The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (1)
Chapter 19: Saṃjñeya, the Great General of the Yakṣas
Toh 555
Degé Kangyur, vol. 89 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 19.a–151.a
- Chödrup
Imprint
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2023
Current version v 1.2.4 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light has held great importance in Buddhism for its instructions on the purification of karma. In particular, much of the sūtra is specifically addressed to monarchs and thus has been significant for rulers—not only in India but also in China, Japan, Mongolia, and elsewhere—who wished to ensure the well-being of their nations through such purification. Reciting and internalizing this sūtra is understood to be efficacious for personal purification and also for the welfare of a state and the world.
In this sūtra, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu has a dream in which a prayer of confession emanates from a shining golden drum. He relates the prayer to the Buddha, and a number of deities then vow to protect it and its adherents. The ruler’s devotion to the sūtra is emphasized as important if the nation is to benefit. Toward the end of the sūtra are two well-known narratives of the Buddha’s previous lives: the account of the physician Jalavāhana, who saves and blesses numerous fish, and that of Prince Mahāsattva, who gives his body to a hungry tigress and her cubs.
This is the longest version of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light preserved in the Kangyur. It comprises thirty-one chapters and was translated into Tibetan primarily from Yijing’s Chinese translation in the early ninth century.
Acknowledgements
This sūtra was translated into English by Peter Alan Roberts. Ling Lung Chen, Wang Chipan, Xiaolong Diao, Ting Lee Ling, and H. S. Sum Cheuk Shing were consultants for the Chinese versions of the sūtra. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor. Tracy Davis was the copyeditor. With thanks to Michael Radich for sharing his research on the sūtra.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Zhang Da Da.
Text Body
The Sublime Golden Light, the Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras
Chapter 19: Saṃjñeya, the Great General of the Yakṣas
Then the great yakṣa general Saṃjñeya, together with twenty-eight yakṣa generals within that great assembly, rose from his seat, and with his robe over one shoulder, kneeling with his right knee on the ground, with palms together facing the Bhagavat, said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, wherever this Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light is taught and promulgated, in the present or in future times, whether in a village, in a town, in a market town, in a district, on a mountain, in a wilderness, in a forest, in a king’s palace, or in the dwelling place of the saṅgha, Bhagavat, I, the great yakṣa general Saṃjñeya, together with twenty-eight yakṣa generals, will go there. [F.117.b] Each of us will make our bodies invisible, and we will guard in every way that dharmabhāṇaka upādhyāya and the assembly that is listening to the Dharma so that harm will be eliminated, and they will always experience happiness.
“If any man, woman, boy, or girl who has the motivation to retain just one four-line verse from this sūtra, or retain just one line, or recite just the name of this king of sūtras, or recite just the name of one tathāgata or just the name of one bodhisattva that is taught in this sūtra, and with reverence honors and makes offerings to it, then I will guard them and bless1035 them, so that they will be free of harm, suffering will be dispelled, and they will attain happiness.
“Bhagavat, the cause and condition whereby I am called by the name Saṃjñeya,1036 Bhagavat, is that I have direct knowledge: I know the Dharmas, and I have a clear understanding of how many Dharmas there are, the nature of the Dharmas, the outer aspect1037 of the Dharmas, and their essence and all their particulars.
“Bhagavat, because I comprehend the Dharmas in that way, I possess an immeasurable illumination through wisdom, an inconceivable light of wisdom, an inconceivable lamp of wisdom, an inconceivable conduct of wisdom, and an inconceivable accumulation of wisdom, and I have realized an inconceivable range of wisdom.
“Bhagavat, because in that way I know correctly, have clearly realized correctly, have correctly comprehended, and have individually realized all Dharmas, Bhagavat, those are the causes and conditions [F.118.a] whereby I am called the great yakṣa general Saṃjñeya. And it is for that purpose that I make clear and adorn the eloquent words of the dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣu and introduce majesty and brilliance through all his pores so that he will have a powerful body, majesty, and courage; the entire, inconceivable light of his wisdom will reach perfection; he will attain perfect memory; he will never be disheartened; his body will benefit and never degenerate; and his senses will be blissful and he will always feel joy.
“Through those causes and conditions, for the sake of any beings who have planted good roots with many hundreds of thousands of buddhas and accomplished meritorious karma, I promulgate this sūtra widely so that it will not soon vanish, so that those beings will hear it and will attain an inconceivable great light of wisdom and an accumulation of merit, and in the future will experience inconceivable happiness among devas and humans for countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons, will constantly meet many buddhas, and will quickly attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood and not experience the unendurable suffering of the world of Yama and the three lower existences.”1038
Then Saṃjñeya, the great yakṣa general, said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I possess a dhāraṇī, and in order to benefit1039 beings and out of compassion for them, I will teach it today in the presence of the Bhagavat.”
Then he recited the mantra:
namo buddhāya | namo dharmāya | namaḥ saṃghāya | namo brahmāya |1040 nama indrāya | namaś caturnāṃ mahārājānāṃ | tadyathā | hili hili mili mili gauri mahāgauri gandhari mahāgandhari drimiḍi mahādrimiḍi daṇḍakhukhunti haha haha [F.118.b] hihi hihi huhu huhu halodhame gudhame caca caca cici cici cucu cucu caṇḍeśvara śikhara śikhara atiṣṭhāhe1041 bhagavān saṃvidjñāya1042 svāhā |
“I will honor anyone who retains this vidyāmantra with all the necessities for life, medicine, food, drink, clothing, flowers, fruits, and great marvelous jewels.
“If they seek a man, a woman, a boy, a girl, gold, silver, jewels, or jewelry, I will provide them all, exactly as they have wished for, without any decline or loss.
“Because this mantra has great power, when the mantra is repeated, I will quickly come there and accomplish what is wished for, without impediment.
“When they repeat this mantra, some kind of ritual should be performed. First of all, they should paint an image of the yakṣa Saṃjñeya four or five handspans in height, holding an axe in his hands. In front of that image, they should make a square maṇḍala and in its four corners place four vases filled with liquid honey or molasses, and make offerings with ointments, powders, incense, flowers, and garlands. Alternatively, they should make a hearth in front of the maṇḍala and, using charcoal, burn butter1043 and mustard seeds inside it, and repeat the previous mantra a hundred and eight times, making a burnt offering with each mantra repetition. Then I, the great yakṣa general, will myself come before them, revealing my body, and I will ask the person who has repeated the mantra, ‘What is it that you want?’ and ‘Tell me the things in your mind that you are wishing for!’ I will then perfect all the things that they seek, exactly as they have described. If they wish for gold, silver, or treasure, or wish to become a divine ṛṣi [F.119.a] and fly in the sky, or if they wish to have the higher cognition of divine sight, know the minds of others, or bring all beings to wished-for independence, the elimination of kleśas, and the swift attainment of liberation, I will perfect all of those.”
The Bhagavat then said to Saṃjñeya, the great general of the yakṣas, “It is excellent, excellent that in that way you have taught this vidyāmantra in order to benefit all beings, protected the Dharma, and benefited those who have infinite merit.”
This concludes “Saṃjñeya, the Great General of the Yakṣas,” the nineteenth chapter of “The Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light.”
Bibliography
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gser ’od dam pa’ i mdo. Toh 555, Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 19.a–151a.
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gser ’od dam pa mdo sde’i dbang po’i rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 557, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 1.a–62.a. English translation The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (3) 2024.
Hebu jin guangming 合部金光明經. Taishō 664 (CBETA, SAT). (Translation of Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra by Bao Gui 寶貴).
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Other References in English and Other Languages
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Translations
Emmerick, R. E. The Sūtra of Golden Light. Oxford: The Pali Text Society, 2004.
Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Sutra of Golden Light, 21-Chapter.
Nobel, Johannes. Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra, Das Goldglanz-Sutra, ein Sanskrittext des Mahayana Buddhismus. I-Tsing’s chinesische Version und ihre Übersetzung. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958.