The Stem Array
Samantanetra
Toh 44-45
Degé Kangyur, vol. 37 (phal chen, ga), folios 274.b–396.a; vol. 38 (phal chen, a), folios 1.b–363.a
- Surendrabodhi
- Vairocanarakṣita
- Bandé Yeshé Dé
- Jinamitra
Imprint
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2021
Current version v 1.0.29 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.25.1
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Summary
In this lengthy final chapter of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, while the Buddha Śākyamuni is in meditation in Śrāvastī, Mañjuśrī leaves for South India, where he meets the young layman Sudhana and instructs him to go to a certain kalyāṇamitra or “good friend,” who then directs Sudhana to another such friend. In this way, Sudhana successively meets and receives teachings from fifty male and female, child and adult, human and divine, and monastic and lay kalyāṇamitras, including night goddesses surrounding the Buddha and the Buddha’s wife and mother. The final three in the succession of kalyāṇamitras are the three bodhisattvas Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, and Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra’s recitation of the Samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhāna (“The Prayer for Completely Good Conduct”) concludes the sūtra.
Acknowledgements
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and edited by Emily Bower, who was also the project manager. Ling Lung Chen was consultant for the Chinese, and Tracy Davis copyedited the final draft. The translator would like to thank Patrick Carré and Douglas Osto, who have both spent decades studying and translating this sūtra, for their advice and help.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Richard and Carol Weingarten; of Jamyang Sun, Manju Chandra Sun and Siqi Sun; and of an anonymous donor, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
Chapter 45: The Stem Array
Samantanetra
Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, had perceived the visions of infinite buddhas. He had attained the companionship of infinite bodhisattvas. [F.19.b] He had been illuminated by the infinite ways of the paths of the bodhisattvas. His mind had certainty through being saturated by the infinite ways of the Dharma of the bodhisattvas.997 He purified the path of the infinite motivations of the bodhisattvas. He had attained the brilliance of the infinite faculties of the bodhisattvas. He dwelled in the infinite aspirations of the bodhisattvas. His mind followed the example of the infinite conduct of the bodhisattvas. He possessed the banner of the infinite invincibility of the bodhisattvas. He possessed the movement of the infinite light of wisdom of the bodhisattvas. He had attained the infinite illumination of the Dharma of the bodhisattvas.
Sudhana eventually arrived in the land of Vetramūlaka, and he searched everywhere for the town of Samantamukha, unwearyingly, fearlessly, and with unflagging diligence and an inviolable determination. He searched in the principal and intermediate directions, the districts and subdistricts, high and low, up and down. He never forgot the instructions of the kalyāṇamitras, always keeping the perfect conduct of the kalyāṇamitras in his heart, possessing the faculties that were all observant, devoid of all carelessness, his eyes and his ears never distracted.
Having searched everywhere, Sudhana finally saw, in the center of the land of Vetramūlaka, the town of Samantamukha. It was a town with ten thousand marketplaces. It was excellently built. It was encircled by a strong wall that was very high. It was beautified by having eight crossroads.
In the middle of the town, Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, saw the perfume seller Samantanetra in a perfume shop. [F.20.a] He approached the perfume seller Samantanetra, bowed his head to Samantanetra’s feet, and sat down before him. With his hands together in homage, he said, “Ārya, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment, but I do not know how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and in what way they should practice it.”
Samantanetra said, “Noble one, it is excellent, excellent that you have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment.
“Noble one, I know the illnesses of all beings: those that come from air, those that come from bile, those that come from phlegm, those that come from their balance being disturbed, those that come from harm by others, and those that come from nonhuman beings, from drinking poison, from the effects of various mantras, weapons, and vetālas, from the agitation of water, and from various fears and terrors. I know them all. I also know how to cure all those illnesses. I know oiling, emetics, purgatives, enemas, bloodletting, inhalations, sweating, compresses, unguents, massaging, antidotes, exorcisms, nourishment, bathing, resting, causing growth, purifying the complexion, and increasing strength.
“Noble one, I cure all the illnesses of all the beings who come to me from the ten directions. When I have healed them, I have them bathed, their bodies anointed with unguents, their limbs adorned with jewelry, and their bodies dressed in clothes; I satisfy them with foods that have various kinds of excellent flavors [F.20.b] and make them fortunate with immeasurable wealth.
“Afterward I teach them the Dharma so that through being taught impurity they will eliminate desire.
“I teach them the Dharma so that through the praising of love they will eliminate anger.
“I teach them the Dharma so that through the teaching of the particular categories of phenomena they will eliminate ignorance.
“I teach them the Dharma so that through the teaching of the gateways to the ways of special realizations they will eliminate the conduct that comes from all kleśas equally.
“I elucidate for them the cause for the arising of the aspiration for enlightenment by relating to them descriptions of the phenomena that are the qualities of the buddhas.
“I teach them the cause for the arising of great compassion by teaching them the immeasurable sufferings of saṃsāra.
“I teach them the cause for the arising and attainment of measureless qualities by praising the gathering of a vast accumulation of merit and wisdom.
“I teach them the cause for the arising of Mahāyāna prayers by teaching them how all beings should be ripened and guided.
“I teach them the cause for the arising and attainment of the completely good conduct of the bodhisattva by explaining the vast net of their conduct of dwelling in all buddha realms and all kalpas.
“I teach them the cause for the arising and attainment of a buddha’s body adorned with the signs and features of a great being by praising the perfection of generosity.
“I teach them the cause for the arising and attainment of the pure tathāgata’s body that can be anywhere by describing the perfection of good conduct.
“I teach them the cause for the arising and attainment of the tathāgata’s body with its inconceivable, pure color by describing the perfection of patience. I teach them the cause for the arising and attainment of the tathāgata’s invincible body by describing the perfection of diligence. [F.21.a]
“I teach them the cause for the arising and attainment of the tathāgata’s pure body, which is unsurpassable and overwhelming, by describing the perfection of meditation.
“I teach the pure Dharma body by describing the perfection of wisdom.
“I teach the pure and pristine body manifesting to all beings by describing the perfection of skillful method.
“I teach the pure body that accompanies the minds of beings during all kalpas by describing the perfection of prayer.
“I teach the pure bodies that arise in all buddha realms by describing the perfection of strength.
“I teach the pure bodies that satisfy all beings in accordance with their wishes by describing the perfection of knowledge.
“I teach the pure body that is the highest goodness by describing the rejection of all bad qualities.
“In that way, those comprise the generosity of giving the Dharma. I also support them by distributing an accumulation of endless wealth and jewels.
“Noble one, I also know about all perfumes, incenses, aromas, infusions,998 ointments, and their combinations.
“In that way, I know all combinations of perfumes: kings of perfumes such as sesame, kings of perfumes such as chaste tree, kings of perfumes such as ajivāti, kings of perfumes such as vibodhana, kings of perfumes such as aruṇavati, kings of perfumes such as yellow sandalwood, kings of perfumes such as uragasāra sandalwood, kings of perfumes such as cloud agarwood, and kings of perfumes such as akṣobhyendriya. [F.21.b]
“Also, noble one, I know the kind of perfume that will satisfy all beings and through which one sees, makes offering to, and honors the buddhas anywhere.
“Noble one, through this kind of perfume that will satisfy all beings and through which one sees, makes offering to, and honors the buddhas anywhere, all of my wishes are fulfilled. Through its power I manifest clouds of adornments that will protect all beings. In that way, I manifest clouds of perfume that form aerial palaces999 and so on, up to clouds of adornments that venerate and make offerings to all the tathāgatas.
“Thus, noble one, when I wish to make offerings to the tathāgatas, then from this form of perfume that will satisfy all beings and through which one sees, makes offering to, and honors the buddhas anywhere, I manifest clouds of perfume that form countless kūṭāgāras, and throughout the realm of phenomena I manifest clouds of perfume in the form of kūṭāgāras that adorn the assemblies of the followers of the tathāgatas present throughout the realm of phenomena in the ten directions.
“All the pure buddha realms become adorned by clouds, an adornment of clouds as palaces of perfume, an adornment of clouds as walls of perfume, an adornment of clouds as ornamental roofs of perfume, an adornment of clouds as toraṇas of perfume, an adornment of clouds as windows of perfume, an adornment of clouds as balconies of perfume, an adornment of clouds as a crescent moon of perfume, an adornment of clouds as parasols of perfume, an adornment of clouds as erected banners of perfume, an adornment of clouds as flags of perfume, an adornment of clouds as canopies of perfume, an adornment of clouds as nets of strings of beads of perfume, [F.22.a] an adornment of clouds as lights of perfume, an adornment of clouds as a display of the stainless radiances of perfume, and an adornment of rain from clouds of all perfume.
“Noble one, I know only this Dharma gateway called the forms of perfume that satisfy all beings and through which in every way one sees, makes offerings to, and honors the buddhas. How could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of the bodhisattvas who are like kings of medicine, who are beneficial to see, who are beneficial to be with, who are beneficial to think of, whose self-discipline is beneficial to follow, whose names are beneficial to hear, the mere sight of whom causes the kleśas of all beings to cease, the mere sight of whom causes beings to turn away from the existences in the lower realms, the mere sight of whom causes all beings to gain the opportunity to receive the Buddhadharma, the mere sight of whom causes the mass of suffering of beings to end, the mere sight of whom causes all beings to be free of the fear of all the existences in saṃsāra, the mere sight of whom causes all beings to be resolute in going in the direction of omniscience and therefore attain fearlessness, the mere sight of whom causes beings not to fall into the crevasse or chasm of old age and death, and the mere sight of whom causes beings to rest in the equality of the realm of phenomena and therefore attain the bliss of nirvāṇa?
“Depart, noble one. In this southern region there is a town called Tāladhvaja. There dwells a king by the name of Anala. Go to him and ask him, ‘How should a bodhisattva train in bodhisattva conduct? How should a bodhisattva practice it?’ ”
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of the perfume-seller head merchant Samantanetra, [F.22.b] circumambulated the perfume-seller head merchant Samantanetra many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from the perfume-seller head merchant Samantanetra.
Colophon
This was translated and revised by the Indian upādhyāyas Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi and by the chief editor Lotsawa Bandé Yeshé Dé and others.2232
Tibetan Editor’s Colophon
A Multitude of Buddhas is the marvelous essence of the final, ultimate, definitive wheel from among the three wheels of the Sugata’s teaching. It has many other titles, such as The Mahāvaipulya Basket, The Earring, The Lotus Adornment, and so on.
It has seven sections:2233 A Multitude of Tathāgatas,2234 The Vajra Banner Dedication,2235 The Teaching of the Ten Bhūmis,2236 The Teaching of Completely Good Conduct,2237 [F.362.b] The Teaching of the Birth and Appearance of the Tathāgatas,2238 The Transcendence of the World,2239 and Stem Array.2240 These are subdivided into forty-five chapters.
According to Butön Rinpoché and others, it contains thirty-nine thousand and thirty verses, a hundred and thirty fascicles, and an additional thirty verses. In the Tshalpa Kangyur edition there are a hundred and fifteen fascicles, the Denkarma edition has a hundred and twenty-seven fascicles,2241 and present-day editions have various numbers of fascicles.2242
This sūtra was first received from Ārya Nāgārjuna by Paṇḍita Buddhabhadra and Paṇḍita Śikṣānanda (652–710), and they both translated it into Chinese. It is taught that Surendrabodhi and Vairocanarakṣita became principal editors for a Chinese translation.
As for the lineage of the text, there is the lineage from China: The perfect Buddha, Ārya Mañjuśrī, Lord Nāgārjuna, the two paṇḍitas mentioned above, and Heshang Tushun. Then the lineage continued through others until Üpa Sangyé Bum received it from Heshang Gying-ju. Then that lineage was passed on through Lotsawa Chokden and has continued up to the present time.
The lineage from India is as follows:
It was passed from Nāgārjuna to Āryadeva, and then Mañjuśrīkīrti, and so on, until Bari Lotsawa received it from Vajrāsana. It is taught that the lineage then continued through Chim Tsöndrü Sengé, the great Sakya Lord,2243 and so on.
However, I have not seen any other text or history of a translation made by any other lotsawa or paṇḍita other than those listed in the colophon to this translation into Tibetan.
The king of Jangsa Tham2244 had a complete Kangyur made that was based on the Tshalpa Kangyur. At the present time this is known as the Lithang Tshalpa Kangyur (1609–14). I considered this to be a reliable source and so have made it the basis for this edition. However, it has many omissions, accretions, and misspellings, and therefore I have at this time corrected it by seeking out many older editions.
There are variant Indian texts and conflicting translations, and I have not been able to ascertain from them a definitive single meaning or correct words. Nevertheless, this text is nothing but a valid edition.
There are varying translations of terms that have been left unrevised, as there is no contradiction in meaning. For example, it has rgyan instead of bkod pa;2245 ’byam klas instead of rab ’byams;2246 so so yang dag par rig pa instead of tha dad pa yang dag par shes pa;2247 thugs for dgongs pa;2248 [F.363.a] nyin mtshan dang zla ba yar kham mar kham dang instead of nyin mtshan dang yud du yan man dang;2249 and tha snyad instead of rnam par dpyod pa.2250
Sanskrit words have many cases and tenses, so that although the Tibetan lotsawas and paṇḍitas, who had the eyes of the Dharma, translated their meaning, their tenses, cases, and so on are difficult to discern. Those are the majority of the examples of uncertainty, and there are also a few other kinds, but they are nevertheless in accord with Tibetan grammar.
In most texts there are many archaic words, so that the meaning of the translation is not clear, but there is a consistency when those words are all in archaic Tibetan. However, there appears to have occurred in later times a strong adulteration of the text so that there is a mixture of archaic and modern forms. There are also unreliable placements of the shad mark that differentiates clauses, but all these have been left as they are because these faults are few and minor. Therefore, this revision has been diligently edited without becoming analogous to knocking down the ancient megaliths of the southern regions.
May this remain for the entire kalpa within the circle of the Cakravāla Mountains, as bright as the sun and moon, as the glory of the merit of nonsectarian beings and the precious teaching of the Buddha.
This was printed in the water tiger year called dge byed (1722),2251 in the presence of Tenpa Tsering (1678–1738), the divine Dharma king who rules in accordance with the Dharma, who has the vast, superior wealth of the ten good actions, and who is a bodhisattva as a ruler of humans and the source of happiness in the four regions of greater Tibet.
This was written by the attendant Gelong Tashi Wangchuk, who in the process of revision was commanded to become its supervisor.
Ye dharmahetuprabhavā hetun teṣān tathāgato hy avadat. Teṣāñ ca yo nirodha evaṃ vādī mahāśramanaḥ.