The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (2)
Chapter 15: The Goddess Sarasvatī
Toh 556
Degé Kangyur, vol. 89 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 151.b–273.a
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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 second-longest version of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light preserved in the Kangyur. It comprises twenty-nine chapters and was translated into Tibetan primarily from Sanskrit.
Acknowledgements
This text was translated by Peter Alan Roberts, who translated the text from Tibetan into English and wrote the introduction. Ling Lung Chen and Wang Chipan were consultants for the Chinese versions of the sūtra. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor. Tracy Davis was the initial copyeditor. 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. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Xiaolong Diao, Ting Lee Ling, and H. S. Sum Cheuk Shing checked the translation against the Chinese sources. Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the text, and Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of E E, May-E, Minda, and Chung-Da Ho.
Text Body
The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light
Chapter 15: The Goddess Sarasvatī
Then the great goddess Sarasvatī, with her robe over one shoulder, kneeling with her right knee on the ground and her palms together in homage, bowed toward the Bhagavat and said to the Bhagavat, “Venerable Bhagavat, I, the great goddess Sarasvatī, will bring eloquence to the words of those dharmabhāṇakas so that their words will be beautified. I will also bestow on them the power of mental retention. I will establish them in giving definitions. I will illuminate those dharmabhāṇakas with the great light of knowledge.297 If any line of verse or syllables of this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light is left out, or forgotten, [F.232.a] I will bring all definitions, lines of verse, and syllables to those dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣus.
“So that298 this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light may remain for a long time in Jambudvīpa and not quickly vanish; so that beings can accomplish roots of merit with a hundred thousand buddha bhagavats; so that many beings on hearing this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light may develop inconceivably sharp wisdom; so that they may gain an inconceivable aggregation of wisdom;299 so that they may attain good fortune in this life; so that they may have benefit in life and possess an immeasurable aggregation of merit; so that they may seek a variety of methods;300 so that they may become learned301 in all treatises; and so that they may attain302 perfection303 in a variety of arts, I will bestow the power of retention so that they will not forget.304
“I will teach the rite of cleansing with mantras and medicines for the benefit of the dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣus and the beings who listen to the Dharma, so that harm from the planets, lunar asterisms, birth, and death; all the harms from fighting, pollution, riots, chaos, nightmares, and misleaders; and the harms from all evil spirits and vetālas will cease.
“These are the herbs and medicines through which the wise can cleanse themselves:
tadyathā | sute kṛte308 kamatali nalejanakarate309 haṅkarate310 indrajalini311 śaṃkaradri312 paśaddre313 avartakaseke314 nakutra kukavilakavimalamati śīlamati315 sandhidhudhumamavati śiśiri satyasthite316 svāhā |317
“Engage in the peaceful activity of cleansing by reciting this mantra while washing the body of the Bhagavat:
tadyathā |322 śame viṣame svāhā | sagaṭe vigaṭe svāhā | sukhatinate svāhā | [F.233.a] sāgarasaṃbhūtāya svāhā | skandhamatāya svāhā | nīlakaṇṭhāya svāhā | aparājitavīryāya svāhā | himavatsaṃbhūtāya svāhā | animilavaktrāya svāhā | namo bhagavate brāhmaṇe | namaḥ sarasvatyai devyai sidhyantu mantrapadā daṃ brahma anumanyatu svāhā |323
“I will be there, because of this washing ritual, in order to guard the dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣu and those who listen to the Dharma and those who write it out.
“Together with a host of devas,324 I will end all illness in those villages, towns, marketplaces, and monasteries.
“I will end harm from planetary afflictions, fighting, and pollution; harm from the stars of one’s birth; and all harm from nightmares, troublesome demons, and all evil spirits and vetālas for the bhikṣus, bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess this lord of sūtras, so that their lifespans will be benefited, they will abandon saṃsāra, they will progress irreversibly to the highest, most complete enlightenment, and they will quickly attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood.”
Then the Bhagavat congratulated the great goddess Sarasvatī, saying, “Well done, well done, great goddess Sarasvatī! You act to bring benefit to many beings, and happiness to many beings. It is excellent, excellent that you have given this teaching of mantras and medicines.”
syād yathedaṃ328 mure cire avaje avajavate higule329 migule330 pigalavati331 maguśe332 marici samati daśamati agrimagri tara citara333 capati334 cicirī śirimiri marici praṇaye335 lokajyeṣṭhe336 lokapriye337 siddhiprite338 vimamukhiśucikharī339 apratihate340 apratehata buddhe341 namuci namuci mahādevī342 pratigṛhnanamaskaraṃ343 |344
“May I345 have unimpeded understanding. May I accomplish the knowledge346 of treatises, verses, tantras,347 piṭakas, poetry, and so on.
“I summon the great goddess through the truth of the Buddha, the truth of the Dharma, the truth of the Saṅgha, the truth of Indra, and the truth of Varuṇa. I invoke the great goddess through the truth and true words of all who speak truth in the world.
tadyathā | hili hili352 hili mili hili mili |353 May I be victorious! I pay homage to the Bhagavatī, the great goddess Sarasvatī! May I accomplish the mantra words! svāhā |
354Then Sarasvatī said to the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, [F.234.a] “Great being, it is excellent, excellent, that you give all beings excellent eloquence, miracles, higher cognitions, great wisdom, and so on, benefiting them and causing them to quickly attain enlightenment.”
She then recited these verses in order to teach the rite of possessing this sūtra:
The Kauṇḍinya brahmin, on hearing that teaching, felt immeasurable joy and delight, and he said to that gathered assembly:
361Then the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa, praised the goddess Sarasvatī with these verses: [F.236.a]
The Bhagavat then congratulated the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, saying, “It is excellent, excellent, that you, for the sake of the benefit and happiness of beings, have recited this praise to the goddess Sarasvatī and received sublime accomplishment so that you will possess immeasurable merit.”
[B8]
Then the Kauṇḍinya brahmin, the Dharma master Vyākaraṇa, having prayed to the great goddess Sarasvatī with words of praise and eulogy, said to the assembly, “If you wish to invite the goddess Sarasvatī, be protected by her compassion, have unimpeded eloquence in this life, possess what you have heard, have great wisdom, be skilled in all treatises, and accomplish clear and unimpeded in the adornments of composition, then with a respectful motivation366 and a reverential mind recite these words in order to invite the goddess Sarasvatī:
“I pay homage to the bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and all āryas of the past, future, and present.
“I rejoice in the speech of the bhagavats in the ten directions who remain in valid true speech, who are without deception, and who speak the teaching of the truth in accord with individual capacities and correctly teach the truth constantly for countless millions of eons.
“I bow my body and pay homage to all the bhagavats who, in speaking the truth, spread their vast, long tongues, so that they completely cover their faces, Jambudvīpa, the Four Mahārājas,367 a chiliocosm, a dichiliocosm, a trichiliocosm, and all the countless world realms in the ten directions, dispelling all affliction from the defilements. [F.237.a]
“May I possess such a sublime sign of the tongue and limitless eloquence.
After the Kauṇḍinya brahmin said those words to the goddess Sarasvatī, the goddess said to that great being, “Well done! Any noble man or noble woman who praises with those verses and possesses and keeps those mantra words, and goes for refuge to the Three Jewels, and with a focused, aspiring mind practices in accordance with the rite for their desired goal, [F.238.b] this will not be a waste. Moreover, if they possess, keep, read, and recite this extremely subtle and profound Sublime Golden Light, the king that is the lord of sūtras, then all their aspirations will be quickly accomplished, unless this is done with a distracted mind.”
At that time, the brahmin, his mind filled with admiration and overjoyed, placed his palms together in acceptance.
Then the Bhagavat congratulated the goddess Sarasvatī, saying, “Goddess, it is excellent, excellent, that you protect and spread this sublime Dharma and that you teach this kind of Dharma to all the beings who possess this sūtra, so that happiness, merit, and limitless eloquence increase, and that you cause those who have developed the aspiration to quickly attain the highest, most complete enlightenment.”
This concludes “The Goddess Sarasvatī,” the fifteenth chapter of “The Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light.”
Bibliography
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Translations
Emmerick, R. E. The Sūtra of Golden Light. Oxford: The Pali Text Society, 2004.
Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Sutra of Golden Light, 21-Chapter.
Nobel, Johannes. Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra, Das Goldglanz-Sutra, ein Sanskrittext des Mahayana Buddhismus. I-Tsing’s chinesische Version und ihre Übersetzung. Leiden: E. J. Brill, 1958.