The Secrets of the Realized Ones
Chapter 20: Going and Coming
Toh 47
Degé Kangyur, vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ka), folios 100.a.–203.a
Imprint
First published 2023
Current version v 1.0.7 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.25.1
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Summary
In this sūtra, the narrative largely revolves around the figures of Vajrapāṇi, the yakṣa lord and constant companion of the Buddha, and the Buddha himself. In the first half of the sūtra, Vajrapāṇi gives a series of teachings on the mysteries or secrets of the body, speech, and mind of bodhisattvas and the realized ones. In the second half of the sūtra, Vajrapāṇi describes several events in the Buddha’s life: his practice of severe asceticism, his approach to the seat of awakening, his defeat of Māra, his awakening, and his turning of the wheel of Dharma. Following this, the Buddha gives a prediction of Vajrapāṇi’s future awakening as a buddha and travels to Vajrapāṇi’s abode for a meal. Interspersed throughout the sūtra are sermons, dialogues, and marvelous tales exploring a large number of topics and featuring an extensive cast of characters, including several narratives about past lives of Vajrapāṇi, Brahmā Sahāṃpati, and the Buddha himself. The sūtra concludes with the performance of two long dhāraṇīs, one by Vajrapāṇi and one by the Buddha, for the protection and preservation of the Dharma.
Acknowledgements
Translated by David Fiordalis and the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. A first draft was made from the Tibetan by Timothy Hinkle with the assistance of Tulku Tenzin Rigsang and others. David Fiordalis thoroughly revised the translation with close reference to the extant Sanskrit manuscript, as well as the Tibetan translation. Fiordalis also wrote the summary, introduction, annotations, and most of the glossary entries. Fiordalis would like to acknowledge Paul Harrison, who furnished him with his own digital images of the Sanskrit manuscript, and Péter-Dániel Szántó, who generously made his transcription of the manuscript available for readers.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Rory Lindsay and Nathaniel Rich edited the translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Jane and Leo Tong Chen, and their family.
Text Body
The Teaching of the Mysteries and Secrets of the Realized Ones
Chapter 20: Going and Coming
At that point, the Blessed One had the thought, “I should make it so that the words of a mantra are heard in this assembly, the articulation of which ensures the well-being of the entire assembly and ensures the long-term availability of the awakening of the realized ones, too.”
The Blessed One then spoke to Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas: “Lord of the Guhyakas, do you remember the words of the mantra that were spoken by me in the abode of the nāga king Apalāla, which I recalled as I was at the supreme point of the seat of awakening and spoke again for the well-being and benefit of the world?”
“Yes, I remember them, Blessed One.”
The Blessed One then said, “Use your inspired eloquence, Lord of the Guhyakas, and speak the words of the mantra.” [F.182.b]
Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, then rose from his seat. Crouching down in front of the Blessed One, he touched the Blessed One’s feet with his hands, and then he spoke these words of the mantra as follows:
ahula | hulavati | hularaṇa | aguha | ca ca ca ca ca |niṣuraṇa | kṣuta kṣata | kṣaya kṣaya | akṣayasama | śamanikara | hahula huvati | khilavati | kina abhiṣiti | nissaraṇi | jajājajāmati | avaṭā | nivaṭā | varta varta anusariṇi | bhuta anusmṛti ho | manuṣa anusmṛti ho | deva anusmṛti ho | nāganāṃ | yakṣānāṃ | gandharvāṇāṃ | kinnarāṇāṃ | mahoragāṇāṃ | svastir bhavantu | sarvasattvānāṃ | vikirantu mahāparavat | saṃvyathatāṃ dhāraṇi | garjatu samudravega iti | |265
When he had set forth this teaching of the words of the mantra, all the divine abodes quaked. The entire earth quaked, too, and the great ocean roiled. The whole assembly trembled and fell down at the feet of the Blessed One. The Blessed One then touched that galaxy of a thousand worlds with one foot. Just as the Blessed One was about to touch the ground, however, the whole assembly seated nearby cried out, “Blessed One, keep us safe! Sublime One, protect us! We are in danger! We are in great danger! We are trembling!”266
The Blessed One said, “Have no fear, friends, have no fear. This is the impact of these words of the mantra, which have been authorized by the empowering authority of the Realized One: the great earth quakes; the great ocean roils. Even if you were in the sky, you would quake.”
The Blessed One then taught the Dharma at length so that eighty thousand beings in the courtyard of Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, conceived the aspiration for awakening [F.183.a] and an immeasurable number of beings took up the basic moral precepts. [B9]
Vajrasena, son of the Lord of the Guhyakas, then covered the Blessed One with a net of jewels and inquired of the Blessed One, “How is it, Blessed One, that bodhisattvas become unshakable in their resolve for unsurpassable and perfect awakening?”
The Blessed One answered, “Noble son, bodhisattvas of great courage who have ten qualities become unshakable in their resolve for unsurpassable and perfect awakening. What are these ten qualities? They are great love without anger; great compassion without weariness; heroic effort that brings to completion everything one has begun; concentration that is brought into contact with emptiness; wisdom that is perceived with one’s own eyes; all-encompassing expertise; knowledge that cleanses the three times; vision of the truths that is not obscured by any smudges; being endowed with emptiness, which is the finest of all qualities; and having set out upon the path of what is entirely pure just as it is. Young one, bodhisattvas who have these ten qualities become unshakable in their resolve for unsurpassable and perfect awakening.”
Vajrasena, son of the Lord of the Guhyakas, then spoke again to the Blessed One: “How is it, Blessed One, that bodhisattvas can avoid feeling fear, fright, or terror when they hear about the inconceivable qualities of a buddha?”
The Blessed One answered, “Young one, bodhisattvas who have eight qualities do not become fearful, frightened, or terrified when they hear about the inconceivable qualities of a buddha. What are these eight qualities? They are steadiness due to one’s wisdom, steadiness due to one’s knowledge, being held firmly [F.183.b] by companions in what is good, having lofty aspirations, letting go of things that have the characteristics of a magical illusion, having an interest in the idea that things are impermanent, having a mind that is equal to space, and knowing that all things have the characteristic of being involved in a magical creation. Young one, bodhisattvas who have these eight qualities do not become fearful, frightened, or terrified when they hear about the inconceivable qualities of a buddha.”
“With what qualities should bodhisattvas be equipped, Blessed One, so that they gain the power to do everything that should be done?”
The Blessed One answered, “Young one, bodhisattvas equipped with four qualities gain the power to do everything that should be done. What are these four? They have thoroughly cultivated and become equipped with the five supernormal faculties without any impairment. They are equipped with the four states of meditation that are fully pervaded by the gateway to liberation. They are equipped with the four dwellings of Brahmā, which transcend even the highest Brahmā world. They are masters of wisdom and skill in means, which apply to every situation. Young one, bodhisattvas equipped with these four qualities gain the power to do everything that should be done.”
“What are the gateways of the bodhisattvas, Blessed One?”
The Blessed One answered, “Young one, there are four gateways of the bodhisattvas. What are these four gateways? They are as follows: the gateway of knowledge, which comprehends the spiritual faculties of beings; the gateway of wisdom, which teaches the fine analysis of words; the gateway of powerful memory and the formulas that support it, which enables a thorough grasp of all languages; and the gateway of the special modes of knowledge, which teaches the inexhaustible Dharma. Young one, these are the four gateways of the bodhisattvas.”
“What are the powers of the bodhisattvas, Blessed One?’
The Blessed One answered, “Young one, there are nine powers of the bodhisattvas. What are these nine powers? [F.184.a] They are the power of profound contemplation so that one may do the work of compassion; the power of heroic courage so that one may become impossible to turn back from awakening; the power of learning so that one may develop great wisdom; the power of ardent devotion so that one may fulfill the goal of liberation;267 the power of cultivation so that one may become free; the power of patience in order to protect the mind; the power of the aspiration for awakening in order to gain power over Māra; the power of great compassion so that one may bring beings to maturity; and the power of acceptance of the fact that things do not arise so that one may gain full possession of the ten powers of the realized ones. Young one, these are the nine powers of the bodhisattvas.”
When this teaching had been given, the sons of the Lord of the Guhyakas gained acceptance of the fact that things do not arise, and once they had gained acceptance of this fact they implored the Blessed One, “Use your empowering authority, Blessed One, to ensure that this formulation of the Dharma continues to exist and be circulated for a long time in the abode of the Lord of the Guhyakas. Ensure that those beings who are worthy recipients of it will continue to hear of it, that it will spread widely throughout Jambudvīpa, and that by no means will it disappear after the complete cessation of the Realized One.”
Thinking of what the sons of the Lord of the Guhyakas had requested of him, the Blessed One said to Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, “So that the way of the true Dharma continues to exist for a long time and the māras and proponents of other doctrines are defeated in accordance with the Dharma, I request you, Lord of the Guhyakas, to speak the words of the mantra that you called to mind and then expressed and intoned in order to protect the Bodhisattva when he was seated at the supreme point of the seat of awakening and to defeat the māras when the armies of Māra had come there.”
Understanding the Blessed One’s request, Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, then rose from his seat, arranged his cloak over one shoulder [F.184.b], knelt down on his right knee, and bowing toward the Blessed One with his arms outstretched, palms together in a gesture of salutation, he spoke the words of the mantra:
tadyathā | hulu hulu | hule dhire | hariti | akuśalakṣaye | cale | calavati | sāre | kṣure kṣāntivale | kṣeme | śāntikare| kṣame | śame | hulu | ilikhi | khire | khare | aveśaṇi | saraṇe | jaye | jayavati | sthire | āvarte | vivarte | āvartani | maitre | bhutanān | sanggrahe | dame | damasampanne | tāraṇe | tārayasesvayan | svasti devebhyo | nāgebhyo | yakṣebhyo | gandharvebhyo | rākṣasebhyo | manuṣebhyo | amanuṣebhyo | svastir bhavatu sadāmukham | |268
The Blessed One then spent seven days in the abode of Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, and for seven days he fulfilled the wishes of limitless beings. As many different wishes as the beings had in that assembly in the capital city of Aḍagavatī, he fulfilled them all.
Then the Blessed One left the abode of Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, and, surrounded by the host of bodhisattvas and accompanied by the host of disciples, he flew freely through the vault of the sky like the king of swans, as a host of gods paid homage to him; a host of goddesses [F.185.a] praised him; yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, and garuḍas surrounded him; and Śakra, Brahmā, and the Lokapālas offered him praise. The rays of light they emitted made a latticework of light, as musical instruments were played, it rained down showers of flowers, and all the domains trembled. All this was due to the great majestic power of the Buddha, the great superhuman power of the Buddha, the great transformative power of the Buddha, the great miraculous display of the Buddha, the great glory of the Buddha, the great vital energy of the Buddha, the great demeanor of the Buddha, and the great child’s play of the Buddha.
With Vajrapāṇi, Lord of the Guhyakas, following as his attendant, the Blessed One returned to the hill, Vulture Peak.
Bibliography
Primary Source Texts
’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa bstan pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryatathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 47, Degé Kangyur vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ka), folios 100.a–203.a.
’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i gsang ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa bstan pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. 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. 39, pp. 289–542.
*Tathāgataguhyanirdeśasūtra. Manuscript G10765. The Asiatic Society, Kolkata. [For an unpublished transcription of this manuscript, see Szántó 2021.]
Editions, Translations, and Other Sources
Alter, Robert. The Art of Biblical Narrative. New York: Basic Books, 2011. First published 1981.
Anesaki, Masaharu. “Docetism (Buddhist).” In The Encyclopaedia of Religion and Ethics, vol. 4, edited by James Hastings et al., 835–40. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1911.
Bendall, Cecil (1883). Catalogue of the Buddhist Sanskrit Manuscripts in the University Library, Cambridge. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
———, ed. (1902). Çikshāsamuccaya: A Compendium of Buddhistic Teaching. Bibliotheca Buddhica I. St. Petersburg: Académie Impériale des Sciences.
Bendall, Cecil, and W. H. D. Rouse, trans. Śikṣā Samuccaya. London: John Murray, 1922.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (1978). “The Meaning of the Word ‘Tathāgata’ According to the Pāli Commentaries: Text and Introductory Essay.” Pali Buddhist Review 3.2: 65–83.
———, trans. (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Saṃyutta Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom.
———, trans. (2012). The Numerical Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Aṅguttara Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu, and Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli, trans. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom, 1995.
Buswell, Robert E., Jr., and Donald S. Lopez, Jr., eds. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2014.
Cowell, Edward B. and Robert Alexander Neil, eds. The Divyāvadāna: A Collection of Early Buddhist Legends. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1886.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit English Dictionary. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.
Gómez, Luis, and Paul Harrison, trans. Vimalakīrtinirdeśa: The Teaching of Vimalakīrti. Berkeley, CA: Mangalam, 2022.
Goodman, Charles. The Training Anthology of Śāntideva. London: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Hamano, Tetsunori 滨野哲敬. 如來秘密経の佛陀觀 [The Conception of the Buddha in the Nyoraihimitsu-kyō]. Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū 印度學 佛教學 研究第 38.1 (1987): 42–46.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Hidas, Gergely. Powers of Protection: The Buddhist Tradition of Spells in the Dhāraṇīvsaṃgraha Collections. Beyond Boundaries 9. Berlin: de Gruyter, 2021.
Hopkins, Edward Washburn. Epic Mythology. Strassburg: K. J. Trübner, 1915.
Ikuma, Hiromitsu 伊久間洋光 (2013). 『如来秘密経』の梵文写本について [On the Sanskrit Manuscript of the Nyoraihimitsu-kyō]. 印度學 佛教學 研究第 Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū 61.2: 171–79.
———(2018). “Lalitavistara と『如来秘密経』の仏伝の対応関係” [On the Correspondence of the Lalitavistara with the Buddha’s Biography in the Nyoraihimitsu-kyō]. 印度學 佛教學 研究第 Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū 67.1: 126–30.
———(2020).『如来秘密経』梵文写本における地名と民族名のリスト: 『大毘婆沙論』における並行説話との比較 [A List of the Place and Ethnic Names in the Sanskrit Manuscript of the Nyoraihimitsu-kyō: A Comparison with the Parallel Narrative in the *Abhidharma-mahāvibhāṣā]. 印度學 佛教學 研究第 Indogaku Bukkyōgaku Kenkyū 68.2: 101–5.
Jamspal, Lozang, et al., trans. The Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature (Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra). New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies, 2004.
Jones, J. J., trans. The Mahāvastu, Vol. 2. Sacred Books of the Buddhists. London: Pali Text Society, 1976.
Lalou, Marcel. Inventaire des manuscrits tibétains de Touen-houang: conservés à la Bibliothèque nationale (Fond Pelliot tibétain). Vol. 3. Paris: Librairie d’Amérique et d’Orient, 1961.
Lamotte, Étienne (1966). “Vajrapāṇi en Inde.” In Mélanges de Sinologie offerts à Monsieur Paul Demiéville, 113–59. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France.
———(1970). Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa). Tome III: Chapitres XXXI-XLII. Louvain-la-neuve: Institute Orientaliste de la Université Catholique de Louvain.
———(1976). Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa). Tome IV: Chapitres XLII(suite)-XLVIII. Louvain-la-neuve: Institute Orientaliste de la Université Catholique de Louvain.
———(1981). Le Traité de la Grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa). Tome I: Chapitres I-XV. Louvain-la-neuve: Institute Orientaliste de la Université Catholique de Louvain.
———, trans. (1987). L’Enseignment de Vimalakīrti. Louvain-la-neuve: Institute Orientaliste de la Université Catholique de Louvain.
La Vallée Poussin, Louis de, ed. Mūlamadhyamakakārikās (Mādhyamikasūtras) de Nāgārjuna avec la Prasannapadā Commentaire de Candrakīrti. Bibliotheca Buddhica 4. St. Petersburg: Académie Impériale des Sciences, 1903.
Liland, Fredrik et al. Bodhisatvapiṭaka: A Critical Edition. Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region (STTAR). Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, forthcoming.
Lévi, Sylvain, ed. Mahāyāna-Sūtrālaṃkāra: Exposé de la Doctrine de Grand Vehicule. Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, 1907.
Lewis, Todd. Popular Buddhist Texts from Nepal: Narratives and Rituals of Newar Buddhism. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2000.
Malalasekera, G. P. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names. Vol. 1. London: John Murray, 1937.
Nanjio, Bunyiu, ed. The Laṅkāvatāra Sūtra. Kyoto: Otani University Press, 1923.
Norwegian Institute of Palaeography and Historical Philology, trans. The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva (Toh 56). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
Pāsādika, Bhikkhu, trans. (1978a). “The Sūtrasamuccaya—An English Translation from the Tibetan Version of the Sanskrit Original (I).” Linh-Son publication d’études bouddhiques 2: 19–30.
———, trans. (1978b). “The Sūtrasamuccaya—Nāgārjuna’s Anthology of (Quotations from) Discourses: English Translation (III).” Linh-Son publication d’études bouddhiques 4: 26–33.
———, trans. (1981). “The Sūtrasamuccaya—Nāgārjuna’s Anthology of (Quotations from) Discourses: English Translation (XIII).” Linh-Son publication d’études bouddhiques 14: 20–33.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Radich, Michael. The Mahāparinirvāṇa-mahāsūtra and the Emergence of Tathāgatagarbha Doctrine. Hamburg: Hamburg University Press, 2015.
Shāstri, Hara Prasad. A Descriptive Catalogue of Sanskrit Manuscripts in Government Collection under the care of The Asiatic Society of Bengal. Vol. 1, Buddhist Manuscripts. Calcutta: Baptist Mission Press, 1917.
Shaw, Sarah. The Art of Listening: A Guide to the Early Teachings of Buddhism. Boulder, CO: Shambhala, 2021.
Shingan, Shaku. The Secrets of the Tathāgata: A Mahāyāna Sūtra. Kamakura: Shaku Shingan, 2021.
Silk, Jonathan A. “Serious Play: Recent Scholarship on the Lalitavistara.” Indo-Iranian Journal 65 (2022): 267-301.
Study Group on Buddhist Sanskrit Literature, ed. Vimalakīrtinirdeśa: Transliterated Sanskrit Text Collated with Tibetan and Chinese Translation. Tokyo: Taisho University Press, 2005.
Suzuki, Daisetz Teitaro, trans. The Lankavatara Sutra: A Mahayana Text. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1932.
Szántó, Péter-Dániel. *Tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśasūtra: A formatted diplomatic transcript of the Sanskrit ms (The Asiatic Society, Kolkata, G10765). Version 1.0. 2021.
Thurman, Robert A. F., trans. The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, Toh 176). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2017.
Tucci, Giuseppe, ed. Minor Buddhist Texts, Part III: Third Bhāvanākrama. Serie Orientale Roma XLIII. Roma: Instituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente, 1971.
Tuladhar-Douglas, Will. Remaking Buddhism for Medieval Nepal. London: Routledge, 2014.
Vaidya, P. L., ed. Lalitavistara. 2nd Edition. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1987.
Walshe, Maurice, trans. The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom, 1995.
Wang, Junqi, Meifang Zhang, Xiaofang Lü, Xin Song, Kawa Sherab Sangpo, and Dazhen. “A Preliminary Study on a Newly Discovered Sanskrit manuscript of Nāgārjuna’s Sūtrasamuccaya*.” Journal of Buddhist Studies 17 (2020): 59–88.
Watanabe, Shōgo. “Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā—VII Ekakṣaṇâbhisamayâdhikāraḥ (1).” Tōyō Daigaku Daigakuin Kiyō 27 (1990): 136–117.
Winternitz, Maurice. A History of Indian Literature, Vol II: Buddhist Literature and Jaina Literature. Calcutta: Calcutta University Press, 1933.
Zacchetti, Stefano. The Da zhidu lun 大智度論 (*Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa) and the History of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Hamburg: Numata Center for Buddhist Studies, 2021.
Zin, Monika. “Vajrapāṇi in the Narrative Reliefs.” In Migration, Trade and Peoples, Part 2: Gandharan Art, edited by Christine Fröhlich, 73–88. London: The British Academy, 2009.