The Stem Array
Vaira
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 1.0.30 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.26.1
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.
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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
Vaira
When Sudhana set out on the path to Kūṭāgāra, he observed and contemplated how the path could be upward or downward, even or uneven,1096 dusty or free of dust, safe or hazardous,1097 difficult or unobstructed, and crooked or straight. He thought, “This journey to a kalyāṇamitra will be a cause for the practice of the bodhisattva path, will be a cause of the practice of the path of the perfections, and will be a cause of the path of benefiting all beings,1098 which will be a cause for turning all beings away from the precipice of attachment1099 and aversion, [F.49.a] of elation and depression;1100 will be a cause for turning all beings away from a perception1101 of inequality; will be a cause for removing the dust of the kleśas from all beings; will be a cause for clearing away the tree trunks, thorns, pebbles, and gravel of the various bad views of all beings; and, through their entering the unobscured realm of the Dharma, will be a cause for bringing them without hindrance to the palace of omniscience.
“Why is that? Because the kalyāṇamitras are the source of all good Dharmas, and the attainment of omniscience is dependent on the kalyāṇamitras.”
With his mind focused on those thoughts, and undergoing a difficult journey, he eventually arrived at the city of Kūṭāgāra. He looked and searched for the mariner Vaira and saw him at the shore of the ocean in front of the gate of the great city. He was encircled by a hundred thousand merchants and many hundreds of thousands of people who all wished to listen to his various tales. As he told them tales of the sea, he was teaching the beings about the ocean of qualities of the buddhas.
When Sudhana saw the mariner Vaira, he approached him. Having approached him, Sudhana bowed his head to the mariner Vaira’s feet, circumambulated the mariner Vaira many hundreds of thousands of times, and sat down before the mariner Vaira. With his hands placed 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. Ārya, I have heard that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas! [F.49.b] I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”
Vaira said, “Noble one, it is excellent, excellent, that you have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment, that you have asked about the cause of1102 great wisdom, the cause of the continuity of the various sufferings of saṃsāra, the cause of journeying to the island of omniscience, the cause of the indivisible Mahāyāna, the cause of the practice of the path that is free from the fear of falling down to the level of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas, the cause of the path of knowledge that comprehends engaging in the gateways of various1103 samādhis of peace, the cause of the pure1104 and unimpeded path of the wheels of the chariot of the aspiration to the practice of all-pervasive bodhisattva conduct, the cause of the pure path of the way that is the nature of the display of all the majestic waves of bodhisattva conduct, the cause of the pure ultimate path of all the aspects and gateways of the Dharma, and the cause that gives rise to the pure path for entering the ocean of omniscience.
“Noble one, I dwell at the city of Kūṭāgāra on the seashore, purifying the bodhisattva conduct called the banner of great compassion.
“Noble one, when I see destitute beings in Jambudvīpa, I undergo hardships for their sake, which means I will fulfill all their wishes. I will collect worldly goods for them. I will satisfy them with the enjoyment of the Dharma. I will teach them the instructions for the path of the accumulation of merit. I will cause them to increase their accumulation of wisdom. [F.50.a] I will increase the power of their roots of merit. I will cause them to develop the aspiration for enlightenment. I will purify their aspiration for enlightenment. I will cause them to have the enduring strength of great compassion. I will cause the suffering of saṃsāra to cease. I will cause them to have an enduring strength for tireless conduct in saṃsāra. I will provide these to the gathering of an ocean of beings. I will bring them into the gateways of the practice of an ocean of qualities. I will cause them to obtain the light of the wisdom of the ocean of the Dharma. I will cause them to see1105 the entire ocean of buddhas. I will cause them to enter the ocean of omniscience.
“Noble one,1106 it is with such an aspiration and intention that I dwell in the city of Kūṭāgāra on the seashore.
“Noble one, dedicated in that way to the benefit and happiness of beings, I know all the islands of jewels in the great ocean. I know all the jewel mines, all the classes of jewels, and all the sources1107 of jewels.
“I know all the residences of the nāgas, all that disconcerts the nāgas, all the residences of the yakṣas, all that disconcerts the yakṣas, all the residences of the rākṣasas, all that allays fear of the rākṣasas, all the residences of the bhūtas, all that allays fear of the bhūtas, and all that eliminates the obstacles created by the bhūtas.
“I know the orbits of the sun, moon, planets, and constellations and the seconds, minutes, and hours1110 of1111 the days and nights.
“I know the particular times to depart and arrive, safety and danger, whether a ship’s rigging is reliable, what ships to reject, what ships to sail, [F.50.b] how to catch the winds, the coming of the wind, how to turn a ship, how to turn a ship around,1112 how to anchor a ship, and how to launch a ship.
“Noble one, with that kind of knowledge I am constantly dedicated to necessary benefits1113 for beings: I bring a group of merchants, just as they wish, to the island of jewels safely,1114 peacefully,1115 without fear, and in a reliable ship, and I talk to them about the Dharma in a way that delights them and brings them joy. When they have collected all the jewels and have attained good fortune, I bring them back again to Jambudvīpa.
“Noble one, no ship of mine has ever been in distress.1116 Any being who sees me and any being who hears me teach the Dharma becomes free from all1117 fear of sinking1118 in the ocean of saṃsāra, and they turn toward1119 the wisdom of entering the ocean of omniscience. They become dedicated to drying up the ocean of craving, attain the light of the knowledge of the ocean of the three times, and make the aspiration to eliminate the ocean of the suffering of all beings. They become dedicated to purifying away the pollution in the ocean of the minds of all beings. They become dedicated to purifying the ocean of all realms. They never turn back from spreading throughout the ocean of all directions. They comprehend the ocean of the different capabilities of all beings. They follow the ocean of the conducts of all beings. They manifest appearances that accord with the ocean of the wishes of all beings.
“Noble one, I have attained the bodhisattva liberation called remembering to abide with the fruitful1120 hearing and seeing of the banner of great compassion,1121 [F.51.a] but how could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of the bodhisattvas who act within all the oceans of saṃsāra, who are unstained by any of the oceans of saṃsāra, who are free from the fear of the makaras of attachment1122 in all the oceans of false views, who move among the nature and basis1123 of all phenomena, who possess an ocean1124 of the methods of gathering all the oceans of beings, who dwell within the ocean of omniscience, who churn the ocean of the attachments of all beings, who perform their conduct1125 without differentiation1126 in the oceans of all times, who have the clairvoyant knowledge of the nature1127 of ripening the ocean of all beings, and who never miss the time1128 for guiding the ocean of beings?
“Depart, noble one. In this southern region, in the town called Nandihāra, dwells a head merchant by the name of Jayottama. 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, was overjoyed, pleased, happy, and content. He bowed his head to the feet of the mariner Vaira, circumambulated the mariner Vaira many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from the mariner Vaira. [B4]
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.