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བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྡེ་སྣོད།

The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva
Chapter 9: The Perfection of Vigor

Bodhisatva­piṭaka
འཕགས་པ་བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྡེ་སྣོད་ཅེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེགས་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod ces bya ba thegs chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva”
Ārya­bodhisatva­piṭaka­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra

Toh 56

Degé Kangyur, vol. 40 (dkon brtsegs, kha), folios 225.b–294.a; vol. 41 (dkon brtsegs, ga), folios 1.b–205.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Surendrabodhi, Śīlendra, Dharmatāśīla

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Translated by The Norwegian Institute of Palaeography and Historical Philology
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2023

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
+ 11 chapters- 11 chapters
1. Chapter 1: The Householder
2. Chapter 2: The Yakṣa Kimbhīra
3. Chapter 3: The Examination of the Bodhisatva
4. Chapter 4: The Inconceivable Tathāgata
5. Chapter 5: Love, Compassion, Empathetic Joy, and Equanimity
6. Chapter 6: The Perfection of Generosity
7. Chapter 7: The Perfection of Morality
8. Chapter 8: The Perfection of Patient Acceptance
9. Chapter 9: The Perfection of Vigor
10. Chapter 10: The Perfection of Meditation
11. Chapter 11: The Perfection of Wisdom
c. Colophon
ab. Abbreviations
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

In The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, the Buddha describes in detail the views and practices that are to be followed by the bodhisatva, the ideal Mahāyāna practitioner. Through his interactions with human and nonhuman interlocutors, and through stories of various past buddhas, we are led step by step through the topics of renunciation, the mind of awakening, the four immeasurables, and the six perfections. Among the many accounts of past buddhas included in the sūtra, we find the story of the prophecy made by the Buddha Dīpaṅkara to the brahmin Megha about his future attainment of awakening as the Buddha Śākyamuni.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translation by Prof. Jens Braarvig, Fredrik Liland, and David Welsh. Jens Braarvig directed the translation process and checked the translation against the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Fredrik Liland prepared the Sanskrit and Tibetan editions, translated chapters 1–9 and 11, and prepared the introduction and glossary. David Welsh prepared and translated chapter 10 and was responsible for editing the English. The translators would like to express their gratitude to all those who contributed in various ways to the translation process.

ac.­2

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. The 84000 translation team edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.


The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Chang Tai Kwang.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva1 is the twelfth and lengthiest among the texts in the Great Heap of Jewels (Mahāratnakūṭa) section of the Tibetan Kangyur, where it makes up nearly an entire volume. It is an extensive presentation of the view and conduct of the bodhisatva, the ideal Mahāyāna practitioner. The title, Bodhisatva­piṭaka, can also be translated as The Basket of the Bodhisatvas, implying that it represents a basket (piṭaka) of teachings separate from the traditional three‍—Sūtra, Vinaya, and Abhidharma‍—distinguishing the path of the bodhisatva from the lesser path of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva

1.

Chapter 1: The Householder

[V40] [F.255.b] [B1]


1.­1

[MS.1.b] Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisatvas. Homage to the noble and princely Mañjuśrī.6


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Lord once spent the rainy season in retreat at Śrāvastī. When the three months had passed, he prepared his mendicant robes, put them on, and started wandering the country again in the company of a large assembly of mendicants, 1,250 strong. The Lord was esteemed, revered, praised, and honored by monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen, by kings and ministers, by various followers of other teachings, by ascetics, brahmins, and householders, and by gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas. The Lord received a great abundance of robes, foodstuffs, bedding and seats, medical supplies, and utensils.


2.

Chapter 2: The Yakṣa Kimbhīra

2.­1

After the Lord had left the five hundred householders in a balanced state of mind on his way to the city, he entered the great city of Rājagṛha with perfect grace.

2.­2

One of the city deities of Rājagṛha was a yakṣa named Kimbhīra. He thought to himself, “In this world, it is extremely rare to encounter anyone who is such a worthy recipient of offerings. We should make offerings to the Lord.”

2.­3

The yakṣa Kimbhīra then presented the Lord with offerings that looked exquisite, smelled exquisite, tasted exquisite, and felt exquisite, and because of his empathy for Kimbhīra, the Lord accepted his offerings. When Kimbhīra had given his offerings to the Lord, cheers of “Wonderful!” arose from a great crowd of sixty-eight thousand yakṣas surrounding Kimbhīra in the sky.


3.

Chapter 3: The Examination of the Bodhisatva

3.­1

The venerable Śāriputra got up from his seat, placed his robe over one shoulder, knelt down on his right knee, joined his hands in reverence, and spoke to the Lord: “I would like to ask the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha, for some direction, if the Lord will grant that possibility with an explanation of the question when asked.”

3.­2

The Lord answered the venerable Śāriputra, “You may ask the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha whatever you like, Śāriputra, and I will delight your mind by explaining whatever it is you wish to ask about.”


4.

Chapter 4: The Inconceivable Tathāgata

4.­1

“Now, Śāriputra, a bodhisatva with firm confidence has faith in the inconceivable tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, in respect of his ten qualities. He has trust and confidence and does not doubt him, and to an even greater degree he feels pleasure, joy, and satisfaction. What are these ten qualities? He has faith in the inconceivable body of the Tathāgata, he has trust and confidence, and he does not doubt it, and to an even greater degree he feels pleasure, joy, and satisfaction as he produces the concept of it as being truly wondrous and extraordinary. He has great faith, and so forth in the voice of the Tathāgata, as he produces the concept of it as being truly wondrous and extraordinary. [MS.20.b] He has faith in the knowledge of the Tathāgata, his inconceivable tathāgata radiance, his inconceivable tathāgata morality and concentration, his inconceivable magical tathāgata abilities, his inconceivable tathāgata power, his inconceivable tathāgata confidence, his inconceivable great compassion, and his [F.288.b] inconceivable unique buddha qualities, he has trust and confidence and does not doubt it, and to an even greater degree he feels pleasure, joy, and satisfaction as he produces the concept of it as being truly wondrous and extraordinary. He sets forth with vigor, and he does not tire or become discouraged or intimidated in his pursuit of these ten inconceivable, wondrous and extraordinary qualities of the Tathāgata. He is so committed that even if his physical body with its sinews, muscles, skin, and bones were to rot, and even if his flesh and blood were to dry up, his vigor would not fail as long as he had not attained these ten inconceivable, wondrous, and extraordinary qualities of the Tathāgata. In this way, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva with faithful conviction has great faith in the inconceivable, truly wondrous and extraordinary qualities of the Tathāgata. He has trust and confidence and does not doubt it, and to an even greater degree he feels pleasure, joy, and satisfaction.”


5.

Chapter 5: Love, Compassion, Empathetic Joy, and Equanimity

5.­1

“Now, Śāriputra, [F.49.a] the lords, the buddhas, consider a bodhisatva with such firm devotion to be a suitable vessel. They consider him to be a suitable vessel for the cycle of teachings contained within The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. They consider him to be a suitable vessel for the Buddhist teachings, and they reveal to him the path of the bodhisatva when he approaches them. Therefore, Śāriputra, [MS.54.a] one should understand things by means of this cycle of teachings. The lords, the buddhas, consider a bodhisatva with such firm devotion to be a suitable vessel. They consider him to be a suitable vessel for the cycle of teachings contained within The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. They consider him to be a suitable vessel for the Buddhist teachings, and they reveal to him the path of the bodhisatva when he approaches them.


6.

Chapter 6: The Perfection of Generosity

6.­1

“Now, Śāriputra, how does one practice the perfections? Śāriputra, there are six perfections that bodhisatvas engage in when they practice the bodhisatva path. What are these six perfections? They are the perfection of generosity, the perfection of morality, the perfection of patient acceptance, the perfection of vigor, the perfection of meditation, and the perfection of wisdom.

6.­2

“What is the perfection of generosity? Śāriputra, the bodhisatva gives support to ascetics, brahmins, and the wretched. He gives food to those in need of food, [F.56.b] drink to those in need of drink. He gives vehicles, clothes, fragrance, garlands, ointments, shelter, utensils, medicine for the sick, light, music, male and female servants, gold, jewels, pearls, gems, conches, crystals, and coral. He gives horses, elephants, chariots, parks, hermitages, sons, daughters, wives, treasure, grain, stocks, storerooms, and all the pleasures enjoyed by the kings of the four continents. He gives all his joys and amusements, and he gives his hands, feet, ears, nose, eyes, head, flesh, blood, marrow, and bone. There is not a single worldly object that he will not part with for those in need.


7.

Chapter 7: The Perfection of Morality

7.­1

“What is the perfection of morality of bodhisatvas, great beings, like? [MS.61.a] How do bodhisatvas conduct themselves when they practice the bodhisatva path? Śāriputra, the conduct of bodhisatvas is good in three ways. What are these three ways? They are good bodily conduct, good verbal conduct, and good mental conduct. Now, what does good bodily conduct imply? Śāriputra, good bodily conduct implies that a bodhisatva abstains from taking life, abstains from taking what is not given, and abstains from sexual misconduct. Moreover, Śāriputra, good verbal conduct implies that a bodhisatva abstains from lying and abstains from slander, harsh words, and inane chatter. Finally, good mental conduct implies that a bodhisatva is not covetous, is without malice, and holds right views.


8.

Chapter 8: The Perfection of Patient Acceptance

8.­1

“Now, Śāriputra, what is the bodhisatva’s perfection of patient acceptance, by which he wholeheartedly practices the way of the bodhisatva? Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s patience comes from a natural ability for endurance. He can patiently accept cold and heat, starvation and thirst, wind and scorching heat, [MS.81.a] insects and reptiles, and people speaking to him in unpleasant and unwelcome ways. He is patient with painful sensations that are related to or produced by the physical body and endures them easily, whether they are intense, strong, sharp, life threatening, or deadly.


9.

Chapter 9: The Perfection of Vigor

9.­1

“Now, Śāriputra, what is the bodhisatvas’ perfection of vigor like, the perfection of vigor by means of which bodhisatvas, great beings, practice the way of the bodhisatva and that makes bodhisatvas, great beings, invulnerable to attacks by Māra and his retinue, the gods, and all other opponents?101

9.­2

“Śāriputra, the vigor of the bodhisatva, the great being, is unyielding and involves no concern for his body or his life. When he has cultivated this powerful vigor, he will seek out the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. He will study it conscientiously, learn it, memorize it, recite it, absorb it, clarify it for others, teach it in great detail, commit it to writing, and preserve it.

9.­3

“In what sense does he not have any concern for his body or his life? Śāriputra, even if he is threatened, the bodhisatva will continue his studies of these teachings. He will continue to memorize them, recite them, and absorb them, clarify them for others, teach them in great detail, commit them to writing, and preserve them. He will continue in these pursuits with diligence, even if someone says to him, ‘We are going to ravage your body with a hundred arrows, swords, and spears and rob you of your life.’ [F.102.a] Even then, the bodhisatva will not become afraid, alarmed, frightened, or intimidated at all but will bring forth firm vigor, and with strong conviction, he will never damage, sabotage, or abandon the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. His resolve is firm. His patience is firm. His vigor is firm.

9.­4

“I will give you an example, Śāriputra, to help you understand the firmness of his patience and the firmness of his vigor. So firm is his patience, so firm is his vigor, that the bodhisatva has no concern for his body or his life. Śāriputra, no matter how many sentient beings there may be in the threefold thousand great thousand worlds‍—those born from an egg, those born from a womb, those born from moisture, those born spontaneously, those with form, those without form, those with perception, those without perception, those with neither perception nor nonperception, the visible and the invisible‍—however many sentient beings there may be, imagine that they all at some moment, at some point, at some time, sooner or later, were to attain a human existence. Imagine then that, having obtained a human form, they all became his enemies, carrying sharp swords, and saying to him, ‘We will catch anyone who studies these texts with diligence, who memorizes them, recites them, clarifies them to others, and teaches them in great detail. When we catch him, we will take his life.’ Even then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva would not be afraid even for a moment but would continue to uphold the true teachings [MS.85.b] and pursue the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.

9.­5

“Śāriputra, it is said that the bodhisatva’s vigor is unyielding, that the power of his vigor is unending, that he is a hero of vigor, a hero of commitment, a hero of morality, a hero of patience, a hero of concentration, [F.102.b] a hero of wisdom. It is said that his knowledge of excellent conduct is like that of a hero. Śāriputra, when the bodhisatva is faced with hostile enemies carrying sharp weapons, he will not entertain the idea of retaliating, even for an instant. Therefore, Śāriputra, it is said that the bodhisatva is like Brahmā, like Indra, like Mount Meru. He has unyielding compassion and maintains his loving resolve to assist all sentient beings according to their needs. He has an unyielding sphere of influence and a mind that is like the earth, a mind that is like water, a mind that is like fire, a mind that is like the wind, a mind that is like space. He has succeeded in removing the evils of attachment, aversion, and confusion.

9.­6

“Śāriputra, take a bodhisatva, a great being, who fills as many worlds as there are grains of sand in the river Ganges with the seven precious substances and offers this to the tathāgatas, the arhats, the fully accomplished buddhas. Contrast that with a bodhisatva, a great being, who listens to the cycle of teachings contained within The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva and is filled with one-pointed determination, thinking, ‘I must train according to these teachings.’ Even if he does not undertake this training, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who wishes to undertake it gathers much more merit because of this wish than the one who makes the kind of offering I have described. Why is this? It is because, Śāriputra, this is what ensures the attainment of unsurpassed perfect awakening. Therefore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva, the great being, vigorously pursues the study, memorization, writing, recitation, preservation, and elucidation of the cycle of teachings contained within The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.

9.­7

“Śāriputra, having embarked on the path of vigor, the bodhisatva journeys on a voyage that is a non-voyage. What is the voyage that is a non-voyage? It is nirvāṇa. The evils of Māra cannot journey there, [F.103.a] and that is why it is called the voyage that is a non-voyage. Those who journey there are those who have perseverance, good men, buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas. Why is this? It is because it is proper engagement with the path of vigorous conduct that makes one an honorable man, a buddha.

9.­8

“Sentient beings take three courses. What are these three courses? They are a slope that leads toward the lower realms of existence, a hill that leads toward the lower realms of existence, or an abyss that opens into the lower realms of existence. This is the case for anyone who lives in a corrupt way. The only way to avoid these three courses is morality, patience, and learning. Oh, how lost they are, these sentient beings who go about their business thinking, ‘I’! Oh, how lazy they are, these sentient beings who vigorously pursue things thinking, ‘I’! The learned ones, Śāriputra, the bodhisatvas, do not make friends with or rely upon lazy sentient beings who are engaged in useless business. Instead, they will rely upon bodhisatvas who vigorously pursue an appropriate path of conduct. Why do they do this? Śāriputra, there is no nirvāṇa that is higher than the final nirvāṇa of a buddha. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who has the motivation to become purified and who vigorously pursues this does not do so only to attain peace for himself, but he works with vigor for the benefit and happiness of all sentient beings. In order to be able to do this, he gains understanding, teaches them, encourages them, inspires them, and helps them onto the noble path. This is the kind of honorable man we call a bodhisatva.”

9.­9

The Lord then spoke these verses:

9.­10
“With unrestrained vigor,
He always follows the sublime.
The learned always uphold
The collected teachings on the bodhisatvas.
9.­11
“The meaning of these teachings [F.103.b]
Is something the intellect cannot fathom. [MS.86.a]
Those who search for purification
Are called bodhisatvas.
9.­12
“They exert themselves in great wisdom,
Taking their seat beneath the tree of excellence,
And so, through the application of vigor and wisdom,
They scare away the evil māras.
9.­13
“They all teach morality
From the perspective of worldly convention.
For the benefit of all sentient beings,
They never let their vigor wane.
9.­14

“Śāriputra, there will be a time, an occasion, after both you and I have passed away, five hundred years into the future, when this sūtra will delight and inspire a great many people. It will bring them wisdom, and it will bring them merit. It will bring them an abundance of possessions, it will lead them to heaven, and it will bring them all kinds of prosperity. It will bring them the powers, the four kinds of confidence, the analytical abilities, the great love, the great compassion, the great empathetic joy, the great equanimity, and the unique buddha qualities of a tathāgata. In short, it will bring them the teachings of the Buddha.102 It will chase off māras. It will purify their minds. It will put an end to birth. It will put an end to suffering. It will bring them closer to nirvāṇa. When this time comes, they will forsake the world, they will be without desires, and they will practice renunciation.

9.­15

“Śāriputra, the sentient beings who will appear at that time will apply themselves; they will make an effort, they will strive. They will be interested in supreme, perfect, complete awakening. They will be interested in morality, in learning, in meditative concentration, in wisdom, in liberation, and in insight into the knowledge of liberation. They will be interested in the teachings of the Buddha. They will be interested in bringing benefit and happiness to all sentient beings. They will be unimpressed with wrong views. They will be interested in cultivating right views. [F.104.a] They will want to relinquish cyclic existence. They will be interested in cultivating the noble path. They will want to teach the Dharma. They will want to rout the māras. They will want to quench desire. They will want to pacify anger. They will want to crush confusion. They will want to crush ignorance. They will wish to give rise to understanding. Śāriputra, having heard this type of teaching, they will apply themselves with vigor because they desire the qualities associated with the roots of virtue.

9.­16
“As they have heard these kinds of teachings,
There will be no obstacles
To any of the Buddha’s qualities‍—
Of this I have no doubt.
9.­17

“Śāriputra, the sentient beings who will appear at that time will be strongly supported by the power of their merit, and they will set out toward unsurpassed perfect awakening with the utmost resolve. They will listen to sūtras like this one, and when they hear them they will be greatly delighted and inspired. They will absorb this cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva to an exemplary degree. Because of their diligence, they will come to master it.

9.­18

“Those who practice the Dharma by listening to the instructions of the Tathāgata will not be swayed by any kinds of circumstances, by any kinds of experiences, as they listen. When they have heard the instructions of the Tathāgata they will be greatly delighted and inspired, and because of their delight and inspiration, their vigor will grow stronger. However, they will receive only a small fraction of this jewel of the Dharma that is The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.

9.­19

“Śāriputra, say that, for example, various different kinds of ripe fruit that looked, smelled, and tasted delicious were carried around on the great ocean. A certain person, who had developed exceptional vigor and courage, might then plunge into the great ocean, struggling with arms and legs to get hold of a piece of fruit, or two or three pieces of fruit, from the great ocean, [MS.86.b] and then come out of the great ocean again. He might settle down and enjoy the fruit, comparing the taste of the fruit to the taste of fruit that he has had in the past. He might think to himself, [F.104.b] ‘I have never had fruit this good, this sweet smelling, or this tasty before. Perhaps, if I apply myself with even greater vigor, working diligently with my arms and legs, I will be able to get more fruit like this.’ If he then goes and searches the great ocean again but does not find any more fruit, he will be upset and disappointed, and he will complain, ‘This fruit was ripe and had many good qualities. It looked, smelled, and tasted delicious. It is such a pity that I was not able to get hold of any more of this fruit.’

9.­20

“In the same way, Śāriputra, in a future time, on a future occasion, in five hundred years time, at the time of the disappearance of the true Dharma, there will be little faith, little renunciation, little wisdom, and little vigor. Even though some people might hear a precious sūtra like this in a discourse and grasp a little bit of what they hear, even just one four-line verse, they will still be terrorized by the evil Māra. There will not be many who have respect for the true Dharma. There will not be many who worship it. There will not be many who praise it. If it is not respected, worshiped, and praised, it will be lost to oblivion. Those who do study it and understand it will be very few and far between. There will be few who will dwell in solitude in order to investigate their minds, to meditate. Those who do so will not be filled with joy but will constantly complain, ‘Oh, what a pity! The excellent instructions of the Tathāgata are fading, and I will not be able to hear any more of them. I will not be able to study any more of them.’ This is how they will remember the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha for some time.

9.­21

“Moreover, Śāriputra, at that time there will be mendicants who will be under the sway of Māra, and who, when they hear this discourse, will publicly contest its authenticity, saying that this discourse is not the word of the Buddha. Śāriputra, at that time there will even be mendicants who will not want to hear anything of it.” [F.105.a]

9.­22

The Lord then spoke these verses:

9.­23
“As they have heard these kinds of teachings,
There will be no obstacles
To any of the Buddha’s teachings‍—
Of this I have no doubt.103
9.­24
“There will be those who have little merit
Who will not listen to something like this.
There will be those who have little merit
Who will not develop faith in it when they hear it.
9.­25
“There will be those who possess merit
Who will hear it and preserve it with faith.
9.­26
“There will be those who have little merit
Who will claim that it is not the Teaching.
They will go to the lower realms of existence [MS.87.a]
And will be like blind people crawling on the ground.
9.­27
“Those who have merit
Will hear it and be overjoyed.
They will go to pleasurable states of existence,
Which are like the essence of clarified butter.
9.­28
“There will be those who have little merit
Who will become depressed when they hear it.
They will suffer for a long time,
And, being ignorant, they will not be liberated.
9.­29
“There will be a few who will be
Terrorized by māras when they hear it.
They will abandon the awakening of the Buddha;
They soon end up in hell.
9.­30

“Śāriputra, the knowledge of the Tathāgata is completely pure. Śāriputra, the Tathāgata knows of everyone who will hear sūtras like this one at the time of the disappearance of the Dharma of the buddhas. He knows whether they will belong to one of the four assemblies, whether they will be a monk, a nun, a layman, or a laywoman. He knows who will practice it and gain a good grasp of it when they hear it, and who will disregard it and want to hear nothing of it. Those who practice it and gain a good grasp of it when they hear it will gain four things that will free them from obstructions and purify them. What are these four things? They will gain morality, which will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will gain freedom and riches and the opportunities these things bring, which will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will gain the opportunity to meet [F.105.b] and listen to a buddha, and this will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will see the Buddha Maitreya, and when they see him they will be freed from obstructions and be purified. Śāriputra, these are the four things they will gain that will free them from obstructions and purify them. They will each experience these things in accordance with the roots of virtue that they have planted.

9.­31

“Also, Śāriputra, at that time of the disappearance of the true Dharma there will be followers of the Mahāyāna who will apply themselves to sūtras like this one. They will exert themselves with great vigor, and they will learn them, memorize them, recite them, absorb them, explain them, clarify them to others, and teach them in great detail. They will, though, encounter ten obstacles, and because of these obstacles, they will not be influenced by the understanding of the learned ones, even though this understanding will be available to them, and even if they apply themselves with vigor. What are these ten obstacles that will mean that the understanding of learned ones will not have any effect, even when it is available?

9.­32

“Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but the evil Māra will destroy the words. This is the first obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­33

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but their eyesight will become impaired. This is the second obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­34

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will have some sort of physical disability. This is the third obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­35

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will not be satisfied with the place where they are staying, and they will want to move. [F.106.a] This is the fourth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­36

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will be angry with one another, and because they are overcome by anger, there will be animosity among them, and they will not remain loyal to sūtras like this one. This is the fifth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­37

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but they will engage in disputes, they will quarrel, they will make accusations against one another, and they will attack one another with animosity, trying to hurt one another with hundreds of different verbal weapons. [MS.87.b] These disputes, quarrels, and accusations, this animosity, and these attempts to attack and hurt one another with hundreds of different verbal weapons will create obstacles for them. Because they end up in conflict with one another in these ways, they will be eager that these sorts of teachings not be propagated. This is the sixth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­38

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the mendicants will be interested in studying the sūtras, but the evil Māra will appear to the householders and the renunciants, and when the evil Māra appears, they will not apply themselves to sūtras like this one but will reject them and eagerly engage in conflict. This is the seventh obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­39

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, at that time, on that occasion, at the time of the destruction of the true Dharma, there will be young and inexperienced mendicants who will apply themselves to sūtras like this one and to the discipline of the Dharma. They will have conviction, faith, and a firm resolve to advance toward unsurpassed perfect awakening. They will listen to sūtras like this one, [F.106.b] and when they hear them, they will be thrilled and exhilarated. Their preceptors, however, will create obstacles to the beneficial Dharma, claiming that ‘This is not the word of the Buddha. This does not represent the awakening of the Buddha. This is not the discipline. These are not the instructions of the Teacher.’ The mendicants will believe these claims and think, ‘What we profess as the truth is what is genuine.’ If they believe this, they will be disregarding the awakening of the Buddha, and these new mendicants will then completely destroy their previous virtue and cut themselves off from it. If they cut off their roots of virtue in this way, evil māras will dominate their practice, and they will act in ways that will lead them to become cut off from Dharma. When they die, they will experience a violent death. They will meet with a horrible death. They will act in ways that will lead them to end up in hell. Śāriputra, the Tathāgata knows these sentient beings. He knows those sentient beings who will come to reject sūtras like this one. He knows each and every sentient being who will reject them‍—those who will reject them on arrival and those who will reject it when they leave. The Tathāgata knows them all.

9.­40

“Then, Śāriputra, those followers of the Mahāyāna, those bodhisatvas, who apply themselves with vigor will cultivate four kinds of intention. What are these four kinds of intention? They will cultivate the intention to tame themselves. They will cultivate the intention to reflect on how they themselves act and not how others act. They will have compassion for other sentient beings. They will remain in isolated forest monasteries, guarding their own minds and guarding the minds of others. These are the four kinds of intention they will cultivate.

9.­41

“Moreover, Śāriputra, at that time there will be many beings who will hold wrong views. There will only be a few mendicants who will teach the Dharma, and they will be reviled. [F.107.a] They will not be honored, venerated, respected, worshiped, relied upon, revered, or served. At that time, too, there will be many who will rely upon those who teach non-Dharma. They will be honored, venerated, respected, worshiped, and smiled at, and they will be very powerful. Sūtras like this will be ridiculed and reviled. Śāriputra, those who are not attracted to them will continue to not be attracted to them. Those who are attracted to them will continue to be attracted to them. There will be those [MS.88.a] who will have access to sūtras like this one, but they will not teach them to large gatherings of people. This is the eighth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­42

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, at that time the mendicants will be overwhelmed by desire, and they will act very deceitfully. They will strive to obtain three things. What three things will they strive to obtain? They will strive to obtain bowls and robes, they will strive greedily to obtain food and drink, and they will strive to follow the materialists. This is the ninth obstacle that will mean that the understanding of the learned ones will not have any effect.

9.­43

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, at that time, on that occasion, there will be followers of the Mahāyāna who will apply themselves to sūtras like this one. They will exert themselves with great vigor, and they will memorize them, write them down, preserve them, recite them, absorb them, clarify them to others, and teach them in great detail. But they will be under the influence of Māra, and they will be restricted by the restraints of their previous actions. They will be restricted by the restraints of the vices. They will be fond of activities. They will delight in activities and will engage in pleasant activities with enthusiasm. They will be fond of talking. [F.107.b] They will delight in talking and engage in pleasant talk with enthusiasm. They will be fond of sleeping. They will delight in sleeping and engage in pleasant sleep with enthusiasm. They will be fond of associating with others. They will delight in associating with others and will associate with others with enthusiasm. Because of this, they will not study sūtras like this one. They will not memorize them, recite them, absorb them, clarify them to others, or teach them in great detail to others. Śāriputra, there is nobody who will do more to bring about the disappearance of the instructions of the Tathāgata, or who will do more damage to the instructions of the Tathāgata, than these wicked mendicants. This, Śāriputra, is the tenth obstacle that will occur at that time.

“Śāriputra, even though learned ones will possess understanding, it will not have any effect.”

9.­44

The Lord then spoke these verses:

9.­45
“They will encounter many obstacles
Caused by māras.
They will abandon beneficial practices
And have no interest in a life of seclusion.
9.­46
“They will have little wisdom and poor understanding.
They will not follow the true Dharma.
They will act in non-Dharmic ways
And end up in lower states of existence.
9.­47
“When the time of death arrives
And protection and refuge is provided
By gurus, preceptors, and teachers,
They will go to the lower states of existence all the same.
9.­48
“For a billion eons their conduct has brought only suffering,
As they have only had worldly goals.
Oh, how will I be able to rescue sentient beings
Who are burned by the three fires?
9.­49
“When I have attained supreme awakening
And set the holy wheel in motion,
None in the world will be my equal,
Not even the gods, and certainly none will be superior.
9.­50
“The kind of complete equanimity I have attained
Is exceptionally rare in this world.
Those who rely on other things
Will experience a great deal of suffering.
9.­51
“They will not be able to obtain this gift
That provides a path to awakening. [F.108.a]
Even if they cling to the instructions of the Buddha,
They will stray from the path in confusion.
9.­52
“When they hear this kind of Dharma
That praises emptiness,
They will do their best to build on it as an established truth,
But this will only create obstacles.
9.­53
“They will say, ‘This is the best. This is the truth,’
But they will believe that what is false is true.
Nothing will stop them from
Reviling the true Dharma.
9.­54
“Those who will appreciate the Buddha
And whose respect for him is solid
Will rejoice when they hear this kind of Dharma.
They are the fortunate ones.
9.­55
“When he discovers that they are rejoicing,
Māra will become upset,
And he will create obstacles
To terrify them.
9.­56
“Taking on the guise of a mendicant,
He will create uncertainty:
‘What are you running around like this for?
This is not the path to awakening.’
9.­57
“These sūtras genuinely provide
A solid foundation for what is most important. [MS.88.b]
When they create this discord,
It will then be lost.
9.­58
“Under the influence of Māra,
They will stick to what is pleasurable.
They will not speak in accordance with the Dharma,
And they will abandon nirvāṇa.
9.­59
“They will leave their teacher
And lose interest in the Dharma.
Indulging in selfish desires,
They will quickly end up in hell.
9.­60
“They will become small minded
And have no interest in the teachings on emptiness.
Wherever they may dwell,
They spread their inconsistencies.
9.­61
“Although this Dharma is excellent,
They will criticize it when they hear it.
They will be scared by it, frightened by it, and they will flee.
This is what will happen in the future.
9.­62
“There will be no one to teach,
But there will be no shortage of others.
The few who will be capable of teaching
Will be indifferent to doing so.
9.­63
“The obstacles to this kind of Dharma,
The obstacles to the instructions
Of the protector of the world, will be many.
They will spread like wildfire.
9.­64
“The gentle ones who abandon concern for this life [F.108.b]
And go to live in the wilderness,
Where they cultivate these teachings,
Will swiftly reach the state of happiness.
9.­65

“Śāriputra, when the followers of the Mahāyāna see this kind of dreadful, awful destruction of the true Dharma, they will experience a great rush of vigor and strength: ‘I will do my best to properly study this sūtra, the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, to memorize it, commit it to writing, preserve it, elucidate it for others, and teach it in great detail.’

9.­66

“This vigor will come in the form of four thoughts. What are these four thoughts? ‘Our precious family inheritance is being destroyed. The Lord Śākyamuni, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, persevered in his arduous practice for uncountable hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of eons. This precious inheritance is being destroyed, so we need to maintain it, preserve it, and not let it be lost. We must apply ourselves to this task with great vigor.’

9.­67

“Śāriputra, take the example of a man who has only one son, a kind, gentle, pleasant son with no undesirable traits. Imagine that this man’s son is about to fall into an abyss, and so he grabs him and holds on to him in order to keep him safe, as if it were the abyss of hell he was about to fall into. In the same way, Śāriputra, good men who have faith in me, who have not given up the incomparable jewel of the Dharma, and who wish to reach nirvāṇa should uphold the true Dharma at that time, thinking, ‘I will lead others to supreme awakening.’

9.­68

“Śāriputra, take the example of a great battle. A few people will be sent to face the army to protect the population as a whole. These few, Śāriputra, will be capable, seasoned fighters who will be able to win the battle. When the dreadful battle commences, they will stand and face the opposing army to protect the population as a whole. In the same way, Śāriputra, [F.109.a] when the time of the destruction of the true Dharma is upon them, there will be those whose intentions are noble, heroes whose vigor will be firm and who will be intent on nirvāṇa, who will don the armor of firmness. With great vigor and strength, they will be victorious over the forces of Māra. They will preserve the very essence of this kind of precious teaching.

9.­69

“How will they do this? Śāriputra, he will not be pleased if even a single four-line verse is treated carelessly, and he will object to this careless treatment. He will explain that ‘These are the authentic words of the Buddha’ and try to get people to understand. He takes delight in the eloquent words of the lords, the buddhas, of the past, the future, and the present.

9.­70

“Śāriputra, I am not talking about the kind of people in whom little merit has matured. The people I am talking about will have a great deal of merit, as vast as the sky. Why is this? Śāriputra, honorable men like this are very hard to come by. I call them excellent men. [MS.89.a] I call them supreme men. I call them heroic men. I call them great men. They practice the Dharma of the Tathāgata. They do not take sides and do not cause fights. They apply themselves at the very core of their being. Śāriputra, they will apply themselves at the very core of their being until they die. They will apply themselves to the preservation of the true Dharma until they die. They will apply themselves with confidence in emptiness until they die.

9.­71

“Śāriputra, those who possess these four qualities will master the three times,104 placate the authorities, and work so that the awakening of the Buddha remains available, even at the penultimate time in the future, the time when the true Dharma is destroyed, the time when the true Dharma disappears, the time immoral practices become commonplace, the time when the mantras of the materialists become commonplace, the time of the age of degeneration, the time of degenerate sentient beings, the time of degenerate lifespans, [F.109.b] the time of degenerate vices, the time of degenerate views. Śāriputra, they will master the three times.”

9.­72

The Lord then spoke these verses:

9.­73
“They do not lack the supreme Dharma.
They have access to that which can undo aging and death.
None among them are ever in doubt about what their goal is,105
And they are intent upon helping everyone.
9.­74
“Those who hear this Dharma that I teach
Do not only relate to it superficially.
I am their instructor,
And they are my hearers.106
9.­75
“However, those who only relate to this Dharma
Superficially when they hear it
Will go to the lower realms of existence,
Like a cart rolling into the ocean.
9.­76
“Even in the course of a billion eons
It is incredibly difficult to meet a buddha,
So if they displease a buddha when they meet him
They must certainly be under the sway of māras. [B13]
9.­77

“A long time ago, Śāriputra, ninety-one eons in the past, there was a time, an occasion, when a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Vipaśyin appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, and he was a teacher of gods and men, awakened, a lord.

9.­78

“The story goes that there were six wicked mendicants named Sudarśana, Sulabha, Nandaka, Kalyāṇaka, Yaśa, and Agnidatta. They believed in the self, in the person, in annihilation, and in permanence. They joined forces, and they worked together to make the following plan: ‘We should each take responsibility for one hundred households, and we should argue our case in these one hundred households. [F.110.a] We should each argue our case in twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, if not a full hundred households.’ They plotted in this way and then traveled to different villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts and visited individual households. In each household they visited, the first thing they would do was to make disparaging remarks about the Buddha. What sort of disparaging remarks did they make about the Buddha? When they entered the houses they would say, ‘A self exists. A being exists. A life force exists. A person exists. If there were no self, what would come [MS.89.b] and what would go? What would stand, what would sit, and what would lie down? What would speak, and what would be silent? What would give a gift, and who would receive it? What would eat? What would feel the sensations of happiness and suffering? Whoever has told you that there is no self, no being, no life force, and no person is not a suitable spiritual guide for you. He is not a spiritual friend.’ So, Śāriputra, women and men, boys and girls, would say, ‘Someone like this is not a spiritual friend. He is evil. An evil friend is not a spiritual friend. The people who have explained this to you are learned, and so you should believe them when they say that someone who is an evil friend is not a spiritual friend. Therefore, if someone tells you that there is no self, no being, no life force, and no person, do not rely on him, do not associate with him, and do not serve him.’ In this way, these mendicants each influenced five hundred households in the space of two weeks.

9.­79

“Then, Śāriputra, there were mendicants and arhats of the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, who were free of any impurities or vices. These śrāvakas went to the households that had been influenced by the wicked mendicants. When they arrived there, the women and men, the boys and [F.110.b] girls, insulted them and abused them with harsh and vulgar words. They spoke the following verse:107

9.­80
“ ‘This path of yours is foolish.
You do not understand the Dharma.
You have strayed from the Dharma,
And you will all end up in hell.’
9.­81

“The mendicants who had been abused in verse in this way then replied with verses in praise of the Buddha:

9.­82
“ ‘The Dharma the Buddha teaches
Is that all conditioned things are impermanent,
That all phenomena are without a self,
That they do not last, that they are transient.
9.­83
“ ‘They are hollow, ephemeral, and empty.
They always mislead the immature.
All conditioned things are insubstantial.
It is easy to be fooled by these deceptive phenomena.’
9.­84

“The Dharma taught by the Tathāgata is that there is no self, no being, no life force, and no person. Those mendicants have spoken the following verse:

9.­85
“ ‘Those who give, who enjoy, who receive,
Who feel, and who have all kinds of experiences
But claim that there is no self
Will go to the lower states of existence.’
9.­86

“When they died, Śāriputra, the women and men, boys and girls, who had been led astray by these wicked men were reborn in the great Incessant Hell for sixty-eight thousand lifetimes. They would be reborn in a particular kind of body, which was that of a fish. Their heads would have a particular form, which was that of a human being. Their tongue would have a particular form, which was, to take an example, that of a brewery filter made of cloth, and their tongues would be shredded by numerous plows made of iron. Their bodies would all be struck by a hundred weapons. A great many burning balls of iron would fall from the sky and incinerate them, engulf them, a single mass of fire as they hit their bodies.”

9.­87

The Lord then spoke these verses: [F.111.a]

9.­88
“Hundreds and thousands
Of burning arrows and tongues of lightning
Will constantly rain down upon their bodies‍—
This is what they will experience in hell.
9.­89
“Their bodies will all be ablaze,
In an intolerable inferno. [MS.90.a]
For a full hundred eons
Their bodies will burn.
9.­90
“Their tongues will each
Will be shredded by plows.
As their tongues are mangled,
They will experience nothing but pain.
9.­91
“This is what will happen
If one relies upon evil friends.
If one rejects those who uphold morality,
One will quickly end up in the lower realms of existence.
9.­92

“Śāriputra, when these six wicked men died, they were reborn in the great Incessant Hell, and each took on a body a hundred yojanas in size. Their bodies each had a thousand mouths. There were two tongues in each of their mouths, each of which measured four yojanas. Five hundred plows appeared on each of their tongues. The plow blades were made of iron, and their tongues were shredded. They were not even able to cry ‘Haaaa….’ There were a billion henchmen of hell at each of their heads, torturing them with sharp blades. Each of the lives they had there lasted ten billion years. They underwent many other kinds of horrible experiences in the other great hells too. Why? It was because they spoke disparagingly about the teachings of the Buddha.

9.­93

“Furthermore, at that time there was a householder by the name of Kṣema. He was wealthy, with great riches, a great many possessions, and much property. He had a great deal of money, gold, jewels, pearls, gems, shells, crystals, coral, silver, and precious metals. He had many male and female servants, workers, and laborers. He had storerooms filled with great wealth, treasure, and stocks of grain. [F.111.b] He was a follower of the views of annihilation propounded by these wicked men. His wife’s name was Arcimati, and she was beautiful, delightful, and appealing and had a great many excellent qualities. She gave birth to a child who was beautiful, delightful, and appealing and had a great many excellent qualities. He possessed excellent roots of virtue that he had accumulated under many hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of buddhas. As soon as he was born, he laughed three times and said, ‘I have been born into a family of believers in annihilation!’ When she heard her son’s words the mother was frightened, shocked, and terrified. Her hair stood on end, and she put him down and ran away. The other women who were there with her fled as well. Then, Śāriputra, after a long time had passed, the women returned to look at the child, wondering what he could be‍—a god, a nāga, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a mahoraga, a kumbhāṇḍa, a bhūta, a piśāca, a human being, or a nonhuman being?

9.­94

“Śāriputra, the boy then thought, ‘Alas, these women are fleeing from ease,’108 and he spoke these verses:

9.­95
“ ‘I only wish you well.
No harm will come to you. You need not be scared.
I will liberate you
From the wrong path you are following.
9.­96
“ ‘It is Kṣema who you should fear,
Like an enemy, not me.
I will liberate you
From falling into wrong views.’
9.­97

“Then, Śāriputra, as the boy’s parents and the wider community heard about these verses that the boy had spoken, they went to where he was staying. The boy then spoke these verses to his parents:

9.­98
“ ‘Take whatever stores of treasure and grain
There are in this house
And quickly make an offering to us‍—
For we are śrāvakas of the Buddha. [MS.90.b]
9.­99
“ ‘There is no one like him,
The light of the world, Vipaśyin,
In the sphere109 of all the three worlds‍— [F.112.a]
And we are his śrāvakas.
9.­100
“ ‘The one who reveals the Dharma
For the benefit of all who live
Is the light of the world, Vipaśyin‍—
And we are his śrāvakas.
9.­101
“ ‘The one whose body is adorned
With the thirty-two characteristics of a great being
Is the light of the world, Vipaśyin‍—
And we are his śrāvakas.
9.­102
“ ‘It is incredibly rare to be able to hear him:
It happens just once every ten billion eons,
As rarely as the blossoming of the udumbara flower‍—
And we are his śrāvakas.’
9.­103

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy’s parents presented him with two hundred million gold coins, and said, ‘Son, this is the wealth of your parents. Please give it to the one whose mind is pure.’

9.­104

“They then spoke these verses:

9.­105
“ ‘This is the wealth of your mother,
And this is the wealth of your father.
Son, please make an offering of it
To the one whose mind is pure.
9.­106
“ ‘We have quickly brought you
The treasure and gold
That we had in the house‍—
Please give it to the one whose mind is pure.
9.­107
“ ‘With joy, we have brought you
Our beds and our blankets,
Our garlands, perfumes, and ointments‍—
Please give it to the one whose mind is pure.
9.­108
“ ‘The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha
Are unsurpassed fields of merit‍—
Please make this offering to them
For the benefit of all who live.’
9.­109

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy spoke these verses to his parents:

9.­110
“ ‘I will go to Vipaśyin,
The protector of the world,
And then I will make a great offering
For the benefit of all who live.
9.­111
“ ‘Let those who long for the happy state,
Gods and humans alike,
Join me on my journey.
Come with me!’
9.­112

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy looked thoughtfully in the four directions and said to his parents, ‘Father, mother, [F.112.b] I am going to see the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin.’

9.­113

“When the crowd heard this they thought, ‘How can it be that this boy can speak to his parents, and that he is able to walk, on the same day he was born?’ The crowd of eighty-four thousand living beings that had gathered thought, ‘What kind of boy is this? A god, a nāga, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a human being, or a nonhuman being?’

9.­114

“The boy, together with these eighty-four thousand living beings, then went to the place where the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin was staying. On the way, the boy manifested ten thousand umbrellas in the sky in order to provide shade for his body, so that he would not be disturbed by the wind or the heat. Wherever the boy went, there would be a golden net suspended above him. Wherever the boy walked, a rain of flowers and perfume, surpassing even those of the divine realms, would fall about him. Wherever the boy walked, a cool breeze filled with divine scents would blow. Wherever the boy walked, perfumed water would be sprinkled on his path. Wherever the boy walked, golden tiles would cover his path. Wherever the boy walked, a knee-high carpet of divine flowers would be spread over his path. Wherever the boy walked, many thousands of ponds would appear, and in these ponds would be water that possesses eight qualities. [MS.91.a] They would be covered in blue, red, pink, and white lotuses, and the cries of wild geese would resound above. Wherever the boy walked, his path would be a platform covered by the seven precious substances. Wherever the boy walked, many thousands of instruments would be heard. Wherever the boy walked, his path would be ornamented by jewels to the left and right. Wherever the boy stepped, a row of flowers would appear [F.113.a] for him to step on, and when he lifted his feet they would not leave any imprint.

9.­115

“Then, after he had walked awhile, the boy looked up and spoke these verses:

9.­116
“ ‘The consistent never accompany the inconsistent‍—
My path is set apart; it is illustrious.
You are inconsistent, I am consistent ‍—
I am seeking an audience with the consistent one, the Victorious One.
9.­117
“ ‘On rare occasions one achieves a human existence,
On rare occasions a buddha will appear,
And on rare occasions one possesses faith and wisdom,
But this only comes to pass once in a great many eons.’
9.­118

“Śāriputra, the moment the boy had uttered these verses, eighty-four billion gods appeared in the sky and expressed their approval, saying:

9.­119
“ ‘Excellent! Excellent! How incredibly wise!
You speak with distinction
And so these inconsistent people follow you.
Lead them on as a true110 friend.’
9.­120

“Śāriputra, the boy then offered this verse in reply to the gods:

9.­121
“ ‘You speak of being consistent,
And you speak of being inconsistent;
But what does consistent mean,
And what does inconsistent mean?’
9.­122

“Then, Śāriputra, the gods replied to the boy with the following verses:

9.­123
“ ‘For those who are stuck in the pleasures of the senses,
There is no room for renunciation.
They are inconsistent and confused.
They are on the path to hell.
9.­124
“ ‘Those who discard the pleasures of the senses
And live the renunciant homeless life
Are the consistent ones in this world.
It is they who can be said to be consistent.’
9.­125

“Śāriputra, the boy then replied to the gods with this verse:

9.­126
“ ‘You do not have any understanding
Of what the word consistent implies.
I, however, understand
Exactly what is meant by the word inconsistent.’
9.­127

“So, Śāriputra, the boy went on his way to where the lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, was staying. When he arrived there he honored him by placing his head at the Lord’s feet, circumambulating him three times, and then sitting to one side. [F.113.b] He then sang the praises of the lord, the tathāgata Vipaśyin, with the following verses:

9.­128
“ ‘Acting for the benefit of the world,
Bestowing the nectar of the threefold knowledge,
As great as an elephant, as great as a lion‍—
May you always be worshiped.
9.­129
“ ‘A light for the world such as him is hard to come by‍—
A protector of the world, providing illumination,
Just like an udumbara flower
In his appearance and his excellent features.
9.­130
“ ‘They put the world at risk
Because they do not understand the noble path.
Straying onto the wrong path,
They are like blind people scrambling on the ground.
9.­131
“ ‘May I become an awakened one in this world,
Just like you, supreme one among men.
I will free sentient beings from suffering,
From the burning agony of the three fires.
9.­132
“ ‘All these hundreds of living beings
Have come here with me.
Please illuminate the Dharma for them
And spur them on toward supreme awakening.’ [MS.91.b]
9.­133

“When he had spoken these verses, Śāriputra, the boy implored the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, to teach the Dharma. The eighty-four thousand beings who had accompanied him addressed the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, too, saying, ‘Lord, we, too, want to become tathāgatas in the future, arhats and fully accomplished buddhas who can teach the Dharma. We therefore hope that the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, will teach us the Dharma.’ Then, when the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, saw the sincerity of these eighty-four thousand beings, he smiled.

9.­134

“As is in the nature of the buddhas, the lords, when they smile, many-colored variegated light issued from his mouth. [F.114.a] This light was blue, yellow, red, white, crimson, crystal, and silver, and it spread throughout the world, all the way up to the realm of the brahmā gods, outshining the light of the moon and sun. When it returned, it circled the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, many hundreds of thousands of times, and it then dissolved into the crown of the Lord’s head.

9.­135

“Then, Śāriputra, the mendicant who was the attendant of the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, saw that the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, was smiling, and so he got up from his seat, placed his robe over his shoulder, knelt down on his right knee, and addressed the Lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, with the following verses:

9.­136
“ ‘If I may ask the Arhat, the supreme Buddha Vipaśyin,
The graceful one, so difficult to encounter,
What is the reason, O Protector of the World, for your smile?
What is the cause, lord Sugata, of your smile?
9.­137
“ ‘The one who is supreme among those who walk on two feet
Does not smile without a cause, without a reason.
Please tell me the reason why
You smiled so lovingly, to help the world.
9.­138
“ ‘There are hundreds of thousands of beings
Present here in front of you, Great Sage.
They are eager to hear, they wish to listen.
Please speak, O Protector, out of empathy for them.
9.­139
“ ‘The eyes of all beings are upon you.
You are the refuge and ultimate sanctuary for those who need protection,
You sever the doubts of all beings. [F.114.b]
You are a loving benefactor to the world.
9.­140
“ ‘Your profound knowledge of the past is ever present.
You have full knowledge of everything that is yet to come.
You have no doubts about what is happening,
Even about the smallest thing that occurs within this buddha field.
9.­141
“ ‘The Tathāgata possesses knowledge of the three times.
The speech of the Lord of the Dharma encompasses everything.
Protector of the world, permit me to ask you,
What is the cause of your smile? What is the reason for it?
9.­142
“ ‘In this place you sever all doubts.
You do not hesitate in any way when it comes to the Dharma.
You eliminate the stings of pain for beings
As your voice bestows that which is eightfold. [MS.92.a]
9.­143
“ ‘In a state of joy, my mind elated,
I ask you now, lord of the Dharma,
As I bring my ten fingers together in a gesture of reverence,
What is the cause of your smile? What is the reason for it?’
9.­144

“Śāriputra, the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, then said this to his attendant mendicant, ‘Mendicant, do you see this boy?’

“ ‘I see him, Lord. I see him, Sugata,’ he replied.

9.­145

“ ‘In the past, mendicant, this boy, seeking complete awakening, has honored, venerated, shown respect to, and made offerings of cloth, alms, bedding, healing medicine, and utensils to sixty-four thousand million billion trillion buddhas. Seeking complete awakening, this boy has lived the life of purity together with a trillion buddhas.

9.­146

“ ‘Mendicant, do you see these eighty-four thousand beings?’

“ ‘I see them, Lord. I see them, Sugata,’ he replied.

9.­147

“ ‘In the past, these eighty-four thousand beings were this boy’s parents, and, mendicant, this boy made this prayer: [F.115.a] “May I establish those who become my parents, in any of the births I may take, in awakening. Likewise, may they not be born as female.” This was what motivated the boy to cultivate the mind of unsurpassed perfect awakening.’

9.­148

“The lord, the Tathāgata Vipaśyin, spoke these verses to his attendant:

9.­149
“ ‘Mendicant, do you see this boy in front of us
And his following of thousands of beings,
As he says with a joyful, elated mind,
“I will become a lord of the Dharma”?
9.­150
“ ‘Mendicant, in previous lives
He performed sixty-four thousand million billion
Acts of reverence to the guides of the world,
For the benefit of the world with its gods.
9.­151
“ ‘In the presence of ten billion buddhas,
He became a renunciant, entered the discipline,
And led the unsurpassed life of purity
With the aspiration to attain supreme awakening.
9.­152
“ ‘Do you see these eighty-four hundreds of thousands
Of beings who are standing in front of me?
They have all been his mothers
Throughout the vast reaches of the past.
9.­153
“ ‘He made this solemn aspiration:
“May I establish all those who will be my mothers
In lives to come, in supreme awakening,
And may they never again be female.”
9.­154
“ ‘With all these goals in mind,
He turned toward the mind of awakening.
I make this prophesy to you,
That they will become unsurpassed among those who walk on two feet.
9.­155
“ ‘This is the reason why I smile.
I know what has happened in the past
And what things will be like in the future.
I know that they will become supreme among men.’
9.­156
“When they heard this prophesy
That Vipaśyin made openly,
Billions of beings were overjoyed,
Gods and nāgas as well as men. [MS.92.b]
9.­157

“At this, Śāriputra, [F.115.b] the boy was delighted and thrilled. His mind was transported with joy, and in this joyous and happy state he eagerly returned to his parents. When he arrived, he spoke this verse to them:

9.­158
“ ‘All these hundreds of beings
Who have been my mothers in the past
Will be led to the state of awakening.
What do you think of this?’
9.­159

“Śāriputra, the boy’s parents then spoke these verses to him:

9.­160
“ ‘I see things in the
Same way as you do.
I will become an omniscient one‍—
There is no doubt in my mind about this.
9.­161
“ ‘I make this request of you:
That wherever you are born you will suckle at my breast.
Then I will always bear in mind
That I am to reach awakening.’
9.­162

“Then, Śāriputra, the boy replied to his mother, who had given birth to him, with this verse:

9.­163
“ ‘First they will become buddhas,
Just as I have indicated.
Then I will become a light for the world,
A charioteer of men.’
9.­164

“Śāriputra, there should be no doubt or uncertainty as to whether it was that boy and no other that the lord Vipaśyin was talking about at that time, on that occasion. There is no need to raise questions about this. Why should there be no doubt about this? The divine son Maheśvara witnessed the Lord, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Vipaśyin, make these statements about the boy at that time, on that occasion. For a million billion eons he will not fall into the lower states of existence, and after a million billion eons have passed, he will be born into the family of a king of the entire world, and he will become a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Kāruṇika. His father’s name will be Abhiyaśa, just as my father’s name was Śuddhodana. His mother’s name will be Vigatatamā, just as my mother’s name was Māyā. His son’s name will be Aśoka, just as my son’s name is Rāhula. [F.116.a] He will leave everything behind and become an unsurpassed, fully accomplished buddha. When he has reached awakening, he will live for a hundred thousand million billion years. The radiance of his awakening will extend for over ten thousand yojanas, and his assembly will extend for a hundred yojanas. He will have three assemblies of śrāvakas: one of a billion śrāvakas, one of a hundred thousand trillion śrāvakas, and one of a hundred billion trillion śrāvakas. Ten million of them will be pure arhats who will have eliminated the defilements, who will be without vices, who will possess powers, who will dwell in the concentrations of the eight liberations, and who will possess the six superior abilities. Furthermore, Śāriputra, his saṅgha of bodhisatvas will be just as renowned as the arhats, who will have become part of the assembly belonging to the Three Jewels. As everyone has been his mother, he will teach the Dharma unfalteringly, benefitting uncountable innumerable sentient beings, and then pass into final nirvāṇa. After his final nirvāṇa, [MS.93.a] the true Dharma will remain for ten million years, and his ashes will be distributed far and wide, just as my ashes will be distributed far and wide after my final nirvāṇa.

9.­165

“Śāriputra, honorable men should investigate, honorable men should observe, that it is through the unfailing, unyielding vigor of an honorable man that a bodhisatva, a great being, cultivates a mind filled with awareness. He applies himself with vigor to the attainment of unsurpassed perfect awakening to such a degree that he thinks, ‘We will wander in saṃsāra for more eons than can possibly be counted.’ He does not say, ‘We cannot wander in saṃsāra for that long,’ but instead, Śāriputra, he dons the armor of inconceivability and thinks to himself, ‘We will roam here until the very end of saṃsāra. We will not let our vigor falter, in order to attain awakening.’ [F.116.b] His vigor is unfaltering and courageous.

9.­166

“What is the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor like? The bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is such that if one imagines that the great thousand three-thousandfold worlds were filled with raging fires, he would happily plunge into them in order to be able to meet the tathāgatas, the arhats, the fully accomplished buddhas. The bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is such that in order to be able to hear the true Dharma, he would happily plunge into fires that filled the three-thousandfold worlds. The bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is such that for the purpose of cultivating roots of virtue, he would happily plunge into fires that filled the great thousand three-thousandfold worlds. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

9.­167

“Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he is concerned for the welfare of others. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he courageously exerts himself in order to help others attain final nirvāṇa. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he does not relax, that he is stable, that he does not turn back, that his motivation is wholesome, and that he feels the sting of great compassion, so that he is constantly working to provide sentient beings with what they need. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that he will never be parted from the mind of awakening, not even for a single step he takes. He will always be focused on the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, and when he encounters sentient beings he will not let the vices take hold of him. Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is also such that whenever any root of virtue appears in his mind he dedicates it to awakening, and in this way his roots of virtue become inexhaustible. Śāriputra, just as the rivers that run into the great ocean are never exhausted, [F.117.a] virtue that is dedicated to awakening is never exhausted. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

9.­168

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva who correctly applies himself with unfaltering courageous vigor accumulates roots of virtue. He accumulates roots of virtue that will enable him to attain mastery in the various different aspects of omniscience. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

9.­169

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva trains himself in the following way. If one takes the entirety of the merit of all sentient beings, the entirety of the merit of all those who are in training and all those who require no more training, and the entirety of the merit of all pratyekabuddhas, this whole mass of merit, no matter how great it may be, would amount to only one pore on the body of the Tathāgata, [MS.93.b] and if one were to take the entirety of merit encompassed by all the pores on the Tathāgata’s body and perform an elaborate hundredfold Vedic offering, the merit gained in this way would be enough for one to attain one of the characteristics of a great being. By making offerings in this way, one can attain all the characteristics of a great being. The amount of merit required to obtain all the previous characteristics of a great being in this way is the same as the amount of merit required to obtain the ūrṇā curl between the eyebrows of a tathāgata. If one then takes the amount of merit required to obtain an ūrṇā curl and multiplies it by hundred thousand, then this is the amount of merit required to obtain the invisible crown protrusion on the head of a tathāgata, the final physical characteristic of a great being. If one then takes the amount of merit required to obtain an invisible crown protrusion and multiplies it by ten billion, then this is the amount of merit required to manifest a tathāgata’s great conch shell of the Dharma. If he so wishes, a tathāgata can use this conch shell of the Dharma to make his voice heard to the very ends of the earth, in a way that delights the sense faculties of all sentient beings, [F.117.b] and that suits their inclinations and their needs in relation to the training. The bodhisatva therefore thinks, ‘Although attaining unsurpassed perfect awakening is very demanding, I must nonetheless attain unsurpassed perfect awakening by any means necessary, so that I can make the words of the Buddha known to the ends of the earth.’ With this courageous attitude, he does not allow his armor to fail. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

9.­170

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, a bodhisatva who applies himself with unfaltering courageous vigor might hear it said, ‘If the beings in this threefold thousand great thousandfold universe were all to attain knowledge that accords with purity, this would not amount to even a hundredth part of the knowledge of someone who had attained knowledge that accords with the Dharma. It would not amount to a thousandth or a hundred thousandth part. It would not amount to any fraction that can be calculated or expressed, and so forth. In the same way, if the beings in this threefold thousand great thousandfold universe were all to attain the knowledge of a stream enterer, the knowledge of a once-returner, the knowledge of a non-returner, the knowledge of an arhat, the knowledge of a pratyekabuddha, the knowledge of a bodhisatva who appears once every hundred eons, the knowledge of an irreversible bodhisatva, or the knowledge of a bodhisatva who has only one existence remaining, no matter how many sentient beings there might be in the universe, even if they were all to attain the knowledge of the bodhisatva who has only one existence remaining, this would not even amount to a hundredth part of the tathāgata’s power to know what is the case and what is not the case. It would be an incalculably, incomparably small fraction of a thousandth or a hundred thousandth of this power.’ When he hears about this way into knowledge, he does not become intimidated. He is not scared, he is not frightened, [F.118.a] but he is motivated to gain access to this knowledge and applies himself to this task with vigor. Even if his physical body, with its sinews, muscles, bones, skin, flesh, and blood, were to dry up, he would not allow his vigor to falter if he had still not attained the powers of a tathāgata. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

9.­171

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva trains himself by thinking in the following way: ‘However many thoughts sentient beings have had in the past, they can all be included within a single thought of a single sentient being. So, however incalculably many thoughts sentient beings may have had, however great the vices of attachment, aversion and confusion that afflict all sentient beings may be, they can all be reduced to a single thought of a single sentient being. I will take this approach and apply myself with vigor and perseverance in my quest to accumulate knowledge and wisdom, [MS.94.a] no matter how immeasurably great the vices may be. By applying vigor in this way, I will pacify all the attachment, aversion, and confusion that torment all sentient beings. I will remove these poisons. I will destroy them. I will unmask them. I will reduce them to ashes. I will establish these sentient beings on the path to nirvāṇa.’ Such is his courage. This is what the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor is like.

9.­172

“Furthermore, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva applies himself with unfaltering courageous vigor. He bases himself on wholesome physical actions, he bases himself on wholesome verbal actions, he bases himself on wholesome mental actions, and with all the physical, verbal, and mental vigor he possesses, he applies himself with body, speech, and mind. It is said that it is better to have mental vigor than physical or verbal vigor. What is mental vigor? [F.118.b] It is to be mentally engaged and settled. In what way is he mentally engaged? He makes an effort to attain awakening. In what way is he mentally settled? He does not let the mind of awakening fade. In what way is he mentally engaged? He has great compassion for all sentient beings. In what way is he mentally settled? He accepts selflessness. In what way is he mentally engaged? He attracts sentient beings to him. In what way is he mentally settled? He will help any sentient being.

9.­173

“He engages by not becoming disheartened by cyclic existence. He is settled in not reifying the three realms. He engages by abandoning any idea of ownership. He is settled in having no conceit when he is generous. He engages by maintaining his moral conduct. He is settled in having no conceit about his morality. He engages with patience by being able to endure suffering. He is settled in not allowing his mind to become disturbed. He engages by applying himself to all roots of virtue. He is settled in his mental disengagement. He engages by mastering meditation. He is settled in mental introspection. He engages by being keen to learn more. He is settled because his practice is not superficial. He engages by teaching what he has heard. He is settled in the ineffable nature of the teaching. He engages by seeking to accumulate knowledge. He is settled as he severs all conceptual elaboration. He engages in developing the pure states. He is settled in the equanimity of real knowledge. He engages in perfecting the five superior abilities. He is settled in his mastery of the elimination of defilements. He engages by training himself in the application of mindfulness. He is settled in the absence of mindfulness and mental activity. He engages by applying the perfect exertion of abandonment. He is settled in the absence of both virtue and nonvirtue. He engages in building the foundations of magical abilities. He is settled in his effortless engagement. He engages with the senses [F.119.a] in a skillful manner. He is settled in his careful examination of sense phenomena. He engages by gaining mastery in the powers. He is settled in a state of unassailability. He engages in cultivating the factors of awakening. He is settled in the knowledge that investigates phenomena. He engages in the search for the requisites needed for the path. He is settled in not needing to travel anywhere. He engages in the search for calm abiding meditation. He is settled in a peacefully settled mind. He engages with the requirements for insight meditation. He is settled in his awareness of the true nature of phenomena. He engages in recognizing causes. He is settled in a true understanding of causes. He engages in paying attention to what others say. He is settled in his practice of the Dharma. He engages in the adornment of the body of Dharma. He is settled in the body of Dharma itself. He engages in the adornment of speech. He is settled in noble silence. He engages with confidence with the three doors of liberation. [MS.94.b] He is settled in inactivity. He engages in getting rid of the four māras. He is settled in his abandonment of the habitual vices. He engages with skillful means. He is settled in investigating things by means of wisdom. He engages in investigating objects as objects.111 He is settled in investigation that leads to liberation. He engages in investigating conventional designations. He is settled in investigating the meaning. This is what is meant by mental vigor. Applying oneself, exerting oneself, and working courageously with this kind of vigor is what is known as the bodhisatva’s unfaltering courageous vigor.

9.­174

“Consequently, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unfaltering and courageous excels in five ways, and so he quickly attains unsurpassed perfect awakening. What are these five ways in which he excels? He excels by serving the buddhas who appear. He excels by relying on his spiritual friends. He excels by having attained the fortunate situations. [F.119.b] He excels by not wasting the wholesome qualities that he has developed. He excels by following the training that is upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings. In this way, he will quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.”

9.­175

The venerable Śāriputra then asked the Lord, “Lord, are there bodhisatvas who do not excel in these five ways?”

The Lord replied, “There are, Śāriputra.”

“What are they like, Lord? What are they like, Sugata?”

9.­176

He said, “Śāriputra, there are five ways in which a bodhisatva can act that can prevent him from serving the buddhas who appear, relying on his spiritual friends, and taking advantage of the opportunities that arise. They can also make him waste the wholesome qualities that he has developed and not follow the training upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings, that would lead him to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. What are these five things? Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva might be a warrior king whose subjects might say, ‘Please help us!’ when they are afraid. He might reply, ‘I will,’ but then not do what he has promised. What then? Such an approach, Śāriputra, destroys any possibility of attaining heavenly states of existence. Such an approach, Śāriputra, destroys one’s potential for taking advantage of the opportunities that arise. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this first way, out of concern for his own physical well-being, will not please the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

9.­177

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who is involved with the harmful influences of the city. What sort of harmful influences of the city might he be involved with? [F.120.a] Śāriputra, when a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha appears in the world and teaches the Dharma, which is excellent in the beginning, excellent in the middle, and excellent in the end, accurate in meaning, and well expressed, and when he reveals the life of purity that is simple, complete, perfect, and pure, he has four assemblies. What are these four assemblies? They are monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen. If these monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen living in villages, towns, districts, counties, or countries abandon their morality, this is what is meant by the harmful influences of the city. [MS.95.a] A householder bodhisatva who is involved with the harmful influences of the city in this way will not please the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

9.­178

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who keeps to the well-expressed discipline of the Dharma but creates obstacles to the Dharma for his parents, for his sons, daughters, wife, and sisters, for his friends, companions, and relatives, and for other sentient beings and who is responsible for creating long-lasting hindrances to the Dharma. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this third way and is responsible for creating obstacles to the Dharma will not serve the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

9.­179

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who hears a tathāgata teach sūtras like this one that emphasize having few desires and living an ascetic lifestyle but who does not develop faith in them [F.120.b] and, moreover, makes others adopt his position. If he criticizes and disregards the doctrine of the tathāgata, he will end up having to go to awful states of existence. What sort of awful states of existence will he end up in? He will be reborn in hell, among animals, in the spirit world governed by Yama, or in remote border regions, with dysfunctional limbs, as a barbarian, or as a being who holds wrong views. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this fourth way will not serve the buddhas who appear, and so forth, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

9.­180

“Then, Śāriputra, there might be a householder bodhisatva who has power over ministers and others in his employ, using his authority to scold and rebuke many people and using vulgar and harsh language to deride and disparage others. Because of these negative verbal actions, he will end up in the dreadful lower states of existence. Śāriputra, a householder bodhisatva who acts in this fifth way will not serve the buddhas who appear, rely on his spiritual friends, or take advantage of the opportunities that arise; he will waste the wholesome qualities he has generated, he will not follow the training upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.”

9.­181

The Lord then spoke these verses:

9.­182
“Because he acts in these five ways,
His wisdom will not develop,
His intelligence will quickly deteriorate,
And he will displease the supreme among men.
9.­183
“As a soldier in the royal guard
He breaks his promise to sentient beings,
And through this root of unwholesomeness
He will not see the protector of the world.
9.­184
“He frightens sentient beings, saying,
‘Seize them! Beat them for me!’ [F.121.a]
Because of these evil deeds
He will displease the supreme among men.
9.­185
“Leading monks and nuns
To abandon their morality, he will suffer.
He will not serve the many buddhas,
And it is difficult to obtain the opportunity to render such service.
9.­186
“Creating obstacles to the practice of Dharma
For his parents and his wife,
He will not progress quickly in the Dharma
But will be clouded by confusion.
9.­187
“Creating obstacles
For those who wish to take on the life of a renunciant,
He will not please the many buddhas
And will not make use of his opportunities.
9.­188
“When he hears sūtras like this one
In which the word emptiness is used,
The poison of anger appears in him,
And he claims that they are not in accord with Dharma.
9.­189
“All these obstacles, however bad,
Still do not amount to even a sixteenth part
Of that which comes from rejecting the true Dharma‍—
He will see the suffering of being born blind.
9.­190
“He will not encounter the perfect buddhas,
And if he does see them, he will have no faith in them.
He will become a woman, a eunuch,
Blind from birth, a dog, or a donkey. [MS.95.b]
9.­191
“He who has devotion
For the awakened Buddha and the bodhisatvas
Will avoid obstacles
And cultivate the path of goodness.
9.­192
“If he urges his parents on
In the Dharma, again and again,
Sentient beings will readily
Take up the renunciant life.
9.­193
“If he urges his mother on in the Dharma,
He will soon reach the states of good fortune.
He will praise the renunciant life
And quickly attain awakening.
9.­194

“Śāriputra, a renunciant bodhisatva who acts in five ways will not serve the buddhas who appear, rely on his spiritual friends, or take advantage of the opportunities that arise. He will waste the wholesome qualities that have been generated, he will not follow the training upheld by bodhisatvas, great beings, and he will fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening. What are these five ways? [F.121.b] They are acting immorally; disparaging the true Dharma; being fond of profit, renown, and praise; being lost in ideas of the self; and being envious of other families and miserly toward them. These, Śāriputra, are the five ways in which a renunciant bodhisatva will not serve the buddhas who appear, not rely on his spiritual friends, and so forth, and fail to quickly attain unsurpassed perfect awakening.

9.­195

“Śāriputra, take the example of a ravenous dog that has got hold of a fleshless skeleton smeared in blood. It is standing in a driveway drooling over it and is about to eat it, and then the ravenous dog sees a noble kṣatriya lord, a brahmin lord, a householder lord, approaching from afar, and it thinks, ‘He is going to deprive me of my delicious meal,’ and so it lets forth a deep growl, adopts an intimidating stance, bares its teeth, and barks. What do you think Śāriputra? Does the person have any interest in that fleshless, blood-smeared skeleton?”

9.­196

“No, he does not, Lord. No, he does not, Sugata.”

The Lord said, “Then why does the dog let forth a deep growl, adopt an intimidating stance, bare its teeth, and bark?”

9.­197

“Because it thinks that he is going to deprive it of its delicious meal. That is why it lets forth a deep growl, adopts an intimidating stance, bares its teeth, and barks.”

9.­198

“Mendicants who are miserly in their relations with families are just like this, Śāriputra. It is as if they want to be covered in urine and feces. They squander the opportunities that have arisen. They are just like dogs, I tell you. [F.122.a] The Tathāgata only speaks in such a way out of concern for their welfare. Śāriputra, bodhisatvas, great beings, strive for the knowledge of a buddha in order to help people, in order to make people happy, and they are prepared to sacrifice their own flesh for this purpose, so there is no question of them being concerned about their reputation or whether they receive praise, or of their becoming envious or miserly in their relations with families. On the other hand, Śāriputra, deluded individuals who are motivated by making a living are slaves to material things. They desire worldly, mundane things, and they think that food and survival are what is most important. They are concerned about their reputation or whether they receive praise, and they are envious and miserly in their relations with families.

9.­199

“Śāriputra, a mendicant who has this kind of attitude will become envious and miserly, thinking, ‘I have been promised things before. How can I continue to receive them? I have been guaranteed things before. How can I continue to receive them?’ If householders promise him bowls, clothing, and food, [MS.96.a] bedding, medicine, and utensils, and he thinks, ‘Well, they promised me certain things, and now when I come to collect them they do not give them to me,’ he makes three mistakes. What are these three mistakes? He sees the place as bad, and thinks, ‘I will leave this place.’ He knows what is not worth knowing. He does not know what should be known. Whatever he concerns himself with, he cannot be trusted, and he develops bad habits in his relations with householders. The mendicant talks about three things. What three things does he talk about? He talks about the faults of the dwelling. He expresses his dissatisfaction and dismisses the house. He makes false excuses, saying, ‘They are deceitful, these wicked men,’ and he teaches the Dharma believing his own statements. This, Śāriputra, is how miserliness in one’s relations with families leads to good qualities becoming corrupted.

9.­200

“In addition, Śāriputra, wicked men who are miserly in their relations with families [F.122.b] abandon their vows; they do not keep to the vows of a bodhisatva. They do not follow the training in the vows of a bodhisatva and in keeping to the vows of a bodhisatva. [B14] These, Śāriputra, are points that should be taken to heart.

9.­201

“Once in the past, Śāriputra, an uncountably many, vast, innumerable, inconceivable eons ago, a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Abhyudgata appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, a teacher of gods and men, awakened, a lord. He remained for nine hundred million years, and he had a great following of ninety million trillion śrāvakas. They were all arhats who had eliminated the defilements, who were free from vices, who were powerful, and so forth, and who had reached the very highest level of complete mastery of the mind.

9.­202

“At that time there was a householder by the name of Suvicaya. He was wealthy and prosperous, with great riches and many possessions, a great deal of property, many possessions and tools, an abundance of precious metal, gold, jewels, pearls, gems, shells, crystals, and coral, many male and female slaves, workers, and laborers, large stocks of elephants, horses, goats, cattle, and sheep, and storerooms filled with great wealth and stocks of grain. He had two sons who were handsome, beautiful, pleasant to behold, and endowed with an abundance of the most supreme features. Their names were Samvara and Samvarasthita.112

9.­203

“Once, Śāriputra, they were on the roof of the mansion [F.123.a] when the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, was on his morning visit to the town to collect alms, carrying his bowl and robes, and accompanied by the community of mendicants, at the head of the community of mendicants. He was graceful and elegant, with his senses composed and his mind at ease, supremely disciplined and tranquil, having attained the supreme form of discipline and meditative tranquility. His senses subdued, with the dignity of an elephant, [MS.96.b] he was clear and shining like a lake of still water. He was like a pillar made of gold, like a golden mountain, like an ocean filled with jewels, like Śakra flanked by his retinue of gods, like Brahmā with his tranquil mind. The two sons saw the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, approaching from afar in this graceful and pleasant manner.

9.­204

“Śāriputra, the boy named Samvarasthita was the first to spot the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, and he said to his brother, ‘Hey, brother, have you ever seen anyone as elegant as the Lord of Beings?’

9.­205

“He answered his brother, ‘No, brother, I have never before seen anyone quite as elegant as the Lord of Beings.’

“He then said, ‘Brother, I want to be like him.’

9.­206

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvarasthita spoke in verse to Samvara:

9.­207
“ ‘I will become like him,
Just as disciplined as the one we have seen,
And I will lead an even larger
Community of mendicants than him.
9.­208
“ ‘For the sake of the path to awakening,
We will abstain from enjoying food and drink.
Emulating the discipline of the Victorious One,
I will not participate in the pleasures of the home.
9.­209
“ ‘When they see him, supreme among sentient beings, [F.123.b]
Like the moon among all the stars,
Who can help but develop faith?
Who would not leave his home behind?’
9.­210

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvara spoke in verse to Samvarasthita:

9.­211
“ ‘You will not achieve this simply by talking about it.
Do not let yourself be carried away by lofty words.
I will not say it out loud‍—
It will be clear soon enough who will attain awakening quickly.’
9.­212

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvarasthita spoke these verses to Samvara:

9.­213
“ ‘Dejection and miserliness
Are not part of my path.
I will speak words of goodness.
I will become a buddha, supreme among men.
9.­214
“ ‘I shall not think of these symbols
Of miserliness as property.
I cannot remain silent about this.
When one has given up the self, how can there be property?
9.­215
“ ‘I leave this house to you.
I am setting out on the path to awakening.
This house and these riches are yours‍—
I will find my joys in awakening.
9.­216
“ ‘Who can possibly do anything
Other than going to seek the highest awakening
When one has seen the one with the thirty-two characteristics?
Only those whose vision is inferior.
9.­217
“ ‘House and riches,
Parents and relatives‍—
I leave them all behind
And set out toward awakening.
9.­218
“ ‘It is rare to encounter the light of the world,
The protector of the world, the illuminator.
Even over the course of a billion eons,
It is immensely difficult just to hear him speak.
9.­219
“ ‘He is so beautiful, it is as if the moon
Had descended to the earth
And entered the royal palace
Accompanied by the community of mendicants.
9.­220
“ ‘When the Buddha appears upon the road,
He shines as brilliantly
As the thousandfold rays of the sun
Radiating throughout space.
9.­221
“ ‘Accompanied by his community of mendicants,
The Buddha shines
Like Sumeru, the king of mountains,
Shines as if made of jewels.
9.­222
“ ‘A body blazing like fire
That lights up the world,
A manifestation of fire‍—
The supreme among men shines like this. [MS.97.a]
9.­223
“ ‘Outclassing gods, nāgas, and men,
With his prowess in magical abilities [F.124.a]
His mastery becomes apparent
When he enters the royal palace.
9.­224
“ ‘Who can continue following lesser vehicles
When they see this lord of the Dharma
With the thirty-two supreme characteristics of excellent merit?
No one but unlearned immature people.
9.­225
“ ‘Having seen the one who is supreme among men,
Excellent and so incredibly difficult to encounter,
I will go and meet the Sugata
So that I can set out toward awakening.’
9.­226

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvara spoke in verse to Samvarasthita:

9.­227
“ ‘If I remain on the path of laziness,
I will not get to meet the Buddha.
We should leave the palace
So that we can honor him in person.
9.­228
“ ‘Abandoning any idea of self,
And with no concern for this life,
I will go and meet the Buddha,
And seek out the highest knowledge.
9.­229
“ ‘To long for one’s mother, to long for one’s father,
And to long for one’s home is very hard.
I will give up all these things.
I will go and meet the Buddha.
9.­230
“ ‘This kind of aspiration
Is what pleases the Buddha.
I will therefore give up all riches,
Leave my home, and become a renunciant.’
9.­231

“So it was, Śāriputra, that Samvarasthita descended the stairs to go and meet the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha. But, Śāriputra, Samvara jumped down from the roof of the mansion and reached the Lord, the Tathāgata Abhyudgata, first, before Samvarasthita got there. Then, Śāriputra, Samvarasthita offered the Lord a cloth that was worth ten million, and he spoke these verses:

9.­232
“ ‘I am not giving the Buddha this cloth
In order to look good,
But in order to become
Just like the supreme man. [F.124.b]
9.­233
“ ‘May I become like the supreme among those who walk on two feet,
Mastering the totality of knowledge,
Standing firm through the strength of my vigor,
And in possession of the thirty-two characteristics.
9.­234
“ ‘Furnished with the ten powers,
With stable confidence,
May I become just like him,
Like the Tathāgata.
9.­235
“ ‘The Dharma that you have discovered
Lights up any place it is found.
When I have reached supreme awakening,
I will teach that Dharma.
9.­236
“ ‘I do not offer this excellent cloth to the Buddha
Because I want to look good.
I want to attain the peace of supreme awakening
So that I may benefit the world with its gods.
9.­237
“ ‘When one dwells in the supreme nondual Dharma,
One cannot be toppled by any opponent.
With this Dharma as my goal,
I offer the Buddha excellent supreme cloth.
9.­238
“ ‘That which is not born, does not grow old,
Does not get sick,113 and does not experience pain or sorrow‍—
That is the Dharma of peace that I will teach
For the benefit of the world with its gods.
9.­239
“ ‘That which is free from attachment, anger,
Confusion, and desire;
Cool, immortal, and uncompounded‍—
That is what I will teach when I have attained awakening.
9.­240
“ ‘Wherever you remain you are honored by sentient beings,
By gods, nāgas, and men,
By the insentient as well as the sentient,
I will teach the Dharma of peace.
9.­241
“ ‘Wherever you shine forth in buddha fields,
Manifesting throughout the four directions of space,
Like a mass of light within great darkness,
I will spread the cooling nectar.
9.­242
“ ‘That which is never part of the realm of desire,
Or the formless realm or the realm of form,
That which is beyond any kind of likes or dislikes‍—
This is the noble Dharma that I shall teach.’
9.­243

“Then, Śāriputra, Samvara gave the Lord Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, [MS.97.b] a pair of new shoes, and when he had made his offering, he spoke these verses: [F.125.a]

9.­244
“ ‘May I become a protector of beings,
A shelter, support, and final refuge.
May I not take the wrong roads
But always keep teaching the path.
9.­245
“ ‘May I never be led astray by desire
Or conduct myself in an immature way.
May I abandon conditioned things
And always encounter buddhas.
9.­246
“ ‘Having seen the light of the world,
May I worship the supreme among those who walk on two feet
And go in search of supreme awakening
For the benefit of all who live.
9.­247
“ ‘May I honor the great elephant
With garlands of flowers, incense,
Banners, and parasols
For the benefit of all who live.
9.­248
“ ‘May I offer worship to the buddhas
With clothing, offerings of food,
And beds and blankets
For the benefit of all who live.
9.­249
“ ‘May I worship the light of the world
With the sounds of drums and conches
And with melodious lutes
For the benefit of all who live.
9.­250
“ ‘May I offer food and drink
As worship to the protectors of the world,
The refuges‍—
Nourishment to be enjoyed at the appropriate time.
9.­251
“ ‘When I have performed this vast act of worship
For the benefit of all who live,
I will become a renunciant
And live the life of purity.
9.­252
“ ‘May I become a protector for all who live
And never again take the wrong paths.
I will follow the supreme eightfold path
And give this same opportunity to millions of beings.
9.­253
“ ‘May I never again be led astray by desire,
The basest, the most ignoble, and the worst of states.
Having abandoned all forms of inattentiveness,
May I always be able to remain attentive.
9.­254
“ ‘May I never be born in any of the states of bondage
But always into families of faith:
After my birth, may I encounter the supreme among men
And develop faith in their presence. [F.125.b]
9.­255
“ ‘With a mind filled with devotion, I will honor them
With garlands of flowers and with ointments,
With drums of wood and clay, and with flutes,
With their knowledge as my goal.
9.­256
“ ‘When I have worshiped them
In all these many different ways for many millions of eons,
I will lay aside desire and become a renunciant without hesitation.
May I always live the life of purity.’
9.­257

“On the very spot where these sweet-sounding verses were sung to the Lord, the king Abhyudgata, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, they had a red sandalwood monastery built for the Tathāgata, four yojanas wide and half a yojana tall. They offered this monastery to the Tathāgata and then spoke these verses to the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata:

9.­258
“ ‘This place where you have come to stay
Was praised by four different victorious ones in the past.
We wish to establish a monastery here,
And so we offer this monastery to the Sugata.
9.­259
“ ‘May this always be a place where the millions of beings
Who lack an understanding of the mind can stay,
In the past, the present, and the future.
This is what we want this monastery to be.
9.­260
“ ‘The actions that you have perfected‍—
True renunciation, the foundations of magical abilities,
The four excellent things, and analytical abilities‍—
This is what we want this monastery to be dedicated to.’
9.­261

“They then honored, revered, praised, and worshiped the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata, and his community of mendicants in that very monastery for two weeks. After they had honored, revered, praised, and worshiped the Tathāgata and his community of mendicants in that monastery, they had their hair and beards shaved, [MS.98.a] donned saffron robes, and, following their conviction, left ordinary household life behind and became renunciants searching untiringly for the wholesome Dharma. [F.126.a]

9.­262

“One of them said, ‘I will be the first to become an illustrious protector of the world.’

“Another said, ‘I will be the first to become a caravan leader, supreme among men.’

9.­263

“Then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva, the great being called Samvara, stood in front of the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata, and made this vow:

9.­264
“ ‘I will not rest on seats,
And I will not sleep in beds.
I will search for the path to awakening
For the sake of living beings.
9.­265
“ ‘I will readily give up
My body and my life
And put laziness aside
In my search for supreme awakening.
9.­266
“ ‘I will let my flesh, as well as my blood,
Skin, and sinews, dry up. I will ignore my health,
And abandoning all forms of laziness,
I will vigorously strive for the highest awakening.’
9.­267

“Then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva, the great being Samvarasthita, spoke these verses to the bodhisatva, the great being Samvara:

9.­268
“ ‘The two of us, having studied together,
Will practice the way to awakening
And apply ourselves with supreme vigor
For the benefit of all living beings.
9.­269
“ ‘Giving up our bodies as well as our lives,
And even letting our flesh and blood dry up,
In the same way you have trained for a thousand lifetimes,
We will vigorously strive for the highest awakening.
9.­270
“ ‘Dwelling free from doubt in the forest,
Applying ourselves with vigor in mountains and ravines,
We will search for the highest form of knowledge
Where the wonderful Lord of Dharma dwells.’
9.­271

“And so, Śāriputra, for a thousand years the bodhisatvas Samvara and Samvarasthita were not overcome by sloth or indolence, even for a moment as brief as a snap of one’s fingers. Never in a thousand years did they feel inclined to rest, thinking, ‘Let’s sleep.’ Never in a thousand years did they wish to lie down, thinking, ‘Let’s relax.’ [F.126.b] Never in a thousand years did they squat, except for when they had to urinate or defecate. They would eat and drink standing up, eating only three morsels of food and drinking only from the water bowl. Never in a thousand years did they have any longing for food, nor would they try to acquire food quickly when they were hungry. Never in a thousand years did they eat to excess. Never in a thousand years did they think that the food they were consuming was too sweet, too sour, too salty, too pungent, too bitter, or too astringent, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they pay attention to the appearance of the person they were receiving offerings from, thinking, ‘Who is giving us these offerings? Is it a woman, a man, [MS.98.b] a boy, or a girl?’ Never in a thousand years did they look up at that tree they were sitting under. Never in a thousand years did they change into a second set of robes. Never in a thousand years did any thought of desire, of malice, or of harming others occur to them, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did their thoughts stray toward the moon or the sun, their mother or their father, their brothers, their sisters, or their relatives, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they have any inclination at all to live in a house, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they glance up at the moon, the sun, or the stars above. Never in a thousand years did they rely upon clay or wood. Never in a thousand years did they apply butter [F.127.a] or oil to their bodies. Never in a thousand years did they have any thought for the delicacy of butter, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they grow weary, even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they become discouraged, thinking, ‘We will never be able to attain unsurpassed perfect awakening,’ even for a single moment. Never in a thousand years did they become physically or mentally ill. Never in a thousand years did it occur to them that they should cut their hair. When the Four Great Kings appeared, they anointed their heads and took the hair with them, and with the hair they took they inaugurated a stūpa. Never in a thousand years did the two of them wonder about the appearance of the Great Kings, and whether they would come again in the future. Never in a thousand years did they wish for shade from the scorching sun, or for the sun when it was cloudy. Never in a thousand years were they concerned about covering their bodies during the cold season. Never in a thousand years did they ever say anything of a worldly nature.

9.­272

“Śāriputra, a time came when the māra named Saṃmūḍhasmṛti appeared to them, in the same way evil māras have appeared to me in this life. Śāriputra, the māra Saṃmūḍhasmṛti transformed the path upon which the bodhisatva Samvara was treading into the edges of swords, and as he became aware of the presence of these sword edges, he uttered the words, ‘I am negligent as I go. I am negligent as I go.’ These words reverberated throughout the threefold thousand great thousand worlds. At that, [MS.99.a] a host of a billion mārakāyika gods appeared in the sky with the words, [F.127.b] ‘Oh, this bodhisatva cannot perish. He cannot perish.’ Then, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva Samvara went on his way with his commitment unbroken. The mārakāyika gods, Śāriputra, spoke a second time, but the bodhisatva Samvara did not pay attention to what they said. The bodhisatva Samvarasthita heard neither the words of the mārakāyika gods nor the words of Samvara.

9.­273

“Śāriputra, this was the sort of spiritual practice, the sort of conduct, the sort of development, the sort of great compassion, and the sort of application that these two noble individuals possessed, and for a thousand years they cultivated the recollection of awakening.

9.­274

“Then, when the Lord Tathāgata, the king Abhyudgata, passed away, they were approached by a god who said to them, ‘Sons of good family, the Tathāgata has passed away.’ When they heard of the Tathāgata’s passing, they went to the place where the Lord had died, and standing upright, they joined their palms and watched for seven days without blinking, filled with love. They recollected that he was unmatched and worthy of respect. They remained standing without becoming dejected until the time of their own deaths arrived, and then they went to the brahmā world. When they returned, they built a stūpa for the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, and they looked after it and maintained it for forty thousand years. Seeing that the Tathāgata’s stūpa was covered with parasols, they remained standing with their palms joined for seventy thousand years, honoring the Tathāgata’s stūpa. When their lives were over and they passed away, they were again reborn on the Jambu continent to a king of the entire world, conceived as twins in their mother’s womb. When they were born, they recognized each other instantly and reiterated their commitment to continue their training in attentiveness: [F.128.a] ‘We will train in the supreme form of attentive presence.’

9.­275

“They spoke these verses:

9.­276
“ ‘We were born into a pleasant state of existence as royalty,
Prosperous, thriving, and with unlimited access to resources,
But we will leave drunken vanity behind
And work toward the highest awakening.
9.­277
“ ‘The pleasure of the senses, possessions, and royalty
Cannot be trusted. They are fleeting. They do not last.
They are not what the wise,
Those who search for the highest awakening, wish for.
9.­278
“ ‘The wise do not long for the pleasures of the senses and possessions.
They approach awakening for the sake of all living beings.
Abandoning their desires and quickly becoming renunciants,
They live the excellent life of purity.
9.­279
“ ‘The pleasures of the five senses have been dominant
Throughout time, for a vast amount of time,
But gods and human beings can never be satisfied,
No matter how much of it they obtain.
9.­280
“ ‘Therefore, we will put the pleasures of the senses aside,
Along with possessions, royalty, affluence, and even our relatives.
Growing up, we will quickly become renunciants
And vigorously engage with the causes of awakening.’
9.­281

“After they had been born, at the age of about sixteen, they had their hair shaved off, donned saffron robes, and, following their conviction, renounced ordinary household life and became renunciants, going on to live the life of purity for twenty thousand years. When they passed away, they were reborn in the brahmā world, and when they passed away from the brahmā world they were reborn once again on the Jambu continent.

9.­282

“At that time, Śāriputra, a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Varagandha appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, and he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, a teacher of gods and men, [MS.99.b] awakened, a lord. The two of them served the Tathāgata, and in the Tathāgata’s presence they had their hair shaved off, donned saffron robes, and, following their conviction, renounced ordinary household life and became renunciants. [F.128.b] As renunciants they lived the life of purity for ten million years.

9.­283

“In this way, Śāriputra, serving ten thousand buddhas, the bodhisatva Samvara always lived the life of purity. The bodhisatva Samvarasthita lived the life of purity in the presence of a single buddha.

9.­284

“The bodhisatva Samvara, Śāriputra, was the first to reach unsurpassed perfect awakening, and he appeared in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Uttaptavīrya. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, he was a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassable guide for those who wished to train, a teacher of gods and men, awakened, a lord. He remained for ninety million years and had a great following of ninety million trillion śrāvakas.

9.­285

“Śāriputra, when the Lord, the Tathāgata Uttaptavīrya reached awakening, the bodhisatva Samvarasthita became a king of the entire world, and for three months he honored, venerated, respected, and worshiped the Tathāgata, as well as his community of mendicants, with food, beds, seats, medicine for the sick, and utensils.

9.­286

“Then, receiving the king, the Lord Uttaptavīrya, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, spoke these verses of encouragement to him:

9.­287
“ ‘Vigor is the best way, the most excellent way
To attain the qualities of a buddha,
But it is exceedingly rare to be able to work for the benefit of beings
While living among sentient beings who are infatuated with desire.
9.­288
“ ‘When one is infatuated with desire,
One is not interested in the way of the learned.
If you are not interested in this, [F.129.a]
You will not attain the highest goal.
9.­289
“ ‘You and I
Were once siblings,
And both of us vowed
To quickly become fully awakened.
9.­290
“ ‘Look! I have now reached awakening
And am setting the holy wheel in motion,
While you have women and a household
That you constantly have to look after.
9.­291
“ ‘The wise do not put their faith in such things.
The victorious ones refer to the pleasure of the senses as ‘vile.’
Ordinary people go about things in an inattentive fashion.
That is why I always stay away from these pointless activities.
9.­292
“ ‘It is unintelligent to be carrying around a burden you do not need.
What you are doing is pointless.
Do you not see the suffering that sense pleasures bring about?
The advice of the noble ones is that it is best to leave them behind.’
9.­293

“Because of these verses of encouragement that the Lord had spoken to him, he lost his interest in children, he lost his interest in wives, and he lost his interest in businessmen, ministers, parents, vassal kings, marketplaces, districts, and everything related to government. He did not care about all his hoards of treasure, and he abandoned his throne. Standing before the Lord, he spoke these verses:

9.­294
“ ‘I will let my flesh dry up,
And I will abandon any dwelling.
I will go into the wilderness and meet my death,
In order to attain awakening.
9.­295
“ ‘I will apply myself with vigor again and again
For the sake of all living beings.
I will lead the life of a homeless renunciant
In a remote forest hermitage.
9.­296
“ ‘Never again will I be driven by desire,
Evils, or childish chatter.
If I were to engage in these things,
I would be heading backward.
9.­297
“ ‘What intelligent person would rely upon conditioned things
When he had set out on the journey to awakening? [MS.100.a]
If I am driven by desire, then no matter how much vigor I apply,
I will not reach awakening. [F.129.b]
9.­298
“ ‘Therefore, I will give up sense pleasures
And discard material possessions and the possessions of royalty.
Becoming a renunciant, I will turn to the teaching of the Victorious One,
Applying vigor in order to attain the highest awakening.’
9.­299

“When he had uttered these verses he had his hair shaved off, donned saffron robes in the presence of the Lord, and, following his conviction, he renounced ordinary household life and became a renunciant. When they saw the king leaving everything behind and becoming a renunciant, sixty thousand million trillion beings followed their conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become renunciants.

9.­300

“When the Lord passed away, he worshiped his remains, and when he died he was immediately reborn as the king of the gods in Tuṣita Heaven. When he left the heavenly Tuṣita realm, he attained unsurpassed perfect awakening in the very same eon, appearing in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha named Sucarita. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, and so forth, awakened, a lord. He remained for a full ten million years and had a great following of no less than a million trillion śrāvakas who were all arhats, who had eliminated the defilements, and so forth, and who had reached the very highest level of complete mastery of the mind. He inspired a hundred thousand to become bodhisatvas who were certain not to turn back from the attainment of unsurpassed perfect awakening, and so forth. By teaching the Dharma, he benefitted an uncountable, incalculable number of sentient beings and then passed away. When he had passed away, the true Dharma remained until the end of the eon. His relics were distributed widely, just as my relics will be distributed widely when I pass away.

9.­301

“Śāriputra, [F.130.a] one should apply oneself in the perfection of vigor with the unfaltering vigor of the bodhisatva Samvara and the bodhisatva Samvarasthita, and one should not conduct oneself as sentient beings do, trapped in the cage of the skeleton or enmeshed in envy.

9.­302

“Śāriputra, any bodhisatva who wishes to attain awakening but envies the houses of others will face three dangers. What are these three dangers? If, when receiving alms from a house belonging to someone else, or staying there to converse, he sees another noble mendicant and then experiences feelings of envy and miserliness, even if his aversion amounts to only a single aggressive thought, he is on the path to hell; he is planting the seed that will lead to him being born blind; he is ensuring that he will be born in a barbarous border country. Śāriputra, [MS.100.b] someone who is overcome by rage when he sees that mendicant and with a mind filled with anger refuses to talk to him and experiences feelings of miserliness, even if his aversion amounts to only a single aggressive thought, he is on the path to hell; he is planting the seed that will lead to him being born blind; he is ensuring that if born human he will be born in a barbarous border country. He will face much anger. He will be born blind. He will be ruled by others and abused. Śāriputra, when a bodhisatva becomes envious and miserly in relation to others’ property, that is when these three dangers arise.”

9.­303

When he heard these words, the venerable Śāriputra said to the Lord, “This is excellent, Lord. Bodhisatvas, great beings, accomplish great things, and the Tathāgata has explained what consequences those who are envious of property will experience. Please, Lord, tell us śrāvakas how to avoid being envious of property. [F.130.b] Lord, we want to be free from hell. We do not want to become blind from the time of birth. We do not want to experience unnecessary hostility. We do not want to be faced with baseless accusations. We do not want to end up in border regions. Lord, we do not want to lose the opportunity to live in a central region where there is a tathāgata and where we can hear the Dharma.”

9.­304

When the venerable Śāriputra had said this, the Lord spoke to him, “Excellent, Śāriputra, excellent. You are sincere and honest, and it is excellent that you have thought to ask the Tathāgata about this. Therefore, Śāriputra, I will now give instructions for the sake of those in the world who wish to study the training of the Buddha. Why will I do so? The unlearned, Śāriputra, engage in arguments, which are the root of hostility. Bodhisatvas, Śāriputra, have faith, great faith, and will engage in investigation for a long time, will engage in investigation for extensive periods, in order to protect sentient beings. They will approach the Tathāgata and pose to him questions, and when they hear these kinds of teachings they will be very happy, joyful, and delighted, and they will pursue them with sincerity. Śāriputra, there are few sentient beings who hold the supreme aspiration of attaining final nirvāṇa. Most of them, though, are concerned with three things. What are these three things? They are interested in gain, in respect, and in praise. They are interested in finding friendly families and families that will provide them with food. They are interested in the power that comes from controlling land. These are the three things they are concerned with. Because they are concerned with these three things, [MS.101.a] they will not be liberated from the three lower states of existence. They have little inclination to be freed from hell, to be freed from the realm of animals, [F.131.a] or to be freed from the spirit world governed by Yama. Their ambitions result in heaven being lost to them. They engage in discussions, quarrels, shouting, division, and disputes, and these things absorb their attention. They lack faith, they abandon a life of solitude, and they gather many acquaintances. Householders will tell them, ‘Venerable ones, you should come and stay close to our dwellings, so that we can provide you with clothing, food, bedding, seats, medicine for the sick, and utensils. If the venerable ones remain in remote dwellings, you will not see us, and we will not be able to see you.’ After many such encounters and discussions, they become fond of particular dwellings. They become attached to their dwellings. They remain in the same place for long periods of time. They become friendly with many families who provide them with food, and because they see them regularly, a mutual attachment develops. Then, when any unfamiliar mendicants arrive there, they will talk about them in unflattering terms, saying things such as, ‘They are not learned. They are not stream enterers. They are not once-returners. They are not non-returners. They are not arhats.’114 They will repeatedly describe them in these and other unflattering terms. Then, Śāriputra, these householders will think, ‘Mendicants who just happen to come by should not stay with us for a long time, but we should develop a mutually beneficial relationship with those mendicants who remain here.’ Miserliness develops among them.

9.­305

“Śāriputra, the kinds of sentient beings who have not understood, do not understand, and will not understand this particular kind of Dharma, all those who have rejected, are rejecting, or will reject this particular kind of Dharma, and, Śāriputra, [F.131.b] those who are not inclined to pay attention to these kinds of sūtras, these kinds of expressions of the Dharma given by the Tathāgata, will certainly discard them when they hear them. They are destined to end up in the lower realms of existence. Still, Śāriputra, when the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding hears about this sort of envy and miserliness that leads one to the lower states of existence, he harbors no miserliness in relation to families, he will not do so in the future, and if he has been miserly in relation to families in the past, he will freely admit it. This, Śāriputra, is the unyielding vigor with which the bodhisatva practices the perfection of vigor.

9.­306

“Moreover, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding and who practices the perfection of vigor perceives all sentient beings as being sick, and he perceives all these sick sentient beings as always suffering from three kinds of affliction. What are these three kinds of affliction? They are the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. He thinks, ‘I must master the administration of this medicine, the healing balm of the Dharma. By applying this medicine, this healing balm, I will relieve the desire of all sentient beings; I will relieve their anger, I will relieve their confusion.’ He masters the administration of this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, and by applying this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, he relieves the desire of all sentient beings, he relieves the anger of all sentient beings, and he relieves the confusion of all sentient beings. This is what is meant by the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding practicing the perfection of vigor.

9.­307

“Why is this? Śāriputra, all sick sentient beings are always suffering from these three afflictions: the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. [MS.101.b] Those beings who are born in the hells always suffer from these very same three afflictions: [F.132.a] the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. Those beings who are born as animals, in the spirit world governed by Yama, in the human realm, or among the gods always suffer from these very same three afflictions: the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion. Other than the Tathāgata, the unsurpassed great king of doctors, there is no available doctor, no medicine or healing balm, that can relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in all sentient beings. By mastering the Dharma body, the bodhisatva, the great being, can himself become a dispenser of medicine, able to relieve the affliction of desire, relieve the affliction of anger, and relieve the affliction of confusion in sentient beings. Therefore, take to heart, Śāriputra, that other than the Tathāgata, the unsurpassed great king of doctors, there is no doctor, no medicine or healing balm, that can relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in all sentient beings, and that by mastering the Dharma body, the bodhisatva, the great being, is able to relieve the affliction of desire, relieve the affliction of anger, and relieve the affliction of confusion in sentient beings.

9.­308

“What do you think, Śāriputra? Is the element of sentient beings the largest?”

“According to what I have understood of what the Lord has said, the element of sentient beings is the largest, not the earth element, the water element, [F.132.b] the fire element, or the wind element.”

9.­309

“Exactly, Śāriputra, exactly. The largest element, Śāriputra, is the element of sentient beings, not the earth element, the water element, the fire element, or the wind element. Still, Śāriputra, the fortunate sentient beings cannot be perceived by the divine sight of seers of other traditions, or by that of the śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. Śāriputra, those sentient beings who are otherwise invisible can be seen by divine sight of the Tathāgata, and there are many more such invisible beings in an area the size of a cart wheel than there are gods and human beings in all the threefold thousand great thousand worlds. This is how incalculable the element of sentient beings is.

9.­310

“Śāriputra, imagine all the sentient beings in the threefold thousand great thousand worlds, however many they may be‍—those born from eggs, those born from wombs, those born from moisture, those born spontaneously, those with form, those without form, those with perception, those without perception, those with neither perception nor nonperception, the visible, and the invisible. Imagine that they all at some moment, on some occasion, at some time, sooner or later, were to achieve a human state of existence and then become masters of medicine, expert doctors. Then, Śāriputra, imagine that, in an attempt to do the same as the present king of physicians, they all assembled and attempted to relieve the affliction of desire, to relieve the affliction of anger, and to relieve the affliction of confusion in a single sentient being. Imagine that each of the doctors mustered as much cooling medicine as the whole mass of Mount Sumeru, [F.133.a] and that all this cooling medicine was prepared and applied to a single sentient being, in order to relieve the affliction of desire. [MS.102.a] Śāriputra, even if all these doctors were to apply themselves for enough lifetimes to fill an eon, they would become exhausted, and all their heaps of cooling medicine would be used up before they could relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in this one sentient being. But the Tathāgata, by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of disgust, can relieve the affliction of desire in many sentient beings, many hundreds of sentient beings, many thousands of sentient beings, many hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of sentient beings, many thousands of billions of trillions of sentient beings, so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words. He does this by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of disgust. He can, by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of love, relieve the affliction of anger in many sentient beings. He can relieve the affliction of anger in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words. He can, by means of the medicine of the Dharma, the healing balm of dependent arising, relieve the affliction of confusion in many sentient beings. He can relieve the affliction of confusion in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words. Mastering the Dharma body, the bodhisatva, the great being, himself serves as a doctor of the Dharma, and he can relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in many sentient beings. He can relieve the afflictions of desire, anger, and confusion in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words.

9.­311

“Śāriputra, [F.133.b] one should take this explanation to heart. One should take to heart that the bodhisatva who bases himself upon the Dharma body can himself serve as a doctor of the Dharma and relieve the affliction of desire, the affliction of anger, and the affliction of confusion in many sentient beings, and so forth, so many that it cannot be put into words.

9.­312

“Śāriputra, I can see clearly across incalculable eons, and much more than that, that a tathāgata by the name of Dīpaṅkara appeared in the world. He was perfect in wisdom and conduct, and so forth, awakened, a lord. The Lord Dīpaṅkara, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, made a prophesy concerning me, saying, ‘Young man, uncountable eons in the future, you will become a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Śākyamuni.’ Śāriputra, when the Lord Dīpaṅkara, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, made this prophesy, I attained the Dharma body. Because I possessed the Dharma body, after encountering Dīpaṅkara I attained the position of Śakra. I was named Sunetra, and I was chief among the gods, the ruler of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, with great magical abilities and great powers, renowned as a great lord.

9.­313

“At that time there were [MS.102.b] eighty-four thousand great cities on the Jambu continent. There were many thousands of towns, villages, and hamlets. All these many thousands of towns, villages, and hamlets were filled with many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of beings. Once, a great plague broke out, and these sentient beings suffered from a great many painful symptoms, with sores on their bodies, swellings, boils, inflammations, itches, rashes, and disorders of wind, bile, and phlegm. [F.134.a] Many hundreds and thousands of physicians attempted to alleviate the sickness of these sentient beings. Then, Śāriputra, these sentient beings, who had no effective cure, who had no help and no protection, cried out:

9.­314
“ ‘Are there no gods or nāgas,
Yakṣas, gandharvas, or rākṣasas,
Human beings or nonhuman beings,
Who can free us from these diseases?
9.­315
“ ‘We will give up our riches,
We will follow their prescriptions.
We will be truly grateful
If anyone can free us from this suffering.’ [B15]
9.­316

“Śāriputra, by means of my pure divine sight, which is beyond anything human, I saw these sentient beings tormented by disease, suffering from a great many painful symptoms, with sores on their bodies, swellings, boils, inflammations, itches, rashes, and disorders of wind, bile, and phlegm. With my divine hearing, which is beyond anything human, I heard these sentient beings crying out loudly. When I saw them and heard them, great compassion for these sentient beings arose within me, and I thought to myself, ‘I will be a resting place for these sentient beings. I will be a protector for sentient beings who have no protection. I will be a refuge for sentient beings without a refuge. I will provide a cure for sentient beings who have no cure.’ Then, Śāriputra, concealing that I was the great Śakra, I came into existence spontaneously, not far from the great city of Kuru, as a being by the name of Saumya. From a seat in the sky I then encouraged all the beings on the Jambu continent with these verses:

9.­317
“ ‘Not far from the city of Kuru
There is a being by the name of Saumya,
And those who eat his flesh
Will all become free from disease.
9.­318
“ ‘Do not be scared. Do not be frightened.
Enjoy his flesh. Eat it as you wish.
He will not be angry. He will not be furious.
He is medicine for the Jambu continent.’ [F.134.b]
9.­319

“Then, Śāriputra, when all the diseased sentient beings in the eighty-four thousand great cities, and in the thousands of other cities, towns, villages, and hamlets, heard this, they came to the great city of Kuru where the being Saumya was staying. They cut the flesh from his body and took it away, but his flesh was not depleted. Then this verse issued forth:

9.­320
“ ‘Because I speak the truth, I will reach awakening,
And this skandha of knowledge will not be exhausted. [MS.103.a]
My undeceitful words are
“May the flesh of my body not be depleted.” ’
9.­321

“So it was, Śāriputra, that a host of sentient beings from all over the Jambu continent continued to cut the flesh from Saumya’s body and carry it away, yet his body showed no sign of either shrinking or growing. Even though they cut the flesh from it again and again, it remained the same. Śāriputra, those sentient beings who were sick ate Saumya’s flesh, and all their ailments were removed. They became free from illness and regained their health. In due course, all those on the Jambu continent who were suffering from various kinds of disease were healed. They became free from illness and regained their health.

9.­322

“Then the men, women, boys, and girls of the Jambu continent thought to themselves, ‘How should we honor and worship this being Saumya, who has freed us from disease and restored us to health?’ They gathered together and went to the place where Saumya was staying. When they had arrived there, they gathered around Saumya and spoke this verse to him:

9.­323
“ ‘You are a refuge. You are a protector.
You are a doctor. You are medicine.
Please tell us
How we can repay you.’ [F.135.a]
9.­324

“What a crowd it was that had gathered, Śāriputra. Acknowledging this, I made the massive body disappear, and standing there with the appearance of Śakra, I addressed the huge crowd: ‘My friends, I am not interested in cities, towns, villages, kingdoms, or royal courts. My friends, I am not interested in land, buildings, businesses, riches, gold, jewels, pearls, gems, shells, crystals, or coral. My friends, I am not interested in elephants, horses, camels, cows, donkeys, sheep, cocks, or pigs, in women, men, sons, daughters, servants, workers, or laborers, or in the pleasures of food, drink, bedding, seats, medicine for the sick, utensils, parks, or groves. Rather, my friends, you should avoid taking life. Turn away from the act of taking life. You should avoid taking what is not given. Turn away from the act of taking what is not given. You should avoid sexual misconduct. Turn away from the act of sexual misconduct. You should avoid lying. Turn away from the act of lying, and so forth. You should avoid harsh language, inane chatter, covetousness, malice, and wrong views. Turn away from the act of holding wrong views.’

9.­325

“Then these verses were spoken to that great host of beings:

9.­326
“ ‘I have no interest in wealth in the millions,
In mountains of gold the size of Meru, [F.135.b]
In women who look like nymphs,
Or in enjoying food and drink.
9.­327
“ ‘If you wish to repay the being called Saumya,
Follow the path of excellent conduct,
These ten points that cover it all,
And maintain minds filled with love for one another.
9.­328
“ ‘Abide by the tenfold path of action,
Which encompasses everything, in full.
This is how you can honor me‍—
Bodhisatvas have no interest in hoarding riches. [MS.103.b]
9.­329
“ ‘I have no interest in wealth,
Food or drink, money, riches, or grain,
In horses, elephants, or chariots,
Or in women of high standing or fine clothing.
9.­330
“ ‘Keep to that which encompasses all‍—
The perfectly pure ten wholesome forms of conduct‍—
And cultivate a loving attitude for one another,
An attitude of wanting to help.’
9.­331
“These were the words they heard
As Purandara exhorted the men
To take up what is wholesome,
The pure path of the ten wholesome forms of conduct.
9.­332

“Then, Śāriputra, when I had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted this great host of beings with this talk on the Dharma, I disappeared. Śāriputra, with my superior ability I see that not a single one of those human beings who had come from all over the Jambu continent‍—women and men, boys and girls‍—who had eaten the flesh of the being Saumya, Śāriputra, fell into the lower realms of existence when the time of their death came. When they died, they were all reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, or in similar realms. Śāriputra, as I had instructed, encouraged, inspired, and delighted them with this talk on the Dharma, they were all firmly established in the three vehicles: the Śrāvakayāna, [F.136.a] the Pratyekabuddhayāna, and the vehicle of unsurpassed omniscience. Some of them reached nirvāṇa, and some of them will reach nirvāṇa. Note, Śāriputra, that I was able to bring so many sentient beings to maturity in the three paths by giving up a single body. This is what the great magical abilities of a bodhisatva, a great being who masters the Dharma body, is like. This is what his great powers are like. This is what a renowned lord is like.”

The venerable Śāriputra then asked the Lord, “Lord, what is the bodhisatva’s Dharma body like?”

9.­333

The Lord answered, “Śāriputra, the bodhisatva’s Dharma body is firm, solid, and unbreakable, a vajra body, undying, and unborn. He may let it come into harm’s way when he is using it to train those sentient beings who are receptive to the training, but it can be neither burned by fire nor harmed by weapons. It is firm like a vajra and cannot be broken. In this way, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding and whose mastery of the Dharma body is effortless uses his body to bring sentient beings to maturity when he practices the perfection of vigor. He does so without deliberating about it, and without assumptions. He understands that the body is characterized by separateness. From the fact that the body is characterized by separateness, he understands that all phenomena are characterized by separateness. Because of this, he makes no distinction between the fact that the body is characterized by separateness and the fact that all phenomena are characterized by separateness. Whatever characterizes the fact that the body is characterized by separateness also characterizes the fact that all phenomena are characterized by separateness, and he takes these to be the very same characteristics of separateness. The fact that one’s own body is characterized by separateness is the very same as the fact that the bodies of all sentient beings are characterized by separateness. [F.136.b] He understands the fact that the bodies of all sentient beings are characterized by separateness being the same as the fact that the totality of phenomena is characterized by separateness, and he trains in the fact that the totality of phenomena is characterized by separateness is the same as the fact that all phenomena are characterized by separateness. This is because there are no internal phenomena that can be established. He realizes that the suchness of his own body is the suchness of the bodies of sentient beings, and he realizes that the suchness of the body of all sentient beings is the suchness of his own body. He realizes that the suchness of his own body is the suchness of all the buddhas, and he realizes that the suchness of all the buddhas is the suchness of his own body. [MS.104.a] He realizes that the suchness of his own body is the suchness of the past, the future, and the present. He realizes that the suchness of the past, the future, and the present is the suchness of his own body. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the future. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the present. The suchness of the present is not at variance with the suchness of the past. The suchness of the future is not at variance with the suchness of the past. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the future. The suchness of the future is not at variance with the suchness of the present. The suchness of the present is not at variance with the suchness of the future. The suchness of the future is not at variance with the suchness of the present, and the suchness of the present is not at variance with the suchness of the past. The suchness of the past is not at variance with the suchness of the present.

9.­334

“What is true of the suchness of the past, the future, and the present [F.137.a] is also true of the suchness of the skandhas, the elements, and the sense fields. What is true of the suchness of the skandhas, the elements, and the sense fields is also true of the suchness of the corruptions and their purification. What is true of the suchness of the corruptions and their purification is also true of the suchness of nirvāṇa and saṃsāra. What is true of the suchness of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa is also true of the suchness of constructions. The essence of the suchness of constructions is the same as that of all conditioned things.

9.­335

“Śāriputra, suchness implies thatness and thusness, and being nothing other than what it is; it is inalienable and unembodied. Suchness is not in any way embodied‍—the unembodied is suchness. This is the embodiment of the tathāgata.115 Therefore, the very embodiment of suchness is what is meant by the embodiment of the tathāgata. Such an embodiment is an all-encompassing embodiment. The bodhisatva displays everything as being embodied, but he does not make the tathāgata into something that is embodied, and being unembodied and undisputed, he displays all embodied forms while not infringing upon the embodiment of the tathāgata. Through the knowledge of the tathāgata he discerns the embodiment of a tathāgata. Through the sameness of a tathāgata body he discerns the sameness of his own body. Through the sameness of his own body he discerns the sameness of all things embodied and all things not embodied. Through the sameness of all things embodied and not embodied he sees the final lack of any body. This is the understanding of the dependently originated nature of all bodies, and when he sees this, he attains the Dharma body. Having attained the Dharma body, he becomes the Dharma body himself, and he no longer has a body consisting of skandhas, elements, and sense fields. Someone who manifests the Dharma body can train sentient beings by means of sight. [F.137.b] He can train sentient beings by means of sound. He can train sentient beings by means of physical contact. He can be of benefit to sentient beings.

9.­336

“Take the example, Śāriputra, of Jīvaka, the king of physicians, who gathered together all kinds of medicinal substances, crushed them up, and mixed the medicinal herbs together [MS.104.b] to create a maiden who was delightful, pleasant, attractive, and in possession of many features of great beauty, fully perfected, and perfectly immaculate. She came and went, stood, sat, and slept, and although it was unbelievable and could not be fathomed, it nonetheless was apparent. A great many very sick people arrived: kings, princes, important ministers of the king, businessmen, householders, and local rulers. Jīvaka, the king of physicians, then joined them with his medicinal maiden, and as soon as they joined with her they overcame their illnesses and became well again, gaining long-lasting health. Thus, Śāriputra, the king of physicians, Jīvaka, possessed worldly knowledge of how to cure illness like that of no other doctor.

9.­337

“In the same way, Śāriputra, when all the many sentient beings‍—women and men, boys and girls‍—who are afflicted by desire, anger, and confusion come into contact with the body of a bodhisatva who manifests the Dharma body, they will overcome all their illnesses and become free from afflictions as soon as they come into contact with it. This happens because of the completely pure aspirations the bodhisatva has made in the past.

9.­338

“Śāriputra, the body of the bodhisatva who possesses a Dharma body does not need to be sustained by food and drink. Still, although he does not have to take nourishment to maintain his body, he knows how to do so, and so he will eat out of concern for all sentient beings. He eats and does not let anything go to waste. He eats, but the food does not enter his body. The powers of his Dharma body do not deteriorate. They do not diminish.

9.­339

“Śāriputra, the bodhisatva [F.138.a] who has a Dharma body knows no life, no death, and no birth. Still, he will manifest death and rebirth in order to bring sentient beings to maturity. Although he dies, he knows that all phenomena are undying and unconditioned. Although he is born, he knows that no phenomena are transferred. Although he is born, he knows that no phenomena are born. With a Dharma body, with the food of the Dharma, the power of the Dharma, and relying on the Dharma, he effortlessly practices the perfection of vigor with unyielding vigor in accordance with the vows he made in the past, in order to bring sentient beings to maturity.”

9.­340

Then, in order to clarify this point, the Lord spoke these verses:

9.­341
“Their bodies are unbreakable like vajras, [MS.105.a]
But they will allow them to be broken if they see an opportunity to train others.
They cannot be injured by weapons or burned by fire,
But when they see beings to train they will let them be injured; they will let them be burned.
9.­342
“They will be medicine if they see beings who are sick.
They will be water and food for those who are hungry.
But they do not engage in conceptualization within the realm of phenomena.
Theirs is the unified approach of the Dharma body and the lack of a body.
9.­343
“There is no man, no growth, and no human state
When all phenomena are seen to be dependently arisen.
Whatever exists in dependence upon conditions is accompanied by suffering.
When conditions are undone the path of suffering is severed.
9.­344
“This body is without substance, like froth.
Feelings are like bubbles appearing in the mind.
Perceptions are like floating mirages during the hot season.
One should see mental conditioning as being like a plantain tree.
9.­345
“A skillful magician can make various different kinds of forms
Appear in an instant during his act.
The deceptive creations that our consciousness experiences are just as illusory.
The wise never put trust in them.
9.­346
“Possessions are like a cascading waterfall. [F.138.b]
Like a flash of lightning in the sky, they amount to nothing.
Seeing that fleeting possessions are like an arrow released from a bow,
The wise never put trust in them.
9.­347
“There are no sentient beings in the threefold realm
Who do not enjoy the divine pleasures of the immortal realm.
Nonetheless, when they see those who are experiencing the suffering of the hells,
The sons of the Sugata will not depart for the heavenly realms.
9.­348
“The mind is like space. It does not have any foundation.
Where there is no foundation, no existence is possible.
Things that have no existence cannot be born or die.
Bodhisatvas, great beings, attain the ageless, undying state.
9.­349

“Moreover, Śāriputra, the bodhisatva whose vigor is unyielding will train in the practice of the perfection of vigor in the following way: ‘Alas. Those who are entangled in the ways of the world have no other option than to rely upon unprofessional doctors. They have no other option than to rely upon ignorant doctors who do not understand the three major forms of disease. These doctors do not understand the great disease of desire. They do not understand the great disease of anger. They do not understand the great disease of confusion. They do not understand the three kinds of medicine that these three major diseases require. They do not understand that the great disease of desire requires the great medicine of disgust. They do not understand that the great disease of anger requires the great medicine of love. They do not understand that the great disease of confusion requires the great medicine of dependent arising. Alas, these doctors are able to treat one ailment after the other, but they are not able to treat all ailments. Alas. These doctors have medicines that can treat things temporarily, but they have no ultimate remedy. This is why we will not train as doctors. Instead, we will follow the training of the lords, the buddhas, those who are skilled in the entirety of the Dharma, the unsurpassed great kings of physicians who can cure all ailments. We will develop the ability to cure all ailments, [F.139.a] not just to cure one ailment after the other as they occur. [MS.105.b] We will develop the ability to provide the ultimate cure, not just temporary treatment. We will develop the ability to gather the kind of medicine, the kind of healing balm of the Dharma, that will heal the great ailment of desire, the great ailment of anger, and the great ailment of confusion as soon as one hears it.’ This, Śāriputra, is how the bodhisatva, the great being, practices the perfection of vigor with unyielding vigor as he gathers this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, which is only possessed by the tathāgatas, the unsurpassed great kings of physicians who are skilled in the entirety of the Dharma, and which is not available to any śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas. When one applies this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, to the great conch of the Dharma, it fills it up, and its sound will then resound throughout the threefold thousand great thousand worlds, alleviating the great diseases of desire, anger, and confusion in many sentient beings, in many hundreds of sentient beings, in many thousands of sentient beings, in many hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, in many hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of sentient beings, in many thousands of billions of trillions of sentient beings, and so forth‍—in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words.

9.­350

“Śāriputra, consider the example of the great king of medicine by the name of Vigama who resides on Himavat, the king of mountains, and whose fragrant substance can overcome any poison and decontaminate an area of up to one hundred yojanas. Now, Śāriputra, if Vigama, the great king of medicine, were to infuse a conch or a drum with his fragrant substance and then make a sound with it, [F.139.b] any sentient being who consumes or comes into contact with poison would have the effects of the poison neutralized when they heard this sound. Śāriputra, no other doctor’s knowledge can compare to that of Vigama, the king of medical remedies, except for that of the great king of physicians Jīvaka.

9.­351

“In the same way, Śāriputra, bodhisatvas, great beings, obtain a kind of medicine, a healing balm of the Dharma, that is not available to any śrāvaka or pratyekabuddha. It is the perfect skill in the Dharma of the tathāgatas, the great kings of physicians, and it removes all the ailments of all sentient beings. When one applies this medicine, this healing balm of the Dharma, to the great conch of the Dharma, it fills it up, and its melody resounds throughout the threefold thousand great thousand worlds, alleviating the great diseases of desire, anger, and confusion in the many sentient beings who hear its sound, [MS.106.a] alleviating the great diseases of desire, anger, and confusion in the sentient beings who happen to hear it, in many hundreds of sentient beings, in many thousands of sentient beings, in many hundreds of thousands of sentient beings, in many tens of millions of sentient beings, in many billions of sentient beings, in many tens of billions of sentient beings, in many trillions of sentient beings, in many millions of trillions of sentient beings, and so forth‍—in so many sentient beings that it cannot be put into words.

9.­352

“Where does it come from? It comes from the place where the treasure of the bodhisatva has been deposited. Where has the treasure of the bodhisatva been deposited? It is only found within the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. This cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva is what the bodhisatva, the great being, who practices the perfection of vigor will listen to intently. He will memorize it, preserve it, [F.140.a] recite it, absorb it, elucidate it for others, and teach it in great detail. This, Śāriputra, is why the bodhisatva, the great being who practices the perfection of vigor, will listen intently to the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva and why he will memorize it, preserve it, recite it, absorb it, elucidate it for others, and teach it in great detail.116

9.­353

“Śāriputra, this point should be taken to heart, that the bodhisatva, the great being, who practices the perfection of vigor listens intently to the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva and memorizes it, preserves it, recites it, absorbs it, elucidates it to others, and teaches it in great detail.

9.­354

“At one time in the past, Śāriputra, a great many uncountable, innumerable, vast, inconceivable eons ago, and much more than that, a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Padmottara appeared in the world, and so forth. He was awakened, a lord. Śāriputra, the Lord Padmottara, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, had a great following of śrāvakas. They numbered eight hundred million, and they were all arhats who had eliminated the defilements, who were free from vices, who were powerful, and so forth, and who had reached the very highest level of complete mastery of the mind. Śāriputra, the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara lived until he was eighty years old,117 and then, after Padmottara passed away, his true Dharma remained for five hundred years. For another five hundred years [F.140.b] a reflection of the true Dharma remained. Moreover, Śāriputra, after the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Padmottara passed away, his remains were distributed, just as my remains will be distributed when I pass away.

9.­355

“Then, Śāriputra, a hundred years after the final nirvāṇa of the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, a bodhisatva died in another world and was, as foretold, reborn in a royal family. Immediately after his birth, he proclaimed, ‘We have been reborn in an un-Dharmic family, so we must go in search of the Dharma.’ Because of this, he was given the name Dharmacārin.

9.­356

“Śāriputra, when the prince Dharmacārin’s faculties had ripened and he had reached the age of twenty, he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant, retreating to forests and keeping to remote dwelling places. While he was in his secluded retreat, gods approached him and encouraged him, saying, ‘You, mendicant, will make the words of the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha resound. You should pursue the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, and as long as you have not found it [MS.106.b] you should not let your vigor wane.’ When he heard what these gods said, he was greatly delighted, pleased, and inspired, and he enthusiastically went in search of the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. He passed through villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts, going from settlement to settlement, searching everywhere for the places where the Saṅgha was dwelling, approaching male and female mendicants and asking them, [F.141.a] ‘Do you know of the cycle of teachings that is studied by the noble bodhisatvas, their resource for the qualities of the Buddha, that is called The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva?’

9.­357

“They would answer, ‘Mendicant, we do not know of any cycle of teachings called The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. Mendicant, today is the first time we have heard that there is a cycle of teachings that is called The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva.’

9.­358

“He thought to himself, ‘The gods did not lie. As long as I have not heard the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, I will not let my vigor wane.’

9.­359

“He asked them, ‘Venerable ones, where was it that the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, was cremated?’

9.­360

“They pointed the spot out to him, saying, ‘Mendicant, this is the spot where the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, was cremated.’

9.­361

“He went there, and when he arrived at the spot he circumambulated it and then sat down to one side. Facing the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, he then thought, ‘I will not leave this spot, I will not change my posture, until I have heard the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva directly from the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, himself.’

9.­362

“Śāriputra, so firm was the resolve of the royal sage who possessed unyielding vigor that he remained seated on that spot for seven days. When seven days had passed, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Ratnagarbha arrived from the tenth universe to the east to reveal key verses of the Dharma that contained eight syllables to a foot. Through these verses he was able to come to an understanding of the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. These key verses of the Dharma that contained eight syllables to a foot [F.141.b] brought him inconceivable, unsurpassably great learning. He then rose and left that place. He practiced the perfection of vigor with unyielding vigor and elucidated this very cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, traveling through villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts for sixty years. In the course of these sixty years he established ten million beings, gods and men, in the three vehicles, and when the time of his death arrived, he made the following prayer: ‘May I share the same fate as the human beings in this very buddha realm.’ As he was passing away he said, ‘I am to be reborn yet again in a family of merchants on the Jambu continent.’ Immediately after his birth he spoke these words: ‘I will be a practitioner of the Dharma. I will be a practitioner of the Dharma.’ And so, as before, he was given the name Dharmacārin, ‘practitioner of the Dharma.’

9.­363

“When he reached the age of six he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant, and not long after his going forth, the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva revealed itself to him again. For sixty years [MS.107.a] he continually proclaimed this very cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva in village after village, town after town, country after country. During these sixty years, another ten million beings, gods and human beings, gained maturity in the three vehicles‍—the Śrāvakayāna, the Pratyekabuddhayāna, and the unsurpassable Mahāyāna.

9.­364

“Again, when the time of his death arrived, he made a vow to return as a human being, and through the power of this vow, he was reborn yet again in a royal family on the Jambu continent. Immediately after his birth, these words issued from the heavenly realms: ‘Oh! A being of the unsurpassed Dharma has been born in the world. Ah! A being of the unsurpassed Dharma has been born in the world. Dharmottara, “unsurpassed Dharma,” shall be his name.’ [F.142.a]

9.­365

“When he reached maturity, around the age of twenty, he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant. Having become a renunciant, the mendicant Dharmottara’s power of mindfulness was rekindled, his power of wisdom was rekindled, and again the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva revealed itself to him. Thereupon, Śāriputra, the mendicant Dharmottara proclaimed the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, the cycle of teachings that severs doubt, in various villages, towns, cities, countries, and royal courts for a full sixty thousand years. During those sixty thousand years another ten million beings‍—gods, humans, and asuras‍—matured to the stage of unsurpassed perfect awakening.

9.­366

“Again, when the time of his death arrived, he made a vow to return as a human being, and after he died he was reborn in a family of householder lords on the Jambu continent. Immediately after his birth, these words issued from the heavenly realms: ‘Ah! A being who has mastered mindfulness has appeared in the world. Ah! A being who has mastered mindfulness has appeared in the world.’ Because of this, he was given the name Smṛtipratilabha, ‘the one who has mastered mindfulness.’

9.­367

“When he reached maturity, around the age of twenty, he followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant. Because he did not lose his mindfulness, he went on to accumulate inconceivable, unsurpassed great learning. He taught the Dharma for sixty thousand118 years, visiting villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts. He proclaimed the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, which severs all doubts, in villages, towns, cities, countries, kingdoms, and royal courts. During those sixty thousand years, he was responsible for forty million beings‍—gods, humans, and asuras‍— [MS.107.b] reaching maturity by means of the three vehicles: the Śrāvakayāna, [F.142.b] the Pratyekabuddhayāna, and the unsurpassed Buddhayāna. Śāriputra, he was a mendicant who relied upon the Dharma, and when the time of his death arrived, he was reborn in the eastern buddha realm of the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha.

9.­368

“Śāriputra, this bodhisatva, this great being, had helped to bring a full sixty million beings‍—gods, human beings, and asuras‍—to maturity by means of the three vehicles, and, Śāriputra, as soon as he was born in that buddha realm, he came to possess the inconceivable and unsurpassable great learning of the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha. He remained there for a considerable number of years, and when the time of his death arrived, he was again reborn in a buddha realm, in the world where the Lord, the Tathāgata Padmottara, had appeared, this time in a royal family. Those sixty million beings whom he had previously helped bring to maturity now became his assistants in that rebirth.

9.­369

“Then the time came when a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Atyuccagāmin appeared in that world, in that buddha realm. The extent of the lifespan of the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, Śāriputra, was a full eight hundred forty million years, and the extent of the lifespan of the human beings there at that time was also a full eight hundred forty million years. Śāriputra, the tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished Buddha Atyuccagāmin had a great assembly of śrāvakas consisting of eight hundred forty million śrāvakas who were arhats. For every ten million years that passed, there would be another assembly of śrāvakas. In each assembly of śrāvakas there would be eight hundred million śrāvakas who were all arhats.

9.­370

“At that time there appeared a prince, a bodhisatva, by the name of Śūradatta, who was very learned and erudite [F.143.a] and who had attained mastery of analytical abilities. Śāriputra, accompanied by a devoted retinue of eighty million, the prince went to where the Lord Atyuccagāmin, the tathāgata, the arhat, the fully accomplished Buddha, was staying, and when he arrived there he honored him by touching his head at the feet of the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, and sat down to one side. When the prince Śūradatta and his retinue had sat down, Śāriputra, the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, acknowledged the excellent intentions of the prince Śūradatta and then gave a talk about the connections between his present existence and his past existences.

9.­371

“Śāriputra, listening to this talk about the connections between his present existence and his past existences, the prince Śūradatta developed trust. With a mind of faith, he, [MS.108.a] together with his retinue of eighty million beings, followed his conviction, left ordinary household life behind, and become a renunciant. From then on he lived the life of purity and devoted himself to the pursuit of awakening.

9.­372

“A prophecy was then made by the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin: ‘Mendicants, this bodhisatva, this great being Śūradatta, will attain unsurpassed perfect awakening after me, and he will appear in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, fully accomplished buddha by the name of Mahāvīrya, and so forth. He will be awakened, a lord.’

9.­373

“When the Lord, the Tathāgata Atyuccagāmin, attained final nirvāṇa, Śūradatta honored his relics, preserved the true Dharma, and did eventually attain unsurpassed perfect awakening, becoming a tathāgata by the name of Mahāvīrya. [F.143.b] The lifespan of the tathāgata Mahāvīrya, Śāriputra, was half an eon. He had countless saṅghas of śrāvakas, and each assembly was made up of one billion two hundred million arhats, and no one who was not an arhat.

9.­374

“That bodhisatva, Śāriputra, practiced the perfection of vigor with unrelenting vigor, studying the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva in great detail, learning it, memorizing it, reading it, and absorbing it, until he eventually became the tathāgata named Mahāvīrya.

9.­375

“This, Śāriputra, is why sons or daughters of good family who are established in the Mahāyāna and who wish to attain unsurpassed perfect awakening quickly should study the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva in great detail, memorize it, and so forth, and teach it in great detail and do so with unyielding vigor. Why should they do this? This, Śāriputra, is the bodhisatvas’ perfection of vigor, and it is with this kind of unyielding vigor that they search for the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva. This, Śāriputra, is the perfection of vigor of bodhisatvas, by means of which bodhisatvas practice the way of the bodhisatva.”

9.­376

This is the ninth chapter, “The Perfection of Vigor.” [B16]


10.

Chapter 10: The Perfection of Meditation

10.­1

“What, then, is the bodhisatva’s perfection of meditation like, the perfection of meditation by means of which bodhisatvas, great beings, practice the way of the bodhisatva? Śāriputra, the bodhisatva has left desires behind. He has left evil, unwholesome qualities behind, and he attains and abides in the first meditative state, the state of joy and happiness [F.144.a] that is born from seclusion and that includes conceptualization and deliberation.


11.

Chapter 11: The Perfection of Wisdom

11.­1

“Now, Śāriputra, what is the bodhisatvas’ perfection of wisdom like, the perfection of wisdom by means of which bodhisatvas, great beings, practice the way of the bodhisatva? Śāriputra, the bodhisatva conscientiously studies the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva; he learns it, memorizes it, reads it, absorbs it, clarifies it to others, and teaches it in great detail. When he has conscientiously studied the cycle of teachings contained in The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva, when he has learned it, memorized it, read it, clarified it to others, and taught it in great detail, he develops the different aspects of wisdom.


c.

Colophon

c.­1

This was translated into Tibetan by the Indian preceptors Ācārya Surendra, Śīlendra, and Ācārya Dharmatāśīla [F.205.b] and revised according to the later language reform.


ab.

Abbreviations

Akṣ Akṣayamati­nirdeśa­sūtra (Braarvig 1996)
Chi Chinese; see Dh and Xu.
D Degé Kangyur
Dh Chinese translation of the Bodhisatva­piṭaka by Dharmarakṣa 法護 法護 (2) (1018–58 ᴄᴇ), Foshuo dashengpusacangzhengfajing 佛說大乘菩薩藏正法經, in Taishō 316.
MS Sanskrit manuscript of the Bodhisatva­piṭaka (Liland et al., forthcoming).
Q Peking 1737 (Qianlong) Kangyur.
Skt Sanskrit; see MS.
Taishō Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō 大正新修大藏經, Tokyo 1926–34.
Tib Tibetan translation of the Bodhisatva­piṭaka by Surendrabodhi, Śīlendrabodhi, and Dharmatāśīla (9th century ᴄᴇ), ’phags pa byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod ces bya ba thegs chen po’i mdo.
Xu Chinese translation of the Bodhisatva­piṭaka by Xuanzang 玄奘 (645 ᴄᴇ), da pu sa cang jing 大菩薩藏經, in Taishō 310(12).

n.

Notes

n.­1
We prefer to follow the mainstream Buddhist Sanskrit usage of manuscripts and inscriptions by spelling bodhisatva with a single rather than a double t, the latter being a convention of modern editors. See Gouriswar Bhattacharya, “How to Justify the Spelling of the Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Term Bodhisatva?” in From Turfan to Ajanta: Festschrift for Dieter Schlingloff on the Occasion of his Eightieth Birthday, ed. Eli Franco and Monika Zin (Rupandehi: Lumbini International Research Institute, 2010), 2:35–50. Note that this is also the spelling used in Gāndhārī, as well as in Khotanese, Tibetan lexicography, and old Thai documents.
n.­2
Liland et al., forthcoming.
n.­3
In Braarvig and Pagel 2006.
n.­4
Braarvig and Pagel 2006.
n.­5
Liland et al., forthcoming.
n.­6
This homage to Mañjuśrī is only included in MS.
n.­7
This sentence is missing in Tib.
n.­8
According to Tib and Chi, “You do not strike your ankles against each other when you walk.”
n.­101
Part of this sentence (D: bdud dang bdud kyi ris kyi lha’i bu rnams dang / de ma yin ba gzhan phas kyi rgol ba thams cad kyis, “to attacks by Māra and his retinue, the gods, and all other opponents”) is not found in MS.
n.­102
This sentence is not found in MS.
n.­103
This verse in the Sanskrit is exactly the same as the previous one, although the Tibetan translation is different.
n.­104
Bodhisatvas are not restricted to the present but are connected to the past and the future.
n.­105
Their goal is awakening.
n.­106
Śrāvakas.
n.­107
There seems to be some confusion between the texts at this point, as to who is talking. We have chosen to follow the Tibetan.
n.­108
There is a play on words here, as the word for “ease” is kṣema, the same as the name of the boy’s father.
n.­109
Skt: maṇḍala.
n.­110
The word translated as “true” here is yukta, which we have otherwise translated as “rational” in the surrounding text. The text plays on the different meanings of the word yukta.
n.­111
Both Tibs have mi dmigs pa, and Dh has 攀緣有所, but Skt āraṃbhataḥ and Xu 緣境 seem to make more sense.
n.­112
These are the same words that were translated as “vows” and “keeping to vows” above.
n.­113
Skt: vyādhi; Tib: ’chi.
n.­114
This follows the Tibetan reading; the Sanskrit does not have the negatives.
n.­115
The word translated as “suchness” here is tathatā. This is formed from the same word tathā (“such,” “thus”) that we find in tathāgata, “The Thus Come” (āgata) or “The Thus Gone” (gata), i.e., gone or come in the same way as earlier buddhas. But, to the more philosophically minded, the title Tathāgata was also understood as “the one who has attained, or understood, suchness,” according to the scholastic commentary traditions of Buddhism. In the following the text develops the idea of the Tathāgata by playing on the double meaning of the word vigraha, namely “multiplicity” and “body.” The bodhisatva displays this suchness through the multiplicity of his bodily existence for the sake of all beings.
n.­116
This sentence is missing in MS.
n.­117
Tib has eighty thousand years old; Xu has eighty; Dh has eighty thousand; since his Dharma lasted for five hundred years we have chosen eighty, since this seems comparatively more reasonable.
n.­118
Skt has sixty, while both Tibetan renditions have sixty thousand.

b.

Bibliography

byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod (Bodhisatva­piṭaka). Degé Kangyur, vols. 40–41 (dkon brtsegs, kha–ga), folios 255.b (kha)–205.b (ga).

byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod (Bodhisatva­piṭaka). Peking 1737 (Qianlong) Kangyur, vols. 51–52 (dkon brtsegs, dzi–wi), folios 281.b (dzi)–234.a (wi).

byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 40, p. 737–vol. 41, p. 503.

Baums, Stefan et al. “The Bodhisattvapiṭakasūtra in Gāndhārī.” In Buddhist Manuscripts Volume IV, edited by Jens Braarvig et al., 267–82. Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection. Oslo: Hermes, 2016.

Braarvig, Jens. Akṣayamati­nirdeśa­sūtra. 2 vols. Oslo: Solum Forlag, 1996.

Braarvig, Jens, and Ulrich Pagel. “Fragments of the Bodhisattvapiṭakasūtra.” In Buddhist Manuscripts Volume III, edited by Jens Braarvig et al., 11–88. Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection. Oslo: Hermes, 2006.

Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1953.

Liland, Fredrik et al. Bodhisatva­piṭaka: A Critical Edition. Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region (STTAR). Vienna: Österreichische Akademie der Wissenschaften, forthcoming.

Pagel, Ulrich. The Bodhisattvapiṭaka: Its Doctrines, Practices and Their Position in Mahāyāna Literature. Tring: Institute of Buddhist Studies, 1995.

Pedersen, Kusumita Priscilla. “The ‘Dhyāna’ Chapter of the ‘Bodhisattvapiṭaka-sūtra.’ ” PhD diss., Columbia University, 1976.


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

Abhiyaśa

Wylie:
  • grags pa
Tibetan:
  • གྲགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhiyaśa AS

The father of the future buddha Kāruṇika.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­164
g.­2

Abhyudgata

Wylie:
  • mngon par ’phags
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་འཕགས།
Sanskrit:
  • abhyudgata AS

A buddha in the distant past.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­203-204
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­243
  • 9.­257
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­263
  • 9.­274
  • g.­345
g.­3

abode of limitless consciousness

Wylie:
  • rnam shes mtha’ yas skye mched
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་ཤེས་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • vijñānānaṃ­tyāyatana AS

The fifth of the eight liberations.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­228
  • g.­243
g.­7

Ācārya Dharmatāśīla

Wylie:
  • chos nyid tshul khrims
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཉིད་ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmatāśīla

The 9th century Tibetan translator of this text.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • c.­1
g.­8

action

Wylie:
  • las
Tibetan:
  • ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • karma AS

See “karma.”

Located in 82 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­48
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­74-75
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­128
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­163
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­24-25
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­102
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­138
  • 4.­146-149
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­153-154
  • 4.­156-157
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­260
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­299
  • 4.­302
  • 4.­314
  • 5.­26
  • 6.­4
  • 6.­12
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­55
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­101
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­123
  • 7.­125
  • 7.­127
  • 7.­142
  • 7.­203
  • 7.­207
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­334
  • 7.­348
  • 7.­357
  • 8.­3
  • 8.­55
  • 9.­43
  • 9.­172
  • 9.­180
  • 9.­260
  • 10.­8-9
  • 10.­12
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­27
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­95
  • 11.­102-103
  • 11.­106
  • 11.­124
  • 11.­145
  • 11.­149
  • 11.­168
  • 11.­183
  • 11.­329
  • n.­71
  • g.­75
  • g.­248
  • g.­255
  • g.­354
  • g.­374
g.­11

affliction

Wylie:
  • gdung ba
Tibetan:
  • གདུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • santāpa AS

Here used as a synonym for kleśa (“afflictive emotion”).

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­306-307
  • 9.­310-311
  • 9.­337
g.­12

afflictive emotion

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 4 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­25-26
  • g.­11
  • g.­114
g.­13

age

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 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­206
  • 9.­71
  • 11.­313
g.­14

Agnidatta

Wylie:
  • mes byin
Tibetan:
  • མེས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • agnidatta AS

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­78
g.­16

analytical ability

Wylie:
  • so so yang dag par rig pa
Tibetan:
  • སོ་སོ་ཡང་དག་པར་རིག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratisamvid AS

May refer to the four analytical abilities, listed here as analytical ability in relation to objects, analytical ability in relation to phenomena, analytical ability in relation to language, and analytical ability in relation to eloquence.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­15
  • 4.­402
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­260
  • 9.­370
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­56
  • 11.­71-76
  • 11.­78-80
g.­20

Arcimati

Wylie:
  • ’od ’phro can
Tibetan:
  • འོད་འཕྲོ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • arcimat AS

The wife of the householder Kṣema during the time of the past buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­93
g.­21

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 108 passages in the translation:

  • i.­11
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5-6
  • 1.­210-211
  • 1.­214
  • 2.­20
  • 3.­1-2
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­62-63
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­67
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97-99
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­112-113
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­145-146
  • 4.­149
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­423
  • 5.­2-3
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­15-16
  • 7.­218-219
  • 7.­221-222
  • 7.­248-249
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­292
  • 7.­306
  • 7.­322
  • 8.­7-8
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­66
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­79
  • 9.­112
  • 9.­114
  • 9.­133-134
  • 9.­136
  • 9.­144
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­166
  • 9.­170
  • 9.­177
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­203-204
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­243
  • 9.­257
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
  • 9.­286
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­304
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­354
  • 9.­356
  • 9.­362
  • 9.­369-370
  • 9.­372-373
  • 10.­9
  • 11.­99
  • 11.­233-236
  • 11.­241-242
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­255-256
  • 11.­262
  • 11.­273-275
  • 11.­277
  • 11.­281-282
  • 11.­285
  • 11.­296
  • 11.­309
  • 11.­311-312
  • g.­255
g.­23

ascetic

Wylie:
  • dge sbyong
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སྦྱོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • śramaṇa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A general term applied to spiritual practitioners who live as ascetic mendicants. In Buddhist texts, the term usually refers to Buddhist monastics, but it can also designate a practitioner from other ascetic/monastic spiritual traditions. In this context śramaṇa is often contrasted with the term brāhmaṇa (bram ze), which refers broadly to followers of the Vedic tradition. Any renunciate, not just a Buddhist, could be referred to as a śramaṇa if they were not within the Vedic fold. The epithet Great Śramaṇa is often applied to the Buddha.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­5-6
  • 1.­123
  • 1.­186
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­16
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­145
  • 4.­159
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­279
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­423
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­2
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­211
  • 7.­253
  • 9.­179
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­25
g.­24

Aśoka

Wylie:
  • mya ngan med
Tibetan:
  • མྱ་ངན་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • aśoka AS

The son of the future buddha Kāruṇika.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­164
g.­25

assumption

Wylie:
  • yongs su rtog pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་རྟོག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • parikalpa AS

Imagining things that are not the case.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­188
  • 4.­355
  • 9.­333
  • 10.­25
g.­26

asura

Wylie:
  • lha ma yin
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
Sanskrit:
  • asura AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2-3
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­57
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­22
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97
  • 5.­2
  • 7.­210
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­113
  • 9.­365
  • 9.­367-368
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­12
  • 11.­180
  • 11.­331
  • g.­412
g.­27

attribute

Wylie:
  • mtshan ma
Tibetan:
  • མཚན་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • nimitta AS

Located in 47 passages in the translation:

  • i.­11
  • 1.­161
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­23
  • 3.­32
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­16
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­238
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­309
  • 4.­326
  • 4.­345
  • 4.­348
  • 4.­351
  • 4.­354-356
  • 4.­365
  • 5.­13
  • 7.­185-186
  • 7.­216
  • 7.­219
  • 8.­57-58
  • 8.­60
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­38
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­72-73
  • 11.­97
  • 11.­112
  • 11.­132-133
  • 11.­158
  • 11.­168
  • 11.­191
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­280-281
  • 11.­283-284
  • g.­371
g.­28

Atyuccagāmin

Wylie:
  • shin tu mthor gshegs
Tibetan:
  • ཤིན་ཏུ་མཐོར་གཤེགས།
Sanskrit:
  • atyuccagāmin AS

A buddha in the distant past, in a realm to the east.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­369-370
  • 9.­372-373
  • g.­341
g.­29

awakened

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས།
Sanskrit:
  • buddha AS

Describes someone who has attained the highest goal of Buddhism. Also rendered here as “buddha.”

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­111
  • 4.­285
  • 4.­341
  • 4.­369
  • 4.­388
  • 4.­391
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­15-16
  • 6.­25
  • 7.­129
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­322
  • 8.­7-8
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­131
  • 9.­191
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
  • 9.­289
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­354
  • 9.­372
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­33
  • 11.­236
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­302
  • g.­112
  • g.­119
  • g.­365
g.­30

become a renunciant

Wylie:
  • rab tu byung
  • rab byung
  • mngon par byung
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་བྱུང་།
  • རབ་བྱུང་།
  • མངོན་པར་བྱུང་།
Sanskrit:
  • pra√vraj AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.

Located in 52 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­38
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­54
  • 1.­62
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­76
  • 1.­83
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­98-100
  • 1.­104-106
  • 1.­108
  • 1.­110-111
  • 1.­124
  • 1.­165
  • 1.­196
  • 1.­208-209
  • 2.­28
  • 3.­22
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­225-226
  • 8.­21
  • 9.­151
  • 9.­192
  • 9.­230
  • 9.­251
  • 9.­256
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­280-282
  • 9.­299
  • 9.­356
  • 9.­363
  • 9.­365
  • 9.­367
  • 9.­371
  • 11.­214
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­266
  • 11.­278
  • 11.­313
g.­31

becoming

Wylie:
  • srid pa
Tibetan:
  • སྲིད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhava AS

The tenth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­115
  • 1.­120
  • 1.­141-142
  • 1.­144-145
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 1.­178
  • 1.­180
  • 1.­200
  • 3.­18
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­288
  • 5.­15
  • 9.­298
  • 11.­70
  • 11.­183
g.­34

bhūta

Wylie:
  • ’byung po
Tibetan:
  • འབྱུང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term in its broadest sense can refer to any being, whether human, animal, or nonhuman. However, it is often used to refer to a specific class of nonhuman beings, especially when bhūtas are mentioned alongside rākṣasas, piśācas, or pretas. In common with these other kinds of nonhumans, bhūtas are usually depicted with unattractive and misshapen bodies. Like several other classes of nonhuman beings, bhūtas take spontaneous birth. As their leader is traditionally regarded to be Rudra-Śiva (also known by the name Bhūta), with whom they haunt dangerous and wild places, bhūtas are especially prominent in Śaivism, where large sections of certain tantras concentrate on them.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­93
g.­35

Bimbisāra

Wylie:
  • gzugs can snying po
Tibetan:
  • གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • bimbisāra AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The king of Magadha and a great patron of the Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s, and his father, King Mahāpadma, named him “Essence of Gold” after mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (“Goldie”). Accounts of Bimbisāra’s youth and life can be found in The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, Pravrajyāvastu).

King Śreṇya Bimbisāra first met with the Buddha early on, when the latter was the wandering mendicant known as Gautama. Impressed by his conduct, Bimbisāra offered to take Gautama into his court, but Gautama refused, and Bimbisāra wished him success in his quest for awakening and asked him to visit his palace after he had achieved his goal. One account of this episode can be found in the sixteenth chapter of The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara). There are other accounts where the two meet earlier on in childhood; several episodes can be found, for example, in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340, Karmaśataka). Later, after the Buddha’s awakening, Bimbisāra became one of his most famous patrons and donated to the saṅgha the Bamboo Grove, Veṇuvana, at the outskirts of the capital of Magadha, Rājagṛha, where he built residences for the monks. Bimbisāra was imprisoned and killed by his own son, the prince Ajātaśatru, who, influenced by Devadatta, sought to usurp his father’s throne.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­71
  • g.­168
g.­37

bodhisatva

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems dpa’
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhisatva AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.

Located in 443 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1
  • i.­4-5
  • i.­9
  • i.­11-12
  • 1.­1
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­64
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­7
  • 3.­10
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­14-16
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­33-34
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­17
  • 4.­19
  • 4.­29-30
  • 4.­32
  • 4.­43-44
  • 4.­55
  • 4.­62
  • 4.­68
  • 4.­77
  • 4.­80
  • 4.­106-108
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­123-124
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­149
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­175
  • 4.­205
  • 4.­211
  • 4.­229
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­257-258
  • 4.­264
  • 4.­269
  • 4.­280-281
  • 4.­283
  • 4.­286
  • 4.­290
  • 4.­304
  • 4.­321
  • 4.­339-340
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­376-377
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­396-398
  • 4.­422
  • 4.­424
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­4-5
  • 5.­7-27
  • 5.­29-30
  • 6.­1-12
  • 6.­14
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­33
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­5-6
  • 7.­10
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­27-29
  • 7.­41-42
  • 7.­44
  • 7.­54-56
  • 7.­66-68
  • 7.­83-85
  • 7.­99-102
  • 7.­106
  • 7.­112
  • 7.­119-121
  • 7.­135-137
  • 7.­150-153
  • 7.­160
  • 7.­166
  • 7.­173-175
  • 7.­191-194
  • 7.­203-204
  • 7.­206-211
  • 7.­213-215
  • 7.­219
  • 7.­250-256
  • 7.­285
  • 7.­288-289
  • 7.­291-292
  • 7.­294
  • 7.­306
  • 7.­332-333
  • 7.­344-347
  • 7.­372-375
  • 8.­1-5
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­20
  • 8.­23-24
  • 8.­44
  • 8.­46
  • 8.­50
  • 8.­54-57
  • 8.­61
  • 9.­1-8
  • 9.­10-11
  • 9.­40
  • 9.­164-180
  • 9.­191
  • 9.­194
  • 9.­198
  • 9.­200
  • 9.­263
  • 9.­267
  • 9.­271-272
  • 9.­283-285
  • 9.­300-307
  • 9.­310-311
  • 9.­328
  • 9.­332-333
  • 9.­335
  • 9.­337-339
  • 9.­348-349
  • 9.­351-353
  • 9.­355-356
  • 9.­368
  • 9.­370
  • 9.­372
  • 9.­374-375
  • 10.­1-4
  • 10.­6-29
  • 10.­48
  • 10.­51
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­17-18
  • 11.­25-26
  • 11.­35-36
  • 11.­41-45
  • 11.­47-48
  • 11.­50-56
  • 11.­58
  • 11.­61-66
  • 11.­68-73
  • 11.­80-83
  • 11.­86-87
  • 11.­99
  • 11.­101-104
  • 11.­106
  • 11.­119-122
  • 11.­124-125
  • 11.­128-136
  • 11.­144-145
  • 11.­153-155
  • 11.­160-162
  • 11.­165-168
  • 11.­173-176
  • 11.­178-183
  • 11.­186-187
  • 11.­193-194
  • 11.­196-197
  • 11.­203
  • 11.­217-218
  • 11.­229
  • 11.­231
  • 11.­241
  • 11.­247
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­255
  • 11.­262
  • 11.­280
  • 11.­283-285
  • 11.­310-311
  • 11.­326
  • n.­1
  • n.­74
  • n.­104
  • n.­115
  • g.­67
  • g.­68
  • g.­97
  • g.­200
  • g.­261
  • g.­292
  • g.­313
  • g.­318
  • g.­319
  • g.­324
  • g.­327
  • g.­337
  • g.­341
  • g.­359
  • g.­374
  • g.­391
g.­39

Brahmā

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • brahman 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 25 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­121
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­34
  • 4.­70
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­393
  • 5.­7
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­12
  • 7.­227
  • 8.­55
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­203
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­23
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­199
  • 11.­325
  • n.­43
  • g.­38
  • g.­43
  • g.­44
  • g.­45
g.­42

brahmā world

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa’i ’jig rten
  • tshangs bcas ’jig rten
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པའི་འཇིག་རྟེན།
  • ཚངས་བཅས་འཇིག་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmaloka AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A collective name for the first three heavens of the form realm, which correspond to the first concentration (dhyāna): Brahmakāyika, Brahmapurohita, and Mahābrahmā (also called Brahmapārṣadya). These are ruled over by the god Brahmā. According to some sources, it can also be a general reference to all the heavens in the form realm and formless realm. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­22
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­16
  • 7.­227
  • 9.­134
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­281
g.­46

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 49 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­11
  • 1.­2-3
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­16
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­145
  • 4.­159
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­279
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­423
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­2
  • 7.­120
  • 9.­195
  • 10.­20
  • 11.­244
  • 11.­246
  • 11.­257-261
  • 11.­263-265
  • 11.­269-279
  • 11.­281-282
  • g.­70
  • g.­216
  • g.­278
g.­47

Buddhayāna

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi theg pa
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • buddhayāna AS

The vehicle of the buddhas.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­367
  • 11.­285
g.­49

calm abiding meditation

Wylie:
  • zhi gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཞི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • śamatha AS

One of the basic forms of Buddhist meditation, which focuses on calming the mind. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other technique being “insight meditation.”

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­225
  • 4.­236
  • 4.­308
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­26
  • 10.­28
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­155-156
  • 11.­161
g.­51

cessation

Wylie:
  • ’gog pa
  • ’gag pa
  • zad pa
Tibetan:
  • འགོག་པ།
  • འགག་པ།
  • ཟད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • nirodha AS
  • kṣaya AS

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­153
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 4.­184
  • 4.­225
  • 4.­227-228
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­367
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­139
  • 10.­21
  • 10.­26
  • 10.­28
  • 11.­65
  • 11.­67-70
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­149
  • 11.­159
  • g.­245
  • g.­380
g.­52

characteristic marks of a great being

Wylie:
  • skyes bu chen po’i mtshan
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེས་བུ་ཆེན་པོའི་མཚན།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāpuruṣa­lakṣaṇa AS

See “thirty-two characteristics of a great being.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­12
  • 9.­169
  • 11.­258-259
g.­53

community

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 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­5
  • 1.­8
  • 1.­211
  • 2.­4-5
  • 4.­395
  • 9.­97
  • 9.­203
  • 9.­207
  • 9.­219
  • 9.­221
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­285
g.­54

concentration

Wylie:
  • ting nge ’dzin
Tibetan:
  • ཏིང་ངེ་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 100 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 1.­69
  • 1.­73
  • 1.­131
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­32
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­14-15
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­80-83
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­98-99
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­103
  • 4.­106
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­189
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­228-229
  • 4.­297
  • 4.­299
  • 4.­311
  • 4.­313-315
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­354
  • 4.­383
  • 4.­389
  • 4.­393-394
  • 4.­409
  • 5.­14
  • 6.­7
  • 6.­9
  • 6.­13
  • 7.­210
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­216-218
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­164
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­5
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­22-23
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­27-28
  • 10.­32-40
  • 10.­42-45
  • 10.­47-48
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­110
  • 11.­130
  • 11.­136
  • 11.­141-142
  • 11.­145
  • 11.­147
  • 11.­153
  • 11.­163
  • 11.­167
  • 11.­171-172
  • 11.­175
  • 11.­179
  • 11.­277
  • 11.­322
  • g.­75
  • g.­91
  • g.­94
  • g.­98
  • g.­248
  • g.­354
  • g.­356
g.­55

conceptualization

Wylie:
  • rnam par rtog pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་རྟོག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vikalpa AS

Thought constructions.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­51
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­227
  • 7.­287
  • 9.­342
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­50
  • 11.­126
g.­57

consciousness

Wylie:
  • rnam par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vijñāna AS

The cognizant quality of the mind.

Located in 63 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­138-139
  • 1.­141
  • 1.­151-152
  • 1.­161
  • 1.­164
  • 1.­166-167
  • 1.­170
  • 1.­189
  • 1.­198-200
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­26
  • 4.­15-16
  • 4.­48-55
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­173
  • 4.­179-180
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­228
  • 4.­234
  • 4.­345-347
  • 4.­350
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­394
  • 5.­14
  • 7.­286
  • 7.­339
  • 7.­344
  • 9.­345
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­13
  • 11.­49
  • 11.­55-57
  • 11.­59
  • 11.­82
  • 11.­87-93
  • 11.­183
  • 11.­283
  • g.­100
g.­58

corruption

Wylie:
  • kun nas nyon mongs
  • kun nas nyon mongs pa
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ནས་ཉོན་མོངས།
  • ཀུན་ནས་ཉོན་མོངས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃkleśa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”

Located in 23 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­83
  • 1.­85
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­133
  • 1.­185
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­223-224
  • 4.­229
  • 4.­234
  • 7.­136
  • 8.­57-58
  • 9.­334
  • 10.­16
  • 11.­96
  • 11.­124
  • 11.­133
  • 11.­140-141
  • 11.­164
  • n.­147
g.­59

crown protrusion

Wylie:
  • gtsug tor
Tibetan:
  • གཙུག་ཏོར།
Sanskrit:
  • uṣṇīṣa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the thirty-two signs, or major marks, of a great being. In its simplest form it is a pointed shape of the head like a turban (the Sanskrit term, uṣṇīṣa, in fact means “turban”), or more elaborately a dome-shaped extension. The extension is described as having various extraordinary attributes such as emitting and absorbing rays of light or reaching an immense height.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­138
  • 4.­392
  • 6.­12
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­169
g.­60

cyclic existence

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 35 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­37
  • 1.­39
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­126
  • 1.­134-135
  • 5.­15
  • 5.­18
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­104
  • 8.­3-4
  • 8.­57-58
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­60
  • 11.­74
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­96
  • 11.­131
  • 11.­152
  • 11.­168
  • 11.­191
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­203
  • g.­99
  • g.­117
  • g.­186
  • g.­187
  • g.­353
  • g.­355
g.­61

defilements

Wylie:
  • zag pa
Tibetan:
  • ཟག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally, “to flow” or “to ooze.” Mental defilements or contaminations that “flow out” toward the objects of cyclic existence, binding us to them. Vasubandhu offers two alternative explanations of this term: “They cause beings to remain (āsayanti) within saṃsāra” and “They flow from the Summit of Existence down to the Avīci hell, out of the six wounds that are the sense fields” (Abhidharma­kośa­bhāṣya 5.40; Pradhan 1967, p. 308). The Summit of Existence (bhavāgra, srid pa’i rtse mo) is the highest point within saṃsāra, while the hell called Avīci (mnar med) is the lowest; the six sense fields (āyatana, skye mched) here refer to the five sense faculties plus the mind, i.e., the six internal sense fields.

Located in 34 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­14
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­267-269
  • 4.­271-274
  • 4.­287-289
  • 4.­336
  • 4.­343
  • 4.­355
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­16
  • 7.­219
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­328
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­354
  • 10.­24
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­236
  • g.­112
  • g.­119
  • g.­315
  • g.­356
  • g.­380
g.­63

designation

Wylie:
  • gdags pa
  • btags pa
Tibetan:
  • གདགས་པ།
  • བཏགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñapti AS

To invest something with meaning.

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­140-141
  • 1.­143-157
  • 1.­160
  • 4.­351
  • 9.­173
  • 11.­46
  • 11.­52
  • 11.­134
  • 11.­138
  • 11.­164
g.­65

dharma

Wylie:
  • chos
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

Located in 358 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­89
  • 1.­96
  • 1.­99
  • 1.­114
  • 1.­116-118
  • 1.­121-124
  • 1.­198
  • 1.­213
  • 2.­35
  • 2.­44
  • 2.­48-49
  • 2.­52
  • 2.­58
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­64
  • 2.­68
  • 2.­74
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­21-22
  • 3.­33
  • 4.­3-4
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­34
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­142-143
  • 4.­148
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­170
  • 4.­174
  • 4.­192
  • 4.­195-198
  • 4.­200
  • 4.­204-205
  • 4.­242
  • 4.­244
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­268-269
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­282-283
  • 4.­285
  • 4.­288-289
  • 4.­297
  • 4.­302-303
  • 4.­308-317
  • 4.­323-325
  • 4.­329
  • 4.­334-338
  • 4.­352
  • 4.­355
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­380-391
  • 4.­393
  • 4.­395
  • 4.­397
  • 4.­400
  • 4.­402
  • 4.­408
  • 4.­410
  • 4.­412
  • 4.­420
  • 5.­2-3
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­10-19
  • 5.­22-24
  • 6.­7-9
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­27-28
  • 7.­12
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­26
  • 7.­37
  • 7.­93
  • 7.­127
  • 7.­131
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­139-140
  • 7.­142
  • 7.­147
  • 7.­153-159
  • 7.­181-182
  • 7.­188
  • 7.­192-193
  • 7.­195
  • 7.­197
  • 7.­203
  • 7.­205
  • 7.­210-214
  • 7.­216
  • 7.­219
  • 7.­223
  • 7.­227
  • 7.­244
  • 7.­254
  • 7.­265
  • 7.­274-275
  • 7.­277
  • 7.­314
  • 7.­325
  • 7.­327
  • 7.­335
  • 7.­374
  • 8.­5-8
  • 8.­20
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­18
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­30-31
  • 9.­39
  • 9.­41
  • 9.­46
  • 9.­52-54
  • 9.­58-59
  • 9.­61
  • 9.­63
  • 9.­65
  • 9.­67-68
  • 9.­70-71
  • 9.­73-75
  • 9.­80
  • 9.­82
  • 9.­84
  • 9.­100
  • 9.­108
  • 9.­132-133
  • 9.­141-143
  • 9.­149
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­166-167
  • 9.­169-170
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­177-178
  • 9.­186
  • 9.­188-189
  • 9.­192-194
  • 9.­199
  • 9.­224
  • 9.­235
  • 9.­237-238
  • 9.­240
  • 9.­242
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­270
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­303
  • 9.­305-306
  • 9.­310-311
  • 9.­332
  • 9.­339
  • 9.­349
  • 9.­351
  • 9.­354-355
  • 9.­362
  • 9.­364
  • 9.­367
  • 9.­373
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­15-16
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20-21
  • 10.­23-26
  • 10.­34-35
  • 10.­37
  • 10.­42-43
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­14-16
  • 11.­22
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­28
  • 11.­30
  • 11.­32-35
  • 11.­38
  • 11.­40
  • 11.­42
  • 11.­48-49
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­64
  • 11.­76
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­85
  • 11.­98-112
  • 11.­116
  • 11.­125
  • 11.­130-131
  • 11.­136
  • 11.­138-140
  • 11.­168
  • 11.­176
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­207
  • 11.­209-210
  • 11.­215
  • 11.­219
  • 11.­223
  • 11.­225-228
  • 11.­230
  • 11.­237
  • 11.­244
  • 11.­285
  • 11.­295
  • 11.­299
  • 11.­301-302
  • 11.­306
  • 11.­313-314
  • 11.­323-324
  • n.­33
  • n.­72
  • n.­117
  • n.­134
  • g.­66
  • g.­95
  • g.­121
  • g.­314
  • g.­375
g.­66

Dharma body

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

In distinction to the rūpakāya, or form body of a buddha, this is the eternal, imperceivable realization of a buddha. In origin it was a term for the presence of the Dharma and has become synonymous with the true nature.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­258
  • 9.­307
  • 9.­310-312
  • 9.­332-333
  • 9.­335
  • 9.­337-339
  • 9.­342
  • 10.­23
  • 11.­122
g.­67

Dharmacārin

Wylie:
  • chos spyod
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་སྤྱོད།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmacārin AS

A bodhisatva in the distant part, a hundred years after the final nirvāṇa of the Buddha Padmottara. He is given the same name in his next rebirth.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­355-356
  • 9.­362
g.­68

Dharmottara

Wylie:
  • chos kyi bla ma
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས་ཀྱི་བླ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • dharmottara AS

A bodhisatva in the distant past.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­364-365
g.­69

Dīpaṅkara

Wylie:
  • mar me mdzad
Tibetan:
  • མར་མེ་མཛད།
Sanskrit:
  • dīpaṅkara AS

A previous buddha who gave Śākyamuni the prophecy of his buddhahood.

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­11
  • 9.­312
  • 11.­243
  • 11.­245-247
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­254-257
  • 11.­262-263
  • 11.­265
  • 11.­269-276
  • 11.­278-279
  • 11.­281-282
  • g.­70
  • g.­167
  • g.­216
  • g.­256
  • g.­278
g.­71

disciple

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

See “śrāvaka.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­16
  • n.­31
  • g.­168
  • g.­196
g.­72

divine hearing

Wylie:
  • lha’i rna ba
Tibetan:
  • ལྷའི་རྣ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • divyaśrotra AS

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­8
  • 9.­316
  • 10.­6
  • 10.­11-13
  • g.­103
  • g.­315
  • g.­339
g.­73

divine son

Wylie:
  • lha’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ལྷའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • devaputra AS

See “god.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­194
  • 9.­164
  • 11.­247
g.­76

eight liberations

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa brgyad
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པ་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭavimokṣa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A series of progressively more subtle states of meditative realization or attainment. There are several presentations of these found in the canonical literature. One of the most common is as follows: (1) One observes form while the mind dwells at the level of the form realm. (2) One observes forms externally while discerning formlessness internally. (3) One dwells in the direct experience of the body’s pleasant aspect. (4) One dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite space by transcending all conceptions of matter, resistance, and diversity. (5) Transcending the sphere of infinite space, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of infinite consciousness. (6) Transcending the sphere of infinite consciousness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of nothingness. (7) Transcending the sphere of nothingness, one dwells in the realization of the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception. (8) Transcending the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, one dwells in the realization of the cessation of conception and feeling.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­228
  • 9.­164
  • g.­3
  • g.­4
  • g.­5
  • g.­6
  • g.­186
  • g.­187
g.­80

eighteen unique buddha qualities

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi chos ma ’dres pa bco brgyad rnams
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་མ་འདྲེས་པ་བཅོ་བརྒྱད་རྣམས།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭādaśāveṇikā­buddha­dharma AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Eighteen special features of a buddha’s behavior, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by other beings. They are generally listed as: (1) he never makes a mistake, (2) he is never boisterous, (3) he never forgets, (4) his concentration never falters, (5) he has no notion of distinctness, (6) his equanimity is not due to lack of consideration, (7) his motivation never falters, (8) his endeavor never fails, (9) his mindfulness never falters, (10) he never abandons his concentration, (11) his insight (prajñā) never decreases, (12) his liberation never fails, (13) all his physical actions are preceded and followed by wisdom (jñāna), (14) all his verbal actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (15) all his mental actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (16) his wisdom and vision perceive the past without attachment or hindrance, (17) his wisdom and vision perceive the future without attachment or hindrance, and (18) his wisdom and vision perceive the present without attachment or hindrance.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­13
  • 4.­138
  • 4.­377-378
  • 4.­398
  • 4.­423
  • 6.­12
  • 11.­2
  • g.­81
  • g.­389
g.­82

eightfold path

Wylie:
  • yan lag brgyad pa’i lam
  • yan lag brgyad ldan lam
  • lam yan lag brgyad pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་པའི་ལམ།
  • ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་ལྡན་ལམ།
  • ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭāṅga­mārga AS
  • aṣṭa­mārgāṅga AS

See “noble eightfold path.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­252
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­117
  • 11.­145
g.­84

eighty minor marks

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

A set of eighty bodily characteristics and insignia borne by both buddhas and kings of the entire world (cakravartins). They are considered “minor” in terms of being secondary to the thirty-two characteristics of a great being.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • 2.­51
  • 6.­8
  • g.­223
  • g.­367
g.­86

elements

Wylie:
  • khams
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས།
Sanskrit:
  • dhātu AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the context of Buddhist philosophy, one way to describe experience in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, smell, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; and mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).

This also refers to the elements of the world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added, and the sixth is consciousness.

Located in 48 passages in the translation:

  • i.­8
  • 1.­150
  • 1.­163
  • 1.­166
  • 1.­200
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­172-175
  • 4.­179-181
  • 4.­183
  • 4.­191
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­355-356
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­31
  • 7.­348
  • 9.­334-335
  • 10.­28
  • 11.­56
  • 11.­59
  • 11.­61
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­74
  • 11.­89
  • 11.­101
  • 11.­117
  • 11.­122-123
  • 11.­127
  • 11.­130
  • 11.­157
  • 11.­166
  • 11.­176
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­219
  • 11.­283
  • n.­18
  • g.­238
  • g.­356
g.­87

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 78 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­53
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­39
  • 4.­10
  • 4.­19
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­98-99
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­115
  • 4.­242
  • 4.­247
  • 4.­250
  • 4.­260
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­396
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­15-16
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­104
  • 7.­106
  • 7.­109
  • 7.­123-125
  • 7.­148
  • 7.­270
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­297
  • 7.­302
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­324
  • 7.­327
  • 8.­13
  • 8.­20
  • 8.­24
  • 8.­36
  • 8.­42
  • 8.­45
  • 9.­48
  • 9.­66
  • 9.­76-77
  • 9.­89
  • 9.­102
  • 9.­117
  • 9.­164-165
  • 9.­170
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­218
  • 9.­256
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­310
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­354
  • 9.­373
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­236
  • 11.­243
  • 11.­266
  • 11.­275
  • 11.­277
  • 11.­282
  • 11.­287
  • 11.­289
  • 11.­299
  • 11.­309-313
g.­90

factors of awakening

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

See “seven factors of awakening.”

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­313
  • 5.­21
  • 7.­157
  • 7.­254
  • 7.­374
  • 8.­56
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­26
  • 10.­45
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­56
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­136
g.­91

faculties

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

May refer to the sense faculties (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste, and the mental faculty). May also refer to the “five faculties”: faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom.

Located in 52 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­142
  • 3.­23
  • 3.­25
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­188-193
  • 4.­195-201
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­207
  • 4.­215
  • 4.­311
  • 4.­350
  • 4.­388-389
  • 5.­21
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­125-126
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­146
  • 7.­157
  • 9.­169
  • 9.­356
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­15-16
  • 10.­26
  • 10.­28
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­167-173
  • 11.­183
  • g.­314
g.­93

final nirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa
Tibetan:
  • ཡོངས་སུ་མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • parinirvāṇa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This refers to what occurs at the end of an arhat’s or a buddha’s life. When nirvāṇa is attained at awakening, whether as an arhat or buddha, all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence have ceased, but due to previously accumulated karma, the aggregates of that life remain and must still exhaust themselves. It is only at the end of life that these cease, and since no new aggregates arise, the arhat or buddha is said to attain parinirvāṇa, meaning “complete” or “final” nirvāṇa. This is synonymous with the attainment of nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa).

According to the Mahāyāna view of a single vehicle (ekayāna), the arhat’s parinirvāṇa at death, despite being so called, is not final. The arhat must still enter the bodhisattva path and reach buddhahood (see Unraveling the Intent, Toh 106, 7.14.) On the other hand, the parinirvāṇa of a buddha, ultimately speaking, should be understood as a display manifested for the benefit of beings; see The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Toh 186), 1.32.

The term parinirvāṇa is also associated specifically with the passing away of the Buddha Śākyamuni, in Kuśinagara, in northern India.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 6.­16
  • 7.­219
  • 7.­293-295
  • 7.­321-322
  • 9.­8
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­167
  • 9.­304
  • 9.­355
  • 9.­373
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­44
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­312-313
  • g.­67
g.­94

five faculties

Wylie:
  • dbang po lnga
Tibetan:
  • དབང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcendriya AS

Faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. These are the same as the five powers but at a lesser stage of development. See also 11.­168.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­167
  • 11.­173
  • 11.­175
  • 11.­181
  • g.­91
  • g.­98
  • g.­365
g.­97

five perfections

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

The practice of the bodhisatva, which consists of generosity (dāna), morality (śīla), patient acceptance (kṣānti), vigor (vīrya), meditation (dhyāna).

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 5.­28
  • 11.­189
  • g.­261
g.­98

five powers

Wylie:
  • stobs lnga
Tibetan:
  • སྟོབས་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcabala AS

Faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. These are the same as the five faculties but at a greater stage of development. See also 11.­175.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­110
  • g.­94
  • g.­265
  • g.­365
g.­100

five skandhas

Wylie:
  • phung po lnga
Tibetan:
  • ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcaskandha AS

Form, feeling, perception, mental conditioning, and consciousness. At the level of an individual person, the five skandhas refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected. They are referred to as the “bases for appropriation” (Skt. upādāna) or the “five skandhas of grasping” insofar as all conceptual grasping arises based on these aggregates.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­195
  • 5.­18
  • 7.­339
  • 11.­68
  • 11.­127
  • g.­101
  • g.­317
g.­101

five skandhas of grasping

Wylie:
  • len pa’i phung po lnga
Tibetan:
  • ལེན་པའི་ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcopādāna­skandha AS

See “five skandhas.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­49
  • 11.­88
  • g.­100
g.­103

five superior abilities

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa lnga
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ་ལྔ།
Sanskrit:
  • pañcābhijñā AS

The five supernatural abilities attained through realization and yogic accomplishment: divine sight, divine hearing, knowledge of the thoughts of others, clear experiential recollection of previous states of existence, and the realization of magical methods.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­257
  • 7.­210
  • 7.­292
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­6
  • g.­315
g.­104

foundations of magical abilities

Wylie:
  • rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa
Tibetan:
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛddhipāda AS

The four foundations of magical abilities are learning, vigor, volition, and investigation. These are among the thirty-seven elements that are conducive to awakening.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­157
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­260
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­80
  • g.­365
g.­105

four assemblies

Wylie:
  • ’khor bzhi
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥparṣad AS

Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­211
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­177
g.­106

four continents

Wylie:
  • gling bzhi
Tibetan:
  • གླིང་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • cāturdvīpa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to traditional Buddhist cosmology, our universe consists of a central mountain, known as Mount Meru or Sumeru, surrounded by four island continents (dvīpa), one in each of the four cardinal directions. The Abhidharmakośa explains that each of these island continents has a specific shape and is flanked by two smaller subcontinents of similar shape. To the south of Mount Meru is Jambudvīpa, corresponding either to the Indian subcontinent itself or to the known world. It is triangular in shape, and at its center is the place where the buddhas attain awakening. The humans who inhabit Jambudvīpa have a lifespan of one hundred years. To the east is Videha, a semicircular continent inhabited by humans who have a lifespan of two hundred fifty years and are twice as tall as the humans who inhabit Jambudvīpa. To the north is Uttarakuru, a square continent whose inhabitants have a lifespan of a thousand years. To the west is Godānīya, circular in shape, where the lifespan is five hundred years.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­16
  • 6.­2
  • 6.­8
  • 8.­4
g.­107

four excellent things

Wylie:
  • mchog bzhi rnams
Tibetan:
  • མཆོག་བཞི་རྣམས།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥśreṣṭha AS

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­260
g.­108

four foundations of mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa nye bar gzhag pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་གཞག་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catuḥ­smṛtyupasthāna AS

Using the body to cultivate mindfulness by observing the body, using feelings to cultivate mindfulness by observing feelings, using the mind to cultivate mindfulness by observing the mind, and using phenomena to cultivate mindfulness by observing phenomena. Part of the thirty-seven elements that are conducive to awakening.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­121
  • 11.­135
  • g.­222
  • g.­365
g.­110

Four Great Kings

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 2 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­271
  • g.­133
g.­111

four immeasurables

Wylie:
  • tshad med bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཚད་མེད་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturapramāṇa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The meditations on love (maitrī), compassion (karuṇā), joy (muditā), and equanimity (upekṣā), as well as the states of mind and qualities of being that result from their cultivation. They are also called the four abodes of Brahmā (caturbrahmavihāra).

In the Abhidharmakośa, Vasubandhu explains that they are called apramāṇa‍—meaning “infinite” or “limitless”‍—because they take limitless sentient beings as their object, and they generate limitless merit and results. Love is described as the wish that beings be happy, and it acts as an antidote to malice (vyāpāda). Compassion is described as the wish for beings to be free of suffering, and acts as an antidote to harmfulness (vihiṃsā). Joy refers to rejoicing in the happiness beings already have, and it acts as an antidote to dislike or aversion (arati) toward others’ success. Equanimity is considering all beings impartially, without distinctions, and it is the antidote to both attachment to pleasure and to malice (kāmarāgavyāpāda).

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­6
  • 11.­326
  • g.­158
g.­112

four kinds of confidence

Wylie:
  • mi ’jigs pa bzhi
Tibetan:
  • མི་འཇིགས་པ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturvaiśāradya AS

The Awakened One’s confidence in himself: (1) certainty in knowing all phenomena, (2) certainty in knowing that the defilements are completely exhausted, (3) certainty in predicting that past hindrances will not return, and (4) certainty in the path of renunciation that leads to the attainment of all perfections.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­13
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­138
  • 6.­12
  • 9.­14
g.­113

four kinds of perfect exertion

Wylie:
  • yang dag par spong ba bzhi
Tibetan:
  • ཡང་དག་པར་སྤོང་བ་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • catur­samyakprahāṇāni AS

Not giving rise to any negativity that has not yet arisen, abandoning those negativities that have arisen, actively giving rise to virtues that have not yet arisen, and causing those virtues that have arisen to increase. Part of the thirty-seven elements that are conducive to awakening.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­26
  • g.­365
g.­114

four māras

Wylie:
  • bdud bzhi
Tibetan:
  • བདུད་བཞི།
Sanskrit:
  • caturmāra AS

The deities ruled over by Māra are also symbolic of the defects within a person that prevent awakening. These four personifications are (1) devaputramāra (lha’i bu’i bdud), the divine māra, which is the distraction of pleasures, (2) mṛtyumāra (’chi bdag gi bdud), the māra of the Lord of Death, (3) skandhamāra (phung po’i bdud), the māra of the skandhas, which is the body, and (4) kleśamāra (nyon mongs pa’i bdud), the māra of the afflictive emotions.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­173
g.­122

fully accomplished buddha

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

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 99 passages in the translation:

  • i.­11
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5-6
  • 3.­1-2
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­62-63
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­67
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97-99
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­112-113
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­140
  • 4.­145-146
  • 4.­149
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­282-284
  • 4.­388
  • 4.­423
  • 5.­2-3
  • 6.­13
  • 6.­15-16
  • 7.­174
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­218-219
  • 7.­221-222
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­292
  • 7.­322
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­66
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­79
  • 9.­112
  • 9.­114
  • 9.­133-134
  • 9.­144
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­166
  • 9.­177
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­203-204
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­243
  • 9.­257
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
  • 9.­286
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­354
  • 9.­356
  • 9.­362
  • 9.­369-370
  • 9.­372
  • 11.­99
  • 11.­196
  • 11.­233-236
  • 11.­241-242
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­256
  • 11.­262
  • 11.­273-275
  • 11.­277
  • 11.­281-282
  • 11.­296
  • 11.­309
  • 11.­311-312
g.­123

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 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­63
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­113
  • 9.­314
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­12
  • 11.­76
  • 11.­331
g.­124

Ganges

Wylie:
  • gang gA
Tibetan:
  • གང་གཱ།
Sanskrit:
  • gaṅgā 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 27 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­30
  • 2.­32
  • 4.­21
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­47
  • 4.­57
  • 4.­86
  • 4.­93
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­114
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­120
  • 4.­243
  • 4.­250
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­387
  • 5.­5
  • 6.­13
  • 7.­221
  • 7.­224
  • 8.­7-8
  • 8.­20
  • 9.­6
  • 11.­277
  • 11.­287
  • 11.­312
g.­125

garuḍa

Wylie:
  • nam mkha’ lding
Tibetan:
  • ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
Sanskrit:
  • garuḍa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­6
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­113
  • 10.­12
g.­127

generosity

Wylie:
  • sbyin pa
Tibetan:
  • སྦྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • dāna AS

The first of the six or ten perfections, often explained as the essential starting point and training for the practice of the others.

Located in 59 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­30
  • 2.­42
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­28
  • 4.­20-21
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­126
  • 4.­191
  • 4.­297
  • 4.­393
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­21
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1-4
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­18
  • 6.­20-21
  • 6.­33-34
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­116
  • 7.­155
  • 7.­168
  • 7.­255
  • 7.­374
  • 10.­15-16
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­26
  • 10.­44
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­107
  • 11.­119
  • 11.­182
  • 11.­189
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­218-224
  • 11.­226
  • 11.­228-229
  • g.­97
  • g.­116
  • g.­261
  • g.­313
g.­128

god

Wylie:
  • lha
  • lha’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ལྷ།
  • ལྷའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • deva AS
  • devaputra 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 148 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­8
  • 1.­14
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­33
  • 1.­35
  • 1.­211
  • 2.­6-7
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­57
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­63-66
  • 2.­69-70
  • 2.­72
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­9
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­22
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­63
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­127
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­145
  • 4.­159
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­287
  • 4.­291
  • 4.­306
  • 4.­312
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­381
  • 4.­397
  • 4.­423
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­194
  • 7.­197
  • 7.­202-203
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­227
  • 7.­237
  • 7.­251
  • 7.­253
  • 7.­261
  • 7.­268
  • 7.­276
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­311
  • 7.­316
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­374-375
  • 8.­55
  • 8.­61
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­49
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­111
  • 9.­113
  • 9.­118
  • 9.­120
  • 9.­122
  • 9.­125
  • 9.­150
  • 9.­156
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­203
  • 9.­223
  • 9.­236
  • 9.­238
  • 9.­240
  • 9.­272
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­279
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­307
  • 9.­309
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­314
  • 9.­356
  • 9.­358
  • 9.­362-363
  • 9.­365
  • 9.­367-368
  • 10.­12
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­50
  • 11.­76
  • 11.­99
  • 11.­103
  • 11.­124
  • 11.­177
  • 11.­180
  • 11.­199
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­273
  • 11.­285
  • 11.­306
  • 11.­309
  • 11.­314
  • 11.­325
  • 11.­331
  • n.­41
  • n.­101
  • g.­38
  • g.­43
  • g.­44
  • g.­45
  • g.­73
  • g.­99
  • g.­135
  • g.­139
  • g.­140
  • g.­149
  • g.­151
  • g.­204
  • g.­242
  • g.­243
  • g.­337
  • g.­370
  • g.­392
  • g.­395
  • g.­412
g.­130

grasping

Wylie:
  • len pa
Tibetan:
  • ལེན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • upādāna AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term, although commonly translated as “appropriation,” also means “grasping” or “clinging,” but it has a particular meaning as the ninth of the twelve links of dependent origination, situated between craving (tṛṣṇā, sred pa) and becoming or existence (bhava, srid pa). In some texts, four types of appropriation (upādāna) are listed: that of desire (rāga), view (dṛṣṭi), rules and observances as paramount (śīla­vrata­parāmarśa), and belief in a self (ātmavāda).

Located in 30 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­141
  • 1.­145-146
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 1.­173
  • 1.­178
  • 1.­180-181
  • 3.­18
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­52
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­351
  • 4.­391
  • 5.­13
  • 7.­288
  • 7.­335
  • 7.­350
  • 11.­5-6
  • 11.­10
  • 11.­68
  • 11.­91
  • 11.­126
  • 11.­183
  • 11.­195
  • g.­100
  • g.­283
g.­131

great beings

Wylie:
  • sems dpa’ chen po
Tibetan:
  • སེམས་དཔའ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāsattva

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- (“great”) is close in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna.” 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 33 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­2
  • 3.­16
  • 4.­68
  • 4.­254
  • 5.­7-8
  • 5.­21
  • 5.­24
  • 5.­27
  • 5.­30
  • 6.­33
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­219
  • 7.­375
  • 8.­61
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­174
  • 9.­176
  • 9.­180
  • 9.­194
  • 9.­198
  • 9.­303
  • 9.­348
  • 9.­351
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­11
  • 10.­14
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­29
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­217
  • 11.­231
  • 11.­241
g.­133

Great Kings

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

See “Four Great Kings.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­271
g.­151

Heaven of the Thirty-Three

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

The second heaven of the desire realm located above Mount Meru and reigned over by Śakra/Indra and thirty-two other gods.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­14
  • 2.­19
  • 4.­63
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­332
  • g.­337
g.­153

hero

Wylie:
  • dpa’ bo
Tibetan:
  • དཔའ་བོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vīrya AS

An epithet of a buddha, also used in a general sense.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­33
  • 1.­116
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­54
  • 3.­4-5
  • 3.­12
  • 4.­231
  • 7.­210
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­68
  • 9.­70
  • 10.­33-34
g.­155

householder

Wylie:
  • khyim bdag
Tibetan:
  • ཁྱིམ་བདག
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term is usually used for wealthy lay patrons of the Buddhist community. It also refers to a subdivision of the vaiśya (mercantile) class of traditional Indian society, comprising businessmen, merchants, landowners, and so on.

Located in 93 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­4-5
  • 1.­7-8
  • 1.­10-11
  • 1.­37-38
  • 1.­41-42
  • 1.­48-49
  • 1.­53-54
  • 1.­61-62
  • 1.­69-70
  • 1.­75-76
  • 1.­83
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­101
  • 1.­113
  • 1.­124-141
  • 1.­157-166
  • 1.­168-171
  • 1.­197-200
  • 1.­208
  • 1.­215
  • 2.­1
  • 4.­30
  • 7.­210
  • 7.­292
  • 7.­309
  • 7.­335
  • 9.­38
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­176-180
  • 9.­195
  • 9.­199
  • 9.­202
  • 9.­304
  • 9.­336
  • 9.­366
  • 11.­257
  • 11.­285
  • g.­20
  • g.­172
  • g.­181
  • g.­284
  • g.­296
  • g.­297
  • g.­309
  • g.­345
g.­156

ignorance

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

The basic misapprehension that propels one to take rebirth in saṃsāra.

Located in 40 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­53
  • 1.­56
  • 1.­91
  • 1.­129
  • 1.­134
  • 1.­141
  • 1.­153-154
  • 1.­156
  • 1.­168-171
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­27
  • 4.­173
  • 4.­206
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­355
  • 4.­394
  • 5.­13
  • 5.­17
  • 7.­343
  • 8.­37
  • 9.­15
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­106
  • 11.­125
  • 11.­164
  • 11.­183-184
  • 11.­195
  • n.­19
  • g.­117
  • g.­376
g.­157

illuminator

Wylie:
  • ’od mdzad pa
Tibetan:
  • འོད་མཛད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prabhākara AS

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­44
  • 2.­54
  • 2.­57
  • 2.­61
  • 9.­218
g.­160

Incessant Hell

Wylie:
  • mnar med
Tibetan:
  • མནར་མེད།
Sanskrit:
  • avīci AS

The lowest hell, the eighth of the eight hot hells.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­378
  • 9.­86
  • 9.­92
g.­161

Indra

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

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The lord of the Trāyastriṃśa heaven on the summit of Mount Sumeru. As one of the eight guardians of the directions, Indra guards the eastern quarter. In Buddhist sūtras, he is a disciple of the Buddha and protector of the Dharma and its practitioners. He is often referred to by the epithets Śatakratu, Śakra, and Kauśika.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­137
  • 4.­393
  • 9.­5
  • g.­151
g.­162

insight meditation

Wylie:
  • lhag mthong
Tibetan:
  • ལྷག་མཐོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • vipaśyana AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being śamatha, “calm abiding”.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­225
  • 4.­236
  • 4.­308
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­155
  • 11.­157-161
  • g.­49
g.­164

Jambu continent

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 13 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­206
  • 7.­272
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­281
  • 9.­313
  • 9.­316
  • 9.­318
  • 9.­321-322
  • 9.­332
  • 9.­362
  • 9.­364
  • 9.­366
g.­168

Jīvaka

Wylie:
  • gso byed
Tibetan:
  • གསོ་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • jīvaka AS

A highly skilled healer and personal physician of the Buddha Śākyamuni and King Bimbisāra, he figures into many stories of the Buddha and his disciples and is often, as here, referred to as the “king of physicians” or “king of medicine.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­336
  • 9.­350
g.­169

Kalyāṇaka

Wylie:
  • dge byed
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • kalyāṇaka AS

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­78
g.­170

karma

Wylie:
  • las
Tibetan:
  • ལས།
Sanskrit:
  • karma AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Meaning “action” in its most basic sense, karma is an important concept in Buddhist philosophy as the cumulative force of previous physical, verbal, and mental acts, which determines present experience and will determine future existences.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­163
  • 1.­188
  • 3.­15
  • 7.­334
  • 7.­362
  • 10.­8
  • g.­8
g.­172

Kāruṇika

Wylie:
  • snying rje can
Tibetan:
  • སྙིང་རྗེ་ཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • kāruṇika AS

The name of the unnamed son of the householder Kṣema when he attains buddhahood in the future, as prophesied by the past buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­164
  • g.­1
  • g.­24
  • g.­399
g.­173

Kimbhīra

Wylie:
  • ci ’jigs
Tibetan:
  • ཅི་འཇིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • kimbhīra AS

A yakṣa of Rājagṛha who interacts with the Buddha in chapter 2 of the Bodhisatva­piṭaka.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­3
  • 2.­2-4
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­13
  • 2.­25
  • 2.­45-48
  • 2.­63
  • 2.­81
  • g.­287
g.­174

king of physicians

Wylie:
  • sman pa’i rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • སྨན་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • vaidyarāja AS

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­34
  • 9.­310
g.­175

king of the entire world

Wylie:
  • ’khor los sgyur ba’i rgyal po
Tibetan:
  • འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • cakravarttirājya AS
  • cakravarttin 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 19 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­16
  • 4.­137
  • 5.­9
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­16
  • 7.­199
  • 7.­210
  • 7.­227
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­285
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20
  • 11.­199
  • 11.­311
  • 11.­325
  • g.­84
  • g.­309
  • g.­367
g.­176

kinnara

Wylie:
  • mi ’am ci
Tibetan:
  • མི་འམ་ཅི།
Sanskrit:
  • kinnara AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­63
  • 4.­31
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­113
  • 10.­12
  • 11.­76
g.­177

knower of the world

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten mkhyen pa
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་མཁྱེན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • lokavid AS

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­322
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
g.­178

knowledge

Wylie:
  • ye shes
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Located in 238 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 1.­73
  • 1.­182
  • 3.­11-13
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­22
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­9
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­14-15
  • 4.­44-55
  • 4.­58-59
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­105
  • 4.­124-125
  • 4.­131
  • 4.­138-139
  • 4.­142
  • 4.­144
  • 4.­146
  • 4.­148-149
  • 4.­158
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­174
  • 4.­184-185
  • 4.­189
  • 4.­211
  • 4.­226-227
  • 4.­229
  • 4.­231
  • 4.­242-243
  • 4.­251
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­267-269
  • 4.­271-272
  • 4.­274
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­282
  • 4.­287-288
  • 4.­291
  • 4.­305
  • 4.­315
  • 4.­317-318
  • 4.­334
  • 4.­352
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­366
  • 4.­380
  • 4.­382
  • 4.­384-386
  • 4.­388
  • 4.­390-397
  • 4.­416
  • 4.­418
  • 4.­421
  • 5.­21
  • 6.­8-9
  • 6.­18
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­118
  • 7.­134
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­159
  • 7.­203
  • 7.­210
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­217-218
  • 7.­220-223
  • 7.­240-242
  • 7.­308
  • 7.­344
  • 7.­374
  • 8.­6
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­140-141
  • 9.­170-171
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­198
  • 9.­228
  • 9.­233
  • 9.­255
  • 9.­270
  • 9.­320
  • 9.­335-336
  • 9.­350
  • 10.­6-24
  • 10.­26-27
  • 10.­34
  • 10.­37
  • 10.­43
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­13
  • 11.­29
  • 11.­33
  • 11.­35
  • 11.­48-49
  • 11.­55-56
  • 11.­68
  • 11.­70
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­74-76
  • 11.­79-80
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­87-93
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­104-120
  • 11.­125
  • 11.­128
  • 11.­130-131
  • 11.­133
  • 11.­137-139
  • 11.­142
  • 11.­147
  • 11.­157
  • 11.­176
  • 11.­180
  • 11.­191-193
  • 11.­195-197
  • 11.­209
  • 11.­211-212
  • 11.­216
  • 11.­222
  • 11.­224
  • 11.­277
  • 11.­287
  • 11.­296
  • 11.­330
  • n.­42
  • g.­103
  • g.­121
  • g.­315
  • g.­339
  • g.­380
g.­180

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 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­30
  • 9.­195
g.­181

Kṣema

Wylie:
  • bde ba
Tibetan:
  • བདེ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣema AS

A householder in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­93
  • 9.­96
  • n.­108
  • g.­20
  • g.­172
g.­182

kumbhāṇḍa

Wylie:
  • grul bum
Tibetan:
  • གྲུལ་བུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • kumbhāṇḍa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of dwarf beings subordinate to Virūḍhaka, one of the Four Great Kings, associated with the southern direction. The name uses a play on the word aṇḍa, which means “egg” but is also a euphemism for a testicle. Thus, they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (from kumbha, or “pot”).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­69
  • 9.­93
g.­183

Kuru

Wylie:
  • ku ru
Tibetan:
  • ཀུ་རུ།
Sanskrit:
  • kuru AS

A city in the distant past.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­316-317
  • 9.­319
  • g.­302
g.­185

learned one

Wylie:
  • mkhas pa
Tibetan:
  • མཁས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • paṇḍita AS

Someone learned in the five major and five minor sciences.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­9
  • 3.­30
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­198
  • 7.­269
  • 8.­18
  • 9.­8
  • 9.­31-38
  • 9.­41-43
  • 11.­31
g.­186

liberation

Wylie:
  • rnam par grol ba
  • rnam par thar pa
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་གྲོལ་བ།
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vimukti AS
  • vimokṣa AS

Liberation from cyclic existence. See “three liberations” and “eight liberations.”

Located in 82 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­69
  • 1.­73
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­136-139
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 1.­186
  • 1.­193
  • 2.­56
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­32
  • 4.­8
  • 4.­14-15
  • 4.­40
  • 4.­60
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­143
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­196
  • 4.­204-205
  • 4.­225
  • 4.­228
  • 4.­237-238
  • 4.­240
  • 4.­267
  • 4.­276
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­315
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­328-329
  • 4.­331-332
  • 4.­335-336
  • 4.­354
  • 4.­387
  • 4.­391
  • 4.­402
  • 4.­411-412
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­14
  • 6.­9
  • 7.­187
  • 7.­210
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­217
  • 7.­224
  • 7.­240-241
  • 7.­286
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­9-10
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­45
  • 11.­51
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­133
  • 11.­147
  • 11.­180
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­203
  • 11.­330
  • g.­119
  • g.­154
  • g.­354
g.­188

life of purity

Wylie:
  • tshangs par spyod pa
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པར་སྤྱོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmacārin AS

In Mahāyāna understood as pure conduct in the sense of compassion and so on; in other traditions understood as chastity.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5
  • 2.­29
  • 4.­267
  • 5.­2
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­325
  • 9.­145
  • 9.­151
  • 9.­177
  • 9.­251
  • 9.­256
  • 9.­278
  • 9.­281-283
  • 9.­371
  • 11.­150
  • 11.­278
g.­189

light of the world

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten snang mdzad
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་སྣང་མཛད།
Sanskrit:
  • lokapradyota AS

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­61
  • 4.­247
  • 9.­99-101
  • 9.­218
  • 9.­246
  • 9.­249
g.­190

lord

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 210 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2-5
  • 1.­7-11
  • 1.­26
  • 1.­36-37
  • 1.­43
  • 1.­50
  • 1.­71
  • 1.­77
  • 1.­92
  • 1.­113
  • 1.­115
  • 1.­124-126
  • 1.­135-136
  • 1.­159
  • 1.­172
  • 1.­198
  • 1.­201
  • 1.­208
  • 2.­1-3
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­45-46
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­59
  • 2.­63
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­75-76
  • 2.­78-80
  • 3.­1-3
  • 3.­10-11
  • 3.­31
  • 4.­2
  • 4.­18
  • 4.­48-49
  • 4.­56
  • 4.­66
  • 4.­83-84
  • 4.­87-88
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­109-111
  • 4.­115
  • 4.­117
  • 4.­141
  • 4.­163
  • 4.­194
  • 4.­212
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­251
  • 4.­259
  • 4.­273
  • 4.­322
  • 4.­359
  • 4.­392
  • 4.­399
  • 5.­6
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­15-16
  • 6.­19
  • 7.­4
  • 7.­30
  • 7.­45
  • 7.­57
  • 7.­86
  • 7.­103
  • 7.­122
  • 7.­161
  • 7.­176
  • 7.­196
  • 7.­222-223
  • 7.­228
  • 7.­257
  • 7.­268
  • 7.­292-293
  • 7.­306
  • 7.­323
  • 7.­349
  • 8.­3
  • 8.­12
  • 8.­25
  • 9.­9
  • 9.­22
  • 9.­44
  • 9.­66
  • 9.­72
  • 9.­79
  • 9.­87
  • 9.­127
  • 9.­133-135
  • 9.­141
  • 9.­144
  • 9.­146
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­175
  • 9.­181
  • 9.­196
  • 9.­203-205
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­243
  • 9.­257
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­263
  • 9.­270
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­285-286
  • 9.­293
  • 9.­299-300
  • 9.­303-304
  • 9.­308
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­332-333
  • 9.­340
  • 9.­354-355
  • 9.­359-361
  • 9.­368-370
  • 9.­372-373
  • 10.­30
  • 11.­9
  • 11.­19
  • 11.­27
  • 11.­37
  • 11.­99
  • 11.­205
  • 11.­233-236
  • 11.­240-242
  • 11.­252-257
  • 11.­262
  • 11.­265
  • 11.­269-276
  • 11.­278-279
  • 11.­281
  • 11.­285-287
  • 11.­295-297
  • 11.­301-305
  • 11.­307-309
  • 11.­316
  • 11.­326
  • 11.­328
  • 11.­331
  • g.­114
g.­192

magical abilities

Wylie:
  • rdzu ’phrul
Tibetan:
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛddhi AS

Also rendered here as “magical powers.”

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 2.­63
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­45
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­111-112
  • 4.­114
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­122
  • 7.­227
  • 7.­318
  • 9.­223
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­332
  • 10.­19-21
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­47
  • 11.­257
  • 11.­305
  • 11.­307
  • g.­104
  • g.­194
g.­193

magical powers

Wylie:
  • rdzu ’phrul
Tibetan:
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ།
Sanskrit:
  • ṛddhi AS

See “magical abilitites.”

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­76
  • 2.­79-80
  • 4.­104
  • 7.­199
  • g.­192
g.­200

Mahāvīrya

Wylie:
  • brtson ’grus chen po
Tibetan:
  • བརྩོན་འགྲུས་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahāvīrya AS

The name of the bodhisatva Śūradatta when he attains buddhahood in the future.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­372-374
g.­201

Maheśvara

Wylie:
  • dbang phyug chen po
Tibetan:
  • དབང་ཕྱུག་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • maheśvara AS

An epithet of Śiva.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­10
  • 9.­164
  • n.­146
g.­202

mahoraga

Wylie:
  • lto ’phye chen po
Tibetan:
  • ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahoraga AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­63
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­93
  • 10.­12
  • 11.­76
g.­203

Maitreya

Wylie:
  • byams pa
Tibetan:
  • བྱམས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • maitreya AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”

For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­20
  • 2.­27
  • 9.­30
  • 11.­312-313
g.­206

Mañjuśrī

Wylie:
  • ’jam pa’i dbyangs
Tibetan:
  • འཇམ་པའི་དབྱངས།
Sanskrit:
  • mañjuśrī AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñā­pāramitā­sūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­1
  • n.­6
g.­208

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 70 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­184
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­14
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­145
  • 4.­159
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­281
  • 4.­320
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­381
  • 4.­393
  • 4.­423
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­12
  • 7.­101
  • 7.­114
  • 7.­260
  • 7.­278
  • 7.­309
  • 7.­313
  • 7.­341
  • 7.­375
  • 8.­21-22
  • 8.­28
  • 8.­51-52
  • 8.­61
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­12
  • 9.­14-15
  • 9.­20-21
  • 9.­29
  • 9.­32
  • 9.­38-39
  • 9.­43
  • 9.­45
  • 9.­55
  • 9.­58
  • 9.­68
  • 9.­76
  • 9.­272
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­23-24
  • 10.­26
  • 10.­35
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­119
  • 11.­134
  • 11.­176
  • 11.­182
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­203
  • n.­97
  • n.­101
  • g.­89
  • g.­114
  • g.­294
g.­209

mārakāyika

Wylie:
  • bdud kyi ris
Tibetan:
  • བདུད་ཀྱི་རིས།
Sanskrit:
  • mārakāyika AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The deities ruled over by Māra. The term can also refer to the devas in his paradise, which is sometimes identified with Paranirmitavaśavartin, the highest paradise in the realm of desire. This is distinct from the four personifications of obstacles to awakening, also known as the four māras (devaputramāra, mṛtyumāra, skandhamāra, and kleśamāra).

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­116
  • 9.­272
g.­210

materialist

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten rgyang phan
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་རྒྱང་ཕན།
Sanskrit:
  • lokāyata AS

Followers of the materialist philosophy expounded by Cārvāka.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­187
  • 9.­42
  • 9.­71
  • 11.­106
  • 11.­258-259
g.­212

Māyā

Wylie:
  • sgyu ’phrul
Tibetan:
  • སྒྱུ་འཕྲུལ།
Sanskrit:
  • māyā AS

The mother of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­164
g.­213

meditation

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན།
Sanskrit:
  • dhyāna AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

Located in 55 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­12
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­28
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­81
  • 4.­191
  • 4.­208
  • 4.­217
  • 4.­239
  • 4.­383
  • 5.­21
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1
  • 7.­117
  • 7.­129
  • 7.­168
  • 7.­255
  • 7.­335
  • 7.­344
  • 7.­374
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­5-6
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­15
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­22-23
  • 10.­25-29
  • 10.­31
  • 10.­48
  • 10.­51-52
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­114
  • 11.­119
  • 11.­156
  • 11.­179
  • 11.­182-183
  • 11.­189
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­228
  • g.­49
  • g.­97
  • g.­261
  • g.­313
g.­214

meditative concentration

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན།
Sanskrit:
  • dhyāna AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­417
  • 7.­344
  • 9.­15
  • 10.­22
g.­215

meditative state

Wylie:
  • bsam gtan
Tibetan:
  • བསམ་གཏན།
Sanskrit:
  • dhyāna AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­124
  • 4.­227
  • 4.­240
  • 10.­1-5
  • 10.­27
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­156
  • 11.­179
  • g.­43
  • g.­44
  • g.­45
  • g.­135
  • g.­139
  • g.­140
  • g.­356
g.­216

Megha

Wylie:
  • sprin
Tibetan:
  • སྤྲིན།
Sanskrit:
  • megha AS

A young brahmin during the time of the Buddha Dīpaṅkara, he was past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni in which he received his prophecy of awakening.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­11
  • 11.­259-261
  • 11.­263-265
  • 11.­269-276
  • 11.­278-279
  • g.­337
g.­217

mendicant

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).

In this text:

Also rendered here as “monk.”

Located in 73 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­181
  • 1.­208-209
  • 1.­211
  • 2.­4-5
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­75
  • 4.­83
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­108-109
  • 4.­111
  • 4.­395
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­294
  • 7.­322
  • 8.­26
  • 9.­21
  • 9.­32-39
  • 9.­41-43
  • 9.­56
  • 9.­78-79
  • 9.­81
  • 9.­84
  • 9.­135
  • 9.­144-147
  • 9.­149-150
  • 9.­198-199
  • 9.­203
  • 9.­207
  • 9.­219
  • 9.­221
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­285
  • 9.­302
  • 9.­304
  • 9.­356-357
  • 9.­360
  • 9.­365
  • 9.­367
  • 9.­372
  • 11.­207
  • 11.­275
  • 11.­302
  • 11.­306
  • 11.­331
  • n.­23
  • g.­14
  • g.­169
  • g.­229
  • g.­239
  • g.­330
  • g.­334
  • g.­414
g.­218

mental conditioning

Wylie:
  • ’du byed
Tibetan:
  • འདུ་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃskāra AS

The reactive patterns of the mind.

Located in 32 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­138
  • 1.­141
  • 1.­152-153
  • 1.­156
  • 1.­164
  • 1.­166
  • 1.­198-200
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­26-27
  • 4.­16
  • 4.­49
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­350
  • 4.­353
  • 7.­288
  • 7.­339
  • 7.­344
  • 9.­344
  • 11.­49
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­57
  • 11.­88
  • 11.­183-184
  • 11.­283
  • g.­100
g.­221

mind of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub sems
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས།
Sanskrit:
  • bodhicitta AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In the general Mahāyāna teachings the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) is the intention to attain the complete awakening of a perfect buddha for the sake of all beings. On the level of absolute truth, the mind of awakening is the realization of the awakened state itself.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­4
  • 3.­10
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­14
  • 5.­8
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­106
  • 7.­154-159
  • 7.­205
  • 7.­211
  • 9.­154
  • 9.­167
  • 9.­172
  • 10.­18
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­110
  • 11.­129
  • 11.­199-200
  • 11.­229
  • 11.­287
  • 11.­289
g.­222

mindfulness

Wylie:
  • dran pa
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • smṛti AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This is the faculty that enables the mind to maintain its attention on a referent object, counteracting the arising of forgetfulness, which is a great obstacle to meditative stability. The root smṛ may mean “to recollect” but also simply “to think of.” Broadly speaking, smṛti, commonly translated as “mindfulness,” means to bring something to mind, not necessarily something experienced in a distant past but also something that is experienced in the present, such as the position of one’s body or the breath.

Together with alertness (samprajāna, shes bzhin), it is one of the two indispensable factors for the development of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas).

In this text:

See also “four foundations of mindfulness.”

Located in 58 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­69
  • 1.­73
  • 1.­131
  • 4.­189
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­299
  • 4.­310-311
  • 4.­313-314
  • 5.­21
  • 7.­157
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­365-367
  • 10.­3-4
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­16
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­33-34
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­110
  • 11.­121-122
  • 11.­124-125
  • 11.­128-134
  • 11.­136-137
  • 11.­145
  • 11.­152
  • 11.­167
  • 11.­170-171
  • 11.­175
  • 11.­178
  • 11.­201
  • 11.­209
  • g.­75
  • g.­91
  • g.­94
  • g.­98
  • g.­108
  • g.­248
  • g.­354
g.­229

monk

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).

In this text:

Also rendered here as “mendicant.”

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­8
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­52
  • 4.­30
  • 7.­214
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­177
  • 9.­185
  • n.­12
  • g.­85
  • g.­105
  • g.­217
g.­230

morality

Wylie:
  • tshul khrims
Tibetan:
  • ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།
Sanskrit:
  • śīla AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”

Located in 126 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • i.­12
  • 1.­183
  • 1.­185
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­42
  • 3.­12-13
  • 3.­16-17
  • 3.­28
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­14-15
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­80-83
  • 4.­85-86
  • 4.­101-102
  • 4.­104
  • 4.­106
  • 4.­191
  • 4.­237
  • 4.­312
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­355
  • 4.­384-385
  • 4.­393
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­21
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­4
  • 6.­7
  • 6.­9
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­3
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­8-16
  • 7.­19-20
  • 7.­101
  • 7.­168
  • 7.­174
  • 7.­179
  • 7.­188
  • 7.­204
  • 7.­210
  • 7.­212-213
  • 7.­217
  • 7.­250-256
  • 7.­258
  • 7.­262
  • 7.­264
  • 7.­274
  • 7.­276
  • 7.­278
  • 7.­282
  • 7.­285
  • 7.­332-333
  • 7.­335
  • 7.­340
  • 7.­372-376
  • 8.­24
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­8
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­91
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­177
  • 9.­185
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­15-16
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­102-103
  • 11.­119
  • 11.­130
  • 11.­147
  • 11.­163
  • 11.­182
  • 11.­189
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­228
  • 11.­322
  • g.­97
  • g.­261
  • g.­307
  • g.­313
g.­232

Mount Himavat

Wylie:
  • kha ba can
  • gangs ri
Tibetan:
  • ཁ་བ་ཅན།
  • གངས་རི།
Sanskrit:
  • himavat AS

Name of mountain; one of ten kings of mountains.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­76
  • 4.­68
  • 9.­350
  • 11.­258
  • g.­398
g.­235

Mount Meru

Wylie:
  • ri rab
  • lhun po
Tibetan:
  • རི་རབ།
  • ལྷུན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • meru 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 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­14
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­326
  • 10.­34
  • 10.­37
  • 10.­39
  • 11.­290
  • g.­151
  • g.­335
g.­237

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 25 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­57
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­69
  • 2.­72
  • 3.­9
  • 7.­202
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­237
  • 7.­261
  • 7.­311
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­113
  • 9.­156
  • 9.­223
  • 9.­240
  • 9.­314
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­12
  • 10.­38
  • 11.­76
  • g.­370
g.­239

Nandaka

Wylie:
  • dga’ byed
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • nandaka AS

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­78
g.­242

nectar

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

The nectar of the gods that confers immortality.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­97
  • 1.­107
  • 7.­275
  • 9.­128
  • 9.­241
g.­247

nirvāṇa

Wylie:
  • mya ngan las ’das pa
  • mya ngan ’das
Tibetan:
  • མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
  • མྱ་ངན་འདས།
Sanskrit:
  • nirvāṇa AS
  • nirvṛti 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 89 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­90
  • 1.­140
  • 1.­157
  • 1.­160
  • 1.­167-171
  • 3.­28
  • 3.­31-32
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­103
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­173
  • 4.­184
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­263
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­315
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­348
  • 4.­357
  • 4.­389
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­15
  • 5.­19
  • 6.­10
  • 6.­14
  • 6.­16
  • 6.­31
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­139
  • 7.­147
  • 7.­229
  • 7.­286-287
  • 7.­294
  • 7.­302
  • 7.­305
  • 7.­325
  • 7.­329-331
  • 7.­335
  • 7.­340
  • 8.­19
  • 8.­23
  • 8.­35
  • 8.­55
  • 8.­57-58
  • 9.­7-8
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­58
  • 9.­67-68
  • 9.­171
  • 9.­332
  • 9.­334
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­22
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­38
  • 11.­40
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­60
  • 11.­74
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­96
  • 11.­146
  • 11.­151-152
  • 11.­183
  • 11.­203
  • 11.­315
  • 11.­318-319
  • 11.­321
  • 11.­325
  • 11.­329
  • g.­154
g.­248

noble eightfold path

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i lam yan lag brgyad
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད།
Sanskrit:
  • āryāṣṭāṅga­mārga AS

Right view, right intention, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right concentration. See also 11.­145.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­314
  • g.­82
  • g.­250
  • g.­365
g.­249

noble one

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa
  • ’phags
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པ།
  • འཕགས།
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 27 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­15
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­283
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­345
  • 4.­365
  • 7.­16
  • 7.­22
  • 7.­253
  • 7.­340
  • 7.­374
  • 9.­292
  • 10.­3
  • 10.­8
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­12-13
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­64
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­132
  • 11.­150
  • 11.­182
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­210
g.­250

noble path

Wylie:
  • ’phags pa’i lam
Tibetan:
  • འཕགས་པའི་ལམ།
Sanskrit:
  • āryapatha AS
  • āryamārga AS

See “noble eightfold path.”

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • i.­8
  • 1.­202
  • 4.­136
  • 5.­7
  • 7.­70
  • 7.­335
  • 9.­8
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­130
  • 10.­9
  • 11.­41
  • 11.­143
  • 11.­151-152
g.­251

non-returner

Wylie:
  • phyir mi ’ong ba
Tibetan:
  • ཕྱིར་མི་འོང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • anāgamin AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The third of the four attainments of śrāvakas, this term refers to a person who will no longer take rebirth in the desire realm (kāmadhātu), but either be reborn in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa) or reach the state of an arhat in their current lifetime. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­137
  • 9.­170
  • 9.­304
  • 11.­99
g.­252

nonhuman

Wylie:
  • mi ma yin
Tibetan:
  • མི་མ་ཡིན།
Sanskrit:
  • amanuṣya AS

A spirit.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­63
  • 3.­9
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­113
  • 9.­314
  • 10.­12
  • 11.­76
  • 11.­295
  • n.­21
g.­253

nun

Wylie:
  • dge slong ma
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་སློང་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • bhikṣuṇī AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.

For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 4.­30
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­177
  • 9.­185
  • g.­105
g.­254

once-returner

Wylie:
  • lan cig phyir ’ong ba
Tibetan:
  • ལན་ཅིག་ཕྱིར་འོང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • sakṛdāgāmin AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One who has achieved the second of the four levels of attainment on the śrāvaka path and who will attain liberation after only one more birth. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­137
  • 9.­170
  • 9.­304
  • 11.­99
g.­257

Padmottara

Wylie:
  • pad ma’i bla ma
Tibetan:
  • པད་མའི་བླ་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • padmottara AS

A buddha in the distant past.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­354-355
  • 9.­359-361
  • 9.­368
  • g.­67
g.­258

patient acceptance

Wylie:
  • bzod pa
Tibetan:
  • བཟོད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • kṣānti AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

Located in 39 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­22
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­101
  • 4.­128
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­191
  • 5.­7-8
  • 5.­21
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1
  • 7.­116
  • 7.­374
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­20
  • 8.­54-55
  • 8.­57-59
  • 8.­61-62
  • 10.­15-16
  • 10.­22
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­112
  • 11.­119
  • 11.­182
  • 11.­189
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­228
  • 11.­283
  • g.­97
  • g.­261
  • g.­313
g.­260

perfect in wisdom and conduct

Wylie:
  • rig pa dang zhabs su ldan pa
Tibetan:
  • རིག་པ་དང་ཞབས་སུ་ལྡན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vidyācaraṇa­sampanna AS

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5
  • 5.­2
  • 6.­15-16
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­322
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­312
g.­261

perfection

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

The trainings of the bodhisatva path. The five perfections are generosity (dāna), morality (śīla), patient acceptance (kṣānti), vigor (vīrya), meditation (dhyāna). When listed as six, wisdom (prajñā) is included.

Located in 72 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 4.­21-22
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­67
  • 4.­81-83
  • 4.­85-87
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­112-114
  • 4.­161
  • 5.­4
  • 5.­23
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­33-34
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­116-117
  • 7.­155
  • 7.­301
  • 7.­344
  • 7.­374-376
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­62
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­301
  • 9.­305-306
  • 9.­333
  • 9.­339
  • 9.­349
  • 9.­352-353
  • 9.­362
  • 9.­374-376
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­6
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­22-23
  • 10.­28-29
  • 10.­48
  • 10.­51-52
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­117
  • 11.­153
  • 11.­157
  • 11.­182
  • 11.­189
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­197-198
  • 11.­228
  • 11.­232
  • 11.­327
  • g.­112
  • g.­127
g.­262

perfection of wisdom

Wylie:
  • shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa
Tibetan:
  • ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñā­pāramitā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. It is often personified as a female deity, worshiped as the “Mother of All Buddhas” (sarva­jina­mātā).

Located in 43 passages in the translation:

  • i.­10
  • 4.­65
  • 4.­67
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1
  • 7.­374
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­17-18
  • 11.­25-26
  • 11.­35-36
  • 11.­47-48
  • 11.­52-56
  • 11.­58
  • 11.­61
  • 11.­70
  • 11.­81
  • 11.­86-87
  • 11.­101
  • 11.­120
  • 11.­135
  • 11.­144
  • 11.­161
  • 11.­166
  • 11.­174
  • 11.­181-182
  • 11.­186
  • 11.­189
  • 11.­193-194
  • 11.­217
  • 11.­228
g.­263

phenomenon

Wylie:
  • chos
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the meanings of the Skt. term dharma. This applies to “phenomena” or “things” in general, and, more specifically, “mental phenomena” which are the object of the mental faculty (manas, yid).

Located in 190 passages in the translation:

  • i.­8
  • i.­11
  • 1.­61-62
  • 1.­130
  • 1.­140
  • 1.­153
  • 1.­157
  • 1.­160-161
  • 1.­164
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 1.­176-177
  • 1.­190-193
  • 1.­196-197
  • 1.­200
  • 1.­205
  • 1.­207
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­19-20
  • 3.­23
  • 3.­31-32
  • 4.­12
  • 4.­15-16
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­44
  • 4.­51
  • 4.­53
  • 4.­99
  • 4.­173
  • 4.­237
  • 4.­249
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­274-276
  • 4.­284-285
  • 4.­288
  • 4.­292-302
  • 4.­310
  • 4.­313
  • 4.­318
  • 4.­342
  • 4.­344-345
  • 4.­347
  • 4.­349-355
  • 4.­357
  • 4.­364
  • 4.­375
  • 4.­382
  • 4.­384
  • 4.­389-390
  • 4.­394-395
  • 4.­397
  • 4.­409
  • 4.­418
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­27
  • 5.­29
  • 7.­3
  • 7.­16
  • 7.­185-186
  • 7.­218
  • 7.­256
  • 7.­287
  • 7.­344
  • 7.­351
  • 7.­366-372
  • 8.­57
  • 9.­82-83
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­333
  • 9.­339
  • 9.­342-343
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­16
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­22-26
  • 10.­33
  • 10.­49
  • 11.­3-8
  • 11.­10-13
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­26
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­44-48
  • 11.­51-53
  • 11.­55-56
  • 11.­59-61
  • 11.­64
  • 11.­71-75
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­92
  • 11.­101
  • 11.­121
  • 11.­126
  • 11.­130
  • 11.­132-134
  • 11.­137
  • 11.­142-143
  • 11.­153
  • 11.­157-158
  • 11.­164
  • 11.­168
  • 11.­183
  • 11.­185
  • 11.­187
  • 11.­193
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­203
  • 11.­224
  • 11.­282-283
  • n.­134
  • g.­16
  • g.­62
  • g.­108
  • g.­112
  • g.­262
  • g.­283
g.­264

piśāca

Wylie:
  • sha za
Tibetan:
  • ཤ་ཟ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that, like several other classes of nonhuman beings, take spontaneous birth. Ranking below rākṣasas, they are less powerful and more akin to pretas. They are said to dwell in impure and perilous places, where they feed on impure things, including flesh. This could account for the name piśāca, which possibly derives from √piś, to carve or chop meat, as reflected also in the Tibetan sha za, “meat eater.” They are often described as having an unpleasant appearance, and at times they appear with animal bodies. Some possess the ability to enter the dead bodies of humans, thereby becoming so-called vetāla, to touch whom is fatal.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­93
g.­265

powers

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

See “five powers.”

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­15
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­280
  • 5.­21
  • 6.­15-16
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­157
  • 7.­159
  • 7.­223
  • 8.­55
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­170
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­332
  • 9.­338
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­39
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­34
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­168
  • 11.­257
  • g.­339
g.­267

pratyekabuddha

Wylie:
  • rang sangs rgyas
  • rang rgyal
Tibetan:
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས།
  • རང་རྒྱལ།
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 39 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­48
  • 4.­147
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­229
  • 4.­239
  • 4.­244
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­283
  • 4.­391
  • 4.­396-397
  • 4.­411
  • 6.­6
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­220
  • 7.­344
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­169-170
  • 9.­309
  • 9.­349
  • 9.­351
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­12
  • 10.­20-21
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­27
  • 11.­99
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­104
  • 11.­131
  • 11.­134
  • 11.­196
  • 11.­313
  • g.­268
  • g.­377
g.­268

Pratyekabuddhayāna

Wylie:
  • rang sangs rgyas kyi theg pa
Tibetan:
  • རང་སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • pratyeka­buddhayāna AS

The vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas.

Located in 13 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­192
  • 4.­244
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­395-396
  • 9.­332
  • 9.­363
  • 9.­367
  • 10.­15-16
  • 11.­72
  • n.­119
  • g.­154
g.­270

protector of the world

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten mgon po
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་མགོན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • lokanātha AS

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 21 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­212
  • 2.­9
  • 2.­49
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­66
  • 2.­71
  • 4.­215
  • 6.­6
  • 7.­321
  • 9.­63
  • 9.­110
  • 9.­129
  • 9.­136
  • 9.­141
  • 9.­183
  • 9.­218
  • 9.­262
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20
  • 11.­216
g.­271

Purandara

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

A name of Śakra. The Sanskrit means “destroyer of strongholds.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­331
g.­274

Rāhula

Wylie:
  • sgra gcan
Tibetan:
  • སྒྲ་གཅན།
Sanskrit:
  • rāhula AS

The son of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­164
g.­275

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 16 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2-3
  • 1.­4-5
  • 1.­7-8
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­46-47
  • 11.­295-296
  • g.­22
  • g.­32
  • g.­173
g.­276

rākṣasa

Wylie:
  • srin po
Tibetan:
  • སྲིན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • rākṣasa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­63
  • 7.­211
  • 7.­213
  • 9.­314
  • g.­277
g.­279

Ratnagarbha

Wylie:
  • rin po che’i snying po
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • ratnagarbha AS

A buddha from a realm to the east, in the distant past.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­362
  • 9.­367-368
g.­282

recollection

Wylie:
  • dran pa
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • smṛti AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This is the faculty that enables the mind to maintain its attention on a referent object, counteracting the arising of forgetfulness, which is a great obstacle to meditative stability. The root smṛ may mean “to recollect” but also simply “to think of.” Broadly speaking, smṛti, commonly translated as “mindfulness,” means to bring something to mind, not necessarily something experienced in a distant past but also something that is experienced in the present, such as the position of one’s body or the breath.

Together with alertness (samprajāna, shes bzhin), it is one of the two indispensable factors for the development of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas).

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­124
  • 4.­242-243
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­258
  • 7.­211
  • 9.­273
  • 10.­6
  • 10.­17
  • 10.­37
  • 11.­110
  • n.­42
  • g.­103
  • g.­315
g.­284

renunciant

Wylie:
  • rab tu byung ba
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་བྱུང་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • pravrajita AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­166
  • 2.­18
  • 3.­28
  • 7.­335
  • 9.­38
  • 9.­124
  • 9.­187
  • 9.­193-194
  • 9.­278
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­295
  • 9.­298-299
  • 11.­215
g.­286

sage

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

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 16 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­10
  • 2.­11
  • 4.­7
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­35
  • 4.­38
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­327
  • 4.­338
  • 4.­356
  • 7.­178
  • 7.­328
  • 9.­138
  • 9.­362
  • 11.­18
  • g.­18
g.­289

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 18 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­70
  • 5.­7
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­16
  • 7.­194
  • 7.­198
  • 7.­227
  • 9.­203
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­316
  • 9.­324
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20
  • n.­43
  • g.­151
  • g.­271
  • g.­288
g.­291

Śākyamuni

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

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 21 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­11
  • 9.­66
  • 9.­312
  • 11.­275
  • 11.­277
  • 11.­281-282
  • g.­50
  • g.­69
  • g.­168
  • g.­199
  • g.­212
  • g.­216
  • g.­240
  • g.­274
  • g.­302
  • g.­332
  • g.­337
  • g.­340
  • g.­403
g.­294

Saṃmūḍhasmṛti

Wylie:
  • dran pa rmongs byed
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་རྨོངས་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃmūḍhasmṛti AS

A māra who appears to the brothers Samvara and Samvarasthita.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­272
g.­295

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 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­389
  • 9.­165
  • 9.­334
  • g.­156
  • g.­187
g.­296

Samvara

Wylie:
  • sdom pa
Tibetan:
  • སྡོམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • samvara AS

Lit. Disciplined; a son of the householder Suvicaya. See also “Samvarasthita.” These are the same words that were translated as “vows” (Samvara) and “keeping to vows” (Samvarasthita) above.

Located in 18 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 9.­202
  • 9.­206
  • 9.­210
  • 9.­212
  • 9.­226
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­243
  • 9.­263
  • 9.­267
  • 9.­271-272
  • 9.­283-284
  • 9.­301
  • g.­294
  • g.­297
  • g.­391
g.­297

Samvarasthita

Wylie:
  • sdom pa la gnas pa
Tibetan:
  • སྡོམ་པ་ལ་གནས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • samvarasthita AS

Lit. Firm Discipline; a son of the householder Suvicaya. See also “Samvara.” These are the same words that were translated as “vows” (Samvara) and “keeping to vows” (Samvarasthita) above.

Located in 17 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 9.­202
  • 9.­204
  • 9.­206
  • 9.­210
  • 9.­212
  • 9.­226
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­267
  • 9.­271-272
  • 9.­283
  • 9.­285
  • 9.­301
  • g.­294
  • g.­296
  • g.­327
g.­298

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 20 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­48
  • 3.­21
  • 4.­42
  • 4.­297
  • 4.­312
  • 7.­254
  • 7.­328
  • 7.­335
  • 8.­5-6
  • 9.­108
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­167
  • 9.­356
  • 9.­373
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­18
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­302
  • g.­255
g.­299

Śāriputra

Wylie:
  • shA ri’i bu
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • śāriputra AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the wise (often paired with Maudgalyā­yana, who was praised as foremost in the capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form, Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

Located in 524 passages in the translation:

  • i.­4
  • i.­6
  • i.­8
  • 3.­1-3
  • 3.­10-11
  • 3.­14-15
  • 3.­21
  • 3.­24-25
  • 3.­33
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­17
  • 4.­29-32
  • 4.­44-49
  • 4.­51
  • 4.­55
  • 4.­62-68
  • 4.­80-82
  • 4.­84-99
  • 4.­106-116
  • 4.­123-134
  • 4.­136
  • 4.­138-140
  • 4.­145-146
  • 4.­148-149
  • 4.­159-160
  • 4.­162
  • 4.­171-173
  • 4.­175
  • 4.­187-189
  • 4.­193
  • 4.­202-203
  • 4.­206-207
  • 4.­211
  • 4.­222-223
  • 4.­226-227
  • 4.­229
  • 4.­241-243
  • 4.­245
  • 4.­255-256
  • 4.­258
  • 4.­266-269
  • 4.­279-282
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­286-287
  • 4.­290-291
  • 4.­302
  • 4.­304-305
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­320-321
  • 4.­339-340
  • 4.­342-356
  • 4.­358
  • 4.­376-398
  • 4.­423-424
  • 5.­1-3
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1-18
  • 6.­33
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­41-43
  • 7.­54-55
  • 7.­66-67
  • 7.­83-84
  • 7.­100-101
  • 7.­119-120
  • 7.­135-136
  • 7.­152-153
  • 7.­173-175
  • 7.­191-194
  • 7.­203-213
  • 7.­215-225
  • 7.­250-256
  • 7.­285
  • 7.­287-293
  • 7.­306
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­332-336
  • 7.­340
  • 7.­342-347
  • 7.­372-375
  • 8.­1-5
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­20-24
  • 8.­54-57
  • 8.­61
  • 9.­1-8
  • 9.­14-15
  • 9.­17
  • 9.­19-21
  • 9.­30-43
  • 9.­65
  • 9.­67-71
  • 9.­77-79
  • 9.­86
  • 9.­92-94
  • 9.­97
  • 9.­103
  • 9.­109
  • 9.­112
  • 9.­118
  • 9.­120
  • 9.­122
  • 9.­125
  • 9.­127
  • 9.­133
  • 9.­135
  • 9.­144
  • 9.­157
  • 9.­159
  • 9.­162
  • 9.­164-165
  • 9.­167-172
  • 9.­174-180
  • 9.­194-195
  • 9.­198-201
  • 9.­203-204
  • 9.­206
  • 9.­210
  • 9.­212
  • 9.­226
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­243
  • 9.­263
  • 9.­267
  • 9.­271-273
  • 9.­282-285
  • 9.­301-313
  • 9.­316
  • 9.­319
  • 9.­321
  • 9.­324
  • 9.­332-333
  • 9.­335-339
  • 9.­349-356
  • 9.­362
  • 9.­365
  • 9.­367-371
  • 9.­373-375
  • 10.­1-4
  • 10.­7-24
  • 10.­27-29
  • 11.­1-4
  • 11.­17-18
  • 11.­25-26
  • 11.­35-36
  • 11.­41
  • 11.­47-51
  • 11.­53-56
  • 11.­122
  • 11.­130-136
  • 11.­144
  • 11.­175
  • 11.­194
  • 11.­196
  • 11.­198
  • 11.­204
  • 11.­217
  • 11.­233-238
  • 11.­240-247
  • 11.­252-255
  • 11.­259-260
  • 11.­263
  • 11.­275-276
  • 11.­278-282
  • 11.­284
  • 11.­326
  • 11.­331
g.­302

Saumya

Wylie:
  • des pa
Tibetan:
  • དེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • saumya AS

A former life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, he fed his flesh to the people of the city of Kuru, who were suffering from a plague.

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­316-317
  • 9.­319
  • 9.­321-322
  • 9.­327
  • 9.­332
g.­304

self

Wylie:
  • bdag
Tibetan:
  • བདག
Sanskrit:
  • ātman AS

The idea of an autonomous individual.

Located in 109 passages in the translation:

  • i.­12
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­51
  • 1.­128
  • 1.­136-139
  • 1.­145
  • 1.­154-155
  • 1.­161
  • 1.­163
  • 1.­169
  • 1.­171
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­31-32
  • 4.­25
  • 4.­206
  • 4.­261-264
  • 4.­275
  • 4.­298
  • 4.­342
  • 4.­355
  • 4.­372
  • 4.­388
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­10
  • 5.­14
  • 5.­17
  • 5.­21
  • 5.­27
  • 6.­30
  • 7.­3
  • 7.­11
  • 7.­13-15
  • 7.­17-19
  • 7.­104
  • 7.­118
  • 7.­153
  • 7.­185
  • 7.­187
  • 7.­253
  • 7.­287-288
  • 7.­334-335
  • 7.­355-371
  • 7.­374
  • 8.­42
  • 8.­49
  • 9.­78
  • 9.­82
  • 9.­84-85
  • 9.­194
  • 9.­214
  • 9.­228
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­26
  • 10.­50
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­57
  • 11.­60
  • 11.­62
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­97
  • 11.­115
  • 11.­122-123
  • 11.­126
  • 11.­133-134
  • 11.­146
  • 11.­157
  • 11.­185
  • 11.­190
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­200
  • g.­100
g.­305

sense field

Wylie:
  • skye mched
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
Sanskrit:
  • āyatana AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

These can be listed as twelve or as six sense sources (sometimes also called sense fields, bases of cognition, or simply āyatanas).

In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of twelve sense sources, which can be divided into inner and outer sense sources, namely: (1–2) eye and form, (3–4) ear and sound, (5–6) nose and odor, (7–8) tongue and taste, (9–10) body and touch, (11–12) mind and mental phenomena.

In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned, and they are the inner sense sources (identical to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­143
  • 1.­149
  • 1.­188
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­355-356
  • 7.­371
  • 8.­57
  • 9.­334-335
  • 11.­56
  • 11.­62-64
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­90
  • 11.­122
  • 11.­157
  • 11.­283
g.­306

seven factors of awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi yan lag bdun
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཡན་ལག་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saptabodhyaṅga AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The set of seven factors or aspects that characteristically manifest on the path of seeing: (1) mindfulness (smṛti, dran pa), (2) discrimination between dharmas (dharmapravicaya, chos rab tu rnam ’byed/shes rab), (3) diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), (4) joy (prīti, dga’ ba), (5) mental and physical ease (praśrabdhi, shin sbyangs), (6) meditative absorption (samādhi, ting nge ’dzin), and (7) equanimity (upekṣā, btang snyoms).

In this text:

See also 11.­136.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­136
  • 11.­144
  • g.­90
  • g.­365
g.­310

seven precious substances

Wylie:
  • rin po che sna bdun
Tibetan:
  • རིན་པོ་ཆེ་སྣ་བདུན།
Sanskrit:
  • saptaratna AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The set of seven precious materials or substances includes a range of precious metals and gems, but their exact list varies. The set often consists of gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, emeralds, and white coral, but may also contain lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphire, chrysoberyl, diamonds, etc. The term is frequently used in the sūtras to exemplify preciousness, wealth, and beauty, and can describe treasures, offering materials, or the features of architectural structures such as stūpas, palaces, thrones, etc. The set is also used to describe the beauty and prosperity of buddha realms and the realms of the gods.

In other contexts, the term saptaratna can also refer to the seven precious possessions of a cakravartin or to a set of seven precious moral qualities.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • 2.­47
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­114
g.­312

Śīlendra

Wylie:
  • shI len dra bo d+hi
Tibetan:
  • ཤཱི་ལེན་དྲ་བོ་དྷི།
Sanskrit:
  • śīlendrabodhi

An Indian paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • c.­1
g.­313

six perfections

Wylie:
  • pha rol tu phyin pa drug
Tibetan:
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaṭpāramitā AS

The practice of the bodhisatva, which consists of generosity (dāna), morality (śīla), patient acceptance (kṣānti), vigor (vīrya), meditation (dhyāna), and wisdom (prajñā).

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­7
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1
  • 11.­326
  • g.­262
  • g.­400
g.­315

six superior abilities

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa drug
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ་དྲུག
Sanskrit:
  • ṣaṭabhijñānā AS

The same as the five superior abilities‍—divine sight, divine hearing, knowledge of the thoughts of others, clear experiential recollection of previous states of existence, and the realization of magical methods‍—with the addition of the ability to destroy all mental defilements (āsrava, zag pa).

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­164
g.­317

skandha

Wylie:
  • phung po
Tibetan:
  • ཕུང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • skandha AS

Psychophysical constituents that make up the individual, divided into five group. See “five skandhas.”

Located in 36 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­57
  • 1.­138
  • 1.­142-143
  • 1.­164
  • 1.­166-167
  • 1.­198-200
  • 3.­13
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­49
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­353
  • 4.­355-356
  • 7.­339
  • 7.­374
  • 9.­320
  • 9.­334-335
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­28
  • 11.­55-58
  • 11.­65
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­88
  • 11.­122
  • 11.­157
  • 11.­283
  • g.­100
  • g.­114
g.­319

Smṛtipratilabha

Wylie:
  • dran pa thob pa
Tibetan:
  • དྲན་པ་ཐོབ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • smṛti­pratilabha AS

A bodhisatva in the distant past.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­366
g.­320

spirit world governed by Yama

Wylie:
  • gshin rje’i ’jig rten
Tibetan:
  • གཤིན་རྗེའི་འཇིག་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • yamaloka AS
  • yāmaloka AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The land of the dead ruled over by the Lord of Death. In Buddhism it refers to the preta realm, where beings generally suffer from hunger and thirst, which in traditional Brahmanism is the fate of those departed without descendants to make ancestral offerings.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­7
  • 4.­127
  • 4.­256
  • 4.­397
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­15
  • 7.­144
  • 7.­335
  • 7.­340
  • 7.­344
  • 8.­3
  • 9.­179
  • 9.­304
  • 9.­307
  • 10.­12
g.­321

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 74 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • 2.­7
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­43
  • 2.­48
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­111-114
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­147
  • 4.­155
  • 4.­201
  • 4.­229
  • 4.­239
  • 4.­244
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­263
  • 4.­272
  • 4.­391
  • 4.­396-397
  • 4.­411
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­8
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­15-16
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­219
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­344
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­79
  • 9.­98-102
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­284
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­303
  • 9.­309
  • 9.­349
  • 9.­351
  • 9.­354
  • 9.­369
  • 9.­373
  • 10.­12
  • 10.­20-21
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­27
  • 11.­104
  • 11.­131
  • 11.­134
  • 11.­196
  • 11.­234-236
  • 11.­241-242
  • 11.­256
  • 11.­262
  • 11.­275
  • n.­106
  • g.­71
  • g.­85
  • g.­322
  • g.­377
g.­322

Śrāvakayāna

Wylie:
  • nyan thos kyi theg pa
Tibetan:
  • ཉན་ཐོས་ཀྱི་ཐེག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvakayāna AS

The vehicle of the śrāvakas.

Located in 14 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­192
  • 4.­244
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­395-396
  • 5.­28
  • 9.­332
  • 9.­363
  • 9.­367
  • 10.­15-16
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­292
  • g.­154
g.­323

Śrāvastī

Wylie:
  • mnyan yod
Tibetan:
  • མཉན་ཡོད།
Sanskrit:
  • śrāvastī AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city of the powerful kingdom of Kośala, ruled by King Prasenajit, who became a follower and patron of the Buddha. It was also the hometown of Anāthapiṇḍada, the wealthy patron who first invited the Buddha there, and then offered him a park known as Jetavana, Prince Jeta’s Grove, which became one of the first Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha is said to have spent about twenty-five rainy seasons with his disciples in Śrāvastī, thus it is named as the setting of numerous events and teachings. It is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh in northern India.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­2
g.­324

stage

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

Eight or ten levels or stages through which the bodhisatva traverses on the journey to complete awakening.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­48
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­14
  • 4.­68
  • 4.­77
g.­325

stream enterer

Wylie:
  • rgyun tu zhugs pa
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱུན་ཏུ་ཞུགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • srotaāpanna AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One who has achieved the first level of attainment on the path of the śrāvakas, and who has entered the “stream” of practice that leads to nirvāṇa. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­137
  • 9.­170
  • 9.­304
  • 11.­99
g.­326

stūpa

Wylie:
  • mchod rten
Tibetan:
  • མཆོད་རྟེན།
Sanskrit:
  • stūpa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The Tibetan translates both stūpa and caitya with the same word, mchod rten, meaning “basis” or “recipient” of “offerings” or “veneration.” Pali: cetiya.

A caitya, although often synonymous with stūpa, can also refer to any site, sanctuary or shrine that is made for veneration, and may or may not contain relics.

A stūpa, literally “heap” or “mound,” is a mounded or circular structure usually containing relics of the Buddha or the masters of the past. It is considered to be a sacred object representing the awakened mind of a buddha, but the symbolism of the stūpa is complex, and its design varies throughout the Buddhist world. Stūpas continue to be erected today as objects of veneration and merit making.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­249
  • 7.­329
  • 9.­271
  • 9.­274
g.­327

Sucarita

Wylie:
  • legs spyod
Tibetan:
  • ལེགས་སྤྱོད།
Sanskrit:
  • sucarita AS

A buddha in the past, formerly the bodhisatva Samvarasthita.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­300
g.­329

suchness

Wylie:
  • de bzhin nyid
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
Sanskrit:
  • tathatā AS

The quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms.

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­375
  • 4.­389
  • 9.­333-335
  • n.­115
g.­330

Sudarśana

Wylie:
  • shin tu mthong
Tibetan:
  • ཤིན་ཏུ་མཐོང་།
Sanskrit:
  • sudarśana AS

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­78
g.­332

Śuddhodana

Wylie:
  • zas gtsang ma
Tibetan:
  • ཟས་གཙང་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • śuddhodana AS

The father of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­164
g.­333

sugata

Wylie:
  • bde bar gshegs pa
  • bde gshegs
Tibetan:
  • བདེ་བར་གཤེགས་པ།
  • 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 61 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­117
  • 1.­159
  • 1.­208
  • 4.­18-19
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­26
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­59
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­66
  • 4.­83
  • 4.­87
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­109
  • 4.­141
  • 4.­144
  • 4.­152-155
  • 4.­157
  • 4.­194
  • 4.­196
  • 4.­201
  • 4.­213
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­250
  • 4.­254
  • 4.­260
  • 4.­265
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­416
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­6
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­30
  • 7.­122
  • 7.­176
  • 7.­257
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­302
  • 7.­322
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­136
  • 9.­144
  • 9.­146
  • 9.­175
  • 9.­196
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­225
  • 9.­258
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
  • 9.­347
g.­334

Sulabha

Wylie:
  • rnyed sla
Tibetan:
  • རྙེད་སླ།
Sanskrit:
  • sulabha AS

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­78
g.­335

Sumeru

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

See “Meru.”

Located in 7 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­68
  • 4.­115-116
  • 9.­221
  • 9.­310
  • 10.­20
  • g.­412
g.­337

Sunetra

Wylie:
  • mig mdzes
Tibetan:
  • མིག་མཛེས།
Sanskrit:
  • sunetra AS

A past life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, when he was chief of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, following his receiving the prophecy of awakening from the Buddha Dīpaṁkara as the bodhisatva Megha.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­312
g.­339

superior ability

Wylie:
  • mngon par shes pa
Tibetan:
  • མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • abhijñā AS

Superior knowledge or higher perception particular to a Buddha; it is of six types: divine sight (divyacakṣu), divine hearing (divyaśrotra), knowing the minds of others (paracittajñāna), knowing their particular dispositions (cetaḥ­paryāya­jñāna), the ability to remember past lives (pūrva­nivāsānu­smṛti­jñāna), and possessing miraculous powers (ṛddhividhi­jñānaṃ).

Located in 27 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­3
  • 5.­2
  • 9.­332
  • 10.­6-7
  • 10.­10-14
  • 10.­16-21
  • 10.­24-25
  • 10.­27
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­48
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­114
  • 11.­130
  • 11.­173
  • 11.­247
  • 11.­277
g.­341

Śūradatta

Wylie:
  • dpa’ bas byin
Tibetan:
  • དཔའ་བས་བྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • śūradatta AS

A bodhisatva in the distant past, in a realm to the east, during the appearance of the Buddha Atyuccagāmin.

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­370-373
  • g.­200
g.­342

Surendra

Wylie:
  • su ren+t+ra bo d+hi
  • su ren+d+ra bo d+hi
Tibetan:
  • སུ་རེནྟྲ་བོ་དྷི།
  • སུ་རེནྡྲ་བོ་དྷི།
Sanskrit:
  • surendrabodhi

Surendrabodhi came to Tibet during reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He is listed as the translator of forty-three texts and was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • c.­1
g.­345

Suvicaya

Wylie:
  • rab tu rnam par ’byed pa
Tibetan:
  • རབ་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • suvicaya AS

A householder in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Abhyudgata.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 9.­202
  • g.­296
  • g.­297
g.­347

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 361 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5-6
  • i.­9
  • i.­11
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­5-6
  • 1.­60
  • 1.­203
  • 2.­4
  • 2.­38
  • 2.­64-65
  • 3.­1-2
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­31
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­17
  • 4.­26
  • 4.­29-32
  • 4.­42-48
  • 4.­62-65
  • 4.­67-68
  • 4.­80-83
  • 4.­85-99
  • 4.­106-109
  • 4.­112-116
  • 4.­119
  • 4.­123-125
  • 4.­138-140
  • 4.­145-149
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­159-162
  • 4.­171-173
  • 4.­175
  • 4.­187-193
  • 4.­202-211
  • 4.­221
  • 4.­223-229
  • 4.­241-245
  • 4.­255-258
  • 4.­266-269
  • 4.­279-291
  • 4.­302-306
  • 4.­318-321
  • 4.­323
  • 4.­339-355
  • 4.­357-358
  • 4.­366
  • 4.­376-398
  • 4.­422-425
  • 5.­2-3
  • 5.­22-23
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­8
  • 6.­12-16
  • 7.­214-224
  • 7.­255
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­292-294
  • 7.­297-298
  • 7.­300
  • 7.­304
  • 7.­306
  • 7.­308
  • 7.­310
  • 7.­316
  • 7.­320
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­335
  • 8.­7-8
  • 8.­23
  • 8.­55
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­18
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­39
  • 9.­43
  • 9.­66
  • 9.­70
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­79
  • 9.­84
  • 9.­112
  • 9.­114
  • 9.­127
  • 9.­133-135
  • 9.­141
  • 9.­144
  • 9.­148
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­166
  • 9.­169-170
  • 9.­177
  • 9.­179
  • 9.­198
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­203-204
  • 9.­231
  • 9.­234
  • 9.­243
  • 9.­257
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­263
  • 9.­274
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284-286
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­303-305
  • 9.­307
  • 9.­309-310
  • 9.­312
  • 9.­335
  • 9.­349
  • 9.­351
  • 9.­354-356
  • 9.­359-362
  • 9.­367-370
  • 9.­372-374
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­27
  • 10.­44
  • 11.­2-3
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­41
  • 11.­46
  • 11.­99
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­122
  • 11.­202
  • 11.­233-236
  • 11.­240-243
  • 11.­252
  • 11.­254-257
  • 11.­262-263
  • 11.­266
  • 11.­269
  • 11.­271-279
  • 11.­281-282
  • 11.­291-292
  • 11.­294
  • 11.­296
  • 11.­309
  • 11.­311-313
  • 11.­315
  • 11.­318
  • 11.­327
  • n.­52
  • n.­115
  • g.­255
  • g.­349
  • g.­380
g.­348

tathāgata power

Wylie:
  • de bzhin gshegs pa’i stobs
Tibetan:
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པའི་སྟོབས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

See “ten powers.”

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­1
  • 4.­124-125
  • 4.­145-146
  • 4.­159
  • 4.­171
  • 4.­187
  • 4.­202
  • 4.­222
  • 4.­241
  • 4.­255
  • 4.­266-267
  • 4.­279
g.­350

teacher

Wylie:
  • ston pa
Tibetan:
  • སྟོན་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • śāstṛ AS

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 96 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­88
  • 1.­109
  • 1.­211
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­49
  • 2.­60
  • 2.­72
  • 4.­18
  • 4.­100
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­141-143
  • 4.­194
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­246
  • 4.­253
  • 4.­276
  • 4.­285
  • 4.­399
  • 4.­406
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­14
  • 5.­22-23
  • 6.­15
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­27
  • 7.­29-30
  • 7.­41
  • 7.­44
  • 7.­54-56
  • 7.­63
  • 7.­65-68
  • 7.­72
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­83-85
  • 7.­97
  • 7.­100-102
  • 7.­119-122
  • 7.­133
  • 7.­135-137
  • 7.­150
  • 7.­152
  • 7.­158-160
  • 7.­173-176
  • 7.­191-192
  • 7.­211-214
  • 7.­250
  • 7.­257
  • 7.­290
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­329
  • 8.­21
  • 9.­39
  • 9.­47
  • 9.­59
  • 9.­77
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­282
  • 9.­284
  • 11.­103-104
  • 11.­107-109
  • 11.­112
  • 11.­180
  • 11.­224
  • 11.­260-261
  • 11.­317
g.­352

teaching

Wylie:
  • chos
Tibetan:
  • ཆོས།
Sanskrit:
  • dharma AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyā­yukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).

Located in 179 passages in the translation:

  • i.­1
  • i.­3
  • i.­6
  • i.­9
  • i.­11
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­187
  • 1.­196
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­37-38
  • 2.­40
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­60
  • 2.­67
  • 2.­74
  • 2.­76
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­31
  • 3.­33
  • 4.­30
  • 4.­199-201
  • 4.­204
  • 4.­231
  • 4.­275
  • 4.­382
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­395
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­3
  • 5.­22-23
  • 6.­8
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­23
  • 7.­26-27
  • 7.­41
  • 7.­44
  • 7.­54-55
  • 7.­66-67
  • 7.­72
  • 7.­74
  • 7.­83
  • 7.­85
  • 7.­94
  • 7.­100
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­127
  • 7.­130
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­140
  • 7.­149
  • 7.­170
  • 7.­174
  • 7.­177-178
  • 7.­181
  • 7.­183
  • 7.­192
  • 7.­213-214
  • 7.­225
  • 7.­254
  • 7.­263
  • 7.­265
  • 7.­268
  • 7.­274
  • 7.­276
  • 7.­303
  • 7.­305
  • 7.­307
  • 7.­310
  • 7.­312
  • 7.­318
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­330-331
  • 9.­2-4
  • 9.­6
  • 9.­10-11
  • 9.­14-17
  • 9.­23
  • 9.­26
  • 9.­37
  • 9.­60
  • 9.­62
  • 9.­64-65
  • 9.­68
  • 9.­92
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­244
  • 9.­298
  • 9.­300
  • 9.­304
  • 9.­352-353
  • 9.­356-358
  • 9.­361-363
  • 9.­365
  • 9.­367
  • 9.­374-375
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­20-21
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­8
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­25-26
  • 11.­31-32
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­41-42
  • 11.­47
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­65-66
  • 11.­75
  • 11.­77
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­85
  • 11.­98-99
  • 11.­102-103
  • 11.­107
  • 11.­112-113
  • 11.­118
  • 11.­130
  • 11.­134
  • 11.­138
  • 11.­168
  • 11.­176
  • 11.­179
  • 11.­197-198
  • 11.­200
  • 11.­204
  • 11.­209
  • 11.­215
  • 11.­226
  • 11.­240
  • 11.­266
  • 11.­280-281
  • 11.­283-285
  • 11.­326
  • 11.­332
  • n.­11
  • n.­43
  • g.­121
g.­356

ten powers

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

Ten things that a buddha knows: (1) what is possible and what is impossible, (2) karmic maturation, (3) various elements, (4) various inclinations, (5) levels of ability, (6) every path of travel, (7) the pure and afflicted sides of concentration, meditative states, and absorptions, (8) memory of former abodes, (9) death and rebirth, and (10) that the defilements have been eliminated. These are listed in more detail at F.10.b.

Located in 20 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­123
  • 2.­50
  • 3.­13
  • 4.­27
  • 4.­58
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­102-105
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­144
  • 4.­335
  • 4.­338
  • 6.­12
  • 9.­234
  • 10.­36
  • g.­348
  • g.­380
g.­361

ten unwholesome forms of conduct

Wylie:
  • mi dge ba bcu’i las kyi lam
Tibetan:
  • མི་དགེ་བ་བཅུའི་ལས་ཀྱི་ལམ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśākuśala­karmapatha AS

Taking life, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, lying, slander, uttering harsh words, inane chatter, covetousness, maliciousness, and holding wrong views

Located in 9 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­75-76
  • 3.­15
  • 4.­301
  • 4.­332
  • 7.­101
  • g.­360
  • g.­362
  • g.­363
g.­363

ten wholesome forms of conduct

Wylie:
  • dge ba bcu’i las gyi lam
  • las lam bcu po
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བ་བཅུའི་ལས་གྱི་ལམ།
  • ལས་ལམ་བཅུ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśakuśa­lakarmapatha AS

These are the opposite of the ten unwholesome forms of conduct, i.e., refraining from engaging in the ten unwholesome form of conduct and (in some contexts) doing the opposite.

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­15
  • 4.­316
  • 5.­16
  • 5.­21
  • 7.­6
  • 9.­330-331
  • 11.­103
  • 11.­127
  • g.­364
g.­364

tenfold path of action

Wylie:
  • las lam bcu po
Tibetan:
  • ལས་ལམ་བཅུ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • daśakarmapatha AS

See “ten wholesome forms of conduct.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­328
g.­365

thirty-seven elements that are conducive to awakening

Wylie:
  • byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos sum cu rtsa bdun gyi chos rnams
Tibetan:
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་བདུན་གྱི་ཆོས་རྣམས།
Sanskrit:
  • saptatriṅśad­bodhi­pakṣika­dharma AS

Thirty-seven practices that lead the practitioner to the awakened state: the four foundations of mindfulness, the four kinds of perfect exertion, the four foundations of magical abilities, the five faculties, the five powers, the noble eightfold path, and the seven factors of awakening.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 11.­83
  • g.­104
  • g.­108
  • g.­113
g.­366

thirty-two characteristics

Wylie:
  • mtshan sum cu rtsa gnyis
Tibetan:
  • མཚན་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvātriṃśallakṣana AS

See “thirty-two characteristics of a great being.”

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­51
  • 5.­7
  • 9.­216
  • 9.­233
g.­367

thirty-two characteristics of a great being

Wylie:
  • skyes bu chen po’i mtshan sum cu rtsa gnyis
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེས་བུ་ཆེན་པོའི་མཚན་སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvātriṃśanmahāpuruṣa­lakṣana AS

The main identifying physical characteristics of both buddhas and kings of the entire world (cakravartins), to which are added the “eighty minor marks.”

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­8
  • 6.­8
  • 9.­101
  • 11.­245
  • g.­52
  • g.­84
  • g.­366
  • g.­368
g.­368

thirty-two supreme characteristics of excellent merit

Wylie:
  • bsod nams rab mchog sum cu gnyis mtshan
  • sum cu rtsa gnyis bsod nams dam mchog mtshan
Tibetan:
  • བསོད་ནམས་རབ་མཆོག་སུམ་ཅུ་གཉིས་མཚན།
  • སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་བསོད་ནམས་དམ་མཆོག་མཚན།
Sanskrit:
  • dvātriṅśāgravara­puṇya­lakṣana AS

See “thirty-two characteristics of a great being.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­58
  • 9.­224
g.­369

three doors of liberation

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa’i sgo gsum
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པའི་སྒོ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trivimokṣa­mukha AS

See “three liberations.”

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­173
  • g.­371
g.­371

three liberations

Wylie:
  • rnam par thar pa gsum
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་ཐར་པ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trivimokṣa AS

Emptiness, being without attributes, and being without aspiration. Also known as the “three doors of liberation.”

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­393
  • g.­186
  • g.­369
g.­373

three realms

Wylie:
  • khams gsum
  • khams gsum pa
Tibetan:
  • ཁམས་གསུམ།
  • ཁམས་གསུམ་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • traidhātu AS

The desire realm, form realm, and formless realm.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­19
  • 4.­118
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­168
  • 4.­284
  • 4.­345
  • 5.­18
  • 6.­9
  • 9.­173
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­166
  • 11.­192
  • 11.­195
  • g.­370
  • g.­378
g.­377

three vehicles

Wylie:
  • theg pa gsum
Tibetan:
  • ཐེག་པ་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • triyāna AS

The vehicles of the śrāvakas, pratyekabuddhas, and complete buddhas.

Located in 8 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­253
  • 4.­390
  • 4.­393
  • 9.­332
  • 9.­362-363
  • 9.­367-368
g.­378

three worlds

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gsum
  • ’jig rten gsum po
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གསུམ།
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གསུམ་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • triloka AS

See also “three realms.”

Located in 10 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­104
  • 1.­108
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­64
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­22
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­328
  • 9.­99
  • 11.­122
g.­379

three-thousandfold worlds

Wylie:
  • stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi khams
  • stong gsum
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
  • སྟོང་གསུམ།
Sanskrit:
  • trisāhasra­loka­dhātu 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 3 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­40
  • 4.­71
  • 9.­166
g.­380

threefold knowledge

Wylie:
  • rigs gsum
  • gsum rig pa
Tibetan:
  • རིགས་གསུམ།
  • གསུམ་རིག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • trividya AS
  • trividyā AS

The three kinds of knowledge obtained by the Buddha on the night of his enlightenment. These consist of the knowledge of the death and rebirth of sentient beings, the knowledge of past lives, and the knowledge of the cessation of defilements. These are the last three of the ten powers of the tathāgatas.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 7.­275
  • 9.­128
  • 11.­258-259
g.­381

threefold realm

Wylie:
  • ’jig rten gsum po dag
Tibetan:
  • འཇིག་རྟེན་གསུམ་པོ་དག
Sanskrit:
  • tribhuvana AS

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­347
g.­382

threefold thousand great thousand worlds

Wylie:
  • stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi khams
Tibetan:
  • སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
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 21 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­74
  • 4.­62
  • 4.­64
  • 4.­66
  • 4.­68
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­88
  • 4.­97
  • 4.­112
  • 4.­115-116
  • 4.­257
  • 7.­213
  • 7.­219
  • 9.­4
  • 9.­272
  • 9.­309-310
  • 9.­349
  • 9.­351
  • 10.­20
g.­383

totality of phenomena

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

Located in 33 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­9
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­16
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­45-46
  • 4.­48
  • 4.­50
  • 4.­61-62
  • 4.­98
  • 4.­257
  • 4.­285
  • 4.­288-289
  • 4.­303
  • 4.­319
  • 4.­348
  • 4.­356
  • 4.­384
  • 4.­394
  • 7.­183
  • 9.­333
  • 10.­13
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­25-26
  • 11.­72
  • 11.­74
  • 11.­89
  • 11.­98
  • 11.­133
g.­384

Tuṣita Heaven

Wylie:
  • dga’ ldan
Tibetan:
  • དགའ་ལྡན།
Sanskrit:
  • tuṣita AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, (Toh 199).

Located in 5 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­15
  • 4.­63
  • 4.­116
  • 4.­257
  • 9.­300
g.­386

twelve links of dependent origination

Wylie:
  • rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba yan lag bcu gnyis
Tibetan:
  • རྟེན་ཅིང་འབྲེལ་བར་འབྱུང་བ་ཡན་ལག་བཅུ་གཉིས།
Sanskrit:
  • dvāda­śāṅgapratītya­samutpāda

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The principle of dependent origination asserts that nothing exists independently of other factors, the reason for this being that things and events come into existence only by dependence on the aggregation of multiple causes and conditions. In general, the processes of cyclic existence, through which the external world and the sentient beings within it revolve in a continuous cycle of suffering, propelled by the propensities of past actions and their interaction with afflicted mental states, originate dependent on the sequential unfolding of twelve links: (1) fundamental ignorance, (2) formative predispositions, (3) consciousness, (4) name and form, (5) sense field, (6) sensory contact, (7) sensation, (8) craving, (9) grasping, (10) rebirth process, (11) actual birth, (12) aging and death. It is through deliberate reversal of these twelve links that one can succeed in bringing the whole cycle to an end.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • g.­31
  • g.­314
  • g.­385
g.­389

unique buddha qualities

Wylie:
  • sangs rgyas kyi chos ma ’dres pa rnams
Tibetan:
  • སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་མ་འདྲེས་པ་རྣམས།
Sanskrit:
  • āveṇikā­buddha­dharma AS

See “eighteen unique buddha qualities.”

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • i.­5
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­15
  • 4.­377
  • 4.­380-398
  • 9.­14
g.­390

ūrṇā curl

Wylie:
  • mdzod spu
Tibetan:
  • མཛོད་སྤུ།
Sanskrit:
  • ūrṇā AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the thirty-two marks of a great being. It consists of a soft, long, fine, coiled white hair between the eyebrows capable of emitting an intense bright light. Literally, the Sanskrit ūrṇā means “wool hair,” and kośa means “treasure.”

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­169
g.­391

Uttaptavīrya

Wylie:
  • brtson ’grus ’bar ba
Tibetan:
  • བརྩོན་འགྲུས་འབར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • uttaptavīrya AS

The name of the bodhisatva Samvara when he attains awakening.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­284-286
g.­393

vajra

Wylie:
  • rdo rje
Tibetan:
  • རྡོ་རྗེ།
Sanskrit:
  • vajra AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This term generally indicates indestructibility and stability. In the sūtras, vajra most often refers to the hardest possible physical substance, said to have divine origins. In some scriptures, it is also the name of the all-powerful weapon of Indra, which in turn is crafted from vajra material. In the tantras, the vajra is sometimes a scepter-like ritual implement, but the term can also take on other esoteric meanings.

Located in 11 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­12
  • 4.­96
  • 6.­9
  • 7.­113
  • 9.­333
  • 9.­341
  • 10.­23
  • 10.­39
  • 10.­43
  • 11.­122
  • 11.­182
g.­394

Varagandha

Wylie:
  • dri mchog
Tibetan:
  • དྲི་མཆོག
Sanskrit:
  • varagandha AS

A buddha in the distant past.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­282
g.­396

vice

Wylie:
  • kun nas nyon mongs
Tibetan:
  • ཀུན་ནས་ཉོན་མོངས།
Sanskrit:
  • saṃkleśa AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning defilement, impurity, and pollution, broadly referring to cognitive and emotional factors that disturb and obscure the mind. As the self-perpetuating process of affliction in the minds of beings, it is a synonym for saṃsāra. It is often paired with its opposite, vyavadāna, meaning “purification.”

Located in 70 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­66
  • 1.­83
  • 1.­85
  • 1.­163
  • 1.­166
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­24
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­41
  • 4.­197
  • 4.­214
  • 4.­224
  • 4.­232
  • 4.­268
  • 4.­288
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­12
  • 6.­15-16
  • 7.­219
  • 7.­246
  • 7.­252
  • 7.­322
  • 7.­357
  • 7.­374
  • 8.­53
  • 8.­57-58
  • 9.­43
  • 9.­71
  • 9.­79
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­167
  • 9.­171
  • 9.­173
  • 9.­201
  • 9.­354
  • 10.­5
  • 10.­8
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­16
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­22-23
  • 10.­25
  • 10.­27-28
  • 10.­35
  • 10.­40
  • 11.­2
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­95
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­124
  • 11.­133
  • 11.­147
  • 11.­178
  • 11.­191-192
  • 11.­195-196
  • 11.­201
  • 11.­203
  • 11.­236
  • 11.­326
g.­397

victorious one

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

An epithet of a buddha.

Located in 58 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­4
  • 1.­12
  • 1.­20
  • 1.­89
  • 1.­114
  • 1.­119
  • 2.­53
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­21
  • 4.­23
  • 4.­28
  • 4.­59
  • 4.­61
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­102-103
  • 4.­142
  • 4.­151
  • 4.­158
  • 4.­170
  • 4.­186
  • 4.­249
  • 4.­252
  • 4.­254
  • 4.­260
  • 4.­265
  • 4.­275
  • 4.­277
  • 4.­329
  • 4.­333-335
  • 4.­374
  • 4.­404
  • 4.­419
  • 4.­421
  • 7.­26
  • 7.­94
  • 7.­127
  • 7.­171
  • 7.­187
  • 7.­303-304
  • 7.­308
  • 7.­317
  • 7.­326
  • 7.­330
  • 8.­26
  • 8.­42
  • 9.­68
  • 9.­116
  • 9.­208
  • 9.­258
  • 9.­291
  • 9.­298
  • 10.­37
  • 11.­210-211
g.­398

Vigama

Wylie:
  • ’bral bar byed pa
Tibetan:
  • འབྲལ་བར་བྱེད་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • vigama AS

A great physician who lived on the mountain Himavat.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­350
g.­399

Vigatatamā

Wylie:
  • mun pa dang bral ba
Tibetan:
  • མུན་པ་དང་བྲལ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • vigatatamā AS

The mother of the future buddha Kāruṇika.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­164
g.­400

vigor

Wylie:
  • brtson ’grus
Tibetan:
  • བརྩོན་འགྲུས།
Sanskrit:
  • vīrya AS

One of the six perfections.

Located in 126 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­87
  • 1.­91
  • 3.­17
  • 4.­1
  • 4.­22
  • 4.­108
  • 4.­112-113
  • 4.­124
  • 4.­129
  • 4.­188-189
  • 4.­191
  • 4.­199
  • 4.­248
  • 4.­311
  • 4.­313
  • 4.­387
  • 4.­393
  • 4.­407
  • 5.­7
  • 5.­20-21
  • 5.­31
  • 6.­1
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­55
  • 7.­59
  • 7.­67
  • 7.­84
  • 7.­116
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­129
  • 7.­136
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­159
  • 7.­168
  • 7.­182
  • 7.­255
  • 7.­260
  • 7.­374
  • 9.­1-5
  • 9.­7-8
  • 9.­10
  • 9.­12-13
  • 9.­15
  • 9.­18-20
  • 9.­31
  • 9.­40
  • 9.­43
  • 9.­65-66
  • 9.­68
  • 9.­165-174
  • 9.­233
  • 9.­268
  • 9.­270
  • 9.­287
  • 9.­295
  • 9.­297-298
  • 9.­301
  • 9.­305-306
  • 9.­333
  • 9.­339
  • 9.­349
  • 9.­352-353
  • 9.­356
  • 9.­358
  • 9.­362
  • 9.­374-376
  • 10.­15-16
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­26
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­26
  • 11.­29
  • 11.­32
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­80
  • 11.­83
  • 11.­110
  • 11.­113
  • 11.­119
  • 11.­136
  • 11.­139
  • 11.­165
  • 11.­167
  • 11.­169
  • 11.­175
  • 11.­177
  • 11.­182
  • 11.­189
  • 11.­197
  • 11.­228
  • g.­91
  • g.­94
  • g.­97
  • g.­98
  • g.­104
  • g.­261
  • g.­313
g.­403

Vipaśyin

Wylie:
  • rnam par gzigs
Tibetan:
  • རྣམ་པར་གཟིགས།
Sanskrit:
  • vipaśyin AS

In early Buddhism the first of seven buddhas, with Śākyamuni as the seventh. The first three buddhas‍—Vipaśyin, Śikhin, and Viśvabhuk‍—appeared in a kalpa earlier than our Bhadra kalpa, and therefore Śākyamuni is more commonly referred to as the fourth buddha.

Located in 26 passages in the translation:

  • 9.­77
  • 9.­79
  • 9.­99-101
  • 9.­110
  • 9.­112
  • 9.­114
  • 9.­127
  • 9.­133-136
  • 9.­144
  • 9.­148
  • 9.­156
  • 9.­164
  • g.­14
  • g.­20
  • g.­169
  • g.­172
  • g.­181
  • g.­239
  • g.­330
  • g.­334
  • g.­414
g.­407

water that possesses eight qualities

Wylie:
  • yan lag brgyad dang ldan pa’i chu
Tibetan:
  • ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད་དང་ལྡན་པའི་ཆུ།
Sanskrit:
  • aṣṭāṅgopetodaka AS
  • aṣṭāṅgopetapānīya AS
  • aṣṭāṅgopetavāri AS

Here listed as water that is soothing, agreeable, mild, clear, not murky, pure, delicious, and not harmful even if enjoyed in excess.

Located in 4 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­92
  • 7.­206
  • 9.­114
  • g.­408
g.­409

wholesome

Wylie:
  • dge ba
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • kuśala AS

Proper and conducive to good results.

Located in 64 passages in the translation:

  • 3.­16
  • 3.­33
  • 4.­14
  • 4.­24
  • 4.­135
  • 4.­137
  • 4.­146
  • 4.­161
  • 4.­188
  • 4.­198
  • 4.­252-253
  • 4.­317
  • 4.­325
  • 4.­335-337
  • 4.­354
  • 4.­386
  • 4.­393
  • 4.­406
  • 5.­14
  • 5.­22
  • 5.­27
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­22
  • 7.­101
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­123
  • 7.­125
  • 7.­127
  • 7.­192
  • 7.­203
  • 7.­212
  • 7.­335
  • 7.­374
  • 9.­167
  • 9.­172
  • 9.­174
  • 9.­176
  • 9.­180
  • 9.­194
  • 9.­261
  • 9.­331
  • 10.­12-13
  • 10.­15
  • 10.­28
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­55
  • 11.­63
  • 11.­74
  • 11.­103
  • 11.­108
  • 11.­128
  • 11.­162
  • 11.­165-166
  • 11.­177
  • 11.­179
  • 11.­183
  • 11.­195
  • 11.­197
g.­410

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 29 passages in the translation:

  • i.­3
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­8
  • 2.­2-3
  • 2.­5-6
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­19
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­45-46
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­59
  • 2.­63
  • 2.­81
  • 7.­206
  • 7.­210-211
  • 7.­213
  • 8.­3
  • 9.­93
  • 9.­113
  • 9.­314
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­12
  • 11.­76
  • g.­173
  • g.­287
g.­414

Yaśa

Wylie:
  • grags pa
Tibetan:
  • གྲགས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • yaśa AS

One of six wicked mendicants in the distant past, during the time of the Buddha Vipaśyin.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 9.­78
g.­415

yojana

Wylie:
  • dpag tshad
Tibetan:
  • དཔག་ཚད།
Sanskrit:
  • yojana AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A measure of distance sometimes translated as “league,” but with varying definitions. The Sanskrit term denotes the distance yoked oxen can travel in a day or before needing to be unyoked. From different canonical sources the distance represented varies between four and ten miles.

Located in 15 passages in the translation:

  • 4.­76
  • 4.­115-116
  • 7.­218
  • 7.­335-336
  • 9.­92
  • 9.­164
  • 9.­257
  • 9.­350
  • 10.­20
  • 11.­102
  • 11.­238
  • 11.­305
  • g.­179
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    84000. The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva (Bodhisatva­piṭaka, byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod, Toh 56). Translated by Norwegian Institute of Palaeography and Historical Philology (PHI). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024. https://84000.co/translation/toh56/UT22084-040-007-chapter-9.Copy
    84000. The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva (Bodhisatva­piṭaka, byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod, Toh 56). Translated by Norwegian Institute of Palaeography and Historical Philology (PHI), online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024, 84000.co/translation/toh56/UT22084-040-007-chapter-9.Copy
    84000. (2024) The Collected Teachings on the Bodhisatva (Bodhisatva­piṭaka, byang chub sems dpa’i sde snod, Toh 56). (Norwegian Institute of Palaeography and Historical Philology (PHI), Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh56/UT22084-040-007-chapter-9.Copy

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