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སྡོང་པོས་བརྒྱན་པ།

The Stem Array
Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā

Gaṇḍavyūha

ཤིན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ་སངས་རྒྱས་ཕལ་པོ་ཆེ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ལས་སྡོང་པོས་བརྒྱན་པའི་ལེའུ་སྟེ་བཞི་བཅུ་རྩ་ལྔ་པའོ།

shin tu rgyas pa chen po’i mdo sangs rgyas phal po che zhes bya ba las sdong pos brgyan pa’i le’u ste bzhi bcu rtsa lnga pa’o

“The Stem Array” Chapter from the Mahāvaipulya Sūtra “A Multitude of Buddhas”

Buddhāvataṃsakanāmamahāvaipulyasūtrāt gaṇḍavyūhasūtraḥ paṭalaḥ

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

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ

Surendrabodhi
Vairocanarakṣita
Bandé Yeshé Dé
Jinamitra

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)

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co.

Summary

s.1

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.

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Acknowledgements

ac.1

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.

ac.2

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.

Introduction

i.1

The Stem Array (Gaṇḍavyūha) is a unique sūtra in that most of its narrative takes place in South India, far from the presence of the Buddha. It follows the journey of the young Sudhana from teacher to teacher, or kalyāṇamitra (literally “good friend”), beginning with his meeting Mañjuśrī when that bodhisattva came to South India. Another unique characteristic is that Sudhana’s teachers include children, non-Buddhists, a courtesan, merchants, and so on, among them a number of women. His teachers are both humans and deities, including eight night goddesses around the Bodhi tree and the forest goddess of Lumbinī, the birthplace of the Buddha. These teachers are often described as having received teachings from numerous other buddhas. For example, the bhikṣu Sāgaramegha describes how he received, from a buddha who appeared out of the ocean, teachings that would take more than a kalpa to write out. The kalyāṇamitras are described as having realizations and miraculous powers that test the limits of the imagination.

Indian Origins of the Sūtra

The Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra in China

Gaṇḍavyūha and Borobudur

The Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra in Tibet

Translations into Western Languages

The Meaning of the Title as Translated into Tibetan

The Meaning of the Title Buddhāvataṃsaka Sūtra

Who Is Sudhana and What Is a Śreṣthin?

The Numbers

Challenges in the Translation

Detailed Summary of The Stem Array Sūtra

The Translation

The Noble Mahāvaipulya Sūtra “A Multitude of Buddhas”
Chapter 45: The Stem Array

Chapter 2

Samantabhadra

2.1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra looked upon the great assembly of bodhisattvas, and in order to categorize, teach extensively, clarify, illuminate, and give instructions on the Tathāgata’s samādhi called the gaping lion, he taught those bodhisattvas in ten ways the Tathāgata’s samādhi called the gaping lion through the equality of the nature of the realm of phenomena with the element of space, the equality of the three times, the equality of the realm of phenomena, the equality of the realms of beings, the equality of all worlds, the equality of the continuum of karma, the equality of the thoughts of all beings, the equality of the aspirations of beings, the equality of the appearances of phenomena, the equality of the times for ripening beings, and the equality of the faculties of all beings. [F.301.b]

Chapter 3

Mañjuśrī

3.1

Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta was residing270 in his kūṭāgāra together with bodhisattvas who had the same conduct; vajrapāṇis who constantly followed him; devas with physical bodies whose minds aspired to serve all the buddhas and were dedicated to bringing power to the entire world; devas who walked on foot following their past aspirations; devas of the earth who aspired to hear the Dharma; devas of pools, lakes, ponds, reservoirs, wells, and rivers who were dedicated to great compassion; [F.314.a] devas of fire who brought illumination through the light of wisdom; devas of the air who wore precious crowns; devas of the directions who illuminated the directions with wisdom; devas of the night who were dedicated to eliminating the darkness of ignorance; devas of the day who were dedicated to producing the daylight of the tathāgatas; devas of the sky who were dedicated to orbiting271 in the sky of the entire realm of phenomena; devas of the ocean272 who were dedicated to rescuing beings from the ocean of existence; devas of mountains who were dedicated to gathering the accumulation of omniscience and whose minds had ascended to the summit273 of the roots of merit; devas of rivers who were dedicated to adorning all beings and who were dedicated to aspiring to the characteristics and supernatural power of all the buddhas; devas of towns who were dedicated to caring for the towns that are the minds of all beings; nāga lords who were devoted to and longed for the town of the omniscient Dharma;274 yakṣa lords who were engaged in protecting all beings; gandharva lords who were dedicated to increasing the power of joy in all beings; kumbhāṇḍa lords who were dedicated to preventing rebirth as pretas; garuḍa lords who were engaged in aspiring to bring all beings out of the ocean of existence; asura lords who had the aspiration to attain the body and power of the Tathāgata, which have transcended the entire world; mahoraga lords [F.314.b] who rejoiced in seeing the Tathāgata and bowed down to him; deva lords who had been saddened by saṃsāra and gazed with admiration; and lords of Brahmakāyika devas who bowed down with great respect.

Chapter 4

Meghaśrī

4.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, eventually arrived at the land called Rāmāvarānta. Having arrived there, he traveled through the land of Rāmāvarānta. Enjoying the delightful pleasures that arose from his past roots of merit and through the power of vast karma, he came to Sugrīva Mountain. He climbed Sugrīva Mountain and, seeking the bhikṣu Meghaśrī, he went to its eastern side. In the same way, he went to its southern, western, northern, northeastern, southeastern, southwestern, and northwestern sides, looking up and down for the bhikṣu Meghaśrī.

Chapter 5

Sāgaramegha

5.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, contemplated the instruction of that kalyāṇamitra. He remembered the radiance of his wisdom.352 He analyzed that bodhisattva’s liberation. He reflected on353 the bodhisattva’s way of samādhi. He looked at the way of an ocean of bodhisattvas. He aspired toward the domain of buddhahood. He delighted in the direction of the vision of the buddhas. He contemplated the ocean of buddhas. He remembered the succession of buddhas. He comprehended that which is understood in the way of the buddhas.354 He looked into the sky of the buddhas.

Chapter 6

Supratiṣṭhita

6.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, remembering the instructions of the kalyāṇamitra and the Dharma teaching called All-Seeing Eyes, contemplating the miracles of that tathāgata, keeping in his mind the clouds of the words and terms of that Dharma, [F.333.a] comprehending that ocean of Dharma gateways, observing the precepts of that Dharma, entering377 those ways of turning toward378 the Dharma, absorbed into the sky of that Dharma, purifying the range of that Dharma, and meditating on the precious continent379 of that Dharma, eventually arrived at Sāgaratīra in the Laṅka region.380 Wishing to see the bhikṣu Supratiṣṭhita, he looked for him in the eastern direction. In the same way, wishing to see the bhikṣu Supratiṣṭhita, he looked for him everywhere: in the southern direction, in the western direction, in the northern direction, in the northeastern direction, in the southeastern direction, in the southwestern direction, in the northwestern direction, above, and below.

Chapter 7

Megha

7.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, was filled with the power and might of faith in the Dharma. He was focused on the idea of following the Buddha; he was sincerely dedicated to the lineage of the Three Jewels; his mind illuminated the worlds of the three times;399 he was focused on following the great aspiration; he was continuously dedicated400 to saving all the realms of beings; his mind did not dwell on composite pleasures;401 he was devoted to contemplating the nature of all phenomena; he never deviated from the aspiration to purify all world realms; he dwelled without attachment in the circles of the assemblies of all the buddhas; he remembered the light of the Dharma;402 he remembered his kalyāṇamitras;403 and he proclaimed the lineage of freedom from desire.404

Chapter 8

Muktaka

8.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, then contemplated that power of retention of the bodhisattvas called the light that is the display of Sarasvatī, remembered that particular entry by the bodhisattvas into an ocean of languages, remembered that particular entry by the bodhisattvas into the way of subtlety,417 remembered that particular purity of the bodhisattvas through purification of the mind, accomplished that particular accomplishment by the bodhisattvas of creating the predispositions for roots of merit, purified that particular bodhisattva gateway for ripening, refined that particular bodhisattva wisdom that attracts beings, made firmer that particular pure strength of bodhisattva motivation, stabilized that particular strength of the superior motivation of the bodhisattvas, purified that lineage of bodhisattva aspiration, developed418 that particular goodness that is in the minds of the bodhisattvas, and entered into that particular commitment of the bodhisattvas.

Chapter 9

Sāgaradhvaja

9.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, contemplated the teaching of the head merchant Muktaka and dedicated himself to the instructions of the head merchant Muktaka. He followed the inconceivable bodhisattva liberations. He called to mind the inconceivable radiance of bodhisattva wisdom. He practiced entering and comprehending the inconceivable realm of the Dharma. He comprehended the inconceivable bodhisattva methods of gathering pupils. He reflected on the inconceivable miracles of the tathāgatas. He aspired to the inconceivable aggregation of buddha realms. He contemplated the display of the blessings of the buddhas. He examined the inconceivable majestic power of the display of samādhis and liberations. He was dedicated to entering inconceivable separate, unobscured world realms. He developed the aspiration for inconceivable, enduring bodhisattva activity. And he adopted the inconceivable continuum of bodhisattva activity and prayer.

10.

Chapter 10

Āśā

10.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, delighted by the qualities of the kalyāṇamitra, [F.364.b] sent forth by the kalyāṇamitra, empowered by the sight of the kalyāṇamitra, practicing the instructions of the kalyāṇamitra, remembering the words of the kalyāṇamitra,526 and contemplating the kalyāṇamitra with affection, saw kalyāṇamitras as the source of the Buddhadharma, saw kalyāṇamitras as the teachers of the Buddhadharma, saw kalyāṇamitras as masters527 in the Dharma of omniscience, and saw the kalyāṇamitras as eyes that look into the sky of buddhahood.

11.

Chapter 11

Bhīṣmottaranirghoṣa

11.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, thinking of following the bodhisattva instructions, thinking of following the pure conduct of bodhisattvas, thinking of increasing the strength of the merit of bodhisattvas, thinking of the illumination of the power of seeing the buddhas, thinking of developing the power to attain the treasure of the Dharma, [F.376.a] thinking of increasing the power of accomplishing the great prayers, thinking of facing every direction in the realm of the Dharma, thinking of the illumination of the nature of the Dharma, thinking of the dispersal of all obscurations, thinking of looking at the realm of Dharma free of darkness, thinking of the motivation703 that is stainless and unbreakable like Nārāyaṇa’s704 precious vajra, and thinking of invincibility and unassailability in the face of all the māra armies, eventually arrived in the land of Nālayu.

12.

Chapter 12

Jayoṣmāyatana

12.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, was illuminated by the wisdom of the bodhisattva liberation called the banner of being invincible to others. He dwelled in the direct experience of the inconceivable range of the miraculous manifestations of the buddhas. He perceived the direct knowledge of inconceivable bodhisattva liberations. His mind was illuminated by the wisdom of inconceivable bodhisattva samādhis. He had attained the radiance of the wisdom of samādhi that is present at all times. He was illuminated by the range of samādhi, in which all perceptions are present and included. He had obtained the light of the wisdom that transcends all worlds. He had the direct perception of dwelling in the entire range of the three times.718 He was devoted to the wisdom that teaches equality without dualistic conceptions. He had the light of wisdom that pervaded719 throughout all objects of perception. He had mastered the treasury of aspiration for pure patience toward all that is heard.720 He had attained the definitive wisdom721 of patience for natural phenomena. His mind was never apart from meditation on the nature of the bodhisattva conduct722 of higher cognition. His mind was irreversibly progressing toward the power of omniscience. He had attained the illumination of the knowledge723 of the ten strengths. His mind was never content in its aspiration to hear the sound of the words of the realm of Dharma. [F.380.b] His mind had gained entry into the field of dwelling in omniscience. His mind had attained the infinite display of bodhisattva conduct. His mind was purified724 by the infinite domain of great725 bodhisattva prayers. He had the mind with direct perception of the limitless knowledge without limit or center of the unceasing network726 of world realms. He had the mind that never wearies in ripening and guiding the infinite ocean of beings. He saw the infinite range of bodhisattva conduct. He saw the infinite diversity of the different world realms. He saw the small and the vast objects of perception included within the infinite world realms. He saw the various networks of names that are the bases for infinite world realms. He saw the various infinite, differing relative designations and terms for infinite world realms. He saw the infinite, differing aspirations of beings. He saw the infinite, differing categories of beings. He saw the infinite practices for guiding and ripening beings. He saw the various infinite perceptions727 of the directions and times of beings. [F.381.a]

13.

Chapter 13

Maitrayaṇī

13.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, with inconceivable respect754 for kalyāṇamitras, with a pure, vast755 aspiration, intent on the Mahāyāna, aspiring to the wisdom of buddhahood, [F.388.a] following the Buddhadharma, longing to follow the kalyāṇamitras, practicing veneration of the Dharma,756 intent on unimpeded wisdom, with conviction in the highest goal, being within the range of the apogee of wisdom, comprehending the three times in a fraction of an instant, intent on the nondual apogee of space, having attained certainty in the apogee of nonduality, dwelling in the nonconceptual apogee of the realm of the Dharma, having entered the comprehension of the way that is the apogee of being free of obscurations, dedicated to the harmony that is the apogee of action,757 realizing that the apogee of the tathāgatas is without an apogee, dwelling in the nonconceptuality that is the apogee of the buddhas,758 and dedicated to the wisdom that disperses the network of conceptualizations of all beings, had a mind free from all attachment to realms, free from attachment to all the circles of followers of the buddhas, and practiced, without dwelling in any location, the purification of all buddha realms; he had the recognition that there is no self and no beings within all beings, comprehended that all sounds are like echoes,759 and was dedicated to the realization that all forms are the same as reflections of forms.

14.

Chapter 14

Sudarśana

14.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, contemplated the profound conduct of wisdom of the bodhisattvas, contemplated reaching the profound basis of the realm of phenomena, contemplated all773 profound subtle wisdom, contemplated the profound aspect of worldly conceptualization, contemplated the profound ground774 that is without creation, contemplated the profound ground of the stream of the mind, contemplated the profound ground of dependent origination, contemplated the profound true775 ground of nature, contemplated the profound true ground of the terminology776 of beings, contemplated the profound ground of the adorning array of the realm of phenomena, contemplated the profound ground of dependence on the processes of the body, and contemplated the profound ground of the various transformations of the body.

15.

Chapter 15

Indriyeśvara

15.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, recited,798 promulgated, presented,799 investigated, elucidated, reflected on, described, taught, contemplated, bestowed, understood, was immersed in, repeated again and again, realized, propounded, illuminated, and surveyed the teaching of the bhikṣu Sudarśana.

15.2

He eventually, with an entourage of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, and gandharvas, arrived at the city of Sumukha in the land called Śramaṇamaṇḍala.

16.

Chapter 16

Prabhūtā

16.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, had obtained the rain from the cloud of the instructions of the kalyāṇamitras.

16.2

He was like the ocean that never has too much rain from the clouds. The light from the sun of the wisdom of the kalyāṇamitras had caused the seedling of his powers to sprout from the ground of his ripened good karma.

16.3

The net of light rays from the full moon of the instructions of the kalyāṇamitras had brought ease to his mind and body.

17.

Chapter 17

Vidvān

17.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, had obtained the light of the liberation called the unceasing display of the treasure of merit. He contemplated that ocean of merit. He viewed that sky of merit. He obtained that heap of merit. He climbed that mountain of merit. He accumulated that store964 of merit. He immersed himself in that river of merit. [F.11.b] He descended the steps into the bathing place of that merit. He purified that field of merit. He looked at that treasure of merit. He thought of that way of merit. He paid attention965 to that tradition966 of merit. He purified that lineage of merit.

18.

Chapter 18

Ratnacūḍa

18.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, had conviction in that river of merit. He viewed that field of merit. He purified that mountain984 of merit. He climbed down that stairway to the bathing place of merit. He opened that treasury of merit. He viewed that treasure of merit. He purified that domain of merit. He carried away that heap of merit. He developed that strength of merit. He increased that power of merit.

19.

Chapter 19

Samantanetra

19.1

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.

20.

Chapter 20

Anala

20.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, remembered the succession of his kalyāṇamitras. He thought about the gateways of their instructions. He was content in his mind, thinking, “I have been accepted as a pupil by the kalyāṇamitras.” He observed in his mind, “I am under the protection of the kalyāṇamitras, and I will never regress in my progress toward the highest, complete enlightenment.” Thinking this, his mind was happy, his mind was serene, his mind was pleased, his mind was gladdened, his mind was delighted, his mind was joyful,1000 his mind was strong,1001 his mind was soothed, his mind was vast, his mind was adorned, his mind was unimpeded, his mind was unobscured, his mind was clear, his mind was composed, his mind had power, his mind had supremacy, his mind comprehended the Dharma, his mind pervaded the realms, his mind was adorned by the vision of the buddhas, and his mind never stopped focusing on the ten strengths.

21.

Chapter 21

Mahāprabha

21.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, remembered that illusion of wisdom. He contemplated the bodhisattva’s liberation that had the form of illusion. He examined the illusory aspect of the nature of phenomena. He comprehended the equality of the illusions of actions. He reflected on the equality of the illusions of phenomena. He comprehended the equality of the emanations that are ripened by the Dharma. He followed the inconceivable appearances that arise from wisdom. He accomplished the accomplishment of the illusions of infinite prayer. He purified the unimpeded conduct that has the true nature of an illusory manifestation. He analyzed the three times as having the characteristics of being composed of illusions.

22.

Chapter 22

Acalā

22.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, left the city of Suprabha, and having followed the road for a little while, he contemplated the instruction given to him by King Mahāprabha: he remembered the way of bodhisattva conduct called the banner of great love; he meditated on the light of the great samādhi called exercising power over the world; he realized1052 the variegated display of the lion throne and adornments of the pure bodhisattva body; he increased the inconceivable power and strength of bodhisattva aspiration and merit; [F.36.a] he made firm1053 the inconceivable way of bodhisattva wisdom that ripens beings; he reflected upon the inconceivable greatness of the general enjoyments of the bodhisattvas; he considered the inconceivable different aspects1054 of the bodhisattvas; he remembered the inconceivable pure ripening of beings by bodhisattvas; he thought about the inconceivable pure and perfect bodhisattva assembly of pupils; he had conviction in the inconceivable radiance of the bodhisattvas’ dedication to their duty to beings; and he attained happiness, powerful attraction, delight, contentment, deep joy, clarity of mind, brightness of mind, stability of mind, vastness of mind, and inexhaustibility of mind. He was in that way dedicated to remembering and thinking of the kalyāṇamitra.

23.

Chapter 23

Sarvagamin

23.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, visualizing in his mind the upāsikā Acalā, remembering the instruction of the upāsikā Acalā, with conviction in and no doubt about what the upāsikā Acalā had taught, proclaimed, instructed, described,1080 sanctioned, established, explicated, stated, and elaborated upon it; he followed it, contemplated it, comprehended it, meditated on it, was absorbed in it,1081 was fixed upon it, understood it, illuminated it, and became equal to it.1082

24.

Chapter 24

Utpalabhūti

24.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, had no regard for his life or body; he had no regard for engaging in dedication to obtaining and possessing the pleasures of existence; [F.46.a] he had no regard for the objects of perception that beings delight in; he had no regard for forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures; he had no concern for enjoying retinues and pleasures; he had no regard for any of the pleasures of the power of kingship and sovereignty; he was focused on attaining the highest purification of a buddha realm for the pure ripening and guiding of all beings; he was focused on never being satisfied with the extent of his offering to, honoring, and serving all the tathāgatas; he was focused on all phenomena with the wisdom that knows their nature;1090 he was focused on the qualities of bodhisattvas so that there would be no decline in his practice, which had the entire ocean of those qualities as its goal; he was focused on the great prayers of all bodhisattvas so as to maintain bodhisattva conduct throughout all kalpas; he was focused on entering the ocean of the circles of the followers of all tathāgatas; he was focused on all gateways of bodhisattva samādhis so as to manifest the attainment of all countless bodhisattva samādhis through each samādhi gateway; he was focused on all the light of wisdom of all Dharma wheels so as to never be satisfied with the extent of his obtaining Dharma wheels from all the tathāgatas; and he was focused on the kalyāṇamitras, who are the source of qualities, because the kalyāṇamitras are the source of the qualities of the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and others.

25.

Chapter 25

Vaira

25.1

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.

26.

Chapter 26

Jayottama

26.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, whose mind spread great love throughout the immeasurable realm of beings; whose being was saturated with the tenderness1129 of great compassion; who had accumulated a vast array of the accumulations of merit and wisdom; who had become free of all the dust, darkness, dirt, and mire of the kleśas; who had realized the equality of all phenomena; [F.51.b] who was devoted to the path that leads1130 upward to omniscience; who had chosen1131 the gateway for entering into immeasurable good qualities; who had the exertion1132 of firm diligence that is unimpaired by any bad quality; who was filled1133 with the vast calmness1134 of inconceivable bodhisattva samādhis; who shone with the light of the sun of wisdom that eliminated all the darkness of ignorance; who scattered flowers of wisdom brought by the pleasant, cool breezes of methods; who followed the way of wisdom that emerged from an ocean of great aspirations; and who possessed the wisdom that permeated without impediment the entire realm of the Dharma‍—he had approached entry into the city1135 of faultless1136 omniscience, and he yearned for the bodhisattva path.

27.

Chapter 27

Siṃhavijṛmbhitā

27.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, set out for the town of Kaliṅgavana in the land of Śroṇāparānta and then arrived there. Searching for the bhikṣuṇī Siṃhavijṛmbhitā, as he roamed here and there he questioned the people he met. There were many hundreds of young men1154 and many hundreds of young women assembling and following in the streets, crossroads, and street junctions, together with many hundreds of men and many hundreds of women.

28.

Chapter 28

Vasumitrā

28.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, with his mind illuminated by that great light of wisdom, focusing upon the light of omniscience, regarding the light of the power of the true nature, strengthening the way of retention that is the treasure of what was known from the voices of all beings, increasing the way of retention that possesses the Dharma wheels of all the tathāgatas, supporting1204 the power of the great compassion that is a refuge for all beings, realizing the strength of the omniscience that comes from the gateway of the light of the way of all Dharmas, following the pure aspiration that pervades the domain of the vast realm of phenomena, shining with the light of wisdom that illuminates all the directions of phenomena, accomplishing the power of the higher knowledge that pervades the array of world realms in the ten directions of all phenomena, and fulfilling the aspirations of accomplishing undertaking all the practices, memories, and actions1205 of the bodhisattvas, eventually arrived at the city of Ratnavyūha in the land of Durga and searched for the courtesan Vasumitrā.

29.

Chapter 29

Veṣṭhila

29.1

Then Sudhana went to the town of Śubhapāraṃgama [F.66.a] and approached the householder Veṣṭhila. He bowed his head to his feet, stood before him, and, with his hands placed together in homage, 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.

29.2

“Ārya, I have heard that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas! Explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

30.

Chapter 30

Avalokiteśvara

30.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, contemplating the instruction of the householder Veṣṭhila, knowing that treasury of bodhisattva aspiration, remembering that power of bodhisattva memory, keeping in his mind the power of that successive lineage of the way of the buddhas, comprehending the continuous succession of the lineage of the buddhas, remembering the names of the buddhas that he had heard,1245 being in accord with the way of the Dharma taught by the buddhas, comprehending the array of attainments through the Dharma1246 of the buddhas, having confidence in the proclamation1247 of complete buddhahood by the buddhas, and focused on the inconceivable activity of the tathāgatas, eventually came to the Potalaka Mountain. [F.69.a] He ascended the Potalaka Mountain and searched and searched for the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara.

31.

Chapter 31

Ananyagāmin

31.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, his mind having acquired Avalokiteśvara’s verses of wisdom,1267 had not had enough of gazing on the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, but so as not to disobey his instruction, Sudhana went to where the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin was.

31.2

He bowed his head to the feet of the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin. Then he stood before him and, with his hands placed together in homage, 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.

32.

Chapter 32

Mahādeva

32.1

Sudhana had a mind that followed the vast conduct of bodhisattvas. He had the nature of longing for the scope of the wisdom of the bodhisattva Ananyagāmin. He saw the special qualities of accomplishing great higher cognition. He had attained joy in the armor of stable diligence. He had the aspiration to follow the displays1270 of inconceivable liberations. He practiced the qualities of the bodhisattva level. He analyzed on the level of samādhi. He was established on the level of the power of retention. He engaged in the level of prayer. He trained in the level of discernment. He was accomplishing the level of power.

33.

Chapter 33

Sthāvarā

33.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, eventually reached the goddess of the earth, Sthāvarā, in the land of Magadha’s bodhimaṇḍa. When he arrived there, one million earth goddesses proclaimed to one another, “Someone who will be a refuge for all beings is coming here! Someone who has the essence of the tathāgatas and who will break open the enclosing egg of ignorance of all beings is coming here! Someone who is in the family of the kings of Dharma and will attain the state of an unimpeded, stainless king of the Dharma is coming here! Someone who is a hero with the thunderbolt weapon that has the great power of wisdom and who will subdue the circle of opponents is coming here!”

34.

Chapter 34

Vāsantī

34.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, remembering the teaching of the earth goddess Sthāvarā, remembering the bodhisattva liberation called the essence of invincible wisdom, becoming adept in the meditation of bodhisattva samādhi, contemplating the way of the bodhisattva Dharma, analyzing the displays of bodhisattva liberation, viewing the very subtle wisdom of bodhisattva liberation, entering the ocean of the wisdom of bodhisattva liberation, with faith in the different wisdoms of bodhisattva liberation, realizing the mastery of the wisdom of bodhisattva liberation, and descending into the ocean of the wisdom of bodhisattva liberation, arrived at the location of the town of Kapilavastu.

35.

Chapter 35

Samantagambhīraśrīvimalaprabhā

35.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, contemplating the night goddess Vāsantī’s first entry into the pure domain of aspiration to enlightenment, analyzing the arising of the essence of a bodhisattva, comprehending the ocean of bodhisattva prayer, purifying the bodhisattva path of perfections, overcoming the domain of the bodhisattva levels, augmenting the domain of bodhisattva conduct, following1324 an ocean of the setting-forth of bodhisattvas, looking at the ocean of the great illumination of omniscience, increasing the bodhisattva clouds of great compassion intent on saving all beings, and attaining the blessing of the completely good bodhisattva conduct and prayer of the night goddess Vāsantī that extends to the limits of all realms, went to the location of the night goddess Samantagambhīraśrīvimalaprabhā. Having reached her, he bowed his head to the feet of the night goddess Samantagambhīraśrīvimalaprabhā, circumambulated the night goddess Samantagambhīraśrīvimalaprabhā many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping her to his right, and then stood before her and, with palms together, said, “Āryā, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment. However, I do not know how a bodhisattva practices on the level of a bodhisattva, how a bodhisattva sets forth, how a bodhisattva accomplishes.” [F.92.a]

36.

Chapter 36

Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā

36.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, was blessed by the instruction of the kalyāṇamitra; his mind practiced the words of the kalyāṇamitra; his mind had the perception of the kalyāṇamitra as a physician and himself as a patient; [F.96.a] his mind was contented by focusing on the vision of the kalyāṇamitra; his mind had obtained the opportunity to disperse the mountain of obscurations to the vision of the kalyāṇamitra; his mind had attained, through seeing the kalyāṇamitra, entry into the ocean of the ways of the great compassion that saves all the realms of beings; his mind had attained, through seeing the kalyāṇamitra, the illumination by wisdom of the ocean of the ways of the realm of phenomena.

Thus, he approached the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā.

36.2

The night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā, in order to further increase the ripening of his accumulation of the roots of merit through approaching a kalyāṇamitra, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as arising from a great accumulation, blessed going to a kalyāṇamitra as great prowess, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as diligence in actions that is difficult to realize, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as reliance1331 throughout a long time, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as going into centerless and limitless directions, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as the source for dwelling together for a long time, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as the source of perceiving infinite tasks being completed, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as the prowess of an accumulation of centerless and limitless displays of the path, blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as prowess through every gateway, [F.96.b] and blessed approaching a kalyāṇamitra as the prowess of undeviating arrival.

36.3

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, approached the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā in this way: approaching a kalyāṇamitra with diligent dedication in the accumulation of omniscience; approaching a kalyāṇamitra with the prowess of accomplishing an ocean of great prayers; approaching a kalyāṇamitra with the resolve to undergo suffering for the sake of a single being until the conclusion of the last future kalpa; approaching a kalyāṇamitra with the prowess of remaining for a long time1332 within a single atom, emitting sound1333 throughout the entire realm of phenomena while wearing the armor of diligence; approaching a kalyāṇamitra while moving at great speed through the entire extent of the ocean of directions; approaching a kalyāṇamitra while maintaining all bodhisattva conduct of future kalpas in a single pore of the body; approaching a kalyāṇamitra with the attainment of bodhisattva conduct and in each instant of mind dwelling in omniscient wisdom; approaching a kalyāṇamitra while intent on following the path and the display of miracles of the tathāgatas of the three times; approaching a kalyāṇamitra while following the path of entering the stream of all the ways of the realm of phenomena; and approaching a kalyāṇamitra without deviating from being focused on all the ways of the realm of phenomena and pervading the entire realm of phenomena. [F.97.a]

36.4

He saw the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā seated on a flower in the center of a lion throne within the circle of the assembly of the Bhagavat, resting in the bodhisattva samādhi called the banner of the power of vast, stainless, completely good joy.

36.5

He saw emanating from all her pores clouds of manifestations of the practice of the perfections, such as generosity, which delighted all beings, which brought pleasure to all beings, and which were various kinds of beauty for all beings.

36.6

They were like this: he saw clouds of manifestations of the practice of generosity in accord with the aspirations, perceptions, and languages of all beings, in order to benefit beings without causing discord, in order for there to be no concern for all material things, in order to give equally to all beings, in order for there to be impartiality toward all beings, in order to give respectfully to all beings, in order to give all inner and outer things, in order to manifest the generosity that is difficult,1334 and in order to manifest in all worlds the practice of generosity according to the wishes of beings.

36.7

He saw clouds of manifestations of the countless difficult acts of generosity by the bodhisattvas that appear in the three times, [F.97.b] which being emanated were perceived by all beings within the vast extent of the worlds in the ten directions.

36.8

It was like this: because of her attainment of the inconceivable miraculous powers of the might of bodhisattvas, he saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanated bodies of various beings, equal in number to that of all beings, which spread throughout all beings within all world realms, demonstrating directly to them the unwavering commitment to vows of discipline; demonstrating throughout the realms of beings the field of the various vows of discipline of1335 asceticism; demonstrating nondependence on all worlds, no concern for all fields of perception, and the rejection of all locations in saṃsāra; demonstrating entering the gateway to the decline of the good fortune of devas and humans;1336 demonstrating the field of unattractiveness; dispelling the incorrect perception of attractiveness in the world; revealing the nature of phenomena to be impermanence, instability, destruction, and change; showing the true nature of all that is composite to be suffering and the absence of a self; yearning to dwell inseparably within the field of activity of the tathāgatas; inspiring beings toward the perfectly stainless conduct of the tathāgatas; teaching to beings, in accordance with their aspirations and languages, the practice of correct conduct; manifesting the lovely scent of correct conduct that brings satisfaction to beings; [F.98.a] and ripening all beings.

36.9

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanated bodies of various colors, which were as numerous as all beings, teaching the endurance by all beings of the major and minor parts of their bodies being cut off; teaching the endurance by all beings of harm to their bodies; teaching the endurance by all beings of being falsely reviled, censured, reproached, disgraced, and threatened; teaching the imperturbability of all beings; teaching all beings1337 to be neither uplifted by honors nor made downcast by disrespect;1338 teaching humility in all beings; teaching the unceasing wisdom of the unceasing patience toward the nature of all phenomena; teaching the practice of patience that eliminates the kleśas in all beings; turning all beings away from misshapen bodies with ugly color; teaching1339 the supreme pure color of the tathāgatas; and ripening beings.

36.10

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanated bodies of various colors, shapes, and sizes, equal in number to that of all beings, which spread everywhere in accordance with the aspirations of beings, teaching exertion in diligence for the great accumulation of omniscience; [F.98.b] the diligence that puts to flight all discord from the māras; the diligence that is constant and unwavering in undertaking the attainment of enlightenment; the diligence for rescuing all beings from the ocean of saṃsāra; the diligence that turns beings away from all the paths that lead to unfortunate existences, calamitous existences, terrible existences, and downfalls; the diligence for shattering to pieces the mountain of ignorance; the diligence that never wearies in serving and making offerings to all the tathāgatas; the diligence for receiving and holding the Dharma wheel of all the buddhas; the diligence for shattering and scattering the mountain of all obscurations; the diligence that never wearies of ripening and guiding all beings; and the diligence for purifying all buddha realms and teaching the pure, unsurpassable diligence of the tathāgatas, and he saw them ripening beings.

36.11

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanated bodies of various colors and shapes that through various methods brought joy to beings; prevented unhappiness; condemned all delights in desire; proclaimed in the world the quality of a sense of shame; brought beings to control of their senses; praised the unsurpassable conduct of celibacy; taught the fearfulness of the world of desire and the realm of Māra; taught all the worlds that are the range of desire, even to those who were free from delighting in desires; caused beings to delight in the pleasures of the Dharma; [F.99.a] enabled the successive attainment of the gateways1340 to dhyāna, samādhi, and samāpatti; described the mind that comprehends the elimination of all kleśas in all beings; taught all the miraculous manifestations of the ocean of bodhisattva samādhis; taught the miracles and supremacy of the higher cognitions of the bodhisattvas; brought joy to all beings; increased enthusiasm;1341 created happiness; dispelled unhappiness; caused the attainment of faultless minds; made minds skillful; purified thoughts; clarified the senses; brought physical bliss; magnified the power of delight in the Dharma; and thus ripened beings.

36.12

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of various bodies resembling all bodies that appear, in order to appear in accordance with the wishes of all beings within all realms, demonstrating unwearyingly going into the presence of kalyāṇamitras;1342 demonstrating unwearying service and attendance to ācāryas, gurus, and kalyāṇamitras;1343 demonstrating the diligence that never wearies of receiving and holding the turning of the Dharma wheel of all the tathāgatas; describing the way of comprehending the ocean of all the buddhas; [F.99.b] contemplating the ocean of all Dharma entrances; explaining the characteristics, natures, and ways of all Dharmas; teaching the entrances into the samādhis of all Dharmas;1344 teaching the range of wisdom that dispels the ocean of questions and doubts of all beings;1345 teaching the vajra of wisdom that destroys the mountains of wrong views of all beings; teaching, with every instant of mind, the rising of the disk of the sun of wisdom that dispels the darkness of the ignorance of all beings; and ripening beings1346 by bringing happiness to all beings.

36.13

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanations of many bodies of inconceivable colors and shapes, equal to those of all beings, becoming present before all beings in accordance with their motivations and aspirations, and teaching, giving instructions by having mastered various languages, the knowledge of what is meritorious in the world and what is not meritorious.1347 He saw the worldly deeds that should be accomplished, the description of the origin of all three realms, the explanation of the direction that leads to leaving all three realms, the teaching of the direction that leads to leaving the unendurable misery1348 of wrong views, and thereby the teaching of the unique path to omniscience, the teaching of the transcending of the path of the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha levels, the teaching of being unstained by anger or love toward those who show respect and those who disrespect, the teaching of nonengagement with the gateways1349 to either saṃsāra or nirvāṇa, the teaching of the unceasing successive passage from one place to another such as the Tuṣita paradise, [F.100.a] the teaching of the unceasing succession of going to the bodhimaṇḍa and attaining complete buddhahood, and the ripening of beings for omniscience.

36.14

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanated bodies as numerous as the atoms in all buddha realms and visibly present in all worlds of beings. They were describing the completely good bodhisattva conduct and prayer; describing the special prayer for the perfect purification of the entire realm of phenomena; describing the purification of the entire ocean of world realms in each instant of mind; describing continuous service and offering to all the tathāgatas; teaching the continuous entry into the ocean of all the ways of the Dharma in each instant of mind; describing the continuous entry into the ocean of the ways of the realm of phenomena, which are as numerous as the atoms in the entire ocean of world realms, in each instant of mind; describing the continuous teaching of the purification of the path to omniscience while remaining resolutely throughout all future kalpas in all realms; describing continuous entry into the strengths of the tathāgatas in each instant of mind; teaching continuous entry into the ocean of all the ways of the three times; teaching the continuous manifestation of miraculous powers in all realms; and establishing all beings in omniscience through the teaching of bodhisattva prayer and conduct. [F.100.b]

36.15

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanated bodies as numerous as the minds of all beings, and in the presence of all beings teaching the limitless strength of the accumulation of omniscience; teaching the inexhaustible, indestructible,1350 and everlasting strength of the mind that knows all phenomena; teaching the irreversible, nonregressive, invincible, ever-continuing,1351 unsurpassable strength of the attainment of all bodhisattva conduct; teaching the bodhisattva strength that is unstained by any of the faults of saṃsāra; teaching the bodhisattva strength that disperses the entire army of Māra; teaching the bodhisattva strength that is unafflicted by the stains of any of the kleśas; teaching the bodhisattva strength that disperses the mountain of all karmic obscurations; teaching the bodhisattva strength of great compassion that continues throughout all kalpas with unwearying bodhisattva conduct; teaching the bodhisattva strength that brings happiness to all beings by shuddering and shaking all buddha realms; teaching the bodhisattva strength that defeats all the hosts of māras and adversaries; and elucidating in the world the great strength of the wisdom of turning the Dharma wheel and thus ripening all beings for omniscience. [F.101.a]

36.16

He saw, issuing forth from all her pores, clouds of emanated bodies, as numerous as the minds of all beings, which spread throughout the infinite realms of beings in the ten directions, teaching in accordance with the motivations and aspirations of beings the prowess of bodhisattva conduct and wisdom; teaching the wisdom that comprehends the ocean of all the realms of beings; teaching the wisdom that comprehends the ocean of the minds of all beings; teaching the wisdom that knows the ocean of the faculties of all beings; teaching the wisdom that comprehends the ocean of the conducts of all beings; teaching the wisdom that always knows the time for ripening and guiding all beings; teaching the wisdom that resounds throughout the entire realm of phenomena; teaching the wisdom that pervades everywhere, in each instant of mind, the ocean of all the ways of knowing the entire realm of phenomena; teaching the knowledge of the formation and destruction of the ocean of all world realms; teaching the knowledge of the basis, shape, and arrayed displays of all world realms; and teaching the knowledge of emanating offerings to all the tathāgatas, going into their presence, making offerings, rendering service, and possessing clouds of Dharma wheels. And by teaching in that way the practice of the perfection of knowledge, they were bringing happiness to beings, making their minds clear, creating joy, increasing aspiration, dispelling unhappiness, purifying1352 the mind, [F.101.b] creating a faultless mind, clarifying the senses, creating the power of aspiration, and causing irreversible progress toward omniscience.

36.17

In the same way that he saw beings being ripened in worlds through the teaching of the practice of the perfections, he saw the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā proclaiming all the bodhisattva Dharmas: the initial accumulation of developed motivation; the methods for serving and venerating kalyāṇamitras; approaching the feet of tathāgatas and making offerings to them and attending them; every method for practicing good qualities; making the most difficult of gifts through the practice of the perfection of generosity; the methods for training in the perfection of correct conduct; all the methods for giving up the great power of kingship, retinues, and great power over enjoyments and becoming a renunciate; all the accomplishments of patience in the domain of vows of discipline and great asceticism that are difficult to undertake in this world; all resolute engagement in the bodhisattva vows of discipline; the ocean of the qualities of firm bodhisattva commitments; the endurance1353 of the bad actions, bad speech,1354 and bad thoughts1355 of all realms of beings; the endurance of harm to the body and the mind; the patience of the nonperishing1356 nature of the Dharma;1357 the patience of belief in all Dharmas; [F.102.a] the patience of realizing the nature of the Dharma; the diligence for engaging in undertaking omniscience; the diligence for accomplishing all the qualities of buddhahood; the practice of the perfection of diligence; the accumulation of the perfection of meditation; dedication to the perfection of meditation; the pure practices that accomplish the perfection of meditation; the miraculous powers from the attainment of bodhisattva samādhis; the entry through an ocean of samādhi gateways; the practices of the perfection of meditation; the accumulation of the perfection of wisdom; the ways of purifying the sun disk of great bodhisattva wisdom; the ways of accumulating1358 the clouds of great wisdom; the accumulations of the great treasure of wisdom; the ways of analyzing the great ocean of wisdom; dedication to purification1359 and skill in great methods; the bodies from the perfection of great bodhisattva prayers; the accomplishment of the perfection of great prayers; the practice of the perfection of great prayers; the dedication in the past to the perfection of great prayers; [F.102.b] the great accumulations for attaining the perfection of strength; the conditions for the perfection of strength; the great ocean of the ways of the perfection of strength; the teaching of the perfection of strength; the dedication in the past to the perfection of strength; the practice of the perfection of knowledge; the ways of the perfection of knowledge; the ways of the purification of the perfection of knowledge; the direction of the perfection of knowledge; following the perfection of knowledge; the vastness of the perfection of knowledge; absorption in the ways of the perfection of knowledge; focusing on the ways of the perfection of knowledge;1360 following the vastness of the perfection of knowledge; the pervasion of the perfection of knowledge; the extent of the perfection of knowledge; the assemblage of the perfection of knowledge;1361 dedication in the past to the accomplishment of the perfection of knowledge; the arrangement of the arising of entry into the classification of the kinds of practice of the perfection of knowledge; possessing the ways of absorption in the perfection of knowledge;1362 seeking the knowledge of Dharma that encompasses what is Dharma and what is not Dharma;1363 seeking the knowledge of karma; seeking the knowledge of realms; [F.103.a] seeking the knowledge of kalpas; seeking the knowledge of times;1364 seeking the knowledge of the occurrence of buddhas; seeking the knowledge of buddhas; seeking the knowledge of the bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the arising of bodhisattva motivation; seeking the knowledge of the presence of bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the arising of bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the setting-forth1365 of bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of prayers; seeking the knowledge of the Dharma wheels of bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the analysis of the Dharma by bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the ways of the sea of Dharma of the bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the ocean1366 of Dharma of the bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the turning1367 of the Dharma wheel of the bodhisattvas; seeking the knowledge of the treasure of the Dharma of the bodhisattvas; and seeking the knowledge of the state of the Dharma of the bodhisattvas. Clouds of bodies of beings of various colors emitted from each of the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā’s pores ripened beings through all the limitless and centerless bodhisattva practices1368 endowed with the perfection of knowledge.

36.18

They were like this: he saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the Śuddhāvāsa devas of the Akaniṣṭha, Sudarśana, Sudṛśa, Atapa, and Avṛha paradises issuing forth and ripening beings. [F.103.b]

In the same way, he saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the devas in the Bṛhatphala, Puṇyaprasava, and Anabhraka paradises issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.19

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the devas in the Śubhakṛtsna, Apramāṇaśubha, and Parīttaśubha paradises issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the devas in the Ābhāsvara, Apramāṇābha, and Parīttābha paradises issuing forth and ripening beings.1369

36.20

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the devas in the Mahābrahma, Brahmapurohita, and Brahmapārṣada paradises issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the deva king Vaśavartin and his devas and apsarases issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.21

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the deva king Sunirmita and his devas and apsarases issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the deva king Saṃtuṣita and his devas and apsarases issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.22

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the deva king Suyāma and his devas and apsarases issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the deva king Śakra and his devas and apsarases issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.23

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the gandharva king Dhṛtarāṣṭra and his male gandharvas and female gandharvas issuing forth and ripening beings. [F.104.a]

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the kumbhāṇḍa king Virūḍhaka and his male kumbhāṇḍas and female kumbhāṇḍas issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.24

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the nāga king Virūpākṣa and his male nāgas and female nāgas issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the great yakṣa king Vaiśravaṇa and his male yakṣas and female yakṣas issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.25

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the kinnara king Druma and his male kinnaras and female kinnaras issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the mahoraga lord Sumati and his male mahoragas and female mahoragas issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.26

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the garuḍa lord Mahābalavegasthāma and his male garuḍas and female garuḍas issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the asura lord Rāhu and his male asuras and female asuras issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.27

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the Dharma king Yama and his male yamas and female yamas issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the lord of humans and his male humans and female humans issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.28

Thus he saw clouds of bodies that were like those of all the beings that appear in all existences issuing forth and ripening beings. [F.104.b]

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and ṛṣis issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.29

He saw clouds of bodies that were like the devas of the realms of wind, water, and fire issuing forth and ripening beings.

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the devas of oceans, rivers, mountains, forests, harvests,1370 herbs, trees, and earth issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.30

He saw clouds of bodies that were like those of the devas of parks, cities, the bodhimaṇḍa, the day, the night, space, directions, those who walk on legs, and all those who have bodies issuing forth and ripening beings.

36.31

In the same way, he saw clouds of bodies that were like Vajrapāṇi issuing forth, spreading throughout the ten directions, being present before beings throughout the extent of the ways of the realm of phenomena, and ripening beings.

36.32

He saw, beginning with the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā’s first accumulation of the development of the aspiration to enlightenment, the unbroken succession of the accomplishment of a virtuous mind in her past lifetimes; the constant succession of praising the aspiration to enlightenment; the constant succession of passing away and obtaining a rebirth; the constant succession of the possession of a body; the constant succession of the wheel of names; the constant succession of going to a kalyāṇamitra; [F.105.a] the constant succession of honoring the appearance of a buddha; the constant succession of acquiring the sentences and syllables of the Dharma; the constant succession of the motivation to practice the bodhisattva path; the constant succession of attaining samādhi; the constant succession of seeing buddhas through having attained samādhi; the constant succession of the expanding vision that sees the realms; the constant wheel of the knowledge of the succession of the kalpas; the constant succession of the knowledge that comprehends the realm of phenomena; the constant succession of seeing the natures of beings; the constant succession of knowing the successive passing and rebirth of beings who are within the ocean of the ways of the realm of phenomena; the constant succession of understanding pure divine hearing; the constant succession of the gateways for entering into the continuum1371 of looking into the minds of the entire realm of beings; the constant succession of gateways for first entering divine sight; the constant succession of the first perception through divine hearing; the constant succession of the first knowledge of the minds of other beings; the constant succession of the first knowledge of the memory of the previous lifetimes of herself and others; [F.105.b] the constant succession of the first conditions for attaining miraculous activity through being established in the absence of existence; the constant succession of spreading the prowess of miraculous powers throughout the directions; the constant succession of attaining bodhisattva liberations; the constant succession of realizing the inconceivable ways of an ocean of bodhisattva liberations; the constant succession of the miraculous manifestations of bodhisattva samādhi; the constant succession of bodhisattva prowess; the constant succession of bodhisattva domination; the constant succession of gaining the title of bodhisattva; the constant succession of entering the bodhisattva path; and the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā’s constant succession of bodhisattva knowledge all issued from all her pores as clouds of emanated bodies that he then saw teaching the Dharma to beings.

36.33

He saw them declaring it, elucidating it, revealing it, communicating it, categorizing it, expanding upon it, enumerating it, giving instruction on it, making it known, and accomplishing it.

36.34

He saw some teaching the Dharma through speech from the sound of shaking in a domain of wind, [F.106.a] some through speech from the sound of crashing waves on a mass of water, some through speech from the sound of the roaring flames of a fire, some through speech from the sound of a roaring ocean, some through speech from the sound of the rumbling of an earthquake, some through speech from the sound and noise of great mountains striking against and buffeting one another, some through speech from the melodious sound of the shaking of the cities of the devas, some through speech from the sound of divine aerial palaces buffeting one another, some through the speech of the lords of the devas; some through the speech of the lords of the nāgas, some through the speech of the lords of the yakṣas, some through the speech of the lords of the gandharvas, some through the speech of the lords of the asuras, some through the speech of the lords of the garuḍas, some through the speech of the lords of the mahoragas, some through the speech of the lords of the kinnaras, some through the speech of the lords of the humans, some through the speech of the lords of the Brahmā devas, some through the speech of the songs of the apsarases, some through speech from the playing of divine music, some through speech sounding from precious jewels,1372 and some through the speech of all the various classes of beings, describing to beings the scope of the liberation of the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā.

36.35

In the same way, he saw clouds of bodhisattva bodies with various kinds of bodhisattva speech and clouds of emanated1373 tathāgatas, with the ways of the aspects of voice of the different kinds of speech of each tathāgata and describing to all beings the range of the liberation of the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā, including the first occurrence of developing the aspiration to enlightenment and the accumulation of accomplishments. [F.106.b]

36.36

He saw that each of those clouds of emanated forms purified, in each instant of mind, an anabhilāpyānabhilāpya of buddha realms in the world realms in the ten directions.

36.37

He saw them liberating1374 an infinite ocean of beings from all the sufferings of the lower realms.

He saw them establishing realms of beings, without limit or center, in the good fortune of devas 1375 and humans.

36.38

He saw them freeing an ocean of beings, without limit or center, from the ocean of saṃsāra.

He saw them establishing an ocean of beings without limit or center on the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha levels.

36.39

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, saw them bringing, in each instant of mind, an ocean of beings, without limit or center, to the level of the ten strengths.

36.40

He heard them, contemplated them, scrutinized them, comprehended them, understood them, knew them, followed them, fathomed them, and was resolved as to their equality.

36.41

This was because of the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā’s having become an appropriate vessel for the completely good bodhisattva conduct, her supremacy through the miracles of the bodhisattva liberation called the vast banner1376 of inconceivable, completely good joy, her corresponding practice in the past, her being blessed by the blessings of the tathāgatas, and the ripening of her countless roots of merit.

36.42

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, who had attained the illumination of an ocean of the power of great bodhisattva joy, who had been blessed by all the tathāgatas in the ten directions, [F.107.a] placed his hands together in homage and praised the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā with these appropriate verses:

36.43

“The Dharma1377 of the jinas is profound.

You trained in it for countless kalpas.

In successive forms that accord with dispositions,

You pervade all beings and appear in worlds. {1}

36.44

“Knowing that they have no self and no protector,

Have incorrect conceptions, and are continually deluded,

You guide beings by manifesting bodies and powers

Through various kinds of miracles. {2}

36.45

“Completely free from fevers, in perfect peace,

You have a pure, nondual Dharma body.

You guide through the thunder of clouds of emanations

All beings, without exception, who are dependent on duality. {3}

36.46

“You are never dependent, never reliant

On the skandhas, āyatanas, and dhātus.

You have a perfect form with all limbs complete,

And you guide with your roar of supremacy. {4}

36.47

“You are liberated internally and externally.

You have risen above the ocean of duality,

Yet you manifest illusory forms for beings

In the infinite ocean of saṃsāra. {5}

36.48

“You do not vacillate.

You are not complicated by pride or hurry.

You teach the nature of phenomena

And guide the fools in the world who delight in complication. {6}

36.49

“Through remaining in an ocean of samādhis,

Your mind is one-pointed for many kalpas,

Yet you emit clouds of emanations from your pores

So as to make offerings to the sugatas in the ten directions. {7}

36.50

“In every single instant of mind, you comprehend

The ways of entering into the strengths of the buddhas.

According to individual circumstances, you manifest

The undertakings that will gather beings1378 around you. {8} [F.107.b]

36.51

“You see the oceans of existence

And the various forms painted by karma.

You purify all beings by showing them

The unobscured path of the Dharma. {9}

36.52

“Your body is beautified by the signs of a great being,

But through the pure, perfectly good conduct,

You manifest in the world the form of a goddess

In accordance with the dispositions of beings.” {10}

36.53

Having praised the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā with those verses, Sudhana asked, “Goddess, how long has it been since you entered into attaining the highest, complete enlightenment? Goddess, how long has it been since you attained the bodhisattva liberation called the banner of the power of vast, stainless, completely good joy?”

36.54

The night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā recited these verses to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son:

36.55

“I remember, in the past, as many kalpas ago

As there are atoms in a realm,

There was the realm Maṇiprabhasukhābha

In a kalpa called Praśantaghoṣa. {11}

36.56

“It was filled with ten thousand quintillion 1379

Four-continent world realms.

The central four-continent world, beautifully formed,

Resembled a measureless mountain of jewels. {12}

36.57

“It was filled by the king’s cities

Numbering ten thousand quintillion.1380

The beautiful central royal city,

Gandhadhvajā, shone with jewels.1381 {13}

36.58

“There a lord of the directions, sovereign of the land,

A cakravartin with a handsome body, appeared.

He had the thirty-two signs of a great being,

And the features of a great being also adorned his body. {14}

36.59

“He was miraculously born from inside a lotus.

His body was golden and shone with light. [F.108.a]

He moved through the sky and filled with light

The entirety of Jambudhvaja. {15}

36.60

“He had a full thousand sons,

All of whom had bodies with excellent limbs.

He had many millions of ministers

Who were wise, intelligent, learned, and honest. {16}

36.61

“He had a full hundred million queens

Who resembled apsarases, were skilled in the art of pleasure,

And with loving minds, caring minds,1382

Affectionately attended that king. {17}

36.62

“That king, through the power of the Dharma,

Caused that great land, the entirety of the four continents

As far as the Cakravāla mountain range,1383

To remain in a state of good fortune. {18}

36.63

“I was that cakravartin’s principal1384 queen.

I had the voice of Brahmā and a bejeweled1385 body,

With a bright halo the color of gold

That illuminated for a thousand yojanas. {19}

36.64

“After the sun had set

And the king and his sons were asleep

And the sound of music had ceased,

I slept comfortably on my bed. {20}

36.65

“In the middle of the night,

The Buddha Śrisamudra appeared.

The Jina manifested limitless1386 miracles

That spread throughout the ten directions. {21}

36.66

“That ocean of the Jina’s light

Spread through worlds as numerous a realm’s atoms.

Various kinds of emanated bodies

Filled all ten directions without exception. {22}

36.67

“The earth and its mountains shook,

And a voice proclaimed, ‘A jina has come!’

Devas, asuras, humans, and nāgas

Were all delighted that a buddha had appeared. {23}

36.68

“Many oceans of emanations appeared

From all the pores of the Buddha.

They spread throughout the ten directions

And taught the Dharma in accordance with the aspirations of beings. {24}

36.69

“The Jina revealed to me in a dream

All those limitless miraculous manifestations. [F.108.b]

When I heard the profound thunderous sound,

I understood its meaning and was delighted. {25}

36.70

“Ten1387 thousand night goddesses

Residing in the sky above me

Spoke to me, waking me from sleep,

Praising the excellence of the Jina. {26}

36.71

“ ‘Arise, wise queen of His Majesty,

A jina has appeared in your kingdom.

This kind of good fortune is difficult to find1388

Even in a hundred oceans of kalpas.’ {27}

36.72

“I awoke with happiness

And saw the clear, pure light.

I looked to see where this good light came from

And saw the Jina at the foot of the Bodhi tree. {28}

36.73

“He was adorned by the thirty-two signs of a great being,

And an ocean of light rays shone from all his pores.

Just like Sumeru he was above all,

And the Jina was the same on the right and the left. {29}

36.74

“When I saw him I was overjoyed,

And in my mind rose the aspiration to be like him.

Having seen the manifestations of the Buddha,

I made a very vast prayer. {30}

36.75

“I requested the king to arise,

And his court and his wives also got up.

When they saw the vast light from the Buddha,

They all experienced physical pleasure. {31}

36.76

“I proceeded to the presence of the Jina

Together with the king and his armed forces

And accompanied by ten million carriages1389

And many quintillions 1390 of beings. {32}

36.77

“For twenty thousand years

I made offerings to the Jina.

I presented him1391 with the seven jewels

And the earth and its oceans. {33}

36.78

“The clouds of the qualities of an ocean of sūtras,

Which were a display arisen from an ocean of prayers,

Had all appeared from the Tathāgata

And were taught to beings according to their dispositions. {34}

36.79

“Those night goddesses,1392 wishing to benefit1393 me,

With compassion woke me at that time.1394 [F.109.a]

There arose an aspiration in me toward them:1395

‘May I become like them, awakening the intoxicated.’1396 {35}

36.80

“That was the prayer that I made in my mind,

My first development of the aspiration for the highest enlightenment,

Which my residing in the ocean of saṃsāra,

The ocean of existences, has not destroyed. {36}

36.81

“I had faith in and offered to

Ten1397 million trillion buddhas.

While in the midst of saṃsāra’s devas and humans,

I desired the scope of pleasure and bliss. {37}

36.82

“The first was Śrīsamudra.

After him came Guṇapradīpa.

The third was the Jina Ratnaketu.

The fourth was the Buddha Gaganaprajña. {38}

36.83

“The fifth jina was Kusumagarbha.

The sixth jina was Asaṅgamaticandra.

The seventh jina was Dharmacandraprabhurāja.

The eighth was Jñānamaṇḍalaprabhāsa. {39}

36.84

“Then came the time of the ninth jina,

Racanārciparvatapradīpa.1398

The tenth was Tryadhvaprabhaghoṣa.

With faith, I made offerings to them all. {40}

36.85

“I made offerings to those ten

And all the other lords of humans.

But I did not at that time attain

The vision of entering the ocean of ways. {41}

36.86

“After that there followed the realm

That was called Sarvaratnābha

In the kalpa called Devaśrī,

In which five hundred buddhas appeared. {42}

36.87

“The first was Śaśimaṇḍala.

The second born was Bhāskarapradīpa.

The third buddha was Jyotidhvaja,

And after him there were Maṇisumeru, {43}

36.88

“Kusumārcisāgarapradīpa,

Jvalanaśrīśa, Devaśrīgarbha,

Avabhāsarāja, and Prabhaketu.

The tenth was Samantajñānaprabharāja. {44}

36.89

“I made offerings to those ten

And all the rest of those lords of humans.

But I delighted1399 in being located in the body.

I had a mind dwelling in the Dharma that has no location. {45}

36.90

“Following that, there was [F.109.b]

The beautiful world realm

Called Dharmapradīpameghaśrī

In the kalpa called Brahmaprabha. {46}

36.91

“In that there were countless jinas.

I made offerings to them and their followers.

From all of those sugatas 1400

I heard the Dharma with great respect. {47}

36.92

“The first jina was Ratnameru.

After him were Guṇasamudra

And the Jina Dharmadhātusvaraketu.

The fourth was Dharmasamudragarjana. {48}

36.93

“Then there were Dharmadhvaja, Dharaṇitejas,

Dharmabalaprabha, Gaganabuddhi,

And Dharmārcimeruśikharābha,

And after them1401 was Meghaśrī. {49}

36.94

“I made offerings to those ten

And all the rest of those lords of humans.

But I did not understand1402 the true nature

By which one enters the ocean of jinas. {50}

36.95

“After that came the Sugata 1403

Sūryapradīpaketuśrī

In a realm called Buddhamati,

In a kalpa called Somaśrī. {51}

36.96

“I made offerings to all eight hundred million1404

Of those with the ten strengths who were present there,

With a variety of limitless, vast,

Numerous beautiful offerings.1405 {52}

36.97

“The first after him1406 was Gandharvarāja,

Second was the Buddha Drumarāja,

The third jina was Guṇasumeru,

And after him were Ratnanetra, {53}

36.98

“Vairocanaprabhavyūha,

Dharmasamudra, the Buddha Tejaśrī,1407

Lokendratejaśrībhadra,

And after them Sarvadharmaprabharāja. {54}

36.99

“I made offerings to those ten

And all the rest of those sugatas.

But I did not attain the knowledge

That comprehended that ocean of Dharma. {55}

36.100

“After that, there was a perfectly pure realm

Called Vajramāṇyabhedyadṛḍhatejas,1408

In which there were constant clouds of light

And the presence of numerous beautiful displays. {56}

36.101

“Within it there were many pure beings

With few afflictions from the stains of kleśas. [F.110.a]

The kalpa was called Praśāntamatitejas

With the display of the appearance of a thousand buddhas. {57}

36.102

“The first jina was Vajranābhi,

The second was Asaṅgabaladhārin,

Then there were the jinas Dharmadhātupratibhāsa

And Sarvadiśapradīpaprabharāja. {58}

36.103

“The fifth jina was Karuṇatejas,

The sixth jina was Vratasamudra,

Then there was the Sugata Kṣāntimaṇḍalapradīpa,

And the eighth was Dharmamaṇḍalaprabhāsa; {59}

36.104

“Then there was Avabhāsasāgaravyūha,

And after them was Praśāntaprabharāja.

I made offerings to those ten

And all the rest of those lords of humans. {60}

36.105

“But I did not realize1409 this nature of phenomena,

The pure nature that is the same as space,

In which one should remain while practicing

In the entire vast extent of realms. {61}

36.106

“After that, there was the beautiful realm

Called Gandhapradīpameghaśrī,

Completely purified of all the kleśas,

In the kalpa that was called Susaṃbhava. {62}

36.107

“During that time there appeared ten million jinas

Who were all arrayed throughout that kalpa.1410

Those guides taught the Dharma,

And I retained it through the power of memory. {63}

36.108

“The first jina was Vipulakīrti,

Then there were Dharmasamudravegaśrīrāja,

Dharmendrarāja, Guṇaghoṣa,

Dharmaśrī, and Devamakuṭa; {64}

36.109

“Jñānārcitejaśrī was the seventh

Of those lords of two-legged beings.

The eighth jina was Gaganaghoṣa,

And the ninth was Samantasaṃbhavapradīpa. {65}

36.110

“The buddha that came after them

Was Ūrṇaśrīprabhāsamati.

I made offerings to all those lords of humans,

But I did not purify the path free of attachment. {66}

36.111

“After that there was the well-arranged world realm

Called Ratnadhvajāgramati,

Which was an excellent display

Formed from all kinds of jewels. {67} [F.110.b]

36.112

“During that kalpa, called Sārocaya,

There appeared five hundred buddhas.

I made offerings to all those self-arisen ones,

Wishing for this liberation free of attachment.1411 {68}

36.113

“The first was named Guṇamaṇḍala,

Then there were Śāntanirghoṣa, Sāgaraśrī,

Ādityatejas, Śrīrāja,1412

Lakṣaṇameru,1413 Megharutaghoṣa, {69}

36.114

“Dharmendrarāja,1414 Guṇarāja,

Puṇyasumeru, and Śāntaprabharāja.

I made offerings to those ten

And all the rest of those jinas.1415 {70}

36.115

“All the jinas have followed

The purifying path of the jinas.

However, I had still not attained

The patience for entering this way of the jinas. {71}

36.116

“After that there was a completely pure

World realm of very beautiful lights

Called Śāntanirghoṣahāramati,1416

Where dwelled beings with few kleśas. {72}

36.117

“In that kalpa called Sukhābhirati

There appeared eight hundred million buddhas.

I made offerings to all those lords of humans,

Purifying the path of the supreme jinas. {73}

36.118

“The first jina was Kusumarāśi,

Then there were Sāgaragarbha, Saṃbhavagiri,

Devendracūḍa, Maṇigarbha,

Kāñcanaparvata, Ratnaraśi, {74}

36.119

“Dharmadhvaja, and Vacanaśrī,

And after them there was Jñānamati.

I made offerings to those ten

And all the rest of those lords of devas 1417 and humans. {75}

36.120

“After that, there was the realm

Called Sunirmitadhvajapradīpa,

In the kalpa called Sahasraśrī,

In which there were six quintillion buddhas. {76}

36.121

“There were Śāntadhvaja, Śamathaketu,

Śāntapradīpameghaśrīrāja, [F.111.a]

Avabhāsayantaprabharājā,

Meghavilambita, Suryatejas, {77}

36.122

“Dharmapradīpaśrī, Mervarciśrī,

And also Devaśrīgarbha.

After all those there appeared

Siṃhavinardita Vidupradīpa. {78}

36.123

“I made offerings to those ten

And all the rest of those sugata moons,

But I did not attain the patience

For entering this ocean of ways. {79}

36.124

“Following that there was the realm

Called Samantābhaśrī,

During the kalpa called Anālayavyūha,

In which there were three hundred and sixty million buddhas. {80}

36.125

“The first was Samantaguṇamegha.

Then there were the Buddha Gaganacitta,

The Buddha Susaṃbhavavyūha,

Garjitadharmasāgaranirghoṣa, {81}

36.126

“The Jina Dharmadhātusvaraghoṣa,

Nirmitameghasusvaraśrī,

The Buddha Samantadiśatejas,

And Dharmasamudrasaṃbhavaruta, {82}

36.127

“Then there was the ninth of the jina suns,

Guṇasāgaraśrīpradīpa.1418

Following those there came

Ratnaśrīpradīpaguṇaketu. {83}

36.128

“When Ratnaśrīpradīpaguṇaketu,

The lord of two-legged beings, set forth,

I was the goddess Śaśivakra,

And I made offerings to the lord of humans as he set forth. {84}

36.129

“That jina 1419 proclaimed1420 to me

Sūtras that were displays without location,

Displays that arose from an ocean of prayers,

Which I heard and retained through the power of memory. {85}

36.130

“I attained at that time vast vision,

Samādhis, and the power of retention.

In each instant I saw oceans of jinas

And a succession of realms. {86}

36.131

“There arose in me the essence of compassion,

The completely illuminating clouds of the way of kindness,

The aspiration to enlightenment, as vast as space,

And the vast beauty of the immeasurable buddha strengths.1421 {87} [F.111.b]

36.132

“I saw beings who were in a state of delusion,

Attached to permanence, happiness, purity, and self,1422

Blinded1423 by stupidity, obscured by ignorance,

Disturbed by the kleśas, and having misperceptions. {88}

36.133

“They performed actions in a thicket of wrong views,

Following frightening paths1424 under the power of craving.

Many various forms appearing

Were painted1425 by karma. {89}

36.134

“Those who appeared through being born

Through the gateways to rebirth in all existences

Had bodies and minds that experienced

The torments of birth, aging, and death. {90}

36.135

“Seeing that, in order to bring them benefit and happiness

I developed the supreme motivation

Wherever those with the ten strengths appeared,

Anywhere throughout the vast extent of realms. {91}

36.136

“From that arose clouds of prayers,

Perfect dedication to the happiness of beings,

The arising of limitless accumulations,

And the understanding of the ways of an ocean of paths. {92}

36.137

“I obtained vast clouds of practices,

The power of clear gateways to all paths,

Vast clouds of the perfections,

And the opening of the entire extent of the realm of Dharma. {93}

36.138

“With the vast power to ascend the bhūmis,

Practicing without attachment on the bhūmis,

In the ways of the ocean of the three times,

In each instant I came into the presence of all jinas. {94}

36.139

“What is more, I also mastered

The completely good jinaputra 1426 conduct,

And I realized the ways of the ocean

Of the ten aspects of the realm of the Dharma. {95}

36.140

“Noble one, do you think that the cakravartin king, that sovereign, who at that time, in that time, [F.112.a] was established in the unbroken lineage of the family of the buddhas is anyone else? Noble one, do not see him in that way. Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta was at that time, in that time, that king, that sovereign, who was the cakravartin, established in the unbroken lineage of the family of the buddhas. The night goddess who awoke me was an emanation of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra.

36.141

“Noble one, what do you think? If you think that Bhadramati, the precious woman who was the queen of the cakravartin in that time, at that time, was anyone else, do not see her in that way. At that time, in that time, I was Bhadramati, the precious woman who was the queen of the cakravartin. I was awoken by that night goddess and inspired by her to go see the Buddha.

36.142

“Noble one, I developed in that one existence the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment. In that way, through the power of that development of aspiration, I have, throughout kalpas as numerous as the atoms in a buddha realm, never fallen into rebirth in the lower realms but have always continuously depended on existence as a human or deva, and in all those existences I have seen tathāgatas. Finally, through just seeing the Bhagavat Arhat Samyaksaṃbuddha Ratnaśrīpradīpaguṇaketu,1427 I attained the bodhisattva liberation called the banner of the power1428 of vast, stainless, completely good joy. When I had attained it, I took on this kind of form in order to ripen and guide beings.

36.143

“Noble one, I know only this bodhisattva liberation called the banner of the power1429 of vast, stainless, completely good joy. How could I know the conduct or describe the qualities of bodhisattvas who, at the feet of all the tathāgatas [F.112.b] in each instant of mind, attain a great ocean of the power for setting out upon omniscience; who, in each instant of mind, have completed the attainment of an ocean of great prayers within all the entrances for setting out upon omniscience; who, in each instant of mind, are skilled, through the ways of making an ocean of prayers, in accomplishing a domain of conduct in future kalpas; who are skilled in accomplishing, within each conduct, as many bodies as there are atoms in all buddha realms; who are skilled in pervading, with each body, the entire ocean of different ways in the realm of phenomena; who are skilled in manifesting, in each ocean of different ways in the realm of phenomena, a perceivable conduct of the body that accords with the dispositions of beings throughout all the buddha realms; who are skilled in comprehending, in each ocean of different ways in the realm of phenomena, an ocean of tathāgatas, without limit or center, within all the atoms of a realm in all realms; who are skilled in comprehending each tathāgata’s miraculous tathāgata manifestations that pervade the entire extent of the realm of phenomena; who are skilled in comprehending each tathāgata’s accomplishment of gathering the accumulation of bodhisattva conduct in past kalpas; who are skilled in obtaining and possessing each tathāgata’s vast1430 wheel of the Dharma; and who are skilled in comprehending the ocean of the different ways of miraculous manifestations by the tathāgatas in the three times?

36.144

“Depart, noble one. In this circle of the Tathāgata’s assembly, not far from me, there is the goddess of the night named Samantasattvatrāṇojaḥśrī. [F.113.a] Go to her and ask her, ‘How should a bodhisattva train in bodhisattva conduct? How should a bodhisattva practice it?’ ”

36.145

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā, circumambulated the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping her to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā. [B7]

37.

Chapter 37

Samantasattvatrāṇojaḥśrī

37.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, aspiring to the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā’s samādhi of the bodhisattva liberation called the banner of the power1431 of vast, stainless, completely good joy, comprehending it, understanding it, knowing it, believing in it, undertaking it, pervading it, recollecting it, remembering it, and meditating on it,1432 practicing the instruction of the kalyāṇamitra and memorizing the instruction given by the night goddess Pramuditanayanajagadvirocanā in order to maintain the continuity of the teaching of instruction, approached the night goddess Samantasattvatrāṇojaḥśrī. Through contemplating1433 seeing a kalyāṇamitra, through the domain of all his faculties,1434 by going from place to place1435 to obtain the sight of a kalyāṇamitra, through looking in all directions, through being intent on searching for a kalyāṇamitra, through being free from all pride, [F.113.b] through the prowess1436 of pleasing a kalyāṇamitra, through being resolved to create a great accumulation of merit, through having become single-mindedly intent upon a kalyāṇamitra,1437 and through all his roots of merit,1438 he had gained the unwavering motivation for a kalyāṇamitra’s conduct of skillful methods, had developed an ocean of the power of diligence for increasing reliance on a kalyāṇamitra, and had prayed to dwell with and follow kalyāṇamitras equally in all kalpas.

38.

Chapter 38

Praśantarutasāgaravatī

38.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, meditating on the night goddess Samantasattvatrāṇojaḥśrī’s bodhisattva liberation called the manifestations that guide beings that appear in all worlds, and contemplating it, having faith in it, engaging in it, increasing it, expanding it, augmenting it,1497 gaining power over it, illuminating it, and being absorbed in it, approached the night goddess Praśantarutasāgaravatī.

39.

Chapter 39

Sarvanagararakṣāsaṃbhavatejaḥśrī

39.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, was meditating on, familiarizing himself with,1529 and cultivating the bodhisattva liberation called the display in each instant of mind of the arising of the power of vast delight. He was following, remembering, [F.148.a] and comprehending the instruction and teachings of the night goddess Praśantarutasāgaravatī, remembering each word and letter, the numerous countless aspects, the knowledge of the aspects of the nature of phenomena, and he was relying on it through his memory, analyzing it with his intelligence, comprehending it with his understanding,1530 increasing it with his intellect, feeling it with his body, practicing it, and engaging in it, and eventually he arrived where the night goddess Sarvanagararakṣāsaṃbhavatejaḥśrī was.

40.

Chapter 40

Sarvavṛkṣpraphullanasukhasaṃvāsā

40.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, further meditating on, believing in,1554 and increasing the bodhisattva liberation called the entry into beautiful sounds and profound manifestations, went to where the night goddess Sarvavṛkṣpraphullanasukhasaṃvāsā was. He saw the night goddess Sarvavṛkṣpraphullanasukhasaṃvāsā seated upon a lion throne consisting of the saplings of precious trees, inside a kūṭāgāra made from the branches of all perfumed precious trees and encircled by an entourage of ten thousand night goddesses. [F.159.b]

41.

Chapter 41

Sarvajagadrakṣāpraṇidhānavīryaprabhā

41.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, went to where the night goddess Sarvajagadrakṣāpraṇidhānavīryaprabhā was. He saw the night goddess Sarvajagadrakṣāpraṇidhānavīryaprabhā in the center of her entourage, seated upon a throne that contained kings of jewels that illuminated the dwellings of all beings. She had a body covered completely in a net of jewels that illuminated the ways of the realm of phenomena. Her body revealed the images of the sun, the moon, and all the planets, stars, and constellations. She had a body that manifested to the perception of beings in accordance with their wishes. She had a body such that her own body was perceived by all beings as having the same form as their bodies. She had a body that manifested perceptions of a vast, centerless, edgeless ocean of skin colors. She had a body that manifested practicing all paths of the practice of conduct. She had a body that could be perceived from every kind of orientation.1627 She had a body that was present in all worlds, filling all directions with the sound of thunder from the cloud of the Dharma and with various miraculous manifestations. She had a body that reached throughout the realm of space, at all times looking at how to benefit all beings. She had a body that paid homage and bowed down at the feet of all tathāgatas. She had a body that came before all beings, aiding them in the accumulation of roots of merit. [F.180.a] She had a body that possessed the mindfulness of keeping and never deviating from the motivation to accomplish and fulfill the prayer to receive and possess clouds of Dharma directly from all the tathāgatas. She had a body that filled all principal and intermediate directions with light that had no edge or center. She had a body that manifested the illumination and the spreading light of the lamp of Dharma, dispelling the darkness in all beings. She had a body that manifested as a stainless body of the wisdom that phenomena are like illusions. She had a body that manifested as a Dharma body free of darkness and dust. She had a body that appeared with the nature of being an illusion. She had a mind free of darkness that had realized the true nature. She had attained the illumination in all aspects of the light of wisdom. She had a mental body that was completely free of illness and had no pain. She had appeared from the realm of the enduring and indestructible Dharma body. She had a body that was the pure body of the stainless true nature, the state completely without kleśas, and which had the nature of the unlocated blessing of the tathāgatas.

42.

Chapter 42

Sutejomaṇḍalaratiśrī

42.1

Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, remembering the instruction of the night goddess Sarvajagadrakṣāpraṇidhānavīryaprabhā and meditating on, comprehending, and augmenting the bodhisattva liberation called the origin of the roots of merit that inspire the ripening of all beings, eventually arrived at the Lumbinī Forest.

42.2

He circumambulated the Lumbinī Forest, keeping it to his right, and then searched for Sutejomaṇḍalaratiśrī, the Lumbinī Forest goddess.

43.

Chapter 43

Gopā

43.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, left the presence of Sutejomaṇḍalaratiśrī, the Lumbinī Forest goddess, and went to the location of the great city of Kapilavastu. [F.219.b]

43.2

While meditating on, comprehending, increasing, practicing, purifying,1744 contemplating, and examining the bodhisattva liberation called the miraculous manifestations at the birth of bodhisattvas throughout all the perceptions of countless kalpas, he came to the assembly hall of the bodhisattvas called the Illuminating Light of the Realm of the Dharma.

44.

Chapter 44

Māyādevī

44.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, on the way to Māyādevī, undertaking the wisdom of practicing the scope of the activity of the buddhas, thought, “By what means can I see the kalyāṇamitras, honor them, meet them,1846 accompany them,1847 learn their qualities, know the field of their speech, understand the succession of their words, and possess the teachings of the kalyāṇamitras who have six āyatanas that have risen above all worlds; who have bodies that have transcended all attachments; who follow the path of unimpeded movement; who have pure Dharma bodies; who have bodies that are manifestations of illusory physical activities; who perform conducts in the world that are the illusions of wisdom; who have forms and bodies1848 from prayer;1849 who have bodies that are not born and do not cease; who have bodies that are neither true nor false; who have bodies that do not pass away or perish; who have bodies that do not originate and are not destroyed; who have bodies that have the single characteristic of having no characteristics; who have bodies that have no attachment to duality; who have bodies that are based on having no basis; who have bodies that do not decay1850 or diminish; [F.256.a] who have bodies without thoughts, like reflections; who have active bodies that are like dreams; who have bodies that do not depart, like the surface of a mirror; who have bodies that are established in peace, like the absence of directions; who have bodies that pervade all directions; who have bodies that have no differentiation between the three times; who have bodiless bodies of mind that are bodies without thought; who have bodies that have transcended the path of sight in all worlds; who have bodies that have been tamed through the path of completely good vision; and who have the unimpeded field of activity of space?”

45.

Chapter 45

Surendrābhā

45.1

Sudhana went to the paradise of the lord of Trāyastriṃśa and approached the deva maiden Surendrābhā, the daughter of the deva Smṛtimat. He bowed his head to the feet of the deva maiden Surendrābhā, circumambulated the deva maiden Surendrābhā many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping her to his right, and then stood before the deva maiden Surendrābhā with his palms together in homage and said, “Āryā, goddess, 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. Āryā, I have heard that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas! I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

46.

Chapter 46

Viśvāmitra

46.1

Sudhana descended from the paradise of the lord of Trāyastriṃśa and eventually came to Viśvāmitra, the teacher of children, in the city of Kapilavastu. When he came to him, he bowed his head to the feet of Viśvāmitra, the teacher of children; circumambulated Viśvāmitra, the teacher of children, many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping him to his right; and then stood before Viśvāmitra, the teacher of children, with his palms together in homage and 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! Ārya, I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!” [F.273.b]

47.

Chapter 47

Śilpābhijña

47.1

Sudhana went to where Śilpābhijña, the head merchant’s son, was present. When he came to him, he bowed his head to the feet of Śilpābhijña, the head merchant’s son, then stood before Śilpābhijña, the head merchant’s son, with his palms together in homage and 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! Ārya, I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

48.

Chapter 48

Bhadrottamā

48.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, went to the town called Vartanaka in the region of Kevalaka and approached the kalyāṇamitra Bhadrottamā. When he approached the kalyāṇamitra Bhadrottamā, he bowed his head to her feet, and then he stood before the kalyāṇamitra Bhadrottamā with his palms together in homage and said, “Āryā, 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. [F.276.b] Āryā, I have heard that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas! I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

49.

Chapter 49

Muktāsāra

49.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, eventually arrived in the southern region, and in the town of Bharukaccha he approached the goldsmith Muktāsāra. He bowed his head to the feet of the goldsmith Muktāsāra and then, standing before him with his palms together in homage, 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.

50.

Chapter 50

Sucandra

50.1

Sudhana went to the householder Sucandra, bowed his head to the feet of the householder Sucandra, stood before him, and, with his palms together in homage, 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! I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

51.

Chapter 51

Ajitasena

51.1

Sudhana eventually reached the town of Roruka and approached the householder Ajitasena, bowed his head to the feet of the householder Ajitasena, stood before him, [F.278.b] and, with his palms together in homage, 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! I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

52.

Chapter 52

Śivarāgra

52.1

Sudhana eventually reached the village of Dharma and approached the brahmin Śivarāgra. He bowed his head to the feet of the brahmin Śivarāgra, stood before him, and, with his palms together in homage, 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! I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

53.

Chapter 53

Śrīsaṃbhava and Śrīmati

53.1

Sudhana eventually reached the town of Sumanāmukha and approached the boy Śrīsaṃbhava and the girl Śrīmati. He bowed his head to their feet, stood before them with his palms together in homage, and said, “Āryas, 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. Āryas, I have heard that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas! I pray that you explain to me how bodhisattvas should train in bodhisattva conduct and how they should practice it!”

54.

Chapter 54

Maitreya

54.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, his mind moistened by the instructions of the kalyāṇamitra, contemplated bodhisattva conduct. Thinking of how his many bodies in the past had failed to practice perfect conduct, he made resolute the strength of his body. Thinking of how his body and mind throughout the past, even though pure, were the worthless continuation of a saṃsāric mind, he applied the attention of his mind to conduct. Thinking how his actions throughout the past had been impure, had been devoted to the world, and were worthless hardships, he contemplated accomplishing in the present that which is very meaningful. [F.289.a] Thinking how throughout the past he had developed thoughts through incorrect examination, he generated the strength to create the correct examination of bodhisattva conduct. Thinking how his past bodies had a range of activity1973 dedicated to engaging in self-benefit, he made firm the strength of his superior, higher motivation to engage in benefiting1974 all beings. Thinking how in the past he had the flavorless conduct of continually seeking what was desired, he increased the great force of the power for attaining relief through engaging in obtaining the Dharma of the buddhas. Thinking how in the past he had engaged in conduct through an incorrect motivation, he purified1975 the flow of his mind in the present with a correct view that was free of error and with dedication to bodhisattva prayer. Thinking how in the past he fruitlessly had no diligence in his undertakings and practiced without diligence, in the present he motivated his mind and body by generating the diligence for remaining prepared to gather the Dharmas of the buddhas. Examining how he and others had been lost in the lower realms and1976 the five classes of beings, and thinking how in the past he had not taken care of his body, he increased a vast, powerful rejoicing and aspiration for maintaining a body with the power to accomplish all the Dharmas of the buddhas, take care of all beings, and serve all kalyāṇamitras. [F.289.b]

55.

Chapter 55

Mañjuśrī

55.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, after passing through a hundred and ten towns, came to the district called Sumanāmukha, where, while thinking of and looking for Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, he was aspiring and praying to see Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta and continually yearning to meet him.

55.2

Then Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, from a distance of a hundred and ten yojanas, extended his hand and placed it upon the head of Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, who was in the town of Sumanāmukha, and said, “Well done, well done, noble one! Someone who does not have the power of faith, who has a mind that wearies, who has thoughts of despondency, who abandons practice, who turns away from diligence, who is pleased by having a few qualities, who remains clinging to a single root of merit, who is not skilled in accomplishing the conduct and prayer, who is not in the care of a kalyāṇamitra, and who does not consider the buddhas is unable to know the true nature of phenomena in this way, or to know this kind of way and this kind of range of activity, or to know this kind of place or enter it, or to believe in it or examine it or understand it or attain it.”

56.

Chapter 56

Samantabhadra and “The Prayer for Completely Good Conduct”

56.1

Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, who had reverenced as many kalyāṇamitras as there are atoms in the world realms of a billion-world universe; who had the motivation to gather the accumulations for omniscience; who correctly held and practiced the instructions and teachings of all kalyāṇamitras; who in the presence of all kalyāṇamitras gave rise to the same aspiration as they did; who had the realization that pleased and was not displeasing to all kalyāṇamitras; who followed the ocean of the ways of the instructions and teachings of all kalyāṇamitras; who had the essence that arises from the ocean of the aspiration of great compassion; who had shone on all beings with the clouds of the ways of great love; who had a body that increased the power of great joy; who was active2179 in complete peace within the vast bodhisattva liberations; who had the vision focused on whatever emanates from all gateways;2180 who had perfected the practice of the ocean of the qualities of all tathāgatas;2181 who had followed the path of aspiration of all the tathāgatas;2182 who had increased the power of diligence in the accumulation of omniscience; who had a mind with the perfect development of the motivation and aspiration of all bodhisattvas; who had comprehended the succession of all the tathāgatas in the three times; [F.345.b] who had realized the ocean of the ways of the Dharmas of all buddhas; who had followed the ocean of the ways of the Dharma wheels of all the tathāgatas; who had the range of activity of manifesting the appearance of taking birth in all worlds; who had comprehended the ocean of the ways of the prayers of all bodhisattvas; who was established in bodhisattva conduct in all kalpas; who had attained the illumination of the scope of omniscience; who had increased all the powers of a bodhisattva; who had attained the illumination of the path to omniscience; who had attained the unobscured illumination of all directions; who had the realization that pervades the ways of the entire realm of phenomena; who had accomplished the illumination of the ways of all realms; who had engaged in the appropriate way with the activities of the vast extent of beings; who had demolished all the precipices and mountains of obscurations; who had followed the unobscured true nature of phenomena; who was active2183 in complete peace in the bodhisattva liberations that have the essence of all the surfaces and bases in the realm of phenomena; who was seeking the range of activity of all the tathāgatas; who had been blessed by all the tathāgatas; who was established in being active2184 in the range of activity of a bodhisattva; who had heard the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra; who had heard of his bodhisattva activity; who had heard of his special prayers; who had heard of his special entry and dwelling in the accomplishment of accumulation; who had heard of his special path of accomplishment and setting forth; [F.346.a] who had heard of his way of activity on the completely good level; who had heard of the accumulations of his level; who had heard of his power for attaining that level; who had heard of his ascending to that level; who had heard of his being established on that level; who had heard of his reaching that level through leaving the previous levels; who had heard of the range of activity of that level; who had heard of the blessings of that level; who had heard of his dwelling on that level; and who yearned and thirsted for the sight of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra; with a motivation as vast as space that had risen above all clinging; with a perfect meditation that perceived all2185 realms; with a mind that had transcended all attachments; with an unobscured range of activity in all phenomena; with an obstructed mind that pervaded the entire ocean of the directions; with an unobscured mind that ascended to the scope of perception of omniscience; with a pure mind that had the pure vipaśyanā that adorns a bodhimaṇḍa; with a perfectly distinct mind that comprehended the ocean of the Dharmas of all the buddhas; with a vast mind that pervaded all realms of beings in order to ripen and guide them; with an immense2186 mind that purified all buddha realms; with a measureless mind that manifested his appearance within the assemblies of the followers of all buddhas; and with an inexhaustible and endless mind that dwelled in all kalpas and had the conclusive strengths, fearlessnesses, and unique qualities of all the tathāgatas, Sudhana, in the bodhimaṇḍa, which had the supreme vajra as its essence, was seated upon a lotus seat that was a mass of all jewels, gazing at the lion throne that was the seat of the Tathāgata. [F.346.b]

Colophon

c.1

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

Tashi Wangchuk

c.2

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.

c.3

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.

c.4

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

c.5

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.

c.6

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.

c.7

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.

c.8

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.

c.9

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.

c.10

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.

c.11

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

c.12

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.

c.13

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.

c.14

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.

c.15

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.

c.16

This was written by the attendant Gelong Tashi Wangchuk, who in the process of revision was commanded to become its supervisor.

c.17

Ye dharmahetuprabhavā hetun teṣān tathāgato hy avadat. Teṣāñ ca yo nirodha evaṃ vādī mahāśramanaḥ.

(The Tathāgata has taught those causes that are the causes for the arising of phenomena, and the great Śramaṇa, in that way, taught that which is their cessation.)

Notes

n.1

See colophon, c.3.

n.2

Pekar Zangpo, mdo sde spy’i rnam bzhag (2006), 18.

n.3

This depiction of Śākyamuni as a Vairocana emanation has its precedent in a sūtra that was never translated into Tibetan but exists in Chinese translation: the Brahmajālasūtra. This sūtra introduces the Buddha Vairocana as the primordial buddha who is the source of ten billion Śākyamunis who exist simultaneously in ten billion different worlds. This sūtra should not be confused with the Brahmajālasūtra that exists both in the Pali canon and in the Tibetan Kangyur (Toh 352).

n.4

See Peter Alan Roberts, trans., The Ten Bhūmis, Toh 44-31.

n.5

There is evidence for Mahāyāna sūtras originating in northern India. In his Genealogies of Mahāyāna Buddhism, Joseph Walser argues that the “core portion” of The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines (Toh 12, Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) was most probably written in the second half of the first century in Mathura, which is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh. He also offers the tentative conclusion that it was written by “a Sarvāstivādin monk residing at Buddhadeva’s Guhavihāra outside of Maṭ.” See Walser (2018), 242.

n.6

Osto notes that Etienne Lamotte, Edward Conze, and Nalinaksha Dutt all regard the Mahāsāṃghika as the source of the Mahāyāna tradition. See Osto (2008), 157, n. 5. Paul Williams argues that at least some Mahāyāna sūtras emerged from the Mahāsāṃghika: “There can be no doubt that at least some early Mahāyāna sūtras originated in Mahāsāṃghika circles. In the lokottaravāda supramundane teachings we are getting very close to a teaching well-known in Mahāyāna that the Buddha’s death was also a mere appearance; in reality he remains out of his compassion, helping suffering humanity, and thence the suggestion that for those who are capable of it the highest religious goal should be not to become an Arhat but to take the Bodhisattva vows, embarking themselves on the long path to a supreme and totally superior Buddhahood.” See Williams (2009), 21. This view has been contested by a number of scholars, however, including Paul Harrison, who maintains in his “Searching for the Origins of the Mahāyāna: What Are We Looking For?” that it is impossible to draw a clear connection between the Mahāyāna and a single sect, maintaining instead that the Mahāyāna was a loose set of related movements that cut across Buddhist India. For a fine summary of scholarship concerning the origins of the Mahāyāna, see Osto (2008), 105–16.

n.7

Toh 127. See translation in Peter Alan Roberts, trans., The King of Samādhis Sūtra, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.

n.8

Osto (2008), 108–9.

n.37

According to the Sanskrit. There is no division into chapters in the Tibetan, see Introduction i.65. In Śikṣānanda’s eighty-fascicle Chinese translation (hereafter, “the Chinese”), this is presented as the thirty-ninth sūtra in twenty-one fascicles, from 60 to 80. Each fascicle bears the title 入法界品 (ru fa jie pin), number 39, and a serial number ranging from 1 to 21; for example, fascicle 60 is entitled 入法界品第三十九之一 (ru fa jie pin di san shi jiu zhi yi), the first segment of the thirty-ninth sūtra, Entry into the Realm of the Dharma.

n.38

According to the Sanskrit and such Kangyurs as the Degé, which have shes pa dam pa’i ye shes. Lithang and Choné Kangyurs have shes rab dam pa’i ye shes. Yongle and Kangxi have ye shes rab dam pa’i ye shes.

n.39

According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has brtan pa dam pa’i ye shes.

n.40

According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan blo gros chen po’i gzi brjid appears to translate from mahāmatitejas.

n.41

This is followed in the Sanskrit by Samantaprabhatejas, which would have been translated into Tibetan as kun nas ’od gyi gzi brjid. The Chinese appears to have conflated these three similar names into one as 普吉祥威力 (pu ji xiang wei li).

n.42

Construction from the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit or the Chinese.

n.43

According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and most Kangyurs, which have shin tu rnam par lta ba’i myig. Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné have rnam par dag pa’i in error for rnam par lta ba’i. In the Sanskrit this is followed by Avalokitanetra, which is absent in both the Chinese and the Tibetan, most likely the result of a scribal omission due to the similarity of the names.

n.44

In the Sanskrit and the Chinese this is followed by “the bodhisattva Samantanetra,” which is not present in the Tibetan.

n.45

The Sanskrit has “bodhisattva mahāsattva.” The Chinese ends all names with “bodhisattva.”

n.46