The Benefits of the Five Precepts
Toh 37
Degé Kangyur, vol. 34 (mdo sde, ka), folios 271.a–276.a
- Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo
- Ānandaśrī
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Table of Contents
Summary
In the first of the two parts of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, a man and woman who have been married since they were very young and have never been unfaithful to each other ask the Buddha how they can remain together in future lives. The Buddha replies that this is possible for couples such as them who are equal in faith, ethical discipline, generosity, and wisdom, and who practice the Dharma together. In the second, longer part of the sūtra, the Buddha gives a teaching on the five precepts, by which one renounces the five negative deeds—killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, speaking falsehoods, and consuming intoxicants. The sufferings in various hells that are the consequence of those five negative deeds are described, as are the benefits experienced by those who renounce them.
Acknowledgements
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated from Tibetan and Pali (where Pali is available) by Bruno Galasek-Hul. Professor emeritus Stephen Jenkins served as academic consultant, offering many valuable suggestions and improvements. George FitzHerbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Introduction
The Sūtra on the Benefits of the Five Precepts, or, as it is also called, The Sūtra That Teaches the Benefits of the Five Disciplines,1 is among the few texts in the Tibetan Kangyur that also belong to the Theravāda tradition. It is the seventh of the so-called “thirteen late-translated sūtras.”2 These were translated into Tibetan from Pali in the first decade of the fourteenth century at Tharpaling by Tharpa Lotsawa Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo and the visiting Sinhalese monk Ānandaśrī, at the request of Drakpa Gyaltsen, the local ruler of Zhalu.
This sūtra is, however, unique within this group of thirteen texts in that part of its content has no closely matching parallel in the Pali literature.
As observed by Peter Skilling,3 the first part of the sūtra is almost identical in content to a short sutta extant in the Pali canon, the Samajīvīsutta, and may be considered a direct translation of it.4 In this sutta, the householder Nakulapitā and his wife Nakulamātā,5 who have been together since they were very young without even the thought of infidelity, ask the Buddha how they can ensure that they will remain together in future lives. The Buddha replies that when both partners share the wish to remain together, and when both are “equal in faith, ethical discipline, generosity,6 and wisdom,” their continuing association can be achieved. This short discourse with the couple then concludes with three verses in which the Buddha again affirms that when a husband and wife are loving toward each other, practice the Dharma together, and are equal in ethical discipline, they will be reborn together in a heavenly realm where they will enjoy all the sense pleasures.
The Tibetan text of Benefits of the Five Precepts continues with a further teaching given by the Buddha to some monks on the topic of the five “precepts” or “trainings” (Tib. bslab pa, Pali sikkhā, Skt. śikṣā), also called “ethical disciplines” (Tib. tshul khrims, Pali sīla, Skt. śīla). This longer section of the text has no direct parallel in the Pali canon, nor is it attested in any other Buddhist canonical language. The subject matter, however, is familiar to all Buddhist traditions, namely the five precepts, which are resolutions to abandon the five negative deeds of (1) killing, (2) stealing or taking what has not been given, (3) adultery or sexual misconduct, (4) lying and slander, and (5) consuming intoxicants. These are the five basic precepts undertaken by all committed Buddhists, whether lay or monastic, that are to be cultivated so as to become second nature (the core sense of the Sanskrit word śīla, meaning “character,” “nature,” or “habit”).
In this sūtra, the presentation of the five precepts follows a general pattern: First, the negative karmic results of committing the negative deed are described—first during rebirth in a particular hell and then as a human—and then, conversely, the positive karmic results of refraining from the negative deed are described—first during rebirth as a human and then in a heaven.
Thus, the five negative deeds are each associated here with a particular great hell. For killing, it is the hell called Reviving; for stealing, the hell called Wailing; and for sexual misconduct, the hell called Loud Wailing; and, for each of these three, secondary or neighboring hells are also mentioned.7 Lying or slander leads to the hell called Black Thread, and, finally, the misuse of alcohol leads to the hell called Burning. Fuller descriptions of each of these hells can be found elsewhere in the Kangyur, in particular chapter 2 of The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna).8
Whether this second part of the sūtra also formed part of an original Pali source text translated by Tharpa Lotsawa and Ānandaśrī, or whether it was based on Ānandaśrī’s oral testimony, remains a matter of conjecture. It can be observed that the sūtra’s title in Tibetan matches the contents of the second part better than it does the contents of the first, since the narrative concerning the married couple mentions only four, rather than five, doctrinal virtues. Accordingly, the Samajīvīsutta is located within The Book of the Fours (Catukkanipāta) of the Aṅguttaranikāya in the Pali canon. With regard to the second part of the Tibetan sūtra, although there are texts in the Pali canon whose contents match those of our text in general terms—for example, a very short sutta in The Book of the Fives (Pañcakanipāta) of the Aṅguttaranikāya9 enumerates the five negative deeds that lead to rebirth in the hells and the respective renunciations that lead to rebirth in the heavens—none reflects the Tibetan text precisely. If a composite text matching the Tibetan did indeed exist in Pali, then, according to the logic of what Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi has called “composite numerical suttas,”10 it may have been an example of those texts now found in The Book of the Nines (Navakanipāta). However, The Book of the Nines, as presently constituted in the Aṅguttaranikāya, does not contain any sutta that combines the four qualities and the five precepts in this way.11
These considerations suggest two possible conclusions. One is that the fourteenth-century Tibetan translation of The Benefits of the Five Precepts is based on a no-longer-extant, or perhaps paracanonical, Pali original. The other is that the second part of this text, whose first part is a translation of a canonical version of The Benefits of the Five Precepts, is an augmented or commentarial section added, perhaps from an oral tradition, by Ānandaśrī.
It is in this regard that mention should be made of a short passage12 within the second part that is (as far as we can determine) unique to this text, and that many readers—even those fortified with a strong dose of historical and cultural relativism—will find strikingly discordant with present-day values. It is an extra description, seemingly interposed as a supplement to the section on sexual misconduct, that places a woman’s lack of subservience and obedience to her husband in a stark moral light with descriptions of its own specific fruition in the experience of the hell realms. None of the other descriptions in this text of negative actions and the violent sufferings experienced by hell beings as their fruition make pleasant reading; nor indeed do comparable passages in a number of other canonical works and in the later literature. But this particular passage stands out as an outlier, and it would seem justifiable that its canonical status might at least be questioned.
To our knowledge, this is the first full English translation of the sūtra to be published. A full translation into French was published by Léon Henri Feer in 1881, and partial English translations can be found in Cabezón 2017.13
This English translation was prepared from the Tibetan and compared with the Pali witnesses when they were available. The first part of the sūtra concerning the married couple was translated in close consultation with the Pali Samajīvīsutta as found in the Pali Text Society’s edition of the Aṅguttaranikāya14 and with Bhikkhu Bodhi’s English translation.15 Comparison with the Pali was very helpful, since, as observed by Skilling, there are some difficulties with the Tibetan of the “thirteen late-translated sūtras.”16 Where the Tibetan translation diverges in any significant way from the Pali it has been recorded in notes, as have significant variants in the Pali text across the major lineages of the Pali canon. The second part of The Benefits of the Five Precepts was translated from the Tibetan alone, as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variant readings noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. Variant readings that have been preferred over the Degé version or that offer plausible alternatives have also been recorded in notes.
Text Body
The Benefits of the Five Precepts
The Translation
Homage, with devotion, to the noble Three Jewels.17
Thus did I hear at one time.18 The Bhagavān was staying in the Bhesakalā grove deer park19 at Suṃsumāragiri20 in the country of the Bhaggas.21 Early one morning, the Bhagavān, having donned his outer robe and taken up his bowl,22 went to the dwelling of the householder23 Nakulapitā and, having approached, sat down on a prepared seat. Then the householders Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā24 approached the Bhagavān, greeted him reverently, and sat down to one side.
Sitting to one side, the householder Nakulapitā addressed the Bhagavān: “Ever since, Venerable Bhagavān, the householder Nakulamātā was brought to me as a young girl when I was still a child, not even the thought of being unfaithful to Nakulamātā has occurred to me, and there has been no physical wrongdoing. Bhagavān, this is our mutual experience in this life, and we wish to share this experience in other lives, too.”25
Then the householder Nakulamātā addressed the Bhagavān: “Ever since, Venerable Bhagavān, I was brought as a girl to householder Nakulapitā when he was still young, not even the thought of being unfaithful to Nakulapitā has occurred to me, and there has been no physical wrongdoing. Bhagavān, this is our mutual experience in this life, and we wish to share this experience in other lives, too.”26
Then the Bhagavān said,27 “When a husband and wife both have that wish and have had this mutual experience in this life, they will share this experience in other lives, too. By being equal in faith, [F.271.b] equal in ethical discipline, equal in generosity, and equal in wisdom, both of you have had this mutual experience in this life, and you will share this experience in other lives, too.”28
Then he spoke the following verses:29
“Therefore, one should guard the five precepts.33
“These are (1) refraining from killing, (2) refraining from taking what has not been given, (3) refraining from sexual misconduct, (4) refraining from lying, and (5) refraining from drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication. These are the five precepts that one should guard.”
The monks then inquired about the benefits of the five disciplines: “How else, Venerable Bhagavān, should the karmic fruition of refraining from killing be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from taking what has not been given be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from sexual misconduct be understood? How should the karmic fruition of refraining from lying be understood? And how should the karmic fruition of refraining from drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication be understood?”
The Bhagavān responded to their questions so as to be well understood: “Monks, you should regard killing as being like a venomous snake. It is accompanied by many wrongdoings and leads to rebirth in the realm of ghosts, the animal realm, and the hell realms. After the destruction of the body, after death,34 one will be born in the Reviving Hell. There, the guardians of the Reviving Hell [F.272.a] will thoroughly roast one’s body, and then cut it to pieces with a variety of blades and gouge holes in it. Forced to undergo the so-called “fivefold ordeal,”35 the denizens of this hell repeatedly die and are repeatedly revived and reborn in the Reviving Hell.
“The karmic fruition for those who weightily take life is to be overwhelmed again and again by all these terrible, harsh, and intense sufferings of the Reviving Hell.36 Even if they are reborn as a human, their lives will be short, their sense faculties defective. They will be ugly, lacking insight, always fearful, and always angry. They will be disease ridden, full of sorrow, and devoid of joy. They will have nothing, and they will have nothing for a very long time.”
This is the karmic fruition of killing.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, [F.272.b] they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Stealing means robbing another’s possessions, which have not been given, from their house or room and so on, whether consciously or unconsciously. Those who take from others by deception in order to make a living likewise eventually take what has not been given and will, after the destruction of the body, after death, be reborn in the Wailing hells.
“There are two hells called Wailing: the Wailing Hell of Flames and the Wailing Hell of Smoke.42 In the Wailing Hell of Flames, life lasts for one cosmic age. At intervals, the entire hell is filled with a blazing fire. In the Wailing Hell of Smoke, fumes billow. In both, the denizens of the Wailing hells are cooked by flames. Fire comes out of their nine orifices and scorches their bodies. In the Wailing Hell of Smoke, beings are cooked as denizens of hell. Fumes come billowing from their nine orifices, and their bodies are cooked like food.43 The beings in both scream in torment. There they experience terrible, harsh, and intense sufferings.44
“Stealing, monks, should be regarded as being like a venomous snake. It leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who steals is very grave. Even if reborn as a human, their resources will be depleted, and those who have taken what has not been given will be unable to hold on to even the smallest things. It will be difficult for them to obtain food, drink, clothing, a mat, and so forth. They will be in constant discomfort and will be hateful and hostile toward others. Whatever they do manage to obtain they will lose again, and others will enjoy it instead. What they desire will be difficult to obtain, and things they already possess will not be productive. They will be devoid of happiness.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
This is the karmic fruition of stealing.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Those who are lustful and commit acts of sexual misconduct in this world, after the destruction of the body, after death, will fall and be reborn in the Loud Wailing Hell.45 Outside, on both banks of the unfordable Vaitaraṇī River, is the Forest of Silk Cotton Trees, equally high, extending upward for eighty yojanas, with thorns sixteen finger-widths in length and downward-hanging branches. Bodies the size of twelve earshots, with flames climbing up their bodies,46 ascend sixty yojanas, and there they perpetually kill one another with various weapons, which are the leaves of the Forest of Silk Cotton Trees.47 For many thousands of years they will climb on the thorns of those trees. Moreover, they will be struck with weapons by the guardians of this hell. Crying out, they will fall headlong, and when they land they will be impaled on sharpened stakes set into a ground of burning iron, so that the stakes emerge from their anuses, [F.273.b] causing extreme pain. Constantly wailing, they will stay for an eon in an iron pot sixteen yojanas wide and completely filled with burning coals, which the guardians of hell48 shove into their mouths.”49
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said, “Monks, sexual misconduct toward what you desire should be regarded as being like a venomous snake. It leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who commits sexual misconduct is very grave. Even if reborn as a human, they will experience great suffering.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“They will experience misfortune over many lifetimes. They will have many enemies and will always be among hostile people. Whether sleeping or rising, they will be uncomfortable. They will be constantly angry. They will be disturbed by people. Their bodies will always be hunched. From rebirth to rebirth they will be born deaf and blind and so on. Change for the worse will be certain.54 They will always be dissatisfied. They will delight in mutual conflict. They will be bereft of faith.55
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will fall and be reborn in the Loud Wailing Hell. There, they will experience terrible, harsh, and intense suffering.”
This is the karmic fruition of sexual misconduct.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in heaven, in a deva world.
“Any woman who59 does not fully serve her parents-in-law and does not fully serve her husband, who does not care for her husband, who is not respectful toward her husband’s elder brother, who causes trouble for her husband’s sisters, and who moreover does not put her arms, legs, and back into her work60 and does not give them the food and drink they want, is not modest and humble toward them, and criticizes her husband and recites texts at him61 will be reborn in hell. There she will sleep on a floor of burning iron. A flaming iron hook will be inserted into her mouth, as if hooking a fish, and the tip of her tongue will be drawn forth, tied with a rope, and pulled out. After it is pulled it out like that, a big worm, born in the lips at the place where the weapon struck the tip of the tongue, will eat the tongue. Even after it eats only a little, she will be unable to speak. Similarly, she will be cooked there for many thousands of years, [F.274.b] and after being cooked there she will fall again into a great hell.”62
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“Lying, in turn, leads to rebirth in the Black Thread Hell. There, the guardians of that hell, shouting and bellowing and bearing a variety of blazing weapons, drag hell beings one by one onto a floor of burning iron and mark them with burning black thread. Then, holding blazing weapons, they thoroughly transform them as if separating grain from chaff with a winnowing basket, but using hatchets and axes, leaving them screaming and wailing. It is in this Black Thread Hell, drinking one’s own blood, that one is reborn because of telling lies.63 Here, one will experience terrible, harsh, and intense suffering.
“Monks, you should keep in mind that lying is like a venomous snake. It produces great suffering and leads to rebirth in the hells, in the realm of ghosts, and as animals. The karmic fruition for anyone who lies is grave. Even if reborn as a human, they will be without compassion. They will have a voice like a crow. They will be poor at speaking. They will have tooth decay,64 bad breath, and crooked teeth. Their words will be rough and their voice hoarse. They will have bad lips. They will be jealous and have insatiable cravings. And after the destruction of their body, after death, they will be reborn in the Black Thread Hell.”65
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
This is the karmic fruition of lying.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in a happy rebirth-destiny, in a deva world, in heaven.
“That which is called lying is reprehensible. Sons of good family should refrain from pursuing the objects of their desire. Instead they should extract the essence of that which is true and good. That which is called speaking falsehoods serves no purpose. It deceives the world and leads to rebirth in the Hell of Incessant Torture for many future lives.72 Therefore, one should not lie for the sake of one’s livelihood.73 Even at such times as when the omniscient one, the Buddha, the Bodhisattva, is concealed, divisive speech, like the color of turmeric, does not last long; like a dagger planted in a heap of chaff, it does not last long; and like a round fruit placed74 on the back of a horse,75 it does not last long. So, too, when a word spoken is cut short by a sword, two words will not be uttered.76 But, by speaking the truth over a long period of time, ascetics and brahmins reach liberation after they die.
“Drinking alcohol leads to falling into and being reborn in the Burning Hell.77 Beings who have fallen into this hell will be cooked for many thousands of years. After that, they are discarded on the bank of Vaitaraṇī River. With no way across, they try again and again to swim, whereupon the guards of that hell will pull them out with hooks, like fish, and toss them down on the ground of burning iron and bellow, ‘Oi, what do you want?’ ‘Lord, I am parched,’ the beings will reply, and the guardians of that hell will rip open their mouths with red-hot iron hooks and pour molten iron into their gaping mouths. First, their [F.275.b] lips and throats will be scorched. Next their chests burn, then their bowels, and their hearts will burn, too, until the molten iron forces its way out through the anus. Such are the torments they are made to experience, weeping and rolling78 on the floor in pain. However, even then they will not die. They will experience these sensations, the karmic ripening of their actions, for as long as the fruits of their negative actions last.”
For that reason, the Bhagavān has said:
“For someone to drink alcohol is not a small misdeed. Even if they are reborn as a human, they will always be absent-minded and as dull, stupid, and unaware as a sheep. Constantly falling asleep, they will be of low intelligence and very ignorant. They will be scared and fearful, doubtful,81 divisive, untrustworthy, miserly, envious, and without renunciation. They will be without shame, with no sense of decency, and will have poor discernment. They will be unaware of virtuous qualities, and for five hundred lives they will be reborn as yakṣas, for another five hundred as dogs, and they will forever thereafter be reborn as lunatics. These are the harms that ensue from having consumed alcohol.
This is the karmic fruition of drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication.
“After the destruction of the body, after death, they will be reborn in the happy rebirth-destinies of the higher realms, in a deva world, in heaven.
“These disciplines should be guarded. Any person, whether a man or a woman, who does not guard84 and cultivate these disciplines will, after the destruction of the body, after death, fall and be reborn in bad or unfortunate rebirth-destinies, in the lower realms.85 Those who guard and cultivate these disciplines will, after the destruction of the body, after death, be reborn in the happy rebirth-destinies of the higher realms, in a deva world.”
This concludes “The Sūtra That Teaches the Benefits of the Five Disciplines.”
Colophon
This sūtra was translated, edited, and finalized by the learned translator, the Śākya monk Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo, in the presence of the great scholar Ānandaśrī at the translation center of the great monastery Pal Tharpaling. May it become like sun and moon ornaments crowning the earth!86
Abbreviations
Kangyurs referenced in the comparative table of variant readings (bsdur mchan) in the Comparative Edition of the Kangyur
C | Choné printed Kangyur |
---|---|
H | Lhasa (lha sa / zhol) printed Kangyur |
J | Lithang (li thang / ’jang sa tham) printed Kangyur |
K | Kangxi printed Kangyur |
N | Narthang printed Kangyur |
S | Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur |
U | Urga Kangyur |
Y | Yongle printed Kangyur (1410) |
Kangyur editions used directly for this translation
D | Degé printed Kangyur (par phud facsimile) |
---|---|
S | Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur |
Other
AN | Aṅguttaranikāya, Morris 1995 |
---|---|
BHSD | Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, Edgerton 1953 |
DPPN | Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names, Malalasekera 1938 |
Mvy. | Mahāvyutpatti with sgra sbyor bam po gñis pa |
PE | Purāṇic Encyclopaedia, Mani 1975 |
PED | The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary, Rhys Davids and Stede 1925 |
Notes
Bibliography
Canonical Sources
bslab pa lnga’i phan yon (Pañcaśikṣānuśaṃsa). Toh 37, Degé Kangyur vol. 34 (sher phyin, ka), folios 271.a–276.a.
bslab pa lnga’i phan yon. 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. 34, pp. 791–805.
bslab pa lnga’i phan yon. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 87 (mdo sde, chi), folios 135.a–143.a.
dam pa’i chos dran pa nye bar gzhag pa (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna) [The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma]. Toh 287, Degé Kangyur vols. 68–71 (mdo sde, ya–sha), folios 82.a (ya)–229.b (sha). English translation in Dharmacakra Translation Committee 2021.
Morris, Richard. The Aṅguttara-Nikāya. Part 2. Oxford: Pali Text Society, 1995.
“Samajīvīsutta.” In Anguttara-Nikaya of the Sutta-Pitaka: Part II. Catukkanipata. GRETIL edition input by the Dhammakaya Foundation, 1989–1996, based on the edition by Richard Morris: London: Pali Text Society, 1888 (reprinted 1976). Accessed May 30, 2021.
“Paṭhamasamajīvīsuttaṃ” [Samajīvīsutta]. In Chaṭṭasaṅgāyana (Catukkanipātapāḷi, Puññābhisandavaggo). Based on the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana CD-ROM published by the Vipassana Research Institute, Dhamma Giri, India, https://tipitaka.org/romn/, last accessed May 30, 2021.
“Saṃkiccajātakavaṇṇanā” [Saṃkiccajātakavaṇṇanā]. In Chaṭṭasaṅgāyana (Jātaka-aṭṭhakathā-5, 19. saṭṭhinipāto). Based on the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana CD-ROM published by the Vipassana Research Institute, Dhamma Giri, India, https://tipitaka.org/romn/, last accessed September 26, 2023.
“Kuṇālajātakavaṇṇanā” [Kuṇālajātakavaṇṇanā]. In Chaṭṭasaṅgāyana (Jātaka-aṭṭhakathā-5, 21. asītipāto). Based on the Chaṭṭha Saṅgāyana CD-ROM published by the Vipassana Research Institute, Dhamma Giri, India, https://tipitaka.org/romn/, last accessed September 26, 2023.
Other Sources
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Bhikkhu Bodhi. The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2012.
Cabezón, José Ignacio. Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism. Studies in Indian and Tibetan Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Cone, Margaret. A Dictionary of Pāli. Part 1, a–kh. Oxford: Pali Text Society, 2001.
———. A Dictionary of Pāli. Part 2, g–n. Bristol: Pali Text Society, 2010.
Deleanu, Florin. The Chapter on the Mundane Path (laukikamārga) in the Śrāvakabhūmi : A Trilingual Edition (Sanskrit Tibetan Chinese) Annotated Translation and Introductory Study. Tokyo: International Institute for Buddhist Studies of the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, 2006.
dung dkar tshig mdzod chen mo. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2002.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.
Feer, Léon. Fragments extraits du Kandjour. Annales du Musée Guimet 5. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1883.
Freiberger, Oliver. “Gṛhastha in the Śramaṇic Discourse: A Lexical Survey of House Residents in Early Pāli Texts.” In Gṛhastha: The Householder in Ancient Indian Religious Culture, edited by Patrick Olivelle, n.p. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. Apple Books.
Hazlewood, Ann Appleby, trans. “Pañcagatidīpanī.” Journal of the Pali Text Society 11 (1987): 131–59.
Mahāvyutpatti with sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa. Bibliotheca Polyglotta, University of Oslo. Input by Jens Braarvig and Fredrik Liland, 2010. Last accessed July 7, 2015.
Mani, Vettam. Purāṇic Encyclopaedia: A Comprehensive Dictionary with Special Reference to the Epic and Purāṇic Literature. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975. Electronic version at Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries. XML version updated June 30, 2014.
Malalasekera, G. P. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names. Vol. 2. London: John Murray, 1938.
McHugh, James. “The Ancient Indian Alcoholic Drink Called Surā: Vedic Evidence.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 141, no. 1 (January–March 2021): 49–72.
Oberlies, Thomas. Pāli Grammar. Vol. 1. Bristol: Pali Text Society, 2019.
Rhys Davids, T. W., and W. Stede. The Pali Text Society’s Pali–English Dictionary. London: Pali Text Society, 1925. Electronic version at Digital Dictionaries of South Asia. Last updated February 2007.
Schopen, Gregory. The Bhaiṣajyaguru-Sūtra and the Buddhism of Gilgit. PhD diss., Australian National University, 1978.
Skilling, Peter. “Theravādin Literature in Tibetan Translation.” Journal of the Pali Text Society 29 (1993): 72–201.
Stede, Wilhelm. Die Gespenstergeschichten des Peta Vatthu: Untersuchungen, Übersetzung und Pāli-Glossar. Leipzig: O. Harrassowitz, 1914.
Witzel, Michael. Das Alte Indien. Munich: C. H. Beck, 2003.
Zin, Monika. “Imagery of Hell in South, South East and Central Asia.” Rocznik Orientalistyczny 67 (2014): 269–96.
Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
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Bhesakalā grove
- sman gyi nags
- སྨན་གྱི་ནགས།
- bhesakalāvana AO
- bhesakaḷāvana
deer park
- ri dags rgyu ba’i gnas
- རི་དགས་རྒྱུ་བའི་གནས།
- mṛgadāva AO
- migadāya
deva world
- lha’i ’jig rten
- lha yi gnas
- ལྷའི་འཇིག་རྟེན།
- ལྷ་ཡི་གནས།
- devaloka AO
Drakpa Gyaltsen
- grags pa rgyal mtshan
- གྲགས་པ་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
- —
drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication
- myos par ’gyur ba’i chang gi btung ba
- མྱོས་པར་འགྱུར་བའི་ཆང་གི་བཏུང་བ།
- madyapāna AO
- majjapāna
five disciplines
- tshul khrims lnga
- ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་ལྔ།
- pañcaśīla AO
- pañcasīla
five precepts
- bslab pa lnga po
- bslab pa rnam pa lnga po
- བསླབ་པ་ལྔ་པོ།
- བསླབ་པ་རྣམ་པ་ལྔ་པོ།
- pañcaśikṣā AO
fivefold ordeal
- rnam pa lnga yis bcing
- རྣམ་པ་ལྔ་ཡིས་བཅིང་།
- pañcavidhabandhana AO
Forest of Silk Cotton Trees
- shal ma li’i nags
- ཤལ་མ་ལིའི་ནགས།
- śālmalīvana AO
happy rebirth-destinies of the higher realms
- bde ’gro mtho ris
- བདེ་འགྲོ་མཐོ་རིས།
- —
Nyima Gyaltsen Palsangpo
- nyi ma rgyal mtshan dpal bzang po
- ཉི་མ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་དཔལ་བཟང་པོ།
- —
refraining from drinking alcohol that leads to intoxication
- myos par ’gyur ba’i chang gi btung ba spong ba
- མྱོས་པར་འགྱུར་བའི་ཆང་གི་བཏུང་བ་སྤོང་བ།
- —
- surāmerayamajjappamādaṭṭhānaveramaṇī
speaking falsehoods
- brdzun du smra ba
- བརྫུན་དུ་སྨྲ་བ།
- mṛṣāvāda AO
- musāvāda
stealing
- ma byin par len pa
- ma byin len pa
- མ་བྱིན་པར་ལེན་པ།
- མ་བྱིན་ལེན་པ།
- adattādāna AO
- adinnādāna
Suṃsumāragiri
- chu srin byis pa gsod kyi ri
- ཆུ་སྲིན་བྱིས་པ་གསོད་ཀྱི་རི།
- śiśumāragiri AO
- susumāragiri
- suṃsumāragiri
Tharpaling
- thar pa gling
- ཐར་པ་གླིང་།
- —
this life
- mthong ba’i chos ’di
- མཐོང་བའི་ཆོས་འདི།
- dṛṣtadharma AO
- diṭṭadhamma
Vaitaraṇī River
- chu bo rab med
- ཆུ་བོ་རབ་མེད།
- nadī vaitaraṇī AO
- nadī vetaraṇī
Wailing Hell of Flames
- ’bar ba’i ngu ’bod
- འབར་བའི་ངུ་འབོད།
- —
- jālaroruva
Wailing Hell of Smoke
- du ba’i ngu ’bod
- དུ་བའི་ངུ་འབོད།
- —
- dhūmaroruva
without renunciation
- nges par mi ’byung ba
- ངེས་པར་མི་འབྱུང་བ།
- aniḥsaraṇa AO
Zhalu
- zha lu
- zhwa lu
- ཞ་ལུ།
- ཞྭ་ལུ།
- —