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ཉི་མའི་སྙིང་པོ།

The Quintessence of the Sun
The Presentation of the Conjunctions of the Lunar Mansions

Sūryagarbha
འཕགས་པ་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་སྡེ་ཉི་མའི་སྙིང་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བའི་མདོ།
’phags pa shin tu rgyas pa chen po’i sde nyi ma’i snying po zhes bya ba’i mdo
The Noble Very Extensive Sūtra “The Quintessence of the Sun”
Ārya­sūryagarbha­nāma­mahāvaipulya­sūtra

Toh 257

Degé Kangyur, vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 91.b–245.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Bandé Zangkyong
  • Bandé Kawa Paltsek

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

First published 2022

Current version v 1.0.14 (2025)

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
+ 12 chapters- 12 chapters
1. Protection of the Sacred Dharma
2. The Messengers
3. The Dhāraṇī Mantras
4. The Purification of Karmic Actions
5. The Protection
6. Chapter Six
7. The Presentation of the Conjunctions of the Lunar Mansions
8. Chapter Eight
9. The Recollection of the Buddha
10. The Travel to Mount Sumeru
11. The Going for Refuge of the Nāgas
12. Conclusion
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Tibetan Sources
· Chinese Sources
· Secondary Sources
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Quintessence of the Sun is a long and heterogeneous sūtra in eleven chapters. At the Veṇuvana in the Kalandakanivāpa on the outskirts of Rājagṛha, the Buddha Śākyamuni first explains to a great assembly the severe consequences of stealing what has been offered to monks and the importance of protecting those who abide by the Dharma. The next section tells of bodhisattvas sent from buddha realms in the four directions to bring various dhāraṇīs as a way of protecting and benefitting this world. While explaining those dhāraṇīs, the Buddha Śākyamuni presents various meditations on repulsiveness and instructions on the empty nature of phenomena. On the basis of another long narrative involving Māra and groups of nāgas, detailed teachings on astrology are also introduced, as are a number of additional dhāraṇīs and a list of sacred locations blessed by the presence of holy beings.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Benjamin Collet-Cassart translated the text from Tibetan into English and wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared the draft translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text.

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


The generous sponsorship of Jamyang Sun and Manju Sun, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Quintessence of the Sun, which belongs to the General Sūtra section of the Kangyur, is a long and heterogeneous sūtra containing eleven chapters. At the Veṇuvana in the Kalandakanivāpa on the outskirts of Rājagṛha, the Buddha Śākyamuni first explains to a great assembly the severe consequences of stealing what has been offered to monks and the importance of protecting those who abide by the Dharma. The next section tells of bodhisattvas sent from buddha realms in the four directions to bring various dhāraṇīs as a way of protecting and benefitting this world. While explaining those dhāraṇīs, the Buddha Śākyamuni presents various meditations on repulsiveness and instructions on the empty nature of phenomena. On the basis of another long narrative involving Māra and groups of nāgas, detailed teachings on astrology are also introduced, as are a number of additional dhāraṇīs and a list of sacred locations blessed by the presence of holy beings.


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble Very Extensive Sūtra
The Quintessence of the Sun

1.
Chapter One

Protection of the Sacred Dharma

[B1] [F.91.b]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!


Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in the Veṇuvana at the Kalandakanivāpa near Rājagṛha, surrounded and attended by an innumerable, limitless, and indescribable number of bodhisattva great beings who had arrived from countless other buddha realms of the ten directions. He was also surrounded and attended by an innumerable, limitless, and indescribable number of great hearers who had gathered there from different buddha realms of the ten directions. In the same way, an innumerable, limitless, and indescribable number of other beings who had arrived there from the various buddha realms of the ten directions‍—Śakra, Lord Brahmā, the rulers of the gods, the rulers of the nāgas, the rulers of the yakṣas, the rulers of the gandharvas, the rulers of the asuras, the rulers of the garuḍas, the rulers of the kinnaras, and the rulers of the mahoragas‍—filled all the pathways on the ground and in the sky throughout the entire buddha realm of Sahā. There also arrived an innumerable and limitless number of different gods from the desire and form realms, of nāgas, yakṣas, and rākṣasas, and of asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. Sitting in silence, they looked up at the Blessed One as he revealed how bodhisattva conduct quickly brings perfection and manifests like space and as he gave teachings on the mindfulness of breathing, which is the gateway to immortality, and the sublime states. [F.92.a] They filled all the pathways on the ground and in the sky throughout the entire buddha realm of Sahā.


2.
Chapter Two

The Messengers

2.­1

When the Blessed One had begun this discourse with King Bimbisāra on how to protect all those monks who abide by the Dharma, in the eastern direction, beyond countless buddha realms as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges, there was a world called Absence of Torment, where the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Campaka Color was residing, thriving, living well, and teaching the Dharma. In that buddha realm, the bodhisattva great being named Quintessence of the Sun’s Energy was sitting in the assembly of the blessed thus-gone Campaka Color in order to listen to the Dharma. At one point, as the bodhisattva great being Quintessence of the Sun’s Energy looked upward, he saw in the sky above that innumerable and countless bodhisattva great beings were departing from the east and proceeding toward the west. When he looked toward the west where those bodhisattva great beings were going, he saw a brilliant light. At that moment, he bowed down with his palms joined together in the direction of the Buddha Campaka Color and asked, “Respected Blessed One, I have seen in the sky above that innumerable and countless bodhisattva great beings are departing from the east and proceeding toward the west. I have also seen a brilliant light in the western direction. Why is this so?” [F.107.b]


3.
Chapter Three

The Dhāraṇī Mantras

3.­1

When King Bimbisāra saw the unprecedented sight of innumerable and limitless numbers of mahābrahmās, Śakras, Nārāyaṇas, and universal monarchs ruling over the four continents, he was utterly amazed. He stood up and went close to them. Next, together with their retinues, the bodhisattva great beings‍—the four messengers of the buddhas‍—sat down and bowed with their palms joined together in the direction of the thus-gone Śākyamuni. [F.137.a] The bodhisattva great being Quintessence of the Sun’s Energy then tossed garlands of campaka flowers in the direction of the thus-gone Śākyamuni and uttered these verses:


4.
Chapter Four

The Purification of Karmic Actions

4.­1

The Blessed One then said to the four messengers and the other bodhisattva great beings, “Noble sons, abide in this buddha realm by your individual virtues!”

4.­2

So, together with their retinues, those bodhisattva great beings sat cross-legged in their respective places. Then, those beings who had thoroughly cultivated the absorption of the dhāraṇī of acceptance entered into their respective states of absorption. From the bodies of some of those beings dwelling in equipoise radiated lights like the light emitted by oil lamps. From the bodies of some others radiated lights like the light emitted by trillions of suns and moons.


5.
Chapter Five

The Protection

5.­1

Then, together with their respective retinues, all the rulers of the gods, the rulers of the nāgas, the rulers of the yakṣas, the rulers of the asuras, the rulers of the garuḍas, the rulers of the kinnaras, the rulers of the mahoragas, the rulers of the pretas, the rulers of the piśācas, and the rulers of the pūtanas bowed with their palms joined together in the direction of the Blessed One and said, “Respected Blessed One, in all the places where monks, nuns, male and female lay practitioners, or faithful sons or daughters of noble family observe this initial practice of repulsiveness up to the absorption of cessation while contemplating the virtuous factors that have just been described, we shall regard them‍—up to the faithful daughters of noble family‍—together with their retinues as the teachers of their own respective classes. [F.178.b] We shall serve all of them through body, speech, and mind, and we shall ensure that they never lack Dharma robes, alms, bedding, medicine, and requisites. We shall liberate them from the fifteen unsettling dangers. What are those fifteen?55 We shall liberate them from the unsettling dangers related to the body. We shall liberate them from dirt, sticks, weapons, poison, stones, hostile beings, abusive beings, and faithless beings. We shall liberate them from disturbances in the elements. We shall protect those who serve them with offerings of delicious food and beverages, medicine, and requisites. We shall protect all such righteous sponsors, relatives, and benefactors from the unsettling dangers caused by diseases, enemies, bhūtas, and foes. We shall protect them from the unsettling dangers caused by poison, kings, civil war, invasion, and famine. Those are the fifteen unsettling dangers.


6.

Chapter Six

6.­1

At that time, [F.183.a] King Bimbisāra, who felt joyful and exhilarated, exclaimed, “Respected Blessed One, this buddha realm of Sahā is filled with bodhisattva great beings who exert themselves in concentration, and it is bathed in a brilliant light that has never been seen or heard of before. This is amazing! Respected Well-Gone One, this is truly amazing! Still, besides this buddha realm and its outer mountain range, nothing else whatsoever appears. Respected Blessed One, if this entire buddha realm of Sahā is perceived due to the light of those bodhisattva great beings, what would the light emitted by the thus-gone ones who have entered into absorption be like? Might we be able to perceive the arrays of qualities of other buddha realms through the light emitted by the Thus-Gone One?”


7.
Chapter Seven

The Presentation of the Conjunctions of the Lunar Mansions

7.­1

When the evil Māra saw all these thus-gone ones and retinues in their respective palaces present within the body of the Thus-Gone One, he became extremely unhappy. Dirt emerged from his entire body, and he began to weep out of distress. He started to run to and fro, to leave only to reappear, and to jump up, run and race around, gape, laugh, sigh, lick his mouth, close his eyes, stretch and contract his arms, [F.188.a] rest his head in his hands, and rub his throat and breast. When they saw this, all the sentient beings residing in the abode of Māra were unsettled. They became displeased and unhappy. One māra leader named Celestial Tree questioned the evil Māra with these verses:

7.­2
“Why do you run around like that
With such agitation and distress?
It seems that nothing can make you happy,
And nothing pleases you.”
7.­3

With tears in his eyes, the evil Māra replied:

7.­4
“When I saw the powerful Gautama,
My heart cracked into pieces.
Dirt leaked from my entire body,
And my eyes were filled with tears.
7.­5
“Since that entire mass of beings has gathered
To hear his teachings,
That are so agreeable to all beings,
My domain has been emptied.
7.­6
“Tens of millions of beings
Have arrived there from the ten directions‍—
From places infinite like space.
They have circumambulated him and are now sitting around him.
7.­7
“All the māras and their retinues
Have also gone for refuge in him.
Even my armies have disappeared‍—
I cannot find them anywhere!”
7.­8

The māra leader Celestial Tree then said to the evil Māra:

7.­9
“All of us, with our retinues,
Should don our strongest armor
And go pulverize his body
With our mighty swords, wheels, and lances!”
7.­10

The evil Māra replied:

7.­11
“Better if you go there yourself
And first take refuge in him.
Then you can attack him!
I myself am bound by tight fetters.”
7.­12

The māra leader Celestial Tree then said:

7.­13
“Whatever method we might use,
It will not be enough to overcome our enemy.
Yet, if we fool him by assuming a friendly appearance,
We will be able to kill him!”
7.­14

The evil Māra replied: [F.188.b]

7.­15
“I have thought about
Going there while assuming a friendly appearance,
But he would see the frightening and stinking
Rotten corpses around our necks.”
7.­16

Celestial Tree replied:

7.­17
“With respect to the domain of the māras,
The nāgas, and those who have reached the concentrations,
Our domain has been conquered,
But the domain of the nāgas has remained firm.
7.­18
“Those nāgas have great might,
And their troops are numerous and powerful.
Their domain cannot be conquered
By anyone!
7.­19
“Let us quickly ask
The rulers of the nāgas,
Who reside in the desire realm,
To crush Gautama into dust!”
7.­20

The evil Māra replied:

7.­21
“O, you fine and wise being,
Go to the realm of the nāgas
And tell them all
To wage a war against Gautama!”
7.­22

“I shall do so!” replied Celestial Tree. He then raised his arm toward a hundred thousand soldiers wearing armor and proclaimed:

7.­23
“We are going to the abode of the nāgas.
We will make them wage war against Gautama
And kill him!
We must convince them all to become our allies.”
7.­24

However, none of the soldiers were able to move, so the leader Celestial Tree began to weep, and his hairs stood on end. With his palms joined, he supplicated the evil Māra:

7.­25
“We are unable
To go anywhere!
This is the powerful magical power of Gautama!
This is the trickery of the sage!
7.­26
“Our legs are bound,
And dirt emerges from our bodies.
Please do something
To overcome our enemy!”
7.­27

Tormented by increasing suffering and distress, a thought arose in the mind of the evil Māra: “Now I must by all means bring to mind my demonic power, so that I can address all the nāgas in their abodes and make them upset and irate!” [F.189.a]

7.­28

At that moment, the evil Māra manifested flesh flies, mosquitoes, and hornets in all the abodes of the nāgas, and he filled these places with disgusting smells. He made dirt emerge from the nāgas’ bodies, and everyone became unhappy. Upset, all the nāgas, the great nāgas, and the nāga women, boys, and girls started to look around and wonder, “Who is making fun of us?” They did not understand what was happening, as they could not see anyone. Overwhelmed by anger, all the nāgas, great nāgas, and nāga women, boys, and girls in this four-continent world left their residences. The two nāga kings Nanda and Upananda also left their residences with retinues of many hundreds of thousands.

7.­29

Alongside Mount Sumeru, there is a mountain called Kalatiya. On the summit of that mountain there is a60 sacred site of wise sages called Complete Support. It covers an area of forty thousand leagues, and it is ornamented with the divine seven precious substances. The nāgas entered that sacred site of wise sages to find shelter. However, as soon as they entered that place, their bodies became as small as the pin used to apply ointment to the eyes. Still, due to the power of their anger, they all perceived their bodies to be as big as Mount Sumeru. They could neither call out nor leave that place, so they just sat there, overcome by misery and anger.

7.­30

Similarly, all fifty-six thousand nāga kings of Jambudvīpa, including the great nāga king Sāgara and his retinue of many trillions, Airāvaṇa, Supratiṣṭhita, Takṣaka, Anavatapta, [F.189.b] Mucilinda, Samudradatta, Given by the Water God, Given by a Householder, Given by the River, Apalāladatta, Given by the Mountain, Gajaśīrṣa, Born from an Ornament, Elapatra, Invisible Wrists, Collection of Sounds, Strength of the Ocean, Karkoṭaka, High Snow Mountain, Strength of the Water, Blue Topknot, Pale Yellow Gold, Green Grass, Abused Tree, Bright Eyes, Elephant Extinction, Tīkṣṇadatta, Moving in Places, Bad Plough, Elavarṇa, Red Eyes, Attractive, and Supreme, entered that sacred site of wise sages to find shelter, each surrounded by retinues of many hundreds of thousands. In each of the eighty-four thousand continents, many hundreds of thousands of great nāgas also left their residences and entered that realm to find shelter. [F.190.a] Similarly, the nāga kings Body-Piercing Needle and Great Movement, surrounded by myriads of nāgas, great nāgas, and nāga kings, left Uttarakuru in the north and came to that sacred site of wise sages for protection. The nāga kings Moon Protector and Wealth Giver, surrounded and attended by many trillions of nāgas, great nāgas, and nāga kings, left Pūrvavideha in the east, and they too entered that sacred site of wise sages to find shelter. The nāga kings Endowed with Jewel Garlands and Endowed with Garlands of Light left Godānīya attended by myriads of nāgas, great nāgas, and nāga kings, and they also entered that sacred site of wise sages to find shelter.

7.­31

At that time, within these four continents and eight million other continents, there was not a single nāga or great nāga‍—whether born from an egg, from a womb, from heat and moisture, or miraculously, whether male, female, boy, or girl‍—who did not immediately come to that sacred site of wise sages; they all entered that place to find shelter. As soon as they entered it, each of their bodies became as small as the pin used to apply ointment to the eyes. However, due to the power of their anger, they all perceived that their bodies were as big as Mount Sumeru.

7.­32

The evil Māra saw that all those nāgas had gathered in that realm and that their bodies had become small. When he saw this, he became exceedingly agitated, distressed, and scared. He said to his own faction, “Great demons, [F.190.b] all the nāgas have moved away. They have gathered at that sacred site of wise sages, and their power, appearance, and magnificence have decreased. Look at the overwhelming power of that spiritual practitioner!”

7.­33

Another māra leader named Support of Discipline then said:

7.­34
“Do not be dejected. Listen to me!
This is a game of the nāgas.
Think about that great assembly
That will crush the son of the Śākyas into dust!”
7.­35

The evil Māra replied:

7.­36
“Clever one, quickly go to that place
And generate enthusiasm in all those groups of nāgas!
If they are able to kill the son of the Śākyas and his assembly,
The domains of the nāgas will become most eminent.”
7.­37

The māra leader Support of Discipline then departed from that abode of Māra together with eighty thousand creatures.

7.­38

Since his previous aspirations had been accomplished, the thus-gone Śākyamuni had gained dominion over all wise sages. He was ripening all beings and gave teachings that were the outcome of the magical powers of all the domains of the buddhas. He was inducing weariness in all the bodhisattva great beings and bringing delight to all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, humans, and nonhumans. He engaged with this entire buddha realm, causing it to become the most magnificent of all the pure buddha realms and making it most fortunate, endowed with the great splendor that plants the seeds of merit, and worthy to be worshiped in all the buddha realms.

7.­39

The Thus-Gone One then interrupted the manifestation of his magical displays. While they were present inside the body of the Blessed One, the perceptions of everyone in this buddha realm were purified by him. [F.191.a] Now, as the Thus-Gone One interrupted the power of his absorption of miraculous transformation, which is an outcome of the domain of all the buddhas, he reappeared as he was before. He was extremely radiant, clear, and brilliant, and all the buddha realms were bathed in the light rays of his magnificence. Amazed and astonished, all the many hundreds of thousands of bodhisattva great beings worshiped the Blessed One with offerings of flowers, perfumes, powders, precious gems, fine fabrics, Dharma robes, and necklaces, as well as a variety of ornaments and musical tunes. They circumambulated the Blessed One and sat in front of him. Similarly, the Blessed One’s hearers and all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kumbhāṇḍas, pretas, piśācas, pūtanas, kaṭapūtanas, humans, and nonhumans worshiped him with offerings of flowers, perfumes, powders, precious gems, fine fabrics, Dharma robes, necklaces, and a variety of ornaments. They circumambulated him and sat in front of him to listen to the Dharma.

7.­40

At the same time, the māra leader Support of Discipline and his army of eighty thousand māras landed in Jambudvīpa, and they saw how the spiritual practitioner Gautama had interrupted the display of his vast body and that he was now again dwelling in the land of Magadha. They wondered, “Did his magical powers become weak because he is afraid of us? As he now sits there with his retinue within that assembly, is he not committing negative deeds by staying there because of us? [F.191.b] We must definitely go there right away and hear the reason for this!”

7.­41

The māra leader Support of Discipline and his retinue then proceeded toward the place where the Blessed One was staying. When they arrived, they sat down before the Blessed One, and Support of Discipline uttered this verse:

7.­42
“You have not yet crossed the ocean
Of severe disease, old age, and death!
When you deceive sentient beings in this way,
How could you have reached emancipation?”
7.­43

The Blessed One replied in verse to the māra leader Support of Discipline:

7.­44
“I have crossed the river of existence,
I am free from craving,
And I teach the Dharma to beings
Out of affection for them.
7.­45
“A long time ago in cyclic existence,
You practiced for the sake of awakening.
You accomplished generosity and discipline
Since the time of Dīpaṅkara.
7.­46
“You have venerated
Ten billion buddhas,
And I have given a prophecy to you
For the sake of the Supreme Vehicle.
7.­47
“You have trained in the ascetic practices
And thoroughly meditated on the absence of marks.
I am giving you pure eyes,
So remember your past lives!”
7.­48

At that moment, aroused by his past lives, aspirations, and worship of the buddhas and by all his roots of virtue, the māra leader Support of Discipline was humbled, like scattered grass, in front of the Blessed One. With tears in his eyes, he joined his palms and said, “Respected Blessed One, I am like a child, a drunk person, or someone who is mentally disturbed. I confess my faults. Respected Blessed One, I confess my faults! I now remember that, for a full uncountable eon, I previously engaged in the practice of the six perfections with great effort in order to reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening. [F.192.a] I repeatedly cultivated roots of virtue. I have previously served and revered a trillion blessed thus-gone ones in a variety of ways. I have heard the Dharma from them, and I made aspirations. Once, during the lifetime of the thus-gone Kāśyapa, a monk was requesting a discourse of the vehicle of the hearers. Without thinking, I then spoke these evil words: ‘Alas! This exposition on the hearers’ discourses in the presence of followers of the Great Vehicle, given while assuming the appearance of a spiritual practitioner is demonic!’ If I had not said those evil words at that time, I would have received a prophecy for unsurpassed and perfect awakening. However, due to the karmic residue of that action, I was born in the abode of Māra after I died. For five hundred seventy million years, and then a hundred thousand more, I did not have a single thought aimed at unsurpassed and perfect awakening, so what need is there to mention practicing the sublime states?”

7.­49

Repeating these words, the māra leader Support of Discipline apologized to the Thus-Gone One and his retinue. He then exclaimed, “From now on I would rather remain in the hell realms for as long as I have so far been circling in saṃsāra than let my mind stray from unsurpassed and perfect awakening!”

7.­50

The Blessed One replied, “Excellent, noble son! Those who dedicate themselves to the mind set on awakening with a compassionate attitude are making the most outstanding gift to the great guides. Even the merit of lighting lamps as big as Mount Sumeru in front of the great guides would not match that heap of merit. [F.192.b] Therefore, adopt this attitude! Surrender this strong negative karmic action to me! Remember that the aggregates and elements are devoid of concepts and marks‍—they are conditioned! Then you will become a leader with supreme qualities.”

7.­51

At that very moment, the bodhisattva great being Support of Discipline achieved the concordant acceptance with respect to phenomena. Then, he stood up, draped the body of the Blessed One with garlands made of invaluable pearl jewelry, and asked, “What are the qualities that will cause us to quickly understand all phenomena and destroy all views as if they were water bubbles? What are the qualities that will cause us to achieve the supreme acceptance set on awakening and quickly liberate all beings? What should the bodhisattvas cultivate for the sake of abandonment?”

7.­52

The Blessed One replied, “Support of Discipline, the wise ones must quickly generate four qualities. What are the four? (1) Enthusiastically accepting boundless suffering for the sake of others, (2) undertaking the endless trainings of the buddhas’ domain, (3) undertaking them without letting them regress, and (4) quickly perfecting all the limitless buddha qualities.”

7.­53

When they heard that teaching, supreme trust, faith, and respect arose in the minds of the eighty-four thousand māras in the retinue of Support of Discipline, and they sincerely apologized to the Blessed One. They also made aspirations to reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening, and they all achieved the absorption that does not forget the mind of awakening. [F.193.a] They draped the body of the Blessed One with Dharma robes made of divine substances and then sat to one side.

7.­54

When he saw this, the evil Māra became exceedingly distressed and scared. He shouted, “They have been consumed by the spiritual practitioner, so now I have lost those retinues! All those who left from here have fallen under his power, so no one can go outside anymore! We must remain here in this domain of the māras!” As he shouted this, he quickly closed the city gates and had guards protect them.

7.­55

Then, with his sky-like vision, the Blessed One began to give extensive teachings about the three pure abodes‍—the focus on sentient beings, the focus on phenomena, and the absence of focus. All the nāgas who had found shelter and gathered at the sacred site of wise sages at the summit of Mount Kalatiya now noticed that their bodies had become as small as the pin used to apply ointment to the eyes, but they were unable to restore their bodies to their normal size. They became filled with fear and terror, and their hairs stood on end. So they all bowed toward Nanda and Upananda and supplicated, “When those flesh flies, mosquitoes, and hornets appeared in our towns, we all left our homes and entered this realm to find shelter. But now we are unable to leave again, and our bodies have become tiny. Please protect us so that we may return to our homes! Please grant us fearlessness!”

7.­56

Nanda and Upananda replied:

7.­57
“This spiritual practitioner is deceitful.
The son of the Śākyas is performing magical tricks.
He has entered this buddha realm [F.193.b]
And then absorbed it all into his body.
7.­58
“He has manifested those flesh flies, mosquitoes, and hornets
In all the abodes of the nāgas.
We have come to this place to find shelter,
And our strengths have declined.
7.­59
“Although Gautama has a cunning intelligence,
Through his actions his magical powers have now declined,
And his own body has also become small.
This commoner now appears sitting on his seat.
7.­60
“He reduced the size of our bodies
And bound us inside this prison.
We are unable to do anything,
So you must pay homage to the fearless god!”
7.­61

So all the nāgas paid homage to the evil Māra, the lord of the desire realm, saying, “Please protect us, so that we may be able to escape from this prison and live again in our own homes!”

7.­62

The nāga king Airāvaṇa then said to them:

7.­63
“Māra and his armies are themselves frightened
And distressed by the cunning tricks of Gautama.
He has taken away many of his followers
By deceiving his retinues and followers.
7.­64
“Māra has no power whatsoever;
His movements and magical powers have declined.
Quickly go and seek protection in other beings!
All of you must honor the gods!”
7.­65

Some of the nāgas then paid homage to the Four Great Kings, some paid homage to Śakra, some paid homage to the supreme god in the Heaven Free from Strife, some paid homage to the supreme god in the Heaven of Joy, some paid homage to the gods in the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, some paid homage to the gods in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, and some paid homage to the mahābrahmās. The nāga king Sāgara then said to all the other nāga kings:

7.­66
“Why do you not see
That all the gods and their rulers are sitting around Gautama?
They make various offerings to him,
And they have all taken refuge in this śūdra! [F.194.a]
7.­67
“Friends, instead pay homage to other great sages
Who undergo intense ascetic practices!
Why not pay homage to Protecting Guardian,
High Flier, Jyotīrasa, and Bhārgava?”
7.­68

Some of the nāgas then paid homage to the sage Utterly Glorious, some paid homage to the sage Stable, some paid homage to Protecting Guardian, some paid homage to High Flier, some paid homage to Jyotīrasa, and some paid homage to Bhārgava. Then, in search of protection, they approached those beings endowed with the five higher perceptions.

7.­69

At that time, those sages endowed with the five higher perceptions were sitting on the western slope of the snow mountain, listening to the praises of the leader of the Śākyas in front of the sage Jyotīrasa. When they heard the lamenting calls of all those nāgas, the five sages stood up and said to the bodhisattva great being Jyotīrasa, “Do you see that the Blessed One is harming all the nāgas in that sacred site of wise sages and that they are approaching us in search of protection? Please get up, go there, and liberate all those groups of nāgas!”

7.­70

Jyotīrasa replied, “Go meet them! Once those many hundreds of thousands of gods, nāgas, and yakṣas sit in front of me, they will ask questions about the sublime states devoid of reference point, and I will satisfy their minds.”

7.­71

All the sages prostrated to the feet of Jyotīrasa, circumambulated him three times, and departed using their miraculous powers. When they arrived at the sacred site of wise sages, the nāgas prostrated to them and supplicated, [F.194.b] “If you are great sages endowed with merit and insight who have mastered all methods, please protect us and release us from the fears of this prison!”

7.­72

The sages replied, “We are not able to liberate you from this place. Nāga lords, on the western slope of the snow mountain lives the master of all the sages. He is called Jyotīrasa. He is renowned for his great power and has developed great insight, skill, and majesty. He will liberate you from this place. Go pay homage to him!”

7.­73

When they heard those words, all the nāgas joined their palms in the direction of the sage Jyotīrasa and called for help in unison. Then, with the appearance of a sage, the bodhisattva sage Jyotīrasa miraculously left his place and arrived at the sacred site of wise sages, surrounded and attended by many hundreds of thousands of gods, kinnaras, and yakṣas. All the nāgas prostrated to him and supplicated him with utmost respect, “Please protect us so that we may return to our residences and live happily! Please liberate us from this place!”

7.­74

Through the power of circumstances, the great sage, who was observing time and had knowledge about it, started to talk to them about the order of the lunar mansions:

7.­75
“I will explain to you how
You can all be free.
Nothing else will be of benefit to you,
So listen to this attentively!
7.­76
“We are now in Punarvasu,
And it is the last month of the summer.
It is the solar deity,
And it is connected to all the nāgas.
7.­77
“Since you do not engage
In the observation of the stars,
This sage will teach you
By condensing this topic to its essence.”
7.­78

The nāgas said:

7.­79
“Who placed the planets
And the stars of the lunar mansions in the sky? [F.195.a]
Please expound to us the knowledge
Of the yearly cycle that delights the wise ones!
7.­80
“How are the moon, the sun,
The lunar mansions, and the planets coursing?
Which lunar mansion will appear
During the first month?
7.­81
“What are the muhūrtas of the different months?
What is their sequence?
What is their deity? What is their family?
What is their heaviness? What is their lightness?
7.­82
“What are their benefits? What is their harm?
What are their strengths? Please tell us quickly about this!
What brings about the night?
What is in front of the sun?
7.­83
“How many steps of shadow are there
When the sun circles around?
During which month is the sun in the south?
How does it reside in the north?
7.­84
“Sage, we ask all these questions to you.
Please teach us all this!”
Through his great insight,
The expert of the world Jyotīrasa replied,
7.­85
“O nāgas! In the past,
At the beginning of the fortunate eon,
A wealthy human king appeared
In the glorious city of Pañcālā.
7.­86
“He had given up desires, he was righteous,
He wished for chastity, and he was very learned,
But his queen
Longed for sensual pleasure.
7.­87
“At that time, she associated with a reckless man
And fornicated with him repeatedly
In a place without other people,
With the aim of becoming pregnant.
7.­88
“She became pregnant through the power of the Dharma,
And an ugly son was born.
He had the head, the neck,
The ears, and the face of a donkey.
7.­89
“His head was repulsive and covered with matted hairs,
But the other half of his body was human.
When she saw him, the queen panicked
And quickly abandoned him in the latrines.
7.­90
“Because he was filthy and disgusting to touch,
The rākṣasī Female Donkey took him with her
And brought him to her dwelling place in the snow mountains,
Where she raised him lovingly as if he were her own son.
7.­91
“Since she made him drink rejuvenating elixir,
He spent his time in the company of the gods.
He acquired great insight and became skilled,
Diligent, and compassionate.
7.­92
“He developed great majesty and love,
And he benefitted all sentient beings. [F.195.b]
Hosts of gods gathered together
And paid homage to Uṣṭra.
7.­93
“Out of affection for him,
They manifested a snow mountain
Covered with trees filled with flowers and fruits.
It was fragrant and delightful,
7.­94
“All kinds of plants were growing on it,
And it was home to many types of birds.
For sixty thousand years the sage Uṣṭra
Resided there in isolation.
7.­95
“He engaged in the ascetic practice
Consisting in standing on one foot.
Śakra and Brahmā paid homage to him,
And all the gods openly praised him.
7.­96
“All the gods of the form realm,
Led by Brahmā, approached him.
As did all the gods of the desire realm,
Led by Śakra.
7.­97
“All the nāgas, yakṣas, and kumbhāṇḍas
Also came close to him,
As did all the wise ones within the world‍—
The sages practicing pure conduct
7.­98
“And all the beings residing
In the desire and form realms.
They all worshiped the sage Uṣṭra
With a variety of offerings.
7.­99
“Bowing with their palms joined,
Śakra and Brahmā asked him,
‘O excellent being,
How may we please you, Guide?
7.­100
“ ‘What are your expectations and intentions?
Please tell us what you want!’
The sage Uṣṭra replied,
‘I remember how the planets, lunar mansions, and stars
7.­101
“ ‘Appeared in the sky
During the previous eons.
Each day, the lunar mansions
Change from one to the other.
7.­102
“ ‘In all my lives, I have known
The qualities and activities of the lunar mansions.’
All the hosts of gods then said,
‘In this excellent eon,
7.­103
“ ‘This knowledge has disappeared.
Please kindly present to us
The sequence of the lunar mansions!
Please tell us about their activities and qualities
7.­104
“ ‘While they remain in this world!
Ocean of qualities, please explain this to us!’
“The sage Uṣṭra replied,
‘First of all, there is the lunar mansion called Kṛttikā.

[…]61 [F.212.a]

7.­105

At this point all the nāgas gathered at the sacred site of wise sages developed respect and appreciation for the supreme teacher, the sage Jyotīrasa, and diligently worshiped him to the best of their abilities.

7.­106

This concludes the chapter called “The Presentation of the Conjunctions of the Lunar Mansions,” the seventh among the eleven chapters included in “The Quintessence of the Sun,” the Great Vehicle discourse of The Great Assembly. [B11]


8.

Chapter Eight

8.­1

Sāgara then said:

8.­2
“You remember past lives
Based on the placement of the lunar mansions in the sky.
Wise one, leader of the three realms,
Clear-minded one, glorious being,
8.­3
“As an example of your love and compassion,
And in accordance with your affection for everyone,
Please liberate all the nāgas from this place!
Your discipline and observances
8.­4
“Are unmatched in the three realms.
You bring satisfaction to all the nāgas.
You are the master of all sages, [F.212.b]
And you are worthy to be worshiped by the humans.

9.
Chapter Nine

The Recollection of the Buddha

9.­1

When the evil Māra saw that all the nāgas had taken refuge in the Blessed One, [F.215.a] he became exceedingly distressed and scared, and his body began to shake like the leaves of a jujube tree. Sweating, he raised his two hands and lamented:

9.­2
“The nāgas have gone for refuge.
All beings have become deluded
And placed on the path of immortality.
Look at this endless deceit!”

10.
Chapter Ten

The Travel to Mount Sumeru

10.­1

Then, the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva great being Jyotīrasa, “Noble son, tell me the message of that group of nāgas.”

With a mind devoid of afflictions, Jyotīrasa replied, “Blessed One, it is time for you to come! Blessed One, please perform your deeds!”

10.­2

The Blessed One replied, “Noble son, [F.220.a] it is time for the Thus-Gone One to reveal the inconceivable teaching on the nāgas’ karmic action‍—the teaching of purification.”


11.
Chapter Eleven

The Going for Refuge of the Nāgas

11.­1

While showering rains of flowers, precious gems, and Dharma robes, playing instruments and drums, and singing melodious songs, all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, and asuras present there departed from the summit of Mount Sumeru together with the Blessed One. Attended by his saṅgha of hearers and surrounded by his saṅgha of bodhisattvas, the Blessed One then took a seat on the cushions that had been prepared for him at the center of the sacred site of wise sages. To worship the Blessed One, all the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, and kinnaras showered rains of various ornaments, powders, flowers, and precious gems from the sky. The nāgas also offered the Blessed One different kinds of flowers, perfumes, precious gems, silken clothes, fine fabrics, Dharma robes, and ornaments. They circumambulated him three times, prostrated to his feet, and sat in front of him to listen to the Dharma. The nāga king Sāgara then asked, “Respected Blessed One, what are the deeds through which sentient beings are born as nāgas?”


12.

Conclusion

12.­1

Then the elder Ājñātakauṇḍinya said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, please bless the nāgas! Please make this Dharma teaching, which involves the conduct of teaching about the inconceivable karmic action, blaze for a long time!”

12.­2

The Blessed One said, “As long as the great stūpas in this four-continent world still contain beings who diligently engage in practice, this Dharma teaching will continue to be practiced on the four continents. What are those great stūpas? Here in Jambudvīpa, many past buddhas, bodhisattvas, solitary buddhas, and hearers have continuously resided at this stūpa‍—the sacred site of wise sages called Complete Support‍—and they will continue to reside here in the future. The perfect buddhas of the past have entrusted this sacred site of wise sages called Complete Support to Varuṇa, to ensure that the great teachings remain for a long time. I also entrust it to him. He will joyfully ripen those persons who abide by the Dharma and diligently engage in practice. He will also protect those donors and benefactors who strive to serve those who abide by the Dharma.”


c.

Colophon

c.­1

This was translated by the Indian preceptors Sarvajñadeva, Vidyākaraprabha, and Dharmākara and the translator Bandé Zangkyong. It was then edited and finalized by the translator-editor Bandé Kawa Paltsek.


n.

Notes

n.­1
Hoernle 1916, pp. 121–25.
n.­2
Roberts, Peter Alan. trans., The White Lotus of Compassion, Toh 112 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018).
n.­3
Roberts, Peter Alan. trans., The King of Samādhis Sūtra, Toh 127 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018).
n.­4
See Mahamegha Translation Team, trans. The Great Cloud (1), Toh 232.
n.­5
Denkarma, folio 297.b; note that the title in the Denkarma is ’phags pa ’dus pa chen po’i sde nyi ma’i snying po The Denkarma is dated to c. 812 ᴄᴇ. In this catalog, The Quintessence of the Sun is included among the “Miscellaneous Mahāyāna Sūtras” (theg pa chen po’i mdo sde sna tshogs) with a length of thirteen sections (bam po). See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 46, no. 81.
n.­6
Ed. Bhikkhu Pāsādika 1989, pp. 79–82.
n.­7
Cutler 2002, pp. 231–32 and 253.
n.­8
Lévi 1905, pp. 256–58; Lévi 1904, pp. 546–47 and 565.
n.­55
Based on the following section of the text, it is unclear what those fifteen dangers are.
n.­60
Translated based on Stok: zhig. Degé: bzhi (“four”).
n.­61
The entire section that follows (folios 196.a.1–212.a.4) has not been translated here.

b.

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

nyi ma’i snying po (Sūryagarbha). Toh 257, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 91.b–245.b.

nyi ma’i snying po. 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. 66, pp. 262–616.

nyi ma’i snying po. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 63 (mdo sde, na), folios 161.b–394.b.

glang ru lung bstan pa (Gośṛṅgavyākaraṇa). Toh 357, Degé Kangyur vol. 76 (mdo sde, aH), folios 220.b–232.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021. [Full citation listed in secondary sources]

zla ba’i snying po (Candragarbha). Toh 356, Degé Kangyur vol. 76 (mdo sde, aH), folios 216.a–229.b.

snying rje pad+ma dkar po (Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka). Toh 112, Degé Kangyur vol. 50 (mdo sde, cha), folios 129.a–297.b. English translation in Roberts 2023. [Full citation listed in secondary sources]

ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po (Samādhirāja). Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1.b–170.b. English translation in Roberts 2018. [Full citation listed in secondary sources]

sprin chen po (Mahāmegha). Toh 232, Degé Kangyur vol. 64 (mdo sde, wa), folios 113.a–214.b. English translation in Mahamegha Translation Team 2022. [Full citation listed in secondary sources]

blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa (Akṣayamati­nirdeśa). Toh 175, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 79.a–174.b. English translation in Braarvig and Welsh 2020. [Full citation listed in secondary sources]

Nāgārjuna. mdo kun las btus pa (Sūtrasamuccaya). Toh 3934, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 148.b–215.a. See also Bhikkhu Pāsādika 1989.

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.

Chomden Rikpai Raltri (bcom ldan rig pa’i ral gri). bstan pa rgyas pa rgyan gyi nyi ’od. In bka’ gdams gsung ’bum phyogs bsgrigs thengs gsum pa, 1:191–266. Chengdu: si khron mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2009. BDRC W1PD153536.

Chinese Sources

Rizang fen 日藏分. Taishō 397-14. (Translation of the Sūryagarbhasūtra by Narendrayaśas [Naliantiyeshe 那連提耶舍]).

Secondary Sources

Bhikkhu Pāsādika, ed. Nāgārjuna’s Sūtrasamuccaya: A Critical Edition of the Mdo kun las btus pa. Fontes Tibetici Havnienses 2. Copenhagen: Akademisk Forlag, 1989.

Braarvig, Jens. Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra. Vol. 2, The Tradition of Imperishability in Buddhist Thought. Oslo: Solum Forlag, 1993.

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

Cutler, Joshua W. C., ed. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Vol. 3. Translated by The Lamrim Chenmo Translation Committee. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 2002.

Demiéville, Paul. Choix d’études bouddhiques. Leiden: Brill, 1973.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Prophecy on Mount Gośṛṅga (Gośṛṅgavyākaraṇa, Toh 357). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.

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

Hoernle, A. F. Rudolph. Manuscript Remains of Buddhist Literature Found in Eastern Turkestan. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1916.

Kotyk, Jeffrey Theodore. “Buddhist Astrology and Astral Magic in the Tang Dynasty.” PhD diss., Leiden University, 2017.

Lévi, Sylvain (1904). “Notes chinoises sur l’Inde: IV. Le pays de Kharoṣṭra et l’écriture kharoṣṭrī.” Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 4 (1904): 543–79.

Lévi, Sylvain (1905). “Notes chinoises sur l’Inde: V. Quelques documents sur le bouddhisme indien dans l’Asie centrale (première partie).” Bulletin de l’Ecole française d’Extrême-Orient 5 (1905): 253–305.

Mahamegha Translation Team (2022), trans. The Great Cloud (1) (Mahāmegha, Toh 232). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.

Mak, Bill M. “Indian Jyotiṣa through the Lens of Chinese Buddhist Canon.” Journal of Oriental Studies 48, no. 1 (June 2015): 1–19.

Martin, Dan. Unearthing Bon Treasures: Life and Contested Legacy of a Tibetan Scripture Revealer, with a General Bibliography of Bon. Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library 1. Leiden: Brill, 2001. 

Nakamura, Hajime. Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Biographical Notes. Intercultural Research Institute Monograph Series 9. Tokyo: KUFS Publication, 1980.

Nattier, Jan. Once Upon a Future Time: Studies in a Buddhist Prophecy of Decline. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1991.

Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Samādhi­rājasūtra, Toh 127). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.

Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2023). The White Lotus of Compassion (Karuṇā­puṇḍarīka­nāma­mahā­yāna­sūtra), Toh 112. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

Silk, Jonathan A. Managing Monks: Administrators and Administrative Roles in Indian Buddhist Monasticism. New York: Oxford University Press, 2008.


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

Absence of Heat

Wylie:
  • ma dros pa
Tibetan:
  • མ་དྲོས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A buddha realm located in the eastern direction during the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni. Also called Absence of Torment.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­7
  • g.­3
g.­2

absence of marks

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

The absence of the conceptual identification of perceptions, knowing that the true nature has no attributes, such as color or shape. One of the three gateways of liberation.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­14
  • 4.­51
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­115
  • 4.­117-118
  • 7.­47
  • g.­62
  • g.­266
g.­3

Absence of Torment

Wylie:
  • yongs su gdung ba med pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་གདུང་བ་མེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A buddha realm located in the eastern direction during the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni. Also called Absence of Heat.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1
  • 2.­9
  • n.­39
  • g.­1
g.­4

absence of wishes

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

The absence of any conceptual goal that one is focused upon achieving, knowing that all composite phenomena create suffering. One of the three gateways of liberation.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­53
  • 2.­55-56
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­39
  • 4.­65-66
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­76
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­104-106
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­121
  • g.­62
  • g.­266
g.­5

absorption

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

Located in 53 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­28-29
  • 2.­4-5
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­29
  • 2.­34
  • 2.­49
  • 2.­70
  • 2.­73
  • 2.­76-77
  • 2.­79
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­26-27
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­34-35
  • 4.­37
  • 4.­44-45
  • 4.­51
  • 4.­62
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­121
  • 4.­124
  • 5.­1-2
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­10
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­5-6
  • 6.­17
  • 6.­25
  • 7.­39
  • 7.­53
  • 8.­34
  • 9.­22-23
  • 9.­27
  • 9.­29-30
  • 10.­34
  • 12.­33
  • 12.­38
  • 12.­40
  • 12.­42
  • 12.­57
  • g.­80
  • g.­241
  • g.­242
g.­6

Abused Tree

Wylie:
  • gshe ba’i shing
Tibetan:
  • གཤེ་བའི་ཤིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­9

aggregate

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

The five aggregates of form, sensation, perception, formation, and consciousness. On the individual level the five aggregates refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­23
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­84
  • 3.­52
  • 4.­34
  • 4.­47-48
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­119
  • 7.­50
  • 8.­32
  • g.­77
  • g.­86
g.­10

Airāvaṇa

Wylie:
  • sa srung gi bu
Tibetan:
  • ས་སྲུང་གི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • airāvaṇa

A nāga king.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 7.­62
  • 12.­14
g.­11

Ājñātakauṇḍinya

Wylie:
  • kun shes kau Di n+ya
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ཤེས་ཀཽ་ཌི་ནྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • ājñāta­kauṇḍinya

Another name for Kauṇḍinya. As he was the first to understand the Buddha Śākyamuni’s teaching on the four truths of the noble ones, he received the name Ājñātakauṇḍinya (Kauṇḍinya Who Understood).

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­30
  • 4.­3-5
  • 4.­7-8
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­51
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­87
  • 6.­4
  • 10.­32
  • 11.­25
  • 12.­1
g.­13

Anavatapta

Wylie:
  • ma dros pa
Tibetan:
  • མ་དྲོས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • anavatapta

A nāga king.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 10.­15
  • 12.­17
g.­14

Apalāladatta

Wylie:
  • chu sog ma med kyis byin
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་སོག་མ་མེད་ཀྱིས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • apalāladatta

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­18

asura

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­33
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­64
  • 2.­79
  • 2.­84
  • 2.­90
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­50
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­107-108
  • 4.­118-119
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­18
  • 7.­39
  • 10.­11-12
  • 10.­24-25
  • 11.­1
  • 12.­36-37
  • 12.­40
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
g.­20

Attractive

Wylie:
  • yid ’phrog
Tibetan:
  • ཡིད་འཕྲོག
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­21

Bad Plough

Wylie:
  • gshol ngan
Tibetan:
  • གཤོལ་ངན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­23

Bhārgava

Wylie:
  • ngan spong gi bu
Tibetan:
  • ངན་སྤོང་གི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhārgava

Name of a sage.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­67-68
g.­24

bhūta

Wylie:
  • ’byung po
Tibetan:
  • འབྱུང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhūta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­1
  • 5.­7
  • 8.­16
  • 8.­19
  • 9.­28
  • 12.­38
g.­25

Bimbisāra

Wylie:
  • gzugs can snying po
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bimbisāra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The king of Magadha and a great patron of the Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s, and his father, King Mahāpadma, named him “Essence of Gold” after mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (“Goldie”). Accounts of Bimbisāra’s youth and life can be found in The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, Pravrajyāvastu).

King Śreṇya Bimbisāra first met with the Buddha early on, when the latter was the wandering mendicant known as Gautama. Impressed by his conduct, Bimbisāra offered to take Gautama into his court, but Gautama refused, and Bimbisāra wished him success in his quest for awakening and asked him to visit his palace after he had achieved his goal. One account of this episode can be found in the sixteenth chapter of The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara). There are other accounts where the two meet earlier on in childhood; several episodes can be found, for example, in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340, Karmaśataka). Later, after the Buddha’s awakening, Bimbisāra became one of his most famous patrons and donated to the saṅgha the Bamboo Grove, Veṇuvana, at the outskirts of the capital of Magadha, Rājagṛha, where he built residences for the monks. Bimbisāra was imprisoned and killed by his own son, the prince Ajātaśatru, who, influenced by Devadatta, sought to usurp his father’s throne.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­42
  • 1.­45
  • 1.­47
  • 1.­50
  • 1.­53-54
  • 1.­56
  • 1.­62
  • 1.­65
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­74
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­72
  • 3.­1
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­3
g.­28

Blue Topknot

Wylie:
  • gtsug phud sngon po
Tibetan:
  • གཙུག་ཕུད་སྔོན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­29

Body-Piercing Needle

Wylie:
  • lus ’bigs pa’i khab
Tibetan:
  • ལུས་འབིགས་པའི་ཁབ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 8.­33
  • 10.­19
  • 10.­21
  • 10.­28
  • 12.­8-9
g.­30

Born from an Ornament

Wylie:
  • rgyan skyes
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱན་སྐྱེས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­32

Brahmā

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 1.­30
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­31
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­118
  • 6.­18
  • 7.­95-96
  • 7.­99
  • 9.­27
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­24-25
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­31
  • 10.­33
  • 12.­66-67
  • g.­167
g.­36

Bright Eyes

Wylie:
  • mig gsal
Tibetan:
  • མིག་གསལ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­37

buddha realm

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

Roughly a synonym for “universe,” although Buddhist cosmology contains many universes of different types and dimensions. “Buddha realm” indicates, in regard to any type of universe, that it is the field of influence of a particular buddha.

Located in 114 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­1-2
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­27-28
  • 1.­30-33
  • 1.­35
  • 1.­38
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­73
  • 2.­1-5
  • 2.­9-12
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­22-23
  • 2.­26-28
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­36-37
  • 2.­51-52
  • 2.­55-57
  • 2.­64-66
  • 2.­69
  • 2.­72-77
  • 2.­87
  • 2.­90-91
  • 2.­94-95
  • 2.­97
  • 3.­7-8
  • 3.­10
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­13
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­77
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­121
  • 4.­123
  • 5.­12
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­12-13
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­25
  • 7.­38-39
  • 7.­57
  • 8.­32
  • 9.­21-23
  • 10.­23-26
  • 10.­32
  • 10.­34
  • 12.­27
  • 12.­31
  • 12.­36
  • 12.­56-57
  • 12.­69
  • n.­36
  • n.­39
  • n.­44
  • g.­1
  • g.­3
  • g.­12
  • g.­22
  • g.­66
  • g.­93
  • g.­106
  • g.­174
  • g.­175
  • g.­183
  • g.­210
  • g.­285
  • g.­296
g.­38

Campaka Color

Wylie:
  • tsam pa ka’i mdog
Tibetan:
  • ཙམ་པ་ཀའི་མདོག
Sanskrit:
  • —

A buddha residing in the eastern direction at the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­9
  • 2.­11-12
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­20-22
  • 3.­7-8
  • 3.­10-11
  • 3.­14
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­47
g.­40

Celestial Tree

Wylie:
  • nam mkha’i shing
Tibetan:
  • ནམ་མཁའི་ཤིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Name of a mercenary demon.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­1
  • 7.­8
  • 7.­12
  • 7.­16
  • 7.­22
  • 7.­24
g.­44

Collection of Sounds

Wylie:
  • sgra bsags
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲ་བསགས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­45

Complete Support

Wylie:
  • kun rten
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A holy site blessed by the presence of sages.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­29
  • 12.­2-3
g.­47

concentration

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན།
Sanskrit:
  • dhyāna

The fifth of the six perfections. Generally one of the synonyms for meditation, referring to a state of mental stability. The specific four concentrations are four successively subtler states of meditation that are said to lead to rebirth into the corresponding four levels of the form realm.

Located in 44 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­30
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­35
  • 2.­3-5
  • 2.­10
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­34
  • 2.­64
  • 2.­75-76
  • 2.­79
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­10
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­13
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­76
  • 4.­82
  • 4.­84
  • 4.­95-97
  • 4.­121
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­6
  • 7.­17
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­20
  • 9.­22
  • 10.­18
  • 11.­49
  • 12.­32
  • 12.­37
  • 12.­56
  • g.­55
  • g.­56
  • g.­65
  • g.­81
  • g.­236
  • g.­243
g.­49

Dharmākara

Wylie:
  • d+harmA ka ra
Tibetan:
  • དྷརྨཱ་ཀ་ར།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmākara

Butön includes the Kashmiri abbot Dharmākara in his list of ninety-three paṇḍitas invited to Tibet to assist in the translation of the Buddhist scriptures. Tāranātha dates Dharmākara to the rule of *Vanapāla, son of Dharmapāla. With Paltsek, he translated two of Kalyāṇamitra’s works on Vinaya, the Vinaya­praśnakārikā (’dul ba dri ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa, Toh 4134) and the Vinaya­praśnaṭīkā (’dul ba dri ba rgya cher ’grel pa, Toh 4135).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
g.­50

Dīpaṅkara

Wylie:
  • mar me mdzad
Tibetan:
  • མར་མེ་མཛད།
Sanskrit:
  • dīpaṅkara

The buddha who preceded Śākyamuni and gave him the prophecy of his buddhahood.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­45
g.­57

Elapatra

Wylie:
  • e la’i ’dab ma
Tibetan:
  • ཨེ་ལའི་འདབ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • elapatra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A nāga king often present in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni. According to the Vinaya, in the time of the Buddha Kāśyapa he had been a monk (bhikṣu) who angrily cut down a thorny bush at the entrance of his cave because it always snagged his robes. Cutting down bushes or even grass is contrary to the monastic rules and he did not confess his action. Therefore, he was reborn as a nāga with a tree growing out of his head, which caused him great pain whenever the wind blew. This tale is found represented in ancient sculpture and is often quoted to demonstrate how small misdeeds can lead to great consequences. See, e.g., Patrul Rinpoche, The Words of My Perfect Teacher.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­22
g.­58

Elavarṇa

Wylie:
  • e la’i gdong
Tibetan:
  • ཨེ་ལའི་གདོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • elavarṇa

A nāga king. The Tibetan e la’i gdong seems to reflect elamukha rather than the attested elavarṇa.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­59

element

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

One way of describing experience and the world in terms of eighteen elements (eye and form, ear and sound, nose and smell, tongue and taste, body and physical objects, and mind and mental phenomena, to which the six consciousnesses are added). Also refers here to the “four great elements.”

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­23
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­78-79
  • 2.­84
  • 3.­52
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­114
  • 4.­119
  • 5.­1
  • 7.­50
  • 8.­32
  • 11.­25
  • 12.­49
g.­60

Elephant Extinction

Wylie:
  • glang po zad
Tibetan:
  • གླང་པོ་ཟད།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­62

emptiness

Wylie:
  • stong pa nyid
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་པ་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • śūnyatā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­60
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26-27
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­24
  • 3.­26
  • 3.­41
  • 4.­26-27
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­53-54
  • 4.­58-61
  • 4.­63-64
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­76
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­121
  • 5.­18-20
  • 8.­32
  • 9.­9
  • g.­266
g.­63

Endowed with Garlands of Light

Wylie:
  • ba lang gi ’od kyi phreng ba can
Tibetan:
  • བ་ལང་གི་འོད་ཀྱི་ཕྲེང་བ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king. (Note that this translation is partly tentative, as the Tibetan ba lang, which ordinarily means “cow,” “bull,” or “elephant,” has not been rendered into English, as its meaning here is unclear.)

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­64

Endowed with Jewel Garlands

Wylie:
  • rin po che’i phreng ba can
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་ཕྲེང་བ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­5
g.­65

equipoise

Wylie:
  • mnyam par bzhag pa
  • mnyam par gzhag pa
Tibetan:
  • མཉམ་པར་བཞག་པ།
  • མཉམ་པར་གཞག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • samāhita
  • samāpatti

A state of mental equipoise derived from deep concentration.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­30
  • 1.­59
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­69
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­104
  • 6.­25
g.­72

Female Donkey

Wylie:
  • bong mo
Tibetan:
  • བོང་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A rākṣasī.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­90
g.­76

five higher perceptions

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa lnga
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcābhijñā

Divine sight, divine hearing, the ability to know past and future lives, the ability to know the minds of others, and the ability to produce miracles.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­15
  • 7.­68-69
  • 12.­27
  • 12.­31
  • g.­129
g.­77

formation

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

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

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­34
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­68
  • 4.­89
  • 4.­99-100
  • 4.­104
  • 6.­23
  • 8.­32
  • 12.­51-54
  • n.­81
  • g.­9
g.­81

four concentrations

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan bzhi
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturdhyāna

The four levels of concentration related to the form realm.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­27
  • g.­47
g.­83

four great elements

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

Earth, water, fire, and wind.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­17
  • 4.­36
  • 4.­57
  • 4.­113
  • g.­59
  • g.­110
g.­84

Four Great Kings

Wylie:
  • rgyal po chen po bzhi
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturmahārāja

Four deities on the base of Mount Sumeru, each the guardian of his direction: Vaiśravaṇa in the north, Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east, Virūpākṣa in the west, and Virūḍhaka in the south.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­18
  • 7.­65
  • 9.­27
  • 10.­10
  • 12.­66
  • g.­156
g.­88

four truths of the noble ones

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

The Buddha’s first teaching, which explains suffering, the origin of suffering, the cessation of suffering, and the path to the cessation of suffering.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­76
  • g.­11
g.­92

Gajaśīrṣa

Wylie:
  • ba lang mgo
Tibetan:
  • བ་ལང་མགོ
Sanskrit:
  • gajaśīrṣa

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­10
g.­95

gandharva

Wylie:
  • dri za
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་ཟ།
Sanskrit:
  • gandharva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 6.­12
  • 10.­24
  • 12.­69
g.­96

Ganges

Wylie:
  • gang gA
Tibetan:
  • གང་གཱ།
Sanskrit:
  • gaṅgā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands‍—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta‍—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.

According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa‍—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­31
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­35
  • 1.­69
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­9
  • 2.­29-30
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­52
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­63
  • 2.­73-74
  • 2.­87
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­45
  • 3.­52
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­12-13
  • 6.­17
  • 6.­25
  • 8.­32
g.­97

garuḍa

Wylie:
  • nam mkha’ lding
Tibetan:
  • ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • garuḍa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­33
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­57
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­84
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­107-108
  • 4.­118-119
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­12
  • 7.­39
  • 8.­28
  • 10.­24
  • 12.­36
  • 12.­40
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
g.­98

Gautama

Wylie:
  • gau ta ma
Tibetan:
  • གཽ་ཏ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • gautama

The family name of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it is often used by those who are not his followers.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­4
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­21
  • 7.­23
  • 7.­25
  • 7.­40
  • 7.­59
  • 7.­63
  • 7.­66
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­13
  • g.­141
g.­100

Given by a Householder

Wylie:
  • khyim bdag gis byin
Tibetan:
  • ཁྱིམ་བདག་གིས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­26
  • 12.­31
  • 12.­34
g.­101

Given by the Mountain

Wylie:
  • ri bos byin
Tibetan:
  • རི་བོས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­18
g.­102

Given by the River

Wylie:
  • chu bas byin
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་བས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­103

Given by the Water God

Wylie:
  • chu lhas byin
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་ལྷས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­107

Godānīya

Wylie:
  • ba lang spyod
Tibetan:
  • བ་ལང་སྤྱོད།
Sanskrit:
  • godānīya

One of the four continents of the human world according to traditional Indian cosmology, it is situated to the west of Mount Sumeru.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­5
  • 12.­10
  • g.­51
g.­111

Great Movement

Wylie:
  • rgyu ba chen po
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱུ་བ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­112

Green Grass

Wylie:
  • rtswa sngon po
Tibetan:
  • རྩྭ་སྔོན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­115

Heaven Free from Strife

Wylie:
  • ’thab bral
Tibetan:
  • འཐབ་བྲལ།
Sanskrit:
  • yāma

The lowest of the heavenly realms, it is characterized by freedom from difficulty.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­65
  • 10.­8
  • 10.­16
g.­116

Heaven of Delighting in Emanations

Wylie:
  • ’phrul dga’
Tibetan:
  • འཕྲུལ་དགའ།
Sanskrit:
  • nirmāṇarati

The fifth (counting from the lowest) of the six heavens in the desire realm.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­65
  • 10.­6
  • 10.­16
g.­117

Heaven of Joy

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­65
  • 10.­7
  • 10.­16
g.­118

Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations

Wylie:
  • gzhan ’phrul dbang byed
Tibetan:
  • གཞན་འཕྲུལ་དབང་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • paranirmita­vaśavartin

The highest heaven in the desire realm.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­65
  • 10.­5
  • 10.­16
g.­119

Heaven of the Thirty-Three

Wylie:
  • sum cu rtsa gsum pa
Tibetan:
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • trāyastriṃśa

The second-lowest heaven of the desire realm located above Mount Meru and reigned over by Indra, otherwise known as Śakra, and thirty-two other gods.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 12.­14
  • g.­224
g.­127

High Flier

Wylie:
  • mthon por ’phur
Tibetan:
  • མཐོན་པོར་འཕུར།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Name of a sage.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­67-68
g.­128

High Snow Mountain

Wylie:
  • gangs mtho ba
Tibetan:
  • གངས་མཐོ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­130

Highest Heaven

Wylie:
  • ’og min
Tibetan:
  • འོག་མིན།
Sanskrit:
  • akaniṣṭha

The highest heaven of the form realm, where a buddha always receives the anointment of the ultimate wisdom, proceeding there mentally from his seat of awakening under the Bodhi tree.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­22
  • 10.­22
  • g.­118
g.­133

Invisible Wrists

Wylie:
  • tshigs mi mngon
Tibetan:
  • ཚིགས་མི་མངོན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­137

Jambudvīpa

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 7.­40
  • 9.­13
  • 12.­2
  • 12.­15
  • g.­190
g.­138

Jyotīrasa

Wylie:
  • skar ma la dga’ ba
Tibetan:
  • སྐར་མ་ལ་དགའ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jyotīrasa

Name of a sage.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­67-73
  • 7.­84
  • 7.­105
  • 8.­6
  • 8.­31-35
  • 9.­12
  • 9.­21
  • 10.­1
g.­139

Kalandakanivāpa

Wylie:
  • ka lan da ka gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཀ་ལན་ད་ཀ་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • kalandakanivāpa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A place where the Buddha often resided, within the Bamboo Park (Veṇuvana) outside Rajagṛha that had been donated to him. The name is said to have arisen when, one day, King Bimbisāra fell asleep after a romantic liaison in the Bamboo Park. While the king rested, his consort wandered off. A snake (the reincarnation of the park’s previous owner, who still resented the king’s acquisition of the park) approached with malign intentions. Through the king’s tremendous merit, a gathering of kalandaka‍—crows or other birds according to Tibetan renderings, but some Sanskrit and Pali sources suggest flying squirrels‍—miraculously appeared and began squawking. Their clamor alerted the king’s consort to the danger, who rushed back and hacked the snake to pieces, thereby saving the king’s life. King Bimbisāra then named the spot Kalandakanivāpa (“Kalandakas’ Feeding Ground”), sometimes (though not in the Vinayavastu) given as Kalandakanivāsa (“Kalandakas’ Abode”) in their honor. The story is told in the Saṃghabhedavastu (Toh 1, ch.17, Degé Kangyur vol.4, folio 77.b et seq.). For more details and other origin stories, see the 84000 Knowledge Base article Veṇuvana and Kalandakanivāpa.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­1
g.­142

Karkoṭaka

Wylie:
  • stobs kyis rgyu
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས་ཀྱིས་རྒྱུ།
Sanskrit:
  • karkoṭaka

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­144

Kāśyapa

Wylie:
  • ’od srung
Tibetan:
  • འོད་སྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • kāśyapa

One of the six buddhas who preceded Śākyamuni in this Fortunate Eon. Also the name of one of the Buddha Śākyamuni’s principal pupils.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­48
  • 11.­61
  • 11.­72
  • 12.­3
  • 12.­9
  • 12.­32-33
  • g.­231
g.­145

kaṭapūtana

Wylie:
  • lus srul po
Tibetan:
  • ལུས་སྲུལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • kaṭapūtana

Ugly spirits with rotting bodies.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­77-78
  • 3.­58
  • 5.­5
  • 7.­39
g.­146

Kauṇḍinya

Wylie:
  • kau Di n+ya
Tibetan:
  • ཀཽ་ཌི་ནྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • kauṇḍinya

The first monk that the Buddha Śākyamuni recognized as having understood his teachings.

Located in 44 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­30
  • 4.­5-6
  • 4.­8-9
  • 4.­11
  • 4.­13-14
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­52-57
  • 4.­65-67
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­79
  • 4.­85-86
  • 4.­88-95
  • 4.­97-98
  • 4.­100-105
  • 6.­4
  • 10.­32
  • 11.­25
  • 11.­90
  • g.­11
g.­148

Kawa Paltsek

Wylie:
  • dpal brtsegs
Tibetan:
  • དཔལ་བརྩེགས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Paltsek (eighth to early ninth century), from the village of Kawa north of Lhasa, was one of Tibet’s preeminent translators. He was one of the first seven Tibetans to be ordained by Śāntarakṣita and is counted as one of Guru Rinpoché’s twenty-five close disciples. In a famous verse by Ngok Lotsawa Loden Sherab, Kawa Paltsek is named along with Chokro Lui Gyaltsen and Zhang (or Nanam) Yeshé Dé as part of a group of translators whose skills were surpassed only by Vairotsana.

He translated works from a wide variety of genres, including sūtra, śāstra, vinaya, and tantra, and was an author himself. Paltsek was also one of the most important editors of the early period, one of nine translators installed by Tri Songdetsen (r. 755–797/800) to supervise the translation of the Tripiṭaka and help catalog translated works for the first two of three imperial catalogs, the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) and the Samyé Chimpuma (bsam yas mchims phu ma). In the colophons of his works, he is often known as Paltsek Rakṣita (rak+Shi ta).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
g.­151

kinnara

Wylie:
  • mi ’am ci
Tibetan:
  • མི་འམ་ཅི།
Sanskrit:
  • kinnara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

Located in 29 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­33
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­84
  • 3.­52
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­107-108
  • 4.­118-119
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­12
  • 7.­39
  • 7.­73
  • 10.­24
  • 11.­1
  • 12.­36
  • 12.­40
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
g.­157

kumbhāṇḍa

Wylie:
  • grul bum
Tibetan:
  • གྲུལ་བུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • kumbhāṇḍa

A class of beings subordinate to the great king of the south, Virūḍhaka. The name is a play on the word āṇḍa, which means “egg” but is a euphemism for testicle, as they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (from khumba, or “pot”).

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­78
  • 2.­94
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­123
  • 7.­39
  • 7.­97
  • 10.­3
  • 11.­23
  • 12.­34
  • 12.­40-41
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
g.­166

Magadha

Wylie:
  • ma ga d+hA
Tibetan:
  • མ་ག་དྷཱ།
Sanskrit:
  • magadha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges River in what today is the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and later by Bimbisāra's son, Ajātaśatru. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir) but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). Over the centuries, with the expansion of the Magadha’s might, it became the capital of the vast Mauryan empire and seat of the great King Aśoka.

This region is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, where the Buddha attained awakening; Vulture Peak (Gṛdhra­kūṭa), where the Buddha bestowed many well-known Mahāyāna sūtras; and the Buddhist university of Nālandā that flourished between the fifth and twelfth centuries ᴄᴇ, among many others.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­22
  • 2.­72
  • 7.­40
  • 8.­26
  • 12.­18
  • g.­25
  • g.­212
g.­167

mahābrahmā

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

Beings from the third heaven of the realm of form, meaning “great Brahmā.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­12
  • 2.­21-22
  • 3.­1
  • 7.­65
  • 9.­30
  • g.­104
g.­171

mahoraga

Wylie:
  • lto ’phye chen po
Tibetan:
  • ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahoraga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1-2
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­33
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­84
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­107-108
  • 4.­118-119
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­12
  • 7.­39
  • 10.­24
  • 12.­36
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
g.­172

Maitreya

Wylie:
  • byams pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱམས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • maitreya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­13-19
  • 11.­9
  • 11.­59-60
  • 12.­34
  • g.­117
g.­176

Māra

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:

(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree‍—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1‍—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputra­māra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

Located in 91 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­35
  • 1.­64
  • 1.­67
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­9
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­52
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­74
  • 2.­79
  • 2.­84
  • 2.­87
  • 2.­92
  • 2.­94
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­7-8
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­33
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­52
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­119
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­3
  • 7.­7-8
  • 7.­10
  • 7.­12
  • 7.­14
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­24
  • 7.­27-28
  • 7.­32-33
  • 7.­35
  • 7.­37
  • 7.­40-41
  • 7.­43
  • 7.­48-49
  • 7.­53-54
  • 7.­61
  • 7.­63-64
  • 8.­23
  • 8.­29
  • 8.­31
  • 8.­34
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­9
  • 9.­12-16
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­30
  • 10.­15
  • 10.­23-25
  • 12.­36-37
  • 12.­40
  • 12.­42-43
  • 12.­46-49
  • 12.­56
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
  • g.­86
  • g.­90
  • g.­217
g.­179

Moon Protector

Wylie:
  • zla ba srung
Tibetan:
  • ཟླ་བ་སྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­7
g.­181

Mount Kalatiya

Wylie:
  • ri kha la ti ya
Tibetan:
  • རི་ཁ་ལ་ཏི་ཡ།
Sanskrit:
  • kalatiya

A mountain located near Mount Sumeru.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­29
  • 7.­55
g.­182

Mount Sumeru

Wylie:
  • ri rab
Tibetan:
  • རི་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • sumeru

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.

Located in 29 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­15
  • 6.­6
  • 7.­29
  • 7.­31
  • 7.­50
  • 10.­3-4
  • 10.­10-14
  • 10.­22-26
  • 10.­28-29
  • 10.­32
  • 10.­40
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­81
  • 12.­14
  • g.­84
  • g.­107
  • g.­181
  • g.­208
  • g.­223
g.­185

Moving in Places

Wylie:
  • gnas na rgyu
Tibetan:
  • གནས་ན་རྒྱུ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­12
g.­186

Mucilinda

Wylie:
  • btang bzung
Tibetan:
  • བཏང་བཟུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • mucilinda

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­21
g.­187

muhūrta

Wylie:
  • yud tsam
Tibetan:
  • ཡུད་ཙམ།
Sanskrit:
  • muhūrta

Period of time in ancient India that corresponds to the thirtieth part of a full day.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­81
g.­188

nāga

Wylie:
  • klu
Tibetan:
  • ཀླུ།
Sanskrit:
  • nāga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.

Located in 248 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­1
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­35
  • 2.­3-4
  • 2.­6-7
  • 2.­9
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­28-29
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­57-59
  • 2.­70
  • 2.­75
  • 2.­78-79
  • 2.­81
  • 2.­87
  • 2.­95
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­7-8
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­52
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­107-108
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­5
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­18
  • 7.­17-19
  • 7.­21
  • 7.­23
  • 7.­27-32
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­36
  • 7.­38-39
  • 7.­55
  • 7.­58
  • 7.­61-62
  • 7.­65
  • 7.­68-73
  • 7.­76
  • 7.­78
  • 7.­85
  • 7.­97
  • 7.­105
  • 8.­3-6
  • 8.­16
  • 8.­19
  • 8.­30-31
  • 8.­33-34
  • 9.­1-2
  • 9.­12-13
  • 9.­18
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­16-17
  • 10.­19-21
  • 10.­23-24
  • 10.­28-30
  • 10.­35-39
  • 11.­1-10
  • 11.­16
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­23
  • 11.­26-27
  • 11.­34-35
  • 11.­38
  • 11.­47
  • 11.­50
  • 11.­52
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­57
  • 11.­61-64
  • 11.­67-72
  • 11.­75-76
  • 11.­89
  • 11.­91
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­3-26
  • 12.­28
  • 12.­31-32
  • 12.­34-37
  • 12.­40-42
  • 12.­56
  • 12.­58-60
  • 12.­62
  • 12.­64
  • 12.­68-69
  • g.­6
  • g.­10
  • g.­13
  • g.­14
  • g.­20
  • g.­21
  • g.­27
  • g.­28
  • g.­29
  • g.­30
  • g.­36
  • g.­44
  • g.­48
  • g.­57
  • g.­58
  • g.­60
  • g.­63
  • g.­64
  • g.­71
  • g.­92
  • g.­97
  • g.­100
  • g.­101
  • g.­102
  • g.­103
  • g.­111
  • g.­112
  • g.­114
  • g.­128
  • g.­131
  • g.­133
  • g.­135
  • g.­142
  • g.­154
  • g.­163
  • g.­164
  • g.­179
  • g.­184
  • g.­185
  • g.­186
  • g.­189
  • g.­195
  • g.­201
  • g.­215
  • g.­221
  • g.­227
  • g.­251
  • g.­252
  • g.­258
  • g.­259
  • g.­262
  • g.­274
  • g.­279
  • g.­288
  • g.­290
  • g.­300
g.­189

Nanda

Wylie:
  • dga’ bo
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་བོ།
Sanskrit:
  • nanda

One of the main nāga kings, usually associated with the nāga king Upananda.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­28
  • 7.­55-56
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­29
  • g.­279
g.­191

Nārāyaṇa

Wylie:
  • sred med kyi bu
Tibetan:
  • སྲེད་མེད་ཀྱི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • nārāyaṇa

An alternate name for Viṣṇu (khyab ’jug).

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­28
  • 2.­71-72
  • 3.­1
  • 6.­18
  • 9.­27
g.­195

Pale Yellow Gold

Wylie:
  • gser ser skya
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་སེར་སྐྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­200

piśāca

Wylie:
  • sha za
Tibetan:
  • ཤ་ཟ།
Sanskrit:
  • piśāca

A class of nonhumans said to dwell in impure and perilous places, where they feed on impure things, including flesh.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­78
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 7.­39
  • 11.­23
  • 12.­41
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
g.­202

preta

Wylie:
  • yi dgas
Tibetan:
  • ཡི་དགས།
Sanskrit:
  • preta

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­38
  • 1.­49
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­78
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­17
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­89
  • 4.­92
  • 4.­107
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 7.­39
  • 8.­13
  • 11.­2-4
  • 11.­6-7
  • 11.­23
  • 11.­46
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­50
  • 11.­52
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­61
  • 12.­41
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
  • g.­53
  • g.­268
  • g.­302
g.­204

Protecting Guardian

Wylie:
  • rtas bsrungs
Tibetan:
  • རྟས་བསྲུངས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Name of a sage.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­67-68
g.­206

Punarvasu

Wylie:
  • nab so
Tibetan:
  • ནབ་སོ།
Sanskrit:
  • punarvasu

The name of a lunar asterism. Its chief star is known as Beta Geminorum in the occidental tradition.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­76
g.­208

Pūrvavideha

Wylie:
  • lus ’phags po
Tibetan:
  • ལུས་འཕགས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • pūrvavideha

One of the four continents of the human world according to traditional Indian cosmology, it is situated to the east of Mount Sumeru.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­7
  • 12.­11
  • g.­158
g.­209

pūtana

Wylie:
  • srul po
Tibetan:
  • སྲུལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • pūtana

A class of disease-causing spirits associated with cemeteries and dead bodies.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­78
  • 2.­94
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­123-124
  • 5.­1
  • 7.­39
  • 12.­69
g.­210

Quintessence of the Sun’s Energy

Wylie:
  • nyi ma’i shugs kyi snying po
Tibetan:
  • ཉི་མའི་ཤུགས་ཀྱི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A bodhisattva residing in a buddha realm in the eastern direction at the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­10-11
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­22
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­11-12
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­51
g.­212

Rājagṛha

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­1
  • g.­292
g.­213

rākṣasa

Wylie:
  • srin po
Tibetan:
  • སྲིན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • rākṣasa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 1.­28
  • 2.­78
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­107
  • 12.­40-41
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­69
  • g.­214
g.­214

rākṣasī

Wylie:
  • srin mo
Tibetan:
  • སྲིན་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • rākṣasī

A female rākṣasa.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­12
  • 7.­90
  • g.­72
g.­215

Red Eyes

Wylie:
  • mig dmar
Tibetan:
  • མིག་དམར།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­221

Sāgara

Wylie:
  • rgya mtsho
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱ་མཚོ།
Sanskrit:
  • sāgara

A nāga king.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 7.­65
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­33
  • 10.­17
  • 10.­28
  • 10.­35
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­9
  • 12.­13
  • 12.­59
  • 12.­61
  • 12.­63
g.­222

sage

Wylie:
  • drang srong
Tibetan:
  • དྲང་སྲོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛṣi

An ancient Indian spiritual title, especially for divinely inspired individuals credited with creating the foundations for all Indian culture.

Located in 115 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­9-10
  • 1.­67
  • 2.­15
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­35
  • 4.­51
  • 7.­25
  • 7.­29-32
  • 7.­38
  • 7.­55
  • 7.­67-69
  • 7.­71-74
  • 7.­77
  • 7.­84
  • 7.­94
  • 7.­97-98
  • 7.­100
  • 7.­104-105
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­6-9
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­27
  • 8.­30-33
  • 8.­35
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­12
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­21
  • 10.­23-25
  • 10.­28
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­70
  • 12.­2-3
  • 12.­5
  • 12.­7-33
  • 12.­36-37
  • 12.­42
  • g.­23
  • g.­35
  • g.­39
  • g.­45
  • g.­46
  • g.­61
  • g.­67
  • g.­68
  • g.­89
  • g.­127
  • g.­138
  • g.­160
  • g.­161
  • g.­165
  • g.­204
  • g.­205
  • g.­207
  • g.­211
  • g.­220
  • g.­239
  • g.­247
  • g.­248
  • g.­264
  • g.­277
  • g.­280
  • g.­282
  • g.­289
g.­223

Sahā

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

This present universe of ours, usually referring to the whole trichiliocosm but at times only to our own world with its four continents surrounding Mount Sumeru. Sahā means “endurance,” as beings here have to endure suffering.

Located in 66 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1-2
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­30-31
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­35
  • 2.­2-6
  • 2.­9-11
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­22-24
  • 2.­26-27
  • 2.­40
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­51-53
  • 2.­55-57
  • 2.­65-66
  • 2.­69-70
  • 2.­72
  • 2.­74-77
  • 2.­87
  • 2.­91
  • 2.­94-95
  • 2.­97
  • 3.­10
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­54
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­121
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­12-13
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­25
  • 9.­22
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­23-24
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­31-32
  • 10.­34
  • 12.­56
  • g.­32
g.­224

Śakra

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1-2
  • 1.­30
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­50-51
  • 3.­1
  • 4.­118
  • 6.­18
  • 7.­65
  • 7.­95-96
  • 7.­99
  • 9.­27
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­17
  • 10.­23-25
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­30
  • 12.­66-67
  • g.­119
  • g.­147
g.­225

Śākya

Wylie:
  • shAkya
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱཀྱ།
Sanskrit:
  • śākya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Name of the ancient tribe in which the Buddha was born as a prince; their kingdom was based to the east of Kośala, in the foothills near the present-day border of India and Nepal, with Kapilavastu as its capital.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­7
  • 6.­10
  • 6.­24
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­36
  • 7.­57
  • 7.­69
  • 8.­17
  • g.­141
  • g.­254
g.­226

Śākyamuni

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

Located in 89 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 2.­2-4
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­9
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­20-24
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­40
  • 2.­49
  • 2.­51-53
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­67
  • 2.­69-70
  • 2.­72
  • 2.­74-75
  • 2.­87
  • 2.­95
  • 2.­97
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­30-31
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­45
  • 3.­54
  • 3.­60
  • 6.­12-13
  • 6.­16-18
  • 6.­25
  • 7.­38
  • 12.­57
  • g.­1
  • g.­3
  • g.­11
  • g.­12
  • g.­22
  • g.­25
  • g.­38
  • g.­50
  • g.­66
  • g.­93
  • g.­98
  • g.­99
  • g.­105
  • g.­106
  • g.­132
  • g.­139
  • g.­140
  • g.­144
  • g.­146
  • g.­150
  • g.­153
  • g.­166
  • g.­168
  • g.­172
  • g.­173
  • g.­174
  • g.­175
  • g.­178
  • g.­210
  • g.­219
  • g.­225
  • g.­229
  • g.­231
  • g.­234
  • g.­254
  • g.­256
  • g.­280
  • g.­283
  • g.­287
  • g.­292
  • g.­299
g.­227

Samudradatta

Wylie:
  • rgya mtshos byin
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱ་མཚོས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • samudradatta

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­25
g.­232

seven precious substances

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­29
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­22
g.­236

six perfections

Wylie:
  • pha rol tu phyin pa drug
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaṭpāramitā

The trainings of the bodhisattva path: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and insight.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­3
  • 2.­78
  • 2.­84
  • 7.­48
  • 8.­32
  • 9.­22
  • 11.­2
  • 12.­36
  • g.­47
  • g.­199
g.­238

solitary buddha

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

Someone who has attained liberation without relying on a teacher in their final lifetime and as a result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, does not have the accumulated merit and motivation to teach others. Like śrāvaka (“hearer”), this term is also used to denote Buddhists who do not follow the Mahāyāna.

Located in 22 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­52
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­79
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­96
  • 4.­115
  • 4.­117
  • 4.­121
  • 5.­5
  • 5.­19
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­25
  • 12.­2
  • 12.­27
  • 12.­31
  • n.­21
  • g.­42
  • g.­273
  • g.­291
g.­247

Stable

Wylie:
  • brtan po
Tibetan:
  • བརྟན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Name of a sage.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­68
g.­251

Strength of the Ocean

Wylie:
  • mtsho gyad
Tibetan:
  • མཚོ་གྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­252

Strength of the Water

Wylie:
  • chu’i shugs
Tibetan:
  • ཆུའི་ཤུགས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­253

sublime states

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa’i gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པའི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmavihāra

The four qualities of limitless love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 1.­5
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­52
  • 2.­65-66
  • 2.­74
  • 2.­82
  • 2.­92
  • 3.­55
  • 3.­60
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­70
  • 8.­32
  • 9.­21-23
  • 9.­27
  • 10.­33
g.­255

śūdra

Wylie:
  • dmangs rigs
Tibetan:
  • དམངས་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • śūdra

The fourth and lowest of the classes in the Indian caste system, it generally encompasses the laboring class.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­41
  • 1.­43-48
  • 1.­67-70
  • 1.­72-73
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­31
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­52
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­119
  • 5.­2
  • 7.­66
g.­257

Support of Discipline

Wylie:
  • tshul khrims rten
Tibetan:
  • ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Name of a demon.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­33
  • 7.­37
  • 7.­40-41
  • 7.­43
  • 7.­48-49
  • 7.­51-53
g.­258

Supratiṣṭhita

Wylie:
  • shin tu brtan pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤིན་ཏུ་བརྟན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • supratiṣṭhita

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 10.­18
g.­259

Supreme

Wylie:
  • rab mchog
Tibetan:
  • རབ་མཆོག
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­262

Takṣaka

Wylie:
  • ’jog po
Tibetan:
  • འཇོག་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • takṣaka

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­266

three gateways of liberation

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa’i sgo gsum
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པའི་སྒོ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trivimokṣadvāra

Emptiness, absence of marks, and absence of wishes.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­72
  • 11.­90
  • g.­2
  • g.­4
  • g.­62
g.­270

three realms

Wylie:
  • srid pa gsum
  • srid pa gsum po
  • khams gsum
  • khams gsum pa
Tibetan:
  • སྲིད་པ་གསུམ།
  • སྲིད་པ་གསུམ་པོ།
  • ཁམས་གསུམ།
  • ཁམས་གསུམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • tribhava
  • tridhātu

The desire realm, form realm, and formless realm.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 1.­30
  • 2.­14
  • 3.­30
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­33
  • 4.­51
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­72
  • 4.­76
  • 4.­98
  • 8.­2
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­16
  • 8.­30
  • n.­51
g.­274

Tīkṣṇadatta

Wylie:
  • rnon pos byin
Tibetan:
  • རྣོན་པོས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • tīkṣṇadatta

A nāga king.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­30
g.­278

universal monarch

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.

Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­28
  • 2.­96-97
  • 3.­1
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­25
  • 9.­27
  • 11.­5
  • g.­265
g.­279

Upananda

Wylie:
  • nye dga’
Tibetan:
  • ཉེ་དགའ།
Sanskrit:
  • upananda

One of the main nāga kings, usually associated with the nāga king Nanda.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­28
  • 7.­55-56
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­29
  • g.­189
g.­280

Uṣṭra

Wylie:
  • rnga bong
Tibetan:
  • རྔ་བོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • uṣṭra

A sage with a human body and the face of a donkey and expert in astrology, he was a past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­92
  • 7.­94
  • 7.­98
  • 7.­100
  • 7.­104
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­14
g.­281

Uttarakuru

Wylie:
  • byang gi sgra mi snyan
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་གི་སྒྲ་མི་སྙན།
Sanskrit:
  • uttarakuru

The northern continent of the human world according to traditional Indian cosmology, literally meaning “northern unpleasant sound.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­8
  • 12.­12
  • g.­295
g.­282

Utterly Glorious

Wylie:
  • rab tu dpal ldan
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་དཔལ་ལྡན།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Name of a sage.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 7.­68
g.­288

Varuṇa

Wylie:
  • chu lha
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་ལྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • varuṇa

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 12.­2-3
g.­292

Veṇuvana

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

A forest monastery north of Rājagṛha where the Buddha Śākyamuni spent several monsoon retreats and delivered many Great Vehicle teachings.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • 1.­1
  • g.­139
g.­297

Vidyākaraprabha

Wylie:
  • bid+yA ka ra pra b+ha
Tibetan:
  • བིདྱཱ་ཀ་ར་པྲ་བྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • vidyākara­prabha

According to Nyangral Nyima Öser’s history, Ralpachen invited the Indian abbot Vidyākaraprabha to Tibet along with Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, and Dānaśīla in the first part of the ninth century. Vidyākaraprabha was the author of the Madhyamaka­nayasāra­samāsa­prakaraṇa, a work in the Yogācāra-Madhyamaka school pioneered by Śāntarakṣita, translated into Tibetan with Paltsek under the name dbu ma’i lugs kyi snying po mdor bsdus pa’i rab tu byed pa (Toh 3893). He worked with Paltsek on numerous other translations on topics as diverse as the Sphuṭārthā commentary to the Abhisamayālaṅkāra, an extract from the Vimuktimārga, and the early Vidyottamamahātantra.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
g.­300

Wealth Giver

Wylie:
  • dbyig gtong
Tibetan:
  • དབྱིག་གཏོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A nāga king.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­30
  • 12.­11
g.­301

well-gone one

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­45
  • 1.­47
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­69
  • 4.­5
  • 4.­87
  • 6.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­50
  • 11.­66
g.­303

worthy one

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

Used both as an epithet of buddhas and to refer to the final accomplishment of the śrāvaka path.

Located in 37 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­74
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­23
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­52
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­64
  • 2.­69
  • 2.­73-74
  • 2.­87
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­45
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­60
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­6
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­38-39
  • 4.­41
  • 4.­43-45
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­72
  • 4.­77
  • 4.­84
  • 4.­104
  • 8.­30
  • 11.­6
  • 11.­9
  • 11.­60
g.­304

yakṣa

Wylie:
  • gnod sbyin
Tibetan:
  • གནོད་སྦྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • yakṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.

Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

Located in 58 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 1.­28
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­35
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­77-79
  • 2.­84
  • 2.­94
  • 3.­8
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­52
  • 3.­58
  • 4.­11
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­107-108
  • 4.­118-119
  • 4.­122-123
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­5
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­18
  • 7.­38-39
  • 7.­70
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­97
  • 8.­5
  • 8.­16
  • 10.­19
  • 10.­23-24
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­23
  • 12.­29-31
  • 12.­33-34
  • 12.­36-37
  • 12.­40-41
  • 12.­58
  • 12.­66
  • 12.­69
  • g.­70
g.­306

Zangkyong

Wylie:
  • bzang skyong
Tibetan:
  • བཟང་སྐྱོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Tibetan translator of the ninth century.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
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    84000. The Quintessence of the Sun (Sūryagarbha, nyi ma’i snying po, Toh 257). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh257/UT22084-066-015-chapter-7.Copy
    84000. (2025) The Quintessence of the Sun (Sūryagarbha, nyi ma’i snying po, Toh 257). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh257/UT22084-066-015-chapter-7.Copy

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