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རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ཏོག་གི་གཟུངས།

The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī
Chapter 13

Ratnaketudhāraṇī

འཕགས་པ་འདུས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ཏོག་གི་གཟུངས་ཤེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།

’phags pa ’dus pa chen po rin po che tog gi gzungs shes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī” from the Great Collection

Āryamahāsannipātaratnaketudhāraṇīnāmamahāyānasūtra

Toh 138

Degé Kangyur, vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 187.b–277.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ

Śilendrabodhi
Yeshé Dé

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2020

Current version v 1.0.29 (2024)

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.

This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.

co.

Summary

s.1

The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī is one of the core texts of the Mahāsannipāta collection of Mahāyāna sūtras that dates back to the formative period of Mahāyāna Buddhism, from the first to the third century ᴄᴇ. Its rich and varied narratives, probably redacted from at least two independent works, recount significant events from the lives, past and present, of the Buddha Śākyamuni and some of his main followers and opponents, both human and nonhuman. At the center of these narratives is the climactic episode from the Buddha’s life when Māra, the personification of spiritual death, sets out to destroy the Buddha and his Dharma. The mythic confrontation between these paragons of light and darkness, and the Buddha’s eventual victory, are related in vivid detail. The main narratives are interwoven with Dharma instructions and interspersed with miraculous events. The text also exemplifies two distinctive sūtra genres, “prophecies” (vyākaraṇa) and “incantations” (dhāraṇī), as it includes, respectively, prophecies of the future attainment of buddhahood by some of the Buddha’s followers and the potent phrases that embody the Buddha’s teachings and are meant to ensure their survival and the thriving of its practitioners.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.1

This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Wiesiek Mical translated the extant parts from the Sanskrit and wrote the introduction. Timothy Hinkle compared the translation from the Sanskrit against the Tibetan translation and translated from the Tibetan the parts that are lost in the original Sanskrit.

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

ac.2

The generous sponsorship of Twenty and family, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is gratefully acknowledged. They would like to dedicate their sponsorship to Dzongsar Jamyang Khyentse Rinpoche.

Introduction

i.1

The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī presents the dramatic events in the life of the Buddha when Māra attempts to destroy the Buddha, break up the Saṅgha, and annihilate the Dharma, a struggle from which the Buddha eventually emerges victorious. This epic confrontation is told with tremendous verve and poignancy, and features characters, dialogue, and plot twists that rank among the best in Buddhist literature. The narrative starts with its own version of the well-known story of the conversion of two of the Buddha’s most prominent early disciples, Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana, and is soon embellished with quaint stories from the past lives of some of the characters, ranging from well-known buddha figures down to (at one time) ordinary human and nonhuman beings. The parts of the narrative that unfold on earth are centered around the city of Rājagṛha, the capital of Magadha. They provide some interesting insight into the everyday life of India at the time, with its division into secular and religious members of society, and vividly capture the experiences that Buddhist monks might have had when going on their daily alms-rounds in the city streets. This is interspersed with lively dialogue that is at once didactic and aesthetically captivating. Especially moving is the conversation that Māra has with his children, when the daughters try to console their distraught father, who bitterly despairs over the impending loss of his realm and the humiliation of seeing his minions, even his own children, desert him, with all the pathos of a broken old man and all the obduracy of a petulant child.

The Translation

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī
from the Great Collection

Homage

[F.187.b] [B1]10

h.1

Homage to the thus-gone Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance!

h.2

Homage to the one with the melodious voice of Mahābrahmā!

h.3

Having paid homage to him, one should employ the dhāraṇī called unharmed by the assemblies of Māra. May I accomplish the following mantra:11

h.4

Avāme avāme amvare amvare {TK4} parikuñja naṭa naṭa puṣkaravaha jalukha khama khaya ili mili kili mili kīrtipara mudre mudramukhe svāhā! {TK5}

Chapter 1

1.1

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Veṇuvana, at the Kalandakanivāpa, near the city of Rājagṛha, with a great saṅgha of a thousand monks, all of whom were noble ones. They had all exhausted defilements, were free from the afflictions, were powerful, had liberated minds, had liberated insight, were of noble birth, were great elephants,12 had done what needed to be done, had completed their mission, had cast off the burden, had achieved their own welfare, had severed the bonds that tied them to existence, had liberated their minds with genuine knowledge, and had perfected all mental powers. There was also a great saṅgha of ten thousand bodhisattvas, including [F.188.a] {TK6} the princely youth Holder of Meru’s Peak, the princely youth Varuṇamati, the princely youth Sumati, the princely youth Jayamati, the princely youth Jinamati, the princely youth Intelligent Light, the princely youth Intelligent Sky, the princely youth Intelligent Lightning, the princely youth Mañjuśrī, the princely youth Durdharṣa, the princely youth Varuṇa, the princely youth Vimala, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, and others. Each of these ten thousand bodhisattvas had achieved acceptance, retention, and absorption. {TK7} Each possessed the wisdom that is unobscured by any phenomenon, had equal concern for all beings, had transcended all the domains of Māra, and had entered the domain of all the thus-gone ones. Each was knowledgeable, possessed great love and compassion, and was skilled in means.

Chapter 2

2.1

The daughters and sons of Māra, accompanied by their retinues, said to the Blessed One, “The extent to which the Thus-Gone One is endowed with means and wisdom is incredible! We seek, O Blessed One, the same sort of Dharma vehicle, wisdom, magical powers, compassion, means, and eloquence. What are the qualities, O Blessed One, that a person should have in order to not fall into the hands of evil companions, but instead swiftly realize unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”

Chapter 3

3.1

While the Ratnaketu dhāraṇī was being recited by the thus-gone Śākyamuni, the entire Sahā world became clearly visible, illuminated by a powerful light. The one hundred billion lords of sensual pleasure, each one a māra active in one of the one hundred billion worlds of four continents in this buddha field of Śākyamuni, became alarmed by this display of the Buddha’s power and directed their eyes toward this world of four continents. “Where is this light emanating from?” they wondered. “Surely this must be through the power of Māra, the evil one, who lives in that particular world of four continents. He is stronger, mightier, and more powerful than us.”

Chapter 4

4.1

When the four great hearers were, as described before, in the great city of Rājagṛha collecting alms, they were rudely accosted by the māra youths who urged them, “Dance, monk! Sing, monk!” When, subsequently, the great hearers, running along the street, sang their verses with lyrics that describe the path to nirvāṇa, this great earth trembled. At that moment many hundreds of thousands of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, inspired with faith in the Blessed One’s instructions,215 said this, their faces awash with tears:

Chapter 5

5.1

The millions of māras then thought, “We should adorn the gates of the city through which the Blessed One is to enter, as well as the earth surrounding them, with sublime and magnificent ornaments in the same manner as the gods, nāgas, and yakṣas have adorned the surroundings of the city.”

5.2

With his mind, however, the Blessed One knew the thoughts of the millions of māras,[F.227.a] and he manifested a miracle such that through the twelve gates of the city, twelve blessed buddhas entered the city of Rājagṛha. The millions of māras then, while hovering in the sky, adorned the city gates, the area around them, the city walls, its trees, and the surface of the earth with magical ornaments of the māra realm, as well as countless other magnificent miraculous manifestations set in the finest and most beautiful arrangements. Some of the millions of māras transformed into guises ranging from that of Brahmā to those of great sages. {TK131} From their perch in the sky, they placed various flowers, incense, scented powders, garlands, gold, silver, jewels, and pearls on the windows, ledges, and turrets of the mansions in the city, as well as in the trees. They also cast down a rain of cloth, cotton, linen, and ornaments, played many instruments, and venerated the Blessed One with songs of praise, extolling his qualities. The Blessed One then entered Rājagṛha’s city gates, adorned as they were with a supremely extensive and elevating display made in such a novel, incredible, and miraculous fashion.

Chapter 6

6.1

At that time the thus-gone Akṣobhya set out from the world in the east called Abhirati in the company of an infinite number of bodhisattva great beings. Through the power and mastery of miracles particular to a buddha, he arrived instantaneously in the buddha field that includes the central world with its four continents, where the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Śākyamuni was staying. Having arrived, he sat upon a lotus seat that appeared just as needed. The bodhisattva great beings [F.237.a] from his retinue also sat upon lotus seats that appeared through their own magical power.

Chapter 7

7.1

At that time, a bodhisattva great being called Discriminating Intellect was seated before the blessed, thus-gone [F.250.a] Glorious and Brilliantly Shining Jewel, not far from the blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni. For a short time he was in the guise of Brahmā, before instantaneously appearing in the form of Māra. He likewise briefly appeared in the forms of Śakra, as well as a lord of the gods in the heavens of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, Delighting in Emanations, Tuṣita, Free from Strife, and the Four Great Kings, as well as in the form of Maheśvara, and also as a yakṣa, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a mahoraga, a rākṣasa, a preta, a piśāca, a kumbhāṇḍa, a kṣatriya, a brahmin, a vaiśya, a śūdra, a lion, an elephant, a buffalo, and myriad other species of the animal realm. Instantaneously he appeared in the form of a bird, a tree, a mountain, fruit, clothing, bedding, heavy cloth, a vase, ornaments, jewelry, medicinal herbs, and a jewel. Instantaneously he also appeared in the form of a monk, a nun, and a buddha. Instantaneously he appeared in eighty-four different colors, characteristics, shapes, and forms.

Chapter 8

8.1

At that time, the thus-gone Akṣobhya addressed the entire assembly: “Noble children, all of you śakras, brahmās, world protectors, and lords of the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and so forth, as well as human and nonhuman beings, who have arrived here out of faith in the buddhas’ teaching‍—I will uplift you! It is rare to find such a congregation of the blessed buddhas, bodhisattva great beings, śakras, [F.252.a] brahmās, world protectors, and lords of the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, and so forth, as well as human and nonhuman beings! Therefore, now that you have seen this, may those of you who are happy to sustain this sacred Dharma‍—this Dharma method‍—and propagate the lineage of the Three Jewels in the future in this buddha field each make an aspiration before the Blessed One.” {TK204}

Chapter 9

9.1

The blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni then said, “O all you [F.258.a] blessed buddhas who have come here to this buddha field motivated by compassion to engage in discussion, please give these beings your attention. These noble children will satisfy others with clothing, food, drink, medicine, and supplies. They will use the female form to mature others for unsurpassed and perfect awakening. From the moment they developed the mind of awakening in order to mature others, they have been dedicated to emanating and providing clothing, food, drink, medicine, and supplies to fulfill their hopes‍—no matter what, why, or how these things are desired. These sublime beings will enact this great power and be able to serve beings with what is enjoyable and useful.”

10.

Chapter 10

10.1

The thus-gone Māndāravagandharoca then addressed the thus-gone Śākyamuni, saying, “In the past, previous thus-gone ones came from their disparate buddha fields and congregated in buddha fields that were afflicted and rife with the five degenerations. They excellently blessed this sacred Dharma method. They defeated billions of māras and gazed upon all beings with the eyes of great love and compassion. They freed them from evil views, lit the lamp of insight, and laid out the peaceful path. They delivered this Dharma discourse, this exposition of the dhāraṇī-seal, including its verbal formula, which is called the terminator of birth based on the essential nature of phenomena in their vajra-like indivisibility. Thus they defeated the black faction and planted the banner of the Dharma. In the same way, right now, so many of us blessed buddhas who live and spend our time in the ten directions have assembled in this buddha field filled with the afflictions and the five degenerations out of our concern for others. We have performed acts such as excellently blessing this Dharma method and so forth, as well as planting the banner of the Dharma. However, Śākyamuni, [F.260.a] after your sun has set, who will reign supreme in this buddha field? Who will uphold this sacred Dharma? {TK230} Who will nurture these Dharma methods? Who will bring beings to maturity? Who will be included in this great assembly? Into whose hands shall I entrust this Dharma discourse?”

11.

Chapter 11

11.1

Now the blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni addressed Śakra, Brahmā, Virūḍhaka, Virūpākṣa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, and Kubera:

“O sublime beings, I have fully realized unsurpassed and perfect awakening in this buddha field, which is afflicted by the five degenerations and lacking in Dharma, through my compassionate dedication to sentient beings. In order to quell the pain of beings441 thrown into the darkness of ignorance and overwhelmed by the thieves and rogues of the afflictions,442 I have conquered the faction of Māra, raised the banner of the sacred Dharma, delivered countless beings from suffering, rained showers of the sacred Dharma, and defeated ten million māras.

12.

Chapter 12

12.1

The great general of the yakṣas, [F.271.b] Āṭavaka, in the form of the yakṣa Bhīṣaṇaka, and Saṃjñika in the form of a deer, Jñānolka in the form of a monkey, Tṛṣṇājaha in the form of a jackal,455 and Chinnasrotas in the form of an elephant‍—these five great beings‍—were sitting not too far from the thus-gone Śākyamuni and in front of the thus-gone Kauṇḍiṇyārcis. From each of their bodies a pure light radiated, suffused with fragrance. Each of these five great beings was holding in his hands a great precious gem called Starlight for the sake of worshipping the Blessed One.456

13.

Chapter 13

13.1

At this time, all the blessed buddhas displayed the signs of rising and returning472 to their respective buddha fields. At the same moment, the beings of this entire assembly, who were on earth as well as in the sky, shuddered, and so did the entire earth. A rain of flowers poured from the sky, millions of instruments resounded in midair, and all kinds of fragrances of perfume and incense were released. As the entire buddha field filled with light, those in the assembly pressed their hands together. Then Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world, asked the thus-gone Mahācandanagandha, “How many roots of virtue, O Blessed One, will those beings accumulate who in the future uphold and preserve this Dharma discourse‍—who read it, master it, and teach it authentically and extensively to others? How many roots of virtue will those beings accumulate who set it down in writing and uphold it in writing?473 What qualities will they be rewarded with by the blessed buddhas?”

13.2

Thus addressed, the blessed, thus-gone Mahācandanagandha replied to Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world, “Just as the six realms, O Brahmā, have been blessed by all the buddhas in order to fend off the black faction of Māra, to pacify all the negativity of the dark age,474 to bring beings to maturity, to ensure the continuity of this Dharma method {TK266} for a long time, and to purify the path, so too will the beings of the future be blessed by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas with the ten perquisites if they uphold this Dharma discourse [F.275.b]… and write it down and preserve it. What are these ten perquisites? {K173}475

13.3

“(1) Through the power of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, O Brahmā, you will duly set these beings apart476 and always protect them from all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, rākṣasas, and kumbhāṇḍas. (2) You will cause them to turn away from that which is worthless477 and fully engage their body, speech, and mind in that which is wholesome. (3) You will provide them with ample food, drink, comfort, pleasures, good health, and good fortune when they are alive, and support them at the time when they give up their lives. (4) They will become skilled in faultless memory, mental faculties, and eloquence.478 (5) Being free from attachment to sense pleasures and from mental fabrications, they will be at ease and immersed in emptiness. (6) Possessed of equanimous minds merged with the dhāraṇī and of profound acceptance,479 they will engage in the acts of attracting beings. (7) Engaged in wholesome practices, devoting their energy to the body of the assembly, completely free from the three things,480 they will master the conduct of awakening. (8) They will attain the absorption jeweled banner, through which they will become adroit in the insightful knowledge of all absorptions. (9) At the time of dying they will perceive standing in front of them innumerable blessed buddhas, passing their time in the company of their retinues of monks and the hosts of bodhisattvas and explaining the Dharma. They will hear the Dharma that is being thus explained complete with its meaning, words, and letters. [F.276.a] (10) To ensure that they obtain spiritual joy and grace‍—noble and distinguished in every respect‍—all the karmic obstacles of nonvirtue {K174} will be extinguished in their last moment of consciousness at the time of dying, in accord with the Dharma. After death they will take miraculous birth, just as they wished, in pure buddha fields. They will live together with other beings established in the Mahāyāna, who possess unobscured knowledge and minds equal to the sky, in any of the buddha fields {TK267} where the blessed buddhas live and pass their time teaching the pure481 Mahāyāna doctrine. Before long, they themselves will acquire the same qualities. They will not be born again in a buddha field afflicted with the five degenerations, unless they aspire to do so. They will swiftly awaken fully and completely to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.

13.4

“With these ten perquisites the blessed buddhas will bless these beings who, in present and future times, glorify this Dharma method, and uphold,… write down, and preserve this Dharma discourse, this dhāraṇī-seal, in the form of a book. These beings, blessed by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, will become bodhisattva great beings who are freed from all depravities stemming from the afflictions.”

13.5

Now the blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni addressed the world protectors, Śakra and Brahmā:

“Friends, the blessed buddhas here, who have all congregated from the ten directions, have now given this extraordinary and wonderful exposition‍—this Dharma discourse never heard before on the profound dhāraṇī with its special words. They have given it out of compassion for you and in order to purify the external objects in this world system. [F.276.b] They have taught it in order to bring beings to maturity, show them the conduct leading to awakening, defeat the faction of Māra, raise the banner of Dharma, demonstrate by their own example how to carry out the work of all the buddhas, ensure the continuity of the lineage of the Three Jewels, quell all diseases, restrain all wicked beings, protect from all fear, {K175} cause beings to abandon wrong views and enter the path of awakening, endow them fully with the ten strengths of a thus-gone one, and exhaust all their action and afflictions. They have taught it so that households, villages, towns, districts,… and the worlds consisting of four continents, gods, nāgas, yakṣas, human and nonhuman beings, grain, medicinal herbs, leaves, flowers, fruits, crops, Dharma teachers, and Dharma students will be protected. They have taught it to facilitate the attainment of the unobstructed dhāraṇī, the wisdom that is equal to space, {TK268} and the omniscient wisdom particular to the single principle.

13.6

“Through this Dharma discourse, my friends, each and everything in this buddha field has been empowered in ten different ways by the blessed buddhas, as a result of their knowledge suffused with great compassion.482

13.7

“(1) Friends, this entire buddha field has been adopted by all the buddhas and bodhisattvas so that it may be blessed with all things virtuous. (2) It has become an object of veneration for all beings born in buddha fields. (3) It represents the teacher. (4) It is generally revered as the spiritual instructor. (5) It is a fitting object of worship. (6) It is a place where even those who have roots of nonvirtue, including the five acts of immediate retribution, can completely purify their karmic obscurations, which would otherwise ripen unpleasantly. (7) Once these karmic obscurations are removed, one can become established in good qualities. [F.277.a] (8) This buddha field, friends, is the maker of great men‍—the blessed buddhas.483 (9) This buddha field, friends, is the place where you should respect the Dharma, uphold it, and protect it. (10) In this buddha field you should also protect the householders and the wandering mendicants who uphold the Dharma, and persons who have adopted484 the sacred Dharma. This will contribute to your own happiness and prosperity.” {K176}

13.8

Now, to illustrate the good qualities and benefits of this Dharma discourse, the thus-gone Kusumadhvaja said:

“The merit of someone who fills all the fields with gold and offers them

To the protectors and guides in order to worship them would be finite;

A fearless person who upholds this supreme, important sūtra, however,

Would obtain infinite merit.” {13.1}

13.9

The thus-gone Ratnacchatraśrī said: {TK269}

“By teaching this sūtra one accumulates the same merit as by giving to the eminent sages gold coins equal in number to the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā.

13.10

“Merit equal to that gained by upholding this sūtra cannot even be attained

By giving to the eminent sages

Gold coins equal in number

To the grains of sand in the Gaṅgā.”485 {13.2}

13.11

The thus-gone Girikūṭa said:

“Anybody could fill the sky with clouds dense with heaps of the best flowers and parasols

And offer them to the buddhas with a joyful mind in order to worship them,

But the person who upholds this sūtra later, at a degenerate time full of fear and violence,

Would accumulate merit whose extent no being could describe.” {13.3}

13.12

Even the blessed, thus-gone Śākyamuni spoke as follows:

“One could, before this sage,486 hold up a burning wick fed with scented oil as big as Mount Meru

For the duration of ten million eons, one’s face smiling with devotion,

But someone desirous of merit and seeking to reduce hindrances

Would gain far greater merit by teaching this sūtra in public during this degenerate time.” [F.277.b] {13.4}

13.13

The thus-gone Akṣobhya said:

“Any intelligent person can always cultivate acceptance and practice diligence.

Continually devoted to meditation, mindful of their body, they may develop their insight, {K177}

But those who uphold this seal of the sacred Dharma in this world during the dark age

Possess unequaled acceptance and diligence, and their insight is also superior.” {13.5}

13.14

The thus-gone Virajasamādhibalavikrāmin 487 said:

“It is not possible to describe the merit acquired

By someone who propagates this sūtra in this world, upholds it, writes it down,

Causes others to learn it by skillfully explaining it again and again,

And worships it with incense, flowers, garlands, and the best quality fabrics.” {13.6} {TK270}

13.15

Continuing like this, infinite numbers of blessed buddhas proclaimed the immeasurable virtues, qualities, and benefits of this sūtra. Having then summoned the world protectors, Śakra, and Brahmā, they instructed them, “Please, friends, uphold this Dharma discourse that exhausts all karmic obscurations and the afflictions. By merely hearing this discourse during the later degenerate time, all karmic obscurations and the afflictions of sentient beings will be exhausted.”

13.16

So spoke the Blessed One. The entire assembly and the worlds of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised this teaching by the Blessed One.

13.17

This concludes the thirteenth chapter, the final in the “Ratnaketu Sūtra,” in the Great Collection of Mahāyāna sūtras. {K178}

Colophon

c.1

Because of the special merit that I have accumulated when refining, with all my devotion, care, and a joyous mind,

The text of this Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī‍—the dhāraṇī that removes great fear‍—

May this entire world obtain in this very moment this Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī

Adorned with words of the Sage’s doctrine, clear in meaning, and resplendent with great qualities!

Tibetan Translators’ Colophon

c.2

This sūtra was translated by the Indian preceptor Śilendrabodhi and the translator-editor Yeshé Dé. It was later standardized in line with the new terminological register.

ab.

Abbreviations

D	Tibetan Degé edition
G	Gilgit manuscript
K	Kurumiya 1978 (page numbers entered in braces, e.g. {K26} denotes page 26)
TK	Kurumiya 1979 (page numbers entered in braces, e.g. {TK26} denotes page 26)

Notes

n.1

Braarvig 1993.

n.2

Kurumiya 1978.

n.3

Denkarma, folio 297.a.4. See also Herrmann-Pfandt (2008), p. 52, no. 91.

n.4

Phangthangma, p. 7 (with abbreviated title ’phags pa rin po che’i tog).

n.5

Interestingly, the catalog of the Narthang Kangyur records the tradition that The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī was first translated into Tibetan by Tönmi Sambhoṭa (thon mi sam+b+ho Ta), the legendary seventh century minister and scholar credited with the development of the Tibetan alphabet during the reign of King Songtsen Gampo (ca. 617–650). See Narthang Catalog, folio 14.a.1, and Skilling 1997, p. 89.

n.6

Lamotte 2001, pp. 1541–42.

n.7

This information is based on a private communiqué from Peter Skilling, who does not recall seeing the feminine form vyākaraṇī in any other sūtra.

n.8

Toh 1-1, 1.233 et seq.; see translation in Miller et al. (2018). The Chapter on Going Forth contains a much longer and more detailed account of the story of Upatiṣya and Kaulita (Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana), but the culmination of their story in their encounter with Aśvajit and meeting with the Buddha is related in the present text with a little more detail, including some verses of which the Vinayavastu account has much briefer equivalents. The main additional element in the story in the present version‍—the advent of Māra following that meeting with Aśvajit‍—is of course the narrative theme that ties together all the component parts of The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī.

n.10

The following section, up to “I must make them embrace the view of the evil one” at 1.19, has been translated entirely from the Tib., filling a lengthy lacuna in the Skt. text.

n.11

Because of their magical character, uncertain readings, and the extent of corruption, the Sanskrit dhāraṇī formulae in this text would be impossible to translate in full. Although some individual words and phrases are intelligible, it would be risky to attempt a coherent translation‍—the alliterations (which possibly are part of the magic), for example, would be impossible to replicate in English. These dhāraṇīs have therefore been quoted throughout the translation in the original Sanskrit, with some editorial emendments that affect mainly word divisions and orthography. These emendments by no means make the Sanskrit text correct or even consistent, and have not been reported in the critical apparatus.

n.12

The Buddha and his hearer disciples are often compared to elephants or “great elephants” (mahānāga).

n.215

“Instructions” is not in the Tib.

n.441

“In order to quell the pain of beings” has been supplied from the Tib. (Skt. lacuna).

n.442

“Overwhelmed by the thieves and rogues of the afflictions” has been supplied from the Tib. (Skt. lacuna).

n.455

In place of “jackal,” the Tib. reads “goat.”

n.456

In place of “Starlight,” the Tib. reads “Firelight.”

n.472

The reading “returning” was obtained by emending the Skt. gagana to gamana (supported by the Tib. and the Chinese).

n.473

The passage from “who read it…” up to this point has been supplied from the Tib.; it is absent in the Skt. text.

n.474

In place of “the [negativity of] the dark age,” the Tib. reads “the turbidity of struggle.”

n.475

The following division into ten has been introduced when translating this list into English and may be different from what was originally intended.

n.476

“You will duly set these beings apart” (nyāyataḥ parīttāḥ) seems to be missing from the Tib.

n.477

The Tib. reads, “You will avert that which is harmful to them.”

n.478

The Tib. reads “faultless memory, intellect, understanding, and eloquence.”

n.479

The “profound acceptance” (gambhirakṣānti) is an abbreviation of the type of kṣānti called “the acceptance that does not fear the profound meaning (i.e., emptiness)” (zab mo’i don la mi skrag pa’i bzod pa).

n.480

It is not clear what the “three things” are, but perhaps the three notions of subject, object, and action.

n.481

“Pure” (śuddha) is supported by the Chinese, but the Tib. reflects the reading kevalam (“only”).

n.482

The following division into ten has been introduced when translating this list into English and may be different from what was originally intended.

n.483

The Tib. reads, “[This buddha field is a product] of the great power of the blessed buddhas.” The Skt. reading is, however, supported by the Chinese.

n.484

The Skt. pratipanna means “who have met with” with the sense perhaps of “who have adopted.” The Tib. reads “who earnestly practice.”

n.485

This verse has been supplied from the Tib. It is absent in the Skt. text.

n.486

It seems that the Buddha is referring to himself.

n.487

This name is reflected in the Tib. and the Chinese translations; the Skt., however, has a shorter version, Virajabalavikrāmin.

Bibliography

Primary literature (manuscripts and editions)

Sanskrit

Dutt, Nalinaksha, ed. Gilgit Manuscripts. Vols. 1–4. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1984.

Kurumiya, Yenshu, ed. Ratnaketuparivarta: Sanskrit Text. Kyoto: Heirakuji-shoten, 1978.

Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī‍—the Gilgit manuscript. National Archives of India, New Delhi.

Tibetan

’phags pa ’dus pa rin po che tog gi gzungs shes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Toh 138, Degé Kangyur vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 187.b–277.b.

’phags pa ’dus pa rin po che tog gi gzungs shes bya ba theg pa chen 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), 2006–9, vol. 56, pp. 509–734.

Kurumiya, Yenshu, ed. ’Dus Pa Chen Po Rin Po Che Tog Gi Gzungs, ’Dus Pa Chen Po Dkon Mchog Dbal Zes Bya Ba’i Gzungs: being the Tibetan translation of the Ratnaketu Parivarta. Kyoto: Heirakuji-shoten, 1979.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan[/lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.

Narthang Catalog (bka’ ’gyur dkar chag ngo mtshar bkod pa rgya mtsho’i lde mig). Narthang Kangyur vol. 102 (dkar chag), folios 1.a–124.a.

Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.

Translations and secondary literature:

Braarvig, Jens (1993). Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra. Vol. 2, The Tradition of Imperishability in Buddhist Thought. Oslo: Solum Verlag, 1993.

‍—‍—‍—(1985). “Dhāraṇī and Pratibhāna: Memory and Eloquence of the Bodhisattvas.” The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 8, no. 1: 17–29. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan, 1985.

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

Lamotte, Étienne. The Treatise of the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra). Translated from the French by Karma Migme Chodron, 2001.

Mak, Bill M. “Ratnaketu-parivarta, Sūryagarbha-parivarta, and Candragarbha-parivarta of Mahāsannipātasūtra (MSN): Indian Jyotiṣa through the lens of Chinese Buddhist Canon.” Paper presented at the World Sanskrit Conference, New Delhi, January 8, 2012.

Miller, Adam T. “To Feel Like We Feel: Reading the Precious Banner Sūtra as Affective Regime.” PhD dissertation. University of Chicago, 2022.

‍—‍—‍—(2013). “The Buddha Said That Buddha Said So: A Translation and Analysis of ‘Pūrvayogaparivarta’ from the Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī Sūtra.” MA thesis. University of Missouri-Columbia, 2013.

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

Negi, J. S. Bod skad daṅ Legs-sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993.

Skilling, Peter. “From bKa’ bstan bcos to bKa’ ’gyur and bsTan ’gyur.” In Transmission of the Tibetan Canon: Papers Presented at a Panel of the 7th Seminar of the International Association for Tibetan Studies, Graz 1995, edited by Helmut Eimer, 87–111. Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1997.

Ui, Hakuju. A catalogue-index of the Tibetan Buddhist canons (Bkaḥ-ḥgyur and Bstan-ḥgyur). Sendai: Tōhoku Imperial University, 1934.

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

Abhirati

mngon par dga’ ba

མངོན་པར་དགའ་བ།

abhirati

g.2

absorption

ting nge ’dzin

ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།

samādhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

g.3

acceptance

bzod pa

བཟོད་པ།

kṣānti

g.5

acts of attracting beings

bsdu ba’i dngos po

བསྡུ་བའི་དངོས་པོ།

saṃgrahavastu

g.6

affliction

nyon mongs

ཉོན་མོངས།

kleśa

g.8

aggregate

phung po

ཕུང་པོ།

skandha

g.12

Akṣobhya

mi ’khrugs pa

མི་འཁྲུགས་པ།

akṣobhya

g.20

asura

lha ma yin

ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།

asura

g.23

Āṭavaka

’brog gnas

འབྲོག་གནས།

āṭavaka

g.24

awakening

byang chub

བྱང་ཆུབ།

bodhi

g.29

Bhīṣaṇaka

’jigs ’jigs

འཇིགས་འཇིགས།

bhīṣaṇaka

g.31

black faction

nag po’i phyogs

ནག་པོའི་ཕྱོགས།

kṛṣṇapakṣa

g.32

blessed one

bcom ldan ’das

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།

bhagavat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.35

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.36

brahmā

tshangs pa

ཚངས་པ།

brahmā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.37

Brahmā

tshangs pa

ཚངས་པ།

brahmā

g.39

Buddha

sangs rgyas

སངས་རྒྱས།

buddha

g.45

Chinnasrotas

rgyun bcad pa

རྒྱུན་བཅད་པ།

chinnasrotas

g.47

concentration

bsam gtan

བསམ་གཏན།

dhyāna

g.48

consciousness

rnam par shes pa

རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།

vijñāna

g.51

dark age

zad pa’i dus

ཟད་པའི་དུས།

kaliyuga

g.52

Delighting in Emanations

’phrul dga’

འཕྲུལ་དགའ།

nirmāṇarati

g.59

dhāraṇī

gzungs

གཟུངས།

dhāraṇī

g.60

dhāraṇī-seal

gzungs kyi phyag rgya

གཟུངས་ཀྱི་ཕྱག་རྒྱ།

dhāraṇīmudrā

g.61

Dharma

chos

ཆོས།

dharma

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyāyukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

g.62

Dharma discourse

chos kyi rnam grangs

ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་གྲངས།

dharmaparyāya

g.63

Dharma method

chos kyi tshul

ཆོས་ཀྱི་ཚུལ།

dharmanetrī

The Skt. term, which means “way,” “method,” or “system,” could be interpreted as that which is “conducive” to the Dharma, which “leads” to the Dharma or which “guides” in accordance with the principles of the Dharma. In the Ratnaketudhāraṇī, it variously refers to individual dhāraṇīs, the sections that deal with these dhāraṇīs, or the entire text of the Ratnaketudhāraṇī.

g.64

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

yul ’khor srung

ཡུལ་འཁོར་སྲུང་།

dhṛtarāṣṭra

g.65

diligence

brtson ’grus

བརྩོན་འགྲུས།

vīrya

g.66

discipline

tshul khrims

ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།

śīla

g.67

Discriminating Intellect

shin tu rnam par phye ba’i blo gros

ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་ཕྱེ་བའི་བློ་གྲོས།

g.72

Durdharṣa

thub dka’

ཐུབ་དཀའ།

durdharṣa

g.80

exposition

lung bstan

ལུང་བསྟན།

vyākaraṇa

g.84

five acts of immediate retribution

mtshams med pa byed pa

མཚམས་མེད་པ་བྱེད་པ།

pañcānantarya

g.85

five aggregates

phung po lnga

ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།

pañcaskandha

g.86

five degenerations

snyigs ma lnga

སྙིགས་མ་ལྔ།

pañcakaṣāya

g.88

form

gzugs

གཟུགས།

rūpa

g.89

formation

’du byed

འདུ་བྱེད།

saṃskāra

g.94

Four Great Kings

rgyal po chen po bzhi

རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི།

caturmahārāja

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahārājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).

g.100

Free from Strife

’thab bral

འཐབ་བྲལ།

yāma

g.101

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.102

Gaṅgā

gang gA

གང་གཱ།

gaṅgā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands‍—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta‍—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.

According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa‍—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.

g.103

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.105

generosity

sbyin pa

སྦྱིན་པ།

dāna

g.107

Girikūṭa

ri bo brtsegs

རི་བོ་བརྩེགས།

girikūṭa

g.109

Glorious and Brilliantly Shining Jewel

nor bu ’od ’bar ba dpal

ནོར་བུ་འོད་འབར་བ་དཔལ།

g.110

god

ལྷ།

deva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.115

hearer

nyan thos

ཉན་ཐོས།

śrāvaka

g.119

Holder of Meru’s Peak

lhun po’i rtse ’dzin

ལྷུན་པོའི་རྩེ་འཛིན།

g.122

insight

shes rab

ཤེས་རབ།

prajñā

g.123

Intelligent Light

’od kyi blo gros

འོད་ཀྱི་བློ་གྲོས།

g.124

Intelligent Lightning

glog gi blo gros

གློག་གི་བློ་གྲོས།

g.125

Intelligent Sky

nam mkha’i blo gros

ནམ་མཁའི་བློ་གྲོས།

g.128

Jayamati

rgyal ba’i blo gros

རྒྱལ་བའི་བློ་གྲོས།

jayamati

g.129

Jinamati

jinamati

g.132

Jñānolka

shes pa’i sgron ma

ཤེས་པའི་སྒྲོན་མ།

jñānolka

g.138

Kalandakanivāpa

bya ka lan ta ka

བྱ་ཀ་ལན་ཏ་ཀ

kalandakanivāpa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A place where the Buddha often resided, within the Bamboo Park (Veṇuvana) outside Rajagṛha that had been donated to him. The name is said to have arisen when, one day, King Bimbisāra fell asleep after a romantic liaison in the Bamboo Park. While the king rested, his consort wandered off. A snake (the reincarnation of the park’s previous owner, who still resented the king’s acquisition of the park) approached with malign intentions. Through the king’s tremendous merit, a gathering of kalandaka‍—crows or other birds according to Tibetan renderings, but some Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest flying squirrels‍—miraculously appeared and began squawking. Their clamor alerted the king’s consort to the danger, who rushed back and hacked the snake to pieces, thereby saving the king’s life. King Bimbisāra then named the spot Kalandakanivāpa (“Kalandakas’ Feeding Ground”), sometimes (though not in the Vinayavastu) given as Kalandakanivāsa (“Kalandakas’ Abode”) in their honor. The story is told in the Saṃghabhedavastu (Toh 1, ch.17, Degé Kangyur vol.4, folio 77.b et seq.). For more details and other origin stories, see the 84000 Knowledge Base article Veṇuvana and Kalandakanivāpa.

g.140

karma

ལས།

karman

g.145

Kauṇḍiṇyārcis

kauN+Di n+ya ’od ’phro ba

ཀཽཎྜི་ནྱ་འོད་འཕྲོ་བ།

kauṇḍiṇyārcis

g.150

kinnara

mi ’am ci

མི་འམ་ཅི།

kinnara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.153

kṣatriya

rgyal rigs

རྒྱལ་རིགས།

kṣatriya

g.155

Kubera

lus ngan po

ལུས་ངན་པོ།

kubera
kuvera

g.158

kumbhāṇḍa

grul bum

གྲུལ་བུམ།

kumbhāṇḍa

g.159

Kusumadhvaja

me tog gi rgyal mtshan

མེ་ཏོག་གི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།

kusumadhvaja

g.165

Magadha

ma ga d+hA

མ་ག་དྷཱ།

māgadha
magadha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges River in what today is the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and later by Bimbisāra's son, Ajātaśatru. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir) but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). Over the centuries, with the expansion of the Magadha’s might, it became the capital of the vast Mauryan empire and seat of the great King Aśoka.

This region is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, where the Buddha attained awakening; Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa), where the Buddha bestowed many well-known Mahāyāna sūtras; and the Buddhist university of Nālandā that flourished between the fifth and twelfth centuries ᴄᴇ, among many others.

g.168

Mahācandanagandha

tsan dan gyi dri chen po

ཙན་དན་གྱི་དྲི་ཆེན་པོ།

mahācandanagandha

g.169

Maheśvara

dbang phyug chen po

དབང་ཕྱུག་ཆེན་པོ།

maheśvara

g.170

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.172

Maitreya

byams pa

བྱམས་པ།

maitreya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

g.173

Making Use of Others’ Emanations

gzhan ’phrul dbang byed

གཞན་འཕྲུལ་དབང་བྱེད།

paranirmitavaśavartin

g.175

Māndāravagandharoca

me tog man dA ra ba’i dri mo

མེ་ཏོག་མན་དཱ་ར་བའི་དྲི་མོ།

māndāravagandharoca

g.176

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:

One of the bodhisattvas in the retinue of the Buddha.

g.177

Māra

bdud

བདུད།

māra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

g.178

Maudgalyāyana

maud gal gyi bu

མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ།

maudgalyāyana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra. He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyāyana, “the son of Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Great Maudgalyāyana.”

g.179

mind of awakening

byang chub kyi sems

བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།

bodhicitta

g.180

Mount Meru

ri rab

རི་རབ།

meru
sumeru

g.184

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.187

nirvāṇa

mya ngan las ’das pa

མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།

nirvāṇa

g.188

noble one

’phags pa

འཕགས་པ།

ārya

g.191

patience

bzod pa

བཟོད་པ།

kṣānti

g.193

perception

’du shes

འདུ་ཤེས།

saṃjñā

g.194

perfection

pha rol tu phyin pa

ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།

pāramitā

g.195

phenomenon

chos

ཆོས།

dharma

g.196

piśāca

sha za

ཤ་ཟ།

piśāca

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that, like several other classes of nonhuman beings, take spontaneous birth. Ranking below rākṣasas, they are less powerful and more akin to pretas. They are said to dwell in impure and perilous places, where they feed on impure things, including flesh. This could account for the name piśāca, which possibly derives from √piś, to carve or chop meat, as reflected also in the Tibetan sha za, “meat eater.” They are often described as having an unpleasant appearance, and at times they appear with animal bodies. Some possess the ability to enter the dead bodies of humans, thereby becoming so-called vetāla, to touch whom is fatal.

g.200

preta

yi dags

ཡི་དགས།

preta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

g.201

prophecy

lung bstan

ལུང་བསྟན།

vyākaraṇa

g.211

Rājagṛha

rgyal po’i khab

རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།

rājagṛha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.212

rākṣasa

srin po

སྲིན་པོ།

rākṣasa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.

g.213

Ratnacchatraśrī

rin chen gdugs kyi dpal

རིན་ཆེན་གདུགས་ཀྱི་དཔལ།

ratnacchatraśrī

g.215

Ratnaketu

rin po che tog

རིན་པོ་ཆེ་ཏོག

ratnaketu

g.218

Realm of the Thirty-Three

sum bcu rtsa gsum pa

སུམ་བཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་པ།

trayastṛṃśa

g.223

sage

drang srong

དྲང་སྲོང་།

ṛṣi

g.224

Sahā world

mi mjed

མི་མཇེད།

sahā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name for our world system, the universe of a thousand million worlds, or trichiliocosm, in which the four-continent world is located. Each trichiliocosm is ruled by a god Brahmā; thus, in this context, he bears the title of Sahāṃpati, Lord of Sahā. The world system of Sahā, or Sahālokadhātu, is also described as the buddhafield of the Buddha Śākyamuni where he teaches the Dharma to beings.

The name Sahā possibly derives from the Sanskrit √sah, “to bear, endure, or withstand.” It is often interpreted as alluding to the inhabitants of this world being able to endure the suffering they encounter. The Tibetan translation, mi mjed, follows along the same lines. It literally means “not painful,” in the sense that beings here are able to bear the suffering they experience.

g.225

śakra

brgya byin

བརྒྱ་བྱིན།

śakra

Usually (when spelled with the capital letter) this is one of the names of Indra; in this case is denotes any of the ruling gods in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.226

Śakra

brgya byin

བརྒྱ་བྱིན།

śakra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

g.227

Śākya

shAkya

ཤཱཀྱ།

śākya

g.228

Śākyamuni

shAkya thub pa

ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།

śākyamuni

g.230

Saṃjñika

yang dag shes

ཡང་དག་ཤེས།

saṃjñika

g.231

saṃsāra

’khor ba

འཁོར་བ།

saṃsāra

g.232

saṅgha

dge ’dun

དགེ་འདུན།

saṅgha

g.235

Śāriputra

shA ri’i bu

ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།

śāriputra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the wise (often paired with Maudgalyāyana, who was praised as foremost in the capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form, Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

g.237

sensation

tshor ba

ཚོར་བ།

vedanā
vedayita (bhs)

g.248

spirit

’byung po

འབྱུང་པོ།

bhūta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.

g.250

Splendorous with the Gentle Glow of Light and Fragrance

’od zhi spos snang dpal

འོད་ཞི་སྤོས་སྣང་དཔལ།

jyotiḥsaumyagandhāvabhāsaśrī

g.256

śūdra

dmangs rigs

དམངས་རིགས།

śūdra

g.258

Sumati

bzang po’i blo gros

བཟང་པོའི་བློ་གྲོས།

sumati

g.269

ten strengths

stobs bcu

སྟོབས་བཅུ།

daśabala

The ten strengths of a buddha or a bodhisattva; they are ten types of clairvoyant knowledge. They should not be confused with the “ten powers” (daśavaśitā), which are powers to control various aspects of existence. The ten strengths are (1) the knowledge of what is possible and not possible, (2) the knowledge of the ripening of karma, (3) the knowledge of the variety of aspirations, (4) the knowledge of the variety of natures, (5) the knowledge of the different levels of capabilities, (6) the knowledge of the destinations of all paths, (7) the knowledge of various states of meditation, (8) the knowledge of remembering previous lives, (9) the knowledge of deaths and rebirths, and (10) the knowledge of the cessation of defilements.

g.273

Three Jewels

dkon mchog gsum

དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ།

triratna

g.284

thus-gone one

de bzhin gshegs pa

དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།

tathāgata

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.288

Tṛṣṇājaha

sred spong

སྲེད་སྤོང་།

tṛṣṇājaha

g.289

Tuṣita

dga’ ldan

དགའ་ལྡན།

tuṣita

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, (Toh 199).

g.300

Vaiśravaṇa

rnam thos kyi bu

རྣམ་ཐོས་ཀྱི་བུ།

vaiśravaṇa

g.301

vaiśya

rje’u rigs

རྗེའུ་རིགས།

vaiśya

g.303

Varuṇa

chu lha

ཆུ་ལྷ།

varuṇa

g.304

Varuṇamati

chu lha’i blo gros

ཆུ་ལྷའི་བློ་གྲོས།

varuṇamati

g.306

Veṇuvana

’od ma’i tshal

འོད་མའི་ཚལ།

veṇuvana

g.311

Vimala

dri med

དྲི་མེད།

vimala

g.313

Virajasamādhibalavikrāmin

ting nge ’dzin rdul dang bral ba’i stobs kyi rnam par gnon pa

ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་རྡུལ་དང་བྲལ་བའི་སྟོབས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་པར་གནོན་པ།

virajasamādhibalavikrāmin

g.314

Virūḍhaka

’phags skyes po

འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ།

virūḍhaka
virūḍha

g.315

Virūpākṣa

mig mi bzang

མིག་མི་བཟང་།

virūpākṣa

g.318

Voice of Mahābrahmā

tshangs pa chen po dbyangs dang ldan pa

ཚངས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་དབྱངས་དང་ལྡན་པ།

g.320

white faction

dkar po’i phyogs

དཀར་པོའི་ཕྱོགས།

śuklapakṣa

g.321

world protectors

’jig rten skyong ba bzhi

འཇིག་རྟེན་སྐྱོང་བ་བཞི།

catvāro lokapālā

g.322

worthy one

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.323

yakṣa

gnod sbyin

གནོད་སྦྱིན།

yakṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī Chapter 13

Toh 138

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The Ratnaketu Dhāraṇī
Chapter 13