co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma contains the Buddha’s teaching to his five former spiritual companions on the four truths that he had discovered as part of his awakening: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path leading to the cessation of suffering. According to all the Buddhist traditions, this is the first teaching the Buddha gave to explain his awakened insight to others.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This sūtra was translated and introduced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche.

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

i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma contains one of the most well-known teachings of Buddhism: the four truths of the noble ones. These four truths are: (1) the truth of suffering, (2) the truth of the origin of suffering, (3) the truth of the cessation of suffering, and (4) the truth of the path leading to the cessation of suffering. According to traditional accounts, this is the first teaching taught by the Buddha following his attainment of awakening. The Buddha is said to have journeyed from the seat of awakening in Bodhgaya to the Deer Park outside Varanasi, where he delivered this teaching to his five former spiritual companions. Since this was the first time the Buddha turned the wheel of Dharma, this discourse also became known as The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma, or, more commonly, The Sūtra of the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma.

i.­2

Although very brief, this classical presentation of the four truths has remained central to the Buddhist tradition since its very early days. As such, this teaching is included in all the major canons of Buddhism, so that versions in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese and Tibetan are found.1 As far as translations into Tibetan are concerned, we find the classical presentation of the four truths embedded in no fewer than seven individual works in the Kangyur. Of these, the following four contain accounts of this first teaching in passages that are clearly closely related, being almost verbatim identical:2

• The Chapter on Schism in the Sangha (Saṅgha­bheda­vastu). This very long text forms the 17th chapter of the Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya scripture Chapters on Monastic Discipline (Vinayavastu, Toh 1), and includes, interspersed with all sorts of other material, passages recounting the life and deeds of the Buddha.3

• Foundations of the Minor Monastic Discipline (Vinayakṣudraka­vastu, Toh 6). Another Mūlasarvāstivādin vinaya scripture that includes episodes from the life and deeds of the Buddha as well as other material amplifying the history and rules of the monastic community.4

• The Sūtra on Going Forth (Abhi­niṣkramaṇa­sūtra, Toh 301). In this text all the passages in The Chapter on Schism in the Sangha recounting the Buddha’s life have been extracted verbatim to form a continuous narrative, including the passage on this teaching.5

• The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharma­cakra­sūtra, Toh 337). This text (translated here) is also a verbatim extract from the account of the teaching as found in Toh 1, but this time only of this particular episode. However, it does add a brief introduction and conclusion to give to the account the form of an independent sūtra.

i.­3

In addition, the Kangyur also contains a translation of the Dhamma­chakkappavattana­sutta from the Pali canon:

• The Sūtra of the Turning of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharma­cakra­pravartana­sūtra, Toh 31). This is one of only fourteen texts in the Kangyur that were translated into Tibetan from the Pali. It therefore mirrors closely the Dhamma­chakkappavattana­sutta of the Saṃyuttanikāya, although some differences exist.6

i.­4

Another version of this episode in the Kangyur is embedded in one of the long collections of avadāna:

• The Hundred Deeds (Karma­śataka, Toh 340). This anthology of stories compiled to illustrate the cause and effect of karmic action from one life to another contains‍—among several other kinds of narrative‍—accounts of many of the best known episodes from the life of the Buddha, and many of these are closely related and similarly worded parallels to the same episodes as told in the texts of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. The account of the first turning of the wheel of Dharma is followed by an account of the Buddha's relationship to the five first monks in their previous lives in the distant past, told to explain the karmic reasons underlying the present episode.7

i.­5

Lastly, the teaching is also found as part of the Lalita­vistara­sūtra:

• The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). In this lengthy account of the Buddha’s deeds the teaching on the four truths has many similarities with the other texts, yet clearly belongs to another manuscript tradition as there are a number of significant differences as well. Here the teaching is found in the penultimate chapter (ch. 26), entitled “Turning the Wheel of Dharma.”8

i.­6

In general, the plethora of versions that exist of this teaching in Pali, Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan are very similar, yet all of them contain a number of idiosyncrasies‍—some minor, others significant‍—that set them apart from the rest. These differences have been studied in great detail over the last two centuries and a rich body of scholarship on the philological and theoretical aspects of this teaching has emerged.9 As a result, we now know that the teaching on the four truths as we today find it included in the various canons is the product of several editorial revisions over the centuries. The “original” version of this teaching consequently remains elusive, as does the role played by this teaching in the earliest days of the Buddhist tradition.10

i.­7

As these scriptures became the focus of scholarly attention, a number of translations both from the Pali11 and Sanskrit12 have been produced. The translation presented here has been made on the basis of the Tibetan translation of The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Toh 337). As mentioned above, this text is with minor exceptions identical to the corresponding sections in Toh 1, Toh 6, and Toh 331. Toh 337 contains no mention of the translators, but the translator of Toh 1 is listed as the Tibetan Kawa Paltseg (ka ba dpal brtsegs), who was a prolific translator during the early period of Tibetan translations, which took place at the beginning of the ninth century. Unfortunately, the Sanskrit version that formed the basis for Kawa Paltseg’s translation of Toh 1 is no longer extant. The Sanskrit manuscript of the Saṅgha­bheda­vastu that is available to us today (Gnoli 1977) has enough differences from the Tibetan translation for us to conclude that it was not the text that was used to produce the Tibetan translation. Nevertheless, it does represent an important witness of the Sanskrit, and our translation benefitted greatly from comparing it with the Tibetan. Our main sources were the Degé prints of Toh 1, Toh 301, and Toh 337, taking into account the variants noted in the Pedurma comparative edition of each.

Text Body

The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma
1.

The Translation

[F.275.a]


1.­1

Homage to the Omniscient One!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One, the Buddha, was residing in the Deer Park at Ṛṣivadana by Vārāṇasī.13At that time the Blessed One spoke to the group of five monks:14

1.­3

“Monks, regarding things15 that I had not previously heard,16 [F.275.b] as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization17 arose: ‘This is suffering, the truth of noble beings.’

1.­4

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘This is the origin of suffering,18 this is the cessation of suffering, and this is the path leading to the cessation of suffering.’

1.­5

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I should comprehend suffering, that truth of noble beings.’

1.­6

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I should relinquish the origin of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’

1.­7

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I should actualize19 the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’

1.­8

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I should cultivate the path leading to the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’

1.­9

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I have comprehended suffering, that truth of noble beings.’

1.­10

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I have relinquished the origin of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’ [F.276.a]

1.­11

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I have actualized20 the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’

1.­12

“Monks, regarding things that I had not previously heard, as I reflected thoroughly, the vision arose, and the insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization arose: ‘With higher knowledge I have cultivated the path leading to the cessation of suffering, that truth of noble beings.’

1.­13

“Monks, until I had achieved the vision, insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization of these four truths of noble beings that are turned in three phases and comprise twelve aspects,21 I had not been freed from this world with its devas, from its living beings including māras and brahmās as well as mendicants and brahmins, from its gods and humans. I had not escaped from it, severed ties with it, or been delivered from it. Nor did I dwell extensively with a mind free from error. Monks, I did not have the knowledge that I had fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.

1.­14

“Monks, once I had achieved the vision, insight, knowledge, understanding, and realization of turning these four truths of noble beings in three phases with twelve aspects, I was freed from this world with its devas, from its living beings including māras and brahmās as well as mendicants and brahmins, from its gods and humans. I had escaped from it, severed ties with it, and been delivered from it. I dwelled extensively with a mind free from error. [F.276.b] Monks, I then had the knowledge that I had fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood.”22


1.­15

When the Blessed One had given this Dharma discourse, venerable Kauṇḍinya, along with eighty thousand gods, achieved the Dharma vision that is free from dust and stainless with regard to phenomena.

1.­16

The Blessed One now asked venerable Kauṇḍinya, “Kauṇḍinya, did you understand the Dharma?”

“Blessed One,” he replied, “I understood.”

“Kauṇḍinya, did you understand? Did you understand?”

“Well-Gone One,” he replied, “I understood. I understood.”

“Because venerable Kauṇḍinya has understood the Dharma, venerable Kauṇḍinya shall now be known as Ājñātakauṇḍinya.”23

1.­17

At that point the terrestrial yakṣas called out, “Venerable Kauṇḍinya has understood the Dharma!” And they continued, “Friends, in the Deer Park at Ṛṣivadana by Vārāṇasī, the Blessed One has turned the wheel of Dharma in three phases with twelve aspects. He has turned the wheel of Dharma in a way that no mendicant or brahmin, and no god, māra, or Brahmā in the world could ever do in accord with the Dharma. He has done so for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of gods and humans. Hence, the gods will flourish and the demigods will be on the wane.”

1.­18

As the voices of the terrestrial yakṣas rang out‍—at that very moment, in that very instant, and at that very time‍—the news passed to the celestial yakṣas, as well as to the gods in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings, the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, the Heaven Free from Strife, the Heaven of Joy, the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations, the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations, and all the way to the Brahmā realm. Thus, also the gods in the Brahmā realm announced, “Friends, in the Deer Park at Ṛṣivadana by Vārāṇasī, [F.277.a] the Blessed One has turned the wheel of Dharma in three phases with twelve aspects. He has turned the wheel of Dharma in a way that no mendicant or brahmin, and no god, māra, or Brahmā in the world could ever do in accord with the Dharma. He has done so for the benefit of many beings, for the happiness of many beings, out of love for the world, and for the welfare, benefit, and happiness of gods and humans. Hence, the gods will flourish and the demigods will be on the wane.”


1.­19

In the Deer Park at Ṛṣivadana by Vārāṇasī, the Blessed One turned the wheel of Dharma in three phases with twelve aspects. Therefore, this Dharma teaching was named Turning the Wheel of Dharma.24


1.­20

This completes “The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma.”

n.

Notes

n.­1
For a summary of the Pali, Sanskrit, and Chinese sources of this teaching, see Chung 2006, pp. 76–78, and Anderson 1999, pp. 15–16. See also Bronkhorst 1993, p. 80, n. 200.
n.­2
Although the precise historical relationship between these four texts has not been fully confirmed, it is highly likely that the episode in Toh 1 and Toh 6 share the same source; that Toh 301 is a compilation of extracts from Toh 1 relating the Buddha’s life as a whole (naturally including this episode); and that Toh 337 is a very short extract of this episode alone.
n.­3
The section corresponding to the present sūtra is found in the Degé Kangyur vol. 4 (’dul ba, nga), folios 42.b.3-44.a.5
n.­4
The section corresponding to the present sūtra is found in the Degé Kangyur vol. 10 (’dul ba, tha), folios 247.b.3-294.a.2.
n.­5
The corresponding section is found in mdo sde, sa, 60.a.1-61.b.3
n.­6
This text is found in the Degé Kangyur, vol. 34 (shes phyin, ka), folios 180.b.1-183.a.6, in the section of “Thirteen Late Translated Texts.” This group of works is traditionally placed in the Perfection of Wisdom section but is not, in fact, related to that genre. The texts were translated from Pali in the fourteenth century at the monastery of Tharpa Ling by a Sri Lankan monk, Ānandaśrī, and the Tibetan translator Nyima Gyaltsen Pel Zangpo. According to Skilling (1993, p. 97), this was during the first decade of the fourteenth century; Skilling has compared this particular text against the extant Pali Dhamma­chakkappavattana­sutta (1993, pp. 103-106), and concludes that the Tibetan follows the Pali version but contains some significant omissions that he attributes to an erroneous manuscript or translation errors.
n.­7
This text is found in the Degé Kangyur, vol. 73 (mdo sde, ha), and the episode in question begins on folio 97.b. The translation (Jamspal and Fischer, 2020, 2.385) is to be found in the section The Story of Wealth’s Delight, the twelfth story in Part Two.
n.­8
The relevant section is found in Degé Kangyur, vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 200b.1-201a.4. For the translation, see Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2013), 26.60 - 26.78.
n.­9
For a summary of modern scholarship on the four truths, see Anderson 1999, pp. 168-211. Chung 2006 provides a detailed comparison of the Chinese Sarvāsti­vāda, Sanskrit Mūla­sarvāsti­vāda, and Sanskrit Catuṣpariṣat­sūtra versions (the latter being from a manuscript found in Turfan, see Kloppenborg 1973), followed by another juxtaposition of the Sanskrit Saṃyuktāgama version with the Tibetan of the present Tibetan text‍—which Chung takes as representing a “separate tradition” without assuming, as we tentatively have, that it is an extract from the Tibetan translation of the Saṅgha­bheda­vastu.
n.­10
See Bronkhorst 1993, pp. 71-85. See also Anderson 1999, pp. 15-23.
n.­11
E.g. Anderson 1999, pp. 64-67, and Bodhi 2000.
n.­12
E.g. Sastri 1938, pp. 479-480, and Kloppenborg 1973, pp. 24-27.
n.­13
The equivalent section in Toh 1 begins at this point (p. 42b.3) and in Toh 301 (p. 60a.1).
n.­14
At this point, the corresponding passage in the Lalita­vistara­sūtra begins (Lefmann, p. 417; Dharmachakra Translation Group, 26.65).
n.­15
Here “things” translates the Sanskrit dharma (Pali: dhamma, Tibetan: chos). Some commentaries suggest that dharma is used here in the sense of “truth.” For example, the Puggala­paññattipa­karaṇa-mūlaṭīkā says: ananussutesu dhammesūti ca ananussutesu saccesūti attho. However, teachings on the four truths also present them not so much as general statements of what is “true,” but more as four categories into which all phenomena can be classified and distinguished in terms of their function with regard to suffering, i.e. in constituting it, causing it, being beyond it, or being the means to end it, respectively.
n.­16
The Tibetan here and in most other versions of this repeated passage places the first person pronoun nga with this phrase. However, in the various Sanskrit versions (typically pūrvam ananuśruteṣu dharmeṣu) there is no indication of whether the phrase means the Buddha had not himself previously heard these dharmas or whether they had more generally never been heard before by anyone.
n.­17
The Saṅgha­bheda­vastu does not include “realization” (Tibetan: rtogs pa) in this or the following several repetitions of this phrase. Instead the list only includes “insight (jñāna), knowledge (vidyā), and understanding (buddhi)” (Gnoli 1977, p. 135). Skilling (1993), pp. 105 and 194, discusses the significance of the four to seven “epithets of insight” found in the parallel versions of this passage in Sanskrit, Pali, and Tibetan but his notes do not include this difference between the Sanskrit of the Saṅghabhedavastu and its Tibetan translation, nor the version in the Karmaśataka (see Introduction i.­4).
n.­18
Before the phrase “This is the origin of suffering,” Toh 337 in the Degé Kangyur includes the phrase “This is suffering.” However, here we have omitted it, as it is absent in all other versions of this passage, including the recensions of this sūtra in the Yongle, Lithang, Coné, Narthang, and Peking Kangyurs; the Sanskrit of the Saṅgha­bheda­vastu; and the Tibetan of both Toh 1 and Toh 301 in D and other Kangyurs.
n.­19
At this point Toh 337 includes the words “the knowledge of…” However, we have omitted this, since the phrase is absent in Toh 1 and Toh 301, as well as the Saṅgha­bheda­vastu.
n.­20
At this point Toh 337 includes the words “the knowledge of…” However, we have omitted this, since the phrase is absent in Toh 1 and Toh 301, as well as the Saṅgha­bheda­vastu.
n.­21
The three phases refer to the three stages of (1) identifying the four truths, (2) understanding how to relate to each of the four truths, and (3) knowing that the respective goals of the four truths have been accomplished. When these three stages are applied to each of the four truths, there are twelve aspects in all. For a classical explanation of this enumeration by Haribhadra (eighth cent.), see Sparham 2008, p. 264. See also Anderson 1999, p. 70. Note that these twelve aspects are unrelated to the alternative enumeration of sixteen aspects associated with the four truths (four for each truth). The sixteen aspects counteract sixteen incorrect views associated with the four truths. On the sixteen aspects, see Buswell 2013, p. 304-305. For a classical account by Candrakīrti (c. 570-650 ᴄᴇ), see May 1959, p. 212-216.
n.­22
At this point, the corresponding passage in the Lalita­vistara­sūtra ends (Lefmann, p. 418, and The Play in Full, Toh 95, 26.78).
n.­23
This name means “Kauṇḍinya who has understood.”
n.­24
The equivalent passages in the Saṅgha­bheda­vastu, Toh 1 ch. 17, (vol. nga, F.44.a.5) and the Abhi­niṣkramaṇa­sūtra, Toh 301, (F.61.b.3) end at this point.
b.

Bibliography

chos kyi ’khor lo’i mdo. Toh 337, Degé Kangyur, vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 275a-277a.

chos kyi ’khor lo’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 72, p. 794–799.

Anderson, Carol S. Pain and its Ending: The Four Noble Truths in the Theravāda Buddhist Canon. Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 1999.

Bodhi, Bhikkhu. The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2000.

Bronkhorst, Johannes. The Two Traditions of Meditation in Ancient India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1993.

Buswell, Robert E. and Donald S. Lopez Jr. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.

Chung, Jin-Il. “Dharmacakra­pravartana-dharma­paryāya of the Sarvāsti­vada and Mūla­sarvāsti­vāda tradition.” In Hüsken, Ute, Kieffer-Pülz, Petra, and Peters, Ann (eds.). Jaina-Itihāsa-Ratna: Festschrift für Gustav Roth zum 90. Geburtstag. Indica et Tibetica series vol. 47. Marburg: Indica et Tibetica Verlag, 2006.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.

Gnoli, Raniero. The Gilgit manuscript of the Saṅgha­bheda­vastu: Being the 17th and last section of the Vinaya of the Mūla­sarvāsti­vādin, Part I. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1977.

Jamspal, Lozang, and Fischer, Kaia Tara. The Hundred Deeds (Karmaśataka). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.

Kloppenborg, Ria. The Sūtra on the Foundation of the Buddhist Order (Catuṣpariṣat­sūtra): Relating the Events from the Bodhisattva’s Enlightenment up to the Conversion of Upatiṣya (Śāriputra) and Kolita (Maudgalyāyana). Leiden: Brill, 1973.

Lefmann, Salomon. Lalita Vistara. Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, 1883.

May, Jacques. Prasanna­padā madhyamaka­vṛtti: douze chapitres traduits du sanscrit et du tibétain. Paris: Adrien-Maisonneuve, 1959.

Sastri, N. Aiyaswami. “The First Sermon of the Buddha” in New Indian Antiquary, vol. 1. Bombay: Karnatak Publishing House, 1938.

Skilling, Peter. “Theravadin Literature in Tibetan Translation” in Journal of the Pali Text Society, 1993, vol. 19: 69-201.

Sparham, Gareth. Abhisamayālaṃkāra with Vṛtti and Ālokā, vol. 2. Fremont: Jain Publishing Company, 2008.

g.

Glossary

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

AS

Attested in source text

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

AO

Attested in other text

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

AD

Attested in dictionary

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

AA

Approximate attestation

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

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

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

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

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

SU

Source unspecified

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

g.­1

Ājñātakauṇḍinya

  • kun shes kauN Di nya
  • ཀུན་ཤེས་ཀཽཎ་ཌི་ཉ།
  • ājñātakauṇḍinya

Another name for Kauṇḍinya. As he was the first to understand the Buddha’s teaching on the four truths, he received the name Ājñātakauṇḍinya (“Kauṇḍinya who understood”).

g.­2

Brahmā

  • tshangs pa
  • ཚངས་པ།
  • brahmā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.­3

Brahmā realm

  • tshangs ris
  • ཚངས་རིས།
  • brahmakāyika

The lowest heaven of the form realm.

g.­4

Deer Park

  • ri dags kyi nags
  • རི་དགས་ཀྱི་ནགས།
  • mṛgadāva

The forest, located outside of Varanasi, where the Buddha first taught the Dharma.

g.­5

demigod

  • lha ma yin
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
  • asura

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.­6

Heaven Free from Strife

  • ’thab bral
  • འཐབ་བྲལ།
  • yāma

The third lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm.

g.­7

Heaven of Delighting in Emanations

  • ’phrul dga’
  • འཕྲུལ་དགའ།
  • nirmāṇarati

The second highest of the six heavens of the desire realm.

g.­8

Heaven of Joy

  • dga’ ldan
  • དགའ་ལྡན།
  • tuṣita

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.­9

Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations

  • gzhan ’phrul dbang byed pa
  • གཞན་འཕྲུལ་དབང་བྱེད་པ།
  • paranirmitavaśavartin

The highest of the six heavens of the desire realm.

g.­10

Heaven of the Four Great Kings

  • rgyal chen bzhi’i ris
  • རྒྱལ་ཆེན་བཞིའི་རིས།
  • caturmahārājika

The lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm.

g.­11

Heaven of the Thirty-Three

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

The second lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm.

g.­12

Kauṇḍinya

  • kauN Di nya
  • ཀཽཎ་ཌི་ཉ།
  • kauṇḍinya

One of the five former spiritual friends with whom Gautama had practiced meditation before his awakening.

g.­13

Ṛṣivadana

  • drang srong smra ba
  • དྲང་སྲོང་སྨྲ་བ།
  • ṛṣivadana

A sacred area located outside of Vārāṇasī where many sages are said to have practiced in the past.

g.­14

truth of noble beings

  • ’phags pa’i bden pa
  • འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ།
  • āryasatya

The four truths that the Buddha realized: suffering, origin, cessation, and path. They are named “truths of noble beings” since only “noble beings” with knowledge of reality can understand them.

g.­15

Vārāṇasī

  • bA rA Na sI
  • བཱ་རཱ་ཎ་སཱི།
  • vārāṇasī

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Also known as Benares, one of the oldest cities of northeast India on the banks of the Ganges, in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. It was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kāśi, and in the Buddha’s time it had been absorbed into the kingdom of Kośala. It was an important religious center, as well as a major city, even during the time of the Buddha. The name may derive from being where the Varuna and Assi rivers flow into the Ganges. It was on the outskirts of Vārāṇasī that the Buddha first taught the Dharma, in the location known as Deer Park (Mṛgadāva). For numerous episodes set in Vārāṇasī, including its kings, see The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340.

g.­16

yakṣa

  • gnod sbyin
  • གནོད་སྦྱིན།
  • yakṣa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

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

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84000. The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrasūtra, chos kyi ’khor lo’i mdo, Toh 337). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023. https://84000.co/translation/toh337.Copy
84000. The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrasūtra, chos kyi ’khor lo’i mdo, Toh 337). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023, 84000.co/translation/toh337.Copy
84000. (2023) The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrasūtra, chos kyi ’khor lo’i mdo, Toh 337). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh337.Copy
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