co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The sūtra The Hundred Deeds, whose title could also be translated as The Hundred Karmas, is a collection of stories known as avadāna‍—a narrative genre widely represented in the Sanskrit Buddhist literature and its derivatives‍—comprising more than 120 individual texts. It includes narratives of Buddha Śākyamuni’s notable deeds and foundational teachings, the stories of other well-known Buddhist figures, and a variety of other tales featuring people from all walks of ancient Indian life and beings from all six realms of existence. The texts sometimes include stretches of verse. In the majority of the stories the Buddha’s purpose in recounting the past lives of one or more individuals is to make definitive statements about the karmic ripening of actions across multiple lifetimes, and the sūtra is perhaps the best known of the many works in the Kangyur on this theme.

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Acknowledgements

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Translated by Dr. Lozang Jamspal (International Buddhist College, Thailand) and Kaia Fischer of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York (TCTGNY). Introduction by Nathan Mitchell, with additional material by the 84000 editorial team.

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Warm thanks to Dr. Tom Tillemans, Dr. John Canti, Dr. James Gentry, Adam Krug, Ven. Konchog Norbu, Janna White, and all the readers and editors at 84000, for their wisdom; to Huang Jing Rui, Amy Ang, and the entire administration and staff at 84000, for their compassion; to readers Dr. Irene Cannon-Geary, Dr. Natalie M. Griffin, Tom Griffin, Norman Guberman, Margot Jarrett, Dr. David Kittay, Dr. Susan Landesman, Megan Mook, and Dr. Toy-Fung Tung, as well as to every member of TCTGNY, for their diligence and sincerity; to Caithlin De Marrais, Tinka Harvard, Laren McClung, and Erin Sperry, for their adept revisions to passages of verse; to Dr. Paul Hackett, for his linguistic and technical expertise; to Dr. Tenzin Robert Thurman and the late Prof. Dr. Michael Hahn, for their insight; to Dr. Lauran Hartley, for her capable assistance in researching the introduction; to Dr. Donald J. LaRocca, for his thoughtful clarification of terms pertaining to arms and armor; and to Jennifer E. Fischer, for her generosity in formatting the translation.

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Special thanks to Ven. Wei Wu and all of the students, faculty, and staff of the International Buddhist College, Thailand, for their warm welcome of the senior translator Dr. Jamspal, and to Cynthia H. Wong, for her kindheartedness toward the junior translator Kaia Fischer.

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Through the devoted attention of all may the Buddhadharma smile upon us for countless ages, safeguarded by knowledge of the classical Tibetan language.

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


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Work on this translation was rendered possible by the generous donations of a number of sponsors: Zhou Tian Yu, Chen Yi Qin, Irene Tillman, Archie Kao and Zhou Xun; 恒基伟业投资发展集团有限公司，李英、李杰、李明、李一全家; Thirty, Twenty and family; and Ye Kong, Helen Han, Karen Kong and family. Their help is most gratefully acknowledged.

Text Body

The Translation
The Hundred Deeds
ab.

Abbreviations

C Choné (co ne) Kangyur
D Degé (sde dge) Kangyur
H Lhasa Zhöl (lha sa zhol) Kangyur
J Lithang (li thang) Kangyur
K Kangxi Peking (pe) Kangyur
N Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur
S Stok Palace Manuscript (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur
U Urga (khu)
Y Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur
n.

Notes

n.­1
Although commonly referred to in later Tibetan works by the short form las brgya pa, the title appears in most Kangyurs as las brgya tham pa, and in both D and S as las brgya tham pa pa. The Sanskrit title is universally given as Karmaśataka, but in Kangyurs of predominantly Thempangma line this is variously prefixed: by paravarna in S, Shey, and some of the Bhutan Kangyurs; by parivarna in the Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur; by parivarṇa in the Ulaanbaatar Kangyur; and by paripūrna in the Hemis, Dolpo, and Namgyal Kangyurs and the Langdo collection, this last variant meaning “full” or “complete” being the one that seems to make most sense.
n.­2
See Sarkar (1981) pp. 46–49.
n.­3
Perhaps a better definition is that of Sastri (1960) p. 72: “The word avadāna signifies a ‘great religious or moral achievement as well as the history of a great achievement.’ ”
n.­4
See Rotman (2008) pp. 19–20.
n.­5
See Chutiwongs (1978) p. 139; Sarkar (1981) p. 45.
n.­6
“Le Karma-Çataka me parait-être l’œuvre d’une École qui a voulu avoir son recueil de « Cent Légendes » se différenciant de l’Avadāna-Çataka par certaines particularités. Les deux recueils appartiendraient à deux Écoles rivales, non ennemies.” Feer (1901) p. 60.
n.­7
Some shared episodes are almost verbatim, but show interesting differences (see, for example, n.­73 and n.­76) that might on further investigation throw light on the history of its translation.
n.­8
There is a Mongolian version, but like others of its kind it is almost certain to have been translated from the Tibetan. See Skilling (2001) p. 140, n23.
n.­9
See Butön F.125.a.5, translated in Obermiller ([1932] 1986) p. 186, and in Stein and Zangpo (2013) p. 281. See also Skilling (1997) p. 89; Skilling (2001) p. 140; Ancient Tibet (1986) p. 252. Nyak Jñānakumāra is usually thought of as having worked predominantly on tantric material and to have been active only from Trisong Detsen’s reign onwards; nevertheless, traditional accounts mention that because he was already an active translator familiar with Sanskrit he was Trisong Detsen’s first emissary, sent to invite Bodhisattva Śāntarakṣita to Tibet. Even before that, according to the fourteenth century chronicle rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long, Drenka Mūlakośa and Jñānakumāra were sent by King Tridé Tsuktsen to invite “the two paṇḍitas Buddhaguhya and Buddhaśānta” to Tibet; the two paṇḍitas declined the invitation but the two translators learned by heart five Mahāyāna sūtras, including the Karmaśataka, and brought them back with them (see Sørensen 1994, p. 352). If they were, in fact, responsible for an early Tibetan translation, it would almost certainly have been revised later, and the Tibetan that has survived in the Kangyur bears no particularly archaic characteristics.
n.­10
Denkarma, F.300.b.5; see also Herrmann-Pfandt (2008) pp. 150–51; and Nattier (1991) p. 151.
n.­11
“Ral-pa-can’s brother, Glang-dar-ma, was put on the throne with the backing of the Bon-pos and rebellious clans sometime between 836 and 841 … Glang-dar-ma’s reign lasted only until 841 or 842, according to most sources.” Ancient Tibet (1986) p. 305.
n.­12
“The three men are called Bod-kyi mkhas-pa mi-gsum or ‘The Three Learned Men of Tibet.’ ” Roerich (1996) p. 63 n1. “viz. Rab-sal of Tsaṅ, Yo Ge-juṅ of P’o-t’oṅ-pa and Mar Çākyamuni of Tö-luṅ.” Obermiller ([1932] 1986) p. 201.
n.­13
Roerich (1996) p. 63.
n.­14
Obermiller ([1932] 1986) p. 199.
n.­15
The Avadānaśataka exists in Sanskrit (the most complete manuscript being a 17th century Nepalese one); in a third century Chinese translation (撰集百緣經, Zhuanji Bai Yuan Jing, Taishō 200); and in an imperial period Tibetan translation by Devacandra and Jinamitra (gang po la sogs pa’i rtogs pa brjod pa brgya pa, Toh 343).
n.­16
See Skilling (2001) p. 141; cf. Przyluski and Lalou (1936) pp. 177–78.
n.­17
Feer (1901) pp. 53–54. By the accounting of the present translation the stories number 124, but because several chapters contain multiple stories a total greater than either 124 or 127 could equally well be counted.
n.­18
For a list of stories common to both collections see Feer (1901) p. 55; cf. Speyer (1992) p. xix.
n.­19
“Quoique les récits de l’un et l’autre recueil présentent la même physionomie générale, il y a entre eux des différences de détails nombreuses et notables.” Feer (1901) pp. 54–55.
n.­20
Feer (1901) p. 54.
n.­21
For an in-depth analysis of this interpretation of vyākaraṇa see Burnouf (2010) pp. 100–101.
n.­22
Przyluski and Lalou (1936) p. 178.
n.­23
See Sarkar (1981) p. 45; Winternitz (1987) p. 250.
n.­24
“Il y a un certain nombre de textes (j’en ai compté 42) que je qualifie de parallèles, parce que le récit du temps présent et celui du temps passé sont la reproduction exacte (sauf quelques modifications indispensables) l’un de l’autre, sans qu’il soit question (au moins dans les plus caractéristiques d’entre eux) de punition ou de récompense; ou, si cet élément s’y trouve, il y est secondaire et occupe très peu de place.” Feer (1901) p. 56.
n.­25
For a detailed list of similarities and differences between jātakas and avadānas see Sarkar (1981) pp. 50–51.
n.­26
“Il y a de ces textes dans lesquels le récit du temps passé se divise en plusieurs parties, le Buddha jouant un rôle dans l’une, n’en jouant pas dans d’autres…. Je remarque aussi un certain nombre de récits qui ont pour héros principal ou secondaires des personnages célèbres de la légende bouddhique (Devadatta, Kāçyapa, Ananda, Aniruddha, Katyāyana, Kokālika, Çāriputra, Mandgalyāyana, Gopā, Yaçodharā, Bimbisāra, Prasenajit, etc.) ou même se rattachent à des épisodes connus de ce qu’on peut appeler la biographie du Buddha et l’histoire du Bouddhisme.” Feer (1901) p. 56.
n.­27
The Tibetan nyes par spyod pa, “misdeeds,” might be a scribal error for nye bar spyod pa, “sense pleasures,” given that parallel Sanskrit source passages have kāma here.
n.­28
The translation of this stock passage is based on a very similar passage in the Avadānaśataka and the Divyāvadāna, as informed by Rotman’s rendering (2008, p. 225). The Sanskrit is as follows: ko hīyate, ko vardhate, kaḥ kṛcchraprāptaḥ kaḥ saṃkaṭaprāptaḥ, kaḥ saṃbādhaprāptaḥ kaḥ kṛcchrasaṃkaṭasambādhaprāptaḥ ko 'pāyaniṃnaḥ, ko 'pāyapravaṇaḥ ko 'pāyaprāgbhāraḥ kamahamapāyamārgādvyutthāpya svargaphale mokṣe ca pratiṣṭhāpayeyam kasya kāmapaṅkanimagnasya hastoddhāramanupradadyām kamāryadhanavirahitamāryadhanaiśvaryādhipatye pratiṣṭhāpayāmi kasyānavaropitāni kuśalamūlānyavaropayeyam kasyāvaropitāni paripācayeyam kasya pakvāni vimocayeyam, kasyājñānatimirapaṭalaparyavanaddhanetrasya jñānāñjanaśalākayā cakṣurviśodhayeyam /.
n.­29
In stock phrases like this the text alternates between “truths” in the plural and “truth” in the singular. Based on text-internal evidence we understand this to primarily refer to the “four truths of nobles beings,” so unless context dictates otherwise we have rendered it in the plural throughout.
n.­30
I.e., the saṅgha of the nuns and that of the monks.
n.­31
A portion of this passage and the others identical to it were translated with reference to similar passages in the Divyāvadāna. See Rotman (2008) p. 73; and Tatelman (2005) pp. 32–33, 110–11.
n.­32
“The unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa”; Tib. g.yung drung gi mthar thug pa grub pa dang bde ba’i mya ngan las ’das pa. The Tibetan phrase grub pa dang bde ba most likely renders the Sanskrit yogakṣema.
n.­33
At this point in the par phud printing of the Degé Kangyur available on the Buddhist Digital Resource Center site (W22084), vol. 73, F.162.a seems to have been mistakenly inserted in the place of F.12.a, though the English numbering (ostensibly done separately) is continuous. The mistakenly inserted folio is not translated here; its translation appears at the appropriate place later in the text. In D vol. 73, F.12.a is nowhere to be found; the missing portion translated here has therefore been taken from S vol. 80, F.17.a–18.a. The correct section of the text resumes in D after this one folio with vol. 73, F.12.b. This missing folio does not affect the Tibetan text seen in the Reading Room bilingual view, which was input from scans of a later printing free of this error.
n.­34
This list of five is translated in consultation with the Divyāvadāna, which has a nearly identical passage. Cf. Rotman (2008) pp. 39–41 and Tatelam (2005) p. 29.
n.­35
The par phud print of D (see n.­33) resumes here with F.12.b.
n.­36
“Committed adultery with”; Tib. byi byed pa. This term can also mean “raped.” It is unclear from the context which is intended.
n.­37
Throughout the text we have omitted reiterations of the full title that appear in the Tib. at the beginning of each bam po.
n.­38
This rendering is informed by the following Sanskrit phrase from the Avadānaśataka, which likely corresponds closely to the source text phrase for the Tibetan translation: ity uktamātre bhagavatā saptāhāvaropitair iva keśair dvādaśavarṣopasaṃpannasyeva bhikṣor īryāpathena pātrakarakavyagrahasto 'vasthitaḥ. Cf. Andy Rotman’s (2008, p. 88) translation of a very similar stock phrase. The sense, as Rotman notes (p. 406 n270), is that though newly gone forth they do not appear as novices, but as elder well-disciplined monks just prior to their weekly tonsure.
n.­39
“Four divisions of his army”; Rotman’s translation of the Divyāvadāna lists these as “the elephant corps, the cavalry, the chariot corps, and the infantry.” (2008) p. 128.
n.­40
“They sat in silence”; D: difficult to read. S: kha rog ste ’khod do.
n.­41
D pad ma here is most likely a corruption of bad sa (Vatsa), since pa and ba are easily confused in handwritten Tibetan manuscripts, and Y, J, K, N, C, and H all read sa’i instead of D (and S) ma’i.
n.­42
“Already”; D: sngan cad; S: sngan chad. This translation follows S. Rangjung Yeshe has an entry for the similar sngan chad med pa, “unprecedented.”
n.­43
Skt. paṅgu (Negi), “crawls about”; Tib. ’phye bo. The individual named Paṅgu in this story is not the same as the person with the same name whose story begins at 7.­2.
n.­44
The vinaya prohibits, among others, persons with certain disabilities from becoming bhikṣus or bhikṣuṇīs. See Miller (2018), chapter 6; see also Vinayakṣudrakavastu (Toh 6), D vol. 11, F.38.a–b (translation Jamspal and Fischer, forthcoming).
n.­45
“Ford the floodwaters”; Tib. chu bo rnams las brgal bar bya ba. A Buddhist idiom meaning “to overcome the afflictive emotions,” per Dr. Lozang Jamspal.
n.­46
“Manifest,” for Tib. rangs. We read this as a variant spelling of langs pa, “appear, arise, manifest, stand, wells up, comes up, and uplifts, p. of lang ba” (Ives Waldo).
n.­47
“Focused his mind,” for the Tib. dgongs, in contrast to the Tib. mthong, which appears in conjunction with a disciple’s actions in nearly identical passages. Some scriptures explain the omniscience of the Buddha to be such that while all knowledge is ever available to him, he must in fact direct his mind toward an object to “know” it, as seems to be the case here. Some similar passages have simply “know,” when the verb has a direct object, e.g., “The Blessed One knew the time had come….”
n.­48
“Will be instrumental in,” for the Tib. ’di las brten te; alt. “Through this being the Blessed One will give an extraordinary Dharma teaching,” “The Blessed One will use this being to give an extraordinary Dharma teaching,” or the like.
n.­49
There are indeed two instances of the phrase “totally and completely awakened Buddha” in this passage.
n.­50
“Prabhāvan,” adapted from L. Chandra’s entry, which lists not a Buddha but a goddess by the same name. Tib. ’od zer can, Eng. perhaps “Having Light Rays”; probably a Skt. epithet for the sun.
n.­51
“The Bodhisattva” with a capital B, here and throughout, refers to Buddha Śākyamuni in his previous lifetimes, after he first gave rise to the resolve set on complete and perfect awakening.
n.­52
“Gopā led him up the stairs, kicked him in the head, and threw him from the top of the staircase.” Here we take the first usage of the Tib. mgo as referring to the “top” of the staircase (as earlier in the story) and the subsequent usage to refer to Devadatta’s own head; Tib. de nas sa ’tsho mas skas de nyid la mgo thur kar bstan te / mgo bor rdog pas bsnun nas / skas mgo nas bor ro.
n.­53
D bdag gis, should be bdag gi.
n.­54
D bdag gis, should be bdag gi.
n.­55
This refers to Donkey Grove.
n.­56
Tib. mnyas, probably a scribal error. Elsewhere typically mnyes.
n.­57
D: bse ru lta bu’i ’jig rten gyi yon gnas gcig pu rnams ’jig rten du ’byung ste; S: bse ru lta bu ’jig rten…. This translation follows S.
n.­58
“Held him dear to their hearts”; Tib. pha ma’i snying du shas cher sdug cing phangs la yid du ’ong bar gyur to.
n.­59
D: des sa sgren po la gnas; perhaps “living on bare ground” (lit: “naked earth”). S: des sgren po la gnas. This translation follows S, taking a cue from later in the D, where she is described as bu mo de sgren mor ’dug, “sitting naked on the ground” (see 2.­217).
n.­60
Tib. che ge. Lozang Jamspal compares this term to the Ladakhi dialect ’a ce, “elder sister.”
n.­61
“Capacity”; Tib. shes pa. Alt. “knowledge,” “education,” “critical faculties.” From this point forward, the text generally adds shes pa to the standard list in this stock passage. In our translation we have inverted the order of the last two qualities in the list from that in the Tib.
n.­62
“What action pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?” Tib. gang las gis ni bcom ldan ’das mnyes par bgyis te / mi mnyes par ma bgyis lags. This construction differs slightly also in the Tib. from elsewhere in the text.
n.­63
In the list there appear to be six. It may be that the vase and basin, for instance, belong together.
n.­64
A sign of high esteem.
n.­65
“Meanwhile” is a rhetorical insertion.
n.­66
For this list to total ten dreams, one must take “touching” and “taking … into his arms” the sun and moon as two different dreams, and count each of the dreams of sitting on a different being individually. The list is identical in S.
n.­67
“It quivered, shuddered, and jolted; it trembled, shook, and swayed”; the Tib. uses only two basic verbs, intensifying each twice over to make six in all: ’gul rab tu ’gul / kun du [sic] rab tu ’gul / ldeg rab tu ldeg / kun du [sic] rab tu ldeg par gyur to.
n.­68
“Finally came”; D and S both have the Tib. thod, which this translation takes as scribal error for thob.
n.­69
“Stepped”; the Tib. rdzis, here rendered as “stepped” to underscore Mati’s change of heart. The Tib. reflects this shift in Mati’s alternating uses of rkang and zhabs as he describes the incident.
n.­70
“My drum”; Tib. rol mo. Lit. “music.” His name is later given as rnga sgra (Sound of the Drum).
n.­71
“Screened windows”; obscure Tib. skar khung khol ma (Lozang Jamspal). Used also to refer to a hole in the roof for releasing smoke from cooking or heating.
n.­72
“Burning sticks of incense, incense powders, and incense cones”; Tib. bdug pa dang phye ma dang spos. This formulation appears throughout the text. In the absence of a clear delineation between these items in the available dictionaries, this translation renders these three types of incense based on (1) the meaning of bdug pa as a verb, “to cense,” thus “burning” sticks; (2) phye ma, meaning “powder,” in this context incense powder; and while (3) spos is a general term for incense, when it appears with the others we appended “cones” to differentiate them.
n.­73
The passage that follows, recounting the Buddha’s first teaching, is almost identical to the account of the same episode in The Chapter on a Schism in the Saṅgha (Saṅgha­bheda­vastu, the seventeenth chapter of the Vinaya­vastu, Toh 1), see D vol. 4 (’dul ba, nga), F.41.a.7 et seq., and therefore also the equivalent passage in The Sūtra on Going Forth (Abhi­niṣkramaṇa­sūtra, Toh 301), see D vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), F.58.b.5 et seq., since the latter is derived from extracts of the former. These three parallel passages are more than close enough for their common origin to be almost certain, and their minor differences in wording are no doubt due to the work of editors at different times; it is worth noting that the exact wording of the version in the present text diverges further from the first two versions mentioned than the second from the first (and in this regard see n.­76 below). A quite different account of the same episode is found in The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95), see D vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), F.195.a et seq.; or, in translation, Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2013), 26.19. A full translation of The Chapter on a Schism in the Saṅgha is in preparation (Miller, forthcoming).
n.­74
It is at this point in the narrative that the (shorter) version recounted in the Pali Dhamma­cakkappavattana-sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya 56) begins; the Kangyur sūtra Toh 31 (D vol. 34, shes rab sna tshogs, F.180.b–183.a) is a 14th century translation made from the Pali and therefore very close to it‍—though not an entirely accurate match, see Skilling (1993), pp. 103–106.
n.­75
Most other Tibetan versions of this repeated passage (e.g. in the Dharmacakrasūtra, Toh 337) place the first person pronoun nga with this phrase, but here the Tibetan translators have chosen to omit it. Indeed, 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. The important point in this phrase is that the Buddha’s realizations of the points he is setting out came from his own experience and not from any pre-existing doctrinal transmission.
n.­76
This version of the Buddha’s first teaching follows the Sanskrit of the Saṅghabhedavastu (see n.­73), but not the Tibetan in that it does not include the term “realization” (Tib. rtogs pa) in this and 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 does not mention this particular version, or this difference between the Sanskrit of the Saṅghabhedavastu and its Tibetan translation. For an English translation of another version of this foundational teaching and a discussion of its textual history and various recensions, see Dharmachakra Translation Committee, The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018. The present English rendering of this teaching closely follows that translation, but differs from it where the Tibetan source text does.
n.­77
This name means “Kauṇḍinya who has understood.”
n.­78
Conches with clockwise whorls were apparently considered more precious at this time.
n.­79
Here, “terrors,” “fearsome,” “terrifying,” “threat,” and “treacherous” all reflect the Tib. ’jigs pa’i and could alternatively all be uniformly translated as simply “the danger of,” or “dangerous.”
n.­80
“Sirens,” borrowing the familiar term from Greek mythology. Tib. srin mo khrung khrung gzhon nu ma.
n.­81
“Their boats were destroyed,” unsure. Tib. song ste bor yang. Perhaps “set out, and left (land) behind as well, but….”
n.­82
Tib. song ste bor yang nor gyi gru rnams ma rungs par gyur. Perhaps “set out, and left (land) behind as well, but….”
n.­83
“I betrayed him,” for the obscure Tib. bdag gis de la chu gang bor med do. Lit. “There is no throwing out all the water to him” (or “at it”). According to Dan Martin, the honorific form chab gang can mean “loyality,” “integrity,” etc.
n.­84
This is likely a reference to the episode of “The Burning of the Khāṇḍava Forest” that concludes the first book (ādiparvan) of the Mahā­bhārata. In this episode, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna set the Khāṇḍava Forest on fire and annihilate nearly all of the animals that live in the forest as they flee the flames. The reference thus evokes a scene of total annihilation. For a translation of this episode, see The Mahā­bhārata I: The Book of the Beginning (1973) pp. 412–31.
n.­85
This final verse is followed by an abbreviated summary of the foregoing verses, listing the first word of each four-line verse. This is perhaps intended as a mnemonic device for ordained persons relating the story from memory in a teaching environment. We have left this terse summary untranslated. D reads: tshigs su bcad pa ’di rnams kyi sdom ni / kyi ’dug de bde khyod sdig chos blo ’jigs bsen. S breaks up the passage in a way that makes this abbreviation more obvious: kyi ’dug / de / bde / khyod / sdig / chos / blo / ’jigs / bsen.
n.­86
“Capable”; Tib. spong nus par gyur.
n.­87
I.e., it was nearly noon, after which time he would not be permitted to eat.
n.­88
The term “bald,” though clearly implied, is not present in the Tib.
n.­89
“There’s no reason for me to do anything,” D: gyin da; S: gyin ’da’; C and H: gyi nar.
n.­90
D: sla; S and H: bla. This translation follows D.
n.­91
Tib. dud ’gro. The text switches here from referring to the subject of this story as a monster (srin) to referring to him as an animal (dud ’gro).
n.­92
This renders the Tibetan ’jig rten pa’i thugs, which renders the Sanskrit laukikam cittam, “thought concerning the world.” According to Edgerton (1953, p. 466), this refers to when the Buddha “concerns himself with the welfare of some person or persons … contrasted with a Buddha’s lokottara citta.”
n.­93
“Truth” and “truths” in this passage, and in this stock phrase as it appears throughout this text, translate dharma/chos.
n.­94
Here the Tib. text has an additional zhes smras nas / drang srong kai ne yas, which we have somewhat simplified in the Eng.
n.­95
These are listed in ’dul ba’i mdo as “(1) One should not go alone on the street, (2) one should not swim to the other side of the (“a”?) river, (3) one should not have physical contact with men, (4) one should not remain in the company of men, (5) one should not look upon [them], and (6) one should not hide one’s misdeeds.” The scripture goes on to give six more rules: “(1) One should not lay hands on gold, (2) one should not shave the pubic area, (3) one should not dig in the earth, (4) one should not cut green grass, (5) one should not eat feed what (“food that”?) is not freely given, and (6) one should not hoard food.”
n.­96
“A novice” is added for clarification; in the Tib. it is only implied by the statement that follows.
n.­97
The term “preceptor” has been added here for clarity. The Tibetan text reads “nun” (dge slong ma) here, not “preceptor” (mkhan mo), but, given the context, it must be assumed that this nun is the preceptor who is mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph.
n.­98
The phrase “began to accuse her of adultery” is added here for the sake of clarity.
n.­99
“The five precepts for practicing the holy life,” i.e., not to (1) lie, (2) steal, (3) kill, (4) engage in sexual misconduct, or (5) partake of intoxicants. Sometimes the vow not to engage in sexual misconduct is a vow of celibacy, as here.
n.­100
In this instance the phrase “all material support and clothing” does not appear in the Tib.
n.­101
“Suspected”; Tib. zos, p. of za ba, taken as a short form of the tshom za ba, “to suspect.”
n.­102
Here “pimples,” “pustules,” and “boils” all reflect the Tib. ’bras; alt. “lesions” (Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary).
n.­103
Or, “one billion three hundred fifty million,” i.e., (dung phyur “100 million,” phrag “x,” ’bum “1,000” = 1,000,000,000); dang “+” (bye ba “10 million” phrag “x” sum cu rtsa lnga “35” = 350,000,000) = 1,350,000,000.
n.­104
“For their behavior” is a rhetorical interpolation.
n.­105
“Heard,” translating with S thos. D has mthong.
n.­106
“Unwavering Gait,” translating with D ma nyams pa. S has mnyam pa, “Equal Gait.”
n.­107
This verse differs somewhat from the similar verses at 4.­16 and 10.­410; here the Tib. is sbyin pa rgya cher gyur pa ’di yis ni / srid gsum sangs rgyas rang byung gyur par shog / brgal nas sngon gyi rgyal ba’i dbang rnams kyis / skye bo phal chen ma brgyal rnams kyang bsgral.
n.­108
“The Lay of the Land,” for the Tib. spyod yul (Skt. gocara). The semantic range of this Skt. term makes it difficult to translate with one unique English equivalent. See variants in the story itself.
n.­109
The two parts of the narrative in The Story of Wealth’s Delight (2.­385 et seq. and 2.­430 et seq. above) recount respectively the “sūtra” (see below) itself, verbatim, and the Buddha’s explanation of his past relationship with the five monks who were his first disciples. The present story of Maitrībala is another episode in that past relationship. Note that the sūtra named in the text (chos kyi ’khor lo skor ba’i mdo, Skt. Dharmacakrapravartanasūtra) either refers to a sūtra that no longer exists as such, or is a general way of referring to that episode in the life of the Buddha as related in longer works. The sūtra with just that name in the Kangyur (Toh 31), and the Pali work from which it was translated, the Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya 56), cover only part of the Buddha’s teaching to the monks, while the Kangyur sūtra called The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrasūtra, Toh 337) is an even shorter excerpt. See also n.­73 and n.­74.
n.­110
This verse differs somewhat from the similar verses at 3.­435 and 10.­410; here the Tib. is sbyin pa chen por gyur pa ’di yis ni / ’gro bar rang byung sangs rgyas par shog / sngon gyi rgyal dbang rnams kyis ma bsgral gang / skye bo srid pa’i chu las sgrol bar shog.
n.­111
D: sla’i; S: bla’i. This translation follows S.
n.­112
Just as found in the title, “The Lay of the Land,” for the Tib. spyod yul (Skt. gocara), the semantic range of this Skt. term makes it difficult to translate with one unique Eng. equivalent. In this passage, “Don’t know my way around”; Tib. spyod yul gyi rgyus ma ’tshal na. See various uses below.
n.­113
“Where to go to”; Tib. de lta bu’i spyod yul.
n.­114
“Point another in the wrong direction”; Tib. spyod yul ma yin pa bstan.
n.­115
“Scavenger”; Tib. the rel. According to Dr. Lozang Jamspal this term is still current in Ladakhi dialect.
n.­116
This instance of this stock section of text lacks the Tib. shes pa, “capacity.”
n.­117
Since these four lines are nine syllables each, we translate them as verse, but the meter might alternatively be considered coincidental, and the passage itself as prose belonging to the section that follows.
n.­118
Tib. dge slong gi dge ’dun dang thabs cig tu na. It seems the Buddha’s name may have been mistakenly omitted here.
n.­119
“For all humanity”; Tib. rkang gnyis kyi nang na. Lit. “among the bipeds.”
n.­120
“Burden of your past deeds” to clarify the Tib. las yang bar ’gyur.
n.­121
Ray (1994) p. 165 quotes Horner (1938) pp. 296–97 and notes that the various vinaya disagree on the precise contents of the five ascetic practices promoted by Devadatta. Ray first quotes Horner’s translation of the Pali version as follows: “[1] It were good, lord, if the monks for as long as life lasted, should be forest dwellers; whoever should betake himself to the neighborhood of a village, sin [vajja] would besmirch him. [2] For as long as life lasts let them be beggars for alms; whoever should accept an invitation, sin would besmirch him. [3] For as long as life lasts let them be wearers of robes taken from the dustheap; whoever should accept a robe given by a householder, sin would besmirch him. [4] For as long as life lasts let them live at the foot of a tree; whoever should go undercover, sin would besmirch him. [5] For as long as life lasts let them not eat fish and flesh; whoever should eat fish and flesh, sin would besmirch him.”
n.­122
“Raise the life pillar,” that is, to set in place the main beam at the center of the stūpa. Tib. srog shing gzugs pa.
n.­123
“In gold”; while this number is not specified as gold here, it is on the next folio (see 4.­229).
n.­124
Note there is another story by the same name at 5.­97. The characters are apparently of no relation. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.
n.­125
“Meditative absorption in cessation” (Skt. nirodhasamāpatti) is defined as “a state of meditation achieved in reliance upon the meditative absorption at the peak of cyclic existence (srid rtse), in which a yogi can remain for many aeons through stopping all gross feelings and perceptions. Syn. the emancipation of cessation (’gog pa’i rnam par thar ba).” Rigzin (2008) p. 64. See glossary entry for “nine successive meditative absorptions” (mthar gyis gnas pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa dgu).
n.­126
“To show for himself” is a rhetorical interpolation.
n.­127
This second instance of “there will be no more resentment between us” lacks bdag in the Tib. and is probably a scribal error.
n.­128
D is missing another instance of ma. This translation follows S: bde byed ma ma mchis.
n.­129
This translation follows S: bsngo’o.
n.­130
A rather bleak jest regarding the threat of being decapitated for disobedience to the king. Tib. bdag cag la mgo gnyis mchis sam.
n.­131
This is not a reference to the current King Brahmadatta who figures in the frame narrative for this story, but a former King Brahmadatta who ruled long before the time of Śākyamuni Buddha.
n.­132
D mnyan yod; we translate with S gnyen yod.
n.­133
Note there is another “Story of Subhadra” at 5.­97. The characters are apparently of no relation. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.
n.­134
“Nandā and Nandabalā”; Tib. dga’ mo dang dga’ stobs. In the Lalitavistara Sūtra and elsewhere, this action is credited to the young woman Sujātā.
n.­135
Tib. gzhon nu lta bu’i mdo, Skt. Daharopama Sūtra. The Tibetan title of this sūtra, which is typically gzhon nu dpe’i mdo, has been incorrectly reconstructed as Kumāradṛṣṭānta Sūtra (Toh 296), but Sanskrit sources unanimously attest to only Daharopama Sūtra, or the simplified form, Dahara Sūtra (cf. Peter Skilling, “Notes on the Kanjur Translation Project”).
n.­136
I.e., by using it to support the Buddhist order he will generate merit for his next life.
n.­137
“Wife, servants,” for D gza’ bran, reading gza’ as an alt. spelling or scribal error for bza’, for which Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary has the secondary definition: “[royal] lady, daughter, queen, princess.”
n.­138
This Sanskrit reconstruction is based on Edgerton’s entry (1953, p. 270). The Tib. has lha mthong, which might more likely render Devadarśa; perhaps the Tibetan translation team was working with a corrupt, unclear, or different manuscript.
n.­139
“But still” is a rhetorical interpolation.
n.­140
“Bricks,” taking D phag pa as an abbreviation or corruption of the Tib. so phag, “brick,” or a transliteration of the Skt. pakva, as in “baked (brick or earth).”
n.­141
Reading S gangs instead of D gang. Moreover, chen might be in error for can.
n.­142
“Resplendent … at peace”; Tib. mdzes shing yid du ’thad la dbang po zhi zhing yid zhi ba bde mthong ngo, an abbreviated and slightly different version from similar passages at 2.­218 and elsewhere.
n.­143
“But this was not enough to satisfy him,” for the Tib. de nas de ma grangs nas, apparently an idiom; alt. more lit. “cool him down,” “calm him (down),” “settle him.”
n.­144
“Set out toward,” translating with Y, K zhugs instead of D, S bzhugs, “sitting.”
n.­145
The translators have inserted Aniruddha’s name here for the benefit of those who might not know they are siblings.
n.­146
“The eight great hells,” a reference to the eight hot hells, that is, the Reviving Hell (Sañjīva), the Black Thread Hell (Kālasūtra), the Crushing Hell (Saṃghāta), the Shrieking Hell (Raurava), the Screaming Hell (Mahā­raurava), the Hot Hell (Tapana), the Hell of Extreme Heat (Pratāpana), and the Hell of Ceaseless Agony (Avīci).
n.­147
Here the D Tib. reads “the brahmin magistrate went to the monastery with his son”; the Eng. text has been modified to accord with the preceding narrative as well as with the action that follows.
n.­148
“Had the impulse to eat excrement and drink urine.” This could also be translated as a direct quotation of her thoughts: “had a strong desire (or wish) in her mind: ‘I want to eat and drink excrement and urine!’ ” Tib. yid la ’dod pa’i ’di lta bu yang byung ste / phyi sa dang gcin bza’ zhing ’thung ngo snyam mo.
n.­149
“Something like,” we translate with S lta bu instead of D lha bu.
n.­150
Note there is another story by the same name at 5.­97. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.
n.­151
“Over the garden of Prince Jeta” should perhaps read “above Rājagṛha,” or “Vulture Peak Mountain,” since Rājagṛha is maybe 350 km from Vārāṇasī, where the garden of Prince Jeta is located. We surmise that this is a scribal error. S has the same reading. It is possible that the text is implying the peacock flew from Gandhamādana Mountain to Rājagṛha via Vārāṇasī, but this would be a rather circuitous route.
n.­152
“All the different insects as well”; this phrase appears twice in the Tib.
n.­153
Rotman lists these as alt.: “Pūraṇa Kāśyapa; Maskarin, the son of Gośālī; Sañjayin, the son of Vairaṭṭī; Ajita Keśakambala; Kakuda Kātyāyana; and Nigrantha, the son of Jñāti.” Rotman (2008) p. 253.
n.­154
“Of his intention”; not explicit in the Tib.
n.­155
Here Lord Buddha begins an enumeration of the four immeasurables.
n.­156
Here the Blessed One begins an enumeration of the four formless realm states.
n.­157
“Lustful”; Tib. ’dod chags. Alt. “minds full of attachment,” “minds full of clinging.”
n.­158
“Died,” obscure Tib. honorific nongs (Lozang Jamspal), subsequently also as “passing.”
n.­159
The traditional list of seven teachers in the apostolic succession that carried on the Buddha’s teachings after his parinirvāṇa appears to end here in the Karmaśataka with Dhītika, who is normally the fifth member in the list.
n.­160
“Festival of the Fifth Year of the Doctrine of the Blessed One”; Tib. bcom ldan ’das kyi bstan pa lo lnga pa’i dus ston.
n.­161
“Defeat,” read as the Tib. rgyal. D has brgyal.
n.­162
Here the Tib. lacks “The Blessed One,” clearly implied by the use of bka’ stsal, a formulation typically reserved for the Buddha.
n.­163
“Will fall”; D: brnying, an alt. spelling of bsnying.
n.­164
“Divided his affairs,” for the obscure Tib. ’dab btang (Lozang Jamspal).
n.­165
“The Story of Subhadra the Mendicant”; the Tib. has only rab bzang. Note there is another “Story of Subhadra” at 5.­97. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.
n.­166
“The four observations,” for the Tib. rnam pa’i bzhi’i gzigs. Though we were unable to find an exact reference in Negi or Rigzin, the closest contender, on which we have based our translation (on the assumption that the “four types of observations” here is a shorter version of the same), was, under gzigs pa lnga, Rigzin’s “pañca darśana / Buddha’s five observations; five predeterminations of Buddha Shakyamuni before he came to this world: 1. dus la gzigs pa, observation of the time for his appearance; 2. rus la gzigs pa, observation of the family of his birth; 3. rigs la gzigs pa, observation of the caste of his lineage; 4. yum la gzigs pa, observation of the mother to whom he would be born; 5. yul la gzigs pa, observation of the land in which to disseminate his doctrine.” (Rigzin, p. 366).
n.­167
D: tshur dang; S: tshur deng; this translation follows S.
n.­168
“Serika”; here D actually has the Tib. sde pa’i grong, unattested, where we have substituted the name of Nandā and Nandabalā’s village as it is given on vol. 73, F.217.a.
n.­169
“Lacks even the first monastic practitioner, and lacks the second, third, and fourth as well”; Tib. dge sbyong dang po, etc. Probably this refers to the four general classes of those who have gone forth, that is, novice and full nuns and monks.
n.­170
“What use would it have been if you had already gone to nirvāṇa?” An educated guess at the significance of the Tib. yong yang khyod der phyin du zin na ci la phan te.
n.­171
“Until they were able to” is a rhetorical interpolation to clarify the passage.
n.­172
Tib. yon rabs, being a shortened form for yon gyi rabs gdon par gsol. A litany traditionally recited in gratitude for alms or a gift; cf. ’dul ba’i mdo, Toh 261, D vol. 66 (mdo sde, za) F.80.b.
n.­173
“Consider me an equal”; obscure Tib. nyam bu shed. Lozang Jamspal: “It sounds like a saying we have in Ladakh, ‘Those kids know my measure.’ ” An equivalent Eng. idiom might be alt. “they have my number,” meaning, “they know me well enough to know what they can get away with.” The point seems to be that since they treat Ven. Ānanda as an equal, they cannot learn from him. The phrase may have its roots in the Tib. mnyam, “equal.”
n.­174
“In the intermediate state” here renders the Tib. bar ma dor, which probably renders the Skt. antarā. This interpretation is contested, however, in the traditions; it might alternatively mean “prematurely.” Cf. Edgerton’s (1953, p. 39) entry for antarā-parinirvāyin.
n.­175
Tib. pus ka ra sa ra; likely a Tibetan transliteration for Puṣkarasārin. There is no story devoted to Puṣkarasārin in the Karmaśataka, so here the text is referring the reader to an outside source. There are stories preserved about this figure in the Divyāvadāna, where a brahmin named Puṣkarasārin figures in the narrative of the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna; the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya; and in Pāli literature where his name is recorded as Pukkasāti.
n.­176
Here the king is listing the four types of formless meditative absorptions (Tib. gzugs med snyoms ’jug bzhi, Skt. catvāri arūpasamāpatti), cf. Rigzin (2008) p. 369.
n.­177
Here and throughout this passage, “cruel” renders the Tib. gtum po (Skt. caṇḍa) and so constitutes a kind of play on words.
n.­178
Tib. pad ma yi bla ma. This is the title given in the contents section for this part; however, in the first story it is shortened to “Padma” (Tib. pad ma), and in the second story, it is shortened to Uttama. We have rendered all instances according to the title given in the contents section, Padmottama.
n.­179
Tib. rin chen gtsug tor can; Skt. Ratnaśikhin. In the contents section the title of this story is given as the Tib. rin chen gtsug tor, and here simply as rin po che, both of which we take as abbreviations for the Tib. rin chen gtsug tor can, given at the end of the story, and which we use to translate throughout.
n.­180
“Vijaya,” for the Tib. rnam par rgyal ba; title taken from the contents section, and reappears at the end of the story. At this point in the text, the title of the story is actually given as the Tib. stobs phrog, Skt. perhaps *Balaharī, Eng. perhaps “Steals Away Strength.” We have followed the contents section and rectified accordingly.
n.­181
D Tib. mi ’drul ba we take as a variant/mistaken spelling of S mi ’grul bar, “not travel with,” i.e., “not cavort with”; similarly, J and C have mi mthun par, “not associate with.”
n.­182
“The six teachers”; Tib. ston pa drug, a reference to the six teachers of false doctrines, Pūraṇa Kāśyapa and so forth, cf. 6.­56.
n.­183
Tib. bsgo ba; one of the rare instances where a verb other than bka’ stsal pa is used when the Blessed One speaks.
n.­184
Tib. pad ma yi bla ma. This is the title given in the contents section for this part; however, here it is shortened to “Padma” (Tib. pad ma), and in the second story, it is shortened to Uttama. We have rendered all instances according to the title given in the contents section, Padmottama.
n.­185
Read according to S: srung ba zhig ’dug pa’i mtsho. D reads: srung ma’i gnas dga’ ldan kyi pad ma’i mtsho.
n.­186
This is short for Padmottama (padma-uttama).
n.­187
Tib. rin chen gtsug tor can; Skt. Ratnaśikhin. In the contents section the title of this story is given as the Tib. rin chen gtsug tor, and here simply as rin po che, both of which we take as abbreviations for the Tib. rin chen gtsug tor can, given at the end of the story, and which we use to translate throughout.
n.­188
“Vijaya,” for the Tib. rnam par rgyal ba; title taken from the contents section, and reappears at the end of the story. At this point in the text, the title of the story is actually given as the Tib. stobs phrog, Skt. perhaps *Balaharī, Eng. perhaps “Steals Away Strength.” We have followed the contents section and rectified accordingly.
n.­189
“Father, or The Story of Sudarśana”; this title combines two different titles‍—the one given in the contents section (“The Story of Sudarśana”) and that given as a heading to the story itself (“Father”).
n.­190
Translating with S bram ze de.
n.­191
“Arranged for their marriages,” for D mchis brang dang bcas te btsems te. The Tib. btsems here is obscure; lit. “to sew.” It might carry a connotation similar to “to bring together.” Scribes also seemed to have trouble interpreting this: J and C are missing btsems te; K has instead the nearly repetitive bcas ste; N has bcas te brtsams te; and Y gives the alternative spelling btsem ste.
n.­192
D and S read tshems dang sbyar, which is obscure. Y, K, and C read tshogs instead of tshems. This line is rendered roughly according to the parallel prose passage above.
n.­193
This rendering is conjectural. D has de na min; Y, K, N, H, and S read bden mo min.
n.­194
Here the Tibetan brjid is corrected to brjed.
n.­195
Similar to the passage at 1.­16, but missing the second line, “All compounded things are suffering” (Tib. zag bcas thams cad sdug bsngal ba).
n.­196
“Pit traps,” obscure Tib. ’jol rlubs; this translation is surmised on the basis of rlubs, “pit.”
n.­197
“Father, or The Story of Sudarśana”; this title combines two different titles‍—the one given in the contents section (“The Story of Sudarśana”) and that given as a heading to the story itself (“Father”).
n.­198
D: “in the garden of Prince Jeta,” while S: “in Bamboo Grove” (vol. 81, F.144.a). The latter is correct considering the story’s setting in Rājagṛha. We have translated accordingly.
n.­199
Tib. bsgrogs, S ’grogs.
n.­200
D: zin; S: zun. This translation follows S.
n.­201
“What’s wrong with me?” is here an interpretive reading of the Tib. phrase ci’i phyir bdag ’di kho na ltar ma rung bar gyur; alt. more lit. “How is it that I have become ruined like this?” or the like.
n.­202
S, N, and H read rmos pa: “Plowman.”
n.­203
Here the Tib. lacks “King.”
n.­204
Tib. bzang sde’i sde mtshan rnams.
n.­205
This is read according to S: tshig dang / rtog pa dang / dpyod pa’o/‍—based on Kauśika’s response just below.
n.­206
This is read according to S: stog pa dang spyod pa.
n.­207
Reading S, Y, K, N, and H: sred, instead of D: srid.
n.­208
Reading S, Y, K, N, and H: sred, instead of D: srid.
n.­209
While D has rtogs pa, we translate with S, Y, K, N, H rtog pa. Read as rtogs pa, an alt. rendering might be, “Understanding has no end. / Still, I have my qualms and doubts.”
n.­210
“Blessed One”; this vocative does not appear in the Tib. We add it here to clarify the shift to second person.
n.­211
Corrected to bde ba from dben pa based on the sense of the passage, the appearance of the former in parallel passages, and the rarity of the latter’s occurence with phan pa; this is the only appearance of such throughout the entire Degé Kangyur.
n.­212
Tib. nga phyin ka log tu dam por bcings. Perhaps phyin ka log is a reference to hands tied behind the back, i.e., “the wrong way.” In that case alt. “tie my hands behind me.”
n.­213
Read according to D: mchi. S and K have instead: ’chi, “to die,” which would change this phrase to “I don’t know who will die where.”
n.­214
Tib. lag ’ongs.
n.­215
Tib. des nye dus bshugs pa tsam gyis. Alt. “handouts.”
n.­216
Devadatta and Venerable Ānanda were brothers.
n.­217
’dis bdag la lan gnyis khron par lhung ba las phyung na mi rung gis/. The Tibetan does indeed say that the hunter freed him from the well “twice,” despite the fact that this only happens once in this particular version of the story.
n.­218
D: de’i tshe mi’i rgyal po la gsol ba gang yin pa de; Y, K: de’i tshe mi rgyal po la gsol ba gang yin pa de. This translation follows the reading in the Y and K editions of the Kangyur.
n.­219
Regarding the title: S, N, and H read rmos pa: “Plowman.”
n.­220
D: zhing blas; S: zhing las. This translation follows S.
n.­221
Tib. bsang ba (Lozang Jamspal).
n.­222
Tib. yang dag par shes pa, possibly a reference to yang dag par shes pa’i ye shes bzhi, the “four right cognitions [of the mode of being of phenomena]” (Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary).
n.­223
Read according to Y and K, which have kha cig ’khor. D reads khu bcud ’khor; S, N, and H read khu bcud ’dod.
n.­224
“Heaps” (Skt. skandha, Tib. phung po) here is a play on words; it means the physical body, the psycho-physical aggregates, and a mass of material, such as a pile of wood for use in a sacrificial fire.
n.­225
This is a conjectural rendering based on S: phung po med pa zhi mchog ci yang med/ /’dod dang srid la ma chags gzhan mi ’gyur/. The first line of D reads instead: phung po med pa zhi bcom ci yang med/.
n.­226
This line is read according to S, Y, K, N, and H: kyi gshis; D has kyis gshegs. gshis is here taken as a rendering of the Sanskrit word marman, which means “vital point,” “hidden meaning,” and related terms.
n.­227
According to Y: gtan pa phebs par legs par ’ongs; D reads gtan la phebs pas les par ’ongs.
n.­228
Here and throughout this section, Y, K, N, and H read simply bdag gi, or bdag gi ba, which would mean “mine” instead of “my self.”
n.­229
Tib. tshal ba rnams, which probably renders the Skt. bhṛtya; an alt. reading might be “vegetable eaters.”
n.­230
Tib. rab gnon rnams; alt. may refer to the rulers of a city of demigods.
n.­231
Tib. gyod cig la btags; alt. perhaps “charged with a crime,” “accused of some mistake.”
n.­232
The title here lacks “King” in Tib.
n.­233
Tib. byang chub kyi phyogs.
n.­234
Here the Tib. changes to byang chub kyi yan lag, from byang chub kyi phyogs.
n.­235
Tib. ’gog pa la rten pa; the phrase “of the afflictive emotions” has been added for clarity.
n.­236
Rendered based on K and Y: /bcom ldan snyung tshabs che ba bas/ /gnod pa de las gzhegs par gyur/. This has readings shared also with S, N, and H. D, however, reads: /bcom ldan snyun tshabs che ba las/ gnod pa de las zhi bar gyur/.
n.­237
Reading S, Y, K bdag gi instead of D bdag gis.
n.­238
Here again reading H bdag gi, or S bdag, instead of D bdag gis. Y, K, and N are missing bdag and gis/gi.
n.­239
“Adherents”; Tib. rtsa ’jing. While Dan Martin and Ives Waldo translate this only as “family,” or the like, we take it for the Skt. pakṣa, per the Yogācārabhūmi glossary (Tibetan and Himalayan Library), and thus, per Monier-Williams, as “adherents.” Appearing with bgyi, below, as “to take (someone’s) side (in an argument).”
n.­240
S: bdag cag gis; D and variants recorded in the Comparative Edition all read bdag cag gi. This translation follows S.
n.­241
Tib. bshig. This seems to be a usage of ’jig pa particular to the vinaya. Cf. similar usage on vol. 74, F.127.a (10.­441).
n.­242
“Egregious, intransigent, destructive views”; it is unclear in the text whether the monk in question is referring to his own views (in regret) or those of his accusers (in defiance). Our translation had provisionally read “my egregious…,” but we ultimately decided to leave the translation as ambiguous as the original. For a similar account of this schism and the associated vinaya rules, cf. Horner (1951) pp. 483–518.
n.­243
skabs ’byed pa’i las literally means “act of opening an opportunity”; it refers to the pravāraṇa, or the “lifting of restrictions” ceremony held at the end of each summer rains retreat, in which monks are given an “opportunity,” otherwise prohibited, to oppose and debate what was heard, seen, or suspected while undertaking a rains retreat (cf. Mahā­vyutpatti, pravāraṇa).
b.

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