The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī
Toh 196
Degé Kangyur, vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 266.b–271.b
- Surendrabodhi
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by the University of Calgary Buddhist Studies Team
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
First published 2020
Current version v 1.1.16 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī first presents a dialogue between Mañjuśrī and Śāriputra regarding the activity of “dwelling” (vihāra) during meditation, the nature of dharmas, and the “true nature” (tathatā). This opens into a conversation between Mañjuśrī and a large gathering of monks whereby Mañjuśrī corrects the monks’ misinterpretations. Mañjuśrī then instructs Śāriputra on the enduring and indestructible nature of the realm of sentient beings and the realm of reality. Finally, the power of Mañjuśrī’s teaching is explained and reiterated by the Buddha.
Acknowledgements
Translation by the University of Calgary Buddhist Studies Team. This sūtra was introduced and translated by Dr. James B. Apple with assistance from Dr. Shinobu Arai Apple.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Introduction
The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī opens with the Buddha Śākyamuni residing in Rājagṛha on Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain together with a great monastic assembly of five hundred monks and a multitude of bodhisattvas. After the Buddha has delivered a Dharma teaching, Mañjuśrī walks through the monastic quarters of the area and sees Śāriputra engaged in meditation among the residences of the five hundred monks. There follows a dialogue between Mañjuśrī and Śāriputra regarding the activity of “dwelling” during meditation, the nature of dharmas, and the “true nature.” This opens into a conversation between Mañjuśrī and the five hundred monks in which Mañjuśrī corrects the monks’ misinterpretations. Finally, Mañjuśrī instructs Śāriputra on the non-decrease and non-increase of the realm of sentient beings (sattvadhātu) and the realm of reality (dharmadhātu)—an instruction that indicates the nonconceptual, immutable, and indestructible nature of awakening. Because this nature, symbolized by Mañjuśrī himself, does not dwell anywhere, it is without any dwelling place, in other words without any determinate location or foundation. The power of Mañjuśrī’s teaching is explained and reiterated by the Buddha. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha predicting the future awakening of the five hundred monks and eighty thousand gods who are present in the audience.
The sūtra is not extant in Sanskrit but is preserved in Chinese, Tibetan, and Mongolian versions. There are two Chinese versions: the 文殊師利巡行經 Wén shū shī lì xún xíng jīng translated by Bodhiruci ca. 508–535 ᴄᴇ (Taishō 470) and the 文殊尸利行經 Wén shū shī lì xíng jīng translated by Jñānagupta in 586 ᴄᴇ (Taishō 471).1 The Tibetan version is preserved in Dunhuang manuscripts and in Tibetan Kangyur editions. A recently published critical edition of the Tibetan version of this sūtra identifies two extant Dunhuang Tibetan manuscripts and three fragments and utilizes seventeen available Kangyur and proto-Kangyur editions.2 The Dunhuang manuscripts contain an early Tibetan edition that was translated before the implementation of codified rules and principles for translating Buddhist texts issued by the Tibetan emperor Trisong Detsen (r. 800–815 ᴄᴇ).3 Still, the Dunhuang manuscripts and the canonical Kangyur versions contain the same recension of the sūtra, with some minor differences in terminology and idiomatic expressions. The Chinese versions generally match the Tibetan version, though they do contain several terms that point to different Sanskrit originals as well as portions that are missing from the Tibetan.4
The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī is also recorded in the Denkarma5 and Phangthangma6 inventories of Tibetan imperial translations, so we can establish that it was first translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than the early ninth century, as the Denkarma is dated to 812 ᴄᴇ. The late thirteenth-century catalog of the Tibetan Kadampa master Darma Gyaltsen (1227–1305), commonly known as Chomden Raldri, lists the sūtra as The Noble Sūtra “The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī.”7 A listing of texts appended to the history of Buddhism in India and Tibet composed by Butön Rinchen Drup (1290–1364) lists the work under the same title but adds that it was translated by Yeshé Dé and consists of one hundred and forty ślokas.8 Among Kangyurs that have a colophon, the translators listed are the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the translator in charge of the revision, Bandé Yeshé Dé.
The sūtra enjoyed some popularity in eighth- and ninth-century Tibet, a fact attested to by its inclusion among the one hundred and four titles of Buddhist scriptures found in Mahāvyutpatti §1329 and the number of extant Tibetan Dunhuang fragments. The sūtra was also cited in several early Tibetan treatises from Dunhuang9 and two times by Vimalamitra (eighth century) in his commentary on nonconceptual meditation.10 The sūtra is also sporadically cited in later Tibetan commentaries11 and was briefly analyzed by Pekar Sangpo (sixteenth century) in his overview of the sūtras preserved among Tibetan Kangyurs.12
The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī (in Sanskrit Mañjuśrīvihāra) is a discourse that plays on the Sanskrit word vihāra, which can variously mean (1) dwelling place, (2) condition of existence, (3) walking about,13 (4) monastery, (5) pleasure ground, (6) sport, (7) arrangement, or distribution.14 The Chinese translators understood the title of the term in the sense of (3), with Bodhiruci translating the title as Mañjuśrī’s “going around” (巡行) and Jñānagupta translating the nearly synonymous Mañjuśrī’s “wandering” (行).15 This connotation refers to the opening scene, in which Mañjuśrī wanders about the monastic residences. This sense is not captured in the Tibetan translation gnas pa, which corresponds only to connotations (1) or (2) among the possibilities listed above. Without a Sanskrit manuscript of the text, we cannot be sure of the exact connotation of vihāra, but the context throughout the sūtra implies that the “dwelling place” of Mañjuśrī is not a determinate place. The dwelling place that Mañjuśrī explains to Śāriputra and the five hundred monks is the realm of reality, which is beyond time, unlocalized, immovable, and inaccessible to conceptual thought. Awakening in this sūtra is characterized as the nonconceptual awareness of the infinite realm of reality.
In the first half of the sūtra, Mañjuśrī criticizes various presuppositions underlying Śāriputra’s conceptual understanding of concentration and its role in spiritual practice (1.3), the past, present, and future (1.5, 1.11), comprehension (1.16), and the “dwelling place” of an arhat (1.18). Although difficult to verify, the presuppositions of Śāriputra may well represent the mainstream Buddhist understandings of a person following the Abhidharma of the Sarvāstivādin ordination lineage, particularly Śāriputra’s advocacy of the practice of standing firm in the past, present, and future. According to Pekar Sangpo, the concise meaning of this part of the sūtra is that Śāriputra is taught, as a response to Mañjuśrī’s questions, the emptiness that by nature is free from the conceptual fabrication of anything.16
The second half (1.21–1.41) of the sūtra consists of a dialogue that develops between Mañjuśrī and the five hundred monks in the audience. The five hundred monks are initially disturbed by and reject Mañjuśrī’s teaching and move away from him, but the monks then return upon Mañjuśrī’s further instruction to Śāriputra. Mañjuśrī’s additional instruction to Śāriputra is the cause for four hundred of the monks’ minds to be liberated from the pollutions. However, one hundred monks fall into a deep hell realm due to being greatly disturbed by Mañjuśrī’s instruction. Śāriputra then questions Mañjuśrī’s motives and mode of teaching. The Buddha comes to the defense of Mañjuśrī and explains the great karmic benefit of hearing the profound Dharma for these monks, even if they doubt it. The Buddha predicts that the monks will swiftly be reborn in Tuṣita heaven after their instructive interlude in hell and that they will then become arhat disciples under the future Buddha Maitreya. Tibetan scholars like Situ Penchen Chökyi Jungné (1700–1774) cite this episode as an example of the power of the profound Dharma to bring great positive effects, even for those who have doubt and do not follow the instruction.17
After Śāriputra praises Mañjuśrī on his eloquence in explaining the Dharma, Mañjuśrī proceeds to instruct the audience on the “non-decrease and non-increase” (anūnatvāpūrṇatva) of the realm of sentient beings and the realm of reality (1.27). The topic of “non-decrease and non-increase” is an important theme in a number of Mahāyāna sūtras, such as The Perfection of Wisdom in Seven Hundred Lines (Toh 24), The Questions of Suvikrāntavikrāmin (Toh 14), and The Absorption That Encapsulates All Merit (Toh 134),18 along with various sūtras of the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakuṭa) class19 and even the Heart Sūtra.20 The Anūnatvāpūrṇatvanirdeśaparivarta, a discourse that bears the name of this topic and is preserved only in Chinese, connects this topic with the teaching of Buddha nature (tathāgatagarbha).21 The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī, however, equates the non-increasing and non-decreasing true nature with the realm of reality and the realm of sentient beings. The non-increase and non-decrease of the realm of sentient beings and the realm of reality is explained in The Questions of Suvikrāntavikrāmin,22 where both realms are said to lack any intrinsic essence, are infinite, and are designated through conventional expressions. The Buddha explains to Suvikrāntavikrāmin that “non-decrease and non-increase” is a synonym for the vision of how things are in a nonconceptual manner.23 The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī concurs with this understanding, where the text reads, “that which is uncurtailed in this way is awakening. Awakening is liberation. Liberation is nonconceptual. The nonconceptual is unfabricated and immutable. The unfabricated and immutable is wholly beyond suffering.” Because this nonconceptual nature, which is symbolized by Mañjuśrī himself, does not dwell anywhere, it is without a fixed dwelling place, in other words without any metaphysical foundation.
The Prajñāpāramitā literature seems to have also exerted an influence on The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī, as there are several themes found in the sūtra that are redolent of earlier Prajñāpāramitā discourses. For example, the sūtra mentions that arhats are “constituted by the unconditioned,” a phrase found throughout the Prajñāpāramitā literature and particularly well known from The Sūtra on the Perfection of Wisdom “The Diamond Cutter” (Toh 16).24 At the conclusion of The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī, the Buddha predicts that the audience will achieve complete buddhahood “in the eon called Star-like,” a prediction that is also given in a number of Prajñāpāramitā discourses.25 We also note that a parallel to the episode of the monks falling into hell is found in the sūtra Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva (Toh 184).26
Text Body
The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī
The Translation
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was staying at Rājagṛha, on Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain, together with a large community of a full five hundred monks and a great congregation of bodhisattvas. At that time, the Bhagavān, after emerging in the late afternoon from secluded meditation,27 surrounded and honored by a great assembly, taught the Dharma.
Subsequently, the youthful Mañjuśrī was walking about, going from residence to residence among all five hundred monks. When he went to the residence where the elder Śāriputra lived, Mañjuśrī saw him sitting alone in solitude, practicing concentration while in meditative seclusion.
When he saw him, he said the following words to the elder Śāriputra: “Honorable Śāriputra, are you practicing concentration?”
“Honorable Śāriputra,” said Mañjuśrī, “are you concentrating in order to abandon afflictions that have already been abandoned? Or are you concentrating in order to abandon those that have not yet been abandoned?
“Honorable Śāriputra, are you concentrating while dwelling on the past? Are you concentrating while dwelling on the future? Or are you concentrating while dwelling on the present?28 Honorable Śāriputra, are you concentrating while dwelling on bodily form? Are you concentrating while dwelling on feelings, perceptions, volitional formations, or consciousness? Honorable Śāriputra, are you concentrating while dwelling on the eye? Or are you concentrating while dwelling on the nose, ear, tongue, body, or mind? Honorable Śāriputra, [F.267.a] are you concentrating while dwelling on visible form? Or are you concentrating while dwelling on sound, smell, taste, touch, or other phenomena?
“Honorable Śāriputra, are you concentrating while dwelling on the desire realm? Or are you concentrating while dwelling on the form realm or the formless realm?
“Honorable Śāriputra, are you concentrating while dwelling on the internal? Or are you concentrating while dwelling on the external? Or are you concentrating while dwelling on the internal and external? Honorable Śāriputra, are you concentrating while dwelling on the body? Or are you concentrating while dwelling on the mind?”
“Mañjuśrī,” replied Śāriputra, “I am practicing concentration in order to dwell in bliss for this life and to dwell in nonforgetfulness.”
Mañjuśrī then asked, “Honorable Śāriputra, do you apprehend any dharmas that dwell in bliss in this life, or that dwell in bliss in what is not this life, or that are without forgetfulness?”
“Mañjuśrī,” Śāriputra replied, “I truly do not observe or apprehend any dharmas that dwell in bliss in this life or that dwell in bliss in what is not this life. However, Mañjuśrī, I rely and dwell on what the Tathāgata taught to śrāvakas as the doctrine of disengagement.”29
Mañjuśrī then asked, “Honorable Śāriputra, what is it that the Tathāgata taught to śrāvakas as the doctrine of disengagement and that you, honorable Śāriputra, rely and dwell on?”
Śāriputra replied, “In this regard, Mañjuśrī, a monk relies and dwells on the past, relies and dwells on the future, and relies and dwells on the present.30 In brief, as mentioned before, one should understand that he relies and dwells as mentioned before all the way up to the mind. Mañjuśrī, the Tathāgata taught these śrāvakas that these dharmas are disengaged, and I [F.267.b] rely and dwell on these dharmas.”
Mañjuśrī then asked, “Honorable Śāriputra, why do you say, ‘I rely and dwell on the past, rely and dwell on the future, rely on the present, dwell in disengagement, and, in brief, rely on and dwell in disengagement as mentioned before all the way up to the mind’? It is like this, honorable Śāriputra: a true nature31 of the past does not exist. A true nature of the future does not exist. A true nature of the present does not exist. In this way, if these dharmas do not exist, then how can the elder Śāriputra say, ‘I rely and dwell on the past, rely and dwell on the future, and rely and dwell on the present’? Dharmas that do not exist have no basis.
“Further, honorable Śāriputra, there is nothing that is a true nature32 of the past and a true nature of the future and the present. Nor are phenomena caused by anything. Nor do they belong to anything. They are not based anywhere. There is nothing apprehended as a basis of what is not based anywhere.
“Further, honorable Śāriputra, those who speak of a ‘true nature33 of the past, the future, and the present’ and who thus propound stability deprecate the Tathāgata. Why is this? It is because a true nature is immovable and without vain imaginings. It is because a true nature is uncorrupted. It is because true nature is34 empty, without signs, and wishless.
“Further, honorable Śāriputra, a true nature of the past cannot be apprehended. A true nature of the future cannot be apprehended. A true nature of the present cannot be apprehended. And, in brief, the true nature of everything up to mind cannot be apprehended. However, honorable Śāriputra, besides the true nature, one does not apprehend any other dharma capable of being shown or explained.”
Śāriputra then asked, [F.268.a] “Mañjuśrī, does the Tathāgata teach the Dharma while residing in the true nature?”
“Honorable Śāriputra,” Mañjuśrī replied, “if a true nature does not exist, then how can the Tathāgata reside in the true nature and teach the Dharma? Honorable Śāriputra, if the Dharma also does not exist, then how can the Tathāgata reside in the true nature and teach the Dharma? If the Tathāgata also does not exist, then how can the Tathāgata reside in the true nature and teach the Dharma? All dharmas do not exist and cannot be apprehended. The Tathāgata also does not exist and cannot be apprehended. When his Dharma is taught, it is like this: it is without distinction between either apprehending or not apprehending. The Tathāgata himself is not distinguished by the expressible or the inexpressible. Why is this? Because, honorable Śāriputra, the Tathāgata is completely cut off from expression, involves no designation, and is not something that can be designated.”
Mañjuśrī said, “Honorable Śāriputra, one who is not disturbed in the conditioned realm and who does not desire complete nirvāṇa will be a recipient for a Dharma teaching like this. One who does not apprehend dharmas of the past, does not comprehend dharmas of the past, does not apprehend dharmas of the past, present, or future, and does not comprehend dharmas of the past, present, or future will be a recipient for a Dharma teaching such as this. One who neither sees nor appropriates defilements and purifications will be a recipient for a Dharma teaching such as this. One who does not pursue either self or nonself and who does not pursue acquiring and relinquishing is a recipient for a [F.268.b] Dharma teaching such as this. That one will comprehend the meaning of this exposition.”
Mañjuśrī then asked, “Honorable Śāriputra, if there were to be something that constitutes the meaning of this exposition, then ask, ‘In this regard, what is comprehended?’ ”
“Mañjuśrī, this profound Dharma teaching is rarely directly perceived,” said Śāriputra. “It is rarely fully apprehended. Mañjuśrī, if even arhats, those in training, and those beyond training35 grow discouraged regarding this location, how much more so are childish ordinary beings.”
“Honorable Śāriputra,” said Mañjuśrī, “arhats do not have a dwelling place. Why is this? Because if even arhats do not exist, in what place would an arhat dwell? Arhats are thus distinguished by being without dwelling place. Arhats are distinguished by being without apprehension. Arhats are distinguished by having fully cut off the expressible and inexpressible. Why is this? Because as arhats have fully cut off the expressible and inexpressible, they are free from designation. Arhats are free from distinctions concerning places.
“They are distinguished by the unconditioned. They are without engagement. They are distinguished by the unconditioned because if arhats are unconditioned and without dwelling place, what would be the dwelling place of arhats?
“Arhats are not distinguished by name and form. Childish ordinary beings conceptualize name and form. Name and form are understood by arhats to be without conceptions and without conceptualizing. Therefore, arhats are not distinguished by name and form. Even childish beings are not apprehended. The qualities of childish beings, arhats, and arhat qualities are also not apprehended. At the time they are not apprehended, they are not conceived. They are not dealt with. [F.269.a] Without being dealt with, they are unelaborated and peaceful.
“One does not accept their ‘existence,’ nor does one accept their ‘nonexistence.’ One also does not accept that they are both existent while existing and nonexistent while not existing. Nor does one accept that they are neither existent nor nonexistent. When one does not accept any of these, there is no apprehension. Being free from all apprehensions—without thought and free from thought—we speak of one who dwells in the quality of spiritual practice36 by way of being without dwelling place.”
Once37 this teaching had been explained by the youthful Mañjuśrī, the five hundred monks of the retinue got up from their seats saying, “We do not see the youthful Mañjuśrī. We do not hear the youthful Mañjuśrī. Any location where the youthful Mañjuśrī could dwell should be abandoned. Why is that? The youthful Mañjuśrī has shown in a blatant manner that the defilements and purifications have a single characteristic.” They thought that he had thereby said something that was not Dharma, and thinking, “How can we thus train in the doctrine that is well spoken by the Bhagavān and practice pure moral conduct?” they departed.
The elder Śāriputra then asked the youthful Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, do you not teach the Dharma so that sentient beings may comprehend the Dharma?”
Śāriputra said, “Having arisen from their seats, those five hundred monks have spoken disparagingly and unpleasantly, and they have departed.”
“Honorable Śāriputra, it is good,” said Mañjuśrī, “it is good that those five hundred monks said, ‘We do not see the youthful Mañjuśrī. We do not hear the youthful Mañjuśrī. Any location where youthful Mañjuśrī could dwell should be abandoned. Śāriputra, [F.269.b] the words of these monks are well spoken. Why is that? Because the youthful Mañjuśrī does not exist and cannot be apprehended. That which does not exist and cannot be apprehended cannot be seen and cannot be heard. Any location where the youthful Mañjuśrī could dwell should be abandoned. Why is that? Because, since the youthful Mañjuśrī does not exist and cannot be apprehended, any place he could dwell also does not exist and cannot be apprehended. And one should not try to rely on what does not exist and cannot be apprehended.”
When those five hundred monks had heard this teaching by the youthful Mañjuśrī, they again returned to their places and said the following words to the youthful Mañjuśrī: “Mañjuśrī, why do we not understand what you just taught?”
Mañjuśrī replied, “This is good, monks, this is good. Such are the activities of the Teacher’s hearers.38 In this regard, monks, there is nothing to comprehend and there is nothing to cognize. Why is this?39 Because this realm of reality is the very state of dwelling in the manner of being without dwelling place. That which is the realm of reality is not a realm. That which does not exist and cannot be apprehended is also immovable and without death and rebirth. That which is immovable and without death and rebirth is not something comprehensible. It is not something cognizable. Those who are without the vain imaginings of comprehension and cognition are called hearers of the Teacher. They are called those who have attained the supreme, leaders, and those worthy of offerings.”
Upon explaining this teaching, among the five hundred monks the minds of four hundred monks were liberated from the pollutions without any further clinging. The minds of one hundred monks grew increasingly disturbed, and their bodily existences and mental states were plunged into the great hell of Howling.40
Venerable Śāriputra then said to the youthful Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, [F.270.a] I am shocked that one hundred monks have all gone to ruin41 because you did not teach a Dharma that protects sentient beings.”
Thereupon the Bhagavān replied to the elder Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, do not say such things. Why? Śāriputra, those one hundred monks will come into contact with the great hell of Howling for only a moment, and they will then take rebirth together among the gods of Tuṣita heaven.42 Śāriputra, if these monks had not heard this Dharma discourse, they would undoubtedly have gone to hell, and having exhausted their karma,43 some would have taken rebirth as humans. But since they have relied upon this Dharma discourse, even those deeds that would cause other beings to experience hell for an eon will, for them, cause that experience for only a short while. Therefore, Śāriputra, those one hundred monks will be included among the initial hearers of the tathāgata Maitreya and become arhats who have exhausted their pollutions. Since that is so, Śāriputra, for this Dharma discourse to be heard by those who have doubt is excellent indeed, in a way that is not the case for the attainment of the four meditative concentrations, in a way that is not the case for the four immeasurables, and in a way that is not the case for the cultivation of the four formless attainments. Why is that? Because without hearing such a Dharma discourse, one will not be liberated from cyclic existence, nor will one be liberated from birth, ageing, sickness, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, sadness, and agitation.”
The venerable Śāriputra then said to the youthful Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, it is amazing how you have matured sentient beings through your eloquent explanation of this Dharma discourse.”
“Honorable Śāriputra,” replied Mañjuśrī, “the true nature does not diminish, nor does it increase. The realm of reality does not diminish [F.270.b], nor does it increase. The realm of sentient beings does not diminish, nor does it increase. They are not defiled, nor are they purified.44 Why is this? Because these things do not exist and cannot be apprehended. They are nothing at all, as they amount to nothing but mere conventions. They are not caused by anything at all. They do not dwell anywhere at all and are without dwelling place. Honorable Śāriputra, that which is uncurtailed in this way is awakening. Awakening is liberation. Liberation is nonconceptual. The nonconceptual is unfabricated and immutable. The unfabricated and immutable is wholly beyond suffering.”
Thereupon, the Bhagavān said to the elder Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, it is just as the youthful Mañjuśrī has taught. True nature does not diminish, nor does it increase. The realm of reality also does not diminish, nor does it increase. The realm of sentient beings does not diminish, nor does it increase. It is not defiled, nor is it purified.45 Why is this? Because these things do not exist and cannot be apprehended. They are nothing at all, as they amount to nothing more than mere conventions. They are not caused by anything at all. They do not dwell anywhere at all and are without dwelling place.”
When this Dharma discourse had been explained, one hundred thousand51 living beings purified the Dharma eye with regard to dharmas so that it was dustless and stainless. The minds of five hundred monks were liberated from the pollutions without any further clinging.52 Eighty thousand gods belonging to the form realm generated the mind set on unexcelled, perfectly complete awakening. The Bhagavān predicted that they would all realize unexcelled, perfectly complete awakening in the eon called Star-like and that all of them would then bear the same name: the tathāgata, arhat, perfectly complete buddha Flower.53 When the Bhagavān had said this, the youthful Mañjuśrī, the venerable Śāriputra, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas [F.271.b] rejoiced and praised the proclamation of the Bhagavān.
This concludes The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Dwelling Place of Mañjuśrī.”
Colophon
It was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
Abbreviations
Chinese Sources
Taishō 470 | Wén shū shī lì xún xíng jīng 文殊師利巡行經, translated by Bodhiruci ca. 508–535 ᴄᴇ. |
---|---|
Taishō 471 | Wén shū shī lì xíng jīng 文殊尸利行經, translated by Jñānagupta in 586 ᴄᴇ. |
Tibetan Kangyur Editions
C | Choné Printed Kangyur |
---|---|
D | Degé Printed Kangyur |
Go | Gondhla Collection Proto-Kangyur |
J | Lithang Printed Kangyur |
L | London Manuscript Kangyur |
Ne | Bathang Manuscript Kangyur |
Q | Peking Qianlong Printed Kangyur |
S | Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur |
Ta | Tabo Manuscript |
V | Ulanbatar Manuscript Kangyur |
Y | Yongle Printed Kangyur |
Z | Shey Palace Manuscript Kangyur |
Notes
Bibliography
Primary Source Texts
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryamañjuśrīvihāranāmamahāyānasūtra). Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 266.b–271.b.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 61, pp. 725–37.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Basgo Manuscript Kangyur vol. 53 (mdo, tsa), folios 277.a–384.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Bathang (Newark) Kangyur vol. 10, folios 13.b–18.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Choné Kangyur vol. 41 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 328.a–333.b.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Gondhla Collection Kangyur vol. 16 (ka), folios 15.a–19.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Hemis Kangyur 61.6 (mdo, tsa), folios 310.a–317.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Kangxi “Dragon” Kangyur no. 865 (mdo, tsu), folios 286/427.a–291/535.a. See Chou 2011.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. London (Shelkar) Kangyur vol. 39 (mdo sde, ta), folios 367.b–374.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Peking Qianlong Printed Kangyur vol. 34 (mdo sna tshogs, mu), folios 275.a–280.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Phukdrak Kangyur vol. 82 (mdo sde, sa), folios 194.b–202.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Shey Palace Kangyur vol. 56 (mdo, ta), folios 443.b–451.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ta), folios 394.a–401.a.
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Tabo Manuscript RN21 (ki 46–49); RN311 (ka 37).
’phags pa ’jam dpal gnas pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Ulanbatar Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, ta), folios 370.a–377.a.
Secondary Sources
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Apple, James B. (2014). A Stairway taken by the Lucid: Tsong kha pa’s Study of Noble Beings. New Delhi: Aditya Prakashan, 2013.
———(2014). “Fragments and Phylogeny of the Tibetan Version of the Mañjuśrīvihārasūtra: A Case Study in the Genealogy of Tibetan Kanjurs.” Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology (ARIRIAB) at Soka University 17 (2014): 293–335.
Bareau, André. The Buddhist Schools of the Small Vehicle. Translated by Sara Boin-Webb. Edited by Andrew Skilton. Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2013.
Braarvig, Jens (1993). Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra. 2 vols. Oslo: Solum Forlag, 1993.
———(1994). “The Practice of the Bodhisattvas: Negative Dialectics and Provocative Arguments. Edition of the Tibetan text of the Bodhisattvacaryānirdeśa with a translation and introduction.” Acta Orientalia 55 (1994): 113–60.
Chang, Garma C. C. A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras: Selections from the Mahāratnakūta Sūtra. University Park: The Pennsylvania State University Press, 1983.
Chou, Kungshin. Preface in Tibetan Scripture-Index to 龍藏經,金字法寶 (The Tibetan Dragon Sutras, Golden Ink Dharma Treasure). 108 volumes. Taiwan: 國立故宮博物院 (National Palace Museum), 龍岡印刷股份有限公司 Long-Kuang Digital Culture Co., 2011.
Conze, Edward (1962). Buddhist thought in India. London: Allen & Unwin, 1962.
———(1973). The Short Prajñāpāramitā Texts. London: Luzac & Co., 1973.
———(1975). The Large Sutra on Perfect Wisdom: With the Divisions of the Abhisamayālaṅkāra. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.
Deleanu, Florin. “A Preliminary Study on Meditation and the Beginnings of Mahāyāna Buddhism.” Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology (ARIRIAB) at Soka University 3 (2000), pp. 65–113.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2022). The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother (Bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, Toh 21). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vol. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970.
Gyamtso, Yeshe, trans. A Garland of Jewels: The Eight Great Bodhisattvas. Woodstock, NY: KTD Publications, 2008.
Harrison, Paul M. (1990). The Samādhi of Direct Encounter with the Buddhas of the Present: An Annotated English Translation of the Tibetan Version of the Pratyutpanna-Buddha-Saṃmukhāvasthita-Samādhi-Sūtra with Several Appendices relating to the History of the Text. Studia Philologica Buddhica Monograph Series 5. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 1990.
———(2006). “Vajracchedikā Prajñāpāramitā: A New English Translation of the Sanskrit Text Based on Two Manuscripts from Greater Gandhāra.” In Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection Volume III, edited by Jens Braarvig et al., 133–59. Hermes: Oslo, 2006.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Hikata, Ryusho. Suvikrantāvikrāmi-paripṛcchā-prajñāpāramitā-sūtra: Edited with an introductory essay by Ryusho Hikata. Fukuoka: Kyushu University, 1958.
Jaini, Padmanabh. “Smṛti in the Abhidharma Literature and the Development of Buddhist Accounts of Memory of the Past.” In In the Mirror of Memory: Reflections on Mindfulness and Remembrance in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism, edited by Janet Gyatso, 47–59. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1992.
Kapstein, Matthew, trans. “An Imperial Decree on Translation.” In Sources of Tibetan Tradition, edited by Kurtis R. Schaeffer, Matthew Kapstein, and Gray Tuttle, 72–76. New York: Columbia University Press, 2013.
Lamotte, Étienne. Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nàgàrjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra). Volume 1. Louvain: Institut Orientaliste, 1944.
Lopez, Donald S. The Heart Sūtra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 1988.
Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa chen po). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co), folios 1.b–131.a.
Meisig, Konrad, and Marion Meisig. A Buddhist Chinese Glossary: Buddhistisch-Chinesisches Glossar. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2012.
Monier-Williams, M. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1974.
Nakamura, H. Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes. Tokyo: Kufs Publication, 1980.
Nishioka, Soshū. “ ‘Putun bukkyōshi’ Mokurokubusakuin 1/Index to the Catalogue Section of Bu-ston’s ‘History of Buddhism’ 1.” Tōkyō daigaku bungakubu Bunka-kōryū-kenkyū-shisetsu Kenkyū Kiyō 4 (1980): 61–92.
Otokawa, Bun’ei. “New Fragments of the rNal ’byor chen por bsgom pa’i don from Tabo.” In Tabo studies II: Manuscripts, Texts, Inscriptions, and the Arts, edited by Cristina Anna Scherrer-Schaub and Ernst Steinkellner, 99–162. Roma: Istituto Italiano per l’Africa e l’Oriente, 1999.
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Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.
acceptance
- bzod pa
- བཟོད་པ།
- kṣānti
affliction
- nyon mongs pa
- ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
- kleśa
apprehended
- dmigs pa
- དམིགས་པ།
- upalabdha
- ālambana
arhat
- dgra bcom pa
- དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
- arhat
asura
- lha ma yin
- ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
- asura
bhagavān
- bcom ldan ’das
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- bhagavān
Butön Rinchen Drup
- bu ston rin chen grub
- བུ་སྟོན་རིན་ཆེན་གྲུབ།
- —
characteristic
- mtshan nyid
- མཚན་ཉིད།
- lakṣaṇa
childish ordinary being
- byis pa so so’i skye bo
- བྱིས་པ་སོ་སོའི་སྐྱེ་བོ།
- bālapṛthagjana
Chomden Raldri
- bcom ldan ral gri
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་རལ་གྲི།
- —
cognizable
- rnam par shes pa bya ba
- རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ་བྱ་བ།
- vijñātavya
complete nirvāṇa
- yongs su mya ngan las ’da’ ba
- ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདའ་བ།
- parinirvāṇa
comprehensible
- kun shes par bya ba
- ཀུན་ཤེས་པར་བྱ་བ།
- saṃjñātavya
concentrating
- bsam gtan byed pa
- བསམ་གཏན་བྱེད་པ།
- dhyāyati
conditioned realm
- ’dus byas kyi khams
- འདུས་བྱས་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
- saṃskṛtadhātu
Darma Gyaltsen
- dar ma rgyal mtshan
- དར་མ་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
- —
defilement
- kun nas nyon mongs pa
- ཀུན་ནས་ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
- saṃklésa
designated
- gdags par bya ba
- གདགས་པར་བྱ་བ།
- prajñāpya
designation
- btags pa
- བཏགས་པ།
- prajñapti
Dharma discourse
- chos kyi rnam grangs
- ཆོས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་གྲངས།
- dharmaparyāya
disengagement
- rab tu dben pa
- རབ་ཏུ་དབེན་པ།
- praviveka
distinguished
- rab tu phye ba
- རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།
- prabhāvita
distinguished by the unconditioned
- ’dus ma byas kyis rab tu phye ba
- འདུས་མ་བྱས་ཀྱིས་རབ་ཏུ་ཕྱེ་བ།
- asaṃskṛtaprabhāvita
doctrine of disengagement
- rab tu dben pa’i chos
- རབ་ཏུ་དབེན་པའི་ཆོས།
- pravivekadharma
does not diminish, nor does it increase
- ’bri ba ma yin/ ’phel ba ma yin
- འབྲི་བ་མ་ཡིན། འཕེལ་བ་མ་ཡིན།
- anūnatvāpūrṇatva
dwell in bliss in this life
- tshe ’di la bde bar gnas pa
- ཚེ་འདི་ལ་བདེ་བར་གནས་པ།
- dṛṣṭadharmasukhavihāra
dwelling place
- gnas pa
- གནས་པ།
- vihāra
empty
- stong pa
- སྟོང་པ།
- śūnya
expressible
- brjod pa
- བརྗོད་པ།
- abhilāpya
Flower
- me tog
- མེ་ཏོག
- puṣpa
four formless attainments
- gzugs med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa bzhi
- གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ་བཞི།
- caturārūpyasamāpatti
four immeasurables
- tshad med pa bzhi
- ཚད་མེད་པ་བཞི།
- caturapramāṇa
four meditative concentrations
- bsam gtan gzhi
- བསམ་གཏན་གཞི།
- caturdhyāna
gandharva
- dri za
- དྲི་ཟ།
- gandharva
Gṛdhrakūṭa Mountain
- bya rgod kyi phung po
- བྱ་རྒོད་ཀྱི་ཕུང་པོ།
- gṛdhrakūṭa
Howling
- ngu ’bod
- ངུ་འབོད།
- raurava
immovable
- g.yo ba med pa
- གཡོ་བ་མེད་པ།
- anijñana
immutable
- ’gyur ba med pa
- འགྱུར་བ་མེད་པ།
- avikāra
in brief, as mentioned before
- de bzhin du sbyar te
- དེ་བཞིན་དུ་སྦྱར་ཏེ།
- peyālaṃ
leader
- gtso bo
- གཙོ་བོ།
- śreṣṭha
location
- sa phyogs
- phyogs
- ས་ཕྱོགས།
- ཕྱོགས།
- pradeśa
Maitreya
- byams pa
- བྱམས་པ།
- maitreya
Mañjuśrī
- ’jam dpal
- འཇམ་དཔལ།
- mañjuśrī
Māra
- bdud
- བདུད།
- māra
meditative seclusion
- nang du yang dag bzhag pa
- ནང་དུ་ཡང་དག་བཞག་པ།
- pratisaṃlayana
mere conventions
- tha snyad tsam
- ཐ་སྙད་ཙམ།
- vyavahāramātra
name and form
- ming dang gzugs
- མིང་དང་གཟུགས།
- nāmarūpa
nonforgetfulness
- brjed pa med pa
- བརྗེད་པ་མེད་པ།
- asaṃpramoṣa
observe
- yang dag par rjes su mthong ba
- ཡང་དག་པར་རྗེས་སུ་མཐོང་བ།
- samanupaśyati
peaceful
- zhi ba
- ཞི་བ།
- upaśānta
Pekar Sangpo
- pad dkar bzang po
- པད་དཀར་བཟང་པོ།
- —
pollution
- zag pa
- ཟག་པ།
- āsrava
practicing concentration
- bsam gtan byed pa
- བསམ་གཏན་བྱེད་པ།
- dhyāyati
Puk Yeshé Yang
- spug ye shes dbyangs
- སྤུག་ཡེ་ཤེས་དབྱངས།
- —
pure moral conduct
- tshangs par spyod pa
- ཚངས་པར་སྤྱོད་པ།
- brahmacarya
purification
- rnam par byang ba
- རྣམ་པར་བྱང་བ།
- vyavadāna
quality of spiritual practice
- dge sbyong gi chos
- དགེ་སྦྱོང་གི་ཆོས།
- śramaṇadharma
Rājagṛha
- rgyal po’i khab
- རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
- rājagṛha
realm of reality
- chos kyi dbyings
- ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
- dharmadhātu
realm of sentient beings
- sems can gyi khams
- སེམས་ཅན་གྱི་ཁམས།
- sattvadhātu
recipient
- snod
- སྣོད།
- bhājana
Śāriputra
- shA ri’i bu
- ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
- śāriputra
Situ Penchen Chökyi Jungné
- si tu paN chen chos kyi ’byung gnas
- སི་ཏུ་པཎ་ཆེན་ཆོས་ཀྱི་འབྱུང་གནས།
- —
stability
- kun tu gnas
- ཀུན་ཏུ་གནས།
- saṃsthiti
Star-like
- skar ma lta bu
- སྐར་མ་ལྟ་བུ།
- tāropama
Surendrabodhi
- su ren dra bo dhi
- སུ་རེན་དྲ་བོ་དྷི།
- surendrabodhi
those in training
- slob pa
- སློབ་པ།
- śaikṣa
those who have attained the supreme
- mchog thob pa
- མཆོག་ཐོབ་པ།
- —
train in the doctrine
- chos ’dul ba
- ཆོས་འདུལ་བ།
- dharmavinaya
Trichiliocosm
- stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi khams
- སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
- trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu
Trisong Detsen
- khri srong lde btsan
- ཁྲི་སྲོང་ལྡེ་བཙན།
- —
true nature
- de bzhin nyid
- དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
- tathatā
Tuṣita
- dga’ ldan
- དགའ་ལྡན།
- tuṣita
uncorrupted
- nyams pa med pa
- ཉམས་པ་མེད་པ།
- anupahata
uncurtailed
- mi ’gag pa
- མི་འགག་པ།
- anirodha
unelaborated
- spros pa med
- spros med
- སྤྲོས་པ་མེད།
- སྤྲོས་མེད།
- niṣprapañca
unfabricated
- mi byed pa
- མི་བྱེད་པ།
- akriyā
unproduced
- skye ba med pa
- སྐྱེ་བ་མེད་པ།
- anutpāda
unwavering
- g.yo ba med pa
- གཡོ་བ་མེད་པ།
- anijñana
wisdom
- ye shes
- ཡེ་ཤེས།
- jñāna
wisdom bearer
- ye shes ldan
- ཡེ་ཤེས་ལྡན།
- jñānin
wishless
- smon pa med pa
- སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ།
- apraṇihita
without any further clinging
- len pa med pa
- ལེན་པ་མེད་པ།
- anupādāya
without dwelling place
- gnas med pa
- གནས་མེད་པ།
- asthāna
without engagement
- ’jug pa med pa
- འཇུག་པ་མེད་པ།
- apravṛtta
without signs
- mtshan ma med pa
- མཚན་མ་མེད་པ།
- animitta
without vain imaginings
- rlom sems med pa
- རློམ་སེམས་མེད་པ།
- amanyanā
worthy of offerings
- sbyin gnas
- སྦྱིན་གནས།
- dakṣiṇīya
Yeshé Dé
- ye shes sde
- ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
- —
youthful Mañjuśrī
- ’jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa
- འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུར་གྱུར་པ།
- mañjuśrīkumārabhūta