The Limits of Life
Toh 307
Degé Kangyur, vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 139.a–145.b
- Viśuddhasiṃha
- Gewé Pal
- Bandé Paltsek
- Vidyākarasiṃha
Imprint
Translated by Bruno Galasek with Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2021
Current version v 1.0.18 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life presents a detailed and systematic account of the lifespans of different beings that inhabit the universe, progressing from the lower to the higher realms of existence as outlined in early Buddhist cosmology. The Buddha describes the lifespans of beings in terms of the relationship or proportion between the lifespans of the devas of the form realm and the lifespans in the eight major hot hells, the latter being significantly longer than the former.
Acknowledgements
This sūtra was translated by Bruno Galasek-Hul with the help of Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche of the Evam Choden Buddhist Center in Kensington (Berkeley), California. Thanks are due also to Prof. Stephen Jenkins for his helpful comments and advice.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Introduction
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life contains content and themes that predate the advent of Mahāyāna Buddhism, and it has therefore been regarded by Tibetan tradition as a sūtra of the “Lesser Vehicle” (Hīnayāna).1 This can also be gleaned from the opening verses of its Tibetan translation, which pay homage to the Three Jewels instead of all buddhas and bodhisattvas, as well as from the introductory scene of the sūtra, in which the Buddha is not, as is usual in the sūtras of the Mahāyāna, surrounded by a large number of bodhisattvas. In this sūtra, the Buddha, who is staying in Prince Jeta’s grove in Śrāvastī, addresses the monks directly and teaches in detail about the lifespans of the beings inhabiting the different realms of existence of the Buddhist cosmos.
According to ancient Indian cosmology, since beginningless time the world has been inhabited not only by humans and animals but by a vast array of different kinds of beings. Moreover, according to the Abhidharma, the Buddhist cosmos is composed of three different realms that form three hierarchical cosmological levels: the desire realm, the form realm, and the formless realm.2 Each of these three realms contains several sublevels inhabited by particular classes of beings. When conceptualized as manifestations of different states of consciousness, the three realms may be called spheres.3
In the Buddhist understanding of karmic cause and effect, rebirth in one of the different realms is the karmic result of one’s former actions.4 Thus the ten unwholesome courses of action lead to rebirth in the three unfortunate rebirth-destinies: the realms of animals, pretas, and hell beings. Their opposites, the ten wholesome courses of action, lead to rebirth in the fortunate rebirth-destinies: the human realm and the six heavens of the desire realm.5
Mastery of the stages of meditative absorption leads to rebirth on the different levels of the form realm and the formless realm. In this regard, the karmic result of mastering the first meditative absorption is rebirth in one of the three Brahmā realms. The karmic result of mastering the second meditative absorption is rebirth in the realms of the devas whose names contain the word Radiance.6 The karmic result of mastering the third meditative absorption is rebirth in the realms of the devas whose names contain the word Virtue.7 Mastering the fourth meditative absorption leads to rebirth among the devas of the Pure Abodes.
The Pure Abodes are subdivided into two levels, and this is where the accounts of different early Buddhist schools seem to differ most. According to Theravāda sources,8 there are the levels of the Pure Abodes proper, with the addition of the Heaven of the Insentient Beings9 and the Heaven of Great Reward, respectively. These last two have their own karmic cause, namely, the attainment of a meditative absorption called the attainment of the meditative state without consciousness, an ordinary attainment of the fourth meditative absorption that can be realized by meditators who are not noble ones.10 In the Pure Abodes proper, on the other hand, only non-returners can be born, and from there they attain nirvāṇa. The account of the (Mūla-)Sarvāstivāda school seems to have two additional heavens beyond the Heaven of Perfect Virtue, which are absent from the Theravāda sources, namely, the Cloudless Heaven and the Heaven Born from Merit. According to the Mahāvyutpatti, the Cloudless Heaven and the Heaven Born from Merit are the karmic result of attaining the fourth meditative absorption. According to the Theravāda account, however, the fourth meditative absorption (ordinary and non-ordinary) is associated only with the sublevels above the Heaven of Great Reward. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life mentions these two additional heavens but does not specify whether they are the karmic result of accomplishing the third or the fourth stage of meditative absorption.
In Buddhist cosmology, the axis mundi of the terrestrial world, which is thought to be flat, is Mount Meru. It is surrounded by the four continents and is also the axis around which rotate the sun, moon, and stars. The order of the realms of existence is vertical, with the higher realms located above Mount Meru and the hells beneath the earth. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life mentions the four continents as the places where humans live.11 Moreover, the world system just outlined, which is experienced differently by the different sentient beings, is not the only world. In fact, the universe consists of numerous similar worlds or world systems just like our own. It is, however, possible for any being—except for the beings in the unfortunate destinies, who have invariably painful sense experiences—to mentally experience all the states of the fortunate and unfortunate rebirth-destinies.12 The mental states of the devas may be experienced by humans during advanced states of meditative absorption. Moreover, rebirth-destinies are not static or permanent. Every living being has the potential to perform wholesome actions and thus accrue merit that eventually leads to rebirth in a higher realm. Although the lifespans in some of the hells seem so long as to be virtually never-ending, Buddhism does not have the notion of eternal damnation.
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life does not provide us with a detailed account of the structure and the functioning of the universe. It rather presupposes the reader’s familiarity with such knowledge. The text’s main point, as its title indicates, is to present its audience with detailed information about the duration of life of the different forms of existence in the Buddhist universe. The Sūtra on the Limits of Life thus lists the five rebirth-destinies (those of the hell beings, pretas, animals, humans, and devas) together with their subcategories (the four continents inhabited by humans, the eight hot and the eight cold hells, and the different heavens of the form realm and the formless realm) and carves out in a systematic way the relationship between the lifespans in the heavens and the hells.
Although the presentation of the subject matter appears very scholastic, the sūtra’s message is renunciation. Actions of body, speech, and mind bind beings to saṃsāra and lead to fortunate or unfortunate rebirth-destinies for unimaginably long periods of time. Only liberation and the veneration of objects that are worthy of veneration, e.g., the Buddha and his Saṅgha, can end this continuous cycle of death and rebirth. In the concluding section of the sūtra, the Buddha says, “I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration. Why is that? Because the manifestation of existence is suffering.” Existence here refers to the five destinies, that is, all the possible kinds and places of rebirth that the sūtra portrays, from the hell Incessant Torture to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception, which is the peak—the highest possible form—of existence.
In the 1989 supplement (no. 2) of the Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden (“Sanskrit Dictionary of the Buddhist Texts from the Turfan Expeditions”), the Japanese scholar Hisashi Matsumura presented an edition of the Sanskrit text of the Āyuḥparyantasūtra together with a critical edition of the Tibetan translation based on five editions (the Narthang, Degé, Choné, Lhasa, and Kangxi Kangyurs). Matsumura prepared his Sanskrit edition on the basis of Raghu Vira and Lokesh Chandra’s (1959–74) facsimile edition of a manuscript from Gilgit in present-day northern Pakistan. Gilgit was an important transit zone for traveling Buddhist monks from India, Iran, and China and an important connector between South Asia and the Central Asian Silk Roads.13 During the reign of the Palola Ṣāhis (c. 585–720 ᴄᴇ), who were patrons of Buddhism, Gilgit was a flourishing Buddhist kingdom, and there is evidence that Buddhism was alive in Gilgit until at least the tenth century,14 an estimate that sits well with the date of the single Chinese translation. The Jiaoliang shouming jing 較量壽命經 was translated in 984 ᴄᴇ by Tianxi Zai, a Kashmiri Buddhist monk who was active as a translator in China from 980–1000 ᴄᴇ; however, Matsumara states that the Chinese translation appears to be based on a different version of the sūtra.15 It is still possible that Tianxi Zai brought a version of the sūtra with him to China. In any case, the editors of the Gilgit manuscript had given it the mistaken title Kālasūtra, which is the name of one of the hells mentioned in the sūtra itself. Concerning its style, the sūtra’s syntax is very repetitive, except for the fifty-two verses that make up a considerable part of the text. Some of these verses are also found in the celebrated Buddhist verse collections, the Udānavarga and the Dharmapada.16
Oskar von Hinüber, based on an earlier observation by Gregory Schopen, was able to identify this text with the Tibetan translation of The Sūtra on the Limits of Life.17 While the order of the folios in Vira and Chandra’s edition of the Gilgit manuscripts were in disarray, Matsumura restored the order of the folios and the missing or destroyed parts of the Sanskrit text with the help of its Tibetan and Chinese translations, finding the Sanskrit to be more than ninety percent complete. Matsumura furthermore found there to be “the highest degree of congruency” between the Sanskrit text and the Tibetan translation.18 However, in the process of translating the work from both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan, we found occasional discrepancies between the Tibetan translation and the edited Sanskrit text to be more significant than Matsumura suggests.19
As for the Tibetan translation, the translators for this particular text are listed in the Tibetan colophon as the Indian preceptor Viśuddhasiṃha and the Tibetan monk Gewé Pal. Their translation was subsequently revised and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the chief editor-translator, Bandé Paltsek. All these contributors flourished during the late eighth and early ninth centuries, and so the Tibetan translation, which we have rendered into English here, would have been completed during the early translation period, a dating also attested by the text’s inclusion in the early-ninth-century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) inventory of translations into Tibetan.20 We are aware of only one Tibetan commentary on The Sūtra on the Limits of Life, a rather late Tibetan commentary by Choné Lama Drakpa Shedrup (co ne bla ma grags pa bshad sgrub, 1675–1748).21
The English translation presented here is based on the Tibetan text of the Degé Kangyur. In several cases, however, we have followed the Sanskrit instead of the Tibetan, recording these choices and their rationale in the notes. For example, we adopted the Sanskrit readings of the numerals of the lifespans of the different classes of beings where they seemed to represent the more correct numbers and were furthermore corroborated by other sources. Also, where the Sanskrit text differed significantly from the Tibetan, we have recorded the Sanskrit reading in the notes.
Text Body
The Translation
[F.139.a] {S74}
Homage to the Three Jewels!
Thus did I hear at one time.22 {S75} The Bhagavān was staying in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. There the Bhagavān addressed the monks: “Monks, do you wish to learn about the lifespans of beings?”
“Yes, Bhagavān, this is the right time for it! Sugata, the time is right for the Bhagavān to teach the monks the lifespans of living beings. Bhagavān, having heard the teaching from the Bhagavān, the monks will retain it.”
“Monks, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach.23
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the hell realms is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the animal realm [F.139.b] is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, one day for the pretas corresponds to thirty days for humans. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, pretas have a lifespan of five hundred years by this way of calculating.24 According to human years, this is fifteen thousand years. Premature death does occur.”
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the eastern continent Pūrvavideha31 is two hundred fifty years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the western continent Avaragodānīya32 is five hundred years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the northern continent Uttarakuru33 is one thousand years. Premature death does not occur.
“Why do the human beings who inhabit the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and not experience premature death?
“Monks, the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have no sense of mine and no notion of ownership, and their lifespan is predetermined. When they die and pass from there, they progress higher and higher,34 and in the future they go to heaven. Monks, this is why the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and do not experience premature death.”
“Monks, the lifespan of the humans of the southern continent of Jambudvīpa57 is not fixed; it varies.58 More precisely, monks, the maximum lifespans of the humans of Jambudvīpa are unlimited, eighty thousand years, one hundred years, and ten years.59
“Monks, the lifespan at the present time of the humans of Jambudvīpa amounts to one hundred years.60 Monks, presently those among the humans of Jambudvīpa who live long can reach an age of one hundred years, or a little more than that, when looked after with proper care.61
“Monks, during a lifespan of one hundred years, people undergo ten stages.62 [F.141.a] At the first stage, they are infants, feeble and lying on their back. At the second stage they are children, disposed to playing. At the third stage, as youths, they chase after pleasure. At the fourth stage they are endowed with physical strength and strong enthusiasm. At the fifth stage they possess prudence and self-confidence.63 At the sixth stage they are experienced and more given to reflection. At the seventh stage they practice religion with all their heart.64 At the eighth stage they are venerable and people of distinction.65 At the ninth stage they are old, fragile, and weakened by age. At the tenth stage life is exhausted and only death remains.66 Monks, in a hundred years, their lives undergo those ten stages.
“Monks, living for one hundred years, they live for one hundred times each the three seasons: one hundred winters, one hundred summers, and one hundred rains.67 Living three seasons one hundred times each, they live for twelve months one hundred times: four months each of winters, four of summers, and four of rains. Living for twelve months one hundred times, they live for twenty-four times one hundred half-months, or two thousand four hundred half-months: eight half-months each of winters, eight half-months of summers, and eight half-months of rains. Living twenty-four times one hundred half-months, they live for thirty-six thousand days: twelve thousand days each of summer, winter, and rains.
“Living for thirty-six thousand days, they eat seventy-two thousand meals, except for when there is something that prevents them from eating.68 These meal interruptions are as follows: when they are angry, they do not eat; when they suffer, they do not eat; when impoverished,69 they do not eat; during fasting,70 they do not eat; because of loss, they do not eat; because of gain, too, they do not eat; when sleeping, they do not eat; when drunk, [F.141.b] they do not eat; due to being drowsy, they do not eat. Thus, in sum, the meals that are eaten and the meals that are not eaten are altogether seventy-two thousand meals during one lifetime, including the milk from their mother that they have drunk. {S79}
“Monks, I have expounded and itemized the lives of human beings in Jambudvīpa in terms of seasons, months, half months, days, meals, and even the interruptions to meals.71
“Monks, fifty human years corresponds to one day and night in the life of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings is five hundred divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is nine million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings72 in the great hell Revival.73 74 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Revival is, by this way of calculating, five hundred years. In human years, this is 1 trillion 620 billion years. Premature death does occur.”
“Monks, one hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three is one thousand divine years by this way of calculating. [F.142.a] According to human years, this is thirty-six million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, thirty-six million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Black Thread.75 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Black Thread is one thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 12 trillion 960 billion years.76 Untimely death77 does occur.” {S80}
“Monks, two hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife is two thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 144 million years.81 Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, one hundred forty-four million years—is one day and night for the beings in the great hell Crushing.82 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Crushing is two thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 103 trillion 680 billion years.83 Premature death does occur.”
“Monks, four hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Joy. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Joy is four thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 576 million {S81} years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, five hundred seventy-six million human years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Wailing.88 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Wailing is four thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 829 trillion 440 billion years.89 Premature death does occur.”
“Monks, eight hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 2 billion 304 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, 2 billion 304 million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing92 [F.143.a] is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 6 quadrillion 635 trillion 520 billion years.93 Premature death does occur.”
“Monks, one thousand six hundred97 human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations.98 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 9 billion 216 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine billion two hundred sixteen million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat.99 Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 53 quadrillion 84 trillion 160 billion years.100 Premature death does occur.”
“Monks, do you want to hear about the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell?”105
“Yes, Bhagavān, the time is right for that. Sugata, this is the right time for it. We, the monks, having heard the teaching from the Blessed One about the lifespan of beings that have been reborn in the Blistering Hell, will retain the teaching well.”106
“Monks, in that case, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach. Monks, it is like this: Imagine a container107 with a capacity of twenty khārī108 that contains a full measure of twenty khārī of Kosalan sesame seeds and is filled to the brim with them. {S83} Now imagine that someone were to remove a single seed from that container every hundred years.109 I say, monks, that the contents of that container holding twenty khārīs of sesame seeds would quickly be emptied out completely by this method, but, monks, not so the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell.
“Twenty times the lifespan in the Blistering Hell is that in the Bursting Blister Hell.110 Twenty times the lifespan in the Bursting Blister Hell is that in the Hell of Chattering Teeth. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Chattering Teeth is that in the Hell of Lamentation. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Lamentation is that in the Cold Whimpering Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Cold Whimpering Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell is the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell.111 Devadatta’s112 partisan,113 the monk Kokālika, because he felt anger toward114 the monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana,115 will be reborn in the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell with his own body.116
“Therefore, monks, you should train the mind thus: not even toward the burnt stump of a tree should you generate an attitude of hatred, let alone toward a conscious being! You should train in that way, monks!”
“Monks, the lifespan of beings inhabiting the great hell Intense Heat121 is half an eon. Premature death does occur.”
“Monks, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Incessant Torture122 is one eon. Premature death does occur. This is where the fool Devadatta was reborn with his own body because he split the undivided Saṅgha123 and, with evil intentions, drew the Tathāgata’s blood124 and beat a nun, who was an arhantī, to death.”125
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue130 is half an eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Ministers is three quarters of an eon.131 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Brahmā is one eon.132 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Radiance is two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Radiance is four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Luminous Radiance133 is eight eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Virtue134 is sixteen eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Virtue135 is thirty-two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Perfect Virtue136 is sixty-four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Cloudless Heaven137 is one hundred twenty-five eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven Born from Merit138 is two hundred fifty eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Reward139 is five hundred eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of both the Insentient Beings and the devas of the Unlofty Heaven140 is one thousand eons.141 Premature death does occur. {S87}
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in Sorrowless Heaven142 [F.145.a] is two thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Sublime Vision143 is four thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Vision144 is eight thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Highest Heaven145 is sixteen thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Space is twenty thousand eons.146 Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Consciousness is forty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Nothingness is sixty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception is eighty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, from the hell Incessant Torture up to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception—which, monks, is the peak of existence—these states respectively demarcate the upper and lower limits of the whole of existence. These states are the manifestation of existence. They are the places where living beings of the five rebirth-destinies come and go, live, die, and are reborn. Enough with the manifestation of existence!147 I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration.148 Why is that? Because the manifestation of existence is suffering. Take, for instance, something that is impure: when even a little of it stinks, how much more so does a lot of it! In the same way, I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration. Why is that? Because, monks, the manifestation of existence is suffering. Ordinary, worldly people, uneducated in the Dharma,149 continually cycle again and again in the five rebirth-destinies; [F.145.b] again and again they rush to the hells, again and again to the animal realm, again and again to evil states, to unfortunate rebirth-destinies, to destruction. Therefore, monks, you should train in this way: ‘I shall strive to cut off the stream of existence at any point and not let saṃsāra unfold!’ Monks, you should train in this way!”
After the Blessed One had thus spoken, the monks were deeply overjoyed and rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words.
This concludes “The Sūtra on the Limits of Life.”
Colophon
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Viśuddhasiṃha and the monk Gewé Pal. It was revised and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the chief editor-translator Bandé Paltsek.
Tables
UNFORTUNATE REBIRTH DESTINIES
Destiny: Hell beings
Lifespan: Maximum one eon.
Destiny: Animals
Lifespan: Maximum one eon.
Destiny: Pretas
Lifespan: Five hundred years.
HUMAN REALMS
Location: Pūrvavideha
Lifespan: Two hundred fifty years.
Location: Avaragodānīya
Lifespan: Five hundred years.
Location: Uttarakuru
Lifespan: One thousand years.
Location: Jambudvīpa
Lifespan: Not fixed: unlimited, eighty thousand, one hundred, or ten years, depending on the eon.
HEAVENS AND HELLS OF THE DESIRE REALM
Location: The retinue of the Four Great Kings
Lifespan: Five hundred years = 9 million human years (one day = 50 human years).
Location: Revival (hell)
Lifespan: Five hundred years = 1 trillion 620 billion human years (one day = 9 million human years).
Location: Heaven of the Thirty-Three
Lifespan: One thousand years = 36 million years (one day = 100 human years).
Location: Black Thread (hell)
Lifespan: One thousand years = 12 trillion 960 billion human years (one day = 36 million human years).
Location: Heaven Free from Strife
Lifespan: Two thousand years = 144 million human years (one day = 200 human years).
Location: Crushing (hell)
Lifespan: Two thousand years = 103 billion 680 million human years (one day = 144 million human years).
Location: Heaven of Joy
Lifespan: Four thousand years = 576 million human years (one day = 400 human years).
Location: Wailing (hell)
Lifespan: Four thousand years = 829 trillion 440 billion human years (one day = 576 million human years).
Location: Heaven of Delighting in Emanations
Lifespan: Eight thousand years = 2 billion 304 million human years (one day = 800 human years).
Location: Loud Wailing (hell)
Lifespan: Eight thousand years = 6 quadrillion 635 trillion 520 billion human years (one day = 2 billion 304 million human years).
Location: Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations
Lifespan: Sixteen thousand years = 9 billion 216 million human years (one day = 1,600 human years).
Location: Heat (hell)
Lifespan: Sixteen thousand years = 53 quadrillion 84 trillion 160 billion human years (one day = 9 billion 216 million human years).
Location: Eight Cold Hells
Lifespan: Unspecified, exceedingly long timespans. (In relative terms, the lifespan of each subsequent cold hell is prolonged by a factor of twenty, e.g., the lifespan in Bursting Blister Hell is twenty times longer than the lifespan in Blistering Hell).
Location: Intense Heat (hell)
Lifespan: Half an eon.
Location: Incessant Torture (hell)
Lifespan: One eon.
HEAVENS OF THE FORM REALM
Location: Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue
Lifespan: Half an eon.
Location: Heaven of Brahmā’s Ministers
Lifespan: Three quarters of an eon (one eon according to the Sanskrit).
Location: Heaven of Great Brahmā
Lifespan: One eon (one and a half eons according to the Sanskrit).
Location: Heaven of Limited Radiance
Lifespan: Two eons.
Location: Heaven of Boundless Radiance
Lifespan: Four eons.
Location: Heaven of Luminous Radiance
Lifespan: Eight eons.
Location: Heaven of Limited Virtue
Lifespan: Sixteen eons.
Location: Heaven of Boundless Virtue
Lifespan: Thirty-two eons.
Location: Heaven of Perfect Virtue
Lifespan: Sixty-four eons.
Location: Cloudless Heaven
Lifespan: One hundred twenty-five eons.
Location: Heaven Born from Merit
Lifespan: Two hundred fifty eons.
Location: Heaven of Great Reward
Lifespan: Five hundred eons.
THE PURE ABODES
Location: Insentient Beings
Lifespan: One thousand eons.
Location: Unlofty Heaven
Lifespan: One thousand eons (Insentient Beings = five hundred eons according to the Sanskrit).
Location: Sorrowless Heaven
Lifespan: Two thousand eons.
Location: Heaven of Sublime Vision
Lifespan: Four thousand eons.
Location: Heaven of Great Vision
Lifespan: Eight thousand eons.
Location: Highest Heaven
Lifespan: Sixteen thousand eons.
HEAVENS OF THE FORMLESS REALM
Location: Sphere of the Infinity of Space
Lifespan: Twenty thousand eons.
Location: Sphere of the Infinity of Consciousness
Lifespan: Forty thousand eons.
Location: Sphere of Nothingness
Lifespan: Sixty thousand eons.
Location: Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception
Lifespan: Eighty thousand eons.
Abbreviations
| AK | Abhidharmakośakārikā of Vasubandhu. |
|---|---|
| AKBh | Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam of Vasubandhu. |
| AKBh(D) | Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam in Śāstrī 1981. |
| AKBh(P) | Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam in Pradhan and Haldar 1975. |
| AN | Aṅguttara-Nikāya in Morris and Hardy 1883–1910. |
| Arv | Arthaviniścayasūtra. See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. Distinctly Ascertaining the Meanings, Toh 317. |
| Avś | Avadānaśataka. GRETIL edition. |
| BHSD | Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary, vol. 2: Dictionary. |
| BHSG | Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary, vol 1: Grammar. |
| DPPN | Malalasekera, G. P. Dictionary of Pali Proper Names. |
| Dhp | Dhammapada in Hinüber and Norman 1995. |
| GDhp | Dhammapada in Brough 1962. |
| Mvy | Mahāvyutpatti. See Braarvig and Liland, “Mahāvyutpatti with sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa.” |
| Negi | Negi, J. S. Tibetan–Sanskrit Dictionary. |
| PDhp | Dhammapada in Roth 1980. |
| PED | Rhys Davids and Stede, Pali English Dictionary. |
| SN | Samyutta-Nikāya. GRETIL edition. |
| Skt. verses | Sanskrit verse numbers refer to those found in Matsumura’s edition (Matsumura 1989) of the Sanskrit text of the Gilgit manuscript. |
| Sn | Suttanipāta. GRETIL edition. |
| Uv | Udānavarga in Bernhard 1965. |
| [F.XYZ.x] | folio no. and side (a = recto, b = verso) in the Degé edition of the Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 139.a–145.b. |
| pw | Böhtlingk, Otto. Petersburger Wörterbuch. |
| {SXY} | Numbers in curly brackets preceded by S indicate page number in Matsumura’s edition (Matsumura 1989) of the Sanskrit text of the Gilgit manuscript. |
| Āps | Āyuḥparyantasūtra. |
Notes
Bibliography
Primary Sources
Tibetan
tshe’i mtha’i mdo (Āyuḥparyantasūtra). Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 139.a–145.b.
tshe’i mtha’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 72, pp. 389–404.
don rnam par nges pa chos kyi rnam grangs (Arthaviniścayadharmaparyāya). Toh 317, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 170.b–188.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021.
las kyi rnam par ’gyur pa (Karmavibhaṅga). Toh 339, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 298.b–310.a. English translation in Galasek-Hul and Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche (2021).
las rnam ’byed (Karmavibhaṅga). Toh 338, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 277.a–298.b. English translation in Galasek-Hul and Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche (2023).
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———. chos mngon pa’i mdzod kyi bshad pa (Abhidharmakośabhāṣya). Toh 4090, Degé Tengyur vol. 140 (mngon pa, ku), folios 26.b–258.a; vol. 141 (mngon pa, khu), folios 1.b–95.a.
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Sanskrit and Pāli
Avadānaśataka. GRETIL edition input by Klaus Wille, based on the editions by P. L. Vaidya (Buddhist Sanskrit Texts 19, Darbhanga 1958) and J. S. Speyer (2 vols., Bibliotheca Buddhica 3, St. Petersburg, 1906–9). Last updated October 2005.
Bernhard, Franz, ed. Udānavarga. 2 vols. Sanskrittexte aus Den Turfanfunden 10. Berlin: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1965.
Cowell, Edward B., and Robert Alexander Neil, eds. The Divyâvadâna: A Collection of Early Buddhist Legends. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1886.
Fukita, Takamichi, ed. The Mahāvadānasūtra: A New Edition Based on Manuscripts Discovered in Northern Turkestan. Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden: Beiheft 10. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2003.
Matsumura, Hisashi, ed. “Ayuḥparyantasūtra: Das Sūtra von der Lebensdauer in den verschiedenen Welten, Text in Sanskrit und Tibetisch, nach der Gilgit‑Handschrift herausgegeben.” In Sanskrit‑Texte aus dem buddhistischen Kanon: Neuentdeckungen und Neueditionen, edited by Fumio Enomoto et al, 69–100. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1989.
Morris, Richard, and E. Hardy, eds. The Aṅguttara-Nikāya. 6 vols. London: Luzac (Pali Text Society), 1883–1910.
Pradhan, Prahlad, and Aruna Haldar, eds. Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam of Vasubandhu. Patna, India: K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute, 1975.
Roth, Gustav, ed. “The Patna Dharmapada.” In Die Sprache der ältesten buddhistischen Überlieferung, edited by Heinz Bechert, 98–135. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1980.
Roy, Sitaram. Suvarṇavarṇāvadāna: Decipherment and Historical Study of a Palm-Leaf Sanskrit Manuscript, An Unknown Mahāyāna(avadāna) Text from Tibet. Historical Research Series 7. Patna: K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute, 1971.
Samtani, N. H., ed. (1971). The “Arthaviniścaya-sūtra” and Its Commentary (“Nibandhana”). Tibetan Sanskrit Works Series 13. Patna: K. P. Jayaswal Research Institute, 1971.
Saṃyuttanikāya (Part 1: Sagāthā-Vagga). GRETIL edition input by the Dhammakaya Foundation, based on the edition by Léon Feer: Samyutta-Nikāya of the Sutta-Piṭaka. PTS Text Series 93. London: Pali Text Society, 1884. Input 1989–96. Last accessed July 7, 2020.
Śāstrī, Dwārikādās, ed. Abhidharmakośa & Bhāṣya of Ācārya Vasubandhu with Sphuṭārthā Commentary of Ācārya Yaśomitra. 2 vols. Varanasi: Bauddha Bhāratī, 1981.
Sphuṭārthā Abhidharmakośavyākhyā. GRETIL edition input by Seishi Karashima, based on the edition by Unrai Wogihara. Tokyo, 1832–36. Accessed 24 March, 2021.
Suttanipāta. GRETIL edition input by the Dhammakaya Foundation, based on the edition by Dines Andersen and Helmer Smith: Sutta-Nipāta. London: Pali Text Society, 1913. Input 1989–96. Last updated February 18, 2015.
Hinüber, Oskar von, and Kenneth Roy Norman, eds. Dhammapada. Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1995.
Secondary Sources & Translations of Works Used
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Bronkhorst, Johannes. Buddhist Teaching in India. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2009.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. Kyoto: Rinsen Book Co., 1985.
Bhikkhu Bodhi, trans. (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2000.
———, trans. (2012). The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Complete Translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya Teachings of the Buddha. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2012.
Böhtlingk, Otto von. Nachträge zum Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer Fassung von Otto Böhtlingk. 7 vols. Edited by Richard Smith. Leipzig: O. Harrassowitz, 1928. St. Petersburg, 1879–89. Electronic version at Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries. Last accessed July 18, 2015.
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Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. Distinctly Ascertaining the Meanings (Arthaviniścayadharmaparyāya, Toh 317). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
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———(2023), trans. Exposition of Karma (Karmavibhaṅga, Toh 338). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
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Jamgön Kongtrul Lodrö Thayé (’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha’ yas). The Treasury of Knowledge. Book 1: Myriad Worlds. Translated by the Kalu Rinpoché Translation Group. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2003.
Jäschke, H. A. A Tibetan–English Dictionary with Special Reference to the Prevailing Dialects. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977.
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Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.
Abhidharma
- chos mngon pa
- ཆོས་མངོན་པ།
- abhidharma
arbuda
- chu bur can
- ཆུ་བུར་ཅན།
- arbuda
arhantī
- dgra bcom pa
- དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
- arhantī
arhat
- dgra bcom pa
- དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
- arhat
attainment of the meditative state without consciousness
- ’du shes med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa
- འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་པའི་སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།
- asaṃjñāsamāpatti
- asaṃjñisamāpatti
Avaragodānīya
- nub kyi ba lang spyod
- ནུབ་ཀྱི་བ་ལང་སྤྱོད།
- avaragodānīya
Bandé Paltsek
- ban de dpal brtsegs
- བན་དེ་དཔལ་བརྩེགས།
- —
bhagavān
- bcom ldan ’das
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- bhagavān
Black Thread
- thig nag
- ཐིག་ནག
- kālasūtra
Blistering Hell
- chu bur can
- ཆུ་བུར་ཅན།
- arbuda
Bursting Blister Hell
- chu bur rdol
- ཆུ་བུར་རྡོལ།
- nirarbuda
Cloudless Heaven
- sprin med
- སྤྲིན་མེད།
- anabhraka
Cold Whimpering Hell
- a cu zer
- ཨ་ཅུ་ཟེར།
- huhuva
Crushing
- bsdus ’joms
- bsdus gzhom
- བསྡུས་འཇོམས།
- བསྡུས་གཞོམ།
- saṃghāta
desire realm
- ’dod pa’i khams
- འདོད་པའི་ཁམས།
- kāmadhātu
- kāmaloka
Devadatta
- lha sbyin
- lhas byin
- ལྷ་སྦྱིན།
- ལྷས་བྱིན།
- devadatta
eon
- bskal pa
- བསྐལ་པ།
- kalpa
evil state
- ngan song
- ངན་སོང་།
- apāya
existence
- srid pa
- སྲིད་པ།
- bhava
five rebirth-destinies
- ’gro ba lnga
- འགྲོ་བ་ལྔ།
- pañcagati
form realm
- gzugs kyi khams
- གཟུགས་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
- rūpadhātu
- rūpaloka
formless realm
- gzugs med kyi khams
- གཟུགས་མེད་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
- ārūpyadhātu
- arūpadhātu
- arūpaloka
Gewé Pal
- dge ba’i dpal
- དགེ་བའི་དཔལ།
- —
great hell
- dmyal ba chen po
- དམྱལ་བ་ཆེན་པོ།
- mahānaraka
Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell
- pad ma ltar gas chen po
- པད་མ་ལྟར་གས་ཆེན་པོ།
- mahāpadma
Heat
- tsha ba
- ཚ་བ།
- tapana
Heaven Born from Merit
- bsod nams skyes
- བསོད་ནམས་སྐྱེས།
- puṇyaprasava
Heaven Free from Strife
- ’thab bral
- འཐབ་བྲལ།
- yama
Heaven of Boundless Radiance
- tshad med ’od
- ཚད་མེད་འོད།
- apramāṇābha
Heaven of Boundless Virtue
- tshad med dge ba
- ཚད་མེད་དགེ་བ།
- apramāṇaśubha
Heaven of Brahmā’s Ministers
- tshangs pa’i mdun na ’don
- ཚངས་པའི་མདུན་ན་འདོན།
- brahmapurohita
Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue
- tshangs ris
- ཚངས་རིས།
- brahmakāyika
Heaven of Delighting in Emanations
- ’phrul dga’
- འཕྲུལ་དགའ།
- nirmāṇarati
Heaven of Great Brahmā
- tshangs chen
- ཚངས་ཆེན།
- mahābrahmā
Heaven of Great Reward
- ’bras bu che ba
- འབྲས་བུ་ཆེ་བ།
- vṛhatphala
Heaven of Great Vision
- shin tu mthong ba
- ཤིན་ཏུ་མཐོང་བ།
- sudarśana
Heaven of Joy
- dga’ ldan
- དགའ་ལྡན།
- tuṣita
Heaven of Limited Radiance
- ’od chung
- འོད་ཆུང་།
- parīttābha
Heaven of Limited Virtue
- dge chung
- དགེ་ཆུང་།
- parīttāśubha
Heaven of Luminous Radiance
- ’od gsal
- འོད་གསལ།
- ābhāsvara
Heaven of Perfect Virtue
- dge rgyas
- དགེ་རྒྱས།
- śubhakṛtsna
Heaven of Sublime Vision
- gya nom snang
- གྱ་ནོམ་སྣང་།
- sudṛśa
Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations
- gzhan ’phrul dbang byed
- གཞན་འཕྲུལ་དབང་བྱེད།
- paranirmitavaśavartin
Heaven of the Thirty-Three
- sum cu rtsa gsum
- སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ།
- trayastriṃśa
hell being
- sems can dmyal ba
- སེམས་ཅན་དམྱལ་བ།
- naraka
Hell of Chattering Teeth
- so thams thams
- སོ་ཐམས་ཐམས།
- aṭaṭa
Hell of Lamentation
- kyi hud zer
- ཀྱི་ཧུད་ཟེར།
- hahava
Highest Heaven
- ’og min
- འོག་མིན།
- akaniṣṭha
Incessant Torture
- mnar med
- མནར་མེད།
- avīci
Insentient Beings
- ’du shes med pa’i sems can
- འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་པའི་སེམས་ཅན།
- asaṃjñāsatva
Intense Heat
- rab tu tsha ba
- རབ་ཏུ་ཚ་བ།
- pratāpana
Jambudvīpa
- ’dzam bu’i gling
- འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།
- jambudvīpa
khārī
- khal
- ཁལ།
- khārī
Kokālika
- ko ka li ka
- ཀོ་ཀ་ལི་ཀ
- kokālika
Loud Wailing
- ngu ’bod chen po
- ངུ་འབོད་ཆེན་པོ།
- mahāraurava
manifestation of existence
- srid pa’i ’byung ba
- སྲིད་པའི་འབྱུང་བ།
- —
Maudgalyāyana
- maud gal gyi bu
- མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ།
- maudgalyāyana
meditative absorption
- bsam gtan
- བསམ་གཏན།
- dhyāna
nirarbuda
- chu bur rdol
- ཆུ་བུར་རྡོལ།
- nirarbuda
noble one
- ’phags pa
- འཕགས་པ།
- ārya
non-returner
- phyir mi ’ong ba
- ཕྱིར་མི་འོང་བ།
- anāgāmin
premature death
- bar ma dor ’chi ba
- བར་མ་དོར་འཆི་བ།
- antareṇa kālakriyā
preta
- yi dags
- ཡི་དགས།
- preta
Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park
- rgyal bu rgyal byed kyi tshal mgon med zas sbyin gyi kun dga’ ra ba
- རྒྱལ་བུ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ་མགོན་མེད་ཟས་སྦྱིན་གྱི་ཀུན་དགའ་ར་བ།
- jetavanam anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ AO
Pure Abodes
- gnas gtsang ma
- གནས་གཙང་མ།
- śuddhāvāsa
Pūrvavideha
- shar gyi lus ’phags
- ཤར་གྱི་ལུས་འཕགས།
- pūrvavideha
realm of the pretas
- yi dags ’jig rten
- ཡི་དགས་འཇིག་རྟེན།
- pretaloka
retinue of the Four Great Kings
- rgyal chen bzhi’i ris
- རྒྱལ་ཆེན་བཞིའི་རིས།
- cāturmahārājika
Revival
- yang sos
- ཡང་སོས།
- saṃjīva
Śāriputra
- shA ri’i bu
- ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
- śāriputra
Sorrowless Heaven
- mi gdung ba
- མི་གདུང་བ།
- atapa
Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception
- ’du shes med ’du shes med min skye mched
- འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་མིན་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
- naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana
Sphere of Nothingness
- ci yang med pa’i skye mched
- ཅི་ཡང་མེད་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
- ākiṃcanyāyatana
Sphere of the Infinity of Consciousness
- rnam shes mtha’ yas skye mched
- རྣམ་ཤེས་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
- vijñānānantyāyatana
Sphere of the Infinity of Space
- nam mkha’ mtha’ yas skye mched
- ནམ་མཁའ་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
- ākāśānaṃtyāyatana
Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell
- ud pa la ltar gas pa
- ཨུད་པ་ལ་ལྟར་གས་པ།
- utpala
Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell
- pad ma ltar gas pa
- པད་མ་ལྟར་གས་པ།
- padma
Śrāvastī
- mnyan yod
- མཉན་ཡོད།
- śrāvastī
sugata
- bde bar gshegs pa
- བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པ།
- sugata
ten unwholesome courses of action
- mi dge ba bcu’i las kyi lam
- མི་དགེ་བ་བཅུའི་ལས་ཀྱི་ལམ།
- daśākuśalāḥ karmapathāḥ
ten wholesome courses of action
- dge ba bcu’i las kyi lam
- དགེ་བ་བཅུའི་ལས་ཀྱི་ལམ།
- daśakuśalāḥ karmapathāḥ
Three Jewels
- dkon mchog gsum
- དཀོན་མཆོག་གསུམ།
- triratna
unfortunate rebirth-destiny
- ngan ’gro
- ངན་འགྲོ།
- durgati
Unlofty Heaven
- mi che ba
- མི་ཆེ་བ།
- avṛha
Uttarakuru
- byang gi sgra mi snyan
- བྱང་གི་སྒྲ་མི་སྙན།
- uttarakuru
Vidyākarasiṃha
- bidyA ka ra sing ha
- བིདྱཱ་ཀ་ར་སིང་ཧ།
- vidyākarasiṃha
Viśuddhasiṃha
- bi shud dha sing ha
- བི་ཤུད་དྷ་སིང་ཧ།
- viśuddhasiṃha
Wailing
- ngu ’bod
- ངུ་འབོད།
- raurava
wish-fulfilling tree
- dpag bsam
- དཔག་བསམ།
- kalpavṛkṣa