The Sūtra of Mahāśrī

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006).

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”).

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

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

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).

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings‍—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula‍—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant dpal chen mo ma.

Jinamitra was invited to Tibet during the reign of King Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 742–98 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with the translation of nearly two hundred texts, continuing into the reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.

An unordained male practitioner who observes the five precepts not to kill, lie, steal, be intoxicated, or commit sexual misconduct.

An unordained female practitioner who observes the five precepts not to kill, lie, steal, be intoxicated, or commit sexual misconduct.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant padma spyan mnga’ ma.

Name of a goddess more prevalent in the brahmanical tradition, where she is a consort of Viṣṇu. She is the subject of The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006), where twelve of her epithets are listed.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant nor bdag ma.

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).

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.

A person’s particular preceptor within the monastic tradition. They must have at least ten years of standing in the saṅgha, and their role is to confer ordination, to tend to the student, and to provide all the necessary requisites, therefore guiding that person for the taking of full vows and the maintenance of conduct and practice. This office was decreed by the Buddha so that aspirants would not have to receive ordination from the Buddha in person, and the Buddha identified two types: those who grant entry into the renunciate order and those who grant full ordination. The Tibetan translation mkhan po has also come to mean “a learned scholar,” the equivalent of a paṇḍita, but that is not the intended meaning in Indic Buddhist literature.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant grags chen ma.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant ’od chen ma.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant rin chen ’od ldan ma (*ratnapradā).

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006).

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant padma’i phreng thogs ma.

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.

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006).

Sukhāvatī (Blissful) is the buddhafield to the west inhabited by the buddha Amitābha, who is also known as Amitāyus. It is classically described in The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī (Sukhāvatīvyūha).

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006).

One of the twelve names or epithets of Mahāśrī in The Sūtra of Mahāśrī and The Twelve Names of the Goddess Śrī (Toh 741/1006). The Twelve Names gives the Tibetan variant dkar sham ma.