དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ།
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
Saddharmapuṇḍarīka
དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Mahāyāna Sūtra “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma”
Saddharmapuṇḍarīkanāmamahāyānasūtra

Toh 113
Degé Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1.b–180.b.
Translated by Peter Alan Roberts
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2018
Current version v 1.14.8 (2021)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.1.18
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
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, is taught by Buddha Śākyamuni on Vulture Peak to an audience that includes bodhisattvas from countless realms, as well as bodhisattvas who emerge out from the ground from the space below this world. Buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has long since passed into nirvāṇa, appears within a floating stūpa to hear the sūtra, and Śākyamuni enters the stūpa and sits beside him. The Lotus Sūtra is celebrated, particularly in East Asia, for its presentation of crucial elements of the Mahāyāna tradition, such as the doctrine that there is only one yāna, or “vehicle”; the distinction between expedient and definite teachings; and the notion that the Buddha’s life, enlightenment, and parinirvāṇa were simply manifestations of his transcendent buddhahood, while he continues to teach eternally. A recurring theme in the sūtra is its own significance in teaching these points during past and future eons, with many passages in which the Buddha and bodhisattvas such as Samantabhadra describe the great benefits that come from devotion to it, the history of its past devotees, and how it is the Buddha’s ultimate teaching, supreme over all other sūtras.
Acknowledgements
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra was translated from Tibetan with reference to the Sanskrit by Peter Alan Roberts. Ling Lung Chen was the consultant for the Chinese versions. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor. Ben Gleason was the proofreader.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of May & George Gu, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Colophon
Translated, revised, and finalized by the Indian Upādhyāya Surendrabodhi and the chief editor Lotsawa Bandé Nanam Yeshé Dé.
Notes
Bibliography
Tibetan Editions of the Sūtra
dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo (Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra) [The White Lotus of the Good Dharma]. Toh 113, Degé Kangyur, 103 vols. New Delhi: Karmapae Chodhey Gyalwae Sungrab Patrun Khang, 1976–79, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1a–180b.
———. 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, vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), pp. 3–427.
———. Choné Kangyur (co ne bka’ ’gyur). 108 vols. Choné: co ne par khang, 1926, vol. 31 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1–212b.
———. Lhasa Kangyur (lha sa bka’ ’gyur). 100 vols. Lhasa: zhol bka’ ’gyur par khang, 1934, vol. 53 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b–285b.
———. Narthang Kangyur (snar thang bka’ ’gyur). 102 vols. Narthang: snar thang par khang, eighteenth century, vol. 53 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1b–281b.
———. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma bka’ ’gyur). 109 vols. Leh: smad rtsis shes rig dpe mdzod, 1975–80. vol. 67 (mdo sde, ma), folios 1a–270b.
———. Urga Kangyur (ur ga bka’ ’gyur). New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1990–94. vol. 51 (mdo sde, ja), folios 1a–180b.
Khangkar, Tsultrim Kelsang (ed.) bod gyur dam pa’i chos padma dkar po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo: Tibetan Translation of Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtra. Nyin bod nang rig deb grangs (Japanese and Tibetan Buddhist Culture Series) XI. Kyoto: Tibetan Buddhist Culture Association, 2009.
Sanskrit Editions of the Sūtra
Zhongxin, Jiang. Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from the Lüshun Museum Collection. Tokyo: Sōka Gakkai, 1997.
Vaidya, P. L. Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute of Post-Graduate Studies and Research in Sanskrit Learning, 1960.
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Translations of the Sūtra
Borsig, Margareta von. Lotos-Sutra: Das Große Erleuchtungsbuch des Buddhismus. Freiburg: Herder, 2003.
Burnouf, Eugene. Le lotus de la bonne loi. Paris: L’imprimerie Nationale, 1852.
Hurvitz, Leon. Scripture of the Lotus Blossom of the Fine Dharma. New York: Columbia University Press, 1976.
Katō, Bunnō. “The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Law.” In The Threefold Lotus Sutra, translated by Bunnō Katō, Yoshirō Tamura, and Kōjirō Miyasaka, with revisions by W. E. Soothill, Wilhelm Schiffer, and Pier P. Del Campana, 18–213. New York and Tokyo: Weatherhill and Kosei, 1993.
Kern, H. Saddharma-Puṇḍarīka or the Lotus of the Good Law. Sacred Books of the East XXII. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1884.
Kubo, Tsugunari and Akira Yuyama. The Lotus Sutra. Berkeley: Numata Center for Buddhist Translation and Research (revised second edition), 2007.
Montgomery, Daniel B. The Lotus Sutra: The Sutra of the Lotus Flower of the Wonderful Dharma. Tokyo: Nichiren Shu Headquarters, 1991.
Murano, Senchū. The Lotus Sutra: Sutra of the Lotus of the Wonderful Dharma. Hayward, CA: Nichiren Buddhist International Center, 1974.
Reeves, Gene. The Lotus Sutra: A Contemporary Translation of a Buddhist Classic. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Soothill, W.E. The Lotus of the Wonderful Law, or The Lotus Gospel. Richmond: Curzon Press, 1987.
Watson, Burton. The Lotus Sutra. New York: Columbia University Press, 1993.
Other Kangyur Texts
rgya cher rol pa’i mdo (Lalitavistarasūtra, Toh 95. Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1b–216b. English translation: The Play in Full. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po’i mdo (Samādhirājasūtra), Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1a–175b. English translation: The King of Samādhis Sūtra. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
de bzhin gshegs pa thams cad kyi gsang ba’i mdo (Tathāgataghuyakasūtra) [The Secret of the Tathāgatas Sūtra]. Toh 443, Degé Kangyur vol. 81 (rgyud, ca), folios 90a–157b.
phal po che’i mdo (Avataṁsakasūtra) [A Multitude of Buddhas Sūtra]. Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vols. 35–38 (phal chen, ka–a), folios ka 1a–nga 363a.
lang kar gshegs pa’i mdo (Laṅkāvatārasūtra) [The Entry into Laṅka Sutra]. Toh 107, Degé Kangyur vol. 49 (mdo sde, ca), folios 56a–191b.
shes rab pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses]. Toh 12, Degé Kangyur vol. 33 (brgyad stong pa, ka), folios 1b–286a.
sa bcu pa’i mdo (Daśabhūmikasūtra) [The Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis]. Chapter 31, in Toh 44, Degé Kangyur vol. 36 (phal chen, kha), folios 166a–283a.
gser ’od dam pa’i mdo (Suvarṇaprabhāsūtra) [The Golden Light Sūtra]. Toh 556, Degé Kangyur vol. 89 (rgyud, pa), folios 151b–273a.
Tengyur Texts
Abhayākaragupta. thub pa’i dgongs pa’i rgyan (Munimatālaṁkāra). Toh 3903, Degé Tengyur vol. 210 (dbu ma, a), folios 73b–293a.
Asaṅga. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos rnam par bshad pa (Mahāyānottaratantraśāstravyākhyā). Toh 4025, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 74b–129a.
Candrakīrti. dbu ma la ’jug pa’i bshad pa (Madhyamakāvatārabhāṣya). Toh 3862, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (dbu ma, ’a), folios 220b–348a.
———. byang chub sems dpa’i rnal ’byor spyod pa bzhi brgya pa’i ’grel pa (Bodhisattvayogacaryācatuḥśatakaṭīkā) Toh 3865, Degé Tengyur vol. 205 (dbu ma, ya), folios 30b–239a.
Daṃṣṭrāsena, Vasubandhu, or neither. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa dang nyi khri lnga stong pa dang khri brgyad stong pa’i rgya cher bshad pa (Śatasāhasrikāpañcaviṁśatisāhasrikaṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā). Toh 3808, Degé Tengyur vol. 93 (sher phyin, pha), folios 1a–292b. English translation: Sparham, Gareth. The Long Explanation of the One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Perfection of Wisdom Sūtras. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, forthcoming.
Dharmamitra. tshig rab tu gsal ba (Prasphuṭapadā). Toh 3796, Degé Tengyur vol. 87 (sher phyin, nya), folios 1a–110a.
Jānavajra. de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan (Tathāgatahṛdayālaṁkāra). Toh 4019, Degé Tengyur vol. 224 (mdo ’grel, pi), folios 1a–310a.
Kamalaśīla. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa bdun brgya pa rgya cher bshad pa (Saptaśatikāprajñāpāramitāṭīkā). Toh 3815, Degé Tengyur vol. 95 (sher phyin, ma), folios 89a–178a.
Maitreya-Asaṅga. theg pa chen po rgyud bla ma’i bstan bcos (Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra) [A Mahāyāna Treatise on the Supreme Continuum]. Toh 4024, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, phi), folios 54b–73a.
Nāgārjuna. mdo kun las btus pa (Sūtrasamuccaya). Toh 3934, Degé Tengyur vol. 212 (dbu ma, ki), folios 148b–215a.
Saitsalak (sa’i rtsa lag, Kuiji, Pṛthivībandhu). dam pa’i chos padma dkar po’i ’grel pa. Toh 4017, Degé Tengyur, vol. 120 (mdo ’grel, di), folios 175b–302a.
———. dam pa’i chos padma dkar po’i ’grel pa. 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. 69 (mdo sde, di, vol. 135), pp. 476–826.
Śāntideva. bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya). Toh 3940, Degé Tengyur vol. 111 (dbu ma, khi), folios 3a–194b.
Vasubandhu. theg pa chen po bsdus pa’i ’grel pa (Mahāyānasaṁgrahabhāṣya). Toh 4050, Degé Tengyur vol. 225 (sems tsam, yi), folios 121b–190a.
Wantsik (wan tshig, Yuan Tso). dgongs pa zab mo nges par ’grel pa (Gambhīrasaṁdhinirmocanasūtraṭīkā). Toh 4016, Degé Tengyur vols. 220–22 (mdo ’grel, ti–ti), folios ti 1a–di 175a.
Secondary Tibetan Sources
Lodrö Gyaltsen (blo gros rgyal mtshan). dam chos pad dkar gyi tshig don la gzhan gyi log par rtog pa dgag pa. In Sa skya bka’ ’bum vol. 15, Kathmandu: Sachen International, 2006, folios 469–485.
Butön Rinchen Drup (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 The Collected Works of Bu-ston. Edited by Lokesh Chandra from the collections of Raghu Vira. 28 volumes. Zhol bka’ ’gyur par khang edition. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71, 633–1056.
Changkya Rölpai Dorjé (lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje). dam chos pad ma dkar po’i kha byang. In lcang skya rol pa’i rdo rje’i gsung ’bum, vol. 5 (ca), Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 2003, folios 525–532.
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Glossary
Ābhāsvara
- ’od gsal
- འོད་གསལ།
- Ābhāsvara
The highest of the three paradises that are the second dhyāna paradises in the form realm.
Abhijñājñānābhibhū
- mngon shes ye shes zil gnon
- མངོན་ཤེས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཟིལ་གནོན།
- Abhijñājñānābhibhū
A shorter form of the name of Buddha Mahābhijñājñānābhibhū.
Abhijñaprāpta
- mngon par shes thob
- མངོན་པར་ཤེས་ཐོབ།
- Abhijñaprāpta
A short form of Sāgaravaradharabuddhivikrīḍitābhijña, the name that Ānanda will have when he is a buddha.
Absence of aspiration
- smon pa med pa
- སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ།
- apraṇihita
The absence of any conceptual goal that one is focused upon achieving, knowing that all composite phenomena create suffering. One of the three doorways to liberation.
Absence of attributes
- mtshan ma med pa
- མཚན་མ་མེད་པ།
- animitta
The absence of the conceptual identification of perceptions. Knowing that the true nature has no attributes, such as color, shape, etc. One of the three doorways to liberation.
Ācārya
- slob dpon
- སློབ་དཔོན།
- ācārya
A spiritual teacher, meaning one who knows the conduct or practice (caryā) to be performed. It can also be a title for a scholar, though that is not the context in this sūtra.
Adhimātrakāruṇika
- rab tu snying rje can
- རབ་ཏུ་སྙིང་རྗེ་ཅན།
- Adhimātrakāruṇika
A Mahābrahmā in the southeast.
Agarwood
- a ga ru
- ཨ་ག་རུ།
- agaru
The resinous heartwood of the Aquilaria and Gyirnops evergreen trees in India and southeast Asia.
Airborne palace
- gzhal med khang
- གཞལ་མེད་ཁང་།
- vimāna
Vimāna, translated here as “airborne palace,” can mean a divine chariot or palace, or a combination of the two, as in this translation. These flying palaces of the deities are well known in Indian mythology. Burnouf translates as “chariots”; Kern has “aerial cars.”
Ajātaśatru
- ma skyes dgra
- མ་སྐྱེས་དགྲ།
- Ajātaśatru
A king of Magadha, the son of King Bimbisāra and Queen Vaidehī. He reigned during the last ten years of the Buddha’s life and about twenty years after. He overthrew his father and through invasion expanded the kingdom of Magadha. According to the Buddhist tradition he was murdered by his own son Udayabhadra.
Ajita
- ma pham pa
- མ་ཕམ་པ།
- Ajita
The other name of Maitreya, the bodhisattva who became Śākyamuni’s regent and is prophesied to be the next buddha, the fifth buddha in the fortunate eon. In early Buddhism he appears as the human disciple Maitreya Tiṣya, sent to pay his respects by his teacher. The Buddha gives him the gift of a robe and prophesies he will be the next buddha, while his companion Ajita will be the next cakravartin. As a bodhisattva in the Mahāyāna he has both these names.
Ākāśapratiṣṭhita
- nam mkha’ la gnas pa
- ནམ་མཁའ་ལ་གནས་པ།
- Ākāśapratiṣṭhita
A buddha in the southern direction.
Akṣayamati
- blo gros mi zad pa
- བློ་གྲོས་མི་ཟད་པ།
- Akṣayamati
A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.
Amoghadarśin
- mthong ba don yod
- མཐོང་བ་དོན་ཡོད།
- Amoghadarśin
One of “the sixteen excellent men.”
Amrita
- bdud rtsi
- བདུད་རྩི།
- amṛta
The divine nectar that prevents death, often used metaphorically for the Dharma.
Ānanda
- kun dga’ bo
- ཀུན་དགའ་བོ།
- Ānanda
Buddha Sākyamuni’s cousin, who was his attendant for the last twenty years of his life. He was the subject of criticism and opposition from the monastic community after the Buddha’s passing, but eventually succeeded to the position of the patriarch of Buddhism in India after the passing of the first patriarch, Mahākāśyapa.
Anantacāritra
- spyod pa mtha’ yas
- སྤྱོད་པ་མཐའ་ཡས།
- Anantacāritra
One of the four principal bodhisattvas that emerged from the ground at the time of the teaching of the Lotus Sūtra.
Anantamati
- mtha’ yas blo gros
- མཐའ་ཡས་བློ་གྲོས།
- Anantamati
A prince in the distant past.
Anantavikrāmiṇ
- mtha’ yas gnon
- མཐའ་ཡས་གནོན།
- Anantavikrāmiṇ
A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.
Anavanāmitavaijayantī
- ma bsnyal ba’i rgyal mtshan
- མ་བསྙལ་བའི་རྒྱལ་མཚན།
- Anavanāmitavaijayantī
The realm of Ānanda when he becomes a buddha as given in the prose. (Anavanatā Dhvajavaijayantī in the verse.)
Anavanatā Dhvajavaijayantī
- ma bsnyal rgyal mtshan rgyal ba’i ba dan
- མ་བསྙལ་རྒྱལ་མཚན་རྒྱལ་བའི་བ་དན།
- Anavanatā Dhvajavaijayantī
The realm of Ānanda when he becomes a buddha, as given in the verse. (Anavanāmitavaijayantī in the prose.)
Anavatapta
- ma dros pa
- མ་དྲོས་པ།
- Anavatapta
The nāga king who is said to dwell in Lake Mansarovar near Kailash.
Anikṣiptadhura
- brtson pa mi gtong ba
- བརྩོན་པ་མི་གཏོང་བ།
- Anikṣiptadhura
A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.
Aniruddha
- ma ’gags pa
- མ་འགགས་པ།
- Aniruddha
The Buddha’s cousin, and one of his ten principal pupils. Renowned for his clairvoyance.
Anupamamati
- dpe med blo gros
- དཔེ་མེད་བློ་གྲོས།
- Anupamamati
One of “the sixteen excellent men.”
Apasmāraka
- brjed byed
- བརྗེད་བྱེད།
- apasmāraka
A spirit that causes epilepsy.
Apsara
- lha mo
- ལྷ་མོ།
- apsaras
Popular figures in Indian culture, they are said to be goddesses of the clouds and water.
Ārya
- ’phags pa
- འཕགས་པ།
- ārya
Generally has the common meaning of a noble person, one of a higher class or caste. In Dharma terms it means one who has gained the realization of the path and is superior for that reason.
Asaṃkhyeya
- grangs med pa
- གྲངས་མེད་པ།
- asaṃkhyeya
The designation of a measure of time on the scale of eons, literally meaning “incalculable.” The number of years in such an eon differs in various sūtras that give a number. Also, twenty intermediate eons are said to be one incalculable eon, and four incalculable eons are one great eon. In that case those four incalculable eons represent the eons of the creation, presence, destruction, and absence of a world. Buddhas are often described as appearing in a second incalculable eon.
Aspects of enlightenment
- byang chub kyi yan lag
- བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཡན་ལག
- bodhyaṅga
The seven aspects of enlightenment are: mindfulness, analysis of phenomena, diligence, joy, tranquility, samādhi, and equanimity.
Asura
- lha ma yin
- ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
- asura
The asuras are the enemies of the devas, fighting with them for supremacy.
Aśvajit
- rta thul
- རྟ་ཐུལ།
- Aśvajit
The son of one of the seven brahmins who predicted that Śākyamuni would become a great king. He was one of the five companions with Śākyamuni in the beginning of his spiritual path, abandoning him when he gave up asceticism, but then becoming one of his first five pupils after his buddhahood. He was the last of the five to attain the realization of a “stream entrant” and became an arhat on hearing the Sūtra on the Characteristics of Selflessness (Anātmalakṣaṇasūtra), which was not translated into Tibetan. Aśvajit was the one who converted Śariputra and Maudgalyāyana into becoming followers of the Buddha.
Avadavat
- ka la ping ka
- ཀ་ལ་པིང་ཀ
- kalaviṅka
Also called red avadavats, strawberry finches, and kalaviṅka sparrows. Dictionaries have erroneously identified them as cuckoos, and kalaviṅka birds outside India have evolved into a mythical half human bird. The avadavat is a significant bird in the Ganges plain and renowned for its beautiful song.
Avalokiteśvara
- spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug
- སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་ཕྱུག
- Avalokiteśvara
First appeared as a bodhisattva beside Amitābha in the Sukhāvati Sūtra. The name has been variously interpreted. In “The lord of Avalokita,” Avalokita has been interpreted as “seeing,” although, as a past passive participle, it is literally “lord of what has been seen.” One of the principal sūtras in the Mahāsāṃghika tradition was the Avalokita Sūtra, which has not been translated into Tibetan, in which the word is a synonym for enlightenment, as it is “that which has been seen” by the buddhas. In the early tantras, he was one of the lords of the three families, as the embodiment of the compassion of the buddhas. The Potalaka Mountain in southern India became important in southern Indian Buddhism as his residence in this world, but Potalaka does not yet feature in the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, which emphasized the premeninence of Avalokiteśvara above all buddhas and bodhisattvas and introduced the mantra oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ.
Avīci
- mnar med
- མནར་མེད།
- Avīci
The lowest hell, the eighth of the eight hot hells.
Āyatana
- skye mched
- སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
- āyatana
The twelve bases of sensory perception: the six sensory faculties (eyes, nose, ears, tongue, body, and mind), which form in the womb and eventually have contact with the six external bases of sensory perception: form, smell, sound, taste, touch, and mental phenomena.
Bakkula
- bakku la
- བཀཀུ་ལ།
- Bakkula
From a wealthy brahmin family, Bakkula is said to have become a monk at the age of eighty and lived to be a hundred and sixty! He is also said to have had two families, because as a baby he was swallowed by a large fish and the family who discovered him alive in the fish’s stomach also claimed him as their child. The Buddha’s foremost pupil in terms of health and longevity. It is also said he could remember many previous lifetimes and was a pupil of the previous buddhas Padmottara, Vipaśyin, and Kāśyapa.
Balacakravartin
- stobs kyi ’khor los sgyur ba
- སྟོབས་ཀྱི་འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བ།
- balacakravartin
A cakravartin is a king who rules over at least one continent, and gains his territory by the rolling of his magic wheel over the land. Therefore he is called a “king with the revolving wheel.” This is as the result of the merit he has accumulated in previous lifetimes. A balacakravartin king is a lesser kind of cakravartin who has attained his dominion through his great might and his powerful army.
Bali
- stobs can
- སྟོབས་ཅན།
- Bali
Bali wrested control of the world from the devas, establishing a period of peace and prosperity with no caste distinction. Indra requested Viṣṇu to use his wiles so that the devas could gain the world back from him. He appeared as a dwarf asking for two steps of ground, was offered three and then traversed the world in two steps. Bali, keeping faithful to his promise, accepted the banishment of the asuras into the underworld. A great Bali festival in his honor is held annually in southern India. In The Basket Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, Toh 116), he is described as abusing his power by imprisoning the kṣatriyas, so that Viṣṇu has just cause to banish him to the underworld.
Bandé
- ban de
- བན་དེ།
- bande
A Middle Indic word derived from the Sanskrit bhadanta. Meaning “venerable one” it is a term of respectful title for Buddhist monks.
Basil
- a rdza ka
- ཨ་རྫ་ཀ
- arjaka
Ocimum basilicum. Commonly known in India as tulsi. A sacred plant in the Hindu tradition.
Bay leaves
- ta ma la’i ’dab ma
- ཏ་མ་ལའི་འདབ་མ།
- tamālapatra
Cinnamomum tamala, which is specifically the Indian bay leaf. Called tamalpatra in Marathi, and tejpatta in Hindi. The Sanskrit and Marathi means “dark-tree leaves.” Also called Malabar leaves, after the name of the northern area of present-day Kerala in southwest India.
Benzoin resin
- dus kyi rjes su ’brang ba
- དུས་ཀྱི་རྗེས་སུ་འབྲང་བ།
- kālānusārin
Also called gum benzoin and gum benjamin. Not to be confused with the unrelated chemical called benzoin. It is the resin of styrax trees.
Beryl
- bai dU rya
- བཻ་དཱུ་རྱ།
- vaiḍūrya
Although this has often been translated as lapis lazuli, the descriptions and references in the literature, both Sanskrit and Tibetan, match beryl. The Pāli form is veḷuriya. The Prākrit form verulia is the source for the English beryl. This normally refers to the blue or aquamarine beryl, but there are also white, yellow, and green beryls, though green beryl is called “emerald.”
Bhadrapāla
- bzang skyong
- བཟང་སྐྱོང་།
- Bhadrapāla
One of “the sixteen excellent men.” A bodhisattva who appears prominently in certain sūtras, such as The Samādhi of the Presence of the Buddhas, and perhaps also the merchant of that name who is the principal interlocutor in The Questions of Bhadrapāla the Merchant (tshong dpon bzang skyong gyis zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, toh 83).
Bhagavān
- bcom ldan ’das
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- bhagavān
“One who has bhaga,” which has many diverse meanings, including good fortune, happiness, and majesty. In the Buddhist context, it means one who has the good fortune of attaining enlightenment.
Bhaiṣajyarāja
- sman gyi rgyal po
- སྨན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- Bhaiṣajyarāja
A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.
Bhaiṣajyasamudgata
- sman yang dag ’phags
- སྨན་ཡང་དག་འཕགས།
- Bhaiṣajyasamudgata
A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.
Bharadvājasa
- bha ra dwa dza
- བྷ་ར་དྭ་ཛ།
- Bharadvājasa
The name of a long enduring family in the distant past in which twenty thousand buddhas appeared.
Bherī drum
- rnga bo che
- རྔ་བོ་ཆེ།
- bherī
A conical or bowl-shaped kettledrum, with an upper surface that is beaten with sticks.
Bhikṣu
- dge slong
- དགེ་སློང་།
- bhikṣu
Fully ordained buddhist monk.
Bhikṣunī
- dge slong ma
- དགེ་སློང་མ།
- bhikṣunī
Fully ordained buddhist nun.
Bhūta
- ’byung po
- འབྱུང་པོ།
- bhūta
A ghost in the Indian tradition, sometimes haunting houses where they were killed. They can appear in human or animal form. They cast no shadow and their feet are always backward. In Hindi they are called bhoot.
Bignonia
- skya snar
- སྐྱ་སྣར།
- pāṭalā
Bignonia suaveolens. The Indian species of bignonia. They have trumpet-shaped flowers and the small trees are common throughout India.
Bimbā
- bim pa
- བིམ་པ།
- bimbā
Momordica monadelpha. A perennial climbing plant, the fruit of which is a bright red gourd. Because of its color it is frequently used in poetry as a simile for lips.
Blue lotus
- ud pal
- ཨུད་པལ།
- utpala
Nymphaea caerulea. The “blue lotus” is actually a lily, so it is also known as the blue water lily.
Bodhimaṇḍa
- byang chub snying po
- བྱང་ཆུབ་སྙིང་པོ།
- Bodhimaṇḍa
The exact place where every buddha in this world will manifest the attainment of buddhahood. The spot beneath the Bodhi tree in the village presently known as Bodhgaya. Literally “the essence of enlightenment.”
Bodhisattva
- byang chub sems dpa’
- བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།
- bodhisattva
A person who is dedicated not merely to gaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but to becoming a buddha. A name created from the Sanskritization of the middle-Indic bodhisatto, the Sanskrit equivalent of which was bodhisakta, “one who is fixed on enlightenment.”