The Eight Maidens’ Praise of Mañjuśrī, Lord of Speech
Toh 552
Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 15.b–16.a
Imprint
Translated by the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2023
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements
Translated by David Mellins, Kaia Fischer, and Geshé Lobsang Dawa, with Phakyab Rinpoche (Geshé Ngawang Sungrab), under the auspices of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York. Introduction by David Mellins and Kaia Fischer. Special thanks to Paul Hackett for generously sharing his bibliographic expertise and resources. This translation would not have been possible without the kind and dedicated tutelage of Gen Lozang Jamspal, Executive Director, Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Introduction
This scripture is a praise to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. Each of the eight maidens indicated by the title may be inferred as each speaking a different verse, together providing a range of perspectives. These figures do not themselves appear in the body of the text, which lacks an introductory narrative. The first two verses are praises of Mañjuśrī’s radiance. The third verse praises the glittering jewels of his uṣṇīṣa, the fourth his ambrosial voice, the fifth his purifying agency, the sixth his fearsome appearance and manner, the seventh his beatific visage, and the eighth verse concludes the encomium with a presentation of immense offerings. While the text is relatively straightforward in its description of Mañjuśrī’s physical and metaphysical attributes, it has several striking turns of phrase that present his features as indicative of the teachings themselves, which serve to inform devotional practice.
This popular praise appears twice in the Tengyur in the works of Saṃvarabhadra. The opening verse appears in his A Ritual for Offering a Maṇḍala (Maṇḍalavidhi, Toh 2121), and the scripture in its entirety is found in his A Sādhana of “Reciting the Names of Mañjuśrī” (Āryamañjuśrīnāmasaṅgītisādhana, Toh 2108). The opening verse has also been cited by prominent masters from all the major schools of Tibetan Buddhism and continues to be found in prayer liturgies memorized and recited by monastics to this day.
The text’s absence from the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial catalogs suggests that it was translated into Tibetan later than the beginning of the ninth century ᴄᴇ,1 but before the flourishing of the scholar Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364), who listed its title in his History of Buddhism.2 The Tibetan translation lacks both a Sanskrit title and a colophon, so we have no information regarding its origin, transmission history, or translation into Tibetan. It also appears that the text was never translated into Chinese.
Text Body
The Translation
This concludes “The Eight Maidens’ Praise.”
Notes
Bibliography
Tibetan Sources
bu mo brgyad kyis bstod pa. Toh 552, Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud, pa), folios 15.b.6–16.a.4.
bu mo brgyad kyis bstod pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 89, pp. 64–65.
’jam dpal gyi sangs rgyas kyi zhing gi yon tan bkod pa (Mañjuśrībuddhakṣetraguṇavyūha). Toh 59, Degé Kangyur vol. 41 (dkon brtsegs, ga), folios 248.b–297.a. English Translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021.
’phags pa yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa chen po’i mdo (Āryamahāparinirvāṇasūtra). Toh 119, Degé Kangyur vol. 52 (mdo sde, nya), folios 1.b.1–343.a.6.
’phags pa sor mo’i phreng ba la phan pa zhes bya ba thegs pa chen po’i mdo (Āryāṅgulimālīyanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 213, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 126.a.1–206.b.7.
Saṃvarabhadra. maN+Dala gyi cho ga (Maṇḍalavidhi). Toh 2121, Degé Tengyur vol. 49 (rgyud ’grel, tshi), folios 161.a.4–161.b.5.
———. ’phags pa ’jam dpal gyi mtshan yang dag par brjod pa’i sgrub thabs (Āryamañjuśrīnāmasaṃgītisādhana). Toh 2108, Degé Tengyur vol. 49 (rgyud ’grel, tshi), folios 143.a.2–146.a.7.
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.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ʼphang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Western Language Sources
Clark, Walter Eugene. Two Lamaistic Pantheons. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1937.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Array of Virtues of Mañjuśrī’s Buddha Realm (Mañjuśrībuddhakṣetraguṇavyūha, Toh 59). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.
affliction
- nyon mongs
- ཉོན་མོངས།
- kleśa
delusion
- gti mug
- གཏི་མུག
- moha
Lord of Death
- gshin rje
- གཤིན་རྗེ།
- yama
Mañjughoṣa
- ’jam pa’i dbyangs
- འཇམ་པའི་དབྱངས།
- mañjughoṣa
Mañjuśrī
- ’jam dpal
- འཇམ་དཔལ།
- mañjuśrī