co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

While Buddha Śākyamuni is residing in the Sudharmā assembly hall in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, he explains to the great bodhisattva Maitreya four factors that make it possible to overcome the effects of any negative deeds one has committed. These four are: the action of repentance, which involves feeling remorse; antidotal action, which is to practice virtue as a remedy to non-virtue; the power of restraint, which involves vowing not to repeat a negative act; and the power of support, which means taking refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and never forsaking the mind of awakening. The Buddha concludes by recommending that bodhisattvas regularly recite this sūtra and reflect on its meaning as an antidote to any further wrongdoing.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by Adam Pearcey, with the assistance of Alak Zenkar Rinpoche. An earlier draft of this translation was published on Lotsawa House in 2013.

The present updated version was then completed in 2017 under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

i.

Introduction

i.­1

The The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra, Toh 249) is the first of three short sūtras with similar titles, all referring to sets of four dharmas or factors, elements that contribute to accomplishing the goal of the path. In many Kangyurs (predominantly those of Tshalpa origin, including the Degé Kangyur), these sūtras are found grouped together.

i.­2

Of the other sūtras in this set, The Four Factors (Catur­dharmaka­sūtra, Toh 250)1 identifies four beliefs that a wise son of a good family should not accept as true, while The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Ārya­catur­dharmaka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra, Toh 251)2 identifies four factors of the path which bodhisattvas must not abandon under any circumstance. Two further works, The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa (Toh 248)3 and The Fourfold Accomplishment (Toh 252)4 also concern themselves with various “sets of four” (catuṣka, bzhi pa), thereby forming a group of five sūtras in the Degé Kangyur that lay out key elements of the practice of the path in discrete sets of four factors.

i.­3

In The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors, translated here, the factors relate to the practice of confession (even though no equivalent of that word occurs in the sūtra itself) and the purification of misdeeds or negative, harmful actions (pāpa). The Bodhyā­patti­deśanā­vṛtti (Commentary on the Confession of Bodhisattva Downfalls), for example, which is attributed to Nāgārjuna, cites the sūtra and elaborates on the four powers (stobs bzhi), as the four factors came to be known, despite the fact that only the final two are labeled “power” (stobs; bala) in the sūtra itself. Bhāviveka’s Tarkajvālā, too, refers to the sūtra in support of the view that even the very gravest of negative actions can be purified. And chapter eight of Śāntideva’s Śikṣāsamuccaya (Compendium of Training), on the purification of misdeeds (pāpaśodhana; sdig pa sbyong ba), not only quotes from the Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra, but even takes the four factors as its central theme.

i.­4

Tibetan authors, too, make it clear that the four powers are the key elements of confessional practice (bshags pa). In his famous Ornament of Precious Liberation (dwags po thar rgyan), Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen, 1079–1153) relates the powers to episodes in the lives of the Buddha’s contemporaries Nanda, Aṅgulimāla, Ajātaśatru, and Udayana, in order to demonstrate the necessity of each factor. Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa, 1357–1419) draws on both the Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra itself and Śāntideva’s discussion in the Śikṣāsamuccaya to explain the powers in some detail in his magnum opus, the Lamrim Chenmo.5 It is also common to find reference to the four powers in Tibetan purificatory rites and commentaries on them.6 There are slight variations in the spelling of the names and the sequence of these powers, and not all Tibetan works cite the Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra as their source, but the derivation is clear enough.7

i.­5

At least two Sanskrit editions of the Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra exist today.8 One is a manuscript from a collection held in the Potala library in Lhasa, which recently became available in a critical edition.9 It exhibits several variations from the versions in the Tibetan canon, most notably in its inclusion, near the end, of a four-line verse that it attributes to the Buddha himself:

i.­6
“Even minor transgressions prove the downfall of the foolish,
Whereas even serious transgressions do not affect the wise.
A lump of iron, though small, sinks in water;
But even a great mass of iron, when made into a vessel, floats.”10

Some other minor differences are also noted below.

i.­7

Recently, Peter Skilling has included a fine translation of the sūtra from the Tibetan along with some helpful notes in his 2021 collection, Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.11

i.­8

The following translation was made primarily on the basis of the Degé block print and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), although it follows the Peking Yongle and Kangxi recensions on one significant point, for reasons that are explained in a note. Otherwise, since the various Tibetan canonical versions vary among themselves only slightly in matters of orthography, such instances have not been specified here.

Text Body

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra Entitled
Teaching the Four Factors
1.

The Translation

[F.59.a]


1.­1

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in the Sudharmā assembly hall in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, together with a great gathering of five hundred monks,12 and very many bodhisattva mahāsattvas, including Maitreya and Mañjuśrī.

1.­3

At that time the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, [F.59.b] “O Maitreya, bodhisattva mahāsattva, if you possess four factors, the misdeeds you have committed and accumulated will be overcome.

1.­4

“What are these four? The action of repentance, antidotal action, the power of restraint, and the power of support.

1.­5

“The action of repentance is to feel intense remorse for any non-virtuous action you have committed.

1.­6

“Antidotal action is to put great effort into virtuous actions once you have committed a non-virtuous action.

1.­7

“The power of restraint is to make a pledge and thereby refrain from any similar action.13

1.­8

“The power of support is to take refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and not to forsake the mind of awakening. By relying on such powerful forces, you will be immune to misdeeds.

1.­9

“O Maitreya, bodhisattva mahāsattva, if you possess these four factors, you will overcome any misdeeds that you have committed and accumulated. The bodhisattva mahāsattva should continually read this sūtra, recite it aloud, and reflect and meditate on it, doing so many times. Through this, the effects of negative conduct will not come about.”

1.­10

Once the Blessed One had said this, the whole assembly, including the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, the monks, the bodhisattvas, and the ranks of the gods, such as Śakra, were overjoyed and full of praise for what the Blessed One had taught.


1.­11

This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra entitled “Teaching the Four Factors.”

c.

Colophon

c.­1

Translated, edited, and corrected by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the principal editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.

n.

Notes

n.­1
Pearcey, Adam, trans., The Four Factors (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023a).
n.­2
Pearcey, Adam, trans., The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023b).
n.­3
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024).
n.­4
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Fourfold Accomplishment (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020).
n.­5
See Tsong-kha-pa 2000 vol. 1, 251–4. Dza Patrul Rinpoche’s (rdza dpal sprul, 1808–87) famous nineteenth century work kun bzang bla ma’i zhal lung and its commentary by Khenpo Ngawang Pelzang (ngag dbang dpal bzang, 1879–1941) discuss the four powers in relation to meditation on the deity Vajrasattva. See Patrul Rinpoche 1998, 265–7 and Ngawang Pelzang 2004, 226–7.
n.­6
One such text, entitled stobs bzhi’i bshags bsdoms bya tshul, was composed by the First (or Fourth according to some methods of counting) Paṇchen Lama, Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen (blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan, 1570–1662). The same author also wrote another rite incorporating the four powers that focuses on the thirty-five buddhas of confession. See stobs bzhi tshang ba sangs rgyas so lnga’i bya tshul.
n.­7
Patrul Rinpoche’s kun bzang bla ma’i zhal lung, for example, makes no reference to the sūtra and discusses the four powers in a different sequence, beginning with the power of support. See Patrul Rinpoche 1998, 265–7.
n.­8
Besides the Potala manuscript, there is also a Sanskrit edition included in Samten and Pandey 2003, 45–52.
n.­9
See Tseng 2010.
n.­10
The Potala Sanskrit edition (Tseng 2010, vol. 1, 404) is as follows: kṛtvābudho ’lpam api pāpam adhaḥ prayāti kṛtvā budho mahad api prajahāty anarthān  | majjaty ayo ’lpam api vāriṇi saṃhataṃ hi pātrīkṛtaṃ mahad api plavate tad eva ||. The verse also appears, without mention of its source, in Vasubandhu’s auto-commentary to the Abhidharmakośa. For alternative English translations see Tseng 2010, vol. 1, 405, and Pruden 1988, 962.
n.­11
Skilling (2021), pp. 181–88.
n.­12
The Potala Sanskrit edition (Tseng 2010, vol. 1, 397) reads “one thousand two hundred and fifty monks” (ardha­trayoda­śabhir bhikṣuśatair).
n.­13
Here the translation follows the Peking Kangxi and Yongle Kangyurs, as well as the Potala Sanskrit manuscript and the Śikṣāsamuccaya, in reading mi phyed pa’i sdom pa as mi byed pa’i sdom pa (akaraṇasaṃvara). This reading not only accords with the available Sanskrit, it also follows the definitions of the other powers in providing an instruction rather than a mere description. Moreover, the phrase mi byed pa’i sdom pa is also retained in the citations of the Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra that appear in several treatises in the Tengyur, including Bhāviveka’s Tarkajvālā, Prajñākaramati’s Bodhi­caryā­vatāra­pañjikā, and Abhayākaragupta’s Munimatālaṃkāra. The alternative reading, which is to be found in the other Kangyurs, could be translated as: “The power of restraint is to make a pledge and thereby gain an inviolable vow.”
b.

Bibliography

Tibetan Texts

’phags pa chos bzhi bstan pa zhes bya theg pa chen po’i mdo (Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra). Toh 249, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 59a–59b.

’phags pa chos bzhi bstan pa zhes bya theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripiṭaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 66, pp. 163–5.

Bhāviveka. dbu ma’i snying po’i ’grel pa rtog ge ’bar ba (Madhyamaka­hṛdaya­tarka­jvālā). Toh 3856. Degé Tengyur vol. 98 (dbu ma, dza), folios 40b–329b.

Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen). dam chos yid bzhin gyi nor bu thar pa rin po che’i rgyan. In bstan rim gces btus (Institute of Tibetan Classics vol. 10). Delhi: bod kyi gtsug lag zhib ’jug khang, 2009, pp. 45–243.

Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen (blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan). stobs bzhi’i bshags bsdoms bya tshul. In blo bzang chos kyi rgyi mtshan dpal bzang po’i gsung ’bum, 5 volumes, bkra shis lhun po’i par khang. 199? vol. 4, pp. 527–32. (Cf. vol. 5, pp. 293–6).

Losang Chökyi Gyaltsen (blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan). stobs bzhi tshang ba sangs rgyas so lnga’i bya tshul. In blo bzang chos kyi rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po’i gsung ’bum, 5 volumes, bkra shis lhun po’i par khang. 199? vol. 5, 286–9.

Nāgārjuna. byang chub kyi ltung ba bshags pa’i ’grel pa (Bodhyāpatti­deśanā­vṛtti). Toh 4005. Degé Tengyur vol. 116 (mdo ’grel, ji), folios 178a–187b.

Śāntideva. bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya). Toh 3940. Degé Tengyur vol. 111 (dbu ma, khi), folios 3a–194b.

Tsongkhapa Losang Drakpa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa). skyes bu gsum gyi nyams su blang ba’i rim pa thams cad tshang bar ston pa’i byang chub lam gyi rim pa in rje tsong kha pa’i gsung ’bum. 18 volumes. Dharamsala: Sherig Parkhang, 1997, vol. 13, folios 1–521.

Skilling, Peter. Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2021.

Western Language Sources and Translations

Bendall, Cecil and W.H.D. Rouse. Śikshā­Samuccaya: A Compendium of Buddhist Doctrine Compiled by Śāntideva. London: John Murray, 1922.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2020).The Fourfold Accomplishment (Catuṣkanirhāra, Toh 252). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2024). The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa (Bodhisattva­prātimokṣa­catuṣkanirhāra, Toh 248). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.

Feer, Henri Léon. “Le Sūtra des Quatre Préceptes.” Journal Asiatique, sér. 6, tome 8 (1866): 269–357.

Gampopa. The Jewel Ornament of Liberation: The Wish-fulfilling Gem of the Noble Teachings. Translated by Khenpo Konchog Gyaltsen Rinpoche. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 1998.

Goodman, Charles. The Training Anthology of Śāntideva: A Translation of the Śikṣā-samuccaya. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.

Ngawang Pelzang. A Guide to The Words of My Perfect Teacher. Translated by Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2004.

Patrul Rinpoche. The Words of My Perfect Teacher. Translated by Padmakara Translation Group. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1998.

Pearcey, Adam, trans. (2023a). The Four Factors (Catur­­dharmaka­­sūtra, Toh 250). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

Pearcey, Adam, trans. (2023b). The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Ārya­catur­dharmaka­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra, Toh 251). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

Pruden, Leo M. Abhi­dharma­kośa­bhāṣyam by Louis de la Vallée Poussin.English Translation. 4 vols. Berkeley, California: Asian Humanities Press, 1988.

Samten, Ngawang and Janarden Pandey (ed.). “Ārya­catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtram.” Dhīḥ: Journal of Rare Buddhist Texts Research Unit, 35 (2003): 45–52.

Tseng, Vinita. A unique collection of twenty Sūtras in a Sanskrit manuscript from the Potala. Volume I.1. Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2010.

Tsong-kha-pa. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. vol. 1. Translated by the Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.

Wangchuk, Dorji. The Resolve to Become a Buddha: A Study of the Bodhicitta Concept in Indo-Tibetan Buddhism. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2007.

g.

Glossary

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

AS

Attested in source text

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

AO

Attested in other text

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

AD

Attested in dictionary

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

AA

Approximate attestation

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

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

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

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

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

SU

Source unspecified

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

g.­1

action of repentance

  • rnam par sun ’byin pa kun tu spyod pa
  • རྣམ་པར་སུན་འབྱིན་པ་ཀུན་ཏུ་སྤྱོད་པ།
  • vidūṣaṇā­samudācāra

Feeling remorse for past negative actions.

g.­2

antidotal action

  • gnyen po kun tu spyod pa
  • གཉེན་པོ་ཀུན་ཏུ་སྤྱོད་པ།
  • prati­pakṣa­samudācāra

Carrying out virtuous actions as an antidote to past negative deeds.

g.­3

Heaven of the Thirty-Three

  • sum cu rtsa gsum
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ།
  • trāyastriṃśa

The second heaven of the desire realm located above Mount Meru.

g.­4

Maitreya

  • byams pa
  • བྱམས་པ།
  • maitreya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

g.­5

Mañjuśrī

  • ’jam dpal
  • འཇམ་དཔལ།
  • mañjuśrī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.­6

power of restraint

  • sor chud par byed pa’i stobs
  • སོར་ཆུད་པར་བྱེད་པའི་སྟོབས།
  • pratyāpattibala

Pledging not to repeat past negative actions.

g.­7

power of support

  • rten gyi stobs
  • རྟེན་གྱི་སྟོབས།
  • āśrayabala

Calling upon the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha and vowing not to forsake the mind of awakening as a support in avoiding negative actions.

g.­8

Śakra

  • brgya byin
  • བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
  • śakra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.­9

Sudharmā

  • chos bzang
  • ཆོས་བཟང་།
  • sudharmā

An assembly hall located in the southwest of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

g.­10

Surendrabodhi

  • su ren dra bo dhi
  • སུ་རེན་དྲ་བོ་དྷི།
  • surendrabodhi

An Indian paṇḍiṭa resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

g.­11

Yeshé Dé

  • ye shes sde
  • ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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84000. The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra, chos bzhi bstan pa’i mdo, Toh 249). Translated by Adam Pearcey. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025. https://84000.co/translation/toh249.Copy
84000. The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra, chos bzhi bstan pa’i mdo, Toh 249). Translated by Adam Pearcey, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh249.Copy
84000. (2025) The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Catur­dharma­nirdeśa­sūtra, chos bzhi bstan pa’i mdo, Toh 249). (Adam Pearcey, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh249.Copy
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