In The Twenty-Five Gateways to the Perfection of Wisdom the Buddha teaches the twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom to Vajrapāṇi and a vast gathering of bodhisattvas and nonhuman beings. These twenty-five gateways, also found in related Prajñāpāramitā and Yoga tantra works, are mantra formulae comprised of seed syllables (bījas) and semantically meaningful phrases that act as a means of accessing the many qualities of awakening. The Twenty-Five Gateways, like some other short Prajñāpāramitā scriptures, holds a dual sūtra-tantra status.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Lowell Cook produced the translation and wrote the introduction. David Fiordalis and John Canti edited the translation and the introduction, and Ibby Caputo copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Twenty-Five Gateways to the Perfection of Wisdom is a short Prajñāpāramitā scripture that sets out points of entry to the Perfection of Wisdom teachings in the form of mantra formulae. Because of its brevity, it is classified in the Tibetan tradition among the eleven “son” Prajñāpāramitā works (sras bcu gcig), as distinct from the six longer “mother” scriptures (yum drug) that cover the whole range of topics outlined in Maitreya-Asaṅga’s Ornament of Clear Realizations (Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Toh 3786).1
There are two versions of this sūtra in the Kangyur, one (Toh 20) found with the other Perfection of Wisdom sūtras (in the volume of short, “miscellaneous” Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, shes phyin sna tshogs), and the other (Toh 491) found in the Yoga tantra section. The reasons underlying the placement of the latter will become clear below.
In the sūtra, while the Buddha is teaching in the deva realms to a large, mostly nonhuman assembly, Vajrapāṇi and an extensive entourage of nonhuman beings descend from the sky. They bow to the Buddha and circumambulate him, prompting him to deliver this discourse on the twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom. The text concludes with Vajrapāṇi and the rest of the gathering rejoicing in the Buddha’s teaching.
The twenty-five gateways that constitute the main subject matter are mantra formulae, or dhāraṇīs, comprising an initial seed syllable (bīja) followed by a semantically meaningful phrase. As made clear by the term dhāraṇī gateway (dhāraṇīmukha), dhāraṇīs are said to act as “gateways” providing access to the infinite qualities of awakening. It is in this sense that the twenty-five mantra formulae act as a set of approaches to the perfection of wisdom.
There are two other works—one a Prajñāpāramitā scripture—in which these same twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom appear. With minor differences as signaled in the notes to the translation, they are a feature of The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines (Toh 17/489, Prajñāpāramitānayaśatapañcaśatikā2), in which they are called “mantra words” (mantrapada, sngags kyi tshig) and, as in the present text, are taught to Vajrapāṇi. They are also found in Ornament of the Vajra Essence Tantra (Toh 490, Vajramaṇḍālaṃkāratantra), a tantra of the Yoga class, where they are taught to Mañjuśrī. In this latter text, the phrases of the mantras are not translated into Tibetan as they are here in The Twenty-Five Gateways, but are left in transliterated Sanskrit.
The intended meanings of the twenty-five formulae themselves are not, for the most part, immediately obvious, and their translations in English can only be tentative. That would be even more so were they to be understood solely from their Tibetan translation, as found here. Fortunately, however, some useful orientation is provided by the Sanskrit forms preserved in the other two texts, which show that all the gateways are in the vocative case and the feminine. It is a reasonable assumption, therefore, that they are phrases addressed to the Prajñāpāramitā, whether personified as the female goddess or seen metaphorically as mother of all the buddhas.
The present sūtra does little more than list the twenty-five gateways, and although the wording of some of the gateways hints at a tantric theme, it is only in the two longer texts that clear references are made to the more obvious tantric themes of great bliss (mahāsukha) and the purity (viśuddhi) of sensual pleasures.3 The latter theme, in particular, is characteristic of the Paramādya Yoga tantra cycle (Toh 487–488), which makes frequent reference to the Perfection of Wisdom teachings. Despite the somewhat indirect tantric references in the present sūtra, the text’s close relationship to The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines (Toh 17/489) and the placing of both these Prajñāpāramitā scriptures as duplicates in the Yoga tantra section nevertheless confirms the Yoga tantra status of this text. Indeed, in the catalog to the Degé Kangyur, Situ Panchen Chökyi Jungné (1700–74) cites this intertextuality as the reason why duplicates of The Twenty-Five Gateways (as Toh 491) and The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines (as Toh 489) are included with the Yoga tantras.4
The “tantric” status of these two texts is thus of a different nature compared to the “tantric” categorization of some of the other short Prajñāpāramitā works.5 While no fewer than six of the shorter Prajñāpāramitā sūtras are duplicated in the tantra sections of the Kangyur, four of these are classified as Action (kriyā) tantras, not because their themes are particularly tantric, but mainly because, in common with a large number of other sūtras and dhāraṇī texts in that section, they contain dhāraṇīs or mantras.6 The two that are placed with the Yoga tantras—the present text and The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines—are different because they have specifically tantric perspectives.7
The equivalents of the works that in Tibet were classified as Yoga tantras, including the Paramādya cycle and the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā, became important in Chinese esoteric Buddhism and particularly in the Japanese Shingon tradition. Several Chinese translations of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā were completed from the sixth century onward, and one of the Vajramaṇḍālaṃkāratantra was completed in the tenth century.8 However, The Twenty-Five Gateways as a work by itself seems to have been unknown in China until recently, when it was translated into modern Chinese by the Kumarajiva Project.
No translators are mentioned in the sūtra’s colophon. The sūtra is listed in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial-period inventories, and we can thus be confident that it was translated into Tibetan sometime between the late eighth and early ninth centuries.9
An English translation of The Twenty-Five Gateways and a study of the shorter Prajñāpāramitā works can be found in Conze (1973). A French translation from the Tibetan by George Driessens was published in 1996.
With no Sanskrit version of The Twenty-Five Gateways extant as a complete text, the current translation was produced based on the witness preserved in the Degé Kangyur with reference to the variant readings noted in the Comparative Edition Kangyur and the Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur. Of these variant witnesses, the Narthang text displays a wide range of untenable readings.10 Tomabechi’s Sanskrit edition of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā proved useful in rendering the twenty-five gateways themselves.
[F.143.b][F.82.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in the night quarters of all the devas on the summit of Mount Meru in the company of many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of bodhisattvas. The Blessed One was teaching the Dharma in the presence of numerous and vast gatherings of devas, devaputras, asuras, maruts, garuḍas, nāgas, yakṣas, kinnaras, rākṣasas, all the vidyādharas,[F.144.a] bhūtas, vināyakas, piśācas, and visible and invisible mātṛs gathered in a circle measuring five11 leagues. He was also surrounded by 1,250 monks, all venerating him.
The bodhisattva great being Vajrapāṇi then approached the Blessed One, surrounded by the entire vajra family, all those hosts of vidyās and hosts of mudrās, and many tens of millions of vidyādharas. As they descended from the sky, they bowed their heads at the Blessed One’s feet, circled him three times, and sat to one side.
The Blessed One then told the great Lord of Secrets Vajrapāṇi, “Lord of the Guhyakas, these are my twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom:
“Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
“Oṁ, O vajra of the mind of enlightenment. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O all-perfect conduct.12 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O wish-fulfilling jewel. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O unobstructed one. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O transformer of births.13 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.[F.83.a]
“Oṁ, O all discernments. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O greatly blazing true nature.14 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O diligence.15 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O goer into everything. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O mind of all-steadfast vajra.16 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O you in whom are all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O pure wisdom of the intrinsically pure true nature.17 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O purifier of actions. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.[F.144.b]
“Oṁ, O vajriṇī of destruction, phaṭ. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O purifier of attachment to desire. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O swift vajriṇī.18 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ hūṁ, O goer into everything.19 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ hrīḥ. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O gateway known as ‘a.’ This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O Perfection of Wisdom. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ aṁ vaṁ20 hūṁ. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ eṁ.21 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.22
“Oṁ, O supreme body of all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O pure speech of all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O vajra mind of all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.”
After the Blessed One had spoken, the bodhisattva great being Vajrapāṇi, the entire gathering, and the world with its devas, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had taught.
This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Twenty-Five Gateways to the Perfection of Wisdom.”
Revised and finalized according to the new language reform.23
In The Twenty-Five Gateways to the Perfection of Wisdom the Buddha teaches the twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom to Vajrapāṇi and a vast gathering of bodhisattvas and nonhuman beings. These twenty-five gateways, also found in related Prajñāpāramitā and Yoga tantra works, are mantra formulae comprised of seed syllables (bījas) and semantically meaningful phrases that act as a means of accessing the many qualities of awakening. The Twenty-Five Gateways, like some other short Prajñāpāramitā scriptures, holds a dual sūtra-tantra status.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Lowell Cook produced the translation and wrote the introduction. David Fiordalis and John Canti edited the translation and the introduction, and Ibby Caputo copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Twenty-Five Gateways to the Perfection of Wisdom is a short Prajñāpāramitā scripture that sets out points of entry to the Perfection of Wisdom teachings in the form of mantra formulae. Because of its brevity, it is classified in the Tibetan tradition among the eleven “son” Prajñāpāramitā works (sras bcu gcig), as distinct from the six longer “mother” scriptures (yum drug) that cover the whole range of topics outlined in Maitreya-Asaṅga’s Ornament of Clear Realizations (Abhisamayālaṃkāra, Toh 3786).1
There are two versions of this sūtra in the Kangyur, one (Toh 20) found with the other Perfection of Wisdom sūtras (in the volume of short, “miscellaneous” Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, shes phyin sna tshogs), and the other (Toh 491) found in the Yoga tantra section. The reasons underlying the placement of the latter will become clear below.
In the sūtra, while the Buddha is teaching in the deva realms to a large, mostly nonhuman assembly, Vajrapāṇi and an extensive entourage of nonhuman beings descend from the sky. They bow to the Buddha and circumambulate him, prompting him to deliver this discourse on the twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom. The text concludes with Vajrapāṇi and the rest of the gathering rejoicing in the Buddha’s teaching.
The twenty-five gateways that constitute the main subject matter are mantra formulae, or dhāraṇīs, comprising an initial seed syllable (bīja) followed by a semantically meaningful phrase. As made clear by the term dhāraṇī gateway (dhāraṇīmukha), dhāraṇīs are said to act as “gateways” providing access to the infinite qualities of awakening. It is in this sense that the twenty-five mantra formulae act as a set of approaches to the perfection of wisdom.
There are two other works—one a Prajñāpāramitā scripture—in which these same twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom appear. With minor differences as signaled in the notes to the translation, they are a feature of The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines (Toh 17/489, Prajñāpāramitānayaśatapañcaśatikā2), in which they are called “mantra words” (mantrapada, sngags kyi tshig) and, as in the present text, are taught to Vajrapāṇi. They are also found in Ornament of the Vajra Essence Tantra (Toh 490, Vajramaṇḍālaṃkāratantra), a tantra of the Yoga class, where they are taught to Mañjuśrī. In this latter text, the phrases of the mantras are not translated into Tibetan as they are here in The Twenty-Five Gateways, but are left in transliterated Sanskrit.
The intended meanings of the twenty-five formulae themselves are not, for the most part, immediately obvious, and their translations in English can only be tentative. That would be even more so were they to be understood solely from their Tibetan translation, as found here. Fortunately, however, some useful orientation is provided by the Sanskrit forms preserved in the other two texts, which show that all the gateways are in the vocative case and the feminine. It is a reasonable assumption, therefore, that they are phrases addressed to the Prajñāpāramitā, whether personified as the female goddess or seen metaphorically as mother of all the buddhas.
The present sūtra does little more than list the twenty-five gateways, and although the wording of some of the gateways hints at a tantric theme, it is only in the two longer texts that clear references are made to the more obvious tantric themes of great bliss (mahāsukha) and the purity (viśuddhi) of sensual pleasures.3 The latter theme, in particular, is characteristic of the Paramādya Yoga tantra cycle (Toh 487–488), which makes frequent reference to the Perfection of Wisdom teachings. Despite the somewhat indirect tantric references in the present sūtra, the text’s close relationship to The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines (Toh 17/489) and the placing of both these Prajñāpāramitā scriptures as duplicates in the Yoga tantra section nevertheless confirms the Yoga tantra status of this text. Indeed, in the catalog to the Degé Kangyur, Situ Panchen Chökyi Jungné (1700–74) cites this intertextuality as the reason why duplicates of The Twenty-Five Gateways (as Toh 491) and The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines (as Toh 489) are included with the Yoga tantras.4
The “tantric” status of these two texts is thus of a different nature compared to the “tantric” categorization of some of the other short Prajñāpāramitā works.5 While no fewer than six of the shorter Prajñāpāramitā sūtras are duplicated in the tantra sections of the Kangyur, four of these are classified as Action (kriyā) tantras, not because their themes are particularly tantric, but mainly because, in common with a large number of other sūtras and dhāraṇī texts in that section, they contain dhāraṇīs or mantras.6 The two that are placed with the Yoga tantras—the present text and The Principles of the Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines—are different because they have specifically tantric perspectives.7
The equivalents of the works that in Tibet were classified as Yoga tantras, including the Paramādya cycle and the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā, became important in Chinese esoteric Buddhism and particularly in the Japanese Shingon tradition. Several Chinese translations of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā were completed from the sixth century onward, and one of the Vajramaṇḍālaṃkāratantra was completed in the tenth century.8 However, The Twenty-Five Gateways as a work by itself seems to have been unknown in China until recently, when it was translated into modern Chinese by the Kumarajiva Project.
No translators are mentioned in the sūtra’s colophon. The sūtra is listed in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial-period inventories, and we can thus be confident that it was translated into Tibetan sometime between the late eighth and early ninth centuries.9
An English translation of The Twenty-Five Gateways and a study of the shorter Prajñāpāramitā works can be found in Conze (1973). A French translation from the Tibetan by George Driessens was published in 1996.
With no Sanskrit version of The Twenty-Five Gateways extant as a complete text, the current translation was produced based on the witness preserved in the Degé Kangyur with reference to the variant readings noted in the Comparative Edition Kangyur and the Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur. Of these variant witnesses, the Narthang text displays a wide range of untenable readings.10 Tomabechi’s Sanskrit edition of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā proved useful in rendering the twenty-five gateways themselves.
[F.143.b][F.82.b]Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in the night quarters of all the devas on the summit of Mount Meru in the company of many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of bodhisattvas. The Blessed One was teaching the Dharma in the presence of numerous and vast gatherings of devas, devaputras, asuras, maruts, garuḍas, nāgas, yakṣas, kinnaras, rākṣasas, all the vidyādharas,[F.144.a] bhūtas, vināyakas, piśācas, and visible and invisible mātṛs gathered in a circle measuring five11 leagues. He was also surrounded by 1,250 monks, all venerating him.
The bodhisattva great being Vajrapāṇi then approached the Blessed One, surrounded by the entire vajra family, all those hosts of vidyās and hosts of mudrās, and many tens of millions of vidyādharas. As they descended from the sky, they bowed their heads at the Blessed One’s feet, circled him three times, and sat to one side.
The Blessed One then told the great Lord of Secrets Vajrapāṇi, “Lord of the Guhyakas, these are my twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom:
“Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
“Oṁ, O vajra of the mind of enlightenment. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O all-perfect conduct.12 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O wish-fulfilling jewel. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O unobstructed one. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O transformer of births.13 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.[F.83.a]
“Oṁ, O all discernments. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O greatly blazing true nature.14 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O diligence.15 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O goer into everything. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O mind of all-steadfast vajra.16 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O you in whom are all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O pure wisdom of the intrinsically pure true nature.17 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O purifier of actions. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.[F.144.b]
“Oṁ, O vajriṇī of destruction, phaṭ. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O purifier of attachment to desire. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O swift vajriṇī.18 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ hūṁ, O goer into everything.19 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ hrīḥ. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O gateway known as ‘a.’ This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O Perfection of Wisdom. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ aṁ vaṁ20 hūṁ. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ eṁ.21 This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.22
“Oṁ, O supreme body of all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O pure speech of all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.
“Oṁ, O vajra mind of all thus-gone ones. This is a gateway to the perfection of wisdom.”
After the Blessed One had spoken, the bodhisattva great being Vajrapāṇi, the entire gathering, and the world with its devas, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had taught.
This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Twenty-Five Gateways to the Perfection of Wisdom.”
Revised and finalized according to the new language reform.23
In his bde gshegs bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas, Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) presents these categories, yet he notes they were not necessarily accepted by all Tibetan scholars at the time. See Butön 1988, pp. 216–17. For more on the classification of the Prajñāpāramitā works in the Kangyur, see the 84000 Knowledge Base article, “Perfection of Wisdom (Kangyur Section).”
Also known under the simpler title of the Sanskrit manuscript, Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā (The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred and Fifty Lines).
“Although it has been placed in the Perfection of Wisdom section so that all the Perfection of Wisdom literature is presented in a single location, it has also been placed here [in the Yoga tantra section] because of its correspondence with the Vajramaṇḍālaṃkāratantra in terms of the twenty-five gateways found therein (’di’ang sher phyogs skor phyogs gcig tu bya ba’i phyir shes phyin gras su’ang bzhag mod kyi/ rdo rje snying po rgyan gyi rgyud las byung ba’i sgo nyer lnga ba dang mtshungs pas ’dir yang bcug go),” Toh 4568-4, folio144.b ff. This would seem to echo Butön (bu ston rin chen grub) who, in his rgyud ’bum gyi dkar chag, describes The Twenty-Five Gateways as an extracted or associated tantra with regard to the Vajramaṇḍālaṃkāratantra. See Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 10.
Conze 1978 (pp. 79–87) goes further in this regard than the compilers of the Kangyurs, categorizing no fewer than eleven of the canonical Prajñāpāramitā sūtras as “tantric texts” (Toh 17/489, 19, 20/491, 22/530, 23, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, and 30). His reasons for doing so (pp. 14–16) draw not only on the content of these works, but also on the presumed period of their production. Whether or not one agrees with his conclusions, his remarks on how the development of tantra in India may have influenced the evolution of Prajñāpāramitā texts (pp. 13–16) provide a helpful, if incomplete, outline from the seventh century
To Tomabechi’s observations regarding tantric themes (see n.3) one may add the mention made by Conze 1973 (p. iv) that the tantric demeanor of The Twenty-Five Gateways is signaled in part by its location in the deva realm and audience of nonhuman beings such as vidyādharas. However, nonhuman audiences are relatively common in sūtra settings and far from being specific markers of tantra texts.
The best-known translation of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā is the Liqu jing (理趣經, Taishō 243) completed by Amoghavajra in the eighth century, but translations were also completed by Bodhiruci (sixth century), Xuanzang (seventh century), Vajrabodhi (seventh or eighth century), Dānapāla (tenth century), and Dharmabhadra (tenth century). The Vajramaṇḍālaṃkāratantra was translated by Dānapāla (Taishō 886).
Denkarma, folio 295.a.6; Phangthangma, p. 4, no. 16, and p. 29, no. 3. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 10, no. 15.
The Narthang text may possibly represent an earlier version, as suggested by the absence of the statement found in the Degé and other Kangyurs, “Revised and finalized according to the new language reform” (skad gsar chad kyis bcos nas gtan la phab pa).
The Degé text reads kun tu bzang po’i spyod pa, and in the Sanskrit of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā this gateway reads samantabhadracarye. Here samantabhadra may simply be a qualifying adjective, but could also conceivably be a reference to the bodhisattva Samantabhadra and the exemplary “conduct” (caryā, spyod pa) that is associated with him, particularly in the Multitude of Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka, Toh 44; see for example ch. 56 in The Stem Array). Samantabhadra himself does not figure among the bodhisattvas mentioned in the Prajñāpāramitā literature except in The Samantabhadra Perfection of Wisdom, which like the present text is considered a late outlier with influences outside the principal Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.
Tentative translation. Degé reads skye bar ’gyur ba, while in Toh 17/489 the Tibetan is skye bar zlog pa (“averter of births”) and the Sanskrit edition of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā reads jātivivarttani.
In Toh 17/489, this gateway is “the great true nature devoid of desire” (’dod chags dang bral ba’i chos nyid chen po), corresponding to the Sanskrit edition of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā, which reads mahāvirāgadharmate. See Toru Tomabechi 2009, pp. 25, 85.
In Toh 17/489, this gateway is “the armor of diligence” (brtson ’grus kyi go cha), corresponding to the Sanskrit edition of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā, which reads vīryakavace. See Toru Tomabechi 2009, pp. 25, 85.
The Degé text reads rdo rje thams cad brtan pa’i sems, while in Toh 17/489 this gateway is rdo rje sra ba’i sems (perhaps “mind of strong vajra”). In the Sanskrit edition of the Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā, however, it is vajrakavacadṛḍhacitte, “the vajra mind strong as armor.” See Toru Tomabechi 2009, pp. 25, 85.
This gateway is split into gateways twelve (oM ngo bo nyid rnam par dag pa) and thirteen (oM chos nyid shes pa rnam par dag pa) in Toh 17/489. The Sanskrit edition of Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā reads oṁ svabhāvaviśuddhe and oṁ dharmatājñānaviśuddhe. See Toru Tomabechi 2009, pp. 25, 85. Since these two gateways are combined in this sūtra, it includes an additional gateway, number twenty-two, of oṁ eṃ.
In Toh 17/489, this gateway is “vajriṇī of relinquishment” (spong ba’i rdo rje can), corresponding to the Sanskrit edition of Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā, which reads jahavajre. See Toru Tomabechi 2009, pp. 25, 85. It would appear that this difference stems from the conflation of java (“quick”) and jaha (“relinquish”).
While Toh 20/491 list this gateway as thams cad du ’gro ba (sarvagāmini), it appears in Toh 17/489 as thams cad ’dul ba (sarvadāmini) and in the Sanskrit edition as sarvadāyini. See Toru Tomabechi 2009, pp. 25, 85. It also appears in Toh 490 as sar+ba gA ma Ni (sarvagāmaṇi). A likely cause of these many discrepancies is the similarity this gateway shares with gateway number nine, in addition to linguistic reasons.
Reading baM instead of ba. This conforms with Toh 17/489 and the Sanskrit edition in Toru Tomabechi 2009, pp. 26, 85. It seems possible that the bindu was simply elided in the transmission of the Tibetan text. However, the Stok Palace and Shey Kangyurs have am ba, and the Qianlong Kangyur reads a ma ba.
The Themphangma Kangyurs here read oM oM, as do several other Kangyurs including the Urga and Qianlong.
This mention of the revision is not found in the Themphangma Kangyurs, or in the Narthang or Choné.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
A measure of distance sometimes translated as “league,” but with varying definitions. The Sanskrit term denotes the distance yoked oxen can travel in a day or before needing to be unyoked. From different canonical sources the distance represented varies between four and ten miles.
An epithet of Vajrapāṇi.
An epithet of Vajrapāṇi. Guhyakas are a class of nonhuman beings, similar to yakṣas and perhaps synonymous with them in some contexts. They are closely associated with Vajrapāṇi.
Gods of the wind or storm gods.
“Mothers,” a class of female deities, typically seven or eight in number, who are common to both Buddhist and non-Buddhist traditions.
In the general Mahāyāna teachings the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) is the intention to attain the complete awakening of a perfect buddha for the sake of all beings. On the level of absolute truth, the mind of awakening is the realization of the awakened state itself.
According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.
A class of being.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
The ninth-century revision and codification of translational equivalents and procedure in Tibet. It was undertaken during the reigns of Senalek (ce) and Ralpachen (
Literally “slayer,” a figure in Indian mythology who features as a minor wrathful deity in some tantras.
The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. It is often personified as a female deity, worshiped as the “Mother of All Buddhas” (sarvajinamātā).
A class of nonhuman beings that, like several other classes of nonhuman beings, take spontaneous birth. Ranking below rākṣasas, they are less powerful and more akin to pretas. They are said to dwell in impure and perilous places, where they feed on impure things, including flesh. This could account for the name piśāca, which possibly derives from √piś, to carve or chop meat, as reflected also in the Tibetan sha za, “meat eater.” They are often described as having an unpleasant appearance, and at times they appear with animal bodies. Some possess the ability to enter the dead bodies of humans, thereby becoming so-called vetāla, to touch whom is fatal.
A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.
Samantabhadra (“entirely excellent”) is one of the eight principal bodhisattvas. He is known for embodying the conduct of bodhisattvas through his vast aspirations, offerings, and deeds for the benefit of beings.
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
The real nature, true quality, or condition of things. Throughout Buddhist discourse this term is used in two distinct ways. In one, it designates the relative nature that is either the essential characteristic of a specific phenomenon, such as the heat of fire and the moisture of water, or the defining feature of a specific term or category. The other very important and widespread way it is used is to designate the ultimate nature of all phenomena, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms and is often synonymous with emptiness or the absence of intrinsic existence.
The twenty-five gateways to the perfection of wisdom are a list of twenty-five mantra formulae that act as “gateways” to insight into the way things are. They also appear in Toh 17/489 and Toh 490, albeit with minor variations.
This term generally indicates indestructibility and stability. In the sūtras, vajra most often refers to the hardest possible physical substance, said to have divine origins. In some scriptures, it is also the name of the all-powerful weapon of Indra, which in turn is crafted from vajra material. In the tantras, the vajra is sometimes a scepter-like ritual implement, but the term can also take on other esoteric meanings.
Vajrapāṇi means “Wielder of the Vajra.” In the Pali canon, he appears as a yakṣa guardian in the retinue of the Buddha. In the Mahāyāna scriptures he is a bodhisattva and one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha.” In the tantras, he is also regarded as an important Buddhist deity and instrumental in the transmission of tantric scriptures.
A class of deities identified with their spells.
A class of semidivine being that is famous for wielding (
A class of obstacle-creating beings, their name means “those who lead astray.”
A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.
Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i sgo nyi shu rtsa lnga pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryapañcaviṃśatikaprajñāpāramitāmukhanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 20, Degé Kangyur vol. 34 (shes rab sna tshogs, ka), folios 143.b–144.b.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i sgo nyi shu rtsa lnga pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryapañcaviṃśatikaprajñāpāramitāmukhanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 491, Degé Kangyur vol. 86 (rgyud ’bum, tha), folios 82.b–83.a.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i sgo nyi shu rtsa lnga 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. 34, pp. 398–400.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i sgo nyi shu rtsa lnga 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. 86, pp. 233–37.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i sgo nyi shu rtsa lnga pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 51 (sna tshogs, ka), folios 1.b–12.a.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i sgo nyi shu rtsa lnga pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 100 (rgyud, ta), folios 275.a–277.a.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i tshul brgya lnga bcu pa (Āryaprajñāpāramitānayaśatapañcāśatikā). Toh 17, Degé Kangyur vol. 34 (shes rab sna tshogs, ka), folios 133.a–139.b.
’phags pa shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i tshul brgya lnga bcu pa (Āryaprajñāpāramitānayaśatapañcāśatikā). Toh 489, Degé Kangyur vol. 85 (rgyud ’bum, ta), folios 266.a–272.a.
dpal rdo rje snying po rgyan zhes bya ba’i rgyud kyi rgyal po chen po (Śrīvajramaṇḍālaṃkaranāmamahātantrarāja). Toh 490, Degé Kangyur vol. 86 (rgyud ’bum, tha), folios 1.b–82.a.
rgyal ba’i gsung rab gangs ri’i khrod du deng sang ji tsam snang ba par du bsgrubs pa’i byung ba dngos legs par bshad pa’i yal ’dab. Toh 4568, Degé Kangyur vol. 103 (dkar chag, lakṣmī), folios 1.b–171.a.
Maitreya-Asaṅga. Ornament of Clear Realizations (Abhisamayālaṃkāra). Toh 3786, Degé Tengyur vol. 80 (shes phyin, ka), folios 1.b–13.a.
84000. “Perfection of Wisdom (Kangyur Section).” Online Knowledge Base. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub). bde gshegs bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas. gangs can shes rig gi nying bcud. Beijing: krung go bod kyi shes rig dpe skrun khang, 1988. BDRC bdr:W1923.
Conze, Edward, trans. Perfect Wisdom: The Short Prajñāpāramitā Texts. Buddhist Publishing Group, 1973.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan [/ lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur, vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Driessens, George. “Les vingt-cinq portes pour la perfection de sagesse.” In La Perfection de sagesse: Soutras courts du Grand Véhicule suivis de L’enseignement d’Akshayamati, pp. 145–46. Éditions du Seuil, 1996.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
聖般若波羅蜜多二十五門大乘經 (Āryapañcaviṃśatikaprajñāpāramitāmukhanāmamahāyānasūtra, Toh 20), The Kumarajiva Project.
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Toru Tomabechi, ed. The Adhyardhaśatikā Prajñāpāramitā: Sanskrit and Tibetan Texts Critically Edited. STTAR 5. China Tibetology Publishing House and Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2009.
