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བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱ་མཚོས་ཞུས་པ།

The Questions of Sāgaramati
Chapter One: Refining the Precious Mind of Omniscience

Sāgaramati­paripṛcchā
འཕགས་པ་བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱ་མཚོས་ཞུས་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Questions of Sāgaramati”
Ārya­sāgaramati­paripṛcchā­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra

Toh 152

Toh 152, Degé Kangyur, vol. 58, (mdo sde, pha), folios 1.b–115.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Jinamitra
  • Dānaśīla
  • Buddhaprabha
  • ye shes sde

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

First published 2020

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
+ 12 chapters- 12 chapters
1. Chapter One: Refining the Precious Mind of Omniscience
2. Chapter Two: Accepting Harm and Gaining Certainty
3. Chapter Three: The Teaching on the Absorption
4. Chapter Four: Teaching Through Analogies
5. Chapter Five: Practicing Diligence
6. Chapter Six: Teaching on the Qualities of Buddhahood
7. Chapter Seven: Entrustment
8. Chapter Eight
9. Chapter Nine: Dedication
10. Chapter Ten: A Tale of What Came Before
11. Chapter Eleven: The Revelation of Buddha Realms
12. Chapter Twelve: Blessings
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

Heralded by a miraculous flood, the celestial bodhisattva Sāgaramati arrives in Rājagṛha to engage in a Dharma discussion with Buddha Śākyamuni. He discusses an absorption called “The Pristine and Immaculate Seal” and many other subjects relevant to bodhisattvas who are in the process of developing the mind of awakening and practicing the bodhisattva path. The sūtra strongly advises that bodhisattvas not shy away from the afflictive emotions of beings‍—no matter how unpleasant they may be‍—and that insight into these emotions is critical for a bodhisattva’s compassionate activity. The sūtra deals with the preeminence of wisdom and non-grasping on the path. In the end, as a teaching on how to deal with māras, the sūtra illuminates the many pitfalls possible on the path of the Great Vehicle.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Timothy Hinkle, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text.

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


ac.­2

The generous sponsorship of Zhou Tian Yu, Chen Yi Qin, Zhou Xun, and Zhao Xuan, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Questions of Sāgaramati begins in a courtyard in the city of Rājagṛha, where the Buddha Śākyamuni, a celestial bodhisattva named Sāgaramati, and many other gods and bodhisattvas converse on a wide variety of subjects relevant to the Great Vehicle. Sāgaramati’s arrival in our world is preceded by a great miracle in which the world is flooded like a vast ocean, a miracle prompted by Sāgaramati’s departure from a distant realm for our world, where he can receive the Buddha’s teachings in person. The conversation between the Buddha Śākyamuni and Sāgaramati in Rājagṛha touches on many issues of the bodhisattva path. They converse about the adversities that bodhisattvas must face, the preeminence of wisdom, how māras are to be defeated, the necessity of understanding the afflictive emotions of sentient beings, the importance of diligence, the commonalities between all phenomena and buddhahood, the nature of the Dharma, and the importance of dedication. Much of the dialogue presupposes a duality between agents and objects, but at times Mañjuśrī and other exalted beings challenge this and articulate the teachings in the light of the wisdom of nonduality.


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra
The Questions of Sāgaramati

1.

Chapter One: Refining the Precious Mind of Omniscience

[B1] [F.1.b]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Rājagṛha, domain of the thus-gone ones, in a jeweled pavilion. It is the home of the thus-gone ones, adorned with accumulations of great merit, produced by great deeds, the result of the ripening of all qualities of buddhahood; the home of great bodhisattvas; an infinite display; a place blessed with the thus-gone ones’ magic; an entry point to wisdom’s unobstructed domain; a source of great joy; a gateway to mindfulness, intelligence, and realization; a place without blame; [F.2.a] a place formed with wisdom; a gateway to unobstructed wisdom; a place that has been praised for limitless eons; and a place that embodies an immeasurable accumulation of positive qualities.

1.­3

The Blessed One had perfectly realized the sameness of all phenomena. He had set the wheel of Dharma in motion. He led a limitless assembly of highly disciplined disciples. He had achieved dominion over all phenomena. He knew how to fulfill the intentions of all beings. He had achieved the sublime perfection of faculties. He was skilled in destroying the binding force of habitual patterns. His awakened activities were spontaneous and unceasing.

1.­4

With him was a great monastic saṅgha of six million monks. All of them had minds of great refinement. They were diligently destroying the binding force of the habitual patterns of the afflictive emotions. They were the progeny of the thus-gone Dharma kings. They were immersed in the profound Dharma. They had found release through the Dharma of no apprehension. They had perfectly gracious behavior. They were worthy of offerings. They were careful in following the word of the Thus-Gone One.

1.­5

There was also a great bodhisattva saṅgha there, which was composed of bodhisattva great beings who had attained the bodhisattva acceptance that nothing is apprehended. They were on the bodhisattva levels where they received empowerment. They played in the unconditioned super-knowledge of bodhisattvas. They had received the casket containing inexhaustible [F.2.b] bodhisattva dhāraṇīs. They had attained mastery of the bodhisattva absorption of the heroic gait. They had acquired the ability to satisfy all beings with the correct discriminations of the bodhisattva. Because their bodhisattva activity was spontaneous, they were steady in the pure motivation that is beautifully adorned with emancipation.

1.­6

There were limitless, countless, inconceivable, unmatchable, immeasurable, and unfathomable bodhisattva great beings present, including the bodhisattva great being Inexhaustible Treasury, the bodhisattva great being Limitless Intelligence, the bodhisattva great being Infinite Eloquence, the bodhisattva great being Non-referential Concentration, the bodhisattva great being Unsurpassed Diligence, the bodhisattva great being Diligent Intelligence, the bodhisattva great being Continuous Intelligence, the bodhisattva great being Pinnacle of Nonattached Fearlessness, the bodhisattva great being Discerning Vision, as well as other limitless, countless, inconceivable, unmatchable, immeasurable, and unfathomable bodhisattva great beings.

1.­7

At that time the Blessed One gave a teaching on how to engage in bodhisattva conduct and thereby focus on liberation, the unobscured gateway, and the bodhisattva path. That teaching is the source of the wisdom that manifests all the strengths, fearlessnesses, and qualities of buddhahood. It is a gateway to the seal of dhāraṇī that masters all phenomena. It is a gateway to gaining certainty through the correct discriminations. [F.3.a] It leads to the wisdom of great super-knowledge. It teaches the irreversibility of the irreversible wheel. It subsumes all vehicles within sameness. It shows how the realm of phenomena is unadulterated and a single principle. It shows how to know the thoughts and faculties of all beings. It is that which is essential. It leads to no doubt about the Dharma. It defeats all the regions of Māra. It shows how to appropriately enter and penetrate the Dharma way. It tames all afflictive emotions and views. It realizes unobstructed wisdom. It teaches knowledge of the skillful method of dedication. It realizes the wisdom of the sameness of all the buddhas. It shows the gateway of the blessings of nonattachment. It resolves all doubts about phenomena as they are. It realizes sameness without thought or conceptuality. It gives rise to understanding of profound dependent origination. It gathers the accumulations of merit and wisdom. It possesses the ornaments of sameness, which are the body, speech, and mind of the buddhas. It accomplishes inexhaustible mindfulness, intelligence, understanding, aspiration, and insight. To guide through the vehicle of the hearers it shows the truths of the noble ones. To guide through the vehicle of the solitary buddhas it teaches knowledge of physical and mental solitude. To guide through the Great Vehicle it shows how to attain consecration into omniscience. It shows how to gain mastery over all phenomena.

1.­8

Such was the Dharma teaching that the Blessed One taught in order to express the qualities of the thus-gone ones. Thus he spoke it, taught it, explained it, encouraged memorization of it, encouraged recitation of it, made it understood, made it well understood, made it very well understood, set it forth, defined it, proclaimed it, clarified it, and revealed it. [F.3.b]

1.­9

As the Blessed One extensively and genuinely delivered this Dharma teaching, which is a section of The Great Compilation, and that thoroughly ascertains what is true,9 the entire trichiliocosm, from the earth below up to the ground of the jeweled pavilion, became filled with water, as if it had become a single ocean. The entire trichiliocosm was flooded with water, just as happens during the eon of formation, which follows the eon of burning, when everything is covered by a mass of water. However, although all the worlds in the trichiliocosm appeared to be filled with water as in a single ocean, still all the villages, cities, towns, lands, regions, and palaces could be seen without obstruction. Additionally, all the Jambudvīpas, four-continent worlds, great oceans, Mount Merus, and gods of the desire realm were clearly visible, just as they normally are.

1.­10

Lotuses sprang from this mass of water. Their branches were made of beryl, their stalks of sapphire, their leaves of gold from the Jambu River, their stamens of śrīgarbha gems, and their hearts of emerald. They were draped with nets of pearls. They had many trillions of petals. In terms of their size, they were many trillions of miles wide. They rose from the base of the jeweled pavilion up to the height of a palm tree. The entire assembly then appeared arranged on those lotuses. A light issued forth from the lotuses such that limitless, countless buddha realms throughout the ten directions were pervaded by a tremendous brightness. [F.4.a]

1.­11

The entire assembly was amazed at this, and said to themselves about the revelation of these omens, “This means an important teaching is coming!”

1.­12

Upon seeing this great magical display, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya stood up from his lotus seat, draped his shawl over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee. With his palms together he bowed toward the Blessed One and asked, “Blessed One, whose prophecy is represented by the worlds of the trichiliocosm being filled with water like a single ocean, the manifestation of these trillions of lotuses, and this vast magical display like none we have ever heard of or seen before?”

1.­13

The Blessed One answered the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, saying, “Maitreya, below this buddha realm, beyond as many buddha realms as there are atoms in all the worlds of the trichiliocosm, is the world Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities. There dwells the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge. He lives there and is teaching the Dharma. In that buddha realm, the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati and countless other bodhisattva great beings are gazing at me, venerating me, and honoring me. They are coming to the Sahā world to ask questions about the present Dharma teaching. [F.4.b] This is what the omen symbolized.”

1.­14

Venerable Śāriputra asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how can this be? If the bodhisattva Sāgaramati is so far away, how is he listening to this teaching?”

“Śāriputra,” answered the Blessed One, “the bodhisattva Sāgaramati is listening to this Dharma teaching from that world in the same way that you are listening to it in my presence. Śāriputra, the bodhisattva Sāgaramati can see me and the entire assembly just like you can.”

1.­15

“Blessed One, how amazing! The power of the wisdom of bodhisattva great beings’ super-knowledge is unfathomable. It is incredible that even from such a distance his eyes can see such forms and his ears can hear such sounds without obscuration. Blessed One, how could anyone who hears of the unfathomable greatness of the qualities of bodhisattva great beings not develop the mind directed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening?”

1.­16

When the elder Śāriputra made this observation, forty-two thousand gods developed the mind directed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

1.­17

At this point, the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati, accompanied and attended on by countless other bodhisattva great beings, requested permission to take leave from the thus-gone Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge, which that blessed one granted him. Then, in the blink of an eye, through the Buddha’s playfully engaging in the bases of miracles, his unconditioned miracles, [F.5.a] and the mindfulness attained by a one-pointed mind, they disappeared from the world Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities and arrived at the Sahā world.

1.­18

He appeared in the heart of a lotus elevated to the height of seven palm trees above the base of the jeweled pavilion. The other bodhisattva great beings also appeared arrayed in the hearts of the lotuses. More and more countless and immeasurable numbers of bodhisattva great beings followed the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati from other countless buddha realms in the lower direction to hear the Dharma. These bodhisattva great beings gathered from worlds throughout the ten directions and arrayed themselves on the lotuses. They beautified the jeweled pavilion to a great degree as they shimmered, glimmered, and glittered. The entire assembly was astonished. They joined their palms together in joy, faith, and happiness and prostrated to these bodhisattvas.

1.­19

Then, in an act of veneration, the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati caused a great rain of flowers to fall in front of the Blessed One. The flowers, which were from the world Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities, were known as “delightful, pleasing, and lovely to behold.” They were replete with trillions of petals, a full mile across, and worthy of offering to a thus-gone one. The rain was the product of the bodhisattva’s pure intentions and purified by previous roots of virtue. The flowers were brilliant, beautiful, luminous, and had the most incredibly pleasing aroma, satisfying the entire assembly. [F.5.b] The rain of flowers filled the jeweled pavilion to the depth of seven body lengths. The cymbals called “sustenance of isolated concentration” also resounded, causing the entire assembly to experience a satisfying bliss while resting in concentration.

1.­20

Once the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati had venerated the Blessed One in this way, he bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One and circumambulated him seven times. Joining his palms before the Blessed One, he expressed well-wishes to the Blessed One, saying, “Blessed One, the Thus-Gone Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge hopes that you are healthy, and that you are experiencing no adversity, intimidation, or agitation, and that you are strong and happy.” Then, the other bodhisattva great beings as well bowed their heads to the feet of the Blessed One. After circumambulating him seven times they returned to their seats.

1.­21

At that point, the Brahmā of the trichiliocosm, known as Great Compassionate One, was residing in the Brahmā world, a peaceful place free from any trouble. From there he saw the worlds of the trichiliocosm being filled with water like a single ocean, the manifestation of the trillions of brilliant and pleasing lotuses, and the jeweled pavilion filled with bodhisattvas. Seeing this, he pondered, “The eon of burning has not yet occurred, yet this flood has manifested. What could have caused the appearance of this magical display? [F.6.a] I think I will go before the Blessed One and ask him what the cause and condition of these incredible and miraculous appearances in the world could be.”

1.­22

Accordingly, Brahmā Great Compassionate One disappeared from the Brahmā realm, accompanied by a host of 6,800,000 Brahmā gods, and instantly appeared in the sky before the Blessed One in the jeweled pavilion. He bowed with joined palms and prostrated to the Blessed One. Then he asked, “Blessed One, what is happening? The worlds of the trichiliocosm are filled with water like an ocean, and trillions of lotuses are floating here and there with sublime beings seated on each of them. Yet, Blessed One, still all the villages, cities, towns, lands, regions, and palaces can be seen clearly. Additionally, all the Jambudvīpas, four-continent worlds, oceans, Mount Merus, and gods of the desire realm are clearly visible, just as they normally are. Blessed One, I am wondering whose blessings this represents? I am amazed. Whose omen is this?”

1.­23

The Blessed One answered Brahmā Great Compassionate One, saying, “Brahmā, the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati and countless other bodhisattva great beings have arrived from the blessed thus-gone Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge’s [F.6.b] buddha realm Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities here to the Sahā world to behold, venerate, and honor me, and to ask questions about the present Dharma teaching, which is a section of the Great Compilation. The fact that the worlds of the trichiliocosm appear to be filled with water like an ocean is the manifestation of his blessings.”

1.­24

“Blessed One, is that Dharma teaching, which is a section of the Great Compilation, still being taught?”

“Brahmā, the Thus-Gone One’s eloquence is without any interruption. Even when you perceive that the Blessed One is not saying anything, I am still authentically delivering Dharma teachings to bodhisattvas gathered from throughout the worlds of the ten directions. Brahmā, the Buddha’s domain is as unfathomable as this.”

1.­25

“Blessed One, which one is this emanated bodhisattva great being called Sāgaramati?”

“Brahmā,” answered the Blessed One, “do you see the billions of beings prostrating to the jeweled lion throne the height of seven palm trees on the central heart of that lotus, which is ten miles wide?”

“Blessed One, I do.”

1.­26

The Blessed One then asked, “Brahmā, do you see the bodhisattva with the golden complexion [F.7.a] on the lion throne‍—the one whose body is adorned with the major and minor marks of perfection, the one whose body outshines all the other bodhisattvas except for the body of the Thus-Gone One, the one who is being prostrated to by many bodhisattvas?”

“Blessed One, I do.”

1.­27

“Brahmā,” said the Blessed One, “he is called the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati. All of this is his manifestation.”

1.­28

Brahmā Great Compassionate One then prostrated to the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati and exclaimed, “Blessed One, may all beings witness such miraculous wonders! Any being who hears Bodhisattva Sāgaramati’s name definitely gains a great boon! Blessed One, even I have received a great boon in hearing the name of this sublime being and seeing his form. Blessed One, how long will that Dharma teaching, which is a section of the Great Compilation, be taught?”

1.­29

“Brahmā,” responded the Blessed One, “for as long as the lifespan of the Thus-Gone One lasts, and even after the Thus-Gone One has passed into parinirvāṇa, for as long as these bodhisattvas uphold, recite, teach, and spread this Dharma teaching. Why is this? Because, Brahmā, the awakening of all the blessed buddhas of the past, present, and future is subsumed within this teaching.”

1.­30

The bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati then rose into the sky the height of seven palm trees upon his lotus and lion throne and spoke the following verses in order to bring extensive and genuine joy to the entire assembly, to arouse the interest of Brahmā Great Compassionate One, to ornament this Dharma teaching, and to demonstrate the power of his insight [F.7.b] and eloquence:

1.­31
“Below, past as many realms as there are atoms in a billion buddha realms,
Lives a perfected bodhisattva, replete with all qualities and beauty.
In his unequaled mind is found the ocean of the guides’ teachings.
From him I heard the Dharma of the sages and took it to heart.
1.­32
“We have come here to see the one with ten strengths,
To venerate him, and to converse with the foremost bodhisattvas.”
By venerating you, Protector, I prostrate to you, unequaled Dharma king,
And offer to you effulgent and extensive veneration fit for a buddha.
1.­33
“You do not conceptualize form as form, and for you, feeling is unconditioned.
Even consciousness is eternally pure during the three types of feeling.
You understand that being a leader is not about reputation, birth, or caste.
Insightful Dharma king, you see what is immaculate and authentic.
1.­34
“You neither take up nor avoid either extreme of self or nonself.
You are inwardly peaceful, your mind is at peace, and you are not drawn outwardly.
The Sage’s mind is like space: without thought, conceptuality, or mental processes.
I honor those who hoist the Dharma banner of the well-gone ones in the ten directions.
1.­35
“For you gifts are emptiness, like receiving an illusion.
With an unmoving mind, you give away treasures with no hope of return.
For the sake of awakening your view is certain; you entertain no uncertain concepts.
You are the donor free of stinginess who grants beings deliverance from their faults.
1.­36
“Having found peace, you are free from the torments of speech, mind, and body.
Having no torments, you are freed from vast bondage and gentle, with peaceful faculties. [F.8.a]
With the knowledge10 of selflessness, you do not apprehend awakening, yet do not lose it.
With discipline and insight, you wish to put an end to faulty discipline and remain pure in discipline.
1.­37
“Realizing the fleeting nature of things, there is nothing to say about objects of knowledge.
With your space-like mind you see all beings as illusions.
Even if your body were to be chopped into bits, it would arouse no anger.
Learned one, maintaining the disciplined conduct of awakening, you advocate patience.
1.­38
“Realizing that phenomena are like water-moons, bubbles, illusions, and optical distortions,
You see there is no person, life-force, or son of Manu.
Without apprehending awakening or groups of beings you still seek awakening for others’ sake,
And in this way you are fearless and take diligence to its farthest reaches.
1.­39
“Your mind is not attached to objects and harbors no doubt.
It knows the thoughts of other beings throughout the three times.
Your mind is unknown by the demon of the thinking mind.
Your intelligence is firmly grounded in the perfections, concentration, and super-knowledges.
1.­40
“The eloquence of one who hears the buddhas’ speech and correctly upholds it
Remains uninterrupted even if one speaks for fathomless eons.
The one who attains buddha qualities without becoming a sentient being exists nowhere.
With that insight‍—a treasure of the blessed sages’ wisdom‍—one is heroic in the three worlds.
1.­41
“Whoever has gone to the other shore of the perfections has neither gone nor not gone.
Perfecting beings’ conduct, one is neither static nor moving.
Perfecting all qualities, one harbors no arrogance about such qualities.
One will bow to the foremost buddha of the Śākyas, the Lord of Sages.
1.­42
“The pure radiance of the sun overwhelms the light cast by fireflies.
The tall flames at the end of an eon consume the entire earth.
Mount Meru, the king of mountains, puts all other earthly mountains to shame. [F.8.b]
A single hair of the leader of the Śākyas outshines any other light in the three worlds.
1.­43
“Every bodhisattva leader who has come here from many different realms
Is satisfied by your complexion and radiance, Lord.
Their perception accords with the aspirations they have made.
We knew you were here in your field before we ever left our own.
1.­44
“Wherever beings perceive, there your speech reaches,
Manifesting in all languages present throughout the three realms of existence.
Atomic particles and the thoughts of humans could be counted,
Yet the infinite utterances of the Sage’s voice, like space itself, defy quantification.
1.­45
“The reaches of space and the extent of humans cannot be reckoned,
And the extent of saṃsāra’s past is absolutely unfathomable.
Even if it were possible for somebody to quantify space or saṃsāra’s extent,
They could never grasp the domain of the buddhas’ wisdom, absorption, and discipline.
1.­46
“Your praises would be difficult to express even in the course of countless eons.
Guide, Lord of Dharma, immeasurable leader, to you we prostrate.
Beings realize the eminence of buddhas according to their understanding and inclinations.
They will see the Guide as unfathomably intelligent, astonishing, and utterly superior.”
1.­47

When he had spoken these verses, the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati descended from the sky. With his palms joined together, he bowed toward the Blessed One and said, “If I were to request a teaching, would the Blessed One honor my request? I have a few questions for the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha.”

1.­48

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati, [F.9.a] “Noble son, you may ask the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha whatever you like. Then I will answer your questions and gladden your mind.”

1.­49

So, the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, there is an absorption of the bodhisattva great beings called the pristine and immaculate seal. I have heard that if bodhisattva great beings rest in this absorption, they will fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. How is this absorption of the pristine and immaculate seal of the bodhisattva great beings attained? Why is it said to be pristine and immaculate? Blessed Thus-Gone One, please elucidate this! Once bodhisattva great beings have been introduced to the means by which one enters this absorption, they will attain it and fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood in a swift manner. Blessed Thus-Gone One, please elucidate this!”

1.­50

The Blessed One then responded to the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati, saying, “Excellent, excellent, sublime being. Yes, this question is excellent and your concern is appropriate. Thus, noble son, listen well and bear what I say in mind. I will elucidate how bodhisattva great beings can attain this absorption of the pristine and immaculate seal and swiftly and fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.” [F.9.b]

“Wonderful, Blessed One!”

1.­51

The bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati then listened as the Blessed One had instructed, while the Blessed One spoke.

1.­52

“Sāgaramati, bodhisattva great beings attain stability11 due to their roots of virtue. They possess virtuous thoughts, keep to gentle12 aggregates, gather accumulations, have sharp faculties, are accepted by spiritual friends, are blessed by buddhas, and are skilled in debate. They please, serve, honor, respect, and venerate blessed buddhas. They behold the perfect appearance of the blessed buddhas and hear their speech. They also behold perfect assemblies and listen to their unobstructed wisdom. They witness how beings are guided through miraculous displays, miraculous discourses, and miraculous teachings, and they develop great compassion for beings. Having developed the mind directed toward unsurpassed and perfect awakening, they are diligent. They engage in the pursuit of virtuous qualities and practice to purify the mind by not forgetting the wisdom of omniscience. As their minds are purified, they attain pure absorption.

1.­53

“Sāgaramati, I will draw an analogy. When a precious gem of the finest class comes into the possession of a skilled jeweler, he will refine it so that it becomes perfectly pure, pristine, polished, and flawless. At that point, learned people with knowledge of precious gems will assemble. Sāgaramati, likewise, once bodhisattvas develop the precious gem of the finest class, which is the mind directed toward omniscience, [F.10.a] they fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. Bodhisattva great beings will then purify their roots of virtue and their learning to the degree that they have eliminated stains, including the stain of arrogance. At that point, once they have refined the precious gem of the mind directed toward omniscience, they attract the blessed buddhas of the ten directions and attain this pristine and immaculate absorption seal.

1.­54

“Sāgaramati, I will draw another analogy: There is a precious gem of the finest class that surpasses the nine types of precious substances‍—gold, silver, crystal, beryl, emerald, coral, red pearl, kesara, and śrīgarbha. Surpassing these nine types of precious substances, this great jewel, which is known as “stainless and immaculate light,” is more precious than any other gem. It is only found in the possession of a universal monarch, and not with any other ordinary being. The luster of this precious gem eclipses the luster of any other precious gem. Sāgaramati, likewise the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience surpasses nine other types of jewels‍—the jewel of ordinary beings’ virtue, the jewel of faithful followers, the jewel of Dharma followers, the jewel of those who maintain signlessness, the jewel of stream-enterers, the jewel of once-returners, [F.10.b] the jewel of non-returners, the jewel of worthy ones, and the jewel of solitary buddhas. It surpasses these nine types of jewels. This jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience is born from a tenth class of jewel, the outlook of great compassion blessed by the buddhas. Once purified, this jewel will outshine all hearers and solitary buddhas, and illuminate the minds of all beings.

1.­55

“Sāgaramati, I will draw another analogy: That great precious gem can withstand both refinement and harm without its core being impaired. As such it can benefit beings who have created merit and developed roots of virtue. Sāgaramati, likewise, the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience can withstand both refinement and harm without its core being impaired. As such, this faultless jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience can benefit all beings.

1.­56

“How is the jewel that develops the mind directed toward omniscience refined, Sāgaramati? Through the three vows, one purifies the path of the ten virtuous actions. Through training in love, one develops love and appreciation for all beings. Through training in compassion, one becomes diligent in considering beings’ affairs. Through training in joy, one brings all beings to the Dharma. Through training in equanimity, one will keep an honest mind and never harm beings.

1.­57

“By eliminating hypocrisy and pretense, one will turn to what is of benefit and one will be motivated to endeavor in all roots of virtue. By being intelligent, one will come to possess mindfulness and awareness. [F.11.a] By taming the mind, the mind becomes pliant. By being easily content, one comes to adopt ascetic qualities and the ways of living with fewer things. By being easily sustained, one acquires the contentment of the noble family and bows before teachers and those who are worthy of offerings.

1.­58

“By eliminating pride, one discards all arrogance and dispute. By coming to certainty, one discards all forms of pride. By eliminating all turbidity, the mind is clarified. Through not praising oneself, one comes to understand oneself. Through never slandering others, one protects beings.

1.­59

“By seeing the Dharma as medicine, one is respectful of it. Through experiencing the meaning of the Dharma, one will pursue it. By becoming immersed in it, one yearns for the Dharma. By living without afflictive emotions, one delights in the Dharma. By discarding everything that is not Dharma, one seeks the Dharma. By being constantly conscientious, one’s faith in the Three Jewels is never broken. By trusting in the ripening of karma, one will contemplate all virtues to be performed. By honesty, one can keep one’s conduct hidden. By eliminating arrogance, one becomes mild. By seeking tranquility, one is freed from agitation. Through being resolute, one eliminates sloth.

1.­60

“By being unmoved, one’s mind becomes like a mountain. By removing attachment and anger, one’s mind becomes like the earth. By purifying one’s thoughts, one’s mind becomes like water. By eliminating conceitedness, one’s mind becomes like fire. Being baseless, one’s mind becomes like wind. By becoming immaculate, one’s mind becomes like space.

1.­61

“Because the way of the buddhas lies in being undisturbed, one applies oneself to the monastic way of life. Because one is physically isolated, one enjoys remote areas. Because one is mentally isolated, one practices the Dharma. Because one practices correctly, one’s words ring true. Because one maintains bodily cleanliness, one practices what one preaches. [F.11.b] Because one is not trampled by the afflictive emotions, one’s mind is heroic. Because one does not allow any corruption, one’s trainings are authentically upheld. Because one is wary of even subtle negative actions, one’s discipline is never lax. Because one does not hope for a further birth, one’s discipline is faultless. Because one only does what is positive, one’s discipline is uninterrupted. Because one trains in the branches of awakening, one relies on a spiritual friend.

1.­62

“Because one’s eyes are purified, light is unimpeded. Because one’s ears are purified, sound is unimpeded. Because one’s nose is purified, smells are unimpeded. Because one’s tongue is purified, tastes are unimpeded. Because one’s body is purified, tactile sensations are unimpeded. Because one’s mind is purified, mental phenomena are unimpeded.

1.­63

“Moreover, Sāgaramati, because bodhisattvas cultivate a perception of ugliness, they are free of the pain of attachment. Because bodhisattvas cultivate love, they are free of the pain of aggression. Because bodhisattvas investigate dependent origination, they are free of the pain of delusion.

1.­64

“Because they investigate the faculties, they are free of obscurations. Because their powers are purified, they dispel obscurations. Because the elements that will come into being are purified, they dispel further emergence. Because they practice genuinely, they are freed from desire, aggression, dullness, fear, and pride. They are without stinginess in giving the Dharma and have no mental grasping to the material things they give away.

1.­65

“Because they have no desire for the Lesser Vehicle, their thoughts are about awakening. Because they hide their faculties, they are at peace within. Because they see their own faults, they are externally peaceful. Because they dread saṃsāra, they engage in no evil deeds. [F.12.a] Because they are never satisfied by their accumulation of roots of virtue, their minds are indefatigable. Because they are liberated from the four floods, they make good use of the great ship of Dharma. Because they have crossed, they are like stairs and bridges. Because they have passed through bogs and trenches, they live on level ground.

1.­66

“Sāgaramati, when bodhisattva great beings engage in such cleansing, purification, elevated generosity, and pure discipline through such practices, they refine the jewel that develops the mind directed toward omniscience.”

1.­67

The Buddha then spoke these verses:

“Bind the body, speech, and mind.
Train in the ten paths of pure action.
Consider beings with love.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­68
“Endowed with compassion, energetically act for others.
Endowed with joy, come to the far shore of the Dharma.
Endowed with equanimity, your highest practice is non-harm.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­69
“Always be honest and discard all hypocrisy.
Help others and discard evil deeds.
With pure motivation, train in every virtue.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­70
“Develop insight, and be mindful and introspective.
Tame the mind and make it pliant.
Engage in ascetic practices and be easily satisfied.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­71
“With the contentment of the noble family and kind words,
Always honor your spiritual teachers.
Abandon dispute, falsity, and pride; possess the strengths.
Do not be contemptuous or make mistakes.
1.­72
“The mind should be resolute, with no excessive pride.
Be without turbidity and utterly limpid.
Gradually enter into self-knowledge.
Do not disparage others; protect beings.
1.­73
“Be happy to respect the Dharma‍—just be respectful. [F.12.b]
Be focused; discard all afflictive emotions.
Be passionate about the Dharma, and rely on it.
Always come to a decisive conclusion about the Dharma.
1.­74
“Strive in the Dharma and train in the absence of afflictions.
Abandon what is not Dharma, and seek out the teachings.
Have steadfast faith in the Three Jewels.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­75
“Always shun what you must, and stop negative actions.
Restrain yourself with conscience before the thus-gone ones.
Have shame and control your faculties.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­76
“Apply yourself and engage in right actions.
Be cautious and hold neither extreme.
Realize the lessons gained by attending to the learned.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­77
“Become honest with your conduct.
Without arrogance, be ever friendly.
With the practice of tranquility, eliminate agitation.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­78
“With a resolute mind, do not degenerate.
Let your insight be like the king of mountains.
Hold to your promises and do not let up for their duration.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­79
“Be unshaken by pleasure or pain, like earth.
With a pure intention, cleanse stains, like water.
Eliminate conceitedness for good, like fire.
Always be on the move without a fixed abode, like wind.
1.­80
“Let your mind be immaculate, like space.
Go forth and discover the Buddha’s teachings.
Enjoy solitude where you are peaceful and physically aloof.
Practice the supreme Dharma by being mentally aloof.
1.­81
“Speak truthfully of virtue and speak genuinely.
Practice exactly what you preach.
Be heroic in virtue, untrammeled by afflictions.
Train thoroughly and hold to the genuine trainings.
1.­82
“Never allow any laxity in this pursuit.
Be ever wary of even trifling negativities.
Do not let your discipline deteriorate‍—it is the cause of supreme awakening.
Let your discipline be unadulterated; act for positive qualities. [F.13.a]
1.­83
“Rely on a spiritual friend and do no evil.
Be firm so that you may become a perfect bodhisattva.13
In this manner, your eyes will become immaculate,
And you will see the whole world in the same light.
1.­84
“Such learned ones can hear many different messages
And do not get excited, joyful, or discouraged.
Such intelligent people come to understand the significance of sound.
Their ears thus become totally pure.
1.­85
“When your nose meets scents, your tongue meets tastes,
Your body meets sensations, and your mind meets mental phenomena,
Do not be arrogant, do not be cowardly, and do not be discouraged.
In this manner, your faculties become pure.
1.­86
“Unsnared by attachment and unperturbed by anger,
Not stupefied by delusion and sustaining the perception of ugliness,
Take joy in love and utilize circumstances to contemplate Dharma.
Thus you refine the mind of omniscience.
1.­87
“Eliminate obscuration through purifying the five obscurations.
In this fashion also cultivate the five faculties,
And experience no obscuration or bondage whatsoever.
Immerse yourselves in all five strengths.
1.­88
“Understand the workings of karma, and emerge from it.
Discard the inappropriate and maintain what is right.
Rely on the four applications of mindfulness.
Possess right abandonment and the bases of miracles.
1.­89
“Always keep to the branches of awakening;
Become steady and accomplished in the eight branches.
Do not be driven by desire, anger, or fear.
Free yourselves from delusion, and restrain your faculties.
1.­90
“Do not be stingy with the gift of Dharma.
Conceal nothing from your teachers.
Teach Dharma without expecting wealth.
Thereby, the mind of awakening will become pure.
1.­91
“Lose all grasping to material things.
Harbor no hope for karmic ripening and abandon all desires.
Practicing generosity, speak kindly, act meaningfully, and practice what you preach.
Thus hundreds of beings will gather before you.
1.­92
“Never forget the mind of awakening.
Have no hope whatsoever for the Lesser Vehicle.
See buddha qualities completely as they are.
And in this manner14 be like mountains.
1.­93
“Pacify all affliction15 and see the faults of cyclic existence.
Do not dwell on others’ confusion.
Be highly cognizant of the faults of conditioned things. [F.13.b]
Be wary of saṃsāra, and do no evil deeds.
1.­94
“Carry a supply of positive deeds and you will have no sadness.
Aim to purify realms, and allow no degeneration.
Embrace all phenomena, and be bold.
Be fearless about what liberates beings.
1.­95
“Utilize the ship of Dharma
To liberate beings from the four floods.
Act like stairs and bridges.
That lead embodied beings on the path to nirvāṇa,
1.­96
“Pass through marsh and trench,
And you will live fearlessly, on level ground.
Show your fearlessness to those who are dazed and struck by fear.
Transcend the self and liberate others.
1.­97
“Those who are pure in these Dharma ways
Firmly navigate the perfect mind of awakening.
With the pure, supreme mind of awakening,
They will never again be sullied by the stains of afflictive emotions.
1.­98
“Were it possible to make the sky defiled,
Then it would be possible for this to be demonstrated afterward.
But this natural luminosity that is the perfect mind of awakening
Can never be defiled.” [B2]

2.

Chapter Two: Accepting Harm and Gaining Certainty

2.­1

“Sāgaramati, how does one accept challenges to the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience? What are the challenges to the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience?

2.­2

“Sāgaramati, once bodhisattva great beings have engendered the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience in the aforementioned manner, they will not lose their development of the intention to awaken in the face of ignoble beings who have corrupt discipline, māras, gods of the echelon of māra, those blessed by māras, threats from Māra’s messengers, menaces, disturbances, violent disturbances, agitation, violent agitation, threats, or abuse. [F.14.a] They will not lose their compassionate diligence that seeks to free all beings. They will not lose the effort needed to keep the lineage of the Three Jewels unbroken. They will not lose their training in the roots of virtue that manifest the qualities of buddhahood. They will not lose their accumulation of merit that manifests the major and minor marks of perfection. They will not lose the effort needed to actualize the purification of buddha realms. They will not lose their effort to give up concern for body and life and uphold the sublime Dharma. They will not lose the effort to ripen all beings nor will they lose their lack of attachment to their personal happiness.


3.

Chapter Three: The Teaching on the Absorption

3.­1

The Blessed One then spoke to the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati: “Along these lines, Sāgaramati, when bodhisattva great beings become completely pure, they have a genuinely good motivation and, even if all beings were to rise up to challenge them, they would not be angered. They develop the wisdom of deep certainty and the insight free from doubt. At that time, they sustain the fundamental state of the pristine and immaculate absorption seal. What is the fundamental state of this absorption? [F.23.a] It is great compassion that knows no anger toward any being.


4.

Chapter Four: Teaching Through Analogies

4.­1

The bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas defeat māras and obstructers?”

“Sāgaramati,” answered the Blessed One, “when bodhisattva great beings are no longer interested in any clinging, they defeat māras and obstructers. When they are no longer interested in marks and reference points, they defeat māras and obstructers. Sāgaramati, there are four māras: the māra of the aggregates, the māra of the afflictions, the māra of the Lord of Death, and the māra of the gods.


5.

Chapter Five: Practicing Diligence

5.­1

The Blessed One then spoke to the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati: “Sāgaramati, bodhisattvas must practice diligence. Bodhisattvas must always persevere and show great determination. They should not give up their dedication. Sāgaramati, unsurpassed and perfect awakening is not difficult to discover for bodhisattvas who practice diligence. And why not? Sāgaramati, where there is diligence there is awakening. Awakening is far and distant from those who are lazy. Those who are lazy have no generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, insight, personal benefit, or benefit for others. Sāgaramati, one should understand from this lesson that unsurpassed and perfect awakening is not difficult for bodhisattvas who practice diligence.


6.

Chapter Six: Teaching on the Qualities of Buddhahood

6.­1

Then, Mahābrahmā Great Compassionate One asked the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati, “Noble son, what does the term qualities of buddhahood refer to?”

Bodhisattva Sāgaramati responded, “Brahmā, ‘the qualities of buddhahood’ refers to all phenomena.22 Why is this? Brahmā, a thus-gone one does not awaken to perfect buddhahood in a restricted and limited manner. Rather, a thus-gone one awakens to perfect buddhahood in an unrestricted and unlimited manner [F.47.a] due to realizing the sameness of all phenomena. Brahmā, realizing all phenomena to be sameness is awakening. Therefore, Brahmā, all phenomena are qualities of buddhahood. Brahmā, all phenomena are precisely the qualities of buddhahood. The essence of all phenomena is the essence of all the qualities of buddhahood. The qualities of buddhahood are realized to be disengaged because all phenomena are disengaged. Because all phenomena are empty, the qualities of buddhahood are realized as emptiness. Brahmā, because all phenomena are dependently originated, realizing dependent origination is awakening. The qualities of buddhahood are seen by a thus-gone one in the same way that all phenomena are seen.”


7.

Chapter Seven: Entrustment

7.­1

Then, the bodhisattva great being Light King of Qualities, who was seated amongst the assembly, addressed the Blessed One: “Blessed One, you have said that all phenomena that you understand are indescribable. In that case, Blessed One, since all phenomena are indescribable, how is the Dharma to be upheld?”

7.­2

“Noble son,” answered the Blessed One, “that is true. You have described it accurately. Any phenomenon that I understand is indescribable. However, noble son, while all phenomena are indescribable and unconditioned, [F.52.b] using linguistic definitions to apprehend, perceive, teach, demonstrate, define, elucidate, distinguish, clarify, or teach such phenomena is what is meant by upholding the Dharma. Moreover, noble son, when Dharma teachers uphold, teach, or practice a sūtra such as this, that is also upholding the Dharma. Likewise, when others attend such Dharma teachers and rely upon them while extending them honor, reverence, service, respect, praise, care, protection, shielding, and shelter, that is also upholding the Dharma. Likewise, so is providing them with clothing, food, bedding, medicine, or provisions; as is offering them approval, protection, preservation of their virtues, praise, or concealment of their unflattering sides. Moreover, noble son, having faith in emptiness, trusting signlessness, believing in wishlessness, and gaining certainty that suchness is the unconditioned state is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, seeking to avoid debate, yet using proper Dharma arguments to defeat those who argue against the Dharma, is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, giving Dharma to others with a mind free of anger, an intention to gather and free beings, and a mind free of concern for material things, is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, disregarding one’s body and life and staying in solitude to preserve, conceal, and practice sūtras such as this is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, even a single step or a single inhalation or exhalation of the breath that comes from the cause of having either studied or taught the Dharma [F.53.a] is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, not grasping to or appropriating any phenomena is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Light King of Qualities, based on this explanation, you should understand this point.


8.

Chapter Eight

8.­1

The bodhisattva Sāgaramati then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, it is incredible how much the Great Vehicle is able to benefit beings so that they experience the pleasures of gods and humans and attain the unsurpassed pleasure of nirvāṇa. Blessed One, what are the teachings that summarize the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that are challenging in the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that reveal the Great Vehicle? Blessed One, what are the ways the Great Vehicle is obstructed? Blessed One, why is the Great Vehicle called the Great Vehicle?”


9.

Chapter Nine: Dedication

9.­1

The Blessed One then addressed the bodhisattva Sāgaramati: “Sāgaramati, thus a bodhisattva should retain the following entrance words, seal words, and vajra statements in order to protect, guard, and preserve this Dharma teaching; so that they may delight their own minds; and so that they may understand the faculties‍—supreme and otherwise‍—of other beings and people. Beyond retaining them, they should also examine them. They should carefully reflect on them with insightful engagement.


10.

Chapter Ten: A Tale of What Came Before

10.­1

Then the bodhisattva Sāgaramati said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, even though bodhisattvas guard against confusion to this extent, they must work hard to be free from confusion. Blessed One, for that reason bodhisattvas are continuously skilled in dedication and skilled in means. Why is this? Blessed One, through skillful means, when bodhisattvas practice concentration, freedom, absorption, and equipoise, they are not disturbed by the concentration, freedom, absorption, and equipoise. Through skill in means, they demonstrate all these deeds but do not fall prey to doing things. [F.84.b] They sustain the sameness of phenomena and teach the Dharma in order to bring beings who have gone astray to the fixed state of reality. Until they complete their intention, they do not themselves fall into that state.”


11.

Chapter Eleven: The Revelation of Buddha Realms

11.­1

Then the Blessed One said to Sāgaramati, [F.94.b] “Therefore, Sāgaramati, bodhisattva great beings who wish to swiftly and fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood should follow your training, sublime being. Bodhisattvas should not be verbose and obsessed with the use of words; rather, they should practice what they preach. How do bodhisattvas practice what they preach, you ask? Sāgaramati, they do so by appreciating how easy it is to say, ‘I am going to become a buddha,’ yet how hard it is to actually accomplish the virtues of the factors of awakening. Sāgaramati, any bodhisattva who regales beings with the gift of Dharma, announcing to them, ‘You will be satisfied by my gift of Dharma,’ and then teaches them extensively, but himself acts otherwise, failing to strive toward the virtues of the factors of awakening, has let those beings down. He has not practiced what he preached. However, Sāgaramati, when he regales everyone with the gift of the factors of awakening, announcing to them, ‘You will be satisfied by my gift of Dharma,’ and then teaches them extensively and himself strives toward the virtues of the factors of awakening, then he has practiced what he preached.


12.

Chapter Twelve: Blessings

12.­1

The bodhisattva Sāgaramati then requested the Blessed One, “Blessed One, given that the awakening of the thus-gone ones encounters many obstacles and much opposition, please carefully grant your blessings, Blessed One, such that through the blessings of the Thus-Gone One, these sūtras will not fade, but grow; that they will be upheld and read; that their teachers will not have to vie with māras and gods of the class of māras; that this sublime Dharma may long remain; and that these sūtras will be preserved, kept safe, and accepted.”


c.

Colophon

c.­1

This was translated, proofed, and finalized according to the new terminological register by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Buddhaprabhā, as well as the editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.


n.

Notes

n.­1
On these citations, see Skilling 2018, 441–42. Moreover, the jātaka tale told in this sūtra, in which the Buddha, in a former life as a lion, saves two baby monkeys from the clutches of a vulture by offering his own flesh and blood as ransom, was also included in the Mahā­prajñā­pāramitā­śāstra attributed to Nāgārjuna (Lamotte 2007, pp. 1902–6).
n.­2
See The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (2) (Toh 154), i.2.
n.­3
On the date of Taishō 397 see Lancaster, K 56; for Taishō 400, see Lancaster, K 1481. Taishō 397, the Mahāsaṃnipāta, is 大方等大集經 (Dafang deng daji jing); Taishō 400 is 佛說海意菩薩所問淨印法門經 (Haiyi pusa suowen jing famen jing).
n.­4
See Griffiths 2015 (p. 994) and Skilling 2018.
n.­5
The Denkarma catalogue is dated to c. 812 ᴄᴇ. In this catalogue, The Questions of Sāgaramati is included among the “Miscellaneous Sūtras” (mdo sde sna tshogs) less than ten sections (bam po) long. Denkarma, 297.a.3. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 49, no. 86.
n.­6
In Tibet most commentators appear to have classified this sūtra under the rubric of Yogācāra-Mādhyamika (rnal ’byor spyod pa’i dbu ma), such as, for example, the sixteenth century scholar Pekar Sangpo (pad dkar bzang po) in his survey of the sūtras (Pekar Sangpo 2006, p. 228).
n.­7
Conze 1955, p. 136.
n.­8
See for example Ju Mipham 2004 and Tsongkhapa 2000. Numerous other such brief citations have appeared in translation.
n.­9
This section is very similar to a description of the Dharma teaching found in the Akṣaya­mati­nirdeśa (Toh 175, see Braarvig 2020, The Teaching of Akṣayamati, 1.6). Notably, however, in that version the miracle that follows is not one of water, but of golden light.
n.­10
theg pa read as shes pa following the Narthang and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur. Pedurma, p. 17, n. 6.
n.­11
bstan pa read as brtan pa following the Yongle, Lithang, Narthang, Kangxi, Choné, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur. Pedurma, p. 21, no. 2.
n.­12
nges pa read as des pa following the Narthang, Urga, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur. Pedurma, p. 21, n. 3.
n.­13
byang chub sems sogs read as byang chub sems dpa’ following the Yongle, Lithang, Narthang, Kangxi, Choné, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur. Pedurma, p. 28, n. 10.
n.­14
bsam read as bas following the Lithang, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur. Pedurma, p. 30, n. 1.
n.­15
nang read as nad following the Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur. Pedurma, p. 30, n. 2.
n.­22
Whereas the single word dharma (Tib. chos) can be used in both Sanskrit and Tibetan to denote a range of meanings, we have to translate it variably here as “qualities” and “phenomena.”

b.

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Braarvig, Jens (tr.). The Teaching of Akṣaya­mati (Akṣaya­mati­nirdeśa, Toh 175). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.

Conze, Edward. Buddhist Texts Through the Ages. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1955.

Griffiths, Arlo. “Epigraphy: Southeast Asia.” In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, edited by Jonathan Silk et al., vol. 1, Literature and Languages, 988–1009. Leiden: Brill, 2015.

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

Ju Mipham (’jam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho). Speech of Delight: Mipham’s Commentary on Śāntarakṣita’s Ornament of the Middle Way. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2004.

Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue. Accessed July 18, 2023.

Lamotte, Étienne. The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna (Mahā­prajñā­pāramitā­śāstra), Vol. 5. English translation from the French (Le Traité de La Grande Vertu De Sagesse, Louvain 1944–1980) by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron, 2007.

Skilling, Peter. “Sāgaramati-paripṛcchā Inscriptions from Kedah, Malaysia.” In Reading Slowly: A Festschrift for Jens. E. Braarvig, edited by Lutz Edzard, Jens W. Borgland, and Ute Hüsken. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2018

Tsongkhapa. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Vol. 1. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.


g.

Glossary

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

AS

Attested in source text

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

AO

Attested in other text

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

AD

Attested in dictionary

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

AA

Approximate attestation

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

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

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

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

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

SU

Source unspecified

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

g.­1

absorption

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

A synonym for meditation, this refers to the state of deep meditative immersion that results from different modes of Buddhist practice.

Located in 69 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­49-50
  • 1.­52-53
  • 2.­56-59
  • 2.­90
  • 2.­92
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­13-18
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­38
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­49
  • 3.­51-70
  • 3.­74
  • 5.­4
  • 5.­46
  • 5.­77
  • 6.­61
  • 8.­72
  • 8.­114
  • 8.­124
  • 8.­138
  • 9.­9-10
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­32
  • 9.­38-39
  • 9.­42-43
  • 10.­1
  • 11.­11
  • 11.­46
  • g.­16
  • g.­42
  • g.­45
  • g.­47
  • g.­54
g.­2

absorption of the heroic gait

Wylie:
  • dpa’ bar ’gro ba
Tibetan:
  • དཔའ་བར་འགྲོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • śūraṃgama

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­5
g.­3

Acceptance of phenomena concurring with reality

Wylie:
  • rjes su ’thun pa’i chos la bzod pa
  • rjes su ’thun pa’i chos kyi bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • རྗེས་སུ་འཐུན་པའི་ཆོས་ལ་བཟོད་པ།
  • རྗེས་སུ་འཐུན་པའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ānulomikadharmakṣānti

A particular realization attained by a bodhisattva on the sixth bodhisattva level. This realization arises as a result of analysis of the essential nature of phenomena (dharmas).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­13
  • 10.­36
g.­5

Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities

Wylie:
  • yon tan rin po che dri ma dang bral ba dpag tu med pa bkod pas brgyan pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡོན་ཏན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་དྲི་མ་དང་བྲལ་བ་དཔག་ཏུ་མེད་པ་བཀོད་པས་བརྒྱན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A buddha realm below our world where the buddha Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge resides.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • 1.­17
  • 1.­19
  • 1.­23
  • g.­109
  • g.­140
g.­6

aggregate

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

The five psycho-physical components of personal experience: form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­52
  • 4.­1-13
  • 5.­32
  • 5.­39
  • 5.­74
  • 8.­103
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­33
  • 11.­24
  • g.­20
  • g.­44
  • g.­49
  • g.­51
  • g.­107
  • g.­120
  • g.­186
g.­11

asura

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­44
  • 4.­48
  • 5.­86
  • 8.­187
  • 11.­2
  • 12.­10
  • 12.­43
  • 12.­47
  • g.­133
  • g.­180
g.­12

bases of miracles

Wylie:
  • rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa
Tibetan:
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛddhipāda

The four factors that serve as the basis for magical abilities: intention, diligence, attention, and discernment.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­17
  • 1.­88
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­88
  • 4.­30
  • 8.­69
  • 8.­192
  • 8.­194
  • 8.­196
  • 9.­26
  • 10.­42
  • 11.­80
  • g.­42
g.­14

Blessed One

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

In Buddhist literature, an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generically means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of the virtuous qualities and wisdom associated with complete awakening.

Located in 223 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­7-9
  • 1.­12-15
  • 1.­17
  • 1.­19-29
  • 1.­47-51
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­70-71
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­49
  • 3.­52-68
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­33-35
  • 4.­65
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­42
  • 5.­49
  • 6.­32-34
  • 6.­36-37
  • 6.­44
  • 7.­1-4
  • 7.­10-12
  • 7.­14-41
  • 8.­1-2
  • 8.­184-190
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­26-30
  • 9.­34-35
  • 9.­41
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­8
  • 10.­10-11
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­18-20
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­25-26
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­38-40
  • 10.­42-43
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­13-57
  • 11.­70-72
  • 11.­75-77
  • 11.­81-82
  • 11.­86-93
  • 11.­96
  • 12.­1-2
  • 12.­5-6
  • 12.­9-10
  • 12.­13-14
  • 12.­18-24
  • 12.­26-28
  • 12.­30-32
  • 12.­46-47
g.­15

Brahmā

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

One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Among his epithets is “Lord of Sahā World” (Sahāṃpati).

Located in 35 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­21-30
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­23-28
  • 6.­30-31
  • 6.­41
  • 6.­58
  • 8.­187
  • 8.­197
  • 8.­209
  • 8.­219
  • 9.­11
  • 10.­33
  • 12.­15-18
  • 12.­43
  • g.­67
  • g.­114
g.­16

branches of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi yan lag
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཡན་ལག
Sanskrit:
  • bodhyaṅga

Mindfulness, discrimination, diligence, joy, pliability, absorption, and equanimity.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­61
  • 1.­89
  • 2.­93
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­39
  • 5.­37
  • 5.­79
  • 8.­28
  • 8.­74
  • 8.­196
  • 9.­26
  • g.­42
g.­17

buddha realm

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi zhing
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • buddhakṣetra

A pure realm manifested by a buddha or advanced bodhisattva through the power of their great merit and aspirations.

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­18
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­31
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­66
  • 3.­8-9
  • 3.­36
  • 4.­59
  • 5.­4
  • 5.­86
  • 6.­35
  • 6.­42
  • 7.­39
  • 8.­9
  • 8.­69
  • 8.­220
  • 9.­10
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­42
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­51
  • 11.­74
  • 11.­80-82
  • 11.­87
  • 11.­91
  • 11.­93
  • 11.­96
  • 12.­27
  • g.­4
  • g.­5
  • g.­10
  • g.­37
  • g.­48
  • g.­131
g.­20

consciousness

Wylie:
  • rnam par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vijñāna

One of the five aggregates; also counted as the sixth of the six elements.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­33
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­80
  • 2.­82
  • 2.­85
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­70
  • 3.­73
  • 4.­73
  • 7.­5
  • 8.­118-123
  • 9.­11
  • 9.­32
  • 9.­39
  • 11.­19
  • 11.­67
  • g.­6
  • g.­35
  • g.­61
  • g.­154
g.­21

Continuous Intelligence

Wylie:
  • blo gros rgyun mi ’chad pa
Tibetan:
  • བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱུན་མི་འཆད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­22

correct discriminations

Wylie:
  • so so yang dag par rig pa
Tibetan:
  • སོ་སོ་ཡང་དག་པར་རིག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratisaṃvid

Genuine discrimination with respect to dharmas, meaning, language, and eloquence.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 1.­7
  • 6.­55
  • g.­132
g.­23

Dānaśīla

Wylie:
  • dA na shI la
Tibetan:
  • དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།
Sanskrit:
  • dānaśīla

One of the Indian preceptors who assisted in translating this text.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • c.­1
  • n.­26
g.­24

desire realm

Wylie:
  • ’dod pa’i khams
Tibetan:
  • འདོད་པའི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • kāmadhātu

In Buddhist cosmology, our sphere of existence where beings are driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification and attachment to material substance. See also “three realms.”

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 1.­22
  • 8.­22
  • 8.­109
  • g.­50
  • g.­52
  • g.­66
  • g.­73
  • g.­74
  • g.­75
  • g.­170
  • g.­180
g.­25

dhāraṇī

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

An incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula that distills essential points of the Dharma. It is used by practitioners as an aid to memorize and recall detailed teachings, and to attain mundane and supramundane goals. According to context, this term has also been rendered here as “recollection.”

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 1.­7
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­42
  • 9.­9
  • 9.­13
  • 10.­42
  • n.­25
  • n.­31
g.­27

Diligent Intelligence

Wylie:
  • brtson ’grus blo gros
Tibetan:
  • བརྩོན་འགྲུས་བློ་གྲོས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­31

Discerning Vision

Wylie:
  • nges par brtags te blta ba
Tibetan:
  • ངེས་པར་བརྟགས་ཏེ་བལྟ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­32

eight branches

Wylie:
  • yan lag brgyad
Tibetan:
  • ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭāṅga

This can refer either to what is also known as the eightfold path (’phags lam yan lag brgyad): (1) right view, (2) right intention, (3) right speech, (4) right action, (5) right livelihood, (6) effort, (7) mindfulness, and (8) meditative concentration. Or to what is also known as the eight precepts (bsnyen gnas yan lag brgyad): (1) abstaining from killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual misconduct, (4) lying, (5) intoxication, (6) eating after noon, (7) dancing and singing, and (8) lying on an elevated bed.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­89
g.­35

element

Wylie:
  • khams
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • dhātu

In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, odor, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).

These also refer to the elements of the physical world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six elements. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added. The six elements are earth, water, fire, air, space, and consciousness.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­64
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­79
  • 4.­9-10
  • 4.­13
  • 5.­39
  • 8.­103
  • 9.­33
  • 12.­21
  • 12.­27
  • g.­20
  • g.­55
g.­36

eloquence

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

The capacity of realized beings to speak in a confident and inspiring manner.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­24
  • 1.­30
  • 1.­40
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­42
  • 6.­56
  • 8.­142-143
  • 10.­16
  • 11.­49
  • 11.­51-52
  • 12.­18
  • g.­22
  • g.­139
g.­38

emptiness

Wylie:
  • stong pa yid
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཡིད།
Sanskrit:
  • śūnyatā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­35
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­64
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­72
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­11
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­54
  • 7.­2
  • 8.­6
  • 8.­52
  • 8.­71
  • 8.­117-123
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­33
  • 9.­42-43
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­11
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­41
  • 11.­58
  • g.­111
  • g.­179
g.­41

excessive pride

Wylie:
  • mngon pa’i nga rgyal
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པའི་ང་རྒྱལ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhimāna

A conceited, false sense of attainment. One of seven types of pride related to the spiritual path.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­72
  • 5.­39
  • 8.­6
g.­42

factors of awakening

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

The qualities necessary as a method to attain the awakening of a hearer, solitary buddha, or buddha. There are thirty-seven of these: (1–4) the four applications of mindfulness: mindfulness of body, sensations, mind, and phenomena; (5–8) the four right abandonments: the intention to not do bad actions that are not done, to give up bad actions that are being done, to do good actions that have not been done, and increase the good actions that are being done; (9–12) the bases of miracles: intention, diligence, attention, and discernment; (13–17) five faculties: faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and wisdom; (18–22) five strengths: an even stronger form of faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and wisdom; (23–29) seven branches of awakening: correct mindfulness, correct discrimination of phenomena, correct diligence, correct joy, correct pliability, correct absorption, and correct equanimity; and (30–37) the eightfold noble path: right view, examination, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and absorption.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­44
  • 9.­38-39
  • 11.­1-2
  • g.­45
g.­43

faculties

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

The term “faculties,” depending on the context, can refer to the five senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste) plus the mental faculty, but also to spiritual “faculties,” see “five faculties.”

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­7
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­52
  • 1.­64-65
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­85
  • 1.­89
  • 2.­51
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­24
  • 3.­37
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­42
  • 5.­77
  • 6.­42
  • 7.­22
  • 7.­30
  • 8.­72
  • 8.­111
  • 8.­163
  • 8.­196
  • 8.­204
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­26
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­41
  • 11.­46-47
  • 12.­16-17
  • g.­45
  • g.­153
g.­44

feeling

Wylie:
  • tshor ba
Tibetan:
  • ཚོར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • vedanā

One of the five aggregates.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­33
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­68
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­86
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­70
  • 3.­73
  • 4.­12
  • 8.­65
  • 8.­115
  • 8.­176
  • 11.­23
  • g.­6
g.­45

five faculties

Wylie:
  • dbang po lnga
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcendriya

These are spiritual “faculties” (indriya) or capacities to be developed: faith (śraddhā), diligence (vīrya), mindfulness (smṛti), absorption (samādhi), and insight (prajña). These are included in the thirty-seven factors of awakening. See also “five strengths.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­87
  • g.­42
  • g.­43
  • g.­47
g.­46

five obscurations

Wylie:
  • sgrib pa lnga
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲིབ་པ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañca­nivaraṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Five impediments to meditation (bsam gtan, dhyāna): sensory desire (’dod pa la ’dun pa, kāmacchanda), ill will (gnod sems, vyāpāda), drowsiness and torpor (rmugs pa dang gnyid, styānamiddha), agitation and regret (rgod pa dang ’gyod pa, auddhatya­kaukṛtya), and doubt (the tshom, vicikitsā).

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­87
  • 5.­82
  • 9.­27
g.­47

Five strengths

Wylie:
  • stobs lnga
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañca­bala

Similar to the five faculties but at a further stage of development and thus cannot be shaken by adverse conditions, these are: faith (śraddhā), diligence (vīrya), mindfulness (smṛti), absorption (samādhi), and insight (prajñā).

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­71
  • 1.­87
  • 4.­30
  • 8.­196
  • 9.­26
  • g.­42
  • g.­45
g.­49

form

Wylie:
  • gzugs
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས།
Sanskrit:
  • rūpa

One of the five aggregates.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­33
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­77
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­73
  • 4.­20-21
  • 5.­39
  • 5.­81
  • 6.­23
  • 7.­5
  • 8.­118
  • 9.­2
  • 9.­8
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­19
  • 9.­31
  • 9.­33
  • 11.­87
  • 12.­21
  • g.­6
  • g.­35
  • g.­153
g.­50

form realm

Wylie:
  • gzugs kyi khams
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • rūpadhātu

In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence one level more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings, though subtly embodied, are not driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification. See also “three realms.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­49
  • 8.­109
  • 11.­46
  • g.­54
  • g.­66
  • g.­114
  • g.­180
g.­51

formation

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

One of the five aggregates; formative forces concomitant with the production of karmic seeds causing future saṃsāric existence.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­78
  • 3.­73
  • 4.­4
  • 8.­137
  • 9.­8
  • 11.­46-47
  • 11.­70
  • g.­6
g.­52

formless realm

Wylie:
  • gzugs med pa’i khams
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • ārūpyadhātu

In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence two levels more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings are no longer physically embodied, and thus not subject to the sufferings that physical embodiment brings. See also “three realms.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 8.­109
  • 11.­46
  • g.­66
  • g.­154
  • g.­180
  • g.­187
g.­53

four applications of mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa nye bar bzhag pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥsmṛtyupasthāna

Mindfulness of the (1) body, (2) feelings, (3) mind, and (4) mental phenomena.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­88
  • g.­8
  • g.­42
g.­55

four elements

Wylie:
  • khams bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturdhātu

The four “great” outer elements (mahābhūta, ’byung ba chen po): earth, water, fire, and air. See also “element.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­35
  • 2.­79
  • 12.­21
  • g.­35
g.­57

four fearlessnesses

Wylie:
  • mi ’jigs pa rnam pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • མི་འཇིགས་པ་རྣམ་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturvaiśāradya

The four types of fearlessness possessed by all buddhas: They have full confidence that (1) they are fully awakened; (2) they have removed all defilements; (3) they have taught about the obstacles to liberation; and (4) have shown the path to liberation.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 3.­17
  • 6.­21
  • g.­132
g.­58

four floods

Wylie:
  • chu bo bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་བོ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturogha

Sensual desire, desire for cyclic existence, holding views, and ignorance.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­65
  • 1.­95
g.­62

four right abandonments

Wylie:
  • spong ba bzhi
  • yang dag par spong ba bzhi
Tibetan:
  • སྤོང་བ་བཞི།
  • ཡང་དག་པར་སྤོང་བ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥ­prahā­ṇa
  • catuḥsamyakprahāṇa

Four types of right effort consisting in (1) abandoning existing negative mind states, (2) abandoning the production of such states, (3) giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and (4) letting those states continue.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­88
  • 2.­55
  • 4.­30
  • 8.­196
  • 9.­26
  • g.­42
g.­63

four truths of the noble ones

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i bden pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catvāry āryasatyāni
  • caturāryasatya

The four truths that the Buddha realized and transmitted in his first teaching: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 4.­30
  • 8.­6
  • 8.­126
  • 8.­216
g.­66

god

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 68 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­66
  • 2.­70
  • 4.­1-12
  • 4.­44
  • 4.­49
  • 5.­2-4
  • 5.­32
  • 5.­42
  • 5.­47
  • 5.­86
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­38
  • 6.­40
  • 6.­48
  • 6.­57
  • 7.­3
  • 7.­13
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­143
  • 8.­170
  • 8.­184
  • 8.­187
  • 8.­189
  • 8.­209
  • 10.­20-21
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­33
  • 10.­37
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­46
  • 11.­50
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­6-12
  • 12.­16
  • 12.­25
  • 12.­43
  • 12.­47
  • g.­107
  • g.­114
  • g.­180
  • g.­187
  • g.­202
g.­67

Great Compassionate One

Wylie:
  • snying rje chen po sems pa
Tibetan:
  • སྙིང་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ་སེམས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A divine being from the Brahmā world.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­21-23
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­30
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­23
g.­68

Great Compilation

Wylie:
  • ’dus pa chen po
Tibetan:
  • འདུས་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsannipāta

An anthology of Great Vehicle Sūtras. A collection of seventeen sūtras under this title is available in Chinese translation, but The Questions of Sāgaramati is not included among them. It is thus likely that there were more than one anthology using this title.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­23-24
  • 1.­28
g.­72

hearer

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

Derived from the Sanskrit verb “to hear,” the term is used in reference to followers of the non-Great Vehicle traditions of Buddhism, in contrast to the bodhisattvas who follow the Great Vehicle path.

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­54
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­39
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­43
  • 4.­53-54
  • 8.­12
  • 8.­126
  • 8.­176
  • 8.­187
  • 9.­39
  • 9.­42-43
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­15
  • 10.­23
  • 11.­45
  • 11.­51
  • 12.­24
  • g.­42
  • g.­93
  • g.­201
g.­79

Inexhaustible Treasury

Wylie:
  • mdzod mi zad pa
Tibetan:
  • མཛོད་མི་ཟད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­80

Infinite Eloquence

Wylie:
  • spobs pa mtha’ yas
Tibetan:
  • སྤོབས་པ་མཐའ་ཡས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­83

Jambudvīpa

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 1.­22
  • 2.­66
g.­84

Jinamitra

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

An Kashmiri paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • c.­1
  • n.­26
g.­87

kesara

Wylie:
  • ke sa ra
Tibetan:
  • ཀེ་ས་ར།
Sanskrit:
  • keśara
  • kesara

Kesara can be the name of several species of plants.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­54
g.­93

Lesser Vehicle

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

It is a collective term used by proponents of the Great Vehicle to refer to the Śrāvakayāna (Hearer Vehicle) and Pratyeka­buddha­yāna (Solitary-Buddha Vehicle). The name stems from their goal‍—i.e., nirvāṇa and personal liberation‍—being seen as small or lesser than the goal of the Great Vehicle‍—i.e., buddhahood and liberation of all sentient beings.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­65
  • 1.­92
  • 5.­45
  • 8.­79
  • 8.­192
  • 9.­37
g.­94

Light King of Qualities

Wylie:
  • yon tan gyi rgyal po snang ba
Tibetan:
  • ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་སྣང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­1-2
  • 7.­13
g.­97

Limitless Intelligence

Wylie:
  • blo gros tshad med pa
Tibetan:
  • བློ་གྲོས་ཚད་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­102

Mahābrahmā

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa chen po
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahābrahma

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 6.­1
g.­104

Maitreya

Wylie:
  • byams pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱམས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • 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).

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­12-13
  • 7.­33
  • g.­9
g.­105

major and minor marks of perfection

Wylie:
  • mtshan dang dpe byad bzang po
Tibetan:
  • མཚན་དང་དཔེ་བྱད་བཟང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • lakṣaṇānuvyañjana

The thirty-two major and the eighty minor distinctive physical attributes of a buddha or a superior being.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­26
  • 2.­2
  • 3.­15
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­41
  • 10.­31
g.­106

Mañjuśrī

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

In this text:

In this text, he is one of the main interlocutors of the Buddha.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • 7.­36-38
  • g.­204
g.­107

Māra

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

The demon who assailed Śākyamuni prior to his awakening. When used in the plural, the term refers to a class of beings who, like Māra himself, are the primary adversaries and tempters of people who vow to take up the religious life. Figuratively, they are the personification of everything that acts as a hindrance to awakening, and are often listed as a set of four: the Māra of the aggregates, the Māra of the afflictions, the Māra of the Lord of Death, and the Māra of the gods.

Located in 107 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­7
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­23-24
  • 2.­48
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­38
  • 3.­47
  • 3.­74
  • 4.­1-13
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­75-76
  • 5.­32
  • 5.­74
  • 6.­31
  • 6.­39
  • 6.­50
  • 8.­5
  • 8.­77
  • 8.­111
  • 8.­147
  • 8.­159
  • 8.­183
  • 8.­188
  • 8.­193
  • 8.­198
  • 8.­208
  • 9.­9-11
  • 10.­33
  • 11.­28
  • 11.­38-52
  • 11.­54-72
  • 11.­75-76
  • 11.­78
  • 11.­80-86
  • 11.­89-96
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­11-14
  • 12.­18
  • 12.­21
g.­109

Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge

Wylie:
  • rgya mtsho’i mchog mnga’ ba’i blos rnam par rol pa mngon par ’phags pa’i mgnon par mkhyen pa
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱ་མཚོའི་མཆོག་མངའ་བའི་བློས་རྣམ་པར་རོལ་པ་མངོན་པར་འཕགས་པའི་མགནོན་པར་མཁྱེན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A buddha that resides in a world system below our world called Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • 1.­17
  • 1.­20
  • 1.­23
  • g.­5
g.­111

mind of awakening

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

The intent at heart of the Great Vehicle, namely to obtain buddhahood in order to liberate all sentient beings from suffering. In it’s relative aspect, it is both this aspiration and the practices towards buddhahood. In it’s absolute aspect, it is the realization of emptiness or the awakened mind itself.

Located in 49 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­92
  • 1.­97-98
  • 2.­5
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­43
  • 2.­71
  • 3.­48
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­44-46
  • 5.­51
  • 6.­30-31
  • 6.­62
  • 7.­40
  • 8.­2-3
  • 8.­5
  • 8.­14
  • 8.­39
  • 8.­42
  • 8.­79-80
  • 8.­83
  • 8.­144
  • 8.­183
  • 8.­188
  • 8.­194
  • 8.­199
  • 9.­21
  • 9.­30-31
  • 10.­17
  • 10.­32
  • 10.­37
  • 11.­12
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­67
  • 12.­16
  • 12.­37-38
  • 12.­41
g.­118

Non-referential Concentration

Wylie:
  • dmigs pa med pa’i bsam gtan pa
Tibetan:
  • དམིགས་པ་མེད་པའི་བསམ་གཏན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­120

perception

Wylie:
  • ’du shes
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃjñā

One of the five aggregates.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­51
  • 2.­78
  • 3.­73
  • 4.­13-15
  • 7.­11
  • g.­6
g.­122

Pinnacle of Nonattached Fearlessness

Wylie:
  • chags pa med pa’i mi ’jigs pa brtsegs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཆགས་པ་མེད་པའི་མི་འཇིགས་པ་བརྩེགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­124

prātimokṣa

Wylie:
  • so sor thar pa
Tibetan:
  • སོ་སོར་ཐར་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prātimokṣa

“Prātimokṣa” is the name given to the code of conduct binding on monks and nuns. The term can be used to refer both to the disciplinary rules themselves and to the texts from the Vinaya that contain them. There are multiple recensions of the Prātimokṣa, each transmitted by a different monastic fraternity in ancient and medieval India. Three remain living traditions, one of them the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya of Tibetan Buddhism. Though the numbers of rules vary across the different recensions, they are all organized according to the same principles and with the same disciplinary categories. It is customary for monastics to recite the Prātimokṣa Sūtra fortnightly. According to some Mahāyana sūtras, a separate set of prātimokṣa rules exists for bodhisattvas, which are based on bodhisattva conduct as taught in that vehicle.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­43
  • g.­183
g.­125

preceptor

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

Teacher, (monastic) preceptor; “having approached him, one studies from him” (upetyādhīyate asmāt).

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 8.­160
  • 8.­170
  • 11.­52
  • c.­1
  • g.­18
  • g.­23
g.­132

qualities of buddhahood

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi chos
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • buddhadharma
  • buddhadharmāḥ

The specific qualities of a buddha; may sometimes be used as a general term, and sometimes referring to sets such as the ten strengths, the four fearlessnesses, the four correct discriminations, the eighteen unique qualities of buddhahood, and so forth; or, more specifically, to another set of eighteen: the ten strengths; the four fearlessnesses; mindfulness of body, speech, and mind; and great compassion.

Alternatively, in the context of this sūtra, see Chapter Six.

Located in 38 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­7
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­26
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­17
  • 4.­50-51
  • 6.­1-3
  • 6.­7-13
  • 6.­15
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­22-23
  • 6.­25-32
  • 6.­34
  • 8.­12
  • 8.­217
  • 9.­10
  • 9.­36
  • 9.­43
g.­135

Rājagṛha

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­2
g.­137

reality

Wylie:
  • chos nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmatā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The real nature, true quality, or condition of things. Throughout Buddhist discourse this term is used in two distinct ways. In one, it designates the relative nature that is either the essential characteristic of a specific phenomenon, such as the heat of fire and the moisture of water, or the defining feature of a specific term or category. The other very important and widespread way it is used is to designate the ultimate nature of all phenomena, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms and is often synonymous with emptiness or the absence of intrinsic existence.

In this text:

(Note that the term “reality” has also been used to render terms of similar meaning such as yang dag nyid and others.)

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­11
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­68
  • 2.­91
  • 2.­97
  • 5.­39
  • 5.­65
  • 6.­31
  • 7.­38
  • 8.­10
  • 8.­40
  • 8.­101
  • 9.­31
  • 10.­1
  • g.­169
g.­138

realm of phenomena

Wylie:
  • chos kyi dbyings
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmadhātu

The “sphere of dharmas,” a synonym for the nature of things.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 2.­54
  • 2.­68
  • 2.­87
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­50
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­42
  • 8.­50
  • 8.­69
  • 8.­103
  • 9.­2-3
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­11
  • 9.­22
  • 9.­33
  • 10.­12
  • 11.­34
g.­139

recollection

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

Often paired with “eloquence” (pratibhāna), recollection is the capacity to properly retain and recall the teachings.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­15
  • 6.­39
  • 6.­56
  • 11.­51-52
  • 12.­28
  • g.­25
g.­140

Sāgaramati

Wylie:
  • blo gros rgya mtsho
Tibetan:
  • བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
Sanskrit:
  • sāgaramati

A bodhisattva from the world Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities. The protagonist of this discourse, his name can be translated as Oceanic Intelligence, which is referenced in the omen of the flooding of the trichiliocosm at the beginning of the sūtra.

Located in 245 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­3
  • 1.­13-14
  • 1.­17-20
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­25
  • 1.­27-28
  • 1.­30
  • 1.­47-56
  • 1.­63
  • 1.­66
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­9-11
  • 2.­13-16
  • 2.­22-25
  • 2.­50
  • 2.­65-67
  • 2.­69
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­10-18
  • 3.­49
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­69-72
  • 3.­74
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­5-13
  • 4.­15-32
  • 5.­1-4
  • 5.­6-8
  • 5.­39-41
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­23
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­34-35
  • 6.­37-43
  • 7.­39
  • 8.­1-3
  • 8.­11-14
  • 8.­82-84
  • 8.­146-147
  • 8.­183
  • 9.­1-12
  • 9.­29-40
  • 9.­42-47
  • 10.­1-12
  • 10.­14-15
  • 10.­17-20
  • 10.­22-25
  • 10.­36-40
  • 10.­42
  • 11.­1-4
  • 11.­10-12
  • 11.­38-41
  • 11.­57-68
  • 11.­71-74
  • 11.­76-82
  • 11.­86-87
  • 11.­90-91
  • 11.­93
  • 12.­1-3
  • 12.­6-7
  • 12.­11-13
  • 12.­15-17
  • 12.­19-20
  • 12.­23-26
  • 12.­28-30
  • 12.­46-47
g.­141

sage

Wylie:
  • thub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཐུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • muni

An ancient title given to ascetics, monks, hermits, and saints, namely, someone who has attained the realization of a truth through their own contemplation and not by divine revelation.

Here also used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­31
  • 1.­34
  • 1.­40-41
  • 1.­44
  • 3.­73
  • 5.­48
  • 6.­14
  • 6.­20
  • 8.­218
  • 11.­8
g.­142

Sahā world

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­13
  • 1.­17
  • 1.­23
  • 7.­39
  • 11.­82
  • 11.­86-87
  • 11.­92-93
  • 12.­15-18
  • g.­15
g.­143

Śakra

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­41
  • 6.­58
  • 8.­197
  • 8.­209
  • 10.­33
  • 12.­6-10
  • 12.­43
  • g.­15
  • g.­86
g.­144

Śākyamuni

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 65 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 9.­32
  • 11.­82
  • 11.­86-87
  • 11.­92
  • 12.­21
  • g.­13
  • g.­14
  • g.­15
  • g.­19
  • g.­21
  • g.­27
  • g.­28
  • g.­29
  • g.­31
  • g.­40
  • g.­69
  • g.­71
  • g.­76
  • g.­78
  • g.­79
  • g.­80
  • g.­82
  • g.­88
  • g.­89
  • g.­90
  • g.­92
  • g.­94
  • g.­95
  • g.­97
  • g.­98
  • g.­100
  • g.­103
  • g.­104
  • g.­107
  • g.­110
  • g.­117
  • g.­118
  • g.­119
  • g.­121
  • g.­122
  • g.­123
  • g.­127
  • g.­130
  • g.­141
  • g.­146
  • g.­150
  • g.­152
  • g.­158
  • g.­160
  • g.­166
  • g.­168
  • g.­172
  • g.­173
  • g.­178
  • g.­184
  • g.­188
  • g.­191
  • g.­193
  • g.­195
  • g.­197
  • g.­198
  • g.­199
g.­145

sameness

Wylie:
  • mnyam pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • མཉམ་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • samatā

(The state of) “equality,” “equal nature,” “equanimity,” or “equalness.”

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­7
  • 2.­52-53
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­58-59
  • 2.­81-82
  • 2.­85
  • 2.­87
  • 2.­94
  • 3.­20-21
  • 3.­50-51
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­69-70
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­9
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­15
  • 6.­18
  • 7.­18
  • 7.­23
  • 7.­38
  • 8.­10
  • 8.­81
  • 8.­103
  • 9.­3-4
  • 9.­8
  • 9.­10
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­15-17
  • 9.­19
  • 9.­21
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­12
  • 10.­17-18
  • 11.­16
  • 11.­25
  • 11.­33
g.­148

Śāradvatīputra

Wylie:
  • sha ra dwa ti’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ཤ་ར་དྭ་ཏིའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • śāradvatīputra

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.”

Located in 38 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­33-64
  • 11.­73-75
  • 11.­94-95
  • g.­149
g.­149

Śāriputra

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

See Śāradvatīputra.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­14
  • 1.­16
  • g.­148
g.­156

signlessness

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

One of the three gateways to liberation; the ultimate absence of marks and signs in perceived objects.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­54
  • 2.­51
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­71
  • 6.­2-3
  • 7.­2
  • 8.­10
  • 8.­51
  • 8.­117
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­33
  • 9.­42-43
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­11
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­41
  • 11.­59
  • g.­179
g.­161

solitary buddha

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

Beings who attain buddhahood without relying on a teacher in their final lifetime. They may live alone or with peers, but do not teach the path of liberation to others because of a lack of motivation or the requisite merit.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­54
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­39
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­43
  • 4.­53
  • 6.­9
  • 8.­12
  • 8.­126
  • 8.­176
  • 8.­187
  • 8.­200
  • 9.­39
  • 9.­42
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­15-16
  • 11.­45
  • 11.­51
  • g.­42
  • g.­183
g.­162

son of Manu

Wylie:
  • shed bu
Tibetan:
  • ཤེད་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • mānava

Manu is the archetypal human and the progenitor of humanity in Indian lore. Thus, “son of Manu” is a synonym for humanity in general. Also rendered “born of Manu.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­38
g.­164

special insight

Wylie:
  • lhag mthong
Tibetan:
  • ལྷག་མཐོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • vipaśyanā

An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “tranquility.”

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­60
  • 2.­67
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­44
  • 4.­30
  • 5.­37
  • 5.­79
  • 8.­10
  • 9.­26
  • g.­185
g.­165

śrīgarbha

Wylie:
  • dpal gyi snying po
Tibetan:
  • དཔལ་གྱི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • śrīgarbha

A type of red-colored precious gemstone.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­54
g.­169

suchness

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

The ultimate nature of things, or the way things are in reality, as opposed to the way they appear to non-enlightened beings.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­68
  • 3.­50
  • 6.­5
  • 7.­2
  • 8.­101
  • 9.­2
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­10-11
g.­171

super-knowledge

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

Traditionally listed as five: divine sight, divine hearing, the ability to know past and future lives, the ability to know the minds of others, and the ability to produce miracles.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 1.­7
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­39
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­17
  • 5.­4
  • 6.­39
  • 6.­42
  • 6.­53
  • 7.­3
  • 8.­10
  • 8.­188
  • 8.­198
  • 8.­205
  • 8.­216
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­26
  • 10.­37
  • 10.­42
g.­177

ten strengths

Wylie:
  • stobs pa rnam pa bcu
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས་པ་རྣམ་པ་བཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśabala

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 (dhyāna, liberation, samādhi, samāpatti, and so on); (8) the knowledge of remembering previous lives; (9) the knowledge of deaths and rebirths; and (10) the knowledge of the cessation of defilements.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­32
  • 2.­27
  • 2.­49
  • 3.­17
  • 6.­21
  • 8.­217
  • 8.­219
  • g.­132
g.­180

three realms

Wylie:
  • khams gsum
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • tridhātu
  • traidhātuka

The three realms are the desire realm (kāmadhātu, ’dod khams), form realm (rūpadhātu, gzugs khams) and the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu, gzugs med khams), i.e., the three worlds that make up saṃsāra. The first is composed of the six sorts of beings (gods, asuras, humans, animals, hungry ghosts, and hell beings), whereas the latter two are only realms of gods and are thus higher, more ethereal states of saṃsāra. See also three realms of existence.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­64
  • 6.­2
  • 8.­10
  • 8.­73
  • 8.­116-117
  • 8.­136
  • 9.­8
  • 10.­8-9
  • g.­24
  • g.­50
  • g.­52
  • g.­181
g.­181

three realms of existence

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

This alternatively refers to the underworlds, earth, and heavens, or can be synonymous with the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness (see three realms).

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­44
  • 2.­36
  • 8.­190
  • 8.­197
  • 8.­209
  • 9.­24
  • g.­180
g.­183

three vows

Wylie:
  • sdom pa gsum
Tibetan:
  • སྡོམ་པ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trisaṃvara

In Great Vehicle treatises, the vows of a layperson or monk (prātimokṣa), the vows of a solitary buddha, and the vows of a bodhisattva.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­56
  • 8.­4
g.­184

thus-gone one

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 79 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­8
  • 1.­19
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­75
  • 3.­74
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­53
  • 4.­64
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­40
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­26
  • 6.­34-35
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­39
  • 6.­44-46
  • 6.­48-62
  • 7.­10-12
  • 7.­14
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­31
  • 7.­33-34
  • 7.­38-39
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­185
  • 8.­187-188
  • 9.­9-10
  • 9.­19
  • 9.­31
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­37
  • 11.­13
  • 11.­23
  • 11.­45
  • 11.­70
  • 11.­73
  • 11.­75
  • 11.­83
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­12
  • 12.­18-21
  • 12.­24-26
  • 12.­28
  • 12.­33
  • 12.­41
g.­185

tranquility

Wylie:
  • zhi gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཞི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • śamatha

One of the basic forms of Buddhist meditation, which focuses on calming the mind. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “special insight.”

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­59
  • 1.­77
  • 2.­60
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­44
  • 4.­30
  • 5.­37
  • 5.­79
  • 8.­10
  • 8.­197
  • 9.­2
  • 9.­26
  • g.­164
g.­187

trichiliocosm

Wylie:
  • stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi khams
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • tri­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­loka­dhātu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­lokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Sumeru, continents, sun and moon, etc.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­21-23
  • 2.­24
  • 3.­18
  • 4.­63
  • 5.­3
  • 8.­184
  • 10.­24
  • 11.­80
  • 12.­20
  • 12.­32
  • g.­140
g.­189

unique qualities of buddhahood

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas rnams kyi ma ’dras chos
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་རྣམས་ཀྱི་མ་འདྲས་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • āveṇikabuddhadharma

Eighteen qualities that are exclusively possessed by a buddha. These are listed in the Dharma­saṃgraha as follows: The tathāgata does not possess (1) confusion; (2) noisiness; (3) forgetfulness; (4) loss of meditative equipoise; (5) cognition of distinctness; or (6) nonanalytical equanimity. A buddha totally lacks (7) degeneration of motivation; (8) degeneration of perseverance; (9) degeneration of mindfulness; (10) degeneration of samādhi; (11) degeneration of prajñā; (12) degeneration of complete liberation; and (13) degeneration of seeing the wisdom of complete liberation. (14) A tathāgata’s every action of body is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom; (15) every action of speech is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom; (16) a buddha’s every action of mind is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom. (17) A tathāgata engages in seeing the past through wisdom that is unattached and unobstructed and (18) engages in seeing the present through wisdom that is unattached and unobstructed.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­21
  • g.­132
g.­190

universal monarch

Wylie:
  • ’khor los sgyur ba’i rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • cakravartin

The term “universal monarch” denotes a just and pious king who rules over the universe according to the laws of Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he wields a disk (cakra) that rolls (vartana) over continents, worlds, and world systems, bringing them under his power. A universal monarch is often considered the worldly, political correlate of a buddha.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­54
  • 4.­44
  • 4.­53
  • 6.­58
  • 8.­209
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­33
  • 10.­42
  • g.­129
g.­191

Unsurpassed Diligence

Wylie:
  • brtson ’grus gong na med
Tibetan:
  • བརྩོན་འགྲུས་གོང་ན་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­6
g.­196

vinaya

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

The Buddha’s teachings that lay out the rules and disciplines for his followers.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­6-8
  • 10.­37
  • 12.­18
  • g.­124
g.­200

wishlessness

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

One of the three gateways to liberation; the ultimate absence of any wish, desire, or aspiration, even those directed towards buddhahood.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­51
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­50
  • 7.­2
  • 8.­53
  • 8.­116-117
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­33
  • 9.­42-43
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­11
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­41
  • 11.­60
  • g.­179
g.­201

worthy one

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

According to Buddhist tradition, one who has conquered the enemies, i.e., mental afflictions or emotions, (kleśa-ari-hata) and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It’s the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by hearers. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­54
  • 11.­70
  • g.­96
g.­203

Yeshé Dé

Wylie:
  • ye shes sde
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • c.­1
  • n.­26
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    84000. The Questions of Sāgaramati (Sāgaramati­paripṛcchā, blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa, Toh 152). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023. https://84000.co/translation/toh152/UT22084-058-001-chapter-1.Copy
    84000. The Questions of Sāgaramati (Sāgaramati­paripṛcchā, blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa, Toh 152). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023, 84000.co/translation/toh152/UT22084-058-001-chapter-1.Copy
    84000. (2023) The Questions of Sāgaramati (Sāgaramati­paripṛcchā, blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa, Toh 152). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh152/UT22084-058-001-chapter-1.Copy

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