The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines
Chapter 17
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
![84000 logo](https://cached-fe.84000.co/imgs/logo.png)
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 1.1.12 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.23.4
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.
![Logo for the license](https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/2.0/88x31.png)
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 17
Then [F.58.a] Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, said to the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord, how wonderful it is that bodhisattva great beings who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom will acquire these attributes that may be attained in this lifetime, and that in order to bring beings to maturation, to refine the buddhafields, and to venerate the lord buddhas, they move from buddhafield to buddhafield, and that the roots of virtuous action through which they seek to honor, venerate, respect, and make offerings to those lord buddhas will also become excellent! [How wonderful it is that] the Dharmas that they heard from those lord buddhas they will remember without defect until they attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, that they will acquire the excellence of the spiritual family, and that they will acquire the excellence of felicity, the excellence of longevity, the excellence of retinue, the excellence of defining characteristics, the excellence of luminosity, the excellence of eyes, the excellence of voice, the excellence of meditative stability, and the excellence of dhāraṇī! {Ki.II-III: 41} [How wonderful it is that] through skillful means, they themselves will emanate in the physical form of the buddhas, journey from world system to world system, and be present in places where the lord buddhas have not been born and have not appeared, describing the attributes of the perfection of generosity; describing the attributes of the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, [F.58.b] the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of wisdom; describing the attributes of the emptiness of internal phenomena and of [the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities; describing the attributes of the applications of mindfulness; and describing the attributes of the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas! [How wonderful it is that] through skillful means they instruct beings in the three vehicles, namely, the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the vehicle of the buddhas!”
Then Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, again373 addressed the Blessed One: “Blessed Lord, how wonderful it is that when this perfection of wisdom has been acquired, all the six perfections will be acquired, and that all the aspects of emptiness, the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, [F.59.a] the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, the distinct qualities of the buddhas, and [all the fruits and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, will be acquired!”
The Blessed One replied to Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, “Kauśika, it is so! It is so! By acquiring the perfection of wisdom, all the six perfections will be acquired, and all the aspects of emptiness, the factors conducive to enlightenment, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, and [all the fruits and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, will be acquired. {Ki.II-III: 42}
“Moreover, Kauśika, when they affirm, take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom, the noble sons or noble daughters will acquire whichever attributes [are appropriate] in this lifetime. I will reveal them! Listen well and keep it in mind!”
Śakra, mighty lord of the gods, replied, “Blessed Lord, so be it!” and he listened again to the Blessed One.
The Blessed One then spoke as follows: “Kauśika, [F.59.b] if there are any rival tīrthikas, followers of tīrthika practices, wandering mendicants, māras, gods included among the class of māras, or proud individuals who wish to dispute this perfection of wisdom, who wish to be separate from it, who wish to quarrel with it, or who wish to contradict it, all the disputations, separations, quarrels, and contradictions raised by those who wish to dispute, separate from, quarrel with, and contradict it will swiftly subside and become nonexistent. The intentions of those who delight in disputation, those who delight in separation, those who delight in quarreling, and those who delight in contradiction will not be fulfilled. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections over a long period of time, they will have forsaken those outer and inner phenomena for the sake of which beings have for so long fought, quarreled, raged, and contended. Therefore, they establish those beings in the perfection of generosity. Bodhisattva great beings will have forsaken those outer and inner phenomena for the sake of which beings have for so long resorted to immorality. Therefore, they establish those beings in the perfection of ethical discipline. Bodhisattva great beings will have forsaken those outer and inner phenomena for the sake of which beings have for so long resorted to anger, malice, and harmfulness. Therefore, they establish those beings in the perfection of tolerance. Bodhisattva great beings will have forsaken those outer and inner phenomena for the sake of which beings have for so long resorted to indolence. [F.60.a] Therefore, they establish those beings in the perfection of perseverance. Bodhisattva great beings will have forsaken those outer and inner phenomena for the sake of which beings resort to distraction for a long time. Therefore, they establish those beings in the perfection of meditative concentration. Bodhisattva great beings will have forsaken those outer and inner phenomena for the sake of which beings have for so long resorted to stupidity. Therefore, they establish those beings in the perfection of wisdom.
“Kauśika, bodhisattva great beings will have eliminated those latent impulses and obsessions for the sake of which beings wander in cyclic existence. {Ki.II-III: 43} Therefore they genuinely exhort beings toward the four meditative concentrations. Therefore, they genuinely exhort them toward the four immeasurable attitudes, the four formless absorptions, the five extrasensory powers, the four applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, and the distinct qualities of the buddhas. Therefore, they genuinely exhort them toward the fruit of entering the stream to nirvāṇa, [F.60.b] the fruit of being destined for only one more rebirth, the fruit of no longer being subject to rebirth, arhatship, individual enlightenment, and unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Kauśika, when bodhisattva great beings practice the conduct of a bodhisattva in that manner, those attributes will emerge within them. In other lives, too, they will attain manifest buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, and then turn the wheel of the Dharma. Having established beings in accordance with their aspirations, they will then attain final nirvāṇa, in the expanse of nirvāṇa where the aggregates are not left behind.
“Moreover, Kauśika, in the vicinity of places where noble sons or noble daughters take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom, no māras, or gods included among the māras, or rival tīrthikas, or wandering mendicants, or proud individuals will be able to intrude to distract their minds from this perfection of wisdom, or to dispute it, quarrel with it, contradict it, or negate it. In addition to that, there will be [other] attributes and advantages, in that those [māras and so forth] will listen to, take up, and cultivate this perfection of wisdom, and after being emancipated through the three vehicles, they will put an end to suffering.
“Kauśika, there is an herb called maghī that alleviates all poisons. As an analogy, if a snake or creature famished by hunger, wanting to eat, were to see another creature, and in order to eat that creature pursue it, and if that other creature, while being pursued, [F.61.a] in fear of death and in terror, were to go to a place where the herb maghī is growing, then that snake would turn back simply on smelling the herb. {Ki.II-III: 44} If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because the herbal attributes of maghī would overpower the venom of the snake. Kauśika, such is the potency of the herb maghī. Similarly, Kauśika, those who would dispute, quarrel with, or contradict any noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom would all be pacified and eliminated by the brilliance of the perfection of wisdom and by the power of the perfection of wisdom. Wherever they appear, they would be eliminated in that very place and they would not prosper. If you ask why, Kauśika, it is because the perfection of wisdom pacifies all negative and nonvirtuous phenomena, and does not allow them to prosper.
“If you ask what constitutes all the negative and nonvirtuous phenomena that the perfection of wisdom pacifies and does not allow to prosper, it is the case that it pacifies and does not allow desire, hatred, or delusion to prosper. It pacifies ignorance, formative predispositions, consciousness, name and form, the six sense fields, sensory contact, sensation, craving, grasping, the rebirth process, actual birth, aging, death, sorrow, lamentation, suffering, discomfort, and agitation, up to and including the entire conglomerate of sufferings, and does not allow them to prosper.
“It pacifies obstacles; obscurations; latent impulses; obsessions; views of self and views of sentient beings, life forms, living beings, life, living creatures, [F.61.b] individuals, human beings, people, actors, experiencers, knowers, and viewers; views of nihilism, views of eternalism, views of existence, and views of nonexistence; all aspects of wrong view; miserliness, immorality, malice, indolence, agitation, and stupidity; the notion of permanence, the notion of happiness, the notion of self, and the notion that existence is pleasant; the indulgence in craving due to craving; the grasping after physical forms; the grasping after feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness; the grasping after the perfection of generosity, the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of wisdom; the grasping after the emptiness of internal phenomena; the grasping after [the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities; the grasping after the applications of mindfulness; and the grasping after the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, the distinct qualities of the buddhas, and [all the fruits and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, and it does not allow [those graspings] to prosper. It pacifies the grasping after nirvāṇa [F.62.a] and does not allow it to prosper. Kauśika, this perfection of wisdom pacifies all those negative and nonvirtuous phenomena, and does not allow them to prosper. {Ki.II-III: 45}
“Kauśika, the Four Great Kings in the great trichiliocosm, and Śakra, the mighty lord of the gods, and Brahmā, the lord of the world of Patient Endurance, and all the gods, up to and including those of Akaniṣṭha, will indeed always guard, shelter, and nurture without interruption those noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom. [B31]
“Those lord buddhas who are alive at present in the world systems of the ten directions will indeed always guard, shelter, and nurture without interruption those noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom. Those [sons and daughters] will abandon nonvirtuous attributes and their virtuous attributes will prosper. By way of not apprehending anything, they will prosper and not decline due to the perfection of generosity. By way of not apprehending anything, they will prosper and not decline due to the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of wisdom. By way of not apprehending anything, they will prosper and not decline due to the emptiness of internal phenomena. [F.62.b] By way of not apprehending anything, they will prosper and not decline due to [the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities. By way of not apprehending anything, they will prosper and not decline due to the applications of mindfulness. By way of not apprehending anything, they will prosper and not decline due to the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path. By way of not apprehending anything, they will prosper and not decline due to the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, the distinct qualities of the buddhas, and [all the fruits and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience.
“They will be endowed with agreeable speech, they will be endowed with measured speech, they will be endowed with coherent speech, they will not be overpowered by anger, they will not be overpowered by pride, and they will not become miserly or envious. They themselves will abstain from killing, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to abstain from killing. They will praise abstention from killing and they will praise and rejoice with others when they abstain from killing. They themselves will abstain from stealing, {Ki.II-III: 46} sexual misconduct, falsehood, slander, verbal abuse, irresponsible chatter, covetousness, malice, and wrong views, [F.63.a] and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to abstain from wrong views [and so forth]. They will praise abstention from wrong views [and so forth], and they will praise and rejoice with others when they abstain from wrong views [and so forth]. {Ki.II-III: 47}
“They themselves will engage in the perfection of generosity, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to engage in the perfection of generosity. They will praise the perfection of generosity and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they engage in the perfection of generosity. They themselves will engage in the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of wisdom, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to engage in the perfection of wisdom [and so forth]. They will praise the perfection of wisdom [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they engage in the perfection of wisdom [and so forth].
“They themselves will cultivate the emptiness of internal phenomena, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to cultivate the emptiness of internal phenomena. They will praise the emptiness of internal phenomena and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they cultivate the emptiness of internal phenomena. {Ki.II-III:48} They themselves will cultivate [the other aspects of emptiness], up to and including the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to cultivate the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities [and so forth]. They will praise the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they cultivate the emptiness of the essential nature of nonentities [and so forth].
“They themselves will be absorbed in all the meditative stabilities, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in all the meditative stabilities. [F.63.b] They will praise absorption in all the meditative stabilities, and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in all the meditative stabilities.
“They themselves will attain the dhāraṇīs, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to attain the dhāraṇīs. They will praise the attaining of the dhāraṇīs, and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they attain the dhāraṇīs.
“They themselves will be absorbed in the first meditative concentration, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in the first meditative concentration. They will praise the first meditative concentration and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in the first meditative concentration. They themselves will be absorbed in the second, third, and fourth meditative concentrations, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in the fourth meditative concentration [and so forth]. They will praise the fourth meditative concentration [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in the fourth meditative concentration [and so forth].
“They themselves will be absorbed in loving kindness, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in loving kindness. They will praise the absorption in loving kindness and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in loving kindness. {Ki.II-III: 49} They themselves will be absorbed in compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in equanimity [and so forth]. They will praise the absorption in equanimity [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in equanimity [and so forth]. [F.64.a]
“They themselves will be absorbed in the sphere of infinite space, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in the sphere of infinite space. They will praise the absorption in the sphere of infinite space and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in the sphere of infinite space. They themselves will be absorbed in the sphere of infinite consciousness, the sphere of nothing-at-all, and the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception [and so forth]. They will praise the absorption in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception [and so forth].
“They themselves will cultivate the applications of mindfulness, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to cultivate the applications of mindfulness. They will praise the cultivation of the applications of mindfulness and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they cultivate the applications of mindfulness. They themselves will cultivate the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, and the noble eightfold path, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to cultivate the noble eightfold path [and so forth]. They will praise the cultivation of the noble eightfold path [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they cultivate the noble eightfold path [and so forth].
“They themselves will cultivate the meditative stabilities of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, [F.64.b] and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to cultivate the meditative stabilities of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. They will praise the meditative stabilities of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness, and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they cultivate the meditative stabilities of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness. {Ki.II-III: 50}
“They themselves will be absorbed in the eight aspects of liberation, both consecutively and in reverse order, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in the eight aspects of liberation. They will praise the eight aspects of liberation and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in the eight aspects of liberation, both consecutively and in reverse order.
“They themselves will be absorbed in the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in the nine serial steps of meditative absorption. They will praise the nine serial steps of meditative absorption and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in the nine serial steps of meditative absorption.
“They themselves will be absorbed in the ten powers of the tathāgatas, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to be absorbed in the ten powers of the tathāgatas. They will praise the ten powers of the tathāgatas and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they are absorbed in the ten powers of the tathāgatas.
“They themselves will attain the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to attain the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas [and so forth]. [F.65.a] They will praise the attaining of the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they attain the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas [and so forth].
“They themselves will attain the unfailing attributes, perpetual equanimity, knowledge of the path, and all-aspect omniscience, and, in addition, they will genuinely encourage others to attain all-aspect omniscience [and so forth]. They will praise all-aspect omniscience [and so forth], and they will also praise and rejoice with others when they attain all-aspect omniscience [and so forth].
“When they practice the six perfections, whatever gifts they dispense, they dedicate to unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, making common cause with all beings, and without apprehending anything. Whatever ethical discipline they guard, {Ki.II-III: 51} whatever tolerance they cultivate, whatever perseverance they undertake, whatever meditative concentration they are absorbed in, and whatever wisdom they cultivate, they dedicate all these to unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, making common cause with all beings, and without apprehending anything.
“When noble sons or noble daughters practice the six perfections in that manner, the following recollection arises: ‘If I do not dispense gifts, I will be reborn in the series of lower existences, I will not bring beings to maturation, I will not refine the buddhafields, and indeed I will not attain all-aspect omniscience. If I do not maintain ethical discipline, I will be reborn in the three lower existences, I will not even acquire a human body, I will not bring beings to maturation, I will not refine the buddhafields, [F.65.b] and indeed I will not attain all-aspect omniscience. If I do not cultivate tolerance, I will have diminished faculties, my facial complexion will become lackluster, and I will not acquire an excellent physique. That is to say, when I practice the conduct of a bodhisattva, I will lack an excellent form such as that which without a doubt, as soon as they see it, will turn beings toward unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. I will not bring beings to maturation through an excellent form, I will not refine the buddhafields, and indeed I will not attain all-aspect omniscience. If I am indolent, I cannot attain the path to enlightenment, I will not bring beings to maturation, I will not refine the buddhafields, and indeed I will not attain all-aspect omniscience. If my mind is agitated, I cannot develop such meditative stabilities as those through which beings are brought to maturation, I will not refine the buddhafields, and indeed I will not attain all-aspect omniscience. If I am unwise, after transcending the level of the śrāvakas and the level of the pratyekabuddhas through wisdom and skillful means, I will not be able to bring beings to maturation, refine the buddhafields, and then attain all-aspect omniscience.’
“They should train in the correct manner, and the following thoughts will arise: {Ki.II-III: 52} ‘I will not fulfill the perfection of generosity through miserliness. That would be illogical and contradictory. I will not fulfill the perfection of ethical discipline through immorality, [F.66.a] the perfection of tolerance through malice, the perfection of perseverance through indolence, the perfection of meditative concentration through agitation, or the perfection of wisdom through stupidity. That would be illogical and contradictory. Without completing the six perfections, I will not be emancipated in all-aspect omniscience!’ So, Kauśika, those noble sons or noble daughters who take up, uphold, recite, master, and focus their attention correctly on this perfection of wisdom, and who do not separate from the mind set on all-aspect omniscience, will attain these enlightened attributes in this lifetime and in other lives.”
Śakra, mighty lord of the gods then said, “Blessed Lord, it is wonderful that this perfection of wisdom has been established in that manner for the discipline and humility of bodhisattva great beings!”
“Kauśika, how has this perfection of wisdom been established in that manner for the discipline and humility of bodhisattva great beings?” asked the Blessed One.
“Blessed Lord,” replied Śakra, “when bodhisattva great beings practice the mundane perfection of generosity and bestow gifts on the lord buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas, if they think, ‘I am bestowing gifts on the lord buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, śrāvakas, the destitute, travelers, and beggars,’ they are resorting to pride through their gifts, which are lacking in skillful means. [F.66.b] When they practice the mundane perfection of ethical discipline, again if they think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of ethical discipline; I am completing the perfection of ethical discipline,’ they are resorting to pride. When they practice the mundane perfection of tolerance, again if they think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of tolerance; I am completing the perfection of tolerance,’ they are resorting to pride. When they practice the mundane perfection of perseverance, again if they think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of perseverance; I am completing the perfection of perseverance,’ they are resorting to pride. When they practice the mundane perfection of meditative concentration, again if they think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of meditative concentration; I am completing the perfection of meditative concentration,’ they are resorting to pride. {Ki.II-III: 53} When they practice the mundane perfection of wisdom, again if they think, ‘I am practicing the perfection of wisdom; I am cultivating the perfection of wisdom,’ that is the mundane perfection of wisdom because it is without skillful means, and they are resorting to pride.
“Again, if they think, ‘I will attain the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the ten powers of the tathāgatas, [F.67.a] the four fearlessnesses, the four kinds of exact knowledge, the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas, and [all the fruits and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, they are resorting to pride because they are attached to acting on the basis of a self.
“Blessed Lord, when bodhisattva great beings practice mundane doctrines in that manner, they are resorting to pride because they are attached to acting on the basis of a self. It is in this respect that the perfection of wisdom has been established for the discipline and humility of bodhisattva great beings.
“Blessed Lord, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of supramundane generosity, in order to cultivate the perfection of wisdom to its utmost, they do not even apprehend their gifts, nor do they apprehend the act of giving, nor do they apprehend the recipient. Therefore, Blessed Lord, the perfection of wisdom has been established for the sake of the discipline and humility of bodhisattva great beings who practice the perfection of generosity.
“When 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, in order to cultivate the perfection of wisdom [and so forth] to their utmost, they do not apprehend even wisdom [and so forth], nor do they apprehend those who possess wisdom [and so forth]. Therefore, Blessed Lord, the perfection of wisdom has been established for the sake of the discipline and humility of bodhisattva great beings who practice the perfection of wisdom [and so forth].
“Even though they cultivate the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, [F.67.b] the formless absorptions, the eight aspects of liberation, the nine serial steps of meditative absorption, the gateways to liberation—emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness—the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, the dhāraṇī gateways, the ten powers [of the tathāgatas], the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, the distinct qualities of the buddhas, and [all the fruits and realizations], up to and including all-aspect omniscience, in order to cultivate the perfection of wisdom to its utmost, they do not apprehend them. Therefore, Blessed Lord, the perfection of wisdom has been established for the sake of the discipline and humility of bodhisattva great beings.” {Ki.II-III: 54}
This completes the seventeenth 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.