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  • Toh 99

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བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྒྱས་པའི་མདོ་སྡེ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཐའ་ཡས་པ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་པ།

The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty

Niṣṭhā­gata­bhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratnānanta
འཕགས་པ་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་ཀྱི་ཡེ་ཤེས་རྒྱས་པའི་མདོ་སྡེ་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཐའ་ཡས་པ་མཐར་ཕྱིན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty”
Ārya­niṣṭhā­gata­bhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratnānanta­nāma­mahāyāna­sūtra

Toh 99

Degé Kangyur, vol. 47 (mdo sde, ga), folios 1.a–275.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ
  • Prajñāvarman
  • Yeshé Nyingpo

Imprint

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Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2019

Current version v 1.27.4 (2024)

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co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
+ 4 sections- 4 sections
1. The Thus-Gone One’s Qualities
+ 32 chapters- 32 chapters
· Synopsis of the Categories of the Thus-Gone One’s Knowledge
· Knowledge of What is Possible
· Knowledge of What is Impossible
· Knowledge of the Past, Future, and Present
· Knowledge of Karma
· Knowledge of the Paths That Lead to All Destinations
· Knowledge of the Several Elements
· Knowledge of the Various Elements
· Knowledge of the World
· Knowledge of Several Inclinations
· Knowledge of Various Inclinations
· Knowledge of the Faculties
· Knowledge of the Powers
· Knowledge of Concentration
· Knowledge of Liberation
· Knowledge of Absorption
· Knowledge of Equilibrium
· Knowledge of Affliction
· Knowledge of Purification
· Knowledge of Abiding
· Knowledge of the Past
· Knowledge of the Future
· Knowledge of Death
· Knowledge of Birth
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Desire
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Existence
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Views
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Ignorance
· Knowledge of Exhaustion
· Knowledge of No-Birth
· Knowledge of Omniscience
· The Thus-Gone One Understands These Kinds of Knowledge to Be Mere Conventions
2. The Songs of the Nāga Kings
3. The Past Causes of Knowledge
+ 33 chapters- 33 chapters
· Knowledge of What Is Possible
· Knowledge of What Is Impossible
· Knowledge of the Past
· Knowledge of the Future
· Knowledge of the Present
· Knowledge of Karma
· Knowledge of the Paths That Lead to All Destinations
· Knowledge of the Several Elements
· Knowledge of the Various Elements
· Knowledge of the World
· Knowledge of Concentration
· Knowledge of Liberation
· Knowledge of Absorption
· Knowledge of Equilibrium
· Knowledge of Affliction
· Knowledge of Purification
· Knowledge of Abiding
· Knowledge of the World
· Knowledge of Several Inclinations
· Knowledge of the Various Inclinations
· Knowledge of the Faculties
· Knowledge of the Powers
· Knowledge of Diligence
· Knowledge of the Levels
· Knowledge of the Past
· Knowledge of What Is Possible
· Knowledge of the Future
· Knowledge of Death
· Knowledge of Birth
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Desire
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Existence
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Views
· Knowledge of the Defilement of Ignorance
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· The Translated Text
· Works Cited in Introduction and Endnotes
+ 2 sections- 2 sections
· Tibetan Reference Works
· Works Cited in English and Other Languages
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Buddha’s disciple, the monk Pūrṇa, oversees the construction of a temple dedicated to the Buddha in a distant southern city. When the master builder suggests that the building may be used by others in the Buddha’s absence, Pūrṇa argues that no one but an omniscient buddha may rightly take up residence there. Enumerating the kinds of knowledge that are unique to a buddha’s perfect awakening, Pūrṇa then delivers a lengthy exposition that also relates each of these qualities to the knowledge of the four truths. Following Pūrṇa’s teaching, the master builder invites the Buddha and his followers from afar to the inauguration of the newly built structure. They arrive, flying through the sky. After the inauguration, the Buddha flies with his monks to the shores of Lake Anavatapta, where he receives the worship of numerous nāga kings, teaches and inspires them, and predicts their awakening. At Maudgalyāyana’s request, the Buddha then recounts each of the specific events in his past lives that ultimately led to the unfolding of each of his particular kinds of knowledge.

s.­2

This long sūtra thus serves as a detailed guide to the different aspects of the Buddha’s awakened wisdom, particularly those that, in many accounts of the qualities of buddhahood, are known as the ten powers or strengths.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Andreas Doctor, Zachary Beer, and Thomas Doctor. Andreas Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text.

This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.


i.

Introduction

i.­1

This sūtra, The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty,1 is one of the longer works in the Kangyur, filling no less than five hundred fifty Tibetan pages in the Degé Kangyur. However, in spite of its impressive size, the sūtra has remained virtually unread and unstudied in the West. Apart from a brief summary of the text by Csoma de Körös in 1836,2 it has not to our knowledge been the focus of any scholarship in English until now.


Text Body

The Translation
The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra
The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty

1.

The Thus-Gone One’s Qualities

[F.1.b] [B1]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, along with a great saṅgha of 1,250 monks. At that time, in the city of Transcending Virtue23 there was a householder, a master builder,24 who had engaged venerable Pūrṇa to oversee the construction of a temple with a sandalwood courtyard exclusively dedicated to the Blessed One, exclusively with the Blessed One in mind, and exclusively for the sake of the Blessed One. Subsequently, that temple with its sandalwood courtyard [F.2.a] had been constructed and completed without delay.

Synopsis of the Categories of the Thus-Gone One’s Knowledge

Knowledge of What is Possible

Knowledge of What is Impossible

Knowledge of the Past, Future, and Present

Knowledge of Karma

Knowledge of the Paths That Lead to All Destinations

Knowledge of the Several Elements

Knowledge of the Various Elements

Knowledge of the World

Knowledge of Several Inclinations

Knowledge of Various Inclinations

Knowledge of the Faculties

Knowledge of the Powers

Knowledge of Concentration

Knowledge of Liberation

Knowledge of Absorption

Knowledge of Equilibrium

Knowledge of Affliction

Knowledge of Purification

Knowledge of Abiding

Knowledge of the Past

Knowledge of the Future

Knowledge of Death

Knowledge of Birth

Knowledge of the Defilement of Desire

Knowledge of the Defilement of Existence

Knowledge of the Defilement of Views

Knowledge of the Defilement of Ignorance

Knowledge of Exhaustion

Knowledge of No-Birth

Knowledge of Omniscience

The Thus-Gone One Understands These Kinds of Knowledge to Be Mere Conventions


2.

The Songs of the Nāga Kings

2.­1

The householder master builder then asked the superintendent, venerable Pūrṇa, “Pūrṇa, where is the Blessed One residing at present?”

The superintendent, venerable Pūrṇa, replied to the householder master builder, “Householder, to the north of here is the country of Kośala, within which, at the base of the majestic snow mountains, lies the city of Śrāvastī. There one finds the householder Anāthapiṇḍada’s park, a grove that formerly belonged to Prince Jeta, the son of the King of Kośala. That is where the Blessed One resides.”


3.

The Past Causes of Knowledge

Knowledge of What Is Possible

3.­1

42Venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana then addressed the Blessed One. “From the Thus-Gone One’s correct knowledge of the ripening of beings’ karma, up to the Blessed One’s great miraculous powers and right up to the Blessed One’s great majesty‍—all of these qualities are truly amazing. Blessed One, what action was it whose ripening led the Blessed One to attain the knowledge of what is possible? Blessed One, please consider all beings kindly and grant a reply. When the bodhisattva great beings hear what the Blessed One declares, they will take joy, pleasure, and delight in carrying out the practices of unexcelled and perfect awakening. Then they will engage in such practices.”

Knowledge of What Is Impossible

Knowledge of the Past

Knowledge of the Future

Knowledge of the Present

Knowledge of Karma

Knowledge of the Paths That Lead to All Destinations

Knowledge of the Several Elements

Knowledge of the Various Elements

Knowledge of the World

Knowledge of Concentration

Knowledge of Liberation

Knowledge of Absorption

Knowledge of Equilibrium

Knowledge of Affliction

Knowledge of Purification

Knowledge of Abiding

Knowledge of the World

Knowledge of Several Inclinations

Knowledge of the Various Inclinations

Knowledge of the Faculties

Knowledge of the Powers

Knowledge of Diligence

Knowledge of the Levels

Knowledge of the Past

Knowledge of What Is Possible

Knowledge of the Future

Knowledge of Death

Knowledge of Birth

Knowledge of the Defilement of Desire

Knowledge of the Defilement of Existence

Knowledge of the Defilement of Views

Knowledge of the Defilement of Ignorance


c.

Colophon

c.­1

This was translated by the Indian preceptor Prajñāvarman and the translator Bandé Yeshé Nyingpo. The text was later edited and finalized by the Indian preceptors Śuddhasiṃha and Sarvajñādeva, together with the translator-editor Bandé Paltsek.


n.

Notes

n.­1
We have translated the title of this text based on the Tibetan (bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa) while considering the Sanskrit title provided in the Tibetan manuscripts. In the process we have attempted our own emendation of the Sanskrit title, which we believe is the product of a back-translation from the Tibetan. The revised Sanskrit title that we suggest using for this text is: ananta­niṣṭhāga­bhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratna. In arriving at this title, we have been guided by the following reflections: The Tōhoku catalog lists the title, which its compilers likewise attempted to revise, as niṣṭhāgata­bhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratnānanta. However, the Tōhoku title includes a footnote for niṣṭhāgata that mentions an alternative reading of niṣṭhāgan. This has led us to believe that the original reading most probably was niṣṭhāga, and not niṣṭhāgata, since the meaning of this term is better suited in this context (see further below). The difference in meaning between these two terms is that niṣṭhāgata means “arrived at certainty” (i.e., “conclusive / definitive”), whereas niṣṭhāga can also mean “leading to certainty.” The Sanskrit title given on the title page of the Degé Kangyur reads niṣṭhatan-bhagavat-jñāna-vaipulyan-sūtra-ratna-ānanta. Other Kangyurs reflect variants, although most of them are minor. Most notably, a few Kangyurs (e.g. the Stok Palace as representative of the Thempangma line) are missing ānanta (mtha’ yas pa). Also, although the correct form might be niṣṭhāga(ta), all of the Tibetan editions that we consulted read niṣṭhatan (although ā > a is common and ga could have been elided in copying). Most importantly, however, they all place this term at the beginning of the title, and not at the end, where it appears in the Tibetan. Given this introductory placement of niṣṭhāga in the Sanskrit title, we believe that so also should ananta be moved to the beginning of the title as a qualifier of niṣṭhāga. One could of course adopt the reading of the Stok Palace Kangyur where ananta / mtha’ yas pa is missing altogether, which would also yield a straightforward title. However, by moving ananta to the beginning of the title (and thus conforming to the Tibetan where mtha’ yas pa and mthar phyin pa are placed next to each other in that sequence) one gets the compound anantaniṣṭhāga , which we believe is the better option. The phrase anantaniṣṭhā (or its synonym atyantaniṣṭhā ) actually occurs in other Buddhist texts, including the Lalitavistara, where, in a description of the Dharma wheel, we find the sentence akopyaṃ taccakram atyanta­niṣṭha­tvāt, meaning, “This wheel cannot be shaken, because of the infinite certitude [of the Dharma].” As such, it is also possible that the original Sanskrit might have read atyanta­niṣṭhāga rather than anantaniṣṭhāga. With this word order, the Sanskrit title becomes plausible and makes sense, both in terms of grammar and meaning. Significantly, in this way we also arrive at a Sanskrit title that can actually be read as a basis for the Tibetan translation, which is a feature missing from the Sanskrit as it is listed in the Tibetan manuscripts as well as the Tōhoku catalog. Thus, with our proposed emendations to the Sanskrit title, the Sanskrit and the Tibetan titles are reconciled.
n.­2
Csoma de Körös’s summary of the sūtra was later published in French translation by Henri Léon Feer (1881).
n.­3
The Denkarma (ldan dkar ma), see bibliography, was compiled by Paltsek (dpal brstegs), Lui Wangpo (lu’i dbang po), Namkhai Nyingpo (nam mkha’ snying po), and others.
n.­4
See Yao (2021), 2.91.
n.­5
See Rotman (2008), pp. 71–117.
n.­6
E.g., the exact role of Pūrṇa and the name of the place, see n.­8, n.­12, n.­23, and n.­25. It is noteworthy that Sarvajñādeva, who translated the Bhaiṣajyavastu, is also one of the revisers of this sūtra; that no attempt appears to have been made by the translators to reconcile these narrative differences is therefore unlikely to be because the translators of the one text were unaware of the existence of the other. They were, probably, simply staying faithful to their source texts.
n.­7
At least six are mentioned in the Kangyur: (1) Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, a brahmin from Kapilavastu, ordained by his uncle Ājñātakauṇḍinya when the latter returned to Kapilavastu soon after the Buddha’s first teaching; this is the Pūrṇa who was “foremost in teaching” among the ten principal disciples, and is mentioned in many sūtras including The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Toh 176) and The Sūtra of Pūrṇa’s Questions (Toh 61); (2) the Pūrṇa who was one of the second group of five monks ordained by the Buddha, the “five friends” (nye lnga sde), all Vārāṇasī merchants’ sons, headed by Yaśas; (3) the Pūrṇa of The Exemplary Tale of Pūrṇa (Pūrṇāvadāna), son of a wealthy Aparāntaka merchant and his slave girl, a successful maritime expedition leader before going forth as a monk, and almost certainly the protagonist in the present sūtra; (4) an older Pūrṇa, the “Elder Pūrṇa from Kuṇḍopadāna,” who is also mentioned in The Exemplary Tale of Pūrṇa as one of the monks in the Buddha’s airborne entourage; (5) a very rich and generous brahmin called Pūrṇa from the Mountains of the South who invites the Buddha and receives a prediction of enlightenment, but is not ordained; he is the subject of the first story in The Hundred Exemplary Tales, Beginning with That of Pūrṇa (Pūrṇapramukhāvadānaśataka, Toh 343); and (6) the sickly and short-lived Pūrṇa of Śrāvasti, attendant of Aniruddha, who became an arhat just before he died and is the subject of one of the stories in the first chapter of The Hundred Deeds (Karmaśataka, Toh 340).
n.­8
This is one of the differences between this version and the episode in The Exemplary Tale of Pūrṇa, according to which Pūrṇa himself is the main instigator and patron of the building project.
n.­23
grong khyer chen po dge ba’i pha rol ’gro zhes bya ba. No place whose name has this exact Tibetan rendering is found elsewhere in the canonical texts, and it has no attested Sanskrit equivalent. There is, however, a very close match in the Gaṇḍavyūha (Degé Kangyur, vol. 38, phal chen, a, F.65.b; see also Roberts, 2021): dge ba’i pha rol tu phyin pa, Śubhapāraṃgama in Sanskrit, the southern city where the householder bodhisattva Veṣṭhila lives‍—although this may well be an allegorical rather than a geographical name. Intriguingly, Veṣṭhila worships at a sandalwood shrine. Whatever the case, the stated location in the present text differs from that of the temple in The Exemplary Tale of Pūrṇa, which is built in the coastal city Sūrpāraka (Tib. slo ma lta bu)‍—the capital of Aparānta and Pūrṇa’s native city, identified with modern Sopara, just to the north of Mumbai.
n.­24
The Degé and other Kangyurs of predominantly Tshalpa (tshal pa) influence read phywa mkhan, while the Stok Palace (stog pho brang) and Shelkar (shel mkhar) Kangyurs of mainly Thempangma (them spangs ma) lineage have phya mkhan. Both spellings are found in other texts in all Kangyurs, and appear to represent alternative spellings of the same term. Csoma de Körös (p. 426) and Henri Léon Feer (p. 231) both rendered phywa mkhan as “fortune teller,” a sense it may have in some contexts (although in such cases “diviner” might be a better rendering). However, the Mahā­vyutpatti (3770) lists phya mkhan as the Sanskrit stha­pati, which Monier Williams translates as “chief, governor, architect, master builder, etc.” This seems the more likely sense given the context, and in a number of Vinaya and Prajñāpāramitā texts in the Kangyur the term (in both spellings) clearly has that meaning.
n.­42
The subheadings in this chapter are not present in the Tibetan, but have been added to make the translation more navigable.

b.

Bibliography

The Translated Text

’phags pa bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Toh 99, Degé Kangyur vol. 47 (mdo sde, ga), folios 1a.1–275b.7.

’phags pa bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. 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. 47, pp. 1–725.

Works Cited in Introduction and Endnotes

Tibetan Reference Works

Butön Rinchen Drub (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 sa skya’i chos ’byung gces bsdus, vol. 2. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2009.

Chökyi Drakpa (chos kyi grags pa). dam pa’i chos dgongs pa gcig pa’i rnam bshad lung don gsal byed legs bshad nyi ma’i snang ba. In chos kyi grags pa gsung ’bum, vol. 3 (ga), pp. 1–382. Kulhan: Drikung Kagyu Institute, 1999.

Chomden Rikpai Raldri (bcom ldan rig pa’i ral gri). dbu ma rtsa sher rgyan gyi me tog [a commentary on the Mūla­madhyamaka­kārikas]. Boudha: sa skya rgyal yongs gsung rab slob gnye khang, 2007.

Drakpa Döndrub (mtshur pu rgyal tshab grags pa don grub). byang chub lam sgron gyi ’grel pa mar gyi nying khu. Xining: mtsho sngon mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2009.

Gö Lotsāwa Shönnu Pal (’gos lo tsA ba gzhon nu dpal). theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos kyi ’grel pa de kho na nyid rab tu gsal ba’i me long. Swayambhu: Karma Leksheyling, 2012.

Gorampa Sönam Senge (go rams pa bsod nams seng+ge). dam pa’i chos mngon pa mdzod kyi ’grel pa gzhung don rab tu gsal ba’i nyi ma. In chos mngon pa’i skor. Boudha: sa skya rgyal yongs gsung rab slob gnyer khang, 2007.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag), Toh. 4364. Degé Tengyur, vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), F.294.b–310.a.

Taktsang Lotsawa Sherab Rinchen (stag tshang lo tsa ba shes rab rin chen). grub mtha’ kun shes. In stag tshang lo tsā ba’i shes rab rin chen gyi gsung skor, vol. 1 (ka), pp. 171–447. Boudha: sa skya rgyal yongs gsung rab slob gnyer khang, 2007.

zhol dka’ ’gyur dkar chag [Lhasa Kangyur Catalogue ]. 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. 107, pp. 17–852.

Works Cited in English and Other Languages

Csoma de Körös, Alexander. “Analysis of the Mdo.” Asiatic Researches 20 (1836): 426–428.

Feer, Henri Léon. “Analyse du Kandjour: recueil des livres sacrés du Tibet par Alexandre Csoma, de Körös.” Annales du Musée Guimet. Lyon: Imprimerie Pitrat Ainé (1881): 231–233.

Griffiths, Paul J. “Buddhist Hybrid English: Some Notes on Philology and Hermeneutics for Buddhologists.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 4, no. 2 (1981): 17–32.

Lamotte, Étienne. The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna (Mahā­prajñā­pāramitā­śāstra), Vol. III. Translated from the French (Le Traité de la grande Vertu de Sagesse de Nāgārjuna (Mahā­prajñā­pāramitā­śāstra)) by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron (unpublished manuscript, 2001). https://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book/the-treatise-on-the-great-virtue-of-wisdom-volume-iii/d/doc82365.html.

Roberts, Peter Alan. The Stem Array (Gaṇḍavyūha, chapter 45 of the Avataṃsakasūtra, Toh 44). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.

Rotman, Andy. Divine Stories: Divyāvadāna, Part 1. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.

Salomon, Richard. The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra: An Introduction with Selected Translations. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2018.

Yao, Fumi, et al. The Chapter on Medicines (Bhaiṣajyavastu, chapter 6 of the Vinayavastu, Toh 1). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.


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

Abode of Brahmā

Wylie:
  • tshangs pa’i gnas
Tibetan:
  • ཚངས་པའི་གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • brahmavihāra

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 1.­84
g.­2

Adapting to All Beings

Wylie:
  • skye bo thams cad rjes su ’jug pa
Tibetan:
  • སྐྱེ་བོ་ཐམས་ཅད་རྗེས་སུ་འཇུག་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Name of a prostitute in a story Buddha tells.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 3.­263
g.­3

Agnidatta

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

This name appears twice, referring to a king, who is a former incarnation of the Buddha, as well as an ascetic.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­23
  • 3.­606-607
g.­12

Anāthapiṇḍada

Wylie:
  • mgon med zas sbyin
Tibetan:
  • མགོན་མེད་ཟས་སྦྱིན།
Sanskrit:
  • anāthapiṇḍada

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A wealthy merchant in the town of Śrāvastī, famous for his generosity to the poor, who became a patron of the Buddha Śākyamuni. He bought Prince Jeta’s Grove (Skt. Jetavana), to be the Buddha’s first monastery, a place where the monks could stay during the monsoon.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­1
  • g.­275
g.­13

Anavatapta

Wylie:
  • ma dros pa
Tibetan:
  • མ་དྲོས་པ།
Sanskrit:
  • anavatapta

A nāga king.

Located in 12 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5
  • i.­13-14
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­24-25
  • 2.­28
  • 2.­33
  • 2.­38
  • 2.­95
  • n.­34
g.­103

faculty

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

A term with a wide range of meanings. Often refers to one or all of the five faculties (faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and knowledge) that are among the thirty-seven factors of awakening (q.v.); or to the five sense faculties; or to one of the twenty-two faculties (q.v.).

Located in 101 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­108
  • 1.­120
  • 1.­132
  • 1.­144
  • 1.­156
  • 1.­276-286
  • 1.­288-317
  • 1.­333
  • 1.­359
  • 1.­365-370
  • 1.­374
  • 1.­376
  • 1.­405
  • 1.­411-412
  • 1.­432
  • 1.­458
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­44
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­59
  • 3.­24
  • 3.­47
  • 3.­167-168
  • 3.­278
  • 3.­291
  • 3.­406
  • 3.­418
  • 3.­539
  • 3.­574
  • 3.­577
  • 3.­581
  • 3.­589-597
  • 3.­601-603
  • 3.­665
  • 3.­667
  • 3.­761
  • 3.­782
  • n.­29-30
  • g.­270
  • g.­361
  • g.­363
g.­168

impossible

Wylie:
  • gnas ma yin
Tibetan:
  • གནས་མ་ཡིན།
Sanskrit:
  • asthāna

This terms refers to all that is unreasonable and cannot be expected to occur. Among the ten powers of a Buddha, the first is knowing what is tenable and untenable (Skt. sthānāsthāna, Tib. gnas dang gnas ma yin), i.e., the natural laws that govern the world in which we live.

Located in 24 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­6
  • 1.­63-67
  • 1.­318
  • 1.­417
  • 2.­186
  • 2.­188-190
  • 3.­12-17
  • 3.­21-23
  • 3.­118
  • g.­361
g.­185

Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park

Wylie:
  • rgyal bu rgyal byed kyi tshal mgon med zas sbyin gyi kun dga’ ra ba
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་བུ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ་མགོན་མེད་ཟས་སྦྱིན་གྱི་ཀུན་དགའ་ར་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • jetavanam anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ AO

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.

Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • g.­276
  • g.­334
g.­200

Kośala

Wylie:
  • ko sa la
Tibetan:
  • ཀོ་ས་ལ།
Sanskrit:
  • kośala

An ancient Indian kingdom located in present day Uttar Pradesh.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 2.­1
g.­220

Mahā­maudgalyāyana

Wylie:
  • mod gal gyi bu chen po
Tibetan:
  • མོད་གལ་གྱི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • mahā­maudgalyāyana

One of the closest disciples of the Buddha, known for his miraculous abilities.

Located in 19 passages in the translation:

  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26-32
  • 2.­34-35
  • 3.­1-3
  • 3.­15
  • 3.­640
  • 3.­853-854
  • n.­34
  • g.­232
g.­232

Maudgalyāyana

Wylie:
  • maud gal gyi bu
Tibetan:
  • མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ།
Sanskrit:
  • maudgalyāyana

Same as Mahā­maudgalyāyana.

Located in 306 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­14-15
  • 2.­24
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­30
  • 2.­53-54
  • 2.­56
  • 3.­2-4
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­15-18
  • 3.­21-22
  • 3.­24-28
  • 3.­32-34
  • 3.­101-102
  • 3.­111-112
  • 3.­115-116
  • 3.­119-120
  • 3.­122
  • 3.­124
  • 3.­126-127
  • 3.­144-145
  • 3.­151
  • 3.­154-160
  • 3.­164-166
  • 3.­168
  • 3.­174-175
  • 3.­177-183
  • 3.­185-187
  • 3.­191-192
  • 3.­194-196
  • 3.­200-202
  • 3.­214-215
  • 3.­218
  • 3.­230-234
  • 3.­247-251
  • 3.­258-259
  • 3.­261-264
  • 3.­266-267
  • 3.­280-281
  • 3.­287-288
  • 3.­296-298
  • 3.­300-302
  • 3.­304-312
  • 3.­314-316
  • 3.­326-328
  • 3.­338-341
  • 3.­349-350
  • 3.­360-361
  • 3.­363-365
  • 3.­367-368
  • 3.­381-382
  • 3.­385-386
  • 3.­396-397
  • 3.­400-402
  • 3.­405-409
  • 3.­413-416
  • 3.­423-424
  • 3.­426-427
  • 3.­429-430
  • 3.­436-437
  • 3.­456-458
  • 3.­495-496
  • 3.­516-517
  • 3.­521-532
  • 3.­534-543
  • 3.­550-551
  • 3.­553-554
  • 3.­571-572
  • 3.­580-581
  • 3.­588-591
  • 3.­593-594
  • 3.­596-598
  • 3.­601-608
  • 3.­619-620
  • 3.­634-635
  • 3.­639-641
  • 3.­648-649
  • 3.­653-654
  • 3.­657-662
  • 3.­664-676
  • 3.­678-679
  • 3.­681-682
  • 3.­685-686
  • 3.­688-689
  • 3.­694-695
  • 3.­697-698
  • 3.­700-701
  • 3.­706-707
  • 3.­711-712
  • 3.­716-717
  • 3.­731-732
  • 3.­741-744
  • 3.­755-756
  • 3.­760-761
  • 3.­764-770
  • 3.­772-773
  • 3.­776-777
  • 3.­780-781
  • 3.­783-784
  • 3.­786-787
  • 3.­809-810
  • 3.­815-816
  • 3.­820-821
  • 3.­825-826
  • 3.­843-844
  • 3.­846-849
  • 3.­851-853
g.­258

Paltsek

Wylie:
  • dpal brtsegs
Tibetan:
  • དཔལ་བརྩེགས།
Sanskrit:
  • —

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Paltsek (eighth to early ninth century), from the village of Kawa north of Lhasa, was one of Tibet’s preeminent translators. He was one of the first seven Tibetans to be ordained by Śāntarakṣita and is counted as one of Guru Rinpoché’s twenty-five close disciples. In a famous verse by Ngok Lotsawa Loden Sherab, Kawa Paltsek is named along with Chokro Lui Gyaltsen and Zhang (or Nanam) Yeshé Dé as part of a group of translators whose skills were surpassed only by Vairotsana.

He translated works from a wide variety of genres, including sūtra, śāstra, vinaya, and tantra, and was an author himself. Paltsek was also one of the most important editors of the early period, one of nine translators installed by Tri Songdetsen (r. 755–797/800) to supervise the translation of the Tripiṭaka and help catalog translated works for the first two of three imperial catalogs, the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) and the Samyé Chimpuma (bsam yas mchims phu ma). In the colophons of his works, he is often known as Paltsek Rakṣita (rak+Shi ta).

In this text:

Tibetan editor of this sūtra.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
  • n.­3
g.­265

possible

Wylie:
  • gnas
Tibetan:
  • གནས།
Sanskrit:
  • sthāna

This terms refers to all that is reasonable and can be expected to occur. Among the ten powers of a Buddha, the first is knowing what is tenable and untenable (Skt. sthānāsthāna, Tib. gnas dang gnas ma yin), i.e., the natural laws that govern the world in which we live.

Located in 28 passages in the translation:

  • i.­9
  • 1.­5
  • 1.­58-62
  • 1.­317
  • 1.­379
  • 1.­381
  • 1.­416
  • 3.­1
  • 3.­3-7
  • 3.­9-10
  • 3.­118
  • 3.­164
  • 3.­673
  • 3.­676-679
  • 3.­682
  • g.­361
g.­270

powers

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

Usually refers to the five powers: faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and knowledge; although the same qualities as the five faculties, they are termed powers due to their greater strength. In some passages, there are two more powers: skillful means and devotion. In some cases, “powers” might refer to the ten powers of tathāgatas, q.v.

Located in 29 passages in the translation:

  • i.­10
  • i.­14
  • 1.­22
  • 1.­46
  • 1.­313
  • 1.­334
  • 1.­375-376
  • 1.­378
  • 1.­411
  • 1.­433
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­162
  • 3.­210
  • 3.­379
  • 3.­602-606
  • 3.­608
  • 3.­611
  • 3.­613
  • 3.­619
  • 3.­647
  • 3.­755
  • n.­34
  • g.­361
  • g.­363
g.­273

Prajñāvarman

Wylie:
  • pra dza+nyA bar ma
Tibetan:
  • པྲ་ཛྙཱ་བར་མ།
Sanskrit:
  • prajñāvarma

Indian scholar and translator of the sūtra. He lived during the eighth century and came to Tibet on the invitation of King Trisong Detsen. He contributed to the translation of 77 Buddhist works from Sanskrit into Tibetan during his stay in Tibet.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
g.­275

Prince Jeta

Wylie:
  • rgyal bu rgyal byed
Tibetan:
  • རྒྱལ་བུ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད།
Sanskrit:
  • rājakumāra jeta

Prince who sold a piece of land in Śrāvastī to the householder Anāthapiṇḍada, who built a monastery there and offered it to the Buddha.

Located in 1 passage in the translation:

  • 2.­1
g.­282

Pūrṇa

Wylie:
  • gang po
Tibetan:
  • གང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • pūrṇa

A monk and disciple of the Buddha. At least six different disciples in the canonical texts have this name (see n.­7), but the Pūrṇa in this text is likely to be the same Pūrṇa as in The Exemplary Tale of Pūrṇa (see i.­5).

Located in 25 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • i.­5-6
  • i.­8-13
  • i.­15
  • 1.­2-4
  • 2.­1-5
  • n.­6-8
  • n.­10
  • n.­12
  • n.­23
  • n.­25
g.­313

Sarvajñādeva

Wylie:
  • sar+ba dza+nyA de ba
Tibetan:
  • སརྦ་ཛྙཱ་དེ་བ།
Sanskrit:
  • sarvajñādeva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to traditional accounts, the Kashmiri preceptor Sarvajñādeva was among the “one hundred” paṇḍitas invited by Trisong Detsen (r. 755–797/800) to assist with the translation of the Buddhist scriptures into Tibetan. Sarvajñādeva assisted in the translation of more than twenty-three works, including numerous sūtras and the first translations of Śāntideva’s Bodhicaryāvatāra and Nāgārjuna’s Suhṛllekha. Much of this work was likely carried out in the first years of the ninth century and may have continued into the reign of Ralpachen (ral pa can), who ascended the throne in 815 and died in 838 or 841 ᴄᴇ.

In this text:

One of the editors of this sūtra.

Located in 3 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
  • n.­6
g.­334

Śrāvastī

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

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 7 passages in the translation:

  • i.­13
  • 1.­2
  • 2.­1-2
  • 2.­9-10
  • g.­275
g.­347

Śuddhasiṃha

Wylie:
  • shud dha sing ha
Tibetan:
  • ཤུད་དྷ་སིང་ཧ།
Sanskrit:
  • śuddhasiṃha

Indian editor of the sūtra.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
g.­351

superintendent

Wylie:
  • lag gi bla
Tibetan:
  • ལག་གི་བླ།
Sanskrit:
  • navakarmika

Someone (usually a bhikṣu) responsible for the building of a new monastery or temple, or for the repair of an existing one (Mahāvyutpatti 8735).

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • s.­1
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­4
  • 2.­1-3
g.­361

ten powers

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

The powers (sometimes also called strengths), unique to tathāgatas, of: (1) knowing what is possible and what is impossible (sthānāsthāna­jñāna­bala, gnas dang gnas ma yin pa mkhyen pa); (2) knowing the ripening of karma (karmavipāka­jñāna­bala, las kyi rnam smin mkhyen pa); (3) knowing the various inclinations (nānādhimukti­jñāna­bala, mos pa sna tshogs mkhyen pa); (4) knowing the various elements (nānādhātu­jñāna­bala, khams sna tshogs mkhyen pa); (5) knowing the supreme and lesser faculties (indriya­parāpara­jñāna­bala, dbang po mchog dang mchog ma yin pa mkhyen pa); (6) knowing the paths that lead to all destinations (sarvatra­gāminī­pratipaj­jñāna­bala, thams cad du ’gro ba’i lam mkhyen pa); (7) knowing the concentrations, liberations, absorptions, equilibriums, afflictions, purifications, and abidings (dhyāna­vimokṣa­samādhi­samāpatti­saṃkleśa­vyavadāna­vyutthāna­jñāna­bala, bsam gtan dang rnam thar dang ting ’dzin dang snyoms ’jug dang kun nas nyon mongs pa dang rnam par byang ba dang ldan ba thams cad mkhyen pa); (8) knowing the recollection of past existences (pūrva­nivāsānusmṛti­jñāna­bala, sngon gyi gnas rjes su dran pa mkhyen pa); (9) knowing death and rebirth (cyutyupapatti­jñāna­bala, ’chi ’pho ba dang skye ba mkhyen pa); and (10) knowing the exhaustion of the defilements (āsravakṣaya­jñāna­bala, zag pa zad pa mkhyen pa).

Located in 52 passages in the translation:

  • s.­2
  • i.­4
  • i.­8-11
  • 1.­379
  • 1.­409-410
  • 2.­66
  • 2.­120
  • 2.­139-141
  • 2.­144
  • 2.­146
  • 2.­148
  • 2.­151
  • 2.­203
  • 2.­206
  • 2.­208-209
  • 2.­212-214
  • 2.­288
  • 2.­315
  • 3.­162
  • 3.­164-165
  • 3.­231-232
  • 3.­268
  • 3.­271
  • 3.­276-277
  • 3.­345
  • 3.­369
  • 3.­372
  • 3.­374
  • 3.­545
  • 3.­570
  • 3.­583
  • 3.­645-647
  • 3.­752
  • n.­9-10
  • n.­26
  • g.­168
  • g.­265
g.­371

Transcending Virtue

Wylie:
  • dge ba’i pha rol ’gro
Tibetan:
  • དགེ་བའི་ཕ་རོལ་འགྲོ།
Sanskrit:
  • śubhapāraṃgama RS

The city where the temple mentioned in this text is being built. Possibly to be identified with the southern city Śubhapāraṃgama in the Gaṇḍavyūha (see note i.­9).

Located in 6 passages in the translation:

  • 1.­2
  • 2.­11-12
  • 2.­14
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­21
g.­428

Yeshé Nyingpo

Wylie:
  • ye shes snying po
Tibetan:
  • ཡེ་ཤེས་སྙིང་པོ།
Sanskrit:
  • —

The sūtra’s Tibetan translator.

Located in 2 passages in the translation:

  • i.­2
  • c.­1
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    84000. The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty (Niṣṭhā­gata­bhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratnānanta, bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa, Toh 99). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024. https://84000.co/translation/toh99.Copy
    84000. The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty (Niṣṭhā­gata­bhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratnānanta, bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa, Toh 99). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024, 84000.co/translation/toh99.Copy
    84000. (2024) The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty (Niṣṭhā­gata­bhagavajjñāna­vaipulya­sūtra­ratnānanta, bcom ldan ’das kyi ye shes rgyas pa’i mdo sde rin po che mtha’ yas pa mthar phyin pa, Toh 99). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh99.Copy

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