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གསེར་འོད་དམ་པའི་མདོ།

The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (3)
Chapter 4: The Confession According to the Tibetan bshags pa. In Sanskrit the title is deśana (“The Teaching”).

Suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtra
འཕགས་པ་གསེར་འོད་དམ་པ་མདོ་སྡེའི་དབང་པོའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa gser ’od dam pa mdo sde’i dbang po’i rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light”
Ārya­suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtrendra­rāja­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra

Toh 557

Degé Kangyur, vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pa), folios 1.b–62.a

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
+ 7 sections- 7 sections
· Tantric Rituals
· The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light in India
· The Sūtra outside India
· The Sūtra in Tibet
· Comparing the Versions
· Translations into Western Languages
· Detailed Summary of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light
+ 21 sections- 21 sections
· Chapter 1: The Introduction
· Chapter 2: The Teaching on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata
· Chapter 3: The Dream
· Chapter 4: The Confession
· Chapter 5: The Source of Lotus Flowers: A Praise of All the Buddhas
· Chapter 6: Emptiness
· Chapter 7: The Four Mahārājas
· Chapter 8: Sarasvatī
· Chapter 9: The Great Goddess Śrī
· Chapter 10: Dṛḍhā, the Goddess of the Earth
· Chapter 11: Saṃjñeya
· Chapter 12: The King’s Treatise: The Commitment of the Lord of Devas
· Chapter 13: Susaṃbhava
· Chapter 14: The Protection Given by Yakṣas
· Chapter 15: The Prophecy to Ten Thousand Devas
· Chapter 16: Ending Illness
· Chapter 17: The Story of the Fish Guided by Jalavāhana
· Chapter 18: The Gift of the Body to a Tigress
· Chapter 19: Praise by All Bodhisattvas
· Chapter 20: The Praise of All Tathāgatas
· Chapter 21: The Conclusion
tr. The Translation
+ 21 chapters- 21 chapters
1. Chapter 1: The Introduction
2. Chapter 2: The Teaching on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata
3. Chapter 3: The Dream
4. Chapter 4: The Confession
5. Chapter 5: The Source of Lotus Flowers: A Praise of All the Buddhas
6. Chapter 6: Emptiness
7. Chapter 7: The Four Mahārājas
8. Chapter 8: Sarasvatī
9. Chapter 9: The Great Goddess Śrī
10. Chapter 10: Dṛḍhā, the Goddess of the Earth
11. Chapter 11: Saṃjñeya
12. Chapter 12: The King’s Treatise: The Commitment of the Lord of Devas
13. Chapter 13: Susaṃbhava
14. Chapter 14: The Protection Given by Yakṣas
15. Chapter 15: The Prophecy to Ten Thousand Devas
16. Chapter 16: Ending Illness
17. Chapter 17: The Story of the Fish Guided by Jalavāhana
18. Chapter 18: The Gift of the Body to a Tigress
19. Chapter 19: Praise by All Bodhisattvas
20. Chapter 20: The Praise of All Tathāgatas
21. Chapter 21: The Conclusion
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 3 sections- 3 sections
· Primary Sources in Tibetan and Chinese
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Secondary References‍—Kangyur
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Secondary References‍—Tengyur
+ 1 section- 1 section
· Other References in Tibetan
· Other References in English and Other Languages
· Translations
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

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.

s.­2

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.

s.­3

This is the shortest version of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light preserved in the Kangyur. It comprises twenty-one chapters, was translated into Tibetan primarily from Sanskrit, and is the only version for which a complete Sanskrit manuscript survives.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

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.

ac.­2

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 André Rodrigues was in charge of the digital publication process.

ac.­3

The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of May Gu, George Gu, Likai Gu and Tiffany Tai, Lillian Gu and Jerry Yen.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

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 it 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. It is understood to be efficacious for personal purification and beneficial for the welfare of a state and of the world.

Tantric Rituals

The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light in India

The Sūtra outside India

The Sūtra in Tibet

Comparing the Versions

Translations into Western Languages

Detailed Summary of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light

Chapter 1: The Introduction

Chapter 2: The Teaching on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata

Chapter 3: The Dream

Chapter 4: The Confession

Chapter 5: The Source of Lotus Flowers: A Praise of All the Buddhas

Chapter 6: Emptiness

Chapter 7: The Four Mahārājas

Chapter 8: Sarasvatī

Chapter 9: The Great Goddess Śrī

Chapter 10: Dṛḍhā, the Goddess of the Earth

Chapter 11: Saṃjñeya

Chapter 12: The King’s Treatise: The Commitment of the Lord of Devas

Chapter 13: Susaṃbhava

Chapter 14: The Protection Given by Yakṣas

Chapter 15: The Prophecy to Ten Thousand Devas

Chapter 16: Ending Illness

Chapter 17: The Story of the Fish Guided by Jalavāhana

Chapter 18: The Gift of the Body to a Tigress

Chapter 19: Praise by All Bodhisattvas

Chapter 20: The Praise of All Tathāgatas

Chapter 21: The Conclusion


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light

1.

Chapter 1: The Introduction

[B1] [F.1.b]


1.­1

I pay homage to all the buddhas, bodhisattvas, pratyekabuddhas, and noble śrāvakas in the past, future, and present.

1.­2
Thus did I hear at one time.22
The Tathāgata was dwelling
On Vulture Peak, in the Dharma realm,
The profound buddha field of activity.
1.­3
He taught this Sublime Golden Light‍—
Which is the lord king of sūtras‍—
To the supreme bodhisattvas,
Who are pure and immaculate.
1.­4
It is profound to listen to
And profound to analyze.
It has received the blessings
Of the buddhas in the four directions:

2.

Chapter 2: The Teaching on the Lifespan of the Tathāgata

2.­1

Also, at that time, there dwelled in the great city of Rājagṛha [F.3.a] a bodhisattva mahāsattva by the name of Ruciraketu. He had served past jinas, had developed roots of merit, and had attended upon many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddhas. He thought, “Through what causes and what conditions does the Bhagavat Śākyamuni have such a short lifespan of eighty years?”

2.­2

Then he thought, “The Bhagavat has said, ‘There are two causes and two conditions for a long life. What are those two? Forsaking killing and giving food.’ The Bhagavat Śākyamuni has forsaken killing and has correctly adopted the path of the ten good actions for countless hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons. He has given external and internal substances as food to beings, even to the extent of satisfying hungry beings with his own body, blood, bones, and limbs, to say nothing of every other kind of food.”


3.

Chapter 3: The Dream

3.­1

The bodhisattva Ruciraketu then went to sleep and in a dream saw a golden drum54 that was shining brightly like the disk of the sun. In all directions, there were countless, innumerable buddha bhagavats seated upon precious beryl thrones at the foot of precious trees, encircled by assemblies of many hundreds of thousands. Looking straight ahead, they were teaching the Dharma.

3.­2

Then he saw a person who appeared to be a brahmin beating that drum, and he heard a teaching in verse come from the drumbeats.


4.

Chapter 4: The Confession55

4.­1
“One night, though I was not
Sleepy,56 I entered a dream.
I saw a large, beautiful drum
Entirely of golden light.
4.­2
“It was shining like the sun
And completely bright,
Illuminating the ten directions.
I saw buddhas everywhere,
4.­3
“Seated beneath precious trees [F.7.a]
On precious beryl thrones,
Looking straight ahead in the middle
Of many hundreds of thousands of followers.
4.­4
“I saw someone resembling a brahmin
Who beat that big drum.
As he was beating it,
There came these verses:
4.­5
“ ‘Through the sound of the great drum of sublime golden light,
May all the suffering of the lower existences,
The suffering in Yama’s realm,57 and the suffering of poverty
Cease in the three realms within this trichiliocosm.
4.­6
“ ‘Through the sound and words of the great drum,
May all the ignorance in the world cease;
Just as the lord of sages is without fear and his fear has ceased,
So may all beings be without fear and have their fears cease.
4.­7
“ ‘Just like the omniscient lord of sages in saṃsāra
Possesses all the qualities of the āryas,
In that way, may beings become oceans of qualities,
Possessing the qualities of the aspects of enlightenment.
4.­8
“ ‘Through the sound and words of the great drum,
May all beings possess the voice of Brahmā
And reach the supreme enlightenment of
Sublime buddhahood and turn the good Dharma wheel.
4.­9
“ ‘May they remain for countless eons.
May they teach the Dharma to benefit beings.
May they defeat the kleśas and dispel suffering.
May desire, anger, and ignorance cease.
4.­10
“ ‘Those beings who are in the lower realms,
Whose skeleton bodies are burning in fire,
May they hear the sound of the great drum
And hear the words, “Homage to the buddhas!”
4.­11
“ ‘May all beings remember hundreds of lifetimes‍—
Thousands of millions58 of lifetimes.
May they always remember the Munīndra,
And may they hear his vast teaching.
4.­12
“ ‘Through the sound and words of the great drum,
May they always be together with buddhas
And completely forsake bad actions.
May they accomplish good actions.
4.­13
“ ‘May the sound of the great drum
Completely bring to fulfillment
Whatever wishes and prayers are made
By humans, devas, and all beings. [F.7.b]
4.­14
“ ‘May the fires be extinguished
For the beings born in the terrible hells,
Where their bodies burn completely in fire,
And they wander in anguish without a savior.
4.­15
“ ‘May the sound of the great drum
Bring an end to the sufferings of those beings
Who are experiencing intense, unendurable suffering
In the hells, among the pretas, and in the human world.
4.­16
“ ‘For those who have no support,
No protection, and no refuge,
May there be protection and support,
And may there be the supreme refuge.
4.­17
“ ‘The buddhas, the supreme among two-legged beings,
Who have minds of love and compassion,
Who are in the worlds in the ten directions,
I pray that you turn your regard upon me.
4.­18
“ ‘The extremely dreadful bad actions
That I have carried out in the past,
I confess all of them in the presence
Of those who have the ten strengths.
4.­19
“ ‘Whatever bad actions I have done,
Such as ignoring my mother and father,
Not acknowledging the buddhas,
And not acknowledging good actions;
4.­20
“ ‘Whatever bad actions I have done,
Such as being arrogant with pride in my wealth,
And arrogant with pride in my family,
My possessions, and my youth;59
4.­21
“ ‘Whatever bad thoughts, bad words,
And harmful actions I have produced;
Whatever bad actions I have done,
Not viewing them as being harmful;
4.­22
“ ‘Whatever bad actions I have done
Through foolishness of mind,
My mind being darkened by ignorance,
Or being under the influence of bad friends,
4.­23
“ ‘Or through my mind being disturbed by kleśas,
Because of delighting in amusements,
Or through being in misery, being ill,
Or through the evil of dissatisfaction with wealth;
4.­24
“ ‘Whatever bad actions I have done
Because of associating with ignoble beings,
Or caused by my jealousy and miserliness,
Or by my dishonesty and neediness;
4.­25
“ ‘Whatever bad actions I have done
During the times when I was in misfortune, [F.8.a]
Or through fears concerning my desires,
Or when I was parted from my wealth;
4.­26
“ ‘Whatever bad actions I have done
Under the power of a deceitful mind,
Under the power of desire and anger,
Or because of hunger and thirst;
4.­27
“ ‘Whatever bad actions I have done
For the sake of food and drink,
For the sake of women and clothes,
Or from being tormented by various kleśas‍—
4.­28
“ ‘The bad actions of body, speech, and mind,
My accumulation of those three kinds of bad conduct,
Whatever I have done of that kind,
I make a confession of it all.
4.­29
“ ‘I make a confession of all
Disrespect I have shown
To the buddhas, the Dharma,
And likewise to the śrāvakas.
4.­30
“ ‘I make a confession of all
Disrespect I have shown
To pratyekabuddhas
And to bodhisattvas.
4.­31
“ ‘I make a confession of all
Disrespect I have shown
To teachers of the Dharma and
Disrespect I have shown to the Dharma itself.60
4.­32
“ ‘I make a confession of all
My rejection of the Dharma
And disrespect to my parents
Through being in constant ignorance.
4.­33
“ ‘I make a confession of all
Obscuration through stupidity and foolishness;
Through desire, anger, and ignorance;
And through pride and arrogance.
4.­34
“ ‘I will61 make offerings to those with the ten strengths
In the worlds in the ten directions.
I will save from all suffering
The beings62 in the ten directions.
4.­35
“ ‘I will bring63 all the
Countless beings onto the ten bhūmis.
When they have reached the ten bhūmis,
May they all become tathāgatas.
4.­36
“ ‘Until I can free them all
From the ocean of suffering,
For millions of eons I will be active64
For the sake of every single being. [F.8.b]
4.­37
“ ‘I will teach65 those beings
This profound teaching
That is called The Sublime Golden Light
And purifies66 one of all karma.
4.­38
“ ‘Those who have committed dreadful evil acts
Throughout a thousand eons
Will purify67 themselves of them
Through one single confession.
4.­39
“ ‘Those who are obscured by bad karma
Will quickly become purified of it
Through confessing with these confessions
Through the good Sublime Golden Light.68
4.­40
“ ‘I will dwell69 upon the ten bhūmis,
The supreme ten that are the source of jewels.70
I will cause the qualities of a buddha to appear
And liberate others from the ocean of existence.71
4.­41
“ ‘Through the inconceivable qualities of a buddha,
The flow of the ocean of buddhahood,
And the deep ocean of buddha qualities,
I will have the perfection72 of omniscience.
4.­42
“ ‘Through a hundred thousand samādhis,
Through countless powers of mental retention,
And through the strengths, powers, and aspects of enlightenment,
I will become73 a sublime one with the ten strengths.
4.­43
“ ‘I pray that the buddhas look upon me
And regard me with their minds.
I pray that with their minds of great compassion
They apprehend the errors I have made.74
4.­44
“ ‘I am tormented by a sorrowful mind,
By wretchedness, by misery, and by terror
Concerning the bad actions I have done
In the past, throughout a hundred eons.
4.­45
“ ‘I am terrified of my bad actions.
My mind is always low.
Whatever I do,75
I find no happiness.
4.­46
“ ‘All the compassionate buddhas
Dispel the fear of all beings.76
I pray that you apprehend my faults
And free me from fear.
4.­47
“ ‘May the tathāgatas remove
The stain77 of my kleśas and karma.
I pray that the buddhas wash me
With the water of their compassion.
4.­48
“ ‘I confess all my bad actions;
Those that I have done in the past
And those that are my present bad actions,
I make a confession of them all. [F.9.a]
4.­49
“ ‘I make the commitment that I will not do again
All the wrong actions that I have done.
I will not conceal those bad actions,
Those wrong actions that I have done.
4.­50
“ ‘There are three kinds of physical actions;
There are four kinds of verbal actions;
There are three kinds of mental actions‍—
I make a confession of them all.
4.­51
“ ‘Those actions done physically, those done verbally,
And those done mentally‍—
The ten kinds of karma I have created‍—
I make a confession of them all.
4.­52
“ ‘Having forsaken the ten bad actions,
I will practice the ten that are good.
I will dwell upon the ten bhūmis
And be endowed with the ten supreme strengths.
4.­53
“ ‘Whatever bad karma I possess
Will bring undesirable results.
I make a confession of all of it
In the presence of the buddhas.
4.­54
“ ‘Whatever good actions have been done,
Whether in this Jambudvīpa
Or in other world realms,
I rejoice in them all.
4.­55
“ ‘Whatever merit I have created
Through my body, speech, and mind,
Through those meritorious roots
I will reach the highest enlightenment.
4.­56
“ ‘Whatever dreadful bad actions have been made
By a foolish mind distressed within existences,
I confess each one of those bad actions
Before the unequaled one with the ten strengths.
4.­57
“ ‘I confess whatever bad karma I have accumulated
In dangerous lives, in dangerous existences,
In dangerous worlds, with a dangerous and unstable mind,
Through various kinds of dangerous physical behavior.
4.­58
“ ‘In the presence of the unequaled jinas,
I confess every single bad action I have done
Because of perilous, foolish stupidity and kleśas,78
Because of perilous association with wicked friends,
4.­59
“ ‘Because of perilous saṃsāra and perilous desire,
Because of perilous anger and perilous ignorance,79
Because of perilous fatigue80 and perilous times,
And because of a perilous lack of producing merit.
4.­60
“ ‘I praise the buddhas, who are like shining golden mountains,
Who are like Sumeru,81 and like oceans of qualities. [F.9.b]
I go for refuge to those jinas
And bow my head to all those jinas.
4.­61
“ ‘Golden in color, stainless gold, golden light,
With the feature of eyes of pure, stainless beryl‍—
A buddha sun, the source of glorious brilliance and blazing fame
Dispelling deep darkness with the light rays of compassion.
4.­62
“ ‘With perfectly stainless, very beautiful, excellent limbs,
The buddha sun’s limbs are as if covered with stainless gold.
The light rays of the muni moon bring pleasure
To minds pained by the fires of the kleśas, which are like blazing fires.
4.­63
“ ‘With faculties and limbs beautified by the thirty-two supreme signs,
Limbs beautified by the excellent features,
And with a net of light rays producing blazing, glorious, brilliant merit,
You are present like the sun in the darkness of the three worlds.
4.­64
“ ‘Body aspects the color of vast, beautiful, stainless beryl;
The red of dawn, silver, crystal, and copper-red;
Adorned by a net of light rays of various colors,
You, great Muni, are beautiful like the sun.
4.­65
“ ‘The multitude of light rays from the sun of the sugatas dry up82
The intensely fierce and violent ocean of suffering.
Falling into the river of distress, the great river of saṃsāra,
Waters of death and waves of aging83 churn with misery.
4.­66
“ ‘I praise the buddhas, who have golden bodies,
The source of wisdom, supreme within the three worlds.
Their limbs shine with the color of gold;
Their limbs are adorned by beautiful signs.
4.­67
“ ‘Just as the water of the ocean is immeasurable,
Just as the particles in the earth are infinite,
Just as there is no end of stones in Meru,
And just as there is an endless extent to space,
4.­68
“ ‘The qualities of a buddha are similarly infinite.
There is no one among all beings who can know them.
Even if they examined and contemplated for many eons,
They still would not know the end of those qualities.
4.­69
“ ‘By counting for eons one may know how many measures,
Each the size of a drop of water on the tip of a hair,
There are in the earth, with its stones, mountains, and oceans. [F.10.a]
But one could never perceive a limit to the qualities of a buddha.
4.­70
“ ‘May all beings become like that,
With those qualities, colors, fame, and renown,
With bodies adorned by the signs of goodness
And beautified by the eighty features.
4.­71
“ ‘May I,84 through this good karma,
Become before long a buddha in the world.
May I teach the Dharma for the benefit of beings,
And may I free beings afflicted by many sufferings.
4.­72
“ ‘May I be victorious over powerful Māra and his army.
May I turn the good wheel of the Dharma.
May I remain for countless eons,
And may I satisfy beings with the water of amṛta.
4.­73
“ ‘May I bring to completion the supreme six perfections,
Just as the jinas of the past have completed them.
May I destroy the kleśas and clear away suffering,
And bring desire, anger, and ignorance to an end.
4.­74
“ ‘May I always remember lifetimes‍—
A hundred lifetimes, ten billion lifetimes.
May I constantly recollect the lords of munis,
And may I listen to their vast speech.
4.­75
“ ‘May I through these good actions
Always succeed in meeting with buddhas.
May I completely forsake bad actions
And may I practice good actions, the source of merit.85
4.­76
“ ‘May all the bad karma of all beings
In every realm come to an end in their worlds.
May those beings with impaired faculties and defective limbs
All possess complete faculties on this day.86
4.­77
“ ‘May those in the ten directions who have no protector,
And are sick, weak, and feeble in body,
All be quickly freed from illness
And gain health, strength, and their faculties.
4.­78
“ ‘May those whose lives are endangered by attacks from kings87 and robbers
And are in distress from hundreds of various kinds of suffering‍—
All those beings in misfortune and who are suffering‍—
Become freed from hundreds of the greatest, most dreadful terrors.
4.­79
“ ‘Those who are beaten, who are in painful bondage,
Who remain in various kinds of distress, [F.10.b]
Who are disturbed by thousands of tribulations
And meet various kinds of dreadful terrors and miseries,
4.­80
“ ‘May they all become free from their bonds.
May those who are beaten be freed from beatings.
May those who are to be killed gain their lives,
And may they be free from all distress and fear.
4.­81
“ ‘May the beings who are pained by hunger and thirst
Obtain various kinds of food and drink.
May the blind see the variety of forms.
May the deaf hear pleasant sounds.
4.­82
“ ‘May the naked find a variety of clothes.
May poor beings discover treasures.
May all beings become happily possessed
Of many kinds of wealth, grain, and jewels.
4.­83
“ ‘May no one be afflicted with the experience of suffering.
May all beings become beautiful,
With excellent, attractive, pleasant bodies,
And always fully possess many kinds of happiness.
4.­84
“ ‘May beings, completely endowed with merit, have food and drink88
As soon as they think of them.
May they have melodious vīnas, mṛdaṅga drums, and paṭaha drums;
Springs, lakes, ponds, and reservoirs,
4.­85
“ ‘With golden lotuses, and blue and red lotuses;
Food and drink, clothes, wealth, pearls, jewels, and other treasures;
And jewelry of gold and various other jewels and beryls‍—
May they have them all as soon as they are thought of.
4.­86
“ ‘May the word suffering not exist in any world.
May not a single inimical being be seen.
May they all have an illustrious89 color
And may they illuminate each other.
4.­87
“ ‘May that which is perfect in the human world,
And arises in the minds of beings,
Be complete as the result of their merit
As soon as they have wished for it.
4.­88
“ ‘May various perfumes, garlands, ointments,
Clothes,90 powders, and flowers
Rain down from trees throughout the three times,
And may beings obtain them and be made happy.
4.­89
“ ‘May they make offerings in the ten directions
To all the countless tathāgatas,
Perfect bodhisattvas, śrāvakas, [F.11.a]
And the eternal, spotless, stainless Dharma.91
4.­90
“ ‘May they always avoid lower existences,
May they transcend the eight unfortunates states,
May they attain the king of fortunate states,92
And may they always reach the presence of the buddhas.
4.­91
“ ‘May they always be born into a high family.
May they possess a treasure of wealth and grain.
May they be perfectly adorned throughout many eons
By fame, renown, and excellent bodies and color.
4.­92
“ ‘May all women always be males
Who are heroic, courageous, and wise.
May they all practice for the sake of enlightenment,
And may they practice the six perfections.
4.­93
“ ‘May they see the buddhas in the ten directions
Seated blissfully on thrones93 of beryl jewels
Beneath supreme, precious trees,
And may they hear their teaching of the Dharma.
4.­94
“ ‘The bad karma that I have created
In perilous lifetimes I previously obtained,
And the undesirable results accrued by bad karma,
May all of that vanish without any remainder.
4.­95
“ ‘Those beings who are in the bondage of existence,
Tightly bound by the noose of saṃsāra,
May the hands of wisdom untie their bonds,
And may they quickly be freed from suffering.94
4.­96
“ ‘I rejoice in the entirety
Of the various profound merits
Accomplished by beings in this Jambudvīpa
And by those who are in other world realms.
4.­97
“ ‘Through the merit that is created
By my rejoicing in body, speech, and mind,
May I reach the spotless, highest enlightenment,
The result and fulfillment of my prayers.
4.­98
“ ‘Someone who pays homage and praises
With a mind that is always clear,95 pure, and unstained
Will through this recitation of a dedication
Avoid the lower realms for sixty eons.
4.­99
“ ‘The men, women, brahmins, and kṣatriyas
Who praise the jinas, with palms together in homage,
Through the recitation of these verses [F.11.b]
Will remember their lifetimes in all their lives.
4.­100
“ ‘Their limbs will be adorned by all aspects and attributes.
They will be endowed with various merits and qualities.
They will be continually offered to by kings, the lords of men.
That is what they will be like wherever they are.
4.­101
“ ‘Those into whose ears the sound of this confession has entered
Have not accomplished goodness in the presence of only one buddha,
Nor in the presence of only two, or four, or five, or ten,
But rather have accomplished goodness in the presence of a thousand buddhas.’ ”96
4.­102

This concludes “The Confession,” the fourth chapter of “The Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light.”


5.

Chapter 5: The Source of Lotus Flowers: A Praise of All the Buddhas

5.­1

[B2] Then the Bhagavat said to the noble goddess Bodhisattvasamuccayā, “Noble goddess, at that time, in that time, there was a king by the name of Suvarṇa­bhujendra. Through this praise of all the tathāgatas, The Source of Lotus Flowers, he praised the buddha bhagavats of the past, future, and present.

5.­2
“ ‘The jinas who have appeared in the past
And the jinas present in worlds in the ten directions,
I pay homage to those jinas
And I praise all those jinas.97

6.

Chapter 6: Emptiness

6.­1

[F.13.b] Then the Bhagavat recited these verses:

6.­2
“I have taught the Dharmas of emptiness
Very extensively in countless other sūtras.
Therefore, in this supreme sūtra
I will teach the Dharmas of emptiness briefly.
6.­3
“Unknowing beings with little intelligence
Are not able to know all the Dharmas.
Therefore, in this supreme sūtra
I will teach the Dharmas of emptiness briefly.
6.­4
“I teach this lord of supreme sūtras
Through other methods, ways, and causes,
And through compassion, so that all beings will understand
And so that it will arise in beings.131

7.

Chapter 7: The Four Mahārājas

7.­1

Then Mahārāja Vaiśravaṇa, Mahārāja Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Mahārāja Virūḍhaka, and Mahārāja Virūpākṣa rose from their seats, and with their upper robe over one shoulder, knelt on their right knee and, with palms together in homage, bowed toward the Bhagavat and said, “Venerable149 Bhagavat, this Lord King of Sūtras, The Sublime Golden Light, is taught by all the tathāgatas; it is viewed by all the tathāgatas; it is thought of150 by all the tathāgatas; it is possessed by all the assemblies of bodhisattvas; it is paid homage to by all the hosts of devas; it is offered to by all the hosts of devas; it is praised by all the hosts of the lords of devas; it is offered to, praised, and honored by all the protectors of the world; it illuminates all the divine mansions; it brings supreme happiness to all beings; it extinguishes all the suffering in the hells, in the lives of animals, and in the realm of Yama; it brings fears to an end; it repels all the armies of enemies; it brings the calamity151 of famines to an end; it brings the calamity152 of disease to an end; it dispels all planetary influences;153 it brings perfect peace; it ends misery and troubles; and it brings to an end various kinds of calamities‍—it overcomes a hundred thousand calamities.


8.

Chapter 8: Sarasvatī

8.­1

[F.28.b] 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 wisdom. If any line of verse or syllables of this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light is left out or forgotten, I will bring all definitions, lines of verse, and syllables to those dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣus.195


9.

Chapter 9: The Great Goddess Śrī

9.­1

Then the great goddess Śrī said to the Bhagavat, “Venerable Bhagavat, I, the great goddess Śrī, will also, in whatever way, bring a perfection of requisites to those dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣus so that they will gain freedom from deprivation; will have a resolute255 mind; will day and night have happiness of mind; will learn, understand, and correctly recite all the different words and letters in this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light, [F.31.a] so that, for the sake of those beings who have planted good roots with hundreds of thousands of buddhas, this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light will remain for a long time in Jambudvīpa and will not disappear, and so that beings will hear this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light and will experience the happiness of devas and humans for many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of eons, and so that there will be no famine and instead excellent harvests. Beings will become happy through being endowed with every kind of happiness. They will be in the company of tathāgatas, and in a future time will attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood. This will end all the suffering in the hells, in the lives of animals, and in the world of Yama. Robes, food, bedding, medicine while ill, requisites, and other necessities will be brought to those dharmabhāṇaka bhikṣus.


10.

Chapter 10: Dṛḍhā, the Goddess of the Earth274

10.­1

“I pay homage to the Bhagavat Tathāgata Ratnaśikhin.

10.­2

“I pay homage to the Bhagavat Tathāgata Vimalajvala­ratna­suvarṇa­raśmi­prabhā­śikhin275

10.­3

“I pay homage to the Tathāgata Jambu Golden Victory Banner Golden Appearance.276

10.­4

“I pay homage to the Tathāgata Suvarṇa­prabhagarbha.277

10.­5

“I pay homage to the Tathāgata Radiance of a Hundred Suns’ Illuminating Essence.278

10.­6

“I pay homage to the Tathāgata Suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa.

10.­7

“I pay homage to the Tathāgata Suvarṇa­puṣpa­jvalaraśmi­ketu.


11.

Chapter 11: Saṃjñeya286

11.­1

Then the great yakṣa general Saṃjñeya, accompanied by twenty-eight yakṣa generals, rose from his seat and, with his robe over one shoulder, kneeling with his right knee on the ground and with palms together, bowed toward the Bhagavat and said to the Bhagavat, “Venerable Bhagavat, wherever this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light appears, in the present or in future times, whether in a village, town, market town, region, wilderness, mountain cave,287 or royal residence, Bhagavat, I, the great yakṣa general Saṃjñeya, accompanied by twenty-eight yakṣa generals, will come to that village, town, market town, region, wilderness, mountain cave,288 or royal residence.


12.

Chapter 12: The King’s Treatise: The Commitment of the Lord of Devas

12.­1

[B4] I pay homage to the bhagavat tathāgata arhat samyak­saṃbuddha Ratna­kusuma­guṇa­sāgara­vaiḍūrya­kanaka­giri­suvarṇa­kāñcana­prabhāsa­śrī. [F.37.a]

12.­2

I pay homage to Śākyamuni, who lights the lamp of the Dharma, the bhagavat tathāgata arhat samyak­saṃbuddha whose body is adorned by many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of qualities.

12.­3

I pay homage to the great goddess Śrī, who has a perfection of immeasurable grains and a fortune of qualities.


13.

Chapter 13: Susaṃbhava

13.­1
“Whenever I was a cakravartin king,
I gave away the earth with its oceans.
I offered the four continents
Filled with jewels to the past jinas.
13.­2
“Because I sought the Dharma body,
There was nothing in the past that was pleasant
And cherished that I did not give away,
And in many eons, I even gave up my cherished life.
13.­3
“Many countless eons ago,
I was King Susaṃbhava
Within the teaching of the sugata Ratnaśikhin,
A sugata who had passed into nirvāṇa.
13.­4
“He was a cakravartin who ruled the four continents,
And he reigned315 over the land as far as the oceans.
At that time, the excellent king went to sleep
In the royal palace for the teaching of the lord of jinas.

14.

Chapter 14: The Protection Given by Yakṣas

14.­1

“Great goddess Śrī, any noble man or noble woman who has faith and wishes to make an inconceivably, extremely vast and great offering of requisites to the past, future, and present buddha bhagavats, and wishes to know the profound field of activity of the past, future, and present buddhas, whether in a temple or in a wilderness, in whatever place The Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light is being correctly taught, in that place they should, with an undoubting and undistracted mind, pay attention and listen to this Lord King of Sūtras, the Sublime Golden Light.”


15.

Chapter 15: The Prophecy to Ten Thousand Devas

15.­1

When the Bhagavat had said that, the noble goddess Bodhisattvasamuccayā asked him, “Venerable Bhagavat, through what cause and what condition, and through what accomplishment and accumulation of planting good roots, have Jvalanāntara­tejo­rāja and these other ten thousand devas now come from the Trāyastriṃśa paradise, having heard the prophecy to these three sublime beings?

15.­2

“It was thus: this excellent being, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu, in a future time, after many hundreds of thousands of quintillions of asaṃkhyeyas of eons have passed, will attain the highest, most complete enlightenment of buddhahood in the world realm Suvarṇaprabhā. [F.45.a] He will appear in that world as the tathāgata arhat samyak­saṃbuddha, the one with wisdom and virtuous conduct,347 the sugata, the one who knows the world’s beings, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavat by the name of Suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa.


16.

Chapter 16: Ending Illness

16.­1

“Noble goddess, in the past, in a time gone by‍—an inconceivable, vast number, more innumerable than an asaṃkhyeya of eons ago‍—at that time, in that time, the tathāgata arhat samyak­saṃbuddha, the one with wisdom and virtuous conduct, the sugata, the one who knows the world’s beings, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavat by the name of Ratnaśikhin appeared in the world.


17.

Chapter 17: The Story of the Fish Guided by Jalavāhana

17.­1

[B5] “And so, noble goddess, Jalavāhana, the head merchant’s son, had cured the illnesses in the kingdom of King Sureśvara­prabha, so that there were few illnesses and people had the enthusiasm and physical strength they had previously possessed. All the beings in the kingdom of King Sureśvara­prabha were happy, enjoyed amusements, performed acts of generosity, and created merit. They praised Jalavāhana, the head merchant’s son, saying, ‘May Jalavāhana, the head merchant’s son, be victorious! May he be victorious! He is the king of healing,358 who heals the illnesses of all beings. He is the visible presence of a bodhisattva, and he knows all the eight branches of the Āyurveda.’


18.

Chapter 18: The Gift of the Body to a Tigress

18.­1

“Moreover, noble goddess, bodhisattvas give away their bodies in order to benefit others. What is that like?

18.­2

“The Bhagavat,369 with the light rays of a hundred various, stainless, and vast qualities shining on the earth370 and in the paradises, with the vision of unimpeded wisdom, and the power to suppress adversaries,371 accompanied by a thousand bhikṣus, was traveling and passing through the Pañcala372 land and came to a forest.


19.

Chapter 19: Praise by All Bodhisattvas

19.­1

Then those hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas went to where the Tathāgata Suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa was. When they arrived, they bowed down their heads to the feet of the Bhagavat Tathāgata Suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa and arranged themselves to one side. Having arranged themselves to one side, those hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas placed their palms together and praised the Tathāgata Suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa with these verses: [F.60.b]


20.

Chapter 20: The Praise of All Tathāgatas407

20.­1

Then the bodhisattva Ruciraketu rose from his seat and, with his upper robe over one shoulder, knelt on his right knee with palms together, bowed toward the Bhagavat, and then praised the Bhagavat through these verses:

20.­2
“Lord of munis, you have the signs of a hundred merits;
You are adorned by the qualities of a thousand beautiful splendors.
You have an exalted408 color, you manifest supreme peace,
And you shine with light like a thousand suns.

21.

Chapter 21: The Conclusion

21.­1

Then the noble goddess Bodhisattvasamuccayā praised the Bhagavat with these verses:

21.­2
“I pay homage to the Buddha who has pure knowledge,
Who has the knowledge with eloquence in the pure Dharma,
Who has the knowledge that is free from the path of bad actions,
And has the pure knowledge of existence and nonexistence.
21.­3
“Oh! Oh! The Buddha’s magnificence is infinite!
Oh! Oh! He is like the ocean and Mount Sumeru!
Oh! Oh! The Buddha’s activity is infinite!
He is extremely rare like a fig tree flower!

n.

Notes

n.­1
The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (2) (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtra, Toh 556).
n.­2
The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (1) (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottamasūtra, Toh 555).
n.­3
dbu ma rin po che’i sgron ma (Madhyamaka­ratna­pradīpa) Toh 3854.
n.­4
(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 bhagavatī ārya­tārā­mūlakalpa), Toh 724, folio 238.a; (3) dkyil ’khor thams cad kyi spyi’i cho ga gsang ba’i rgyud (Sarva­maṇḍala­sāmānya­vidhiguhya­tantra), Toh 806, folio 152.b;.
n.­5
(1) Vinayadatta, sgyu ’phrul chen mo’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 (Pradīpoddyotanābhi­saṃdhi­prakāśikā­nāma­vyākhyāṭīkā), 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 blta ba zhes bya ba’i gzungs kyi rnam par bshad pa (Samanta­mukha­praveśaraśmi­vimaloṣṇīṣa­prabhāsa­sarva­tathāgata­hṛdaya­samaya­vilokita­nāma­dhāraṇī­vṛtti), Toh 2688, folio 292.b.
n.­6
(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.
n.­7
(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.
n.­8
(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 (Mañjuśrī­nāma­saṃgīti­ṭīkā), Toh 2534, folio 217.b; (4) Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna, 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 (Abhi­samayālaṃkāra­kārikā­prajñāpāramitopadeśa­śāstraṭīkā­prasphuṭapadā), Toh 3796, folio 104.a.
n.­22
In the Sanskrit version of this text, this phrase is part of the first verse, while in the Tibetan, keeping to the traditional phraseology, has more syllables than the following lines. There have been two ways to interpret this traditional beginning of a sūtra, with such Indian masters 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.
n.­54
The Sanskrit translates as “he saw a bherī drum made of gold.”
n.­55
According to the Tibetan bshags pa. In Sanskrit the title is deśana (“The Teaching”).
n.­56
According to the Sanskrit atandrena. The Tibetan translates as g.yel ba med pa, which usually means “undistracted,” although that does not appear to be the meaning here.
n.­57
According to the Sanskrit yāmaloka, which denotes the realm of the pretas. This is normally translated into Tibetan gshin rje’i ’jig rten (“the world of the lord of death”). Apparently due to a lack of space in the verse, the Tibetan omitted ’jig rten (“world”).
n.­58
Literally “thousands of ten millions.”
n.­59
According to the Sanskrit tāruṇya and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné gzhon pa. The Degé has bzhon pa (“steed” or “vehicle”).
n.­60
This verse is absent in the Sanskrit and Chinese, but it is present in the Tibetan and quoted as being from this sūtra by Śāntideva in his Śikṣāsamuccaya.
n.­61
mchod par bgyi. Toh 556 has mchod par shog (“may I make offerings”).
n.­62
sems can. Toh 556 has ’jig rten (“worlds”).
n.­63
’god par bgyi. Toh 556 has ’god par shog (“may I bring”).
n.­64
spyad par bgyi. Toh 556 has spyod par shog (“may I be active”).
n.­65
bstan par bgyi. Toh 556 has ston gyur cig (“may I teach”).
n.­66
According to the Tibetan byang bgyid pa. Toh 556 has byang byed pa. The Sanskrit has kṣaya (“eliminate”).
n.­67
According to the Tibetan byang ba. The Sanskrit has vrajantu (“destroy”).
n.­68
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has deśayiṣye imāṃ dharmāṃ svarṇa­prabhāmanuttarām | ye śṛṇvanti śubhāṃ teṣāṃ saṃyāntu pāpasaṃkṣayam (“I will teach this Dharma, / The Sublime Golden Light, / And those who listen to this goodness / Will have their bad karma eliminated”).
n.­69
gnas par bgyi. Toh 556 has gnas par shog (“may I dwell”).
n.­70
Although the Tibetan translated this as a “source of jewels,” the Sanskrit is ratnākara could also mean “form,” “shape,” or “multitude” of jewels. In the translation of this verse in Toh 555, it was interpreted to mean that the ten bhūmis are “the most perfect jewels.” No version translated ratna as dkon mchog (which would mean “the Three Jewels”).
n.­71
Toh 556 has: “May the qualities of a buddha appear / And may I liberate others from the ocean of existence.”
n.­72
rdzogs par bgyi. Toh 556: rdzogs par shog (“may I have the perfection”).
n.­73
’gyur bar bgyi. Toh 556: ’gyur bar shog (“may I become”).
n.­74
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has the equivalent of these four lines in three, with the fourth line translating as “And free me from fear.”
n.­75
Toh 556 translates as “wherever it is that I go.” Toh 555 translates as “the four kinds of physical actions.”
n.­76
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit translates as “the jinas who free beings from fear.”
n.­77
According to the Tibetan, apparently translating from mala. The present Sanskrit has phala (“the result”).
n.­78
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has cāpalyamadana­citta (“fickle, passionate mind”).
n.­79
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has dveṣa­mohatamasaṃkaṭair (“the deep darkness of ignorance and anger)”.
n.­80
According to the Tibetan ngal ba, presumably translating from the Sanskrit āyāsa. The available Sanskrit has akṣaya (“unceasing”).
n.­81
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has suvarṇa­varṇānavabhāsitadigantān (“who are golden in color, illuminating to the ends of the directions”).
n.­82
According to the Tibetan skoms. The Sanskrit has saṃtāraya (“to bring across” or “to liberate from”).
n.­83
According to the Sanskrit, Toh 555, and rga in the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions of Toh 556. The Degé version of Toh 557 has rgal (“cross over”).
n.­84
According to the Sanskrit nominative case, Toh 556 (which has ni), and the Lithang, Yongle, and Kangxi versions of Toh 557, which have the instrumental gis, which would have the same translation. The Degé version of Toh 557 has the genitive gi (“through my good karma”).
n.­85
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “meritorious good actions.”
n.­86
According to Narthang and Toh 556 de ring (“today”) and the Sanskrit saṃpratam (“in the present”). The Degé has de’u re (“a little”).
n.­87
The Sanskrit has kurāja (“bad kings”).
n.­88
According to the Tibetan zas skom, presumably translating from anna. The available Sanskrit has śānta (“peace”).
n.­89
From the Sanskrit udara, which has been translated into Tibetan as rgya chen (“vast”).
n.­90
According to the Tibetan gos. The Sanskrit has dhūpa (“incense”).
n.­91
According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit the final line has dharmasya bodhipratisaṃsthitasya (“to the Dharma that is established in enlightenment”).
n.­92
According to the Tibetan dal ba’i rgyal po, presumably translating from jihyarāja. The available Sanskrit has jinarājamurti (“meeting the king of jinas”).
n.­93
The Sanskrit translates as “lion thrones.”
n.­94
Toh 556 translates as “and may they attain freedom from suffering.” The Sanskrit has upajā (“may they eventually be liberated”).
n.­95
From the Tibetan rtag dag, apparently translating prasanna.
n.­96
According to the Sanskrit, Toh 556, and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné versions of Toh 557. The Degé version of Toh 557 has ma yin instead of pa yin, and therefore translates as “not in the presence of…”
n.­97
The Sanskrit translates as “the saṅgha of those jinas.”
n.­131
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit translates as “for the sake of the arising of compassion for beings.”
n.­149
“Venerable” is here absent in the Sanskrit.
n.­150
According to the Tibetan dgongs pa. The Sanskrit has samanvāgataḥ (“provided by”).
n.­151
From the Sanskrit kāntāra. The Tibetan translates as its other meaning dgon pa (“wilderness”). Toh 555 has dus ngan (“bad times”).
n.­152
From the Sanskrit kāntāra. The Tibetan translates as its other meaning dgon pa (“wilderness”). Toh 555 has sdug bsngal (“suffering”).
n.­153
According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from graha or possibly pramathana. The Sanskrit has jñānaprakāśakaḥ (“it manifests wisdom”). Toh 555 has ltas ngan (“bad omens”).
n.­195
The Sanskrit here has dhāraṇīṃ cānupradāsyāmi smṛtyasaṃ­pramoṣaṇāya, “and bestow on him the power of mental retention, so perfect memory.” It occurs further on in the Tibetan.
n.­255
According to the Sanskrit svastha and to the Narthang of Toh 557, which reads brtan. The Yongle and Kangxi versions of Toh 557 have rtag (“permanent”). The Degé version has brtas (“increased”).
n.­274
In the Sanskrit, this chapter is divided into chapters 10 and 11, with the former being a very short chapter, “The Dhāraṇī of All the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas.” In Toh 555 and Toh 556, that chapter forms part of the conclusion of chapter 17.
n.­275
The Sanskrit has only Ratnaśikhin.
n.­276
Absent in the Sanskrit.
n.­277
Absent in the Sanskrit.
n.­278
Absent in the Sanskrit.
n.­286
The title of this chapter in Toh 556 translates as “Saṃjñeya, the Lord of Yakṣas.” The Sanskrit translates as “The Great Yakṣa General Saṃjñeya.”
n.­287
According to the Sanskrit girikandara. Toh 557 has ri’i sman ljongs (“land of mountain herbs”).
n.­288
According to the Sanskrit girikandara. Toh 557 has ri’i sman ljongs (“land of mountain herbs”).
n.­315
According to the Sanskrit praśāsyate. Toh 557 translates according one of its other meanings: “teach” (ston). Toh 555 has btul (“subjugated”).
n.­347
This refers to the eightfold path, with wisdom being the right view and conduct being the other seven aspects of the path.
n.­358
Absent in the Sanskrit.
n.­369
Although this is presented as a narration by the Buddha, he is described in the third person.
n.­370
According to the Sanskrit, the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions of Toh 556, and Toh 557. The Degé version of Toh 556 has ba instead of sa.
n.­371
The Sanskrit also has “having attained the five kinds of vision.”
n.­372
According to the Tibetan lnga lan pa and in Toh 555 the transliterated pañcala. The Bhagji edition has prañcala.
n.­407
In the Sanskrit, this is a continuation of the previous chapter and not a separate chapter.
n.­408
From the Sanskrit udāra, which the Tibetan has translated as rgya che (“vast”).

b.

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. English translation The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (1) 2023.

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.

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 ga gsang 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 bhagavatī 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 (Pradīpoddyotanābhi­saṃdhi­prakāśikā­nāma­vyākhyāṭīkā). 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.

Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna. byang chub lam gyi sgron ma’i dka’ ’grel (Bodhi­mārga­pradīpa­pañjikā). Toh 3948, Degé Tengyur vol. 213 (mdo ’grel, khi), folios 241.a–293.a.

Dīpaṁkaraśrījñāna. 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.

Paltsek (dpal brtsegs). pho brang stod thang lhan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag. 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.

Nobel, Johannes (1944). Suvarṇa­bhāsottama­sūtra. Das Goldglanz-Sūtra: ein Sanskrit text des Mahāyāna-Buddhismus. Die Tibetischen Überstzungen mit einem Wörterbuch. Leiden: E. J. Brill.

Nobel, Johannes (1944, 1950). Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra. Das Goldglanz-Sūtra: ein Sanskrit text des Mahāyāna-Buddhismus. Die Tibetishcen 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 (Tokyo: Soka University, 2014): 207–44.

Radich, Michael (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.

Yuama, 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.


g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.

AA

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­1

acacia

Wylie:
  • shi ri sha
Tibetan:
  • ཤི་རི་ཤ།
Sanskrit:
  • śirīṣa AS

Albizia lebbeck. A tall tree that can grow to 100 feet. Other common names include Indian walnut, lebbeck, lebbeck tree, flea tree, frywood, koko, and "woman’s tongue tree." The bark is used medicinally.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 8.­5
g.­2

aerial palace

Wylie:
  • gzhal med khang
Tibetan:
  • གཞལ་མེད་ཁང་།
Sanskrit:
  • vimāna AS

These palaces served as both residences and vehicles for deities.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­39
  • 10.­33
g.­3

agarwood

Wylie:
  • a ga ru
Tibetan:
  • ཨ་ག་རུ།
Sanskrit:
  • agaru AS

Amyris agallocha. Also called agallochum and aloeswood. This is a resinous heartwood that has been infected by the fungus Phialophora parasitica. In India, agarwood is primarily derived from the fifteen Aquilaria (Aquilaria malaccensis) and nine Gyrinops species of lign-aloe trees.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 8.­5
g.­6

Alakāvati

Wylie:
  • lcang lo can
Tibetan:
  • ལྕང་ལོ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • alakāvati AS

The kingdom of yakṣas located on Mount Sumeru and ruled over by Kubera, also known as Vaiśravaṇa.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­40
  • 9.­5
  • g.­183
  • g.­235
g.­9

amṛta

Wylie:
  • bdud rtsi
Tibetan:
  • བདུད་རྩི།
Sanskrit:
  • amṛta AS

The nectar of immortality possessed by the devas, it is used as a metaphor for the teaching that brings liberation.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­72
  • 6.­23
  • 6.­26
  • 7.­2
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­65-66
  • 7.­71
  • 18.­5
  • n.­406
g.­12

arhat

Wylie:
  • dgra bcom pa
Tibetan:
  • དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • arhat AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­7
  • 7.­33
  • 7.­40
  • 7.­75-76
  • 9.­2
  • 9.­5
  • 12.­1-2
  • 15.­2-4
  • 15.­13
  • 16.­1-2
  • 17.­21
  • 17.­23
  • 17.­27
  • 17.­46
g.­14

ārya

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ārya AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit ārya has the general meaning of a noble person, one of a higher class or caste. In Buddhist literature, depending on the context, it often means specifically one who has gained the realization of the path and is superior for that reason. In particular, it applies to stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and worthy ones (arhats) and is also used as an epithet of bodhisattvas. In the five-path system, it refers to someone who has achieved at least the path of seeing (darśanamārga).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­7
  • 13.­7
g.­16

aspects of enlightenment

Wylie:
  • byang chub yan lag
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཡན་ལག
Sanskrit:
  • bodhyaṅga AS

The seven branches of enlightenment are mindfulness, analysis of phenomena, diligence, joy, tranquility, samādhi, and equanimity.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­7
  • 4.­42
g.­21

Āyurveda

Wylie:
  • tshe’i rig byed
Tibetan:
  • ཚེའི་རིག་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • āyurveda AS

The classical system of Indian medicine.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 16.­3
  • 16.­6
  • 16.­22
  • 17.­1
  • n.­203
  • g.­26
  • g.­36
  • g.­53
  • g.­168
g.­27

Bhagavat

Wylie:
  • bcom ldan ’das
Tibetan:
  • བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
Sanskrit:
  • bhagavat AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

Located in 125 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­5-9
  • 2.­18-20
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­45
  • 2.­49-50
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­3-4
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­1
  • 7.­1-14
  • 7.­18
  • 7.­20-21
  • 7.­24-27
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­38
  • 7.­40
  • 7.­42-45
  • 7.­64-78
  • 7.­82-83
  • 7.­89
  • 7.­105-106
  • 8.­1-2
  • 8.­15
  • 8.­22
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­20-21
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­26-32
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­4-8
  • 12.­1-2
  • 14.­1-2
  • 15.­1-2
  • 15.­4-6
  • 15.­12-14
  • 16.­1
  • 17.­41
  • 18.­2-7
  • 18.­9-12
  • 18.­14-16
  • 18.­80
  • 19.­1
  • 20.­1
  • 21.­1
  • 21.­12-13
  • g.­28
g.­29

bherī drum

Wylie:
  • rnga
Tibetan:
  • རྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • bherī AS

As specified in the Sanskrit, a conical or bowl-shaped kettledrum, with an upper surface that is beaten with sticks. The Tibetan and Chinese are not specific about the kind of drum it is.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • n.­54
  • n.­120
  • n.­142
g.­30

bhikṣu

Wylie:
  • dge slong
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་།
Sanskrit:
  • bhikṣu AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.

In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).

Located in 41 passages in the translation:

  • i.­50
  • 7.­7-10
  • 7.­12-13
  • 7.­19-20
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­36
  • 7.­41-42
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­71
  • 7.­79-81
  • 7.­106
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­3
  • 8.­19
  • 8.­21
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­21
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­8
  • 13.­7
  • 13.­19
  • 13.­27
  • 17.­21
  • 18.­2
  • 18.­6-7
  • 18.­14
  • 18.­138
  • n.­169
  • n.­366
g.­32

bhūmi

Wylie:
  • sa
Tibetan:
  • ས།
Sanskrit:
  • bhūmi AS

Literally the “grounds” in which qualities grow, and also meaning “levels.” Here it refers specifically to levels of enlightenment, especially the ten levels of the bodhisattvas.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • i.­25
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­52
  • n.­70
g.­39

bodhisattva mahāsattva

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems dpa’ sems dpa’ chen po
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ་སེམས་དཔའ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhi­sattva­mahā­sattva AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term can be understood to mean “great courageous one” or "great hero,” or (from the Sanskrit) simply “great being,” and is almost always found as an epithet of “bodhisattva.” The qualification “great” in this term, according to the majority of canonical definitions, focuses on the generic greatness common to all bodhisattvas, i.e., the greatness implicit in the bodhisattva vow itself in terms of outlook, aspiration, number of beings to be benefited, potential or eventual accomplishments, and so forth. In this sense the mahā- is closer in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna” than to the mahā- in “mahāsiddha.” While individual bodhisattvas described as mahāsattva may in many cases also be “great” in terms of their level of realization, this is largely coincidental, and in the canonical texts the epithet is not restricted to bodhisattvas at any particular point in their career. Indeed, in a few cases even bodhisattvas whose path has taken a wrong direction are still described as bodhisattva mahāsattva.

Later commentarial writings do nevertheless define the term‍—variably‍—in terms of bodhisattvas having attained a particular level (bhūmi) or realization. The most common qualifying criteria mentioned are attaining the path of seeing, attaining irreversibility (according to its various definitions), or attaining the seventh bhūmi.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1
  • n.­41
g.­40

Bodhisattvasamuccayā

Wylie:
  • byang chub yang dag par bsdus pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཡང་དག་པར་བསྡུས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhisattvasamuccayā AD

A goddess. In Toh 555 called “goddess of the Bodhi tree.”

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­7
  • i.­46-49
  • i.­53
  • 5.­1
  • 15.­1
  • 17.­41
  • 21.­1
  • 21.­13
g.­41

Brahmā

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmā AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­7
  • 4.­8
  • 5.­3
  • 7.­44
  • 7.­64
  • 7.­73-75
  • 12.­9-10
  • 12.­13
  • 13.­31
  • 14.­26
  • 19.­4
  • 21.­12
  • n.­24
  • g.­42
g.­43

brahmin

Wylie:
  • bram ze
Tibetan:
  • བྲམ་ཟེ།
Sanskrit:
  • brāhmaṇa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • i.­3
  • i.­33-34
  • i.­39
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­18-21
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­38
  • 3.­2
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­99
  • 8.­23
  • 8.­34
  • n.­45
  • n.­48
  • g.­120
  • g.­286
g.­46

cakravartin

Wylie:
  • ’khor los sgyur ba
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • cakravartin AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13.

Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 7.­39-40
  • 13.­1
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­30
  • g.­246
g.­67

dependent origination

Wylie:
  • rten cing ’brel par ’byung ba
Tibetan:
  • རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་པར་འབྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratītyasamutpāda AS

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­49
  • 17.­21
  • 17.­27
  • 17.­46
  • n.­366
  • g.­4
  • g.­25
  • g.­35
  • g.­58
  • g.­60
  • g.­82
  • g.­97
  • g.­162
  • g.­226
g.­68

deva

Wylie:
  • lha
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • deva AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the most general sense the devas‍—the term is cognate with the English divine‍—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

Located in 116 passages in the translation:

  • i.­7
  • i.­43-47
  • i.­49
  • 1.­8
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­20
  • 2.­7-8
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­47
  • 4.­13
  • 5.­10
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­4
  • 7.­15
  • 7.­19-20
  • 7.­31
  • 7.­39
  • 7.­41-42
  • 7.­44-45
  • 7.­64
  • 7.­68-70
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­100
  • 7.­103
  • 8.­20
  • 8.­26
  • 8.­35
  • 8.­40
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 10.­30
  • 10.­32-34
  • 11.­8
  • 12.­8-12
  • 12.­16-18
  • 12.­21-22
  • 12.­25
  • 12.­31-33
  • 12.­35
  • 12.­55
  • 12.­58-59
  • 12.­62
  • 12.­66
  • 12.­70
  • 12.­72-73
  • 12.­75
  • 12.­81
  • 13.­12
  • 13.­15-16
  • 13.­18
  • 13.­29
  • 14.­10
  • 14.­20
  • 14.­28-29
  • 14.­35
  • 14.­64
  • 14.­66
  • 14.­74
  • 15.­1-2
  • 15.­4
  • 15.­6
  • 15.­13-14
  • 15.­16-18
  • 16.­1
  • 17.­23
  • 17.­27-29
  • 17.­40
  • 17.­46
  • 18.­39
  • 18.­141
  • 19.­10
  • 21.­10
  • 21.­13
  • n.­24
  • n.­220
  • n.­312
  • g.­9
  • g.­23
  • g.­42
  • g.­69
  • g.­99
  • g.­176
g.­70

Dharma body

Wylie:
  • chos kyi sku
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་སྐུ།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmakāya AS

In its earliest use it generally meant that though the corporeal body of the Buddha had perished, his “body of the Dharma” continued. It also referred to the Buddha’s realization of reality, to his qualities as a whole, or to his teachings as embodying him. It later came to be synonymous with enlightenment or buddhahood, a “body” that can only be “seen” by a buddha.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­25
  • 2.­45
  • 6.­27
  • 13.­2
  • 13.­32
  • 18.­33
g.­72

Dharma realm

Wylie:
  • chos kyi dbyings
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmadhātu AS

A synonym for the ultimate nature of reality. The term is interpreted variously and can be translated according to context as “Dharma realm,” “Dharma element,” “the realm of phenomena,” or “the element of phenomena.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­45
  • 14.­8
  • 14.­33
g.­73

dharmabhāṇaka

Wylie:
  • chos smra ba
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་སྨྲ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmabhāṇaka AS

In early Buddhism a section of the saṅgha would be bhāṇakas (“proclaimers”), who memorized the teachings. Particularly before the teachings were written down, and were transmitted orally, the bhāṇakas were the key means of preserving of the teachings. Various groups of bhāṇakas specialized in memorizing and reciting specific sets of sūtras or the vinaya.

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • i.­41
  • i.­44
  • 7.­8-9
  • 7.­36-38
  • 7.­40
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­47-48
  • 7.­64
  • 7.­106
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­3
  • 8.­19
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­21
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­30
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­8
  • 13.­5
  • 13.­7
  • 13.­9-10
  • 13.­17
  • 13.­19
  • 13.­27
  • 14.­15
  • 14.­18
  • g.­196
g.­75

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Wylie:
  • yul ’khor srung
Tibetan:
  • ཡུལ་འཁོར་སྲུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • dhṛtarāṣṭra AS

One of the Four Mahārājas, he is the guardian deity for the east and lord of the gandharvas.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­1
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­82
  • g.­138
g.­78

eighty features

Wylie:
  • dpe byad bzang po brgyad cu
Tibetan:
  • དཔེ་བྱད་བཟང་པོ་བརྒྱད་ཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • aśītyanuvyañjana AS

A set of eighty bodily characteristics borne by buddhas and universal emperors. They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two major marks of a great being.These can be found listed, for example, in Prajñāpāramitā sūtras (see Toh 9, Toh 10, Toh 11) or in The Play in Full (Toh 95, 7.100) and many other sūtras.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­70
g.­79

eon

Wylie:
  • bskal pa
Tibetan:
  • བསྐལ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kalpa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.

Located in 43 passages in the translation:

  • i.­41-42
  • 1.­18
  • 1.­20
  • 2.­2
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­16
  • 4.­9
  • 4.­36
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­44
  • 4.­68-69
  • 4.­72
  • 4.­91
  • 4.­98
  • 5.­19
  • 5.­23
  • 5.­25
  • 5.­30
  • 5.­35
  • 6.­27
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­39-40
  • 7.­75
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­8
  • 13.­2-3
  • 13.­30-31
  • 14.­10
  • 15.­2
  • 15.­12
  • 16.­1
  • 18.­79
  • 18.­81
  • 18.­140
  • 19.­10
  • n.­175
  • g.­15
g.­81

fig tree flower

Wylie:
  • u dum bā ra
Tibetan:
  • ཨུ་དུམ་བā་ར།
Sanskrit:
  • udumbara AS

The mythological flower of the fig tree, said to appear on rare occasions, such as the birth of a buddha. The actual fig tree flower is contained within the fruit.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 21.­3
g.­83

Four Mahārājas

Wylie:
  • rgyal po chen po bzhi
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturmahārāja AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahā­rājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).

Located in 44 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­38
  • 7.­2-3
  • 7.­5-8
  • 7.­11-14
  • 7.­17-21
  • 7.­26-27
  • 7.­30-32
  • 7.­38
  • 7.­41-43
  • 7.­45
  • 7.­64-67
  • 7.­70-71
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­78
  • 7.­80
  • 7.­89
  • 7.­106-107
  • 14.­35
  • g.­75
  • g.­266
  • g.­282
  • g.­283
g.­87

gandharva

Wylie:
  • dri za
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་ཟ།
Sanskrit:
  • gandharva AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­8
  • 7.­4
  • 7.­45
  • 8.­35
  • 12.­20
  • 21.­13
  • n.­25
  • g.­75
g.­89

Ganges River

Wylie:
  • gang gA’i klung
Tibetan:
  • གང་གཱའི་ཀླུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • gaṅgānadī AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands‍—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta‍—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.

According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa‍—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­5
  • 2.­25
  • 7.­46-48
  • 14.­7
  • g.­107
  • g.­114
  • g.­127
  • g.­171
g.­97

ignorance

Wylie:
  • ma rig pa
Tibetan:
  • མ་རིག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • avidyā AS

The first of the twelve links or phases of dependent origination. “Ignorance” has also been used to render moha (gti mug).

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­6
  • 4.­9
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­32-33
  • 4.­59
  • 4.­73
  • 18.­78
  • n.­79
  • n.­139
g.­99

Indra

Wylie:
  • dbang po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • indra AD

The deity that is also called Mahendra, “lord of the devas,” who dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. He is also known as Śakra (Tib. brgya byin, “hundred offerings”). Śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu: "one who has performed a hundred sacrifices." The highest Vedic sacrifice was the horse sacrifice, and there is a tradition that Indra became the lord of the gods through performing them.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 8.­32
  • 14.­37
  • n.­24
  • g.­23
  • g.­163
  • g.­169
  • g.­182
  • g.­260
g.­105

Jalavāhana

Wylie:
  • chu ’bebs
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་འབེབས།
Sanskrit:
  • jalavāhana AS

A learned physician in the distant past and son of Jaladhara; who, as a result of performing Dharma recitations while standing in a lake, ensured the rebirth of ten thousand fish into the paradise of Trāyastriṃśa. He was the Buddha in a previous life.

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • s.­2
  • i.­7
  • i.­48-49
  • 16.­4
  • 16.­6-7
  • 16.­12
  • 16.­22-24
  • 16.­26-27
  • 17.­1-2
  • 17.­4-8
  • 17.­10-13
  • 17.­16-18
  • 17.­20
  • 17.­23-24
  • 17.­26-29
  • 17.­31-38
  • 17.­40
  • 17.­43
  • 17.­49
  • g.­102
  • g.­103
  • g.­104
g.­106

Jambu Golden Victory Banner Golden Appearance

Wylie:
  • ’dzam bu gser gyi rgyal mtshan gser du snang ba
Tibetan:
  • འཛམ་བུ་གསེར་གྱི་རྒྱལ་མཚན་གསེར་དུ་སྣང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jambu­suvarṇa­dhvaja­kanaka­prabha RS

A tathāgata.

(Toh 555: gser tog ’od)

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 10.­3
g.­108

Jambudvīpa

Wylie:
  • ’dzam bu’i gling
Tibetan:
  • འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • jambudvīpa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

Located in 37 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­54
  • 4.­96
  • 7.­5
  • 7.­7
  • 7.­29-31
  • 7.­75-76
  • 7.­91
  • 7.­93-94
  • 7.­103
  • 8.­2
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­8
  • 12.­71
  • 13.­23
  • 13.­25
  • 14.­24
  • 14.­65
  • 14.­70
  • 14.­75
  • 14.­77
  • 14.­79
  • 17.­22
  • 17.­27
  • 17.­29-30
  • n.­191
  • n.­346
  • g.­45
  • g.­107
g.­110

jina

Wylie:
  • rgyal ba
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jina AS

An epithet for a buddha meaning “victorious one.”

Located in 42 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­39
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­60
  • 4.­73
  • 4.­99
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­16
  • 5.­18-20
  • 5.­22
  • 5.­36
  • 6.­33
  • 7.­15
  • 7.­54
  • 7.­84-88
  • 13.­1
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­7
  • 13.­10
  • 14.­8
  • 19.­2
  • 19.­4-8
  • 21.­5
  • 21.­7-8
  • n.­76
  • n.­92
  • n.­97
  • n.­176
g.­113

Jvalanāntara­tejo­rāja

Wylie:
  • ’bar ba’i khyad par gyi gzi brjid rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • འབར་བའི་ཁྱད་པར་གྱི་གཟི་བརྗིད་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • jvalanāntaratejorāja AS

A deity in the Trāyastriṃśa paradise.

(Toh 556: ’bar ba’i khyad par gyi gzi brjid kyi rgyal po; Toh 555: mchog tu rgyal ba’i ’od)

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­47
  • 15.­1
  • 15.­6
  • 15.­13-14
  • 15.­16-17
  • 17.­46
g.­123

kleśa

Wylie:
  • nyon mongs
Tibetan:
  • ཉོན་མོངས།
Sanskrit:
  • kleśa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.

Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­9
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­62
  • 4.­73
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­22
  • 6.­25-26
  • 7.­60
g.­124

kṣatriya

Wylie:
  • rgyal rigs
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་རིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣatriya AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The ruling caste in the traditional four-caste hierarchy of India, associated with warriors, the aristocracy, and kings.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­99
g.­138

mahārāja

Wylie:
  • rgyal po chen po
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahārāja AS

Literally means “great king.” In addition to referring to human kings, this is also the epithet for the four deities on the base of Mount Meru, each one the guardian of his direction: Vaiśravaṇa in the north, Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east, Virūpākṣa in the west, and Virūḍhaka in the south.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • i.­38
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­14
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­27
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­38
  • 7.­40-41
  • 7.­45-47
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­82
g.­140

Mahāratha

Wylie:
  • shing rta chen po
Tibetan:
  • ཤིང་རྟ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāratha AS

A king in the past.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­50
  • 18.­16
  • 18.­82
  • 18.­85
  • 18.­97
  • 18.­109
  • 18.­111-112
  • 18.­115
  • 18.­117
  • 18.­119
  • 18.­125
  • 18.­136-137
  • 18.­139
  • g.­131
  • g.­136
  • g.­141
g.­141

Mahāsattva

Wylie:
  • sems can chen po
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་ཅན་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsattva AS

A prince in the past. the youngest son of King Mahāratha. A previous life of the Buddha, when he decided to give his body to a tigress.

Toh 556: snying stobs chen po

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • s.­2
  • i.­50
  • 18.­16
  • 18.­20
  • 18.­24
  • 18.­27
  • 18.­30
  • 18.­36
  • 18.­49
  • 18.­77
  • 18.­82
  • 18.­85
  • 18.­87
  • 18.­106-107
  • 18.­122-124
  • 18.­131
  • 18.­136
  • 18.­139-140
  • n.­399
g.­150

Māra

Wylie:
  • bdud
Tibetan:
  • བདུད།
Sanskrit:
  • māra AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:

(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree‍—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.1‍—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 21.14 and 21.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputra­māra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­7
  • 4.­72
  • 7.­52
  • g.­163
g.­154

muni

Wylie:
  • thub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཐུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • muni AS

A title that, like buddha, is given to someone who has attained the realization of a truth through his own contemplation and not by divine revelation.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­62
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­74
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­6
  • 5.­13
  • 5.­27
  • 6.­34
  • 19.­2
  • 20.­2
  • n.­52
  • n.­107
g.­155

Munīndra

Wylie:
  • thub dbang
Tibetan:
  • ཐུབ་དབང་།
Sanskrit:
  • munīndra AS

“Lord of sages”; an epithet for the Buddha.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 4.­11
g.­158

nāga

Wylie:
  • klu
Tibetan:
  • ཀླུ།
Sanskrit:
  • nāga AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • i.­45
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­20
  • 2.­8
  • 7.­4
  • 7.­44-45
  • 7.­64
  • 7.­70
  • 13.­15
  • 14.­15
  • 14.­27
  • 14.­49-50
  • 14.­70
  • n.­25
  • n.­172
  • g.­11
  • g.­153
  • g.­164
  • g.­206
  • g.­262
  • g.­283
g.­167

nirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • mya ngan las ’das pa
Tibetan:
  • མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nirvāṇa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering has permanently ceased.

More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates. (3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace. This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­6
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­48
  • 13.­3
  • 15.­3-4
  • 16.­2
  • 19.­6
g.­171

Pañcala

Wylie:
  • lnga len
Tibetan:
  • ལྔ་ལེན།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcala AD

One of the fifteen lands in ancient India at the time of the Buddha. This was at the western end of the Ganges basin, corresponding in the present time to an area in the western part of Uttar Pradesh.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­50
  • 18.­2
  • n.­372
g.­173

perfections

Wylie:
  • pha rol tu phyin pa
  • pha rol phyin pa
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཕྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pāramitā AS

This term is used to refer to the main trainings of a bodhisattva. Because these trainings, when brought to perfection, lead one to transcend saṃsāra and reach the full awakening of a buddha, they receive the Sanskrit name pāramitā, meaning “perfection” or “gone to the farther shore.” They are usually listed as six: generosity, correct conduct (or discipline), patience, diligence, meditation (or concentration), and wisdom; four additional perfections are often added to this, totalling ten perfections: skillful methods, prayer, strength, and knowledge.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­73
  • 4.­92
  • 5.­26
  • 15.­7
  • 15.­12
g.­175

powers

Wylie:
  • dbang po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • indriya AS

Faith, mindfulness, diligence, samādhi, and wisdom.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­42
  • 14.­36
  • 14.­40
  • 14.­50
  • 14.­52
  • 16.­8
  • g.­237
g.­180

pratyekabuddha

Wylie:
  • rang sangs rgyas
Tibetan:
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • pratyekabuddha AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation, without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyeka­buddha is not regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit, compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as “congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 2.­20
  • 4.­30
  • n.­48
  • g.­219
g.­181

preta

Wylie:
  • yi dags
Tibetan:
  • ཡི་དགས།
Sanskrit:
  • preta AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.­1281– 2.1482.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­15
  • 5.­10
  • 10.­30
  • 12.­56
  • n.­57
g.­182

protectors of the world

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten skyong ba
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་སྐྱོང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • lokapāla AS

A set of deities, each guarding a certain direction. Most commonly these are Indra (Śakra) for the east, Agni for the southeast, Yama for the south, Sūrya or Nirṛti for the southwest, Varuṇa for the west, Vāyu (Pavana) for the northwest, Kubera for the north, and Soma (Candra), Iśāni, or Pṛthivī for the northeast.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­38
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­100
  • 12.­9
  • 12.­13
  • 14.­38
g.­187

Radiance of a Hundred Suns’ Illuminating Essence

Wylie:
  • nyi ma brgya’i ’od zer snang ba’i snying po
Tibetan:
  • ཉི་མ་བརྒྱའི་འོད་ཟེར་སྣང་བའི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

A tathāgata.

(Toh 555: gser brgya’i ’od kyi rnying po)

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 10.­5
g.­190

Rājagṛha

Wylie:
  • rgyal po’i khab
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
Sanskrit:
  • rājagṛha AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha‍—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)‍—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1
  • 2.­5
  • 3.­3
g.­194

Ratna­kusuma­guṇa­sāgara­vaiḍūrya­kanaka­giri­suvarṇa­kāñcana­prabhāsa­śrī

Wylie:
  • rin chen me tog yon tan rgya mtsho bai DUr+ya dang gser gyi ri kha dog bzang po gser du snang ba’i dpal
Tibetan:
  • རིན་ཆེན་མེ་ཏོག་ཡོན་ཏན་རྒྱ་མཚོ་བཻ་ཌཱུརྱ་དང་གསེར་གྱི་རི་ཁ་དོག་བཟང་པོ་གསེར་དུ་སྣང་བའི་དཔལ།
Sanskrit:
  • ratna­kusuma­guṇa­sāgara­vaiḍūrya­kanaka­giri­suvarṇa­kāñcana­prabhāsa­śrī

A buddha, teacher of the goddess Śrī.

(Toh 555: bai DUr+ya dang gser gyi ri bo rin po che’i me tog snang ba spal gyi yon tan rgya mtsho; )

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­40
  • i.­43
  • 9.­2
  • 9.­5
  • 12.­1
g.­195

Ratnaśikhin

Wylie:
  • rin chen gtsug tor can
Tibetan:
  • རིན་ཆེན་གཙུག་ཏོར་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • ratnaśikhin AS

A buddha in the distant past.

(Toh 555: rin chen gtsug phud)

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • i.­48-49
  • 10.­1
  • 13.­3
  • 13.­25
  • 16.­1-2
  • 17.­21
  • 17.­23
  • 17.­27
  • 17.­46
  • n.­275
  • g.­280
g.­198

retention

Wylie:
  • gzungs
Tibetan:
  • གཟུངས།
Sanskrit:
  • dhāraṇī AS

An exceptional power of mental retention. However, according to context, dhāraṇī can also mean sentences or phrases for recitation that are said to hold the essence of a teaching or meaning.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­42
  • 8.­1-2
  • n.­195
g.­200

Ruciraketu

Wylie:
  • mdzes pa’i tog
Tibetan:
  • མཛེས་པའི་ཏོག
Sanskrit:
  • ruciraketu AD

The name of a bodhisattva, central to the narrative of this sūtra, who has a dream in which a prayer of confession emanates from a shining golden drum. (In chapter 12, this is also the name a king in the distant past.)

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • s.­2
  • i.­3
  • i.­33-35
  • i.­47
  • i.­52
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­6-8
  • 2.­50
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­3-4
  • 10.­10
  • 15.­2
  • 20.­1
  • n.­348
  • g.­186
  • g.­202
  • g.­203
  • g.­249
  • g.­254
g.­207

sage

Wylie:
  • thub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཐུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • muni AS

A title that, like "buddha," is given to those who have attained realization through their own contemplation and not by divine revelation.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­6-7
  • 18.­21
  • g.­155
g.­209

Śakra

Wylie:
  • brgya byin
Tibetan:
  • བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • śakra AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­40
  • 7.­44
  • 7.­64
  • 7.­73-75
  • 13.­31
  • g.­99
  • g.­182
  • g.­260
g.­211

Śākyamuni

Wylie:
  • shAkya thub pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śākyamuni AD

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.

Located in 29 passages in the translation:

  • i.­10
  • i.­43-44
  • i.­52-53
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­6-7
  • 2.­9-11
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­50
  • 7.­33
  • 7.­40
  • 12.­2
  • 13.­26
  • 14.­8
  • 18.­136
  • 21.­5
  • n.­404
  • g.­92
  • g.­186
  • g.­189
  • g.­208
  • g.­240
  • g.­249
  • g.­254
g.­214

samādhi

Wylie:
  • ting nge ’dzin
  • ting ’dzin
Tibetan:
  • ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
  • ཏིང་འཛིན།
Sanskrit:
  • samādhi AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.

In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­42
  • 7.­85
  • 20.­6
  • 21.­5
  • g.­16
  • g.­175
  • g.­237
g.­216

Saṃjñeya

Wylie:
  • yang dag shes
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃjñeya AS

A yakṣa general.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­42
  • 7.­44
  • 7.­64
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­9
  • 14.­26
  • 14.­39
  • n.­286
  • n.­337
g.­217

saṃsāra

Wylie:
  • ’khor ba
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃsāra AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A state of involuntary existence conditioned by afflicted mental states and the imprint of past actions, characterized by suffering in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. On its reversal, the contrasting state of nirvāṇa is attained, free from suffering and the processes of rebirth.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­7
  • 4.­59
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­95
  • 6.­21
  • 7.­39-40
  • 7.­62
  • 8.­21
  • 17.­48
  • 18.­79
  • g.­173
g.­219

samyak­saṃbuddha

Wylie:
  • yang dag par rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པར་རྫོགས་པའི་སངས་རྒྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • samyak­saṃbuddha AS

“A perfect buddha.” A buddha who teaches the Dharma, as opposed to a pratyekabuddha, who does not teach.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­7
  • 9.­2
  • 12.­1-2
  • 15.­2-4
  • 15.­13
  • 16.­1-2
  • 17.­21
  • 17.­23
  • 17.­27
  • 17.­46
  • 18.­78
g.­221

saṅgha

Wylie:
  • dge ’dun
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་འདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saṅgha AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Though often specifically reserved for the monastic community, this term can be applied to any of the four Buddhist communities‍—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen‍—as well as to identify the different groups of practitioners, like the community of bodhisattvas or the community of śrāvakas. It is also the third of the Three Jewels (triratna) of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 8.­32
  • 13.­6-7
  • 18.­12
  • n.­97
  • g.­73
  • g.­189
g.­222

Sarasvatī

Wylie:
  • dbyangs can
Tibetan:
  • དབྱངས་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • sarasvatī AD

The goddess of wisdom, learning, and music.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­39
  • i.­43
  • i.­45
  • 1.­15
  • 7.­44
  • 7.­64
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­22-24
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­33-34
  • 8.­36
  • 8.­43
  • 12.­4
  • 14.­35
  • 14.­37
  • 14.­56
  • 21.­13
g.­232

Soma

Wylie:
  • zla ba
Tibetan:
  • ཟླ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • soma AD

The deity of the moon.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 14.­37
  • g.­182
g.­234

śrāvaka

Wylie:
  • nyan thos
Tibetan:
  • ཉན་ཐོས།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvaka AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • 2.­20
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­89
  • 13.­6-7
  • n.­48
g.­235

Śrī

Wylie:
  • dpal
  • dpal ldan lha mo
Tibetan:
  • དཔལ།
  • དཔལ་ལྡན་ལྷ་མོ།
Sanskrit:
  • śrī AS

The great goddess Śrī, better known as Lakṣmī, who promises to aid those who recite this sūtra and to ensure its preservation so that beings will have good fortune. She dwells in a palace in the paradise of Alakāvati.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­40
  • i.­43
  • i.­45
  • 7.­64
  • 9.­1-2
  • 9.­4-6
  • 9.­16-18
  • 12.­3
  • 14.­1
  • 14.­35
  • 14.­56
  • 21.­13
  • n.­257
  • n.­259
  • n.­261
  • n.­263
  • n.­273
  • g.­183
  • g.­194
  • g.­248
g.­237

strengths

Wylie:
  • stobs
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས།
Sanskrit:
  • bala AS

The five strengths are a stronger form of the five powers: faith, mindfulness, diligence, samādhi, and wisdom. See also “ten strengths.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­42
  • 4.­52
  • g.­258
g.­241

sugata

Wylie:
  • bde gshegs
Tibetan:
  • བདེ་གཤེགས།
Sanskrit:
  • sugata AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­65
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­21
  • 13.­3
  • 15.­2
  • 15.­4
  • 15.­13
  • 16.­1
g.­242

Sumeru

Wylie:
  • ri rab
Tibetan:
  • རི་རབ།
Sanskrit:
  • sumeru AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­11
  • 4.­60
  • 4.­67
  • 7.­45
  • 7.­87
  • 19.­5
  • 20.­4
  • 20.­8
  • 21.­3
  • n.­24
  • n.­43
  • g.­6
  • g.­45
  • g.­69
  • g.­99
  • g.­138
  • g.­260
g.­243

Sureśvara­prabha

Wylie:
  • lha’i dbang phyug ’od
Tibetan:
  • ལྷའི་དབང་ཕྱུག་འོད།
Sanskrit:
  • sureśvaraprabha AS

A king in the distant past.

(Toh 555: lha’i dbang phyug gi ’od)

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • i.­48-49
  • 16.­2-3
  • 16.­5
  • 16.­23
  • 16.­27
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­13-14
  • 17.­29-30
  • 17.­32-36
  • 17.­40-41
g.­244

Sūrya

Wylie:
  • nyi ma
Tibetan:
  • ཉི་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • sūrya AS

The god of the sun.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­45
  • 14.­74-75
  • n.­316
  • g.­182
g.­246

Susaṃbhava

Wylie:
  • legs par byung ba
Tibetan:
  • ལེགས་པར་བྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • susaṃbhava AS

The Buddha’s previous life as a cakravartin in the distant past.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • i.­44
  • 13.­3
  • 13.­11-12
  • 13.­20
  • 13.­22
  • 13.­25-27
  • 13.­33
g.­247

Suvarṇa­bhujendra

Wylie:
  • gser gyi lag pa’i dbang po
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་གྱི་ལག་པའི་དབང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • suvarṇa­bhujendra AD

A king in the distant past.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­1
  • g.­117
  • g.­118
g.­250

Suvarṇaprabhā

Wylie:
  • gser du snang ba
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་དུ་སྣང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • suvarṇaprabhā AS

A world realm in the distant future.

(Toh 555: gser ‘od)

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 15.­2
g.­251

Suvarṇa­prabhagarbha

Wylie:
  • gser du snang ba’i snying po
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་དུ་སྣང་བའི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • suvarṇaprabhagarbha AD

A tathāgata.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 10.­4
g.­253

Suvarṇa­puṣpa­jvalaraśmi­ketu

Wylie:
  • gser gyi me tog ’bar ba’i ’od zer gyi tog
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་གྱི་མེ་ཏོག་འབར་བའི་འོད་ཟེར་གྱི་ཏོག
Sanskrit:
  • suvarṇapuṣpajvalaraśmiketu AS

A tathāgata.

(Toh 555: gser gyi me tog ’od zer rgyal mtshan)

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 10.­7
g.­254

Suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa

Wylie:
  • gser rin chen ’byung gnas gdugs brtsegs
  • gser dang rin po che’i ’byung gnas gdugs brtsegs
Tibetan:
  • གསེར་རིན་ཆེན་འབྱུང་གནས་གདུགས་བརྩེགས།
  • གསེར་དང་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་འབྱུང་གནས་གདུགས་བརྩེགས།
Sanskrit:
  • suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa AS

A buddha in the distant future who is the bodhisattva Ruciraketu in the time of Śākyamuni.

(Suvarṇa­ratnākaracchatra­kūṭa; Toh Degé 556: gser ri rin chen ‘byung gnas gdugs brtegs, Suvarṇaparvataratnākarachattrakūṭa; Toh 555: gser gdugs rin po che brtsegs pa )

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • i.­47
  • i.­51
  • 10.­6
  • 15.­2-3
  • 19.­1
g.­257

tathāgata

Wylie:
  • de bzhin gshegs pa
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • tathāgata AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha­(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 89 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­3
  • 2.­5
  • 2.­7-9
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­40-42
  • 2.­45
  • 2.­47
  • 2.­49
  • 2.­51-52
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­89
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­15
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­33
  • 7.­39-40
  • 7.­46-48
  • 7.­74-76
  • 7.­88
  • 9.­1-2
  • 9.­5
  • 10.­1-9
  • 10.­15-19
  • 10.­30-31
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­8
  • 12.­1-2
  • 13.­26-27
  • 15.­2-4
  • 15.­12-13
  • 16.­1-2
  • 17.­21
  • 17.­23
  • 17.­27
  • 17.­46
  • 18.­3
  • 18.­15
  • 18.­136
  • 19.­1
  • 20.­11
  • 21.­4-5
  • 21.­8
  • n.­34
  • n.­39
  • n.­173
  • n.­178
  • n.­258
  • n.­418
  • g.­106
  • g.­134
  • g.­187
  • g.­251
  • g.­253
  • g.­280
g.­258

ten strengths

Wylie:
  • stobs bcu
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས་བཅུ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśabala AS

The ten strengths are (1) the knowledge of what is possible; (2) the knowledge of the ripening of karma; (3) the knowledge of the variety of aspirations; (4) the knowledge of the variety of natures; (5) the knowledge of the different levels of capabilities; (6) the knowledge of the destinations of all paths of rebirth; (7) the knowledge of various states of meditation; (8) the knowledge of remembering previous lives; (9) the knowledge of deaths and rebirths; and (10) the knowledge of the cessation of outflows.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­18
  • 4.­34
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­56
  • 7.­90
  • 13.­31
  • n.­323
  • g.­237
g.­259

three worlds

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gsum
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trailokya AS

The three realms of desire, form, and formlessness.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­63
  • 4.­66
  • 5.­9
  • 5.­34
  • 5.­36
  • 7.­49
  • 12.­53
  • 12.­70
  • 18.­35
  • n.­321
g.­260

Trāyastriṃśa

Wylie:
  • sum cu rtsa gsum pa
Tibetan:
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • trāyastriṃśa AS

The paradise of Śakra, also known as Indra, on the summit of Sumeru. The name means “Thirty-Three,” from the thirty-three principal deities that dwell there. The fifth highest of the six paradises in the desire realm.

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • i.­7
  • i.­46-47
  • i.­49
  • 2.­20-22
  • 7.­45
  • 10.­32
  • 12.­18
  • 12.­25
  • 12.­57
  • 12.­70
  • 14.­26
  • 15.­1
  • 15.­14
  • 17.­23
  • 17.­27-28
  • 17.­40
  • n.­24
  • n.­48
  • n.­284
  • g.­105
  • g.­113
g.­261

trichiliocosm

Wylie:
  • stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i rjig rten gyi khams
  • stong gsum
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོའི་རྗིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
  • སྟོང་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trisāhasra­mahāsāhasra­lokadhātu AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­lokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Sumeru, continents, sun and moon, etc.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • i.­10
  • 2.­5
  • 4.­5
  • 6.­29
  • 6.­31
  • 7.­45
  • 7.­92
  • 13.­12
g.­266

Vaiśravaṇa

Wylie:
  • rnam thos kyi bu
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་ཐོས་ཀྱི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaiśravaṇa AD

As one of the Four Mahārājas he is the lord of the northern region of the world and the northern continent, though in early Buddhism he is the lord of the far north of India and beyond. Also known as Kubera, he is the lord of yakṣas and a lord of wealth.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­1
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­82
  • 14.­35
  • 21.­13
  • g.­6
  • g.­112
  • g.­138
  • g.­183
g.­273

Varuṇa

Wylie:
  • chu lha
Tibetan:
  • ཆུ་ལྷ།
Sanskrit:
  • varuṇa AS

The name of the deity of water. In the Vedas, Varuṇa is an important deity and in particular the deity of the sky, but in later Indian tradition he is the god of only the water and the underworld. The Tibetan does not attempt to translate his name, but instead has “god of water.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 8.­32
  • 14.­37
  • g.­182
g.­274

Vāyu

Wylie:
  • rlung
Tibetan:
  • རླུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • vāyu AS

The god of the air and the winds.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 14.­37
  • g.­182
g.­276

Venerable

Wylie:
  • tshe dang ldan pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚེ་དང་ལྡན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • āyuṣmat AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A respectful form of address between monks, and also between lay companions of equal standing. It literally means “one who has a [long] life.”

Located in 62 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­1-13
  • 7.­20-21
  • 7.­24-26
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­42-44
  • 7.­64-74
  • 7.­77
  • 7.­106
  • 8.­1
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­20-21
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­26-31
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­4-8
  • 15.­1
  • 15.­6
  • 15.­13
  • 18.­3
  • 18.­10
  • 18.­12
  • 18.­15-16
  • n.­149
g.­280

Vimalajvala­ratna­suvarṇa­raśmi­prabhā­śikhin

Wylie:
  • dri ma med par ’bar ba rin chen gser gyi ’od zer snang ba’i tog
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་མ་མེད་པར་འབར་བ་རིན་ཆེན་གསེར་གྱི་འོད་ཟེར་སྣང་བའི་ཏོག
Sanskrit:
  • vimalajvala­ratna­suvarṇa­raśmi­prabhā­śikhin RS

A tathāgata.

(Toh 555: dri ma med pa’i ’od zer rin po che’i tog (Vimala­raśmiratna­ketu); Toh 556: dri ma med par ‘bar ba rin chen ‘od zer snang ba’i tog (Vimala­jvala­ratna­raśmiprabhā­ketu); Sanskrit ms.: Ratnaśikhin)

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 10.­2
g.­282

Virūḍhaka

Wylie:
  • ’phags skyes po
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་སྐྱེས་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • virūḍhaka AS

One of the Four Mahārājas, he is the guardian of the southern direction and the lord of the kumbhāṇḍas.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­1
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­82
  • g.­138
g.­283

Virūpākṣa

Wylie:
  • mig mi bzang
Tibetan:
  • མིག་མི་བཟང་།
Sanskrit:
  • virūpākṣa AS

One of the Four Mahārājas, he is the guardian of the western direction and traditionally the lord of the nāgas.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­1
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­34
  • 7.­82
  • g.­138
g.­285

Vulture Peak Mountain

Wylie:
  • bya rgod phung po
  • bya rgod phung po’i ri
Tibetan:
  • བྱ་རྒོད་ཕུང་པོ།
  • བྱ་རྒོད་ཕུང་པོའི་རི།
Sanskrit:
  • gṛdhrakūṭa AS
  • gṛdhrakūṭaparvata AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Gṛdhra­kūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir, in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras, especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • i.­32-34
  • 1.­2
  • 3.­3
g.­289

yakṣa

Wylie:
  • gnod sbyin
Tibetan:
  • གནོད་སྦྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • yakṣa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.

Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

Located in 80 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­42
  • i.­45
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­20
  • 2.­8
  • 7.­5
  • 7.­18-21
  • 7.­26
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­41
  • 7.­44-45
  • 7.­64-67
  • 7.­70
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­106
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­7
  • 13.­15
  • 14.­26
  • 14.­36
  • 14.­39-43
  • 14.­80
  • n.­25
  • n.­220
  • n.­286
  • n.­336-337
  • g.­6
  • g.­18
  • g.­51
  • g.­54
  • g.­57
  • g.­71
  • g.­88
  • g.­94
  • g.­111
  • g.­112
  • g.­116
  • g.­119
  • g.­125
  • g.­129
  • g.­132
  • g.­133
  • g.­137
  • g.­146
  • g.­147
  • g.­148
  • g.­151
  • g.­159
  • g.­161
  • g.­166
  • g.­169
  • g.­172
  • g.­174
  • g.­178
  • g.­184
  • g.­192
  • g.­216
  • g.­224
  • g.­239
  • g.­245
  • g.­255
  • g.­266
  • g.­271
  • g.­272
  • g.­290
g.­291

Yama

Wylie:
  • gshin rje
Tibetan:
  • གཤིན་རྗེ།
Sanskrit:
  • yama AD

The lord of death.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­5
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­40
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­30
  • 10.­34
  • 11.­8
  • 14.­37
  • g.­182
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    84000. The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (3) (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtra, gser ’od dam pa’i mdo, Toh 557). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025. https://84000.co/translation/toh557/UT22084-090-001-chapter-4.Copy
    84000. The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (3) (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtra, gser ’od dam pa’i mdo, Toh 557). Translated by Peter Alan Roberts and team, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2025, 84000.co/translation/toh557/UT22084-090-001-chapter-4.Copy
    84000. (2025) The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (3) (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtra, gser ’od dam pa’i mdo, Toh 557). (Peter Alan Roberts and team, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh557/UT22084-090-001-chapter-4.Copy

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