The Stem Array
Māyādevī
Toh 44-45
Degé Kangyur, vol. 37 (phal chen, ga), folios 274.b–396.a; vol. 38 (phal chen, a), folios 1.b–363.a
- Surendrabodhi
- Vairocanarakṣita
- Bandé Yeshé Dé
- Jinamitra
Imprint
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2021
Current version v 1.0.30 (2024)
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84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
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Table of Contents
Summary
In this lengthy final chapter of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra, while the Buddha Śākyamuni is in meditation in Śrāvastī, Mañjuśrī leaves for South India, where he meets the young layman Sudhana and instructs him to go to a certain kalyāṇamitra or “good friend,” who then directs Sudhana to another such friend. In this way, Sudhana successively meets and receives teachings from fifty male and female, child and adult, human and divine, and monastic and lay kalyāṇamitras, including night goddesses surrounding the Buddha and the Buddha’s wife and mother. The final three in the succession of kalyāṇamitras are the three bodhisattvas Maitreya, Mañjuśrī, and Samantabhadra. Samantabhadra’s recitation of the Samantabhadracaryāpraṇidhāna (“The Prayer for Completely Good Conduct”) concludes the sūtra.
Acknowledgements
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and edited by Emily Bower, who was also the project manager. Ling Lung Chen was consultant for the Chinese, and Tracy Davis copyedited the final draft. The translator would like to thank Patrick Carré and Douglas Osto, who have both spent decades studying and translating this sūtra, for their advice and help.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Richard and Carol Weingarten; of Jamyang Sun, Manju Chandra Sun and Siqi Sun; and of an anonymous donor, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
Chapter 45: The Stem Array
Māyādevī
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?”
While he was dedicated to contemplating and pondering this, Ratnanetrā, the goddess of the city, appeared in the sky encircled by a crowd of sky goddesses. Her body was adorned by varieties of jewelry, her body was covered in adornments, and she scattered handfuls of divine flowers of many shapes and colors.
She said to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, you should be dedicated to protecting the city of the mind by not dwelling in delight in saṃsāra’s field of perception. [F.256.b]
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to adorning the city of the mind through focusing on the ten strengths of the tathāgatas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to purifying the city of the mind through being free of envy, greed, and deception.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to pacifying the torment of the city of the mind through realizing the nature of all phenomena.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to increasing the city of the mind through increasing the power of great dedication to the accumulation of omniscience.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to protecting the city of the mind’s treasury of buildings through gaining power over dwelling in the vast divine palaces of the samādhis, samāpattis, dhyānas, liberations, and the Dharma.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to illuminating the city of the mind through seeking the attainment of the perfection of wisdom of all the levels of the established circles of followers of all the tathāgatas. [F.257.a]
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to strengthening the city of the mind through entering the city of your own mind through the path of the method of the arising of all the tathāgatas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to creating the strong walls of the city of the mind through a pure mind that accomplishes the completely good conduct and prayers of the bodhisattvas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to accomplishing the inapproachability and indestructibility of the city of the mind through crushing the army of the māras, the friends of wickedness, who are on the side of the māras and the kleśas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to illuminating the city of the mind through enlightening all beings with the illumination from the knowledge of the tathāgatas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to moistening the city of the mind through acquiring the rain from the clouds of the Dharma of all the tathāgatas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to strengthening the city of the mind through your mind’s acquisition of the ocean of merit of all the tathāgatas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to increasing the city of the mind through great love pervading all beings.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to purifying1851 the city of the mind through establishing the vast parasol of the Dharma as the remedy for bad qualities.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to making the city of the mind tremble1852 through the mind trembling with vast, great compassion for the sake of all beings.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to opening the gates to the city of the mind through1853 providing1854 all beings with outer and inner things.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to purifying the city of the mind through turning away1855 from delighting in the sensory range of all of saṃsāra.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to strengthening the heart1856 of the city of the mind through making the continuity of bad actions impossible.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to making the city of the mind strong through never lapsing from the diligence that accomplishes the accumulation of omniscience.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to illuminating the city of the mind through the illumination of remembering the field of all the tathāgatas of the three times.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to being skilled in the ways of analyzing the city of the mind through being skilled in the wisdom that analyzes the Dharma gateways of the various sūtras of the Dharma wheel of all the tathāgatas. [F.257.b]
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to the perception of the city of the mind through teaching the way of the path and gateways to omniscience that are directly perceivable by all beings.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to being skilled in the ways of blessing the city of the mind through the pure accomplishment of the ocean of prayers of all the tathāgatas in the three times within your own prayer.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to increasing the power of the accumulations of the city of the mind through increasing the great, vast accumulations of merit and wisdom in the entire realm of the Dharma.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to being skilled in the method for emitting light from the city of the mind through knowing the minds, thoughts, faculties, aspirations, defilements, and purification of all beings.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to being skilled in the way of gaining power over the city of the mind through gathering all the ways of the realm of the Dharma.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to illuminating the city of the mind through remembering and illuminating all the tathāgatas.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to knowing the nature of the city of the mind through realizing all the ways of the bodyless Dharma.
“Noble one, you should be dedicated to examining as an illusion the city of the mind through going to the city of the Dharma of omniscience.
“Noble one, in that way the bodhisattva who is dedicated to the purification of the city of the mind will be able to attain the accomplishment of all roots of merit.
“Why is that? [F.258.a] Because bodhisattvas who thus purify the city of the mind have before them no obscurations: there are no obscurations to seeing the buddhas, no obscurations to hearing the Dharma, no obscurations to venerating and making offerings to the tathāgatas, no obscurations to engaging in gathering beings, and no obscurations to purifying buddha realms.
“Noble one, bodhisattvas who are dedicated to seeing kalyāṇamitras with a mind free of all obscurations and with a higher motivation will with little difficulty see a kalyāṇamitra.
“Noble one, the omniscience of bodhisattvas depends on the kalyāṇamitras.”
Then two of the family of goddesses of the body, who were named Dharmapadmaśrīkuśalā and Hrīśrīmañjariprabhāvā,1857 encircled by an innumerable assembly of goddesses, emerged from the bodhimaṇḍa, uttering praises of Māyādevī. They arranged themselves in the sky before Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, and emitted from their precious earrings1858 a net of many light rays the colors of jewels; many pure perfumes and incenses the colors of shining lights; colors attractive to mind and thought; colors that increased the power of joy in the mind; colors that eased the pains of the body; colors that revealed pure bodies; and nets of light rays that were a field of perception that gave rise to an unimpeded prowess of the body and illuminated vast realms.
They revealed to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, all the bodies of all tathāgatas, which are present everywhere and facing everywhere. [F.258.b] Then they completely circled, to their right, the entire world, and then shone upon the crown of the head of Sudhana, the head merchant’s son. They completely pervaded him, from the crown of his head to the pores of his body.
As soon as the light rays from those goddesses touched Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, in that instant he attained the eyesight called the dust-free illuminations, which was free from all blinding darkness. He attained the eyesight called free from the obscuration of sight, through which he perceived the nature of beings. He attained the eyesight called the lord of freedom from dust, through which he looked at the field of the nature of all phenomena. He attained the eyesight called lord of purity, through which he looked at the character1859 of all realms. He attained the eyesight called shining light, through which he looked upon the Dharma bodies of all tathāgatas. He attained the eyesight called pure intelligence,1860 through which he looked upon the countless categories of the created form bodies of the tathāgatas.1861 He attained the eyesight called unimpeded light, through which he looked upon the categories of the origination and destruction of world realms throughout the vast extent of the ocean of realms. He attained the eyesight called complete light, through which he looked upon the aspect of the creation of the way of the sūtras in the Dharma wheel of all the tathāgatas. He attained the eyesight called the complete field of perception, through which he looked upon the miracles of the buddhas and their blessings that guide beings. He attained the eyesight called complete sight, through which he looked upon the births of buddhas that occurred in all buddha realms. [F.259.a]
Then the guardian at the door of the meeting hall of the bodhisattvas, the leader of ten thousand rākṣasas, whose name was Sunetra, with his wives, children, relatives, and entourage, threw flowers of many beautiful colors over Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, and said to him, “Noble one, a bodhisattva who has ten qualities will be near to all kalyāṇamitras. What are these ten? They are (1) a pure motivation without deception or guile, (2) a compassion that gathers all beings without discrimination, (3) the insight that realizes that the nature of all beings is that there are no beings, (4) a superior motivation for proceeding irreversibly toward omniscience, (5) the strength of the aspiration that is directed toward the field of the tathāgatas, (6) the vision of the purity of the stainlessness of the nature of all phenomena, (7) the great love without discrimination for the field of beings, (8) the light of wisdom, which dispels all obscurations, (9) the great cloud of the Dharma, which is a parasol that counters all the suffering of saṃsāra, and (10) the eyes of wisdom that are focused on following the kalyāṇamitras and enter into all the streams within the realm of the Dharma.
“Noble one, the bodhisattva who has these ten qualities will be near to all kalyāṇamitras.
“The bodhisattva who sees the ten entryways to resting in samādhi will attain the direct perception of all kalyāṇamitras. What are those ten? They are (1) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of the field of analyzing all phenomena as being like dust-free space, [F.259.b] (2) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of the vision that directly perceives the ocean of all directions, (3) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of the nonexamination and nonanalysis of all perception, (4) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of the arising of the clouds of tathāgatas in all directions, (5) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of the essence of the accumulation of an ocean of omniscient wisdom and merit, (6) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of the development of all aspirations to be inseparably near to the occurrence of kalyāṇamitras, (7) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of all the qualities of the tathāgatas originating from the mouths1862 of the kalyāṇamitras, (8) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of inseparability from all the tathāgatas, (9) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of being engaged in being near, always and equally, to all kalyāṇamitras, and (10) the entryway to resting in the samādhi of engaging without weariness in all the conduct of methods of the kalyāṇamitras.
“Noble one, the bodhisattva who has those ten qualities will attain the direct perception of all kalyāṇamitras. The bodhisattva who attains the liberation of the samādhi called the Dharma wheels of all the tathāgatas proclaimed from the mouth of the kalyāṇamitra will, by entering it, attain the undifferentiated equality of all buddhas and the undifferentiated omnipresence of the kalyāṇamitras.”
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, stared into the sky and said, “Ārya,1863 you have regarded me with compassion and without error taught1864 the kalyāṇamitras in order to benefit1865 me. In addition, I pray that you teach me without error the entrance ways to methods concerning how to apply myself to seeing the kalyāṇamitras, in what direction I should go, in what places I should search, and upon what goal I should focus my thoughts.”
Sunetra, the lord of the rākṣasas, replied, “Noble one, you should go to the kalyāṇamitras by going with a body that bows down in every direction, with thoughts that are fastened on remembering the kalyāṇamitras as their object, following the samādhi that goes everywhere, with strength of mind that is like a dream, and traveling with a body of the mind that is like a reflection.”
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, practicing as he had been told by Sunetra, the lord of the rākṣasas, saw rising from the ground before him a great lotus with a stem made entirely from diamond jewels, with sepals made from a variety of kings of jewels of the world’s1866 oceans, with a circle of petals formed from all kings of jewels, with a pericarp made of shining kings of jewels, with filaments the colors and aromas of all the precious kings of jewels, and covered by a net of countless jewels.1867
He saw on the pericarp of that great lotus made of the kings of jewels a kūṭāgāra called Dharmadhātudiksamavasaraṇagarbha, which was well adorned and beautiful, with a base that was the shape of a shining vajra.1868 A full thousand pillars made from the kings of jewels beautifully adorned it. [F.260.b] Every kind of jewel was displayed as every kind of adornment. Its floor was made of divine Jambu River gold. Countless nets of various strings of pearls were spread upon it. It was adorned by a beautifying blend of various kings of jewels. It had a complete array1869 of the precious jewels of Jambudhvaja.1870 It was encircled by countless precious balconies. On all sides, stairways made of kings of jewels were beautifully arranged.
He saw in the center of the kūṭāgāra a throne of wish-fulfilling jewels with a lotus on its center. It was composed of precious jewels, and its base had the representations of all1871 the lords of the world. It had the colors of all gems of precious jewels. It had the shape of Indra’s radiant banner. It was set upon the surface of a ground that was a circle of precious diamonds. It had an array of rows of various kings of jewels. It was encircled by many precious platforms. It was decorated by shining banners of kings of jewels. It was beautified by an array of various jewels. Upon it was placed a cushion that was superior to divine material. Its surface was covered with precious cloths of various infinite colors. Decorative canopies of all kinds of precious cloth adorned the sky. It was draped in nets of all jewels. In all directions there was the sound of the flapping of arrayed precious banners. Banners of cloth made of all jewels fluttered. It was adorned by an arrangement of banners of all precious aromatic jewels. Banners made of all flowers emitted a rain of showers of various flowers. [F.261.a] Banners of precious bells emitted melodious, beautiful sounds. All the entrances1872 of the building were decorated1873 with strings of various jewels. From various precious jewels in the form of spouts issued a rain of scented water in many different colors. From the mouths of elephant lords formed from shining kings of precious jewels came1874 networks of lotuses. From the mouths of lions made of a variety of diamonds came1875 clouds of incense in endless colors. From the mouths of statues of Brahmā made from shining kings of jewels there resounded in a loving manner the sound of the voice of Brahmā. From the mouths of beautiful statues made of various jewels resounded the beautiful sounds of praises of goodness. From strings of golden bells were emitted the pleasant sounds of the names of the buddhas in the three times. From strings of bells made of excellent precious jewels came the beautiful sounds of the Dharma wheels of all the buddhas. From a variety of diamond bells came the sounds of all bodhisattva prayers. Various voices resounded from the images of all the buddhas that arose from strings of moonstone1876 kings of jewels. From strings of emerald1877 kings of precious jewels came manifestations of images of the successive lives of all the tathāgatas in the three times. From strings of sunstone1878 kings of jewels appeared light rays of the range of various buddha realms throughout the ten directions as far as the limits of the realm of space. From strings of avabhāsadhvaja kings of jewels shone the illumination of the halos of light of all the tathāgatas. [F.261.b] From strings of vairocana kings of jewels radiated light rays in the forms of emanated clouds of all the lords of worlds, who made offerings to and venerated the tathāgatas. From strings of wish-fulfilling kings of jewels there spread throughout the realm of phenomena in each instant the completely good miraculous manifestations of the bodhisattvas. From strings of vairocana kings of jewels resounded the sound of the voices of all the apsarases in the palaces of all the lords of devas emitting clouds of praises of all perceived tathāgatas, describing their inconceivable good qualities. The throne was encircled by an array of seats made of countless jewels.
He saw upon that throne Māyādevī. She had a form that transcended the three worlds. She had a form that resided in all worlds and was above all existences. She had a form that was perceived by all beings according to their aspirations1879 but was unstained by any world. She had a form that originated from vast merit and could resemble that of all beings. She had a form that appeared to all beings but in a way that would accord with ripening and guiding all beings. She had a form that was directly perceived by all beings but was at all times1880 no different from beings’ perception of space. She had a form that had the power to be present1881 as perceivable throughout the extent of all beings without going anywhere. She had a form that neither ceased nor came into existence within worlds. She had a form that did not originate in and was not born in any world. She had a form that was dedicated to having a quality the same as birthlessness but was also unceasing. [F.262.a] She had a form that engaged in all conducts within the world and was truly perceived.1882 She had a form that was not real but was perceived by the world.1883 She had a form that was not false and did not pass away.1884 She had a form that transcended death and birth and was indestructible. She had a form that had the indestructible nature of the realm of the Dharma and had no characteristics. She had a form that mastered the languages of the three times and had a single characteristic. She had a form that came forth with the excellent characteristic1885 of the absence of characteristics and was like a reflection. She had a form that was perceived by all beings in accordance with their motivations and aspirations and was like an illusion. She had a form that was created by the illusion of wisdom and was like a mirage. She had a form that was intent on being present1886 in the perception of beings in each instant1887 and was like a shadow. She had a form that followed beings in accordance with her past prayers and was like a dream. She had a form that was perceived separately by beings according to their dispositions and was active in the entire realm of phenomena. She had a form that had a pure nature like the realm of space and arose from great compassion. She had a form that was dedicated to protecting all the classes of beings and arose through the gateway of the absence of attachment. She had a form that pervaded in each instant the entire realm of phenomena and had no end or middle. She had a form that was dependent on all beings without being polluted by them and was immeasurable. She had a form that transcended all words and had no location. She had a form that was an accomplished presence1888 that guided all beings and had no presence.1889 She had a form that through its presence was dedicated to benefiting beings and did not occur.1890 She had a form that was created through the conjured illusion of prayer and was unsurpassable. She had a form that was above all worlds and was not what it seemed to be. [F.262.b] She had a form that was perceived through the light of śamatha and was without origin. She had a form that followed beings in accordance with their karma and accomplished the prayers to fulfill the wishes of all beings like the king of wish-fulfilling jewels, without thought. She had a form that was present in accordance with the conceptions of all beings and, having no thought, was nonconceptual. She had a form that was perceived by all beings and was without impediment. She had a form that was dedicated to turning beings away from saṃsāra and was completely pure. She had a form that, like the true nature, was without conceptualization and had that kind of mode. She had a form that appeared as form without having form and was without sensation. She had a form that was dedicated to the cessation of the sensations of worldly suffering and was above all the conceptualizations of beings. She had a form that was perceived by the perceptions of all beings and arose through the nature of not being formed. She had a form that occurred through the quality of illusory conjuration and transcended being an object of consciousness. She had a form that arose from the wisdom of bodhisattva prayer and had no nature of its own. She had a form that engaged in the languages of all beings and dispelled pain.
Through possessing the supreme coolness of the Dharma body, Māyādevī revealed a form body in accordance with the aspirations of beings. In accordance with the aspirations of beings, she manifested bodies that resembled those of all beings and were superior to the form bodies of all beings.
Some beings saw Māyādevī in the form of a daughter of Māra but superior to the form of a daughter of Māra. [F.263.a]
Some saw her as superior through having the form of one of Vaśavartin’s apsarases.
Some saw her as superior through having the form of a Trāyastriṃśa apsaras.
Some saw her as superior through having the form of a Caturmahārājika apsaras.
Some saw her as superior through having the form of a daughter of a lord of kumbhāṇḍas.
Some saw her as superior through having the form of a daughter of a lord of mahoragas.
Some beings saw her as superior through having the form of a daughter of a lord of humans.
Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, although devoid of the concepts of the forms of all beings, was comprehending the thoughts of other beings, and he saw that in the thoughts of all beings Māyādevī had the merit to care for all beings; she had a body created by the merit of omniscience; she was inseparable from the practice of the perfection of generosity; she engaged equally with all beings; she gathered all beings into the enclosure of great compassion; she manifested from the practice of all the qualities of the tathāgatas; she had entered an ocean of all the ways of patience; she increased mentation1891 through the power of the diligence of omniscience; she possessed the constant diligence that purified the entire field of phenomena; she had arisen from the realization of the nature of phenomena; she possessed a mind that had accomplished all the ways of the branches of dhyāna; [F.263.b] she had attained the illumination of the field of dhyāna of the tathāgatas that possesses the undifferentiated range of the branches of dhyāna; she dwelled in various realizations of how to definitively dry up the ocean of the kleśas of all beings; she had skill in the way of differentiating the Dharma wheels of all tathāgatas; she had the wisdom to analyze the ocean of all the ways of the Dharma; she never had enough of seeing all the tathāgatas; she had the continuous vision of the successions of the tathāgatas in the three times; she faced the gateway to seeing all the buddhas; she was skilled in the different ways of purifying the path accomplished by all the tathāgatas; she had the field of activity of the tathāgatas, which is as extensive as space; she was skilled in the ways of the method of gathering all beings; she had appearances that ripened and guided the vast extent of beings, without end or middle, in accordance with their aspirations; she comprehended the different pure bodies of all buddhas; she had the prayer to purify the ocean of all realms; she had the pure prayer to reach the conclusion of having the presence with the power to guide all realms of beings; she had a mind that fills with offering the field of all buddhas; she had arisen from dedication to all the miraculous manifestations of bodhisattvas; she possessed the pure, unsurpassable Dharma body; she manifested endless form bodies; she defeated all the armies of Māra; [F.264.a] she possessed the strength of vast roots of merit; she had a mind that generated the strength of the Dharma; she had attained the illumination of the strengths of the buddhas; she had perfected the strength of all the powers of a bodhisattva; she had developed the strength of the power of omniscience; she had illuminated wisdom with the lightning of the wisdom of the tathāgatas; she was skilled in examining the ocean of the minds of the vast, centerless, endless extent of beings; she comprehended the aspirations of the multitudes of beings; she was skilled in the ways of knowing the different capabilities of other beings; she had realized the skill in knowing the various aspirations of infinite beings; she filled the measureless ocean of realms in the ten directions with her bodies; she was skilled in the aspects and ways of knowing all the different world realms; she had acquired skill in the ways of knowing all the modes of different realms; she spread the view of wisdom throughout the ocean of all directions; she had the understanding that pervades all the ocean of all time; she had bodies that bow down directly to the ocean of all buddhas; she had a mind that directly acquired all the rain from the ocean of the clouds of the Dharma; she was dedicated to coming forth through the practice of completing the qualities of all the tathāgatas; she had the understanding that engaged in accomplishing all the accumulations of the bodhisattvas; she possessed the power of analyzing the progress of all bodhisattvas; she accomplished all the aspects of the aspiration to enlightenment; she was engaged in protecting all bodhisattvas; she manifested the light of the clouds of the goodness of all buddhas; [F.264.b] and she had arisen from the prayers that give birth to all bodhisattvas and jinas.
Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, saw Māyādevī in those ways and in other ways as numerous as the atoms in Jambudvīpa.
Having seen that, he blessed his own body to be as numerous as those of Māyādevī and bowed down to them with bodies that spread among them all.
The instant he bowed down, he attained a vast extent, without middle or end, of entrances to samādhi. He looked upon those entrances to samādhi, identified their characteristics, meditated on them, devoted himself to them, remembered them, pervaded them, made them vast, viewed them, increased them, accomplished them, and sealed them.
He arose from those entrances to samādhi and circumambulated Māyādevī and her entourage, keeping her to his right, and their residence and seats. Then he stood before her with hands together in homage and said, “Āryā, through Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment and was inspired to honor the kalyāṇamitras. In that way, I have honored one kalyāṇamitra after another and have finally come to your feet.
Māyādevī answered, “Noble one, I have attained the bodhisattva liberation called the display of the illusory conjurations of wisdom of the great prayers.
“Noble one, through possessing that liberation, I have become the mother of each one of all the bodhisattvas in their final existences who are the Bhagavat Vairocana’s miraculous manifestations of being born into the final existences of a bodhisattva in all the Jambudvīpas in all the world realms in this ocean of world realms. [F.265.a] All those bodhisattvas have resided in my belly and emerged from the right side of my belly.
“Noble one, in the location of the great city of Kapilavastu in this fortunate four-continent world, as a queen in the family of King Śuddhodana, I gave birth to the bodhisattva Siddhārtha in an inconceivable, vast, miraculous manifestation of a bodhisattva’s birth.
“Noble one, while I was living in the palace of King Śuddhodana, the time came for the bodhisattva to leave Tuṣita. From all his pores, from each of his pores, shone many light rays, as numerous as the atoms in countless buddha realms, called the illumination that comes from the field of the qualities of the mothers of all tathāgatas, which were a display of the qualities of the mothers of all bodhisattvas. They illuminated all world realms and shone upon me, spreading through me from the crown of my head to all the pores of my body.
“Noble one, in that way, the bodhisattva light rays with one name1892 radiated various miraculous manifestations, displays, and liberations of the mothers of bodhisattvas. The instant that they entered my body, I perceived in my body the displays and modes of the miraculous births of all bodhisattvas, visible in the fields of the tips1893 of the light rays from the bodhisattva. Their residences and their entourages also appeared in that way. [F.265.b]
“Noble one, in that way, the instant those light rays from the bodhisattva entered my body, the field of the tips of the light rays from the bodhisattva made visible to me the miracles and modes of the lives of bodhisattvas, and I saw them all. I saw them all going to their bodhimaṇḍas, sitting on their lion thrones encircled by assembled entourages of bodhisattvas, encircled by lords of the world, and turning the wheel of the Dharma.
“I also saw those tathāgatas performing bodhisattva conduct in the past, all their service to tathāgatas, their first development of aspiration to enlightenment, the miracles of their birth, their complete enlightenment, their turning the wheel of the Dharma, the miraculous manifestation of their passing into nirvāṇa, and the display of their pure buddha realms.
“I also saw all the field of the emanations of those tathāgatas filling all the realms of phenomena in each instant.
“Noble one, in that way, the instant those light rays from the bodhisattva entered my body, my own body became superior to those of all beings. My womb became as vast as space, but my body did not appear to transcend being a human body.
“All the displays and residences of the wombs in which dwelled bodhisattvas in the ten directions appeared contained within my body.
“Noble one, in that way, there appeared in my body the wombs in which the bodhisattvas resided, together with their residences and their enjoyments. [F.266.a] In that instant, the bodhisattva and bodhisattvas as numerous as the atoms in ten buddha realms who had the same prayer, the same practice of conduct, the same roots of merit, the same displays; who were dwelling in the same liberation, residing on the same level of wisdom, coming forth through the same miraculous manifestations, accomplishing the same prayers, coming forth through the same conduct; having purified Dharma bodies and the powerful presence of a vast, centerless, endless extent, of form bodies coming forth through the completely good bodhisattva conduct, prayers, and miraculous manifestations, were seated in the center of the precious kūṭāgāras of the lords of nāgas. The nāga king Sāgara and eighty thousand other nāga kings and all lords of the world made offerings to them.
“They displayed the miraculous manifestations of passing away from all the Tuṣita palaces, displayed taking birth from each Tuṣita into a four-continent world throughout all the world realms, acted in accordance with their skill in the inconceivable methods for ripening beings, inspired beings who were careless, brought them up out of all attachments, spread a great network of light rays that dispelled the darkness in all worlds, ended the sufferings in all lower existences, prevented all existences in hells, invoked the past karma of all beings, [F.266.b] protected all realms of beings, and displayed their bodies to all beings.
“Together they departed from their Tuṣita palaces and with their entourages entered my body. All of them moved and walked within my body, their steps ranging from being as wide as a great world realm of a thousand million worlds up to being as wide as world realms as numerous as the atoms in countless buddha realms.
“The countless assembled entourages of bodhisattvas at the feet of tathāgatas in all the vast extent of world realms in the ten directions in each instant came into my body in order to see the miraculous manifestation of the bodhisattva’s residence in the womb.
“The Four Mahārājas, Śakra, Suyāma, Saṃtuṣita, Sunirmita, Vaśavartin, the lords of the devas, and the lords of Brahmā devas also entered in order to see the bodhisattva dwelling in a womb, to pay homage to him, honor him, and hear him speak the Dharma. My womb, although it held all those assembled entourages, did not become vast. My body was not different from an ordinary human body, and yet it held all those assembled entourages.
“All those devas and humans saw the bodhisattva’s various pure enjoyments and displays. Why is that? Because I meditated on this bodhisattva liberation called the illusory conjurations of the wisdom of great prayer.
“Noble one, just as I held in my body the bodhisattva in the Jambudvīpa of this fortunate four-continent world, [F.267.a] in the same way I have held him in this miraculous manner in all the four-continent worlds of the great world realm of a thousand million worlds. Because I have meditated on this bodhisattva liberation called the illusory conjurations of the wisdom of great prayer, my body is neither dual nor nondual, and it is neither single nor multiple.
“Noble one, just as I have been the mother of this Buddha Vairocana, in the same way I have been the mother of a vast extent, without middle or end, of past tathāgatas. If a bodhisattva was born miraculously from the center of a lotus, I was a goddess of that lotus bed, I acquired that bodhisattva, and I was known in the world as being the bodhisattva’s mother. If a bodhisattva was born upon my lap, I acquired them from my lap and was the bodhisattva’s mother. If a bodhisattva were in that way born spontaneously in a buddha realm, I would be living there as the goddess of the bodhimaṇḍa.
“Noble one, through various methods I became the mother of the bodhisattvas when they appeared in various ways in the world as their last existence as bodhisattvas.
“Noble one, in this world realm I have been the mother who manifested the miraculous bodhisattva birth of the Bhagavat Vairocana. In the same way, I was the mother of the tathāgatas Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. In the same way, I will be the mother of all the future tathāgatas in this Bhadra kalpa. [F.267.b] Thus, when the time comes for the bodhisattva Maitreya, who dwells in the Tuṣita palace, to manifest passing away, he will radiate the light ray of the lights that reveal the miraculous event of the birth, appearance, and dwelling in a womb of all bodhisattvas. The light will go throughout the lands and ways of the entire realm of phenomena and will manifest as that bodhisattva Maitreya who will be born in a human world in the family of a lord of humans in all the lands and ways of the entire realm of phenomena in order to guide beings, and I will be the mother of all those bodhisattvas.
“Just as I will be the mother of the bodhisattva Maitreya, in the same way, after Maitreya’s attainment of the highest, complete enlightenment of buddhahood, I will be the mother of Siṃha, Pradyota, Ketu, Sunetra, Kusuma, Kusumaśrī, Tiṣya, Puṣya, Sumanas, Vajra, Viraja, Candrolkādhārin, Yaśas, Vajraśuddha, Ekārthadarśin, Sitāṅga, Pāraṃgata, Ratnārciḥparvata, Maholkādhārin, Padmottara, Vighuṣṭaśabda, Aparimitaguṇadharma, Dīpaśrī, Vibhūṣitāṅga, Suprayāṇa, Maitraśrī, Nirmita, Aniketa, Jvalitatejas, Anantaghoṣa, Aninetra, Aninema,1894 Vimativikiraṇa, Pariśuddha, Suviśālābha, Yaśaḥśuddhodita, Meghaśrī, Vicitrabhūta, Drumarāja,1895 [F.268.a] Sarvaratnavicitravarṇamaṇikuṇḍala, Sāgaramati, Śubharatna, Anihatamalla, Paripūrṇamanoratha, Maheśvara, Indraśrī, Agniśrī, Pravaraśrī,1896 Candanamegha, Sitaviśālākṣa, Śreṣṭhamati, Vibhāvitamati, Avaropaṇarāja, Uttāpanarājamati, Vajramati,1897 Vibhūṣita, Vibhūti, Keśaranandin, Īśvaradeva, Īśvara,1898 Uṣṇīṣaśrī, Vajrajñānaparvata, Śrīgarbha, Kanakajālakāyavibhūṣita, Suvibhakta, Īśvaradeva, Mahendradeva, Anilaśrī, Viśuddhanandin, Arciṣmat, Varuṇaśrī, Viśuddhamati, Agrayāna, Nihitaguṇodita, Arigupta, Vākyanuda, Vaśībhūta,1899 Guṇatejas, Vairocanaketu, Vibhavagandha, Vibhāvanagandha, Vibhaktāṅga, Suviśākha, Sarvagandhārcimukha, Vajramaṇivicitra, Prahasitanetra, Nihatarāgarajas, Pravṛddhakāyarāja, Vāsudeva, Udāradeva, Nirodhanimna, Vibuddhi, Dhūtarajas, Arcirmahendra, Upaśamavat, Viśākhadeva, Vajragiri, Jñānārcijvalitaśarīra, Kṣemaṃkara, Aupagama, Śārdūla,1900 [F.268.b] Paripūrṇaśubha, Rucirabhadrayaśas, Parākramavikrama, Paramārthavikrāmin, Śāntaraśmi, Ekottara, Gambhīreśvara, Bhūmipati,1901 Amita,1902 Ghoṣaśrī, Viśiṣṭa, Vibhūtapati, Vibhūtabhūta, Vaidyottama, Guṇacandra, Praharṣitatejas, Guṇasaṃcaya, Candrodgata, Bhāskaradeva, Bhīṣmayaśas, Raśmimukha, Śālendraskandha, Yaśas, Auṣadhirāja, Ratnavara, Mativajra,1903 Sitaśrī, Nirghautālaya, Maṇirāja, Mahāyaśas, Vegadhārin, Amitābha, Mahāsanārcis, Mohadharmeśvara, Nihatadhīra, Devaśuddha, Dṛḍhaprabha, Viśvāmitra, Vimuktighoṣa, Vinarditarāja, Vākyaccheda, Campakavimalaprabha, Anavadya, Viśiṣṭacandra, Ulkādhāriṇ, Vicitragātra, Anabhilāpyodgata, Jaganmitra, Prabhūtaraśmi, Svarāṅgaśūra, Varuṇākṣa,1904 Dhṛtamatitejas, Kundaśrī, Arciścandra, Anihitamati, Anunayavigata, Anilambhamati, Upacitaskandha, Apāyapramathana, Adīnakusuma, Siṃhavinardita, [F.269.a] Anihānārtha, Anāvaraṇadarśin, Paragaṇamathana, Anilanema, Akampitagarbha,1905 Śobhanasāgara, Aparājitameru, Anilayajñāna, Anantāsana, Ayudhiṣṭhira, Caryāgata, Uttaradatta, Atyantacandramas, Anugrahacandra, Acalaskandha, Agrasānumati, Anugrahamati, Abhyuddhara, Arcitanama, Anupagamanāman, Nihatatejas, Viśvavarṇa, Animittaprajña, Acaladeva, Acintyaśrī, Vimokṣacandra, Anuttararāja, Candraskandha, Arcitabrahman, Akampyanetra, Anunayagātra, Abhyudgatakarman, Anudharmamati, Anuttaraśrī, Brahmadeva, Acintyaguṇaprabha,1906 Anuttaradharmagocara, Aparyantabhadra, Anurūpasvara, and the bodhisattva Abhyuccadeva.
“Noble one, in that way I will be the mother of all the future tathāgatas, such as Maitreya and the others I have mentioned, and all the other tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddhas of this Bhadra kalpa in this great world realm of a thousand million worlds.
“As it is in this world realm, I will in the same way enter countless world realms in the ten directions throughout the vast extent, without middle or center, of the ways of the realm of phenomena.
“In the same way that I will be the mother, with countless special qualities, of the Tathāgata Maitreya, [F.269.b] I will be the mother, with countless numbers of countless special qualities, of the Tathāgata Siṃha, and so on until the Tathāgata Roca.
“Just as I am the mother of the tathāgatas of the Bhadra kalpa, in the same way, in all the Jambudvīpas in all the world realms in the entirety of this ocean of world realms called Kusumatalagarbhavyūhālaṃkāra, and in all the world realms throughout the vast extent of world realms, until the last of future kalpas, I will practice the completely good conduct of the bodhisattva and be present in all kalpas in order to ripen and guide beings, and I will be the mother of all the tathāgatas as bodhisattvas in the future.”
After she had spoken, Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, asked Māyādevī, “Āryā, how long has it been since you attained this bodhisattva liberation called the illusory conjurations of the wisdom of great prayer?”
Māyādevī answered, “Noble one, in the past, in time gone by, countless kalpas ago, beyond the scope of the mind, beyond kalpas that are beyond the number that can be perceived and known by the vision of wise bodhisattvas, there was a kalpa called Śubhaprabha. In that Śubhaprabha kalpa there was a world realm called Merūdgataśrī, which was both pure and defiled, formed from many jewels, and endowed with Cakravāla mountain ranges, Sumeru mountains, and oceans, the five classes of beings, and a variety of beauties. In that Merūdgataśrī world realm there were ten thousand million four-continent worlds. [F.270.a] In the center of those ten thousand million four-continent worlds was the central four-continent world called Siṃhadhvajāgratejas. In that four-continent world there were eighty thousand million royal cities. In the center of those eighty thousand million royal cities there was the central royal city, called Dhvajāgravatī, in which there was a cakravartin king called Mahātejaḥparākrama. By that royal city of Dhvajāgravatī there was a bodhimaṇḍa called Citramañjariprabhāsa, where dwelled a bodhimaṇḍa goddess by the name of Netraśrī.
“In that bodhimaṇḍa called Citramañjariprabhāsa, the bodhisattva Vimaladhvaja sat in order to realize omniscience. In order to prevent his realization of omniscience, a māra by the name of Suvarṇaprabha, together with an entourage of a great army of māras, made himself visible1907 and came before him.
“The cakravartin Mahātejaḥparākrama had attained the power of a bodhisattva and displayed manifestations of great miraculous powers. He manifested a great army that was far more numerous than the māra’s army, and in order to defeat the māra’s army, it surrounded the bodhimaṇḍa and scattered the great army of the māra. Then the Bhagavat, the Tathāgata Vimaladhvaja, attained the highest, complete enlightenment of buddhahood.
“Netraśrī, the bodhimaṇḍa goddess, looked upon the cakravartin king Mahātejaḥparākrama as her son. [F.270.b] She bowed to the feet of the Bhagavat and made this prayer: ‘Bhagavat, wherever I am reborn, may the cakravartin Mahātejaḥparākrama always be my son! May I be his mother when he attains the highest, complete enlightenment at buddhahood.’
“She dwelled at the Citramañjariprabhāsa bodhimaṇḍa serving a trillion tathāgatas during the Śubhaprabha kalpa.
“What do you think, noble one? At that time, in that time, who was Netraśrī, the bodhimaṇḍa goddess? Noble one, do not think that it was anyone else, for at that time, in that time, I was Netraśrī, the bodhimaṇḍa goddess.
“What do you think, noble one? At that time, in that time, who was the cakravartin king Mahātejaḥparākrama, who had attained the power of a bodhisattva, displayed manifestations of great miraculous powers, and scattered the army of that māra? Do not think that it was anyone else, for at that time, in that time, the Tathāgata Arhat Samyaksaṃbuddha Vairocana was Mahātejaḥparākrama, the cakravartin king.
“Noble one, in that way, from that time onward, wherever I was reborn, in all those lives he has been my son. Wherever he was reborn, practicing bodhisattva conduct in all buddha realms, in all the entrances to roots of merit, in all the ways of bodhisattva conduct, [F.271.a] in all the ways of rebirth, in all lifetimes as a lord of devas, as a lord of the world, on the level of a supreme deity, as a light among the classes of beings, wherever he was reborn in order to ripen beings, in all those lifetimes I was his mother. In all existences I have inseparably been his mother. I have been his mother in all the miraculous bodhisattva births manifested in each instant through the gateways of bodhisattva births.
“I have been the mother of the immeasurable vast extent, without middle or end, of the tathāgatas of the past. I am the mother of the immeasurable vast extent, without middle or end, of the tathāgatas in the ten directions who have appeared in the present time. In that way, I have been the mother of a bodhisattva for all tathāgatas in their final lifetime, and from the navel of all those tathāgatas shone many light rays that illuminated my body and mind.
“Noble one, I know only this bodhisattva liberation called the illusory conjurations of the wisdom of great prayer. How could I know or describe the qualities of the bodhisattvas who possess the essence of great compassion, who within themselves are never satisfied in ripening and guiding beings to omniscience, and who manifest from the tips of their body hairs the miraculous manifestations of all tathāgatas?
“Depart, noble one. In the paradise of the lord of Trāyastriṃśa resides Surendrābhā, the daughter of the deva Smṛtimat. [F.271.b] Go to her and ask her, ‘How should a bodhisattva train in and practice bodhisattva conduct?’ ”
Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of Māyādevī, circumambulated her many hundreds of thousands of times, keeping her to his right, and, looking back again and again, departed from Māyādevī. [B17]
Colophon
This was translated and revised by the Indian upādhyāyas Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi and by the chief editor Lotsawa Bandé Yeshé Dé and others.2232
Tibetan Editor’s Colophon
A Multitude of Buddhas is the marvelous essence of the final, ultimate, definitive wheel from among the three wheels of the Sugata’s teaching. It has many other titles, such as The Mahāvaipulya Basket, The Earring, The Lotus Adornment, and so on.
It has seven sections:2233 A Multitude of Tathāgatas,2234 The Vajra Banner Dedication,2235 The Teaching of the Ten Bhūmis,2236 The Teaching of Completely Good Conduct,2237 [F.362.b] The Teaching of the Birth and Appearance of the Tathāgatas,2238 The Transcendence of the World,2239 and Stem Array.2240 These are subdivided into forty-five chapters.
According to Butön Rinpoché and others, it contains thirty-nine thousand and thirty verses, a hundred and thirty fascicles, and an additional thirty verses. In the Tshalpa Kangyur edition there are a hundred and fifteen fascicles, the Denkarma edition has a hundred and twenty-seven fascicles,2241 and present-day editions have various numbers of fascicles.2242
This sūtra was first received from Ārya Nāgārjuna by Paṇḍita Buddhabhadra and Paṇḍita Śikṣānanda (652–710), and they both translated it into Chinese. It is taught that Surendrabodhi and Vairocanarakṣita became principal editors for a Chinese translation.
As for the lineage of the text, there is the lineage from China: The perfect Buddha, Ārya Mañjuśrī, Lord Nāgārjuna, the two paṇḍitas mentioned above, and Heshang Tushun. Then the lineage continued through others until Üpa Sangyé Bum received it from Heshang Gying-ju. Then that lineage was passed on through Lotsawa Chokden and has continued up to the present time.
The lineage from India is as follows:
It was passed from Nāgārjuna to Āryadeva, and then Mañjuśrīkīrti, and so on, until Bari Lotsawa received it from Vajrāsana. It is taught that the lineage then continued through Chim Tsöndrü Sengé, the great Sakya Lord,2243 and so on.
However, I have not seen any other text or history of a translation made by any other lotsawa or paṇḍita other than those listed in the colophon to this translation into Tibetan.
The king of Jangsa Tham2244 had a complete Kangyur made that was based on the Tshalpa Kangyur. At the present time this is known as the Lithang Tshalpa Kangyur (1609–14). I considered this to be a reliable source and so have made it the basis for this edition. However, it has many omissions, accretions, and misspellings, and therefore I have at this time corrected it by seeking out many older editions.
There are variant Indian texts and conflicting translations, and I have not been able to ascertain from them a definitive single meaning or correct words. Nevertheless, this text is nothing but a valid edition.
There are varying translations of terms that have been left unrevised, as there is no contradiction in meaning. For example, it has rgyan instead of bkod pa;2245 ’byam klas instead of rab ’byams;2246 so so yang dag par rig pa instead of tha dad pa yang dag par shes pa;2247 thugs for dgongs pa;2248 [F.363.a] nyin mtshan dang zla ba yar kham mar kham dang instead of nyin mtshan dang yud du yan man dang;2249 and tha snyad instead of rnam par dpyod pa.2250
Sanskrit words have many cases and tenses, so that although the Tibetan lotsawas and paṇḍitas, who had the eyes of the Dharma, translated their meaning, their tenses, cases, and so on are difficult to discern. Those are the majority of the examples of uncertainty, and there are also a few other kinds, but they are nevertheless in accord with Tibetan grammar.
In most texts there are many archaic words, so that the meaning of the translation is not clear, but there is a consistency when those words are all in archaic Tibetan. However, there appears to have occurred in later times a strong adulteration of the text so that there is a mixture of archaic and modern forms. There are also unreliable placements of the shad mark that differentiates clauses, but all these have been left as they are because these faults are few and minor. Therefore, this revision has been diligently edited without becoming analogous to knocking down the ancient megaliths of the southern regions.
May this remain for the entire kalpa within the circle of the Cakravāla Mountains, as bright as the sun and moon, as the glory of the merit of nonsectarian beings and the precious teaching of the Buddha.
This was printed in the water tiger year called dge byed (1722),2251 in the presence of Tenpa Tsering (1678–1738), the divine Dharma king who rules in accordance with the Dharma, who has the vast, superior wealth of the ten good actions, and who is a bodhisattva as a ruler of humans and the source of happiness in the four regions of greater Tibet.
This was written by the attendant Gelong Tashi Wangchuk, who in the process of revision was commanded to become its supervisor.
Ye dharmahetuprabhavā hetun teṣān tathāgato hy avadat. Teṣāñ ca yo nirodha evaṃ vādī mahāśramanaḥ.
Bibliography
Kangyur Texts
sdong po bkod pa (Gaṇḍavyūha). Toh 44, ch. 45, Degé Kangyur vol. 37 (phal chen, ga), folios 274.b–396.a; vol. 38 (phal chen, a), folios 1.b–363.a.
sdong po bkod pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 37, pp. 590–853; vol. 38, pp. 3–800.
sdong po bkod pa. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 39 (phal chen, ca), folios 22.b–352.a; vol. 40 (phal chen, cha), folios 1.a–310.a.
sangs rgyas phal po che zhe bya ba shin tu rgyas pa chen po’i mdo (Buddhāvataṃsakanāmamahāvaipulyasūtra) [The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra “A Multitude of Buddhas”]. Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vols. 35–38 (phal chen, ka–a). Stok Palace Kangyur vols. 35–40 (phal chen, ka–cha).
dga’ bo la mngal na gnas pa bstan pa (Nandagarbhāvakrantinirdeśa) [The Sūtra on Being in the Womb That Was Taught to Nanda]. Toh 57, Degé Kangyur vol. 41 (dkon brtsegs, ga), folios 205.b–236.b.
rgya cher rol pa (Lalitavistara). Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1.b–216.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2013).
snying rje chen po’i pad ma dkar po (Mahākaruṇāpuṇḍarīka) [White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra]. Toh 111, Degé Kangyur vol. 50 (mde sde, cha), folios 56.a–128.b.
ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po’i mdo (Samādhirājasūtra). Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1.b–170.b. English translation in Roberts (2018a).
dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka) [Lotus Sūtra/Lotus of the Good Dharma]. Toh 113, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b. English translation in Roberts (2018b).
bde ba can gyi bkod pa (Sukhāvatīvyūha). Toh 115, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 195.b–200.b. English translation in Sakya Pandita Translation Group (2011).
rnam par snang mdzad chen po mngon par rdzogs par byang chub pa rnam par sprul pa byin gyis rlob pa shin tu rgyas pa mdo sde’i dbang po’i rgyal po (Mahāvairocanābhisambodhivikurvatīadhiṣṭhānavaipulyasūtraindrarājānāmadharmaparyāya). Toh 494, Degé Kangyur vol. 86 (rgyud, tha), folios 151.b–260.a.
phung po gsum pa’i mdo (Triskandhakasūtra) [The Confession of the Three Heaps]. A reference to a passage (1.43 et seq.) in the Vinaya-viniścayopāli-paripṛcchā, Toh 68, Degé Kangyur vol. 43 (dkon brtsegs, ca) folios 120.a–121.a. English translation in UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group (2021).
byang chub sems dpa’i spyod yul gyi thabs kyi yul la rnam par ’phrul pa bstan pa (Bodhisattvagocaraupāyaviṣayavikurvāṇanirdeśa/Satyaka Sūtra) [The Teaching of the Miraculous Manifestation of the Range of Methods in the Field of Activity of the Bodhisattvas]. Toh 146, Degé Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde, pa), folios 82.a–141.b. English translation in Jamspal (2010).
tshangs pa’i dra ba’i mdo (Brahmajālasūtra). Toh 352, Degé Kangyur vol. 76 (mdo sde, aH), folios 70.b–86.a.
tshe dang ldan pa dga’ bo la mngal du ’jug pa bstan pa (Āyuṣmannandagarbhāvakrantinirdeśa) [The Sūtra on Entering the Womb That Was Taught to Āyuṣmat Nanda]. Toh 58, Degé Kangyur vol. 41 (dkon brtsegs, ga), folios 237.a–248.a. English translation in Kritzer 2021.
bzang po smon lam (Bhadracaryāpraṇidhāna). Toh 1095, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs, waM), folios 262.b–266.a.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Toh 9, Degé Kangyur vols. 26–28 (nyi khri, ka–ga). English Translation in Padmakara Translation Group (2023).
sa bcu’i le’u (Daśabhūmika) [Ten Bhūmi Sūtra]. Toh 44, ch. 31, Degé Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, ga), folios 46.a–283.a. English translation in Roberts (2021).
sems kyi rgyal pos dris nas grangs la ’jug pa bstan pa. Toh 44, ch. 36, Degé Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, kha), folios 348.b–393.b. Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, kha), pp. 807–25.
Sanskrit Editions of the Gaṇḍavyūha
Vaidya, P. L., ed. Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1960.
Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra. GRETIL edition input by members of the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Input Project, based on the edition by P. L. Vaidya. Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute, 1960. Last updated July 31, 2020.
Suzuki, D. T., and Hokei Idzumi, eds. The Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra. rev. ed. Tokyo: Society for the Publication of Sacred Books of the World, 1949.
Chinese Editions of the Gaṇḍavyūha and Commentaries
Da fangguang fohuayan jing 大方廣佛華嚴經 (Avataṃsaka Sūtra), translated by Buddhabhadra. Taishō 278.
Da fangguang fohuayan jing 大方廣佛華嚴經 (Avataṃsaka Sūtra), translated by Śikṣānanda. Taishō 279.
Da fangguang fohuayan jing 大方廣佛華嚴經 (Avataṃsaka Sūtra), translated by Prajñā. Taishō 293.
Da fangguang fohuayan jing ru fajie pin 大方廣佛華嚴經入法界品 (Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Gaṇḍavyūha Chapter), translated by Divākara. Taishō 295.
Da fangguang fohuayan jing busiyi fo jingjie fen 大方廣佛華嚴經不思議佛境界分 (Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Chapter on The Teaching on the Inconceivability of the Buddhadharma), translated by Devaprajñā. Taishō 300.
Da fangguang fohuayan jing busiyi fo jingjie fen 大方廣佛華嚴經入法界品四十二字觀門 (Avataṃsaka Sūtra, Contemplation on the 42 Syllables of the Gaṇḍavyūha), translated by Amoghavajra. Taishō 1019.
Cheng Guan 澄觀. Da fangguang fohuayan jingshu 大方廣佛華嚴經疏 (Commentary on the Avataṃsaka Sūtra). Taishō 1735.
Translations of the Gaṇḍavyūha
Carré, Patrick. Soûtra de l’Entrée dans la dimension absolue. 2 vols.: I. Introduction et Traité de Li Tongxuan XXII–XL; II. Soûtra et glossaire. Plazac, France: Éditions Padmakara, 2019.
Cleary, Thomas. “Entry into the Realm of Reality” (chapter 39), in The Flower Ornament Scripture: A Translation of the Avatamsaka Sutra, pp. 1135–1532. Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1993.
Osto, Douglas (2010). “A New Translation of the Sanskrit Bhadracarī with Introduction and Notes.” New Zealand Journal of Asian Studies 12, no. 2 (2010): 1–21.
———(2020). “The Supreme Array Scripture.” D. E. Osto. Accessed July 6, 2021.
Related Works in Tibetan
Madhyavyutpatti (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa). Toh 4347, Degé Tengyur, vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co) folios 131.b–160.a.
Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa chen po). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co), folios 1.b–131.a.
Ngorchen Könchok Lhündrup (ngor chen dkon mchog lhun grub) and Ngorchen Sangyé Phuntsok (ngor chen sangs rgyas phun tshogs). Ngor chos ’byung: A History of Buddhism, being the text of dam pa’i chos kyi byung tshul legs par bshad pa bstan pa rgya mtshor ’jug pa’i gru chen zhes bya ba rtsom ’phro kha skon bcas. New Delhi: Ngawang Topgay, 1973.
Pekar Zangpo (pad dkar bzang po). mdo sde spyi’i rnam bzhag: bstan pa spyi’i rgyas byed las mdo sde spyi’i rnam bzhag bka’ bsdu ba bzhi pa zhes bye ba’i bstan bcos. Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang (Minorities Publishing House), 2006.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Situ Chökyi Jungné (si tu chos kyi ’byung gnas). “sde dge bka’ ’gyur gyi dkar chags.” In ta’i si tu pa kun mkhyen chos kyi ’byung gnas bstan pa’i nyin byed kyi bka’ ’bum, vol. 9, folios 1.b–224.b. Kangra, Himachal Pradesh: Palpung Sungrab Nyamso Khang, 1990.
Related Works in Other Languages
Burnouf, Eugene. Le lotus de la bonne loi. Paris: L’Imprimerie Nationale, 1852.
Carré, Patrick. Notes sur la traduction française de l’Avataṃsakasūtra. Forthcoming.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970.
Fontein, Jan (2012). Entering the Dharmadhātu: A Study of the “Gandavyūha” Reliefs of Borobudur. Leiden: Brill, 2012.
———(1967). The Pilgrimage of Sudhana: A Study of Gaṇḍavyūha Illustrations in China, Japan and Java. The Hague: Mouton, 1967.
Gifford, Julie A. Buddhist Practice and Visual Culture: The Visual Rhetoric of Borobodur. Abingdon: Routledge, 2011.
Gómez, Luis Óscar. “Selected Verses from the Gaṇḍavyūha: Text, Critical Apparatus, and Translation.” PhD diss., Yale University, 1967.
Gómez, Luis Óscar, and Hiram Woodward Jr., eds. Barabuḍur: History and Significance of a Buddhist Monument. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1981.
Hamar, Imre. “The History of the Buddhāvataṃsaka-sūtra: Shorter and Larger Texts.” In Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism, edited by Imre Hamar, 139–68. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007.
Harrison, Paul. “Searching for the Origins of the Mahāyāna: What Are We Looking For?” The Eastern Buddhist 28, no. 1 (1995): 48–69.
Kern, H. Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka or the Lotus of the Good Law. Sacred Books of the East 21. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1884.
Kim, Hyung-Hi. La carrière du Bodhisattva dans l’Avataṃsaka-sūtra: Materiaux pour l’étude de l’Avataṃsaka-sūtra et ses commentaires chinois. Bern: Peter Lang, 2013.
Kritzer, Robert, trans. The Sūtra on Entry into the Womb (Garbhāvakrāntisūtra, Toh 58). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Jamspal, Lozang. The Range of the Bodhisattva, A Mahāyāna Sūtra: Ārya-bodhisattva-gocara, Introduction and Translation. New York: The American Institute of Buddhist Studies, Columbia University Center for Buddhist Studies, Tibet House US, 2010.
Lewis, Todd T. “Contributions to the Study of Popular Buddhism: The Newar Buddhist Festival of Guṃlā Dharma.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 16, no. 2 (Winter 1993): 309–54.
McMahan, David. “Transpositions of Metaphor and Imagery in the Gaṇḍavyūha and Tantric Buddhist Practice.” Pacific World Journal Third Series, no. 6 (Fall 2004): 181–94.
Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit–English Dictionary. Reprint of 1899 edition. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1976.
Osto, Douglas (2008). Power, Wealth and Women in Indian Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra. Oxfordshire: Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism, 2008.
———(2009a). “ ‘Proto-Tantric’ Elements in the Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra.” Journal of Religious History 33, no. 2 (June 2009): 165–77.
———(2009b). “The Supreme Array Scripture: A New Interpretation of the Title ‘Gaṇḍavyūha-sūtra.’ ” Journal of Indian Philosophy 37 (2009): 273–90.
Ōtake, Susumu. “On the Origin and Early Development of the Buddhāvataṃsaka-Sūtra.” In Reflecting Mirrors: Perspectives on Huayan Buddhism, edited by Imre Hamar, 87–107. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2007.
Padmakara Translation Group, trans. The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-five Thousand Lines (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 9). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
Revianur, A. “Forms and types of Borobudur’s stupas.” In Cultural Dynamics in a Globalized World, edited by Melani Budianta et al., 577–84. New York: Routledge, 2018.
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. (2018a). The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Samādhirājasūtra, Toh 127). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
———, trans. (2018b). The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, Toh 113). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
———, trans. (2021).The Ten Bhūmis (Daśabhūmika, Toh 44-31). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans. The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī (Sukhāvatīvyūha, Toh 115). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2011.
Shastri, Bahadur Chand. “The Identification of the First Sixteen Reliefs on the Second Main-Wall of Barabudur.” Bijarden tot de Taal-, Land- en Volkenkunde van Nederlandsch-Indië (Journal of the Humanities and Social Sciences of Southeast Asia) 89, no. 1 (January 1932): 173–81.
Steinkellner, E. Sudhana’s Miraculous Journey in the Temple of Ta Pho: The Inscriptional Text of the Tibetan Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra Edited with Introductory Remarks. Rome: Instituto italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1995.
Tsugunari Kubo and Akira Yuyama, trans. The Lotus Sutra (Taishō Volume 9, Number 262). Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research, 2007.
UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group, trans. Determining the Vinaya: Upāli’s Questions (Vinayaviniścayopāliparipṛcchā, Toh 68). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Un, Ko. Little Pilgrim. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2005.
Van Norden, Bryan, and Nicholaos Jones. “Huayan Buddhism.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2019 Edition).
Walser, Joseph. Genealogies of Mahāyāna Buddhism: Emptiness, Power and the Question of Origin. New York: Routledge, 2018.
Williams, Paul. Mahāyāna Buddhism: The Doctrinal Foundations. New York: Routledge, 2009.