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འཇིག་རྟེན་འཛིན་གྱིས་ཡོངས་སུ་དྲིས་པ།

The Inquiry of Lokadhara
Chapter Two: Investigating the Five Aggregates

Lokadharaparipṛcchā
འཕགས་པ་འཇིག་རྟེན་འཛིན་གྱིས་ཡོངས་སུ་དྲིས་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་མདོ།
’phags pa ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa zhes bya ba’i mdo
The Noble Sūtra “The Inquiry of Lokadhara”
Āryalokadharaparipṛcchānāmasūtra

Toh 174

Degé Kangyur, vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 7.b–78.b

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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: The Introduction
2. Chapter Two: Investigating the Five Aggregates
+ 9 sections- 9 sections
· Form
· Feeling
· Perception
· Formation
· Consciousness
· The Five Aggregates
· The Five Aggregates for Appropriation
· Suffering
· The World
3. Chapter Three: The Eighteen Elements
+ 7 sections- 7 sections
· The Eye Element
· The Form Element
· The Eye-Consciousness Element
· The Mind Element
· The Mental-Object Element
· The Mind-Consciousness Element
· The Three Realms
4. Chapter Four: Understanding the Twelve Sense Sources
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· The Eye and Form Sense Sources
· The Mind and Mental-Object Sense Sources
· The Inner and Outer Sense Sources
5. Chapter Five: Understanding the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination
6. Chapter Six: The Four Applications of Mindfulness
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
· Contemplation of the Body in Relation to the Body
· Contemplation of Feelings in Relation to Feelings
· Contemplation of the Mind in Relation to the Mind
· Contemplation of Mental Phenomena in Relation to Mental Phenomena
7. Chapter Seven: The Five Powers
+ 5 sections- 5 sections
· The Power of Faith
· The Power of Diligence
· The Power of Mindfulness
· The Power of Absorption
· The Power of Insight
8. Chapter Eight: The Eightfold Path of the Noble Ones
+ 8 sections- 8 sections
· Right View
· Right Thought
· Right Speech
· Right Action
· Right Livelihood
· Right Effort
· Right Mindfulness
· Right Absorption
9. Chapter Nine: The Phenomena of the World and Transcendence
10. Chapter Ten: The Conditioned and the Unconditioned
11. Chapter Eleven: The Teaching on What Occurred in the Past
12. Chapter Twelve: The Entrustment
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

In The Inquiry of Lokadhara, the bodhisattva Lokadhara asks the Buddha to explain the proper way for bodhisattvas to discern the characteristics of phenomena and employ that knowledge to attain awakening. In reply, the Buddha teaches at length how to understand the lack of inherent existence of phenomena. As part of the teaching, the Buddha explains in detail the nonexistence of the aggregates, the elements, the sense sources, dependently originated phenomena, the four applications of mindfulness, the five powers, the eightfold path of the noble ones, and mundane and transcendent phenomena, as well as conditioned and unconditioned phenomena.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

The sūtra was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation from the Tibetan was produced by Timothy Hinkle. Andreas Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan, edited the text, and wrote the introduction. James Gentry subsequently compared the translation against Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation and made further edits.

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


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Inquiry of Lokadhara is a scripture that belongs to the general sūtra section of the Degé Kangyur. As far as we are aware, no Sanskrit version of this text remains. However, in addition to the Tibetan translation, which we have translated here, the sūtra is also present in two Chinese translations (Taishō 481 and Taishō 482). The first of these was translated by Dharmarakṣa (233–311 ᴄᴇ), the famed and prolific translator of The Lotus Sūtra. The second translation was completed between 402 and 412 ᴄᴇ, by the equally renowned translator Kumārajīva (344–413 ᴄᴇ), as one of his last translations. We therefore know that the text has been in existence since at least the third century ᴄᴇ. Unfortunately, however, we know little else of the history of this sūtra. We do not even know when, or by whom, it was translated into Tibetan; the translation does not identify a translator, and the text is not listed in the ninth-century Denkarma (Tib. ldan dkar ma) or Phangthangma (Tib. ’phang thang ma) imperial catalogues of Tibetan translations.1 It does, however, appear in Buton’s (Tib. bu ston) History of the Dharma (Tib. chos ’byung), thus suggesting that it was translated after the fall of the Yarlung dynasty (846 ᴄᴇ) (or at least outside official circles of imperial influence), and only became known in Tibet sometime prior to the fourteenth century ᴄᴇ. A cursory search of the Dunhuang manuscript catalogues did not yield any further information, although future studies of these resources may shed new light on this issue. In this regard, it is worth mentioning that Cornelius Chang (1976, p. 22) reports that a fragment of the sūtra was discovered in Turfan (in modern day Xinjiang). The sūtra is therefore likely to have been present in the Dunhuang region as well, as the Tibetan Yarlung Dynasty controlled Turfan during the same period that it controlled Dunhuang, until roughly 846 ᴄᴇ.


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble Sūtra
The Inquiry of Lokadhara

1.

Chapter One: The Introduction

[F.7.b] [B1]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at the Kalandaka­nivāpa in Veṇuvana near Rājagṛha, with a great saṅgha of monks. The Blessed One was teaching the Dharma to a large assembly with hundreds of thousands of beings in attendance. Present in the assembly was the bodhisattva great being Lokadhara. It was his wish that bodhisattva great beings develop the mind of awakening by adorning themselves with immeasurable virtues; that they understand in its entirety the true meaning of all phenomena; [F.8.a] that they understand how limitless aspirations lead to the perfection of limitless ornaments; that they comprehend and understand the true characteristics of limitless phenomena; that they purify their motivation through limitless aspirations; that they gain comprehensive knowledge; that they attain the ornament of generosity and the purity of certainty; that they perfect the ornament of discipline and patience; that they purify the attitude of mildness and gentleness; that they understand the purity of diligence; that they understand and comprehend the perfections of concentration and insight; and that they develop limitless other such virtues.


2.

Chapter Two: Investigating the Five Aggregates

2.­1

The Blessed One then addressed the bodhisattva Lokadhara, “Lokadhara, bodhisattva great beings who wish to attain the true characteristics of all phenomena, wish to be learned in the characteristics of discerning phenomena, wish to attain the power of recall, wish to attain the insight that discerns all phenomena, or wish to attain unbroken mindfulness from the time they leave this body until reaching unsurpassed and perfect awakening should swiftly enter this Dharma gateway. Through this Dharma gateway, they will attain the light of insight. Why is this? Because this Dharma gateway swiftly ensures that perfection is attained. Furthermore, Lokadhara, bodhisattva great beings should exert themselves in this Dharma gateway. Having entered this gateway that pertains to the Dharma, they will become highly skilled in discerning what pertains to the aggregates, elements, sense sources, dependently originated phenomena, the four applications of mindfulness, the five powers, the eightfold path of the noble ones, and mundane and transcendent phenomena. Additionally, they will become highly skilled in discerning what pertains to conditioned and unconditioned phenomena.”

Form

2.­2

“Lokadhara, how are bodhisattvas skilled in discerning what pertains to the five aggregates? Bodhisattva great beings correctly understand the five aggregates for appropriation in the following way: [F.20.b] The aggregates for appropriation are heaps of ignorance. The aggregates for appropriation are heaps of suffering. The aggregates for appropriation are heaps of delusion. The aggregates for appropriation are heaps of sickness, boils, and thorns.

2.­3

Bodhisattvas should contemplate the discernment of the aggregate for appropriation of form. How then should they contemplate the discernment of the aggregate for appropriation of form? The aggregate for appropriation of form arises from the four great elements, so the aggregate for appropriation of form is actually nothing more than a mere imputation. As the aggregate of form is without intrinsic nature and is simply a gathering of the four great elements, the aggregate of form is a mere imputation. The aggregate of form was not created, is not created, will not be created, and does not arise. The aggregate of form is nothing but a mere imputation, based upon the causes and conditions of past actions and the gathering of the four great elements. Apart from the mere imputation, it is not an aggregate. Such is the aggregate of form. To draw an analogy, it is like the aggregate of space, as it does not have any characteristic of true arising. In what is described as the aggregate of space, no phenomenon whatsoever has arisen. Still, because it has the mere label, it is called the aggregate of space. Childish ordinary beings hold what is false to be true, with their erroneous thoughts about the nonexistent aggregates and their characteristics, such that they cling to notions like ‘I am the five aggregates,’ ‘my five aggregates,’ ‘I am the aggregate of form,’ and ‘my aggregate of form.’ Thereby, in clinging to form, childish ordinary beings think of form as being themselves, something belonging to them, or something existent, perceptible, adoptable, or obtainable. They dwell on and depend upon form, and so they engage in and experience myriad nonvirtuous and evil actions.

2.­4

“It is inappropriate for us to emulate childish ordinary beings, [F.21.a] for we should arouse diligence and earnestly cultivate the factors of awakening. It is appropriate for us to investigate the aggregate of form accurately. When bodhisattvas contemplate the aggregates accurately, they understand them to be like water bubbles. How do they understand them to be like water bubbles? A water bubble does not exist‍—for it simply occurs due to many conditions and cannot be grasped or held. It is without solidity or a core. For these reasons, water bubbles lack any characteristics of bubbles. Just as the absence of a real bubble can be called a water bubble, so it is with the aggregate of form, for the aggregate of form lacks the characteristics of an aggregate. When bodhisattvas contemplate this, they reflect as follows: ‘Childish ordinary beings fail to understand the unreal nature of form accurately; they do not understand the impermanence of form accurately; and they do not understand the characteristic of form accurately. However, we have entered the correct path, so we shall not cling to unreal forms. Why is this? Form does not have any characteristic to grasp at, for it is just a mere label, lacking any true characteristics. Thus, because form lacks a true characteristic and has no name, it is called form. Furthermore, form has the characteristic of being destructible, yet the wise understand it as lacking marks. We must become skilled in cultivating the practice that form has no marks‍—we should not cling to the marks of form. If a person clings to the marks of form, they are called one who clings to form. We should become highly skilled in understanding the marks of form. When bodhisattvas understand this accurately, they know how to discern form accurately. [F.21.b] At that point, they know that the aggregate of form arises from the imputations of childish ordinary beings. The fact that phenomena arise from imputation means that they are unborn. Since all imputations are rooted in and based on the mistaken and false understanding of childish ordinary beings, beings give rise to such forms and become bound by those forms. Tormented by form, they are pained by suffering and wander throughout saṃsāra. Blinded by ignorance and delusion, they cling to form and cannot let it go; thereby, they regard form as permanent, solid, and having a core. Through this, childish ordinary beings are bound by the fetters of form and wander constantly through the realms of hell beings, animals, anguished spirits, gods, and humans. They relish the experience of form, for they do not consider the many problems inherent in form. We should not emulate childish ordinary beings; rather, we should cultivate discernment regarding what pertains to form.’

2.­5

“When cultivating discernment of form, one should view form’s nature as being like a dream. In a dream, the forms one sees arise from imputed perceptions, feelings, and concepts, which arouse sights, sounds, feelings, perceptions, and dependent origination. One then perceives these as self and other. One sees them as earth, water, fire, and wind. One sees them as mountains, lakes, forests, and so on. In this fashion, the marks of the forms in a dream do not truly exist; rather, they come about based on imputed perceptions. The marks of the aggregate of form are produced in the same way; they arise from the causes and conditions of previous actions and do not have a defined nature.10 If bodhisattvas contemplate in this fashion, they will not appropriate form as either I or mine. They will contemplate form accurately. [F.22.a] They will accurately understand its characteristic of impermanence and its false and mistaken nature. Beings, however, grasp and cling to this incorrectly observed form and perceive it as I, mine, other, or other’s. When bodhisattvas discern form in this way, they do not observe it as form; they do not see it as having the nature of form; and they do not become attached to impermanent forms. At that time, if they dispel and eliminate all attachment and grasping to form, they will become highly skilled concerning the true characteristics of form; they will understand form’s characteristic of sameness; they will understand form’s characteristic of cessation; they will become skilled concerning form’s characteristic of the path that leads to cessation; they will realize that the aggregate of form does not come from anywhere or go anywhere. When contemplating in this way, they understand that the body and the aggregate of form are born from the ripening of karmic results and imputations, and that they arise from the gathering of the four great elements. The aggregate of physical form is not the self, not another, ownerless, and does not come from anywhere. Having contemplated the aggregate of form in this fashion, they will not grasp or become attached to inner forms, outer forms, past forms, future forms, or present forms, as they understand all aggregates of form in terms of their characteristic of being unborn. These bodhisattvas then neither negate form nor seek a Dharma that negates form.11 Lokadhara, for these reasons, bodhisattva great beings are called those who engage in the discernment of form.”

Feeling

2.­6

“Lokadhara, how do bodhisattva great beings engage in the discernment of the aggregate for appropriation of feeling? [F.22.b] Bodhisattvas think: ‘Pleasurable feelings, painful feelings, and feelings that are neither pleasurable nor painful arise through dependent origination and are based on causes and conditions. Therefore, if one has understood the characteristic of feeling, there is no feeling there, for it is simply clinging. Such clinging is false and arises from false imputations.’ When bodhisattvas think such, they will also think, ‘Childish ordinary beings, bound by falsely imputed feelings, are tormented by the three types of feeling: pleasurable feelings, painful feelings, and feelings that are neither pleasurable nor painful. When childish ordinary beings experience pleasurable feelings, they become bound by the affliction of desire. Because they are afflicted by desire’s secondary afflictions, they engage in various nonvirtuous actions. When they experience unpleasant feelings, they become bound by the affliction of aggression. Because they are afflicted by aggression’s secondary afflictions, they engage in various nonvirtuous actions. When they experience feelings that are neither pleasurable nor painful, they become bound by the affliction of ignorance. Because they are afflicted by ignorance’s secondary afflictions, they are not freed from misery, lamentation, and painful torment. We should not emulate childish ordinary beings. Rather we should investigate the true reality of phenomena. We should investigate feeling accurately.’

2.­7

“Once bodhisattvas have investigated the aggregate of feelings accurately, they will think, ‘The aggregate of feelings is not an aggregate. Feelings arise from false imputation, and they are devoid of action. Feelings arise from the cause of past actions and are experienced based upon conditions in the present moment. [F.23.a] Because feelings are naturally empty, they lack the marks of feelings.’ When bodhisattvas contemplate the aggregate of feeling, they see that the aggregate of feelings is like water bubbles that appear and cease without ever truly existing. They arise from the connections between causes and conditions, and they depend on causes and conditions. Hence, they do not remain, even momentarily. As they are not real, they have arisen from the falsehood of imputation. At that time bodhisattvas will think, ‘Ordinary beings are the objects of our loving-kindness. Since they do not understand the aggregate of feelings accurately, they are afflicted by their feelings. They become attached to pleasurable feelings, painful feelings, and feelings that are neither pleasurable nor painful. Bound by such feelings, they wander throughout saṃsāra and pass from one body to another in an unbroken stream, because due to afflictive feelings, they do not understand the characteristics of the aggregate of feelings accurately. We should not emulate such childish ordinary beings. Rather, we should accurately investigate the discernment of the aggregate of feelings.’

2.­8

“When they accurately contemplate the aggregate of feelings, they will realize the aggregate of feelings to be a nonexistent aggregate, a false aggregate, a mistaken aggregate, and a nonabiding aggregate. At that time, they will accurately see the characteristics of the aggregate of feelings to be uncreated and devoid of action. They will not view the aggregate of feelings as having any characteristics of the aggregate of feelings. When contemplating the aggregate of feelings in this fashion, they do not view the aggregate of feelings as existing within or without. They are not attached to feelings being I, and they are not attached to feelings being mine. [F.23.b] They thus understand that the aggregate of feelings does not come from anywhere, that it is ownerless, and that it is not brought into being by anything. They know that feelings are mistaken, and that what is labeled the category of the aggregate of feelings manifests as the ripened effect of past actions. They see the aggregate of feelings as the unbroken continuity of engagement in false causes and conditions. At that time, they do not grasp, desire, or cling to the aggregate of feelings of the past; they do not grasp, desire, or cling to the aggregate of feelings of the future; and they do not grasp, desire, or cling to the aggregate of feelings of the present.

2.­9

“Such people exert themselves in removing the affliction of desire from pleasurable feelings, the affliction of aversion from painful feelings, and the affliction of ignorance from feelings that are neither pleasurable nor painful. Then, the mind of desire will not arise when the bodhisattva experiences pleasurable feelings, the mind of aversion will not arise when the bodhisattva experience painful feelings, and the mind of delusion will not arise when the bodhisattva experiences feelings that are neither pleasurable nor painful. Lokadhara, for the most part, the mind of desire arises when childish ordinary beings experience pleasurable feelings, the mind of aversion arises when they experience painful feelings, and the mind of delusion arises when they experience feelings that are neither pleasant nor painful. Thereby, childish ordinary beings are blinded by attachment, aversion, and delusion and fail to accurately understand the aggregate of feelings just as it is. Failing to understand the characteristics of attachment, aversion, and delusion, they become attached and cling to attachment, aversion, and delusion as being I, mine, and so forth.

2.­10

“Lokadhara, bodhisattva great beings who understand the aggregate of feelings accurately will not fall under the influence of attachment, aversion, and delusion. [F.24.a] Even if attachment, aversion, and delusion should arise, they will immediately dispel them, taking them earnestly onto the genuine path. They diligently practice in order to remove the affliction of attachment from the experience of pleasurable feelings. They diligently practice in order to remove the affliction of aversion from the experience of painful feelings. They diligently practice in order to remove the affliction of delusion from the experience of feelings that are neither pleasant nor painful. Thus, they gain accurate understanding of the three types of feeling. Then, to that extent, as they experience feelings, they do not cling to pleasurable feelings, painful feelings, or feelings that are neither pleasant nor painful. Distancing themselves from them, they become freed from the affliction of attachment, the affliction of aversion, and the affliction of delusion. Then, when feelings occur, they will understand and regard the aggregate of feelings accurately as impermanent. Having gained such understanding, they will disrupt attachment to the aggregate of feelings. Having understood the disrupted aggregate of feelings in this way, they will no longer be afflicted by feelings on the paths of desire and attachment. If bodhisattvas understand and realize the aggregate of feelings accurately, they will understand the origin of the aggregate of feelings, the cessation of the aggregate of feelings, and the path leading to cessation of the aggregate of feelings. Then they will understand the aggregate of feelings to be characterized as being unborn. Through this characteristic of being unborn, they will understand and realize the aggregate of feelings to be free of marks. Lokadhara, this has been a discussion of how bodhisattva great beings contemplate the discernment of the aggregate of feelings.” [F.24.b]

Perception

2.­11

“Lokadhara, how do bodhisattva great beings contemplate the discernment of the aggregate of perception? When bodhisattva great beings accurately contemplate the aggregate of perception, they see that the aggregate of perception arises from error, and that it is false, unreal, unreliable, and has the characteristic of never having being born to begin with. Being discontinuous, they see it as a gathering of causes and conditions, and as having arisen through the power of past actions. They think, ‘The aggregate of perception is a nonaggregate, for the aggregate of perception is a heap of falsehood. The aggregate of perception is a heap of error. The aggregate of perception lacks the marks of the aggregate of perception. It is just a label, like the mirages of summertime. The aggregate of perception is just like an aggregate of mirages. The label perception is imputed due to the perceptions of consciousness.’

2.­12

“Childish ordinary beings are bound by such false perceptions, which they perceive as pleasure, pain, neither pleasure nor pain, heat, cold, male, female, cycling throughout the five classes of beings,12 gathering, dispersing, past, present, future, good, bad, existence, and nonexistence. As the perceptions of childish ordinary beings are under the sway of false delusion, and dependent upon causes and conditions, the aggregate of perception is a mere imputation. There are no so-called perceptions either internally or externally. Bound by their false perceptions, childish ordinary beings perceive in terms of attachment, aversion, and delusion. [F.25.a] They perceive children and wives. Childish ordinary beings rely on the aggregate of perception and are attached to their false paths. Therefore, they circle throughout saṃsāra due to the aggregate of perception. They fail to understand accurately that the aggregate of perception is false. Childish ordinary beings perceive in terms of self and other. Perceiving male and female, they are bound by the aggregate of perception and are thus not liberated. They grasp and cling to the aggregate of perception as being I or mine. We should not emulate childish ordinary beings.’

2.­13

“When bodhisattva great beings accurately contemplate the aggregate of perception in this way, they will not apprehend the aggregate of perception as the aggregate of perception, just as one will not apprehend an aggregate of mirages as an aggregate of mirages. Bodhisattvas view the aggregate of perception as a mirage; thus, they do not desire, take up, or cling to past aggregates of perception; they do not desire, take up, or cling to future aggregates of perception; and they do not dwell on the present aggregates of perception. They do not conceptualize self and other. They exert themselves in the cessation of the aggregate of perception and understand the path of the aggregate of perception to be unborn. They do not view the aggregate of perception as having any basis for coming or any basis for going. Rather, they view it as something mistaken that arises from the cause of past actions, while being bound by current conditions. The aggregate of perception is a nonexistent aggregate. When they discern and contemplate that the aggregate of perception does not have any basis for coming or any basis for going, they realize the aggregate of perception to be unborn. They will also not conceptualize the cessation of the aggregate of perception; this is because they abide in accurate understanding and knowledge for all the feelings associated with perception to cease.13 [F.25.b] When bodhisattvas accurately contemplate the aggregate of perception, they are free from the aggregate of perception, such that, without dwelling on the path of perception, they adhere to an accurate knowledge and understanding of the aggregate of perception.14 Without being attached to the aggregate of perception, they accurately discern and contemplate the aggregate of perception. They also accurately understand the origination, cessation, and exhaustion of the aggregate of perception. Lokadhara, this is how bodhisattva great beings contemplate the discernment of the aggregate of perception. As they are free from attachment to the aggregate of perception, they apply themselves to the path, which disrupts attachment to the aggregate of perception.” [B2]

Formation

2.­14

“Lokadhara, how then do bodhisattva great beings contemplate the discernment of the aggregate of formation? Lokadhara, bodhisattva great beings realize that the aggregate of formation arises from error and is a mere imputation based on false imputations. At that time, bodhisattvas contemplate how all physical, verbal, and mental formations are unclean, impermanent, painful, empty, and selfless. When contemplating this, they think, ‘The aggregate of formation is a nonaggregate. The aggregate of formation is a heap of suffering. The aggregate of formation is a dependently originated aggregate. The aggregate of formation is a heap of reflections. The aggregate of formation does not increase or decrease; it is not gathered. Given that all physical, verbal, and mental formations are uncreated, the wise do not become attached to or grasp the aggregate of formation. Why is this? [F.26.a] Physical formations do not exist within the body, outside it, or in-between. Likewise, verbal and mental formations do not exist within, without, or in-between.

2.­15

“ ‘The aggregate of formation lacks the characteristics of the aggregate of formation. Why is this? The aggregate of formation arises from many causes and conditions, mistaken perceptions, false perceptions, and the ripening of the effects of past actions. Formations are thus manifested due to the influence of causes and conditions. No physical, verbal, and mental formations are truly formed, and they form nothing at all. Formations come from what is false, and they are formed out of mistaken perception. Therefore, the aggregate of formation refers to nonformations. Why is this? The wise do not ascertain any characteristics of formations. Therefore, there are no physical, verbal, or mental formations to be ascertained anywhere‍—whether here or somewhere else, inside or outside. If physical, verbal, and mental formations cannot be ascertained, observed, or described as having the characteristics of formations, how could we talk about apprehending or describing an aggregate of formation? Thus, the aggregate of formation is a nonexistent aggregate.

2.­16

“Having developed mistaken perceptions, childish ordinary beings grow attached to the formations of body, speech, and mind. As they conceptualize the aggregate of formation and are bound by it, they cycle in saṃsāra. Under the power of mistaken perception, childish ordinary beings generate physical, verbal, and mental formations. As they grasp and cling to them, they perceive nonphenomena to be phenomena and nonexistent aggregates to be aggregates. Attached to their mistaken formations, [F.26.b] they are bound by them and circle throughout the five classes of beings, continuously conforming to physical, verbal, and mental formations as they fail to accurately understand. By failing to accurately understand the aggregate of formation, they generate formations with body, speech, and mind. Because childish ordinary beings are attached to mistaken perceptions, because they are attached to phenomena that are not real, and because they are attached to what is false, these are called the aggregate of formation.’

2.­17

“Lokadhara, when bodhisattvas accurately investigate this, they will realize that formations have no substance and are weak. They understand that the so-called aggregate of formation is simply designated as such based on a gathering of many causes and conditions, and so the aggregate of formation does not truly exist. The aggregate of formation is a nonexistent aggregate. The aggregate of formation is primordially unborn. The aggregate of formation lacks intrinsic existence. Since formations cannot be observed in the past, cannot be observed in the future, and cannot be observed in-between, they do not remain. Thus, formations arise and cease moment-by-moment.

2.­18

“Lokadhara, in this fashion bodhisattvas accurately understand the aggregate of formation to be emptiness, inapprehensible, lacking a concrete nature, and not even remotely observable. Considering this, they will correctly reason in the following way with regard to the aggregate of formation: ‘Childish ordinary beings are bound by phenomena that have no essence, by the aggregate of formation, and by their attachment. They generate formations with their body, speech, and mind, and they generate the formations of self and possessions. By generating such action, they are bound by the aggregate of formation and fail to recognize the very aggregate of formation to be ignorance and delusion. Under the power of such mistaken perceptions, beings grasp and cling to formations. [F.27.a] Since such people become attached and cling to the aggregate of formation in this way, they sometimes generate pleasurable formations, sometimes generate painful formations, and sometimes generate formations that are neither pleasurable nor painful. When generating formations concerning pleasure, such people attain a body that is pleasurable. When generating formations concerning pain, such people attain a body that is painful. When generating formations concerning what is neither pleasurable nor painful, such people attain a body that is neither pleasurable nor painful. When they attain a body that is pleasurable, such people develop desire for it. When they attain a body that is painful, such people develop aversion for it. When they attain a body that is neither pleasurable or painful, such people develop delusion regarding it. Falling under the power of desire, aversion, and delusion, they fail to see the flaws of formations, and so they fail to purify physical, verbal, and mental formations. In failing to purify physical, verbal, and mental formations, they descend into impure paths: those of hell beings, animals, and anguished spirits. Even if they manage to briefly gain freedom from such states and are born as gods or humans, they remain very attached to physical, verbal, and mental formations; they are still quite attached to the aggregate of formation. Bodhisattva great beings accurately understand this. We too should not emulate childish ordinary beings. Rather, we should train to purify physical, verbal, and mental formations and not become attached to the aggregate of formation. Having thoroughly investigated the flaws of the aggregate of formation, we should seek the path, which brings emancipation from the aggregate of formation.’

2.­19

“Those who think in this way are called those who accurately contemplate the aggregate of formation and those who accurately contemplate the impermanent nature of the aggregate of formation. At that time, they will act appropriately by not grasping at, being attached, or clinging to formations, the origination of formations, [F.27.b] the cessation of formations, or the path leading to the cessation of formations. They will not be attached or cling to formations. They will also not be attached to the aggregate of formation. When contemplating this, they will be free from the marks of formations and realize how even formations lack the nature of the aggregate of formation. By realizing all formations to be emptiness, they will become weary, apprehensive, and dismissive of all formations. They will only form pure physical, verbal, and mental formations. They will demolish the marks of formations and distance themselves from the marks of the aggregate of formation. Thus, any type of body such a person acquires will be pure. Why is this? Such people have purified their physical, verbal, and mental actions. They have purified their physical, verbal, and mental formations. They are free from the aggregate of formation, they are free from the marks of the aggregate of formation, and they destroy the marks of substantial existence of all phenomena. When accurately contemplating this matter, they realize that the aggregate of formation does not come from anywhere or go anywhere. They do not observe any formations that have the marks of truly arising or truly ceasing. They understand that formations lack the marks of arising and ceasing, for no formation has the marks of arising and ceasing. Once these people understand that formations lack the marks of arising and ceasing, they become weary and dismissive toward them. They will accurately understand and realize the marks of the origination and cessation of formations.

2.­20

“Even though they see formations in terms of their characteristic of being unborn, they do not fully apprehend any characteristics of formations. Why is this? Lokadhara, it is because the aggregate of formation lacks true characteristics. [F.28.a] Just as a banana tree lacks both the characteristic of being solid and the characteristic of not being solid, so it is with the characteristics of formations‍—they lack both the characteristic of being solid and the characteristic of not being solid. Lokadhara, this is how bodhisattva great beings contemplate the discernment whereby one mentally engages the aggregate of formation.”

Consciousness

2.­21

“Lokadhara, how then do bodhisattva great beings accurately contemplate the discernment of the aggregate of consciousness? Bodhisattva great beings contemplate the aggregate of consciousness as a nonaggregate. They contemplate the aggregate of consciousness as a heap of error. They contemplate how the aggregate of consciousness is a heap of falsehood. Why is this so? Lokadhara, the aggregate of consciousness arises from mistaken perception. Because beings have been bound by the condition of false perception, they have previously created actions, due to which the aggregate of consciousness now manifests. Because it also depends upon current conditions, it is based on many causes and conditions. Therefore, the aggregate of consciousness arises from consciousness that is based on nonexistent and false imputations. It is called consciousness because it is cognizant. It exists adventitiously, based upon a confused conceptual mind. Because it knows, it is called consciousness. It is called the aggregate of consciousness because it is conscious of myriad entities, because it initiates mental actions, because it thinks, because it generates marks from many conditions, and because it generates thinking in myriad forms. It is called the aggregate of consciousness because consciousness causes the forms perceived by consciousness to arise and it manifests the actions of mind, and because it is fond of thinking. It is called mind, mentality, and consciousness.15 By conceptualizing everything through its mental activity, [F.28.b] consciousness assembles phenomena and perceives them as characteristics, formations, and intrinsic natures. Thus, it is called the aggregate of consciousness. In this manner, the aggregate of consciousness is a nonaggregate. It is unborn, unarisen, and uncreated.

2.­22

“It is called the aggregate of consciousness because it cognizes falsely, due to the condition of mistaken perception. Why is this? The aggregate of consciousness arises from many causes and conditions. It does not arise naturally, uninterruptedly, or continuously; rather it arises and ceases moment-by-moment, without generating the characteristics of the aggregate of consciousness. Why is this? Because no definitive manifestation of consciousness can be observed, and no characteristics of its manifestation can be observed. The wise reflect on it accurately, because they do not apprehend any such definitive manifestation or characteristics. Likewise, they understand that it lacks inherent nature, lacks its own characteristics, and possesses no solid nature. They understand the aggregate of consciousness to be a nonaggregate.

2.­23

“Childish ordinary beings perceive what is not the aggregate of consciousness to be the aggregate of consciousness. They are bound by incorrect thinking and a false and mistaken outlook, which causes them to assiduously impute the aggregate of consciousness. Thereby they become attached to the aggregate of consciousness, dwell on the functions of consciousness, and rely upon the features of consciousness. By thus displaying a conceptual mindset, the aggregate of consciousness is generated. Such people conceptualize all sorts of things, which causes them to become attached to consciousness of the inner, consciousness of the outer, consciousness of the inner and outer, consciousness of the distant, and consciousness of the immediate. As consciousness imputes marks, beings generate the aggregate of consciousness. By means of their conceptual perception, such people impute it with the synonyms of mind, mentality, [F.29.a] and consciousness. They assiduously impute this is mind, this is mentality, and this is consciousness. In this fashion they perceive the arising of various characteristics of the mind. Childish ordinary beings are attached to the aggregate of consciousness‍—they are bound by the aggregate of consciousness. Through the coming together of mind, mentality, and consciousness, the aggregate of consciousness arises in various forms. Due to being false conceptual entities, having an identical characteristic, and having a fixed characteristic, beings acquire this mind, mentality, and consciousness, and they also acquire the false concept of attachment to them.16 Such people depend and rely upon the aggregate of consciousness. Attached to the aggregate of consciousness, they grasp and cling to the past aggregate of consciousness as existent, they grasp and cling to the future aggregate of consciousness as existent, and they grasp and cling to the present aggregate of consciousness as existent. Childish ordinary beings become attached to things they see, hear, feel, and cognize as the aggregate of consciousness and thus construe them as being existent. Such people grasp and cling to things they see, hear, feel, and cognize. Bound by the aggregate of consciousness, they highly cherish what they cognize. Under the collective power of mind, mentality, and consciousness, they wander throughout saṃsāra, from this world to the next, and from there to here. Bound by the aggregate of consciousness, they fail to accurately understand the aggregate of consciousness. Since the aggregate of consciousness is false, then all things heard, seen, felt, and cognized have arisen from a mistaken cause, such that there is no accurate consciousness of them. [F.29.b] In this way, as such people fail to accurately apprehend, at times a virtuous consciousness will arise, at times a nonvirtuous consciousness will arise, and at times a consciousness that is neither virtuous nor nonvirtuous will arise. Although such people always follow after consciousness, they do not recognize the origin of consciousness or the true characteristics of consciousness.

2.­24

“Lokadhara, when bodhisattva great beings accurately realize this, they understand that the aggregate of consciousness arises from false consciousness. They understand that the things seen, heard, felt, and cognized arise from many causes and conditions. They think, ‘Ordinary beings perceive phenomena where there are none, and have thus become attached to the aggregate of consciousness. We should not emulate childish ordinary beings; rather, we should accurately analyze the discernment of consciousness and the discernment of the aggregate of consciousness.’

2.­25

“When bodhisattvas accurately contemplate in this manner, they understand the aggregate of consciousness to be false and mistaken. They understand it as having the characteristic of being unborn17 from the very beginning. They understand that the aggregate of consciousness is a nonaggregate. The aggregate of consciousness is a heap of reflections. The aggregate of consciousness is a heap of illusion. For example, if an illusionist conjures up an illusory person, the consciousness of that person is not present within, without, or in-between. The nature of consciousness is analogous to that. It arises from many false conditions and conceptuality, and it is not a real entity. Consciousness is like a marionette,18 for it comes into being due to the gathering of many false and mistaken causes and conditions.

2.­26

“When contemplating this, [F.30.a] bodhisattvas understand consciousness to be impermanent, painful, unclean, and without self. They understand the characteristic of consciousness to be illusory and realize the nature of consciousness to be illusory. At that time, bodhisattvas think: ‘Worldly beings are intoxicated and blinded by delusion. They all appear from consciousness that imputes‍—as a result of the gathering of mind, mentality, and consciousness, the three realms are nothing but consciousness. Mind, mentality, and consciousness are without form or location; they do not exist either inside or outside phenomena. Because childish ordinary beings are bound by their false perceptions, they grasp and cling to the aggregate of consciousness as I and mine. Such people cling to the aggregate of consciousness as existing internally, as existing externally, as existing both internally and externally, and as existing in self and other. Such people cling to the aggregate of consciousness as primary. Bound by consciousness, they are attached to the experience of the aggregate of consciousness and proclaim the characteristics of the aggregate of consciousness. Being attached to the experience of mind, mentality, and consciousness causes them to become attached and cling to the aggregate of consciousness. Such people are bound by consciousness. Because of their association with the aggregate of consciousness, they come under the power of mind, mentality, and consciousness. Due to the causes and conditions of mind, mentality, and consciousness, they are born as childish ordinary beings. If they generate lesser thoughts, they will acquire a lesser body. If they generate superior thoughts, they will acquire a superior body. If they generate middling thoughts, they will acquire a middling body. Due to following mind, mentality, and consciousness, [F.30.b] their dependence and reliance upon the sense sources arises. Because of their attachment to the aggregate of consciousness, they are not liberated from birth, aging, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, and suffering.’

2.­27

“Bodhisattvas accurately understand these things about the aggregate of consciousness. By accurately understanding the characteristic of impermanence of the aggregate of consciousness, they do not grasp or cling to the aggregate of consciousness of the past. They understand the aggregate of consciousness to be a nonaggregate. They do not grasp or cling to the aggregate of consciousness of the future. They understand the aggregate of consciousness to be a nonaggregate. They do not dwell upon the consciousness of the present either, for they accurately understand the characteristic of impermanence of the aggregate of consciousness. They accurately understand the characteristic of arising and ceasing of the aggregate of consciousness. Those who employ their minds in this fashion and accurately contemplate the aggregate of consciousness are said to enter the correct path. They accurately understand consciousness. They accurately understand the origination of consciousness. They accurately understand the cessation of consciousness. They accurately understand the path to the cessation of consciousness. Having accurately understood the characteristics of origination and cessation of the aggregate of consciousness, such people become skilled in destroying19 the aggregate of consciousness and eliminating all marks. They understand and realize the characteristics of the origination and cessation of the aggregate of consciousness. [F.31.a] At this point, bodhisattvas neither generate nor obstruct the aggregate of consciousness, for they realize the aggregate of consciousness to be primordially unborn. When realizing this, they do not realize consciousness in terms of its characteristic of ceasing; rather, they understand the aggregate of consciousness’s characteristic of being unborn. Why is this? Lokadhara, the aggregate of consciousness is without birth, marks, or existence. The aggregate of consciousness’s characteristic of being born is false; thus it is subsumed within the characteristic of being unborn. Lokadhara, the aggregate of consciousness lacks the characteristics of birth and existence. The characteristics of the aggregate of consciousness arise from many causes and conditions. Lokadhara, when bodhisattva great beings contemplate dependently originated phenomena in this manner, they realize the aggregate of consciousness to be a nonaggregate. Having carefully analyzed and investigated in this way, they will accurately understand and realize everything designated as consciousness. Once bodhisattvas understand how to disengage from the aggregate of consciousness, they will overcome all apprehensions and objects of knowledge. Lokadhara, this is how bodhisattva great beings understand the aggregate of consciousness. When they understand the aggregate of consciousness to be unborn, uncreated, unarisen, imperceptible, and ungraspable, they see that it arises from many conditions and appears due to the gathering of many conditions. Although it comes into existence due to the conditions of things seen, heard, felt, and cognized, it is primordially empty. When contemplating the aggregate of consciousness in this manner, they understand the aggregate of consciousness to be uncreated and unarisen. They do not cling to it or become attached to it as primary. Lokadhara, this is how bodhisattva great beings accurately contemplate the discernment of, and engagement with, the aggregate of consciousness.” [F.31.b]

The Five Aggregates

2.­28

“Such bodhisattvas, who skillfully engage with the five aggregates and skillfully contemplate the five aggregates for appropriation in the correct manner, are said to be skilled in engaging with the origination, cessation, and path with regard to the five aggregates. By eliminating all grasping at marks concerning the aggregates, they accurately understand the means related to the five aggregates. Through such means, they will not cling to, grasp at, crave for, or become bound by the five aggregates for appropriation. They accurately understand form and its characteristic of impermanence. Therefore, should attachment to form happen to arise for bodhisattvas, they will immediately dispel and eliminate it. Similarly, they accurately understand feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness, along with their characteristic of impermanence. Should attachment to feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness arise for bodhisattvas, they will immediately dispel it and disrupt it. By doing away with their desire for and attachment to the five aggregates for appropriation, bodhisattvas align themselves with a skillful understanding of the definitive nature of the five aggregates. When contemplating in this manner, they come to understand even the subtle marks of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation.

2.­29

“Lokadhara, how do bodhisattva great beings contemplate the discernment of the subtle marks of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation? Bodhisattva great beings understand the five aggregates’ characteristic of arising and ceasing by seeing how‍—when beings enter the womb and begin the embryonic stage‍—their previous set of five aggregates has ceased and a new set of five aggregates arises. They understand that while the previous consciousness has of course ceased, [F.32.a] the five aggregates are not characterized by disruption or cessation. While the consciousness indeed adheres to and abides in the embryo, they understand the five aggregates to be nonabiding and impermanent. Thereby they realize that the five aggregates for appropriation arise and cease moment-by-moment once they have entered the womb. Likewise, from the embryonic stage until the child is born, and from birth to death, the five aggregates for appropriation are characterized by arising and ceasing moment-by-moment. The five aggregates for appropriation arise and cease each and every moment. This is called contemplating the discernment of the subtle characteristics of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation.

2.­30

“Lokadhara, the subtle characteristics of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation are as follows: Once the previous five aggregates for appropriation have ceased, beings enter the womb without any corporeality. Then, as they initially become conjoined with consciousness, the five aggregates for appropriation arise and cease. In terms of the embryonic stage, the five aggregates for appropriation are synonymously labeled a human being. Why is this? Lokadhara, without the support of consciousness, they would not remain, for it is said that the five aggregates for appropriation depend upon consciousness. Lokadhara, the subtle characteristics of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation pertaining to the gods20 in the formless realm should be understood in the same way. Lokadhara, if the insight of the solitary buddhas is unable to know the subtle characteristics of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation, then there’s no need to mention the insight of hearers. It is only the blessed buddhas who can properly understand the subtle characteristics of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation while in the womb, along with the momentary arising and ceasing of the aggregates of the gods in the formless realms. This is so because their omniscient insight transcends all worldly insight. [F.32.b] Bodhisattva great beings gain the acceptance that phenomena are unborn and enter the domain of the wisdom of the buddhas. Yet even they are unable to fully understand‍—as the buddhas do‍—the subtle characteristics of the five aggregates for appropriation while in the womb, nor that which pertains to the gods in the formless realms. Lokadhara, the insight of the blessed buddhas is not dependent on other factors. Having naturally discovered wisdom, insight, and skill, they fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood. There is nothing that the wisdom of the blessed buddhas does not understand. With the unhindered wisdom of the blessed ones, they achieve insight that is certain with regard to all phenomena and has the power to control all phenomena. Why is this? Because they have practiced an incredibly profound Dharma for immeasurable, fathomless, and countless thousands of eons.”

The Five Aggregates for Appropriation

2.­31

“Lokadhara, if childish ordinary beings lack even the means to contemplate the five aggregates for appropriation, there’s no need to mention their ability to contemplate the subtle characteristics of arising and ceasing of the five aggregates for appropriation. Why is this? Childish ordinary beings do not understand the five aggregates for appropriation, or the truth of the five aggregates for appropriation. Childish ordinary beings do not understand appropriation, or the five aggregates for appropriation.

2.­32

“Lokadhara, what then is appropriation? Appropriation is called appropriation because it appropriates self, others, views, discipline, the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, and the twelve causes and conditions. Any phenomena construed to be desired, whether outer or inner, is appropriated; existence is appropriated; as are things seen, heard, felt, cognized; as are self and possessions. [F.33.a] Lokadhara, childish ordinary beings fail to see and understand this false appropriation. They appropriate phenomena via mistaken causes and conditions. Because such people are bound by appropriation, they appropriate formations due to the condition of ignorance, they appropriate consciousness due to the condition of formations, and they appropriate name-and-form due to the condition of consciousness. Beings grasp and crave for the coarse marks of name-and-form, and appropriate them. They appropriate form, conjoin themselves with form, and are bound by form. Moreover, they appropriate the four remaining formless aggregates, conceptualizing and labeling feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. Lokadhara, if there were no buddhas, beings would fail to know and understand. They would remain incapable of accurately contemplating the five aggregates for appropriation. In order to destroy beings’ dependence and reliance on form; in order to destroy beings’ dependence and reliance on feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness; and in order to destroy the single characteristic that pertains to them all, the blessed buddhas analyzed and taught as follows:21

2.­33

“ ‘That which all of you depend and rely upon is form. Form is a gathering of the four great elements. Feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness are mere labels. The five aggregates for appropriation are taught in order to present the marks of name-and-form. You ordinary beings should not depend upon or become attached to the five aggregates for appropriation, which are unstable and insubstantial.’

2.­34

“Lokadhara, why have the thus-gone ones thus taught the aggregates for appropriation? Lokadhara, childish ordinary beings arise from mistaken perception, and they wander throughout saṃsāra because they are caught in the net of ignorance. Why do they wander? Because of grasping and attachment to the marks of the five aggregates for appropriation. [F.33.b] They think: ‘I will be happy if I depend on this.’ By observing pleasurable marks, such people become attached to the five aggregates for appropriation and rely upon them. By observing and becoming attached to painful marks and marks that are neither pleasurable nor painful, they rely upon the five aggregates for appropriation and become attached to them. The locus upon which childish ordinary beings rely is the five aggregates for appropriation.

2.­35

“Lokadhara, childish ordinary beings are born blind: they fail to understand what the five aggregates are and where they come from. By not understanding the five aggregates accurately, they grasp and become attached to the aggregates. Therefore, they are called aggregates for appropriation. There is no appropriation there, and there is also nothing to appropriate that can be observed. So, they are bound by attachment to mistaken perception and incorrect conceptuality. Stupefied by ignorance and delusion, they appropriate in terms of I, mine, and self and other. Therefore, these are called aggregates for appropriation. The five aggregates have nothing that can be appropriated and no true characteristics. Therefore, the wise understand the five aggregates for appropriation as nonaggregates. They understand the five aggregates for appropriation as mistaken aggregates. They understand the five aggregates for appropriation as five aggregates of ignorance. Because childish ordinary beings are bound by this, they become attached to and dwell upon the five aggregates for appropriation. Because they become attached to and dwell on them, they do not understand what the aggregates for appropriation are like. Because they become attached to and dwell on the five aggregates, they take birth and circle. Because they become attached to and dwell on the five aggregates, they wander throughout all the destinies of sentient existence. On what do they dwell and to what do they become attached? They dwell on and become attached to sight. They dwell on and become attached to hearing. They dwell on and become attached to feeling. They dwell on and become attached to consciousness. They dwell on and become attached to craving.22 They dwell on and become attached to ignorance. [F.34.a] Because they are bound by the fetters of existence, childish ordinary beings are attached to the five aggregates for appropriation. Obscured by their obscurations, they are stupefied by ignorance and become ignorant and unaware. What is the source of their attachment? What are they bound by? It is due to ignorance that they circle in repeated births as hell beings, animals, anguished spirits, gods, and humans. Bound by saṃsāra, they dwell in and become attached to saṃsāra, and so they cannot give it up, discard it, or disrupt it. Thus, they fail to accurately understand the five aggregates for appropriation.”

Suffering

2.­36

“Because they fail to understand the true characteristics of the five aggregates for appropriation, they are harmed by all sorts of suffering. Having fallen into the pit of falsity, they fail to understand the path leading to the exit. In failing to understand the path of emancipation, such people have wandered continuously from beginningless time throughout saṃsāra. Thus, they are not liberated from birth, aging, sickness, death, lamentation, distress, or suffering. They are not liberated from the fathomless abyss of saṃsāra. They are not liberated from the great mass of suffering, and repeatedly they dwell in suffering and become attached to it. They are addicted to suffering. They are enslaved by suffering.

2.­37

“What is meant by suffering? It is the five aggregates for appropriation. Suffering arises at the time of birth and ceases at the time of cessation. Lokadhara, due to that cause and that condition, I deliver this Dharma teaching to my disciples: Monks, you must accurately investigate the aggregate of form. You must accurately understand form’s characteristic of impermanence. Should you find yourself attached to form, immediately dispel and eliminate it. Likewise, you must accurately investigate feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. You must accurately understand the characteristic of impermanence with regard to feeling, perception, [F.34.b] formation, and consciousness. Should you find yourself attached to feeling, perception, formation, or consciousness, you must immediately dispel and eliminate that attachment. By dispelling and eliminating attachment, the mind will be truly liberated.

2.­38

“Lokadhara, if people understand the meaning of the teachings I have given and earnestly employ what I have taught, they will be liberated from birth, aging, sickness, death, lamentation, distress, and suffering. If people do not practice or cultivate what I have taught, they will remain bound by the chains of form and craving. Blinded by their ignorance, they will remain attached to the five aggregates for appropriation. People who remain attached to the five aggregates for appropriation will not be liberated from the abyss of saṃsāra. Lokadhara, therefore, worldly beings argue with me, yet I do not argue with worldly beings.”

The World

2.­39

“What is meant by the world? The world is attachment to the five aggregates for appropriation. Attached to the five aggregates, people are bound by the five aggregates. Thereby they fail to understand the nature of the five aggregates, and they do not understand that emptiness is the characteristic of the five aggregates; and so they argue with me. Such people contradict the teachings of the Buddha. They argue with the Buddha and thus fall into great misery. Whether the Thus-Gone One abides in the world or has passed into parinirvāṇa, whoever realizes the five aggregates to be false, empty, and nonexistent; arisen from error, ignorance, and false imputations;23 and deceptive to childish ordinary beings will understand the five aggregates to be like nonaggregates. Such people will not argue with the Buddha. Since they will not contradict the teachings of the Buddha, they will be liberated from the suffering of hell beings, animals, and anguished spirits. [F.35.a] Lokadhara, the Blessed Buddha does not debate with others. Because he has ceased all debate, he is called Buddha, and he teaches to all beings the genuine Dharma, namely this: ‘All that you have previously appropriated was mistaken. Due to being mistaken, all beings cling to and depend upon the five aggregates, and thereby they repeatedly cycle throughout the world.’ In this way, people who cling to and depend upon the five aggregates will develop and cling to myriad wrong views. They cling to and depend upon various terms and words. They cling to and depend upon sorrow, lamentation, and suffering. Thus, people are afflicted with various wrong views and are thus harmed by many forms of suffering; but still, their views never become their protector, refuge, base, or support, for only the blessed buddhas can protect and offer refuge. Childish ordinary beings are small-minded and have limited understanding. They are attached to the five sense pleasures and cling to the five aggregates, which are rife with problems. Childish ordinary beings argue with those who protect, offer refuge, provide support, and deliver from all suffering. Lokadhara, I have raised my hand. I am not the teacher of those who view in terms of the five aggregates, view the five aggregates in terms of marks, or who become attached to the five aggregates. They are not my students. They are not my ordained. They are not my followers. They do not take refuge in me. Such people have set out on the path to the lower realms and entered the incorrect path. They do not follow the truth. They are mistaken. They fail to understand what the Buddha knows and teaches. They fail to understand what the Buddha knows and teaches about the five aggregates. [F.35.b] They fail to understand what the Buddha teaches concerning the ultimate. Thus, by not following the Buddha’s teachings, they should not receive veneration and offerings. I do not permit them to be ordained, much less to receive the honor of veneration and offerings from others. Why is this? Because such people are included in the ranks of the non-Buddhists. Such people, who produce marks concerning the five aggregates, are known as those who are attached and cling to the five aggregates.

2.­40

“Lokadhara, when the Dharma is coming to ruin in the final five-hundred-year period, many who have taken ordination in my teachings will produce marks regarding the five aggregates. They will speak of the marks of the five aggregates as being real.24 They will be attached to the five aggregates. Those that have entered such a base and false path while taking ordination in my teachings will then drape Dharma robes around their necks as they enjoy spending their time going from household to household. You should know that even though such people are no different from non-Buddhists, many will be generous and venerate them due to the power of my Dharma. Lokadhara, I declare that those who have views of the five aggregates, who teach the five aggregates as being real,25 or who are attached to the five aggregates, are not allowed to accept so much as a cup of water from someone else. Why is this? Such people lack any acceptance whatsoever of the principles of my teaching. Thus, such people contradict my teachings and abandon the Dharma of the noble ones.

2.­41

“Lokadhara, therefore, bodhisattva great beings should make a great aspiration, vowing that in such dire future times, they will uphold and protect my very profound discourses, and to disrupt beings’ views of the five aggregates, they will teach them the Dharma. Lokadhara, in all my discourses I explained how to eliminate all marks of the aggregates and how to abandon attachment to the aggregates. Much debate then arose among many householders and the ordained concerning this discourse; therefore, they did not perceive it as being true. Bodhisattva great beings [F.36.a] should thus make the following promise and great aspiration: ‘For the sake of the benefit and happiness of beings in the dire times of the future who will be attached to and have wrong views about the aggregates, and in order to dispel their attachment to the five aggregates, I will bring benefit and happiness to them with the Dharma, in whatever way will tame them.’ Therefore, Lokadhara, those bodhisattva great beings who wish to understand the truth of phenomena, who wish to become skilled in discerning the characteristics of phenomena, who wish to attain the power of mindfulness, who wish for the insight that skillfully discerns the categories of phenomena, and who wish to attain unbroken mindfulness from the time they abandon this body until they reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening should investigate the five aggregates for appropriation in terms of their characteristics of impermanence, suffering, selflessness, falsity, hollowness, final emptiness, and being primordially unborn. When they constantly contemplate this accurately, they will dispel their attachment and craving for the five aggregates for appropriation. Additionally, they will achieve a connection to this category of profound teaching.

2.­42

“Lokadhara, countless immeasurable eons ago, the thus-gone one, the worthy one, the perfect buddha Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence appeared in the world. He was learned and virtuous, a well-gone one, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed being, a charioteer who guides beings, a teacher of gods and humans, and a blessed buddha. Lokadhara, the blessed Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence had eight trillion hearers in his saṅgha, all of whom were worthy ones who had exhausted the defilements. Furthermore, he had 800 quadrillion followers who were irreversible on the level of training. [F.36.b] There were also one sextillion beings in his assembly of bodhisattva great beings. The lifespan of the blessed Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence was eighty thousand years. Lokadhara, at that time there was a king named Bringer of Benefit, who ruled over twenty thousand cities, each of which was filled with happy beings. Each city was encircled by seven concentric walls that were twelve leagues in circumference. They were fashioned from the four precious substances. There were seven layers of moats and fences that were covered with a net of various precious substances. The cities, moats, trees, walls, and covering nets were fashioned from the four precious substances: gold, beryl, crystal, and coral. There were five hundred parks in each city wherein the trees were made of the seven precious substances. Each and every tree was adorned with precious fabrics. In each park were five hundred jeweled ponds filled with water of the eight qualities. Lokadhara, King Bringer of Benefit had eighty thousand queens and members of his court. At that time, his highest queen had two sons: Limitless Intelligence and Limitless Power. Lokadhara, when the two boys had reached the age of sixteen, they beheld the Thus-Gone One in a dream. Since he was incomparably handsome, he appeared to them like a banner made of gold from the Jambū River. This delighted them to the point that they awoke and proclaimed the following verses.

2.­43

“The elder brother said this:

“ ‘I dreamt that I saw the supreme human.
He was golden, ornamented by the signs of a hundred merits.
He was replete with limitless virtues.
When I saw him, my mind was filled with joy.’ [F.37.a]
2.­44

“The younger brother said this:

“ ‘I dreamt that I saw the sun-like Buddha.
He was excellent, the most handsome one can be.
I was overjoyed when I saw him vividly,
Just like Meru, the king of mountains.’
2.­45

“Lokadhara, the two princes Limitless Intelligence and Limitless Power then went before their father and mother to proclaim to their parents the story of what they saw in their dreams. They said, ‘We dreamt that we saw the Buddha. Please permit us to go see the Blessed One. It is extremely rare for a thus-gone one to appear in the world. In our heedlessness, we have senselessly and unwittingly fallen into the swamp of the five desires. We are bound by the fetter of form. We are bound by the fetters of feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. We have not seen the Buddha before, because we have been heedless, living the household life.’

2.­46

“Lokadhara, once the two princes announced this to their parents, they went before the blessed Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence. Arriving in the Blessed One’s presence, they bowed, touching the crowns of their heads to his feet and invited the Buddha and his saṅgha of monks with an offering of the four kinds of veneration for a duration of three months. They offered clothing, food, bedding, and medicine in the case of illness. In one of King Bringer of Benefit’s parks at the edge of the city, they hung banners, raised parasols, and arranged jeweled lotuses. Offering this to the Buddha and his saṅgha of monks, they requested them to stay. For three months, the two princes served the Buddha and his saṅgha of monks with offerings of supplies, and they went forth into the homeless life under the Blessed One’s teachings.

2.­47

“Lokadhara, the blessed Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence understood the two princes’ pure motivation and aspiration26 [F.37.b] and extensively instructed them in the discourse called The Skillful Means of Bodhisattvas, in which the five aggregates, twelve sense sources, and eighteen elements are explained. For forty thousand years, they did not sleep, eat to fullness, or rest; they did not even sit down or walk around anywhere.27 Then, for forty thousand years, they thought of nothing other than the characteristics of falsity and emptiness of the five aggregates for appropriation. Having understood the five aggregates to arise from mistaken perception, they spent their lives practicing pure conduct, while understanding and realizing the characteristics of the five aggregates for appropriation. When they passed away, they were born in the Heaven of Joy. After the Blessed One passed into nirvāṇa, they were born into the family of an important householder here in Jambudvīpa, and once again, at the age of sixteen, saw the Thus-Gone One in a dream, where they dreamt that he taught them the discourse called The Skillful Means of Bodhisattvas, in which the five aggregates and the eighteen elements are explained. Having heard this teaching in the dream, they awoke with a start. They engaged in pure conduct for a full ten thousand years, following the teachings of the Blessed One, carefully investigating the discourse called The Skillful Means of Bodhisattva Conduct, in which the five aggregates, twelve sense sources, and eighteen elements are explained. Then, once they passed away, they were born in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. When their divine lifespan was spent, they were born once again here in Jambudvīpa into an important, high-caste Brahmin family. One thousand years after the Dharma of the blessed Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence had disappeared, the two princes received ordination based upon their previous causes and conditions. Their understanding grew vast, with insight as vast as the ocean. They became skilled in discerning and reflecting upon the characteristics of the aggregates, and came to understand them directly and accurately. Lokadhara, they established twenty thousand humans and two hundred thousand gods in unsurpassed and perfect awakening. [F.38.a]

2.­48

“Lokadhara, these two bodhisattvas were close companions wherever they were born. They met and served a quadrillion buddhas. They then gained the acceptance that phenomena are primordially unborn. Once they gained the acceptance that phenomena are unborn, they once again met a quadrillion buddhas, and eventually went on to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening. The two of them sequentially awakened to buddhahood during the same eon, where one became known as Limitless Voice, and the other, Limitless Light. Lokadhara, it must therefore be understood that bodhisattva great beings who wish swiftly to attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening should exert themselves in cultivating the pure and excellent Dharma. Additionally, they should become skilled in understanding the characteristics of the aggregates and skilled in the actual characteristics of conditioned phenomena.”

2.­49

This was chapter two: “Investigating the Five Aggregates.”


3.

Chapter Three: The Eighteen Elements

The Eye Element

3.­1

“Lokadhara, regarding the elements, how are bodhisattva great beings learned in the eighteen elements? When bodhisattva great beings practice correct contemplation of the eighteen elements, they think, ‘The eye element cannot be observed to be the eye element. There is also no I or mine in the eye element. It is impermanent, insubstantial, and empty of inherent nature. Therefore, what is imputed as the characteristic of the eye element cannot be observed in the eye element. The eye element is untrue and totally nonexistent, for it is born from false thinking. The eye element lacks true characteristics, as the space element is the eye element. For instance, just as the space element lacks true characteristics and is not an entity, the eye element also lacks true characteristics and is not an entity. Why is this? [F.38.b] Because no real entity can be found in the eye element, the eye element does not exist in any location or direction. It does not exist internally, externally, or somewhere in-between. The eye element lacks true characteristics and is not an entity. Thus, no entity of the eye element can be apprehended, for it arises from many causes and conditions. The eye element is neither past, nor present, nor future, and there is no intrinsic nature of the eye to observe in the eye element. The eye element depends upon the ripening of the results of past actions and current conditions, whereupon the eye element is imputed. The eye element is a nonelement. No eye element can be observed in the eye element. The so-called eye element refers to the domain of consciousness. The eye element manifests when three factors come together: a clear eye faculty, an apparent form, and the involvement of the mind faculty. The eye element lacks anything that can be called a real eye element, and the wise understand the eye element to be the absence of the eye element.’ ”

The Form Element

The Eye-Consciousness Element

The Mind Element

The Mental-Object Element

The Mind-Consciousness Element

The Three Realms


4.

Chapter Four: Understanding the Twelve Sense Sources

The Eye and Form Sense Sources

4.­1

The Blessed One continued addressing Lokadhara: [F.45.b] “How are bodhisattva great beings knowledgeable about the twelve sense sources? When discerning the twelve sense sources, they think, ‘The eye sense source cannot be observed in the eye. In the eye, there is no definitive eye sense source. The eye sense source cannot be observed to be an entity.’ Why is this? The eye sense source is born from many causes and conditions and arises through mistaken perception. It depends upon form, because it observes form. When the two meet,38 the condition of form brings the condition of the eye sense source into existence. Because the form and eye sense sources are mutually dependent, they are collectively called the eye’s form. Regarding the so-called eye and form, form is the gateway through which the eye sense source is generated, and the eye also generates and illuminates the form sense source. Therefore, with regard to the sense sources, the eye sense source is so-called because it is labeled a sense source gateway via the condition of form and the form sense source is so-called because it is seen by the eye. While I teach that they do exist relatively, the eye does not exist in form, form does not exist in the eye, the eye does not exist in the eye, and form does not exist in form. The eye sense source is thus labeled because observation of form arises from many conditions. Additionally, the form sense source is thus labeled because the eye consciousness and the characteristic of sight arise through dependent origination.

The Mind and Mental-Object Sense Sources

The Inner and Outer Sense Sources


5.

Chapter Five: Understanding the Twelve Links of Dependent Origination

5.­1

“Lokadhara, how are bodhisattva great beings skilled in discerning and contemplating the twelve links of dependent origination? [F.49.a] Bodhisattva great beings discern and contemplate the twelve links of dependent origination as follows: Ignorance is so designated because of nonexistence. Ignorance is so designated because it lacks qualities. Ignorance is so designated because it cannot understand knowledge. How is ignorance unable to understand knowledge? Ignorance is called ignorance because it has no fixed qualities to observe. For what reason does the condition of ignorance give rise to formations? All phenomena42 are nonexistent, but childish ordinary beings form them, thus it is said that ignorance causes formations. Because consciousness arises from formations, it depends upon the condition of formations. Name-and-form are two characteristics, and therefore name-and-form are created by the condition of consciousness. The six sense sources are based upon the condition of name-and-form, because the six sense sources arise from name-and-form. Contact is based upon the condition of the six sense sources, because contact arises from the six sense sources. Feeling is based upon the condition of contact, because feeling arises from contact. Craving is based upon the condition of feeling, because craving arises from feeling. Grasping is based upon the condition of craving, because grasping arises from craving. Becoming is based upon the condition of grasping, because becoming arises from grasping. Birth is based upon the condition of becoming, because birth arises from becoming. Based upon the condition of birth, there arises aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, and the great mass of suffering. In this way aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, and the great mass of suffering are so designated because of birth. In this manner, the great mass of suffering arises. This process is all-subsuming: with a mistaken perception, one contravenes knowledge and accumulates a mass of ignorance. This generates desire for another existence, and based on one’s preferences and attachments, one seeks birth in all such places‍—this is the aggregate of existence. [F.49.b]


6.

Chapter Six: The Four Applications of Mindfulness

6.­1

“Lokadhara, how are bodhisattva great beings skilled in the applications of mindfulness? Bodhisattva great beings discern and contemplate the four applications of mindfulness. What are these four? The contemplation of the body in relation to the body, the contemplation of feelings in relation to feelings, the contemplation of the mind in relation to the mind, and the contemplation of mental phenomena in relation to mental phenomena. How do they contemplate the body in relation to the body, and contemplate feelings, mind, [F.54.b] and mental phenomena in relation to feelings, mind, and mental phenomena?”

Contemplation of the Body in Relation to the Body

Contemplation of Feelings in Relation to Feelings

Contemplation of the Mind in Relation to the Mind

Contemplation of Mental Phenomena in Relation to Mental Phenomena


7.

Chapter Seven: The Five Powers

7.­1

“Lokadhara, how are bodhisattva great beings skilled in the five powers? Bodhisattva great beings accurately contemplate the five transcendent powers. What are these five? The powers of faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and insight.

The Power of Faith

7.­2

“When bodhisattvas put the five powers into practice, they gain trust in how all phenomena are born from dependent origination, arise through mistaken perception, and are like a whirling firebrand or a dream, in owing their existence to a gathering of conditions of false perception. They trust that all phenomena have the characteristics of being impermanent, suffering, impure, selfless, like a thorn or blister, insubstantial, unstable, mutable, and destructible. [F.59.b] Moreover, they trust that all phenomena are false, and thus nonexistent; that just as a child is fooled by an empty fist or a rainbow, phenomena are merely arisen from imputation and dependent phenomena, and thus lack even a single true quality of being an entity. Moreover, they trust that all phenomena are neither past, present, nor future. They trust that all phenomena neither come from, nor go, anywhere. They trust that all phenomena are emptiness, without marks, and unconditioned. They trust that all phenomena are unborn, unconditioned, unarisen, without marks, and free from marks. They trust in pure discipline, pure absorption, pure insight, and the pure teaching of the wisdom of liberation.61 Bodhisattvas become irreversible by effortlessly accomplishing the power of faith; guided by faith, they can observe discipline, such that their faith will not decline or be lost. By effortlessly accomplishing the quality of irreversibility, they will have unwavering faith. They will ripen faith in accordance with the ripening of karmic results, and they will destroy all wrong views. They will not spurn the teachings or seek out any teachers other than the blessed buddhas. They will always follow the true nature of all phenomena. They will follow the genuine path practiced by the saṅgha. Through observing pure discipline and effortlessly accomplishing acceptance, they will attain faith that is unwavering, unchanging, and extraordinary. They are thus said to possess the power of faith.”

The Power of Diligence

The Power of Mindfulness

The Power of Absorption

The Power of Insight


8.

Chapter Eight: The Eightfold Path of the Noble Ones

8.­1

“Lokadhara, how are bodhisattva great beings skilled in the path of the noble ones? The bodhisattva great beings are steadfast on the noble path. What is meant by path in this context? It is the eightfold path of the noble ones, which comprises right view, right thought, [F.63.a] right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right absorption. Lokadhara, what is it that bodhisattva great beings practice on the eightfold path of the noble ones? And what means do they obtain on the eightfold path of the noble ones?”

Right View

Right Thought

Right Speech

Right Action

Right Livelihood

Right Effort

Right Mindfulness

Right Absorption


9.

Chapter Nine: The Phenomena of the World and Transcendence

9.­1

“Lokadhara, how are bodhisattva great beings skilled regarding the phenomena of the world and transcendence? What means do they obtain with regard to the phenomena of the world and transcendence? Lokadhara, bodhisattva great beings understand the phenomena of the world and transcendence to be true reality.

9.­2

“What are the phenomena of the world? Bodhisattvas think, ‘Thoughts and concepts about phenomena arise from mistaken perception, they are generated by causes and conditions, and they depend on falsity. Since they arise from the marks of duality, they are empty and nonexistent. They fool childish ordinary beings, like the bright colors reflecting from a pearl or the spinning of a firebrand. The world is given as a synonym for things that decay and degenerate. This is the world. These worldly phenomena are all unreal; they arise from false conditions and lack the characteristics of arising or being created. They are labeled as aggregates, elements, sense sources, forms, sounds, odors, tastes, tactile objects, or mental objects, and described as name-and-form. [F.67.b] Through their attachment and clinging, childish ordinary beings generate further attachment and clinging in a variety of forms, just as tangled silk fringes72 or entwined roots and creepers are linked, one to another. Worldly phenomena are described based upon such mistaken perception.


10.

Chapter Ten: The Conditioned and the Unconditioned

10.­1

“Lokadhara, how are bodhisattva great beings highly skilled regarding conditioned and unconditioned phenomena? What means do they obtain regarding conditioned and unconditioned phenomena? Lokadhara, bodhisattva great beings discern and contemplate conditioned and unconditioned phenomena. [F.69.a]

10.­2

“How do they discern and contemplate conditioned phenomena? Conditioned phenomena are compounded and without experiencer. Conditioned phenomena are called conditioned phenomena because they are considered to be naturally arising and naturally categorized. Conditioned phenomena come about due to formations created by false causes and conditions. Why are conditioned phenomena naturally categorized?73 When formations are perceived through the condition of duality, they are labeled as conditioned phenomena. Conditioned phenomena are uncreated and free from a creator. Since they are naturally arising, they cannot be generated. Thus, they are called conditioned phenomena. Conditioned phenomena do not exist internally, externally, or somewhere in-between; they are not one or many. They arise from false imputation. They are nonexistent, since they have arisen through ignorance. Though they can be perceived due to formations, they are uncreated and nonarising. Therefore, they are called conditioned. Conditioned means being bound by marks, and the conditioned is taught for the sake of childish ordinary beings who are attached to mistaken perceptions. The wise, full of understanding and knowledge, do not observe them as conditioned phenomena or something understood to be conditioned phenomena. They are called conditioned phenomena because the wise do not categorize them. Why is this? How do the wise know and understand the features of the conditioned? The wise view all conditioned phenomena as being false, insubstantial, and without bondage. They see that they cannot be categorized. When they contemplate this, they are not attached to conditioned phenomena, and they do not appropriate conditioned phenomena. Why is this? Lokadhara, it is not the case that unconditioned phenomena exist separate from conditioned phenomena, or that conditioned phenomena exist separate from unconditioned phenomena, [F.69.b] for the characteristic of the thatness of the conditioned is the unconditioned. Why is this? There is nothing conditioned within the conditioned, and nothing unconditioned within the unconditioned. Still, so that mistaken beings can see and understand the characteristics of the conditioned, bodhisattvas teach and explain, saying, ‘This is conditioned,’ ‘This is unconditioned,’ ‘This is the characteristic of the conditioned,’ and ‘This is the characteristic of the unconditioned.’


11.

Chapter Eleven: The Teaching on What Occurred in the Past

11.­1

“Lokadhara, through their great knowledge of the five aggregates, the eighteen elements, the twelve sense sources, the twelve links of dependent origination, the four applications of mindfulness, the five powers, the eightfold path of the noble ones, the phenomena of the world and transcendence, and conditioned and unconditioned phenomena, bodhisattva great beings will gain great knowledge of the characteristic of the thatness of all phenomena. They will become highly skilled in discerning the characteristics of phenomena. They will attain the power of recollection. They will have the intelligence that discerns the terminology for all phenomena. As soon as they exchange their bodies, they will obtain unbroken recollection, and they will eventually attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening.


12.

Chapter Twelve: The Entrustment

12.­1

The bodhisattva great being Lokadhara then requested the Blessed One, “Blessed One, please consecrate this discourse to protect it and bring benefit and happiness to bodhisattva great beings. If bodhisattva great beings hear this discourse in the future, their minds will become pure, joyful, and happy. They will then give rise to diligence in order to accomplish these teachings.”

Then, as the Blessed One consecrated this discourse, he used his miraculous powers to fill the worlds of the great trichiliocosm with miraculous and incredible scents and fragrances. Beings gazed upon one another with a loving attitude.


n.

Notes

n.­1
Herrmann-Pfandt, 2008.
n.­2
Alternatively, although less likely, the Sanskrit source text for the Tibetan translation could have been nearly identical to Kumārajīva’s source text.
n.­3
Both the Stok manuscript (Tib. rgya) and the Chinese (印) read “seal” here, whereas the Degé reads “causes” (Tib. rgyu).
n.­4
Translated based on the Chinese (衆生) and Stok (Tib. sems can). Degé reads: sems.
n.­5
The expression “evil world of the five degenerations” (Tib. rnyog pa lnga’i ’jig rten ngan pa) is a rare, literal translation of the Chinese, 五濁惡世, which in turn translates the Sanskrit pañcakaṣāyaloka. This is further evidence that the Tibetan was translated from Chinese.
n.­6
Translated based on Stok: ma yin. Degé reads: yin.
n.­7
Meaning that when one takes a raft across a river, one need not carry the raft beyond the bank; it has served its purpose.
n.­8
Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation of this sentence, as it appears in Taishō 482, seems to present a quotation: “Noble children, as explained in the discourses, ‘Monks, if those who want to know my Dharma are to discard even the Dharma as they would a raft, what need is there to mention what is non-Dharma?’ ” (諸善男子。如經中説。汝等比丘。若知我法如栰喩者。法尚應捨。何況非法。). Although the parable of the teachings being like a raft that must be discarded once it has served its purpose is well-known throughout Buddhist literature, we have been unable to locate this precise statement in other scriptures.
n.­10
Translated based on the Chinese: 夢中色相無有決定。但以憶想故有。色陰相亦如是。從先世業因縁出。無有決定性。. Degé reads: ri dang / chu dang / nags tshal la sogs par mthong ste / de ltar rmi lam gyis gzugs kyi mtshan ma de la nges par chad pa med de rnam par brtags pa’i ’du shes las gzugs kyi phung po’i mtshan mar skyed pa yang de bzhin te / sngon gyi las kyi rgyu dang rkyen las skyes te nges pa’i rang bzhin can ma yin no.
n.­11
Translated based on the Chinese: 是菩薩爾時不滅色亦不求滅色法。. Degé reads: de ltar byang chub sems dpa’ de’i tshe gzugs mi ’gag gzugs ’gags pa’i chos tshol lo.
n.­12
Here “the five classes of beings” translates the Tibetan lam rgyud lnga. R. A. Stein (2010) suggests that lam rgyud lnga, or lam lnga, is a Tibetan rendering of the Chinese 五道. In fact, lam rgyud lnga appears almost exclusively in texts that are openly avowed to be translations from Chinese. This is perhaps the most compelling evidence to suggest a Chinese source text.
n.­13
Translated based on the Chinese: 亦不分別想陰滅。但爲滅一切想受陰故。亦住如實知見故。. Degé reads: ’du shes kyi phung po dgag par rnam par mi rtog pa ni ’du shes kyi tshor ba thams cad dgag pa’i phyir yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin shes shing mthong la gnas na’i phyir ro.
n.­14
Translated based on Stok, which includes …mi gnas par. This accords with the Chinese.
n.­15
“Mind, mentality, and consciousness” here respectively translate sems (Skt. citta), yid (Skt. manas), and rnam par shes pa (Skt. vijñāna).
n.­16
Translation of this sentence is tentative. This interpretive rendering is based on a comparison of the Tibetan and the Chinese. The Chinese reads: 分別虚妄事故。以一相故。以決定相故。能得是心是意是識。能得分別愛著。. Degé reads: rnam par rtog pa’i yang dag pa ma yin pa’i dngos po’i phyir / mtshan nyid gcig pa’i phyir / nges pa’i mtshan nyid gcig pa’i phyir sems de dang / yid dang / rnam par shes pa de thob cing chags pa rnam par ’byed pa la mkhas pa thob par ’gyur ro. Interestingly, the Chinese 分別 maps throughout the translation to both the Tibetan rnam par ’byed pa and rnam par rtog pa; and according to the online Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb/), it is a possible translation of both the Sanskrit vibhaj and cognates like vibhāga, as well as vikalpa/saṃkalpa or even just kalpa. 能, for its part, typically lends an “agential” sense to its attached verb in the Chinese, so it could remain untranslated in Tibetan, but it can also be a translation of the Sanskrit terms kuśala, paṇḍita, and pravīṇa, all of which mkhas pa also renders. Perhaps this is a translation error from Chinese to Tibetan, possibly with an extra scribal “correction” added later due to misunderstanding, which would account for why the “childish ordinary people” would “attain skill in discerning attachment,” a concept that hardly makes sense in this context.
n.­17
Read according to Stok: ma skyes. Also, the Chinese reads: 不生。.
n.­18
Tibetan: ’khrul ’khor gyi mi; Chinese: 機關木人。. This Tibetan term appears only in Kangyur texts that were translated from Chinese.
n.­19
Translated according to the Chinese (壞) and other Tibetan variants instead of Degé, which reads: ’jog.
n.­20
Translated according to the Stok, which reads: gzugs med pa’i khams kyi lha’i nye bar len, and the Chinese, which also includes the word for “gods/devas” 諸天. Degé reads: gzugs med pa’i khams kyi nye bar len.
n.­21
Translation informed by the Chinese: …故。諸佛如來作如是分別説。. Degé does not show this sentence as explicitly introducing the following paragraph. A variant reading in the Chinese is missing 説. It reads, “the thus-gone buddhas analyzed as follows.”
n.­22
Tib. srid read as sred according to Stok and the Chinese.
n.­23
Translated from the Chinese: 從顛倒無明闇冥起。.
n.­24
Tentative translation. The Tibetan reads: nges par gcad pa (Skt. nirlūna). The Chinese reads 決定說五陰相, “speak/teach with certainty about the marks of the five aggregates,” or “speak about the marks of five aggregates as real.” Given the parallelism with the phrase below, which reads in Tibetan nges par/nges pa’i ’chad pa, and thus closely reflects the Chinese, the Tibetan nges par gcad pa is most likely a corruption of the former.
n.­25
Translation tentative. Tibetan: nges pa’i ’chad pa; Chinese: 決定說.
n.­26
Tib. sman pa read as smon pa according to Urga edition of the Kangyur, which accords with the Chinese: 所願.
n.­27
This accords also with the Chinese: 若坐若經行.
n.­38
The eye and form.
n.­42
The Chinese reads 行, “formations” here.
n.­61
The Chinese would read here: “pure liberation and pure knowledge and experience of liberation”; 解脱清淨。解脱知見清淨。.
n.­72
Translation tentative. Degé: kha tshar dar ’dzings pa.
n.­73
Read according to the Chinese: 云何為行自墮數中。. Degé: ’du byed cis bya ba ni bgrang ba’i grangs su gtogs.

b.

Bibliography

’phags pa ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa zhes bya ba’i mdo (Āryālokadhara­paripṛcchānāma­sūtra). Toh 174, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 7b.4–78b.7.

’phags pa ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa zhes bya ba’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 60, pp. 22–206.

’phags pa ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa zhes bya ba’i mdo (Āryālokadhara­paripṛcchānāma­sūtra). In bka’ ’gyur (stog pho brang bris ma). Vol. 72 (mdo sde, zha), folios 1r–110v.

Chang, Cornelius P. “A Re-evaluation of the Development of Hsing-su Style in the Fourth Century AD.” National Palace Museum Quarterly, 11/2 (Winter 1976): 19–44.

Digital Dictionary of Buddhism. http://www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb/.

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

Lokadharaparipṛcchā; Chishi jing 持世經 (Taishō 482). Translated by Kumārajīva. In Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經, ed. Junjirō Takakusu, Kaikyoku Watanabe, 100 vols., Tokyo: Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō Kankōkai, 1924–34.

Stein, R. A. “The Two Vocabularies of Indo-Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan Translations in the Dunhuang Manuscripts.” In Rolf Stein’s Tibetica Antiqua with Additional Materials, trans. and ed. Arthur P. McKeown. Leiden: Brill, 2010, pp. 1–96.


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
Tibetan:
  • ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
Sanskrit:
  • samādhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­12
  • 1.­29
  • 6.­10
  • 7.­1-2
  • 7.­4-6
  • 7.­8
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­11
  • 11.­7-9
  • g.­29
  • g.­37
  • g.­38
  • g.­46
  • g.­97
g.­2

acceptance

Wylie:
  • bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣānti

The capacity to accept or tolerate experiences which ordinary beings cannot tolerate. It is the preparatory step to profound insight into reality. It also refers to the third stage of the path of joining (prayogamārga, sbyor lam). It is also the third transcendent perfection, in which context it has been rendered here as patience.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­30
  • 2.­40
  • 2.­48
  • 5.­18-19
  • 7.­2
  • 7.­5
  • 12.­2
g.­3

aggregate

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

See “five aggregates for appropriation.”

Located in 41 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­3-5
  • 2.­7-28
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­47-48
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­2
  • 9.­2-3
  • 11.­12
  • g.­41
  • g.­79
g.­4

aggregate for appropriation

Wylie:
  • nye bar len pa’i phung po
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བར་ལེན་པའི་ཕུང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • upādānaskandha

See “five aggregates for appropriation.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­2-3
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­34-35
g.­6

anguished spirit

Wylie:
  • yi dwags
Tibetan:
  • ཡི་དྭགས།
Sanskrit:
  • preta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­4
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­39
g.­7

applications of mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa nye bar bzhag pa
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • smṛtyupasthāna
Chinese:
  • 念處

See “four applications of mindfulness.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­1
  • 6.­17
  • 8.­10
g.­8

apprehension

Wylie:
  • dmigs pa
Tibetan:
  • དམིགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ālambana
  • upalabdhi

A term for the apprehension of a subject, an object, and the relationships that exist between subjects and objects. The term might also be translated as “referentiality,” meaning a system based on the existence of referent objects, referent subjects, and the referential relationships that exist between them. As part of their doctrine of “threefold non-apprehension/non-referentiality” (’khor gsum mi dmigs pa), Mahāyāna Buddhists famously assert that all three categories of apprehension lack substantiality.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­33
  • 1.­54
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­22-23
  • 2.­27
  • 3.­2
  • 4.­2
  • 8.­9
g.­9

appropriation

Wylie:
  • nye bar len pa
  • len pa
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བར་ལེན་པ།
  • ལེན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • upādāna

In some texts, four types of appropriation are listed: of desire (rāga), of view (dṛṣṭi), of rules and observances as paramount (śīla­vrata­parāmarśa), and of belief in a self (ātmavāda). The term nye bar len pa also means “grasping” and it was rendered as such when it refers to the ninth of the twelve links of dependent origination, between craving and becoming.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­4-5
  • 2.­31-32
  • 2.­35
  • 3.­4
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­16
  • 8.­8-11
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­4
  • g.­34
g.­14

blessed one

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 38 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2-6
  • 1.­42-43
  • 1.­46-47
  • 1.­49-50
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­45-47
  • 4.­1
  • 7.­2
  • 9.­4
  • 10.­4
  • 11.­2-5
  • 11.­10
  • 11.­12-17
  • 12.­1-2
  • 12.­4-5
g.­17

Bringer of Benefit

Wylie:
  • phan par ’gyur ba
Tibetan:
  • ཕན་པར་འགྱུར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —
Chinese:
  • 徳益

A king in Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence’s buddha realm.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­42
  • 2.­46
  • g.­65
  • g.­67
g.­18

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 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­42
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­5
  • 11.­10-12
  • 11.­16
  • 11.­19
  • 12.­2
  • g.­17
g.­19

conditioned

Wylie:
  • ’dus byas
Tibetan:
  • འདུས་བྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃ­skṛta

This term refers to composite objects in the generic sense. In other contexts, it can also refer to “formations.”

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5
  • 1.­31
  • 1.­37
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­48
  • 3.­18
  • 6.­4
  • 7.­7
  • 8.­11
  • 10.­1-5
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­9
  • 11.­18
  • 12.­2
  • g.­79
g.­20

consciousness

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

The third link of dependent origination, the fifth of the five aggregates. In most Abhidharma accounts it comprises the six sensory consciousnesses (eye, ear, nose, taste, body, and mind), but in Yogācāra theory two more kinds of consciousness, afflicted (kliṣṭamanas) and storehouse (ālayavijñāna), are added. For the sixth consciousness, see also “mind consciousness.”

Located in 34 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­11
  • 2.­21-30
  • 2.­32-33
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­45
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­3-4
  • 3.­8-11
  • 4.­1
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­5-6
  • 6.­11
  • n.­15
  • g.­28
  • g.­34
  • g.­73
  • g.­89
  • g.­105
g.­22

desire realm

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

In Buddhist cosmology, it is our sphere of existence where beings are driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­12
  • 7.­8
  • g.­40
  • g.­42
  • g.­51
  • g.­54
  • g.­55
  • g.­100
g.­24

Dharma

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

The term “dharma” (chos) conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. It may mean the Buddhist teachings, the awakened qualities which buddhas and bodhisattvas acquire, phenomena or things in general, etc. In the context of this work, it was rendered as “Dharma” when it refers to the teachings, and in other contexts, rendered according to the specific meaning, namely as phenomena and qualities. See also i.­4.

Located in 54 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­19-20
  • 1.­22-23
  • 1.­40-42
  • 1.­46-47
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­53-54
  • 1.­58-59
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­5
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­39-41
  • 2.­47-48
  • 4.­6
  • 7.­3
  • 9.­4
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­6-8
  • 11.­12-13
  • 11.­16
  • 11.­18-19
  • 12.­2-5
  • n.­8
  • n.­76
  • g.­21
  • g.­25
  • g.­26
  • g.­48
  • g.­57
  • g.­81
  • g.­103
  • g.­112
g.­26

Dharma gateway

Wylie:
  • chos kyi sgo
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྒོ།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmamukha
Chinese:
  • 法門

A teaching or spiritual method by which the Dharma is understood.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­58-59
  • 2.­1
g.­28

eighteen elements

Wylie:
  • khams bco brgyad
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས་བཅོ་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭa­daśa­dhātu

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).

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­47
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­14
  • 9.­3
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
  • g.­30
  • g.­39
  • g.­73
  • g.­89
g.­29

eightfold path of the noble ones

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i lam yan lag brgyad pa
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āryāṣṭāṅgamārga
Chinese:
  • 八聖道分

Correct view, thought, speech, actions, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and absorption. These eight are part of the thirty-seven factors of awakening.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5
  • 2.­1
  • 8.­1
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
  • g.­103
g.­30

element

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

See “eighteen elements.”

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 2.­1
  • 3.­1-11
  • 3.­13-16
  • 3.­18
  • 9.­2
  • 11.­12
  • n.­37
  • g.­97
g.­31

factors of awakening

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

The set of practices that lead to awakening, traditionally listed as thirty-seven.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 1.­15
  • 1.­44
  • 2.­4
  • 7.­5
  • g.­29
  • g.­43
  • g.­46
g.­32

feeling

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

The seventh link of dependent origination. The second of the five aggregates.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­5-10
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­32-33
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­45
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­9-10
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­8-10
  • g.­34
  • g.­43
  • g.­105
g.­33

five aggregates

Wylie:
  • phung po lnga
Tibetan:
  • ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcaskandha

See “five aggregates for appropriation.”

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 2.­2-3
  • 2.­28-29
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­39-41
  • 2.­47
  • 9.­3
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
  • n.­24
  • g.­20
  • g.­32
  • g.­39
  • g.­41
  • g.­80
g.­34

five aggregates for appropriation

Wylie:
  • nye bar len pa’i phung po lnga
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་བར་ལེན་པའི་ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcopadāna­skandha

The five aggregates (skandha) of form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. On the individual level the five aggregates refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected. They are referred to as the “bases for appropriation” (upādāna) insofar as all conceptual grasping arises on the basis of these aggregates.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­2
  • 2.­28-39
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­47
  • 9.­3
  • g.­3
  • g.­4
  • g.­33
g.­37

five powers

Wylie:
  • dbang po lnga
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcendriya
Chinese:
  • 五根

Faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and insight. These are the same as the five strengths at a lesser stage of development. See also n.­64.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5
  • 2.­1
  • 7.­1-2
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
  • g.­38
  • g.­58
  • g.­103
g.­38

five strengths

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

Faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and insight. These are the same as the five powers, at a further stage of development.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 12.­2
  • g.­37
  • g.­103
g.­39

form

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

The first of the five aggregates. The third of the eighteen elements.

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­58
  • 2.­3-5
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­19
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­32-33
  • 2.­37-38
  • 2.­45
  • 3.­1-4
  • 4.­1-2
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­9
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­6-8
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­4
  • 6.­13
  • 7.­7
  • 8.­3
  • 8.­11
  • 9.­2
  • n.­38
  • g.­28
  • g.­34
  • g.­73
  • g.­89
  • g.­105
g.­40

form realm

Wylie:
  • gzugs khams
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་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.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­12
  • 7.­8
  • g.­44
  • g.­51
  • g.­100
g.­41

formation

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

Fourth of the five aggregates, second of the twelve links of dependent origination, and in the context of the aggregates sometimes also called “volitions,” “volitional formations,” or “compositional factors,” these are complex propensities that bring about action.

Located in 31 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­26
  • 2.­14-21
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­32-33
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­45
  • 3.­18
  • 4.­2-3
  • 4.­5
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­3-5
  • 5.­11-12
  • 5.­17
  • 7.­8
  • 10.­2
  • n.­42
  • g.­19
  • g.­34
  • g.­105
g.­42

formless realm

Wylie:
  • gzugs med khams
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་མེད་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.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­30
  • 3.­12
  • 7.­7-8
  • g.­51
  • g.­100
g.­43

four applications of mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa nye bar bzhag pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuhsmṛtyupasthāna
Chinese:
  • 四念處

Four contemplations on: (1) the body, (2) feelings, (3) mind, and (4) mental objects. These four contemplations are part of the thirty-seven factors of awakening.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­29
  • 2.­1
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­17
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
  • g.­7
  • g.­103
g.­45

four correct exertions

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

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

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 12.­2
  • g.­103
g.­46

four foundations of miracles

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

The four foundations or bases of miraculous power are: determination, discernment, diligence, and absorption. These are among the thirty-seven factors of awakening.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 12.­2
  • g.­103
g.­47

four great elements

Wylie:
  • chen po bzhi
  • ’byung ba chen po bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཆེན་པོ་བཞི།
  • འབྱུང་བ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • mahābhūta
Chinese:
  • 四大

The four “main” or “great” outer elements of earth, water, fire, air, and (when there is a fifth) space.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­3
  • 2.­5
  • 2.­33
  • 6.­2
g.­51

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 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­42
  • 2.­4
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­47
  • 7.­8-9
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­5
  • 11.­10-11
  • 11.­19
  • 12.­4-5
  • n.­20
  • n.­64
g.­52

great 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 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­46
  • 11.­15-16
  • 12.­1
g.­53

hearer

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

It is usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily it refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat by seeking self liberation and nirvāṇa.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 1.­42
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­42
  • 7.­5
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­5
  • 11.­18-19
  • 12.­2
g.­54

Heaven of Joy

Wylie:
  • dga’ ldan
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་ལྡན།
Sanskrit:
  • tuṣita
Chinese:
  • 兜率天

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 2.­47
g.­55

Heaven of the Thirty-Three

Wylie:
  • sum cu rtsa gsum
Tibetan:
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trāyastriṃśa
Chinese:
  • 忉利天

One of the six heavens of the desire realm.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­47
  • 11.­11
g.­56

hell being

Wylie:
  • sems can dmyal ba
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་ཅན་དམྱལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • naraka

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, engendered by anger and powerful negative actions. They are dominated by great suffering and said to dwell in eight different hells with specific caracteristics.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­4
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­39
g.­58

insight

Wylie:
  • shes rab
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñā

The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. It is also one of the five powers.

Located in 49 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­6
  • 1.­9-10
  • 1.­13-17
  • 1.­20-29
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­41
  • 1.­43
  • 1.­49
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­47
  • 3.­18
  • 5.­17-18
  • 7.­1-5
  • 7.­7
  • 7.­9
  • 11.­7-9
  • 11.­12
  • 11.­18
  • 12.­2
  • g.­2
  • g.­37
  • g.­38
  • g.­77
  • g.­94
g.­59

Jambudvīpa

Wylie:
  • ’dzam bu’i gling
Tibetan:
  • འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • jambudvīpa
Chinese:
  • 閻浮提

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:

  • 1.­46
  • 2.­47
  • 11.­6
g.­60

Kalandaka­nivāpa

Wylie:
  • bya ka lan ta ka
Tibetan:
  • བྱ་ཀ་ལན་ཏ་ཀ
Sanskrit:
  • kalandaka­nivāpa
Chinese:
  • 迦蘭陀

Literally, “The kalandaka Feeding Ground,” a location within the Veṇuvana where the Buddha stayed; it received its name from the many kalandaka that lived or were fed there. The Tibetan rendering bya ka lan da ka makes it clear that the Tibetans considered the kalandaka to be a kind of bird, while Sanskrit and Pali sources generally agree that it is a kind of squirrel‍—perhaps therefore the Indian flying squirrel, Petaurista philippensis.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­2
g.­65

Limitless Intelligence

Wylie:
  • tshad med blo gros
Tibetan:
  • ཚད་མེད་བློ་གྲོས།
Sanskrit:
  • —
Chinese:
  • 無量意

A son of King Bringer of Benefit and a bodhisattva in a story told by the Buddha.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­42
  • 2.­45
  • 11.­12
  • g.­68
  • g.­86
g.­66

Limitless Light

Wylie:
  • tshad med ’od
Tibetan:
  • ཚད་མེད་འོད།
Sanskrit:
  • —
Chinese:
  • 無量光

Limitless Power upon his awakening.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 2.­48
g.­67

Limitless Power

Wylie:
  • tshad med stobs
Tibetan:
  • ཚད་མེད་སྟོབས།
Sanskrit:
  • —
Chinese:
  • 無量力

A son of King Bringer of Benefit.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­42
  • 2.­45
  • g.­66
g.­68

Limitless Voice

Wylie:
  • tshad med dbyangs
Tibetan:
  • ཚད་མེད་དབྱངས།
Sanskrit:
  • —
Chinese:
  • 無量音

Limitless Intelligence upon his awakening.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 2.­48
g.­69

Lokadhara

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten ’dzin
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་འཛིན།
Sanskrit:
  • lokadhara
Chinese:
  • 持世

A bodhisattva and the main interlocutor of this sūtra.

Located in 145 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­4-45
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­5-6
  • 2.­9-11
  • 2.­13-14
  • 2.­17-18
  • 2.­20-21
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­27
  • 2.­29-32
  • 2.­34-35
  • 2.­37-42
  • 2.­45-48
  • 3.­1-2
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­11
  • 3.­13-18
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­8-9
  • 5.­1-2
  • 5.­17-19
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­7-8
  • 6.­10-11
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­15-17
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­3-4
  • 7.­6-8
  • 8.­1-2
  • 8.­5-12
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3-4
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­4-5
  • 11.­1-3
  • 11.­5
  • 11.­7-12
  • 12.­1-5
  • n.­77
g.­73

mind consciousness

Wylie:
  • yid kyi rnam par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡིད་ཀྱི་རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • manovijñāna

This is also known as the sixth consciouness and is the last of the eighteen elements. The Abhidharma speaks of five consciousnesses that grasp physical objects (form, sound, smells, tastes, bodily sensations) and are correlated with their respective physical sense faculties (indriya, dbang po), i.e. the eye, ear, etc. The mind consciousness, on the other hand, is said to have as its faculty simply the mind (manas, yid). It grasps all that exists, including what is presented by the physical consciousnesses as well as mental and abstract objects. These six consciousnesses, added to the twelve sense sources, constitute the Abhidharma schema of eighteen elements (dhātu, khams).

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­2
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­10
  • g.­20
  • g.­28
g.­74

motivation

Wylie:
  • lhag pa’i bsam pa
Tibetan:
  • ལྷག་པའི་བསམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • adhyāśaya
Chinese:
  • 深心

See “pure motivation.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­32
  • g.­93
g.­76

non-Buddhist

Wylie:
  • mu stegs can
Tibetan:
  • མུ་སྟེགས་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • tīrthika
Chinese:
  • 外道

A follower of one of the non-Buddhist religious systems in India, who from a Buddhist perspective promote extreme views on the nature of reality.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­39-40
g.­77

obscuration

Wylie:
  • sgrib pa
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲིབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nīvaraṇa
Chinese:
  • 蓋

That which obscurs insight into reality.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­18
  • 1.­32
  • 2.­35
  • 11.­6
  • 12.­2
g.­79

parinirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • parinirvāṇa

Nirvāṇa, the state beyond sorrow, denotes the ultimate attainment of buddhahood, the permanent cessation of all suffering and the afflicted mental states which cause and perpetuate suffering, along with all misapprehension with regard to the nature of emptiness. As such, it is the antithesis of cyclic existence. Three types of nirvāṇa are identified: (1) the residual nirvāṇa where the person is still dependent on conditioned psycho-physical aggregates, (2) the non-residual nirvāṇa where the aggregates have also been consumed within emptiness, and (3) the non-abiding nirvāṇa transcending the extremes of phenomenal existence and quiescence. Parinirvāṇa or final nirvāṇa implies the non-residual attainment.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­51-53
  • 2.­39
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­12
  • 11.­16
g.­80

perception

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

The third of the five aggregates.

Located in 47 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­5
  • 2.­11-13
  • 2.­15-16
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­21-23
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­32-35
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­45
  • 2.­47
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­9-10
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­16
  • 4.­1-4
  • 4.­6
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­4-5
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­13-14
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­9
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­2
  • 8.­4-6
  • 9.­2
  • 10.­2
  • g.­34
g.­81

phenomenon

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

One of the meanings of the Skt. term “dharma.” This applies to “phenomena” or “things” in general, and, more specifically, “mental phenomena” which are the object of the mental faculty (manas, yid). See also “worldly phenomena” and “transcendent phenomena.”

Located in 112 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­4-5
  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­6-13
  • 1.­17
  • 1.­19
  • 1.­21-28
  • 1.­31-32
  • 1.­41
  • 1.­54-58
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­3-4
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­18-19
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26-27
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­48
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­6-7
  • 3.­9-10
  • 3.­12-15
  • 3.­17-18
  • 4.­2
  • 5.­1-4
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­13-16
  • 5.­18-19
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­13-17
  • 7.­2-3
  • 7.­5
  • 7.­7
  • 7.­9
  • 8.­3-4
  • 8.­7-11
  • 9.­1-2
  • 9.­4
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­4-5
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­7-9
  • 11.­18
  • 12.­2
  • n.­43
  • g.­24
  • g.­28
  • g.­58
  • g.­85
  • g.­89
  • g.­94
  • g.­99
  • g.­103
g.­82

pure motivation

Wylie:
  • lhag pa’i bsam pa
Tibetan:
  • ལྷག་པའི་བསམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • adhyāśaya
Chinese:
  • 深心

A strong sense of determination, often associated with altruism.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­47
  • g.­74
g.­83

Rājagṛha

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

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 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • g.­107
g.­85

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:

Akin to other terms rendered here as thatness (tattva, de kho na nyid), true reality (bhūtatā, yang dag pa nyid), and suchness (tathatā, de bzhin nyid).

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­47
  • 4.­2
  • g.­2
  • g.­76
  • g.­77
  • g.­96
  • g.­98
  • g.­104
g.­88

Royal Mountain of Great Intelligence

Wylie:
  • blo gros chen po ri’i rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • བློ་གྲོས་ཆེན་པོ་རིའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —
Chinese:
  • 大意山王

A buddha from the past.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­42
  • 2.­46-47
  • g.­17
g.­89

sense source

Wylie:
  • skye mched
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • āyatana
Chinese:
  • 入

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

These can be listed as twelve or as six sense sources (sometimes also called sense fields, bases of cognition, or simply āyatanas).

In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of twelve sense sources, which can be divided into inner and outer sense sources, namely: (1–2) eye and form, (3–4) ear and sound, (5–6) nose and odor, (7–8) tongue and taste, (9–10) body and touch, (11–12) mind and mental phenomena.

In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned, and they are the inner sense sources (identical to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­26
  • 4.­1-9
  • 9.­2
  • 11.­12
  • g.­92
  • g.­106
g.­91

seven precious substances

Wylie:
  • rin po che sna bdun
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེ་སྣ་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saptaratna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The set of seven precious materials or substances includes a range of precious metals and gems, but their exact list varies. The set often consists of gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, emeralds, and white coral, but may also contain lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphire, chrysoberyl, diamonds, etc. The term is frequently used in the sūtras to exemplify preciousness, wealth, and beauty, and can describe treasures, offering materials, or the features of architectural structures such as stūpas, palaces, thrones, etc. The set is also used to describe the beauty and prosperity of buddha realms and the realms of the gods.

In other contexts, the term saptaratna can also refer to the seven precious possessions of a cakravartin or to a set of seven precious moral qualities.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­42
  • 11.­10
g.­92

Six sense sources

Wylie:
  • skye mched drug
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaḍāyatana

See sense source.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­1
  • 5.­7-8
  • g.­105
g.­93

solitary buddha

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

Literally, “buddha for himself,” or “solitary realizer.” Those who attain buddhahood in a time when the Buddha’s doctrine is no longer available in the world, and who remain either in solitude or among peers, without teaching the path to liberation to others. Their attainment is the result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary accumulated merit nor the motivation to teach others.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­30
  • 7.­5
  • 7.­8
  • 11.­18
g.­96

suchness

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

The quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Akin to other terms rendered here as thatness (tattva, de kho na nyid), true reality (bhūtatā, yang dag pa nyid), and reality (dharmatā, chos nyid).

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­56
  • 7.­6
  • g.­85
  • g.­98
  • g.­104
g.­98

thatness

Wylie:
  • de kho na nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་ཁོ་ན་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tattva

The nature of things or their actual state, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Akin to other terms rendered here as suchness (tathatā, de bzhin nyid), true reality (bhūtatā, yang dag pa nyid), and reality (dharmatā, chos nyid).

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 10.­2
  • 10.­5
  • 11.­1
  • g.­85
  • g.­96
  • g.­104
g.­99

three gateways of liberation

Wylie:
  • rnam thar sgo gsum
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་ཐར་སྒོ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trivimokṣadvāra

These are: emptiness as a gateway to liberation, absence of marks of all phenomena as a gateway to liberation, and absence of wishes as a gateway to liberation. Among them, emptiness is characterized as the absence of inherent existence, absence of marks as the absence of mental images, and absence of wishes as the absence of hopes and fears.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • g.­103
g.­100

three realms

Wylie:
  • khams gsum
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • tridhātu
  • triloka
Chinese:
  • 三性
  • 三界

The formless realm, the form realm, and the desire realm comprising the thirty-one planes of existence in Buddhist cosmology.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­26
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­14
  • 5.­18
  • 7.­7
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­11
g.­101

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 34 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4-5
  • 1.­31
  • 1.­40
  • 1.­42-43
  • 1.­47-49
  • 1.­52
  • 1.­54-58
  • 2.­34
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­45
  • 2.­47
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­14-15
  • 4.­2-3
  • 4.­5
  • 5.­19
  • 9.­4
  • 10.­4
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­5
  • 11.­10
g.­103

transcendent phenomena

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten las ’das pa’i chos
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་ལས་འདས་པའི་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • lokottaradharma

Lit. “dharmas beyond the world.” Trancendent or supramundane phenomena are things or factors related to liberation from saṃsāra. These include, for example, the four applications of mindfulness, the four correct exertions, the four foundations of miracles, the five powers, the five strengths, the seven branches of awakening, the eightfold path of the noble ones, the three gateways of liberation, and many other techniques and qualities of attainment. See also “worldly phenomena.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 2.­1
  • 9.­3-4
  • g.­81
  • g.­111
  • g.­112
g.­104

true reality

Wylie:
  • yang dag pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • bhūtatā

Lit. “genuineness” or “authenticity.” The quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Akin to other terms rendered here as thatness (tattva, de kho na nyid), suchness (tathatā, de bzhin nyid), and reality (dharmatā, chos nyid).

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­55-56
  • 2.­6
  • 3.­18
  • 4.­6
  • 9.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­7
  • g.­85
  • g.­96
  • g.­98
g.­105

twelve links of dependent origination

Wylie:
  • rten cing ’brel te ’byung ba bcu gnyis
  • rten cing ’brel te byung ba bcu gnyis
Tibetan:
  • རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་ཏེ་འབྱུང་བ་བཅུ་གཉིས།
  • རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་ཏེ་བྱུང་བ་བཅུ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvādaśāṅgapratītyasamutpāda

The twelve causal links that perpetuate life in cyclic existence; starting with ignorance and ending with death. Through a deliberate reversal of these twelve links that one can succeed in bringing the whole cycle to an end. The twelve links are (1) ignorance, (2) formation, (3) consciousness, (4) name-and-form, (5) six sense sources, (6) contact, (7) feeling, (8) craving, (9) grasping, (10) becoming, (11) birth, (12) aging and death.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 5.­1-2
  • 5.­12-19
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
  • g.­9
  • g.­41
  • g.­89
g.­106

twelve sense sources

Wylie:
  • skye mched bcu gnyis
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད་བཅུ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvā­daśāyatana

See “sense source.”

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 2.­47
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­6-9
  • 9.­3
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
  • g.­73
g.­107

Veṇuvana

Wylie:
  • ’od ma’i tshal
Tibetan:
  • འོད་མའི་ཚལ།
Sanskrit:
  • veṇuvana
Chinese:
  • 竹園

The famous bamboo grove near Rājagṛha where the Buddha regularly stayed and gave teachings. It was situated on land donated by King Bimbisāra of Magadha and, as such, was the first of several landholdings donated to the Buddhist community during the time of the Buddha.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­46
  • g.­60
g.­108

water of the eight qualities

Wylie:
  • yon tan brgyad kyi chu
Tibetan:
  • ཡོན་ཏན་བརྒྱད་ཀྱི་ཆུ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

The eight qualities of water: (1) sweet-tasting; (2) cool; (3) soft; (4) light; (5) transparent; (6) clean; (7) not harmful to the throat; and (8) beneficial to the stomach.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­42
  • 11.­10
g.­109

well-gone one

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

Epithet of a buddha, meaning “one who has reached bliss.”

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­42
  • 2.­42
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­5
  • 11.­10
g.­110

wisdom

Wylie:
  • ye shes
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • jñāna

Also known as “pristine awareness,” “primordial wisdom,” “primordial awareness,” “gnosis,” or the like. Typically refers to nonconceptual or unobscured states of knowledge.

Located in 31 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­15-16
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­30-42
  • 1.­44
  • 1.­58
  • 2.­30
  • 7.­2
  • 7.­4-5
  • 11.­9
  • 11.­12
  • 11.­18-19
  • 12.­2
g.­111

world and transcendence

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten dang ’jig rten las ’das pa
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་དང་འཇིག་རྟེན་ལས་འདས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • lokalokottara

See “worldly phenomena” and “transcendent phenomena.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3-4
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3
  • 12.­2
g.­112

Worldly phenomena

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gyi chos
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • lokadharma

It refers to things or factors that are bound by causality. In some contexts, it is the eight worldy dharmas or concerns. See also “transcendent phenomena.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­18
  • 9.­2-4
  • g.­81
  • g.­103
  • g.­111
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    84000. The Inquiry of Lokadhara (Lokadharaparipṛcchā, ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa, Toh 174). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023. https://84000.co/translation/toh174/UT22084-060-003-chapter-2.Copy
    84000. The Inquiry of Lokadhara (Lokadharaparipṛcchā, ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa, Toh 174). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023, 84000.co/translation/toh174/UT22084-060-003-chapter-2.Copy
    84000. (2023) The Inquiry of Lokadhara (Lokadharaparipṛcchā, ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa, Toh 174). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh174/UT22084-060-003-chapter-2.Copy

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