གསེར་འོད་དམ་པའི་མདོ།
The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (1)
Notes
Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra
འཕགས་པ་གསེར་འོད་དམ་པ་མཆོག་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་རྒྱལ་བའི་མདོ་སྡེའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa gser ’od dam pa mchog tu rnam par rgyal ba’i mdo sde’i rgyal po theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light”
Toh 555
Degé Kangyur, vol. 89 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 19.a–151.a
ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
- 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 1.2.3 (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 Translation
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Sublime Golden Light, the Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras
The Sublime Golden Light, the Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras
Notes
The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (3) (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra, Toh 557).
The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (2) (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra, Toh 556).
dbu ma rin po che’i sgron ma (Madhyamakaratnapradīpa), Toh 3854.
(1) The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī (Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa, Toh 543), 2.129; (2) ral pa gyen brdzes kyi rtog pa chen po, byang chub sems dpa’ chen po’i rnam par ’phrul pa le’u rab ’byams las bcom ldan ’das ma ’phags ma sgrol ma’i rtsa ba’i rtog pa (Ūrdhvajaṭā-mahākalpamahābodhisattvavikurvaṇapaṭalavisarā bhāgavatī āryatārāmūlakalpa), Toh 724 vol. tsa, folio 239.a; (3) dkyil ’khor thams cad kyi spyi’i cho ga gsang ba’i rgyud (Sarvamaṇḍalasāmānyavidhiguhyatantra), Toh 806, folio 152.b. The citations in Toh 543 and 724 are identical, differing only in the terminology chosen by the texts’ respective Tibetan translators. In fact, significant portions of Toh 724 appear to be shared with Toh 543.
(1) Vinayadatta, sgyu ’phrul chen po’i dkyil ’khor gyi cho ga bla ma’i zhal snga’i man ngag (Gurūpadeśanāmamahāmāyāmaṇḍalopāyikā), Toh 1645, folio 209.a; (2) Bhavyakīrti, sgron ma gsal bar byed pa dgongs pa rab gsal zhes bya ba bshad pa’i ti ka (Pradīpoddyotanābhisaṁdhiprakāśikānāmavyākhyāṭīkā), Toh 1793, folio 201.a; (3) Pramuditākaravarman, gsang ba ’dus pa rgyud kyi rgyal po’i bshad pa zla ba’i ’od zer (Guhyasamājatantrarājaṭīkācandraprabhā), Toh 1852, folio 169.b; (4) Vitapāda, gsang ba ’dus pa’i dkyil ’khor gyi sgrub pa’i thabs rnam par bshad pa (Guhyasamājamaṇḍalopāyikāṭīkā), Toh 1873, folio 209.a; (5) Ānandagarbha, rdo rje dbyings kyi dkyil ’khor chen po’i cho ga rdo rje thams cad ’byung ba (Vajradhātumahāmaṇḍalopāyikāsarvavajrodaya), Toh 2516, folio 50.a; (6) Anonymous,’jam pa’i rdo rje ’byung ba’i dkyil ’khor gyi cho ga sems can thams cad kyi bde ba bskyed pa (Mañjuvajrodayamaṇḍalopāyikāsarvasattvahitāvahā). Toh 2590; (7) Kāmadhenu, ngan song thams cad yongs su sbyong ba gzi brjid kyi rgyal po zhes bya ba cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po chen po’i rgya cher ’grel pa (Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatejorājanāmamahākalparājaṭīkā), Toh 2625; (8) Ānandagarbha, de bzhin gshegs pa dgra bcom pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas ngan song thams cad yongs su sbyong ba gzi brjid kyi rgyal po zhes bya ba’i bshad pa (Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatejorājatathāgatārhatsamyaksaṃbuddhanāmakalpaṭīkā), Toh 2628, folio 73.a; (9) Sthiramati, rgyan dam pa sna tshogs rim par phye ba bkod pa (Paramālaṃkāraviśvapaṭalavyūha), Toh 2661, folio 322.b; (10) Sahajalalita, kun nas sgor ’jug pa’i ’od zer gtsug tor dri ma med par snang ba de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi snying po dang dam tshig la rnam par lta ba zhes bya ba’i gzungs kyi rnam par bshad pa (Samantamukhapraveśaraśmivimaloṣṇīṣaprabhāsasarvatathāgatahṛdayasamayavilokitanāmadhāraṇīvṛtti), Toh 2688, folio 292.b.
(1) Bodhisattva, kun nas sgor ’jug pa’i ’od zer gtsug tor dri ma med par snang ba’i gzungs bklag cing chod rten brgya rtsa brgyad dam mchod rten lnga gdab pa’i cho ga mdo sde las btus pa (Samantamukhapraveśaraśmivimaloṣṇīṣaprabhāsadhāraṇīvacanasūtrāntoddhṛtāṣṭottaraśatacaityāntarapañcacaityanirvapaṇavidhi), Toh 3068, folios 145.a, 151.b, 153.b; (2) Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna, dbu ma’i man ngag rin po che’i za ma tog kha phye ba zhes bya ba (Ratnakaraṇḍodghāṭanāmamadhyamakopadeśa), Toh 3930, folios 99.a, 115.a; (3) Śāntideva, bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya), Toh 3940, folios 3.a–194.b, 90.a–91.b, 122.a–123.b; (4) Vairocanarakṣita, bslab pa me tog snye ma (Śikṣākusumamañjarī), Toh 3943, folio 200.a; (5) Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna, byang chub lam gyi sgron ma’i dka’ ’grel (Bodhimārgapradīpapañjikā), Toh 3948, folio 20.b.
(1) Anonymous, gser ’od dam pa mdo sde dbang po’i smon lam (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrapraṇidhāna), Toh 4379; (2) Anonymous, rgyal po gser gyi lag pa’i smon lam (Rājasuvarṇabhujapraṇidhāna), Toh 4380.
(1) Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna, mngon par rtogs pa rnam par ’byed pa (Abhisamayavibhaṅga), Toh 1490, folio 201.a; (2) Āryadeva, spyod pa bsdud pa’i sgron ma (Caryāmelāpakapradīpa), Toh 1803, folio 106.a; (3) Mañjuśrīkīrti, ’jam dpal gyi mtshan yang dag par brjod pa’i rgya cher bshad pa (Mañjuśrināmasaṅgitiṭīka), Toh 2534, folio 217.b; (4) Haribhadra, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa’i bshad pa mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi snang ba (Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāvyākhyānābhisamayālaṃkārāloka), Toh 3791, folio 84.b; (5) Dharmakīrtiśrī, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan zhes bya ba’i ’grel pa rtogs par dka’ ba’i snang ba zhes bya ba’i ’grel bshad (Abhisamayālaṃkāranāmaprajñāpāramitopadeśaśāstravṛttidurbodhālokanāmaṭīkā), Toh 3794, folio 152.b; (6) Dharmamitra, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi tshig le’ur byas pa’i ’grel bshad tshig rab tu gsal ba (Abhisamayālaṃkārakārikāprajñāpāramitopadeśaśāstraṭīkā prasphuṭapadā), Toh 3796, folio 104.a.
(1) Āryadeva, Toh 1803, folio 217.b; (2) Haribhadra, Toh 3791, folio 84.b.
(1) Ekādaśanirghoṣa, rdo rje ’chang chen po’i lam gyi rim pa’i man ngag bdud rtsi gsang ba (Mahāvajradharapathakramopadeśāmṛtaguhya), Toh 1823, folio 274.a; (2) Yeshé Dé, lang kar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo’i ’grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan (Laṅkāvatāranāmamahāyānasūtravṛttitathāgatahṛdayālaṃkāra), Toh 4019, folios 29.a, 29.b, 152.b, 279.b, 302.a.
Termed the Navadharma (“Nine Dharmas”) or Navagrantha (“Nine Texts”), these works are (1) Prajñāpāramitā, (2) Gaṇḍavyūha, (3) Daśabhūmi, (4) Samādhirāja, (5) Laṅkāvatāra, (6) Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, (7) Lalitavistara, (8) Suvarṇaprabhāsa, and (9) Tathāgatagūhya. See Lewis (1993), 327, n. 15.
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 248.
Emmerick 2004, p. xxi.
Emmerick 2004, p. xii.
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 1028.
Tyomkin 1995, p. 30.
Paltsek, gsung rab rin po che’i gtam rgyud dang shA kya’i rabs rgyud, Toh 4357, folios 273.a and 331.b.
Yeshé Dé, lang kar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo’i ’grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan, Toh 4019, folios 29.a, 29.b, 152.b, 279.b, 302.a.
This is his name as given in The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism (p. 996). His name is variously given elsewhere as Wonchuk, Wen Tsheg, Yuance, Yuan Tso, and in Tibetan translation as Dzoksal (rdzogs gsal).
The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, p. 189.
Putting an End to Karmic Obscurations (Karmāvaraṇapratipraśrabdhi, Toh 219).
No Sanskrit title is given since this version was translated from the Chinese. The rendering of the Chinese title varies in different editions of the Kangyur. The Degé has tā shin kyin kwang myutsa’i shin wang kyin. The Yongle has ta’i ching gim gom mang dza’i shing wang gyi. The Kangxi has ta’i ching gin grom ming dza’i shing wang gying. The Narthang reads de’i shing ki ma kwang med dzwa’i shing wang kyang. The Lhasa version has tā shin kyin kwang mya ru tsa’i shin wa da kyin. These appear to be variants as a result of differing regional pronunciations and scribal corruptions of what would now be written as Da cheng jin guang ming zui sheng wang jing 大乘金光明最勝王經. Zhiyi智顗 (538–97), a.k.a. Tiantai zhizhe dashi 天台智者大師, writing in his commentary on this sūtra titled Jin guang ming jing xuan yi 金光明經玄義, cited Paramārtha (a.k.a. Zhendi 真諦) in giving the Sanskrit pronunciation of the title of the sūtra as Xiu ba na po po po yu do mo yin tuo luo zhe yue na xiu duo luo 修跋拏婆頗婆欝多摩因陀羅遮閱那修多羅, presumably transcribing Suvarṇaprabhāsottamarājasūtraṃ. The CBETA collection appears to concur.
In the eKangyur version that supports this web display, 19.a is a blank folio that corresponds to the blank folio found in the Degé edition, which is numbered 19.b.
There have been two ways to interpret this traditional beginning of a sūtra, with Indian masters such as Kamalaśīla claiming that both are equally correct. The alternative interpretation is “Thus did I hear: at one time the Bhagavān …” and so on. The various arguments, both traditional and modern, for either side are given by Brian Galloway in “Thus Have I Heard: At one time…,” Indo-Iranian Journal 34, Issue 2 (April 1991): 87–104.
In BG and TWC this is followed by a sentence not included in YJ. All details about the entourage are omitted; the chapter proceeds to verses.
YJ has 能善調伏 (“good at taming”).
YJ has 己利 (“benefit for oneself”).
Narthang reads “who had reached great independence.”
F.19.b is blank in the Degé edition.
YJ has 百千萬億, which literally means “one hundred times one thousand times ten thousand times one hundred thousand.” Thus, one hundred trillion. 億 is defined as “one hundred thousand.”
YJ reads 眾所知識 (“well known by all”); “nobility” is absent.
YJ has 超諸靜慮 (“transcended all mental activities”).
YJ reads 成就大智，具足大忍 (“accomplished great wisdom and possessed great forbearance”).
YJ has 弘誓心 (“great vows”).
The text has only the first half of the name, equivalent to Avalokita. By contrast, Toh 556 has a lengthened kun tu spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug, equivalent in back translation to Samantāvalokiteśvara.
Toh 556 has the shorter Gaṃbhīrasagararāja.
Toh 556 reads Ratnaketu.
Toh 556 has Mahāratnaketu.
Toh 556 has Mahādharmasthāma.
Toh 556 reads Viśuddhamati.
Toh 556 has Viryadhīra.
Toh 556 has Unnatanandarāja.
Toh 556 reads Mahāmeghadharmadhara.
Toh 556 has Mahāmeghānantakīrtiśarada.
Toh 556 reads Mahāmegharatnaśrī.
Toh 556 has Mahāmeghaprajñāsamantavarṣa.
YJ has 無量大菩薩 (“an immeasurable number of bodhisattvas”).
YJ has 五億八千 (“508,000”). Here defining 億 as “one hundred thousand.”
YJ has 皆發弘願護持大乘，紹隆正法能使不絕 (“They all made a great vow to protect and uphold the Mahāyāna, and to maintain the correct Dharma and make it prosper, such that it will not cease”).
Toh 556 reads Vaiśravaṇa (rnam thos kyi bu).
kumbhāṇḍas is not in the Chinese version.
Rather than listing the court and queens separately, YJ reads 中宮后妃 (“the queen and imperial consorts of the court”).
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has rab tu ’dzum pa (“completely shut”), which is evidently a scribal corruption in the Tibetan from rab tu mi ’dzum pa, a standard expression for gazing fixedly in adoration.
Rather than “The buddhas in the four directions / Will bestow their blessing,” YJ reads 並四方四佛，威神共加護 (“The buddhas in the four directions / Will together protect it with their mighty power”).
YJ has 我復演妙法，吉祥懺中勝，能滅一切罪，淨除諸惡業。(“The supreme Dharma that I have explained / Is auspicious and the best of all confessions. / It is capable of diminishing all sins / And cleansing all bad karma”).
YJ reads 一切智根本，諸功德莊嚴 (“It is the root of all wisdom / Adorned by all merits”).
The other versions of the sūtra have an additional line between the first and the second lines, “Whose lives are in decline and ending,” as does the equivalent Sanskrit and the Chinese. Sanskrit: sattvā naṣṭā hatāyuṣaḥ. YJ has 壽命將減損 (“whose lifespan will decrease”); BG and TWC do not have the auxiliary verb將 (“will”). The Tibetan translation of this version of the sūtra appears to have lost this line.
BG and TWC include an additional line, which reads 王法所加 (“who are punished under the king’s laws”).
YJ has 於此妙經王，甚深佛所讚，專注心無亂，讀誦聽受持 (“On this king of all sublime sutras, / Which is profound and praised by buddhas, / They should concentrate with an undisturbed mind; / They should read, recite, listen to, and retain it.”)
In Sanskrit this is tridaśendra (“Lords of the Thirty”), referring to the Trāyāstriṃśā paradise on the summit of Meru, which is ruled by Indra. In the Toh 556 version, his name is Devendra (“lord of devas”). YJ has 帝釋主, a translation referring either to tridaśendra or śakra. BG and TWC have三十三天 (“Thirty-Three Celestials”).
In Sanskrit, the last three lines of this verse read, “With the greatly powerful lords of the kinnaras, / And similarly with the lords of the garuḍas, / And the hosts of yakṣas, gandharvas, and pannas (serpents, i.e., nāgas).”
Toh 556 and 557 have, in addition, “And by kinnaras, asuras, and yakṣas.” YJ has the third and fourth lines as 常為諸天人，龍神所恭敬 (“Will be continuously revered / By devas, humans, and nāgas”). BG and TWC read slightly differently from YJ, which has “… devas and the eight classes [of nāgas].”
In YJ, 諸佛之所讚 (“praised by the buddhas”) modifies the people rather than the sūtra.
YJ translates Ruciraketu as 妙幢, while BG and TWC translate this name as 信相.
spyod pa. Toh 556: yang dag par par blangs te gnas par gyur. Toh 557: yang dag par blangs par gyur. YJ matches Toh 555:行十善道 (“practiced the path of the ten good actions”). BG and TWC have 具足十善 (“perfected all ten good actions”).
YJ has 髓 (“marrow”).
In Toh 556, the house is made of beryl. BG and TWC have 天紺琉璃 (“celestial blue beryls”). YJ has 帝青琉璃 (“Indranīlamuktā blue beryls”).
Toh 555 has bzhin (“like”) in error for bzhir (“in the four”). All three Chinese versions have “four.”
自然 (“spontaneously”) is absent in YJ but present in BG and TWC.
“Were free of all distress” is absent in YJ. YJ instead reads 無有乏少 (“… and nothing was lacking”).
Sanskrit: “the bodhisattva mahāsattva.” TWC, BG, and YJ are the same as Toh 555, having just “bodhisattva.”
YJ adds 汝今不應思忖如來受命長短，何以故？善男子 (“You should not think of the length of the lifespan of the Tathāgata Sakyamuni. Why? Noble one!”).
According to Toh 557 and the Sanskrit.
In TWC, this verse is followed by a short summary, and the chapter concludes with the disappearance of the four tathāgatas. TWC has no further teachings on the Buddha’s lifespan and the fact that he does not pass into nirvāṇa. BG includes the teachings on lifespan but does not contain the teaching on the Buddha’s not passing into nirvāṇa.
BG includes a list of four: 生苦想、希有想、未曾有想、憂愁想 (“thoughts of life and of suffering, of something being rare, of something not having existed before, and of grief and distress”).
YJ has 為人解說，不生謗毀 (“will explain the teachings to others and not blame or criticize those teachings”). 為人解說 is absent in BG.
BG also includes 不生希有想，憂愁想，未曾有想 (“would not have thoughts of the teachings being rare, would not have thoughts of grief and distress, and would not have thoughts of the teachings being something that never existed before”).
為人宣說 (“teach others”) is absent in BG.
YJ and BG have 父母 (“parents”) instead of “father.”
BG does not include “father” here.
BG does not have “and would do so with diligence and without idleness.”
YJ has “bodhisattva mahāsattva.”
YJ has 無量億那庾多百千眾生 (“countless hundreds of thousands of nayutas”).
BG has 彼等諸佛世尊 (“those world-honored buddhas”).
BG does not include “in order to benefit beings, to dispel the obstacle of famine, and to bring happiness.”
Rather than “those teachers of devas and humans,” BG has 四方四佛世尊 (“those four buddhas in the four directions”).
BG does not include “in order to bring benefit and happiness to all beings.” In YJ this line reads 善哉！善哉！彼四如來乃能為諸眾生饒益安樂，勸請於我宣揚正法 (“It is excellent, excellent that those four tathāgatas have requested me to expound the true Dharma in order to bring benefit and happiness to all beings”).
This verse is absent in the Sanskrit and in Toh 557.
This verse is absent in the Sanskrit and in Toh 557.
This line shows significant variation across sources and is difficult to interpret precisely. The translation here follows the Chinese in regarding kauṇḍinya as the brahmin’s family name (姓). This brahmin is then“named (名曰) the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa" (法師授記). The Tibetan sources for Toh 555 appear to take kauṇḍinya as the brahmin’s proper name and treat the rest of the phrase as descriptive, reading "The brahmin named Kauṇḍinya who was prophesied by a/the Dharma master (bram ze kauN+Di n+ya chos kyi slob dpon gyis lung bstan pa). To further complicate matters, the Degé version of Toh 555 also declines kauṇḍinya in the instrumental, which would result in the reading "the brahmin prophesied by the Dharma master Kauṇḍinya.” The Kangxi, Lhasa, Narthang, Stok Palace, and Yongle versions of Toh 555 lack this instrumental declension. Toh 556 and 557 render this figure’s name more simply as slob dpon lung ston pa bram ze kauN+Di n+ya, which can be interpreted to mean “the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, the Dharma master Vyākāraṇa.” The extant Sanskrit reads ācāryavyākaraṇaprāptaḥ kauṇḍinyo nāma brāhmaṇaḥ, which could be taken to mean “The brahmin named Kauṇḍinya who had obtained a prophecy from a/the Dharma master.” The Sanskrit line includes the term “obtained” (prāpta), which is not attested in the Chinese and Tibetan sources.
BG has 壽命八十應般涅槃 (“passing into nirvana at the age of eighty”).
BG adds 與百千婆羅門眾俱從坐起 (“rising from his seat together with hundreds of thousands of brahmins”).
BG here adds 令眾生快樂清涼 (“as you delight beings, making them feel pure and serene”).
BG has 如日照於優陀延山 (“like the sun shining on the mountain of Udayana”).
YJ transcribes the Sanskrit as 梨車毘 (li che pi). By contrast, TWC has 栗車毘 (li che pi) but interprets this to be the name of a kingdom. As a result, in this version the youth is addressed as “prince” from this point forward.
BG adds that the prince is skilled in debate.
Rather than “prayer,” BG has 恩德 (“benefit,” “favor”), and YJ has 願 (“wish,” “boon”).
BG has “prince.” All variations in the Chinese versions are probably translated from the Sanskrit kumāra, which means either “young man” or “prince.”
Toh 555 has dmangs rigs, which is the standard translation for śūdra, the lowest of the four social classes of India, which would contradict their being called “brahmins” elsewhere. Yongle and Narthang have smad rims, which may be a corruption of smad rigs (“low class”). YJ has 邊鄙之人 (“lowly people from the borderlands”). Toh 556 has “brahmins.” BG has 邊國婆羅門 (“brahmins from the borderlands”), which alligns the extant Sanskrit, pratyantadvīpikānām brāhmaṇānām.
BG has 我等邉國婆羅門作如此說 (“we brahmins from the borderlands made such a claim”).
BG reads 若善男子及善女人得佛舍利 (“if a noble man or a noble woman obtains a buddha’s relic”).
BG has 置小塔中 (“put it in a small stūpa”).
BG reads 作六天主 (“master of six heavens”).
BG has 汝今云何而不願供養舍利，求此報邪? (“Now, why do you not want to make offerings to the relic and wish for this good karma?”).
According to the Tibetan ’jol mo. Toh 556 has “cuckoo” (khu byug from the Sanskrit kokila). YJ translates this as 黃鳥 (“yellow bird”), one of many translations of kokila. BG has a transliteration of kokila: 拘枳羅 (gou zhi luo).
Here the verses in BG begin to differ significantly. This verse reads 設使龜毛等，可以為衣裳 ，佛身非虛妄，終無有舍利 (“Even if the hair of a tortoise and so forth / Could be used for clothing, / The Buddha’s body is not illusory in that way, / And ultimately there is no relic”).
BG has 假令蚊蚋脚，可以作城樓，如來寂靜 (真實 in some of its editions) 身，無有舍利事 (“Even if the legs of flies / Could be used to build towers, / The Tathāgata’s body is awakening, / And there is no relic”).
BG has 假令水蛭蟲，口中生白齒，如來解脫身，終無繫縛色 (“Even if leeches / Grow white teeth in their mouths, / The Tathāgata’s body is liberated, / And ultimately it is without bonds”).
BG reads 兔角為梯橙，從地得昇天，邪思惟 (佛 in some of its editions) 舍利，功德無是處 (“Even if a hare’s horns are used to create a ladder / From the ground up to heaven, / This is a false idea about the Buddha’s relic, / So no merit is gained from it.”)
BG has 鼠登兔角梯，蝕月除修羅，依舍利盡惑，解脫無是處 (“Even if a mouse climbs the hare-horn ladder / And obscures the moon and attacks the asuras, / One depending on a relic to diminish their doubts / Will not gain liberation”).
YJ has 廣造於舍宅 (“visits many different houses”).
BG reads 如蠅大醉酒，不能造窠穴，於佛無正行，不能至三乘 (“Even if a fly becomes drunk / And is unable to return to its roost, / Depending on relics constitutes a wrong action toward the Buddha / And one will not attain the three vehicles.”)
BG has 如驢但飽食，終無有伎能，歌舞令他樂，凡夫、二乘等，能說及能行，自他無是處 (“If a donkey who eats his fill, / And has no other skills whatsoever, / Sings and dances to make others cheerful, / Then unenlightened worldlings and followers of the two vehicles / Can speak about and embody / The impossibility of self and other.”)
BG reads 假使烏與鵄，同時一樹栖，和合相愛念，如來真實體，舍利虛妄身，俱有無是處 (“Even if a crow and an owl / Sit side by side / And show love and affection for one another, / The Tathāgata’s body is real, / The relic’s nature is illusory, / So it is impossible that the relic is actual”).
BG has 如波羅奈葉，不能遮風雨，於佛起虛妄，生死終不滅 (“Just like the leaves of the palash tree / Cannot become a shelter from wind and rain, / If one has deceptive thoughts of the Buddha, / Life and death will not be extinguished”).
BG has 新生女人力，執著無是處，法身無邊際，不淨地煩惱，不能攝如來，其義亦如是 (“Even if for a newborn and a woman / Attachment were impossible, / The Dharma body is limitless, / And people of defiled lands possess kleśas, / Such that they cannot approach the Tathāgata. / The meaning is like this.”)
Toh 556 has “owl.” YJ has 鷦鷯鳥 (“wren”). BG has 鳥雀 (“sparrow”).
BG has 譬如諸鳥雀，不能銜香山 (Like birds and sparrows / Cannot pick up the Gandhamādana Mountain with their beaks”).
This line is absent in BG.
BG adds 煩惱依法身，不為煩惱動，如是如來身，甚深難思量。若不如法觀，所願不成就 (“Even if the kleśas support the Dharma body, / It is undisturbed by such kleśas. / Such a body of the Tathāgata is difficult to conceive. / If one does not view it according to Dharma, / One’s aspirations will not be accomplished.”)
BG has 汝真佛子 (“You are the real son of the Buddha”).
BG has 於理不動，已獲正記 (“Being grounded in truth, / You have been prophesied.”)
This line is absent in BG.
BG adds 本來寂靜 (“originally quiescent”).
BG reads 金剛不毀，內外無礙 (“The Bhagavat’s body is indestructible like a vajra, / And it is unobstructed inside and out”).
In the Sanskrit for Toh 557, it is nirmitakāya, synonymous with nirmāṇakāya. Both are translated as sprul pa’i sku in Tibetan and 化身 in Chinese.
YJ has 正覺 (“enlightenment” or “the enlightened one”).
Dhātu is the word for “relic,” “realm,” “element,” “essential constituent,” and so on.
YJ has 此是真佛身 (“This is the true body of the Buddha”).
There is a verse that follows in other versions that is absent in Toh 555. It translates as “I, having heard and understood that, / Made the request for that which is sublime. / I have spoken in that way / In order to reveal the truth.” This verse is absent in YJ but included in BG, along with two additional lines reiterating why Brahmin Kaụṇḍinya requested a relic.
BG has 常無破壞 (“is always free from destruction”).
After this verse, BG ends the chapter with the following: 是時，信相菩薩從諸如來及二大士聞說釋迦壽命義已，得滿所願，心無疑惑，踴躍歡喜，身心快樂，內外遍滿。爾時，復有無量阿僧祇等諸眾生類，聞說是義，於無上道皆得發心，時四如來忽然不現，是大會中惟釋迦在. (“At that time, after hearing this teaching on the lifespan of the Buddha from the tathagatas and the two mahāsattvas, Ruciraketu felt satisfied and had no doubt in his mind. He was uplifted and delighted, feeling happy physically and mentally. At that time, there were also countless beings who heard these teachings. They all aspired toward the unsurpassable path to enlightenment. Then, the four tathāgatas suddenly disappeared, and only the Buddha himself was present at the assembly”).
According to the instrumental kyis in the Yongle and Kangxi versions and in Toh 556. Toh 555 in the Degé has the genitive kyi.
According to Toh 556. “Benefiting” is not present in Toh 555 or the Chinese versions.
Rather than “therefore, today I will make them discern and understand, and then liberate them,” YJ has 我今開悟，令其解脫 (“I am now enlightened, so I will liberate them”).
YJ has 為任運利益有情 (“in order to spontaneously benefit beings”). “Spontaneously” is missed in the Tibetan.
According to rkyen in the Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions. Degé has skyon (“faults”). YJ adds 機緣 (“conditions, opportunities”).
YJ reads 於一切處鏡智現前, 無有分別 (“the wisdom that is like a mirror is manifested everywhere, and though it is without discrimination…”).
According to Toh 556 phan pa and YJ. Toh 555 has sman par (“as medicine”).
This chapter is absent in TWC. The version of this chapter included in BG was translated by 真諦 (Paramārtha).
This sentence is absent in BG.
YJ adds 處相應 (“in accordance with the place”).
This question is absent in BG.
Toh 556 reads “to enable bodhisattvas to have unimpeded attainment.” YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555: 得通達 (“attain realization”).
According to Toh 556 and Choné rnams. Degé has dang. YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555: 歡喜 (“happy”).
The Chinese versions add 至於究竟 (“until the ultimate end”).
The Chinese versions add 一切佛法 (“all the teachings of the Buddha”).
Toh 556 reads “empty reflections.” YJ and BG have 空 (“emptiness,” “space”).
Toh 556 specifies the enjoyment body and emanation body. The Chinese is the same as Toh 555: BG has 二身, and YJ has 二種身. Both of these mean “two kinds of body.”
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has only “nondual,” which is in agreement with YJ and BG, which read 不二 (“nondual”).
“Childlike” is absent in YJ and BG.
According to the more standard translation of these terms as given in Toh 556. Toh 555 has “three minds,” which accords with YJ and BG’s 三心 (“three minds”): the mind that adopts actions, the mind that is based on the root, and the root mind.
Toh 556 has “purification” or “training.” The Chinese agrees with Toh 555 but has the plural form 諸伏道 (“the path of many trainings”).
Toh 556 has “emanation body”; YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555.
Toh 556 has “enjoyment body”; YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555.
Toh 556 has “Dharma body”; YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555.
Toh 556 has “transcends.” This matches 過 in the Chinese versions.
YJ and BG have 是真實有無依處故 (“is truly existent because it is not based on anything”), which stands in contrast to the first two bodies, which are described as 假有 (“not truly existent,” “merely designations”).
Toh 556 has “bodies.” YJ and BG have “bodies” and include both常 (“permanence”) and 無常(“impermanence”).
Toh 556 has “in accordance with eons.” YJ is the same as Toh 555: 隨緣利益. This phrase is absent in BG.
Toh 556: “duality.” YJ and BG match Toh 555: 二無所有 (“nonduality”).
Toh 556: “are inseparable, with no gap between them.” YJ and BG are similar to Toh 556, but the first half could be interpreted as meaning either “cannot be examined, differentiated” or “are inseparable”: 不可分別, 無有中間.
“Though there is nothing to call ‘conduct’ in this” is absent in the Chinese versions.
BG omits 種種事業 (“various deeds”).
BG has 實 (“reality”) instead of 我 (“self”).
BG has 佛大十力 (“the Buddha’s great ten strengths”).
Toh 556: “unstained by characteristics.” YJ and BG match Toh 555: 不著於相 (“no attachment to characteristics”).
This line is absent in BG.
This line is absent in BG.
Toh 556: “dullness.” BG and YJ match Toh 555: 悔 (“regret”).
Toh 556: “obscuration by the kleśas.” The Chinese versions are similar to Toh 556: BG has 不逼惱困苦障, while YJ has 不逼惱障. In his commentary on YJ entitled 《金光明最勝王經疏》, Hui Zhao interprets it as “three kinds of kleśas that are obscurations to the development of three kinds of patience” in general, or 闇鈍障 (“obscurations caused by ignorance”).
Toh 556 has “perceiving characteristics and virtuous conduct.” YJ and BG have 見行相障 (“obscurations of perceiving characteristics”). Hui Zhao interprets this as “subtle obscurations to seeing the cessation and arising of characteristics.”
YJ has 與煩惱離 (“… not mixed with the kleśas”). BG has 煩惱本起，悉皆清淨 (“… is where the kleśas originally arise, yet it is pure”).
Past tense according to Toh 556. Toh 555 could be present or future. The Chinese versions have no indication of tense.
This line is omitted in BG.
Past tense according to Toh 556. Toh 555 could be present or future. The Chinese versions could be understood to be the present perfect tense.
Toh 556 has “body.” YJ and BG have 體, which is a pictographic character for “body” but can also mean “essence.”
BG has 逆流而上 (“moves against the current”).
This sentence is absent in BG.
Toh 556 has “body.” YJ and BG have 體, which is a pictographic character for “body” but can also mean “essence.”
Toh 556 has “aspiration.” YJ is similar to Toh 555: 決定信 (“unshakable faith”). This line is absent in BG.
This sentence is absent in BG.
The Chinese versions omit “weak.”
The reason why the rabbit cannot go across the sea is omitted in BG. YJ adds 凡夫之人亦复如是 (“those ordinary people are also like this”), which is absent in BG.
Toh 556 has “perfectly at peace.” The Chinese versions agree with Toh 555.
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 omits “sickness,” which is in accord with YJ and BG.
For “vicious spirits” Toh 555 has ’dre srin. Toh 556 has yi dwags. YJ has “vicious animals, vicious humans, and vicious spirits.” BG has “vicious humans, vicious elephants, and vicious animals.”
YJ and BG have 如來無無記事，一切境界無欲知心 (“the tathāgatas do not have anything that they do not retain, and they do not generate thoughts to know any object”). Hui Zhao explains that the second phrase corresponds to the power of nonregression or nondiminution of aspiration, 欲無減, which is one of the eighteen distinctive abilities of a buddha.
如來所記無不決定, which Hui Zhao interprets as “the tathāgatas have no uncertainty, regardless of what they teach.”
善女人 (“noble women”) is absent in BG.
As above, 善女人 (“noble women”) is absent in BG.
“… of the individuals who possess this sūtra” is absent in BG.
phan. Toh 555 has the error sman (“medicine”). YJ and BG read 利益 (“benefit”), thus matching Toh 556.
如是修行 (“practice in this manner”).
YJ has 夢見金鼓懺悔品 (“Seeing a Golden Drum in a Dream: Regret and Repentance”). BG and TWC have 懺悔品 (“Regret and Repentance”).
The first two sentences are present in YJ but absent in BG.
“Carrying objects for offering” is absent in BG.
BG omits “spread out flowers and perfume.”
“Spread through all world realms in the trichiliocosm” is absent in BG.
BG adds 三世諸苦 (“and the suffering in past, present, and future lives”).
YJ has 令安穩 (“bring calm and tranquility”). BG has 令得無懼 (“result in the attainment of fearlessness”).
After “just as it has been for the Lord of Munis, the Bhagavat,” BG adds 得無所畏 (“obtaining fearlessness”).
BG has 諸佛聖人，所成功德，離於生死，到大智岸 (“The virtues accomplished by all buddhas and sages / Who stand apart from saṃsāra and have reached the shore of great wisdom”).
BG has 如是眾生，所得功德，定及助道，猶如大海 (Thus the merits, dhyānas, and practices / Of all beings are like the oceans”).
“Be freed from suffering” is absent in BG. Instead it has 所出言教 (“the teachings that emerged”) as an object of “hearing.”
BG has 百生、千生、千萬億生 (“a hundred, a thousand, up to a countless number of lifetimes”).
“Pray one-pointedly with devotion” is absent in BG. Instead it has 隨其所思，諸所願求 (“and the requests and wishes they conceive”) as objects of “fulfilling” in the verse.
“On hearing the sound” is absent in BG.
BG has 若有眾生，諸苦所切，三惡道報，及以人中 (“If there are beings tormented by all forms of suffering, / Such as the retribution of the three lower existences or being born as a human”).
In the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, the parallel to this verse is the following verse and vice versa. In the Chinese versions, YJ is the same as Toh 555; BG and TWC are the same as the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557.
Toh 556 and 557 have “ignoring my mother and father.” BG and TWC have不識諸佛，及父母恩 (“not recognizing the kindness of the buddhas and my parents”). YJ has 不敬尊親 (“not revering my honorable parents”).
“I have constantly committed bad actions” is absent in BG.
BG adds 隨心所作 (“acting freely as I wish”) before “and not seeing these as sinful.”
“I have constantly committed bad actions” is absent in BG.
BG has 繫屬於他 (“I am bound by others”).
BG adds 身、口、意惡，所集三業，如是眾罪，今悉懺悔 (“Now I repent / All three activities / Accumulated by bad bodily actions, speech, and thought, / And such negative deeds”).
The parallel to this verse in the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 comes a verse later due to the inclusion of an extra verse in those versions, thus offsetting subsequent parallel verses with Toh 555. That extra verse is present in TWC, BG, and YJ.
In Toh 556 and 557, this verse is followed by a verse that is not present in the Sanskrit, Chinese, or consequently Toh 555. It is, however, quoted as being from the sūtra by Śāntideva in his Śikṣāsamuccaya: “I make a confession of all / The disrespect I have shown / To the teachers of the Dharma, / And disrespect for the Dharma.”
BG has 父母尊長 (“parents and elders”).
The last three lines of this verse in BG read 已得安止，住十地者，悉令具足 (“Become stabilized and reach / The ten bhūmis to be accomplished”).
BG has 如來正覺，為一眾生，億劫修行 (“The completely enlightened one, the Tathāgata, / Underwent hardship for a hundred million eons / For the sake of just one being.”)
“Through the power of wisdom” is absent in BG.
BG has 使無量眾 (“free countless beings”).
BG describes the sūtra as 甚深悔法 (“the extremely deep Dharma of repentance”).
BG has 若能至心，一懺悔者 (“if one is able to make wholehearted repentance”).
BG has 我今已說，懺悔之法，是金光經，清淨微妙 (“I have taught the Dharma of repentence; / This Sūtra of Golden Light is pure and subtle.”)
This verse in BG appears three verses later. Also, rather than “May I never tire of…,” BG has 十力世尊，我當成就 (“I will become accomplished as a bhagavat with the ten strengths”). In the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, this verse appears two verses later. It is absent in Toh 555 and YJ.
In accordance with the Yongle and Kangxi versions, the Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and YJ.
BG has 諸佛所有，甚深法藏，不可思議，無量功德，一切種智 (“I will obtain the extremely profound / Treasure of the Dharma of the tathāgatas, / Inconceivable and incalculable merit, / And wisdom of all kinds”).
Rather than “all buddhas in the ten directions,” BG has 諸佛世尊 (“all tathāgatas and bhagavats”).
“Will each look upon and regard me” is absent in BG. Between “with their minds of great compassion” and “and accept the confession that I make,” it has 當證微誠 (“[the tathāgatas] will witness my humble honesty”).
In the Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and TWC, BG, and YJ, the contents of this verse are extended and span two verses.
BG has 誠心懺悔 (“wholehearted repentance”).
“May I be purified of them all” is absent in BG.
According to Choné and Lhasa nam yang. Degé has nams kyang. YJ has “never dared to conceal” while BG and TWC appear to interpret the second half as referring to bad actions that have been committed.
“That have placed beings in bondage / Beginninglessly and continuously” is absent in BG. BG has instead 今悉懺悔 (“Today I repent everything”).
This and the next two verses in Toh 555 appear in a different order in BG, the last coming first.
Instead of “today I rejoice in all of,” BG has 悉以迴向 (“I transfer all merits”).
Rather than “Jambudvīpa,” BG has 此國土 (“this country”).
The Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and BG and TWC read “and be endowed with the ten supreme strengths.”
“Through the power of the good roots” is absent in BG.
Instead of “May I quickly attain the highest wisdom,” BG has 願於來世，證無上道 (“May I obtain the highest path in future rebirths”).
BG has 今於佛前 (“in the presence of the Buddha”).
Here BG has 婬欲 (“sexual desires”).
BG reads 三有嶮難 (“the obstacles of the three existences”).
BG combines this verse and the next into one long verse. It also refers to eight obstacles while YJ notes six obstacles.
This line is absent in BG, which has 遇無難難，值好時難，修功德難，值佛亦難 (“The obstacles of meeting no difficulties, the difficulties of arriving at an auspicious time, / The difficulties of practicing merits, and the difficulties of meeting buddhas”).
This line is absent in BG.
Instead of “I confess endless bad actions and sins,” BG has 如是諸難 (“I confess such difficulties”).
Rather than “the unsurpassable ocean of qualities,” BG has 佛海 (“the ocean of buddhas”).
For this line BG has 是故我今，頂禮最勝 (“Therefore, today I salute the buddhas’ limitless teachings”).
BG omits “wisdom.”
BG has 安住三界如日照世 (“[the buddhas] exist in the three realms just like the sun that illuminates our world”).
For this line YJ has 猶如滿月處虛空 (“like the full moon in the sky”), while BG has 妙色廣大，種種各異 (“The subtle colors are vast, / Each differing from the other”).
Here BG has 其色紅赤，如日初出，頗梨白銀，校飾光網 (“The color is red like the rising sun, / And the net of light is adorned by crystal and silver”).
BG has 三有之中，生死大海，潦水波蕩，惱亂我心 (“In the three realms of existence, the ocean of saṃsāra / Surges and disturbs my mind”).
BG has 智慧大海，瀰漫三界 (“whose oceanic wisdom overflows the three realms”).
BG has 常當至心，正念諸佛 (“May I always wholeheartedly and rightly remember the buddhas”).
BG has 恆修善業 (“and always practice good actions”).
“Attain happiness” is absent in BG.
BG adds 十方世界 (“in the worlds of ten directions”) at the beginning of this verse.
The last two lines of this verse are absent in BG, which instead reads 如是之人，悉令解脫 (“May such people be liberated”).
YJ has 逼迫身心無暫樂 (“Their bodies and minds are oppressed, without the slightest happiness”). For the last two lines of this verse, BG has 愁憂驚畏，種種恐懼，擾亂其心 (“Distress, terror, and all kinds of fear / Distract the mind”).
This verse is condensed in BG: 如是無量，諸苦惱等，願使一切，悉得解脫 (“May beings be liberated / From all such countless forms of suffering”).
According to Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang theng po. Degé has thing po. YJ matches Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang with 跛者 (“lame”). This term is absent in BG and TWC.
For this portion of the line, BG has 裸者得衣 (“the naked ones obtain clothing”).
Prior to this line, BG adds 眾生相視，和顏悅色 (“all beings see each other with pleasant countenance”).
For this line BG has 心常思念，他人善事 (“and may they constantly bear others’ good actions in their minds”).
BG here lists various instruments: 箜篌、箏笛, 琴瑟，鼓吹，如是種種 (“harps, zheng, flutes, lutes, drums, and other wind instruments”).
BG omits “If they wish for water, may there appear….”
Rather than “perfectly cool pools,” BG has 江河池沼，流泉諸水 (“rivers, ponds, springs, and other bodies of water”).
BG omits “thrones and seats.”
For the last two lines of this verse, BG has 願諸眾生，諸所求索，隨其所念，應念即得 (“May all beings obtain whatever they seek, / Realizing it in accordance with their wishes”).
“Pure” is absent in BG.
According to Narthang and Lhasa chos sgo and the parallel passage in the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. Degé has chos sku (dharmakāya). In the Chinese, YJ has 法門 (“doors to the Dharma”). TWC has just “Dharma.” BG modifies “Dharma” with 清淨無垢 (“pure and undefiled”).
BG has 三惡 (“three lower rebirths”).
Rather than discussing the avoidance of eight unfortunate states, BG has 值無難處 (“May they reach a state that is devoid of difficulties”).
“But gain a supreme human’s wealths and freedoms” in absent in BG.
BG has 覲覩諸佛，無上之王 (“meet the buddhas, the supreme kings”).
BG adds 安隱豐樂 (“tranquility, stability, wealth, and happiness”).
“Heroic, with sharp minds and great intelligence” is absent in BG, which instead has 精勤不懈 (“strive without indolence”).
BG has 演說正法，眾所樂聞 (“and who teach the true Dharma, which all beings are delighted to hear”).
BG has 三有 (“three existences”).
BG reads 願於來世成無上道 (“May I accomplish the supreme path in a future rebirth”).
BG has 得淨無垢，吉祥果報 (“May I obtain purity without defilement and auspicious karmic fruits”).
Rather than referring to a buddha’s “qualities,” BG has 十力 (“ten strengths”).
“Unpolluted” is absent in BG, which instead reads 無諸疑網 (“without any doubts”).
BG inserts 五佛 (“five buddhas”) in between “one buddha” and “ten buddhas.”
BG has 若於無量，百千萬億，諸佛如來 (“with immeasurable hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions of buddhas, tathāgatas”). For this chapter, BG concludes with this verse. The following paragraphs are only found in YJ.
This chapter is missing in TWC’s Chinese translation. In BG this chapter is translated by Paramārtha.
Instead of “had fallen,” YJ and BG have 應墮 (“will fall”).
Rather than “gurus and family,” YJ has 尊親 (“elders and parents”). BG has 父母 (“parents”) and 尊長 (“elders”).
Rather than “upādhyāyas,” BG has of 沙門 (“śramaṇa”).
“Having seen those wondrous light rays” is absent in BG.
In Toh 556 and The Sutra of Ending Karmic Obscurations (Karmāvaraṇapratipraśrabdhi, Toh 219), 1.2, which appears to be the primary source for this chapter, the questioner is Śāriputra.
“Who are in error” is absent in BG.
“To benefit them” is absent in BG.
BG has 一切眾生 (“all beings”).
“Develop dedicated diligence” is absent in BG.
BG adds 出微妙音 (“[the conch of the Dharma that] emits subtle and beautiful sounds”).
Assuming sman is in error for phan, as occurs a number of times in the sūtra. YJ and BG have “benefit” as a verb.
BG has 一切眾生 (“all beings”).
BG adds 為令無量無數眾生得清淨故 (“make countless and innumerable beings attain purity”). After noting these benefits to all beings, it then adds 為諸天人得清淨故 (“make the devas attain purity”).
Rather than “virtuous individuals,” BG has simply 眾生 (“beings”).
Toh 156 has “I have made my parents unhappy.” The Chinese versions are similar to Toh 555: BG has 觸惱 (“to annoy,” “to distress”) while YJ has 惱害 (“to harm” due to anger).
Toh 556 begins the list with “the wealth of individuals.” The Chinese is the same as Toh 555; BG translates this as 塔 (“stūpa”); YJ has 窣堵波 (su du po), which transcribes stūpa.
BG omits “did not create the causes of virtue.”
Regarding “Today, while I am alive … in the presence of bhagavats,” YJ has 我今歸命，對諸佛前 (“Today I take refuge in the presence of the buddhas”), while BG has 奉對懺悔 (“I repent in the presence of the buddhas”). “While I am alive” (deng bdag srog phyogs nas) is absent in both Chinese versions and could have been a mistaken reading of 歸命 (“to take refuge”).
Rather than referring to eight unfortunate states, BG has 生十二難 (“born in twelve unfortunate states”).
Rather than “conduct of enlightenment,” BG has 三菩提道 (“three paths of enlightenment”).
Rather than “conduct of enlightenment,” BG has 三菩提道 (“three paths of enlightenment”).
Rather than “conduct of enlightenment,” BG has 三菩提道 (“three paths of enlightenment”).
This paragraph is absent in YJ but included in BG.
“Because of that cause and condition” is absent in BG, which instead has 是故 (“therefore”).
“For a long time” is absent in BG.
Rather than “they should make a confession in this way,” BG has 如是修行 (“they should practice in this way”).
After this line, BG adds 於一切法欲求清淨，無諸障礙，如是懺悔，未來之罪不敢復作 (“Seeking purity and cleanliness, without any of the obstructions of all dharmas, if someone confesses in this way, future bad actions will be avoided”).
The order Avṛha, Atapa, Sudṛśa, and Sudarśana is the most common cosmology. Toh 556 has an additional paradise—Asaṃjñasattva—followed by those four paradises in this order: Sudṛśa, Sudarśana, Avṛha, and Atapa.
“Unshakable wisdom” is absent in Toh 556. It is present in YJ and BG, which read 不動智.
BG reads 善男子、善女人 (“a noble man or a noble woman”).
“Not giving rise to wrong thoughts” is absent in BG.
This line is absent in BG, which instead has 若能成就如是四種之法，懺悔業障永得除滅 (“If one can accomplish these four dharmas, one will purify karmic obscurations through repentance”).
YJ and BG have 三業 (“three activities”), which refers to karma resulting from activities of body, speech, and mind.
BG modifies “four kinds of karmic obscuration” with 最大 (“greatest”), thus reading “the four greatest kinds of karmic obscuration.”
BG has 十二部經 (“the twelve Mahāyāna sūtras”).
BG modifies this with 十方 (“in the ten directions”).
“It is true that some beings are unable to meditate on the Mahāyāna” is absent in BG.
“They rejoice with single-pointed mindfulness, then they will attain measureless merit” is absent in BG.
BG here adds 可愛 (“pleasing”).
BG omits “all beings.”
BG has 已具三菩提道 (“who have already attained the three paths of enlightenment”).
BG adds 然大法炬 (“who light the torch of the Dharma”).
BG modifies “the conch of the Dharma” with出微妙聲 (“that emits subtle sounds”).
“Who send down a rain of Dharma” is absent in BG.
BG adds 為欲安樂一切眾生，哀念一切眾生，一切人天皆蒙安樂 (“in order to pacify the minds of all beings, to sympathize with all beings, such that all humans and devas attain peace and happiness”).
Here BG has 三世 (“of the three times”).
“Being a thousandth part of it” is absent in BG.
Rather than “someone,” BG has 善男子、善女人 (“a noble man or a noble woman”).
“Without doubt she will truly accomplish becoming a man in that very life exactly as she wished to” is absent in BG.
“Having learned the merit that comes from rejoicing” is absent in BG.
Rather than “turn the wheel of the Dharma,” BG has 得大光明 (“obtain great radiance”).
BG has 若有眾生未得修行 (“Then if that individual did not get to practice, they…”).
BG adds 偏袒右肩，右膝著地，合掌恭敬 (“with their right shoulder partially revealed, right knee on the ground, and palms placed together to show respect”).
BG includes “about to discard their karmically ripened body and pass into nirvāṇa” in the coming paragraph and not here.
There is no equivalent for “happy” here in BG.
BG adds another paragraph here: 復次，善男子！若有善男子、善女人欲得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提者，應修聲聞、緣覺、大乘之行。其有未修行者，日夜六時偏袒右肩，右膝著地，合掌恭敬，一心一意口自說言：『頂禮十方世界一切諸佛世尊欲捨應身入涅槃者，我今稽請莫般涅槃，久住於世，度脫安樂一切眾生，如前所說，乃至人天皆蒙安樂 (“Moreover, noble one! If a noble man or a noble woman seeks supreme enlightenment, they should practice the conduct of the śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and bodhisattvas. Those who have not practiced should, in the day and night, with their right shoulder partially revealed, right knee on the ground, and palms placed together, show respect and single-mindedly pray: ‘I bow down my head in homage to all the buddhas, bhagavats, in the worlds in the ten directions, who are about to discard their karmically ripened body and pass into nirvāṇa. I pray and request them not to pass into nirvāṇa, to live a long life in the world, and to liberate all beings and make them happy, as was taught previously, such that humans and devas are endowed with peace and happiness”).
YJ also adds 未來 (“future”).
Rather than “someone,” BG has 善男子、善女人 (“a noble man or a noble woman”).
Rather than “someone,” BG has 善男子、善女人 (“a noble man or a noble woman”).
BG here adds 何以故 (“Why is that?”).
Here BG has 利益 (“benefits”).
According to sred pa in Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Urga, Lhasa, BG (which has 貪心), and YJ (which has 貪愛). Degé has srid (“existence”).
BG has 百千萬億 (“hundreds of thousands of myriads of millions”).
Rather than “but it has nothing it has to liberate,” BG has 與縛不異 (“yet there is no difference from being in bondage”).
BG reads 大地菩薩 (“great bodhisattvas of the earth”).
Rather than “whoever,” BG has 善男子、善女人 (“a noble man or a noble woman”).
BG adds 一句一偈以持勸化 (“to carry and to persuade others with just one sentence or one verse”). Note that YJ also refers to one sentence or verse.
BG adds 若有眾生未得修行功德善根 (“if a being has not cultivated merit or the causes of virtue”).
BG explains the three as 聲聞、緣覺、大乘之道 (“the paths of the śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and the Mahāyāna”).
Rather than “those beings,” BG has 善男子、善女人 (“a noble man or a noble woman”).
“Who wish to dedicate whatever roots of goodness they have from seeking enlightenment and meditating on the path of the three yānas” is absent in BG, which instead has 若有眾生未得修行 (“those beings who have not practiced before”).
BG has 一日一夜 (“one day and one night”).
BG has 乃至畜生、人非人等，乃至升撮以施一切 (“even down to giving a handful of things to everyone, including animals, humans, and kinnaras”).
BG adds 佛智慧故 (“due to the wisdom of the buddhas”).
According to mi spong par in Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné. Degé has mi spyod par (“not practicing”). YJ and BG match mi spong par with 不捨 (“not rejecting”).
Rather than “wisdom,” BG has 福德 (“merit”).
BG adds to this list 自在無盡 (“power that has no limit”).
BG here adds 菩提之道 (“the path to enlightenment”).
BG has instead 無垢 (“undefiled”).
BG adds 我亦如是，與一切眾生同共善根，是善根故，俱得阿耨多羅三藐三菩提，同得一切智智 (“I will also be the same, sharing these roots of goodness with all beings. By means of these roots of goodness, we all will obtain supreme enlightenment and omniscience”).
Toh 556 has Amitābha (’od dpag med) rather than Amitāyus (tshe dpag tu med pa).
Toh 556 reads ’od mchog. Toh 555 has ’phags pa’i ’od. YJ and BG have 勝光佛.
Toh 556 has ’od dge. YJ and BG have 妙光佛.
Toh 556 has bsod nams ’od. In Toh 556, he precedes Akṣobhya. YJ and BG have 功德善光佛, who follows Akṣobhya 阿閦佛.
Toh 556 has just seng ge, which is siṃha in Sanskrit. YJ and BG have 師子善光佛.
Toh 556 has ’od zer brgya pa. Toh 555 has ’od brgya pa. YJ and BG have 百光明佛.
Toh 556 reads ’od zer mtho ba. Toh 555 has dran pa’i ’od.
Toh 556 has rin chen ’od ’phro. Toh 555 has rin chen ’bar. YJ and BG have 寶相佛.
Toh 555 has rin chen mtshan. Toh 556 reads ’od kyi dra ba can. YJ and BG have 網光明佛.
Toh 555 has ’bar ba’i ’od. Toh 556 has ’od ’bar. YJ has 焰明佛, while BG reads 炎光明佛.
Toh 555 has rgyas par ’bar ba’i ’od. YJ has 焰盛光明佛, while BG has 炎盛光明佛. Toh 556 reads snang ba’i rgyal po, which may be the result of this and the next name being combined into one.
Toh 555 has bkra shis bla ma’i rgyal po. This does not seem to be present in Toh 556.
Toh 555 has dam pa’i sgra. Absent in Toh 556.
Toh 555 has bkod pa’i mchog. Toh 556 has shin tu rgyan.
Toh 556 has yan lag mchog. Toh 555 has bla ma ’phags pa’i sku.
Following Toh 555, which has mngon par dga’ ba’i gzugs sku. Absent in Toh 556.
Following Toh 555, which has ’od zer kun du snang mdzad. Absent in Toh 556.
Toh 555 has tshangs pa rnam dag rgyal po. Absent in Toh 556.
Absent in Toh 556.
Rather than “and liberated beings,” YJ has 為渡眾生 (“in order to liberate beings”). BG has 為欲渡脫安樂一切眾生 (“in order to liberate and pacify all beings”).
“With clear faith” is absent in BG.
BG has 無有前後 (“nonsequentially”).
In Toh 556 at this point there are listed four items and other requisites: robes, food, bedding, medicine when ill, and other requisites.
BG adds 何者為七？金、銀、琉璃、頗梨、馬瑙、硨磲、青黃寶等 (“What are the seven? Gold, silver, beryl, crystal, coral, musāragalva coral, and green and yellow jewelry”).
Rather than “someone,” BG has 汝 (“you”).
Assuming dkon mchog (“jewels”) was omitted.
BG adds 一切世界三世三寶勸請久住不可為比三世一切世界於無量劫，勸請如來說深正法不可為比 (“Requesting the Three Jewels of the three times of all the worlds to persist for a long time—even that cannot serve as an analogy for it. Requesting the tathāgatas to proclaim the deep, correct Dharma in the innumerable eons of three times of all worlds—even that cannot serve as an analogy for it”).
BG adds 善根 (“roots of goodness”).
BG adds 三世自發菩提願 (“naturally making vows for enlightenment in all three times”).
BG includes the following paragraph after this line, omitting “could not serve as an analogy.”
“Therefore, a request and supplication to the Three Jewels in the three times in all world realms” is absent in BG.
“All that has merit that is extremely profound” is absent in BG.
“Understood it” is absent in BG.
“Superior” is absent in BG.
BG here adds 皆悉雲集 (“all gathered”).
BG does not include “a sublime sound occurred.”
“The power of blessing” is absent in BG.
BG adds 至於此生 (“until this lifetime”).
In Toh 556 the name is Mahāraśmiskandha. The Chinese versions match Toh 555. BG has 寶王大炎照, while YJ has 寶王大光照.
BG puts the following sentence after the third assembly: “The Tathāgata Great Precious King Illuminator appeared in the world at that time so that all devas, humans, Śakra, Brahmā, mendicants, brahmins, and other beings could attain nirvāṇa and bliss.”
“The three knowledges” is absent in BG.
BG repeats the description 三明流通自在无礙 (“They gained the three knowledges, the six higher cognitions, and unimpeded freedom”). As noted, after this sentence the following line appears: “The Tathāgata Great Precious King Illuminator appeared in the world at that time so that all devas, humans, Śakra, Brahmā, mendicants, brahmins, and other beings could attain nirvāṇa and bliss.”
In Toh 556 the name is Gaṅgadevī. YJ and BG match Toh 555 with 福寶光明.
In Toh 556, this is not a previous life of Śākyamuni, and the prophesied buddha is Ratnārci. The Chinese versions match Toh 555.
The four lower existences are hell beings, pretas, animals, and asuras. In the more common classification of three lower existences, the asuras are categorized as being in the higher realms. These four are listed in The Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Kāśyapa Chapter” (Tib. ’od srung kyi le’u zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo; Skt. Kāśyapaparivartanāmamahāyānasūtra), Toh 87, folio 141.a.
In Toh 556, the number is eighty-four thousand. YJ and BG have 八十四百千 (“eighty-four hundred thousand”).
YJ and BG read, “Then suddenly the assembly all saw the Tathāgata Great Precious King Illuminator turn the wheel of Dharma and teach the sublime, supreme Dharma.” In his commentary, Hui Zhao also explains that the Tathāgata Great Precious King Illuminator manifested in front of the assembly.
“Having attained nirvana” is not in the Chinese versions. Instead, the Chinese versions read 未般涅槃 (“having not passed into nirvana”).
“And that is the Buddha that you see” is absent in BG.
This is the point where the parallel passages of The Sūtra of Putting an End to Karmic Obscurations, a primary source for almost all of this chapter, concludes. See Toh 219, 1.82.
YJ has 福利善根 (“benefits and roots of goodness”), while BG has 功德善根 (“merits and roots of goodness”).
BG adds 惱 (“worries”).
BG adds 無能勝者 (“and no one can defeat them”).
YJ has 安隱豐樂 (“tranquility, stability, wealth, and happiness”). BG has 安隱快樂 (“tranquility, stability, and happiness”).
YJ has 流通 (“circulate”), while BG has 常興 (“always prosper”).
The Chinese versions include 行住共俱 (“walk and stand together”).
BG has 於吉祥法，於愛敬 (樂 in another editions) 法，我力能令生歡喜心 (“I will please them with auspicious Dharma, and the Dharma of kindness and respect”).
BG has 一切人民隨王修習，若有人民能如法修行 (“… all the people will follow the king and practice. If the people practice in accordance with the Dharma…”).
“What are those four” is absent in BG.
BG adds 安忍 (“being patient”).
Rather than “venerate,” BG has 愛護 (“love and protect”).
Rather than “control wealth,” the Chinese versions read 輕財 (“disdain wealth”).
Rather than “worldly profit,” BG has 勝利 (“merits or rewards”).
Before “happiness,” the Chinese versions have 安隱 (“tranquility and stability”).
“Correctly” is absent in the Chinese versions.
Rather than “benefits,” BG has 功德 (“merits”).
Rather than “benefits,” BG has 功德 (“merits”).
Rather than “superior merit,” BG has 四福 (“four merits”).
BG adds 如是相貌 (“with such features”).
The Chinese versions have 一句、一頌 (偈 in BG ) 、一品、一部 (“one sentence, one verse, one chapter, one part”).
“For a long time” is absent in the Chinese versions. Instead they have 長夜安樂 (“there will be peace and happiness during the long night”).
“Endless benefits” is absent in BG.
This sentence is absent in BG.
The equivalent chapter in Toh 556 is called “The Purification of the Bhūmis.” YJ has “Dhāraṇīs”: 最淨地陀羅尼. BG has “Bhūmis”: 陀羅尼最淨地.
In Toh 556, this is the bodhisattva Akṣayamati. YJ and BG match Toh 555: 師子相無礙光焰菩薩. Note that “mahāsattva” is omitted.
Literally “ten million.” The Chinese versions have 億, which can denote 100,000 or higher numbers including 1,000,000, 10,000,000, and 100,000,000.
YJ reads 現在心不可得，未來心不可得，過去心不可得。 (“The present mind is nonapprehendable; the future mind is nonapprehendable; the past mind is nonapprehendable”).
YJ has 離於菩提，菩提心亦不可得 (“Beyond enlightenment, the enlightenment mind is also nonapprehendable”).
For these descriptions, YJ translates more literally as “the mind does not have form” and so on.
Here YJ reads 眾生亦不可得，亦不可知 (“beings are also nonapprehendable and unknowable”).
YJ reads 菩提微妙，事業、造作皆不可得 (“enlightenment is so subtle that it cannot be apprehended through action or creation”).
“Substance” is absent in YJ.
“Is immaterial” is absent in YJ.
According to Toh 556: “enlightenment.” Toh 555 has “enlightenment mind,” which appears to be an error. In the Chinese versions, BG has “enlightenment” while YJ has “enlightenment mind.”
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has two identical sentences: “Conduct and the name nonconduct…” However, in Toh 556 this is concerning the composite (’dus byas) and noncomposite (’dus ma byas pa), while Toh 555 has spyod pa (“conduct”) and spyod pa ma yin pa (“nonconduct”). YJ and BG have 行非行不可得，行非行名不可得 (“Conduct and nonconduct do not exist as objects of perception. The names of conduct and nonconduct do not exist as objects of perception”). According to Hui Zhao, nonconduct refers to the conduct that should be abandoned.
YJ has 於一切寂靜法中而得安住 (“they are able to remain in all extinguished phenomena”).
BG has 師子臆長毫獸王 (“the lion, king of the animals, which has a mane”).
Based on YJ, which has 風輪那羅延力 (“Nārāyaṇa’s wind wheel”). Tib. rlung gi dkyil ’khor stobs po che. The Tib. stobs po che is not a standard rendering of Nārāyaṇa in Tibetan, but Yijing’s Chinese is clear on this point. Nārāyaṇa is a major deity in the pantheon of classical Indian religious traditions, famous for his strength, and in Buddhist sources he is often depicted as holding a wheel in one hand.
YJ has 心不退 (“diminished”).
Rather than “the treasure of the qualities of meditative stability and increases it,” YJ has 靜慮法藏求滿足 (“the fulfillment of the treasure of the qualities of meditation”).
YJ has 善男子, 是名菩薩摩訶薩十種菩提心因 (“Noble one! These are known as the ten aspects of the enlightenment mind of bodhisattvas mahāsattvas, which are the causes of the ten perfections respectively”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have 五法 (“five qualities”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have 五法 (“five qualities”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have 五法 (“five qualities”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have 五法 (“five qualities”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have 五法 (“five qualities”).
Rather than “not creating thoughts,” YJ has 令不散 (“not letting them scatter”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have 五法 (“five qualities”).
Rather than “quickly eliminating all kleśas, which are to be eliminated through meditation,” YJ has 見修煩惱，咸速斷除 (“quickly eliminating all kleśas during the path of seeing and the path of cultivation”).
Rather than “the qualities of the five fields of knowledge,” YJ has 世間伎術五明之法 (“the five fields of science and the techniques of the world”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have五法 (“five qualities”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have五法 (“five qualities”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have五法 (“five qualities”).
Rather than “the conduct, the good, and the bad in the minds of all beings,” YJ has 一切眾生心行善惡 (“the good and bad in the minds and conduct of all beings”).
Rather than “the faculties and the three natures,” YJ has 三種根性 (“the three kinds of natures of faculties”).
Toh 556 has ten qualities. The Chinese versions have五法 (“five qualities”).
YJ has 無生法忍 (“patience based on the awareness of the nonarising of dharmas”).
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
YJ has 初地菩薩 (“bodhisattvas of the first bhūmi”). Note that in the Chinese, “bhūmi” is qualifying “bodhisattvas” and not the other way around.
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
YJ has 皆能摧伏 (“capable of defeating”).
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
YJ has 於菩薩前，有諸眾生應墮地獄 (“If [those beings who are going to fall into the hells] appear before the bodhisattvas of the seventh bhūmi…”).
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
“That is the omen” is absent in YJ.
According to Toh 556 and YJ and BG’s 焰. Toh 555 has ’od ’phro (“radiating light”).
YJ has 難勝 (“Difficult to Surpass”).
YJ has 無患無累 (“without worries and without fatigue”).
Toh 556 has “perceiving movement within the composite.” The Chinese versions are the same as Toh 555: BG has 行法, while YJ has 行.
YJ has 微細諸相現行 (“[ignorance of] the manifestation of subtle features”).
Rather than “not being skilled in,” YJ has 此二無礙未善巧 (“not being skilled in the unobstructed understanding of [these two]”).
Toh 556 has “the great higher cognitions,” which is the same as the Chinese 大神通.
In Toh 556, in this entire list the samādhis are the causes of the development of the enlightenment mind and not the other way around. The Chinese versions are the same as Toh 555.
Toh 556 reads “that has no location.” In the Chinese it’s “delightful,” for which BG has 可愛住 and YJ has 可愛樂.
Toh 556 adds “of the present buddhas.” YJ is the same as Toh 555: 現前證住; BG is the same as Toh 556: 現在佛現前證住.
Toh 556 has “the lamp of wisdom.” The Chinese versions have 智藏 (“repository of wisdom”).
In Toh 556, the name of the dhāraṇī is consecration. YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555: 依功德力 (dependence on the strength of the qualities).
Toh 556: pūrṇamnorathe duhu duhu duhu yāvat candra daudatte dāvād arakṣamān daṇạparihāram kuru svāhā. The Chinese transliterations in YJ and BG are very close to Toh 555.
YJ has 得脫一切怖畏，所謂虎狼、師子、惡獸之類，一切惡鬼，人，非人等，怨賊災橫，及諸苦惱 (“freed from all fears including vicious beasts such as tigers, jackals, and lions; malevolent pretas; humans; nonhumans; hateful thieves; accidents; and all suffering”).
Toh 556 has tadyathā | uttoli ciriciri uttorā toranaṃ śānto śānto attoli hulu hulu svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏、惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等，怨賊災橫及諸苦惱 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is firm presence. YJ is the same as Toh 555: 難勝力. BG adds “great” to “power”: 難勝大力.
Toh 556 has tadyathā | daṇṭhike vaṇṭhike karaṭhī kauraṭhi kaiyūre tantili svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等、怨賊災橫及諸苦惱 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is unsubjugated. YJ is the same as Toh 555: 大利益. BG adds 大利益難壞 (“difficult to destroy”).
Toh 556 has tadyathā | śiri śiri dimi dimini dari darini śiri śiriṇi viśalā viśālā paśa paśani bandhniye svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等、怨賊災橫及諸苦惱 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is the array of various qualities. YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555: 種種功德莊嚴.
Toh 556 has tadyathā | hari hariṇi ciri ciriṇi karimāṇi saṅkarimāṇi sambāsani jambhani stambhani mohani svamūkke svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等、怨賊災橫及諸苦惱 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is the lamp of the field of wisdom. The Chinese versions are similar to Toh 555: BG has 圓智等, and YJ has 圓滿智.
Toh 556 has tadyathā | vitori vitori mariṇi kali kali vidho hanati lulu lulu culu culu toluva toluva śaśa śaccha variśa svasti sarva satvānāṃ siddhyantu mama mantravādāni svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等、怨賊災橫及諸苦惱，解脫五障 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering, and will be liberated from five kinds of obscurations”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is superiority. YJ and BG have 法勝行 (“supreme conduct or practice of the Dharma”).
Toh 556 has tadyathā | jaha jaharu jaha jaha jaharu vailuke amṛteghaṇe puruśaṇe vairutike varubatte vidhi hike vinda vilini amṛlutike bhaijuyu bhaijuyu svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等、怨賊災橫及諸苦惱，解脫五障 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering, and will be liberated from five kind of obscurations”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is unpolluted thought. YJ and BG are the same as Toh 555: 無盡藏.
In Toh 556 the dhāraṇī is the same: tadyathā | sari śari śiriṇi mitemite kari kari heru heru curu curu bandhani svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等、怨賊災橫及諸苦惱，解脫五障 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering, and will be liberated from five kind of obscurations”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is infinite adornment. YJ and BG have 無量門 (immeasurable methods).
Toh 556 has tadyathā | haricaṇḍalike kulamābhate toraśipata patasi śiri śiri gaśiri gaviśiri svasti sarvasatvānāṃ svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人、非人等、怨賊災橫及諸苦惱，解脫五障 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, accidents, and all suffering, and will be liberated from five kind of obscurations”).
In Toh 556 the name of the dhāraṇī is the unceasing casket. The Chinese versions match Toh 555: YJ has 破金剛山 (defeating the vajra mountain). BG has 破壞堅固金光剛山 (defeating the solid vajra mountain).
Toh 556 has tadyathā | siddhe susiddhe mocani mokṣani mukte vimukte amale vimale damale māṅgale hiraṇyagarbhe ratnagarbhe samantabhadre sarvārtha sādhana manasi mahāmanasi adbhute atyadbhute araje viraje ucyute amṛte araje viraje brahme brahma sārepūraṇi pūraṇa manorathe svāhā.
YJ has 脫諸怖畏，惡獸、惡鬼、人非人等，怨賊災橫 (“freed from the following: all fears, vicious beasts, malevolent pretas, humans, nonhumans, hateful thieves, and accidents”).
Toh 556 has Lion’s Ornament Radiant Appearance Unobstructed. YJ and BG appear to be closer to Toh 556, which has 師子相無礙光焰 (“With Features of a Lion and Unobstructed Blazing Light”). This matches the bodhisattva mahāsattva Blazing Light Rays of Unhindered Traits of Lions mentioned at the beginning of chapter 6.
Rather than “complete examination,” YJ has 普照 (“complete knowing”).
Rather than “Bhagavat, you know the one taste,” YJ has 世尊知一味, which can mean either “the Bhagavat knows the one taste” or “the wisdom of the Bhagavat has a single taste.” 知 could be used as a noun, which is equivalent to 智 (“wisdom”). This second reading matches BG: 世尊智一味 (“the wisdom of Bhagavat has a single taste”).
Here Toh 556 reads “does not see.” In YJ and BG, the second line ends with 皆無 (“all without”), which Hui Zhao interprets as “impartiality” and “without real characteristics.”
Toh 556 gives him the name Maheśvara. The Chinese versions incorporate both, albeit with different renderings: BG has 大自在在梵王 (“Maheśvara Brahmā”) and YJ has 大自在梵天王 (“Maheśvara Brahmā”).
Rather than “one shoulder,” YJ has 右肩 (“right shoulder”).
“It is good in the beginning, good in the middle, and good in the end” is absent in BG.
Toh 556 also has “it is unmixed and perfect.” BG has 微妙之義究竟滿足 (“the subtle meaning is the ultimately fulfilled, complete, supreme meaning”). YJ has 文義究竟 (“the text and its meaning are ultimate and sublime”).
YJ adds 何以故 (“Why is that?”) before “Noble One.”
YJ and BG have 無盡無減 (“unceasing, undimished”) throughout the paragraph.
Rather than “unimpeded in the minds,” YJ has 通達 (“penetrates the mind”).
Rather than “corruption,” YJ has 諸惑 (“ignorance”).
Rather than “the unimpeded voice for the Dharma that tells the truth,” YJ has 通達實語法則音聲 (“the voice that penetrates the Dharma that tells the truth”).
Rather than “all the bodies of endless buddhas,” YJ has 無邊佛身 (“borderless bodies of buddhas”).
Rather than “sublime Dharma,” YJ has 種種正法 (“all kinds of true Dharmas”).
YJ adds 善能 ༼ (“skilled at [accomplishing and ripening…]”).
Literally “a hundred thousand times thirty thousand.” Toh 556 has just “three thousand.” YJ and BG match Toh 555.
Assuming that rgyal po’i (“of the kings”) is in error for rgyal ba’i (“of the jinas”). YJ has 勝法 (“the supreme Dharma” or “the Dharma of the Victorious One”), referring to Buddhadharma in general or to The Sublime Golden Light specifically. This is absent in BG.
According to Yongle, Lithang, and Choné, which have ’chad (“teach”), to match the following sentence, and according to Toh 556, which has ston (“teach”). Degé has ’chang ba. YJ and BG have 講宣 (“teaching and propagating” or “reading and reciting”).
Rather than “happy,” YJ has 安隱快樂 (“tranquil, stable, and happy”).
Assuming dams is in error for nyams. YJ has 衰損 (“deterioration and damage”). BG has 消除一切障礙，隨其所須如意供給，悉令具足 (“eliminate all obscurations, provide whatever is needed or wished for, and bring it to perfection”).
For this title, BG and TWC have simply “praise.”
In Toh 556, and in the Sanskrit and Tibetan of Toh 557, she is called the “noble goddess Bodhisattvasamuccayā.” In BG and TWC, her name is 地神堅牢 (“Goddess of Earth Solid and Firm”). YJ has 普提樹神, which is similar to Toh 555, but without reference to gender.
Here rendering YJ’s 室唎天女 as Goddess Śrī, which translates as bzang dpal in Toh 555. In the Chinese, this could also be understood as “noble goddess,” equivalent to “noble man” when the Bhagavat spoke to a particular member of the assembly.
Rather than “bodhisattva,” YJ has 妙幢 (“Ruciraketu”).
YJ has 此之因緣我為汝等廣說其事 (“I will tell you extensively about the causes and conditions of this event”).
Yongle and Kangxi have glu instead of klu. The Chinese versions also have “Lord of Golden Nāgas” or “Lord of Golden Dragons,” which YJ renders as 金龍主 and BG and TWC render as 金龍尊.
YJ has 過去未來現在佛，安住十方世界中 (“Those buddhas of the past, the future, and the present all abide in the realm of ten directions”).
YJ has 我今至誠稽首禮 (“I now wholeheartedly worship them by touching the floor with my head”).
Sanskrit for Toh 557 has “the saṅgha of those jinas.” The Chinese versions are similar to Toh 555: YJ has 諸最勝 (“all-conquering ones”), and BG and TWC have 諸佛 (“buddhas”).
Unlike Toh 556 and 557, this accords with the present Sanskrit prabhāsita and the Chinese versions. YJ has 身光照耀如金色 (“the radiance of his body illuminates like the color of gold”).
The Sanskrit for Toh 557 has surāsurasusvara: “the lovely sounds of the devas (suras) and asuras.” The Chinese versions are similar to Toh 555 with the adjective 最上 (“most superior”).
According to the Sanskrit keśa. Tibetan has dbu (“head”) with “hair” in the next line. BG and TWC expand and split this verse into two, one on hair and the other on teeth. The hair is described as 其髮紺黑，光螺焰起 (“his hair is dark blue, radiating conch-shaped lights”) followed by 蜂翠孔雀，色不得喻 (“like bees and peacocks, whose color is difficult to describe with analogies”). YJ has 髮彩喻若黑蜂王 (“the color of his hair is like that of a black bee king”).
According to Toh 555. Toh 556 and 557 have utpala (“blue lotus”) while the Sanskrit for Toh 557 has mahīruha (“teak”).
YJ has 齒白齊密如珂雪 (“His teeth are white, closely spaced, and like pure snow”).
YJ has 平正顯現有光明 (“They appear evenly and are radiant”).
Toh 556 and 557 have zer ba (“anthers”), perhaps translating muk. Sanskrit has padmamukhābham (“shining,” based on Nobel’s footnote).
According to the Sanskrit mṛṇāla. The Tibetan has just bya (“bird”). The Tibetan for Toh 556 and 557 has padma (“red lotus”). BG and TWC expand the description into four lines in one verse, with the last two lines translating as “glowing with bright shining lights, like a newly bloomed flower.” YJ has 眉間常有白毫光 (“between the eyebrows, there is always a ray of light from the tuft of white hair”).
The Sanskrit has mramarā in error for bhramarā. The Tibetan simply has bung ba. The carpenter bee has a glossy abdomen, in contrast to the bumblebee. The second half of this verse is description of eyebrows in the Chinese. BG and TWC describe the color as 其色黑耀，過於蜂王 (“black and shining, superior to that of a bee king”). YJ has 晃耀比蜂王 (“radiant like that of a bee king”). All three versions appear to refer to a black bee king.
According to the Sanskrit sunāsa. Tibetan has ro mchog (“perfect taste”), obviously translating from surāsa, which was a corruption in the Sanskrit manuscript. The Tibetan and Toh 556 have ro (“taste”), while Toh 555 has ri (“mountain”), a further corruption from ro. YJ expands to describe the nose of the Buddha as able to distinguish all the scents and know their locations instantly: 一切世間殊妙香，聞時悉知其所在 (“It smells all the subtle and fine smells of the world and is fully aware of their locations”). BG and TWC further describe the sublime body of the Bhagavat as true and unequaled.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese versions. The latter read 普照, presumably translating from pūrvita. The present Sanskrit has pūjita (“offered”).
Here YJ has 安隱樂 (“tranquility, stability, and happiness”).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit for Toh 557 has surāsura (“devas and asuras”). YJ matches the Sanskrit, while BG and TWC match the Tibetan.
According to the Tibetan bde gshegs in all three versions. The present Sanskrit has saumya, which means “being happy” and also “lunar.” Toh 556 and 557 appear to have used this as an adjective for the moon. All three Chinese versions do not repeat the term in this verse and describe the face as “pure or bright as the full moon.” YJ adds 唇色赤好如頻婆 (“the color of his lips is an excellent red like that of vimba (or bimba) fruit”).
This line is absent in the Chinese versions.
“Powerful” is absent in the Chinese versions.
This matches BG, while YJ does not include “moved by the breeze.”
BG and TWC have “one hundred thousand suns and moons.” YJ does not include moons and adds 隨緣所在覺群迷 (“wherever it appears that karmic connections exist, may you awaken those who are confused”).
This is close to BG, which reads 佛身淨妙，無諸垢穢 (“The body of the Buddha is pure and marvelous, and it is without defilements”). This line is absent in YJ.
Rather than “infinite realms,” the Chinese versions have 佛剎 (“buddha realms”).
Toh 556 and 557 have “a multitude of suns and moons,” but the Sanskrit does not refer to suns. BG and TWC interpret this as “the light is so brilliant that it overshadows infinite suns and moons.” YJ describes it as “a net of pure light which is unequaled,” adding that “it illuminates throughout the ten directions without obstructions and eliminates all darkness everywhere.”
Literally “day makers.” BG and TWC are similar to Toh 555. YJ is considerably different: 善逝慈光能與樂，妙色映徹等金山 (“The Sugata’s merciful light provides others with comfort. / Its marvelous light illuminates like a golden mountain”), adding 眾生遇者皆出離 (“All beings who encounter it will be liberated from saṃsāra”).
This line is absent in BG. YJ has 流光悉至百千土 (“The shining lights cover hundreds of thousands of realms”).
Toh 556 and 557 have “possesses” or “is endowed with,” reflecting a different interpretation of the Sanskrit cita. YJ, TWC, and BG expand on this to explain that the qualities that adorn the Buddha’s body were gathered through the practice of hundreds of thousands of activities. YJ interprets the merits as “accomplished”; the last two lines are descriptions of the supremacy of the Buddha’s body as a whole, instead of the limbs.
This is close to BG, which reads 臂臃纖圓，如象王鼻 (“His straight arms are long, thin, and round, like the trunk of an elephant king”).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit translates as “his hands are beautified by stainless signs.” BG and TWC translate as “his hands and feet are stainless and supple, revered, and beloved insatiably.” In YJ, this verse reads 佛身成就無量福，一切功德共莊嚴，超過三界獨稱尊，世間殊勝無與等 (“The body of Buddha accomplishes countless merits. / It is adorned by all qualities. / He is unique to honor among the three realms. / He is extraordinary and unparalleled in the world”).
YJ has 稽首歸依三世佛 (“I pay homage and take refuge in the buddhas of the three times”).
Toh 556 and 557 have translated varṇa as “praises.” BG and TWC add the adjective 妙 (“excellent,” “wondrous”) to flowers and perfumes. YJ has “all kinds of….” All three omit “a hundred colors and a virtuous mind,” but add a line to “praise” the qualities of the buddhas.
This line is absent in the Chinese editions. YJ instead has 讚歎無邊功德海 (“praise the borderless ocean of merits”). BG has 百千功德讚詠歌歎 (“praise and sing of the hundreds of thousands of merits”).
The Sanskrit has “buddhas.” The Chinese versions have “buddhas” and “tathāgatas” in two different lines.
BG and TWC match this. YJ has “in countless eons with one thousand tongues” and adds “inconceivable” to the qualities of the buddhas.
YJ has 世尊功德不思議 (“The virtues that the buddhas have perfected are inconceivable”).
For the second part of this verse, BG has 歎佛功德，不能得盡，如來所有，現世功德，種種深固，微妙第一 (“Praises to the merits of the buddhas are inexhaustible. / The virtues that the tathāgatas have accomplished in this world are various, deeply seated, and most subtle”).
BG and TWC match this. YJ has “one hundred thousand.”
YJ has 無邊際 (“[the qualities of all jinas] are boundless”).
Rather than “through all my teaching, praises, and offerings,” YJ has 禮讚諸佛德無邊 (“through my praises and homages to the merits of buddhas, which are boundless”). BG has 我今已禮讚歎諸佛 (“now I have paid homage to and praised the buddhas”).
Rather than “with faith and with my body, speech, and mind,” YJ has 我以至誠身語意 (“with my perfectly sincere body, speech, and mind”). BG has 身口意業，悉皆清淨 (“activities of body, speech, and mind are all purified”).
The Sanskrit has jinatva—literally “jinahood,” which is translated into Tibetan simply as rgyal ba. BG and TWC have 證無上道 (“realize the supreme path”), while YJ has 速成佛 (“quickly become buddhas”).
Rather than simply “this prayer,” YJ has 深心發弘誓 (“made a great vow from the depth of his heart”). BG has 無量弘誓 (“innumerable great vows”).
This line is close to BG, which has 在在生處 (“Wherever I am born”), though it is absent in YJ. Both versions include “in the future”: YJ has 未來世, while BG has 來世.
The Sanskrit specifies that it is a bherī drum. BG and TWC have 妙金鼓 (“excellent golden drum”). YJ has 大金鼓 (“great golden drum”). BG and TWC expand the contents but are quite similar to Toh 555. YJ includes both the teachings on confession and praises of the qualities of the buddhas sounded by the golden drum in one verse.
In Toh 557 this is the name of this praise, and it is in the title of the chapter. Toh 556 gives this name for the praise within the chapter, but not in the chapter’s title. In this version this is the only mention of the name as being “Source of Lotuses.” In the colophon, its name is given as “A Praise Using the Analogy of a Lotus.” In the Chinese versions the last two lines of this verse are absent. YJ has 讚佛功德喻蓮花，願證無生成正覺 (“May I praise the qualities of buddhas who are comparable to lotuses. / May I vow to realize the unborn state and reach the perfect enlightenment”). BG has 今所讚歎面貌清淨，願我來世亦得如是 (“Now I praise the purified and pristine countenance of the Buddha. / May I also obtain the same qualities in the future”).
The first two lines in YJ read 諸佛出世時一現，於百千劫甚難逢 (“Buddhas appear in the world for a short time. / It is difficult to encounter them in hundreds of thousands of eons”). BG has 諸佛功德甚難得值 (“The qualities of buddhas are very difficult to encounter”).
YJ, BG, and TWC have “one hundred thousand.”
The last two lines in YJ read 夜夢常聞妙鼓音，晝則隨應而懺悔 (“May I dream often of the beautiful sounds of drums, / And make confessions accordingly during the day”).
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 556 ’gran zla med. Toh 555 has dgra med (“without an enemy”), which is probably a scribal error for ’gran med. Yongle has stod pa med (“without reliance”), Kangxi has the meaningless ltong ba med, and Choné has ldong pa med (“without blindness”). YJ has 清淨不思議 (“pure and inconceivable”). BG and TWC match Toh 555: 無與等者.
Here the first two lines are closer to BG. YJ has 以妙金鼓奉如來，並讚諸佛實功德 (“By offering the excellent golden drum to the Tathāgata, / And praising the true qualities of buddhas”).
This name includes dpung pa in Toh 555 and lag pa in 556 and 557. An equivalent for bhuja is absent in the available Sanskrit. All three Chinese versions translate the names as 金龍 (“Golden Dragon”), omitting “king” or “lord,” and 金光 (“Golden Light”).
YJ adds 過去曾為善知識，世世願生於我家 (“They [i.e., my two sons] were also virtuous persons in the past. / May they be born in my family in every rebirth”).
YJ has 長夜輪迴受眾苦 (“[those beings] suffer in saṃsāra for long nights”). “Long nights” is metaphorical, conveying the meaning that beings are suffering in saṃsāra for a long period of time.
According to the Tibetan in Toh 555, Sanskrit sukha, and Toh 556, Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang bde ba. Degé Toh 556 has dge ba (“virtue,” “goodness”). The Chinese versions are similar to Toh 555, having 安樂, with the additional meaning of “peace.”
The last two lines of this verse in YJ read 我於來世作歸依，令彼常得安隱樂 (“May I be their refuge in a future time, / And let them always obtain tranquility, stability, and happiness”). BG has 我於當來為是等輩，作大救護及依止處 (“I will save, protect, and be the refuge / Of those people in the future”).
YJ has 業障 (“the obstacles of my karma”).
Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 have a fourth line: “and may my ocean of kleśas cease to exist,” which appears to have gone missing in Toh 555. In Chinese, all versions include “the exhaustion of the ocean of kleśas,” either as a separate line (TWC, BG) or as part of the previous line (YJ). YJ adds a fourth line about swiftly attaining the pure fruit: 令我速招清淨果.
The first two lines of this verse are close to BG. YJ has 福智大海量無邊，清淨離垢深無底 (“The ocean of merits and wisdom / Is immeasurable, pure, stainless, and deep without end”).
Toh 555 follows the order of the Sanskrit lines. Toh 555 and 556 differ in the order. BG and TWC are the same as Toh 555. YJ condenses the four lines into three and adds 速成無上大菩提 (“may I swiftly attain unsurpassable great enlightenment”) as the fourth line.
The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 translate as “may the light of my enlightenment be purified.” BG and TWC differ in the order of key words and lines. YJ has as the fourth line 常以智光照一切 (“may I illuminate all with this light of wisdom continuously”).
According to the Yongle and Kangxi versions of Toh 555, the Kangxi, Yongle, Narthang, and Choné editions of Toh 557, and the Narthang editon of Toh 556, all of which read yis. Degé has yi. BG and TWC are more elaborate, but the basic meaning is the same as Toh 555. YJ interprets the first half differently: 願我身光等諸佛, 福德智慧亦復然 (“May the light of my body be equal to that of the budhhas, / And may my merit and wisdom be the same”). The second half describes such accomplishment as unequaled and incomparable.
This line is absent in the available Sanskrit but included in all three Tibetan versions. It is absent in BG and TWC.
The first half of BG reads 我當來世，身光普照，功德神威，光明焰盛 (“At a future time, may I illuminate everything with my light rays. / May my merits be marvelous and may the flame of my radiance be abundant”).
“Through the light of my merit being bright” is absent in the Chinese versions.
Rather than “all three worlds,” YJ has 一切世界 (“all worlds”).
The last line is present in the Sanskrit and in Toh 556. BG and TWC expand to eight four-character lines, with same basic meaning. YJ interprets the last two lines as an aspiration for all those who have the karmic connections in the past to be reborn in this pure realm together and attain the pure wisdom swiftly: 諸有緣者悉同生，皆速得清淨智 (“May those who have karmic connections all be reborn there / And quickly obtain pure wisdom”). The whole verse in BG reads 三世諸佛，淨妙國土，諸佛至尊，無量功德，令我來世，得此殊異，功德淨土，如佛世尊 (“The lands of buddhas in all three times are clean and supreme. / The most venerable buddhas have immeasurable qualities. / May I, in a future time, be like those buddha bhagavats, / Attaining such a special and supreme pure land that is endowed with good qualities”).
“Who experienced giving rise to this prayer” is absent in BG.
This verse is absent in the Sanskrit and Toh 557. The last line is absent in BG.
This prose passage is in verse in Toh 556 and YJ, which has 大眾聞是說，皆發菩提心 (“Once the multitude heard this teaching, they all developed the enlightenment mind”). It is absent in BG and TWC.
This title is absent in BG and TWC.
“Without doubts” is absent in YJ.
YJ has 先 (“first”).
“Past” is absent in YJ. It may have been a misinterpretation of 先 (“first”) in YJ.
This buddha is absent in Toh 556.
“Precious materials” is absent in YJ.
“Perform the propitiation rite” is absent in YJ, which instead has 為前方便 (“[repeating it ten thousand and eight times] as the prior skillful means”).
Rather than “adorn a maṇḍala inside a solitary building,” YJ has 於闇室莊嚴道場 (“in a dark room that is an adorned ritual site”).
Toh 556: “sixteenth.” YJ has 黑月一日 (“one day or the first day during the dark part of the month”). 黑月 refers to the period between the full moon and the new moon of a lunar month. YJ adds 食淨黑食 (“eat pure food”), which may or may not include foods other than “the three whites.” YJ makes clear that it is only one meal a day during the practice period.
YJ has 鮮潔 (“fresh and clean [clothes]”).
“That you place inside the maṇḍala” is absent in YJ.
Instead of “at sunrise” YJ has 日未出時 (“before the sunrise”).
Instead of “eat one pure meal,” YJ has 食淨黑食，日唯一食 (“eat a pure, proportioned meal, only one meal in a day”).
YJ has 重顯空性 (“Reiterating Emptiness”).
Rather than simply “teach,” YJ has 重明 (“clarify once more”).
YJ has 真空微妙 (“true and subtle”).
“Perfectly” is absent in YJ.
YJ has 我今於此大眾中，演說令彼明空義 (“Today in this assembly I will teach / So that they will understand the meaning of emptiness”).
In the Chinese, YJ has 空聚 (“empty cluster”), which can mean an empty village or a place where people live close together. BG and TWC have just “village.”
According to the Sanskrit caura and the Narthang and Lhasa versions of Toh 555, which have rkun (“thieves”). Degé has rgyal po (“kings”). Toh 556 and 557 have “an army and thieves,” with the “army” perhaps derived from a corruption of the Sanskrit ṣadgrāma (“six village [thieves]”) to saṃgrāma. YJ has 六賊 (“six thieves”). BG and TWC have 六入村落，結賊所止 (“in the village of six senses there lives a band of robbers and thieves”).
The second half of this verse is absent in BG and TWC.
“Wanting company” is absent in YJ, which instead has 妄 (“deludedly”).
Rather than “and there is not a single instant when the practice of Dharma is present,” YJ has 於法尋思無暫停 (“there is never a pause in the inquiry into mental objects”).
YJ has 膿爛 (“rotten with pus”).
There is a play on words here that does not translate into English: elements are called mahābhūta (which could be literally translated as “great realities” or “great occurrences” (’byung ba chen po in Tibetan)). In Chinese, mahābhūta is often rendered 四大 (“the four greats”) or 四大種 (“the four great seeds”).
This line in the Sanskrit is avidyamānā na kadāci vidyate | avidyamāne na kadāci[d] vidyat (“No one in ignorance can know this. / When a thing does not exist, it is not known at all”). In Toh 556, the line reads, “It is for that reason that I call them ‘great elements.’ ” The Chinese versions are the same as Toh 555, though BG and TWC add 假名無明 (“merely labeled as ignorance”).
According to nam yang in Toh 556. This line in Sanskrit is “being in ignorance there is ignorant speech.”
Rather than “not existent,” YJ has 有 (“comes to exist”). This line therefore reads 藉眾緣力和合有 (“It comes into existence due to a combination of various conditions”).
In YJ this line reads 於一切時失正慧 (“There is the absence of correct understanding at all times”).
In YJ, 大 (“great,” “huge”) modifies the gate rather than the city. 大城門 (“the huge gate to the city”).
The Sanskrit translates as “the good city.” YJ is the same as Toh 555. BG and TWC expand to 開甘露門，示甘露器，入甘露城，處甘露室，令諸眾生，食甘露味 (“I have opened the gate of amṛta, have shown the vessel of amṛta, have entered the city of amṛta, am in the room of amṛta, and I am letting all beings taste the flavor of amṛta”).
YJ adds 微妙 (“subtle”), which modifies “vessel.”
The Sanskrit specifies the bherī drum. The Chinese versions all have 大法鼓 (“great drum of the Dharma”). BG and TWC omit “sublime.”
“Supreme” is absent in BG.
“Perfectly” is absent in YJ.
“Great” is absent in BG.
“Enemy” is absent in the Chinese versions. YJ has 諸怨結 (“various bonds of hatred”). BG does not mention the kleśas here.
BG has 燋熱 (“burning heat”).
Rather than “without regret,” YJ has 無悋 (“without stinginess”).
YJ has 耳 (“ears”).
In terms of body parts, BG includes here 頭目髓腦 (“head, eyes, marrow, and brain”).
BG has 真珠瓔珞，金銀琉璃 (“pearl, jade-like stones, gold, silver, and beryl”).
Rather than “meditation,” YJ has 遍修 (“thorough practice”).
This verse is not in the available Sanskrit or in Toh 556 and 557, from which it appears to have been lost. TWC does not have this or the subsequent verses. BG does not have this verse and translates the other verses in very concise forms, with no concluding prose.
Rather than “sesame,” YJ has 麻 (“hemp”).
The Sanskrit is shorter, forming only the first half of the verse: “If all the lords of the forest trees / In the billion worlds were cut down.” YJ has 稻麻竹葦及枝條 (“rice, hemp, bamboo, reed, and branches”).
“That fill the elements of space” is absent in YJ, which has 一切十方諸剎土，所有三千大千界 (“Throughout all the realms of the ten directions, / All the trichiliocosm world realms”).
“A group of such wise persons” is absent in YJ, which has instead彼智人 (“that wise person”).
YJ does not put this line in the form of a question. Instead it has 惟願為說於甚深理修行之法 (“I hope that you will teach the way to practice the profound truth”).
According to Toh 556 phan. Toh 555 has sman (“medicine”). In dbu med there are instances of pha and sma being confused for each other. However, Toh 556 has the full form phan gdags, which is unlikely to be an error for a theoretical sman gdags. The Chinese matches Toh 556: BG has 利益, while YJ as 饒益.
The Tibetan reads a bit differently than YJ, which has 云何諸菩薩，行菩提正行，離生死涅槃，饒益自他故？(“How do bodhisattvas practice the right conduct toward enlightenment? How do they go beyond saṃsāra and nirvāṇa for the sake of themselves and others?”).
In Toh 556, this rhetorical question is asked by the goddess. YJ and BG match Toh 555.
YJ has 云何五蘊能現法界? (“How is the Dharma realm visible through the five skandhas?”).
According to the Narthang version of Toh 555 and Toh 556. “Therefore” is absent in YJ and BG.
“Does not cease” is absent in YJ.
Rather than “its present origination is empty,” YJ has 現在亦空 (“its presence is empty”).
The adjective “genuine” (yang dag pa) is absent from Toh 556 and from the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions of Toh 555. YJ and BG have 安樂 (“peace and happiness”).
According to Toh 555. Both the Narthang version of Toh 555 and Toh 556 have bde ba (“bliss”) instead of bden pa (“truth”).
Rather than “composite characteristics,” YJ has 行相 (“activities that [buddhas and bodhisattvas] engage in”).
Rather than “composite and noncomposite,” YJ has 行、非行 (“activity and nonactivity”).
Rather than “devoid of a beginning or end,” YJ reads 始終寂靜 (“always quiet”).
Rather than “can be taught,” YJ has 能現 (“can appear”).
YJ has 若使我今依於此法得安樂住，是實語者 (“Such a person who allowed me to rely upon this Dharma now and attain a state of happiness is a speaker of truth”).
Rather than “flowers from the trees,” YJ has 蓮花 (“lotuses”).
Here YJ has 無有一法是實相者，但由因緣而得成故 (“none of phenomena are the true nature of things, yet all are formed by causes and conditions”).
Rather than “has no separate nature,” YJ has 不一不異 (“is neither one nor separate”).
Here YJ reads 無有中間而可執著 (“There is also nothing in between [one or separate] that one can be attached to”).
In YJ, the line “therefore, whatever they see or hear, they do not believe that they are real” is included in the quote marks.
YJ reads a little differently: 但隨世俗，如見如聞，表宣其事，思惟諦理，則不如是，復由假說，顯實義故 (“However, the wise teach and make claims about the phenomena / As they are heard and seen in relative terms. / But when the wise pay attention to the truthfulness of things, / They know that the truth is not like that. / Therefore, through provisional teachings, they reveal the real meaning”).
“Correctly” is absent in YJ.
YJ has 已教汝等發心修學無生忍法 (“the bodhisattva Wish-Fulfilling Radiating Light has taught you all to aspire to meditate on the patience that is due to [the cognition of] the birthlessness of phenomena”).
This line is repeated in YJ: 希有！希有！
This refers to the eightfold path, with wisdom being the right view and conduct being the other seven aspects of the path. YJ lists all ten synonyms of a buddha, while BG only lists the first three.
Literally “a hundred thousand times three thousand.” In YJ and BG, this number (三千億) is a compound of two numbers: 三千 (“three thousand”) and億 (“one hundred thousand million”).
Literally “fifty times a hundred thousand.” In YJ and BG, this number (五十億) is a compound of two numbers:五十 (“fifty”) and 億 (“one hundred thousand million”).
YJ and BG suggest that these bhikṣus were to revert from their aspiration to enlightenment: 欲退菩提心. In fascicle 16 of大寶積經 (Da bao ji jing, Ratnakūṭasūtra) it is mentioned that when the Buddha was teaching this sūtra, ten thousand bodhisattvas in the assembly were to revert from their aspiration to enlightenment due to doubts and regrets, mārakarman, and so on. Upon hearing this sūtra, all obscurations were purified.
“Correctly” is absent in YJ.
BG and TWC have simply “The Four Mahārājas.”
This line is absent in YJ.
Assuming sman (“medicine”), which is one of the frequent errors for phan. YJ has 饒益 as a verb for “benefit.” This is absent in BG and TWC.
According to thob in Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné. Degé has thos (“hear”). All three Chinese versions have 聞 (“to hear”).
This sentence is absent in the available Sanskrit, but a similar sentence is in Toh 556. YJ is similar to Toh 555; BG and TWC use the active voice with the verb 遮 (“block,” “stop,” or “omit” those who have no love or compassion).
Rather than “through that cause and condition,” YJ has 以是經故 (“for the sake of this sūtra”).
The last half of this paragraph and the first half of the next is absent in Sanskrit, presumably as a result of a scribal omission because of the repetitive nature of the sentences. All three versions of the Chinese match Toh 555.
The preceding chapter, this chapter, and the following chapter form one chapter in Toh 557, the twenty-one-chapter version. The titles in BG and TWC are the same as Toh 557, simply “The Four Mahārājas.” YJ matches Toh 555.
These lines (“You Four Mahārājas with your army … keep it in your care”) are absent in YJ.
Toh 556 and 557 specify that this is “the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās.” The Chinese is the same as Toh 555: BG and TWC have 四部之眾. YJ abbreviates this as 四眾.
In YJ, this clause is attached to the previous sentence.
Rather than simply “happy,” YJ has 安隱 (“tranquil and stable”).
Rather than “filling the land, the great earth will become powerful,” YJ has 大地沃壤 (“the land is vast and the soil is fertile”).
YJ has 皆得第一不可思議最上歡喜寂靜安樂 (“such a king will attain sublime, supreme, inconceivable happiness and the bliss of solitude”). Note that in YJ these are not part of what the king wishes for but rather what he will attain.
Here YJ reads 於現世中，王位尊高，自在昌盛，常得增長 (“In this lifetime, the king’s status will be noble and high; his power will thrive and constantly increase”). Again, according to YJ, these are not part of what the king wishes for but rather what he will receive.
Rather than “he should reverently perceive him as a rarity,” YJ has 當起虔敬渴仰之心 (“a sincere, respectful, and admiring heart of the king should arise”).
Here “who recites the Dharma” is absent in YJ.
“In that moment” is absent in YJ.
“Who recites the Dharma” is absent in YJ.
Rather than “the Teacher,” YJ has 佛 (“the Buddha”).
Rather than “today I have accumulated an endless, incalculable aggregation of inconceivable merit,” YJ would be better translated as [當令無量百千萬億眾生…] 積集無量無邊不可思議福德之聚 (“[I should make countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of beings] accumulate an endless, incalculable aggregation of inconceivable merit”).
Here YJ has 其王所有自利善根，亦以福分施及我等 (“the king should dedicate to us—as a share of merit—whatever roots of virtue benefit himself”).
BG and TWC have 香氣 (“aroma of the incense”). YJ has 香煙 (“smoke of the incense”). Alternation between the two terms occurs. The term 香 can mean either the incense or the aroma of incense or both.
The Sanskrit for the equivalent passage in Toh 557 omits this nāga king, but he is included further on when the list is repeated. He is present in the Chinese versions. BG and TWC transliterate his name as 娑竭羅; YJ translates the meaning as 大海 (“Ocean”).
Assuming sprin (“clouds”) is in error for spos (“incense”) and in accordance with Toh 556 and 557. YJ, BG, and TWC have 雲蓋 (“parasols of clouds”) here, and later in this paragraph香煙雲蓋 (“parasols of clouds formed by incense smoke”).
The Sanskrit for Toh 557 is tathāgatas. YJ, BG, and TWC match Toh 555 with 佛.
“The complete practice of” is missing in YJ. The subject of the sentence in YJ is The Supremely Victorious King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light.
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. Toh 555 has yi dwags (preta), evidently in error. YJ has 神 (“gods”), while BG and TWC have 鬼神 (“spirits and gods”), which can refer to a broad range of classes of spirits.
Toh 556 and 557 have “shooting stars.” YJ has 彗星 (“comet”). BG and TWC add五星諸宿違失常度 (“the five planets and all constellations go against the fixed law”).
Toh 556 and 557 have “eclipses.” The Chinese versions also have “eclipses.” BG and TWC make clear this refers to both “solar and lunar eclipses”: 日月薄蝕, while YJ specifies that the occurrence of these eclipses is irregular or unpredictable: 博蝕無恆.
According to Toh 556 and 557 (’ja’). Degé has gzha and Choné has gza’. TWC, and BG have 白黑惡虹 (“inauspicious white and black halos”), which appear around the sun and/or moon. YJ has 黑白二虹表不祥 (“black and white halos signaling bad omens”).
Rather than “happiness,” YJ has 安隱 (“tranquility and stability”).
Assuming that sman pa (“doctor”) is in error for phan pa (“benefit”), which is a not infrequent error. YJ has 增益 (“increase and benefit”). BG and TWC have增長身力 (“increase physical strength”) and 心進勇銳 (“sharpen the mind”).
Assuming that sman yon is in error for phan yon. YJ has 勝利 (“superior benefit”). BG and TWC have 增益 (“increase and benefit”).
Rather than “no calamity of invasion,” YJ has 無他方怨賊侵害 (“no invasion from opposing enemies of foreign lands”).
Rather than “demons and hinderers,” YJ has 災厄 (“calamities”).
Assuming that sman pa (“doctor”) is in error for phan pa (“benefit”), which is a not infrequent error. All three Chinese versions have 增益 (“increase and benefit”).
Rather than “also, this will please countless buddhas,” YJ has 復得值遇無量諸佛 (“moreover, they will meet countless buddhas”).
Assuming that sman yon is in error for phan yon. YJ has 勝利 (“superior benefit”). BG and TWC have 功德 (“merit”).
In Toh 557, at this point all the Four Mahārājas rise from their seats and recite verses of praise together. In this sūtra and in Toh 556, this is preceded by this section where Vaiśravaṇa teaches a mantra, a passage that does not appear in Toh 557. YJ matches Toh 555, while BG and TWC match Toh 557.
YJ here adds 我常擁護令彼眾生離苦得樂 (“I will always protect these beings [i.e., those who possess the dhāraṇī] to be separated from suffering and to acquire happiness”).
The instruction to state one’s name is absent in Toh 556 but is included in YJ.
Translation of this mantra: “Homage to Vaiśravana Mahārāja. Thus: rara rara kuno kuno khuno khuno ruṇo ruṇo saba saba kara kara, great courage, great courage, great black one, protect, protect [your name], me and all beings, svāhā.”
Six types of incense are listed in YJ: 安息、栴檀、龍腦、蘇合、多揭羅、熏陸 (“benzoin, sandalwood, dipterocarpaceae, storax balsam, tagara, and mastic”).
YJ has 靜室 (“tranquil room”).
The Tibetan has parayeśvara, where it appears ye is in error for me, both being very similar in dbu med script.
Translation of this mantra: “Homage to Vaiśravaṇa, the giver of great wealth, the lord of wrath. Come, unconquered one, lord of wrath, one with the highest compassion, one who wishes to benefit all beings. Supreme lord, bring me, [say your name], the increase of my wealth, svāhā.”
According to the Narthang version. The Kangxi version has sadhaya. Degé, Lithang, and Choné have sandhāya.
According to the Narthang version. The Lithang and Choné versions have nidtyan. The Degé reads nitatyan.
According to the Narthang version. The Degé has manorathaparipūraya.
Translation of this mantra: “Homage to the Three Jewels. Homage to Mahārāja Vaiśravaṇa. It is thus: simi simi sumu sumu caṇḍa caṇḍa cara cara sāra sāra kara kara kili kili kuru kuru muru muru curu curu. May you always bring accomplishment for me sandhāya ātmanām nitatyan antardhātu svāhā. Homage to Vaiśravaṇa, svāhā. To the bestower of wealth, svāhā. To the fulfiller of the mind’s wishes, svāhā.
Following the Degé of Toh 556, which has dzi nar sha bha. The Yongle and Kangxi have ’dzin nar sha bha. Toh 555 in the Degé has Śaniśi. The Yongle, Lithang, and Kangxi have Śanaśi. The Narthang has Śinaśi. Other texts translate Jinaṛṣabha correctly as rgyal ba khyu mchog. YJ transliterates the name as 禪膩師 (chan ni shi).
Again Toh 555 of the Degé has Śaniśi. The Kangxi has Śanaśi, while the Narthang has Śinaniśi. YJ again has the transliteration 禪膩師 (chan ni shi).
Rather than “if they see such an omen because they have been reciting the mantra,” YJ has 其持呪者見是相已 (“those who possess the mantra after seeing such phenomena”).
Here YJ reads a little differently. Rather than “On those days … keep the wealth,” YJ has 每得物時，當日即須供養三寶，香花飲食兼施貧乏，皆令罄盡，不得停留 (“Whenever they obtain any wealth, they have to make offerings to the Three Jewels on that very day; they should also offer fragrance, flowers, food, and drink to the poor and destitute, such that the wealth obtained is all depleted and there is none that remains”).
Here YJ has 又持此呪者，於每日中憶我多聞天王，及男女眷屬稱揚讚歎。恒以十善共相資助，令彼天等福力增明，眾善普臻證菩提處 (“Moreover, those who recite the mantra should think of me—the deva king Vaísravaṇa—daily. They should praise my male and female retinues, and they should persistently and mutually support them with the ten good actions, such that those deities will increase and augment the power of their merit, increase all good actions, and gain the realization of enlightenment”).
Rather than “even if he seeks advice on what to do,” YJ has 若求官榮 (“if he seeks the official honors/titles”).
Assuming the Tibetan sbyin (“generosity”) is in error for spyin, usually meaning “glue.” This was traditionally mixed with pigments in India, although it also could be used to size cloth before being painted. YJ has 木膠 (“wood glue”), which might refer to xylan.
Rather than “it should be placed upon a throne,” YJ has 安置座處咸令如法 (“when furnishing the throne, it should be done in accordance with the Dharma”).
In YJ, what follows are the ways through which those reciting the mantra should furnish the throne: 布列花彩，燒眾名香，然燈續明，晝夜無歇. 上妙飲食種種珍奇，發殷重心隨時供養，受持神呪，不得輕心 (“They should scatter variegated flowers, burn various incenses, and continuously light lamps so that there is no break day and night. At any time they should respectfully offer the following: excellent, perfect food and drink that are precious and rare. As they possess the mantra, they should not be unmindful”).
According to the Narthang version of Toh 555 and the Degé version of Toh 556. The Degé of Toh 555 has deviye.
According to Toh 556 and the Lhasa version of Toh 555. The Degé version of Toh 555 has gūrṇa gūrṇa.
Rather than “circle,” YJ has 道場 (“the site of rites”).
Rather than “transform into something else,” YJ has 移轉 (“move about”).
Rather than “rites,” YJ has 法 (“Dharma”).
YJ has 富乐 (“happiness and wealth”).
At this point the section absent in Toh 557 concludes as it does in BG and TWC in the Chinese.
In YJ, the second line is still describing the Buddha’s face, so the subject of the line is the face of the Buddha.
YJ uses a different simile: 齒白齊密猶珂雪 (“Your white teeth are neat and dense like jade-like snow”).
“Of the truth” is absent in YJ.
The first three lines of the Sanskrit verse form the entire four lines in Tibetan, with “Jambudvīpa” repeated and the fourth Sanskrit line occurring in the following Tibetan verse. YJ matches the Sanskrit, but the fourth line is 皆蒙擁護得安寧 (“all receive perfections and gain comfort and peace”). BG and TWC interpret the two verses somewhat differently, with the fourth line absent and describing the kings ruling compassionately by 正法 (“true Dharma” or “righteous laws”).
There first two lines are equivalent to the third and fourth lines in YJ in this verse, which read 賴此國土弘經故，安隱豐樂無違惱。. The first two lines of this verse in YJ are 亦使此中諸有情，除眾病苦無賊盜 (“[the power of this sūtra] also make all beings be free from the suffering of illnesses, with no thieves or robbers”).
These two lines correspond to the first two lines of the next verse in YJ: 若人聽受此經王，欲求尊貴及財利 (“if someone listens to this king of sūtras, and wishes for nobility and wealth”).
These two lines correspond to the third and fourth lines of the previous verse in YJ: 國土豐樂無違諍，隨心所願悉皆從 (“The land there will have excellent harvests and freedom from conflict. Everything will be accomplished exactly as wished for”).
These two lines correspond to the first two lines of the next verse in YJ. Rather than “constantly happy,” YJ has 常安隱 (“constantly tranquil and stable”).
Again, the first two lines correspond to lines three and four of the previous verse in YJ. The last two lines correspond to lines one and two of this verse in YJ. This kind of mismatch in lines applies to the following verses as well.
For this line, YJ has 如人室有妙寶篋 (“like having an excellent jewelry box in one’s room”).
Rather than “possession,” YJ has 受用 (“experiences”).
For this line, YJ has 咸共護念此經王 (“they all protect this king of sūtras and hold it in mind”).
For lines one and two, YJ has 常有百千藥叉眾，隨所住處護斯人 (“There will always be hundreds of thousands of yakṣas / That protect such a person based on where they live”).
These four lines of verse are absent in YJ.
Rather than “their limbs,” YJ has 舉身 (“[their] whole body”).
This chapter is missing in TWC. BG includes the translation of this chapter by 闍那崛多 (Jñānagupta or Jinagupta) titled 銀主陀羅尼 (“The Dhāraṇī of Yinzhu”), in which 銀主 appears later in chapter 23 as the name of the second son of the bodhisattva Ruciraketu. YJ translates the title as 無染著陀羅尼, in which the dhāraṇī is described as 無染著 (“free from defilement and attachment”). According to Hui Zhao, this refers to the power of this dhāraṇī to free from the bondage of any defilement and establish bodhisattvas in an irreversible state. Hui Zhao also considers the previous translation as 銀主 to be inaccurate.
Rather than “the word and the meaning,” YJ has 句義, which corresponds to padārtha in Sanskrit, which means “meaning of the word.”
YJ has 作是語已 (“after these words were uttered”) at the beginning of this sentence.
YJ again has 作是語已 (“after these words were uttered”) at the beginning of this sentence.
According to the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions of Toh 556. Toh 555 has abhivayahāra. The Degé version of Toh 556 has abhivyahāra. The Narthang of Toh 556 has abhivyahara.
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has suniśrita.
This sentence is absent in BG.
Toh 556 has ’ong ba. YJ has the transliteration 阿揭多 (a jie duo).
Toh 556 has skad brgya pa (meaning “hundred instants”). Toh 555 has Śateru. YJ has 設羝嚕 (she di lu), likely a transliteration of Śateru, leaving out the first part of the name, Kṣaṇa.
Toh 556 has ’od nyams pa, which appears to have translated kṣaṇaprabha as “Decayed Light” instead of “Instantaneous Light.” Toh 555, following a certain pronunciation of the Chinese characters, reads tsu te kwang. YJ has 主多光 (“Lord of Abundant Light”).
Toh 556 has rgyun gyi bdag po. Toh 555 has su ta ma. YJ transliterates as 蘇多末尼 (su duo mo ni).
“Demons” is missing in YJ.
Toh 556 has “It is thus: nimi nimi nimindhari, illuminator of the three worlds, who holds a trident in his hands, protect me, protect me from all lightning in this place! Svāhā.” YJ does not include hailstorms but otherwise matches Toh 555.
The Tibetan has sman pa (“doctor”) in error for phan pa, a common error. YJ has 大利益 (“great benefit”).
Toh 556 has piṃgala.
Toh 556 reads “tadyathā | kate vikate nikate pratyarthike pratyamitre śuddhe mukte vimale prabhāsvare aṇḍare paṇḍare śvete paṇḍaravāsini harikaṇḍari piṃgala akṣi dadhi mukhi | Protect me, protect me from all premature death. Through the magnificence of Ārya Avalokiteśvara, may I never see any premature death! Svāhā.” YJ does not include thunder, lightning, and hailstorms but otherwise is the same as Toh 555.
According to the Narthang and Lhasa versions of Toh 555, which have bdag. YJ has 我 (“I”). Others have bdag cag (“we”).
The Tibetan has sman pa (“doctor”) in error for phan pa, a common error. YJ has 於諸人天大利益 (“for the great benefit of humans and devas”).
Toh 556 has “tadyathā | muni muni muni nadhari muni mati mati sumati mahāmati hā hā hā hā. Vajrapāṇi has said, ‘You have no bad karma, so do not be afraid!’ Svāhā.” The Chinese matches Toh 555.
The Tibetan has sman pa (“doctor”) in error for phan pa, a common error. YJ has 大利益 (“great benefit”).
“Demons” is absent in YJ.
Tibetan has sman pa (“doctor”) in error for phan pa, a common error. YJ has 大利益 (“great benefit”).
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has mādantima.
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has paraṇale.
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has dalamadade.
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has cadrāvākrī.
According to Narthang and Lhasa’s bdag cag. Others have bdag (“I”), as does YJ, which reads 我 (“I”).
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has maṃgalya.
Toh 556 has rgya mtsho. Toh 555 has nA ga si. YJ has 末那斯 (mo na si). The names of the other nāgas are translated by their meaning.
Toh 556 has āryaje.
The Degé version of Toh 556 has puṇyasopākīye. The Yongle and Narthang versions have puṇyasobākīye. Urga has puṇyasobhākīye. Lhasa has puṇyasaupākīye. Toh 555 has puṇyasobākiye.
YJ adds 厭禱 (“malicious prayers”).
TWC has only two paragraphs. Missing segments are translated by 闍那崛多 (Jñānagupta or Jinagupta) and included in BG. The title, “The Great Goddess,” is absent from BG.
According to the Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa versions, which have thob. The Degé version has thos (“heard”). The Chinese versions have “hearing this sūtra,” followed by 得不可思議捷利辯才無盡大慧 (“attaining inconceivable, agile eloquence and inexhaustible great wisdom”). TWC also includes 不可稱量福德之報 (“the fruition of immeasurable merit”).
The missing segments in TWC begin here.
YJ adds “should take thirty-two kinds of herbs as follows.” The list is given in prose instead of verse. Transliterations of Sanskrit names are included. BG lists twenty-seven ingredients without transliteration. Except for the beginning, the ingredients are listed in a different order.
From the Tibetan gi’u wang. YJ translates this as 牛黃 (Calculus bovis), literally “cow’s yellow substance,” i.e., gallbladder stone, which is yellow in color, and transliterates it as 瞿盧折那 (chu/ju/ji lu zhe na), likely from goroconā. This is absent in BG.
The Sanskrit is mahābhāga. YJ transliterates this as 莫訶婆迦 (mo he po jia), and then translates it as 麝香 (“musk”). Subhaga is a recorded name for musk.
In the Tibetan, the order of medicines in this line differs from that the Sanskrit. BG lists first the transliteration 尸利沙 (shi li sha) from the Sanskrit śirīṣa and then the alternative common name 合昬樹 (“marriage tree”). YJ has them in reverse order.
This appears to be one of three additions to the list in Toh 556 and 557, though Toh 556 and 557’s crepe ginger (dznya ma, from Sanskrit vyama) has not been identified in this list.
This follows the reading sa la ke from Toh 555. Frankincense thus occurs twice in this list according to the Tibetan and Chinese sources. Toh 556 and 557 read gi’u wang bcas, which is similar to the term for "cow bezoar" used in the first verse, above. Bagchi’s edition of the Sanskrit reads samocaka, an otherwise unknown term, whereas Nobel’s edition has sarocanā, which is close to being a literal rendering of the Tibetan gi’i wang bcas. Sarocanā could be understood as a corruption of vamśarocanā, "bamboo sap."
According to Toh 557 and the Sanskrit. The Kangxi of Toh 557 has sukrite. Toh 555 and 556 have sute kṛte. The Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang of Toh 556 read sute tekṛ.
Yongle reads kṛtakamalinalijanakarate. Kangxi has kritakamalinalijanagarte. Lithang and Choné have kṛtakamalinalajinakarate. The Degé of Toh 556 has kamatali nalejanakarate. The Yongle and Kangxi of Toh 556 have kamatāli nalijānakarate. The Lithang and Choné of Toh 556 read kamatāle nalejñanakarate. The Narthang of Toh 556 has kamatali nalijanakarate. The Degé of Toh 557 has kṛtakamala nīlajinakarate. The Yongle of Toh 557 has kṛtakama linalijanakarate. The Kangxi of Toh 557 has kritakamalinalijanagarte. The Lithang and Choné of Toh 557 has kṛtakamali nalajinakarate. The Sanskrit has karajātabhāge. Toh 555 has kamatali nalejanakarte.
According to Toh 557. Toh 555 and 556 read haṅkarate. The Sanskrit has haṃsaraṇḍe.
According to the Degé of Toh 555, 556, and 557. The Kangxi and Yongle of Toh 557 have indrajālini. The Sanskrit reads indrajāla.
The Choné has vaśaddri.
Toh 555 reads avartakasike. Toh 556 has avartakaseke. The Sanskrit has avatāsike.
The Lithang and Choné have śīlamate.
The Yongle and Kangxi have sadyasthite.
The Nobel version has sukṛte kṛtakamalijanakarate haṃkarāte indrajāli śakad drepaśaddre abartaksike na kutraku kapalakapimalamati śīlamati sandhidhudhumamabati śiri śiri satyasthite svāhā. The Bagchi version has sukṛte karajātabhāge haṃsaraṇḍe indrajālamalilaka upasade avatāsike kutra kukalavimalamati śīlamati saṃdhibudhamati śiśiri satyasthita svāhā.
There are two verses here in Toh 555 that are equivalent to this verse in the Sanskrit, Toh 557, and Toh 556.
YJ has 美味并乳蜜 (“food/drink that has a nice taste with milk and honey”).
Sanskrit kanyā and Toh 556 and 557 bu mo specify “maidens.” BG has 童女子 (“maidens”). By contrast, YJ has 童子, which often refers to males.
BG has 膠香 (jiao xiang), also known as 白膠香 (bai jiao xiang), which can be a translation of the Sanskrit of guggulu. YJ has 安息香, which can also be a translation of the Sanskrit guggulu.
This may refer to musical instruments such as the vīṇā (Indian lute) mṛdaṃga (drum), muraja (tambourine), ghaṭa (the pot), violin, and bamboo flute. Those instruments are characteristic of South Indian music, particularly that of Karnataka, which retains the features of ancient Indian classical music while the north has been influenced by traditions from outside India. Alternatively, there are the five tempos, or number of strokes per beat, of South Indian music, as in The White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra and The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Sanskrit: pañcāṅgika; Tibetan: yan lag lnga dang ldan pa). The Chinese versions have “five tones” or “five notes of the Chinese pentatonic scale”: for this BG has 五音聲, while YJ has 五音.
Rather than “arrange,” YJ has 埋 (“bury”).
According to Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa, which have phye ma. BG has 以新淨器盛其香湯 (“use a new, clean container for the liquid of these herbs”). YJ has 末 (“powder”). Degé has phyi ma.
The Sanskrit in the Degé reads sād yathedan. In Toh 556 it is syād yathedan. In the Lhasa, Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang it is tadyathā.
According to Toh 557. The Degé has akarake. The Yongle and Kangxi have anarake. The Narthang reads anarke nayani. The Lhasa version has akarake nayani.
Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa read nayani.
Yongle and Kangxi read khile. The Narthang version has khele.
The Bagchi edition of the Sanskrit has ane nayane hili hili gili khile svāhā. The syllables that correspond to syād, idam, and khikhile svāhā are absent in YJ.
According to Toh 556. The Bagchi edition of the Sanskrit has sugate vigate vigatāvati svāhā. The Nobel edition has sagaṭe bigaṭe bigaṭābati svāhā. Va is transliterated into Tibetan as ba, reflecting the North Indian dialect, as recorded in the Nobel edition. Toh 555 has sagaḍe vigaḍe vigatavati svāhā.
BG omits this paragraph.
Toh 555 has same visame.
Toh 555 reads sagaḍe vigaḍe.
According to Toh 556. Sukhatinate svāhā is absent in Toh 555.
Toh 555 has sāgarasaṃbhuddhāya.
Toh 555 reads skandhamātāya.
Toh 555 has aparājitaviryāya.
Toh 555 reads himavanddhasaṃbhutāya.
Toh 555 has anivilavaktāya.
Svāhā is absent in Toh 556.
Toh 555 has mahādeviye. YJ’s transliteration 莫訶提鼻裔 (mo he ti bi yi) corresponds to mahādeviye.
Svāhā is absent in Toh 556.
YJ has in parentheses “here, recite one’s own name.”
Toh 555 has dā.
Svāhā is absent in Toh 556.
Bharato vicita is absent in Toh 556.
Brahma anumanyatu is absent in Toh 556.
The Bagchi edition of the Sanskrit reads same viṣame svāhā | sugate svāhā | sāgarasaṃbhūtāya svāhā | skandhamātrāya svāhā | nīlakaṇṭhāya svāhā | aparāhitavīryāya svāhā | himavatsaṃbhūtāya svāhā | animiṣacakrāya svāhā | namo bhagavatyai brāhmaṇyai | namaḥ sarasvatyai devyai | sidhyantu mantrapadāstaṃ brahma namasyantu svāhā. The Nobel edition has śame biṣame svāhā | sagaṭe vigaṭe svāhā | sukhatinate svāhā | sāgarasaṃbhūtāya svāhā | skandhamātrāya svāhā | nīlakaṇṭhāya svāhā | aparājitabīryāya svāhā | himabatsaṃbhūtāya svāhā | animilabaktrāya svāhā | namo bhagabate brāhmaṇe | namaḥ sarasvatyai debyai | sidhyantu mantrapadā taṃ brahmānumanyatu svāhā.
YJ adds 大辯才天女說洗浴法壇場呪已 (“having said the mantra of the maṇḍala of cleansing”).
Rather than “practices,” YJ has 流布 (“promulgate”).
Here YJ has 我為是人將諸眷屬作天伎樂，來詣其所 (“I will let my entourage create divine music. My entourage will come to wherever they are”).
Rather than “conjured spirits,” YJ has 蠱道、厭術 (“harmful methods using poison, and malicious techniques that cause harm”).
Wearing a robe made of darbha, also known as kuśa grass, and standing on one leg was a common description of an Indian ascetic.
Toh 555 has sādyathedan. Toh 556 and 557 have syād yathedan.
Toh 555 reads avajavati. Yongle has avaddhe.
Toh 555 has hiṅgule. In both Toh 556 and 557, Yongle and Kangxi have hiṅgule; Lithang, Choné, and Urga have hegule; and Lhasa has hiphule.
Toh 555 has miṅgule. The Yongle and Kangxi versions of Toh 556 and 557 have miṅgule.
Toh 555 has piṅgalavati. In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle and Kangxi have biṅgalavati, while Narthang has piṅgalavati.
Toh 555 has muṅgaśe. In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle has miṅguśe, Kangxi has maṅguśe, and Narthang has miṃguśe.
Toh 555 has marīcyai.
Toh 555 has svamati.
Toh 555 has aghrita maghritara.
In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle and Kangxi have citira, Lithang has citara, Narthang has catara, and Lhasa has cihara.
Toh 555 has cavati.
Toh 555 has civiri.
Mandhi demakhi is absent in Toh 556 and 557.
Toh 555 has marīcyai.
Toh 555 has pranapriye. In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle and Kangxi have pranaye.
In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle has lokajeṣṭhe, Lithang and Choné have lokajyeṣṭha, Kangxi has lokajyeśṭhe, and Narthang has lokaśeṣṭhe. The Kangxi of Toh 555 has lokaśriṣṭha.
Toh 555 has lokaśeṣṭhe virace lokapriye. In Toh 556 and 557, Urga has logapriye.
Toh 555 reads siddhaprate. In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle has siddhaphrite, Narthang has siddhaprite, and Lhasa has siddhiprete.
Toh 555 has bhīmamukji śucucari. In Toh 556 and 557, Lhasa has vimamukhi śucikhare.
Toh 555 has apratihate. In Toh 556 and 557, Lithang, Choné, and Lhasa have apratehate.
Toh 555 has apratihatabuddhi. In Toh 556 and 557, Narthang and Urga have apratihatabuddhe. Lhasa has apratehatebuddhe.
Toh 555 has mahānamuci.
Toh 555 has mahādevyi. In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang read mahādevi.
Toh 555 has pratighṝhānamaskarāna. In Toh 556 and 557, Yongle has pratigrinanamaskarana, Lithang and Choné have pratigṛhnanamaskarana, Kangxi has pratigrihanamaskarana, and Urga has pratigṛhnanamaskaroṃ.
The Bagchi edition reads sure vire araje arajavati hi gule piṅgale piṅgale vatimukhe marīcisumati diśamati agrāmagrītalavitale ca vaḍivicarī mariṇipāṇaye lokajyeṣṭhake priyasiddhivrate bhīmamukhiśacivarī apratihate apratihatabuddhi namuci namuci mahādevi pratigṛhṇa namaskāra.
Regarding “jewels, miracles, and wisdom,” there is another way to interpret YJ’s Chinese, which reads 珍寶神通智慧 (“the wisdom of higher knowledge, which is like precious jewels”). This may be a better interpretation, since the brahmin Vyākaraṇa does not ask for jewels but rather something that may be comparable to jewels.
This sentence is absent in BG.
According to the Narthang and Lhasa versions’ imperative form.
According to the Narthang and Lhasa versions’ imperative form.
According to the Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa versions, which read mtha’ yas. The Degé version has mtha’ las. YJ matches Yongle and so on with 無邊 (“limitless”).
According to the Narthang and Lhasa imperative form.
According to the Narthang and Lhasa versions, which read gsar. The Degé has sar. YJ has 淨 (“clean”).
YJ has 應更用心經九日 (“be even more attentive for nine more days”).
YJ has 晝夜 (“day and night”), which is missing here.
Here YJ has 歎未曾有 (“praised [this Dharma] that was never heard of”).
This is in verse form in Toh 556 and 557.
This sentence and the following verses are absent in BG.
Following YJ, which has 敬禮天女那羅延 (“I reverently pay homage to the goddess Nārāyaṇī”).
Following YJ, which has 長姊 (“eldest sister”). Tib. sring mo chen mo.
There is considerable variance between the editions in both Toh 555 and Toh 556 regarding this word, as to whether it is dang, dngang, or sdang. From the evidence of the Chinese, it appears to have been dngang, and it is more likely that this would be changed to dang (“trust”) than the other way around. The Degé of Toh 555 has dngang ba (“fear”), while the Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang have sdang ba (“anger”). The Lhasa version has mdangs ba (“radiance”). In YJ, this line is expanded into two. It has 眼目能令見者怖 (“your eyes can cause those who see them fear”) as the second line, and歸信之人咸攝受 (“you accept those who have developed faith”) as the fourth line. The Degé, Lithang, and Choné versions of Toh 556 have dang ba (“trust,” “faith”). The Yongle and Kangxi versions have sdang ba (“anger”). The Narthang has dngang ba (“fear”).
Here YJ has 歸信之人咸攝受 (“you gather all humans who take refuge and have faith in you”).
Here following YJ, which has 雞 (“chickens”). Tib. bya.
Here, YJ has 頭圓髻 (“your head has a round knot”).
Here YJ has 四明法, which refers to the four Vedas.
YJ has 天仙 (devarṣis).
According to Toh 555, which has rlabs. In Toh 556, the Yongle and Lithang versions have ldud, the Kangxi and Choné versions have ltung ltad, and the Degé has lud.
Rather than “they gather around you,” YJ has 如大海潮必來應 (“they will necessarily come and respond”).
According to the Choné and Lhasa versions, which have zam. The Degé has zab (“profound”). Toh 556 has gzings (“ship”).
According to Yongle and Kangxi, which have rgyun. Lithang has gyun. Choné has gyur. Degé has rgyan. YJ has 普見世間差別類, 乃至欲界諸天宮, 唯有天女獨稱尊, 不見有情能勝者 (“Look around: [from] different kinds of worlds / To various divine palaces of the desire realm, / The goddess is the most supreme one; / I do not [or, you will not] see any sentient being superior to her”).
YJ has 或為怨讎行殺害 (“if you are killed by your enemies”).
According to the Narthang version, this line is to be the first in the verse, which is in accord with the succession of four-line verses found in the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. Degé and so on have an additional “I pay homage to you.” BG has an additional verse calling all 鬼神 (“spirits and gods”) to pay close attention that he is to praise the great goddess. The second of this verse in BG is replaced by諸天修羅等，乾闥及夜叉，世間諸聖中，一切最為尊 (“Among all the devas and asuras, / Gandharvas, and yakṣas, / Among all the āryas of the world, / You are the supreme one”).
According to the Lithang and Choné, which read ma. The Degé has mi (“humans”), while the Yongle and Kangxi have sam. YJ has 母 (“mothers”), while BG has 女 (“females”). The second line of this verse in BG is replaced by諸天修羅等，乾闥及夜叉，世間諸聖中，一切最為尊 (“Among all the devas and asuras, / Gandharvas, and yakṣas, / Among all the āryas of the world, / You are the utterly supreme one”).
The second half of the verse is absent in BG. In YJ, the list is bow, arrow, sword, spear, axe, long club, discus, and noose, which are items held by Durga in Indian mythology. The earlier verse in this text that mentions 那羅延 (“Nārāyaṇī”) probably refers to Durga, since Nārāyaṇī is an epithet of Durga.
Svāhā is absent in BG.
Here YJ has 晨朝清淨至誠誦 (“in the morning, recite them single-mindedly with purity”).
BG concludes the chapter here, stating 說是偈已，令一切眾悉發阿耨多羅三藐三菩提心 (“After hearing these verses, all in the assembly developed the aspiration to attain complete enlightenment”).
“Pay homage to” is absent in YJ.
According to the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné versions, which have phyogs. The Degé has phrogs (“take”).
In between “the truths” and “of the ṛṣi in Brahmā’s entourage,” YJ has 正行正見妙辩才 (“the sublime eloquence of right action and right view”). However, YJ does not have the following line: “the sublime eloquence of the devarṣis.”
Rather than “the sublime eloquence of the worthy devas,” YJ has 塞建陀天妙辯才 (“the sublime eloquence of god Skanda”).
Rather than “the sublime eloquence of the wish-fulfilling goddess,” YJ has 聰明夜天妙辯才 (“the sublime eloquence of intelligent Kālarātrī”).
For “Śiramara,” YJ has the transliteration 室唎末多 (shi li mo duo).
In YJ, this whole paragraph is in verse form.
Rather than “possession,” YJ has 資助 (“support”).
According to Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Toh 556 bdag. The Degé of Toh 555 has dag. YJ has 生 (“birth”), which CBETA considers an error of 主 (“lord”).
According to the Degé, which has rigs sngags. The Lithang and Choné versions have rigs sngags. The Degé of Toh 556 has rig pa’i gnas (“branch of knowledge”), equivalent to Sanskrit vidyāsthāna. In Toh 556, the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné have rig pa rnams.
According to Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Choné, and Toh 556, which read chud gzon. The Degé has chud gson. The Chinese versions have 唐捐 (“wasted,” “fruitless,” “meaningless”).
Rather than “perfect,” YJ has 佛 (“buddha”).
YJ has 安隱 (“tranquility and stability”).
YJ has 鬼子母 (gui zi mu). Hāritī abducted and killed children to feed the hundreds she had. The Buddha miraculously hid her youngest son under his bowl, and when she asked for help, he demonstrated the suffering she was causing others. She then became a protector of children and women in childbirth.
Rather than “accomplish,” YJ has 所求 (“supplicate”).
BG and TWC have 功德天, which usually translates as Lakṣmī. YJ has the alternative translation 大吉祥, which matches Toh 555 in translating as “the great goddess Śrī.”
Toh 556 and 557 have RatnakusumaguṇasāgaravaiḍūryakanakagirivarṇabhadraSuvarṇaprabhāsaśrī. The Chinese versions translate the name by its meaning. BG and TWC have 寶華功德海琉璃金山照明, following the same order of words as Toh 556 and 557, appearing to omit varṇabhadrasuvarṇa and śrī, and listing all ten synonyms of a buddha. YJ has 琉璃金山寶花光照吉祥功德海 in the same sequence of Toh 555: beryl-gold mountain-jewel flower-radiant light-auspicious-merit-ocean.
Toh 556 has Ratnakusumaguṇasāgaravaiḍūryakanakagirisuvarṇakāñcanaprabhāsaśrī. BG and TWC have 諸佛世尊 (“all the buddhas, lords of the worlds”). YJ has the full name.
The verses are in prose form in BG and TWC.
According to the Sanskrit rasa, which was translated into Tibetan as ro (“taste”). These verses are absent in BG and TWC. YJ translates this as 地味 (“taste or flavor of the earth”).
This paragraph is absent in BG and TWC.
This is the continuation of the preceding chapter in BG and TWC.
“Of the past” is absent in YJ. The Tibetan translation could be a misinterpretation of 先 (“first”) in YJ.
These homages are absent in TWC. YJ has 十方三世 (“in the ten directions and three times”).
This line is absent in YJ.
In Toh 556 the name is Sūryaśataraśmiprabhagarbha, and the previous line is “I pay homage to the Tathāgata Suvarṇaprabhagarbha,” which is absent from this version. It appears that here there was a scribal omission resulting in two names becoming one. Both lines are included in YJ.
This line is absent in YJ.
The Sanskrit manuscript, Toh 556, and Toh 557 have gser ’od dam pa (Suvarṇaprabhāsottama), which is the same as the title of the sūtra. YJ has 金光 (“Golden Light”), equivalent of gser ’od.
This line is absent in BG and TWC. YJ has the line mostly in transliteration except for the word for “goddess.”
According to Toh 556. Toh 555 has sād. Syād is absent in YJ.
According to Toh 556, Sanskrit, and Kangxi. Toh 555 has yathedan.
Toh 555 has pratipūrṇacare.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has samantagate.
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 557. Toh 555 and 556 have mahāmaitri.
The Sanskrit has mahātejopamaṃ hite.
According to the Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang versions. The Sanskrit has ṛṣisaṃgṛhīte. The Degé reads saṃgṛhītete.
According to Toh 556 and 557. The Sanskrit has samayānupālane. Toh 555 has samārtha anupālāni.
BG notes that there are two versions of the transliteration of this mantra and lists both. Svāhā is absent in BG and TWC but present in YJ. In the Yuan and Ming prints of BG following the mantra, there is a concise line: 南無一切三世佛，南無一切諸菩薩，南無彌勒菩薩等 (“I bow to all the buddhas of the three times. I bow to all the bodhisattvas. I bow to the bodhisattva Maitreya. And so on”).
Toh 556 has “seven years.” The Chinese versions match Toh 555.
This sentence is a bit different in YJ, which has 從是以後，當令彼人於睡夢中得見於我，隨所求事以實告知 (“From then on, I will let that person see me in their dreams and tell me truthfully about whatever they aspire to”).
The Sanskrit girikandara is translated into Chinese as 山澤空處 (BG and TWC) and 山澤空林 (YJ). Toh 557 has ri’i sman ljongs (“herbal land in the mountains”). Toh 555 has “a mountain cave.”
Toh 556 has sixty-eight thousand. YJ, BG, and TWC have “sixteen hundred and eight thousand.”
Assuming the common scribal error of sman pa (“doctor”) for phan pa (“benefit”). TWC has 功德倍過於常 (“will gain twice as much merit or power as normal”). BG chooses a similar term 威德 instead of 功德. YJ has 蒙利益 (“will receive benefit”).
YJ has 永離 (“freed forever”).
YJ has 作是語已 (“after these words were uttered”) at the beginning of this sentence.
These paradises are known by the names Cāturmahārājakāyika, Trāyastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarati, and Paranirmitavaśavartin.
YJ has 作是語已 (“after these words were uttered”) at the beginning of this sentence.
Here YJ reads 頂戴其足 (“to support their feet with my head”).
BG and TWC conclude the chapter here.
In accordance with Toh 556, and assuming that dang bcas pa’i has been accidentally omitted. Otherwise, it would mean “relics and an image.” YJ has 舍利 (“relics”).
The Yongle version has bhaha bhaha paśa paśa. The Narthang has bāha bāha śavari śavari. Toh 556 has variṣe variṣe.
Toh 556 has pati.
Toh 556 has kapacali.
Rather than “bless,” YJ has 攝受 (“receive”).
The name can be translated in many ways, one of which could be “that which is to be understood.” In Chinese, transliteration appears in the title and the beginning of the text: 散肢 (BG and TWC), 僧慎爾耶 (YJ). Thenceforth, YJ switches to the meaning of his name 正了知, which might be understood as “realization” or “direct understanding,” while BG and TWC continue to use transliteration.
Toh 557 has rigs. Toh 556 has gnas (“basis”). BG and TWC have 分齊 (“distinction”). YJ has 種類 (“types,” “categories”).
The equivalent chapter in Toh 557 ends at this point.
According to Toh 556. Toh 557 has the common scribal error of sman pa (“doctor”) for phan pa (“benefit”). YJ has 饒益 (“benefit”). This paragraph is absent in BG and TWC, but there is a mantra paying homage to the Tathāgata RatnakusumaguṇasāgaravaiḍūryakanakagirivarṇabhadraSuvarṇaprabhāsaśrī, the Buddha Śākyamuni, the great goddess Śrī, and the great goddess Sarasvatī. The chapter in BG and TWC ends right after the mantra.
According to Toh 556. Toh 557 has the error prahmāya.
The Degé version of Toh 556 has atiṣṭhahe.
The Degé of Toh 556 has saṃvidjñāye.
YJ has 蘇摩 (“soma”).
These first two paragraphs are absent in BG and TWC.
YJ has 天子 (literally “son of heaven”), which is also used to refer to a king. In this context, it could mean either of the two.
YJ matches Toh 555. BG and TWC have 雖在人中，生為人王 (“Although he dwells among humans, / He is born as their king”).
YJ has 父母資半力 (“the parents support with half their strength”).
For this second line of the verse, YJ has 以惡法化人 (“he transforms people in bad ways”).
According to the Sanskrit rājā. The Tibetan has just rgyal. BG and TWC have 是王 (“this king”). YJ has just 王 (“king”).
For this line YJ has 惡黨相親附 (“evil parties are relying on one another”). In Toh 556 and 557, the words spoken by the devas conclude at this point and the following verse is narration. This is also the case in BG and TWC.
YJ has 以非法教人，流行於國內 (“[If a king] teaches people unrighteousness / And the teaching becomes common in that realm”).
“Though innocent” is absent in YJ.
Toh 556 and 557 include this verse, which is followed by a verse that is absent in Toh 555: “People will steal from each other / Their homes, possessions, and wealth. / In this and that region / They will strike each other with weapons.”
Following YJ, which has 行 (“move”).
YJ has 令三種世間，因斯受衰損 (“Because of these, the three kinds of worlds / Will be harmed and will decay”).
In YJ this verse reads 如是無邊過，出在於國中，皆由見惡人，棄捨不治擯 (Those kinds of limitless faults / Will occur in his realm. / This is all because when he sees evil people, / He refuses to punish and expel them”).
Rather than “bless,” YJ has 護持 (“protect and support”).
In YJ the last two lines read 害中極重者，無過失國位 (“Among the harmful things, / The most harmful one is nothing but losing the king’s status”).
Toh 557 has “become angry,” which is in agreement with YJ’s 瞋恨 (“hate”). The Sanskrit prakupyanti could have either meaning. YJ has two additional lines to constitute a verse. From this point on until the last two verses, the last two lines are conjoined with the first two lines of the next verse.
According to the Degé and Narthang versions of Toh 556, which read nyes mgon (“protector/lord of evil”), presumably from pāpapati. Toh 555 has mi dge grogs (“sinful companions”). The Sanskrit reads pāpapatitaḥ (“fallen into sin”). The Degé of Toh 557 and the Lithang of Toh 556 have nye ’khon (“hold a grievance”). The Yongle and Kangxi of Toh 556 and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné of Toh 557 all have nye mkhon (“bias,” “partiality”). Emmerick translates this as “should not take sides.” YJ has 非法友 (“non-Dharmic friends”).
Following the Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang versions, which have yul mi mi ’dor med pa (“no rejected subjects”). The Degé reads yul mi mi drang med pa (“no dishonest subjects”). YJ has 偏黨, which can mean “deviant” or “unrighteous” subjects, or simply “biases.” In the case of the last, the final line would read “there should be no biases.”
In Toh 556 and 557 the chapter ends with these verses.
YJ has 正遍知 (“who is perfectly and fully enlightened”).
According to the Sanskrit. Following the Mahāvyutpatti, praṇita would be the Sanskrit equivalent for the Tibetan gya nom that is given here. In the Sanskrit, jinendraghoṣāya is in the dative case and therefore in Toh 556 and 557 it is translated as “for the speech of the lord of devas.” BG and TWC have 水音聲 (“sounds of water”), in which water may refer to the excellent qualities of water. YJ matches the Tibetan with 妙音聲 (“excellent sounds”).
gnas khang. Toh 556, Toh 557, and Sanskrit have “cave” (Tib. phug; Skt. gūha).
YJ has 正念誦斯微妙典，端然不動身心樂 (“Mindfully reciting this sublime sūtra / And sitting upright, his body motionless, while feeling joyful in body and mind”).
According to Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. Toh 555 appears to be repeating “devas.” BG and TWC have 曼陀羅華, transliterating the Sanskrit mandārava. YJ abbreviates it as 曼陀花 (man tuo hua).
Literally “a hundred thousand of a hundred thousand.” BG and TWC have 百千萬億, a continuous string of “one hundred, one thousand, ten thousand, and one hundred thousand.” If the last numeric term 億 is defined as “one hundred thousand,” it is ten million times ten million, i.e., one hundred trillion. YJ has 千萬億, dropping 百 (“one hundred”) from the TWC version.
According to the Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and Toh 555 in the Narthang and Lhasa versions, all of which read legs skyes. Toh 555 in the Degé has legs pa’i. TWC has 善集 and YJ has 善生, both meaning “excellent birth.”
YJ has 七寶瓔珞具 (“garlands of seven jewels”).
Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 have “ninety-nine trillion.” BG and TWC have 九十九億千, which is equivalent to ninety-nine hundred millions. YJ has 九十九俱胝億 (“ninety-nine hundred thousand koṭi”).
According to the Tibetan of Toh 555, 556, and 557. The Sanskrit has “the three worlds.” The Chinese is in agreement with the Tibetan: YJ has 小國, and BG and TWC 小國土.
In the Chinese, TWC has 104 verses, with four words per line. Some verses contain additional descriptions. YJ has 79 verses, with five words per line.
According to the Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa of Toh 555, which have skyed. The Degé version of Toh 555 has spyod (“practice,” “act”). BG and TWC have “the inconceivable ocean of qualities” as the cause of liberation. YJ has 生, which is equivalent to skyed.
YJ reads 若聽是經者，應作如是心 (“Those who listen to the sūtra / Should have the following thought”).
YJ has 悉皆相捨離 (“will abandon and leave each other”).
The Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions have sangs rgyas (“buddha”) in error for tshangs rgyal. The Sanskrit has brahmendra. Toh 556 and 557 have tshangs dbang (“lord of Brahmās”). The Chinese versions match the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557: BG and TWC have 大梵天王, which YJ abbreviates as 梵王.
The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 have “lord of kinnaras and lord of asuras.” BG and TWC have 緊那羅 (jin na luo), which is a transliteration of kinnaras. YJ has 緊那羅樂神 (jinn a luo yue shen), which combines 緊那羅, transliterating kinnaras, and 樂神, which means “devas of music” or gandharvas.
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. These versions are in agreement with TWC, which transliterates as 迦樓羅王 (jia lou luo wang). YJ translates as 金翅主 (jin chi zhu), “Lord of Golden Wings or Feathers.” Toh 555 has “golden feathers.”
These two lines are not in the Sanskrit or Toh 556 and 557, but they are included in YJ, BG, and TWC.
Here the Sanskrit reads mahādhipa. In Toh 555 this refers to all the devas in their paradises. YJ has 四王眾 (“assemblies of the Four Rājas”), which matches Toh 555. BG and TWC have 護世四王 (“the four lords who protect the world”).
Toh 556 and 557 include Yama in this verse. TWC includes Yamarāja 閻摩羅王 (yan mo luo wang) and presents the deities in a different order.
Toh 555 has the generic me yi lha (“god of fire”) rather than Hutāśana, the literal translation of “consumer of burnt offerings” as in Toh 556: bsreg bya za and Toh 557: sbyin sreg za.
This verse is absent in the Sanskrit but present in YJ, BG, and TWC.
Only the third line of the verse in this translation is included in the Sanskrit version. All four lines of the verse are included in YJ, BG, and TWC.
Following Toh 555 and the Chinese. Toh 556 and the Sanskrit have Maṇibhadra.
The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 have a fourth line not included here: “those who listen to this sūtra.” This additional line is present in the Chinese versions, as the fourth line in BG and TWC, and as the third line in YJ.
According to the Sanskrit, Toh 555, and the Chinese versions. TWC transliterates, while YJ translates by its meaning. The Tibetan in Toh 556 and 557 has just nag po, which in Sanskrit is kāla.
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. Toh 555 has split this into two: Suvarṇa (instead of svarṇa) and Keśa (instead of keśin). BG and TWC translate as 金色髮神 (“Deva with Golden Hair”). YJ transliterates as 蘇跋拏雞舍 (su ba na ji she).
Toh 555 adds the word cung to make “little Praṇālin,” which stands in contrast with Mahāpraṇālī (“big Praṇālin”) in the next verse. BG and TWC transliterate it as 婆那利 (po na li shen). Like Toh 555, YJ adds “little” and specifies the deity as a Dharma protector: 小渠并護法.
Toh 556 divides this name, having instead Monkey and King of the Sun.
According to the Sanskrit, meaning “sun friend.” Toh 556 and 557 are corrupt in all editions, probably because the original was nyi bshes. Toh 556 in the Degé and Toh 557 in the Choné and Urga have gnyen bshes (“friend-friend”). Toh 556 in the Lithang and Kangxi and Toh 557 have gnyis bshes (“two-friend”), while the Yongle version of Toh 557 has the slight variant gnyi bshes, which can also be translated in the same way. Toh 555 has nyi ma’i gnyen (“sun-friend”). TWC transliterates the name as 繡利蜜多 (xiu li mi duo). YJ has 日支, in which the first character means “sun,” and the second character might be an error for 友 (“friend”).
YJ has “to this individual.”
According to the Sanskrit caṇḍikā and Toh 556 and 557, which read gtum mo. Toh 555 has lag na dbyug thog, which appears to have its origins from a manuscript that had daṇḍikā. YJ, BG, and TWC have the same order as Toh 555.
According to Toh 555, 556, and 557. The Bagchi edition has dantī, which would have been translated into Tibetan as so can. TWC has 鳩羅 (jiu/qiu/zhi luo), likely transliterating kula. YJ has 昆帝, transliterating kuntī.
Translated in Emmerick as a description of the previous goddesses (“those who steal the vitality of beings”), and in Toh 555 there appears to be a scribal error of pa (masculine ending), instead of ma. The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 present this as a singular name.
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, which have “fruits.” TWC and BG have “harvests, parks, forests, and fruits.” YJ has “fruits, parks, and forests.”
“Wind” is absent in YJ.
Rather than “holders,” YJ has 讀誦 (“readers and reciters”).
YJ here specifies 地神 (“the earth god”).
The order of this verse and the next is reversed in the Sanskrit and in Toh 556 and 557. YJ, BG, and TWC match Toh 555.
YJ has 六十八億, which is equivalent to six billion eight hundred million.
It could be “gods” or “goddesses” according to YJ, which has 神 (generic “gods”).
Rather than “blessing,” YJ has 威力 (“power”).
According to the Narthang and Lhasa versions of Toh 555, the Sanskrit, and Toh 556 and 557. The Degé version of Toh 555 Degé omits this line. This line is included in YJ, BG, and TWC.
According to the Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and the Chinese (TWC, BG, YJ). Toh 555 appears to have the error lo tog (“harvests”) for me tog (“flowers”).
Rather than “sun and moon,” YJ has 日天子 (“the sun ruler”).
The equivalent chapters in Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 conclude at this point with the seventy-third verse. TWC has an additional verse between this verse and the next one and concludes without the prose.
According to the Sanskrit for Toh 557. Toh 555 appears to have lost the first word in the compound.
“In the same family” is absent in YJ.
According to the Sanskrit for Toh 557. Toh 555 has the same meaning, with the addition of the word for eyes. However, neither appears to be made up of ten components.
The Tibetan repeats rkang pa, and therefore this translation assumes that one means “legs” and one means “feet,” as it is common for rkang pa to mean either. YJ, BG, and TWC have 髓腦 (“marrow and brains”).
“Brains” is absent in the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, but it is present in the YJ, BG, and TWC.
“Oxen” is absent in YJ.
Rather than “crystals,” YJ has 虎珀 (“amber”). YJ next adds 璧玉 (“jade”).
According to the Narthang and Lhasa versions of Toh 555, which have ’dzin; the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557; and TWC, which has 治 (“govern”). The Degé of Toh 555 has ston (“teach”), which is in agreement with YJ’s 化 (“teach”).
YJ, BG, and TWC have長者, which can mean either an “elder” or the “head” of a household or group.
The Sanskrit has jaṭiṃdhara, which corresponds to Toh 556 and 557 ral pa ’dzin. YJ, BG, and TWC have 持水 (“Holder of Water”), which translates from the Sanskrit jaladhara.
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, which have tshe’i rig byed. Toh 555 has just shes pa (“knowledge”). BG and TWC have醫方 (“medical prescriptions of treatments”). YJ includes both醫明 (“medical knowledge”) and 八術 (“eight methods of medical treatment”).
The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 have “finger counting,” an ancient Indian system of making calculations using the hand. YJ adds 印, which can refer to printing or the Chinese art of seal making.
The term “head merchant” throughout this chapter is translated as 長者 (“householder”) in YJ.
Rather than “for a long time,” YJ has 於長夜 (“throughout long nights”).
This verse is absent in the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, but it is included in YJ.
According to Toh 557. Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné have ’jig (“destroyed”), as does Toh 556. Yongle has the error ’jig rten (“world”). Toh 555 has lus ni ’jigs pa (“destruction of the body”), perhaps translating from kṣīyate. The Sanskrit has lakṣyante (“identified,” “discerned”), and the Degé version of Toh 557 has ’dzin, which could correspond to that Sanskrit. BG and TWC have 衰損代謝 (“deteriorate and undergo transitions and destruction”). YJ has 衰壞 (“deteriorate”).
This sentence is in verse in BG and TWC.
This verse is absent in the Sanskrit, in Toh 556 and 557, and in BG and TWC. It is included in YJ.
This and the following five verses are an expanded version of the eighth verse in Toh 556, 557, and the Sanskrit.
The Sanskrit grīṣma means “the time of heat,” which is before the coming of the monsoon rains. YJ, BG, and TWC translate this as 春 (“spring”).
According to the traditional translation of these Āyurvedic terms, the Sanskrit has “astringent, pungent, and bitter.” The Tibetan would more closely translate as “harsh, warm, and hot.” The Degé of Toh 556 has tshwa (“salty”) in error for tsha (“hot”). YJ translates this as 澀熱辛 (“astringent, hot, and pungent”).
Literally, the Sanskrit varṣa translates as “the rains,” meaning the wet monsoon months. The Chinese versions translate this as 夏 (“summer”).
Rather than “pungent,” YJ has 熱 (“hot,” “warm”).
YJ adds 多瞋 (“and anger”).
YJ has 耳輪與舊殊 (“the auricles of the ears are different from how they were before”).
Sanskrit triphala: emblic myrobalan, chebulic myrobalan, and belleric myrobalan.
Black pepper, long pepper, and ginger.
These last nineteen verses are an expanded version of verses 12 and 13 in Toh 556, Toh 557, and the Sanskrit.
YJ renders the name as 水肩藏: 水 (jala), 肩 (skandha), 藏 (garbha).
In Sanskrit jala means “water” and vahāna can mean “to carry” or “bring” (translated as ’bebs in Tibetan, literally “to send down,” and the second meaning is translated as sbyin (“give”)). Translating from Sanskrit, this would be more like “because you carry water and because you bring water.” YJ, BG, and TWC translate jala as 水 (“water”) and vahāna as 流 (“to flow”).
“Son” is omitted and added here for consistency. According to the Lhasa and Narthang versions, which have de; to the Sanskrit; and to Toh 556 and 557. The Degé of Toh 555 and others have the instrumental des, meaning that Jalavāhana was following the fish, gazing on them hopefully. YJ, BG, and TWC omit “son” and have 是長者 (“this elder”).
The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 have “many trees.” There is no indication of singular or plural in the Chinese versions.
Yongle has bcos (“correct”). This matches BG and TWC, which have 修治 (“correct”). YJ has 斷 (“to cut”), which matches Toh 555.
The name of the king is absent in YJ.
Rather than “I,” YJ has “the elephants.”
YJ, BG, and TWC have 皮囊 (“bags made from animal skin”).
The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 have “the elephant keepers.” BG and TWC have 治城人 (“manager of the town or city”). YJ has 酒家 (“tavern”), which matches Toh 555.
In the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, it is only the oldest son. The Chinese versions have no indication of singular or plural.
“Listen to” is absent in YJ.
In the Sanskrit, the first part of this sentence is part of the narrative and not Jalavāhana’s thoughts. YJ, BG, and TWC match Toh 555.
The Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557 also have “unhappiness” at this point. The Chinese versions match Toh 555.
This sentence is absent in YJ.
Rather than “him,” YJ has 未曾有 (“that which was never there before”).
This appears to mean the division into horizontal leaves at the tip of a basil plant. YJ has 蘭香梢, likely referring to the flowers on top of the branches of an arjaka tree.
The passage on the mantras is not present in Sanskrit or Toh 556 and 557. The segment on teaching the dhāraṇīs is absent in BG and TWC.
Rather than “above his head,” YJ has 面邊 (“beside his face”).
YJ has 十千 (“ten thousand”).
YJ has 十千 (“ten thousand”).
YJ has 十千 (“ten thousand”).
In the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, the Buddha’s father, Śuddhodana, was the head merchant and was called Jatiṃdhara. YJ, BG, and TWC match Toh 555.
In the Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and BG and TWC, Rāhula, the Buddha’s son, was Jalāmbara.
In the Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and BG and TWC, Ānanda, the Buddha’s attendant, was Rūpyaprabha.
In the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, the Buddha’s father-in-law, Daṇḍapāṇi, was King Sureśvaraprabha, and the goddess (who is called Bodhisamuccayā instead of the goddess of the Bodhi tree) was at that time the tree goddess by the lake. YJ matches Toh 555. BG and TWC refer to the goddess who revealed the upper half of her body to explain to Jalavāhana the meaning of his name.
In BG and TWC, it is the goddess of the Bodhi tree who requests the Buddha to teach on some of his deeds in past lifetimes.
Although this is presented as a narration by the Buddha, he is described in the third person.
According to the Tibetan lnga lan pa and in Toh 555, the transliterated pañcala. The Sanskrit has prañcala. YJ appears to transliterate this term with 般遮羅 (ban zhe luo).
These two paragraphs are absent in BG and TWC.
“Of the body of” is absent in YJ.
Their response is a four-line verse in Toh 556 and 557. BG and TWC do not have this question and answer. YJ matches Toh 555.
BG and TWC describe the color as red and white and “sublime,” without the analogies.
“Of the body of” is absent in YJ.
According to Lhasa and Narthang brtan. Others have bstan (“show,” “teach,” “manifest”). BG and TWC do not have this question and answer. YJ matches Toh 555.
This is not in the form of a direct quote in YJ, which simply has 歎未曾有 (“they were astonished this had never occurred before”).
In Toh 556 and 557 and the Sanskrit the number of cubs is five. While the number seven is repeated in this passage, in the concluding verses, where the Buddha states that the cubs were eventually reborn as his first five disciples, the number of cubs is given as five. YJ has seven.
At the end of this line, YJ adds 雖常供養懷怨害 (“It still bears grudges and harm”).
According to the Choné version, which has nam yang. The Degé version has nams kyang. YJ has 終歸 (“eventually”).
In BG and TWC, the contents of these verses are presented in prose form, with key words rearranged and conjoined. The second line of the first verse is omitted. The first line reads 我從昔來多棄是身都無所為 (“I have abandoned this body many times without any accomplishment”).
“It is disadvantageous” is absent in YJ.
Assuming sman (“medicine”) is in error for phan (“benefit”), a common error. YJ, BG, and TWC have 法樂 (“joy of the Dharma”).
“Through the Dharma” is absent in YJ.
“Self-control” is absent in YJ.
According to the Degé version, which has ches mkhas, and the equivalent passage in Toh 556 and 557, which is in prose. Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa: chos mkhas (“wise in the Dharma”). Absent in YJ, BG, and TWC. BG and TWC instead have “to benefit all beings.”
Absent in Toh 556 and 557, BG, and TWC. YJ adds that a great many gods or goddesses caught and carried him in their hands so that he was not hurt by his fall. YJ adds 時諸神仙捧接王子，曾無傷損 (“then gods and ṛṣis held him up, so he was not hurt”).
Here YJ adds 涌沒不安 (“unsettled by surging and sinking”).
Here YJ adds 無復光輝 (“and there was no more light and brightness”).
“Without impediment” is absent in YJ.
Rather than “words,” YJ has 慈悲語 (“compassionate words”).
According to Lithang and Choné bcags. Degé has gcags. BG and TWC have 心大愁怖 (“the heart is filled with great sadness”). YJ omits “heart.”
This sentence is absent in BG and TWC.
“The queen” is absent in YJ, which here instead has 大臣 (“ministers”).
The Narthang does not have the negative. The Sanskrit, Toh 556 and 557, and YJ are here saying that the search was for all the princes and that, though princes have been found, the youngest has not. YJ has 聞王子在，願勿憂 愁，其最小者，今猶未見 (“We have heard that the princes are there, so may you have no sorrow. But the youngest prince has not been found so far”).
The section of the text from this point on until the Buddha’s retelling of the events in verse is not present in TWC or BG.
In the prose of Toh 556 and 557, this is the arrival of the two princes who tell the king and queen what has happened. YJ has 第二臣 (“the second minister”).
Here again YJ has 第二臣 (“the second minister”).
According to the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. Toh 555 reads as if both king and queen are saying this, which matches YJ.
“Crazed” is absent in YJ.
According to the Narthang and Lhasa versions, which have rgyal po. The Chinese versions have 大王 (“great king”). Other Tibetan versions have rgyal bu (“prince”).
“Overcome by their love for the prince” is absent in YJ.
Rather than just “weeping,” YJ has 盡哀號哭 (“weeping and wailing with the deepest sorrow”).
Rather than “accompanying each other,” YJ has 共籌議 (“conversing with one another”).
In Toh 556 and 557 and the Sanskrit, the number of cubs is five. Here the number given is seven. However, this appears to be an error because at the chapter’s conclusion the Buddha states that the five cubs were eventually reborn as his first five pupils. YJ has seven.
According to the Lhasa and Narthang versions, which have de tshe. Degé has cho nge (“lament”). YJ, BG, and TWC describe both misery and lamentation.
“Supported” is absent in YJ.
At the end of this line, YJ adds 失所依 (“as they lost the one upon whom they were dependent”).
Here YJ has 我兒今在不？ (“Is my son alive now?”).
According to the Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa versions, which read bkag. Degé has bkug (“summon”). BG and TWC have the king raise his head instead of arms, omitting “unable to stop.” YJ has 不自裁 (“uncontrollable”).
Here YJ has 以釋大王憂 (“in order to dispel your misery”).
YJ here has 次大臣, another term for “second minister.”
Rather than “body,” YJ has 骸骨 (“bones”).
Instead of “minor minister,” YJ has 第三大臣 (“third minister”).
Rather than “to the mountain,” YJ has 山下 (“down the mountain”).
Instead of “in a weakened state,” YJ has 失容儀 (“having lost their decent appearance and demeanor”).
For this line, YJ has 隨緣興濟渡 (“it will help liberate beings according to their circumstances”).
This is not a direct quote in YJ.
Chapters 27, 28, and 29 are conjoined as chapter 18 in BG and TWC, which is titled 讚佛品 (“Praising the Buddha”).
The Degé version has mnyam. The Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa versions have mnyen, which matches 柔軟 in YJ, BG, and TWC. BG and TWC expand the verse into two and use “lotus of gold” as the analogy.
The Kangxi version has zla nyi (“moon and sun”). YJ, BG, and TWC match Toh 555 with 淨滿月.
Toh 556 and Toh 557 have sixty qualities of the Buddha’s speech, which is the usual number of qualities ascribed to the speech of the Buddha.
According to the Degé, which has sred pa. This also matches BG and TWC, which have 愛 (“craving”), and YJ, which has 愛染 (“desire”). The Narthang version has srid pa (“existence”).
YJ has 智 (“wisdom”).
Literally “one hundred thousand ten millions.” BG and TWC have 百千億 (“one hundred thousand 億”), in which 億 equals one hundred thousand. YJ has 千萬億 (“one hundred thousand ten millions”), which is in agreement with Toh 555.
Here YJ has 紅白分明間金色 (“its red and white colors are clear, and they are separated by the color gold”).
YJ reads 千萬 (“ten million”).
Rather than “conches,” YJ has 珂雪 (“jade-like snow”).
Rather than “the moon does not compare,” YJ has 無倫匹 (“nothing can compare”).
BG and TWC have more verses, with added lines and expanded content.
Rather than “preserves,” YJ has 常求 (“constantly pursues”).
YJ has 希有釋種明逾日 (“this wonderful seed of the Śakya clan, his brightness surpasses the sun”).
Rather than “bright face,” YJ has 和顏 (“kind face”).
In the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557, there are more lines of verse in the parallel passages. There are no additional lines in the Chinese versions.
The following verses are not in the Sanskrit or Toh 556 or 557, although they are found in the Khotanese Sanskrit fragments. They are included in the Chinese versions, and BG and TWC have additional verses.
YJ has 三業 (“physical, vocal, and mental activity”). The last two lines are absent in BG and TWC.
This paragraph is condensed and presented in the form of three verses in BG and TWC.
This is the final chapter in the Sanskrit and Toh 556 and 557. The following chapters are not present in those versions.
This chapter is absent in BG and TWC.
The text actually has “moonstone” (chu shel), which is clearly an error. YJ has 赤好如頗梨色 (“red and beautiful like the color of 頗梨”), and it also uses this term in chapter 7, verse 5 (chapter 4 in BG and TWC) to describe the white ūrṇā hair. 頗梨 is normally taken to mean “crystal.” In chapter 7, verse 10, YJ has an additional line that is not present in the Tibetan or BG and TWC: 唇色赤好如頻婆 (“the color of his lips an excellent red like that of bimba fruit”). Here bimba is rendered as 頻婆 (pin po), referring to the bright red gourd bimba. This line is absent in TWC and BG. Comparing beautiful lips to the bimba is a standard description. As “moonstone” would not appear to make sense here, bimba has been used in the main body of the text.
YJ has 三菩提 (“the three kinds of enlightenment”), which refers to the enlightenment of śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and samyaksaṃbuddhas.
YJ has 三業 (“the three activities”), which refers to activities of word, thought, and deed.
“Of a great being” is absent in YJ.
This chapter is entitled 付囑 (“Entrust”) in BG and YJ. According to the foreword by Shi Bao Gui 釋寶貴, this chapter was missing in the TWC translation. At his request, 闍那崛多 (Skt. Jñānagupta) translated this and another missing chapter 銀主陀羅尼, which was equivalent to chapter 13 in YJ, from a newly available Sanskrit manuscript. At a later time, a short text was added to the TWC translation as the nineteenth chapter, which may have been translated by Jñānagupta.
Here following YJ, which has 勇猛心 (“courageous mind”). The Tibetan translates this Chinese phrasing as las su zhig rab tu brtul ba’i sems.
In YJ, this line takes the form of a question: 汝等誰能 (“Which of you could develop a mind…”).
YJ here adds 不惜身命 (“without any care for our bodies and life”).
Here YJ omits “without any care for our bodies and lives.”
For this last line, YJ has 及以持經者 (“and those who possess the sūtra”).
Here YJ has 來生覩史天 (“will be born in the Tuṣita heaven”).
The Tibetan gsungs (“taught”), which is in the past tense, could be an error for srung (“protect”). However, YJ has 演 (“teach,” “expound”). This and the next verses in BG differ considerably, but a synonym of “teach” is included.
Rather than “for those who are dedicated to this sūtra,” YJ has 於此經 (“for this sūtra”).
“Complete” is absent in YJ, though it adds 勤 (“diligently”).
“Placed his palms together in veneration” is absent in YJ.
The syntax in Tibetan was obscure, and therefore this has been translated with reference to YJ, which has 若見住菩提，與為不請友，乃至捨身命，為護此經王.
Rather than “even though I am in,” YJ has 當往 (“I should go to”).
For the first two lines of this verse, YJ has 佛於聲聞乘，說我鮮智慧 (“To the śrāvakas, the Buddha / Has spoken about my wisdom that is rare to find”).
For the first two lines of this verse, YJ has 我今聞是經，親於佛前受 (“Today I heard this sūtra / That is taught directly by the Buddha”).
This section in BG and TWC is lengthier and more detailed than that in YJ. It was added to TWC as a chapter at some point in history. It is included in some editions of TWC or BG translations but not in others. For example, according to CBETA, this section or chapter in TWC is included in the Taishō Tripiṭaka, but not in the Ming 明 edition of the Chinese Tripiṭaka (TWC is not collected in the earlier Song 宋 or Yuan 元 editions). Similarly, it is included in the BG compilation in the Taishō Tripiṭaka, but not in the Ming Song, Yuan, Ming, or Shōgozō 聖語藏 editions. In the Shōgozō Tripiṭaka, TWC is followed by an appendix entitled 懺悔滅罪傳 (“The Story of Regret, Repentance, and Purification”). It recounts the story of a Chinese government official 張居道 (Zhang Ju Dao), who copied and distributed this four-fascicle sūtra after a near-death experience to purify his wrongdoings of slaughtering animals. He also helped others purify their bad karma by reciting the sūtra.
Bibliography
Primary Sources in Tibetan and Chinese
gser ’od dam pa’ i mdo. Toh 555, Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 19.a–151a.
gser ’od dam pa mdo sde’i dbang po’i rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 556, Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 151.b–273.a. English translation The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (2) 2024.
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).
Jin guangming jin 金光明經. Taishō 663 (CBETA, SAT). (Translation of Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra by Dharmakṣema, a.k.a. Tan Wuchen 曇無讖).
Jin guangming zuisheng wang jin 金光明最勝王經. Taishō 665 (CBETA, SAT). (Translation of Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra by Yijing 義淨).
Secondary References—Kangyur
dkyil ’khor thams cad kyi spyi’i cho gag sang ba’i rgyud (Sarvamaṇḍalasāmānyavidhiguhyatantra). Toh 806, Degé Kangyur vol. 96 (rgyud, wa), folios 141.a–167.b.
’jam dpal gyi rtsa ba’i rgyud (Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa). Toh 543, Degé Kangyur vol.88 (rgyud, na), folios 105.a–351.a. English translation The Root Manual of the Rites of Mañjuśrī 2020.
’od srung kyi le’u zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Kāśyapaparivartanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 87, Degé Kangyur vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 119.b–151.b.
ral pa gyen brdzes kyi rtog pa chen po byang chub sems dpa’ chen po’i rnam par ’phrul pa le’u rab ’byams las bcom ldan ’das ma ’phags ma sgrol ma’i rtsa ba’i rtog pa zhes bya ba (Ūrdhvajaṭāmahākalpamahābodhisattvavikurvaṇapaṭalavisarā bhāgavatī āryatārāmūlakalpanāma). Toh 724, Degé Kangyur vol. 93 (rgyud, tsa), folios 205.b–311.a, and vol. 94 (rgyud, tsha), folios 1.a–200.a.
blo gros mi zad pas zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Akṣayamatiparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 89, Degé Kangyur vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 175.b–182.b.
lang kar gshegs pa’i theg pa chen po’i mdo (Laṅkāvatāramahāyānasūtra). Toh 107, Degé Kangyur vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 56.a–191.b.
las kyi sgrib pa gcod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Karmāvaraṇapratipraśrabdhināmamahāyānasūtra) Toh 219, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 297.b–307.a. English translation Putting an End to Karmic Obscurations 2024.
Secondary References—Tengyur
Ajitaśrībhadra. dga’ ba’i bshes gnyen gyi rtogs pa (Nandamitrāvadāna). Toh 4146, Degé Tengyur vol. 269 (’dul ba, su), folios 240.a–244.b.
Ānandagarbha. rdo rje dbyings kyi dkyil ’khor chen po’i cho ga rdo rje thams cad ’byungs ba (Vajradhātumahāmaṇḍalopāyikāsarvavajrodaya). Toh 2516, Degé Tengyur vol. 62 (rgyud, ku), folios 1.a–50.a.
Anonymous. rgyal po gser gyi lag pa’i smon lam (Rājasuvarṇabhujapraṇidhāna). Toh 4380, Degé Tengyur vol. 309 (sna tshogs, nyo), folios 309b–310a.
Anonymous. ’jam pa’i rdo rje ’byung ba’i dkyil ’khor gyi cho ga sems can thams cad kyi bde ba bskyed pa (Mañjuvajrodayamaṇḍalopāyikāsarvasattvahitāvahā). Toh 2590, Degé Tengyur vol. 65 (rgyud, ngu), folios 225.a–274.a.
Anonymous. gser ’od dam pa mdo sde dbang po’i smon lam (Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrapraṇidhāna). Toh 4379, Degé Tengyur vol. 309 (sna tshogs, nyo), folios 304.b–309.b.
Āryadeva. spyod pa bsdud pa’i sgron ma (Caryāmelāpakapradīpa). Toh 1803, Degé Tengyur vol. 65 (rgyud, ngi), folios 57.a–106.b.
Bhavya. dbu ma rin po che’i sgron ma (Madhyamakaratnapradīpa). Toh 3854, Degé Tengyur vol. 199 (dbu ma, tsha), folios 259.b–289.a.
Bhavyakīrti. sgron ma gsal bar byed pa dgongs pa rab gsal zhes bya ba bshad pa’i ti ka (Pradīpoddyotanābhisaṁdhiprakāśikānāmavyākhyāṭīkā). Toh 1793, Degé Tengyur vols. 32–33 (rgyud, ki), folios 1.b–292.a, and (rgyud, khi), folios 1.b–155.a.
Bodhisattva. kun nas sgor ’jug pa’i ’od zer gtsug tor dri ma med par snang ba’i gzungs bklag cing chod rten brgya rtsa brgyad dam mchod rten lnga gdab pa’i cho ga mdo sde las btus pa (Samantamukhapraveśaraśmivimaloṣṇīṣaprabhāsadhāraṇīvacanasūtrāntoddhṛtāṣṭottaraśatacaityāntarapañcacaityanirvapaṇavidhi). Toh 3068, Degé Tengyur vol. 74 (rgyud, pu), folios 140.a–153.a.
Buddhānandagarbha. de bzhin gshegs pa dgra bcom pa yang dag par rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas ngan song thams cad yongs su sbyong ba gzi brjid kyi rgyal po zhes bya ba’i bshad pa (Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatejorājatathāgatārhatsamyaksaṃbuddhanāmakalpaṭīkā). Toh 2628, Degé Tengyur vol. 68 (rgyud, ju), folios 1.a–97.a.
Dharmakīrtiśrī. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan zhes bya ba’i ’grel pa rtogs par dka’ ba’i snang ba zhes bya ba’i ’grel bshad (Abhisamayālaṃkāranāmaprajñāpāramitopadeśaśāstravṛttidurbodhālokanāmaṭīkā). Toh 3794, Degé Tengyur vol. 86 (sher phyin, ja), folios 140.b–254.a.
Dharmamitra. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa’i man ngag gi bstan bcos mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi tshig le’ur byas pa’i ’grel bshad tshig rab tu gsal ba (Abhisamayālaṃkārakārikāprajñāpāramitopadeśaśāstraṭīkāprasphuṭapadā). Toh 3796, Degé Tengyur vol. 87 (sher phyin, nya), folios 1.a–110.a.
Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna. dbu ma’i man ngag rin po che’i za ma tog kha phye ba zhes bya ba (Ratnakaraṇḍodghāṭanāmamadhyamakopadeśa). Toh 3930, Degé Tengyur vol. 212 (dbu ma, ki), folios 96.b–116.b.
_______. byang chub lam gyi sgron ma’i dka’ ’grel (Bodhimārgapradīpapañjikā). Toh 3948, Degé Tengyur vol. 213 (mdo ’grel, khi), folios 241.a–293.a.
_______. mngon par rtogs pa rnam par ’byed pa (Abhisamayavibhaṅga). Toh 1490, Degé Tengyur vol. 22 (rgyud, zha), folios 186.a–202.b.
Ekādaśanirghoṣa. rdo rje ’chang chen po’i lam gyi rim pa’i man ngag bdud rtsi gsang ba (Mahāvajradharapathakramopadeśāmṛtaguhya). Toh 1823, Degé Tengyur vol. 35 (rgyud, ngi), folios 267.b–278.a.
Haribhadra. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa’i bshad pa mngon par rtogs pa’i rgyan gyi snang ba (Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāvyākhyānābhisamayālaṃkārāloka). Toh 3791, Degé Tengyur vol. 85 (sher phyin, cha), folios 1.a–341.a.
Kāmadhenu. ngan song thams cad yongs su sbyong ba gzi brjid kyi rgyal po zhes bya ba cho ga zhib mo’i rgyal po chen po’i rgya cher ’grel pa (Sarvadurgatipariśodhanatejorājanāmamahākalparājaṭīkā). Toh 2625, Degé Tengyur vol. 666 (rgyud, cu), folios 231.a–341.a.
Mañjuśrīkīrti. ’jam dpal gyi mtshan yang dag par brjod pa’i rgya cher bshad pa (Mañjuśrīnāmasaṃgītiṭīkā). Toh 2534, Degé Tengyur vol. 63 (gyud, khu), folios 115.b–301.a.
Paltsek (dpal brtsegs). gsung rab rin po che’i gtam rgyud dang shA kya’i rabs rgyud. Toh 4357, Degé Tengyur vol. 306 (sna tshogs, co), folios 239.a–377.a.
_______. pho brang stod thang lhan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag (Buddhavacanasūcilipi). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 308 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Pramuditākaravarman. gsang ba ’dus pa rgyud kyi rgyal po’i bshad pa zla ba’i ’od zer (Guhyasamājatantrarājaṭīkācandraprabhā). Toh 1852, Degé Tengyur vol. 41 (rgyud, thi), folios 120.a–313.a.
Sahajalalita. kun nas sgor ’jug pa’i ’od zer gtsug tor dri ma med par snang ba de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi snying po dang dam tshig la rnam par blta ba zhes bya ba’i gzungs kyi rnam par bshad pa (Samantamukhapraveśaraśmivimaloṣṇīṣaprabhāsasarvatathāgatahṛdayasamayavilokitanāmadhāraṇīvṛtti). Toh 2688, Degé Tengyur vol. 71 (rgyud, thu), folios 269.a–320.b.
Śāntideva. bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya). Toh 3940, Degé Tengyur vol. 111 (dbu ma, khi), folios 3.a–194.b.
Sthiramati. rgyan dam pa sna tshogs rim par phye ba bkod pa (Paramālaṃkāraviśvapaṭalavyūha). Toh 2661, Degé Tengyur vol. 68 (rgyud, ju), folios 317.a–339.a.
Vairocanarakṣita. bslab pa me tog snye ma (Śikṣākusumamañjarī). Toh 3943, Degé Tengyur vol. 213 (dbu ma, khi), folios 196.a–217.a.
Various authors. bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa [chen po] (Mahāvyutpatti*). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 306 (sna tshogs, co), folios 1.a–131.a.
Various authors. sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa. Toh 4347, Degé Tengyur vol. 306 (sna tshogs, co), folios 131.b–160.a.
Vinayadatta. sgyu ’phrul chen mo’i dkyil ’khor gyi cho ga bla ma’i zhal snga’i man ngag (Gurūpadeśanāmamahāmāyāmaṇḍalopāyikā). Toh 1645, Degé Tengyur vol. 25 (rgyud, ya), folios 290.a–309.a.
Vitapāda. gsang ba ’dus pa’i dkyil ’khor gyi sgrub pa’i thabs rnam par bshad pa (Guhyasamājamaṇḍalopāyikāṭīkā). Toh 1873, Degé Tengyur vol. 43 (rgyud, ni), folios 178.b–219.a.
Wönch’ük (Wen tsheg). dgongs pa zab mo nges par ’grel pa’i mdo rgya cher ’grel pa (Gambhīrasaṁdhinirmocanasūtraṭīkā). Toh 4016, Degé Tengyur vol. 220 (mdo ’grel, ti), folios 1.b–291.a; vol. 221 (mdo ’grel, thi), folios 1.b–272.a; and vol. 222 (mdo ’grel, di), folios 1.b–175.a.
Yeshe Dé (ye shes sde). lang kar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo’i ’grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan (Laṅkāvatāranāmamahāyānasūtravṛttitathāgatahṛdayālaṃkāra), Toh 4019, Degé Tengyur vol. 224 (mdo ’grel, pi), folios 1.a–310.a.
Other References in Tibetan
Kalzang Dolma. (skal bzang sgrol ma). lo tsA ba ’gos chos grub dang khong gi ’gyur rtsom mdo mdzangs blun gyi lo tsA’i thabs rtsal skor la dpyad pa. In krung go’i bod kyi shes rig, vol. 77, pp. 31–53. Beijing: krung go’i bod kyi shes rig dus deb khang, 2007.
Lotsawa Gö Chödrup (lo tsā ba ’gos chos grub). In gangs ljongs skad gnyis smra ba du ma’i ’gyur byang blo gsal dga’ skyed, pp. 17–18. Xining: kan lho bod rigs rang skyong khul rtsom sgyur cu’u, 1983.
Ngawang Lobsang Choden (nga dbang blo bzang chos ldan). ’phags pa gser ’od dam pa mdo sde’i dbang po’i rgyal po’i ’don thabs cho ga (A Rite That is a Method for Reciting the Noble Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light), s.n. s.l. n.d.
Pema Karpo (pad ma dkar po). gser ’od dam pa nas gsungs pa’i bshags pa. In The Collected Works of Kun-mkhyen padma dkar po, vol. 9 (ta), pp. 519–24. Darjeeling: kargyu sungrab nyamso khang, 1973–74.
Other References in English and Other Languages
Bagchi, S., ed. Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtram. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute, 1967. Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon.
Banerjee, Radha. Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra. London: British Library, 2006. http://idp.bl.uk/downloads/GoldenLight.pdf.
Buswell Jr., Robert E., and Donald Lopez Jr. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton University Press, 2014.
Di, Guan. “The Sanskrit Fragments Preserved in Arthur M. Sackler Museum of Peking University.” Annual Report of the Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2013, vol. XVII (Tokyo Soka University, 2014): 109–18.
Lewis, Todd T. “Contributions to the Study of Popular Buddhism: The Newar Buddhist Festival of Guṃlā Dharma.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 16, no. 2 (Winter 1993): 309–54.
Nanjio Bunyiu, Idzumi Hokei. The Suvarṇaprabhāsa Sūtra: A Mahāyāna Text Called “The Golden Splendour.” Kyoto: The Eastern Buddhist Society, 1931.
Nobel, Johannes (1937). Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra. Das Goldglanz-Sūtra: ein Sanskrit text des Mahāyāna-Buddhismus. Nach den Handschriften und mit Hilfe der tibetischen und chinesischen Übertragungen, Leipzig: Harrassowitz.
_______(1944). Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra. Das Goldglanz-Sūtra: ein Sanskrit text des Mahāyāna-Buddhismus. Die Tibetischen Überstzungen mit einem Wörterbuch. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
_______(1944, 1950). Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra. Das Goldglanz-Sūtra: ein Sanskrit text des Mahāyāna-Buddhismus. Die Tibetischen Überstzungen mit einem Wörterbuch. 2 vols. Leiden: E. J. Brill.
Radich, Michael (2014). “On the Sources, Style and Authorship of Chapters of the Synoptic Suvarṇaprabhasa-sūtra T644 Ascribed to Paramārtha (Part 1).” Annual Report of the Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2013, vol. XVII: 207–44. Tokyo Soka University.
______ (2016). “Tibetan Evidence for the Sources of Chapters of the Synoptic Suvarṇa-prabhāsottama-sūtra T 664 A Ascribed to Paramārtha.” Buddhist Studies Review 32.2 (2015): 245–70. Sheffield, UK: Equinox Publishing.
Tanaka, Kimiaki. An Illustrated History of the Mandala From Its Genesis to the Kālacakratantra. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2018.
Tyomkin, E. N. “Unique Sanskrit Fragments of ‘The Sūtra of Golden Light’ in the Manuscript Collection of the St. Petersburg Branch of the Institute of Oriental Studies.” In Manuscripta Orientalia vol. 1, no. 1 (July 1995): 29–38. St. Petersburg: Russian Academy of Sciences.
Yuyama, Akira. “The Golden Light in Central Asia.” In Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2003 (Tokyo: Soka University, 2004) 3–32.
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.