The Basket’s Display
Toh 116
Degé Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, pa), folios 200.a–247.b
- Jinamitra
- Dānaśīla
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts with Tulku Yeshi
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2013
Current version v 2.47.38 (2025)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.26.1
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha) is the source of the most prevalent mantra of Tibetan Buddhism: oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. It marks a significant stage in the growing importance of Avalokiteśvara within Indian Buddhism in the early centuries of the first millennium. In a series of narratives within narratives, the sūtra describes Avalokiteśvara’s activities in various realms and the realms contained within the pores of his skin. It culminates in a description of the extreme rarity of his mantra, which, on the Buddha’s instructions, Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin obtains from someone in Vārāṇasī who has broken his monastic vows. This sūtra provided a basis and source of quotations for the teachings and practices of the eleventh-century Maṇi Kabum, which itself served as a foundation for the rich tradition of Tibetan Avalokiteśvara practice.
Acknowledgments
The sūtra was translated from the Tibetan and Sanskrit by Peter Alan Roberts. Tulku Yeshi of the Sakya Monastery, Seattle, was the consulting lama who reviewed the translation. The project manager and editor was Emily Bower, and the proofreader was Ben Gleason. Thanks to William Tuladhar-Douglas and Charles Manson for their assistance in obtaining Sanskrit manuscripts, and to Richard Gombrich and Sanjukta Gupta for their elucidations.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Tony Leung Chiu Wai and family for work on this sūtra is gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
The Basket’s Display
Colophon
Translated and revised by the Indian upādhyāyas Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, and by Bandé Yeshé Dé, the translator and chief editor.
Bibliography
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