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དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ།

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
Notes

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

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.

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.

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”

The Translation

The Mahāyāna Sūtra
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma

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.

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.

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]

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.

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.

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.”

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.

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.”

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.”

Colophon

c.1

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

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.9

Groner and Stone (2014): 5.

n.10

For an English translation of this important text, see Tiantai Lotus Texts (2013).

n.11

Lopez (2016): 28.

n.12

Nāgārjuna: folios 148b, 187a, 188b.

n.13

Maitreya-Asaṅga: folio 64b; verse 2.58.

n.14

Asaṅga: folio 119b.

n.15

Vasubandhu: folio 187b.

n.16

Candrakīrti, dbu ma la ’jug pa’i bshad pa (Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya): folio 345b.

n.17

Candrakīrti, dbu ma la ’jug pa’i bshad pa (Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya): folio 222a.

n.18

Śāntideva: folios 56b and 190a.

n.19

Kamalaśīla: folio 91b.

n.20

Dharmamitra: folio 21a.

n.21

Dharmamitra: folio 36b.

n.22

Dharmamitra: folio 65b.

n.23

Jānavajra: folios 33a, 119b, 122b, 123b.

n.24

Daṃṣṭrāsena (ascr.): folio 34a.

n.25

Abhayākaragupta: folios 148a and 179b.

n.26

Saitsalak: folios 175b–302a.

n.27

Lopez (2016): 28–9.

n.28

Schoening (1996): 119.

n.29

Wantsik: folios Ti 1a–Di 175a.

n.30

von Hinüber (2012): 52–67. Also von Hinüber (online lecture 2010).

n.31

von Hinüber (2012): 1.

n.32

The other eight are the Lalitavistara (The Play in Full, Toh 95), Prajñāpāramitā (The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses, Toh 12), Daśabhūmika (The Ten Bhūmis, which became a chapter within the Avatamsaka Sūtra), Gaṇḍhavyūha (Array of a Stem, according to the Tibetan translation, which is the last chapter of the Avatamsaka Sūtra), Laṅkāvatāra (The Entry into Laṅka, Toh 107), Samādhirāja (King of Samādhis, Toh 127), Suvarṇaprabhāsa (The Golden Light, Toh 555–7), and the Tathāgataguhyaka (The Secret of the Tathāgatas, better known as the Guhyasamāja Tantra, Toh 442).

Lopez (2016): 43.

Boucher (2006): 24.

Boucher (2006): 14.

Lopez (2016): 44.

Yuyama (1970): 65–9.

Lopez (2016): 44–5.

Zengwen (2000): 21.

Yuyama (1970): 69.

Lopez (2016): 47.

Lopez (2016): 47–60.

Lopez (2016): 61.

Lopez (2016): 78.

Lopez (2016): 78–81.

Lopez (2016): 83.

Lopez (2016): 84–90.

Lopez (2016): 105–8.

Lopez (2016): 189.

Lopez (2016): 193–96, 200–204.

n.51

Lopez (2016): 204.

n.52

Lopez (2016): 116–22.

n.53

For discussion about the background and influence of Burnouf’s translation, see Lopez (2016): 122–67.

n.54

Lopez (2016): 169.

n.55

Yuyama (1970): 67.

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.61

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: Mahānanda.

n.62

According to the Sanskrit, Yongle, Lithang, Narthang, Choné, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs. The Degé and Comparative Edition have mes byin (“given by fire”) in error for mis byin (“given by men”).

n.63

According to the Tibetan (literally “hundred thousand ten millions”). The Sanskrit omits the koṭī (“ten million”).

n.64

The Sanskrit has additionally “divine flowers” and “great flowers.”

n.65

The Sanskrit is simply pratyekayāna.

n.66

Literally “a thousand ten-millions” or “tens of billions.”

n.67

From the Sanskrit śaṅkhaśilā, though the meaning is uncertain. The Tibetan is man shel, which appears to indicate a form of crystal.

n.68

According to the Sanskrit, which accords with the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs. The Degé and Stok Palace read: “supreme yāna” (theg mchog).

n.69

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: putrī (“daughters”).

n.70

From the Sanskrit upalakṣayanti and the Stok Palace nye bar rtog par byed. The Degé and all other versions recorded in the Comparative Edition read: nye bar rtogs par byed.

n.71

From the Sanskrit sabalaṃ savāhanaṃ. The Tibetan translates the words as “with their strength and steeds.”

n.72

According to the Tibetan; “aggressive” is absent from the Sanskrit.

n.73

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “And similarly toward abuse, criticism, and threats.”

n.74

According to the Sanskrit mūlya. The Tibetan has ri (“mountain”) in error for rin (“value”).

n.75

According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from anya. The Sanskrit has bhūya (“many”).

n.76

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “and the constant sound of a multitude of bells.”

n.77

According to the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné Kangyurs: sol. The Degé and Stok Palace read: rtsol.

n.78

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Dispel our curiosity, son of the Buddha!”

n.79

According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit, the second half of this verse is the first half of verse 52, and vice versa.

n.80

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit here repeats the first half of verse 49. The equivalent Sanskrit for these lines forms the second half of verse 53.

n.81

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur, cung, which accords with the Sanskrit alpa. The Degé and all other witnesses recorded in the Comparative Edition read: chud.

n.82

Sanskrit: bherī. There is a variety of kettledrums and the bherī is described as a conical or bowl-shaped kettledrum, with an upper surface that is beaten with sticks.

n.83

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to have translated pratibhāti as the noun spobs pa.

n.84

It becomes evident that this is another name for Varaprabha.

n.85

In the verse the Sanskrit is candrasya sūryasya pradīpa (“The lamp of the sun [and] of the moon”).

n.86

Sanskrit: “many bodhisattvas in the highest wisdom of buddhahood.”

n.87

According to the Sanskrit, where vināyakānāṃ is clearly plural. Otherwise, one would assume from the Tibetan that this is referring to Śākyamuni’s light ray, as it preserves the order of the Sanskrit so so’i zhing du rnam par ’dren pa yi instead of rnam par ’dren pa yi so so’i zhing du.

n.88

This is a synonym for Candrasūryapradīpa, presumably used to match the meter of the verse.

n.89

According to the Sanskrit saṃsthapayitvā, literally translated into Tibetan as kun bkod, which would be “completely established or arranged,” the primary meaning of the Sanskrit word.

n.90

According to the Sanskrit. There appears to be an error in the Tibetan, which reads “my enlightenment.”

n.91

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit has Vimalāgranetra (“Stainless Highest Eyes”) instead of Vimalāṅganetra (“Stainless Limbs and Eyes”). This is synonymous with Vimalanetra.

n.92

Nirvāṇa means the state of being extinguished, and often in this sūtra, as here, is the past passive participle of the verb “to extinguish”: parinirvṛta. It has here been translated into English as “extinguished” to make intelligible the reference to a flame.

n.93

According to the Sanskrit śāsane. The Tibetan has bskal pa (kalpa, “eon”) instead.

n.94

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur, mang pos mchod, which accords with the Sanskrit saṃghapūjita. The Degé and other Kangyurs recorded in the Comparative Edition instead read mang po’i mchog.

n.95

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit has tenākuśalena (“through that not-good karma”).

n.96

The Tibetan ’dren mar is an alternative form of ’dres mar, “mixed,” as it reflects the Sanskrit kalmāṣabhūtena (“mixed,” “alloyed,” or “spotted”).

n.97

According to Tibetan. Sanskrit: “He will attain the highest, supreme enlightenment.”

n.98

According to the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs: gzhis. The Degé has bzhis (“through four”).

n.99

According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: Śāridvataputra.

n.100

This begins a section that plays with the multiple interlinked valences of the term “dharma” (chos) as “teaching” or “doctrine” (Dharma), which describes the “reality” (dharma) of all “phenomena” (dharmas), the “trainings” (dharmas) necessary to awakened to that reality, and the awakened “qualities” (dharmas) of one who has so awakened. The sense in this particular instance is of course the awakened “qualities” of a thus-gone one. We leave “dharma(s)” (chos) untranslated throughout this section in an attempt to not overly constrain the term’s multiple entendre.

n.101

According to the Sanskrit compound, while the Tibetan lists “strength” as a distinct unit in the list, resulting in it being mentioned twice.

n.102

According to the Sanskrit tathāgatasya. The Tibetan translates as de bzhin gshegs pa nyid la, which would more likely render the Sanskrit tathāgatatve; this was perhaps the reading reflected in the Sanskrit manuscript used by the Tibetan translators. The most obvious English translation of tathāgatatve would be, “in tathagātahood,” or “in tathagātaness,” but the term might also involve an idiomatic use of the abstract tva (see Speijer, Sanskrit Syntax, p. 184 #238), in which case the phrase would be rendered: “The tathāgatas should teach the dharmas as tathāgathas.” “As” here would have the sense of “having the status of / in the role of.”

n.103

According to the Tibetan mkhyen. The Sanskrit has pratyakṣo ’parokṣaḥ (“directly perceived”).

n.104

“Dharmas” here and throughout the rest of this passage most likely signals awakened “qualities” and “phenomena” in general.

n.105

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Enough, Śāriputra!”

n.106

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Highest of jinas.”

n.107

See n.105.

n.108

According to the Tibetan. “Parables” is not present in the Sanskrit.

n.109

According to the Tibetan, translating from taddharma. The Sanskrit has saddharma.

n.110

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has pas instead of pa’i.

n.111

See n.108.

n.112

The Sanskrit also has “according to the various aspirations, natures, and thoughts of beings.”

n.113

See n.108.

n.114

The Sanskrit also has “according to the various aspirations, natures, and thoughts of beings.”

See n.108.

See n.114.

See n.108.

See n.114.

According to the Sanskrit saṃksobha. The Tibetan appears to have ’khrul pa in error for ’khrug pa.

n.120

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has: “when many beings are bewildered and have few roots of merit.”

n.121

According to the Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs: ’chad, and the Sanskrit deśakāḥ. The Degé has the scribal corruption ’chang (“hold”).

n.122

According to the BHS avakalpayata. The Tibetan translates as rtogs (“realize”).

n.123

The Tibetan translates chidra as “torn,” which is one of the other meanings of the word.

n.124

According to the Tibetan, which is a conceivable rendering of the Classical Sanskrit understanding of the verse and better accords with the sense of the corresponding prose passage above. The Sanskrit reads: apaśyanta imaṃ doṣaṃ chidraśikṣāsamanvitāḥ / vraṇāṃśca parirakṣantaḥ prakrāntā bālabuddhayaḥ //. The BHS understanding of this verse would be: “They have impaired training / And do not see this wrong of theirs; / They maintain their flaws, / Have foolish understanding, and have departed.”

n.125

According to the Sanskrit nāyakāḥ, which is usually translated into Tibetan as ’dren pa, but here as skyobs pa (“refuge,” “protector”).

n.126

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “all beings.”

n.127

Literally, sūtra. However, in terms of the classification of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, sūtra refers to the prose passages within the sūtras.

n.128

According to the Sanskrit balābala (literally, “strength and nonstrength”). Tibetan: mthus dang stobs (“power and strength”).

n.129

Literally, “sons of the buddhas”: sangs rgyas sras; buddhaputrāḥ.

n.130

According to the BHS vyakta. The Tibetan translates in accordance with the classical Sanskrit meaning as gsal ba (“clear”), which appears to be less appropriate in this context.

n.131

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “my highest teaching.”

n.132

According to the Sanskrit: yathā ca paśyāmi yathā ca cintaye yathā ca saṃkalpa mamāsi pūrvam / paripūrṇametat praṇidhānu mahyaṃ buddhā ca bodhiṃ ca prakāśayāmi //. The Tibetan, however, might very well also make sense in the context. It reads as follows: “Just as I see and just as I thought / And just as I resolved in the past, / My aspirations have been fulfilled, / But having awakened to awakening, I have not taught it” (/ji ltar mthong zhing ji ltar bsams pa dang/ /nga yis sngon chad ji ltar brnags pa de/ /nga yi smon lam de dag yongs rdzogs te/ /byang chub sangs rgyas nas ni ma bstan/).

n.133

According to Sanskrit bhrameyuḥ, which could also mean “become dizzy.” The Tibetan translates as “become insane.”

n.134

Literally, buddhaputras.

n.135

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur mang, which accords with the Sanskrit [a]neke. The other Tibetan versions consulted appear to have a corruption of mang to ngam.

n.136

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “piled up from earth and bricks.”

n.137

This and the previous verse were quoted by Śāntideva in his A Compendium of Trainings (bslab pa kun las btus pa; Śikṣāsamuccaya), 56b. The Tibetan translation had Yeshé Dé as chief editor and therefore used the verses from his committee’s translation of the Lotus Sūtra.

n.138

According to the Sanskrit pustakarman. The Tibetan interprets it as “modeled from clay” (’jib) even though clay (mṛttika; sa) already appears in the list.

n.139

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: paṭaha drums. The paṭaha is a cylindrical drum hung from the body and usually played standing up, beating it with drumsticks.

n.140

A conical or bowl kettledrum, also called a nagada. The upper surface is beaten with sticks; often in pairs, one larger than the other.

n.141

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Those who play and cause others to play music / with the pleasing sounds of bherī drums, conches, and paṭaha drums, / making music and beating drums / as an offering to the perfectly enlightened ones” (See Vaidya ed.: vādyā ca vādāpita yehi tatra bheryo ’tha śaṅkhāḥ paṭahāḥ sughoṣakāḥ / nirnāditā dundubhayaśca yehi pūjāvidhānāya varāgrabodhinām //).

n.142

A kettledrum played horizontally, with the hands. It is wider in the middle, with the skin at both ends. One drumhead is smaller than the other. It is a South Indian drum, and maintains the rhythm in Karnataka music.

n.143

According to the Tibetan rgyud gcig. The Sanskrit for this should be ekatantri. The ekatantri was a popular single-stringed instrument that was made of a long bamboo tube and a gourd resonator. Notes were formed by sliding a short bamboo or wooden rod along the string. However, the text of the sūtra has tunava, which the Mahāvyutpatti states is rgyud gcig, but Sanskrit dictionaries define it as a flute or a drum.

n.144

According to the Sanskrit ekotsava, which could be interpreted as “solely joyful,” or “solely for festivity.” The Tibetan did not translate it but rendered it as e ko na. Therefore, the Tibetan was using a manuscript that appears to have had ekonnaḍa, which is a variant of ekotsava.

n.145

According to the Tibetan lcags kyi sil khrol. The Sanskrit jhallarī at present refers to the stringed instrument from South India named jhallari. Burnouf translated as “cymbals of iron.”

n.146

This refers to the jaltarang, an ancient Indian musical instrument that consists of a semicircle of metal bowls, each with a different quantity of water within them, that are struck with sticks. The Sanskrit here is jalamaṇḍaka, and the Tibetan is chu la brdabs.

n.147

According to the Sanskrit vikṣipta and the context. It could also mean “distraught,” and the Tibetan ’khrug pa could mean “disturbed.” The Tibetan translates vikṣipta as g.yengs pa (“distracted”) two verses further on.

n.148

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Sanskrit. Other Tibetan versions consulted have the plural dag.

n.149

Literally “in tathagātahood” or “in tathagātaness.” Sanskrit: tathāgatatve; Tibetan: de bzhin gshegs pa nyid. It is also possible that tathāgatatve here is an idiomatic use of the abstract tva (see Speijer, Sanskrit Syntax, p. 184 #238): “They will teach the Dharma as a tathāgatha.” “As” here has the sense of “having the status of / in the role of.”

n.150

Some, but not all translations from the Chinese have here a verse about the insubstantiality of phenomena and buddhahood through dependent origination.

n.151

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and Chinese have: “the supreme enlightenment.”

n.152

According to the Sanskrit and mkhas pa in the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs. The Degé has mkhas pas.

n.153

According to the Sanskrit adhimukta and the Tibetan translation of the same word as smos pa in the next verse. In this verse most Kangyurs have shin tu dag pa (“extreme purity”) and in the Degé it is shin tu dad pa (“strong faith”), which appears to be the intended translation.

n.154

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has ’dren pa’i instead of ’dren pa, which appears to be an early scribal error.

n.155

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “fools,” and translates camarī as “yak’s tail,” whereas it is the female for yak (camara). The yak’s tail is more commonly the vṛddhi form cāmara. The Chinese also translates as “yak’s tail.” The explanation in that case is that it is referring to the yak and its relationship to its tail.

n.156

According to the Sanskrit, which is in the singular. The Tibetan is in the plural.

n.157

The Chinese appears to add “walking around,” which is derived from the next verse.

n.158

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has phan tshun ’chag cing gnas.

n.159

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Chinese drop “Īśvara” even though he appears earlier in the sūtra along with the four world guardians and Maheśvara. Both names are elsewhere usually synonymous with Śiva, which may be why it was omitted at this point.

n.160

According to the Tibetan don. The Sanskrit has Dharma. The Chinese has no object.

n.161

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan transposes “excellent” to the end of the verse.

n.162

According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. The Chinese has “supreme Dharma.”

n.163

According to the Sanskrit adhimukta. The Tibetan translates as dad pa (“faith”). The Chinese translates as “aspiration for inferior Dharma.”

n.164

According to the Sanskrit, and in agreement with the Chinese. The Tibetan appears to have translated this as, “They will not have faith in the buddhas.”

n.165

According to the Sanskrit tāyina, and most Kangyurs. The Degé and Comparative Edition have spyod in error for skyob. In the Chinese the following lines are presented as the Buddha’s thoughts to himself, including the second part of verse 24.

n.166

According to the Tibetan. There is no clear indication in the Sanskrit where the speech of the Buddha to the other buddhas ends.

n.167

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has yis in error for yi.

n.168

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “numerous ten thousand millions.”

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.170

According to bsdad in the Yongle, Lithang, Choné, Kangxi, and Narthang Kangyurs. The Degé and the Comparative Edition have bsnyad.

n.171

The Sanskrit also has dharita (“upheld,” “maintained”).

n.172

From the BHS śītabhūta. The Tibetan translates literally as “become cool.” Absent from the Online Digital Sanskrit Canon.

n.173

According to the Sanskrit. Absent from the Tibetan, even though it is a repeating line.

n.174

The Sanskrit here uses the synonym nirvṛti.

n.175

The Sanskrit here is nirvṛta.

n.176

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur byas, which accords with the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Degé and other witnesses recorded in the Comparative Edition appear to translate the verb in the future tense: bya.

n.177

The Chinese translates the Sanskrit phrase dīrgharātra over-literally as “long night.”

n.178

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan is literally “with good harvests.”

n.179

According to the Sanskrit aṣṭapada, which apparently has the meaning of “eight sections” (vertically and horizontally), like a checkerboard or chessboard, the game of chess having originated in its earliest form in the first centuries of the first millennium in India, where board games were very popular. Therefore this appears to be a specific reference to the eight-by-eight squares gameboard, and has been translated by Tsugunari and Akira as “like a chessboard,” or by Kern as “like a checker board.” Other English translations of the Chinese have interpreted this as “eight intersecting roads.”

n.180

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has interpreted bhūyasa to mean “most of.”

n.181

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan appears to be based on a corrupt text: “practiced celibacy for many hundreds of thousands of years.”

n.182

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. Tibetan: “dressed.”

n.183

Commonly referred to as the Deer Park, though the Sanskrit mṛgadāva and the Tibetan ri dwags nags mean “deer forest.”

n.184

According to the Tibetan, and Vaidya, Wogihara, Burnouf, and Kern, who follow the Nepalese Sanskrit manuscript tradition. The Central Asian fragments have adya instead of ārya. The Middle Indic form of both words was ajja, and the difference between the two manuscript traditions reflects a different choice in the Sanskritization of the Middle Indic. If ajja meant adya, the verse would read: “Great hero, we are overjoyed by / The great rishi’s words with implied meaning. / Just as in the prophecy / Today to the fearless Śāriputra…” “Fearless” translates the BHS meaning of viśārada.

n.185

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit has “and sorrow.”

n.186

Earlier, the number of śrāvakas was said to be one thousand two hundred. This discrepancy is in both the Tibetan and Sanskrit.

n.187

According to one of the BHS meanings of vigata-nivāraṇa (also nīvaraṇa). The Tibetan translates according to the more common Sanskrit meaning, “free of obscuration.”

n.188

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “other carts.”

n.189

The Sanskrit that “great cart” is translated from is mahāyāna, which in the context of Buddhist teachings is translated as “the great way” or “the great vehicle.” In translation this wordplay is lost.

n.190

The word “listening” in Sanskrit, śrava (Tibetan: thos), is used here as this passage is describing the śrāvakas (nyan thos), literally “listeners.”

n.191

The Sanskrit for “conditions” is pratyaya. This is explaining the reason for the term pratyekabuddha, which is defined in other texts as “buddhahood through [contemplation of] dependent or conditional [origination]”; this is also the Chinese translation of this term. Therefore, in the original Middle Indic language of the sūtra, pratyaya and pratyeka (meaning “solitary”) may well have been homonyms, and the discrepancy here is a result of the Sanskritization of the original Middle Indic.

n.192

According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has a scribal error in all Kangyurs consulted of bden (“truth”) for bde ba (“bliss”).

n.193

There is a play on words in the Sanskrit that is lost in translation. Varṇa has many meanings, such as “class,” “kind,” and “caste,” but is also used for “color” in this parable.

n.194

There is a play on words in the Sanskrit that is lost in translation. Upadarśayitva can be both “he promised,” as in the parable, and “he taught,” as in the explanation of the meaning.

n.195

According to the Tibetan. The word for “bamboo” can also be interpreted to mean “rafter” or “beam.”

n.196

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “those with weak merit.”

n.197

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “burning excrement.” The Chinese does not specify what is burning.

n.198

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Are burned by hunger and heat.”

n.199

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan gives the impression that he is just thinking of doing that.

n.200

According to the Tibetan, which may have misunderstood the Sanskrit grammar: “Of what use were my sons if I become without sons?”

n.201

According to one meaning of the Sanskrit niśāmya. The Tibetan translates as “knowing.”

n.202

According to the Sanskrit and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa Kangyurs. The Degé and the Comparative Edition have rangs (“rejoiced”) instead of rings.

n.203

There is a play on words in the Sanskrit that is lost in translation. Nirvṛta can mean both “being happy, at peace, etc.,” and also “to have attained nirvāṇa.”

n.204

According to the Sanskrit, Degé, and Comparative Edition. Most Kangyurs have gter instead of mthu.

n.205

The Sanskrit has “gold coins” and the Tibetan has “cowries,” both of which were used as currency.

n.206

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “herons and geese.”

n.207

It is assumed that the reader will know this refers to silver coins, the raupya, which is the origin of the present-day word rupee, which was itself tied to the value of silver until the end of the nineteenth century.

n.208

The wordplay of the Sanskrit (the Sanskrit for cart is yāna) is lost in translation.

n.209

According to the Tibetan, which may have been translating from a corrupt manuscript that had yāneṣu instead of kāmeṣu. The Sanskrit and Chinese all have “inferior desires.”

n.210

According to the Sanskrit and the Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa Kangyurs. The others consulted have srid pa (“existence,” “becoming”).

n.211

According to the Hybrid Sanskrit aniśrita, which could also be translated as “emancipation.” The Tibetan translates as “not dwelling.”

n.212

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit does not have the negative. The Chinese interprets this as saying that both Śāriputra and the other śrāvakas can only be devotees of this sūtra through aspiration and not from direct knowledge.

n.213

According to the Sanskrit kaśadaṇḍa. The Tibetan appears to have translated from a text that read śatadaṇda (“a hundred sticks”).

n.214

According to the BHS kuṇṭhaka. The Tibetan translates as “black.”

n.215

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan appears to have misinterpreted this line, translating yakṣagraha as “yakṣas and demons” instead of “possessed by yakṣas,” so that the Tibetan reads: “And their bodies will be harmed by yakṣas and demons.”

n.216

According to the Tibetan, which appears to be a rather free translation of the Sanskrit: “They will have many kinds of pain / miseries.”

n.217

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. “Dog” is absent from the Tibetan translation.

n.218

According to BHS vyakta. Translated into Tibetan according to the classical meaning as gsal (“clear”), as in the Degé, but in most Kangyurs it is corrupted to btsal (“seeking”).

n.219

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: tato vayaṃ bhagavan bhagavato dharmaṃ deśayamānasya śūnyatānimittāpraṇihitaṃ sarvamāviṣkurmaḥ |. The Sanskrit might be rendered as: “Therefore, Bhagavān, we did not perceive any of the emptiness, absence of attributes, and absence of aspiration in the Dharma teaching of the Bhagavān, and we did not wish for the display of the buddha realms, the play of bodhisattvas, or the play of tathāgatas that were in these dharmas of the Buddha.”

n.220

In this intriguing statement the syntax of both the Tibetan and the Sanskrit make it clear that‍—surprising though it may be‍—the śrāvaka disciples are the subject of the first clause and that it is indeed they who taught the bodhisattvas. In Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation, the equivalent sentence is interpreted in a less unexpected way. The Tibetan in all Kangyurs has the verb lung bstan pa both for the Sanskrit avavadita in this sentence, as well as for the Sanskrit vyākaraṇa in the sentence that follows. The Tibetan verb can have the meaning “prophesy,” as it does in the second sentence, but it primarily means “explain” or “elucidate.” Conversely, however, the meaning of avavadita does not include “prophesy” (unlike vyākaraṇa, which does). For another, similar statement, see 4.29 below; see also 8.9-10.

n.221

According to the Sanskrit amārgita. The Degé and Comparative Edition have bslangs (“taken up”) and most other Kangyurs have bslabs (“trained”).

n.222

According to the Sanskrit vaiṣṭiko vā gṛhyeya.

n.223

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “continuous fear.”

n.224

According to the BHS pratyabhijānīyāt. The Tibetan translates as “astonished.”

n.225

According to Tibetan. Sanskrit: “should not be beaten, killed, and destroyed.”

n.226

According to Sanskrit mūrchita. The Tibetan translates as “crazy.”

n.227

Literally, “Hey, you, man.”

n.228

According to the Sanskrit durvarṇāvalpaujaskau. The Tibetan translates as “bad color and bad luster,” the word for “caste” and “color” being the same in Sanskrit. Ojas can mean “impressive appearance” as well as “luster” or “splendor.”

n.229

The Sanskrit has “a double daily wage.”

n.230

In this passage, this repeated phrase means literally “Oh, man!”

n.231

The Sanskrit saktu specifies that it is a coarse ground meal.

n.232

According to the Sanskrit syntax and a BHS meaning of udāra, this might mean “crude,” instead of “heightened.” The Tibetan translates according to the classical meaning of “lofty” or “vast” (rgya cher), which is also reflected in the corresponding verse below.

n.233

The Sanskrit has in addition na saṃbhinatti that Burnouf translates as “did not mix with us” and Kern translates similarly, although “did not abandon us” is also a possible meaning.

n.234

According to the Sanskrit syntax. The Tibetan breaks this up into two sentences.

n.235

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Vaidya Sanskrit has kāṅkṣāṃ kuryuḥ sudurmedhāstato bhraṣṭā bhrameyu te: “One with very poor intelligence would have doubts; Having gone astray, he would wander.”

n.236

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “much” and “silver.”

n.237

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “conch.”

n.238

According to the Sanskrit vallabha (vallabhu in the sūtra’s BHS).

n.239

According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: “because of having power over many needs.”

n.240

According to the Sanskrit śarana, which could also be translated as “shelter,” “home,” or as translated in the Tibetan, as “house,” but there appears to be a deliberate wordplay here.

n.241

The Sanskrit adds “dark-skinned.”

n.242

According to the BHS pratisāmayet = pratiśāmayet, which could also mean “arrange” (cf. the Pali paṭisāmeti). Translated into Tibetan as sbed pa, which could be interpreted as “conceal, hide.”

n.243

According to Sanskrit kutumba, more literally “household,” “care of the family,” and so on. The Tibetan has “slaves and servants.”

n.244

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “path to supreme enlightenment.”

n.245

Here there is a wordplay in Sanskrit, as the Sanskrit for “we shall proclaim” is saṃśrāvayiṣyam. The Tibetan has attempted to reflect that by translating śrāvaka in this verse as sgrogs pa (“proclaimers”) instead of the usual nyan thos (“listeners,” i.e., “disciples”).

n.246

Here there is a wordplay in the Sanskrit, as the Sanskrit for “be worthy” is arhāmahe. The Tibetan has attempted to reflect that by translating arhat in this verse as ’os pa (“worthy ones”), a more literal translation of arhat than the usual dgra bcom pa (“enemy defeaters”).

n.247

According to the Sanskrit vimala. The Tibetan has “great.”

n.248

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has “through a hundred thousand,” omitting “causes,” perhaps from a corrupt Sanskrit text that had śatasahasrehi instead of hetusahasrehi.

n.249

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur, and the Sanskrit and Chinese. The other Tibetan versions consulted have kyi in error for kyis (genitive instead of instrumental) after “Tathāgata,” so that it reads as “the conduct of the Tathāgata.”

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.283

According to the Sanskrit bhikṣavaḥ. The Tibetan could be interpreted as meaning “this bhikṣu.”

n.284

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.285

According to the BHS gūtholigalla. The Tibetan translates obscurely as sme ba (“spots”).

n.286

According to the BHS ārocayāmi. The Tibetan mos par bya could be interpreted as “make you aspire.”

n.287

See n.286.

n.288

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the plural here.

n.289

Only four students are given prophecies in this chapter, the fifth presumably being Śāriputra, whose prophecy was given in chapter 3. The Chinese interprets this as “five hundred.”

n.290

According to the Sanskrit. “Second” is absent from the Tibetan.

n.291

See n.290.

n.292

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese.”Weeping” is absent from the Tibetan.

n.293

According to the Sanskrit āryaka, which the Tibetan (and Burnouf and Kern from the Sanskrit) translates by its alternative meaning, “noble.” The Chinese translates as “grandfather,” which appears to be the intended meaning here, and explains why the sons are called “princes.”

n.294

According to the Sanskrit and the Yongle, Kangxi, Choné, and Stok Palace Kangyurs. The Degé and the Comparative Edition are missing part of the sentence.

n.295

The narrative is somewhat obscure at this point. It is evident later in the passage that the Brahmās have gathered in one place, and they also live in palaces that fly, and therefore this may mean that they have gathered together through each having come there in their own home.

n.296

The Degé Kangyur’s 62b is an accidental printing of 142b and therefore this page is missing in that edition.

n.297

This phrase is an interpolation to make the meaning clearer. For “airborne palace” (Vimāna), see glossary.

n.298

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “five quintillion” (five hundred thousand times ten million).

n.299

See n.295.

n.300

The last line of this four-line verse is absent from the Tibetan. According to the Sanskrit (adhimātraṃ yaśasvinaḥ), the last two lines would be, “Today our airborne palaces are beautified / with exceptional splendor.”

n.301

See n.297.

n.302

According to the Sanskrit jīvaloka and the Stok Palace Kangyur ’tsho ba’i ’jig rten. Instead of ’tsho ba, the Degé and most Kangyurs have tshol ba; Choné has tshor ba, and Yongle has tshong ba.

n.303

According to the Sanskrit. The Chinese appears to have translated the number as a hundred and eighty, as does Burnouf, because of the tricky syntax of this verse: “it has been a hundred and eighty eons since the world has had a buddha.” The Tibetan, even with the above variant reading in the Stok Palace Kangyur, appears corrupt: “A full hundred eons in this world of beings / Has been equal to eighty buddhas.”

n.304

According to the Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit. The Tibetan, and the Burnouf translation from a Hodgson manuscript, have “eighty hundred thousand.”

n.305

According to the BHS leṇa. The Tibetan translates as gnas.

See n.295.

See n.297.

See n.295.

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has here translated parisphuṭa as “pervaded.”

n.310

See n.297.

n.311

According to the Tibetan.

n.312

According to the Tibetan.

n.313

The Tibetan has interpreted this as “having doubts” and the sixteen mendicants were grouped with the śrāvakas. The question is whether vicikitsa is actually avicikitsa, which in this BHS may simply have the a elided and implied. Dharmarakṣa’s translation into Chinese has “without doubt”; Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation has “having doubt.” Burnouf translates from the Sanskrit as “having doubt,” while Kern translates as “without doubt.” In terms of the logic of the narrative it is here translated as “without doubt.”

n.314

Sanskrit: bodhisattva mahāsattva.

n.315

According to the Sanskrit gatiṃgata. The Tibetan repeats this in what appear to be two alternate translations.

n.316

There is a wordplay here, as the word for “relief from misery” is nirvāṇa.

n.317

According to one meaning of the Sanskrit śīti. The Tibetan translates as “cool.”

n.318

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation appears to interpret this as the Jina “sorrowing.”

n.319

According to the Sanskrit deva manuṣyā and the Lhasa, Narthang, and Stok Palace Kangyurs. Other Kangyurs consulted have lha min (asuras) in error for lha mi (“devas and humans”).

n.320

The Sanskrit has the synonym bhujaga (“serpent”).

n.321

According to the Sanskrit, and the Stok Palace and Yongle Kangyurs. Other Kangyurs consulted have bzhi (“four”) in error for ba’i.

n.322

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “All became mendicants.”

n.323

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf and, presumably, from jāta. The Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit and Kern have “supreme among all jinas.”

n.324

According to the Sanskrit caritva. The Tibetan has spyan (“eyes”) in error for spyad.

n.325

According to the Sanskrit vyakta. The Tibetan translates as another of its meanings: “bright.”

n.326

According to the Tibetan dpa’. Sanskrit: dhīra (“wise”).

n.327

According to the Sanskrit samānayitvā. The Tibetan translates as “honored them,” a possible alternate meaning.

n.328

According to the Sanskrit and almost all Kangyurs consulted. The Degé has deng (“today”) instead of nga (“I”).

n.329

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has “realization of suffering,” as does apparently the Hodgson manuscript as Burnouf and Kern translate in that way.

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.332

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has ngas in error for nga’i.

n.333

According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: “I am the last.”

n.334

According to the Yongle, Kangxi, and Choné Kangyurs ’doms. The Comparative Edition and Degé have ’dems.

n.335

According to the Sanskrit kṛtya and the Yongle and Kangxi Kangyurs bya. Other Kangyurs consulted have bye (“ten million”).

n.336

Sanskrit: “Will be pure and practitioners of celibacy.”

n.337

According to the Sanskrit sadhu, and legs in all Kangyurs consulted except the Degé and Stok Palace, which have len.

n.338

The Sanskrit uses the synonym marut, in its BHS form marū.

n.339

The Sanskrit has “After me, today.”

n.340

yi du ’ong ba’i sgra mngon par bsgrags pa (“The Resounding of Beautiful Sounds”).

n.341

According to the BHS ārocayāmi. The Tibetan translates as mos pa.

n.342

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur (brgyad stong), Kern’s Sanskrit, and the Chinese. Vaidya’s Sanskrit and Burnouf have “a thousand”; other Tibetan Kangyurs consulted have “a hundred thousand,” brgya stong, probably a scribal error for brgyad stong.

n.343

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf, and Kern’s translation of the Sanskrit kaḥ punarvādaḥ śrāvakāṇām. The Chinese translates as “Why is it told to the śrāvakas?”

n.344

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Sanskrit. The other Tibetan versions consulted have me tog (“flower”) in error for tog (“crest adornment”).

n.345

In the Sanskrit, for the meter of the verse the compound name is broken into its constituents: ratnasya ketū.

n.346

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “obtains it.”

n.347

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits one number (“equaling ten million”), presumably for reasons of brevity in the verse.

n.348

In these last two lines, “dharmabhāṇaka” and “merit” are implied but not actually stated. The Tibetan adds “merit.” The Chinese adds “dharmabhāṇaka.”

n.349

The Chinese interprets this passage differently as the description of someone who has made offerings to the dharmabhāṇakas for the lesser number of eighty million eons. The Chinese also has another verse here, which is in prose in the present Sanskrit and Tibetan.

n.350

According to the Sanskrit ārocayāmi te bhaiṣajyarāja, prativedayāmi te. The Tibetan appears to have “you must aspire to and understand!” The first of those verbs has been regularly mistranslated as mos pa based on its meaning in Classical Sanskrit instead of BHS.

n.351

According to the Tibetan and apparently Burnouf’s Sanskrit. The Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit have ādhyātmika (“spiritual”) and not abhijña, and Kern translates accordingly.

n.352

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “that place should be honored as if it was a stūpa,” which does not fit with what precedes and follows.

n.353

According to the Sanskrit mukhaṃ. The Tibetan has ngo bo (“essence,” “nature”) in error for ngo.

n.354

According to the Sanskrit singular. The Tibetan has the plural.

n.355

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has, “The wise one, unafraid, speaks [it]” (abhīto bhāṣi paṇḍitaḥ).

n.356

According to the BHS and Pali. Could also be “swords.” The Tibetan has the more specific “short spear,” which is a possible meaning, but seems too specific in this context.

n.357

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “And the assembly also the same.”

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.359

The following passage spoken by the stūpa is only found in certain Tibetan versions. It is absent from the Sanskrit and Chinese. Among the Kangyurs consulted, it is absent from the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné Kangyurs, but it is found in the Degé (and therefore the Comparative Edition), Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace editions. This translation is based primarily on the Degé / Comparative Edition version and therefore includes this passage.

n.360

According to ’dul ba in the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs. The Degé / Comparative Edition has ’dus ba (“gathered”).

n.361

Among the Kangyurs consulted, the conclusion of the passage is found only in the Degé, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace editions.

n.362

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “hundred of thousands of quintillions.”

n.363

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan appears to have misinterpreted the first sentence as a prayer also and added the verb “to pray” within the sentence, which is understandable because it follows the statement that the Buddha made a prayer, but the verbs in this sentence are in the past tense. The Tibetan by necessity of its interpretation translates them as being in the future, even though this contradicts the other narratives in the sūtra where bodhisattvas do not previously know about the existence of this sūtra: “In the past when I was practicing bodhisattva conduct, I prayed, ‘May the highest, complete enlightenment not arise while I have not heard the instruction to bodhisattvas, the Dharma teaching, The White Lotus of the Good Dharma. May I attain the highest, complete enlightenment after I have heard this Dharma teaching, The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.’ ”

n.364

From the BHS meaning of adhiṣṭhāna, translated into Tibetan as byin gyis brlabs, which is usually translated into English as “blessing.” The following passage is clearly in the optative and is the prayer made by the Buddha.

n.365

Literally, “through the power of the Bhagavān.”

n.366

From the BHS guruka. The Tibetan translates as lci ba (“heavy”) here in the sense of “weighty,” “important.”

n.367

According to the Sanskrit, literally “self [and] second, self [and] third.” The Tibetan reads as “self and two or self and three.”

n.368

See n.179.

n.369

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur rim bzhin; the Degé and other Kangyurs consulted have ri bzhin. The Sanskrit and Chinese have “corresponding size.”

n.370

According to the Sanskrit pṛthivīpradeśa, which the Tibetan translates simply as phyogs, which could be interpreted to mean “direction.”

n.371

According to the Sanskrit and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Stok Palace Kangyurs yongs su dag pa. The Lhasa and Degé / Comparative Edition have yongs su gang ba (“completely filled”).

n.372

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “The Bhagavān Tathāgata offers this, wishing for the precious stūpa to be opened.”

n.373

According to the Tibetan bskams and the Sanskrit pariśuṣka. Kern translates from the Sanskrit as “emaciated.” However, Burnouf, having first translated as desséchés (“dessicated”), corrected himself on seeing another Sanskrit manuscript with pariśuddha (“perfectly pure”), and the Chinese translation was evidently from such a version. However, the eighth-century Gilgit rock drawings depicting Śākyamuni, Prabhūtaratna, and the stūpa clearly show Prabhūtaratna to have a withered body, and therefore must have been based on a text that had pariśuṣka, while in Chinese depictions, Śākyamuni and Prabhūtaratna have identical bodies.

n.374

The Sanskrit adds “in the middle of the assembly.”

n.375

According to the Sanskrit dṛṣṭvā and the Yongle and Kangxi Kangyurs mthong. Other Kangyurs consulted have thos (“heard”).

n.376

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan conjoins “together with the Tathāgata” with the following sentence.

n.377

According to the Tibetan, apparently translating from mūrchita. Others have interpreted mūrchita to mean “intoxicates” (Burnouf and Kern) or “brings joy” (Chinese), which is another of its meanings.

n.378

In this verse in the Sanskrit, Prabhūtaratna’s name is given an extra syllable: Prabhūtaratana.

n.379

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “teach for a moment.”

n.380

According to the Sanskrit adahyanta and the Chinese translation. Tibetan: “a load of straw while it is burning.”

n.381

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “five higher knowledges.”

n.382

According to the Sanskrit priyaṃ, the Chinese, and dga’ in the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs. The Degé, Lhasa, and Stok Palace have dka’ (“difficulty”). The Central Asian version has mama instead of mahat so that the line would read, “Brings pleasure to me and the lords of the world.”

n.383

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Guide / leader of humans.”

n.384

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit could be interpreted as being by the bed and holding his feet, as in Burnouf and Kern. The Chinese interprets it as meaning he offered his own body as the bed.

n.385

According to the BHS ārocayāmi. The Tibetan mos par bya could be interpreted as “make you aspire.”

n.386

The Sanskrit has the longer series of epithets more common in prophecies.

n.387

According to the Tibetan, Chinese, two Hodgson Sanskrit manuscripts, and Kern. The Vaidya and Wogihara have “sixty hundred” and Burnouf translated from a manuscript that read “sixty hundred,” i.e., “six thousand,” although he admits that sixty is already “suffisamment merveilleux” (“marvelous enough”).

n.388

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has in addition, “have no uncertainty.”

n.389

Earlier in this chapter it was said to be in the east.

n.390

According to the Sanskrit sattva and sems can in the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs. The Degé, Lhasa, and Stok Palace have sems (“mind”).

n.391

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf. Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit, and Kern: “who is named a wise one because of his wisdom.”

n.392

According to the Sanskrit niścitaṃ, and the Degé nges. The Comparative Edition has des.

n.393

According to the Tibetan and the Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit. Burnouf translated from śuddham śuddhaṃ (“pure, pure”) instead of puṇyaṃ puṇyaṃ.

n.394

According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit and Chinese it is a question: “Why are you standing…?”

n.395

According to the Sanskrit: ārocayāmi te bhaiṣajyarāja, prativedayāmi te. The Tibetan appears to have, “you must aspire to and understand!” The first of those verbs has been regularly mistranslated as mos pa based on its meaning in Classical Sanskrit instead of BHS.

n.396

Kern and Burnouf: “eight hundred thousand.” Vaidya and Wogihara: “eighty hundred thousand quintillion.” Chinese: “eighty quintillion.”

n.397

According to the Sanskrit suduṣkara. The Degé and Comparative Edition have dga’ (“joy”) in error for dka’ (“difficult”).

n.398

The Sanskrit is in the BHS form: tīrthya.

n.399

According to the Tibetan sil khrol byed pa. The Sanskrit jhalla has the meaning of “prize-fighter,” i.e., “boxer.” The Chinese translates as “boxer.”

n.400

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has in addition “does not delight in.”

n.401

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit also has śauṇḍa (“drunks”). Burnouf: “liquor-sellers”; Kern: “jugglers.” There appears to be no obvious parallel in the Chinese.

n.402

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the non-gender-specific dge bsnyen rnams instead of dge bsnyen ma.

n.403

According to the BHS tā, while the Tibetan is not gender specific.

n.404

According to one meaning of kauśalya. The Tibetan translates as mkhas (“wise”).

n.405

According to the Sanskrit aurabhrika. The Tibetan translates as shan pa (“slaughterer”).

n.406

See n.399.

n.407

According to the Sanskrit jātātha (jāta + atha). Translated into Tibetan as yang dag nyid, presumably from a corruption in a Sanskrit manuscript.

n.408

According to the BHS manyana (which also occurs elsewhere in the form manyanā). The Tibetan has translated it according to its alternative meaning of “pride,” which does not appear to fit the context here.

n.409

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur gtong and the Sanskrit vijahati. The Degé and other Kangyurs consulted have mthong (“see”) in error for btong (“relinquish,” “give up,” and so on).

n.410

According to the Sanskrit tṛtīyena dharmeṇa. The Tibetan translates as “these three qualities.”

n.411

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur yang dag par bgro ba and the Sanskrit saṃgīti. The Degé and other Kangyurs consulted have yang dag par ’gro ba (“going correctly”).

n.412

According to all Kangyurs consulted except for Stok Palace. Stok accords with the Sanskrit in not having the negative, but instead having “beings who are dedicated…” The translations from Sanskrit of Burnouf and Kern follow suit. The Chinese has “beings who are not bodhisattvas.”

n.413

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. This chapter is primarily describing at length the four qualities referred to at the beginning of the chapter. Tibetan: “four qualities.”

n.414

According to the Sanskrit. “Anklets” is absent from the Tibetan.

n.415

Elephant riders, cavalry, charioteers, and infantry.

n.416

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “attracting / seducing them with nirvāṇa.”

n.417

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “the last of his possessions.”

n.418

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur mtha’o and the Sanskrit paścima. The Degé / Comparative Edition and other Kangyurs consulted instead have mthu’o.

n.419

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit and the translations of Burnouf and Kern do not have the negative.

n.420

According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit the bodhisattva teaches them and therefore this is in the form of a wish: “Having heard the Dharma may they not denounce it!”

n.421

Literally “tathāgatahood.”

n.422

According to the Sanskrit upāneṣyi. Tibetan: khyod la sbyin (“will give to you”), which does not match the preceding thought that is not being directly addressed to those he is not teaching.

n.423

This is equivalent to units of currency in ancient India.

n.424

According to the BHS vihanyamānān. The Tibetan ’tshe ba’i sems could be interpreted as “violent minds.” Burnouf translates as “les êtres qui combatant” (“the beings who are battling”) to conform with the parable. Kern has “how creatures are in trouble.”

n.425

According to the Sanskrit and the Mahāvyutpatti. Here the Tibetan is stobs (“strength”), which is also used in the next verse to translate bala (“strength”). The Sanskrit parākrama is translated by Burnouf according to another of its meanings: l’heroïsme (“heroism”), in accordance with the parable, as it is by Kern. The Chinese translation is too free to be relevant. According to the Mahāvyutpatti, parākrama should be translated as pha rol gnon pa (“the subjugation of others”), pha rol brtul po (“weakening others”), or dpa’ ba (“heroism”).

n.426

In the context of ancient India this would have been a reference to lower castes rather than to other races.

n.427

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur, the Sanskrit, and the Chinese. The other Tibetan versions consulted have lha mi or lha mis (in the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné Kangyurs) in error for lha min.

n.428

According to the BHS ābādha, translated into Tibetan as gnod (“harm”).

n.429

According to the Tibetan, Chinese, Burnouf, and Kern. The Vaidya and Wogihara also have “and the level of the pratyekabuddhas.”

n.430

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur sems can and the Sanskrit sattva. The Degé and other Tibetan versions consulted have just sems (“mind”) instead of sems can (“beings”).

n.431

According to the Tibetan; the Sanskrit includes more verbs.

n.432

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur gang gi and the Sanskrit kasya. The Degé and the other Tibetan versions consulted have gis instead of gi.

n.433

According to the Tibetan. The BHS niropadhe means to be free of upadhi, which means “substratum” or “basis (of continued existence or rebirth)” and therefore can be synonymous with skandhas, but also with kleśas.

n.434

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Sanskrit. The Degé and other Kangyurs consulted have “of the ten directions” (phyogs bcu’i), modifying “other worlds.”

n.435

According to the Sanskrit parākrama. The Tibetan translates as “subjugation of adversaries.”

n.436

From the BHS ananyatha. The Tibetan translates literally as gzhan ma yin pa (“not other”).

n.437

From the BHS ananyatha. The Tibetan translates literally as gzhan du gsung ma yin (“not spoken as other”).

n.438

According to the Sanskrit prakāśayiṣye, which is in the future tense. The Tibetan is curiously in the past, presumably a scribal error of byas for bya.

n.439

According to the BHS ārocayāmi te ajita, prativedayāmi, which the Tibetan appears to translate as “aspire and comprehend.”

n.440

According to the BHS pariṇamitāḥ. The Tibetan translates as yongs su bsngos (“dedicated”).

n.441

Although the text literally states, “in the town of Gayā,” this must mean in the district of Gayā. The place called Uruvilvā (Pali Uruvelā) probably included the village now called Bodhgaya, where the Buddha attained enlightenment, and possibly extended to include parts of the area that is now the actual town of Gayā some kilometers to the north.

n.442

According to the Sanskrit parākrama. The Tibetan translates as “subjugation of adversaries.”

n.443

According to the Sanskrit parisaṃstutā and bstod in the Lithang, Choné, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs. Other Kangyurs consulted have bstong.

n.444

According to the Tibetan ting nge ’dzin, and the Burnouf meditation. The Vaidya and Wogihara have adhiṣṭhāna instead of samādhi, and Kern translates adhiṣṭhāna as “strong resolve.” Kumārajīva’s Chinese appears to be too dissimilar to know what he was translating from.

n.445

According to the Tibetan. Absent from the Sanskrit.

n.446

The Sanskrit has here “for a hundred thousand quintillion eons.”

n.447

According to the BHS ārocayāmi te ajita, prativedayāmi, which the Tibetan appears to translate as “aspire and comprehend.”

n.448

This passage has been translated in various ways from the Chinese. The Sanskrit is clearly in the third person, but presumably the Buddha is talking about himself.

n.449

According to the Sanskrit syntax; in the Tibetan the verb comes after the description of the nature of the three realms.

n.450

BHS: kilīkṛta-saṃjñā. According to Edgerton kilīkṛta means “joyous,” but in this instance is an error for kiṇīkṛta (“callous”), which would mean that they have grown callous. However, Burnouf translates as “ils s’imagineraient qu’il n’y a là rien que d’aisé à recontrer” (“they will imagine that he will be nothing other than easy to meet”), and Kern has: “fancy that all is child’s play.” The Tibetan has slebs par ’dzin pa (Degé), sleb par ’dzin pa (Stok Palace), or slabs par ’dzin pa (Lithang and Choné) for kilīkṛta, which may be scribal errors for sla bar ’dzin pa (“hold as easy,” “believe to be easy”).

n.451

According to the Tibetan, Burnouf, Kern, Vaidya Sanskrit, and Wogihara Sanskrit: “Tathāgata Arhat Samyaksambuddha.”

n.452

According to the Sanskrit sukuśala and the Tibetan shin tu byang ba in the Yongle, Narthang, Urga, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs. Others consulted have shin tu byung ba.

n.453

According to the BHS samādapemī. Translated into the Tibetan as bzung (“held”).

n.454

According to the Tibetan, Burnouf, and Kern. The Vaidya and Wogihara have kāma (“desires”) instead of kāya (“bodies”).

n.455

According to the Tibetan, and the Chinese is similar. The Vaidya Sanskrit, Burnouf, and Kern have, “I do not leave Vulture Peak for other millions of other dwellings (literally: “seats and beds”).”

n.456

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur shin tu ’jigs pa and the Sanskrit subhairava. Other Kangyurs consulted have ’jig (“destroyed”) in error for ’jigs.

n.457

According to the Tibetan.

n.458

According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. The number is absent from Kumārajīva’s Chinese.

n.459

According to the Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit, and Kern. Literally “two thousand,” apparently meaning “thousand squared” or “thousand times a thousand.” The number is absent from the Tibetan, Burnouf (translating from a Hodgson manuscript), and Kumārajīva’s Chinese. In this context of an ever-increasing number it appears to be an accidental omission that occurred in a later Sanskrit manuscript.

n.460

Alternatively this may be referring to the dhāraṇīs that are mnemonic phrases.

n.461

According to the Chinese, Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit, and Kern. Literally “three thousand,” apparently meaning “thousand tripled,” as it is interpreted in the Sarvāstivāda tradition. In the Chinese Tiantai School it was taken as literally meaning “three thousand.” The Tibetan and Burnouf (translating from a Hodgson manuscript) have only “thousand.” In this context of an ever-increasing number it appears to be an accidental omission that occurred in a later Sanskrit manuscript.

n.462

This is a synonym for “the two thousand” or “thousand squared” world realm.

n.463

This is a synonym for “the thousand” world realm, which contains a thousand worlds.

n.464

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur byang chub dam pa, which partially reflects the Sanskrit varabodhicittam. The other Tibetan versions consulted appear to be in error with byang chub sems dpa’ (“bodhisattva”).

n.465

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “are not afraid of it.”

n.466

According to the Sanskrit dehin (literally, “having a body”) and the lus can of the Narthang, Urga, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs. The Degé and other Kangyurs consulted have lus chen (“great bodies”).

n.467

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan division of the sentences runs counter to the intended meaning.

n.468

According to the Sanskrit, and the Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs. Others have sgra (“sound”) instead of rnga (“drum”).

n.469

Jāti is also used to refer to nutmeg, although here that meaning does not appear to fit the context.

n.470

According to the Sanskrit, and the Yongle, Kangxi, and Stok Palace Kangyurs de bzhin. Other Kangyurs consulted have bde bzhin (“blissfully”).

n.471

Literally buddhaputra (“son of the Buddha”).

n.472

According to the BHS ārocayāmi. The Tibetan mos par bya could be interpreted as “make you aspire.”

n.473

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf. The Vaidya has goyana and Wogihara has gopana.

n.474

According to the Sanskrit khaṇḍa. Most Kangyurs consulted have the obscure ngo le. The Degé / Comparative Edition and Stok Palace have sngo ba (literally, “blue,” but with the meaning of “blackened,” which has already appeared earlier in this list).

n.475

According to the Tibetan, Burnouf, and Kern. The Vaidya and Wogihara have dharma instead of karma.

n.476

According to the Sanskrit grāma, which is translated into Tibetan by its more usual meaning of “village” or “town.”

n.477

According to the Sanskrit śaila, translated into Tibetan by its more usual meaning of “rocks.”

n.478

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf, presumably from yaśa. The Chinese, Vaidya, and Wogihara have “forests (khaṇḍa),” as in “mountains, forests, and oceans.”

n.479

According to the Sanskrit yaṃ yaṃ. The Degé and other Kangyurs recorded in the Comparative Edition have su dang su (“by whomever”); the Stok Palace has instead su.

n.480

According to the Sanskrit and the Choné glu’i. The other Kangyurs consulted have klu’i or klu yi, thereby meaning “songs of the nāgas.”

n.481

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf. Kern interprets this as referring only to women; the Chinese refers to “devas.”

n.482

According to the Sanskrit ṛddhibala. The Tibetan translates as just “power” (mthu stobs), which, according to the Mahāvyutpatti, is the translation for prabhāva.

n.483

According to the Sanskrit abhiprāya. The Tibetan bsam pa could have been understood to mean “thoughts.”

n.484

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan appears to have accidentally omitted “male and female mahoragas” from the list.

n.485

According to the Sanskrit arcanām. Translated into Tibetan as gsol ba.

n.486

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. “Towns” is missing in the Tibetan.

n.487

According to the Sanskrit abhimukhaṃ, which could also mean “facing.” The Tibetan translates as gzigs (“seeing”), which could be interpreted as the act of the Tathāgata.

n.488

According to the Tibetan (phyis pa literally means “wiped” but also “cleaned”) and the Chinese. Sanskrit: “the surface of a mirror.”

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.490

This description of the teachings to the śrāvakas and bodhisattvas is a repeat of passages such as 1.74 and 1.78, although the Tibetan has, while maintaining the same meaning, translated it differently.

n.491

According to the Tibetan dkrigs and its definition in Butön’s (bu ston rin chen grub) Collected Works (bde bar gshegs pa’i bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas gsung rab rin po che’i mdzod, in The Collected Works of Bu-ston, edited by Lokesh Chandra from the collections of Raghu Vira, 28 volumes, Zhol bka’ ’gyur par khang edition, New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71), vol. 24, pp. 726–7. All subsequent references to Butön’s system of calculation are drawn from this passage. The BHS equivalent is viṃvara or bimbara. The Vaidya and Wogihara editions have viṃśati (“twenty”) as do Kern and Burnouf, but it is absent from the Chinese.

n.492

See n.485.

n.493

See n.485.

n.494

According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. The paragraph on Viśiṣṭacāritra is absent from the Chinese.

n.495

According to the Sanskrit civara. The list repeats, but the Tibetan translates first as na bza’ (“clothing” in general) and as chos gos (literally “Dharma robes”) in the repetition.

n.496

According to the Sanskrit dharmatā. The Tibetan has chos ni in error for chos nyid.

n.497

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf. Vaidya and Wogihara: “and the secret knowledge of the supreme beings.”

n.498

In the Chinese translation this chapter is later, following the chapter on Avalokiteśvara.

n.499

n.500

According to the Tibetan. “It is thus” in Sanskrit is the introduction to the dhāraṇī-mantra and not a part of it.

n.501

Yongle and Kangxi: mene. Absent from Stok Palace. Burnouf: anye manye arau parau amane.

n.502

Stok Palace: manane.

n.503

Yongle: cidte.

n.504

Yongle: cari.

n.505

Chinese, Vaidya, Wogihara, and Kern: same.

n.506

Yongle, Narthang: śameyitābi śante. Lhasa: śameyitābhi śante. Kangxi, Choné: śamayihābi śānte. Lithang: śamayitābi santé. Vaidya and Wogihara: samitā viśānte. Burnouf: śamitā viśante. Stok Palace: śameśami tābi śānte. Kern: samitāvi santé.

n.507

Stok Palace: mukate.

n.508

Kangxi and Yongle: mugtemagta. Stok Palace: mu gatatame.

n.509

According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: aviśame.

n.510

Burnouf: same avisamasame. Vaidya and Wogihara: same aviṣame samasame.

n.511

According to the Sanskrit. Degé: akṣiṇi. Yongle: agkṣiṇi. Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, Urga, and Lhasa: akṣaṇo.

n.512

Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné: śānta.

n.513

Vaidya and Wogihara: samite. Kern: sanī. Yongle: śamiṅ. Stok Palace: śamidhi. Kangxi: śamito. Choné: śamiti.

n.514

Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa: dhāriṇī. Urga: dhārini. Stok Palace: dhariṇi.

n.515

Stok Palace: patyavekṣaṇi. Yongle and Kangxi: pradyavekṣaṇi.

n.516

According to the Tibetan. Burnouf: dhiru viviru. Vaidya and Wogihara: nidhiru. Kern: nidhini.

n.517

Vaidya and Tibetan separate (except for Choné, Yongle, and Kangxi) abhyantarani viṣṭe. Kern: abhyantaranivisiṣte. Yongle: abhyantaraniviṣṭa. Lithang: abhyanta raniviṣṭe. Kangxi: abhyantarāṇiśiṣṭe abhyantārśiṣṭe. Narthang and Lhasa: abhyanta raniviṣṭe abhyantaraniviṣṭi. Choné: abhyantaraniviṣṭe abhyantaranviṣṭa. Stok Palace: abhyantarani vaṣṭe.

n.518

Burnouf: abhyantarapāriśuddhi utkule mutkule. Kern: (abhyantarapāriśuddhi is absent) utkule mutkule. Stok Palace: atyantavariśhima utkule mutakule. Kangxi and Choné: adyantaberiśuddhi (with be having an anomalous subscribed a-chung). Narthang and Lhasa: atyantaipāriśuddhi.

n.519

Yongle, Narthang, and Lhasa: udkule. Absent in Vaidya. Burnouf and Kern: utkule. Stok Palace: ma utkule. Wogihara and Kyoto: mutkule. Others: udkulo.

n.520

Burnouf: mukule. Kern, Lhasa, and Narthang: mutkule. Stok Palace: mutagule. Others: mudkule.

n.521

Vaidya and Wogihara: araḍe. Kern: asaḍe. Lhasa, Lithang, and Kangxi: arte.

n.522

Tibetan, Vaidya, Wogihara, and Kern: paraḍe. Stok Palace and Lhasa: paraṭe. Lithang and Kangxi: marate.

n.523

Stok Palace, Kangxi, and Lithang: śukākṣi. Yongle: śukrakṣī. Lhasa: śrukākṣī.

n.524

Burnouf: buddhivilokite.

n.525

Burnouf: dharmaparīkṣite pratyavekṣaṇi.

n.526

Urga: saṃghanerghoṣaṇi. Narthang and Lhasa: saṃghanirghoṣaṇī. Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné: saṃghaniraghoṣaṇī. Degé: saṃghaniraghoṣaṇi.

n.527

Vaidya and Wogihara: nirghoṇi. Burnouf: nirghoṣaṇi. Kern: nirghoṣaṇī. Absent from Stok Palace. Narthang and Lhasa: nirghoṣaṇī. Degé and Yongle: niraghoṣaṇi. Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné: niraghoṣaṇī.

n.528

Burnouf: bhayaviśodhani. Kern, Lithang, Choné, Narthang, and Lhasa: bhayābhayaviśodhanī. Stok Palace: baya abhayaśodhani. Yongle: bāyabāyaśodhani.

n.529

Yongle: mandra. Lithang and Lhasa: mantra. Kangxi: manadre.

n.530

Stok Palace: mantrekṣayate. Degé: mantrā kṣaytre. Yongle: mandra kṣayete. Lithang and Choné: mantrā kṣayate. Kangxi: manadra kṣayete. Narthang and Lhasa: manantrā kṣayate.

n.531

Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Lhasa, Narthang, and Choné: rutakauśale. Stok Palace: rudrakauśalye. Burnouf: rutakauśalya. Degé: rudrakauśalye. Kern: rutakauśalye. Vaidya: rute rutakauśalye.

n.532

Absent from Burnouf. Yongle: akṣaya. Narthang and Lhasa: akṣa e.

n.533

Burnouf: akṣayavanatā. Kern: akṣayavanatāya. Vaidya and Wogihara: akṣayavanatāye. Stok Palace: akṣaya vanātāyā. Yongle: akṣayava tānatāya. Lithang: akṣavarahāyā. Kangxi: akṣa vara tānatāya. Narthang and Lhasa: akṣāvanatāyā. Choné: akṣavartāyā. Degé: akṣā vanatāyā.

n.534

Burnouf: vakkulavaloka. Kern: vakule valoḍa. Vaidya: vakkule valoḍra. Lithang, Choné, and Degé: palo. Yongle and Kangxi: vakule valorā. Kangxi: vakule valorā.

n.535

Burnouf: amanyatāye. Kern: amanyatāya. Vaidya: amanyanatāye svāhā. Degé and Stok Palace: amanyanatāya. Lithang, Narthang, and Choné: amanyanatāyā.

n.536

Burnouf and Kern: “sixty-two.”

n.537

Tibetan: “we.”

n.538

See n.500.

n.539

Kyoto: jrale mahājrale. Stok Palace: jvale mahājāle.

n.540

Vaidya and Wogihara: ukke tukke mukke. Yongle: ugge mugke. Stok Palace: ukake mugge.

n.541

Burnouf, Lithang, and Narthang: ate. Yongle: aḍi.

n.542

Burnouf, Lithang, and Narthang: atāvati. Kyoto: aḍavati. Stok Palace: aḍevati. Yongle: aḍavati.

n.543

Kern: tritye trityāvati. Lithang and Narthang: nṛṭyo nṛtāvati. Kyoto: nṛtyavati. Stok Palace: nīḍye nīḍye (with an anomalous subscribed a-chung) vati. Yongle: triṭrye treṭyavati.

n.544

Kern and Stok Palace: itini. Yongle and Kangxi: idṭini.

n.545

According to the Vaidya, Wogihara, and Burnouf. Kern: vitini. Yongle: vidṭini. Degé, Lithang, Narthang, and Lhasa: viṭṭi. Choné: viḍḍi. Absent from Stok Palace.

n.546

Kern: kitini. Stok Palace: ciṭininri. Yongle: cidṭini. Kangxi: cidaṭini.

n.547

Absent from the Burnouf. Kern: tritti. Vaidya: nṛtyani. Absent from Stok Palace. Yongle and Kangxi: kudṭini. Kyoto, Degé, Lithang, Lhasa, Choné, and Narthang: nṛṭaṭini.

n.548

Kern: trityāvati. Kyoto and Degé: nṛtatūvati. Stok Palace: nriṭyavati. Yongle and Kangxi: kudṭavati. Lithang and Choné: nṛṭaṭāpati. Lhasa and Narthang: nṛṭṭāvati.

n.549

See n.500.

n.550

Yongle and Peking: adṭe. Narthang and Burnouf: aṭṭa. Stok Palace: adaṭe.

n.551

Yongle: vadṭe nadṭe. Kangxi: vadṭe nadke. Burnouf: haṭṭe naṭṭe. Stok Palace: nadaṭe.

n.552

Vaidya, Wogihara, and Kern: vanaṭṭe. Burnouf: vanaṭe. Stok Palace: nunate. Yongle and Kangxi: nanadaṭya. Narthang and Degé: tanaṭṭe.

n.553

Vaidya, Wogihara, Burnouf, and Kern: anaḍe. Stok Palace: anado. Yongle and Kangxi: anaḍo. Narthang and Degé: anaṭe.

n.554

Vaidya, Wogihara, Burnouf, and Kern: nāḍi. Stok Palace: naḍi. Yongle and Kangxi: naḍi. Narthang and Degé: nāti.

n.555

Vaidya, Wogihara, Burnouf, and Kern: kunaḍi. Stok Palace: kunati. Yongle and Kangxi: kunaḍi. Narthang and Degé: kunāti.

n.556

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has gandharvas (dri za) instead of kumbhāṇḍas (grul bum), even though Virūḍhaka is traditionally the leader of the kumbhāṇḍas.

n.557

See n.500.

n.558

Yongle and Kangxi: ne gane. Lithang: no gano. Choné, Narthang, and Lhasa: ṇo gaṇo. Gaṇe is absent from Stok Palace.

n.559

Yongle and Kangxi: gori. Stok Palace: gaurī.

n.560

According to the Burnouf. Degé, Lhasa, Yongle, and Kangxi: gandhari. Lithang, Narthang, Vaidya, and Kern: gandhāri. Stok Palace: gandharī.

n.561

According to the Burnouf. Degé, Kangxi, Yongle, and Lhasa: caṇḍali. Vaidya, Wogihara, Lithang, Choné, and Narthang: caṇḍāli. Kern: kaṇḍāli. Stok Palace: caṇḍalī.

n.562

According to the Burnouf, Kern, Lithang, Wogihara, and Vaidya. Degé, Kangxi, Yongle, and Stok Palace: mataṅgi. Narthang: ātiṅga. Lhasa: matiṅga.

n.563

Kangxi, Yongle, Lithang, and Choné: pukakasi. Stok Palace: bukusī.

n.564

According to the Burnouf and Vaidya. Degé, Kern, and Stok Palace: saṅkule. Kangxi and Yongle: sisadku. Lithang, Choné, Narthang, and Lhasa: kule.

n.565

Burnouf: vrūlasisi. Vaidya and Wogihara: vrūśali sisi. Degé: vruśalī. Kern: vruśali. Kangxi and Yongle: vrusala. Lithang, Narthang, and Lhasa: vruhi. Choné: pruhi. Stok Palace: vruśale (with an anomalous subscribed a-chung under le).

n.566

See n.500.

n.567

Yongle and Kangxi: iteme iteme iteme iteme iteme.

n.568

Stok Palace: rusahe.

n.569

Stok Palace: rusahe.

n.570

According to the Burnouf, Kern, Wogihara, and Vaidya. Kangxi, Yongle, and Stok Palace: stahe stahe stahe stahe stahe. Degé and other Tibetan versions consulted: haste haste haste haste haste.

n.571

Absent from Kangxi, Yongle, and Stok Palace.

n.572

Vaidya and Wogihara: “omāraka, ostāraka.” Burnouf: “utsāraka, autsāraka.”

n.573

This presumably refers to the cluster of around eight leaves that open at the top of the stem of a basil plant. Here mañjari (translated obscurely into Tibetan as dog) refers to these, rather than the vertical line of tiny flowers that is produced. Kern interprets as the lodhra tree (Symplocos racemosa).

n.574

According to the Sanskrit saṃkrama. The Tibetan appears to translate according to its more common meaning of “walk.”

n.575

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “one karṣa of which is the value of the entire Sahā world realm.” Chinese: “six karṣa of which is the value of the entire Sahā world realm.”

n.576

According to svakam adhiṣṭhānam akarot. The Tibetan byin rlabs could be interpreted as “blessing” as is its usual use. Bunrouf translates as “bless,” and Kern and the Chinese as “resolve,” as does Edgerton in discussing this passage. Alternative translations would be “empowers himself,” or “blesses himself.”

n.577

According to the Sanskrit aśītibhir gāthākoṭīnayutaśatasahasraiḥ. The Tibetan appears to transfer “eighty times” to the last number in the list.

n.578

BHS: kaṅkara. Tibetan: gtams pa. According to Butön this is “a thousand million million,” i.e., “a thousand trillion.”

n.579

BHS: vivara.Variations include viṃvara, vimbara, bimbara, vivana, viśvara, visvara, and vipatha. The Tibetan can be yal yol, bsnyad yas, or in this Tibetan translation dkrigs pa, although the Mahāvyutpatti translates kaṅkara. A vivara or bimbara is a hundred kaṅkaras or vice versa. Here it appears to be a hundred kaṅkaras as we have three numbers of increasing value. Here the value appears to be “a hundred thousand million million,” i.e., “a hundred thousand trillion,” which is the value given in Butön’s collected works.

n.580

BHS: akṣobhya. Tibetan: mi ’khrugs pa. A hundred vivaras, which is the preceding number and therefore equal to ten million million million, in other words ten quintillion. As in Butön’s collected works, mi ’khrugs pa is equivalent to ten quintillion.

n.581

According to the Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan.

n.582

The gender changes as the woman is reborn as a male in Sukhāvatī.

n.583

According to the Sanskrit apkṛṭsna, and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs. The others consulted have chub pa’i in error for chu’i (“of water”) and here the Tibetan zad pa is used in its meaning of “completion” rather than “exhaustion.”

n.584

According to the BHS gūthoḍilla. Not a Sanskrit word. Most Tibetan versions consulted have, perhaps euphemistically, ’jim ngan (“bad mud”). Stok Palace: ’jig ngan.

n.585

The Sanskrit at this point has, “I will do as the Tathāgata has commanded.” Absent in the Tibetan and Chinese.

n.586

The Tibetan is unclear here. Kiṃśuka (“flame of the forest”), which in Sanskrit literally means “what parrot,” seems to have been translated literally into Tibetan as ne tso’am ci (which would literally mean, “parrot or what”). “Lotus” (padma) is repeated here in the Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit, while garbha is missing, and there is a corruption of varṇa. It seems it should have been garbhakiṃśukavarṇāni instead of padmakiṃśukarvaṇāni, which Kern and Burnouf translate as “the color of lotuses and kiṃśuka flowers.” The Chinese translates as “calyxes of a gem named kiṃśuka.”

n.587

The Sanskrit is in the optative case. Tibetan does not distinguish between future and optative. Also the Sanskrit and Chinese are plural, “we,” as is the verb. The Tibetan appears to be in the singular.

n.588

The Tibetan is mtshan, the same as for the signs (lakṣaṇa) of a great being, but the Sanskrit here is liṅga.

n.589

According to the Chinese and Sanskrit. The analogy of the moons is absent in the Vaidya, Wogihara, Burnouf, and Kern.

n.590

Literally it is, “Do you have little harm, little distress?” Also “in good health” translates the Sanskrit laghūtthānatā. The Tibetan translates obscurely as bskyod pa, rendering the meaning of “being in movement.”

n.591

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf. The Vaidya and Wogihara have “Bhagavān, Tathāgata, Arhat, perfectly enlightened Buddha.”

n.592

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit mentions “countless innumerable asaṃkhyeya eons ago.”

n.593

According to the Tibetan. The Vaidya and Wogihara have śrī (“splendor”), translated by Burnouf and Kern as “beauty.” Translations from Chinese: “supernatural power,” “divine power,” “transcendent power,” and so on.

n.594

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Vaidya and Wogihara have “Rudra” (another of Śiva’s names) instead, and earlier in the list. Burnouf translates this as “Śiva.”

n.595

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan here has only mchog.

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.597

According to the Sanskrit. “And possess his name” is absent in the Tibetan.

n.598

According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. The list of forms he assumes is longer in the Chinese.

n.599

Sanskrit: “The Bhagavān recited these verses.” The Chinese has Akṣayamati reciting the verses.

n.600

This has been translated into Tibetan, and by Burnouf and Kern, as someone named Citradhvaja (who does not occur elsewhere in this or any other sūtra) asking Akṣayamati the question. The following verses are then Akṣayamati’s answers to Citradhvaja. This is in contradiction to the preceding prose passage. In the presently available Sanskrit neither citradhvaja nor akṣayamati is in the accusative case, but presumably akṣayamati was in the accusative case in the version used by the Tibetan translators, Burnouf, and Kern. In the Chinese the first verse describes Akṣayamati asking the Buddha the question and the following verses are the Buddha’s reply, as in the preceding prose. Therefore it appears that the later translations are the result of a scribal corruption in the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation reads thus: “Citradhvaja asked Akṣayamati / about the cause of that meaning: / ‘Jinaputra, what is the reason / that [he] is called Avalokiteśvara?’ ” And in the next Tibetan verse Akṣayamati is giving Citradhvaja the answer.

n.601

In the Middle Indic verse it is Akṣayomatī.

n.602

According to the preceding prose. In the second verse in the available Sanskrit citradhvaja (“multicolored banner”), praṇidhīsāgara (“ocean of prayer”), and akṣayamati are all in the nominative case and therefore could not be the object of the speech, but must be the one who is speaking. The Tibetan translates as Akṣayamati speaking to a Citradhvaja. The Chinese translation has citradhvaja, or a similar term, translated as an epithet of the Buddha and “gazing into directions” and “ocean of prayers” as descriptions of Avalokiteśvara. The Tibetan version is: “Then he looked into the directions / and the ocean of prayers, Akṣayamati, / said these words to Citradhvaja.”

n.603

The object is not mentioned; “this” is interpolated as this presumably refers back to the previous verse (as translated by Burnouf; Kern adds no object). The Chinese has interpolated Avalokiteśvara.

n.604

According to the BHS sāgaradurgi. The Degé Kangyur has “ocean and desert” (rgya mtsho dang ni mya ngam). The Kangxi and Choné Kangyurs have “anguish” (mya ngan) instead of “desert” (mya ngam). The Stok Palace has “bad men” (mi ngan) instead of “desert” (mya ngam). The Vaidya and Wogihara have “thrown into” (pātayet) instead of “crossing.”

n.605

According to the Sanskrit and Chinese; omitted in the Tibetan.

n.606

According to all Kangyurs consulted except Stok Palace, which reads “kings of waters” (chu yi rgyal po rnams). The Sanskrit has “in the king of waters” (jalarāje) meaning “ocean,” although Burnouf interpreted this as referring to Avalokiteśvara.

n.607

Literally “those with poisonous eyes,” which is a euphemism for “snakes.”

n.608

According to the Tibetan.

n.609

The Sanskrit gambhīra can mean “deep” or “profound,” but also “a deep sound.” Inexplicably, the Tibetan here is bzang po’i (“good”), although this may well be a scribal corruption of zab po’i (“deep”).

n.610

The Sanskrit is vilokiyā, and the verb is translated into Tibetan as spyan ras gzigs.

n.611

According to the Stok Palace Kangyur gshin rjes bsgo ba and the Sanskrit yamasya śāsane. The Degé and all Kangyurs recorded in the Comparative Edition read gshin rjes bskor ba, “surrounded by yamas.”

n.612

At this point in the Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit and Burnouf there is the line, “Then Akṣamati (Akṣayamati) recited these verses of praise,” which is also absent from the Chinese.

n.613

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “knowledge and wisdom.”

n.614

According to the Tibetan and Chinese. Sanskrit: “pure.”

n.615

According to the Tibetan and Burnouf. Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit: “The renowned compassion, good qualities, and kindness.”

n.616

Sanskrit: “The wicked host of enemies will be pacified.”

n.617

The Sanskrit is jaladharagarjita (“roar of the water holders,” i.e., clouds)

n.618

This is the final verse in the Chinese translation.

n.619

Sanskrit: “all suffering, fear, and misery.”

n.620

Sanskrit: “I bow down to Avalokiteśvara.”

n.621

Sanskrit: “Lokeśvara.”

n.622

According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “Amitābha.”

n.623

See n.622.

n.624

Literally “equal to the unequaled.”

n.625

According to the Sanskrit śubha and the Kangxi dpal. Other Kangyurs consulted have dpa’ (“heroic”).

n.626

According to one of the meanings of the Sanskrit prasāda. Tibetan translates as dad pa, which normally means “faith.”

n.627

According to the Tibetan. Māra and Brahmā are absent from the Sanskrit and Chinese.

n.628

According to Yongle, Lithang, Choné, Urga, Stok Palace, and Kangxi Kangyurs. The Degé, Lhasa, and Narthang have yul (“land”).

n.629

According to the Tibetan. In the Chinese, Vimalanetra is said to be practicing, and Vimalagarbha thinking.

n.630

According to the Sanskrit. In the Tibetan “the king’s people” has become part of the following sentence, perhaps through scribal corruption as it is evidently anomalous.

n.631

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan separates “retinue” by itself in the list.

n.632

The Sanskrit has only bimbā. The Tibetan incorrectly interpolated “flower.” This is a standard description of lips in Indian literature.

n.633

According to the Tibetan and the Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit. The Burnouf and Kern have the king not wishing to leave the Buddha’s presence because of his possession of good qualities. It is absent from the Chinese.

n.634

Although there is no indication, other than the content, it appears that from this point Śākyamuni has concluded repeating the words of the past buddha, and is directly addressing his present audience.

n.635

The Sanskrit has bodhisattva mahāsattvas.

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.

n.639

Sanskrit: “However, this…”

n.640

“The limit of reality, and the essence of phenomena” is absent from the Sanskrit.

n.641

According to the BHS nityarāśi, translated into Tibetan as nges pa’i phung po. This refers to three groups or classifications of individuals: those with false views, the undetermined, and the determined.

n.642

See n.500.

n.643

According to the Sanskrit and the Yongle Kangyur. The Lithang and Choné have sudaṇḍā. Lhasa: sudaṇḍa. Narthang: sudaṇtra. Kangxi: sudaṇḍē (with an anomalous subscribed a-chung). Other Kangyurs consulted have sudaṇḍe.

n.644

According to the Vaidya, Wogihara, and Kern. Burnouf: daṇdayati. Degé: daṇḍavati. Kangxi: daṇdāvati. Choné: daṇa dāvati. Narthang: daṇtravati. Urga: daṇatāvati.

n.645

According to the Sanskrit and most Kangyurs consulted. Narthang: daṇtravartani.

n.646

According to the Sanskrit and most Kangyurs consulted. Yongle: daṇḍakuśali. Lithang and Kangxi: daṇḍakuśala.

n.647

Burnouf: daṇḍasudhāri sudhāri. Kern: daṇḍasudhāri dhāri. Lhasa and Narthang: daṇḍāsudhāri. Kangxi: daṇḍāsudhari. Yongle: daṇḍasudhari. Urga: sudhāraparti.

n.648

Burnouf: sudhāryati. Yongle: sudharapati.

n.649

Kangxi: buddhāpaśyane. Degé and Urga: buddhapaśyani.

n.650

Yongle: dharaṇi. Vaidya and Wogihara: sarvadhāraṇi.

n.651

Yongle: avartani.

n.652

According to the Sanskrit. Degé and most Kangyurs consulted: āvartani. Yongle: avartani. Kangxi: māvartani.

n.653

According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: saṅghaparīkṣite. Yongle: saṅgaparīkite. Choné and Urga: saṅghaparīkṣiti.

n.654

According to the Vaidya, Wogihara, and Kern. Yongle: saṅghanirgasadani. Burnouf: saṃghanighātane. Degé: saṅghanirghasate. Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa: saṅghanirgasate.

n.655

Yongle: dhamaparikṣite. Choné and Urga: dharmaparīkṣiti.

n.656

Vaidya, Wogihara, and Kern: sarvasattvarutakauśalyānugate. Burnouf: sarvarutakauśalyānugate. Degé: sarvasatvaruhekauśalye kauśalyānugate. Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa: sarvasatvarutakauśalya kauśalyānugate. Yongle: sarvasatvarutakauśalya kauśalyānagate.

n.657

Degé: siṅhavikrīḍite. Urga: siṅhavigrīḍiti.

n.658

Urga: anuvarti.

n.659

According to the Vaidya, Wogihara, and Burnouf. Tibetan: vartali.

n.660

anuvarte vartani vartāli svāhā is absent from the Kern.

n.661

According to the Sanskrit; “who write out this sūtra and who uphold it” is absent from the Tibetan.

n.662

According to the Sanskrit, bherīmātreṇa mukuṭena te devaputrāstāsāmapsarasāṃ madhye sthāsyanti, which accords with the Chinese. The Tibetan should be emended to read: lha’i bu de dag rnga po che tsam gyi cod pan can lha’i bu mo de dag gi nang na gnas par ’gyur ro/. The Stok Palace Kangyur starts with the nearly correct lha’i bu dag rna po che tsam gyis cod pan dang, but in the second section of the passage has the incorrect lha’i bu de dag gi nang na.... The Degé and other Tibetan versions consulted start with the incorrect lha’i bu mo de dag, but follow with the correct lha’i bu mo de dag gi nang na....

n.663

According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “should be honored.”

n.664

The Sanskrit adds “for the happiness of many beings, and for the sake of a great multitude of beings.”

n.665

According to the Sanskrit īrṣya; absent in the Tibetan.

n.666

The Sanskrit kalicakra is literally “wheel of fighting.” The Tibetan has ’thab mo (“fighting”) and appears to have omitted “the wheel.”

n.667

This refers to what is usually called “the three doorways to liberation”: emptiness, the absence of aspiration, and the absence of attributes.

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.

Secondary Tibetan Sources

Lodrö Gyaltsen (blo gros rgyal mtshan). dam chos pad dkar gyi tshig don la gzhan gyi log par rtog pa dgag pa. In Sa skya bka’ ’bum vol. 15, Kathmandu: Sachen International, 2006, folios 469–485.

Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub). bde bar gshegs pa’i bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas gsung rab rin po che’i mdzod. In The Collected Works of Bu-ston. Edited by Lokesh Chandra from the collections of Raghu Vira. 28 volumes. Zhol bka’ ’gyur par khang edition. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71, 633–1056.

Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje). dam chos pad ma dkar po’i kha byang. In lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje’i gsung ’bum, vol. 5 (ca), Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2003, folios 525–532.

Pekar Zangpo (pad dkar bzang po). ’phags pa dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. In mdo sde spyi’i rnam bzhag, Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006, pp. 187–189.

Secondary Non-Tibetan Sources

Abbott, Terry Rae. “Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra: A Study of its History and Significance.” PhD diss., University of California at Berkeley, 1985.

Boucher, Daniel. “Dharmarakṣa and the Transmission of Buddhism to China.” Asia Major 19 (2006): 13–37.

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Dessein, Bart. “The Mahāsāṃghikas and the Origins of Mahāyāna Buddhism: Evidence Provided in the *Abhidharmamahāvibhāṣaśāstra.” The Eastern Buddhist 40, no. 1 (2009): 25–61.

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Glossary

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

Attested in source text

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

Attested in other text

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

Attested in dictionary

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

Approximate attestation

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

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

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

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

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

Source unspecified

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

g.1

Ābhāsvara

’od gsal

འོད་གསལ།

ābhāsvara

g.2

Abhijñājñānābhibhū

mngon shes ye shes zil gnon

མངོན་ཤེས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཟིལ་གནོན།

abhijñājñānābhibhū

g.3

Abhijñaprāpta

mngon par shes thob

མངོན་པར་ཤེས་ཐོབ།

abhijñaprāpta

g.16

Ajita

ma pham pa

མ་ཕམ་པ།

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.

g.20

Akṣayamati

blo gros mi zad pa

བློ་གྲོས་མི་ཟད་པ།

akṣayamati

g.22

Amitābha

snang ba mtha’ yas

སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས།

amitābha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

g.23

Amitāyus

tshe dpag med

ཚེ་དཔག་མེད།

amitāyus

g.27

Ānanda

kun dga’ bo

ཀུན་དགའ་བོ།

ānanda

g.39

arhat

dgra bcom pa

དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།

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.

g.41

asaṃkhyeya

grangs med pa

གྲངས་མེད་པ།

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.

g.44

asura

lha ma yin

ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།

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).

g.47

Avabhāsaprāptā

snang ba thob pa

སྣང་བ་ཐོབ་པ།

avabhāsaprāptā

g.49

Avalokiteśvara

spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug

སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་ཕྱུག

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.

g.55

Bandé

ban de

བན་དེ།

bande

g.57

bay leaves

ta ma la’i ’dab ma

ཏ་མ་ལའི་འདབ་མ།

tamālapatra

g.59

beryl

bai dU rya

བཻ་དཱུ་རྱ།

vaiḍūrya

g.63

bhagavān

bcom ldan ’das

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།

bhagavān

g.64

Bhaiṣajyarāja

sman gyi rgyal po

སྨན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།

bhaiṣajyarāja

g.69

bhikṣu

dge slong

དགེ་སློང་།

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).

g.70

bhikṣuṇī

dge slong ma

དགེ་སློང་མ།

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.

g.77

bodhisattva

byang chub sems dpa’

བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།

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.

g.78

Bodhisattvayāna

byang chub sems dpa’i theg pa

བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་ཐེག་པ།

bodhisattvayāna

g.85

brother

tshe dang ldan pa

ཚེ་དང་ལྡན་པ།

āyuṣmat

g.86

buddha

sangs rgyas

སངས་རྒྱས།

buddha

g.90

cakravartin

’khor los sgyur ba

འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བ།

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.

g.98

chrysoberyl

ke ke ru

ཀེ་ཀེ་རུ།

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.

g.99

coral tree

man dA ra ba

མན་དཱ་ར་བ།

māndārava

g.100

crystal

man shel

མན་ཤེལ།

śilā

g.103

defilements

zag pa

ཟག་པ།

āsrava

g.105

deva

ལྷ།

deva

g.113

Dharma

chos

ཆོས།

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.

g.123

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

yul ’khor srung

ཡུལ་འཁོར་སྲུང་།

dhṛtarāṣṭra

g.130

emerald

rdo’i snying po

རྡོའི་སྙིང་པོ།

aśmagarbha

g.131

enlightenment

byang chub

བྱང་ཆུབ།

bodhi

g.132

eon

bskal pa

བསྐལ་པ།

kalpa

g.143

gandharva

dri za

དྲི་ཟ།

gandharva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.145

garuḍa

nam mkha’ lding

ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།

garuḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.155

higher knowledge

mngon par shes pa

མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།

abhijñā

g.156

Hīnayāna

theg pa dman pa

ཐེག་པ་དམན་པ།

hīnayāna

g.161

Jaladharagarjitaghoṣasusvaranakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña

’brug sgra sbyangs snyan skar ma’i rgyal po me tog kun tu rgyas pa

འབྲུག་སྒྲ་སྦྱངས་སྙན་སྐར་མའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ།

jaladharagarjitaghoṣasusvaranakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña

g.174

Kamaladalavimalanakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña

pad ma’i ’dab ma dri ma med pa skar ma’i rgyal po me tog kun tu rgyas pa

པད་མའི་འདབ་མ་དྲི་མ་མེད་པ་སྐར་མའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ།

kamaladalavimalanakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña

g.175

Kamalaśīla

ka ma la shI la

ཀ་མ་ལ་ཤཱི་ལ།

kamalaśīla

g.180

Kāśyapa

’od srung

འོད་སྲུང་།

kāśyapa

g.181

kātyāyana

kA tyA’i bu

ཀཱ་ཏྱཱའི་བུ།

kātyāyana

g.186

kinnara

mi’am ci

མིའམ་ཅི།

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.

g.187

kleśa

nyon mongs

ཉོན་མོངས།

kleśa

g.192

kumbhāṇḍa

grul bum

གྲུལ་བུམ།

kumbhāṇḍa

g.200

lotsawa

lo tsA ba

ལོ་ཙཱ་བ།

g.201

lotus

pad ma

པད་མ།

padma

g.204

Magadha

ma ga dha

མ་ག་དྷ།

magadha

g.206

Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū

mngon par shes pa’i ye shes chen pos zil gyis gnon pa

མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པའི་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆེན་པོས་ཟིལ་གྱིས་གནོན་པ།

mahābhijñājñānābhibhū

g.210

Mahākāśyapa

’od srung chen po

འོད་སྲུང་ཆེན་པོ།

mahākāśyapa

g.211

Mahākātyāyana

kA tyA’i bu chen po

ཀཱ་ཏྱཱའི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahākātyāyana

g.215

Mahāmaudgalyāyana

maud gal gyi bu chen po

མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāmaudgalyāyana

g.220

Mahāpratibhāna

spobs pa chen po

སྤོབས་པ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāpratibhāna

g.222

mahārāja

rgyal po chen po

རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahārāja

g.224

Mahārūpa

gzugs chen po

གཟུགས་ཆེན་པོ།

mahārūpa

g.226

Mahāsāṃghika

dge ’dun phal chen po’i sde

དགེ་འདུན་ཕལ་ཆེན་པོའི་སྡེ།

mahāsāṃghika

g.227

mahāsattva

sems dpa’ chen po

སེམས་དཔའ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāsattva

g.228

mahāśrāvaka

nyan thos chen po

ཉན་ཐོས་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāśrāvaka

g.229

Mahāsthāmaprāpta

mthu chen thob

མཐུ་ཆེན་ཐོབ།

mahāsthāmaprāpta

g.232

Mahāvyūha

bkod pa chen po

བཀོད་པ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāvyūha

g.234

mahoraga

lto ’phye chen po

ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahoraga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.235

Maitreya

byams pa

བྱམས་པ།

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.

g.240

Mañjughoṣa

’jam dbyangs

འཇམ་དབྱངས།

mañjughoṣa

g.241

Mañjuśrī

’jam dpal

འཇམ་དཔལ།

mañjuśrī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

In this text:

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

g.242

Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta

’jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa

འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུར་གྱུར་པ།

mañjuśrīkumārabhūta

g.243

Mañjusvara

’jam dbyangs

འཇམ་དབྱངས།

mañjusvara

g.249

Māra

bdud

བདུད།

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.

g.258

Meru

lhun po

ལྷུན་པོ།

meru

g.268

nāga

ཀླུ།

nāga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.271

Nakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña

skar ma’i rgyal po me tog kun tu rgyas pa mngon par shes pa

སྐར་མའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ་མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།

nakṣatrarājasaṃkusumitābhijña

g.273

Nanam Yeshé Dé

sna nam ye shes sde

སྣ་ནམ་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།

g.280

nirvāṇa

mya ngan las ’das pa

མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།

nirvāṇa

g.291

parinirvāṇa

yongs su mya ngan las ’da’

ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདའ།

parinirvāṇa

g.293

perfectly enlightened buddha

yang dag par rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas

ཡང་དག་པར་རྫོགས་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས།

samyaksambuddha

g.294

phenomena

chos

ཆོས།

dharma

g.298

powers

dbang

དབང་།

indriya

g.300

Prabhūtaratna

rin chen mang po

རིན་ཆེན་མང་པོ།

prabhūtaratna

g.304

pratyekabuddha

rang sangs rgyas

རང་སངས་རྒྱས།

pratyekabuddha

g.305

Pratyekabuddhayāna

rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa

རང་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།

pratyekabuddhayāna

g.309

Priyadarśana

mthong na dga’ ba

མཐོང་ན་དགའ་བ།

priyadarśana

g.312

Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra

byams ma’i bu gang po

བྱམས་མའི་བུ་གང་པོ།

pūrṇa maitrāyaṇīputra

g.317

Rāhula

sgra gcan

སྒྲ་གཅན།

rāhula

g.318

Rājagṛha

rgyal po’i khab

རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།

rājagṛha

g.321

Ralpachen

ral pa can

རལ་པ་ཅན།

g.322

Raśmiprabhāsa

’od zer rab tu snang ba

འོད་ཟེར་རབ་ཏུ་སྣང་བ།

raśmiprabhāsa

g.346

Sahā

mi mjed

མི་མཇེད།

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.

g.349

Śākyamuni

shAkya thub pa

ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།

śākyamuni

g.353

samādhi

ting nge ’dzin

ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།

samādhi

g.354

Samantabhadra

kun tu bzang po

ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ།

samantabhadra

g.359

Saṃbhavā

’byung ba

འབྱུང་བ།

saṃbhavā

g.360

saṃsāra

’khor ba

འཁོར་བ།

saṃsāra

g.361

sandalwood

tsan dan

ཙན་དན།

candana

g.362

saṅgha

dge ’dun

དགེ་འདུན།

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.

g.365

Śāriputra

shA ri’i bu

ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།

śāriputra

g.366

Śārisuta

shA ri’i bu

ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།

śārisuta

g.375

Satatasamitābhiyukta

rtag par rgyun du brtson

རྟག་པར་རྒྱུན་དུ་བརྩོན།

satatasamitābhiyukta

g.376

seven precious materials

rin chen sna bdun

རིན་ཆེན་སྣ་བདུན།

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.

g.388

śrāvaka

nyan thos

ཉན་ཐོས།

śrāvaka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.389

śrāvakayāna

nyan thos kyi theg pa

ཉན་ཐོས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།

śrāvakayāna

g.392

sthavira

gnas brtan

གནས་བརྟན།

sthavira

g.395

stūpa

mchod rten

མཆོད་རྟེན།

stūpa

g.396

Śubhavyūha

dge ba bkod pa

དགེ་བ་བཀོད་པ།

śubhavyūha

g.397

Subhūti

rab ’byor

རབ་འབྱོར།

subhūti

g.401

sugata

bde bar gshegs pa

བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པ།

sugata

g.403

Sukhāvatī

bde ba can

བདེ་བ་ཅན།

sukhāvatī

g.405

Sumeru

ri rab

རི་རབ།

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.

g.408

Surendrabodhi

su ren dra bo dhi

སུ་རེན་དྲ་བོ་དྷི།

surendrabodhi

g.413

sūtra

མདོ།

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.

g.421

thirty-two signs

sum cu rtsa gnyis mtshan
mtshan

སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་མཚན།
མཚན།

dvātriṃśatīlakṣaṇa
lakṣaṇa

g.425

Tiṣya

skar rgyal

སྐར་རྒྱལ།

tiṣya

g.426

toraṇa

rta babs

རྟ་བབས།

toraṇa

g.429

Trāyastriṃśa

sum cu rtsa gsum pa

སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་པ།

trāyastriṃśa

g.435

upādhyāya

mkhan po

མཁན་པོ།

upādhyāya

g.438

upāsaka

dge bsnyen

དགེ་བསྙེན།

upāsaka

g.439

upāsikā

dge bsnyen ma

དགེ་བསྙེན་མ།

upāsikā

g.441

ūrṇā hair

mdzod spu

མཛོད་སྤུ།

ūrṇākośa

g.443

uṣṇīṣa

gtsug tor

གཙུག་ཏོར།

uṣṇīṣa

g.448

Vairocanaraśmipratimaṇḍitā

rnam par snang ba’i ’od zer gyis brgyan pa

རྣམ་པར་སྣང་བའི་འོད་ཟེར་གྱིས་བརྒྱན་པ།

vairocanaraśmipratimaṇḍitā

g.450

Vaiśravaṇa

rnam thos kyi bu
mchog gi gzugs

རྣམ་ཐོས་ཀྱི་བུ།
མཆོག་གི་གཟུགས།

vaiśravaṇa

g.452

Vajrapāṇi

phyag na rdo rje

ཕྱག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ།

vajrapāṇi

g.462

Venerable

btsun pa

བཙུན་པ།

bhadanta

g.463

verse

tshigs su bcad pa

ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ།

gāthā

g.478

Virūḍhaka

’phags skyes po

འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ།

virūḍhaka

g.479

Virūpākṣa

mig mi bzang

མིག་མི་བཟང་།

virūpākṣa

g.484

Vulture Peak

rgod kyi phung po

རྒོད་ཀྱི་ཕུང་པོ།

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.

g.486

white coral

spug

སྤུག

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.

g.489

world realm

’jig rten gyi khams

འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།

lokadhātu

g.490

yakṣa

gnod sbyin

གནོད་སྦྱིན།

yakṣa

g.491

yāna

theg pa

ཐེག་པ།

yāna

g.497

yojana

dpag tshad

དཔག་ཚད།

yojana

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma Notes

Toh 113

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Text Body

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
Notes