84
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­24
  • 3.­27
  • 4.­86
  • 6.­1
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 13.­62-63
  • 22.­36
  • 22.­38
  • 22.­40
  • 23.­11
  • 25.­9
  • 26.­6
  • 26.­20
  • n.­627
  • g.­250
g.­258

Meru

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

Early Mahāyāna sūtras identify this as separate from Sumeru, the mountain at the center of the world. This refers to a legendary mountain in such epics as the Mahābhārata, which, while sacred, is not situated in the world’s center. This is presumably identical to the Mount Meru that is the source of one of the two main tributaries of the Ganges and lies within the territory of India.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 18.­6
  • 18.­77
  • 18.­82
  • 24.­24
  • g.­105
  • g.­222
  • g.­405
  • g.­460
g.­261

methods of attracting disciples

Wylie:
  • bsdu ba
Tibetan:
  • བསྡུ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃgraha

Generosity, pleasant speech, beneficial conduct, and conduct that accords with the wishes of disciples.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­107
  • 11.­81
g.­268

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 53 passages in the translation:

  • i.­49
  • 1.­6
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­98
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­37
  • 3.­46
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­142
  • 7.­144
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­86
  • 11.­93
  • 11.­95
  • 11.­98-101
  • 11.­103
  • 13.­81
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­64
  • 18.­70
  • 18.­73
  • 18.­89
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­38
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­23
  • 24.­30
  • 26.­1
  • n.­480
  • g.­33
  • g.­239
  • g.­264
  • g.­274
  • g.­343
  • g.­416
  • g.­417
  • g.­422
  • g.­436
  • g.­444
  • g.­460
  • g.­466
  • g.­479
g.­271

Nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña

Wylie:
  • skar ma’i rgyal po me tog kun tu rgyas pa mngon par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • སྐར་མའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ་མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching. Known only from this sūtra.

Located in 39 passages in the translation:

  • i.­60
  • 22.­1-4
  • 22.­6-11
  • 22.­14
  • 22.­16-41
  • 23.­3
g.­272

name-and-form

Wylie:
  • ming dang gzugs
Tibetan:
  • མིང་དང་གཟུགས།
Sanskrit:
  • nāmarūpa

A name for the embryonic phase of an individual’s existence where there is form but the rest of the skandhas or aggregates, which are mental, are undeveloped and have only a nominal presence.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­70
  • 7.­106-107
g.­273

Nanam Yeshé Dé

Wylie:
  • sna nam ye shes sde
Tibetan:
  • སྣ་ནམ་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Chief editor of the Tibetan translation of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma and the translation program from the late eighth to early ninth century in Tibet. From the Nanam (sna nam) clan.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­25
  • c.­1
  • g.­494
g.­280

nirvāṇa

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

Sanskrit: “extinguishment,” for the causes for saṃsāra are “extinguished”; Tibetan: “the transcendence of suffering.”

Located in 219 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5
  • i.­9
  • i.­12
  • i.­40
  • i.­42-43
  • i.­45-46
  • i.­53
  • i.­57
  • i.­60
  • 1.­12
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­74
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­84-85
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­113-114
  • 1.­127
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­62-63
  • 2.­73
  • 2.­94-95
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­104-105
  • 2.­124
  • 2.­144
  • 2.­153-154
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­15-18
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­34-35
  • 3.­43
  • 3.­53
  • 3.­72-76
  • 3.­136
  • 3.­141
  • 3.­151
  • 4.­2-3
  • 4.­26
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­74
  • 4.­77
  • 5.­6
  • 5.­10
  • 5.­29
  • 5.­31
  • 5.­40
  • 5.­55
  • 5.­60
  • 5.­72-73
  • 5.­79
  • 5.­92-93
  • 5.­103-104
  • 5.­106
  • 5.­109
  • 5.­112
  • 6.­17
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­30
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­43
  • 7.­4-5
  • 7.­10-11
  • 7.­15-16
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­102-103
  • 7.­132-134
  • 7.­139-140
  • 7.­168
  • 7.­185
  • 7.­188-190
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­38
  • 8.­45
  • 8.­49
  • 8.­51
  • 8.­59-60
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­10
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­30
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­7-8
  • 10.­17
  • 10.­26-27
  • 10.­33
  • 10.­49
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­27
  • 11.­29-33
  • 11.­39-40
  • 11.­50
  • 11.­52
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­57
  • 11.­62
  • 11.­69
  • 11.­83
  • 12.­1-2
  • 12.­12-13
  • 12.­31
  • 13.­15
  • 13.­32
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­46
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­52
  • 13.­59-60
  • 13.­62
  • 13.­75
  • 13.­79
  • 13.­92
  • 14.­1-2
  • 14.­5
  • 14.­67
  • 14.­78
  • 15.­6
  • 15.­9-11
  • 15.­20
  • 15.­22
  • 15.­24-25
  • 15.­38
  • 16.­8
  • 16.­51
  • 16.­55-56
  • 16.­59
  • 16.­62
  • 16.­72
  • 17.­2-3
  • 17.­20
  • 19.­3-6
  • 19.­21
  • 19.­23
  • 19.­31
  • 19.­33
  • 20.­1-2
  • 20.­4
  • 20.­9
  • 20.­13-14
  • 20.­16-17
  • 20.­21
  • 20.­23
  • 22.­16-18
  • 23.­9
  • 23.­11
  • 23.­13
  • 23.­21
  • n.­92
  • n.­203
  • n.­275
  • n.­316
  • n.­416
  • g.­156
  • g.­291
  • g.­393
g.­291

parinirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • yongs su mya ngan las ’da’
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདའ།
Sanskrit:
  • parinirvāṇa

“Complete nirvāṇa.” It can specifically refer to entering nirvāṇa at death.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 1.­84
g.­293

perfectly enlightened buddha

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

Literally, “perfectly and completely awakened one,” this refers to a buddha who teaches the Dharma, as opposed to a pratyeka­buddha.

Located in 180 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • 1.­71-72
  • 1.­76-77
  • 1.­79-80
  • 1.­84-86
  • 2.­1-3
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­53-59
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­64
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­31
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­54
  • 3.­65
  • 3.­70
  • 3.­74-76
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­5-6
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­82
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115-118
  • 7.­122
  • 7.­126-129
  • 7.­138-140
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­30
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­5-6
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­17-19
  • 9.­25
  • 10.­5
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­7-8
  • 11.­10
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­24-27
  • 11.­82
  • 12.­5-6
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­62-63
  • 14.­5-6
  • 14.­13
  • 14.­47-48
  • 14.­50
  • 15.­6
  • 16.­8
  • 18.­30
  • 19.­2-8
  • 19.­11
  • 19.­13
  • 19.­15
  • 19.­17-18
  • 20.­4-6
  • 20.­8-9
  • 21.­10
  • 22.­1-5
  • 22.­11
  • 22.­13
  • 22.­16-18
  • 22.­35
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­1-5
  • 23.­7
  • 23.­9-15
  • 23.­23
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­16
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­4
  • 25.­6
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­18-20
  • 25.­23-30
  • 26.­2
  • 26.­18
  • 27.­1
  • 27.­4-6
  • n.­591
g.­294

phenomena

Wylie:
  • chos
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma

See “dharma.”

Located in 43 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • i.­51
  • i.­61
  • 1.­130
  • 3.­16
  • 5.­60
  • 5.­71
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­80
  • 5.­82
  • 5.­108
  • 5.­110
  • 5.­112
  • 7.­67
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­88
  • 11.­93
  • 11.­104
  • 13.­3
  • 13.­8-9
  • 13.­25-26
  • 13.­28-31
  • 13.­33
  • 15.­9
  • 16.­1
  • 18.­87
  • 22.­35-36
  • 23.­27
  • n.­100
  • n.­104
  • n.­150
  • g.­6
  • g.­43
  • g.­51
  • g.­113
  • g.­133
  • g.­135
g.­298

powers

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

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

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­3
  • 2.­83
  • 3.­71
  • g.­135
  • g.­394
g.­300

Prabhūtaratna

Wylie:
  • rin chen mang po
Tibetan:
  • རིན་ཆེན་མང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • prabhūtaratna

“Many Jewels.” The buddha who had lived in a realm in the east (though the sūtra also states that it is in a downward direction) whose stūpa appears while Buddha Śākyamuni is teaching the Lotus Sūtra.

It is also the name as given in the verses for the eon in which Śāriputra will attain buddhahood. The name is different in the prose section.

Located in 38 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­3
  • i.­49
  • i.­58
  • i.­61-62
  • i.­65
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­7-8
  • 11.­10
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­26-27
  • 11.­40
  • 11.­42
  • 11.­85-86
  • 14.­5-6
  • 16.­8
  • 20.­4-6
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­9
  • 23.­11-13
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­16
  • 27.­5-6
  • n.­373
  • n.­378
  • g.­302
  • g.­335
g.­304

pratyeka­buddha

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

Someone who has attained liberation entirely through their own contemplation as a result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, does not have the accumulated merit and motivation to teach others. See also 3.­72 and n.­191.

Located in 35 passages in the translation:

  • i.­40
  • i.­43
  • i.­45
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­62
  • 3.­128
  • 3.­147
  • 5.­41
  • 5.­50
  • 5.­59
  • 7.­139
  • 8.­9
  • 11.­83
  • 15.­5
  • 16.­30
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­30
  • 18.­66
  • 18.­78
  • 22.­24
  • 22.­29-30
  • 22.­36
  • 23.­21
  • 24.­12
  • n.­191
  • n.­429
  • g.­135
  • g.­293
  • g.­305
  • g.­306
g.­305

Pratyeka­buddha­yāna

Wylie:
  • rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa
Tibetan:
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratyeka­buddha­yāna

The way or vehicle of the pratyeka­buddhas.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­24
  • 2.­26
  • 3.­70-72
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­73
  • 7.­123
  • 13.­49
  • 22.­28
  • g.­156
g.­306

pratyekajina

Wylie:
  • rang rgyal
Tibetan:
  • རང་རྒྱལ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratyekajina

Synonymous with pratyeka­buddha.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 5.­81
g.­309

Priyadarśana

Wylie:
  • mthong na dga’ ba
Tibetan:
  • མཐོང་ན་དགའ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • priyadarśana

“Beautiful Sight.” The name of a past eon.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 25.­1
g.­312

Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇī­putra

Wylie:
  • byams ma’i bu gang po
Tibetan:
  • བྱམས་མའི་བུ་གང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • pūrṇa maitrāyaṇī­putra

One of the ten principal pupils of the Buddha. He was the greatest in his ability to teach the Dharma.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­46
  • 1.­3
  • 8.­1-2
  • 8.­4
  • g.­334
g.­317

Rāhula

Wylie:
  • sgra gcan
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲ་གཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • rāhula

Śākyamuni Buddha’s son who became the first novice monk and a prominent member of his monastic saṅgha.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • i.­47
  • 1.­3
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­17-20
  • 9.­22-23
  • 9.­34
  • 12.­6
  • g.­364
  • g.­493
g.­318

Rājagṛha

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

Presently called Rajgir. During the Buddha’s lifetime this was the capital of Magadha, a kingdom roughly corresponding to modern southern Bihar.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 11.­24
g.­321

Ralpachen

Wylie:
  • ral pa can
Tibetan:
  • རལ་པ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

King of Tibet, who reigned 815–838 ᴄᴇ. Also known as Tritsuk Detsen (khri gtug lde btsan).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­25
  • g.­408
g.­322

Raśmiprabhāsa

Wylie:
  • ’od zer rab tu snang ba
Tibetan:
  • འོད་ཟེར་རབ་ཏུ་སྣང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • raśmiprabhāsa

The name Kāśyapa will have when he becomes a buddha in the distant future.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­10
g.­339

rishi

Wylie:
  • drang srong
Tibetan:
  • དྲང་སྲོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛṣi

An ancient Indian spiritual title especially for divinely inspired individuals credited with creating the foundations for all Indian culture.

Located in 31 passages in the translation:

  • i.­43
  • i.­49
  • 1.­112
  • 2.­150
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­123
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­66
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­71
  • 5.­94
  • 5.­107
  • 6.­4
  • 6.­22
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­29
  • 7.­62
  • 7.­187
  • 9.­20
  • 11.­30
  • 11.­73-74
  • 11.­76
  • 11.­80
  • 12.­22
  • 13.­77
  • 14.­21
  • 14.­33
  • 16.­16
  • n.­184
  • g.­219
g.­346

Sahā

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

Indian Buddhist name for either the four-continent sun-and-moon world system in which Buddha Śākyamuni appeared, or a universe of a thousand million such worlds. The White Lotus of Compassion Sutra describes it as a world of ordinary beings in which desire, and so on, are “powerful” (Sanskrit: sahas), and hence the name. The Tibetan translation mi mjed (literally “no suffering”) is usually defined as meaning “endurance,” because beings there are able to endure suffering.

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • 1.­6
  • 3.­46
  • 7.­130
  • 11.­8
  • 11.­14-16
  • 11.­29
  • 11.­103-104
  • 12.­2
  • 14.­1-5
  • 14.­8
  • 14.­55-56
  • 15.­6
  • 16.­49
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6-7
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­6
  • 22.­28
  • 23.­3-11
  • 23.­20-21
  • 23.­24
  • 23.­26
  • 24.­11
  • 24.­13
  • 24.­17
  • 26.­1-2
  • n.­575
  • g.­349
g.­347

Śakra

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

More commonly known in the West as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the devas,” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru, and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu: one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. The highest Vedic sacrifice was the horse sacrifice, and there is a tradition that he became the lord of the gods through performing them.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 2.­142
  • 3.­46
  • 5.­38
  • 11.­98
  • 16.­17
  • 17.­14
  • 17.­32
  • 18.­29
  • 18.­64
  • 18.­74
  • 22.­27
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­12
  • g.­46
  • g.­331
  • g.­355
g.­349

Śākyamuni

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

The name of the historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama. In The White Lotus of the Good Dharma he is said to be in the northeast of the Sahā universe.

Located in 78 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­4
  • i.­49
  • i.­57-58
  • i.­61-63
  • 7.­129
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­17-18
  • 11.­20
  • 11.­23-29
  • 11.­85-86
  • 11.­94
  • 11.­104
  • 14.­5-7
  • 14.­47-48
  • 15.­3
  • 16.­8
  • 16.­45
  • 19.­28
  • 20.­4-7
  • 22.­36
  • 23.­1
  • 23.­3-4
  • 23.­7
  • 23.­9
  • 23.­13-14
  • 23.­23
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­16
  • 26.­2
  • 26.­18
  • 27.­1
  • 27.­4-5
  • n.­87
  • n.­373
  • n.­634
  • g.­16
  • g.­45
  • g.­62
  • g.­66
  • g.­83
  • g.­106
  • g.­113
  • g.­126
  • g.­177
  • g.­217
  • g.­235
  • g.­300
  • g.­317
  • g.­330
  • g.­346
  • g.­350
  • g.­357
  • g.­459
  • g.­476
  • g.­493
g.­353

samādhi

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

One of the synonyms for the meditative state, literally “a completely focused state.”

Located in 45 passages in the translation:

  • i.­60-61
  • i.­63
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­83
  • 1.­93
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­106
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­3
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­75
  • 3.­131
  • 7.­122
  • 11.­93
  • 13.­87
  • 14.­66
  • 15.­2
  • 22.­4-7
  • 22.­12
  • 22.­20
  • 22.­36
  • 23.­2
  • 23.­6
  • 23.­8
  • 23.­23-24
  • 23.­26-27
  • 24.­46
  • 25.­2
  • 25.­16
  • 25.­22
  • 26.­7
  • n.­444
  • g.­43
  • g.­135
  • g.­298
  • g.­358
  • g.­394
g.­354

Samantabhadra

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

A principal bodhisattva in the Mahāyāna sūtras. Not to be confused with the primordial buddha of the Nyingma tradition.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­64
  • 26.­1
  • 26.­3-5
  • 26.­10-12
  • 26.­18-20
  • 26.­24-26
g.­358

samāpatti

Wylie:
  • snyoms par ’jug pa
Tibetan:
  • སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • samāpatti

One of the synonyms for the meditative state, in tems of both the state itself and the various meditative states that serve as attainments along the path. The Tibetan translation interprets it as sama-āpatti, which brings in the idea of “equal,” or “level;” however, it can also be parsed as sam-āpatti, in which case it would have the sense of “concentration,” or “absorption,” much like “samādhi,” but with the added sense of “completion.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­3
  • 3.­71
  • 3.­75
  • g.­394
g.­359

Saṃbhavā

Wylie:
  • ’byung ba
Tibetan:
  • འབྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃbhavā

A realm in the distant past.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­1
g.­360

saṃsāra

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

The Sanskrit means “continuation” and the Tibetan “circling.” An unending series of unenlightened existences.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­41
  • i.­43
  • 2.­73
  • 2.­137
  • 2.­154
  • 3.­136
  • 4.­25
  • 5.­70
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­79
  • 5.­88
  • 5.­91
  • 15.­9
  • 22.­32
  • 22.­40
  • g.­187
  • g.­249
  • g.­280
g.­361

sandalwood

Wylie:
  • tsan dan
Tibetan:
  • ཙན་དན།
Sanskrit:
  • candana

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­16
  • 1.­52
  • 2.­107
  • 4.­89
  • 11.­1
  • 16.­8
  • 16.­18
  • 16.­31
  • 16.­55
  • 16.­69
  • 18.­27
  • 18.­32
  • 18.­39
  • 22.­3
  • 22.­6
  • 22.­9
  • 22.­18
  • 22.­37
  • 22.­40
  • g.­440
g.­362

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 31 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­45-46
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­50-51
  • 2.­153
  • 3.­146
  • 4.­2
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­111
  • 7.­158
  • 8.­2
  • 8.­24
  • 9.­7
  • 15.­23
  • 16.­49
  • 16.­53
  • 16.­55-56
  • 16.­72
  • 18.­58
  • 19.­19
  • 23.­1
  • 25.­30
  • g.­115
  • g.­178
  • g.­317
g.­365

Śāriputra

Wylie:
  • shA ri’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • śāriputra

The Buddha’s principal pupil, who passed away before the Buddha. Also called “Śārisuta”, “Tiṣya” and “Upatiṣya.”

Located in 84 passages in the translation:

  • i.­11
  • i.­40-41
  • i.­49
  • 1.­3
  • 2.­1-4
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­27-28
  • 2.­39-41
  • 2.­43-44
  • 2.­47
  • 2.­49-64
  • 2.­87
  • 2.­155
  • 2.­167
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­27-35
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­53-56
  • 3.­62-65
  • 3.­69-70
  • 3.­72
  • 3.­74-76
  • 3.­143
  • 3.­148
  • 3.­187
  • 4.­1
  • 11.­98
  • 11.­100-101
  • 11.­104
  • n.­105
  • n.­184
  • n.­212
  • n.­289
  • g.­12
  • g.­101
  • g.­287
  • g.­300
  • g.­338
  • g.­366
  • g.­425
g.­366

Śārisuta

Wylie:
  • shA ri’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • śārisuta

Alternative name for Śāriputra.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­69
  • 2.­89
  • 2.­94
  • 2.­152
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­45
  • 3.­123
  • 3.­141
  • 3.­173-174
  • g.­365
g.­375

Satata­samitābhiyukta

Wylie:
  • rtag par rgyun du brtson
Tibetan:
  • རྟག་པར་རྒྱུན་དུ་བརྩོན།
Sanskrit:
  • satata­samitābhiyukta

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching, who appears in no other sūtra or tantra.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • i.­56
  • 1.­4
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­9-10
  • 18.­26
  • 18.­61
  • 18.­76
  • 18.­85
g.­376

seven precious materials

Wylie:
  • rin chen sna bdun
Tibetan:
  • རིན་ཆེན་སྣ་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saptaratna

In this sūtra they are specified to be gold, silver, beryl, white coral, emerald, red pearl, and chrysoberyl. When associated with the seven heavenly bodies, and therefore the seven days of the week, they are the seven jewels: ruby for the sun; moonstone or pearl for the moon; coral for Mars; emerald for Mercury; yellow sapphire for Jupiter; diamond for Venus; and blue sapphire for Saturn. An alternative list is: gold, silver, beryl, crystal, coral, emerald, and white coral.

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­59
  • 2.­111
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­62
  • 3.­75
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 8.­5
  • 8.­22
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­12
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­20
  • 11.­22
  • 11.­83-84
  • 11.­102
  • 16.­54
  • 22.­14
  • 22.­19
  • 22.­24
  • 23.­10-11
  • 23.­15
  • 23.­25
  • g.­486
g.­383

sixty-two fabricated views

Wylie:
  • lta ba drug cu rtsa gnyis
Tibetan:
  • ལྟ་བ་དྲུག་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvāṣaṣti dṛṣṭīkṛta

A typology of erroneous beliefs about the nature of reality, often grouped into views of eternalism, nihilism, and their combinations.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­92
  • 5.­72
g.­384

skandha

Wylie:
  • phung po
Tibetan:
  • ཕུང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • skandha

Literally, “heaps,” or “aggregates.” These are the five aggregates of forms, sensations, identifications, mental activities, and consciousnesses.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­84-85
  • 3.­47
  • 11.­2
  • 13.­63
  • 14.­46
  • n.­433
  • g.­139
  • g.­272
g.­388

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 131 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • i.­40
  • i.­43-45
  • i.­47
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­74
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­100
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­34
  • 2.­62-63
  • 2.­80
  • 2.­166-167
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­53
  • 3.­133
  • 3.­147-148
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­68
  • 4.­85
  • 5.­55
  • 5.­59
  • 5.­81
  • 5.­92
  • 5.­103
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­9
  • 6.­19-20
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­28-29
  • 6.­33-35
  • 6.­41
  • 6.­44-45
  • 7.­11
  • 7.­111
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­117
  • 7.­125
  • 7.­131-132
  • 7.­134
  • 7.­139
  • 7.­156-157
  • 7.­170-171
  • 8.­1-3
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­9-10
  • 8.­12
  • 8.­14-16
  • 8.­24
  • 8.­28-32
  • 8.­44
  • 9.­12
  • 9.­24-26
  • 9.­29
  • 9.­31
  • 10.­43
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­34
  • 11.­59
  • 11.­88
  • 12.­2
  • 13.­63
  • 14.­13
  • 15.­5
  • 15.­23
  • 15.­30
  • 16.­29
  • 16.­49
  • 16.­55
  • 16.­57
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­30
  • 18.­56
  • 18.­58
  • 18.­66
  • 18.­75
  • 18.­78
  • 18.­83
  • 19.­3
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­3-4
  • 22.­17
  • 22.­20-21
  • 22.­24
  • 22.­30
  • 22.­36
  • 23.­21
  • 24.­12
  • 25.­30
  • 27.­6
  • n.­186
  • n.­190
  • n.­212
  • n.­220
  • n.­245
  • n.­313
  • n.­343
  • n.­490
  • g.­66
  • g.­135
  • g.­389
g.­389

śrāvakayāna

Wylie:
  • nyan thos kyi theg pa
Tibetan:
  • ཉན་ཐོས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvakayāna

The way or vehicle of the śrāvaka.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­26
  • 3.­70-72
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­73
  • 7.­123
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­32
  • 11.­88
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­49
  • 22.­28
  • g.­156
  • g.­283
  • g.­284
  • g.­393
g.­392

sthavira

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

Literally “one who is stable” and is usually translated as “elder”; a senior teacher in the early Buddhist communities. Also became the name of the Buddhist tradition within which the Theravada developed.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­1
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­19-20
  • 6.­28-29
  • 6.­34
  • 11.­100-101
  • 11.­104
g.­394

strengths

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

The strengths are enumerated as five or ten. As five, they are a stronger form of the five powers: faith, mindfulness, diligence, samādhi, and wisdom. As ten, they are the strenths of knowing what is proper and improper, knowing the maturation of karma, knowing the variety of beings’ aspirations, knowing the variety of their inclinations, knowing the variety of their capacities, knowing everywhere each path leads, knowing the dhyānas, liberations, samāpattis, samādhis and so forth, being able to recall previous states of being, and knowing the details of death and rebirth.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­3
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­83
  • 2.­133
  • 3.­9
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­66
  • 3.­69-71
  • 3.­73
  • 3.­75-76
  • 3.­131
  • 5.­38
  • 5.­44
  • 7.­189
  • 8.­34
  • 11.­81
  • g.­135
g.­395

stūpa

Wylie:
  • mchod rten
Tibetan:
  • མཆོད་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • stūpa

Reliquary for the remains of a buddha or enlightened master, and also a symbol for the mind or enlightenment of the Buddha.

Located in 69 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­3
  • i.­9
  • i.­14
  • i.­21
  • i.­26-27
  • i.­48-49
  • i.­54
  • i.­58
  • i.­60
  • 1.­12
  • 1.­58
  • 1.­116
  • 2.­105
  • 2.­107-109
  • 2.­116
  • 2.­122
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­30
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37-38
  • 8.­7
  • 10.­28
  • 11.­1-2
  • 11.­4-8
  • 11.­10
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­26-28
  • 11.­30
  • 11.­44
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­105
  • 14.­5
  • 16.­53-54
  • 16.­56
  • 16.­63
  • 16.­86
  • 20.­4
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­17
  • 22.­19-20
  • 23.­11
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­16
  • 27.­5
  • n.­352
  • n.­358-359
  • n.­372-373
  • g.­88
  • g.­300
  • g.­426
g.­396

Śubhavyūha

Wylie:
  • dge ba bkod pa
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བ་བཀོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śubhavyūha

A king in the distant past.

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • i.­63
  • 25.­1-3
  • 25.­5-10
  • 25.­16
  • 25.­18-24
  • 25.­26-33
  • 25.­36
g.­397

Subhūti

Wylie:
  • rab ’byor
Tibetan:
  • རབ་འབྱོར།
Sanskrit:
  • subhūti

A foremost pupil of the Buddha, known for his wisdom.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 1.­3
  • 4.­1
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­19-20
  • g.­332
  • g.­374
g.­401

sugata

Wylie:
  • bde bar gshegs pa
Tibetan:
  • བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • sugata

Sometimes interpreted as “one gone to bliss”; the su or bde bar is adverbial, and gata denotes a state of being rather than literal motion. Therefore it means “one who has fared well.”

Located in 106 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­25
  • 1.­30
  • 1.­38
  • 1.­43
  • 1.­52
  • 1.­56-57
  • 1.­61
  • 1.­65-67
  • 1.­72
  • 1.­98
  • 1.­100
  • 1.­103-104
  • 1.­117
  • 1.­122
  • 1.­127
  • 2.­12-13
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­39-40
  • 2.­43
  • 2.­46
  • 2.­111-112
  • 2.­119-121
  • 2.­124
  • 2.­159
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­64
  • 3.­133
  • 3.­181
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­90
  • 5.­43
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­40-42
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­3
  • 7.­10
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­61
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­166-167
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­8
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­38
  • 8.­51
  • 8.­59
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­16-17
  • 9.­24
  • 10.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 12.­5-6
  • 13.­55
  • 13.­65
  • 14.­54
  • 14.­77
  • 15.­2
  • 15.­17
  • 16.­10
  • 16.­22
  • 17.­9
  • 18.­20
  • 18.­55
  • 18.­58
  • 18.­96
  • 19.­2
  • 19.­6
  • 20.­13-14
  • 21.­2
  • 22.­2
  • 22.­15
  • 23.­14
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­9
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­26
  • 25.­30
  • 26.­3
g.­403

Sukhāvatī

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

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

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • i.­27
  • i.­60
  • i.­62
  • 22.­35
  • 24.­47
  • n.­582
  • g.­22
  • g.­23
  • g.­229
g.­405

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 21 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­41-42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­74-75
  • 7.­89-90
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­19
  • 11.­21
  • 11.­47
  • 13.­30
  • 18.­6
  • 18.­77
  • 18.­82
  • 22.­25
  • g.­258
  • g.­347
  • g.­399
  • g.­429
  • g.­447
g.­408

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. 815–838 ᴄᴇ) and helped in the translation of 43 Kangyur texts.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­25
  • c.­1
g.­413

sūtra

Wylie:
  • mdo
Tibetan:
  • མདོ།
Sanskrit:
  • sūtra

Literally meaning “a thread,” this was an ancient term for teachings that were memorized and orally transmitted in an essential form. Therefore it can mean “pithy statements,” “rules,” and “aphorisms.” In Buddhism it refers to the Buddha’s teachings, whatever their length, and in terms of the three divisions of the Buddha’s teachings, it is the category of teachings other than those on the vinaya and abhidharma. It is also used as a category to contrast with the tantra teachings, though a number of important tantras have sūtra in their title. Another very specific meaning is when it is classed as one of the nine or twelve aspects of the Dharma. In that context sūtra means “a teaching given in prose,” and as such is one aspect of what is generally called a sūtra.

Located in 269 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1-3
  • i.­7-13
  • i.­15-17
  • i.­20-23
  • i.­28-29
  • i.­34
  • i.­36
  • i.­40
  • i.­45
  • i.­48-52
  • i.­54-65
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­84
  • 1.­88
  • 2.­63
  • 2.­77
  • 2.­79
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­144-145
  • 3.­147
  • 3.­151
  • 3.­159-160
  • 3.­168
  • 3.­173-174
  • 3.­177-182
  • 3.­184-187
  • 6.­8
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­163-164
  • 7.­166
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­12-15
  • 10.­17-19
  • 10.­21
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­38
  • 10.­42-43
  • 10.­45
  • 10.­49
  • 11.­43
  • 11.­46
  • 11.­49-50
  • 11.­52
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­57
  • 11.­60
  • 11.­62
  • 11.­64-66
  • 11.­68-70
  • 11.­73
  • 11.­76
  • 11.­84
  • 11.­90
  • 11.­92
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­13
  • 12.­20
  • 12.­25
  • 12.­29
  • 13.­10
  • 13.­24
  • 13.­32
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­53
  • 13.­62
  • 13.­65
  • 13.­72-74
  • 13.­79
  • 13.­93
  • 16.­62
  • 16.­68
  • 16.­72-73
  • 16.­81-82
  • 16.­85
  • 17.­2
  • 17.­14
  • 17.­17
  • 17.­24-25
  • 17.­29
  • 18.­3
  • 18.­22
  • 18.­25
  • 18.­37
  • 18.­54
  • 18.­79
  • 18.­90
  • 18.­92
  • 18.­94-96
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­25-26
  • 19.­28
  • 19.­31-33
  • 20.­6
  • 20.­13-15
  • 20.­18-21
  • 20.­23
  • 21.­6
  • 21.­13-14
  • 21.­17
  • 22.­25-26
  • 22.­28-30
  • 22.­40
  • 26.­5
  • 26.­8
  • 26.­12-13
  • 26.­19
  • 26.­22-24
  • 27.­8-9
  • n.­56
  • n.­92
  • n.­127
  • n.­143
  • n.­159
  • n.­191
  • n.­212
  • n.­238
  • n.­363
  • n.­600
  • n.­661
  • g.­8
  • g.­9
  • g.­10
  • g.­20
  • g.­22
  • g.­30
  • g.­34
  • g.­41
  • g.­49
  • g.­61
  • g.­64
  • g.­65
  • g.­101
  • g.­111
  • g.­112
  • g.­115
  • g.­116
  • g.­127
  • g.­129
  • g.­134
  • g.­157
  • g.­184
  • g.­185
  • g.­189
  • g.­193
  • g.­194
  • g.­196
  • g.­202
  • g.­203
  • g.­213
  • g.­219
  • g.­220
  • g.­221
  • g.­223
  • g.­230
  • g.­231
  • g.­237
  • g.­238
  • g.­245
  • g.­247
  • g.­258
  • g.­264
  • g.­266
  • g.­270
  • g.­271
  • g.­282
  • g.­288
  • g.­300
  • g.­301
  • g.­310
  • g.­311
  • g.­313
  • g.­314
  • g.­316
  • g.­325
  • g.­331
  • g.­354
  • g.­369
  • g.­373
  • g.­375
  • g.­376
  • g.­380
  • g.­398
  • g.­402
  • g.­406
  • g.­427
  • g.­436
  • g.­449
  • g.­452
  • g.­463
  • g.­465
  • g.­485
g.­421

thirty-two signs

Wylie:
  • sum cu rtsa gnyis mtshan
  • mtshan
Tibetan:
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་མཚན།
  • མཚན།
Sanskrit:
  • dvātriṃśatī­lakṣaṇa
  • lakṣaṇa

The thirty-two characteristics of a great being (mahāpuruṣa; skyes bu chen po), including the uṣṇīṣa, or head mound, and the long tongue.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­87
  • 2.­110
  • 3.­9
  • 3.­17
  • 6.­22
  • 7.­189
  • 8.­6
  • 8.­25
  • 11.­81
  • 11.­95
  • 11.­103
  • 14.­3
  • 20.­4
  • 26.­15
  • g.­441
  • g.­443
g.­422

three existences

Wylie:
  • srid pa gsum
Tibetan:
  • སྲིད་པ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • tribhava

Usually synonymous with the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness. Sometimes it means the realm of devas above, humans on the ground, and nāgas below ground.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­29
  • 24.­50
g.­423

three insights

Wylie:
  • gsum rig
Tibetan:
  • གསུམ་རིག
Sanskrit:
  • traividya

Qualities of an arhat who has the three knowledges (rig pa gsum): knowledge of divine sight, knowledge of previous lifetimes, and knowledge of the cessation of outflows.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­128
  • 5.­40
  • 6.­25
  • 6.­41
  • 7.­109
g.­425

Tiṣya

Wylie:
  • skar rgyal
Tibetan:
  • སྐར་རྒྱལ།
Sanskrit:
  • tiṣya

Alternative name for Śāriputra, as he was born in the month of the constellation Tiṣya. He was also called Upatiṣya.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­134
  • g.­16
  • g.­365
g.­426

toraṇa

Wylie:
  • rta babs
Tibetan:
  • རྟ་བབས།
Sanskrit:
  • toraṇa

A distinctive feature of ancient stūpa architecture, a famous example being those of the Sanchi Stūpa. A stone gateway in the surrounding railing or vedika, and usually positioned in the four directions. They evolved into the well-known freestanding torii of Japanese religious architecture.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­1
  • n.­358
g.­429

Trāyastriṃśa

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

The paradise on the summit of Sumeru.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­64
  • 7.­15
  • 11.­1
  • 18.­29
  • 22.­27
  • 26.­13
g.­432

true nature

Wylie:
  • de bzhin nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tathātva

Literally, “thusness,” as it is indescribable.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­53
  • 5.­31
  • 11.­3
  • 13.­87
  • 26.­3
  • g.­7
  • g.­118
g.­435

upādhyāya

Wylie:
  • mkhan po
Tibetan:
  • མཁན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • upādhyāya

A personal preceptor and teacher. Also In Tibet, the translation mkhan po also came to mean a learned scholar, the equivalent of a paṇḍita.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • c.­1
g.­438

upāsaka

Wylie:
  • dge bsnyen
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བསྙེན།
Sanskrit:
  • upāsaka

A male who has taken the layperson’s vows.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­81
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­65
  • 3.­46
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­50
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­40
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­60
  • 17.­3
  • 18.­65
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­7-10
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­29-30
  • 20.­2
  • 23.­18
  • 26.­4
  • 26.­8
g.­439

upāsikā

Wylie:
  • dge bsnyen ma
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བསྙེན་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • upāsikā

A female who has taken the layperson’s vows.

Located in 29 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­81
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­65
  • 3.­46
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­50
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­14-15
  • 13.­40
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­60
  • 17.­3
  • 18.­65
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­10
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­20
  • 19.­29
  • 20.­2
  • 23.­18
  • 26.­4
  • 26.­8
g.­441

ūrṇā hair

Wylie:
  • mdzod spu
Tibetan:
  • མཛོད་སྤུ།
Sanskrit:
  • ūrṇākośa

One of the thirty-two signs of a great being, it is a coiled white hair between the eyebrows. Literally, the Sanskrit urṇa means “wool” hair, and kośa means “treasure.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­39
  • i.­61
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­82
  • 11.­12
  • 23.­1
  • 25.­26
g.­443

uṣṇīṣa

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

One of the thirty-two signs of a great being. In its simplest form it is a pointed shape to the head (like a turban), or more elaborately a dome-shaped protuberance, or even an invisible protuberance of infinite height.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 25.­26
  • g.­421
g.­448

Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā

Wylie:
  • rnam par snang ba’i ’od zer gyis brgyan pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་སྣང་བའི་འོད་ཟེར་གྱིས་བརྒྱན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā

A buddha realm a great distance in the eastern direction.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­61
  • i.­63
  • 23.­1-2
  • 23.­7
  • 23.­10
  • 25.­1
g.­450

Vaiśravaṇa

Wylie:
  • rnam thos kyi bu
  • mchog gi gzugs
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་ཐོས་ཀྱི་བུ།
  • མཆོག་གི་གཟུགས།
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.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­59
  • 1.­5
  • 21.­11
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­12
  • g.­222
  • g.­490
g.­452

Vajrapāṇi

Wylie:
  • phyag na rdo rje
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajrapāṇi

He first appears in Buddhist literature as the yakṣa bodyguard of the Buddha, ready at times to shatter a person’s head into a hundred pieces with his vajra if they were to speak inappropriately to the Buddha. His identity as a bodhisattva did not take place until the rise of the Mahāyāna in such sūtras as the Kāraṇda­vyūha Sūtra.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 24.­12
  • g.­229
g.­462

Venerable

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

A term of respect used for Buddhist monks.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­100
  • g.­55
g.­463

verse

Wylie:
  • tshigs su bcad pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • gāthā

As one of the nine aspects of the Dharma according to this sūtra (more commonly there are said to be twelve that include these nine), it means those teachings given in verse.

Located in 162 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2-3
  • i.­9
  • i.­11
  • i.­18-19
  • i.­27
  • i.­48
  • i.­55-56
  • i.­59
  • i.­62
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­89
  • 2.­5
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­40
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­44
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­72
  • 2.­80
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­47
  • 3.­77
  • 3.­184
  • 4.­33
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­74
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­20
  • 6.­29
  • 6.­35
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­37
  • 7.­43
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­49
  • 7.­54
  • 7.­62
  • 7.­66-67
  • 7.­72
  • 7.­76
  • 7.­79-80
  • 7.­86
  • 7.­91
  • 7.­102-103
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­150
  • 7.­163
  • 8.­8
  • 8.­32
  • 8.­50
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­26
  • 9.­32
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­4-6
  • 10.­11
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­38
  • 11.­30
  • 11.­75
  • 11.­89
  • 11.­95
  • 12.­8-9
  • 12.­13
  • 13.­10
  • 13.­36
  • 13.­53
  • 13.­65
  • 14.­11
  • 14.­14
  • 14.­18
  • 14.­51
  • 14.­55
  • 14.­57
  • 14.­69
  • 15.­18
  • 16.­8-9
  • 16.­22
  • 16.­28
  • 16.­62
  • 16.­85
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­10
  • 17.­12
  • 17.­17
  • 17.­22-23
  • 18.­3
  • 18.­11
  • 18.­31
  • 18.­67
  • 18.­79
  • 18.­85
  • 18.­87-88
  • 19.­11
  • 19.­22
  • 20.­10
  • 21.­3
  • 21.­20
  • 22.­11
  • 22.­13-14
  • 22.­24
  • 25.­12
  • 25.­15
  • n.­79-80
  • n.­85
  • n.­88
  • n.­124
  • n.­137
  • n.­147
  • n.­150
  • n.­153
  • n.­157
  • n.­161
  • n.­165
  • n.­184
  • n.­232
  • n.­245-246
  • n.­269
  • n.­275-277
  • n.­300
  • n.­303
  • n.­345
  • n.­347
  • n.­349
  • n.­378
  • n.­425
  • n.­599-603
  • n.­612
  • n.­618
  • g.­31
  • g.­32
  • g.­300
  • g.­311
g.­478

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.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­59
  • 1.­5
  • 21.­14
  • n.­556
  • g.­222
g.­479

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.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • g.­222
g.­484

Vulture Peak

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 14 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­39
  • i.­61
  • 1.­2
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­86
  • 11.­88
  • 15.­23
  • 15.­27
  • 16.­49
  • 23.­6
  • 23.­10
  • 26.­2
  • n.­455
g.­486

white coral

Wylie:
  • spug
Tibetan:
  • སྤུག
Sanskrit:
  • musalagalva
  • musāragalva
  • musāgalva

White coral is fossilized coral. It appears in one version of the list of seven precious materials. The Tibetan tradition describes it as being formed from ice over a long period of time. It is coral that has undergone transformation under millions of years of underwater pressure. It can also refer to tridacna (Tridacnidae) shell, which is also presently referred to by the name musaragalva. Attempts to identify musalagalva have included sapphire, cat’s eye, red coral, conch, and amber.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­71
  • 24.­3
  • g.­376
g.­489

world realm

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gyi khams
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • lokadhātu

This can refer to one world with its orbiting sun and moon, and also to groups of these worlds in multiples of thousands, in particular a world relam of a thousand million worlds, which is said to be circular, with its circumference twice as long as its diameter.

Located in 128 passages in the translation:

  • i.­38
  • i.­45
  • i.­49-50
  • i.­52
  • i.­56
  • i.­58
  • 1.­6
  • 5.­3-4
  • 5.­6
  • 7.­8
  • 7.­130
  • 8.­5
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­36-37
  • 11.­7-8
  • 11.­11-17
  • 11.­21
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­29
  • 11.­35
  • 11.­63
  • 11.­82
  • 11.­102-104
  • 12.­2
  • 12.­6
  • 12.­9
  • 12.­12
  • 14.­1-5
  • 14.­8
  • 14.­41
  • 14.­47
  • 14.­55-56
  • 15.­4-6
  • 15.­28
  • 16.­2-7
  • 16.­49
  • 17.­5
  • 17.­10
  • 18.­2
  • 18.­5
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­11
  • 18.­21
  • 18.­26
  • 18.­71
  • 18.­77-78
  • 18.­81
  • 18.­84-85
  • 18.­89
  • 19.­2-3
  • 19.­5-6
  • 20.­1-2
  • 20.­4-7
  • 20.­12
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­6
  • 22.­9
  • 22.­17
  • 22.­21-24
  • 22.­35
  • 23.­1-11
  • 23.­14
  • 23.­20-21
  • 23.­24
  • 23.­26
  • 24.­4-5
  • 24.­11-13
  • 24.­17
  • 25.­30
  • 26.­1-2
  • 27.­5-6
  • n.­462-463
  • n.­575
  • g.­60
  • g.­225
  • g.­370
g.­490

yakṣa

Wylie:
  • gnod sbyin
Tibetan:
  • གནོད་སྦྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • yakṣa

A class of supernatural beings, often represented as the attendants of Vaiśravaṇa, the god of wealth, but the term is also applied to spirits. Although they are generally portrayed as benevolent, the Tibetan translation means “harm giver,” as they are also capable of causing harm.

Located in 50 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­43
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­98
  • 1.­106
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­37
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­85-87
  • 3.­92
  • 3.­95
  • 3.­104
  • 3.­161
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­54
  • 11.­103
  • 12.­24
  • 13.­81
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­64
  • 18.­73
  • 19.­22
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 21.­8
  • 21.­19
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­20
  • 22.­38
  • 24.­4
  • 24.­12
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­30
  • 26.­1
  • 26.­6
  • n.­215
  • g.­450
  • g.­452
g.­491

yāna

Wylie:
  • theg pa
Tibetan:
  • ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • yāna

The Sanskrit has several meanings, including “way,” “carriage,” and “vehicle.”

Located in 58 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5
  • i.­8
  • i.­10
  • i.­12
  • i.­40-41
  • i.­43
  • i.­45
  • 1.­29-30
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­25
  • 2.­53-54
  • 2.­56
  • 2.­58
  • 2.­60-61
  • 2.­64
  • 2.­81-82
  • 2.­84
  • 2.­96-97
  • 2.­100
  • 2.­128-129
  • 2.­131-132
  • 2.­169-170
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­31
  • 3.­70-71
  • 3.­76
  • 3.­127
  • 3.­134
  • 3.­136
  • 3.­138
  • 3.­150
  • 5.­58-59
  • 5.­70
  • 5.­79
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­111
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­134
  • 7.­140
  • 7.­187
  • 8.­9
  • 8.­18
  • 9.­12
  • 27.­9
  • n.­68
  • n.­208
g.­497

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 22 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­59
  • 3.­158
  • 5.­67
  • 5.­97
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­15
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­135-136
  • 7.­174
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­16
  • 11.­20
  • 11.­22
  • 11.­83
  • 21.­13
  • 23.­4
  • g.­188
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    The White Lotus of the Good Dharma

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    The cultivation of generosity, or dāna—giving voluntarily with a view that something wholesome will come of it—is considered to be a fundamental Buddhist practice by all schools. The nature and quantity of the gift itself is often considered less important.

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    84000. The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Saddharma­puṇḍarīka, dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po, Toh 113). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025. https://84000.co/translation/toh113/UT22084-051-001-chapter-5.Copy
    84000. The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Saddharma­puṇḍarīka, dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po, Toh 113). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh113/UT22084-051-001-chapter-5.Copy
    84000. (2025) The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Saddharma­puṇḍarīka, dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po, Toh 113). (Peter Alan Roberts and team, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh113/UT22084-051-001-chapter-5.Copy

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