The Stem Array
Muktaka
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
Muktaka
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.
Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, displayed a continuity of strong commitment, a mind of aspiration, and indefatigability. He had the heroism419 of irreversible courage. He had the commitment of an irreversible mind. He possessed the strength of unassailable faith. His motivation had the indestructibility of the mighty vajra. [F.342.b] He had acquired with reverence the instructions of all kalyāṇamitras. He had an unimpaired scope of wisdom. He faced the completely pure gateways. He possessed the unimpeded field of pure wisdom. He had the illumination of all-seeing wisdom. He had attained the radiance of the retentive power of all levels. His mind faced the separate bases of the realm of phenomena. He perceived the nature of the pure display that is completely without any basis. He was devoted to the unattached, unequaled,420 nondual field of activity. He had the pure gateway of wisdom that surpasses all concepts. He had the discrimination421 of all422 the separate directions and families.423 He had not annulled the separate bases and directions of the world. He had not annulled the separate bases and directions of the Dharma. He was dedicated to the perception of the vision of the different directions and families424 of the buddhas. He had the wisdom that comprehended the different directions and bases of time. He had the understanding endowed with the radiance of the wheel of the Dharma. The light of the complete radiance of wisdom and samādhi illuminated his mind. He had the mind and body425 that had reached the complete levels and ranges. He was continuously illuminated by the radiance426 of the wisdom of the tathāgatas. He had given rise to the power of faith in omniscience. He was never lacking in the power of faith in the Buddhadharma. He possessed the blessing of the tathāgatas. He had been illuminated by the light of the approach of his own mind to the buddhas. He was endowed with the aspiration for his own body pervading the network of all world realms. He was dedicated to accomplishing the inclusion of the entire realm of phenomena within his own body.
After twelve years [F.343.a] he eventually arrived at Vanavāsī. He searched for the head merchant Muktaka and saw him. When he saw him, he bowed down his entire body onto the ground in homage and sat before him.
With palms together he said, “Ārya, today I have succeeded; I have succeeded well. Why is that? Because I have met the kalyāṇamitra.427 It is rare to have the opportunity to see the kalyāṇamitras. It is rare to have the opportunity to find their appearance. It is rare to have the opportunity to arrive where they are. It is rare to have the opportunity to go to where they are, it is rare to have the opportunity to serve them, it is rare to have the opportunity to approach428 them, it is rare to have the opportunity to dwell with them, it is rare to have the opportunity to train with them, and it is rare to have the opportunity to follow the kalyāṇamitras.
“Today I have succeeded in being with the kalyāṇamitra.429 Ārya, I have developed the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment in order to serve all the buddhas; to venerate all the buddhas; to see all the buddhas; to perceive all the buddhas; to comprehend the equality of all the buddhas; to comprehend the prayers of all the buddhas; to fulfill the prayers of all the buddhas; to have the light of the wisdom accomplished by all the buddhas; to accomplish all buddhas within my own body; to accomplish the knowledge of all the buddhas in my own conduct; to have the direct perception of the miracles of all the buddhas; to purify the strengths and fearlessnesses of all the buddhas; to never have enough of hearing the Dharma that is taught by all the buddhas; [F.343.b] to hear and adopt the Dharma that is taught by all the buddhas; to truly hold the Dharma that is taught by all the buddhas; to become the same as all the bodhisattvas;430 to be included among the bodhisattvas; to purify the conduct of all bodhisattvas; to fulfill the perfections of all bodhisattvas; to purify the accomplishment of the aspirations of all bodhisattvas; to attain the treasure of the buddha blessings of all the bodhisattvas; to obtain the unceasing light of wisdom that is all the bodhisattvas’ store of treasure of the Dharma; to realize all the bodhisattvas’ store of treasure of samādhi;431 to accomplish the immeasurable treasure of all the bodhisattvas; to realize all the bodhisattvas’ store of treasure of great compassion, which is the definitive guiding of beings; to perceive all the bodhisattvas’ store of treasure of miracles; and to gain the power in my own mind that is all the bodhisattvas’ store of power; and for the array of all the aspects of all the bodhisattvas’ store of treasure of purity.
“Ārya, I have come here with such a motivation, [F.344.a] with such an intention, with such joy,432 with such delight, with such thoughts, with such an aspiration to accomplish certainty, with such an aspiration to conduct, with such an aspiration to comprehend the way, with such a dedication to purity, with such an intention for analysis,433 with such an oriented mind, with such a dedication to goodness, and with senses focused in that way.
“Ārya, I have heard434 that you give instruction and teachings to bodhisattvas, that you teach the way, elucidate the way to understand, teach the path, bring across the ford, open the gateway of the Dharma, cut through doubts, dispel uncertainty, extract the splinter of prevarication, remove hesitancy, illuminate the darkness of the mind, eliminate the stains of the mind, clarify the continuity of the mind, remove the deception of the mind, alleviate the distress of the mind, turn the mind away from saṃsāra, lead away from bad actions, dissuade from going to the hells, bring freedom from existence, liberate from attachment, banish all clinging, create the aspiration for omniscience, enable entry into the city of the Dharma, bring to great compassion, unite with great love, conjoin with bodhisattva conduct, cause to enter the meditation of the gateway of samādhi, establish in the gateway of realization, [F.344.b] establish in the comprehension of nature, spread the possession of the strengths, and realize the equality of all beings.
“Therefore, now that I have heard that, teach me, Ārya, how bodhisattvas should learn435 bodhisattva conduct, how they train in it, how they are dedicated to it, and how they quickly436 purify the domain of bodhisattva conduct.”
Then, at that time, the head merchant Muktaka the bodhisattva entered the gateway of samādhi, the foremost gateway to the infinite circling of the power of retention, called the assembly of all buddha realms, through the power of past roots of merit, through the blessing of the tathāgatas, and through the concentration that brings the light of wisdom of Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.
Immediately, the form of the head merchant Muktaka, who had entered that samādhi, became a pure body. Because of the purity of his body, there appeared within his body the presence of buddha bhagavats as numerous as the atoms in the buddha realms in the ten directions, together with their pure buddha realms, the assemblies of their pupils, their pure halos, their past practice of conduct, their buddha miracles, their accumulation of prayers, their pure display of conduct and setting forth, their demonstration of the attainment of buddhahood, their teaching the wheel of the Dharma, their ripening of beings, and their final conclusion of the Dharma.
They were distinct from each other, [F.345.a] were not obscuring each other,437 were perfectly separate from each other, were differentiated from each other, remaining in different ways,438 and were perceived exactly as they were. Their various arrays of buddha realms, the various adorning assemblies of bodhisattva pupils, and the appearances of various buddha miracles were seen.
They were establishing the various yānas and reciting the various gateways of prayers. They were seen in some worlds being born in a palace in Tuṣita. They were seen to accomplish all the deeds of a buddha: in some worlds they were descending from the palace in Tuṣita; in some they were entering their mothers’ wombs and manifesting various miracles; in some they were being born; in some they demonstrated playing as children; in some they were in the middle of their harems; in some they were setting forth in renunciation; in some they were arriving at the bodhimaṇḍa; in some they were defeating the armies of Māra with vast miraculous manifestations; in some they were encircled by devas, nāgas, yakṣas, and gandharvas, and Brahmā and Indra439 were supplicating them to turn the wheel of the Dharma; in some they were turning the wheel of the Dharma; in some they were present in the abodes of all beings; and in some they were passing into nirvāṇa. In some world realms there could be seen the distribution of the relics of the tathāgatas that had passed into nirvāṇa, and in some buddha realms devas and humans could be seen covering the caityas of the tathāgatas with adornments.
Those buddha bhagavats were teaching among the various classes of beings, the various worlds of beings, [F.345.b] the various modes of beings, the various births of beings, the various aggregations of beings, the various successive roots of merit of beings, the various successive modes of beings, the various successive thoughts of beings, the various successive aspirations of beings, the various successive sensory faculties of beings, the various successive times of beings, the various particular karmas of beings, the various dissimilar karmas of beings, the various worlds of beings, the various modes and conducts of beings, the various aspirations and conducts in the ocean of beings, the various, different pure faculties, and the various kleśas, predispositions, and propensities in the vast extent of beings.
They did so through the demonstration of various kinds of buddha miracles, through the accomplishment of the various word definitions in various worlds, through various aspects of voice and language in various worlds, through relating the ways of various sūtras, through the processes of the various kinds of gateways to the power of retention, through the production of various kinds of discernment, through the processes of an ocean of various names for the truth, through various majestic lion’s roars of the buddhas, through the demonstration of miracles that teach the roots of merit to beings, through miracles that teach the various gateways of memory, through the lion’s roar of various prophecies to bodhisattvas, and through the power that arises from the various Dharma wheels of the tathāgatas.
The buddha bhagavats taught through the aspects of the voice of a tathāgata and in accordance with all languages in the various assemblies of pupils—which are limitless, infinitely different, and dependent on one another—in the various vast, pure assemblies of pupils, [F.346.a] in the gatherings of small assemblies of pupils, among those that are the length of one yojana, the length of ten yojanas, the length of a hundred yojanas, and so on, up to assemblies of pupils that are as many yojanas as there are atoms in even more countless than countless buddha realms.
Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, heard, adopted, kept, and contemplated all those Dharmas that were taught. He also saw those buddha miracles. He saw the power of the majesty of that bodhisattva samādhi.
Then the head merchant Muktaka mindfully and with awareness arose from his samādhi and said to Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, “Noble one, I have obtained and hold the liberation of the tathāgatas called the unimpeded display.
“Noble one, when in that way I strove for and attained440 the liberation of the tathāgatas called the unimpeded display, to my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Tāreśvararāja in the eastern world realm called Jāmbūnadaprabhāsavatī. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Vairocanagarbha.
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Samantagandhavitāna in the southern world realm called Sarvabalavegavatī. [F.346.b] He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Cintārāja.
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Merupradīparāja in the western world realm called Sarvagandhaprabhāsavatī. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Asaṅgacitta.
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Vajrapramardana in the northern world realm called Kāṣāyadhvajā. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Vajrapadavikrāmin.
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Anilambhacakṣurvairocana441 in the northeastern world realm called Sarvaratnarucirā. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Anilambhasunirmita.
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Gandhapradīpa in the southeastern world realm called Gandhārciḥprabhāsvarā. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Sarvadharmadhātutalabhedaketurāja.442 [F.347.a]
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Samantamukhajñānavirocanaghoṣa in the southwestern world realm called Sūryakesaranirbhāsā. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Samantakusumārciḥpralambacūḍa.
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Apramāṇaguṇasāgaraprabha in the northwestern world realm called Gandhālaṃkāraruciraśubhagarbhā. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Asaṅgakāyaraśmitejomati.443
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Dharmadhātuvidyotitaraśmi in the world realm below called Ratnasiṃhāvabhāsajvalanā. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Dharmadhātvarcirvairocanasaṃbhavamati.
“To my eyes appeared the tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddha named Apratihataguṇakīrtivimokṣaprabharāja in the world realm above called Akṣaṇaruciravairocanā. He was accompanied by an assembly that was all bodhisattvas, such as the bodhisattva Asaṅgabalavīryamati. [F.347.b]
“Noble one, in that way, in addition to these ten444 tathāgatas, I see in the ten directions tathāgata arhat samyaksaṃbuddhas as numerous as the atoms in the buddha realms in the ten directions, but those tathāgatas have not come here and I have not gone there.
“When I wish to, I see the Tathāgata Amitābha in the buddha realm Sukhāvatī, I see the Tathāgata Vajrābha in the buddha realm Candanavatī, I see the Tathāgata Ratnābha in the buddha realm Gandhavatī, I see the Tathāgata Ratnapadmābha in the buddha realm Padmavatī, I see the Tathāgata Śantābha in the buddha realm Kanakavatī, I see the Tathāgata Akṣobhya in the buddha realm Abhiratī, I see the Tathāgata Siṃha in the buddha realm Supratiṣṭhā, I see the Tathāgata Candrabuddhi in the buddha realm Ādarśamaṇḍalanibhāsā, and I see the Tathāgata Vairocana in the buddha realm Ratnaśrīhaṃsacitrā.445
“Noble one, in that way, I see whatever tathāgata I wish to, in whatever direction, in whatever world realm. I see whatever tathāgata I wish to, in whatever time, in whatever location,446 in whatever past conduct. I see whatever tathāgata I wish to, wherever he is accomplishing miracles [F.348.a] or wherever he is guiding beings. And those tathāgatas have not come here, nor have I gone there.
“Noble one, in that way, I know that the tathāgatas have not come from anywhere. I know my own body has not gone anywhere. I know that perceiving the tathāgatas is like a dream, and I know that perceiving the activity of my own mind is like having a dream. I know that the perception of the tathāgatas is like a reflection, and I know that my own mind’s perception is like a bowl of clear water. I know that the perception of the tathāgatas is like that of forms created by a magical illusion, and I know that my own mind’s perception is like a magical illusion. I know that the speech of the tathāgatas is like echoes that sound in the mountains, and I know that my own mind’s perception is like an echo.
“It is thus that I understand, thus that I know that the entire Buddhadharma of the bodhisattvas arises from the blessing of one’s own mind. All the pure buddha realms are the blessing of one’s own mind. The bodhisattva conduct also is the blessing of one’s own mind. The ripening and guidance of all beings is the blessing of one’s own mind. The fulfillment of the aspirations of the bodhisattvas is the blessing of one’s own mind. Arriving at the city of omniscience is the blessing of one’s own mind. [F.348.b] Delighting in inconceivable liberations is the blessing of one’s own mind. At attainment, the enlightenment of buddhahood is the blessing of one’s own mind. The miraculous manifestation of the powerful majesty of uniting the entire realm of phenomena is the blessing of one’s own mind. The wisdom that unites all kalpas into a brief time is the blessing of one’s own mind.
“Noble one, this is what I think: one’s own mind should be supported by all roots of merit, one’s own mind should be moistened by the clouds of the Dharma, one’s own mind should be purified of obscuring phenomena,447 one’s own mind should be made firm by diligence, one’s own mind should be made tranquil by patience, one’s own mind should be cultivated by the comprehension of knowledge, one’s own mind should be refined by wisdom, one’s own mind should have accomplishment in power, one’s own mind should be made vast in the equality of the buddhas, and one’s own mind should be illuminated by the ten strengths of the tathāgatas.
“Noble one, I know, have adopted, and keep this liberation called the unimpeded display of the tathāgatas, but how could I know or describe the qualities of dwelling without impediment in the field of activity of the unimpeded minds of the bodhisattvas; the attainment of the samādhi of the direct perception of all the buddhas in the present; the attainment of the samādhi gateway to the enlightenment that has reached the apex that is without passing into nirvāṇa; [F.349.a] the attainment of the sameness of the three times; the knowledge of the way of the field of activity of the samādhi of the completely undivided basis; the bodies distributed throughout all buddha realms; the presence in the indivisible ranges of the buddhas; the field of activity that is oriented toward all directions; the view of the domain of undivided wisdom; and the conduct that is free of the dualistic conceptions of self and world, even though in their bodies there appears the destruction and creation of all world realms?
“Now depart, noble one. On this road to the south, at the tip of Jambudvīpa, there is Milaspharaṇa. There dwells a bhikṣu by the name of Sāgaradhvaja. Go to him and ask him, ‘How should a bodhisattva train in bodhisattva conduct? How should a bodhisattva proceed?’ ”
Then Sudhana, the head merchant’s son, bowed his head to the feet of the head merchant Muktaka, circumambulated the head merchant Muktaka a hundred thousand times, keeping him to his right, and, looking back again and again, beautifully describing, examining, and aspiring to the countless qualities of the head merchant Muktaka, thinking of Muktaka, [F.349.b] he was weeping and wailing as he departed from head merchant Muktaka; he was thinking of kalyāṇamitras with affection, trusting in them, longing to honor the kalyāṇamitras, maintaining obedience to the instructions of kalyāṇamitras, and seeing omniscience as dependent upon the kalyāṇamitras; his thoughts focused on the kalyāṇamitras, his conduct faithful to the kalyāṇamitras, and being in the power of the minds of the kalyāṇamitras, by avoiding anything that would be harmful to the kalyāṇamitras he regarded them as his mother and, by developing all the qualities of roots of merit, regarded them as his father.
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.
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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.