While the Buddha is residing in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods with a retinue of deities, great hearers, and bodhisattvas, Avalokiteśvara asks the Buddha how beings can gain merit from building a stūpa. The Buddha responds by stating the Buddhist creed on dependent arising:
The Buddha then explains that this dependent arising is the dharmakāya, and that whoever sees dependent arising sees the Buddha. He concludes the sūtra by saying that one should place these verses inside stūpas to attain the merit of Brahmā.
Translation by the Buddhavacana Translation Group, Vienna, under the supervision of Khenpo Konchok Tamphel. This sūtra was translated into English by Rolf Scheuermann and Casey Kemp with the aid of Tom Tillemans.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The topic of this sūtra, as is evident from its title, is the Buddhist doctrine of the dependent arising of conditioned phenomena. This concept is considered by many Buddhists to be the essence of the teaching, the Dharma. Dependent arising is often presented as a series of twelve links (nidāna) of causes and effects that begins with ignorance and ends with death. This schema is found in many canonical texts, and is the principal topic of the two works that precede the present sūtra in the Degé Kangyur, the Rice Seedling Sūtra (Śālistambhasūtra, Toh 210), and the Sūtra Teaching the Fundamental Exposition and Detailed Analysis of Dependent Arising (Pratītyasamutpādādivibhaṅganirdeśasūtra, Toh 211).1
The teaching on dependent arising is epitomized by the famous “creed” (dhāraṇī) in verse-form, stating that the Buddha teaches the causes for the arising of phenomena as well as that which is their cessation. This verse formula is perhaps best known from a narrative in the Vinaya recounting Śāriputra’s life. The story tells of Upatiṣya (as Śāriputra was called before he met the Buddha) first hearing about the Buddha from Aśvajit, one of the Buddha’s five erstwhile companions and earliest disciples. When Upatiṣya asks Aśvajit to summarize the very essence of the Buddha’s teaching, Aśvajit answers him by reciting this verse. As soon as he hears it, Upatiṣya immediately attains a preliminary state of realization.2
In the sūtra translated here, however, these same lines are taught to Avalokiteśvara by the Buddha himself.3 The Buddha then instructs his followers to insert them into stūpas in order to generate the merit of Brahmā, an extraordinary type of merit.4 The practice of inserting these verses, as well as impressing or inscribing them on religious images, appears to have become popular during the second half of the first millennium,5 and was observed by Xuanzang in the seventh century.6 The creed can be found inscribed on, or inserted within, miniature caityas or stūpas at holy sites throughout the Buddhist world such as Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, and Rājagṛha, as far east as Kedah and Java, and as far west as Afghanistan.7 This practice was continued by the Tibetans into the second millennium and to this day it is considered by Buddhists to be a meritorious act.8
Xuanzang mentions that these objects were considered relics of the Dharma (dharmaśarīra). Buddhist scripture came to be identified as a type of relic of the Buddha from the time of early Mahāyāna discourse, according to which worshipping the words of the Buddha was considered to be equivalent, if not superior, to worshipping the Buddha himself.9 Canonical sources, such as the Rice Seedling Sūtra (Toh 210), have furthermore equated dependent arising with the Dharma itself.10 Thus, inserting or inscribing the verse of dependent arising empowers an object just as a fragment of the Buddha’s remains would.11 Included in the Tibetan text of this sūtra is the Sanskrit transliteration of the verse, implying that they were used like a mantra or dhāraṇī;12 the Sanskrit syllables are considered potent in their own right as a manifestation of the Dharma and thus of the Buddha himself.
The sūtra is found in three places within the Degé Kangyur: in the General Sūtra section (Toh 212), the Action Tantra section (Toh 520), and the Dhāraṇīs (Toh 980).131313 In two of those locations, it is followed by duplicates of a short separate text (Toh 521, Toh 981)14 containing the verse of dependent arising, which is also, of course, cited in numerous other texts. To date we do not know of any extant Sanskrit original version of the sūtra,15 and although there appear to be a few minor spelling mistakes and inconsistencies found in some versions, there are no significant variations among the available Tibetan texts. One modern translation of the sūtra that should be mentioned is that of Peter Skilling, who published it along with some helpful notes on it in his 2021 collection, Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.16
Thus did I hear at one time.[F.58.b] The Blessed One was in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods, seated on the throne of Indra. With him were great hearers such as the venerable Aśvajit; bodhisattva mahāsattvas such as noble Maitreya, noble Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi, who were adorned with immeasurable precious qualities; as well as various gods such as the great Brahmā, who is the lord of the Sahā world, Nārāyaṇa, the great Īśvara, Śakra, who is the chief of the gods, and Pañcaśikha, who is the king of the gandharvas.
On that occasion, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara rose from his seat and, having draped his upper robe over one shoulder, knelt down with his right knee on the peak of Mount Meru. His palms together, he then bowed toward the Blessed One and addressed to him these words:
“Blessed One, these gods all really wish to build a stūpa. Now that they are present in this entourage, please teach them the Dharma in such a way so that their merit of Brahmā[F.125.b] will increase, and the merit of the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen will increase much more than that of all types of beings in the world of gods, māras, and Brahmā, including renunciants and brahmins.”[F.99.b]
At this, the Blessed One spoke the verses of dependent arising:
“Avalokiteśvara, it is like this. This dependent arising is the dharmakāya of all the tathāgatas. A person who sees dependent arising sees the Tathāgata. Avalokiteśvara, if a faithful son or daughter of a noble family, who has built in an uninhabited place a stūpa—even one no bigger than a gooseberry fruit, with a central pillar the size of a needle and a parasol the size of a flower of the bakula tree—inserts into it this verse of dependent arising which is the dharmadhātu, he or she will generate the merit of Brahmā. When such persons pass on from here and die, they will be reborn in the world of Brahmā. When they pass on from there and die, they will be reborn with fortunes equaling those of the gods of the Pure Abodes.”19
After the Blessed One had thus spoken, the hearers, bodhisattvas, the whole assembly, and the universe of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised his words.
This concludes the Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on Dependent Arising.
Translated and edited by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the principal editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.20
While the Buddha is residing in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods with a retinue of deities, great hearers, and bodhisattvas, Avalokiteśvara asks the Buddha how beings can gain merit from building a stūpa. The Buddha responds by stating the Buddhist creed on dependent arising:
The Buddha then explains that this dependent arising is the dharmakāya, and that whoever sees dependent arising sees the Buddha. He concludes the sūtra by saying that one should place these verses inside stūpas to attain the merit of Brahmā.
Translation by the Buddhavacana Translation Group, Vienna, under the supervision of Khenpo Konchok Tamphel. This sūtra was translated into English by Rolf Scheuermann and Casey Kemp with the aid of Tom Tillemans.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The topic of this sūtra, as is evident from its title, is the Buddhist doctrine of the dependent arising of conditioned phenomena. This concept is considered by many Buddhists to be the essence of the teaching, the Dharma. Dependent arising is often presented as a series of twelve links (nidāna) of causes and effects that begins with ignorance and ends with death. This schema is found in many canonical texts, and is the principal topic of the two works that precede the present sūtra in the Degé Kangyur, the Rice Seedling Sūtra (Śālistambhasūtra, Toh 210), and the Sūtra Teaching the Fundamental Exposition and Detailed Analysis of Dependent Arising (Pratītyasamutpādādivibhaṅganirdeśasūtra, Toh 211).1
The teaching on dependent arising is epitomized by the famous “creed” (dhāraṇī) in verse-form, stating that the Buddha teaches the causes for the arising of phenomena as well as that which is their cessation. This verse formula is perhaps best known from a narrative in the Vinaya recounting Śāriputra’s life. The story tells of Upatiṣya (as Śāriputra was called before he met the Buddha) first hearing about the Buddha from Aśvajit, one of the Buddha’s five erstwhile companions and earliest disciples. When Upatiṣya asks Aśvajit to summarize the very essence of the Buddha’s teaching, Aśvajit answers him by reciting this verse. As soon as he hears it, Upatiṣya immediately attains a preliminary state of realization.2
In the sūtra translated here, however, these same lines are taught to Avalokiteśvara by the Buddha himself.3 The Buddha then instructs his followers to insert them into stūpas in order to generate the merit of Brahmā, an extraordinary type of merit.4 The practice of inserting these verses, as well as impressing or inscribing them on religious images, appears to have become popular during the second half of the first millennium,5 and was observed by Xuanzang in the seventh century.6 The creed can be found inscribed on, or inserted within, miniature caityas or stūpas at holy sites throughout the Buddhist world such as Sarnath, Bodh Gaya, and Rājagṛha, as far east as Kedah and Java, and as far west as Afghanistan.7 This practice was continued by the Tibetans into the second millennium and to this day it is considered by Buddhists to be a meritorious act.8
Xuanzang mentions that these objects were considered relics of the Dharma (dharmaśarīra). Buddhist scripture came to be identified as a type of relic of the Buddha from the time of early Mahāyāna discourse, according to which worshipping the words of the Buddha was considered to be equivalent, if not superior, to worshipping the Buddha himself.9 Canonical sources, such as the Rice Seedling Sūtra (Toh 210), have furthermore equated dependent arising with the Dharma itself.10 Thus, inserting or inscribing the verse of dependent arising empowers an object just as a fragment of the Buddha’s remains would.11 Included in the Tibetan text of this sūtra is the Sanskrit transliteration of the verse, implying that they were used like a mantra or dhāraṇī;12 the Sanskrit syllables are considered potent in their own right as a manifestation of the Dharma and thus of the Buddha himself.
The sūtra is found in three places within the Degé Kangyur: in the General Sūtra section (Toh 212), the Action Tantra section (Toh 520), and the Dhāraṇīs (Toh 980).131313 In two of those locations, it is followed by duplicates of a short separate text (Toh 521, Toh 981)14 containing the verse of dependent arising, which is also, of course, cited in numerous other texts. To date we do not know of any extant Sanskrit original version of the sūtra,15 and although there appear to be a few minor spelling mistakes and inconsistencies found in some versions, there are no significant variations among the available Tibetan texts. One modern translation of the sūtra that should be mentioned is that of Peter Skilling, who published it along with some helpful notes on it in his 2021 collection, Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.16
Thus did I hear at one time.[F.58.b] The Blessed One was in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods, seated on the throne of Indra. With him were great hearers such as the venerable Aśvajit; bodhisattva mahāsattvas such as noble Maitreya, noble Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi, who were adorned with immeasurable precious qualities; as well as various gods such as the great Brahmā, who is the lord of the Sahā world, Nārāyaṇa, the great Īśvara, Śakra, who is the chief of the gods, and Pañcaśikha, who is the king of the gandharvas.
On that occasion, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara rose from his seat and, having draped his upper robe over one shoulder, knelt down with his right knee on the peak of Mount Meru. His palms together, he then bowed toward the Blessed One and addressed to him these words:
“Blessed One, these gods all really wish to build a stūpa. Now that they are present in this entourage, please teach them the Dharma in such a way so that their merit of Brahmā[F.125.b] will increase, and the merit of the monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen will increase much more than that of all types of beings in the world of gods, māras, and Brahmā, including renunciants and brahmins.”[F.99.b]
At this, the Blessed One spoke the verses of dependent arising:
“Avalokiteśvara, it is like this. This dependent arising is the dharmakāya of all the tathāgatas. A person who sees dependent arising sees the Tathāgata. Avalokiteśvara, if a faithful son or daughter of a noble family, who has built in an uninhabited place a stūpa—even one no bigger than a gooseberry fruit, with a central pillar the size of a needle and a parasol the size of a flower of the bakula tree—inserts into it this verse of dependent arising which is the dharmadhātu, he or she will generate the merit of Brahmā. When such persons pass on from here and die, they will be reborn in the world of Brahmā. When they pass on from there and die, they will be reborn with fortunes equaling those of the gods of the Pure Abodes.”19
After the Blessed One had thus spoken, the hearers, bodhisattvas, the whole assembly, and the universe of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised his words.
This concludes the Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on Dependent Arising.
Translated and edited by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the principal editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.20
For the first, see Reat (1993) and Dharmasāgara Translation Group (2018); for the second, see Bien (2020). There is a famous commentary to the Pratītyasamutpādādivibhaṅganirdeśasūtra entitled the Pratītyasamutpādavyākhyā, attributed to Vasubandhu. For an overview of the content of this sūtra and its commentary, see Mejor (1997a, 1997b).
In the Mūlasarvāstivāda-vinaya, the story is told in the Pravrajyavastu, the first chapter of the Vinayavastu (Toh 1-1), Degé Kangyur vol. 1 (’dul ba, ka), folios 32b et seq. For a translation, see Miller (2018), 1.232 et seq. In the Pāli Canon, the same story is told in the Vinayapiṭaka (Mahāvagga I.23.1-10). See also Oldenberg (1997, pp 39-41).
It would nevertheless seem significant, in view of the story mentioned in the previous paragraph, that this sūtra makes specific mention of Aśvajit, his name (unusually) being the only individual one used to represent the group of hearer disciples in the assembly.
For a detailed study of the use of the concept of the merit of Brahmā in Buddhist inscriptions and textual sources, see Salomon and Schopen (1984). This article also includes a partial translation of the Pratītyasamutpādasūtra (see p 117).
See Sykes (1856), pp 40 and 48; and Skilling (2003). Both articles outline some locations in which this “creed” has been discovered and the linguistic variations found among them.
Bentor mentions that prominent Tibetan Buddhist figures such as Jetsün Trakpa Gyaltsen (rje btsun grags pa rgyal mtshan), the fifth Dalai Lama Ngawang Lobsang Gyatso (ngag dbang blo bzang rgya mtsho), and Jamgön Kongtrül Lodrö Thayé (’jam mgon kong sprul blo gros mtha ’yas) all list the verses on dependent arising (rten ’brel snying po) among the Five Great Dhāraṇīs (gzungs chen sde lnga) that are to be inserted into stūpas. See Bentor (1995), p 254.
The identification of the Dharma with the Buddha himself is expressed in multiple early canonical sources, including the Saṃyutta Nikāya (III, 120), of the Pāli sūtra canon (Suttapiṭaka), in which the Buddha states, “He who sees the Dharma, Vikkali, sees me. He who sees me, sees the Dharma.” (yo kho vakkali dhammaṃ passati so maṃ passati, yo maṃ passati so dhammaṃ passati). Ibid., p 2.
dge slong dag sus rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba mthong ba des chos mthong ngo/ sus chos mthong ba des sangs rgyas mthong ngo, “Bhikṣus, whoever sees dependent arising sees the Dharma. Whoever sees the Dharma sees the Buddha.” (Dharmasāgara Translation Group, 2018, 1.3). For available editions of the relevant passage, see Reat (1993), p 27.
This equivalence is made explicit in another sūtra preserved in Chinese, which may in fact be a slightly longer version of the same sūtra, titled Sūtra on the Merit of Building a Stūpa by the Buddha. Boucher (1991), pp 8-9, provides a full translation of this sūtra.
This is also attested, of course, by the inclusion of a copy of this work (as Toh 980) in the gzungs ’dus (Dhāraṇī) section of the Kangyur.
The present text (Toh 980), and all those contained in the same volume (gzungs ’dus, waM), are listed as being located in volume 101 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 102. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the present volume, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.
There is a version in Sanskrit, available on the internet and originally published by P.L Vaidya (Mahāyāna-sūtra-saṁgraha, part I, Buddhist Sanskrit Texts 17, Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1961, p 119), which he reproduced from N. Aiyaswami Sastri (in Ārya Śālistamba Sūtra, Pratītyasamutpādavibhaṅgha Sūtra and Pratītyasamudtpādagāthā Sūtra, Śāntiniketan: Adyar Library, 1950, pp 25-27). However, Sastri states that he back-translated his Sanskrit version from the Tibetan.
In the Toh 520 version of the text there is a slight discrepancy in the folio numbering between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings of the Degé Kangyur. Although the discrepancy is irrelevant here, further details concerning this may be found in n.17 of the Toh 520 version of this text.
In the Toh 520 version of the text there is a slight discrepancy in the folio numbering between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings of the Degé Kangyur. Although the discrepancy is irrelevant here, further details concerning this may be found in n.17 of the Toh 520 version of this text.
Two sets of folio references have been included in this translation due to a discrepancy in volume 88 (rgyud ’bum, na) of the Degé Kangyur between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings. In the latter case, an extra work, Bodhimaṇḍasyālaṃkāralakṣadhāraṇī (Toh 508, byang chub snying po’i rgyan ’bum gyi gzungs), was added as the second text in the volume, thereby displacing the pagination of all the following texts in the same volume by 17 folios. Since the eKangyur follows the later printing, both references have been provided, with the highlighted one linking to the eKangyur viewer.
There are multiple variations of this creed found throughout the Buddhist world. See Sykes (1856) and Skilling (2003).
This last sentence is omitted in the otherwise identical copies of the work found in the Tantra and Dhāraṇī sections of the Kangyur, Toh 520 and Toh 980, respectively.
Mention of the translators is omitted from the colophon in the versions Toh 520 and Toh 980 (see previous note).
One of the five ascetics who became the first disciples of the Buddha.
First appeared as a bodhisattva beside Amitābha in the Sukhāvativyūha. The name has been variously interpreted. “The lord of Avalokita,” Avalokita has been interpreted as “seeing,” although, as a past passive participle, it is literally “lord of what has been seen.” One of the principal sūtras in the Mahāsāṃghika tradition was the Avalokita Sūtra, which has not been translated into Tibetan, in which the word is a synonym for enlightenment, as it is “that which has been seen” by the buddhas. In the early tantras he was one of the lords of the three families, as the embodiment of the compassion of the buddhas. The Potalaka Mountain in South India became important in Southern Indian Buddhism as his residence in this world, but Potalaka does not feature in the Kāraṇḍavyūha.
Indian tree with a very fine flower.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
In combination with pratītyasamutpāda (in this text rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba chos kyi dbyings), the term dharmadhātu can refer to a type of Buddhist relic which is said to embody the essence of the Buddhist doctrine.
Dharmakāya or “body of dharma” refers to the Buddha’s realization of reality.
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.”
Epithet of the Buddha.
One of the most frequently used names for Śiva. A deity of the jungles, named Rudra in the Vedas, he rose to prominence in the Purāṇic literature at the beginning of the first millennium.
Male lay devotees who have taken the five precepts.
Female lay devotees who have taken the five precepts.
The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”
For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).
Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:
(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputramāra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
Brahmic merit or pure merit refers to an extraordinary type of merit which leads to rebirth in the realm of Brahmā.
The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.
In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).
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.
An alternate name for Viṣṇu. The Sanskrit is variously interpreted, including as “dwelling in water,” but is most obviously “the path of human beings.”
The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.
For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.
A gandharva known for playing the lute.
Name for the five highest levels of existence within the form realm.
Indian Buddhist name usually referring to the trichiliocosm, the world system that is the universe of ordinary beings, but sometimes only to our own world with four continents around Mount Meru. It means “endurance,” as beings there have to endure suffering.
The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.
Reliquary for the remains of the Buddha or holy beings that represents the body of the Buddha.
Name of a class of gods in the desire realm. There is also an associated heavenly realm, the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods, which is named after these.
A huge flat rock, Indra’s throne in the Realm of the Thirty-Three Gods; it is called Pāṇḍukambala, “like a blanket,” because it is made of a pale stone reminiscent of thick wollen cloth. Sakaki 7127 in the Mahāvyutpatti.
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.
’phags pa rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryapratītyasamutpādanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 212, Degé Kangyur, vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 125a–125b. Cf. also Toh 520, vol. 88 (rgyud ’bum, na), folios 41a–42a (in par phud printings), 58a–59a (in post par phud printings); and Toh 980, vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, waM), folios 99a–99b.
’phags pa rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba 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 Tripiṭaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006-2009, vol. 62, pp 342-344. Cf. also vol. 88, pp 183–185; and vol. 98, pp 324–326.
’phags pa rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba’i snying po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryapratītyasamutpādahṛdayanāma). Toh 521, Degé Kangyur, vol. 88 (rgyud ’bum, na), folio 42a (in par phud printings), 59a (in post par phud printings). Cf. also Toh 981, vol. 101 (gzungs ’dus, waM), folios 99b–100a. English translation in 84000 Translation Team (2024).
’phags pa rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba’i snying po 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 Tripiṭaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006-2009, vol. 88, p 187. Cf. also vol. 98, p 328.
84000 Translation Team. The Essence of Dependent Arising (Pratītyasamutpādahṛdaya, Toh 521). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
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Dharmasāgara Translation Group. The Rice Seedling (Śālistambhasūtra, Toh 210). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
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Mejor, Mareck. “On Vasubandhu’s Pratītyasamutpādavyākhyā.” In Agata Bareja-Starzyńska and Mareck Mejor (eds.). Aspects of Buddhism: Proceedings of the International Seminar on Buddhist Studies (June, 1994). Warsaw: Instytut Orientalistyczny, Uniwersytet Warszawski (1997b), pp 139-148.
Miller, Robert. The Chapter on Joining the Renunciate Order (Vinayavastu Pravrajyāvastu, Toh 1). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
Oldenberg, Hermann (ed.). The Vinayapiṭakaṃ: One of the Principal Buddhist Holy Scriptures in the Pāli Language, Vol. I: The Mahāvagga. Oxford: Pali Text Society (1997).
Reat, N. Ross. The Śālistamba Sūtra. Delhi: Banarsidas (1993).
Sakaki, Ryōzaburō (ed.). Mahāvyutpatti, 2 vols. Kyoto: Daigaku Shingonshū (1916 [1925]).
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Skilling, Peter. (2003). “Traces of the Dharma: Preliminary reports on some ye dhammā and ye dharmā inscriptions from Mainland South-East Asia.” In Bulletin de l’École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 90-91 (2003-2004), pp 273-287.
Skilling, Peter. (2021) Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras. Somerville: Wisdom Publications.
Sykes, Lieutenant-Colonel. “On the Miniature Chaityas and Inscriptions of the Buddhist Religious Dogma, Found in the Ruins of the Temple of Sárnáth, near Benares.” In Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (1856), vol. 16, pp 37-53.
