Siṃha’s Questions
Toh 81
Degé Kangyur, vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 27.a–29.b
- Dānaśīla
- Munivarman
- Yeshé Dé
Imprint
Translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2022
Current version v 1.0.9 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
At the opening of this sūtra, King Ajātaśatru’s son Siṃha and his five hundred attendants approach the Buddha, who is on Vulture Peak. After paying homage and offering golden parasols, Siṃha asks the Buddha a series of questions about the conduct of bodhisattvas. The Buddha answers each of Siṃha’s questions with a series of verses describing the various karmic causes that result in the qualities and attributes of bodhisattvas. Afterward, when Siṃha and his attendants promise to train in this teaching, the Buddha smiles, causing the three-thousandfold world system to quake. When the bodhisattva Ajita asks the Buddha why he smiled, the Buddha explains that Siṃha and all of his companions will become buddhas and establish buddhafields similar to that of Amitābha.
Acknowledgements
This sūtra was translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group in Boulder, Colorado. Celso Wilkinson, Laura Goetz, and L. S. Summer translated the text from the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Thank you to William Giddings for serving as consultant for inquiries related to the Chinese versions of the text. Also, thank you to Tsultrim Delek for answering some of our questions regarding the Tibetan.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Introduction
Siṃha’s Questions is listed as the thirty-seventh chapter of the Ratnakūṭa (Heap of Jewels) section of the Kangyur and was translated into Tibetan from an unknown Sanskrit source in the early ninth century by the Indian scholars Dānaśīla and Munivarman and the Tibetan translator and chief editor Yeshé Dé. It is listed in both ninth-century imperial catalogs, the Denkarma and Phangthangma.1
There are three versions of the text found in the Chinese Tripiṭaka. The translator of Taishō 344, the first and likely earliest version of the sūtra, is unknown.2 Taishō 343 was translated by Dharmarakṣa (zhu fa hu 竺法護) during the Jing Dynasty, around 200–300 ᴄᴇ. The text was again revised in China by the Indian translator Bodhiruci (pu ti liu zhi 菩提流志) sometime between 706 and 713, when he undertook a project to translate the Ratnakūṭa collection as a whole (Taishō 310) into Chinese. At that time, Siṃha’s Questions was included among fifteen sūtras that Bodhiruci chose to retranslate while accepting into his collection the Chinese of twenty-two other sūtras that had been translated previously.3
Any Sanskrit original was thought to be lost until recently, when a Sanskrit manuscript of Siṃha’s Questions, along with nineteen other sūtras, was found in the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā published a critical edition of this collection in the series Sanskrit Texts from the Autonomous Region (2010) along with an emended edition of the Sanskrit, parallel editions of the Tibetan and Chinese, an English translation based on the Sanskrit, and reference to other Tibetan and Chinese recensions in the notes. Unfortunately, due to the manuscript’s inaccessibility and the collection missing a final colophon, its origin and date are currently unknown.4
The sūtra is not particularly well known, but verses of it are quoted in a few Indian commentaries, including Śāntideva’s training anthology, the Śikṣāsamuccaya. It is also quoted in some Tibetan commentaries, usually in the context of using the Buddha’s words to verify that a certain virtuous practice is the concordant cause for developing a particular positive result or quality.5
Siṃha’s Questions presents the practices of bodhisattvas through a question-and-answer dialogue between the Buddha and Prince Siṃha, the son of King Ajātaśatru of Magadha. At the beginning of the sūtra, Siṃha and five hundred of his attendants approach the Buddha and supplicate him, each offering a golden parasol. Feeling confident, Siṃha asks the Buddha a series of questions about the conduct of bodhisattvas concerning how one attains the various sublime qualities and attributes possessed by bodhisattvas and by the Buddha himself. The Buddha then directly answers each question, listing the practice or virtuous conduct that acts as the concordant cause for acquiring each particular quality. The dialogue thereby becomes an elementary teaching on virtuous causes and results, encompassing a broad range of attainments and how they are accomplished through the proper virtuous activity.
The dialogue between Siṃha and the Buddha seems to keep a wide audience in mind, discussing matters that could potentially appeal to a layperson’s worldly interests, such as acquiring wealth, beauty, power, and loyal servants. However, the primary focus of Siṃha’s series of questions remains how to correctly follow the practices of bodhisattvas and attain the final goal of becoming a buddha. Even when his questions are concerned with how to attain wealth and power, they can be understood to be relevant to a bodhisattva’s career (to attract followers, etc.), and we can surmise that Siṃha’s interest in them is for the benefit of others.
At the conclusion of the sūtra, Siṃha and his attendants promise to follow this teaching. The Buddha is pleased and gives them an extraordinary prophecy: Siṃha and all five hundred attendants will become buddhas and will, three hundred eons after the emanation of Maitreya, in an eon called Great Illumination, establish buddhafields “like that of Amitābha.”
Prince Siṃha himself is an elusive figure in Buddhist literature. While his father, King Ajātaśatru, is quite famous in the sūtras, any mention of this particular Siṃha seems to be unique to this sūtra. King Ajātaśatru’s other son and eventual successor, Udayabhadra, is much better known in the histories and literature, but from our research there does not seem to be any connection between these two princes, nor mention of Siṃha, outside of this sūtra.6
Our translation is based primarily on the Tibetan found in the Degé Kangyur, with reference to all the recensions found in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace Kangyurs. Any significant differences in meaning between these versions have been documented in the notes. We also consulted fragments of the text found in the collection from Dunhuang, but these did not show any notable differences.7
The Sanskrit manuscript from the Potala was closely consulted, as were the Sanskrit verses quoted in the Śikṣāsamuccaya. The Sanskrit witnesses have been favored in some instances where they present a clearer reading than the Tibetan, particularly when these differences were verified by the Chinese translations. In this regard, Vinītā’s critical edition was an invaluable source, as we consulted it for the Sanskrit as well as for its comparative editions of the Tibetan and Chinese. In cases where we have referred to the Chinese, we have given preference to Bodhiruci’s translation, as it was a revision made with knowledge of the previous Chinese versions, and it also corresponds most closely with the Sanskrit manuscript. Any significant differences in meaning found in the Sanskrit and Chinese have been documented in the notes.
Text Body
Siṃha’s Questions
The Translation
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak, together with a great saṅgha of 1,250 monks and a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas.8
When this Dharma presentation was taught, eight hundred million beings set out for supreme awakening.117 When the Blessed One had spoken, Siṃha, along with his companions and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.118
This concludes the thirty-seventh chapter, “Siṃha’s Questions,” from the eleven hundred chapters of the Dharma presentation of The Noble Great Heap of Jewels.
Colophon
The Indian preceptors Dānaśīla and Munivarman and the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé translated, edited, and finalized this according to the new lexical register.
Abbreviations
D | Degé (sde dge) Kangyur |
---|---|
H | Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur |
K | Kangxi (Peking late 17th century) Kangyur |
N | Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur |
S | Stok Palace (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur |
Sanskrit | Sanskrit manuscript found in the Potala Palace (see introduction and bibliography) |
Taishō 310 | 8th century Chinese translation by Bodhiruci (菩提流志), Taishō 310 (37) |
Taishō 343 | 3rd century Chinese translation by Dharmarakṣa (竺法護) |
Taishō 344 | An early Chinese translation by unknown translators |
Y | Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur |
Śikṣ | Sanskrit text of Śikṣāsamuccaya by Śāntideva |
Notes
Bibliography
Tibetan Primary Source Texts
seng ges zhus pa (Siṃhaparipṛcchā). Toh 81, Degé Kangyur vol. 44 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 27.a–29.b.
seng ges zhus pa. 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. 44, pp. 72–81.
seng ges zhus pa. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 40 (dkon brtsegs, cha), folios 71.a–74.b.
IOL Tib J 201. British Library, London. Accessed through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.
IOL Tib J 202. British Library, London. Accessed through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.
Śāntideva. bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya). Toh 3940, Degé Tengyur vol. 213 (dbu ma, khi), folios 3.a–194.b.
Other Tibetan Sources
Könchok Lhündrup (dkon mchog lhun grub) and Sangyé Phuntsok (sangs rgyas phun tshogs). “dam pa’i chos kyi byung tshul bstan pa’i rgya mtshor ’jug pa’i gru chen dang de’i rtsom ’phro kha skong legs bshad nor bu’i bang mdzod.” In sa skya’i chos ’byung gces bsdus, 4:1–253. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2009. BDRC W1PD90704.
Künga Sangpo (kun dga’ bzang po). “spring yig slob ma la phan pa.” In ngor chen kun dga’ bzang po’i bka’ ’bum (The Complete Works of Ngor-chen Kun-dga’-bzang-po), 4:619–60 (folios 310.a–330.b). Dehradun: Sakya Center, 199?. BDRC W11577.
Sanskrit and Chinese Primary Source Texts
“Siṃhaparipṛcchāmahāyānasūtra.” In A Unique Collection of Twenty Sūtras in a Sanskrit Manuscript from the Potala. Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region 7/1, vol. I,2, pp. 453–520. A critical edition of the Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan with an English translation edited and translated by Bhikṣunī Vinītā. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2010.
Siṃhaparipṛcchāmahāyānasūtra (大寶積經, 阿闍世王子會, “Ratnakūṭa-sūtra, the Meeting with the Son of King Ajātaśatru”). Taishō 310. Accessed May 31, 2018.
Siṃhaparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra (佛説太子刷護經). Taishō 343. Accessed May 31, 2018.
Siṃhaparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra (佛説太子和休經). Taishō 344. Accessed May 31, 2018.
Śāntideva. Śikṣāsamuccaya. In Śikṣāsamuccaya of Śāntideva, edited by P. L. Vaidya. Buddhist Sanskrit Texts 11. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning, 1960. English translation in Goodman, Charles. The Training Anthology of Śāntideva: A Translation of the Śikṣā-samuccaya. New York: Oxford University Press, 2016.
Secondary Literature
Chakravarti, Uma. Social Dimensions of Early Buddhism. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers, 1996.
Conze, Edward. Buddhist Scriptures. Middlesex: Penguin Books, 1959.
Dungkar Losang Trinlé (dung dkar blo bzang phrin las). dung dkar bod rig pa’i tshig mdzod chen mo (Dungkar’s complete Tibetological dictionary). Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2002.
Karlgren, B. Grammata Serica Recensa. Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiques, 1957.
Negi, J. S., ed. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary (bod skad dang legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). 16 volumes. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993.
Pedersen, K. Priscilla. “Notes on the Ratnakūṭa Collection.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 3, no. 2 (1980): 60–66.
Rotman, Andy, trans. Divine Stories: Divyavadana, Part 2. Classics of Indian Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2017.
Silk, Jonathan A. “Review Article: Buddhist Sūtras in Sanskrit from the Potala.” Indo-Iranian Journal 56 (2013): 61–87.
Stimson, H. M. T’ang Poetic Vocabulary. New Haven: Far Eastern Publications, 1976.
Vinītā, Bhikṣunī, ed. and trans. A unique collection of twenty Sūtras in a Sanskrit manuscript from the Potala. Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous Region 7/1, vol. I,2, Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House; Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2010.
Woolner, A. C. Introduction to Prakrit. Calcutta: University of the Panjab, Lahore, 1917.
Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
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.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.
absorption
- ting nge ’dzin
- ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
- samādhi
Ajātaśatru
- ma skyes dgra
- མ་སྐྱེས་དགྲ།
- ajātaśatru
Ajita
- ma pham pa
- མ་ཕམ་པ།
- ajita
Amitābha
- ’od dpag med
- འོད་དཔག་མེད།
- amitābha
attitude of equality
- sems mnyam pa
- སེམས་མཉམ་པ།
- samacitta
blessed one
- bcom ldan ’das
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- bhagavat
buddhafield
- sangs rgyas zhing
- སངས་རྒྱས་ཞིང་།
- buddhakṣetra
characteristics of phenomena
- chos kyi mtshan nyid
- ཆོས་ཀྱི་མཚན་ཉིད།
- dharmalakṣaṇa
Dānaśīla
- dA na shI la
- དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།
- dānaśīla
Dīpaṅkara
- mar me mdzad pa
- མར་མེ་མཛད་པ།
- dīpaṅkara
divine hearing
- lha’i rna ba
- ལྷའི་རྣ་བ།
- divyaśrotra
divine sight
- lha’i mig
- ལྷའི་མིག
- divyacakṣus
eighty excellent signs
- dpe byad bzang po brgyad cu
- དཔེ་བྱད་བཟང་པོ་བརྒྱད་ཅུ།
- aśītyanuvyañjana
favorable states
- bzang ’gro
- བཟང་འགྲོ།
- sadgati
firm resolution
- mos pa
- མོས་པ།
- adhimokṣa
five essences
- snying po lnga
- སྙིང་པོ་ལྔ།
- pañcasāra
five superknowledges
- mngon par shes pa lnga
- མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ་ལྔ།
- pañcābhijñā
giving
- sbyin pa
- སྦྱིན་པ།
- dāna
Great Illumination
- snang ba che
- སྣང་བ་ཆེ།
- mahāprabhāsa
great sage
- thub pa chen po
- ཐུབ་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
- mahāmuni
guardians of the world
- ’jig rten mgon
- འཇིག་རྟེན་མགོན།
- lokanātha
guide
- ’dren pa
- འདྲེན་པ།
- nāyaka
inopportune states
- mi khom pa
- མི་ཁོམ་པ།
- akṣaṇa
instruction
- bslab pa
- བསླབ་པ།
- śikṣita
jealousy
- phrag dog
- ཕྲག་དོག
- īrṣyā
Jñānaketudhvaja
- ye shes tog gi rgyal mtshan
- ཡེ་ཤེས་ཏོག་གི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
- jñānaketudhvaja
kalaviṅka bird
- ka la ping ka
- ཀ་ལ་པིང་ཀ
- kalaviṅka
love
- byams pa
- བྱམས་པ།
- maitrī
Maitreya
- byams pa
- བྱམས་པ།
- maitreya
Māra
- bdud
- བདུད།
- māra
mindfulness
- dran pa
- དྲན་པ།
- smṛti
miraculous birth
- rdzus te skye ba
- རྫུས་ཏེ་སྐྱེ་བ།
- upapāduka
moral discipline
- tshul khrims
- ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།
- śīla
Munivarman
- mu ni bar ma
- མུ་ནི་བར་མ།
- munivarman
patience
- bzod pa
- བཟོད་པ།
- kṣānti
perseverance
- brtson ’grus
- བརྩོན་འགྲུས།
- vīrya
pure intention
- lhag bsam
- ལྷག་བསམ།
- adhyāśaya
Rājagṛha
- rgyal po’i khab
- རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
- rājagṛha
receptivity
- bzod pa
- བཟོད་པ།
- kṣānti
retention
- gzungs
- གཟུངས།
- dhāraṇī
saṅgha
- dge ’dun
- དགེ་འདུན།
- saṅgha
senseless talk
- kyal ba
- ཀྱལ་བ།
- pralāpa
Siṃha
- seng ge
- སེང་གེ
- siṃha
six superknowledges
- mngon shes drug
- མངོན་ཤེས་དྲུག
- ṣaḍabhijñā
slander
- phra ma
- ཕྲ་མ།
- paiśunya
stinginess
- ser sna
- སེར་སྣ།
- matsara
thirty-two marks
- sum cu rtsa gnyis mtshan
- སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གཉིས་མཚན།
- dvātriṃśallakṣaṇa
two extremes
- mtha’ gnyis
- མཐའ་གཉིས།
- antadvaya
- śāśvatocchedāntadvaya
voice of Brahmā
- tshangs pa’i dbyangs
- ཚངས་པའི་དབྱངས།
- brahmasvara
Vulture Peak
- bya rgod kyi phung po’i ri
- བྱ་རྒོད་ཀྱི་ཕུང་པོའི་རི།
- gṛdhrakūṭaparvata
wealthy noblemen
- tshong dpon bu
- ཚོང་དཔོན་བུ།
- śreṣṭiputra
Yeshé Dé
- ye shes sde
- ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
- —