co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Sūtra on Impermanence (Anityatāsūtra) is a short discourse on the impermanence of conditioned states. The Buddha explains that it does not matter what one’s social status is, whether one is born in a heaven, or even if one has realized awakening and is an arhat, a pratyekabuddha, or a buddha. All that lives will eventually die. He concludes with a series of verses on impermanence exhorting the audience to understand that happiness is to bring conditioned states to rest.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This translation was produced by Charles DiSimone and Jin Kyoung Choi. DiSimone translated the text into English from Tibetan and Sanskrit, created the Sanskrit critical edition, and prepared the introduction. Choi checked and revised the translation, critical edition, and introduction. DiSimone and Choi produced the glossary. We wish to thank the Royal Asiatic Society of London for kindly providing high-quality scans of the RAS Anityatāsūtra manuscript witness and Dr. Miroj Shakya of the University of the West for kindly providing high-quality scans of the PDP Anityatāsūtra manuscript witnesses. Both of these were of immense importance in the creation of the critical edition.

ac.­2

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


i.

Introduction

i.­1

In the span of a human life, it can sometimes feel as if we have all the time in the world. As time goes by and one day bleeds into the next, the months and years pass away. Grave concerns over the inherent dis-ease of existence are put out of mind as more pressing matters arise and we become concerned with what appear to be more immediate goals. The Sūtra on Impermanence (Anityatāsūtra) is a discourse that steers the listener or reader away from such notions.

i.­2

The Sūtra on Impermanence is a short work, which may be separated into fifteen sections. It begins with the very brief opening half of its narrative frame 1.­1. This opening frame gives little information apart from indicating that the Buddha was staying at the Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, in Śrāvastī. There is no interlocutor. The Buddha addresses the monks in his presence by declaring that all conditioned states are impermanent and therefore should be rejected 1.­2, noting that “life indeed concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die,” the refrain of the sūtra 1.­3. He then goes on to present various examples of types of beings, starting with wealthy people of high social status who, despite their status, will ultimately die 1.­4. He continues with further examples of beings ascending in importance: kings 1.­5, sages 1.­6, gods in the realm of desire 1.­7, gods in the form realm 1.­8, and gods in the formless realm 1.­9. All such beings will die. Moving beyond this general hierarchy within Buddhist cosmology, the Buddha continues to the three vehicles and declares that even those who have realized awakening and are free from further births, that is, arhats 1.­10, pratyekabuddhas 1.­11, and buddhas 1.­12, have bodies that will eventually come to an end. The Buddha then reiterates his refrain that there is nothing that is born that will not die, using a simile of clay pots that are created and eventually destroyed 1.­13. Following this, the Buddha recites a series of verses on the transitory nature of life designed to inspire one to soteriological pursuits 1.­14.1 The sūtra ends with the concluding half of the narrative frame, which is even more brief than the opening half, stating the delight of those who heard the Buddha’s discourse 1.­15.

i.­3

A number of Sanskrit witnesses of The Sūtra on Impermanence survive. These extant manuscripts might be classified into at least two separate transmissions. The first is what we may call the “Potala Transmission,” which consists of two Indic manuscripts copied in Dhārikā script. These were both collected into the Sanskrit manuscript library at the Potala Palace in Lhasa and are still housed there to this day. While these two manuscripts are unavailable for inspection, photostats have been made that are held by the China Tibetology Research Center (CTRC) in Beijing.2 To call this a transmission itself is somewhat debatable. The two manuscripts, while sharing the same script, were copied by different hands and often show divergences from one another. However, they do share similarities that are not seen in the other witnesses, which suggests the possibility of a shared transmission. Nonetheless, it is unclear when each manuscript came into the possession of the Potala or from where they were produced. Additionally, because of the extensive use of the Dhārikā script over a number of centuries, it is not possible to provide a satisfactory estimate for the dates of these two manuscripts. Both witnesses appear as component works in larger multitext sūtra manuscripts, but the exact nature of these two distinct multitext manuscripts remains unclear. They are without known titles and are not known to have circulated in South Asia or beyond, apart from the witnesses within the Potala Palace Collection.

i.­4

The second extant transmission of The Sūtra on Impermanence may be referred to as the “Nepalese Transmission.” This transmission consists of a number of manuscripts that have been uncovered in collections throughout the Kathmandu Valley and are now spread throughout collections in Nepal, Europe, and Japan. There are seven individual witnesses known to scholars: two witnesses in the National Archives of Nepal,3 one witness in a private collection in Lalitpur (Patan) in Nepal,4 one witness in the collection of the Société Asiatique in Paris,5 one witness in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society in London,6 one witness in the collection of the Tōyō Bunko in Tokyo,7 and one witness in the collection of the Tokyo University Library.8 All of the known manuscript witnesses of The Sūtra on Impermanence in the Nepalese Transmission are rather late, dating from the eighteenth to the nineteenth century ᴄᴇ. All of the manuscripts we have examined were copied in variations of the so-called Nepalese akṣaras (Newari script, Pracalit, etc.) and this is doubtlessly also the case for the manuscripts that have not been checked. Without fail, each witness within the Nepalese Transmission is found as a component work within larger Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha manuscripts. The classification of The Sūtra on Impermanence as a component work of the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha appears to have been a Nepalese innovation, as the earlier Sanskrit witnesses from the Potala Transmission and the Tibetan and Chinese translations do not classify the sūtra as having any association with dhāraṇī. It may be that the repetition of the sūtra’s refrain or the verses were the factors that caused this text to be associated with dhāraṇī collections. However, it is perhaps more likely that The Sūtra on Impermanence became associated with the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha due in part to its short length. Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha collections are made up of shorter texts, and short sūtras are included as well as dhāraṇī texts. It should be noted that while The Sūtra on Impermanence only appears as a component work within Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha manuscripts, it is not included in all Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha manuscripts, the traditional contents of which appear to have been somewhat fluid.9 Of particular note within the Nepalese Transmission are the witnesses from the Royal Asiatic Society (RAS) and the Tokyo University Library (TUL). It is certain that these two manuscripts were produced by the same scribal tradition. The TUL witness was either copied from the RAS witness or, probably more likely, was copied from an intermediate witness that is no longer extant.10

i.­5

The translation of The Sūtra on Impermanence within the Degé Kangyur contains only a very brief colophon mirroring the Sanskrit colophon. The colophon simply states that the sūtra has ended, providing no details on the translation.11 This brief colophon is seen in the majority of witnesses to The Sūtra on Impermanence within the Tibetan Kangyurs. However, there are three witnesses with expanded colophons: two witnesses in the Langdo (lang mdo) collection and one in the Namgyal Kangyur.12 These colophons state that The Sūtra on Impermanence was translated by the team of Kamalagupta (tenth–eleventh century) and Rinchen Sangpo (958–1055), who were frequent collaborators. Kamalagupta, a Kashmiri paṇḍita, was an immigrant to Tibet, and Rinchen Sangpo was a native Tibetan translator. This places the date of the translation within the tenth and eleventh centuries in the beginning of the second transmission of Tibetan translations. Beyond these colophons there are no major variations among the Tibetan versions of The Sūtra on Impermanence within the various Kangyurs. The Sūtra on Impermanence is always included in the General Sūtra Section in all Kangyurs. There is another work titled The Sūtra on Impermanence (1) (Anityatāsūtra),13 Toh 309, appearing directly before Toh 310, the sūtra translated here. While these two works share a title and theme, their content differs, and they are each unique works. It should be noted, however, that the opening and concluding narrative frame of Toh 309 is nearly the same as that of Toh 310. This may suggest that the two works developed in connection with one another and are possibly parallels of the same work from different Buddhist textual traditions.

i.­6

There is one Chinese translation by Fatian 法天 (aka Dharmadeva), Foshuo zhuxing youwei jing 佛說諸行有為經, completed in 984 ᴄᴇ and found in the Collected Sūtras (Jingji bu 經集部) section of the Taishō Tripiṭaka. The content of this Chinese translation generally agrees with that of the Sanskrit and Tibetan. However, as is so often the case with Chinese translations, sections are sometimes abbreviated and blurred together.

i.­7

There are no direct Pali equivalents to The Sūtra on Impermanence. There are multiple works with the same name, Aniccasutta, found in the Saṃyuttanikāya, but none of these are directly related to the sūtra translated here. While there are no direct equivalents in the Pali canon, there are multiple instances of passages and phrases that directly parallel the content of The Sūtra on Impermanence, often but not always in the Saṃyuttanikāya.14

i.­8

There are also a number of parallel passages to be found within surviving Sanskrit Buddhist works beyond the verses shared with the Udānavarga, which themselves appear across a spectrum of texts.15 That the present sūtra is not found in Pali, but that its modular pieces may be found in Pali works, may be telling. This, taken with the fact that the Chinese translation is rather late and is in the Collected Sūtras section of the Taishō, not associated with any āgama, may suggest that The Sūtra on Impermanence belongs to an āgama that was not translated in its entirety into Chinese. This would possibly also suggest a (Mūla-)Sarvāstivāda āgama affiliation for this work. This may be bolstered, too, by the fact that Kamalagupta, the primary translator of the work into Tibetan, was from Kashmir, where the Mūlasarvāstivāda tradition would have been dominant during his lifetime. Another source pointing toward a (Mūla-)Sarvāstivāda affiliation is the inclusion of the verses found in the Udānavarga, which was likely a Sarvāstivāda work.16 Nonetheless, we should not conclude any doctrinal affiliation with certainty. It is also possible, although less plausible, that this work was translated later because it was composed later and was not included in any āgama/nikāya collection.

i.­9

The primary source texts used for this English translation were the Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur and a critical edition of the Sanskrit created from the witnesses of the Royal Asiatic Society, Tokyo University Library, and private collection of Mr. Padmajyoti Dhakhwa of Patan. The Tibetan of the Degé and the Sanskrit are generally consistent but differences between the two are noted when encountered. While there are no major differences between the Tibetan and Sanskrit, when differing readings are noted, translations of more substantial differences are provided in the notes.17 There is some disagreement found between the Tibetan and the Sanskrit on the number of verses at the end of the sūtra, with two recorded in the Degé and four in the Sanskrit, sharing one verse between them. All verses from both the Tibetan and Sanskrit are translated, totaling five verses.

i.­10

The Sanskrit edition was created for this translation and may be found in the appendices. In addition to the RAS, TUL, and PDP manuscripts that make up the edition, variant readings from the first of the two CTRC manuscripts are also always noted. The edition follows the general orthography of the three Sanskrit manuscript witnesses. Therefore, some variations in the spelling of words are not emended to conform to classical Sanskrit standards. For example, gemination is always reported. Sandhi is not always standardized because the formations used would not have been considered incorrect when the manuscripts were copied, and they can provide important information about inherent punctuation of statements.

i.­11

In addition to the Degé and Sanskrit critical edition, multiple Kangyurs were consulted. The Degé was checked throughout against the Peking Kangyur with substantial variants, which do not occur often, noted when present. The Choné and Stok Palace versions of the Tibetan were also consulted. The Chinese translation was also consulted throughout. Variants between the Chinese and the Tibetan and Sanskrit are occasionally noted. Instances where something appears in the Tibetan but not the Sanskrit and/or Chinese are always noted.

Text Body

The Sūtra on Impermanence (2)
1.

The Translation

[F.155.b] [RAS.60.a2] [TUL.46.a3] [PDP.222.b9]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.18


Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, along with a great community of monks numbering 1,250.19

1.­2

Then, the Blessed One addressed those monks: “Monks, all conditioned states are impermanent, uncertain, unreliable, subject to change. This being the case, monks, one should become disgusted with, indifferent to, not fixated upon,20 and liberated from all conditioned states.21

1.­3

“For all beings, all spirits, and all that draw breath, life indeed concludes with death, has its limit in death, [F.156.a] for there is nothing [PDP.223.a] that is born that will not die.

1.­4

“Monks,22 those wealthy householder families, wealthy brahmin families, and wealthy warrior families who are of great wealth, of great affluence, having an abundance of jewels, rubies, pearls, beryl, conch shells, crystal, coral, [RAS.60.b] gold, silver, and luxuries; owning an abundance of treasuries and storerooms of money and grain; [TUL.46.b] having an abundance of male slaves, female slaves, servants,23 and laborers; and having an abundance of friends, counselors,24 relations, and relatives‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.25

1.­5

“Monks,26 those consecrated kings and warriors, who have obtained strength27 and power through sovereignty over the people, who dwell having conquered the great circumference of the Earth‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.

1.­6

“Monks,28 those sages who are forest hermits, whose livelihood consists of fallen fruit,29 who eat fallen fruit, who are nourished by fallen fruit‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.30

1.­7

“Monks,31 those gods of the realm of desire32‍—the gods of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the gods of Yāma Heaven, the gods of Tuṣita Heaven, the gods of the Heaven of Delightful Emanations, and the gods of the Heaven of Control of Enjoyments Created by Others‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.

1.­10

“Monks,42 those arhats, whose negative influences have been exhausted, who have fulfilled their duty, who have done what is to be done, who have laid aside their burdens, who have reached their own goals, those for whom the fetters of existence have been exhausted, whose minds have been completely liberated by proper, highest knowledge, those who have obtained the excellent perfection consisting of complete mastery of thought‍—even for them their pleasing43 bodies are subject to being given up.44

1.­11

“Monks,45 those pratyekabuddhas living alone like a rhinoceros, who live in crowds,46 who master themselves alone, who pacify themselves alone, who enter parinirvāṇa themselves alone‍—even for them their pleasing47 bodies are subject to being given up. [RAS.61.b]

1.­12

“Monks,48 those tathāgatas, [F.157.a] arhats, complete and perfect buddhas, mighty with the ten powers, worthy of admiration, roaring a true lion’s roar, confident in the four confidences‍—confidence in ascending dharmas, confidence in all their teaching, confidence in comprehending the path to nirvāṇa, and confidence in their effort for the knowledge of exhausting negative influences49‍—their bodies strong-limbed and firm like Nārāyaṇa‍—even for them their pleasing50 bodies are subject to being given up.51

1.­13

“Monks, just as pots made by potters, [PDP.223.b] whether unfired or fired, are destroyed, conclude in destruction,52 it is exactly so, monks, for all beings, all spirits, and all that draw breath‍—[TUL.47.b] life indeed concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.”

1.­14

So said the Blessed One. After the Sugata said this, the Teacher spoke further:

1.­14.1
“Alas, conditioned states are impermanent, subject to arising and decaying.
Having arisen, they are sure to be destroyed; happiness is to bring them to rest. [1]53
1.­14.2
“What joy, what pleasure is there in a conflagration?
You dwell having entered into darkness‍—why do you not seek for a lamp? [2]54
1.­14.3
“Just as clay pots that are made by the potter
All end in destruction, so it is with the lives of beings. [3]55
1.­14.4
“Just as ripe fruit is forever in danger of falling,
So it is with beings born of conditioned states‍—always afraid of death. [4]56
1.­14.5
“All that is accumulated is exhausted in the end; what is elevated falls in the end.
Unions end in separation; [RAS.62.a] life indeed concludes with death.” [5]57
1.­15

So said the Blessed One. The assembly was delighted, and those monks rejoiced at the speech of the Blessed One.58

1.­16

Here ends the noble “Sūtra on Impermanence.”

ap.
Appendix

Sanskrit Texts

ap1.

Appendix A

A Critical Edition of the Anityatāsūtra Based on Three Sanskrit Manuscripts
ap1.­1

[RAS60a2] [TUL46a3] [PDP222b9] || [PDP222b10] oṃ namaḥ sarvajñā[RAS60a3]ya ||

1.­1 evam mayā [TUL46a4] śrutam; ekasmin59 samaye60 bhagavān61 śrāvastyāṃ viharati sma ||62 jetavane ’nāthapiṇḍa‹da›syārāme63 mahatā bhikṣusaṃghena sārddhan64 ‹ardha›trayodaśabhir65 bhikṣuśataiḥ ||66

ap1.­2

1.­2 tatra khalu bha[RAS60a4]gavān bhikṣūn67 āmantrayate [TUL46a5] sma ||68 anityā69 bhikṣavaḥ sarva[PDP222b11]saṃskārā70 adhruvā anāśvāsikā71 vipariṇāmadharmānaḥ72 ||73 yad74 yāvad bhikṣavaḥ sarvebhyaḥ75 saṃskārebhyo76 ’laṃ nirve[RAS60a5]tum77 alaṃ viraktum78 alaṃ79 vimoktuṃ ||80

ap1.­3

1.­3 sarveṣām satvā[TUL46a6]nāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ81 prāṇinām82 āmaraṇāntaṃ83 hi jīvita‹ṃ›84 maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti [PDP223a1] jātasyāmaraṇaṃ85 ||86

ap1.­4

1.­487 ye ‹’›pi88 te bhikṣa[RAS60a6]vo89 gṛhapati{yo}mahāsālakulā90 brāhmaṇamahāsāla[TUL46a7]kulā‹ḥ›91 kṣatriya­mahā­sāla­kulā92 āḍhyā{ṃ}93 mahādhanā94 mahābhogāḥ prabhūtamaṇi­mānikya95­muktā­vaiḍūryyaśaṃkha­śilāpravā­[RAS60b1]­lajātarūparajata­vittopakaraṇāḥ96 [PDP223a2] prabhūta­dhana­dhānyakośakoṣṭhā­[TUL46b1]­gārasaṃnicayāḥ97 prabhūta­dāsīdāsa­karma­kara­pauruṣeyāḥ98 prabhūta­mitrāmātya­jñātisālohitās;99 te[RAS60b2]ṣām api maraṇāntaṃ100 jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ101 nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ ||102

ap1.­5

1.­5103 ye ‹’›pi te [TUL46b2] bhikṣavaḥ rājānaḥ kṣatriyāś ca [PDP223a3] mūrddhābhiṣiktā104 jāna­padaiśvaryasthāma­vīryam105 anuprāptā ma­[RASA60b3]­hāntaṃ pṛthvī­maṇḍalam abhinirjityāvasanti ‹|› teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryava­[TUL46b3]­sānaṃ106 nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ ||107

ap1.­6

1.­6108 ye ’pi te bhikṣava109 ṛṣayo vānaprasthāḥ110 pramu­[RAS60b4]­ktaphalāhārā­[PDP223a4]ḥ pramukta­phala­bhojinaḥ111 pramukta­phalena yāpa‹ya›nti112 ‹|› teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ113 maraṇa­parya­[TUL46b4]­vasānaṃ114 nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ ||115

ap1.­7

1.­7 ye ’pi te bhikṣavaḥ116 kā­[RAS60b5]­māvacarā devāś cāturmahā­rājikā117 devās trayastriṃśā118 devā119 yāmā120 devās121 tuṣitā devā122 [PDP223a5] nirmāṇaratayo123 devāḥ124 paranirmitava­[TUL46b5]­śavarttino devās; teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jī[RAS60b6]vita‹ṃ›125 maraṇaparyavasānaṃ126 nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ ||127

ap1.­8

1.­8 ye ‹’›pi te bhikṣavo128 rūpiṇo129 devāḥ prathama­dhyāna­lābhino130 brahmakāyikā131 brahmapurohi­[TUL46b6]­tā brahmapārṣadyā132 [PDP223a6] mahābrahmā­[RAS61a1]­ṇaḥ133 ‹|› dvitīya­dhyāna­lābhinaḥ134 parīttā{śu}bhā135 apramāṇā{śu}bhā136 ābhāsvarās;137 tṛtīya­dhyāna­lābhinaḥ138 parīttaśubhā139 apramāṇaśubhāḥ140 [TUL46b7] śubhakṛtsnā‹ś›;141 caturthadhyānalābhino142 ’nabhrakāḥ143 pu­[RAS61a2]­ṇyaprasavā bṛhatphalā144 asaṃjñisatvā145 abṛhā atapāḥ [PDP223a7] sudṛśāḥ146 sudarśanā147 akaniṣṭhāś ca148 devās; teṣām api [TUL47a1] maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ149 nāsti jātasyāma­[RAS61a3]­raṇaṃ ||150

ap1.­9

1.­9 ye ‹’›pi te bhikṣavo151 ’rūpiṇo152 devā ākāśānantyāyatanopagā153 vijñānānantyāyatanopagā154 ākiñcanyāya­[PDP223a8]­tanopagā155 [TUL47a2] naiva­saṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatanopagāś156 ca157 devāś158 ca159 ‹|› [RAS61a4] teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ160 hi jīvitaṃ161 maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ ||162 traidhātukam idaṃ163 ||164

ap1.­10

1.­10 ye ’pi te bhikṣavo165 ’rhantaḥ kṣīṇāśravā166 [TUL47a3] kṛtakṛtyāḥ kṛtakaraṇīyā167 apahṛ­[RAS61a5]­tabhārā168 [PDP223a9] anuprāpta­svakārthāḥ169 parikṣīṇa­bhava­saṃyojanāḥ170 samyagājñāsuvimukta­cittāḥ171 sarva­cetovaśi­parama­pāramitāprāptās;172 teṣām api173 kāyā174 [TUL47a4] nikṣepaṇadharmāḥ175 ||176

ap1.­11

1.­11 [RAS61a6] ye ‹’›pi te bhikṣavaḥ pratyekabuddhāḥ177 khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpā ekam ātmāna‹ṃ›178 damayanti179 [PDP223a10] ekam ātmānaṃ180 śamayanti181 ekam ātmānaṃ parinirvāpayanti182 ‹|› teṣām apy ayaṃ kāyo183 nikṣe[TUL47a5]paṇa[RAS61b1]dharmaḥ184 ||185

ap1.­12

1.­12 ye ‹’›pi te bhikṣavas186 tathāgatā arhantaḥ samyaksaṃbuddhā187 daśabalabalinaḥ188 udārārṣabhāḥ189 samyaksiṃha­nādanādinaś190 catur­vaiśāradya­‹viśaradā›191 dharmā­[PDP223a11]­rohaṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ192 |193 sarva­[TUL47a6]­dharma­[RAS61b2]­deśanāvaiśāradyaṃ194 |195 nirvāṇa­mārgāvatāraṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ196 |197 āśrava­jñāna­prahāṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ198 |199 {viśadā}­dṛḍha­nārāyaṇa­saṃhatakāyās;200 teṣām apy ayam kāyo201 nikṣepaṇadharmaḥ202 ||203

ap1.­13

1.­13 tadya­[TUL47a7]­thāpi [RAS61b3] nāma bhikṣavaḥ kumbhakāra­[PDP223b1]­kṛtāni204 bhāṇḍāni205 āmāni206 vā pakvāni207 vā208 bhedana­paryantāni209 bhedana­paryavasānāny;210 evam211 eva bhikṣavaḥ sarveṣāṃ satvānāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ212 prā­[RAS61b4]­ṇi­[TUL47b1]­nāṃ213 maraṇāntaṃ214 hi215 jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ216 ||

ap1.­14

1.­14 idam217 avoca­[PDP223b2]­d bhagavān; idam218 uktvā219 sugato hy athāpara‹ṃ› uvāca220 śāstā ||

anityā bata saṃskārā u­[RAS61b5]­tpādavyayadharmi­[TUL47b2]­ṇaḥ221 |222

utpadya223 hi nirudhyante224 teṣāṃ vyupaśamaḥ225 sukhaṃ ||226

yathā hi227 kumbhakāreṇa mṛttikābhājanaṃ228 kṛtaṃ229 |230
sarvam231 bhedanaparyantaṃ satvānāṃ232 jīvitaṃ233 tathā234 ||235

[PDP223b3] yathā [RAS61b6] phalānāṃ pakvānāṃ236 śaśvat237 patanato bha[TUL47b3]yaṃ238 |239
tathā240 saṃskārajāḥ241 satvānāṃ242 nityaṃ243 maraṇato bhayaṃ244 ||245

sarve kṣayāntā246 nicayāḥ247 patanāntā‹ḥ›248 samucchrayāḥ |249
saṃyogāś ca viyogāntā250 ma[RAS62a1]raṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ ||251

ap1.­15

1.­15 idam avoca[TUL47b4]d bhagavān252 āttamanā[PDP223b4]s253 te ca bhikṣavas te ca parṣado254 bhagavato255 bhāṣitam256 abhyanandan;257

ap1.­16

1.­16 ity āryānityatāsūtraṃ258 samāptaṃ259 ||

ap2.

Appendix B

Transliteration of the RAS Manuscript
ap2.­1

Anityatāsūtra. Manuscript witness held in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society, London: Hodgson Collection, Ms. no. 55 (H. 147), folios 60a2–62a1. Yellow paper, 240 leaves, 6 lines, 39.0 x 10.5 cm, Nepalese akṣaras, dated 1791 ᴄᴇ.

ap2.­2

60a2
2 || oṃ namaḥ sarvajñā

ap2.­3

3 ya || evam mayā śrutam ekasmi samaye bhagavāṃ śrāvastyāṃ viharati sma jetavane ’nāthapiṇḍasyārāme mahatā bhikṣusaṃghena sārddha trayodaśabhir bhikṣuśataiḥ tatra khalu bha

ap2.­4

4 gavān bhikṣūn āmantrayate sma || anitā bhikṣavaḥ sarvasaskārā adhruvā anāsvāsikā viparināma­dharmānaḥ || yad yāvad bhikṣavaḥ sarvvebhyaḥ saṃskārebhyo ’laṃ nirva=

ap2.­5

5 tum alaṃ viraktam alam vimoktuṃ | sarveṣām satvānāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ prāṇinām āmaranāntaṃ hi jivita maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ ra ye pi te bhikṣa

ap2.­6

6 vo gṛhapatayo mahāsālakulā brāhmaṇa­mahā­sāla­kulā kṣatriyo mahāsākulā āsāṃ mahādhanā mahābhogāḥ prabhūtamaṇimā niṣkamuktā­vaiḍūryyaśaṃkha­śilāpravā=

ap2.­7

60b
1 lajātarūpara­jatavittopakaraṇāḥ prabhūta­dhana­dhānya­koṣṭhakoṣṭhāgāra­saṃnicayāḥ prabhūta­dāsidāsa­karma­karapauraṣeyāḥ prabhūtam­itrāmātya­jñātisārohitās te

ap2.­8

2 ṣām api maraṇāntaṃ jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ rājānaḥ kṣatriyāś ca mūrddhnābhiṣiktā jāna­padaiśvaryāsthāma­vīryam anuprāptā ma

ap2.­9

3 hāntaṃ pṛthvīmaṇḍalam abhinirjityāvasanti teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye ’pi te bhikṣava ṛṣayo vānaprasthāḥ pramu=

ap2.­10

4 ktaphalāhārāḥ pramukta­phala­bhojinaḥ pramuktaphalena yāpanti teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jivitaṃ maraṇa­paryavaṃsānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye ’pi te bhikṣavaḥ kā

ap2.­11

5 māvacarā devāś cātumahārājikā devās trayatriṃsā devā yāmā devās tuṣitā devā nirmānaratayo devāḥ paranirmita­vaśavarttino devās teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jī

ap2.­12

6 vita maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye pi te bhikṣavo rūpino devāḥ prathama­dhyāna­lābhino brahmakāyikā brahmapurohitā brahmapārṣadyā mahābrahmā{{dvi}}

ap2.­13

61a
1 ṇā dvitīya­dhyāna­lābhināḥ paritaśubhā apramānaśubhā ābhāsvarās tṛtīya­dhyāna­lābhinaḥ paritaśubhā apramānaśubhāḥ śubhakṛtsnā caturdhyāna­lābhino ’nabhrakāḥ pu=

ap2.­14

2 ṇyaprasavā bṛhatphalā asaśisatvābṛhā atapāḥ sudarśāḥ sudarśaṇā akaniṣṭāś ca devās teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāma=

ap2.­15

3 raṇaṃ | ye pi te bhikṣavo ’rūpino devā ākāśānaṃtyāyatanopagā vijñānānaṃtyāyatanopagā ākiṃcityāyatanopagā naiva­saṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatanopagāś ca devāś ca

ap2.­16

4 teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | traidhātukam idaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣavo ’rhantaḥ kṣīṇāśravā kṛtakṛtyāḥ kṛtakaraṇīyā apahṛ

ap2.­17

5 tabhārā ānuprā‹‹pta››­svakārthāḥ parikṣīṇa­bhava­saṃyojanāḥ samyagājñāsuvimukta­cittāḥ sarva­cetovasi­parama­pāramitāprāptās teṣāṃ api kāyā nikṣepanadharmāḥ |

ap2.­18

6 ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ pratyakaka­buddhāḥ khaḍga­viṣāṇakalpā ekam ātmāna damanti ekam ātmānaṃ samayanti ekam ātmānaṃ parinivāpayanti teṣāṃ apy ayaṃ kāyo nikṣepaṇa

ap2.­19

61b
1 dharmaḥ | ye pi te bhikṣavas tathāgatā arhantaḥ samyaksambuddhā daśa­balabalinaḥ udārārṣabhāḥ samyaksiṃha­nādanādinaś catuvaiśāradya dharmārohaṇā­vaiśāradyaṃ | sarvadharma

ap2.­20

2 deśanāvaiśāradyaṃ | nirvāṇa­mārgavatāraṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ | āśrava­jñāna­prahāṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ | viśadādṛḍha­nārāyana­saṃhatakāyāś teṣāṃ apy ayaṃ kāyo nikṣepanadharmaḥ | tadyathāpi

ap2.­21

3 nāma bhikṣavaḥ kumbhākārakṛtāni bhāṇḍā āmāni vā pakkāni vā bhedanaparyyantāni bhedanaparyavaśāny evam eva bhikṣavaḥ sarveṣāṃ satvānāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtāṇāṃ sarveṣāṃ prā=

ap2.­22

4 ṇināṃ maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || idam avocad bhagavān idam uktyo sugato hy athāparā ’vāca śāstā || anityā bata saṃskārā u

ap2.­23

5 tpādavyayadhārminaḥ | utpadya hi nirūdhyante teṣāṃ vyupasamaḥ sukhaṃ || yathā hi kumbhakāreṇa mṛttikābhājanaṃ kṛtaṃ | sarvam bhedanapartantaṃ satvānāṃ jivitaṃ tathā || yathā =

ap2.­24

6 phalānāṃ pakkānāṃ śaśva‹‹taṃ›› patanato bhayaṃ | tathā saskārājāḥ satvā‹‹nāṃ›› nityaṃ maraṇato bhāyaṃ || sarvve kṣayāntā nicayāḥ patanāntā samucchrayāḥ | saṃyogāś ca viyogāntā ma

ap2.­25

62a
1 raṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ || || idam avocad bhagavānn ātamanās te ca bhikṣavas te ca parṣado bhgavato bhāṣitam abhyanandan ity āryānityatāsūtraṃ samāptaṃ || ○ || ※ ||

ap3.

Appendix C

Transliteration of the TUL Manuscript
ap3.­1

Anityatāsūtra. Manuscript witness held in the collection of the Tokyo University Library, Tokyo. Kawaguchu and Takakusu Collection, Ms. 416 No. 8, folios 46a3–47b4. White paper, 117 leaves, 7 lines, 38.4 x 10.6 cm, Nepalese akṣaras, undated (~nineteenth century).

ap3.­2

46a
3 || oṃ namaḥ sarvajñāya || evam mayā

ap3.­3

4 śrutam, ekasmin samaya bhagavān* śrāvastyāṃ viharati sma | jetavane nātha­piṇḍasyārāme mahatā bhikṣusaṃghena sārddhan* trayodaśabhir bhikṣuśataiḥ tatra khalu bhagavān* bhikṣūnām āmantrayate

ap3.­4

5 sma | anitā bhikṣavaḥ sarvasaṃskārā adhruvā anāsvāsikā vipariṇāma­dharmānaḥ | yad yāvad bhikṣavaḥ sarvebhyaḥ saṃskārebhya laṃ nirvatum alaṃ viraktam alaṃ vimoktuṃ | sarveṣām satvā

ap3.­5

6 nāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ prāṇinām āmaraṇanāṃtaṃ hi jīvita maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti tasyāmaraṇaṃ ra ye pi te bhikṣavo gṛhapatayo mahāsālakulā brāhmaṇamahāsāla

ap3.­6

7 kulā kṣatriyo mahāsālakulā āsāṃ mahādhanā mahābhogāḥ prabhūtamaṇimā niṣkamuktā­vaiḍūryyaśaṃkha­silā­pravāla­jātavittopakaraṇāḥ prabhūta­dhana­dhānya­koṣṭhakoṣṭhāṃ

ap3.­7

46b
1 gārasanniccayāḥ prabhūta­dāsidāsa­karma­karapauraṣeyāḥ prabhūta­mitrāmātya­jñāti­sālohitās teṣām api maraṇāṃtaṃ jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye pi te

ap3.­8

2 bhikṣavaḥ rājānaḥ kṣatriyāś ca mūrddhnābhiṣiktā jāna­padaiśvaryāsthāma­viryam anuprāptā mahāntaṃ pṛthvīmaṇḍalam abhinirjityāvasanti teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇaparyava=

ap3.­9

3 sānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye pi te bhikṣava ṛṣayo vānapasthāḥ pramukta­phalāhārāḥ pramuktaphale bhojinaḥ pramuktaphalena yāpanti teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇaparyaṃ

ap3.­10

4 vasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ kāmāvacarā devāś cātumahārājikā devās traye triṃśā devā yāmā devās tuṣitā devā nirmāṇaratayo devāḥ paranirmitava=

ap3.­11

5 śavarttino devās teṣām api maraṇāṃtaṃ hi jivita maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye pe te bhikṣavo rūpino devāḥ prathama­dhyānarābhino brāhmakāyikā brahmapurohi

ap3.­12

6 tā brahmapārṣadhyā mahābra[hma]nā dvitiya­dhyāna­lābhinaḥ paritaśubhā apramānaśubhā ābhāsvarās tṛtīya­dhyāna­lābhinaḥ paritaśubhā apranaśubhā ābhāsvarās tṛtīya­dhyana­rābhinaḥ

ap3.­13

7 paritaśubhā apramānaśubhāḥ śubhakṛtsnā caturtha­dhyāna­lābhino nabhrakāḥ punyaprasavā bṛhat*phalā asaṃgītvā abṛhātapāḥ sudarśāḥ sudarśanā akaniṣṭāś ca devās teṣāṃ api

ap3.­14

47a
1 maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇaparyavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | ye pi te bhikṣavo rūpino devā ākāśānaṃ*tyāyatanopagā vijñānānaṃtyāyatanopagā ākiṃciṃtyāyatanopagā

ap3.­15

2 naivasaṃjñānām asaṃjñāyatanopagāś ca devāś ca teṣām api maraṇāṃtaṃ hi jīvita maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ | traidhātukam idaṃ ye pi te bhikṣavo rhantaḥ kṣīṇāśravā

ap3.­16

3 kṛtakṛtyāḥ kṛtakaraṇīyā apahitabhārā anuprāsvakārthāḥ parikṣīna­bhava­saṃyojanāḥ samyagājñāsuvimukta­cittāḥ sarva­cetovasi­parama­pāramitāprāptā‹‹s teṣā››m api kāyā

ap3.­17

4 nikṣapadharmāḥ || ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ pratyekabuddhāḥ khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpā ekam ātmā damaṃti ekam ātmānaṃ samayanti ekam ātmānaṃ parinirvāpayanti teṣāṃ apy ayaṃ kāyo nikṣa

ap3.­18

5 panadharmaḥ | ye pi te bhikṣavas tathāgatā arhantaḥ samyaskaṃbuddhā daśabalabalinaḥ udārāṣabhāḥ samyak*siṃha­nādanādinaś catuvaiśāradya dharmārohana­vaiśāradyaṃ | sarvadha

ap3.­19

6 dharma­dyasanāvaiśāradyaṃ | nirvāṇa­mārgavatāraṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ || āśrava­jñāna­prahāṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ | viśadhā­dṛḍha­nārāyaṇa­saṃhatakāyās teṣāṃ apy ayaṃ kāyo nikṣapanadharmaḥ || tadya

ap3.­20

7 thāpi nāma bhikṣavaḥ kuṃbhākārakṛtāni bhāṇḍā āmāni vā bakkāni vā bhedana­paryantāni bhedana­paryavaśany avam eva bhikṣavaḥ sarveṣāṃ satvānāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ prāṇī

ap3.­21

47b
1 nā amarānāṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || idaṃm avocad bhagavān idam uktyo sugato hy athāparāvāca śāstā || anityā bata saṃskārā utpādavyadhārmi

ap3.­22

2 naḥ | utpadya hi nirudhyante teṣāṃ vyapasamaḥ sukhaṃ | yathā hi kuṃbha­kāreṇa mṛtikābhājanaṃ kṛta | sarvam bhedanaparyantaṃ satvānāṃ jītan tathā | yathā phalānāṃ kkānāṃ śaśvat patanato =

ap3.­23

3 yaṃ || tathā saskārajāḥ satvā nitya maraṇato bhayaṃ || sarve kṣāyāṃ niścayāḥ patanāntā samucchrayāḥ | saṃyogaś ca viyogāntā maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ || || idam avoca

ap3.­24

4 d bhagavānn ātamanās te ca bhikśavas te ca parṣado bhagavato bhāṣitam abhyanaṃdan ity āryānityatāsutraṃ samāptaṃ || || 8 ||

ap4.

Appendix D

Transliteration of the PDP Manuscript
ap4.­1

Anityatāsūtra. Manuscript witness held in the private collection of Mr. Padmajyoti Dhakhwa of Patan, folios 222b10–223b4. Yellow paper, 11 lines, Nepalese akṣaras, undated (~nineteenth century).

ap4.­2

222b
9 ||

ap4.­3

10 oṃ namaḥ sarvsjñāya || evaṃ mayā śrutam ekasmin samaye bhgavān* śrāvastyāṃ viharati sma || jetavane nātha­piṇḍasyārāme mahatā bhikṣusaṃghena sārddhaṃ trayodaśabhir bhikṣuśataiḥ || tatra khalu bhagavān* bhikṣūn āmantrayate sma || anit*yā bhikṣavaḥ sarva

ap4.­4

11 saṃskārā adruvā anāśvāsikā vipariṇāma­dharmānaḥ || ye yāvat bhikṣavaḥ sarvebhyaḥ saṃskārebhyo laṃ nivartum alaṃ viraktam alaṃ vimoktuṃ || sarveṣāṃ satvānāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ prāṇīnāṃ āmaraṇāntaṃ hi jīvita maraṇa­paryavasānāṃ nāsti

ap4.­5

223a
1 jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣavo gṛhapatayo mahāśālakulā brāhmaṇa­mahā­śāla­kulā • āsāṃ mahādhano mahābhogāḥ prabhūta­maṇimāniṣkamuktā­vaiḍūrya­śaṃkha­śilā­pravāla­jātarūpa­rajatavit*topakaraṇāḥ

ap4.­6

2 prabhūta­dhana­dhānya­kośa­koṣṭāgārasannicayāḥ prabhūta­dāsīdāsa­karma­karapauruṣeyāḥ prabhūta­mitrāmāt*ya­jñāti­sālohitās teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ rājānaḥ kṣatriyāś ca

ap4.­7

3 mūrddhābhiṣiktā jāna­padaiśvaryyasthāma­vīryam anuprāptā mahāntaṃ pṛthvīmaṇḍalam abhinirjityāvasanti teṣāṃ api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryapasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ ṛṣayo vānaprasthāḥ pramukta­phalāhārā

ap4.­8

4 ḥ pramukta­phalabhojinaḥ pramuktaphalena yāpaṃti teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ kāmāvacarā devās cāturmahārajikā devās trayastriṃśā devā yāmā devās tuṣitā devā

ap4.­9

5 nirmāṇaratayo devāḥ paranirmita­vaśavarttino devās teṣāṃ api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryyavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣavo rūpiṇo devāḥ prathama­dhyānalābhino brahmakāyikā brahmapurohitā brahmapārṣadyā =

ap4.­10

6 mahābrahmāṇaḥ dvitīya­dhyāna­lābhinaḥ parītaśubhā apramāṇaśubhā ābhāsvarās tṛtīya­dhyāna­lābhinaḥ parītaśubhā apramāṇaśubhā śubhakṛtsnā caturtha­dhyāna­lābhino nabhrakāḥ punyaprasavā bṛhatphalā asaṃjñisatvā abṛhā atapāḥ

ap4.­11

7 sudṛśāḥ sudarśanā akaniṣṭāś ca devās teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryyavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || ye pi te bhikṣava ārūpiṇo devā ākāśānant*yāyatanopagā vijñānānant*yāyatanopagā ākiñcanyāya

ap4.­12

8 tanopagā naiva­saṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatanopagāś ca devās teṣām api maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇaṃ || traidhātukam idaṃ || ye ’pi te bhikṣavo ’rhantaḥ kṣīṇāsravāḥ kṛtakṛt*yāḥ kṛtakaraṇīyā apahṛtabhārā

ap4.­13

9 anuprāpta­svakārthāḥ parikṣīṇa­bhava­saṃyojanāḥ samyagājñāsuvimuktacit*tā sarva­cetovaśi­parama­pāramitāprāptās teṣāṃ api kāya nikṣepaṇadharmāḥ || ye pi te bhikṣavaḥ pratyekabuddhāḥ khaḍga­viṣāṇakalpā ekam ātmāna damayanti

ap4.­14

10 ekam ātmāna śamayanti ekam ātmānaṃ parinirvāyanti teṣāṃ apy ayaṃ kāyo nikṣepaṇadharmaḥ || ye pi te bhikṣavas tathāgatā arhantaḥ samyaksaṃbuddhā daśa­balabalinaḥ udārārṣabhāḥ samyaksiṃha­nādanādinaś caturvaiśāradya dharmā

ap4.­15

11 rohaṇavaiśārdyaṃ || sarva­dharma­deśanā­vaiśāradyaṃ || nirvāṇa­mārgāvatāraṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ || āśrava­jñāna­prahāṇa­vaiśāradyaṃ || viśadā­dṛḍha­nārāyaṇa­saṃhatakāyās teṣām apy kāyo nikṣepanadharmaḥ || tadyathāpi nāma bhikṣavaḥ kumbhakāra

ap4.­16

223b
1 kṛtāni bhāṇḍāni āmāmi vā pakvāni vā bhedana­paryyantāni bhedana­paryavasānāny evam eva bhikṣavaḥ sarveṣāṃ satvānāṃ sarveṣāṃ bhūtānāṃ sarveṣāṃ prāṇināṃ āmaraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ maraṇa­paryavasānaṃ nāsti jātasyāmaraṇṃ || idam avoca

ap4.­17

2 d bhagavān idam ukto sugato hy athāparo vāca śāstā || anit*yā bata saṃskārā utpādavyayadhārmiṇaḥ || utpādya hi nirudhyante teṣāṃ vyapaśamaḥ sukhaṃ || yathā hi kumbhakāreṇa mṛt*tikābhājanaṃ kṛtaṃ || sarvaṃ bhedanaparyantaṃ satvānāṃ jīvitaṃ tathā

ap4.­18

3 yathā phalānāṃ pakvānāṃ śaśvat patanato bhayaṃ || tathā saṃskārajāḥ satvā nit*yaṃ maraṇato bhayaṃ || sarve kṣayāntā nicayāḥ patanāntā samucchrayāḥ || saṃyogāś ca viyogāntā maraṇāntaṃ hi jīvitaṃ || || idam avocad bhagavān āt*tmanā

ap4.­19

4 s te ca bhikṣavas te ca parṣado bhagavato bhāṣitam abhyanandann ity āryānit*yatāsūtraṃ samāptaṃ || 596 ||

ap5.

Appendix E

Sigla
[ ] square brackets: ‹‹ ›› double pointed brackets

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): addition by scribe (transliteration)

[ ] square brackets: {{ }} double curly brackets

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): deletion by scribe (transliteration)

[ ] square brackets: ○ small circle

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): circle symbol in ms. (transliteration)

[ ] square brackets: ※ crossed symbol

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): floral embellishment in ms. (transliteration)

[ ] square brackets: ‹ › pointed brackets

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): addition by editor (reconstruction)

[ ] square brackets: { } curly brackets

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): deletion by editor (reconstruction)

[ ] square brackets: underline

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): emendation of individual akṣara by editor (reconstruction)

[ ] square brackets: * asterisk

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): virāma

[ ] square brackets: • higher dot

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): dot like punctuation in ms.

[ ] square brackets: ; semicolon

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): punctuation added by editor where sandhi would make a daṇḍa impossible

[ ] square brackets: | vertical bar

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): daṇḍa

[ ] square brackets: || double vertical bar

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): double daṇḍa

[ ] square brackets: ’a

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): avagraha

[ ] square brackets: = equal sign

damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration): filler mark

[ ] square brackets damaged akṣaras or uncertain readings (transliteration)
‹‹ ›› double pointed brackets addition by scribe (transliteration)
{{ }} double curly brackets deletion by scribe (transliteration)
○ small circle circle symbol in ms. (transliteration)
※ crossed symbol floral embellishment in ms. (transliteration)
‹ › pointed brackets addition by editor (reconstruction)
{ } curly brackets deletion by editor (reconstruction)
underline emendation of individual akṣara by editor (reconstruction)
* asterisk virāma
• higher dot dot like punctuation in ms.
; semicolon punctuation added by editor where sandhi would make a daṇḍa impossible
| vertical bar daṇḍa
|| double vertical bar double daṇḍa
’a avagraha
= equal sign filler mark
ab.

Abbreviations

BHSD Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. (Edgerton, Franklin).
CTRC Manuscript witness of the Anityatāsūtra held in the collection of the China Tibetology Research Center.
DN Dīgha-nikāya (Rhys Davids, T. W., and J. Estlin Carpenter).
MPS Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra (Waldschmidt, Ernst).
MW Monier-Williams’s Sanskrit-English dictionary.
Ms. Manuscript.
Mvy Mahāvyutpatti (Ishihama, Yumiko and Yoichi Fukida).
NidSa Nidānasaṃyukta (Tripāṭhī, Chandrabhāl).
PDP Manuscript witness of the Anityatāsūtra held in the private collection of Mr. Padmajyoti Dhakhwa of Patan, folios 222b10–223b4.
PTS Pali Text Society, London.
PTSD The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary (Rhys Davids, T .W. and William Stede).
RAS Manuscript witness of the Anityatāsūtra held in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society, London: Hodgson Collection.
SN Saṃyutta-nikāya (Feer, Léon).
SWTF Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden. (Waldschmidt, Ernst, et al).
TUL Manuscript witness of the Anityatāsūtra held in the collection of the Tokyo University Library, Tokyo
UV Udānavarga (Bernhard, Franz).
ŚPrSū Śakrapraśnasūtra (Waldschmidt, Ernst).
n.

Notes

n.­1
These verses are also found nearly verbatim in the Anityavarga (“Chapter on Impermanence”) in the Udānavarga.
n.­2
These manuscripts are CTRC Box 111, No. 5, folios 13a2–14b2 and CTRC Box 1112, No. 5, pp. 23–24. Ven. Vinītā has edited and translated the first of these mss. and provided a transliteration of the second. See Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā 2010, pp. 170–206.
n.­3
National Archives, Kathmandu: NAK 3/589, No. 8, 35a36b = NGMPP A 131–9, A 861/13 (dated 1860 ᴄᴇ), and NAK 3/641, No. 396, 376v = NGMPP A 131–10 (undated, but likely from the nineteenth century). Further information on these mss. may be found in Hidas 2021, pp. 368–77 and 378–89. Both of these are Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha collections. Neither of these manuscripts has been studied and thus neither transliterations nor editions are available.
n.­4
Folios 222b10–223b4 of a Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha manuscript from the private collection of Mr. Padmajyoti Dhakhwa of Patan. The colophon was added later and does not provide an exact date, stating simply that the manuscript was copied “80 years ago by Pandit Ratna Bahadur Vajracharya.” It is not clear, however, when this colophon was added and thus it is impossible to calculate when it was copied. It seems very likely, though, that the manuscript was copied in the latter half of the nineteenth century. See Shakya 1988 for a transliteration. However, this transliteration contains many variances in readings from the actual manuscript and it is unclear whether these are misreadings or silent emendations by Shakya. The edition of the Anityatāsūtra found in the appendix of this translation is partially based upon this manuscript.
n.­5
Société Asiatique, no. 14(36) in Filliozat 1941/42. Filliozat notes that the Anityatāsūtra witness here is part of a larger collection which she describes as “Recueil de dhāraṇī, stotra, çataka, etc.” (“a collection of dhāraṇī, stotra, śataka, etc.”) dating from 1823 (Filliozat 1941/42, pp. 17–34). Although she does not state it, this is almost certainly a witness of the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha collection. A transliteration has been published in Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā 2010.
n.­6
Royal Asiatic Society, London: Hodgson Collection, Ms. no. 55 (H. 147), 60a2–62a1. This is from a Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha manuscript dated 1791 ᴄᴇ. The witness was edited in Yamada 1972. However, this edition is now rather dated and a number of misreadings are to be found. The edition of the Anityatāsūtra found in the appendix of this translation is partially based upon this manuscript.
n.­7
Tōyō Bunko, Tokyo, Ms. No. 13.7. This manuscript is undated and has not been studied as far as we are aware. Further information may be found in Hidas 2021, pp. 360–67.
n.­8
Tokyo University Library, Tokyo. Kawaguchi and Takakusu Collection, Ms. 416 No. 8. 46a3–47b4. Like the above witnesses, this Anityatāsūtra is again a component work within a Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha collection. No date is provided for this manuscript, but it is listed as “modern” in the catalog notes, which would suggest it was copied in the nineteenth century ᴄᴇ. This is confirmed when it is compared with the witnesses held by the Royal Asiatic Society, which is an earlier witness in the same manuscript copying tradition. This witness was edited in Yamada 1972 and Kimura 1985. However, both Yamada and Kimura’s editions are now dated and a number of misreadings and unexplained variances are to be found. Nonetheless, both editions provide helpful information, Kimura’s especially concerning a number of textual parallels. The edition of the Anityatāsūtra found in the appendix of this translation is partially based upon this manuscript. The manuscript has been digitized and the Anityatāsūtra folios may be found here.
n.­9
For information on the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha see Hidas 2021, which is a study on several manuscripts of this work.
n.­10
See the edition of the Anityatāsūtra in the appendix for further information on the relationship between these two manuscript witnesses.
n.­11
mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo rdzogs so and ity āryānityatāsūtraṃ samāptaṃ.
n.­12
These colophons are:
Lg29.4, mdo, Ha-L15 9b4–11b3: myi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo’ rdzogs s+ho / rgya gar kyi mkhan po ka ma la gub tra dang / zhu chen gyi lo tsha ba dge’ slong rin chen bzang pos bsgyur zhing zhus te gtan la phab pa /
Lg59.4, mdo, Ha-L97 10b1–12a6: mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo rdzogs s+ho / rgya gar gyi mkhan po ka ma la gub tra dang / zhu chen gi lo tsha ba rin chen bzang pos sgyur cing zhus te / gtan la phab pa /
Ng22.51, mdo, za 308b5–310a8: myi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo’ / rdzogs s+ho / rgya gar gi mkhan po ka ma la kub ta dang / zhu chen gi lo tsa ba dge slong rin chen bzang pos bsgyur cing zhus te / gtan la phab pa /
n.­13
See Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans., The Sūtra on Impermanence (1), Toh 309 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021).
n.­14
See, for example, the Jarāmaraṇasutta (SN I 71 (SN 3.3)) and Vepullapabbatasutta (SN II 191–193 (SN 15.20)) in the Saṃyuttanikāya, and the Mahāsudassanasutta (DN II 169–199 (DN 17)) in the Dīghanikāya.
n.­15
See, for example, (the Mūlasarvāstivāda) Mahā­parinirvāṇa­sūtra (MPS 48.14) and NidSa 7.3,4.
n.­16
Brough 1962, p. 41.
n.­17
Such as those found in 1.­8 and 1.­12.
n.­18
Sanskrit: “Oṃ, homage to the Omniscient One.”
n.­19
Both the great community of monks and their number is omitted in Tibetan. The Chinese reads 1,250: 千二百五十人, while the Sanskrit variously reads 1,300 or 1,250 in the Nepalese and Potala transmissions, respectively. It seems that at some point there was a corruption in the Sanskrit transmission where the number diverged from the Chinese, and I have emended the Sanskrit edition to follow the Chinese and CTRC: mahatā bhikṣusaṃghena sārddhan ‹ardha›­trayodaśabhir bhikṣuśataiḥ. Interestingly, the great community of monks is included in the other Anityatāsūtra preserved in the Kangyur, Toh 309, which shares the same opening frame narrative reading: dge slong gi dge ’dun chen po dang thabs cig tu.
n.­20
Sanskrit omits.
n.­21
Cf. MPS 48.14; NidSa 7.3,4; DN II 198.18–23; SN II 178; and SN III 147.
n.­22
Tibetan omits.
n.­23
Tibetan omits.
n.­24
Tibetan omits.
n.­25
Tibetan reads “even for them life concludes in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die” (gson pa’i mtha’ yang ’chi bar ’gyur ba ste/ skye nas ’chi bar mi ’gyur ba med do).
n.­26
Tibetan omits.
n.­27
Tibetan omits.
n.­28
Tibetan omits.
n.­29
Referring to fruit harvested from the ground, i.e., not cultivated through agriculture. Skt. carries the sense of plucked, released, i.e., fallen. Tib. carries the sense of fruit already on the ground.
n.­30
Tibetan reads “even for them life concludes in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die” (gson pa’i mtha’ yang ’chi bar ’gyur ba ste/ skye nas ’chi bar mi ’gyur ba med do).
n.­31
Tibetan omits.
n.­32
kāmāvacarāḥ (gods of the realm of desire) is omitted in Tibetan but necessary in context with the next two sections, which go on to elaborate the certain death of gods in the form realm and the formless realm.
n.­33
Tibetan omits.
n.­34
Literally “those gods possessing form.”
n.­35
Tibetan omits.
n.­36
Tibetan omits.
n.­37
The Tibetan switches the order of sudṛśa and sudarśana, reading shin tu mthong ba dang | gya nom snang dang. Note: this is the case in the translated passage in note 39.
n.­38
The Tibetan in this section treats each consecutive level of the form realm deities as its own paragraph with the requisite introductory phrase and the running refrain of the sūtra (“Those … even for them life concludes with death…”). Degé contains all four sections, 1.8a–d, but Peking omits 1.8a & b. This fourfold way of interpreting this passage is not ideal as it conflates the gods of the Pure Abodes into the enumeration of the gods of the fourth dhyāna as can be seen in 1.8d below. The translation of the Tibetan (Degé) is:
1.8a “Those gods of the form realm who have obtained the first dhyāna‍—those who attend Brahmā, those stationed before Brahmā, and those Great Brahmā gods‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.
1.8b “Those gods who have obtained the second dhyāna‍—those of limited radiance, [F.156.b] those of immeasurable radiance, and those who are radiant‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.
1.8c “Those gods who have obtained the third dhyāna‍—those of limited splendor, those of immeasurable splendor, and those of complete splendor‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.
1.8d “Those gods who have obtained the fourth dhyāna‍—those who are unclouded, those with abundant merit, those with great fruition, those who have a nature that is free from perception, and [those gods of the Pure Abodes]: those who are relatively not great, those without trouble, those of excellent appearance, those of excellent observation, and those who are highest‍—even for them life concludes with death, has its limit in death, for there is nothing that is born that will not die.”
n.­39
Tibetan omits.
n.­40
Literally “those gods without form.”
n.­41
Sanskrit: traidhātukam idam. This sentence is omitted in the Tibetan.
n.­42
Tibetan omits.
n.­43
Tibetan: yid du ’ong ba. This is not present in any Sanskrit witness where only kāya (“body”) is mentioned and is also omitted in Chinese.
n.­44
That is, subject to death.
n.­45
Tibetan omits.
n.­46
tshogs na spyod pa (vargacārin), omitted in all Sanskrit witnesses and Chinese. This is the second, less famous but more gregarious, of the two classes of pratyekabuddha.
n.­47
Again, “pleasing” is only found in the Tibetan and is missing from both the Sanskrit and Chinese. See n.­43.
n.­48
Tibetan omits.
n.­49
āśrava­jñāna­prahāṇavaiśāradyam. A less precise translation would be “confidence in their knowledge of the abandonment of negative influences.” This is a problematic phrase within this interpretation of the caturvaiśāradya that is unique to The Sūtra on Impermanence. The equivalent in the standard list of the four confidences would be sarvāśravakṣaya­jñānavaiśāradyam (s.v. this entry in Mvy 130 (S. 132)), “confidence in the knowledge of exhausting negative influences,” which seems to be the intended meaning of āśrava­jñāna­prahāṇavaiśāradyam. However, prahāṇa in Sanskrit Buddhist literature generally, and in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, is not related to the Sanskrit term prahāṇa (“abandonment”), but rather the Pali term padhāna (“effort”), an important technical term. It seems that whoever added this explanation of the four confidences in the Sanskrit transmission of The Sūtra on Impermanence conflated the correct BHS usage of prahāṇa for the standard Sanskrit usage. This may bolster the conclusion we take from the manuscript evidence that these four terms laying out the four confidences were possibly later additions to the text.
n.­50
Once again, “pleasing” is only found in the Tibetan and is missing from both the Sanskrit and Chinese. See n.­44 and n.­48.
n.­51
The order of the description of buddhas is slightly different between the Sanskrit and Tibetan, and the Sanskrit adds a passage laying out the four confidences. It seems that this was a later addition in an effort to make the four confidences clearer to the reader. Interestingly, the explanation provided in the Sanskrit is a unique list that differs in wording from the four confidences. See the noted discussion on caturvaiśāradyaviśaradā in ap1.­12 of the Sanskrit critical edition (note n.­191). The translation of the Tibetan (Degé) is:
1.12 “Those tathāgatas, [F.157.a] arhats, complete and perfect buddhas, mighty with the ten powers, confident in the four confidences, worthy of admiration, their bodies strong-limbed and firm like Nārāyaṇa, roaring a true lion’s roar‍—even for them their pleasing bodies are subject to being given up.”
n.­52
This analogy of the unavoidable destruction of pots, which makes up the first half of this section, is omitted in the Peking and Choné Kangyurs.
n.­53
UV 1.3.
n.­54
UV 1.4. This verse is not present in the Sanskrit witnesses.
n.­55
UV 1.12 (with slight differences). This verse is not present in the Tibetan.
n.­56
UV 1.11 (with slight differences). This verse is not present in the Tibetan.
n.­57
UV 1.22 (with very slight differences). This verse is not present in the Tibetan.
n.­58
This conclusion to the narrative frame is shared verbatim in the other Anityatāsūtra translation in the Degé Kangyur, Toh 309.
n.­59
ekasmi, RAS.
n.­60
samaya, TUL.
n.­61
bhagavāṃ, RAS.
n.­62
 |, TUL; RAS omits.
n.­63
°piṇḍadasyāme, CTRC (emended to °piṇḍadasyārāme). Shakya either incorrectly reads or silently emends to °piṇḍadasyārāme in his transliteration of PDP, which reads °piṇḍasyārāme along with RAS and TUL.
n.­64
sārddha, RAS; sārddhan, TUL; and sārddhaṃ, PDP.
n.­65
ardha°, CTRC. Yamada reads sārdham ardha­trayodaśabhir with a note indicating that ardha in his reading is supplied by the Chinese: 千二百五十人.
n.­66
RAS and TUL omit.
n.­67
bhikṣūnām, TUL.
n.­68
 |, TUL.
n.­69
anitā, RAS and TUL; anit*yā, PDP where a virāma is needlessly placed under the -t- ligature in the tyā conjunct. This virāma usage appears relatively often in the PDP manuscript. Yamada incorrectly notes that the anitā reading is only found in TUL (Yamada 1972, 31/1000 n. 7). anityā, CTRC.
n.­70
sarvasaskārā, RAS; sarvasaṃskārāḥ, CTRC.
n.­71
anāsvāsikā RAS and TUL; anāśvāsikā PDP and CTRC. Shakya reads anāsvāsikā in PDP, but it appears to be śvā in this manuscript.
n.­72
viparināma, RAS.
n.­73
 |, TUL.
n.­74
yad, RAS and TUL; ye, PDP; omitted, CTRC. Shakya reads yad in his transliteration of PDP, but this cannot be. It seems possible that he was relying to some extent upon Yamada’s earlier edition.
n.­75
sarvvebhyaḥ, RAS.
n.­76
samskārebhya, TUL.
n.­77
nirvatum, RAS and TUL; nivartum, PDP; nivarttitaṃ, CTRC. Shakya reads nirvartitum in his transliteration of PDP, which is either a misreading or a silent emendation.
n.­78
viratkam, RAS, TUL, and PDP; ‹vi›raktum, CTRC.
n.­79
alam, RAS.
n.­80
 |, RAS and TUL.
n.­81
sarveṣā, TUL.
n.­82
prānināṃ, TUL.
n.­83
āmaranāntaṃ, RAS; āmaraṇanāṃtaṃ, TUL; āmaraṇāntaṃ, PDP; maraṇānta‹ṃ›, CTRC. Shakya reads āmaraṇanta in his transliteration of PDP, missing the anusvara.
n.­84
jivita, RAS; jīvita, TUL and PDP; jīvitaṃ, CTRC.
n.­85
tasyāmaraṇaṃ, TUL.
n.­86
ra, RAS and TUL; ||, PDP. It appears both RAS and TUL suffered the same misreading in the copying tradition where a ra was copied instead of a daṇḍa here. This suggests that the manuscripts may descend from the same copying transmission. Kimura reads ca here in his edition of TUL (Kimura 1985, p. 98). While ca is not the correct reading, it does indeed bear a resemblance to ra. It seems he was perhaps trying to force a reading that made some sense.
n.­87
Cf. ŚPrSū 105: tatra yāni tāni kulāny āḍhyāni mahādhanāni mahābhogāni pra­bhūtavittopakaraṇāni prabhūtasvāpa­deyāni prabhūtadhana­dhānyakośakoṣṭhāgāra­saṁnicayāni prabhūtam­itrāmātyajñātisālohitāni prabhūtadāsīdāsa­karma­karapauruṣeyāṇi.
n.­88
The avagraha is missing in RAS, TUL (although no avagraha are used in this ms.), and PDP.
n.­89
CTRC omits.
n.­90
gṛhapatayo mahāsālakulā, RAS and TUL; gṛhapatayo mahāśākulā, PDP; gṛhapate­mahā­śalakhlāḥ, CTRC (emended to gṛhapati­mahā­śāla­kuklā).
n.­91
brāhmaṇa­mahā­sāla­kulā, RAS and TUL; °mahāśākulā, PDP; °sālakulāḥ, CTRC (emended to °mahāśālakulā).
n.­92
kṣatriyo mahāsākulā, RAS; kṣatriyo mahāsālakūla, TUL; kṣatriya­mahā­śākulā, PDP; kṣatriya­mahā­śāla­kulā{ḥ}, CTRC.
n.­93
āsāṃ, RAS, TUL, and PDP. Shakya incorrectly records āśāṃ in his transliteration of PDP. āḍhyā, CTRC, which seems to be the correct reading with āsāṃ a later corruption. Note, for example, DN I 134.22: aḍḍho mahaddhano mahābhogo.
n.­94
mahāhdano, PDP; mahādhanā{ḥ}, CTRC.
n.­95
There appears to have been some confusion here in the copying transmission of this work. prabhūta­maṇimāniṣka°, TUL and PDP (Shakya reads kya). Yamada reads ṣka in both RAS and TUL, but the akṣara conjunct in RAS seems to be an unsure kya where the scribe hedged his bet by making it also possibly discernable as ṣka. In the end, nkya is the reading that leads to a more coherent phrase and is used here. CTRC omits these words entirely.
n.­96
°śaṃkhasilā, TUL. TUL also omits rūparajata; prabhūta­jāta­rūpa­raja­tavittopakaraṇāḥ, CTRC omitting the first half of the compound.
n.­97
°koṣṭha­koṣṭhāgāra­saṃnicayāḥ, RAS; koṣṭha­koṣṭhāṃgāra­sanniccayāḥ, TUL; °kośa­koṣṭhāgāra­sannicayāḥ, PDP (Shakya incorrectly reads °koṣa° in his transliteration). CTRC omits this phrase. Yamada notes the reading in TUL but neglects to note the reading in RAS (Yamada 1972, 31/1000 n. 25). The same instance of either a simple error copying ṣṭa for śa or erroneous duplication of koṣṭha recorded in both RAS and TUL provides further evidence that these two manuscripts were produced within the same copying transmission.
n.­98
prabhūta­dāsidāsa­karma­kara­pauraṣeyāḥ, RAS and TUL; prabhūta­dāsīdāsa­karma­kara­pauruṣeyāḥ, PDP and CTRC (Shakya incorrectly reads °paurūṣeyo in his PDP transliteration).
n.­99
sārohitās, RAS.
n.­100
maraṇāṃtaṃ, TUL; maraṇānta‹ṃ›, CTRC.
n.­101
Shakya reads jīvita­maraṇaṃparya° in his transliteration of PDP but this cannot be.
n.­102
 |, RAS and TUL.
n.­103
CTRC omits this section.
n.­104
mūrddhnābhiṣiktā, RAS and TUL (Kimura reads mūrdhā° in his edition of TUL with no notation indicating this was an emendation). mūrddhābhiṣiktā, PDP.
n.­105
°padaiśvaryāsthāma­vīryam, RAS and TUL (Kimura reads jānapadaiś caryā sthāmavīryam). jānapadaiśvaryya°, PDP (Shakya reads jānapadai śvarya° in his PDP transliteration).
n.­106
°paryaṃvasānaṃ, TUL (neither Yamada nor Kimura note this unnecessary anusvāra). °paryapasānaṃ, PDP (Shakya reads °vasānaṃ in his PDP transliteration).
n.­107
 |, RAS and TUL.
n.­108
CTRC omits this section.
n.­109
bhikṣavaḥ, PDP.
n.­110
vānapasthāḥ, TUL.
n.­111
pramukta­phale bhojinaḥ, TUL.
n.­112
yāpaṃti, PDP (Shakya reads or perhaps emends yāpanti in his transliteration of PDP).
n.­113
jivitaṃ, RAS. Kimura emends to yāpayanti. While this section is missing in CTRC, Ven. Vinītā reports readings of yāpayanti in two other mss. (a second ms. witness at CTRC and a witness at the Société Asiatique).
n.­114
°paryaṃvasānaṃ, RAS and TUL.
n.­115
 |, RAS.
n.­116
CTRC omits.
n.­117
cātumahā°, RAS and TUL; cāturmahā°, PDP, °kāyikā, CTRC.
n.­118
trayatriṃsā, RAS; traye triṃśā, TUL; trayastriṃśā, PDP; trāyatriśā, CTRC (emended to trayastriṃśā).
n.­119
CTRC omits.
n.­120
Shakya reads nāmās in his PDP transliteration, omitting the following devās, which is certainly there in the manuscript.
n.­121
CTRC omits.
n.­122
CTRC omits.
n.­123
nirmānaratayo, RAS.
n.­124
CTRC omits.
n.­125
jīvita, RAS; jivita, TUL.
n.­126
°paryyavasānaṃ, PDP (Shakya reads °paryavasānaṃ).
n.­127
 |, RAS and TUL.
n.­128
CTRC omits.
n.­129
rūpino, RAS and TUL.
n.­130
°rābhino, TUL. Neither Yamada nor Kimura note the rā in their editions, silently emending to lā.
n.­131
brāhma°, TUL. Again, neither Yamada nor Kimura note this infelicity in their editions.
n.­132
brahmapārṣadyā, seen in RAS, TUL, and PDP, is omitted in both the Chinese and Tibetan. Shakya neglects to read brahmapārṣadyā in his PDP transliteration despite the fact that it is clearly attested (perhaps following the Tibetan?). brahmapāriṣadyā, CTRC.
n.­133
mahābrahma{{dvi}}ṇā, RAS; mahābra[hma]nā, TUL; mahābrahmāṇaḥ, PDP; mahābrahmaṇo, CTRC.
n.­134
dvitiya°, TUL.
n.­135
paritaśubhā, RAS and TUL; parītaśubhā, PDP (Shakya reads parītābhā); pārittābhā, CTRC (emended to parīttābhā).
n.­136
apramānaśubhā, RAS & TUL; apramāṇaśubhā, PDP (Shakya reads apramāṇābhā); apramāṇābhā, CTRC.
n.­137
Kimura misreads abhāsvarās, needlessly emending to ābhāsvarās. Shakya misreads ābhāśvarās when ābhāsvarās is clearly attested.
n.­138
tṛtīya­dhyāna­lābhineḥ, CTRC (emended to °lābhinaḥ).
n.­139
paritaśubhā, RAS and TUL; parītaśubhā, PDP; parīttaśubhā, CTRC.
n.­140
apramānaśubhāḥ, RAS; apranaśubhā, TUL; apramāṇaśubhā, PDP; apramāṇa{bhāḥ}śubhāḥ, CTRC. Yamada and Kimura both give incorrect readings for TUL with Yamada reporting that both RAS and TUL read apramāna° and Kimura reading apraṇa°. At this point in TUL a dittographical error appears where the previous phrase is copied again with new errors: ābhāsvarās tṛtīyadhyanarābhinaḥ paritaśubhā apramānaśubhāḥ. Yamada does not note the errors in the dittography while Kimura notes them incorrectly, falsely reporting °lobhinaḥ and apraṇaśubhā.
n.­141
°kṛtsnāś, CTRC.
n.­142
°lābhinaḥ, CTRC.
n.­143
Yamada erroneously states that RAS reads anabhakāḥ (Yamada 1972, 32/999 n. 54).
n.­144
bṛhataphala, CTRC.
n.­145
asaśisatvā, RAS; asaṃgītvā, TUL; asaṃjñisatvā, PDP (Shakya omits this word in his transliteration); asaṅgisattvā, CTRC.
n.­146
sudarśāḥ, RAS and TUL. Kimura silently emends (or misreads) sudṛśāḥ in his TUL edition. sudṛśāḥ, PDP and CTRC.
n.­147
sudarśanāḥ, CTRC (emended to sudarśanā).
n.­148
CTRC omits.
n.­149
°paryyavasānaṃ, PDP.
n.­150
 |, RAS and TUL.
n.­151
bhikṣava, PDP (Shakya reads bhikṣavaḥ); CTRC omits.
n.­152
’rūpino, RAS; rūpino, TUL; ārupiṇo, PDP; arupiṇo, CTRC.
n.­153
ākāśānaṃtyāyatanopagā, RAS; ākāśānaṃ*tyāyatanopagā, TUL; ākāśānant*yāyatanopagā, PDP (Shakya reads ākāśānantāyatanopagā); ākāśānantyayatanopagā, CTRC.
n.­154
vijñānānaṃtyā°, RAS and TUL; vijñānānant*yā°, PDP (Shakya reads vijñānantyā°); vijñānānantyāyatanopagā{ḥ}, CTRC.
n.­155
ākiṃcityā°, RAS; ākiṃciṃtyā°, TUL (Yamada does not note this reading but Kimura does); akiñcinyā°, CTRC.
n.­156
naivasaṃjñānām asaṃjñā°, TUL; °sa‹ṃ›jñāyatanopagāḥ, CTRC.
n.­157
CTRC omits.
n.­158
devās, PDP; CTRC omits.
n.­159
PDP and CTRC omit.
n.­160
maraṇāṃtam, TUL.
n.­161
jīvita, TUL.
n.­162
 |, RAS and TUL.
n.­163
The Tibetan omits this phrase. The Chinese reads it as beginning the next section, which is not ideal.
n.­164
 ||, RAS and PDP. There is no daṇḍa in TUL.
n.­165
CTRC omits.
n.­166
kṣīṇāsravāḥ, PDP.
n.­167
kṛtakaraṇīyā{ḥ}, CTRC.
n.­168
apahitabhārā, PDP; apakṛtabhārāḥ, CTRC.
n.­169
anuprāsvakārthāḥ, TUL. Indeed, in RAS we find ānuprā‹‹pta››svakārthāḥ with pta added later. This, as well as the additional errors introduced in TUL not present in RAS, further suggests that RAS is the older witness in the copying transmission in which RAS and TUL are both almost surely instances.
n.­170
parikṣīna°, TUL. Neither Yamada nor Kimura note this reading.
n.­171
CTRC omits.
n.­172
sarvacetovasi°, RAS and TUL (Kimura reads sarvacetovaśi° likely in a silent emendation); CTRC omits.
n.­173
apy āyaṃ, CTRC.
n.­174
kāya, PDP; kāyo, CTRC. yid du ’ong ba’i lus, Tib. (manojñākāya).
n.­175
nikṣepana°, RAS (Yamada does not note this reading); nikṣapa°, TUL (neither Yamada nor Kimura note this reading, silently emending to nikṣepaṇa°); nikṣepadharmmāḥ, CTRC.
n.­176
 |, RAS.
n.­177
pratyaka°, RAS.
n.­178
ātmāna, RAS and PDP; ātmā, TUL; ātmānaṃ, CTRC.
n.­179
damanti, RAS; damaṃti, TUL; damayaṃti, CTRC.
n.­180
ātmāna, PDP.
n.­181
samayanti, RAS and TUL. Shakya reads śamayati in his transliteration of PDP but śamayanti is quite clear.
n.­182
parinivāpayanti, RAS; parinirvāyanti, PDP.
n.­183
yid du ’ong ba’i lus, Tib. (manojñākāya).
n.­184
nikṣapanadharmaḥ, TUL. Neither Yamada nor Kimura note this reading.
n.­185
 |, RAS and TUL.
n.­186
CTRC omits.
n.­187
samyaskaṃbuddhā, TUL.
n.­188
°balina, CTRC.
n.­189
udārāṣabhāḥ, TUL. Neither Yamada nor Kimura note this reading. udārabhava, CTRC. Shakya incorrectly reads udārārṣamāḥ in his transliteration of PDP.
n.­190
samyak{a}°, CTRC. Shakya reads °nādineś in his transliteration of PDP.
n.­191
catuvaiśāradya, RAS and TUL. Kimura does not note this reading in TUL. mi ’jigs pa bzhis bsnyengs pa mi mnga’ ba, Tib. CTRC diverges here from the other mss., omitting the following four items. Ven. Vinītā reads catu‹r›­vaiśāradya­viśāradā dṛḍhanārāyaṇa° here in what is an earlier transmission of this work. It may be that these four confidences were expanded in later transmissions such as we see in RAS, TUL, and PDP. Ven. Vinītā reads viśāradā as the final member of a compound here, but due to the additional four terms in RAS, TUL and PDP we find the very similar viśadā instead as the initial member of a compound before dṛḍhanārāyaṇa°. It would not be difficult to see viśāradā becoming viśadā as is the reading in the other mss. where the intervening four words are not omitted, and it is likely that this is just what happened with what should be the final member of a compound being split by the addition of the four vaiśāradas. I have emended the reading accordingly to restore the compound.
n.­192
dharmārohana°, TUL; CTRC omits.
n.­193
 ||, PDP.
n.­194
sarvadha­dharmadyasanā°, TUL. Yamada does not note this dittography of dha and metathetical dyasa for deśa. Kimura somewhat confusingly reads sarva­dharmābhyasana° missing the dittographical error completely and reading bhya for dya and na for nā. CTRC omits.
n.­195
 ||, PDP.
n.­196
nirvāṇamārga°, RAS and TUL; CTRC omits. Shakya reads °mārga° in his PDP transliteration.
n.­197
 ||, TUL and PDP; CTRC omits.
n.­198
CTRC omits.
n.­199
 ||, PDP.
n.­200
°nārāyana°, RAS. °sa‹ṃ›hatana°, CTRC. See n.­191 for peculiarities in how this phrase has been transmitted.
n.­201
yid du ’ong ba’i sku, Tib. (manojñākāya). Note that the previous two instances in ap1.­10 and ap1.­11 read lus instead of sku. Stok Palace here reads yid du mi ’ong ba’i.
n.­202
nikṣepana°, RAS and PDP (Shakya reads nikṣepaṇa, but this is impossible); nikṣapana°, TUL. °dharmmāḥ, CTRC.
n.­203
 |, RAS.
n.­204
kumbhākāra°, RAS; kuṃbhākāra° TUL (Kimura reads kuṃbha°); kumbhakāra°, PDP and CTRC.
n.­205
bhāṇḍā, RAS & TUL.
n.­206
Shakya misreads śrāmāni in his PDP transliteration.
n.­207
pakkāni, RAS; bakkāni, TUL. Yamada reads pakvāni (RAS) and vakvāni (TUL). Kimura reads vakkāni and emends to vakrāni. Interestingly, RAS and TUL both appear to transmit the Pali equivalent, pakkāni, for the Sanskrit pakvāni seen in both PDP and CTRC. See n.­236.
n.­208
vā sarvāni tāni, CTRC.
n.­209
°paryyantāni, RAS and PDP (Shakya reads °paryantāni). CTRC omits.
n.­210
°paryavaśāny, RAS and TUL.
n.­211
avam, TUL. Yamada does not note this reading; Kimura does but emends to ayam.
n.­212
Shakya overlooks this in his PDP transliteration.
n.­213
prāṇīnā, TUL. Yamada reads prāṇinā.
n.­214
amarānāṃ, TUL; āmaraṇāntaṃ, PDP.
n.­215
CTRC omits.
n.­216
jātasya°, CTRC.
n.­217
Shakya misreads īdam in his PDP transliteration.
n.­218
Shakya oddly reads a double -n- for bhagavān nidam in his PDP transliteration.
n.­219
uktyo, RAS and TUL; ukto, PDP; uktvā, CTRC.
n.­220
°parā ’vāca, RAS; athāparāvāca, TUL; °paro vāca, PDP; athāparam etad uvāca, CTRC.
n.­221
°dhārminaḥ, RAS and TUL; °dhārmiṇaḥ, PDP.
n.­222
 ||, PDP.
n.­223
utpādya, PDP.
n.­224
nirūdhya°, RAS. Yamada does not note the correct reading of nirudhya° in TUL and thus reads following RAS in his edition.
n.­225
°samaḥ, RAS and TUL.
n.­226
 |, TUL. This verse is not present in CTRC and appears verbatim in UV 1.3.
n.­227
yathāpi, CTRC and UV (1.12).
n.­228
mṛti°, TUL. Shakya reads mutti° in his PDP transliteration. mṛ{r}tttikā°, CTRC.
n.­229
kṛta, TUL.
n.­230
 ||, PDP.
n.­231
sarvaṃ, PDP (Shakya reads sarva), CTRC, and UV.
n.­232
Shakya reads sattvānāṃ in his PDP transliteration.
n.­233
jivitaṃ, RAS; jītan, TUL.
n.­234
The final half-pāda is slightly different in the Sanskrit Udānavarga: evaṃ martyasya jīvitam, UV (1.12).
n.­235
 |, TUL; PDP does not record any daṇḍa here. This verse appears in UV 1.12 with minor variations, which have been discussed in the previous notes.
n.­236
pakkānāṃ, RAS; kkānāṃ, TUL. Yamada reads kvā here in both RAS and TUL while Kimura reads kkā in TUL. However, it seems clear that kkā is transmitted in these mss. as the word is recorded in Pali. Cf. pakkānaṃ in Sn V.576 (p. 113). See n.­207.
n.­237
śaśva‹‹tāṃ››, RAS with tāṃ seemingly added later by another hand. nityaṃ, CTRC and UV 1.11.
n.­238
yaṃ, TUL. °yam, CTRC and UV 1.11.
n.­239
 ||, PDP.
n.­240
This third half-pāda in the verse reads evaṃ jātasya martasya in CTRC and UV 1.11, displaying a different transmission than the tathā saṃskārajāḥ satvānāṃ we see in RAS, TUL, and PDP.
n.­241
saskā°, RAS and TUL.
n.­242
satvā, TUL and PDP. satvā‹‹nāṃ›› with ṇāṃ likely added later by another hand. It is possible that the corrections made in RAS were made after TUL was copied or were made at least at some point when RAS was not an available witness for use as an exemplar in the copying of TUL within this manuscript transmission. Indeed, while it is almost certainly the case that RAS and TUL are both products of the same copying tradition with RAS being the earlier witness, it is in no way certain that the scribe who copied TUL had access or even knowledge of RAS and may have been working from some intermediate witness within the transmission. This third half-pāda in the verse reads evaṃ jātasya martasya in CTRC and UV.11.
n.­243
nitya, TUL.
n.­244
°yam, CTRC and UV 1.11.
n.­245
This verse appears in UV 1.11 with minor variations, which have been discussed in the previous notes.
n.­246
kṣāyāṃ, TUL.
n.­247
niścayāḥ, TUL.
n.­248
patanāntā, RAS, TUL, and PDP (Shakya reads patanāntāḥ).
n.­249
 ||, PDP.
n.­250
This third half-pāda is slightly different in UV: saṃyogā viprayogāntā, UV 1.22.
n.­251
This verse is not present in CTRC and appears in UV 1.22 with minor variations, which have been discussed in note .
n.­252
bhagavānn, RAS and TUL.
n.­253
ātamanās, RAS and TUL.
n.­254
CTRC omits te ca parṣado.
n.­255
bhagavata, CTRC.
n.­256
bhā‹ṣi›tam, CTRC.
n.­257
abhyandann, PDP.
n.­258
°sutraṃ, TUL.
n.­259
pañcamaṃ samāptam, CTRC noting the place of the sūtra within the work. RAS contains no numeration for the sūtra, while TUL lists as 8 and PDP as 596. The Anityatāsūtra witnesses in RAS, TUL, and PDP are all entries in larger Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha manuscripts. It is clear that the order or contents of these Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha collections was not set as can be seen in the various extant mss. See Hidas 2021 for discussion on a number of such mss.
b.

Bibliography

Primary Sources

mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo (Anityatāsūtra). Toh 310, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 155b.5–157a.5.

Anityatāsūtra. Manuscript witness held in the collection of the Royal Asiatic Society, London. Hodgson Collection, Ms. no. 55 (H. 147), folios 60a2–62a1.

Anityatāsūtra. Manuscript witness held in the collection of the Tokyo University Library, Tokyo. Kawaguchu and Takakusu Collection, Ms. 416 no. 8, folios 46a3–47b4.

Anityatāsūtra. Manuscript witness held in the private collection of Mr. Padmajyoti Dhakhwa of Patan, folios 222b10–223b4.

Foshuo zhuxing youwei jing 佛說諸行有為經. Taishō 758 (CBETA, SAT). (Translation of Anityatāsūtra by Fatian).

Works Referred To in the Introduction, Notes, etc.

ched du brjod pa’i tshoms (Udānavarga). Toh 326, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 209.a–253.a. English translation in Champa Thupten Zongtse (1990).

mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo (Anityatāsūtra). Toh 309, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 155a.2–155b.4. English translation in Sakya Pandita Translation Group (2013).

Bernhard, Franz. Udānavarga. 2 vols. Sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden 10. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1965–68.

Brough, John. The Gāndhārī Dharmapada. London Oriental Series Volume 7. London: Oxford University Press, 1962.

Champa Thupten Zongtse. Udānavarga. Band III. Sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden 10, 3. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1990.

Edgerton, Franklin. [1953]. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1972.

Feer, Léon. [1884–98]. Saṃyutta-Nikāya. 5 vols. London/Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1975–2006.

Filliozat, Jean. “Catalogue des manuscrits sanskrits et tibétains de la Société Asiatique.” Journal Asiatique 233 (1941–42): 1–81.

Hidas, Gergeley. Powers of Protection: The Buddhist Tradition of Spells in the Dhāraṇīsaṃgraha Collections. Beyond Boundaries Volume 9. Berlin/Boston: De Gruyter, 2021.

Ishihama, Yumiko and Yoichi Fukuda, eds. A New Critical Edition of the Mahāvytupatti: Sanskrit-Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionary of Buddhist Terminology. Materials for Tibetan-Mongolian Dictionaries, Vol. 1. Tokyo: The Toyo Bunko, 1989.

Kimura, Takayasu. “The Anityatā-Sūtram.” In 俳教の歴史と思想：壬生台舜煩毒記念, edited by 壬生台舜博士質毒記念論文集刊行曾, (95)–(108). Tokyo: 大蔵出版, 1985.

Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1899.

Rhys Davids, T. W., and J. Estlin Carpenter. [1890–1911]. The Dīgha Nikāya. 3 vols. Reprint, London: Pali Text Society, 1966–76.

Rhys Davids, T. W., and William Stede. The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary. London: Pali Text Society, 1921–25.

Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans. The Sūtra on Impermanence (1) (Anityatāsūtra, Toh 309). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. 2013.

Shakya, M. B. “Āryānityātāsūtra.” Buddhist Himalaya 1, no. 1 (1988): 58–60 [1–3].

Takakusu, Junjirō 高楠順次郎, and Watanabe Kaikyoku 渡辺海旭, eds. Taishō shinshū daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經. 100 vols. Tokyo: Taishō Issaikyō Kankōkai 大正一切經刊行會, 1924–34.

Tripāṭhī, Chandrabhāl. Fünfundzwanzig Sūtras des Nidānasaṃyukta. Sanskrittexte aus den Turfanfunden 8, Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1962.

Vinītā, Bhikṣuṇī, ed. and trans. A Unique Collection of Twenty Sūtras in a Sanskrit Manuscript from the Potala. Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region 7/1. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House; Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2010.

Waldschmidt, Ernst. Bruchstücke buddhistischer sutras aus dem zentralasiatischen Sanskritkanon I. Leipzig: Deutsche morgenländische Gesellschaft, 1932.

Waldschmidt, Ernst. [1950–51]. Das Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra: Text in Sanskrit und Tibetisch, verglichen mit dem Pāli nebst einer Übersetzung der chinesischen Entsprechung im Vinaya der Mūlasarvāstivādins. 3 vols. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1950–51. Reprint, Kyoto: Rinsen Book Co., 1986.

Waldschmidt, Ernst, Heinz Bechert, Georg von Simson, Michael Schmidt, and Jens-Uwe Hartmann, eds. Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden. Volumes 1–4, Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1973ff.

Yamada, Isshi. “Anityatāsūtra.” Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū (印度學佛教學研究) 20, no. 2 (1972): 30–35.

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

all that draw breath

  • srog chags thams cad
  • སྲོག་ཆགས་ཐམས་ཅད།
  • sarveṣāṃ prāṇinām

All living beings.

g.­2

arhat

  • dgra bcom pa
  • དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
  • arhat

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

g.­3

Blessed One

  • bcom ldan ’das
  • བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
  • bhagavān

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

g.­4

complete and perfect buddha

  • yang dag par rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas
  • ཡང་དག་པར་རྫོགས་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས།
  • samyaksaṃbuddha
g.­5

conditioned states

  • ’du byed
  • འདུ་བྱེད།
  • saṃskāra

All conditioned states or factors which in turn collectively make up ordinary states of being.

g.­6

confident in the four confidences

  • mi ’jigs pa bzhis bsnyengs pa mi mnga’ ba
  • མི་འཇིགས་པ་བཞིས་བསྙེངས་པ་མི་མངའ་བ།
  • caturvaiśāradyaviśarada

Confidence in (1) ascending dharmas, (2) all their teaching, (3) comprehending the path to nirvāṇa, and (4) their effort for the knowledge of exhausting negative influences.

g.­7

consecrated

  • spyi bo nas dbang bskur ba
  • སྤྱི་བོ་ནས་དབང་བསྐུར་བ།
  • mūrdha-abhiṣikta

One who has been consecrated; a consecrated king; a man of the kṣatriya caste.

g.­8

dhyāna

  • bsam gtan
  • བསམ་གཏན།
  • dhyāna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

g.­9

forest hermit

  • nags na gnas pa
  • ནགས་ན་གནས་པ།
  • vānaprastha

This specifically refers to brahmins in the third stage of life (after the student and householder stages) where one abandons social responsibilities and lives as an ascetic in the forest for one’s twilight years.

g.­10

gods of the form realm

  • gzugs can gyi lha
  • གཟུགས་ཅན་གྱི་ལྷ།
  • rūpīṇo devāḥ

A god of one of the heavens in the realm of form.

g.­11

gods of the Heaven of Control of Enjoyments Created by Others

  • gzhan ’phrul dbang byed kyi lha
  • གཞན་འཕྲུལ་དབང་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ལྷ།
  • para­nirmitavaśavartino devāḥ

The Paranirmitavaśavartin gods, those who control enjoyments created by others, the sixth and highest of the six heavens of the desire realm. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities. These gods enjoy the creations of others, as opposed to the Nirmāṇarati gods who enjoy their own creations.

g.­12

gods of the Heaven of Delightful Emanations

  • ’phrul dga’i lha
  • འཕྲུལ་དགའི་ལྷ།
  • nirmāṇaratayo devāḥ

The Nirmāṇarati gods, the gods of Nirmāṇarati Heaven (the Heaven of Delightful Emanations), the fifth of the six heavens of the desire realm. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities. These gods create their own pleasing enjoyments.

g.­13

gods of the Heaven of the Four Great Kings

  • rgyal chen bzhi’i ris kyi lha
  • རྒྱལ་ཆེན་བཞིའི་རིས་ཀྱི་ལྷ།
  • devāś cāturmahārājikāḥ

Gods of the Heaven of the Four World Guardians/Great Kings (cāturmahārājika), first of the six heavens of the realm of desire. The name is of both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­14

gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three

  • sum cu rtsa gsum gyi lha
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་གྱི་ལྷ།
  • trayastriṃśā devā

The gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-three (trayastriṃśa), the second of the six heavens of the desire realm. The thirty-three are Indra and thirty-two other deities. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­15

gods of Tuṣita Heaven

  • dga’ ldan gyi lha
  • དགའ་ལྡན་གྱི་ལྷ།
  • tuṣitā devāḥ

The gods of Tuṣita Heaven, the Joyous Heaven, the fourth of the six heavens of the desire realm. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities. Tuṣita is of note for being the abode of Maitreya until his eventual birth on Earth (and indeed all buddhas in their penultimate birth before their final birth).

g.­16

gods of Yāma Heaven

  • ’thab bral gyi lha
  • འཐབ་བྲལ་གྱི་ལྷ།
  • yāmā devāḥ

The gods of the Yāma Heaven, the third of the six heavens of the desire realm. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­17

Great Brahmā gods

  • tshangs chen
  • ཚངས་ཆེན།
  • mahābrahman

The gods in the abode of Mahābrahmā, the fourth of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the first dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­18

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāma, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.

Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.

g.­19

like a rhinoceros

  • bse ru lta bu
  • བསེ་རུ་ལྟ་བུ།
  • khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa

One of the two classes of pratyekabuddha, used for those living a solitary life. The other type is the vargacārin, “those who live in crowds.”

g.­20

mighty with the ten powers

  • stobs bcu’i stobs dang ldan pa
  • སྟོབས་བཅུའི་སྟོབས་དང་ལྡན་པ།
  • daśabalabalin

An epithet of a buddha. In one enumeration, the ten powers are (1) knowing what is possible and what is not possible; (2) knowing the results of actions; (3) knowing the aspirations of beings; (4) knowing the elements; (5) knowing the higher and lower powers of beings; (6) knowing the paths that lead everywhere; (7) knowing the dhyānas, liberations, absorptions, and equilibriums; (8) knowing previous lives; (9) the knowledge of transference and death; and (10) knowing that the defilements are exhausted. 

g.­21

Nārāyaṇa

  • sred med
  • སྲེད་མེད།
  • nārāyaṇa

An alternate name for Viṣṇu.

g.­22

pratyekabuddha

  • rang sangs rgyas
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས།
  • pratyekabuddha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation, without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyeka­buddha is not regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit, compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as “congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.

g.­23

sage

  • drang srong
  • དྲང་སྲོང་།
  • ṛṣi

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

g.­24

spirit

  • ’byung po
  • འབྱུང་པོ།
  • 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.

g.­25

Śrāvastī

  • mnyan du yod pa
  • མཉན་དུ་ཡོད་པ།
  • śrāvastī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city of the powerful kingdom of Kośala, ruled by King Prasenajit, who became a follower and patron of the Buddha. It was also the hometown of Anāthapiṇḍada, the wealthy patron who first invited the Buddha there, and then offered him a park known as Jetavana, Prince Jeta’s Grove, which became one of the first Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha is said to have spent about twenty-five rainy seasons with his disciples in Śrāvastī, thus it is named as the setting of numerous events and teachings. It is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh in northern India.

g.­26

Sugata

  • bde bar gshegs pa
  • བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པ།
  • 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).

g.­27

tathāgata

  • de bzhin gshegs pa
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
  • tathāgata

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha­(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

g.­28

those belonging to the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception

  • ’du shes med ’du shes med min skye mched
  • འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་མིན་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • naiva­saṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatanopaga

A formless state, either a meditative state or its resultant realm of existence, i.e., a class of deities of the formless realm. (No equivalent of upaga in Tib.)

g.­29

those belonging to the sphere of nothingness

  • ci yang med pa’i skye mched
  • ཅི་ཡང་མེད་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • ākiñcanyāyatanopaga

A formless state, either a meditative state or its resultant realm of existence, i.e., a class of deities of the formless realm. (No equivalent of upaga in Tib.)

g.­30

those belonging to the sphere of the infinity of consciousness

  • rnam shes mtha’ yas skye mched
  • རྣམ་ཤེས་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • vijñānānantyāyatanaopaga

A formless state, either a meditative state or its resultant realm of existence, i.e., a class of deities of the formless realm. (No equivalent of upaga in Tib.)

g.­31

those gods belonging to the sphere of the infinity of space

  • nam mkha’ mtha’ yas skye mched
  • ནམ་མཁའ་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • ākāśānantyāyatanopaga

A formless state, either a meditative state or its resultant realm of existence, i.e., a class of deities of the formless realm. (No equivalent of upaga in Tib.)

g.­32

those gods of the formless realm

  • gzugs med pa’i lha rnams
  • གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་ལྷ་རྣམས།
  • arūpīṇo devāḥ
g.­33

those in the assembly of Brahmā

  • —
  • —
  • brahmapārṣadya

The third (or sometimes second) of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the first dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­34

those of complete splendor

  • dge rgyas pa
  • དགེ་རྒྱས་པ།
  • śubhakṛtsna

The third of the three classes of gods of the form realm in the third dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­35

those of excellent appearance

  • gya nom snang
  • གྱ་ནོམ་སྣང་།
  • sudṛśa

The third of the five classes of gods dwelling in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa).

g.­36

those of excellent observation

  • shin tu mthong ba
  • ཤིན་ཏུ་མཐོང་བ།
  • sudarśana

The fourth of the five classes of gods dwelling in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa). See n.­37.

g.­37

those of immeasurable radiance

  • tshad med ’od
  • ཚད་མེད་འོད།
  • apramānābha

The second of the three classes of gods of the form realm in the second dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­38

those of immeasurable splendor

  • tshad med dge
  • ཚད་མེད་དགེ
  • apramāṇaśubha

The second of the three classes of gods of the form realm in the third dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­39

those of limited radiance

  • ’od chung
  • འོད་ཆུང་།
  • parīttābha

The first of the three classes of gods of the form realm in the second dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­40

those of limited splendor

  • dge chung
  • དགེ་ཆུང་།
  • parīttaśubha

The first of the three classes of gods of the form realm in the third dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­41

those stationed before Brahmā

  • tshangs pa mdun na ’don
  • ཚངས་པ་མདུན་ན་འདོན།
  • brahmapurohita

The second (or sometimes third) of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the first dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­42

those who are highest

  • ’og min
  • འོག་མིན།
  • akaniṣṭha

The highest, fifth, and final class of gods dwelling in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa).

g.­43

those who are radiant

  • ’od gsal ba
  • འོད་གསལ་བ།
  • ābhāsvara

The third of the three classes of gods of the form realm in the second dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­44

those who are relatively not great

  • mi che ba
  • མི་ཆེ་བ།
  • abṛha

The first of five classes of gods dwelling in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa).

g.­45

those who are unclouded

  • sprin med
  • སྤྲིན་མེད།
  • anabhraka

The first of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the fourth dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­46

those who attend Brahmā

  • tshangs ris
  • ཚངས་རིས།
  • brahmakāyika

The first of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the first dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­47

those who have a nature that is free from perception

  • ’du shes med pa’i sems can
  • འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་པའི་སེམས་ཅན།
  • asaṃjñisattva

The fourth of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the fourth dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­48

those who have obtained the first dhyāna

  • bsam gtan dang po thob pa
  • བསམ་གཏན་དང་པོ་ཐོབ་པ།
  • prathama­dhyānalābhin

The gods who dwell in the abode of the first dhyāna.

g.­49

those who have obtained the fourth dhyāna

  • bsam gtan bzhi pa thob pa
  • བསམ་གཏན་བཞི་པ་ཐོབ་པ།
  • caturthadhyānalābhin

The gods who dwell in the abode of the fourth dhyāna.

g.­50

those who have obtained the second dhyāna

  • bsam gtan gnyis pa thob pa’i lha rnams
  • བསམ་གཏན་གཉིས་པ་ཐོབ་པའི་ལྷ་རྣམས།
  • dvitīyadhyānalābhin

The gods who dwell in the abode of the second dhyāna.

g.­51

those who have obtained the third dhyāna

  • bsam gtan gsum pa thob ba
  • བསམ་གཏན་གསུམ་པ་ཐོབ་བ།
  • tṛtīyadhyānalābhin

The gods who dwell in the abode of the third dhyāna.

g.­52

those who live in crowds

  • tshogs na spyod pa
  • ཚོགས་ན་སྤྱོད་པ།
  • vargacārin

One of the two classes of pratyekabuddha, the opposite class being the solitary khaḍgavisāṇakalpa. (not in Skt. witnesses)

g.­53

those with abundant merit

  • bsod nams ’phel
  • བསོད་ནམས་འཕེལ།
  • puṇyaprasava

The second of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the fourth dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities. Often also referred to as bsod nams skyes in other works.

g.­54

those with great fruition

  • ’bras bu che ba
  • འབྲས་བུ་ཆེ་བ།
  • bṛhatphala

The third of the four classes of gods of the form realm in the fourth dhyāna. The name is the same for both the location and the inhabitant deities.

g.­55

those without trouble

  • mi gdung ba
  • མི་གདུང་བ།
  • atapa

The second of the five classes of gods dwelling in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa).

g.­56

worthy of admiration

  • khyu mchog gi gnas su zhal gyis ’che ba
  • ཁྱུ་མཆོག་གི་གནས་སུ་ཞལ་གྱིས་འཆེ་བ།
  • udārārṣabha

An epithet of a buddha. Literally “superb bull” in Skt.

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84000. The Sūtra on Impermanence (2) (Anityatāsūtra, mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo, Toh 310). Translated by Jin Kyoung Choi and Charles DiSimone. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024. https://84000.co/translation/toh310.Copy
84000. The Sūtra on Impermanence (2) (Anityatāsūtra, mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo, Toh 310). Translated by Jin Kyoung Choi and Charles DiSimone, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024, 84000.co/translation/toh310.Copy
84000. (2024) The Sūtra on Impermanence (2) (Anityatāsūtra, mi rtag pa nyid kyi mdo, Toh 310). (Jin Kyoung Choi and Charles DiSimone, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh310.Copy
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