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ལས་བརྒྱ་པ།

The Hundred Deeds

Karmaśataka

ལས་བརྒྱ་ཐམ་པ།

las brgya tham pa

The Hundred Deeds

Karmaśataka

Toh 340

Degé Kangyur, vol. 73 (mdo sde, ha), folios 1.b–309.a, and vol. 74 (mdo sde, a), folios 1.b–128.b.

Translated by Dr. Lozang Jamspal (International Buddhist College, Thailand) and Kaia Tara Fischer under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2020
Current version v 1.3.22 (2021)
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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.

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Summary

s.1

The sūtra The Hundred Deeds, whose title could also be translated as The Hundred Karmas, is a collection of stories known as avadāna‍—a narrative genre widely represented in the Sanskrit Buddhist literature and its derivatives‍—comprising more than 120 individual texts. It includes narratives of Buddha Śākyamuni’s notable deeds and foundational teachings, the stories of other well-known Buddhist figures, and a variety of other tales featuring people from all walks of ancient Indian life and beings from all six realms of existence. The texts sometimes include stretches of verse. In the majority of the stories the Buddha’s purpose in recounting the past lives of one or more individuals is to make definitive statements about the karmic ripening of actions across multiple lifetimes, and the sūtra is perhaps the best known of the many works in the Kangyur on this theme.

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Acknowledgements

ac.1

Translated by Dr. Lozang Jamspal (International Buddhist College, Thailand) and Kaia Fischer of the Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York (TCTGNY). Introduction by Nathan Mitchell, with additional material by the 84000 editorial team.

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Warm thanks to Dr. Tom Tillemans, Dr. John Canti, Dr. James Gentry, Adam Krug, Ven. Konchog Norbu, Janna White, and all the readers and editors at 84000, for their wisdom; to Huang Jing Rui, Amy Ang, and the entire administration and staff at 84000, for their compassion; to readers Dr. Irene Cannon-Geary, Dr. Natalie M. Griffin, Tom Griffin, Norman Guberman, Margot Jarrett, Dr. David Kittay, Dr. Susan Landesman, Megan Mook, and Dr. Toy-Fung Tung, as well as to every member of TCTGNY, for their diligence and sincerity; to Caithlin De Marrais, Tinka Harvard, Laren McClung, and Erin Sperry, for their adept revisions to passages of verse; to Dr. Paul Hackett, for his linguistic and technical expertise; to Dr. Tenzin Robert Thurman and the late Prof. Dr. Michael Hahn, for their insight; to Dr. Lauran Hartley, for her capable assistance in researching the introduction; to Dr. Donald J. LaRocca, for his thoughtful clarification of terms pertaining to arms and armor; and to Jennifer E. Fischer, for her generosity in formatting the translation.

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Special thanks to Ven. Wei Wu and all of the students, faculty, and staff of the International Buddhist College, Thailand, for their warm welcome of the senior translator Dr. Jamspal, and to Cynthia H. Wong, for her kindheartedness toward the junior translator Kaia Fischer.

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Through the devoted attention of all may the Buddhadharma smile upon us for countless ages, safeguarded by knowledge of the classical Tibetan language.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

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Work on this translation was rendered possible by the generous donations of a number of sponsors: Zhou Tian Yu, Chen Yi Qin, Irene Tillman, Archie Kao and Zhou Xun; 恒基伟业投资发展集团有限公司，李英、李杰、李明、李一全家; Thirty, Twenty and family; and Ye Kong, Helen Han, Karen Kong and family. Their help is most gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

i.1

The Hundred Deeds1 is a collection of stories or avadāna, a narrative genre widely represented in the Sanskrit Buddhist literature and its derivatives. The term avadāna can be analyzed and understood in several ways.2 One common interpretation is “legend,” but that understanding is perhaps too rigid, as well as too romantic, for what could be described as religious or spiritual biography.3 The general intention of avadāna literature is to elicit faith and devotion in the reader through an object lesson in karmic cause and effect: how, for example, a noble act motivated by faith and devotion toward the Three Jewels (Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha), or toward another object of veneration, yields a good result, while the result of an ignoble act is dreadful. Historically, the specific functions of avadāna literature were to propagate Buddhism and to provide inspiration and preliminary education in the Dharma, particularly for laypersons and the recently ordained.4 It can still perform these functions today.

The Translation

The Hundred Deeds

Prologue

[V73] [F.1.b] [B1]

p.1

I prostrate to the All-Knowing One.

p.2

Listen well, for I have heard

Of a doorway whence we may discern

The world-guru, Gone to Bliss,

Who wishes nothing but our benefit,

As he parcels out a full account

To those who wandered in, confused,

From the vast, bleak wood of wrongful views.

His sacred speech, so sound and sweet‍—

This sūtra‍—is The Hundred Deeds.

Part One

1.1

1. The Dog

2. The Story of Little Eyes

3. The Story of Pūraṇa

4. The Person with a Curving Spine: Two Stories

5. The Story of Udayin

6. Victory Banner

7. The Story of Kṣemā

8. The Story of Maṇiprabha

9. The Story of Jasmine

10. Give It to Me!

11. The Story of She Who Gathers

12. The Tailor

The Dog

1.2

[F.2.a] When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī there lived a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa‍—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s‍—who was fond of philosophical extremists.

1.3

When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. As they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. After nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with glowing, golden skin, a well-rounded head, long arms, a broad brow, a fine and prominent nose, and eyebrows that met. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan.

The Story of Little Eyes

The Story of Pūraṇa

The Person with a Curving Spine: Two Stories

The First Story about “The Person with a Curving Spine”

1.138

When the Blessed One was in in Śrāvastī there lived a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa‍—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s.

1.139

When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and they enjoyed themselves and coupled. [F.18.a] As they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived, and after nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan.

The Second Story About “The Person with a Curving Spine”

The Story of Udayin

Victory Banner

The Story of Kṣemā

The Story of Maṇiprabha

The Story of Jasmine

Give It to Me!

The Story of She Who Gathers

The Tailor

Part Two

2.1

1. The Chariot: Four Stories

2. The Story of Earnest

3. The Story of Gopā

4. The Story of Keśinī

5. The Story of Lotus Color

6. The Butcher

7. The Story of Golden Color [F.52.b]

8. The Cowherds

9. A Band of Friends

10. The Story of Abhaya

11. The Story of Lake of Jewels

12. The Story of Wealth’s Delight

13. The Bear: Two Stories

14. The Story of Small Person with a Curving Spine

15. The Rākṣasa

The Chariot: Four Stories

The First “Chariot” Story

2.2

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain brahmin who wished to perform a ritual offering, so he climbed onto his chariot and rode into Śrāvastī. That morning, when the Blessed One donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in Śrāvastī, the brahmin was filled with joy, circumambulated the Blessed One, and departed. At that moment, the Blessed One smiled.

The Second “Chariot” Story

The Third “Chariot” Story

The Fourth “Chariot” Story

The Story of Earnest

The Story of Gopā

The Story of Keśinī

The Story of Lotus Color

The Butcher

The Story of Golden Color

The Cowherds

A Band of Friends

The Story of Abhaya

The Story of Lake of Jewels

The Story of Wealth’s Delight

The Bear: Two Stories

The First Story of the Bear

2.459

When the Blessed One was in Rājagṛha and traveling in the Gayā region, he fell ill with a cold. An expert healer named Jīvaka advised him of the benefits of a medicinal butter called iron arrow. He prepared the butter decoction himself and offered it to the Blessed One. Since there was some left to spare, Jīvaka asked the Blessed One, “Lord, please tell me to whom I should give the leftover decoction.”

The Second Story of the Bear

The Story of Small Person with a Curving Spine

The Rākṣasa

Part Three

3.1

1. The Story of Kacaṅkalā

2. The Story of Kaineya

3. The Betrothal of the Bride: Two Stories

4. Cuts: Two Stories

5. Being Devoured

6. The Story of Nandaka

7. Chunks of Meat

8. The One Who Thought He Saw His Son

9. The Farmer

10. Death

11. A Story about Kokālika

12. The Tired Man

13. Morsel

The Story of Kacaṅkalā

3.2

When the Blessed One was staying in Otalā Forest in Otalā, one morning he donned his lower garment and Dharma robes, and, carrying his alms bowl, went for alms in the villages of Otalā. At that time there was a certain woman who had taken a pot and gone out for water. From a distance, she saw that the Blessed One was beautiful, pleasing, his senses were at peace, his heart at peace, and his mind absolutely serene. He was as shining and radiant as a golden pillar.

The Story of Kaineya

The Betrothal of the Bride: Two Stories

The First “Betrothal of the Bride” Story

3.105

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived two householders who were very close friends. One day, one of them said to the other, “My friend, let’s make certain that come what may, the bond between us can never be broken.”

“How could we do that?” asked the other householder.

“We have to become kin,” said the first.

3.106

“Do you have a son or daughter?” wondered the other.

The Second “Betrothal of the Bride” Story

Cuts: Two Stories

The First “Cut” Story

3.187

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, it was Venerable Maudgalyāyana’s custom to wander from time to time among the hell beings, to wander among the anguished spirits, to wander among the animals, to wander among the humans, and to wander among the gods.

3.188

When he returned, [F.142.b] he would relate to people how the hell beings suffer through being cut up, hacked apart, beaten, roasted, and so on. When he returned, he would also relate to people how the anguished spirits suffer through hunger, thirst, being burned, being incinerated, being cooked, and so on; how animals suffer as they eat one another; how human beings suffer through striving, anger, and exhaustion; and how the gods suffer through dying, falling, disintegrating, and decaying. Those who heard him were filled with sorrow, and from this sorrow they went on to achieve great things.

The Second “Cut” Story

Being Devoured

The Story of Nandaka

Chunks of Meat

The One Who Thought He Saw His Son

The Farmer

Death

A Story about Kokālika

The Tired Man

Morsel

Part Four

4.1

1. The Story of Maitrībala

2. The Dark Storm

3. Ants: Two Stories [F.177.a]

4. The Lay of the Land108

5. The Story of Āraṇyaka

6. The Elephant

7. The Nāga (1)

8. The Story of Siṃha

9. The Schism in the Saṅgha

10. The Dark Forest

11. The One Who Heard

The Story of Maitrībala

4.2

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, the following took place‍—providing a statement additional to the life story of Wealth’s Delight in explaining how the events of The Sūtra of the Setting in Motion of the Wheel of Dharma came about.109

The Dark Storm

Ants: Two Stories

The First “Ant” Story

4.41

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, Venerable All-Knowing Kauṇḍinya saw the truths, and when that happened eighty thousand gods saw the truths as well. The monks inquired of the Blessed One, “Lord, tell us why the Blessed One sated Kauṇḍinya and eighty thousand gods with a taste of the holy Dharma, establishing them in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa.”

The Second “Ant” Story

The Lay of the Land

The Story of Āraṇyaka

The Elephant

The Nāga (1)

The Story of Siṃha

The Schism in the Saṅgha

The Dark Forest

The One Who Heard

Part Five

5.1

1. The Story of Virūpa

2. The Story of Kṣemaṅkara

3. The Young Untouchable

4. The Story of Subhadra the Charioteer124

5. The Story of Sahadeva

6. The Bull

7. The Story of Good Compassion

8. The Story of Fleshy

9. The Story of Black

10. The Story of Iṣudhara

11. The Man Who Was Trampled

12. The Story of Jackal

The Story of Virūpa

5.2

As the Blessed One was traveling through the countryside in the land of Garga, he came to Mount Śiśumāri and stayed there in the deer park in The Terrifying Forest. On Mount Śiśumāri there lived a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa‍—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. He took a wife of the same caste, and as they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. After nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was ugly in eighteen different ways. [F.205.a]

The Story of Kṣemaṅkara

The Young Untouchable

The Story of Subhadra the Charioteer

The Story of Sahadeva

The Bull

The Story of Good Compassion

The Story of Fleshy

The Story of Black

The Story of Iṣudhara

The Man Who Was Trampled

The Story of Jackal

Part Six

6.1

1. The Bird: Two Stories

2. The Story of Majestic Body

3. The Teacher

4. A Story about Kāśyapa

5. A Story about Ānanda

6. The Story of Son of Grasping

7. The Story of Subhadra the Mendicant150

8. The Worthy of Offerings Litany

9. Latecomers: Two Stories

The Bird: Two Stories

The First Bird Story

6.2

Once, when the Blessed One was staying at Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha teaching the Dharma amid a company of hundreds, from Gandhamādana Mountain a certain peacock named Beautiful to See came gliding through the sky over the garden of Prince Jeta.151 The bird overheard the Blessed One teaching the Dharma as he sat amid the company of hundreds, which inspired him to descend to the earth and alight at the feet of the Blessed One.

The Second Bird Story

The Story of Majestic Body

The Teacher

A Story about Kāśyapa

A Story about Ānanda

The Story of Son of Grasping

The Story of Subhadra the Mendicant

The Worthy of Offerings Litany

Latecomers to the Dharma: Two Stories

The First “Latecomer” Story

6.442

When the Blessed One was in the garden of Prince Jeta in Śrāvastī, Anāthapiṇḍada commissioned the construction of a monastery complete in every respect. He offered it to the Blessed One and the rest of saṅgha of monks, and began to give gifts and make merit.

6.443

At that time there was another householder in Śrāvastī who thought, “How can I outshine the householder Anāthapiṇḍada in gift giving?” Then he thought, “Aha! If I venture out onto the great ocean to Ratnadvīpa and complete my voyage, upon my return I shall be able to outshine the householder Anāthapiṇḍada’s gift giving.”

The Second “Latecomer” Story

Part Seven

7.1

1. The Story of Paṅgu

2. Bhādra

3. The Blind Man

4. The Story of Nirgrantha Kāśyapa

5. The Story of Foremost Kāśyapa

6. The Story of Mounted on an Elephant

7. The Story of Saraṇa

8. The Mṛgavratins

9. The Story of Candrā

10. The Kinnara Spirits: Two Stories

The Story of Paṅgu

7.2

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain householder who, when the time came for him to marry, took a wife. As they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. After nine or ten months had passed she gave birth to a child. The upper part of the child’s body was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, but the limbs of his lower body were incomplete.

Bhādra

The Blind Man

The Story of Nirgrantha Kāśyapa

The Story of Foremost Kāśyapa

The Story of Mounted on an Elephant

The Story of Saraṇa

The Mṛgavratins

The Story of Candrā

The Kinnara Spirits: Two Stories

The First “Kinnara” Story

7.251

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain householder, prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa‍—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and as they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. After nine or ten months had passed, she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful, with glowing, golden skin and a well-rounded head, long arms, a broad brow, a fine and prominent nose, and eyebrows that met. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they asked, “What name should we give this child?” and they named him, saying, “Since this boy is extremely beautiful, and his appearance just like that of a kinnara spirit, his name will be Kinnara.”

The Second “Kinnara” Story

Part Eight

8.1

1. The Story of Pūrṇa

2. The Sacrifice

3. The Lazy Man

4. A Story about Anāthapiṇḍada

5. The Humble One

6. Padmottama: Two Stories178

7. The Story of Sudarśana

8. The Story of Ratnaśikhin 179

9. Wealth

10. The Story of Vijaya180

The Story of Pūrṇa

8.2

When the Blessed One was in in Rājagṛha, in a remote mountain village in a valley to the south there lived a certain great, high brahmin. He was prosperous and wealthy, a person of vast and magnificent means, endowed with the wealth of Vaiśravaṇa‍—with wealth to rival Vaiśravaṇa’s. He had a loving nature, was compassionate, loved beings like a parent loves their child, and cared deeply for all beings. His name was Pūrṇa.

The Sacrifice

The Lazy Man

A Story about Anāthapiṇḍada

The Humble One

Padmottama: Two Stories

The First “Padmottama” Story

8.71

When184 the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, it was King Prasenajit’s custom to go to see the Blessed One three times a day. He would worship him with flowers, burning sticks of incense, [F.42.b] incense powders, and incense cones, then sit before him to listen to the Dharma.

The Second “Padmottama” Story

The Story of Sudarśana

The Story of Ratnaśikhin

Wealth

The Story of Vijaya

Part Nine

9.1

1. The Sons

2. The Crevasse

3. The Ransom

4. The Attack

5. Trapped

6. The Partridge

7. Father, or The Story of Sudarśana 189

8. The Bandits

9. The Piśācas

10. The Story of Head of Indra

The Sons

9.2

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain brahmin. When the time came for him to marry he took a wife, and as they enjoyed themselves and coupled, one day his wife conceived. After nine or ten months had passed she gave birth to a child who was well proportioned, pleasing to the eye, and beautiful. At the elaborate feast celebrating his birth they named him according to their clan. They reared him on milk, yogurt, butter, ghee, and milk solids.

The Crevasse

The Ransom

The Attack

Trapped

The Partridge

Father, or The Story of Sudarśana

The Bandits

The Piśācas

The Story of Head of Indra

10.

Part Ten

10.1

1. Śakra

2. The King

3. The Hunter

4. The Story of Deluded202 [F.73.a]

5. The Brahmin: Three Stories

6. The Story of the Householder Govinda

7. The Quarrel

8. The Nāga (2)

9. Two Stories about King203 Śibi

10. Kauśāmbī

Śakra

10.2

Among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three it is Śakra, King of the Gods, who reigns over the kingdom of the thirty-three gods. Five signs customarily appear when gods near the time of their death and transmigration: (1) Deities are illuminated from within, but at that time this light dwindles. (2) The clothing and ornaments of the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, as well as the branches of flowers and fruit that adorn their clothing, normally make very pleasant sounds when shaken by the wind, but at that time the sounds become unpleasant. (3) Deities’ clothing is soft to the touch, but at that time their clothing becomes very coarse. (4) No odor can cling to the body of a god, but at that time their bodies begin to reek. (5) Deities’ eyes never close, but at that time their eyes close.

The King

The Hunter

The Story of Deluded

The Brahmin: Three Stories

The First “Brahmin” Story

10.205

When the Blessed One was in Śrāvastī, there lived a certain brahmin. As he prepared to perform a sacrifice, the brahmins who had gathered for the sacrifice from various regions thought, “Any sacrifice that gives rise to strife, reproof, conflict, and contention will not succeed.”

One day there was a dispute over the offerings at the site of the sacrifice between the brahmins gathered there from the countryside and those from the center of town. [F.99.b]

The Second “Brahmin” Story

The Third “Brahmin” Story

The Story of the Householder Govinda

The Quarrel

The Nāga (2)

Two Stories about King Śibi

The First Story about King Śibi

10.371

As232 the Blessed One was traveling through the province of Mallā, he stepped off the road that led to the Antavān River and to Kuśinagarī and said to Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, make four folds in the Tathāgata’s upper garment, and lay it out. I will rest my sore back awhile.”

The Second Story of King Śibi

Kauśāmbī

ab.

Abbreviations

C	Choné (co ne) Kangyur
D	Degé (sde dge) Kangyur
H	Lhasa Zhöl (lha sa zhol) Kangyur
J	Lithang (li thang) Kangyur
K	Kangxi Peking (pe) Kangyur
K_Y	Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur
N	Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur
S	Stok Palace Manuscript (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur
U	Urga (khu)

Notes

n.1

Although commonly referred to in later Tibetan works by the short form las brgya pa, the title appears in most Kangyurs as las brgya tham pa, and in both D and S as las brgya tham pa pa. The Sanskrit title is universally given as Karmaśataka, but in Kangyurs of predominantly Thempangma line this is variously prefixed: by paravarna in S, Shey, and some of the Bhutan Kangyurs; by parivarna in the Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur; by parivarṇa in the Ulaanbaatar Kangyur; and by paripūrna in the Hemis, Dolpo, and Namgyal Kangyurs and the Langdo collection, this last variant meaning “full” or “complete” being the one that seems to make most sense.

n.2

See Sarkar (1981) pp. 46–49.

n.3

Perhaps a better definition is that of Sastri (1960) p. 72: “The word avadāna signifies a ‘great religious or moral achievement as well as the history of a great achievement.’ ”

n.4

See Rotman (2008) pp. 19–20.

n.5

See Chutiwongs (1978) p. 139; Sarkar (1981) p. 45.

n.6

“Le Karma-Çataka me parait-être l’œuvre d’une École qui a voulu avoir son recueil de « Cent Légendes » se différenciant de l’Avadāna-Çataka par certaines particularités. Les deux recueils appartiendraient à deux Écoles rivales, non ennemies.” Feer (1901) p. 60.

n.7

Some shared episodes are almost verbatim, but show interesting differences (see, for example, n.73 and n.76) that might on further investigation throw light on the history of its translation.

n.8

There is a Mongolian version, but like others of its kind it is almost certain to have been translated from the Tibetan. See Skilling (2001) p. 140, n23.

n.9

See Butön F.125.a.5, translated in Obermiller ([1932] 1986) p. 186, and in Stein and Zangpo (2013) p. 281. See also Skilling (1997) p. 89; Skilling (2001) p. 140; Ancient Tibet (1986) p. 252. Nyak Jñānakumāra is usually thought of as having worked predominantly on tantric material and to have been active only from Trisong Detsen’s reign onwards; nevertheless, traditional accounts mention that because he was already an active translator familiar with Sanskrit he was Trisong Detsen’s first emissary, sent to invite Bodhisattva Śāntarakṣita to Tibet. Even before that, according to the fourteenth century chronicle rgyal rabs gsal ba’i me long, Drenka Mūlakośa and Jñānakumāra were sent by King Tridé Tsuktsen to invite “the two paṇḍitas Buddhaguhya and Buddhaśānta” to Tibet; the two paṇḍitas declined the invitation but the two translators learned by heart five Mahāyāna sūtras, including the Karmaśataka, and brought them back with them (see Sørensen 1994, p. 352). If they were, in fact, responsible for an early Tibetan translation, it would almost certainly have been revised later, and the Tibetan that has survived in the Kangyur bears no particularly archaic characteristics.

n.10

Denkarma, F.300.b.5; see also Herrmann-Pfandt (2008) pp. 150–51; and Nattier (1991) p. 151.

n.11

“Ral-pa-can’s brother, Glang-dar-ma, was put on the throne with the backing of the Bon-pos and rebellious clans sometime between 836 and 841 . . . Glang-dar-ma’s reign lasted only until 841 or 842, according to most sources.” Ancient Tibet (1986) p. 305.

n.12

“The three men are called Bod-kyi mkhas-pa mi-gsum or ‘The Three Learned Men of Tibet.’ ” Roerich (1996) p. 63 n1. “viz. Rab-sal of Tsaṅ, Yo Ge-juṅ of P’o-t’oṅ-pa and Mar Çākyamuni of Tö-luṅ.” Obermiller ([1932] 1986) p. 201.

n.13

Roerich (1996) p. 63.

n.14

Obermiller ([1932] 1986) p. 199.

n.15

The Avadānaśataka exists in Sanskrit (the most complete manuscript being a 17th century Nepalese one); in a third century Chinese translation (撰集百緣經, Zhuanji Bai Yuan Jing, Taishō 200); and in an imperial period Tibetan translation by Devacandra and Jinamitra (gang po la sogs pa’i rtogs pa brjod pa brgya pa, Toh 343).

n.16

See Skilling (2001) p. 141; cf. Przyluski and Lalou (1936) pp. 177–78.

n.17

Feer (1901) pp. 53–54. By the accounting of the present translation the stories number 124, but because several chapters contain multiple stories a total greater than either 124 or 127 could equally well be counted.

n.18

For a list of stories common to both collections see Feer (1901) p. 55; cf. Speyer (1992) p. xix.

n.19

“Quoique les récits de l’un et l’autre recueil présentent la même physionomie générale, il y a entre eux des différences de détails nombreuses et notables.” Feer (1901) pp. 54–55.

n.20

Feer (1901) p. 54.

n.21

For an in-depth analysis of this interpretation of vyākaraṇa see Burnouf (2010) pp. 100–101.

n.22

Przyluski and Lalou (1936) p. 178.

n.23

See Sarkar (1981) p. 45; Winternitz (1987) p. 250.

n.24

“Il y a un certain nombre de textes (j’en ai compté 42) que je qualifie de parallèles, parce que le récit du temps présent et celui du temps passé sont la reproduction exacte (sauf quelques modifications indispensables) l’un de l’autre, sans qu’il soit question (au moins dans les plus caractéristiques d’entre eux) de punition ou de récompense; ou, si cet élément s’y trouve, il y est secondaire et occupe très peu de place.” Feer (1901) p. 56.

n.25

For a detailed list of similarities and differences between jātakas and avadānas see Sarkar (1981) pp. 50–51.

n.26

“Il y a de ces textes dans lesquels le récit du temps passé se divise en plusieurs parties, le Buddha jouant un rôle dans l’une, n’en jouant pas dans d’autres. . . . Je remarque aussi un certain nombre de récits qui ont pour héros principal ou secondaires des personnages célèbres de la légende bouddhique (Devadatta, Kāçyapa, Ananda, Aniruddha, Katyāyana, Kokālika, Çāriputra, Mandgalyāyana, Gopā, Yaçodharā, Bimbisāra, Prasenajit, etc.) ou même se rattachent à des épisodes connus de ce qu’on peut appeler la biographie du Buddha et l’histoire du Bouddhisme.” Feer (1901) p. 56.

n.27

The Tibetan nyes par spyod pa, “misdeeds,” might be a scribal error for nye bar spyod pa, “sense pleasures,” given that parallel Sanskrit source passages have kāma here.

n.28

The translation of this stock passage is based on a very similar passage in the Avadānaśataka and the Divyāvadāna, as informed by Rotman’s rendering (2008, p. 225). The Sanskrit is as follows: ko hīyate, ko vardhate, kaḥ kṛcchraprāptaḥ kaḥ saṃkaṭaprāptaḥ, kaḥ saṃbādhaprāptaḥ kaḥ kṛcchrasaṃkaṭasambādhaprāptaḥ ko 'pāyaniṃnaḥ, ko 'pāyapravaṇaḥ ko 'pāyaprāgbhāraḥ kamahamapāyamārgādvyutthāpya svargaphale mokṣe ca pratiṣṭhāpayeyam kasya kāmapaṅkanimagnasya hastoddhāramanupradadyām kamāryadhanavirahitamāryadhanaiśvaryādhipatye pratiṣṭhāpayāmi kasyānavaropitāni kuśalamūlānyavaropayeyam kasyāvaropitāni paripācayeyam kasya pakvāni vimocayeyam, kasyājñānatimirapaṭalaparyavanaddhanetrasya jñānāñjanaśalākayā cakṣurviśodhayeyam /.

n.29

In stock phrases like this the text alternates between “truths” in the plural and “truth” in the singular. Based on text-internal evidence we understand this to primarily refer to the “four truths of nobles beings,” so unless context dictates otherwise we have rendered it in the plural throughout.

n.30

I.e., the saṅgha of the nuns and that of the monks.

n.31

A portion of this passage and the others identical to it were translated with reference to similar passages in the Divyāvadāna. See Rotman (2008) p. 73; and Tatelman (2005) pp. 32–33, 110–11.

n.32

“The unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa”; Tib. g.yung drung gi mthar thug pa grub pa dang bde ba’i mya ngan las ’das pa. The Tibetan phrase grub pa dang bde ba most likely renders the Sanskrit yogakṣema.

n.33

At this point in the par phud printing of the Degé Kangyur available on the Buddhist Digital Resource Center site (W22084), vol. 73, F.162.a seems to have been mistakenly inserted in the place of F.12.a, though the English numbering (ostensibly done separately) is continuous. The mistakenly inserted folio is not translated here; its translation appears at the appropriate place later in the text. In D vol. 73, F.12.a is nowhere to be found; the missing portion translated here has therefore been taken from S vol. 80, F.17.a–18.a. The correct section of the text resumes in D after this one folio with vol. 73, F.12.b. This missing folio does not affect the Tibetan text seen in the Reading Room bilingual view, which was input from scans of a later printing free of this error.

n.34

This list of five is translated in consultation with the Divyāvadāna, which has a nearly identical passage. Cf. Rotman (2008) pp. 39–41 and Tatelam (2005) p. 29.

n.35

The par phud print of D (see n.33) resumes here with F.12.b.

n.36

“Committed adultery with”; Tib. byi byed pa. This term can also mean “raped.” It is unclear from the context which is intended.

n.37

Throughout the text we have omitted reiterations of the full title that appear in the Tib. at the beginning of each bam po.

n.38

This rendering is informed by the following Sanskrit phrase from the Avadānaśataka, which likely corresponds closely to the source text phrase for the Tibetan translation: ity uktamātre bhagavatā saptāhāvaropitair iva keśair dvādaśavarṣopasaṃpannasyeva bhikṣor īryāpathena pātrakarakavyagrahasto 'vasthitaḥ. Cf. Andy Rotman’s (2008, p. 88) translation of a very similar stock phrase. The sense, as Rotman notes (p. 406 n270), is that though newly gone forth they do not appear as novices, but as elder well-disciplined monks just prior to their weekly tonsure.

n.39

“Four divisions of his army”; Rotman’s translation of the Divyāvadāna lists these as “the elephant corps, the cavalry, the chariot corps, and the infantry.” (2008) p. 128.

n.40

“They sat in silence”; D: difficult to read. S: kha rog ste ’khod do.

n.41

D pad ma here is most likely a corruption of bad sa (Vatsa), since pa and ba are easily confused in handwritten Tibetan manuscripts, and K_Y, J, K, N, C, and H all read sa’i instead of D (and S) ma’i.

n.42

“Already”; D: sngan cad; S: sngan chad. This translation follows S. Rangjung Yeshe has an entry for the similar sngan chad med pa, “unprecedented.”

n.43

Skt. paṅgu (Negi), “crawls about”; Tib. ’phye bo. The individual named Paṅgu in this story is not the same as the person with the same name whose story begins at 7.2.

n.44

The vinaya prohibits, among others, persons with certain disabilities from becoming bhikṣus or bhikṣuṇīs. See Miller (2018), chapter 6; see also Vinayakṣudrakavastu (Toh 6), D vol. 11, F.38.a–b (translation Jamspal and Fischer, forthcoming).

n.45

“Ford the floodwaters”; Tib. chu bo rnams las brgal bar bya ba. A Buddhist idiom meaning “to overcome the afflictive emotions,” per Dr. Lozang Jamspal.

n.46

“Manifest,” for Tib. rangs. We read this as a variant spelling of langs pa, “appear, arise, manifest, stand, wells up, comes up, and uplifts, p. of lang ba” (Ives Waldo).

n.47

“Focused his mind,” for the Tib. dgongs, in contrast to the Tib. mthong, which appears in conjunction with a disciple’s actions in nearly identical passages. Some scriptures explain the omniscience of the Buddha to be such that while all knowledge is ever available to him, he must in fact direct his mind toward an object to “know” it, as seems to be the case here. Some similar passages have simply “know,” when the verb has a direct object, e.g., “The Blessed One knew the time had come . . . .”

n.48

“Will be instrumental in,” for the Tib. ’di las brten te; alt. “Through this being the Blessed One will give an extraordinary Dharma teaching,” “The Blessed One will use this being to give an extraordinary Dharma teaching,” or the like.

n.49

There are indeed two instances of the phrase “totally and completely awakened Buddha” in this passage.

n.50

“Prabhāvan,” adapted from L. Chandra’s entry, which lists not a Buddha but a goddess by the same name. Tib. ’od zer can, Eng. perhaps “Having Light Rays”; probably a Skt. epithet for the sun.

n.51

“The Bodhisattva” with a capital B, here and throughout, refers to Buddha Śākyamuni in his previous lifetimes, after he first gave rise to the resolve set on complete and perfect awakening.

n.52

“Gopā led him up the stairs, kicked him in the head, and threw him from the top of the staircase.” Here we take the first usage of the Tib. mgo as referring to the “top” of the staircase (as earlier in the story) and the subsequent usage to refer to Devadatta’s own head; Tib. de nas sa ’tsho mas skas de nyid la mgo thur kar bstan te / mgo bor rdog pas bsnun nas / skas mgo nas bor ro.

n.53

D bdag gis, should be bdag gi.

n.54

D bdag gis, should be bdag gi.

n.55

This refers to Donkey Grove.

n.56

Tib. mnyas, probably a scribal error. Elsewhere typically mnyes.

n.57

D: bse ru lta bu’i ’jig rten gyi yon gnas gcig pu rnams ’jig rten du ’byung ste; S: bse ru lta bu ’jig rten . . . . This translation follows S.

n.58

“Held him dear to their hearts”; Tib. pha ma’i snying du shas cher sdug cing phangs la yid du ’ong bar gyur to.

n.59

D: des sa sgren po la gnas; perhaps “living on bare ground” (lit: “naked earth”). S: des sgren po la gnas. This translation follows S, taking a cue from later in the D, where she is described as bu mo de sgren mor ’dug, “sitting naked on the ground” (see 2.217).

n.60

Tib. che ge. Lozang Jamspal compares this term to the Ladakhi dialect ’a ce, “elder sister.”

n.61

“Capacity”; Tib. shes pa. Alt. “knowledge,” “education,” “critical faculties.” From this point forward, the text generally adds shes pa to the standard list in this stock passage. In our translation we have inverted the order of the last two qualities in the list from that in the Tib.

n.62

“What action pleased the Blessed One, and did not displease him?” Tib. gang las gis ni bcom ldan ’das mnyes par bgyis te / mi mnyes par ma bgyis lags. This construction differs slightly also in the Tib. from elsewhere in the text.

n.63

In the list there appear to be six. It may be that the vase and basin, for instance, belong together.

n.64

A sign of high esteem.

n.65

“Meanwhile” is a rhetorical insertion.

n.66

For this list to total ten dreams, one must take “touching” and “taking . . . into his arms” the sun and moon as two different dreams, and count each of the dreams of sitting on a different being individually. The list is identical in S.

n.67

“It quivered, shuddered, and jolted; it trembled, shook, and swayed”; the Tib. uses only two basic verbs, intensifying each twice over to make six in all: ’gul rab tu ’gul / kun du [sic] rab tu ’gul / ldeg rad tu ldeg / kun du [sic] rab tu ldeg par gyur to.

n.68

“Finally came”; D and S both have the Tib. thod, which this translation takes as scribal error for thob.

n.69

“Stepped”; the Tib. rdzis, here rendered as “stepped” to underscore Mati’s change of heart. The Tib. reflects this shift in Mati’s alternating uses of rkang and zhabs as he describes the incident.

n.70

“My drum”; Tib. rol mo. Lit. “music.” His name is later given as rnga sgra (Sound of the Drum).

n.71

“Screened windows”; obscure Tib. skar khung khol ma (Lozang Jamspal). Used also to refer to a hole in the roof for releasing smoke from cooking or heating.

n.72

“Burning sticks of incense, incense powders, and incense cones”; Tib. bdug pa dang phye ma dang spos. This formulation appears throughout the text. In the absence of a clear delineation between these items in the available dictionaries, this translation renders these three types of incense based on (1) the meaning of bdug pa as a verb, “to cense,” thus “burning” sticks; (2) phye ma, meaning “powder,” in this context incense powder; and while (3) spos is a general term for incense, when it appears with the others we appended “cones” to differentiate them.

n.73

The passage that follows, recounting the Buddha’s first teaching, is almost identical to the account of the same episode in The Chapter on a Schism in the Saṅgha (Saṅghabhedavastu, the seventeenth chapter of the Vinayavastu, Toh 1), see D vol. 4 (’dul ba, nga), F.41.a.7 et seq., and therefore also the equivalent passage in The Sūtra on Going Forth (Abhiniṣkramaṇasūtra, Toh 301), see D vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), F.58.b.5 et seq., since the latter is derived from extracts of the former. These three parallel passages are more than close enough for their common origin to be almost certain, and their minor differences in wording are no doubt due to the work of editors at different times; it is worth noting that the exact wording of the version in the present text diverges further from the first two versions mentioned than the second from the first (and in this regard see n.76 below). A quite different account of the same episode is found in The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95), see D vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), F.195.a et seq.; or, in translation, Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2013), 26.19. A full translation of The Chapter on a Schism in the Saṅgha is in preparation (Miller, forthcoming).

n.74

It is at this point in the narrative that the (shorter) version recounted in the Pali Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya 56) begins; the Kangyur sūtra Toh 31 (D vol. 34, shes rab sna tshogs, F.180.b–183.a) is a 14th century translation made from the Pali and therefore very close to it‍—though not an entirely accurate match, see Skilling (1993), pp. 103–106.

n.75

Most other Tibetan versions of this repeated passage (e.g. in the Dharmacakrasūtra, Toh 337) place the first person pronoun nga with this phrase, but here the Tibetan translators have chosen to omit it. Indeed, in the various Sanskrit versions (typically pūrvam ananuśruteṣu dharmeṣu) there is no indication of whether the phrase means the Buddha had not himself previously heard these dharmas or whether they had more generally never been heard before by anyone. The important point in this phrase is that the Buddha’s realizations of the points he is setting out came from his own experience and not from any pre-existing doctrinal transmission.

n.76

This version of the Buddha’s first teaching follows the Sanskrit of the Saṅghabhedavastu (see n.73), but not the Tibetan in that it does not include the term “realization” (Tib. rtogs pa) in this and the following several repetitions of this phrase. Instead the list only includes “insight (jñāna), knowledge (vidyā), and understanding (buddhi)” Gnoli (1977) p. 135. Skilling (1993), pp. 105 and 194, discusses the significance of the four to seven “epithets of insight” found in the parallel versions of this passage in Sanskrit, Pali, and Tibetan but does not mention this particular version, or this difference between the Sanskrit of the Saṅghabhedavastu and its Tibetan translation. For an English translation of another version of this foundational teaching and a discussion of its textual history and various recensions, see Dharmachakra Translation Committee, The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018. The present English rendering of this teaching closely follows that translation, but differs from it where the Tibetan source text does.

n.77

This name means “Kauṇḍinya who has understood.”

n.78

Conches with clockwise whorls were apparently considered more precious at this time.

n.79

Here, “terrors,” “fearsome,” “terrifying,” “threat,” and “treacherous” all reflect the Tib. ’jigs pa’i and could alternatively all be uniformly translated as simply “the danger of,” or “dangerous.”

n.80

“Sirens,” borrowing the familiar term from Greek mythology. Tib. srin mo khrung khrung gzhon nu ma.

n.81

“Their boats were destroyed,” unsure. Tib. song ste bor yang. Perhaps “set out, and left (land) behind as well, but . . . .”

n.82

Tib. song ste bor yang nor gyi gru rnams ma rungs par gyur. Perhaps “set out, and left (land) behind as well, but . . . .”

n.83

“I betrayed him,” for the obscure Tib. bdag gis de la chu gang bor med do. Lit. “There is no throwing out all the water to him” (or “at it”). According to Dan Martin, the honorific form chab gang can mean “loyality,” “integrity,” etc.

n.84

This is likely a reference to the episode of “The Burning of the Khāṇḍava Forest” that concludes the first book (ādiparvan) of the Mahābhārata. In this episode, Kṛṣṇa and Arjuna set the Khāṇḍava Forest on fire and annihilate nearly all of the animals that live in the forest as they flee the flames. The reference thus evokes a scene of total annihilation. For a translation of this episode, see The Mahābhārata I: The Book of the Beginning (1973) pp. 412–31.

n.85

This final verse is followed by an abbreviated summary of the foregoing verses, listing the first word of each four-line verse. This is perhaps intended as a mnemonic device for ordained persons relating the story from memory in a teaching environment. We have left this terse summary untranslated. D reads: tshigs su bcad pa ’di rnams kyi sdom ni / kyi ’dug de bde khyod sdig chos blo ’jigs bsen. S breaks up the passage in a way that makes this abbreviation more obvious: kyi ’dug / de / bde / khyod / sdig / chos / blo / ’jigs / bsen.

n.86

“Capable”; Tib. spong nus par gyur.

n.87

I.e., it was nearly noon, after which time he would not be permitted to eat.

n.88

The term “bald,” though clearly implied, is not present in the Tib.

n.89

“There’s no reason for me to do anything,” D: gyin da; S: gyin ’da’; C and H: gyi nar.

n.90

D: sla; S and H: bla. This translation follows D.

n.91

Tib. dud ’gro. The text switches here from referring to the subject of this story as a monster (srin) to referring to him as an animal (dud ’gro).

n.92

This renders the Tibetan ’jig rten pa’i thugs, which renders the Sanskrit laukikam cittam, “thought concerning the world.” According to Edgerton (1953, p. 466), this refers to when the Buddha “concerns himself with the welfare of some person or persons . . . contrasted with a Buddha’s lokottara citta.”

n.93

“Truth” and “truths” in this passage, and in this stock phrase as it appears throughout this text, translate dharma/chos.

n.94

Here the Tib. text has an additional zhes smras nas / drang srong kai ne yas, which we have somewhat simplified in the Eng.

n.95

These are listed in ’dul ba’i mdo as “(1) One should not go alone on the street, (2) one should not swim to the other side of the (“a”?) river, (3) one should not have physical contact with men, (4) one should not remain in the company of men, (5) one should not look upon [them], and (6) one should not hide one’s misdeeds.” The scripture goes on to give six more rules: “(1) One should not lay hands on gold, (2) one should not shave the pubic area, (3) one should not dig in the earth, (4) one should not cut green grass, (5) one should not eat feed what (“food that”?) is not freely given, and (6) one should not hoard food.”

n.96

“A novice” is added for clarification; in the Tib. it is only implied by the statement that follows.

n.97

The term “preceptor” has been added here for clarity. The Tibetan text reads “nun” (dge slong ma) here, not “preceptor” (mkhan mo), but, given the context, it must be assumed that this nun is the preceptor who is mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph.

n.98

The phrase “began to accuse her of adultery” is added here for the sake of clarity.

n.99

“The five precepts for practicing the holy life,” i.e., not to (1) lie, (2) steal, (3) kill, (4) engage in sexual misconduct, or (5) partake of intoxicants. Sometimes the vow not to engage in sexual misconduct is a vow of celibacy, as here.

n.100

In this instance the phrase “all material support and clothing” does not appear in the Tib.

n.101

“Suspected”; Tib. zos, p. of za ba, taken as a short form of the tshom za ba, “to suspect.”

n.102

Here “pimples,” “pustules,” and “boils” all reflect the Tib. ’bras; alt. “lesions” (Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary).

n.103

Or, “one billion three hundred fifty million,” i.e., (dung phyur “100 million,” phrag “x,” ’bum “1,000” = 1,000,000,000); dang “+” (bye ba “10 million” phrag “x” sum cu rtsa lnga “35” = 350,000,000) = 1,350,000,000.

n.104

“For their behavior” is a rhetorical interpolation.

n.105

“Heard,” translating with S thos. D has mthong.

n.106

“Unwavering Gait,” translating with D ma nyams pa. S has mnyam pa, “Equal Gait.”

n.107

This verse differs somewhat from the similar verses at 4.16 and 10.410; here the Tib. is sbyin pa rgya cher gyur pa ’di yis ni / srid gsum sangs rgyas rang byung gyur par shog / brgal nas sngon gyi rgyal ba’i dbang rnams kyis / skye bo phal chen ma brgyal rnams kyang bsgral.

n.108

“The Lay of the Land,” for the Tib. spyod yul (Skt. gocara). The semantic range of this Skt. term makes it difficult to translate with one unique English equivalent. See variants in the story itself.

n.109

The two parts of the narrative in The Story of Wealth’s Delight (2.385 et seq. and 2.430 et seq. above) recount respectively the “sūtra” (see below) itself, verbatim, and the Buddha’s explanation of his past relationship with the five monks who were his first disciples. The present story of Maitrībala is another episode in that past relationship. Note that the sūtra named in the text (chos kyi ’khor lo skor ba’i mdo, Skt. Dharmacakrapravartanasūtra) either refers to a sūtra that no longer exists as such, or is a general way of referring to that episode in the life of the Buddha as related in longer works. The sūtra with just that name in the Kangyur (Toh 31), and the Pali work from which it was translated, the Dhammacakkappavattana-sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya 56), cover only part of the Buddha’s teaching to the monks, while the Kangyur sūtra called The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma (Dharmacakrasūtra, Toh 337) is an even shorter excerpt. See also n.73 and n.74.

n.110

This verse differs somewhat from the similar verses at 3.435 and 10.410; here the Tib. is sbyin pa chen por gyur pa ’di yis ni / ’gro bar rang byung sangs rgyas par shog / sngon gyi rgyal dbang rnams kyis ma bsgral gang / skye bo srid pa’i chu las sgrol bar shog.

n.111

D: sla’i; S: bla’i. This translation follows S.

n.112

Just as found in the title, “The Lay of the Land,” for the Tib. spyod yul (Skt. gocara), the semantic range of this Skt. term makes it difficult to translate with one unique Eng. equivalent. In this passage, “Don’t know my way around”; Tib. spyod yul gyi rgyus ma ’tshal na. See various uses below.

n.113

“Where to go to”; Tib. de lta bu’i spyod yul.

n.114

“Point another in the wrong direction”; Tib. spyod yul ma yin pa bstan.

n.115

“Scavenger”; Tib. the rel. According to Dr. Lozang Jamspal this term is still current in Ladakhi dialect.

n.116

This instance of this stock section of text lacks the Tib. shes pa, “capacity.”

n.117

Since these four lines are nine syllables each, we translate them as verse, but the meter might alternatively be considered coincidental, and the passage itself as prose belonging to the section that follows.

n.118

Tib. dge slong gi dge ’dun dang thabs cig tu na. It seems the Buddha’s name may have been mistakenly omitted here.

n.119

“For all humanity”; Tib. rkang gnyis kyi nang na. Lit. “among the bipeds.”

n.120

“Burden of your past deeds” to clarify the Tib. las yang bar ’gyur.

n.121

Ray (1994) p. 165 quotes Horner (1938) pp. 296–97 and notes that the various vinaya disagree on the precise contents of the five ascetic practices promoted by Devadatta. Ray first quotes Horner’s translation of the Pali version as follows: “[1] It were good, lord, if the monks for as long as life lasted, should be forest dwellers; whoever should betake himself to the neighborhood of a village, sin [vajja] would besmirch him. [2] For as long as life lasts let them be beggars for alms; whoever should accept an invitation, sin would besmirch him. [3] For as long as life lasts let them be wearers of robes taken from the dustheap; whoever should accept a robe given by a householder, sin would besmirch him. [4] For as long as life lasts let them live at the foot of a tree; whoever should go undercover, sin would besmirch him. [5] For as long as life lasts let them not eat fish and flesh; whoever should eat fish and flesh, sin would besmirch him.”

n.122

“Raise the life pillar,” that is, to set in place the main beam at the center of the stūpa. Tib. srog shing gzugs pa.

n.123

“In gold”; while this number is not specified as gold here, it is on the next folio (see 4.229).

n.124

Note there is another story by the same name at 5.97. The characters are apparently of no relation. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.

n.125

“Meditative absorption in cessation” (Skt. nirodhasamāpatti) is defined as “a state of meditation achieved in reliance upon the meditative absorption at the peak of cyclic existence (srid rtse), in which a yogi can remain for many aeons through stopping all gross feelings and perceptions. Syn. the emancipation of cessation (’gog pa’i rnam par thar ba).” Rigzin (2008) p. 64. See glossary entry for “nine successive meditative absorptions” (mthar gyis gnas pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa dgu).

n.126

“To show for himself” is a rhetorical interpolation.

n.127

This second instance of “there will be no more resentment between us” lacks bdag in the Tib. and is probably a scribal error.

n.128

D is missing another instance of ma. This translation follows S: bde byed ma ma mchis.

n.129

This translation follows S: bsngo’o.

n.130

A rather bleak jest regarding the threat of being decapitated for disobedience to the king. Tib. bdag cag la mgo gnyis mchis sam.

n.131

This is not a reference to the current King Brahmadatta who figures in the frame narrative for this story, but a former King Brahmadatta who ruled long before the time of Śākyamuni Buddha.

n.132

D mnyan yod; we translate with S gnyen yod.

n.133

Note there is another “Story of Subhadra” at 5.97. The characters are apparently of no relation. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.

n.134

“Nandā and Nandabalā”; Tib. dga’ mo dang dga’ stobs. In the Lalitavistara Sūtra and elsewhere, this action is credited to the young woman Sujātā.

n.135

Tib. gzhon nu lta bu’i mdo, Skt. Daharopama Sūtra. The Tibetan title of this sūtra, which is typically gzhon nu dpe’i mdo, has been incorrectly reconstructed as Kumāradṛṣṭānta Sūtra (Toh 296), but Sanskrit sources unanimously attest to only Daharopama Sūtra, or the simplified form, Dahara Sūtra (cf. Peter Skilling, “Notes on the Kanjur Translation Project”).

n.136

I.e., by using it to support the Buddhist order he will generate merit for his next life.

n.137

“Wife, servants,” for D gza’ bran, reading gza’ as an alt. spelling or scribal error for bza’, for which Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary has the secondary definition: “[royal] lady, daughter, queen, princess.”

n.138

This Sanskrit reconstruction is based on Edgerton’s entry (1953, p. 270). The Tib. has lha mthong, which might more likely render Devadarśa; perhaps the Tibetan translation team was working with a corrupt, unclear, or different manuscript.

n.139

“But still” is a rhetorical interpolation.

n.140

“Bricks,” taking D phag pa as an abbreviation or corruption of the Tib. so phag, “brick,” or a transliteration of the Skt. pakva, as in “baked (brick or earth).”

n.141

Reading S gangs instead of D gang. Moreover, chen might be in error for can.

n.142

“Resplendent . . . at peace”; Tib. mdzes shing yid du ’thad la dbang po zhi zhing yid zhi ba bde mthong ngo, an abbreviated and slightly different version from similar passages at 2.218 and elsewhere.

n.143

“But this was not enough to satisfy him,” for the Tib. de nas de ma grangs nas, apparently an idiom; alt. more lit. “cool him down,” “calm him (down),” “settle him.”

n.144

“Set out toward,” translating with K_Y, K zhugs instead of D, S bzhugs, “sitting.”

n.145

The translators have inserted Aniruddha’s name here for the benefit of those who might not know they are siblings.

n.146

“The eight great hells,” a reference to the eight hot hells, that is, the Reviving Hell (Sañjīva), the Black Thread Hell (Kālasūtra), the Crushing Hell (Saṃghāta), the Shrieking Hell (Raurava), the Screaming Hell (Mahāraurava), the Hot Hell (Tapana), the Hell of Extreme Heat (Pratāpana), and the Hell of Ceaseless Agony (Avīci).

n.147

Here the D Tib. reads “the brahmin magistrate went to the monastery with his son”; the Eng. text has been modified to accord with the preceding narrative as well as with the action that follows.

n.148

“Had the impulse to eat excrement and drink urine.” This could also be translated as a direct quotation of her thoughts: “had a strong desire (or wish) in her mind: ‘I want to eat and drink excrement and urine!’ ” Tib. yid la ’dod pa’i ’di lta bu yang byung ste / phyi sa dang gcin bza’ zhing ’thung ngo snyam mo.

n.149

“Something like,” we translate with S lta bu instead of D lha bu.

n.150

Note there is another story by the same name at 5.97. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.

n.151

“Over the garden of Prince Jeta” should perhaps read “above Rājagṛha,” or “Vulture Peak Mountain,” since Rājagṛha is maybe 350 km from Vārāṇasī, where the garden of Prince Jeta is located. We surmise that this is a scribal error. S has the same reading. It is possible that the text is implying the peacock flew from Gandhamādana Mountain to Rājagṛha via Vārāṇasī, but this would be a rather circuitous route.

n.152

“All the different insects as well”; this phrase appears twice in the Tib.

n.153

Rotman lists these as alt.: “Pūraṇa Kāśyapa; Maskarin, the son of Gośālī; Sañjayin, the son of Vairaṭṭī; Ajita Keśakambala; Kakuda Kātyāyana; and Nigrantha, the son of Jñāti.” Rotman (2008) p. 253.

n.154

“Of his intention”; not explicit in the Tib.

n.155

Here Lord Buddha begins an enumeration of the four immeasurables.

n.156

Here the Blessed One begins an enumeration of the four formless realm states.

n.157

“Lustful”; Tib. ’dod chags. Alt. “minds full of attachment,” “minds full of clinging.”

n.158

“Died,” obscure Tib. honorific nongs (Lozang Jamspal), subsequently also as “passing.”

n.159

The traditional list of seven teachers in the apostolic succession that carried on the Buddha’s teachings after his parinirvāṇa appears to end here in the Karmaśataka with Dhītika, who is normally the fifth member in the list.

n.160

“Festival of the Fifth Year of the Doctrine of the Blessed One”; Tib. bcom ldan ’das kyi bstan pa lo lnga pa’i dus ston.

n.161

“Defeat,” read as the Tib. rgyal. D has brgyal.

n.162

Here the Tib. lacks “The Blessed One,” clearly implied by the use of bka’ stsal, a formulation typically reserved for the Buddha.

n.163

“Will fall”; D: brnying, an alt. spelling of bsnying.

n.164

“Divided his affairs,” for the obscure Tib. ’dab btang (Lozang Jamspal).

n.165

“The Story of Subhadra the Mendicant”; the Tib. has only rab bzang. Note there is another “Story of Subhadra” at 5.97. We have chosen to differentiate the Eng. titles by appending “the charioteer” and “the mendicant” to their names, respectively.

n.166

“The four observations,” for the Tib. rnam pa’i bzhi’i gzigs. Though we were unable to find an exact reference in Negi or Rigzin, the closest contender, on which we have based our translation (on the assumption that the “four types of observations” here is a shorter version of the same), was, under gzigs pa lnga, Rigzin’s “pañca darśana / Buddha’s five observations; five predeterminations of Buddha Shakyamuni before he came to this world: 1. dus la gzigs pa, observation of the time for his appearance; 2. rus la gzigs pa, observation of the family of his birth; 3. rigs la gzigs pa, observation of the caste of his lineage; 4. yum la gzigs pa, observation of the mother to whom he would be born; 5. yul la gzigs pa, observation of the land in which to disseminate his doctrine.” (Rigzin, p. 366).

n.167

D: tshur dang; S: tshur deng; this translation follows S.

n.168

“Serika”; here D actually has the Tib. sde pa’i grong, unattested, where we have substituted the name of Nandā and Nandabalā’s village as it is given on vol. 73, F.217.a.

n.169

“Lacks even the first monastic practitioner, and lacks the second, third, and fourth as well”; Tib. dge sbyong dang po, etc. Probably this refers to the four general classes of those who have gone forth, that is, novice and full nuns and monks.

n.170

“What use would it have been if you had already gone to nirvāṇa?” An educated guess at the significance of the Tib. yong yang khyod der phyin du zin na ci la phan te.

n.171

“Until they were able to” is a rhetorical interpolation to clarify the passage.

n.172

Tib. yon rabs, being a shortened form for yon gyi rabs gdon par gsol. A litany traditionally recited in gratitude for alms or a gift; cf. ’dul ba’i mdo, Toh 261, D vol. 66 (mdo sde, za) F.80.b.

n.173

“Consider me an equal”; obscure Tib. nyam bu shed. Lozang Jamspal: “It sounds like a saying we have in Ladakh, ‘Those kids know my measure.’ ” An equivalent Eng. idiom might be alt. “they have my number,” meaning, “they know me well enough to know what they can get away with.” The point seems to be that since they treat Ven. Ānanda as an equal, they cannot learn from him. The phrase may have its roots in the Tib. mnyam, “equal.”

n.174

“In the intermediate state” here renders the Tib. bar ma dor, which probably renders the Skt. antarā. This interpretation is contested, however, in the traditions; it might alternatively mean “prematurely.” Cf. Edgerton’s (1953, p. 39) entry for antarā-parinirvāyin.

n.175

Tib. pus ka ra sa ra; likely a Tibetan transliteration for Puṣkarasārin. There is no story devoted to Puṣkarasārin in the Karmaśataka, so here the text is referring the reader to an outside source. There are stories preserved about this figure in the Divyāvadāna, where a brahmin named Puṣkarasārin figures in the narrative of the Śārdūlakarṇāvadāna; the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya; and in Pāli literature where his name is recorded as Pukkasāti.

n.176

Here the king is listing the four types of formless meditative absorptions (Tib. gzugs med snyoms ’jug bzhi, Skt. catvāri arūpasamāpatti), cf. Rigzin (2008) p. 369.

n.177

Here and throughout this passage, “cruel” renders the Tib. gtum po (Skt. caṇḍa) and so constitutes a kind of play on words.

n.178

Tib. pad ma yi bla ma. This is the title given in the contents section for this part; however, in the first story it is shortened to “Padma” (Tib. pad ma), and in the second story, it is shortened to Uttama. We have rendered all instances according to the title given in the contents section, Padmottama.

n.179

Tib. rin chen gtsug tor can; Skt. Ratnaśikhin. In the contents section the title of this story is given as the Tib. rin chen gtsug tor, and here simply as rin po che, both of which we take as abbreviations for the Tib. rin chen gtsug tor can, given at the end of the story, and which we use to translate throughout.

n.180

“Vijaya,” for the Tib. rnam par rgyal ba; title taken from the contents section, and reappears at the end of the story. At this point in the text, the title of the story is actually given as the Tib. stobs phrog, Skt. perhaps *Balaharī, Eng. perhaps “Steals Away Strength.” We have followed the contents section and rectified accordingly.

n.181

D Tib. mi ’drul ba we take as a variant/mistaken spelling of S mi ’grul bar, “not travel with,” i.e., “not cavort with”; similarly, J and C have mi mthun par, “not associate with.”

n.182

“The six teachers”; Tib. ston pa drug, a reference to the six teachers of false doctrines, Pūraṇa Kāśyapa and so forth, cf. 6.56.

n.183

Tib. bsgo ba; one of the rare instances where a verb other than bka’ stsal pa is used when the Blessed One speaks.

n.184

Tib. pad ma yi bla ma. This is the title given in the contents section for this part; however, here it is shortened to “Padma” (Tib. pad ma), and in the second story, it is shortened to Uttama. We have rendered all instances according to the title given in the contents section, Padmottama.

n.185

Read according to S: srung ba zhig ’dug pa’i mtsho. D reads: srung ma’i gnas dga’ ldan kyi pad ma’i mtsho.

n.186

This is short for Padmottama (padma-uttama).

n.187

n.188

n.189

“Father, or The Story of Sudarśana”; this title combines two different titles‍—the one given in the contents section (“The Story of Sudarśana”) and that given as a heading to the story itself (“Father”).

n.190

Translating with S bram ze de.

n.191

“Arranged for their marriages,” for D mchis brang dang bcas te btsems te. The Tib. btsems here is obscure; lit. “to sew.” It might carry a connotation similar to “to bring together.” Scribes also seemed to have trouble interpreting this: J and C are missing btsems te; K has instead the nearly repetitive bcas ste; N has bcas te brtsams te; and K_Y gives the alternative spelling btsem ste.

n.192

D and S read tshems dang sbyar, which is obscure. K_Y, K, and C read tshogs instead of tshems. This line is rendered roughly according to the parallel prose passage above.

n.193

This rendering is conjectural. D has de na min; K_Y, K, N, H, and S read bden mo min.

n.194

Here the Tibetan brjid is corrected to brjed.

n.195

Similar to the passage at 1.16, but missing the second line, “All compounded things are suffering” (Tib. zag bcas thams cad sdug bsngal ba).

n.196

“Pit traps,” obscure Tib. ’jol rlubs; this translation is surmised on the basis of rlubs, “pit.”

n.197

n.198

D: “in the garden of Prince Jeta,” while S: “in Bamboo Grove” (vol. 81, F.144.a). The latter is correct considering the story’s setting in Rājagṛha. We have translated accordingly.

n.199

Tib. bsgrogs, S ’grogs.

n.200

D: zin; S: zun. This translation follows S.

n.201

“What’s wrong with me?” is here an interpretive reading of the Tib. phrase ci’i phyir bdag ’di kho na ltar ma rung bar gyur; alt. more lit. “How is it that I have become ruined like this?” or the like.

n.202

S, N, and H read rmos pa: “Plowman.”

n.203

Here the Tib. lacks “King.”

n.204

Tib. bzang sde’i sde mtshan rnams.

n.205

This is read according to S: tshig dang / rtog pa dang / dpyod pa’o/‍—based on Kauśika’s response just below.

n.206

This is read according to S: stog pa dang spyod pa.

n.207

Reading S, K_Y, K, N, and H: sred, instead of D: srid.

n.208

Reading S, K_Y, K, N, and H: sred, instead of D: srid.

n.209

While D has rtogs pa, we translate with S, K_Y, K, N, H rtog pa. Read as rtogs pa, an alt. rendering might be, “Understanding has no end. / Still, I have my qualms and doubts.”

n.210

“Blessed One”; this vocative does not appear in the Tib. We add it here to clarify the shift to second person.

n.211

Corrected to bde ba from dben pa based on the sense of the passage, the appearance of the former in parallel passages, and the rarity of the latter’s occurence with phan pa; this is the only appearance of such throughout the entire Degé Kangyur.

n.212

Tib. nga phyin ka log tu dam por bcings. Perhaps phyin ka log is a reference to hands tied behind the back, i.e., “the wrong way.” In that case alt. “tie my hands behind me.”

n.213

Read according to D: mchi. S and K have instead: ’chi, “to die,” which would change this phrase to “I don’t know who will die where.”

n.214

Tib. lag ’ongs.

n.215

Tib. des nye dus bshugs pa tsam gyis. Alt. “handouts.”

n.216

Devadatta and Venerable Ānanda were brothers.

n.217

’dis bdag la lan gnyis khron par lhung ba las phyung na mi rung gis/. The Tibetan does indeed say that the hunter freed him from the well “twice,” despite the fact that this only happens once in this particular version of the story.

n.218

D: de’i tshe mi’i rgyal po la gsol ba gang yin pa de; K_Y, K: de’i tshe mi rgyal po la gsol ba gang yin pa de. This translation follows the reading in the K_Y and K editions of the Kangyur.

n.219

Regarding the title: S, N, and H read rmos pa: “Plowman.”

n.220

D: zhing blas; S: zhing las. This translation follows S.

n.221

Tib. bsang ba (Lozang Jamspal).

n.222

Tib. yang dag par shes pa, possibly a reference to yang dag par shes pa’i ye shes bzhi, the “four right cognitions [of the mode of being of phenomena]” (Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary).

n.223

Read according to K_Y and K, which have kha cig ’khor. D reads khu bcud ’khor; S, N, and H read khu bcud ’dod.

n.224

“Heaps” (Skt. skandha, Tib. phung po) here is a play on words; it means the physical body, the psycho-physical aggregates, and a mass of material, such as a pile of wood for use in a sacrificial fire.

n.225

This is a conjectural rendering based on S: phung po med pa zhi mchog ci yang med/ /’dod dang srid la ma chags gzhan mi ’gyur/. The first line of D reads instead: phung po med pa zhi bcom ci yang med/.

n.226

This line is read according to S, K_Y, K, N, and H: kyi gshis; D has kyis gshegs. gshis is here taken as a rendering of the Sanskrit word marman, which means “vital point,” “hidden meaning,” and related terms.

n.227

According to K_Y: gtan pa phebs par legs par ’ongs; D reads gtan la phebs pas les par ’ongs.

n.228

Here and throughout this section, K_Y, K, N, and H read simply bdag gi, or bdag gi ba, which would mean “mine” instead of “my self.”

n.229

Tib. tshal ba rnams, which probably renders the Skt. bhṛtya; an alt. reading might be “vegetable eaters.”

n.230

Tib. rab gnon rnams; alt. may refer to the rulers of a city of demigods.

n.231

Tib. gyod cig la btags; alt. perhaps “charged with a crime,” “accused of some mistake.”

n.232

The title here lacks “King” in Tib.

n.233

Tib. byang chub kyi phyogs.

n.234

Here the Tib. changes to byang chub kyi yan lag, from byang chub kyi phyogs.

n.235

Tib. ’gog pa la rten pa; the phrase “of the afflictive emotions” has been added for clarity.

n.236

Rendered based on K and K_Y: /bcom ldan snyung tshabs che ba bas/ /gnod pa de las gzhegs par gyur/. This has readings shared also with S, N, and H. D, however, reads: /bcom ldan snyun tshabs che ba las/ gnod pa de las zhi bar gyur/.

n.237

Reading S, K_Y, K bdag gi instead of D bdag gis.

n.238

Here again reading H bdag gi, or S bdag, instead of D bdag gis. K_Y, K, and N are missing bdag and gis/gi.

n.239

“Adherents”; Tib. rtsa ’jing. While Dan Martin and Ives Waldo translate this only as “family,” or the like, we take it for the Skt. pakṣa, per the Yogācārabhūmi glossary (Tibetan and Himalayan Library), and thus, per Monier-Williams, as “adherents.” Appearing with bgyi, below, as “to take (someone’s) side (in an argument).”

n.240

S: bdag cag gis; D and variants recorded in the Comparative Edition all read bdag cag gi. This translation follows S.

n.241

Tib. bshig. This seems to be a usage of ’jig pa particular to the vinaya. Cf. similar usage on vol. 74, F.127.a (10.441).

n.242

“Egregious, intransigent, destructive views”; it is unclear in the text whether the monk in question is referring to his own views (in regret) or those of his accusers (in defiance). Our translation had provisionally read “my egregious . . . ,” but we ultimately decided to leave the translation as ambiguous as the original. For a similar account of this schism and the associated vinaya rules, cf. Horner (1951) pp. 483–518.

n.243

skabs ’byed pa’i las literally means “act of opening an opportunity”; it refers to the pravāraṇa, or the “lifting of restrictions” ceremony held at the end of each summer rains retreat, in which monks are given an “opportunity,” otherwise prohibited, to oppose and debate what was heard, seen, or suspected while undertaking a rains retreat (cf. Mahāvyutpatti, pravāraṇa).

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

Sarkar, Sadhanchandra. A Study on the Jātakas and the Avadānas: Critical and Comparative, vol. 1. Calcutta: Saraswat Library, 1981.

Sastri, Gaurinath. A Concise History of Classical Sanskrit Literature. London: Oxford University Press, 1960.

Skilling, Peter. “Theravādin Literature in Tibetan Translation.” Journal of the Pali Text Society, vol. XIX (1993), pp 69–201.

‍—‍—‍—. “From bKa’ bstan bcos to bKa’ ’gyur and bsTan ’gyur.” In Transmission of the Tibetan Canon. Edited by Helmut Eimer, 87–112. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1997.

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Glossary

g.1

Abhaya

’jigs med

འཇིགས་མེད།

Abhaya

A future solitary buddha.

g.2

Abodes of the Four Great Kings

rgyal chen bzhi’i ris

རྒྱལ་ཆེན་བཞིའི་རིས།

Cāturmahārājakāyika

One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest among the six heavens of the desire realm. Dwelling place of the four great kings, traditionally located on a terrace of Sumeru, just below the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

g.3

Absorption of neither discrimination nor non-discrimination

’du shes min ’du shes med min
’du shes min ’du shes med min gyi snyom ’jug

འདུ་ཤེས་མིན་འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་མིན།
འདུ་ཤེས་མིན་འདུ་ཤེས་མེད་མིན་གྱི་སྙོམ་འཇུག

naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñā

Fourth of the four types of formless meditative absorptions (caturārūpyasamāpatti, gzugs med snyoms ’jug bzhi) (Rigzin 369).

g.4

Act

ལས།

karma

See “action.”

g.5

Act whose fourth member is a motion

gsol ba dang bzhi’i las

གསོལ་བ་དང་བཞིའི་ལས།

jñāpticaturthakarman

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act, repeated three times. Such an act is required for several proceedings‍—among other occasions, to fully ordain someone, or to officially admonish an intransigent monk.

g.6

Act whose second member is a motion

gsol ba dang gnyis kyi las

གསོལ་བ་དང་གཉིས་ཀྱི་ལས།

jñāptidvitīyakarman

A formal act of the saṅgha that requires an initial motion followed by the statement of the proposed act. Such an act is needed to grant the vows of full ordination to a nun, among other occasions.

g.7

Action

ལས།

karma

Any volitional act, whether of body, speech, or mind. Also rendered here as “act,” “karma,” and “deed.”

g.8

Adumā

a du ma

ཨ་དུ་མ།

adumā
Udumā

The name of the town where Kaineya lived; traditionally spelled Udumā, the rendering in The Hundred Deeds may be derived from the Pāli/Prakṛt form Ātumā.

g.9

Affinity

dga’ ba

དགའ་བ།

An afflictive emotion.

g.10

Afflictive emotion

nyon mongs pa

ཉོན་མོངས་པ།

kleśa

Also called “delusions,” “afflictions,” or “addictive emotions,” these are mental states that produce turmoil and confusion and thus disturb mental peace and happiness (Rigzin 133).

g.11

Aggregates

phung po

ཕུང་པོ།

skandha

In Buddhist philosophy, the five basic constituents upon which persons are conventionally designated. They are material forms, sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness.

g.12

Agnidatta (father of Śiṣyaka)

mes sbyin

མེས་སྦྱིན།

Agnidatta

A certain brahmin who in the future will be from the country of Pāṭaliputra, a master of the Vedas, and father of Śiṣyaka.

Not to be confused with Agnidatta (of Vārāṇasī), one of the magistrates of King Brahmadatta (past), nor with Agnidatta of the royal palace Śobhāvatī.

g.13

Agnidatta (of Śobhāvatī)

me sbyin

མེ་སྦྱིན།

Agnidatta

A certain brahmin of the royal palace Śobhāvatī during the time of Buddha Krakucchanda.

Not to be confused with Agnidatta of Vārāṇasī, nor with the Agnidatta (father of Śiṣyaka) prophesied to appear in the future, both of whose names are the slightly different Tib. mes sbyin.

g.14

Agnidatta (of Vārāṇasī)

mes sbyin

མེས་སྦྱིན།

Agnidatta

One of King Brahmadatta’s magistrates, from Vārāṇasī. Father of Son of Fire and Tongue of Fire.

Not to be confused with Agnidatta (father of Śiṣyaka) prophesied to appear in the future, nor with Agnidatta of the royal palace Śobhāvatī.

g.15

Aindra school of Sanskrit grammar

dbang po’i brda sprod pa

དབང་པོའི་བརྡ་སྤྲོད་པ།

Aindra Vyākaraṇa

Possibly the oldest school of Sanskrit grammar, by traditional accounts traced to the god Indra himself.

g.16

Ajiravatī River

khang ldan

ཁང་ལྡན།

Ajiravatī

The modern-day Rāptīnadī. L. Chandra gives Ajiravatī for the Tib. khyams ldan.

g.17

Ajita Keśakambala

mi ’pham skra’i la ba can

མི་འཕམ་སྐྲའི་ལ་བ་ཅན།

Ajita Keśakambala

One of the six philosophical extremists who lived during the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

g.18

Ājñātakauṇḍinya

kun shes kaN+Di n+ya

ཀུན་ཤེས་ཀཎྜི་ནྱ།

Ājñātakauṇḍinya

Another name for Kauṇḍinya. One of the five monks present for the first teaching of the four noble truths; on account of his realization he became known as Venerable “All-Knowing Kauṇḍinya” or “Kauṇḍinya who understood” (Ājñātakauṇḍinya).

g.19

Akaniṣṭha

’og min

འོག་མིན།

Akaniṣṭha

See “Supreme.”

g.20

All-Knowing One

thams cad mkhyen pa

ཐམས་ཅད་མཁྱེན་པ།

sarvajña

An epithet of the buddhas. Salutation to the All-Knowing One at the beginning of a Buddhist text typically indicates its designation in the Vinaya Piṭaka.

g.21

Amṛtā

bdud rtsi ma

བདུད་རྩི་མ།

Amṛtā

One of eight children, a daughter, of King Siṃhahanu of Kapilavastu.

g.22

Amṛtodana

bdud rtsi zas

བདུད་རྩི་ཟས།

Amṛtodana

One of eight children, a son, of King Siṃhahanu of Kapilavastu.

g.23

Analysis of phenomena

chos rnam par ’byed pa

ཆོས་རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ།

dharmapravicaya

g.24

Ānanda

kun dga’ bo

ཀུན་དགའ་བོ།

Ānanda

A monk of the Buddha’s order, brother of Devadatta, who for twenty-five years served as the Buddha’s personal attendant. Second in the apostolic succession that carried on the Buddha’s teachings after his parinirvāṇa.

g.25

Anāthapiṇḍada

mgon med zas sbyin

མགོན་མེད་ཟས་སྦྱིན།

Anāthapiṇḍada

A wealthy householder of Śrāvastī renowned for his generosity, he spent a small fortune to purchase the garden of Prince Jeta, built a monastery there, and offered both to the Buddha.

g.26

Aṅgada

dpung rgyan

དཔུང་རྒྱན།

Aṅgada

Disciple of Śiṣyaka, he was prophesied by the Buddha to slay the arhat Sūrata, hastening the Dharma’s disappearance from this world.

g.27

Anguished spirit

yi dags
yi dwags

ཡི་དགས།
ཡི་དྭགས།

preta

Also called a “hungry ghost,” an inhabitant of one of the three lower realms who suffers constantly from insatiable hunger and thirst, the karmic fruition of past miserliness. See “five destinies.”

g.28

Aniruddha

ma ’gags pa

མ་འགགས་པ།

Aniruddha

The Buddha’s first cousin, born of the Śākya clan, who was among the most eminent of the Buddha’s monastic disciples.

g.29

Antavān River

mtha’ ldan
chu klung mtha’ dang ldan pa

མཐའ་ལྡན།
ཆུ་ཀླུང་མཐའ་དང་ལྡན་པ།

Antavān

A river in the province of Mallā in the vicinity of Kuśinagarī.

g.30

Antipathy

mi dga’ ba

མི་དགའ་བ།

An afflictive emotion.

g.31

Aparājita

gzhan gyis mi thub pa

གཞན་གྱིས་མི་ཐུབ་པ།

Aparājita

A future buddha.

g.32

Appropriation

len pa

ལེན་པ།

upādāna

Ninth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

g.33

Āraṇyaka

dgon pa pa
dgon pa ba

དགོན་པ་པ།
དགོན་པ་བ།

Āraṇyaka

“Forest Dweller,” the name of the son of householders in Śrāvastī, he preferred seclusion, eventually attaining arhatship.

g.34

Arhat

dgra bcom pa

དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།

arhat

Literally “foe-destroyer”‍—the foe in this case being the afflictive emotions‍—one who has attained arhatship.

g.35

Arhatship

dgra bcom pa nyid

དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ་ཉིད།

arhattva

“The state of liberation [from saṃsāra via destruction of the afflictive emotions] or the fifth path of no more to learn, attained by arhats after perfecting training in the fourth path . . .” (Rigzin 60). In this text being “established . . . in the unsurpassed, supreme welfare of nirvāṇa”; also appears as a synonym for the attainment of arhatship.

g.36

Arthadarśin

don gzigs pa
don gzigs

དོན་གཟིགས་པ།
དོན་གཟིགས།

Arthadarśin

Name of a former buddha; also the name of a future buddha prophesied in The Hundred Deeds.

g.37

Āṣāḍha

chu stod

ཆུ་སྟོད།

Āṣāḍha

The name of a certain householder.

g.38

Ascetic

dge sbyong

དགེ་སྦྱོང་།

śramaṇa

A mendicant; sometimes employed as a title of the Buddha.

g.39

Ascetic practices

sbyangs pa’i yon tan

སྦྱངས་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན།

dhūtaguṇa

An optional set of thirteen practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. They consist of (1) wearing patched robes made from discarded cloth rather than from cloth donated by laypeople; (2) wearing only three robes; (3) going for alms; (4) not omitting any house while on the alms round, rather than begging only at those houses known to provide good food; (5) eating only what can be eaten in one sitting; (6) eating only food received in the alms bowl, rather than more elaborate meals presented to the saṅgha; (7) refusing more food after indicating one has eaten enough; (8) dwelling in the forest; (9) dwelling at the root of a tree; (10) dwelling in the open air, using only a tent made from one’s robes as shelter; (11) dwelling in a charnel ground; (12) satisfaction with whatever dwelling one has; and (13) sleeping in a sitting position without ever lying down.

g.40

Aśoka (future buddha)

mya ngan med

མྱ་ངན་མེད།

Aśoka

A future buddha.

Not to be confused with the young brahmin Aśoka who was Buddha Kāśyapa’s best friend prior to his enlightenment, nor with King Aśoka who does not appear in this text.

g.41

Aśoka (the brahmin)

mya ngan med

མྱ་ངན་མེད།

Aśoka

Young brahmin who was Buddha Kāśyapa’s best friend prior to his enlightenment. The Hundred Deeds is not clear on this point, but Edgerton notes that Aśoka is understood as the nephew and disciple of Buddha Kāśyapa (Edgerton 80.2).

Not to be confused with the future buddha Aśoka, nor with the historical King Aśoka who does not appear in this text.

g.42

Aspiration Well Sown

smon lam legs par btab pa

སྨོན་ལམ་ལེགས་པར་བཏབ་པ།

A future buddha.

g.43

Aśvakarṇa tree

shing rta rna

ཤིང་རྟ་རྣ།

aśvakarṇa

A species of tree; Vatica robusta.

g.44

Āśvāsa

dbugs chung
dbugs

དབུགས་ཆུང་།
དབུགས།

Āśvāsa
Alpāśvāsa

“Breath.” The previous incarnation of the great king Dhṛtarāṣṭra as a nāga king who lived on Mount Meru, he eventually went for refuge and took the fundamental precepts.

g.45

Aṭavika

’brog gnas

འབྲོག་གནས།

Aṭavika

A certain yakṣa lord tamed by the Buddha.

g.46

Atharva Veda

srid srung gi rig byed

སྲིད་སྲུང་གི་རིག་བྱེད།

Atharvaveda

Along with the Ṛg Veda, Yajur Veda, and Sāma Veda, one of the four Vedas, the most ancient Sanskrit religious literature of India.

g.47

Attainment of seeing

mthong ba’i snyoms par ’jug pa

མཐོང་བའི་སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།

darśanasamāpatti

Entry point for the path of seeing, this is the direct perception of things as they are, ultimate reality, suchness.

g.48

Augur

bye brag phyed pa

བྱེ་བྲག་ཕྱེད་པ།

An individual who is gifted in reading natural signs and omens.

g.49

Avanti

srung byed

སྲུང་བྱེད།

Avanti

A country visited by Venerable Upasena; home of Lotus Color.

g.50

Avarice

ser sna

སེར་སྣ།

mātsarya

An afflictive emotion.

g.51

Ayodhyā

’thab med

འཐབ་མེད།

Ayodhyā

A city ruled by King Mahāsena long before the time of the Buddha Śākyamuni. Also said to have been ruled by King Nāgadeva (rgyal po klu lha) before the time of Buddha Śākyamuni.

g.52

Bāhlika

ba lhi ka

བ་ལྷི་ཀ

Bāhlika

Appears in The Hundred Deeds as the name of a king and a people dwelling in the “barbaric outlying region” west of Jambudvīpa.

g.53

Bamboo Grove

’od ma’i tshal

འོད་མའི་ཚལ།

Veṇuvana

A grove of bamboo trees in Rājagṛha, where Buddha Śākyamuni sometimes dwelt.

g.54

Band of Six

drug sde

དྲུག་སྡེ།

Ṣaḍvargika

A certain band of monks of the Buddha’s order who appear throughout the vinaya literature as examples of those who break the monastic rules. In Pāli their names are given as Assaji, Punabbasu, Panduka, Lohitaka, Mettiya, and Bhummaja. The Hundred Deeds contains one story in which they trick the nun Sthūlanandā into thinking that they can help her attain magical powers.

g.55

Bandhumat

gnyen yod

གཉེན་ཡོད།

Bandhumat

A king during the time of the Tathāgata Vipaśyin.

g.56

Bandhumatī

gnyen ldan

གཉེན་ལྡན།

Bandhumatī

A city of the (past) ninety-first eon and the birthplace of Buddha Vipaśyin. In The Hundred Deeds, two women offered Vipaśyin food there and made prayers, resulting in their rebirths as Buddha Śākyamuni’s mother Mahāmāyā and his aunt Māyā.

g.57

Base of the universe

gser gyi sa gzhi

གསེར་གྱི་ས་གཞི།

kāñcanamayī bhūmi
kāñcanacakra

Sometimes called the “golden ground,” or “universal base,” “The mythological basis of our known world. It is made of gold and situated below Mount Sumeru” (Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary).

g.58

Beautiful to See

blta na sdug

བལྟ་ན་སྡུག

Sudarśana

Peacock who overheard the Buddha teaching on Vulture Peak Mountain.

g.59

Becoming

srid pa

སྲིད་པ།

bhava

Tenth of the twelve links of dependent origination.

g.60

Bhadra

bzang po

བཟང་པོ།

Bhadra

The name of the charioteer Subhadra’s son who is ordained, attains arhatship, and leads his parents to attain stream entry and go forth.

g.61

Bhādra

khrums stod
grum stod
khrum stod

ཁྲུམས་སྟོད།
གྲུམ་སྟོད།
ཁྲུམ་སྟོད།

Bhādra

g.62

Bhikṣuṇī

dge slong ma

དགེ་སློང་མ།

bhikṣuṇī

A fully ordained nun. Also rendered here simply as “nun.”

g.63

Bhūta (a brahmin)

’byung po

འབྱུང་པོ།

Bhūta

The name of a certain brahmin who lived in Rājagṛha.

Not to be confused with Bhūta, the name of a merchant and a dog, and a certain class of evil beings.

g.64

Bhūta (the merchant and the dog)

’byung po

འབྱུང་པོ།

Bhūta

The name of a certain householder’s dog and the name given to the lost infant it carried home to its owner one night, which would one day be reunited with his birth mother.

Also the name of a certain brahmin who lived in Rājagṛha, and the name of a certain class of evil beings.

g.65

Bimbisāra

bzo sbyangs gzugs can snying po
gzugs can snying po

བཟོ་སྦྱངས་གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ།
གཟུགས་ཅན་སྙིང་པོ།

Śreṇiya Bimbisāra
Bimbisāra

King of Magadha, the Buddha established him in the truth in Gayā. Also rendered here as “Śreṇiya Bimbisāra.”

g.66

Birth

skye ba

སྐྱེ་བ།

jāti

Eleventh of the twelve links of dependent origination.

g.67

Black (a brahmin)

nag po

ནག་པོ།

Kāla
Kṛṣṇa

A certain dark-complected brahmin youth who became a sage, then heard the Dharma from the Buddha, became ordained, and manifested arhatship.

Not to be confused with Black the yakṣa who also appears in his story, nor with Kāla the nāga king (whose name in Tib. is the same nag po).

g.68

Black (a yakṣa)

nag po

ནག་པོ།

Kāla
Kṛṣṇa

A certain yakṣa tamed by the Buddha and subsequently sworn to protect the people of Rājagṛha.

Not to be confused with Black the brahmin who also appears in his story, nor with Kāla the nāga king.

g.69

Black Thread Hell

thig nag

ཐིག་ནག

Kālasūtra

Second of the eight hot hells of Buddhist cosmology. The guardians of the Black Thread Hell mark the bodies of its inhabitants with a black thread before cutting and slicing them apart along those lines.

g.70

Blessed buddha

sangs rgyas bcom ldan ’das

སངས་རྒྱས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།

buddhabhagavān

An epithet of the buddhas.

g.71

Blessed one

bcom ldan ’das

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།

bhagavān

An epithet of the buddhas.