The Sūtra on Offering Lamps consists of a teaching given by the Buddha to the venerable Śāriputra while in Śrāvastī. The Buddha begins by describing the qualities of the buddhas that make them worthy objects of offering, and he then teaches at length on the benefits of offering even the most meager of lamps, with the aspiration to attain complete buddhahood, to the stūpa of a buddha who has passed into parinirvāṇa. The Buddha details the karmic results for a person who makes such an offering, narrating their future birth in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and their subsequent rebirth as a distinguished and fortunate human being.
Translated, introduced, and annotated by Laura Goetz, in consultation with a draft translation by the Vikramashila Translation House. Dr. Channa Li kindly provided a translation of the Chinese for the opening passage and compared it with the Tibetan.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Dawn Collins copyedited the text and Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Sūtra on Offering Lamps consists almost entirely of a teaching given by the Buddha to the venerable Śāriputra while in Śrāvastī. The sūtra is largely structured according to the pattern of providing a teaching in prose followed by a verse summary.
The Buddha begins his teaching by describing the qualities of the buddhas that make them worthy objects of offering. He then teaches at length the benefits of offering even the most meager of lights—such as a flaming blade of grass or a candle quickly extinguished by the wind—to the stūpa of a buddha who has passed into parinirvāṇa while forming the aspiration to attain complete buddhahood in the future. The Buddha details the karmic results for a person who makes such an offering, narrating their future birth as a chief of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and subsequent rebirth as a distinguished and highly fortunate human being.
The Buddha emphasizes the importance and effectiveness of maintaining certain positive states of mind when one makes an offering and how this supersedes the material worth of the offering. For instance, based on having made offerings while mindful of one’s actions and intentions, this quality of mindfulness will resurface at the moment of death. This is described as a series of “visions,” from recalling that one has made offerings to the Buddha to seeing one’s future birthplace in the god realm. And similarly, when one passes away as a god, one will do so with clarity of mind, teaching the Dharma to the other gods. When one takes birth as a human, one will remember one’s past lives. The Buddha also points out that because the karmic causes and results related to offering a lamp can only be known or described by a fully awakened buddha, it is important to make offerings with faith in the Buddha’s teaching on karma.
We are not aware of any extant Sanskrit version of this sūtra, although one verse, identified here as an udāna (Tib. ched du brjod pa, “inspired utterance”), is found in the Sanskrit Udānavarga.1 A Chinese translation (Shi deng gong de jing 施燈功德經, Taishō 702) was produced by Narendrayaśas in 558
This sūtra is listed in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial-period catalogs, thus dating it to the late eight–early ninth centuries.3 This date is confirmed by the colophon to the Tibetan translation, which lists as translators the Indian scholar Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé. In the Kangyur collection, this text is appropriately placed just before a short sūtra called The City Beggar Woman,4 which tells the story of a woman in Śrāvastī who offers a lamp with only a meager amount of oil to the Buddha. Because she makes her offering with the aspiration to become a buddha, she surpasses even King Prasenajit, who has set out a thousand cauldrons of oil as an offering. Moreover, her lamp cannot be extinguished, despite the great efforts of the disciple Maudgalyāyana.5
Our translation was based on the Degé Kangyur edition in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace (stog pho brang) Kangyur. We relied on the Chinese translation to reconstruct a brief passage in the first folio.
[F.81.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The Blessed One said to the venerable Śāriputra,6 “Śāriputra, as for these four immeasurable qualities, buddhas are endowed with thoroughly refined attributes that cause beings to attain immeasurable fruits, immeasurable radiance, immeasurable stores of merit, immeasurable form, and immeasurable stores of bliss. They engage beings in discipline, and they engage beings in absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation.7 They engage beings in correct discernment, and they bring about the cessation of the defilements without further appropriation.
“What are the four? They are thus, Śāriputra: (1) Because he has attained the perfection of discipline, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha8 is endowed with immeasurable discipline. (2) Because he has attained the perfection of absorption, he is endowed with immeasurable absorption. (3) Because he has attained the perfection of wisdom, he is endowed with immeasurable wisdom—he is endowed with vast wisdom, he is endowed with penetrating wisdom, he is endowed with wisdom that ascertains reality just as it is, and he is endowed with incalculable wisdom, endowed with definitive wisdom,[F.82.a] and endowed with definitive seeing. (4) He is endowed with a mind that is supremely liberated and thoroughly liberated, endowed with an unwavering mind, endowed with an undisturbed mind, and a mind that is properly applied.
“Śāriputra, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha has abandoned all nonvirtuous dharmas and is endowed with all virtuous dharmas; he is perfect in his conduct, his attention never wanes, he teaches the truth and sees the truth, he is immeasurable in illumination and immeasurable in the accumulations, he overpowers, and he has obtained the fully developed power of discipline, absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation that cannot be overpowered. He has obtained the fully developed power of the ten powers, he has obtained the fully developed power of the buddha qualities,9 he has obtained the fully developed power of great loving-kindness and great compassion, and he has obtained the fully developed power of correct discernment. His past intentions have been perfected, and his past purification has been perfected. He is endowed with precious wisdom. He has not discarded effort and is immeasurable in his diligence. He is free from sorrow and hurt and without grasping. He is all-seeing and all-knowing, the great elephant, immeasurable, without aggregates, and an unsurpassed field of merit.
“In that regard, Śāriputra, if a monk or nun, layman or laywoman—one who has a faithful mind and strives for merit, is focused on merit, acts as an instrument for merit,[F.82.b] wishes for merit, focuses their attention on recollecting in accordance with the practice, and has perfected their past endeavors—offers, delivers, or provides so much as a small or inferior wick anointed with oil or butter and sets it down at the stūpa of a thus-gone one—one who is a field of merit, a thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddha who planted roots of virtue over many hundreds of sextillions of eons and was endowed with the three types of knowledge—then, by striving for the sake of virtue, they will become a thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddha, a blessed one who has once and for all abandoned the cycle of rebirth.
“If that is the case, if they furthermore, by focusing their attention on taking hold of discipline, absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation, focusing their attention on any of the qualities that arise from that, focusing their attention on the goal of attaining the state of a thus-gone one and on that basis the Thus-Gone One himself,10 generating the intentio12n to offer to a thus-gone one for the sake of11 attaining the state of a thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddha, and thinking, ‘I will light this lamp, I will make it blaze, I will offer it, I will offer it completely, and I will set it in place,’ or having faith in their mindstream, venerate a stūpa of a thus-gone one—one who possessed the bountiful merit of countless thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddhas endowed with pure discipline and discipline equaled to the unequaled—and then light merely that lamp, or a trifling one, or a small one, or a paltry one, or a mere insignificant one, or even one that lasts no longer than a flash of lightning, even if it illuminates only a single step, then, Śāriputra, the ripening of that action could not be described by śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. Rather, Śāriputra, it is a thus-gone one who engages in teaching that ripening of merit—the fruit of the act of completely relinquishing with no hope of reward and with faith, joy, and clarity.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra,[F.83.a] suppose a noble son or noble daughter—one who is faithful, who is free from guile with respect to abiding in faith and not wavering, and who has certainty of mind with regard to the qualities of a buddha—has given rise to virtuous intention and then lit a mere trifling lamp,13 or just a small one, and suppose that by lighting that lamp only so much as a single step of that stūpa of a thus-gone one is illuminated, or that only the surrounding walkway, or the lower part, or the parasol, or everything is illuminated—whatever the case may be—and suppose that lamp were to go out after a very short time, whether because it is stirred by the wind or touched by rain, or because the butter runs out or the wick runs out.
“To give an example, Śāriputra, it is like this: when there is disturbance by nāgas, lightning emerges from the sky out of a dense net of thick clouds and then disappears. Even the clouded eyes of beings, Śāriputra, can cognize14 that fleeting occurrence. The Thus-Gone One, Śāriputra, knows the fruition, unfathomable as it may be, that comes from having taken hold of the heap of merit of offering a lamp, however small, by a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman—or even a being other than those who has not taken up the fundamental precepts—who strives after roots of virtue, who is deeply devoted to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, who continually guards themselves, and who desires merit.
“Śāriputra, except for the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha, the mass of beings, including the world with its gods and its brahmās and including monks and brahmins, Śāriputra, is unable to explain the ripening of that heap of merit accomplished by offering a single lamp.
“Śāriputra, the perceptual domain of the blessed buddhas is inconceivable. Śāriputra,[F.83.b] the Thus-Gone One knows the significance of having taken hold of the heap of merit, however hard to fathom, that comes from making an offering of a lamp. Śāriputra, if even the result that comes from offering a lamp as miniscule as that is inconceivable, why even speak of making or causing someone to make a distinguished offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one who has passed into the parinirvāṇa of a thus-gone one, or making or causing someone to make a distinguished offering by means of incense, flowers, parasols, banners, or a multifaceted succession of various kinds of lamps?
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, one should understand these four dharmas through faith. What are the four?15 Thinking, ‘The qualities of the Buddha are inconceivable,’ one should understand through faith. One should understand through faith that the ripening of a root of virtue, however small, will be immeasurable. The fruit of the enactment of a deed done in faith to the Three Jewels is to see the Teacher. Śrāvakas, if even you cannot imagine or conceive of that in all its aspects, why speak of the ability of others who do not abide in the noble lineage to directly cognize or understand for themselves the ripening of an action. That is otherwise to be understood through faith.
“Śāriputra, śrāvakas can neither contemplate nor perceive the ripening of the actions of all beings. So, Śāriputra, you all must all be without thought when it comes to this point. Why? Because, Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One has taught that the ripening of the actions of beings is inconceivable. Śāriputra, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddhas of the past also taught that the ripening of the actions of beings is inconceivable. Śāriputra, the future thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddhas, too,[F.84.a] will teach that the ripening of the actions of beings is inconceivable. Śāriputra, since the thoughts, mind, and insight of a being are inconceivable, they are to be known through faith.
“Śāriputra, if even you yourselves, who dwell in the noble lineage, do not perceive the cognition of any being, neither what is seen nor what is known, why even speak of those with untrained minds who are lacking in discipline, absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation—others who are forgetful, whose eyes are shrouded by the darkness of ignorance, and who do not even contemplate their own dharmas by asking, ‘What is the self?’ ‘Who is the self?’ ‘What is the self like?’ ‘Where does the self come from?’ ‘What is the extent of the self?’ ‘How is the self?’ ‘Is it my nature to be endowed with a self, or is it not my nature to be endowed with a self?’ ‘Is the self forgetful, or does the self remain mindful?’ ‘Does the self engage in wise activity, or does the self engage in immature activity?’ ‘Where does the self come from?’ ‘Where does the self go?’ Śāriputra, if ordinary immature beings do not even contemplate the self, how will those with mistaken views come to know the ripening of actions? It is impossible.
“Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One is not without discipline, not without absorption, not without wisdom, not without liberation, not without the knowledge and vision of liberation, and not without awareness. Śāriputra, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha has immeasurable discipline.[F.84.b] His discipline is without attachment. His discipline is inconceivable. His discipline is immeasurable. His discipline is complete. His discipline is pure. He16 knows actions and the ripening of actions just as they truly are.
“Śāriputra, in what way does the Thus-Gone One know actions and the ripening of actions just as they truly are? Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One knows it in this way: ‘This being has exhausted their virtuous dharmas and has filled up with nonvirtuous dharmas.’ ‘For this being virtuous dharmas will arise and nonvirtuous dharmas will cease.’ ‘For this being virtuous dharmas will be generated and nonvirtuous dharmas will cease.’ By engaging in this way, Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One knows these beings, their actions, and the variety of the results of their actions that follow. In this regard, Śāriputra, he is endowed with such a knowledge that sentient beings are obscured and unskilled. Endowed with such skill, he expounds upon the inconceivable ripening of the actions of sentient beings.
“In that regard, Śāriputra, those who are faithful will have conviction, and those who are not faithful and have fallen from this teaching will denigrate it and dispute it. For a long time it will bring them no benefit, be meaningless, cause them to suffer, and propel them into the lower realms.
“In that regard, Śāriputra, if a being who offers a lamp to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, who offers, provides, and delivers a lamp offering and who has enacted actions by which roots of virtue are gathered, who desires the happiness that results, who is endowed with joy and delight, and who is faithful, by having accumulated offerings, will in this very life attain three certainties of mind. What are the three? They will think, ‘I have honored the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha; I have come to understand that my body can be either a meaningful attainment of a body or a meaningless one, and so I should make a meaningful gift.’ Thinking thus, they understand material enjoyments[F.85.a] to be flawed. This making a meaningful gift out of meaningless material enjoyments, Śāriputra, is the first certainty of mind with regard to having honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, they will think, ‘Since I have honored those supreme recipients of gifts who are unsurpassed fields of merit worthy of offerings, I fear neither rebirth as a hell being, taking birth as an animal, nor the realm of Yama. I will joyfully migrate to the five places: I will attain the heavenly realms, I will attain a human birth, I will attain a fine form, I will attain material enjoyments, and I will attain awakening.’ This, Śāriputra, is the second certainty of mind with regard to having honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one that will be attained.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, they will think, ‘Since I have succeeded in making a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, I have made a gift, and I have also generated merit and given up miserliness.’ They will think, ‘I am the giver, and I have also given a gift.’ In this way, the mind and the act of giving are without distress and without disrespect. This, Śāriputra, is the third certainty of mind with regard to having honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one that will be attained.
“Śāriputra, a noble son or daughter who has made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one will attain three visions at the time of their death. What are the three? The virtue they have enacted will clearly manifest, and they will attain mindfulness and will not forget those virtuous actions. Śāriputra, in this way, at the time of their death they will recall the roots of virtue that have been generated in relation to a thus-gone one. This is the first vision.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, that being who has honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one[F.85.b] will attain great joy, recalling at the time of their death, ‘I have honored the Buddha.’ Thinking in this way while recalling the Buddha, Śāriputra, is the second vision.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, when at the time of death that being sees other beings giving gifts, they will think, ‘I have made a lamp offering. In the future, too, I will give a gift.’ Having made the intention to give in the future and being undisturbed by feelings of suffering, in that regard and in the same way they will have recalled the Dharma. This act of focusing the attention on roots of virtue just as they truly are, Śāriputra, is the third vision.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, that noble son or daughter who has made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one will attain four visions at the time of their death. What are the four? They are seeing the circle of the sun rise before them, seeing the circle of the full moon rise before them, seeing the presence of the assembly of gods, and seeing the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha abiding in the essence of awakening and awakened to complete and perfect buddhahood. They will see that while remaining in a state of reverence and with folded palms. Because of having made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, Śāriputra, they will attain these four visions at the time of their death.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, on account of having made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, they will be reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and as a god they will be endowed with five pure attributes.[F.86.b] In what way, Śāriputra, will that god be endowed with five pure attributes? His body will be pure, and he will be endowed with vast divine powers. His mindfulness and wisdom will be pure, he will hear pleasant sounds in his ears, and he will be endowed with a numerous and pleasing retinue.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Śāriputra, by making a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, they will be born among the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. That god will know for himself the duration of time after which he will face the reality of death and transmigration.21 At the time of his death, that god will bring delight and understanding to his own retinue, and to other gods as well, with a discourse on the Dharma, and then he will pass away from that realm. Even though they have passed away, they will not fall into the lower realms. When they take birth in the human world, it will be during a time in which a buddha has appeared, and they will belong to a highly revered family line and be endowed with faith. Even if[F.87.a] it so happens that a buddha has not appeared, they will not have pernicious views, and they will be born to a family that does not adhere to a strange tradition.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“By having made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, that being will fulfill four wishes. What are the four? They are the wish for a body, the wish for material wealth, the wish to be born into a venerable family line, and the attainment of wisdom. By having made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, Śāriputra, they will fulfill those four wishes.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Śāriputra, by having made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, four purities will be attained. What are the four? They are[F.88.b] the purity of the body, the purity of speech, the purity of mind, and the purity of one’s companions.
“Śāriputra, wherever that noble son or daughter takes birth, they will give up killing, and so they will not kill. They will give up stealing. They will give up sexual misconduct, and so they will not engage in improper relations, even with their own spouse. They will give up drinking surā and maireya. They will not harm any sentient being with sticks, blades, clods of earth, their fists, or anything else that can be used as a weapon, and they will turn away from sinful, nonvirtuous dharmas. Those, Śāriputra, are known as the purity of the body.
“What, then, is the purity of speech? It is giving up speaking falsely, that is to say speaking about something when one has neither seen it nor heard of it for oneself, not speaking at the wrong time even when questioned about what one has seen or heard, and speaking truthfully about what one has seen or heard when asked. It is not misrepresenting oneself or another. It is sticking to the truth when one is sure of it, even when another person encourages one to tell a lie. They will give up those impurities of speech.
“It is not telling an opponent something heard from this one in order to divide them, and it is not relating to this one something heard from an opponent in order to divide them. They will bring them to conciliation according to their common grounds and cause them to reconcile their differences.
“It is giving up harsh speech—having given up speech such as speech that cuts to the quick, speech that is abusive, harsh toward others, unpleasant to others, ugly, unwanted, repugnant, and disagreeable,[F.89.a] speech that causes harm to others, and speech that is vindictive, they will speak words that are tender, gentle, pleasing, truthful, pleasant to the ears, affectionate, and friendly, that gladden many beings, that many beings are drawn to, that are joyful and pleasant, and that pacify all enemies. This relinquishment of those impure activities in that way, Śāriputra, should be known as the pure activity of speech.
“It is giving up impure mental activity—they will not engage in covetous thoughts, and they will not generate covetous thoughts with regard to the wealth, property, or belongings of others. It is not engaging in malicious thoughts, thus relinquishing malicious thoughts. It is furthermore giving up mistaken views, thus not having unwholesome views. This relinquishment of those impure activities of mind in that way should be known as the pure activity of mind.
“They will also attain purity in terms of their companions—they will keep company with those who have given up lying and drinking surā and maireya and with those who are gentle, kind, disciplined, and possessed of an authentic view. And, beyond that,25 they will even keep company with blessed buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas and then attend to and honor them. This is the fourth purity, Śāriputra—it should be known as the purity of one’s companions.
“By making a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, Śāriputra, one will attain those four purities.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Śāriputra, if a noble son or daughter who has entered the Great Vehicle has made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, they will, in each and every one of their future births, attain the eight most desired attributes. What are the eight? They are the attainment of the supreme physical eye, the attainment of mindfulness like the invisible uṣṇīṣa, the attainment of meditation, the attainment of the supreme divine eye of the perfected stages of penetrating insight, the attainment of unflagging discipline due to wisdom having been perfected, the attainment of the higher realms due to the past accomplishment of merit, the attainment of abundant leisure due to the excellent accomplishment of merit, and pleasing the present buddhas by having become the eye of all beings. By the roots of virtue of having offered a lamp, Śāriputra, a noble son or daughter will attain the kingdom of a universal monarch. They will be endowed with a mind free from hostility and supremely lovely to behold, or they will obtain the great miraculous power of Śakra lord of the gods and attain the state of being endowed with a thousand eyes, or else become a brahmā28 who is skilled in the brahmā abodes, thus obtaining renowned concentration. By having dedicated roots of virtue for the sake of awakening, they will attain those eight most desired attributes.29
“They will moreover attain eight attributes. What are the eight? They are the attainment of the immeasurable buddha eye,[F.90.a] the attainment of the immeasurable eloquence of the Buddha, the attainment of the immeasurable miraculous power of the Buddha, the immeasurable discipline of the Buddha, the immeasurable absorption of the Buddha, the immeasurable wisdom of the Buddha, the immeasurable liberation of the Buddha, and the attainment of engagement with the immeasurable minds and thoughts of beings. Because of having offered a lamp, Śāriputra, they thus take hold of immeasurable fruits.
“Moreover, Śāriputra, beings who, when the Thus-Gone One teaches the Dharma, exclaim, ‘Oh, how marvelous! He is teaching the Dharma! Oh, how marvelous! He is explaining the Dharma!’ having previously believed the lamp they have offered to be made of oil, will come to understand it to be a lamp of the Dharma.
“By the roots of virtue from having offered a lamp, they will obtain eight immeasurable accumulations. What are the eight? They are the attainment of the immeasurable accumulation of mindfulness and the immeasurable accumulations of intelligence, faith, diligence, wisdom, absorption, eloquence, and merit. They will attain those eight immeasurable accumulations. They will also obtain the four correct discernments up to, in stages, omniscient gnosis.
“Moreover, Śāriputra, by the roots of virtue that result from joining one’s palms together toward the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha with a faithful mind, one will attain eight distinguished attributes. What are the eight? They are the attainment of a distinguished physical form, the attainment of a distinguished retinue of attendants, distinguished discipline, distinguished birth as a god or human, distinguished faith, and distinguished eloquence, the attainment of the noble path free of defilements, and unsurpassed[F.90.b] awakening to complete and perfect buddhahood.
“Why are they called immeasurable, Śāriputra? Because the fruits of having honored the Thus-Gone One are immeasurable, the benefits are immeasurable.”
Then, at that time, the Blessed One proclaimed the following inspired utterance:
Then the Blessed One said to the venerable Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, these five attributes are extremely difficult to acquire. What are the five? They are the attaining birth as a human, going forth in the Buddha’s teaching, rejoicing in them, having perfect discipline, and the cessation of the defilements. Śāriputra, it is extremely difficult for any being to acquire those five attributes, but you have already attained them.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
The Sūtra on Offering Lamps consists of a teaching given by the Buddha to the venerable Śāriputra while in Śrāvastī. The Buddha begins by describing the qualities of the buddhas that make them worthy objects of offering, and he then teaches at length on the benefits of offering even the most meager of lamps, with the aspiration to attain complete buddhahood, to the stūpa of a buddha who has passed into parinirvāṇa. The Buddha details the karmic results for a person who makes such an offering, narrating their future birth in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and their subsequent rebirth as a distinguished and fortunate human being.
Translated, introduced, and annotated by Laura Goetz, in consultation with a draft translation by the Vikramashila Translation House. Dr. Channa Li kindly provided a translation of the Chinese for the opening passage and compared it with the Tibetan.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Dawn Collins copyedited the text and Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Sūtra on Offering Lamps consists almost entirely of a teaching given by the Buddha to the venerable Śāriputra while in Śrāvastī. The sūtra is largely structured according to the pattern of providing a teaching in prose followed by a verse summary.
The Buddha begins his teaching by describing the qualities of the buddhas that make them worthy objects of offering. He then teaches at length the benefits of offering even the most meager of lights—such as a flaming blade of grass or a candle quickly extinguished by the wind—to the stūpa of a buddha who has passed into parinirvāṇa while forming the aspiration to attain complete buddhahood in the future. The Buddha details the karmic results for a person who makes such an offering, narrating their future birth as a chief of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three and subsequent rebirth as a distinguished and highly fortunate human being.
The Buddha emphasizes the importance and effectiveness of maintaining certain positive states of mind when one makes an offering and how this supersedes the material worth of the offering. For instance, based on having made offerings while mindful of one’s actions and intentions, this quality of mindfulness will resurface at the moment of death. This is described as a series of “visions,” from recalling that one has made offerings to the Buddha to seeing one’s future birthplace in the god realm. And similarly, when one passes away as a god, one will do so with clarity of mind, teaching the Dharma to the other gods. When one takes birth as a human, one will remember one’s past lives. The Buddha also points out that because the karmic causes and results related to offering a lamp can only be known or described by a fully awakened buddha, it is important to make offerings with faith in the Buddha’s teaching on karma.
We are not aware of any extant Sanskrit version of this sūtra, although one verse, identified here as an udāna (Tib. ched du brjod pa, “inspired utterance”), is found in the Sanskrit Udānavarga.1 A Chinese translation (Shi deng gong de jing 施燈功德經, Taishō 702) was produced by Narendrayaśas in 558
This sūtra is listed in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial-period catalogs, thus dating it to the late eight–early ninth centuries.3 This date is confirmed by the colophon to the Tibetan translation, which lists as translators the Indian scholar Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé. In the Kangyur collection, this text is appropriately placed just before a short sūtra called The City Beggar Woman,4 which tells the story of a woman in Śrāvastī who offers a lamp with only a meager amount of oil to the Buddha. Because she makes her offering with the aspiration to become a buddha, she surpasses even King Prasenajit, who has set out a thousand cauldrons of oil as an offering. Moreover, her lamp cannot be extinguished, despite the great efforts of the disciple Maudgalyāyana.5
Our translation was based on the Degé Kangyur edition in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace (stog pho brang) Kangyur. We relied on the Chinese translation to reconstruct a brief passage in the first folio.
[F.81.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The Blessed One said to the venerable Śāriputra,6 “Śāriputra, as for these four immeasurable qualities, buddhas are endowed with thoroughly refined attributes that cause beings to attain immeasurable fruits, immeasurable radiance, immeasurable stores of merit, immeasurable form, and immeasurable stores of bliss. They engage beings in discipline, and they engage beings in absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation.7 They engage beings in correct discernment, and they bring about the cessation of the defilements without further appropriation.
“What are the four? They are thus, Śāriputra: (1) Because he has attained the perfection of discipline, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha8 is endowed with immeasurable discipline. (2) Because he has attained the perfection of absorption, he is endowed with immeasurable absorption. (3) Because he has attained the perfection of wisdom, he is endowed with immeasurable wisdom—he is endowed with vast wisdom, he is endowed with penetrating wisdom, he is endowed with wisdom that ascertains reality just as it is, and he is endowed with incalculable wisdom, endowed with definitive wisdom,[F.82.a] and endowed with definitive seeing. (4) He is endowed with a mind that is supremely liberated and thoroughly liberated, endowed with an unwavering mind, endowed with an undisturbed mind, and a mind that is properly applied.
“Śāriputra, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha has abandoned all nonvirtuous dharmas and is endowed with all virtuous dharmas; he is perfect in his conduct, his attention never wanes, he teaches the truth and sees the truth, he is immeasurable in illumination and immeasurable in the accumulations, he overpowers, and he has obtained the fully developed power of discipline, absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation that cannot be overpowered. He has obtained the fully developed power of the ten powers, he has obtained the fully developed power of the buddha qualities,9 he has obtained the fully developed power of great loving-kindness and great compassion, and he has obtained the fully developed power of correct discernment. His past intentions have been perfected, and his past purification has been perfected. He is endowed with precious wisdom. He has not discarded effort and is immeasurable in his diligence. He is free from sorrow and hurt and without grasping. He is all-seeing and all-knowing, the great elephant, immeasurable, without aggregates, and an unsurpassed field of merit.
“In that regard, Śāriputra, if a monk or nun, layman or laywoman—one who has a faithful mind and strives for merit, is focused on merit, acts as an instrument for merit,[F.82.b] wishes for merit, focuses their attention on recollecting in accordance with the practice, and has perfected their past endeavors—offers, delivers, or provides so much as a small or inferior wick anointed with oil or butter and sets it down at the stūpa of a thus-gone one—one who is a field of merit, a thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddha who planted roots of virtue over many hundreds of sextillions of eons and was endowed with the three types of knowledge—then, by striving for the sake of virtue, they will become a thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddha, a blessed one who has once and for all abandoned the cycle of rebirth.
“If that is the case, if they furthermore, by focusing their attention on taking hold of discipline, absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation, focusing their attention on any of the qualities that arise from that, focusing their attention on the goal of attaining the state of a thus-gone one and on that basis the Thus-Gone One himself,10 generating the intentio12n to offer to a thus-gone one for the sake of11 attaining the state of a thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddha, and thinking, ‘I will light this lamp, I will make it blaze, I will offer it, I will offer it completely, and I will set it in place,’ or having faith in their mindstream, venerate a stūpa of a thus-gone one—one who possessed the bountiful merit of countless thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddhas endowed with pure discipline and discipline equaled to the unequaled—and then light merely that lamp, or a trifling one, or a small one, or a paltry one, or a mere insignificant one, or even one that lasts no longer than a flash of lightning, even if it illuminates only a single step, then, Śāriputra, the ripening of that action could not be described by śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. Rather, Śāriputra, it is a thus-gone one who engages in teaching that ripening of merit—the fruit of the act of completely relinquishing with no hope of reward and with faith, joy, and clarity.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra,[F.83.a] suppose a noble son or noble daughter—one who is faithful, who is free from guile with respect to abiding in faith and not wavering, and who has certainty of mind with regard to the qualities of a buddha—has given rise to virtuous intention and then lit a mere trifling lamp,13 or just a small one, and suppose that by lighting that lamp only so much as a single step of that stūpa of a thus-gone one is illuminated, or that only the surrounding walkway, or the lower part, or the parasol, or everything is illuminated—whatever the case may be—and suppose that lamp were to go out after a very short time, whether because it is stirred by the wind or touched by rain, or because the butter runs out or the wick runs out.
“To give an example, Śāriputra, it is like this: when there is disturbance by nāgas, lightning emerges from the sky out of a dense net of thick clouds and then disappears. Even the clouded eyes of beings, Śāriputra, can cognize14 that fleeting occurrence. The Thus-Gone One, Śāriputra, knows the fruition, unfathomable as it may be, that comes from having taken hold of the heap of merit of offering a lamp, however small, by a monk, nun, layman, or laywoman—or even a being other than those who has not taken up the fundamental precepts—who strives after roots of virtue, who is deeply devoted to the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, who continually guards themselves, and who desires merit.
“Śāriputra, except for the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha, the mass of beings, including the world with its gods and its brahmās and including monks and brahmins, Śāriputra, is unable to explain the ripening of that heap of merit accomplished by offering a single lamp.
“Śāriputra, the perceptual domain of the blessed buddhas is inconceivable. Śāriputra,[F.83.b] the Thus-Gone One knows the significance of having taken hold of the heap of merit, however hard to fathom, that comes from making an offering of a lamp. Śāriputra, if even the result that comes from offering a lamp as miniscule as that is inconceivable, why even speak of making or causing someone to make a distinguished offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one who has passed into the parinirvāṇa of a thus-gone one, or making or causing someone to make a distinguished offering by means of incense, flowers, parasols, banners, or a multifaceted succession of various kinds of lamps?
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, one should understand these four dharmas through faith. What are the four?15 Thinking, ‘The qualities of the Buddha are inconceivable,’ one should understand through faith. One should understand through faith that the ripening of a root of virtue, however small, will be immeasurable. The fruit of the enactment of a deed done in faith to the Three Jewels is to see the Teacher. Śrāvakas, if even you cannot imagine or conceive of that in all its aspects, why speak of the ability of others who do not abide in the noble lineage to directly cognize or understand for themselves the ripening of an action. That is otherwise to be understood through faith.
“Śāriputra, śrāvakas can neither contemplate nor perceive the ripening of the actions of all beings. So, Śāriputra, you all must all be without thought when it comes to this point. Why? Because, Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One has taught that the ripening of the actions of beings is inconceivable. Śāriputra, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddhas of the past also taught that the ripening of the actions of beings is inconceivable. Śāriputra, the future thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect buddhas, too,[F.84.a] will teach that the ripening of the actions of beings is inconceivable. Śāriputra, since the thoughts, mind, and insight of a being are inconceivable, they are to be known through faith.
“Śāriputra, if even you yourselves, who dwell in the noble lineage, do not perceive the cognition of any being, neither what is seen nor what is known, why even speak of those with untrained minds who are lacking in discipline, absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation—others who are forgetful, whose eyes are shrouded by the darkness of ignorance, and who do not even contemplate their own dharmas by asking, ‘What is the self?’ ‘Who is the self?’ ‘What is the self like?’ ‘Where does the self come from?’ ‘What is the extent of the self?’ ‘How is the self?’ ‘Is it my nature to be endowed with a self, or is it not my nature to be endowed with a self?’ ‘Is the self forgetful, or does the self remain mindful?’ ‘Does the self engage in wise activity, or does the self engage in immature activity?’ ‘Where does the self come from?’ ‘Where does the self go?’ Śāriputra, if ordinary immature beings do not even contemplate the self, how will those with mistaken views come to know the ripening of actions? It is impossible.
“Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One is not without discipline, not without absorption, not without wisdom, not without liberation, not without the knowledge and vision of liberation, and not without awareness. Śāriputra, the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha has immeasurable discipline.[F.84.b] His discipline is without attachment. His discipline is inconceivable. His discipline is immeasurable. His discipline is complete. His discipline is pure. He16 knows actions and the ripening of actions just as they truly are.
“Śāriputra, in what way does the Thus-Gone One know actions and the ripening of actions just as they truly are? Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One knows it in this way: ‘This being has exhausted their virtuous dharmas and has filled up with nonvirtuous dharmas.’ ‘For this being virtuous dharmas will arise and nonvirtuous dharmas will cease.’ ‘For this being virtuous dharmas will be generated and nonvirtuous dharmas will cease.’ By engaging in this way, Śāriputra, the Thus-Gone One knows these beings, their actions, and the variety of the results of their actions that follow. In this regard, Śāriputra, he is endowed with such a knowledge that sentient beings are obscured and unskilled. Endowed with such skill, he expounds upon the inconceivable ripening of the actions of sentient beings.
“In that regard, Śāriputra, those who are faithful will have conviction, and those who are not faithful and have fallen from this teaching will denigrate it and dispute it. For a long time it will bring them no benefit, be meaningless, cause them to suffer, and propel them into the lower realms.
“In that regard, Śāriputra, if a being who offers a lamp to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, who offers, provides, and delivers a lamp offering and who has enacted actions by which roots of virtue are gathered, who desires the happiness that results, who is endowed with joy and delight, and who is faithful, by having accumulated offerings, will in this very life attain three certainties of mind. What are the three? They will think, ‘I have honored the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha; I have come to understand that my body can be either a meaningful attainment of a body or a meaningless one, and so I should make a meaningful gift.’ Thinking thus, they understand material enjoyments[F.85.a] to be flawed. This making a meaningful gift out of meaningless material enjoyments, Śāriputra, is the first certainty of mind with regard to having honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, they will think, ‘Since I have honored those supreme recipients of gifts who are unsurpassed fields of merit worthy of offerings, I fear neither rebirth as a hell being, taking birth as an animal, nor the realm of Yama. I will joyfully migrate to the five places: I will attain the heavenly realms, I will attain a human birth, I will attain a fine form, I will attain material enjoyments, and I will attain awakening.’ This, Śāriputra, is the second certainty of mind with regard to having honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one that will be attained.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, they will think, ‘Since I have succeeded in making a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, I have made a gift, and I have also generated merit and given up miserliness.’ They will think, ‘I am the giver, and I have also given a gift.’ In this way, the mind and the act of giving are without distress and without disrespect. This, Śāriputra, is the third certainty of mind with regard to having honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one that will be attained.
“Śāriputra, a noble son or daughter who has made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one will attain three visions at the time of their death. What are the three? The virtue they have enacted will clearly manifest, and they will attain mindfulness and will not forget those virtuous actions. Śāriputra, in this way, at the time of their death they will recall the roots of virtue that have been generated in relation to a thus-gone one. This is the first vision.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, that being who has honored the stūpa of a thus-gone one[F.85.b] will attain great joy, recalling at the time of their death, ‘I have honored the Buddha.’ Thinking in this way while recalling the Buddha, Śāriputra, is the second vision.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, when at the time of death that being sees other beings giving gifts, they will think, ‘I have made a lamp offering. In the future, too, I will give a gift.’ Having made the intention to give in the future and being undisturbed by feelings of suffering, in that regard and in the same way they will have recalled the Dharma. This act of focusing the attention on roots of virtue just as they truly are, Śāriputra, is the third vision.
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, that noble son or daughter who has made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one will attain four visions at the time of their death. What are the four? They are seeing the circle of the sun rise before them, seeing the circle of the full moon rise before them, seeing the presence of the assembly of gods, and seeing the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha abiding in the essence of awakening and awakened to complete and perfect buddhahood. They will see that while remaining in a state of reverence and with folded palms. Because of having made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, Śāriputra, they will attain these four visions at the time of their death.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Furthermore, Śāriputra, on account of having made a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, they will be reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, and as a god they will be endowed with five pure attributes.[F.86.b] In what way, Śāriputra, will that god be endowed with five pure attributes? His body will be pure, and he will be endowed with vast divine powers. His mindfulness and wisdom will be pure, he will hear pleasant sounds in his ears, and he will be endowed with a numerous and pleasing retinue.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Śāriputra, by making a lamp offering to a stūpa of a thus-gone one, they will be born among the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. That god will know for himself the duration of time after which he will face the reality of death and transmigration.21 At the time of his death, that god will bring delight and understanding to his own retinue, and to other gods as well, with a discourse on the Dharma, and then he will pass away from that realm. Even though they have passed away, they will not fall into the lower realms. When they take birth in the human world, it will be during a time in which a buddha has appeared, and they will belong to a highly revered family line and be endowed with faith. Even if[F.87.a] it so happens that a buddha has not appeared, they will not have pernicious views, and they will be born to a family that does not adhere to a strange tradition.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“By having made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, that being will fulfill four wishes. What are the four? They are the wish for a body, the wish for material wealth, the wish to be born into a venerable family line, and the attainment of wisdom. By having made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, Śāriputra, they will fulfill those four wishes.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Śāriputra, by having made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, four purities will be attained. What are the four? They are[F.88.b] the purity of the body, the purity of speech, the purity of mind, and the purity of one’s companions.
“Śāriputra, wherever that noble son or daughter takes birth, they will give up killing, and so they will not kill. They will give up stealing. They will give up sexual misconduct, and so they will not engage in improper relations, even with their own spouse. They will give up drinking surā and maireya. They will not harm any sentient being with sticks, blades, clods of earth, their fists, or anything else that can be used as a weapon, and they will turn away from sinful, nonvirtuous dharmas. Those, Śāriputra, are known as the purity of the body.
“What, then, is the purity of speech? It is giving up speaking falsely, that is to say speaking about something when one has neither seen it nor heard of it for oneself, not speaking at the wrong time even when questioned about what one has seen or heard, and speaking truthfully about what one has seen or heard when asked. It is not misrepresenting oneself or another. It is sticking to the truth when one is sure of it, even when another person encourages one to tell a lie. They will give up those impurities of speech.
“It is not telling an opponent something heard from this one in order to divide them, and it is not relating to this one something heard from an opponent in order to divide them. They will bring them to conciliation according to their common grounds and cause them to reconcile their differences.
“It is giving up harsh speech—having given up speech such as speech that cuts to the quick, speech that is abusive, harsh toward others, unpleasant to others, ugly, unwanted, repugnant, and disagreeable,[F.89.a] speech that causes harm to others, and speech that is vindictive, they will speak words that are tender, gentle, pleasing, truthful, pleasant to the ears, affectionate, and friendly, that gladden many beings, that many beings are drawn to, that are joyful and pleasant, and that pacify all enemies. This relinquishment of those impure activities in that way, Śāriputra, should be known as the pure activity of speech.
“It is giving up impure mental activity—they will not engage in covetous thoughts, and they will not generate covetous thoughts with regard to the wealth, property, or belongings of others. It is not engaging in malicious thoughts, thus relinquishing malicious thoughts. It is furthermore giving up mistaken views, thus not having unwholesome views. This relinquishment of those impure activities of mind in that way should be known as the pure activity of mind.
“They will also attain purity in terms of their companions—they will keep company with those who have given up lying and drinking surā and maireya and with those who are gentle, kind, disciplined, and possessed of an authentic view. And, beyond that,25 they will even keep company with blessed buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas and then attend to and honor them. This is the fourth purity, Śāriputra—it should be known as the purity of one’s companions.
“By making a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, Śāriputra, one will attain those four purities.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
“Śāriputra, if a noble son or daughter who has entered the Great Vehicle has made a lamp offering to the stūpa of a thus-gone one, they will, in each and every one of their future births, attain the eight most desired attributes. What are the eight? They are the attainment of the supreme physical eye, the attainment of mindfulness like the invisible uṣṇīṣa, the attainment of meditation, the attainment of the supreme divine eye of the perfected stages of penetrating insight, the attainment of unflagging discipline due to wisdom having been perfected, the attainment of the higher realms due to the past accomplishment of merit, the attainment of abundant leisure due to the excellent accomplishment of merit, and pleasing the present buddhas by having become the eye of all beings. By the roots of virtue of having offered a lamp, Śāriputra, a noble son or daughter will attain the kingdom of a universal monarch. They will be endowed with a mind free from hostility and supremely lovely to behold, or they will obtain the great miraculous power of Śakra lord of the gods and attain the state of being endowed with a thousand eyes, or else become a brahmā28 who is skilled in the brahmā abodes, thus obtaining renowned concentration. By having dedicated roots of virtue for the sake of awakening, they will attain those eight most desired attributes.29
“They will moreover attain eight attributes. What are the eight? They are the attainment of the immeasurable buddha eye,[F.90.a] the attainment of the immeasurable eloquence of the Buddha, the attainment of the immeasurable miraculous power of the Buddha, the immeasurable discipline of the Buddha, the immeasurable absorption of the Buddha, the immeasurable wisdom of the Buddha, the immeasurable liberation of the Buddha, and the attainment of engagement with the immeasurable minds and thoughts of beings. Because of having offered a lamp, Śāriputra, they thus take hold of immeasurable fruits.
“Moreover, Śāriputra, beings who, when the Thus-Gone One teaches the Dharma, exclaim, ‘Oh, how marvelous! He is teaching the Dharma! Oh, how marvelous! He is explaining the Dharma!’ having previously believed the lamp they have offered to be made of oil, will come to understand it to be a lamp of the Dharma.
“By the roots of virtue from having offered a lamp, they will obtain eight immeasurable accumulations. What are the eight? They are the attainment of the immeasurable accumulation of mindfulness and the immeasurable accumulations of intelligence, faith, diligence, wisdom, absorption, eloquence, and merit. They will attain those eight immeasurable accumulations. They will also obtain the four correct discernments up to, in stages, omniscient gnosis.
“Moreover, Śāriputra, by the roots of virtue that result from joining one’s palms together toward the thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha with a faithful mind, one will attain eight distinguished attributes. What are the eight? They are the attainment of a distinguished physical form, the attainment of a distinguished retinue of attendants, distinguished discipline, distinguished birth as a god or human, distinguished faith, and distinguished eloquence, the attainment of the noble path free of defilements, and unsurpassed[F.90.b] awakening to complete and perfect buddhahood.
“Why are they called immeasurable, Śāriputra? Because the fruits of having honored the Thus-Gone One are immeasurable, the benefits are immeasurable.”
Then, at that time, the Blessed One proclaimed the following inspired utterance:
Then the Blessed One said to the venerable Śāriputra, “Śāriputra, these five attributes are extremely difficult to acquire. What are the five? They are the attaining birth as a human, going forth in the Buddha’s teaching, rejoicing in them, having perfect discipline, and the cessation of the defilements. Śāriputra, it is extremely difficult for any being to acquire those five attributes, but you have already attained them.”
Thus did the Blessed One proclaim. The Well-Gone One having spoken thus, the Teacher gave the same teaching in a different way:
Nagarāvalambikā, grong khyer gyis ’tsho ba, Toh 205. This story of the beggar woman was itself a very popular narrative found in several iterations. See the introduction to The City Beggar Woman, i.1. In other versions, because of her great vow to become a buddha her lamp cannot be extinguished (i.2).
This passage, starting here and running until the end of this paragraph, is difficult to make good sense of based the Tibetan alone, so our translation is informed by the Chinese translation (Taishō 702.16. 803c22–27). Here, the Chinese does not begin with “these four immeasurable qualities” (dpag tu med pa bzhi po ’di dag) but “four kinds of supreme marvelous qualities” (四種勝妙善法), probably corresponding to legs par yongs su sbyangs pa’i chos rnams. It makes it clear that it is the buddhas who possesses these four qualities and that, moreover, it is they who cause beings to attain the “immeasurable” (無量) results, the five uncontaminated aggregates, and so forth. We thus understand dpag tu med pa bzhi po ’di dag to refer to the four qualities possessed by the buddhas that are enumerated in the following paragraph. The Chinese can be translated as follows: “O, Śāriputra! Buddhas have four kinds of supreme marvelous qualities, which can make sentient beings attain immeasurable fruits, immeasurable radiance, immeasurable marvelous form, immeasurable stores of merit, immeasurable stores of bliss, immeasurable stores of discipline, absorption, insight, liberation, knowledge and wisdom of liberation, eloquence, and unattached and untainted qualities” (爾時世尊告舍利弗言：舍利弗！佛有四種勝妙善法，能令眾生得無量果、無量光明、無量妙色、無量福藏、無量樂藏，無量戒、定、智慧、解脫、解脫知見、辯才之藏，一切無著無漏之法。). The Tibetan might be literally translated prima facie as follows: “These four immeasurable qualities are endowed with thoroughly refined attributes and are immeasurable ripening, immeasurable radiance, immeasurable stores of merit, immeasurable form, and immeasurable stores of bliss; they are engagement in discipline, in absorption, in wisdom, and in the knowledge and wisdom of liberation, they are engagement in correct discernment, and they become the cessation of the defilements without further appropriation” (dpag tu med pa bzhi po ’di dag ni legs par yongs su sbyangs pa’i chos rnams dang ldan pa/ rnam par smin pa dpag tu med pa/ snang ba dpag tu med pa/ bsod nams la yang dag par gzhol ba dpag tu med pa/ gzugs dpag tu med pa/ bde ba la yang dag par gzhol ba dpag tu med pa dag ste/ de dag ni tshul khrims la ’jug pa dang/ ting nge ’dzin dang/ shes rab dang/ rnam par grol ba dang/ rnam par grol ba’i ye shes mthong ba la ’jug pa dang/ so so yang dag par rig pa la ’jug pa dang/ len pa med par zag pa zad par ’gyur ba dag go//). Given the context of the teaching that follows, it is appropriate that here the Buddha teaches on the qualities of buddhas that make them worthy of offering and based on which beings can reach such attainments.
These five (discipline, absorption, wisdom, liberation, and the knowledge and vision of liberation) are together known as the “five uncontaminated aggregates” (pañca-anāsravaskandha, zag med kyi phung po lnga) or the five aggregates beyond the world (lokottaraskandha, ’jig rten las ’das pa’i phung po lnga) that characterize noble beings, in contrast to the ordinary five aggregates (form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness). They are listed frequently in sūtras such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras (see for instance The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines [Toh 9], 59.18).
From this point up to the beginning of the third “immeasurable quality,” the Tibetan simply reads bsam gtan par gyur pa/ (“...has become endowed with concentration [dhyāna]”), which perhaps makes little sense following the perfection of discipline. It seems something has gone missing in the transmission here, as we would expect to find an enumeration of all four qualities. We have thus reconstructed this segment (i.e., regarding the first and second qualities) on the basis of the Chinese translation (Taishō 702.16. 803c27–804a3), which indeed suggests such an omission in the Tibetan text. The Chinese also explicitly numbers the four items. Where the Chinese and Tibetan do line up in this paragraph, they correspond quite closely. The Chinese reads, “O, Śāriputra! What are the four? (1) First is called that a thus-gone, worthy, complete and perfect Buddha has accomplished the perfection of discipline and is endowed with immeasurable discipline. (2) Second, having accomplished the perfection of concentration, he is endowed with immeasurable concentration. (3) Third, having accomplished the perfection of wisdom, he is endowed with immeasurable wisdom, vast wisdom, penetrating wisdom, wisdom of the nature of reality, incalculable wisdom, definitive wisdom, and knowledge and wisdom that is definitive. (4) Having accomplished a mind free from pollution, a mind with excellent thoughts, he is endowed with [the state of] marvelous liberation, the foremost liberation. These are the four kinds of supreme marvelous qualities” (舍利弗！何等為四？一者謂如來、應、正遍知得尸波羅蜜，具無量戒；二者、得禪波羅蜜，具無量定；三者、得波若波羅蜜，具無量慧及廣智慧、觀達慧、如性慧、無數慧、決定慧、畢定知見；四者、得無濁心、善勝作心，具妙解脫、第一解脫。是為四種勝妙善法。).
Our translation of de bzhin gshegs pa’i phyir dang gzhi de las de bzhin gshegs pa yid la byed as “focusing their attention on the goal of attaining the state of a thus-gone one and on that basis the Thus-Gone One himself” is tentative and is based on the following sentence, the meaning of which is clear. Later on, the Blessed One explains that offerings should be made with the aspiration to attain the state of a buddha, not, for example, the state of a pratyekabuddha (1.122).
Reading Stok, Choné, Kangxi, Lithang, Narthang, and Yongle shes byed pa. Degé reads zhes byed pa.
It is not evident here what the four dharmas to be understood through faith are. One possibility is the set given in the next paragraph: that of the actions (las), thoughts (bsam pa), mind (sems), and insight (lhag mthong) of a being.
Reading Choné, Kangxi, Lithang, Narthang, and Yongle de. Degé reads de la (“therefore” or “in that regard”).
Reading Choné, Kangxi, Lithang, Narthang, and Yongle mchod rten gnas (*caityasthāna). Degé reads mchod rten rnams (“stūpas”).
The translation of these two lines is tentative. The Tibetan term gzhal med khang, literally meaning “immeasurable palace,” usually translates the Sanskrit vimāna, which can refer to an aerial chariot or a palace, usually of seven stories. Vimāna can also refer to a grove, arbor, or estate. It is also an element of Indian temple design, equivalent to śikhara, in which case the meaning varies but often refers to a tower or dome connected to the main shrine or inner sanctum. Given the range of possibilities here, we have used the likely Sanskrit equivalent. Rather than gis brgyan in the second line, Peking and Yongle read gos brgyan. For the first line, Stok reads skyed mos tshal gyi gzhi ni rather than na; in this case, it could be the grounds that are adorned with the trees or the trees and vimānas.
Reading Choné, Kangxi, Lhasa, Lithang, and Narthang gtong byed la. Degé reads gtong byed pa, which might suggest that it is the flowers that are sending forth fragrance. It is not clear where the gods’ question begins.
The translation of these two lines is also tentative. In the previous verse, the flower was singular (me tog ’di), and so this does not appear to refer to the same flower.
Reading Stok lha’i bu de bdag yun ji srid cig na. Degé reads lha’i bu de dag yun ji srid cig na, which indicates either that the duration of the life of all the gods or gods in general is known or that all the gods know the duration of their own lives. The reading in Stok accords with the verse summary.
The five signs of the impending death of a god are enumerated in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna, Toh 287, 4.B.876) as follows: (1) dust will begin to gather on the god, (2) his faculties will weaken, (3) he will no longer appreciate the five sense pleasures, (4) when the other gods see him they will feel embarrassed, and (5) his goddesses will leave him for other gods.
“Nor without eyes at all” is a tentative translation for khog long mig ma yin. Choné, Kangxi, Lithang, Narthang, and Yongle read khrog long mig ma yin.
The term gzugs, referring by context to one of the traditional arts and sciences, might translate the rūpa (one of the many meanings of rūpa [= rūpaka] being drama or theater. In The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95, 12.65), rūpa is found in a long list of traditional skills between “painting” (ri mo, citra) and “dramatic action” (gzugs kyi las, rūpakarman).
Reading Stok, Choné, Kangxi, Lithang, Lhasa, Narthang, and Yongle gong du yang. D reads gang du yang.
We take so so rig pa to be a metrically expedient form of so so yang dag par rig pa (Skt. pratisaṃvid/-vedana). The four correct discernments are those of meaning, phenomena, language, and eloquence. These are the essential means by which the buddhas impart their teachings, and four aspects by which a bodhisattva or thus-gone one makes correct discernment that is without mistake and does not confuse one phenomenon with another. Knowing worldly minds, the clairvoyance of the gods, and the correct discernments are perhaps the “three factors” mentioned in the next verse.
It is not clear whether tshangs pa refers to Brahmā himself or simply a member of the class of brahmā gods.
Reading Stok, Peking, and Yongle sems can phan ’dod pas (Choné and Narthang similarly read ’dod phas according to the Comparative Edition). Degé reads sems can phan ’dogs pa, meaning that they currently benefit beings.
It is not clear whether tshangs pa refers to Brahmā himself or simply a member of the class of brahmā god.
The translation of this line is also tentative. Degé reads ’phags pa’i tshul khrims mkhas pa su mi sten. We have suggested reading the verb sten pa (= Skt. √sev) as “to serve” or “to attend to,” both here and in the previous verse, although in both cases it might also mean “to apply oneself to” or “to take recourse”; thus, in this case, “What wise one would not take recourse to the discipline of the noble ones?”
It is not clear where this quotation begins and ends. The following verse uses the first-person pronoun bdag, and given the context it is possible that this contemplation or aspiration begins here. The pronoun “I” in the fourth line here is thus added by us, as are those in the following verse, except in the first line, where it occurs in the Tibetan.
This line comprises a tentative translation of the highly condensed phrase mthu chen don dam mthong.
The Tibetan reads simply byang chub (“awakening”) here, however, in accordance with the context, this must be distinct from the awakening of a pratyekabuddha (rang rgyal byang chub).
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.
The second of the five uncontaminated aggregates (pañca-anāsravaskandha, zag med kyi phung po lnga).
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (moha). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,” “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyāyukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
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”).
A class of gods ruled over by Brahmā, they are said in some sources to inhabit the first three form realms (rūpadhātu), while in others they encompass all twenty form and formless realms (ārūpyadhātu).
In The Sūtra on Offering Lamps this term seems to refer to both the realm of the brahmā gods (= brahmaloka) and to the related meditative state, which is generally considered to be the first concentration (dhyāna). In other contexts this term often refers to the four “immeasurables” of love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
The omniscience seeing both how things are ultimately and how they manifest in their variety. The fifth of the five eyes (pañcacakṣus), the superior levels of vision experienced by realized beings, the other four being the physical eye (māṃsacakṣus), the wisdom eye (prajñācakṣus), the Dharma eye (dharmacakṣus), and the buddha eye (buddhacakṣus).
One of the traditional arts, it refers to a method of calculation and is associated with mathematical terms in lists of traditional skills such as the one found in The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95),
Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.
A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”
The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyāyukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).
Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”
The first of the five uncontaminated aggregates (pañca-anāsravaskandha, zag med kyi phung po lnga).
Clairvoyance, i.e., the supernormal ability to see to an unlimited distance, observe events on other worlds, see through mountains, and so forth. This is the first of the six (or sometimes five) superknowledges (ṣaḍabhijñā) and the second of the five eyes (pañcacakṣus). The five eyes are five superior levels of vision experienced by realized beings, the other four being the physical eye (māṃsacakṣus), the divine eye (divyacakṣus), the wisdom eye (prajñācakṣus), and the Dharma eye (dharmacakṣus).
One of the traditional arts occurring in lists of arts and sciences such as the one found in The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95),
The capacity to speak in a confident and inspiring manner.
A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.
The four correct and unhindered discriminating knowledges of (1) the doctrine or Dharma, (2) meaning, (3) language, and (4) eloquence. These are the essential means by which the buddhas impart their teachings.
Refers to the five fundamental precepts of abstaining from killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, and consuming intoxicants.
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.
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.
In Buddhist cosmology, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three is the second lowest of the six heavens in the desire realm (kāmadhātu). Situated on the flat summit of Mount Sumeru, it lies above the Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Caturmahārājakāyika) and below the Yāma Heaven. It consists of thirty-three regions, each presided by one of thirty-three chief gods, and the overall ruler is Śakra. The presiding gods are divided into four groups named in the Abhidharmakośaṭīkā (Toh 4092): the eight gods of wealth, two Aśvin youths, eleven fierce ones, and twelve suns. The thirty-three regions themselves are enumerated and described in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 4.B.2 et seq.).
Although mtho ris can refer to all three of the higher realms (those of humans, asuras, and devas), in The Sūtra on Offering Lamps it is described specifically as the abode of the devas, distinct from a human existence.
A genre of Buddhist literature included among the nine or twelve types, udāna consists of a formal mode of expression, usually on a religious topic. A specific text in the Pali canon, the Udāna, comprises a number of such stories, which give a short prose narrative concluding with the Buddha giving an inspired utterance in verse. The Udāna in Chinese does not include the frame story, but only the verses. In Sanskrit, thirty-three of such works, also in verse, are collected in the Udānavarga.
One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.
Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.
The fifth of the five uncontaminated aggregates (pañca-anāsravaskandha, zag med kyi phung po lnga). In Nāgārjuna’s explanation of this compound there are two stages: (1) one knows the destruction of the impurities (kṣayajñāna), and (2) one attains liberation (vimukti), which is seen (darśana) clearly (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra 44.3, Lamotte 2001, p. 1547).
In its most general sense, this term refers to the state of freedom from suffering and cyclic existence, or saṃsāra, that is the goal of the Buddhist path. More specifically, the term may refer to a category of advanced meditative attainment such as those of the “eight liberations.”
The fourth of the five uncontaminated aggregates (pañca-anāsravaskandha, zag med kyi phung po lnga).
Literally “falling down” or “ruin,” a collective name for the three lower realms: those of animals, pretas, and hell beings.
A spiced, sugar-based alcoholic drink made with a secondary fermentation process, it is mentioned in Sanskrit sources from the later centuries bce, often in compound with surā. Pali meraya. See McHugh 2021a; McHugh 2021b, pp. 50–53.
One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra. He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyāyana, “the son of Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Great Maudgalyāyana.”
The supernatural powers of a śrāvaka correspond to the first abhijñā: “Being one he becomes many, being many he becomes one; he becomes visible, invisible; goes through walls, ramparts and mountains without being impeded, just as through air; he immerses himself in the earth and emerges from it as if in water; he goes on water without breaking through it, as if on [solid] earth; he travels through the air crosslegged like a winged bird; he takes in his hands and touches the moon and the sun, those two wonderful, mighty beings, and with his body he extends his power as far as the Brahma world” (Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra, trans. Lamotte 2003).
The great supernatural powers (maharddhi) of bodhisattvas are “causing trembling, blazing, illuminating, rendering invisible, transforming, coming and going across obstacles, reducing or enlarging worlds, inserting any matter into one’s own body, assuming the aspects of those one frequents, appearing and disappearing, submitting everyone to one’s will, dominating the supernormal power of others, giving intellectual clarity to those who lack it, giving mindfulness, bestowing happiness, and finally, emitting beneficial rays” (Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra, trans. Lamotte 2003).
According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
The noble eightfold path comprises (1) right view, (2) right intention, (3) right speech, (4) right conduct, (5) right livelihood, (6) right effort, (7) right mindfulness, and (8) right absorption.
If the Abhidharma system is followed, this is a number calculated by multiplying a koṭi (bye ba), or ten million; by a niyuta (khrag khrig), or a hundred billion; and by a śatasahasra (brgya stong), or one hundred thousand, which all together equals ten to the 23rd power or a hundred sextillion. This term is often used to express a number so large as to be inconceivable.
In the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, the term paṇḍaka encompasses diverse physiological and behavioral conditions such as intersexuality, erectile dysfunction, and fetishes that imply an inability to engage in normative sexual behavior. The criteria for being designated a paṇḍaka are not strictly physiological, but neither are they grounded exclusively in gender identity or sexual orientation. Paṇḍaka is, in effect, a catchall category and, as such, defies easy translations like “neuter,” “androgyne,” “intersexual,” “transgender,” or “paraphiliac.”
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 often personified as a female deity, worshiped as the “Mother of All Buddhas” (sarvajinamātā).
Indian Bengali paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. Arriving in Tibet at the invitation of the Tibetan king Trisong Detsen, he assisted in the translation of numerous canonical scriptures. He also authored several philosophical commentaries contained in the Tengyur collection.
Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation, without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyekabuddha is not regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit, compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as “congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.
A person’s particular preceptor within the monastic tradition. They must have at least ten years of standing in the saṅgha, and their role is to confer ordination, to tend to the student, and to provide all the necessary requisites, therefore guiding that person for the taking of full vows and the maintenance of conduct and practice. This office was decreed by the Buddha so that aspirants would not have to receive ordination from the Buddha in person, and the Buddha identified two types: those who grant entry into the renunciate order and those who grant full ordination. The Tibetan translation mkhan po has also come to mean “a learned scholar,” the equivalent of a paṇḍita, but that is not the intended meaning in Indic Buddhist literature.
Brahman is a Sanskrit term referring to what is highest (parama) and most important (pradhāna); the Nibandhana commentary explains brahman as meaning here nirvāṇa, and thus the brahman conduct is the “conduct toward brahman,” the conduct that leads to the highest liberation, i.e., nirvāṇa. This is explained as “the path without outflows,” which is the “truth of the path” among the four truths of the noble ones. Other explanations (found in the Pāli tradition) take “brahman conduct” to mean the “best conduct,” and also the “conduct of the best,” i.e., the buddhas. In some contexts, “brahman conduct” refers more specifically to celibacy, but the specific referents of this expression are many.
mar me ’bul ba’i mdo (Pradīpadānīyasūtra). Toh 204, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 81.b–92.a.
mar me ’bul 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), 2006–9, vol. 62, pp. 210–39.
mar me ’bul ba’i mdo. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 59 (mdo sde, nya), folios 373.b–388.a.
rgya cher rol pa (Lalitavistara). Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1.b–216.b. English translation The Play in Full 2013.
grong khyer gyis ’tsho ba (Nagarāvalambikā). Toh 205, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 92.a–93.b. English translation The City Beggar Woman 2024.
dam pa’i chos dran pa nye bar gzhag pa (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna). Toh 287, Degé Kangyur vols. 68–71 (mdo sde, ya–sha), folios 82.a (ya)–229.b (sha). English translation The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma 2021.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā). Toh 9, Degé Kangyur vols. 26–28 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka–ga), folios 1.b (ka)–381a (ga). English translation The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines 2023.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ʼphang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
84000. The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna, dam pa’i chos dran pa nye bar gzhag pa, Toh 287). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
84000. The City Beggar Woman (Nagarāvalambikā, grong khyer gyis ’tsho ba, Toh 205). Translated by George FitzHerbert and the Sakya Pandita Translation Group. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
84000. The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa, Toh 9). Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
84000. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, rgya cher rol pa, Toh 95). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Lamotte, Étienne. The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra) Vol. IV, Chapters XLII (continuation)–XLVIII. Translated by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron. N.p: n.p., 2001.
McHugh, James (2021a). “Theorizing Alcoholic Drinks in Ancient India: The Complex Case of Maireya.” The Social History of Alcohol and Drugs (Spring 2021): 115–36.
McHugh, James (2021b). An Unholy Brew: Alcohol in Indian History and Religions. Oxford University Press, 2021.
Udānavarga. Bibliotheca Polyglotta, University of Oslo. Input by Jens Braarvig and Fredrik Liland, 2009–10. Accessed January 7, 2025.
