The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines
Chapter 47
Toh 9
Degé Kangyur, vol. 26 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka), folios 1.b–382.a; vol. 27 (shes phyin, nyi khri, kha), folios 1.b–393.a; and vol. 28 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ga), folios 1.b–381.a
Imprint
Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2023
Current version v 1.1.14 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.26.1
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Summary
The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines is among the most important scriptures underlying both the “vast” and the “profound” approaches to Buddhist thought and practice. Known as the “middle-length” version, being the second longest of the three long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, it fills three volumes of the Kangyur. Like the two other long sūtras, it records the major teaching on the perfection of wisdom given by the Buddha Śākyamuni on Vulture Peak, detailing all aspects of the path to enlightenment while at the same time emphasizing how bodhisattvas must put them into practice without taking them—or any aspects of enlightenment itself—as having even the slightest true existence.
Acknowledgements
Translation by the Padmakara Translation Group. A complete draft by Gyurme Dorje was first edited by Charles Hastings, then revised and further edited by John Canti. The introduction was written by John Canti. We are grateful for the advice and help received from Gareth Sparham, Greg Seton, and Nathaniel Rich.
This translation is dedicated to the memory of our late colleague, long-time friend, and vajra brother Gyurme Dorje (1950–2020), who worked assiduously on this translation in his final years and into the very last months of his life. We would also like to express our gratitude to his wife, Xiaohong, for the extraordinary support she gave him on so many levels.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Kris Yao and Xiang-Jen Yao, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
Chapter 47
Thereupon, the venerable Subhūti asked the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord, what is the sameness of the bodhisattva great beings—the sameness in which bodhisattva great beings should train?”
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “the emptiness of internal phenomena constitutes the sameness of bodhisattva great beings. The emptiness of external phenomena constitutes the sameness of bodhisattva great beings. The emptiness of external and internal phenomena constitutes the sameness of bodhisattva great beings. Subhūti, [all the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities, constitute the sameness of bodhisattva great beings. Physical forms are empty of physical forms. Feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness are empty of consciousness [and so forth]. The sense fields, the sensory elements, and the links of dependent origination are empty of the links of dependent origination [and so forth]. The perfections, [F.38.a] all the aspects of emptiness, and the factors conducive to enlightenment are empty of the factors conducive to enlightenment [and so forth]. {Ki.V: 28} The truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, and the serial steps of meditative absorption are empty of the serial steps of meditative absorption [and so forth]. Emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways are empty of the dhāraṇī gateways [and so forth]. The powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas are empty of eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas [and so forth]. [The goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, are empty of all-aspect omniscience [and so forth]. All these, Subhūti, constitute the sameness of bodhisattva great beings. Abiding in it, bodhisattva great beings will attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.”
“Blessed Lord, when bodhisattva great beings undertake training in order that physical forms may be terminated, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order to become detached from physical forms, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that physical forms may cease, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that physical forms may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness may be terminated, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order to become detached from consciousness [and so forth], do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that consciousness [and so forth] may cease, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? [F.38.b] When they undertake training in order that consciousness [and so forth] may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that the sense fields, the sensory elements, and the links of dependent origination may be terminated, in order to become detached from them, in order that they may cease, and in order that they may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that all the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas may be terminated, in order to become detached from them, in order that they may cease, and in order that they may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, may be terminated, in order to become detached from them, in order that they may cease and in order that they may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience?”
“No, Subhūti!” replied the Blessed One. “The elder Subhūti has asked, ‘When they undertake training in order that physical forms may be terminated, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order to become detached from physical forms, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that physical forms may cease, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? [F.39.a] When they undertake training in order that physical forms may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness may be terminated, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order to become detached from consciousness [and so forth], do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that consciousness [and so forth] may cease, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that consciousness [and so forth] may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that the sense fields, the sensory elements, and the links of dependent origination may be terminated, in order to become detached from them, {Ki.V: 29} in order that they may cease, and in order that they may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that all the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas may be terminated, in order to become detached from them, in order that they may cease, and in order that they may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience? When they undertake training in order that [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, may be terminated, in order to become detached from them, in order that they may cease, and in order that they may not arise, do they train in all-aspect omniscience?’ That is not the case!
“Subhūti, do you think that the real nature of physical forms; [F.39.b] the real nature of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness; the real nature of the sense fields, the sensory elements, and the links of dependent origination; the real nature of the perfections; the real nature of all the aspects of emptiness; the real nature of the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment; the real nature of the truths of the noble ones; the real nature of the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, and the formless absorptions; the real nature of the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness; the real nature of the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways; the real nature of the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas; and the real nature of [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, can be terminated, abandoned, or arise or cease?”
“No, Blessed Lord! No, Sugata!”
“Subhūti,” continued the Blessed One, “those bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in the real nature, and they do train in all-aspect omniscience. Subhūti, those bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in six perfections, and they do train in all-aspect omniscience. They train in all the aspects of emptiness, they train in the four applications of mindfulness, [F.40.a] and they train in the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path. They train in the truths of the noble ones. They train in the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, and the formless absorptions. They train in the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. They train in the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways. They train in the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, {Ki.V: 30} and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. They train in [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience.
“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly will attain the perfection of all trainings. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly cannot succumb to Māra, or to the gods within the realm of Māra. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly will swiftly attain the level at which progress has become irreversible. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly will experience the perceptual range of their respective tathāgatas. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in the protective Dharma. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in great loving kindness and great compassion. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in order to refine the buddhafields. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in order to bring beings to maturity.
“Subhūti, [F.40.b] bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in order to turn the wheel of the Dharma in three times and twelve ways.476 Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in order to bring all beings to maturity. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in order to ensure that the lineage of the tathāgatas will not be interrupted. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in order to open the portals of immortality. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly train in order to reveal the unconditioned elements.
“Subhūti, inferior beings cannot undertake this training, but bodhisattva great beings who would undertake training do train in it, wishing to extricate all beings from cyclic existence. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly will not be born among the denizens of the hells. They will not be born in the animal realm, or in the world of Yama. They will not be born in frontier regions or precipitous gorges. They will not be born among refuse scavengers, or among outcastes. They will not be blind, hunchbacked, crippled, or mutilated. They will not be deaf. They will not be armless. They will not be without the sense faculties. Their sense faculties will be intact. Their sense faculties will not be deficient. They will not kill living creatures. They will not steal. They will not commit sexual misconduct. They will not tell lies. They will not slander, or indulge in verbal abuse or irresponsible chatter. They will not have thoughts of covetousness or malice. They will not resort to mistaken views. They will not sustain themselves through wrong livelihood. They will not acquire anything that is inauthentic. [F.41.a] They will not resort to degenerate morality. They will not acquire degenerate morality. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly will not be born among the long-lived gods.477
“If you ask why, {Ki.V: 31} they are endowed with skill in means, so that such bodhisattva great beings possess the skill in means through which they will not be born among the long-lived gods. If you ask why, it is because skill in means is revealed in this very perfection of wisdom. Bodhisattva great beings who possess skill in means will also become absorbed in the meditative concentrations. They will also become absorbed in the immeasurable attitudes. They will also become absorbed in the formless absorptions, but they will not take rebirth [in the realms of form and formlessness] due to the influences of these meditative concentrations, immeasurable attitudes, and formless absorptions.
“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train accordingly will purify the stains of directing their minds to the level of the śrāvakas and the level of the pratyekabuddhas, and so they will acquire refinement of the powers associated with all the attributes of the buddhas.”
“Blessed Lord, inasmuch as all phenomena are naturally pure, what are the attributes of the bodhisattva great beings through which this refinement is acquired?”
“It is so, Subhūti! It is so,” replied the Blessed One. “It is just as you have said. Subhūti, all phenomena are naturally pure. Subhūti, inasmuch as all phenomena are naturally pure, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom, it is their absence of discouragement and absence of intimidation, Subhūti, that constitutes the perfection of wisdom. Since all simple, ordinary people do not know and do not discern this reality, for the sake of these beings, [F.41.b] bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of generosity, and they practice the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of wisdom. They practice the emptiness of internal phenomena, and they practice [all the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities. They practice the applications of mindfulness, and they practice the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path. They practice the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, and the formless absorptions. They practice the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. They practice the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways. They practice the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. They practice [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience.
“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly acquire the powers and fearlessnesses [of the buddhas] with respect to all phenomena, and they will not fall into the level of the śrāvakas or the level of the pratyekabuddhas. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will transcend the thoughts, activities, and distractions of all beings.
“Subhūti, just as there are few places on earth where the pure gold of the Jambu River is found, in the same way, Subhūti, those beings who have undertaken this training of the perfection of wisdom are few in number. Those beings who become established in the level of the śrāvakas or the level of the pratyekabuddhas are much more numerous. [F.42.a]
“Subhūti, just as there are few beings who have undertaken and maintained actions commensurate with an imperial monarch, {Ki.V: 32} while those beings who have undertaken and maintained actions commensurate with a regional king are much more numerous, in the same way, Subhūti, those beings who have entered upon this path that leads to all-aspect omniscience are few in number, whereas the beings who become established on the level of the śrāvakas or the level of the pratyekabuddhas are much more numerous.
“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who are earnestly intent on the real nature are far fewer than those bodhisattva great beings who have set out for unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Even more numerous than them are those beings who become established on the level of the śrāvakas or the level of the pratyekabuddhas.
“Subhūti, those who master the reversible levels are much more numerous than the noble children who follow the vehicle of the bodhisattvas and who practice, without hesitation, this profound perfection of wisdom and master the level at which progress has become irreversible. Therefore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who wish to attain the level at which progress has become irreversible and who wish to enter into the level at which progress has become irreversible should train in this profound perfection of wisdom.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice this profound perfection of wisdom, thoughts associated with miserliness do not arise. Thoughts associated with degenerate morality do not arise. Thoughts associated with indolence do not arise. Thoughts associated with distraction do not arise. Thoughts associated with stupidity do not arise. Thoughts associated with desire do not arise. [F.42.b] Thoughts associated with hatred do not arise. Thoughts associated with delusion do not arise. Thoughts associated with obstinacy do not arise.
“Thoughts associated with physical forms do not arise. Thoughts associated with feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness do not arise. Thoughts associated with the sense fields, the sensory elements, and the links of dependent origination do not arise. Thoughts associated with the perfections, all the aspects of emptiness, and the thirty-seven factors conducive to enlightenment do not arise. Thoughts associated with the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, and the dhāraṇī gateways do not arise. Thoughts associated with the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas do not arise. Thoughts associated with [the goals], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, do not arise. If you ask why, Subhūti, it is because when bodhisattva great beings practice this profound perfection of wisdom, they do not apprehend anything at all. Since they are without apprehending, they do not set their minds on anything at all. So it is, Subhūti, that bodhisattva great beings who have trained in this profound perfection of wisdom will have acquired all the perfections. They will have procured all the perfections. They will have acted in harmony with all the perfections. {Ki.V: 33} If you ask why, Subhūti, it is because all the perfections are subsumed in this profound perfection of wisdom.
“Subhūti, just as sixty-two sorts of view are subsumed within the view of mundane constructs, in the same way, Subhūti, [F.43.a] all the perfections are subsumed in this profound perfection of wisdom. Subhūti, just as when the faculty of the life force has ceased at the time of a person’s death, all the sense faculties will cease, in the same way, Subhūti, all the other five perfections are subsumed by those who practice this profound perfection of wisdom. Therefore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who wish to transcend all the perfections should train in this profound perfection of wisdom.
“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train in this profound perfection of wisdom train in that which is exalted among all beings, Subhūti, do you think that the beings inhabiting this world system of the great trichiliocosm are many?”
“Blessed Lord, they are many! Sugata, they are many! Blessed Lord, if the beings of Jambudvīpa are indeed many, what need one say about the beings in this world system of the great trichiliocosm!”
“Subhūti,” continued the Blessed One, “if all the beings in this world system of the great trichiliocosm, as many as there are, throughout time had acquired a human body, and all of them had then attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, and if there were a [single] bodhisattva great being who had honored each one of all those tathāgatas with robes, alms, bedding, medicines for the treatment of ailments, and many [other] resources for the duration of their lives, without interruption, Subhūti, do you think that the merit of that bodhisattva great being would, on that basis, increase more greatly?” [F.43.b]
“Blessed Lord, it would be great! Sugata, it would be great!”
“Subhūti,” continued the Blessed One, “when a noble son or noble daughter takes up, upholds, recites, masters, and focuses attention correctly on this profound perfection of wisdom, and is earnestly intent on the real nature, his or her merit would increase much more than these [aforementioned merits]. If you ask why, Subhūti, it is because the perfection of wisdom that bodhisattva great beings have will be of great benefit—it will bring about the attainment of unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Therefore, Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who wish to become unsurpassed among all beings, who wish to become a protector to all those beings who are unprotected, who wish to become a refuge to those who are without a refuge, who wish to become a sanctuary for those who are without sanctuary, {Ki.V: 34} who wish to become an eye for the blind, who wish to become a lamp for those immersed in darkness, who wish to attain completely awakened buddhahood, who wish to comprehend the perceptual range of the buddhas, who wish to frolic through the emanational play of the buddhas, who wish to roar the lion’s roar of the buddhas, who wish to beat the great drum of the buddhas, who wish to blow the conch of the buddhas, who wish to enunciate the sermons of the buddhas—all of these should train in this profound perfection of wisdom. Subhūti, among those attainments of excellence, there is nothing at all that bodhisattva great beings who train in the perfection of wisdom will not attain.”
Subhūti then asked, “Blessed Lord, will they also attain the excellence of the śrāvakas? Will they also attain the excellence of the pratyekabuddhas?” [F.44.a]
“Subhūti,” replied the Blessed One, “they will indeed attain the excellence of the śrāvakas and they will also attain the excellence of the pratyekabuddhas, but they should not dwell in those [two modes of excellence]. They should not remain fixed in them. They should perceive them with knowledge and [genuine] view. That is to say, they should transcend them, and enter a bodhisattva’s full maturity.
“Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train in this manner will approach all-aspect omniscience. They will attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train in this manner become worthy recipients of the donations in the world, with its gods, humans, and asuras. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train in this manner outshine all other worthy recipients of worldly donations apart from them—śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas—and they will approach all-aspect omniscience. Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who train in this manner do not forsake the perfection of wisdom, and they practice the perfection of wisdom. That is to say, they are not bereft of the perfection of wisdom.
“Subhūti, one should know that the bodhisattva great beings who practice this profound perfection of wisdom in this manner possess the attribute of not degenerating from all-aspect omniscience. They give the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas a wide berth, and approach unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“If indeed they were to think, ‘This is the perfection of wisdom! The perfection of wisdom is present here! Through this perfection of wisdom I will attain all-aspect omniscience!’ when they know in that way, they do not practice the perfection of wisdom. [F.44.b] If, on the other hand, they do not know, ‘This is the perfection of wisdom! The perfection of wisdom is present here!’ in that case they neither know nor perceive anyone who possesses the perfection of wisdom, anything that would bring about the perfection of wisdom, {Ki.V: 35} or anyone who would be emancipated through the perfection of wisdom and attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. And if they then think, ‘Since the realm of phenomena, the real nature, and the very limit of reality are fixed states, they are not the perfection of wisdom! The perfection of wisdom is not contained in it! There is nothing at all that will be emancipated through this perfection of wisdom!’ then indeed, Subhūti, those bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly do practice the perfection of wisdom.”
This completes the forty-seventh chapter from “The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines.”
Colophon
It is said in the original Jangpa manuscript:
This [Tibetan translation of] The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines has been edited twice on the basis of the original “gold manuscript,” which had been [commissioned as] a commitment of the spiritual mentor Nyanggom Chobar, and it has also been edited on the basis of the manuscript kept at Yerpa. Since it is extant, scribes of posterity should copy [the text] according to this version alone.
In the [recast] version of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines [Toh 3790] that was edited by master Haribhadra, and in some [other] manuscripts, the text ends with the seventy-first chapter entitled “Unchanging Reality.” In certain [other] manuscripts, including the original (phyi mo) [Toh 9], there are seventy-six chapters, with [F.380.b] the addition of the [seventy-second] chapter entitled “Distinctions in the Training of a Bodhisattva,” the [seventy-third] chapter entitled “The Attainment of the Manifold Gateways of Meditative Stability by the Bodhisattva Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fourth] chapter entitled “Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fifth] chapter entitled “Dharmodgata,” and the [seventy-sixth] chapter entitled “Entrustment.” This accords with earlier accounts and the authentic records of teachings received. Insofar as there are distinctions in the translation of these five later chapters, I have seen a few manuscripts where the terminology is slightly dissimilar, although there are no differences in meaning.
In general, throughout the present text there are all sorts of unique allusions and variations in the elaboration of the points that are expressed. In particular, in the chapter entitled “The Introductory Narrative,” there are some passages where the text corresponds to The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.
At the time when the carving of the xylographs of this very text, along with those of the Multitude of the Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka), was completed, in the presence of King Tenpa Tsering, the ruler of Degé, the beggar monk Tashi Wangchuk composed these verses at Sharkha Dzongsar Palace, where the wood-carving workshop was based. May they be victorious!
ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetun teṣāṃ tathāgato bhavat āha teṣāṃ ca yo nirodho evaṃ vādī mahāśramaṇaḥ [ye svāhā]
“Whatever events arise from causes, the Tathāgata has told of their causes, and the great ascetic has also taught their cessation.”
Bibliography
Primary Sources in Tibetan and Sanskrit
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Toh 9, Degé Kangyur vols. 26–28 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka–a), folios ka.1.b–ga.381.a.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines, Toh 9]. 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), 2006–2009, vols. 26–28.
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit text based on the edition by Takayasu Kimura. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin 2007–9 (1–1, 1–2), 1986 (2–3), 1990 (4), 1992 (5), 2006 (6–8). Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL). Page references: {Ki.}
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Dutt, Nalinaksha. Calcutta Oriental Series 28. London: Luzac, 1934. Reprint edition, Sri Satguru Publications, 1986. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL). Page references: {Dt.nn}
Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit text based on the edition by P. L. Vaidya, in Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, vol. 4. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute, 1960. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL). Page references (for chapters 73–75): {Va.nn}
Secondary References in Tibetan and Sanskrit
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines, the “eight-chapter” (le’u brgyad ma) Tengyur version]. Toh 3790, Degé Tengyur vols. 82–84 (shes phyin, ga–ca), folios ga.1.b–ca.342.a.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines]. Toh 8, Degé Kangyur vols. 14–25 (shes phyin, ’bum, ka–a).
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit text of the Anurādhapura fragment, based on the edition by Oskar von Hinüber, “Sieben Goldblätter einer Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā aus Anurādhapura,” in Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Phil.-Hist.Kl. 1983, pp. 189–207. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Śatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit texts based on Ghoṣa, Pratāpacandra, Çatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā: A Theological and Philosophical Discourse of Buddha With His Disciples in A Hundred Thousand Stanzas. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1902–14 (chapters 1–12); and on Kimura, Takayasu, Śatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā, II/1–4, 4 vols. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 2009–14. Available as e-texts, Part I and Part II, on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
The Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Sanskrit edition (mostly according to the Gilgit manuscript GBM 175–675, fols. 1–27) from Zacchetti, Stefano (2005). In Praise of the Light: A Critical Synoptic Edition with an Annotated Translation of Chapters 1-3 of Dharmarakṣa’s Guang zan jing, Being the Earliest Chinese Translation of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica, Vol. 8. The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology. Tokyo: Soka University, 2005. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
The Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Sanskrit edition (Gilgit manuscript fols. 202.a.5-205.a.12, GBM 571.5–577.12) from Yoke Meei Choong, Zum Problem der Leerheit (śūnyatā) in der Prajñāpāramitā, Frankfurt: Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe 27, Bd. 97, 2006, pp. 109–33. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Daṃṣṭrasena. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa rgya cher ’grel pa (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā) [“An Extensive Commentary on The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines”], Toh 3807, Degé Tengyur vols. 91–92. Also in Tengyur Pedurma (TPD) (bstan ’gyur [dpe bsdur ma]), [Comparative Edition of the Tengyur], 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). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 54 (TPD 54) pp. 627–1439 and vol. 55 pp. 2–550.
Denkarma (ldan dkar ma; pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Butön (bu ston rin chen grub). bde bar gshegs pa’i bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas gsung rab rin po che’i mdzod. In gsung ’bum/_rin chen grub/ zhol par ma/ ldi lir bskyar par brgyab pa/ [The Collected Works of Bu-ston: Edited by Lokesh Chandra from the Collections of Raghu Vira], vol. 24, pp. 633–1056. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71.
Jamgön Kongtrül (’jam mgon kong sprul). shes bya kun khyab mdzod [“The Treasury of Knowledge”]. Root verses contained in three-volume publication. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1982; Boudhnath: Padma Karpo Translation Committee edition, 2000 (photographic reproduction of the original four-volume Palpung xylograph, 1844). Translated, along with the auto-commentary, by the Kalu Rinpoche Translation Group in The Treasury of Knowledge series (TOK). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1995 to 2012. Mentioned here are Ngawang Zangpo 2010 (Books 2, 3, and 4) and Dorje 2012 (Book 6, Parts 1–2).
Nordrang Orgyan (nor brang o rgyan). chos rnam kun btus. 3 vols. Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2008.
Tsongkhapa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa). byang chub sems dpa’ sems dpa’ chen po rtagtu ngu’i rtogs pa brjod pa’i snyan dngags dpag bsam gyi ljong pa [“An Avadāna of the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Sadāprarudita”], in Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur vol. 34, folios 523.b–555.b (pp. 1046–1110). The same text is also to be found in Tsongkhapa’s Collected Works: gsung ’bum tsong kha pa (bkras lhun par rnying ldi lir bskyar par brgyab pa), vol. 3, Ngawang Gelek Demo, 1975, pp. 242–96.
Zhang Yisun et al. bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo. 3 vols. Subsequently reprinted in 2 vols. and 1 vol. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1985. Translated in Nyima and Dorje 2001 (vol. 1).
Secondary References in English and Other Languages
Bhattacharya, B. [Illustrations of the Indikutasaya Copper Plaques], in Bulletin of the Baroda State Museum and Picture Gallery, I 1. Baroda: 1943-4.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu, trans. The Sūtra on the All-Embracing Net of Views. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1978.
Bongard-Levin, G.M., and Shin’ichirō Hori. “A Fragment of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā from Central Asia.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 19, no. 1 (1996): 19-60.
Boucher, Daniel. “Dharmarakṣa and the Transmission of Buddhism to China.” Asia Major (Academia Sinica) no. 1/2, (2006): 13–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649912.
Burchardi, Anne, trans. The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata (Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa, Toh 147). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. Gone Beyond: The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyü Tradition. 2 vols. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2010 and 2011.
Chimpa, Lama and Alaka Chattopadhyaya, trans. Tāranātha’s History of Buddhism in India. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1980.
Choong, Yoke Meei. Zum Problem der Leerheit (śūnyatā) in der Prajñāpāramitā. Frankfurt: Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe 27, Bd. 97, 2006, pp. 109–33.
Conze, Edward (1962). The Gilgit Manuscript of the Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā: Chapters 50 to 55 corresponding to the 5th Abhisamaya. SOR 26. Rome: ISMEO, 1962.
———, trans. (1973). The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and Its Verse Summary. Bolinas, CA: Four Seasons Foundation, 1973.
——— (1974). The Gilgit Manuscript of the Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā: Chapters 70 to 82 corresponding to the 6th, 7th, and 8th Abhisamayas. SOR 46. Rome: ISMEO, 1974.
——— (1975). The Large Sūtra on Perfect Wisdom: With the Divisions of the Abhisamayālaṅkāra. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.
——— (1978). The Prajñāpāramitā Literature (Second edition). Tokyo: The Reiyukai, 1978.
Davidson, Ronald. “Studies in Dhāraṇī Literature I: Revisiting the Meaning of the Term Dhāraṇī.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 37, no. 2 (April 2009): 97–147.
Dayal, Har. The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1932. Reprinted Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2013). The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
——— (2019a). The Jewel Cloud (Ratnamegha, Toh 231). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
——— (2019b). The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty (Niṣṭhāgatabhagavajjñānavaipulyasūtraratnānanta, Toh 99). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
——— (2022). The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother (Bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, Toh 21). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
Dorje, Gyurme, trans., (1987). “The Guhyagarbhatantra and its XIVth Century Tibetan Commentary Phyogs bcu mun sel.” 3 vols. PhD diss. University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1987.
———, trans. (2012). Indo-Tibetan Classical Learning and Buddhist Phenomenology. Book 6, Parts 1–2 of Jamgön Kongtrul, The Treasury of Knowledge. Boston: Snow Lion, 2012.
Dudjom Rinpoche. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. 2 vols. Translated by Gyurme Dorje with Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991.
Dutt, Nalinaksha. Pañcaviṃśati-sāhasrikā Prajñā-pāramitā. Calcutta Oriental Series 28. London: Luzac, 1934. Reprinted Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1986.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.
Falk, Harry. “The ‘Split’ Collection of Kharoṣṭhī texts.” ARIRIAB 14 (2011): 13–23.
Falk, Harry, and Seishi Karashima (2012). “A first‐century Prajñāpāramitā manuscript from Gandhāra – parivarta 1 (Texts from the Split Collection 1).” ARIRIAB 15 (2012): 19–61.
——— (2013). “A first‐century Prajñāpāramitā manuscript from Gandhāra – parivarta 5 (Texts from the Split Collection 2).” ARIRIAB 16 (2013): 97–169.
Ghoṣa, Pratāpacandra, ed. Çatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā: A Theological and Philosophical Discourse of Buddha With His Disciples in A Hundred Thousand Stanzas. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1902–14. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die Lhan Kar Ma: Ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte, Kritische Neuausgabe mit Einleitung und Materialien. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Hikata, Ryusho. Suvikrāntavikrāmi-paripṛcchā-Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra: Edited with an Introductory Essay. Fukuoka, 1958.
Hinüber, O. von. (1983) “Sieben Goldblätter einer Pañca-viṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā aus Anurādhapura.” NAWG 7 (1983): 189–207.
——— (2014). “The Gilgit Manuscripts: An Ancient Library in Modern Research.” In From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research, edited by P. Harrison & J. Hartmann, 79–135. Vienna: 2014.
Kimura, Takayasu, ed. Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, II/1–4, 4 vols. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 2009 (II-1), 2010 (II-2, II-3), 2014 (II-4). Available as e-text (see links) on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
———, ed. Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñā-pāramitā, I–VIII, 6 vols. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 2007–9 (1-1, 1-2), 1986 (2-3), 1990 (4), 1992 (5), 2006 (6-8). Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Kloetzli, Randy. Buddhist Cosmology. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983.
Konow, Sten. The First Two Chapters of the Daśasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: Restoration of the Sanskrit Text, Analysis and Index. Oslo: I Kommisjon Hos Jacob Dybwad, 1941.
Lamotte, Etienne (1998). Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra: The Concentration of Heroic Progress, An Early Mahāyāna Buddhist Scripture. English translation by Sara Boin-Webb. London: Curzon Press.
——— (2001). The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra). English translation by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron. Unpublished electronic text, 2001.
Lethcoe, Nancy R., “Some Notes on the Relationship between the Abhisamayālaṅkāra, the Revised Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and the Chinese Translations of the Unrevised Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā.” JAOS 96/4 (1976): 499–511.
Lopez, Donald S. The Heart Sūtra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Albany: SUNY, 1988.
Martini, Giuliana (a.k.a. Dhammadinnā). “Bodhisattva Texts, Ideologies and Rituals in Khotan in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries.” In Buddhism Among the Iranian Peoples of Central Asia, vol. 1 of Multilingualism and History of Knowledge, edited by Matteo de Chiara, Matteo, Mauro Maggi, and Giuliana Martini. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2013.
Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu, trans. The Path of Purification by Buddhaghosa. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1979.
Negi, J.S., ed. Tibetan Sanskrit Dictionary (bod skad dang legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). 16 vols. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993–2005.
Ngawang Zangpo, trans. Jamgön Kongtrul, The Treasury of Knowledge (Books Two, Three, and Four): Buddhism’s Journey to Tibet. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2010.
Nyima, Tudeng and Gyurme Dorje, trans. An Encyclopaedic Tibetan-English Dictionary. Vol. 1. Beijing and London: Nationalities Publishing House and SOAS, 2001.
Obermiller, E. Prajñapāramitā in Tibetan Buddhism. Delhi: Book Faith India (reprint), 1999.
Padmakara Translation Group, trans. The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 11). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
Pagel, Ulrich “The Dhāraṇīs of Mahāvyutpatti # 748: Origins and Formation,” in Buddhist Studies Review 24 no. 2 (2007), 151–91.
Patrul Rinpoche. Kunzang Lama’i Shelung: The Words of My Perfect Teacher. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Revised second edition, 1998. London: International Sacred Literature Trust and Sage Altamira, 1994–98.
Paranavitana, S. “Indikaṭusāya Copper Plaques.” EZ 3 (1933): 199–212.
Rhys Davids, Caroline A.F. Psalms of the Early Buddhists: II Psalms of the Brethren. London: Pali Text Society, 1913. See Internet Archive.
Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans. The Sūtra on Reliance upon a Virtuous Spiritual Friend (Kalyāṇamitrasevanasūtra, Toh 300). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2011.
Salomon, Richard (2014). “Gāndhārī Manuscripts in the British Library, Schøyen and Other Collections.” In From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances In Buddhist Manuscript Research, Edited by Paul Harrison and Jens-Uwe Hartmann. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
——— (2018). The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra: An Introduction with Selected Translations. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications.
Skilling, Peter, Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, Saerji: “Schøyen MS 2381/241 + 2382/uf18/2d + 2381/186: A (possible) Sanskrit parallel to the Pali Uruvela-sutta.” In Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schoyen Collection, Vol. IV, edited by Jens Braarvig and Jens-Uwe Hartmann. Oslo: Hermes Academic Publishing, 2013.
Sparham, Gareth, trans. (2006–2012). Abhisamayālaṃkāra with vṛtti and ālokā / vṛtti by Ārya Vimuktisena; ālokā by Haribhadra. 4 vols. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing.
———, trans. (2022a). The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 10). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
———, trans. (2022b). The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (*Āryaśatasāhasrikāpañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā, Toh 3808). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
———, trans. (2024). The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 8). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Stein, Lisa, and Ngawang Zangpo, trans. Butön’s History of Buddhism: In India and its Spread to Tibet, A Treasury of Priceless Scripture. Boston: Snow Lion, 2013.
Suzuki Kenta & Nagashima Jundo. “The Dunhuang Manuscript of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā.” In Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia: The British Library Sanskrit Fragments, vol. III/2, edited by S. Karashima, J. Nagashima & K. Wille: 593–821. Tokyo, 2015.
Vaidya, P.L. “Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā.” In Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, vol. 4. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1960. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Watanabe Shōgo, “A Comparative Study of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā.” JAOS 114/3 (1994): 386–96.
Zacchetti, Stefano (2005). In Praise of the Light: A Critical Synoptic Edition with an Annotated Translation of Chapters 1-3 of Dharmarakṣa’s Guang zan jing, Being the Earliest Chinese Translation of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica, Vol. 8. The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology. Tokyo: Soka University.
——— (2015). “Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras.” In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. 1, edited by Jonathan Silk. Leiden: Brill.
——— (2021). The Da zhidu lun 大智度論 (*Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa) and the History of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā: Patterns of Textual Variation in Mahāyāna Sūtra Literature. Numata Center for Buddhist Studies: Hamburg Buddhist Studies 14, edited by Michael Radich and Jonathan Silk. Bochum / Freiburg: Projekt Verlag, 2021.
Zürcher, Erik. The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Medieval China, 3rd ed. [1st ed. 1959] with a foreword by S. F. Teiser. Leiden: Brill (Sinica Leidensia 11), 2007.