• The Collection
  • The Kangyur
  • Discourses
  • General Sūtra Section

This rendering does not include the entire published text

The full text is available to download as pdf at:
https://read.84000.co/data/toh113_84000-the-white-lotus-of-the-good-dharma.pdf

དམ་པའི་ཆོས་པད་མ་དཀར་པོ།

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma
Gadgadasvara

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
84000 logo

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 1.2.12 (2022)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.18.4.1

84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.

Logo for the license

This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.

Options for downloading this publication

This print version was generated at 1.54pm on Tuesday, 16th May 2023 from the online version of the text available on that date. If some time has elapsed since then, this version may have been superseded, as most of 84000’s published translations undergo significant updates from time to time. For the latest online version, with bilingual display, interactive glossary entries and notes, and a variety of further download options, please see
https://read.84000.co/translation/toh113.html.


co.

Table of Contents

ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
+ 9 sections- 9 sections
· Introduction
· The Lotus Sūtra in India
· The Sūtra in China and Beyond
· The Sūtra in Tibet
· Translations into Western Languages
· This Translation
· Translation of the Title
· Translation of Specific Terms
· Detailed Summary of “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma”
tr. The Translation
+ 27 chapters- 27 chapters
1. The Introduction
2. Skill in Methods
3. The Parable
4. The Aspiration
5. Herbs
6. The Prophecies to the Śrāvakas
7. The Past
8. The Prophecy to the Five Hundred Bhikṣus
9. The Prophecies to Ānanda, Rāhula, and Two Thousand Bhikṣus
10. The Dharmabhāṇakas
11. The Appearance of the Stūpa
12. Resolutions
13. Dwelling in Happiness
14. The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the Ground
15. The Lifespan of the Tathāgata
16. The Extent of the Merit
17. Teaching the Merit of Rejoicing
18. The Benefits of the Purity of the Six Āyatanas
19. Sadāparibhūta
20. The Tathāgata’s Miracles
21. Dhāraṇīs
22. The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja
23. Gadgadasvara
24. Facing Everywhere: The Teaching of the Miracles of Avalokiteśvara
25. The Past of King Śubhavyūha
26. Samantabhadra’s Encouragement
27. The Entrusting
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
+ 7 sections- 7 sections
· Tibetan Editions of the Sūtra
· Sanskrit Editions of the Sūtra
· Translations of the Sūtra
· Other Kangyur Texts
· Tengyur Texts
· Secondary Tibetan Sources
· Secondary Non-Tibetan Sources
g. Glossary

s.

Summary

s.­1

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 from under 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.


ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

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.


ac.­2

The generous sponsorship of May & George Gu, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.


i.

Introduction

Introduction

i.­1

The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, popularly known as the Lotus Sūtra, not only contains one of the fullest expressions of the transcendent nature of the Buddha, but also, through its successive descriptions of astonishing events and its vivid parables, is imbued with a distinctive literary power of its own. The sūtra inspired a devoted following in India, but it is above all in east Asia that it has been particularly popular. There it has been the impetus for a range of exquisite artistic and architectural forms, and indeed, whole traditions of study and practice that thrive to this day. An extensive body of literature, too‍—both scholarly and popular‍—is based upon the sūtra.1

The Lotus Sūtra in India

The Sūtra in China and Beyond

The Sūtra in Tibet

Translations into Western Languages

This Translation

Translation of the Title

Translation of Specific Terms

Detailed Summary of “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma”


The Translation
The Mahāyāna Sūtra
The White Lotus of the Good Dharma

1.
Chapter 1

The Introduction

[B1] [F.1.b]


1.­1

Homage to the buddhas and the bodhisattvas.


1.­2

Thus have I heard at one time.56 The Bhagavān was dwelling on Vulture Peak in Rājagṛha together with a great saṅgha of twelve hundred bhikṣus,57 all of whom were solely arhats whose defilements had ceased; who were without kleśas; who had mastered themselves; who had liberated minds; who had completely liberated wisdom; who were noble beings;58 who were great elephants;59 who had done what had to be done; who had accomplished what had to be accomplished; who had put down their burden; who had reached their goals; who had ended engagement with existence; and who had liberated their minds through true knowledge, had perfectly attained all the powers of the mind, were renowned for their higher knowledge,60 [F.2.a] and were mahāśrāvakas.


2.
Chapter 2

Skill in Methods

2.­1

Then the Bhagavān mindfully and knowingly arose from that samādhi. Having arisen from it, he addressed Brother Śāriputra.99

“Śāriputra, the wisdom of the buddhas, which is profound, difficult to see, and difficult to understand, has been realized by the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas. It is difficult for all śrāvakas and pratyeka­buddhas to know. Why is that? Śāriputra, the tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas have served many hundred thousand quintillions of buddhas; they have practiced for the highest, complete enlightenment with many hundred thousand quintillions of buddhas; they have followed them for a long time; they have been diligent; [F.13.a] they have obtained marvelous, amazing Dharma; and they know the Dharma that is difficult to know.


3.
Chapter 3

The Parable

3.­1

Then at that time, Śāriputra felt contented, delighted, elated, and joyful. With happiness and gladness he bowed with palms together toward the Bhagavān. Facing the Bhagavān, gazing solely upon the Bhagavān, he said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, I am astonished and amazed. I am overjoyed to have heard this kind of speech from the Bhagavān.

3.­2

“Why is that? Bhagavān, it is because I have never heard this kind of Dharma from the Bhagavān. When I saw other bodhisattvas and heard the names of the buddhas that those bodhisattvas will become in the future, and yet, still had not heard this kind of Dharma teaching from the Bhagavān, I imagined that I was deprived of that kind of vision of the tathāgatas’ wisdom,169 and was extremely grieved and extremely distressed. [F.25.a]


4.
Chapter 4

The Aspiration

4.­1

Then Brother Subhūti, Brother Mahākātyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, and Mahā­maudgalyāyana, having heard from the Bhagavān this kind of Dharma that they had never heard before, and having heard directly from the Bhagavān the prophecy of Brother Śāriputra’s attainment of the highest, supreme enlightenment, were amazed, astonished, and overjoyed.

At that time they rose from their seats, approached the Bhagavān, uncovered one shoulder, knelt on their right knees, and with palms together in homage to the Bhagavān, looking directly at the Bhagavān, they inclined their bodies, they bowed their bodies, they bowed well, bowed perfectly.


5.
Chapter 5

Herbs

5.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to Brother Mahākāśyapa and the other great sthaviras, “Excellent! Excellent, Kāśyapa! It is excellent, Kāśyapa, that you have praised the true qualities of the Tathāgata. Kāśyapa, those are qualities of the Tathāgata. There are immeasurably and innumerably more than those. It would not be easy to enumerate them entirely even in countless eons.


6.
Chapter 6

The Prophecies to the Śrāvakas

6.­1

When the Bhagavān had finished reciting those verses, he announced to the complete saṅgha of bhikṣus, “Oh bhikṣus! I declare to you,278 I make it known to you, that this śrāvaka bhikṣu of mine, Kāśyapa, will serve three hundred billion buddhas, will venerate them, honor them, make offerings to them, praise them, and respect them.279 He will hold the Dharma of those buddha bhagavāns. [F.55.a] In his last life, in an eon named Mahāvyūha, in a world named Avabhāsaprāptā, he will appear in the world as the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct,280 the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Raśmiprabhāsa. His lifespan will be twelve intermediate eons. His Dharma will remain for twenty intermediate eons, and the outer form of his Dharma will remain for a further twenty intermediate eons. His buddha realm will be pure and clean, without stones, pebbles, or gravel, without chasms or cliffs, without drains or cesspools.281 It will be flat, pleasant, beautiful, delightful, made of beryl, adorned by jewel trees, divided eightfold like a checkerboard by golden cords,282 and filled with flowers. There will be many hundred thousands of bodhisattvas there. There will be countless hundred thousand quintillions of śrāvakas there. The evil Māra and his followers will not appear there. Even if Māra and Māra’s followers were to appear there they would become dedicated to maintaining the Dharma taught by the bhagavān tathāgata Raśmiprabhāsa.”


7.
Chapter 7

The Past

7.­1

“Bhikṣus, in the past, in a time gone by, beyond and even further beyond the most countless, innumerable, incalculable, unquantifiable, inconceivable asaṃkhyeya eons ago, at that time, in that era, in an eon named Mahārūpa, in a world named Saṃbhavā, there appeared in that world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the one who knows the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Mahābhijñā­jñānābhi­bhū.


8.
Chapter 8

The Prophecy to the Five Hundred Bhikṣus

8.­1

Brother Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇī­putra, having heard directly from the Bhagavān about this wisdom insight into skillful methods, about the teachings with implied meaning, and having heard the prophecies made to the great śrāvakas, and having heard of the connections with the past, and having heard of the preeminence of the Bhagavān, was astonished and amazed, without worldly concerns, and filled with delight and joy. Then with great delight and joy and great reverence for the Dharma, he rose from his seat, bowed down to the feet of the Bhagavān, [F.75.b] and thought, “Bhagavān, it is wonderful! Sugata, it is wonderful! The tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas accomplish that which is extremely difficult‍—they teach the Dharma to beings according to the different concerns of the world, through many wisdom insights into skillful methods, and they liberate330 beings attached to this and that.331 Bhagavān, what are we able to do? The Tathāgata is the one who knows our aspirations and our past.”


9.
Chapter 9

The Prophecies to Ānanda, Rāhula, and Two Thousand Bhikṣus

9.­1

At that time, Brother Ānanda thought, “May I obtain a prophecy like these!” Thinking that, contemplating it, and wishing for it, he rose from his seat and bowed down to the Bhagavān’s feet. Brother Rāhula also, thinking, contemplating, and wishing for the same thing, bowed down to the Bhagavān’s feet, and they said, “Bhagavān, may we have such an opportunity! Sugata, may we have such an opportunity! Bhagavān, you are our father, our progenitor, our refuge, our support, and our protector. Bhagavān, we are honored by the world with its devas, humans, and asuras as the sons of the Bhagavān, the attendants of the Bhagavān, and the keepers of the Dharma treasure of the Bhagavān. Therefore, Bhagavān, it would be fitting if the Bhagavān were quickly to give us the prophecy of our attainment of the highest, complete enlightenment.”


10.
Chapter 10

The Dharmabhāṇakas

10.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja and eighty thousand other bodhisattvas, “Bhaiṣajyarāja, do you see this assembly’s numerous devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, bhikṣus and bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas and upāsikās, and followers of the Śrāvakayāna and the Bodhisattva­yāna who have heard this Dharma teaching directly from the Tathāgata?” [F.84.a]


11.
Chapter 11

The Appearance of the Stūpa

11.­1

Then a stūpa made of the seven precious materials arose from the center of the assembly, directly in front of the Bhagavān. It was five hundred yojanas tall and of a corresponding circumference. Having risen up, it remained suspended in the air, bright and beautiful, adorned with five thousand encircling railings358 covered in flowers, and beautified by many thousands of toraṇas, hung with thousands of sacred flags and banners of victory, [F.89.a] hung with thousands of strings of jewels, hung with thousands of streamers and bells, and emitting the aroma of bay leaves and sandalwood. That aroma spread throughout the entire all-containing world. Its crowning parasol reached as high as the palaces in the paradises of the Four Mahārājas. It was made of the seven precious materials, which are gold, silver, beryl, white coral, emerald, red pearl, and chrysoberyl. At the stūpa, devas of the Trāyastriṃśa paradise scattered coral tree and great coral tree flowers on the precious stūpa, bestrewing it with them, and covering it with them.


12.
Chapter 12

Resolutions

12.­1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāpratibhāna, together with a following of two hundred thousand bodhisattvas, facing the Bhagavān, said, “Bhagavān, have no concern over this matter. Bhagavān, we will teach, we will expound this Dharma teaching to beings after the nirvāṇa of the Tathāgata.

“Bhagavān, in that time beings will be wicked, have few roots of merit, be arrogant, be devoted to gain and honor, engage in roots of demerit, be difficult to guide, have no interest, and be filled with disinterest, but, Bhagavān, we will demonstrate the power of patience and in that time we will teach this sūtra, we will uphold it, we will expound it, we will write it out, we will honor it, we will venerate it, and we will make offerings to it. Bhagavān, we will cast aside body and life and teach this sūtra. Therefore, Bhagavān, have no concern.”


13.
Chapter 13

Dwelling in Happiness

13.­1

Then Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what these bodhisattva mahāsattvas are resolved to do because of their reverence for the Bhagavān is a difficult task, extremely difficult. Bhagavān, how should these bodhisattva mahāsattvas expound this Dharma teaching in the later times, in a later era?”

The Bhagavān said to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, “Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should expound this Dharma teaching in the later times, in a later era, by maintaining four qualities. What are these four?


14.
Chapter 14

The Bodhisattvas Emerging Out of the Ground

14.­1

Then the bodhisattvas who had arrived from other world realms, who were as numerous as the grains of sand in eight Ganges Rivers, stood up in the circle of the assembly, bowed to the Bhagavān with hands together in homage, and said these words:

“Bhagavān, if the Bhagavān will permit us, [F.111.a] after the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, we too will teach this Dharma teaching in the Sahā world realm. We will read it, write it, and make offerings to it. We shall be dedicated to this Dharma teaching. Bhagavān, teach well this Dharma teaching to us.”


15.
Chapter 15

The Lifespan of the Tathāgata

15.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the complete assembly of bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak.”

The Bhagavān said a second time, and a third time, to those bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak. Noble ones, have faith and certainty in the true words that I, the Tathāgata, will speak.”


16.
Chapter 16

The Extent of the Merit

16.­1

When the teaching of the Tathāgata’s lifespan was taught it benefited innumerable, countless beings. The Bhagavān said at that time to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, “Ajita, when the Dharma teaching that teaches the Tathāgata’s lifespan was given, a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, as numerous as the grains of sand in sixty-eight Ganges Rivers, developed receptivity to the birthlessness of phenomena.


17.
Chapter 17

Teaching the Merit of Rejoicing

17.­1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya asked the Bhagavān, [F.129.a] “Bhagavān, if a noble man or noble woman rejoices after hearing this Dharma teaching explained, how much merit, Bhagavān, does that noble man or noble woman create?” And at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya also addressed to him this verse:

17.­2
“After the nirvāṇa of the great Hero,
How much merit will there be
For someone who listens to this kind of sūtra,
And having heard it, rejoices?” {1}

18.
Chapter 18

The Benefits of the Purity of the Six Āyatanas

18.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Satata­samitābhiyukta, “If any noble man or noble woman possesses, reads, teaches, or asks questions about this Dharma teaching, that noble man or noble woman will gain eight hundred qualities of the eyes, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the nose, will gain eight hundred qualities of the ears, will gain twelve hundred qualities of the tongue, will gain eight hundred qualities of the body, and will gain twelve hundred qualities of mind.


19.
Chapter 19

Sadāparibhūta

19.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahā­sthāma­prāpta, “Mahā­sthāma­prāpta, you should know that this Dharma teaching is like this: Whoever rejects this Dharma teaching, and scolds, rebukes, and speaks crudely489 and harshly to the bhikṣus, [F.139.b] bhikṣuṇīs, upāsakas, and upāsikās who possess such a sūtra as this, will experience the undesirable result ripening from that, which is that they will be unable to speak words. Whoever possesses such a sūtra as this, reads it, studies it, teaches it, and teaches it extensively to others will have the desirable result ripening from that, which is, as I have said before, that they will attain purified eyes, nose, ears, tongue, body, and mind.


20.
Chapter 20

The Tathāgata’s Miracles

20.­1

Then those hundreds of millions of quintillions of bodhisattvas who had emerged from the ground, as numerous as the atoms in a world realm, placed their hands together in homage and said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, we will teach this Dharma teaching in all the buddha realms where the Tathāgata has passed into nirvāṇa, and in the buddha realms where the Bhagavān will pass into nirvāṇa.


21.
Chapter 21

Dhāraṇīs

21.­1

498Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, [F.147.a] and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, how much merit will a noble man or noble woman generate by carrying this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma on their body or making a text of it?”


22.
Chapter 22

The Past of Bhaiṣajyarāja

22.­1

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña said to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, through what cause is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja active in this Sahā world realm? Bhagavān, he must have undergone many hundred thousands of quintillions of hardships. I request the Tathāgata, the Arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha to speak of just a fraction of what the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja has practiced, so that those who have heard the Bhagavān‍—the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans and nonhumans, and the bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have arrived here from other world realms and these great śrāvakas‍—will all be pleased, delighted, and happy.”


23.
Chapter 23

Gadgadasvara

23.­1

Then at that time the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni emitted light from the ūrṇā hair between his eyebrows, which was a sign of a great being. That light shone throughout hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms in the east, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers. Beyond those hundreds of thousands of quintillions of buddha realms, which were as numerous as the grains of sand in eighteen Ganges Rivers, there was the world realm named Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā, in which there lived, was present, and remained the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha named Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña. He was accompanied and revered by an immeasurably great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. Then the ray of light emitted by the bhagavān tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni from his ūrṇā hair shone at that time throughout the world realm Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā.

23.­2

In that Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā world realm there was the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, who had through his past roots of merit seen such light rays from many tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara had attained many samādhis: the samādhi of the crest adornment of the victory banner, the samādhi of the white lotus of the good Dharma, the samādhi of the stainless gift, the samādhi of the play of the king of stars, the samādhi like-the-wind, the samādhi of the seal of knowledge, the samādhi of the lamp of the moon, [F.158.b] the samādhi of skill in all sounds, the samādhi of the accumulation of all merit, the samādhi of possessing faith, the samādhi of the display of miraculous powers, the samādhi of the torch of knowledge, the samādhi of the king of arrays, the samādhi of stainless light, the samādhi of stainless essence, the samādhi of completion through water,583 the samādhi of the disk of the sun, and so on, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara having attained hundreds of thousands of quintillions of samādhis, as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges River.

23.­3

The light struck the body of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, and then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, “Bhagavān, I am going to the Sahā world realm in order to see, pay homage to, and honor the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, and to see the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, to see the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, to see the bodhisattva Pradānaśūra, to see the bodhisattva Nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, to see the bodhisattva Vi­śiṣṭa­cāritra, to see the bodhisattva Vyūharāja, and to see the bodhisattva Bhaiṣajya­samudgata.”

23.­4

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña [F.159.a] said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, “Noble one, when you go to the world realm Sahā and have arrived there, do not perceive it as inferior. Noble one, the world realm Sahā is uphill and downhill, made of earth, crowded with dark mountains, and filled with cesspools.584 The bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni has a short body; the bodhisattva mahāsattvas have short bodies also. Noble one, the body you have gained is forty-two thousand yojanas high. Noble one, my body is sixty-eight hundred thousand yojanas high. Noble one, you are handsome, attractive, with an excellent body that has an excellent color and is perfectly developed. You have exceptional splendor from a hundred thousand merits. Therefore, noble one, when you go to the Sahā world realm, do not perceive that tathāgata, those bodhisattvas, or that buddha realm as inferior.”

23.­5

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, “Bhagavān,585 I go to the Sahā world realm through the Tathāgata’s blessing, through the Tathāgata’s development of power, the Tathāgata’s display, the Tathāgata’s arrays, and the Tathāgata’s superior wisdom.”

23.­6

Then at that time the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, without departing from that buddha realm, without rising up from his seat, entered samādhi in this way. [F.159.b] As soon as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara entered samādhi, at that moment, in front of the Dharma seat of the Tathāgata on Vulture Peak in the Sahā world realm there appeared eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion lotuses with gold stems, silver petals, and pericarps the color of flame of the forest flowers.586

23.­7

When Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta saw that array of lotuses he asked the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni, “Bhagavān, of whose coming are these eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion lotuses with gold stems, silver petals, and pericarps the color of flame of the forest flowers an omen?”

The Bhagavān answered Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, “Mañjuśrī, these are an omen that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, accompanied by a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, will come to this Sahā world realm from the east from the world realm Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā, which is the buddha realm of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, in order to see me, to pay homage to me, to honor me, and to listen to this Dharma teaching The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.”

23.­8

Then Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what accumulation of good karma has that noble one created such that through that creation of an accumulation of good karma he has attained this excellence? Bhagavān, what samādhi has that bodhisattva practiced? Bhagavān, we should587 listen to what that samādhi is. Bhagavān, we should practice that samādhi. [F.160.a] What is that bodhisattva mahāsattva like? What is his color? What is his form? What kind of characteristics588 does he have? What kind of shape does he have? What kind of practice does he have? We should see what this bodhisattva is like. Bhagavān, what cause will inspire this bodhisattva mahāsattva to come to the Sahā world realm? I request that the Tathāgata create that cause.”

23.­9

Then at that time the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni requested of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, “Bhagavān, create a cause to inspire the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara to come to this Sahā world realm.”

Then at that time the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna created this cause to invoke the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara: “Come, noble one, to this Sahā world realm! This Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta will delight in seeing you!”

23.­10

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara bowed his head to the feet of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, circumambulated him three times and, leading a retinue of a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, they all at the same time vanished from the Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā world realm and came to this Sahā world realm. The worlds shook. [F.160.b] A rain of lotuses fell. A hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments played. Gadgadasvara arrived in the sky at the height of seven palm trees, leading a retinue of bodhisattvas, residing in a kūṭāgāra made of the seven precious materials, with eyes that were like the petals of a blue lotus; with a face that was superior to a hundred thousand quintillion moons;589 with a body the color of gold; with a body adorned by a hundred thousand merits, shining with splendor, with an exceptional brilliance; with a body adorned by the signs of a superior being; and with a body as indestructible as Nārāyaṇa’s.

He came to where Vulture Peak is in the Sahā world realm, and having arrived he descended from the kūṭāgāra and, holding a string of pearls worth a hundred thousand silver coins, he approached the Bhagavān and bowed his head down to the Bhagavān’s feet, circumambulated him seven times, and gave the string of pearls to the Bhagavān as an offering.

23.­11

When Gadgadasvara had given the string of pearls to the Bhagavān he said to him, “Bhagavān, the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña asks after your welfare, saying, ‘Are you free from harm, free from distress, and in good health?590 Do you remain strong and happy?’ The bhagavān asks, ‘Bhagavān, do you have that which you must be patient with? That you have to wait for? Are your elements in harmony? Are the beings who follow you able to understand easily? Are they easy to guide? Are they easy to nurture? Do they wish for purity? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong desire? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong anger? Do they avoid the conduct of very strong ignorance? Bhagavān, are your beings without strong envy? Are they without greed? Do they have no disrespect for their mothers? Do they have no disrespect for their fathers? Do they have no disrespect for bhikṣus? Do they have no disrespect for brahmins? [F.161.a] Do they have no wrong views? Do they not have untamed minds? Do they not have uncontrolled senses? Bhagavān, have your beings banished the adversary who is Māra? Has the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has passed into nirvāṇa, and who resides in a stūpa made of the seven precious materials, come to the Sahā world realm in order to listen to the Dharma?’

23.­12

“The bhagavān also asked the bhagavān, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, ‘Bhagavān, Tathāgata591 Prabhūtaratna, do you have that which you must be patient with? That you have to wait for? Bhagavān Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, are you going to remain long? We also wish to see the body that is the relic of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, and therefore may the Tathāgata reveal well the body that is the relic of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna.’ ”

23.­13

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni said to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who had passed into nirvāṇa, “Bhagavān, this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has come wishing to see the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, who has passed into nirvāṇa.”

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, “Noble one, [F.161.b] it is excellent that you have come because you wish to see the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and myself, to listen to The White Lotus of the Good Dharma, and to see Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta.”


23.­14

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what kind of roots of merit has the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara created in the past, and in the presence of which tathāgata?”

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī, “Noble one, in the past, in a time gone by,592 in an eon called Priyadarśa, in the world realm Sarva­rūpa­saṃdarśanā, there appeared in the world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja.

23.­15

“Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara, for eighty-four thousand years, made an offering with a hundred thousand musical instruments to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja, and gave him eighty-four thousand bowls made of the seven precious materials.

“Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara attained that kind of faith593 in the teaching of Tathāgata Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja. If you are you uncertain, unsure, or undecided, thinking that it was someone else who at that time, on that occasion, made an offering to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja, [F.162.a] and gave him those eighty-four thousand bowls, noble one, do not have such a view. Why is that? Noble one, the one who made the offering to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Megha­dundubhi­svara­rāja, and gave him those eighty-four thousand bowls, was this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara.

23.­16

“Noble one, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara honored many buddhas, generated roots of merit, and trained under many hundreds of thousands of buddhas. This bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has seen as many buddha bhagavāns in the past as there are grains of sand in the Ganges River.

23.­17

“Padmaśrī, do you see the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara?”

“Bhagavān, I see him,” replied Padmaśrī. “Sugata, I see him.”

“Padmaśrī,” said the Bhagavān, “this bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma in many forms: He teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma sometimes in the form of Brahmā, sometimes in the form of Śakra, sometimes in the form of Īśvara, sometimes in the form of Maheśvara,594 sometimes in the form of a general, sometimes in the form of Vaiśravaṇa,595 sometimes in the form of a cakravartin, sometimes in the form of a king of a region, sometimes in the form of a head merchant, sometimes in the form of a householder, sometimes in the form of a townsman, and sometimes in the form of a brahmin.

23.­18

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma [F.162.b] sometimes in the form of a bhikṣu, sometimes in the form of a bhikṣuṇī, sometimes in the form of an upāsaka, sometimes in the form of an upāsikā, sometimes in the form of the wife of a head merchant, sometimes in the form of the wife of a householder, sometimes in the form of the wife of a townsman, sometimes in the form of a boy, and sometimes in the form of a girl.

“Noble one, through teaching in these numerous forms, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

23.­19

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to beings, teaching some in the form of an asura, some in the form of a garuḍa, some in the form of a kinnara, and to some in the form of a mahoraga.

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is even the protector of beings in the unfortunate existences of the hells, rebirths as animals, and the realm of Yama.

23.­20

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara even teaches this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma to the beings in the royal harems by manifesting in the form of a woman.

“The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gagdadasvara teaches the Dharma to beings in this Sahā world realm by teaching this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

“Padmaśrī, the bodhisattva [F.163.a] mahāsattva Gadgadasvara is a protector of the beings who have been born into the Sahā world realm. The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has emanated in such numerous forms in this Sahā world realm and taught beings this Dharma teaching of The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.

23.­21

“The miraculous powers of this excellent being do not decline. His wisdom does not decline. Noble one, the lights of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara’s wisdom illuminate this Sahā world realm. And in other world realms as numerous as the sand grains in the Ganges River, he has taught the Dharma in the form of a bodhisattva for the beings who are to be guided by a bodhisattva. He has taught the Dharma as a śrāvaka for the beings who are to be guided by a śrāvaka. He has taught the Dharma as a pratyeka­buddha for the beings who are to be guided by a pratyeka­buddha. He has taught the Dharma as a tathāgata for the beings who are to be guided by a tathāgata. And so on up to manifesting the relics of a tathāgata for beings who are to be guided by the relics of a tathāgata. And so on up to passing into nirvāṇa for beings who are to be guided by his passing into nirvāṇa.

23.­22

“Padmaśrī, in that way the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara has attained the development of the power of wisdom.”

23.­23

Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, what samādhi does the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara remain in for this creation of roots of merit? What is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara’s samādhi for guiding this many beings?” [F.163.b]

The bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī, “Noble one, the samādhi that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara remains in so as to benefit in that way countless beings is this samādhi called manifestation of all forms.”


23.­24

When this “Gadgadasvara” chapter was taught, the eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas who had come with the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara into this Sahā world realm all attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms. Also, the countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas who dwelled in this Sahā world realm attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms.

23.­25

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara made vast, extensive offerings to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni and to the stūpa of the relics of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna. Then he entered his kūṭāgāra made of the seven precious materials. The realm shook, a rain of lotuses fell, and there was the music of a hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments. Leading his retinue of a hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas, they returned together to their own buddha realm.

23.­26

When they had arrived there, he said to [F.164.a] the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Kamala­dala­vimala­nakṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña, “Bhagavān, I have benefited beings in the Sahā world realm. I also saw the stūpa of the relics of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Prabhūtaratna, and paid homage to it. I also saw and paid homage to the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni. I also saw Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta. I also saw the bodhisattva mahāsattva Bhaiṣajyarāja, who has attained the might of the power of diligence, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Pradānaśūra. All those eighty-four hundred thousand quintillion bodhisattvas attained the samādhi called manifestation of all forms.”

23.­27

When the chapter of the coming and going of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Gadgadasvara was being taught, forty-two thousand bodhisattvas attained receptivity to the nonarising of phenomena, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Padmaśrī attained the white lotus of the good Dharma samādhi.

23.­28

This concludes “Gadgadasvara,” the twenty-third chapter of the Dharma teaching of “The White Lotus of the Good Dharma.” [B13]


24.
Chapter 24

Facing Everywhere: The Teaching of the Miracles of Avalokiteśvara

24.­1

596Then the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati rose from his seat, removed his upper robe from one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with his hands together in homage bowed toward the Bhagavān and asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, why is the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara called Avalokiteśvara?” [F.164.b]

24.­2

The Bhagavān said to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣayamati, “Noble one, if the hundred thousand quintillion beings in this world who are experiencing suffering were to hear the name of the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara they would all become freed from that mass of suffering.


25.
Chapter 25

The Past of King Śubhavyūha

25.­1

Then the Bhagavān said to the all-inclusive assembly of bodhisattvas, “Noble ones, in the past, in a time gone by, countless eons ago, at that time, in that era, in an eon named Priyadarśana, in a world named Vairocana­raśmi­prati­maṇḍitā, there appeared in that world the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha, the one with perfect wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the one who knows the world’s beings, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the bhagavān named Jala­dhara­garjita­ghoṣa­susvarana­kṣatra­rāja­saṃkusumitābhi­jña­.


26.
Chapter 26

Samantabhadra’s Encouragement

26.­1

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra, leading a following of countless bodhisattva mahāsattvas, and leading a following of countless devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans, came from the east, and the realms shook, a rain of lotuses fell, and a hundred thousand quintillion musical instruments played. With the great power of a bodhisattva, with the great manifestations of a bodhisattva, with the great miraculous power of a bodhisattva, with the great majesty636 of a bodhisattva, with the great brilliant magnificence of a bodhisattva, with the great way637 of a bodhisattva, with the great miracles of a bodhisattva, and with the great miraculous manifestation of leading a following638 of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans‍—it was with such an inconceivable miraculous manifestation that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Samantabhadra came to this Sahā world realm.


27.
Chapter 27

The Entrusting

27.­1

Then the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened buddha Śākyamuni [F.179.b] rose from his Dharma seat and manifested the miracle of his right hand taking hold of the right hands of those in the entire gathering of bodhisattvas. At that time he said, “Noble ones, this highest, complete enlightenment that I accomplished after a hundred thousand quintillion asaṃkhyeya eons I place in your hands: I entrust it to you, I present it to you, and I pass it on to you. Noble ones, you should do whatever will make it extensively widespread.”


c.

Colophon

c.­1

Translated, revised, and finalized by the Indian Upādhyāya Surendrabodhi and the chief editor Lotsawa Bandé Nanam Yeshé Dé.


n.

Notes

n.­1
See Jamieson (2002) for a list of the numerous scholarly works.
n.­2
Karashima (2015).
n.­3
Dessein (2009): 36–37.
n.­4
Zhongxin (1997).
n.­5
Karashima (2001).
n.­6
Karashima (2001): 212.
n.­7
Lopez (2016): 21.
n.­8
Deeg (1999).
n.­56
There have been two ways to interpret this traditional beginning of a sūtra, with such Indian masters as Kamalaśīla claiming that both are equally correct. The alternative interpretation is “Thus have I heard: at one time, the Bhagavān…,” and so on. The various arguments, both traditional and modern, for either side are given by Brian Galloway in “Thus have I heard: At one time…,” Indo-Iranian Journal 34, no. 2 (April 1991): 87–104.
n.­57
This figure is from the Sanskrit. The Tibetan in all Kangyurs has twelve thousand, as do the Chinese translations by Kumārajīva (T.262, early fifth century) and by Jñānagupta and Dharmagupta (T.264, early seventh century). The Chinese translation by Dharmarakṣa (T.263, late third century), however, has 1,200 like the Sanskrit, while the other early Chinese translation, which is anonymous, has 42,000 (大比丘眾四萬二千人俱).
n.­58
Sanskrit ājāneya; Tibetan cang shes. Ājāneya was incorrectly defined as meaning “all-knowing” and was translated therefore into Tibetan as cang shes (“all-knowing”). The term ājāneya was primarily used for thoroughbred horses, but was also applied to people in a laudatory sense.
n.­59
This term probably has its origins in being a translation into Sanskrit from the Middle Indic mahānāga, the Sanskrit equivalent of which should have been mahānagna, which has the meaning of “a great champion, a man of distinction and nobility.”
n.­60
According to the BHS abhi­jñatābhijña­ta, where the same word is repeated with different meanings. The Tibetan translates both identically in most Kangyurs as mngon par shes pa mngon par shes pa, and in others such as Degé and Lhasa as mngon par shes pas mngon par shes pa.
n.­99
According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: Śāridvataputra.
n.­169
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “deprived of the scope of wisdom of the tathāgatas, and of the vision of their wisdom.”
n.­278
According to the BHS ārocayāmi. The Tibetan mos par bya could be interpreted as “make you aspire.”
n.­279
According to the Sanskrit. The last two activities are absent from the Tibetan, but when this passage is repeated further on in this chapter they are included in the Tibetan, and so there appears to be an unintended omission here.
n.­280
According to the commentary this refers to the eightfold path, with wisdom being the right view and conduct being the other seven aspects of the path.
n.­281
According to the BHS gūtholigalla. The Tibetan translates obscurely as sme ba (“spots”).
n.­282
See n.­179.
n.­330
According to the Sanskrit pramocayanti and, in part, the Stok Palace Kangyur ’grol ba. The other Tibetan versions consulted have ’grel ba; a Tibetan translation of the causative Sanskrit verb form would more likely be sgrol ba.
n.­331
The syntax is according to the Sanskrit; the Tibetan reverses the order of the sentences.
n.­358
According to the Sanskrit vedikā. The Tibetan translates as stegs bu, “platforms,” Burnouf as “balconies,” and Kern as “terraces.” However, vedikā here refers to the railings in which the toraṇas, or “gateways,” are set. While the vedikās do serve as railings for elevated platforms, which serve as circumambulatory walkways, they also encircle the stūpa on the surrounding flat ground.
n.­489
According to the Tibetan tshogs par mi dbyung ba (“unfit for a gathering”), which will have been a translation of asabhya. The Sanskrit has asatya (“falsely”), which appears to have been the source of the Chinese translation.
n.­498
In the Chinese translation this chapter is later, following the chapter on Avalokiteśvara.
n.­583
According to the Sanskrit apkṛṭsna, and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné Kangyurs. The others consulted have chub pa’i in error for chu’i (“of water”) and here the Tibetan zad pa is used in its meaning of “completion” rather than “exhaustion.”
n.­584
According to the BHS gūthoḍilla. Not a Sanskrit word. Most Tibetan versions consulted have, perhaps euphemistically, ’jim ngan (“bad mud”). Stok Palace: ’jig ngan.
n.­585
The Sanskrit at this point has, “I will do as the Tathāgata has commanded.” Absent in the Tibetan and Chinese.
n.­586
The Tibetan is unclear here. Kiṃśuka (“flame of the forest”), which in Sanskrit literally means “what parrot,” seems to have been translated literally into Tibetan as ne tso’am ci (which would literally mean, “parrot or what”). “Lotus” (padma) is repeated here in the Vaidya and Wogihara Sanskrit, while garbha is missing, and there is a corruption of varṇa. It seems it should have been garbha­kiṃśuka­varṇāni instead of padma­kiṃśukarvaṇāni, which Kern and Burnouf translate as “the color of lotuses and kiṃśuka flowers.” The Chinese translates as “calyxes of a gem named kiṃśuka.”
n.­587
The Sanskrit is in the optative case. Tibetan does not distinguish between future and optative. Also the Sanskrit and Chinese are plural, “we,” as is the verb. The Tibetan appears to be in the singular.
n.­588
The Tibetan is mtshan, the same as for the signs (lakṣaṇa) of a great being, but the Sanskrit here is liṅga.
n.­589
According to the Chinese and Sanskrit. The analogy of the moons is absent in the Vaidya, Wogihara, Burnouf, and Kern.
n.­590
Literally it is, “Do you have little harm, little distress?” Also “in good health” translates the Sanskrit laghūtthānatā. The Tibetan translates obscurely as bskyod pa, rendering the meaning of “being in movement.”
n.­591
According to the Tibetan and Burnouf. The Vaidya and Wogihara have “Bhagavān, Tathāgata, Arhat, perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
n.­592
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit mentions “countless innumerable asaṃkhyeya eons ago.”
n.­593
According to the Tibetan. The Vaidya and Wogihara have śrī (“splendor”), translated by Burnouf and Kern as “beauty.” Translations from Chinese: “supernatural power,” “divine power,” “transcendent power,” and so on.
n.­594
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Vaidya and Wogihara have “Rudra” (another of Śiva’s names) instead, and earlier in the list. Burnouf translates this as “Śiva.”
n.­595
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan here has only mchog.
n.­596
“Facing everywhere” in the chapter title is translated according to the Sanskrit samantamukha, which has also became an epithet for the many-faced forms of Avalokiteśvara. The Tibetan translates as kun nas sgo (taking the alternative meaning of “door” from mukha) which could be literally translated as “doors on all sides.” However, in the Mahāvyutpatti we find samanta-spharaṇa-mukha translated as bzhin kun tu khyab pa (“face that pervades everywhere”). Other translations have included “all-sided one” and “all-sidedness.” Burnouf translates as “Celui dont la face regarde de tous les côtés,” correcting his earlier translation based on a misreading of samantamukha as samantasukha (“complete bliss”). The meaning, however translated, refers to Avalokiteśvara regarding all beings.
n.­636
According to the Sanskrit. “Great” is absent from the Tibetan. The Sanskrit mahata bodhi­sattva­māhātmyena manages to keep the two similar words apart.
n.­637
According to the Sanskrit mahatā bodhi­sattvayānena. The Tibetan could be interpreted to mean specifically the mahāyāna.
n.­638
“leading a following” is absent from the Tibetan.

b.

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.

Watanabe, Shōkō. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka Manuscripts Found in Gilgit. Tokyo: Reiyukai, 1972–75.

Wogihara, Unrai and Tsuchida, Chikao. Saddharmapuṇḍarīka-sūtram: Romanized and Revised Text of the Bibliotheca Buddhica publication by consulting a Sanskrit Ms. & Tibetan and Chinese translations. Tōkyō: Seigo-Kenkyūkai, 1934–35.

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 in Dharmachakra Translation committee (2013).

ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po’i mdo (Samādhi­rāja­sūtra), Toh 127, Degé Kangyur vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1a–175b. English translation in Roberts (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. English translation in Roberts (2021).

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 in Sparham (2022).

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.

Pekar Zangpo (pad dkar bzang po). ’phags pa dam chos padma dkar po’i mdo. In mdo sde spyi’i rnam bzhag, Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006, pp. 187–189.

Secondary Non-Tibetan Sources

Abbott, Terry Rae. “Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Saddharma­puṇḍarīka­sūtra: A Study of its History and Significance.” PhD diss., University of California at Berkeley, 1985.

Boucher, Daniel. “Dharmarakṣa and the Transmission of Buddhism to China.” Asia Major 19 (2006): 13–37.

Deeg, Max. “The Saṅgha of Devadatta: Fiction and History of a Heresy in the Buddhist Tradition.” Journal of the International College for Advanced Buddhist Studies (March 31, 1999): 195–230.

Dessein, Bart. “The Mahāsāṃghikas and the Origins of Mahāyāna Buddhism: Evidence Provided in the *Abhi­dharma­mahā­vibhāṣa­śāstra.” The Eastern Buddhist 40, no. 1 (2009): 25–61.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Play in Full (Lalita­vistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.

Galloway, Brian. “Thus have I heard: At one time….” Indo-Iranian Journal 34, no. 2 (April 1991): 87–104.

Groner, Paul and Jacqueline I. Stone. “Editors’ Introduction: The Lotus Sutra in Japan.” Japanese Journal of Religious Studies vol. 41, no. 1 (2014): 1–23.

Hanh, Thich Nhat. Peaceful Action, Open Heart: Lessons from the Lotus Sutra. Berkeley: Parallax Press, 2008.

Heirman, Ann. “Yijing’s View on the Bhikṣunīs’ Standard Robes.” Chung-Hwa Buddhist Journal 21 (2008): 145–158.

Hinüber, Oskar von. “A Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra Manuscript from Khotan: The Gift of a Pious Khotanese Family.” Journal of Oriental Studies 24 (2014): 134–156.

‍—‍—‍—. “The Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra at Gilgit: Manuscripts, Worshippers, and Artists.” Journal of Oriental Studies22 (2012): 52–67.

‍—‍—‍—. Bronzes of the Ancient Kingdom of Gilgit and Royal Patronage in Early North-Western India and Pakistan. Online lecture: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York (2010).

Jamieson, R. C. “Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Manuscripts from Cambridge University Library (Add. 1682 and Add. 1683).” Journal of Oriental Studies 12, no. 6 (2002): 165–173.

Jeffus, Ryusho. Lotus Sutra Practice Guide: 35-Day Practice Outline. Charlotte, NC: Myosho-ji, 2012.

Karashima, Seishi. “Who Composed the Mahāyāna Scriptures?‍—the Mahāsāṃghikas and Vaitulya Scriptures.” ARIRIAB XVIII (2015): 113–162.

‍—‍—‍—. “Some Features of the Language of the Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.” Indo-Iranian Journal 44 (2001): 207–230.

Kim, Young-ho. Tao-sheng’s Commentary on the Lotus Sūtra: A Study and Translation. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1990.

Lancaster, L. R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue.

Laufer, Berthold. “Sanskrit Karketana.” Mémoires de la Société de Linguistique 22 (1922): 43–46.

Lopez Jr., Donald S. The Lotus Sutra: A Biography. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2016.

Miller, Robert, et al. The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1, ch. 1). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.

Mookerji, Radha Kumud. Ancient Indian Education: Brahmanical and Buddhist. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1989.

Reeves, Gene. The Stories of the Lotus Sutra. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications, 2010.

Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. The King of Samādhis Sūtra (Samādhi­rāja­sūtra, Toh 127). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.

‍—‍—‍—, trans. The Ten Bhūmis (Daśabhūmika, Toh 44-31). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.

Sparham, Gareth, trans. The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (*Ārya­śata­sāhasrikā­pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikāṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­bṛhaṭṭīkā, Toh 3808). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.

Schoening, Jeffrey. “Translated Sutra Commentaries in Tibet.” In Tibetan Literature: Studies in Genre, edited by José Cabezón and Roger Jackson, 111–124. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion, 1996.

Silk, Jonathan Alan. “The Yogācāra Bhikṣu.” In Beiju: Buddhist Studies in Honor of Professor Gadjin M. Nagao, edited by J. Silk, 256–314. Studies in the Buddhist Traditions 3. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1997.

Suguro, Shinjō. Introduction to the Lotus Sutra. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, 1998.

Tanabe, George J. and Willa Jane Tanabe. The Lotus Sutra in Japanese Culture. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 1989.

Teiser, Stephen F. and Jacqueline I. Stone. Readings of the Lotus Sūtra. New York: Columbia University Press, 2009.

Tiantai Lotus Texts. BDK English Tripiṭaka Series. Berkeley, CA: Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America, 2013, 93–149.

Tola, Fernando and Carmen Dragonetti. Buddhist Positiveness: Studies on the Lotus Sūtra. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2009.

Winder, Marianne. “Vaidurya.” Studies on Indian Medical History (1987): 85–94.

Yuyama, Akira. A Bibliography of the Sanskrit Texts of the “Saddharmapuṇḍarīkasūtra.” Canberra: Faculty of Asian Studies in Association with Australian National University Press, 1970.

Zengwen, Yang. “Saddharmapundarikasutra in Chinese History and its Significance in the 21st Centry.” Journal of Oriental Studies vol. 10 (2000): 10–20.

Zhongxin, Jiang. Sanskrit Lotus Sutra Fragments from the Lüshun Museum Collection (Tokyo: Sōka Gakkai, 1997).


g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for Sanskrit names and terms

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in the Sanskrit manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other Sanskrit manuscripts of the Kangyur or Tengyur.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in Tibetan-Sanskrit dictionaries.

AA

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where Tibetan-Sanskrit relationship is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source Unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­1

Ābhāsvara

  • ’od gsal
  • འོད་གསལ།
  • ābhāsvara

The highest of the three paradises that are the second dhyāna paradises in the form realm.

2 passages contain this term:

  • 18.­19
  • 18.­54
g.­2

Abhi­jñā­jñānābhi­bhū

  • mngon shes ye shes zil gnon
  • མངོན་ཤེས་ཡེ་ཤེས་ཟིལ་གནོན།
  • abhi­jñā­jñānābhi­bhū

A shorter form of the name of Buddha Mahābhijñā­jñānābhi­bhū.

2 passages contain this term:

  • 7.­6
  • 7.­141
g.­3

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.

1 passage contains this term:

  • 9.­8
g.­16

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.

40 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­77
  • 1.­79-80
  • 1.­82-83
  • 1.­85-86
  • 1.­88
  • 14.­49
  • 14.­55-56
  • 16.­1
  • 16.­25-27
  • 16.­48-56
  • 16.­59-61
  • 17.­3-8
  • 17.­10-13
  • 17.­15-16
  • g.­235
g.­20

Akṣayamati

  • blo gros mi zad pa
  • བློ་གྲོས་མི་ཟད་པ།
  • akṣayamati

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.

16 passages contain this term:

  • i.­62
  • 1.­4
  • 24.­1-2
  • 24.­9
  • 24.­11-12
  • 24.­14-16
  • 24.­18-19
  • n.­599-600
  • n.­602
  • n.­612
g.­27

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.

20 passages contain this term:

  • i.­47
  • 1.­3
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­5-7
  • 9.­13-15
  • 9.­24-26
  • 9.­34
  • g.­3
  • g.­31
  • g.­32
  • g.­246
  • g.­344
  • g.­345
g.­39

arhat

  • dgra bcom pa
  • དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
  • arhat

Used as both as an epithet of the Buddha and the final accomplishment of early Buddhism, or the Hīnayāna.

213 passages contain this term:

  • i.­11
  • i.­46
  • i.­55
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­71-72
  • 1.­76-77
  • 1.­79-80
  • 1.­84-86
  • 2.­1-3
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­51
  • 2.­53-59
  • 2.­61-64
  • 2.­153
  • 3.­4
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­31
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­54
  • 3.­65
  • 3.­70
  • 3.­74-76
  • 4.­86
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­5-6
  • 5.­8
  • 5.­11
  • 5.­50
  • 5.­57
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115-118
  • 7.­122
  • 7.­126-129
  • 7.­138-140
  • 7.­185-186
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­45
  • 8.­49
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­5-6
  • 9.­13
  • 9.­17-19
  • 9.­25
  • 10.­5
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­7-8
  • 11.­10
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­24-27
  • 11.­61
  • 11.­82-83
  • 12.­5-6
  • 13.­13
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­62-63
  • 14.­5-6
  • 14.­47-48
  • 14.­50
  • 15.­6
  • 16.­8
  • 17.­7
  • 17.­9-11
  • 17.­21
  • 18.­30
  • 19.­2-8
  • 19.­11
  • 19.­13
  • 19.­15
  • 19.­17-18
  • 20.­4-6
  • 20.­8-9
  • 21.­10
  • 22.­1-5
  • 22.­11
  • 22.­13
  • 22.­16-18
  • 22.­29
  • 22.­35
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­1-5
  • 23.­7
  • 23.­9-15
  • 23.­23
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­16
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­4
  • 25.­6
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­18-20
  • 25.­23-30
  • 26.­2
  • 26.­18
  • 27.­1
  • 27.­4-6
  • n.­246
  • n.­451
  • n.­591
  • g.­45
  • g.­77
  • g.­147
  • g.­182
  • g.­217
  • g.­295
  • g.­357
  • g.­423
g.­41

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.

6 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­72
  • 7.­1
  • 19.­2
  • 27.­1-2
  • n.­592
g.­44

asura

  • lha ma yin
  • ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
  • asura

The asuras are the enemies of the devas, fighting with them for supremacy.

54 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­8
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 3.­46
  • 5.­5-6
  • 6.­28
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­68
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­94
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­142
  • 7.­144
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­6
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­19
  • 11.­21
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­103
  • 13.­81
  • 15.­3
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­17
  • 18.­41
  • 18.­70
  • 18.­81
  • 18.­89
  • 19.­3
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­3
  • 22.­20
  • 23.­19
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­23
  • 24.­30
  • 26.­1
  • 27.­6
  • n.­319
  • g.­54
  • g.­185
  • g.­316
  • g.­461
g.­47

Avabhāsaprāptā

  • snang ba thob pa
  • སྣང་བ་ཐོབ་པ།
  • avabhāsaprāptā

“Attainment of Light,” the world in which Kāśyapa will become a buddha.

2 passages contain this term:

  • i.­44
  • 6.­1
g.­49

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.

50 passages contain this term:

  • i.­27
  • i.­62
  • 1.­4
  • 24.­1-19
  • 24.­22-33
  • 24.­40-44
  • 24.­50-51
  • 24.­53
  • n.­498
  • n.­596
  • n.­600
  • n.­602-603
  • n.­606
  • n.­620
  • g.­154
g.­55

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.

1 passage contains this term:

  • c.­1
g.­57

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.

3 passages contain this term:

  • 11.­1
  • 18.­27
  • 18.­32
g.­59

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.”

25 passages contain this term:

  • i.­56
  • 1.­97
  • 1.­99
  • 2.­106
  • 3.­30
  • 3.­39
  • 4.­6
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 9.­5
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­22
  • 11.­71
  • 13.­61
  • 16.­49
  • 17.­5
  • 18.­76
  • 18.­79
  • 22.­3
  • 24.­3
  • g.­98
  • g.­376
g.­63

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.

408 passages contain this term:

  • i.­63
  • 1.­2
  • 1.­9-14
  • 1.­72
  • 1.­79-86
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­126
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­5
  • 2.­26-27
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­41-43
  • 2.­47-50
  • 3.­1-5
  • 3.­12
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­29-30
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­36
  • 3.­45-46
  • 3.­53-54
  • 3.­64-65
  • 3.­77
  • 4.­1-15
  • 4.­20-22
  • 4.­24-32
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­30
  • 5.­59-60
  • 5.­70
  • 5.­74
  • 5.­80
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­11
  • 6.­19-20
  • 6.­28-29
  • 6.­34-35
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­3-4
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­13
  • 7.­15-17
  • 7.­20
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­42-43
  • 7.­47-49
  • 7.­51
  • 7.­60-62
  • 7.­66-67
  • 7.­69
  • 7.­75-76
  • 7.­79-80
  • 7.­82
  • 7.­90-91
  • 7.­102-103
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­110
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115-118
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­122-125
  • 7.­131-132
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­144
  • 7.­163
  • 8.­1-4
  • 8.­7-8
  • 8.­28-30
  • 8.­32
  • 8.­45
  • 8.­47-49
  • 8.­58-59
  • 9.­1-3
  • 9.­5-7
  • 9.­13-14
  • 9.­17-18
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­24-26
  • 9.­31-32
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­11
  • 10.­38
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­4
  • 11.­6-7
  • 11.­9-14
  • 11.­16-17
  • 11.­23-30
  • 11.­44
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­75
  • 11.­84-86
  • 11.­94-95
  • 11.­99-100
  • 11.­104
  • 12.­1-3
  • 12.­5-13
  • 12.­27
  • 13.­1
  • 13.­10
  • 13.­36
  • 13.­53
  • 13.­65
  • 14.­1-3
  • 14.­5
  • 14.­7-8
  • 14.­10-11
  • 14.­13
  • 14.­16-18
  • 14.­47-51
  • 14.­55
  • 14.­57
  • 14.­65-69
  • 14.­75
  • 14.­79
  • 15.­1-3
  • 15.­5-6
  • 15.­17-18
  • 16.­1
  • 16.­7-8
  • 16.­25
  • 16.­28
  • 16.­62
  • 16.­86
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­9-10
  • 17.­16-17
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­3
  • 18.­22
  • 18.­31
  • 18.­66-67
  • 18.­79
  • 18.­87
  • 19.­1-6
  • 19.­15
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­22
  • 20.­1-4
  • 20.­6-8
  • 20.­10
  • 21.­1-4
  • 21.­6-8
  • 21.­10-11
  • 21.­13-14
  • 21.­16-18
  • 21.­20
  • 21.­24
  • 22.­1-4
  • 22.­7
  • 22.­9-11
  • 22.­13-14
  • 22.­16-21
  • 22.­35-36
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­1
  • 23.­3-5
  • 23.­7-17
  • 23.­23
  • 23.­25-26
  • 24.­1-2
  • 24.­8-12
  • 24.­14
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­51-52
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­3-4
  • 25.­6
  • 25.­9-11
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­18-20
  • 25.­23-30
  • 26.­2-6
  • 26.­8
  • 26.­10-18
  • 27.­1-2
  • 27.­4-6
  • n.­56
  • n.­219
  • n.­365
  • n.­372
  • n.­591
  • n.­599
g.­64

Bhaiṣajyarāja

  • sman gyi rgyal po
  • སྨན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • bhaiṣajyarāja

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.

47 passages contain this term:

  • i.­48
  • i.­50
  • i.­59-60
  • i.­63
  • 1.­4
  • 10.­1-10
  • 10.­26-37
  • 12.­1
  • 21.­1-4
  • 21.­7
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­22-23
  • 22.­34-35
  • 22.­37
  • 22.­41-42
  • 23.­3
  • 23.­26
  • 25.­33-34
  • n.­499
g.­65

Bhaiṣajya­samudgata

  • sman yang dag ’phags
  • སྨན་ཡང་དག་འཕགས།
  • bhaiṣajya­samudgata

A bodhisattva present at the sūtra’s teaching.

5 passages contain this term:

  • i.­63
  • 1.­4
  • 23.­3
  • 25.­33-34
g.­69

bhikṣu

  • dge slong
  • དགེ་སློང་།
  • bhikṣu

Fully ordained buddhist monk.

221 passages contain this term:

  • i.­40
  • i.­46-47
  • i.­50
  • i.­63
  • 1.­2-3
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­23
  • 1.­36
  • 1.­47
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­84-85
  • 1.­111
  • 1.­114
  • 1.­117-118
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­62-63
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­152
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­53-54
  • 3.­146
  • 3.­151
  • 3.­183
  • 4.­2
  • 6.­1-3
  • 6.­6
  • 6.­19-20
  • 6.­28-29
  • 6.­34
  • 7.­1-5
  • 7.­12-13
  • 7.­15
  • 7.­17-19
  • 7.­28
  • 7.­32-33
  • 7.­35-37
  • 7.­41-43
  • 7.­47
  • 7.­49
  • 7.­51-54
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­62
  • 7.­66-67
  • 7.­69-72
  • 7.­74-76
  • 7.­79-80
  • 7.­82
  • 7.­84-86
  • 7.­89-91
  • 7.­102-103
  • 7.­105-106
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­110-129
  • 7.­131-140
  • 7.­172
  • 7.­184
  • 7.­188
  • 8.­2-8
  • 8.­15
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­49
  • 8.­62
  • 9.­2
  • 9.­7
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­34
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­50
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­29-30
  • 11.­59
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­80-84
  • 12.­2
  • 12.­19
  • 12.­21
  • 12.­24
  • 12.­27
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­7
  • 13.­13
  • 13.­23
  • 13.­32
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­39
  • 13.­46
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­59-60
  • 13.­80
  • 15.­7
  • 15.­11
  • 15.­24
  • 16.­53
  • 16.­55
  • 16.­79
  • 17.­3
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­20
  • 18.­55-56
  • 18.­65
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­6-10
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­23-24
  • 19.­29-30
  • 20.­2
  • 22.­40
  • 23.­11
  • 23.­18
  • 24.­45
  • 25.­29-30
  • 26.­4-5
  • 26.­8
  • 26.­19-22
  • 26.­24
  • n.­283
  • g.­149
  • g.­219
  • g.­262
  • g.­267
  • g.­406
  • g.­436
  • g.­442
g.­70

bhikṣuṇī

  • dge slong ma
  • དགེ་སློང་མ།
  • bhikṣuṇī

Fully ordained buddhist nun.

48 passages contain this term:

  • i.­50
  • i.­63
  • 1.­3
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­12-13
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­117
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­48
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­65
  • 3.­46
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­50
  • 12.­3-4
  • 12.­6-7
  • 12.­9
  • 13.­4
  • 13.­7
  • 13.­14
  • 13.­39
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­80
  • 17.­3
  • 18.­65
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­7-10
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­18
  • 19.­20
  • 19.­29-30
  • 20.­2
  • 23.­18
  • 26.­4
  • 26.­8
  • g.­219
  • g.­380
  • g.­493
g.­75

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.

7 passages contain this term:

  • 16.­75
  • 17.­28
  • 18.­27
  • 21.­24
  • 22.­37
  • 22.­40
  • 23.­10
g.­77

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.”

449 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­10
  • i.­39
  • i.­41-43
  • i.­47-54
  • i.­56-65
  • 1.­1
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­12-15
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­36-37
  • 1.­42
  • 1.­48
  • 1.­57
  • 1.­64
  • 1.­67
  • 1.­70
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­78
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­82-86
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­102
  • 1.­106
  • 1.­108
  • 1.­115
  • 1.­132
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­10
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­21
  • 2.­77
  • 2.­95
  • 2.­115
  • 2.­149
  • 2.­158
  • 2.­167
  • 3.­2-3
  • 3.­13
  • 3.­26-29
  • 3.­31-34
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­73
  • 3.­128
  • 3.­133
  • 3.­137
  • 3.­146
  • 4.­3-4
  • 4.­29-31
  • 4.­70
  • 5.­51
  • 5.­59
  • 5.­71
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­8
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­24
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­33-34
  • 6.­42
  • 7.­11
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­121
  • 7.­124-125
  • 7.­131-132
  • 7.­134
  • 7.­162
  • 8.­3-4
  • 8.­7-10
  • 8.­23
  • 8.­35
  • 8.­48
  • 9.­4
  • 9.­9
  • 9.­12-13
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­29
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­18
  • 10.­29
  • 10.­31-33
  • 10.­35
  • 10.­57
  • 11.­6-7
  • 11.­9-12
  • 11.­14
  • 11.­24
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­85-89
  • 11.­94
  • 11.­98
  • 11.­101-102
  • 11.­104
  • 12.­1
  • 12.­4-6
  • 12.­10-11
  • 12.­13
  • 13.­1-5
  • 13.­7-10
  • 13.­27
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­51-52
  • 13.­56
  • 13.­59-60
  • 13.­63
  • 13.­66
  • 14.­1-11
  • 14.­13-14
  • 14.­16-19
  • 14.­22-23
  • 14.­28
  • 14.­30
  • 14.­33
  • 14.­38
  • 14.­41
  • 14.­43
  • 14.­45-50
  • 14.­55-58
  • 14.­64-67
  • 14.­69
  • 14.­72
  • 14.­75
  • 14.­79-80
  • 15.­1-2
  • 15.­5-6
  • 15.­19
  • 16.­1-9
  • 16.­21
  • 16.­25
  • 16.­30
  • 16.­43
  • 16.­49
  • 16.­57
  • 16.­59
  • 16.­87
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­9-10
  • 17.­15
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­9-10
  • 18.­21-22
  • 18.­26
  • 18.­30
  • 18.­35-36
  • 18.­46
  • 18.­52
  • 18.­54-55
  • 18.­57
  • 18.­59
  • 18.­76
  • 18.­78
  • 18.­83
  • 18.­85
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­3
  • 19.­6-11
  • 19.­13-15
  • 19.­18-21
  • 19.­23
  • 19.­27-28
  • 20.­1-4
  • 20.­6
  • 20.­8
  • 20.­16
  • 20.­22-23
  • 21.­1-2
  • 21.­4
  • 21.­7-9
  • 22.­1-11
  • 22.­13-14
  • 22.­16-24
  • 22.­30
  • 22.­35-36
  • 22.­38
  • 22.­41
  • 23.­1-10
  • 23.­13-27
  • 24.­1-17
  • 24.­51
  • 25.­1-2
  • 25.­30-32
  • 26.­1-6
  • 26.­8
  • 26.­10-12
  • 26.­15
  • 26.­18
  • 26.­25
  • 27.­1-2
  • 27.­4
  • 27.­6
  • 27.­9
  • n.­86
  • n.­219-220
  • n.­363
  • n.­412
  • n.­420
  • n.­464
  • n.­490
  • g.­16
  • g.­20
  • g.­28
  • g.­30
  • g.­34
  • g.­49
  • g.­61
  • g.­64
  • g.­65
  • g.­78
  • g.­111
  • g.­124
  • g.­142
  • g.­157
  • g.­220
  • g.­227
  • g.­229
  • g.­231
  • g.­235
  • g.­241
  • g.­242
  • g.­270
  • g.­271
  • g.­282
  • g.­288
  • g.­301
  • g.­302
  • g.­313
  • g.­325
  • g.­330
  • g.­331
  • g.­342
  • g.­354
  • g.­369
  • g.­371
  • g.­375
  • g.­379
  • g.­388
  • g.­390
  • g.­407
  • g.­427
  • g.­449
  • g.­452
  • g.­456
  • g.­481
  • g.­483
  • g.­485
  • g.­492
g.­78

Bodhisattva­yāna

  • byang chub sems dpa’i theg pa
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་ཐེག་པ།
  • bodhisattva­yāna

The way or vehicle of the bodhisattvas.

17 passages contain this term:

  • 3.­54
  • 3.­70-71
  • 7.­123
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­32
  • 10.­35
  • 13.­49-50
  • 14.­67-68
  • 22.­23-24
  • 22.­28
  • 22.­31
  • 22.­34
  • 22.­40
g.­79

Brahmā

  • tshangs pa
  • ཚངས་པ།
  • brahmā

The personification of the universal force of Brahman, the deity in the form realm, who was during the Buddha’s time considered the supreme deity and creator of the universe. In the cosmogony of many universes, each with a thousand million worlds, there are many Brahmās.

64 passages contain this term:

  • i.­38
  • i.­45
  • i.­58
  • 1.­6
  • 1.­84
  • 2.­142
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­46
  • 5.­38
  • 7.­33-35
  • 7.­37
  • 7.­41-42
  • 7.­52-54
  • 7.­60-61
  • 7.­70-72
  • 7.­74-75
  • 7.­84-86
  • 7.­89-90
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­147-148
  • 7.­151
  • 11.­53
  • 11.­98
  • 16.­8
  • 16.­17
  • 16.­21
  • 16.­54
  • 16.­64
  • 17.­14
  • 17.­32
  • 18.­19
  • 18.­53
  • 18.­64
  • 18.­74
  • 20.­4
  • 20.­11
  • 22.­19
  • 22.­28
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­12
  • 24.­41
  • 25.­9
  • n.­295
  • n.­627
  • g.­81
  • g.­82
  • g.­83
  • g.­169
  • g.­207
  • g.­277
  • g.­378
g.­84

brahmin

  • bram ze
  • བྲམ་ཟེ།
  • brāhmaṇa

A member of the priestly class or caste from the four social divisions of India.

19 passages contain this term:

  • i.­63
  • 3.­27
  • 4.­8
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 12.­21
  • 13.­34
  • 13.­60
  • 18.­65
  • 23.­11
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­12
  • 25.­5
  • g.­45
  • g.­52
g.­85

brother

  • tshe dang ldan pa
  • ཚེ་དང་ལྡན་པ།
  • āyuṣmat

Literally “long-lived.” A title referring to an ordained monk.

39 passages contain this term:

  • i.­8
  • i.­63
  • 1.­3
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­27-28
  • 2.­39-41
  • 2.­43-44
  • 2.­47
  • 2.­49
  • 3.­5
  • 3.­27
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­53-54
  • 4.­1
  • 5.­1
  • 5.­59-60
  • 6.­11
  • 8.­1
  • 8.­29
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­3
  • 9.­14
  • 9.­17
  • 9.­24
  • 19.­7-8
  • 25.­20
  • g.­101
  • g.­149
  • g.­267
  • g.­338
  • g.­442
  • g.­480
g.­86

buddha

  • sangs rgyas
  • སངས་རྒྱས།
  • buddha

Literally “Awakened One” in Sanskrit, the Tibetan translation interprets this as one who is “purified and perfected.”

461 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­1-5
  • i.­10-11
  • i.­14
  • i.­23
  • i.­38-65
  • 1.­1
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­9-14
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­37
  • 1.­68
  • 1.­72
  • 1.­79-82
  • 1.­84
  • 1.­86-87
  • 1.­99
  • 1.­113-114
  • 1.­119-121
  • 1.­125
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­6-7
  • 2.­15
  • 2.­18
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­65
  • 2.­69
  • 2.­73-74
  • 2.­77-79
  • 2.­82
  • 2.­85
  • 2.­93
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­120-121
  • 2.­123
  • 2.­125
  • 2.­127
  • 2.­129-132
  • 2.­145-146
  • 2.­148
  • 2.­160
  • 2.­165
  • 2.­172
  • 3.­2
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­17
  • 3.­19
  • 3.­22
  • 3.­25
  • 3.­27-29
  • 3.­32-35
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­40
  • 3.­51-52
  • 3.­130-131
  • 3.­150
  • 3.­156
  • 3.­161
  • 3.­176
  • 3.­179-180
  • 4.­3
  • 4.­68-69
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­73-74
  • 4.­81-82
  • 4.­91
  • 5.­27
  • 5.­42
  • 5.­55
  • 5.­80
  • 5.­104
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­12
  • 6.­15-16
  • 6.­19-21
  • 6.­24
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­32-34
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­40
  • 7.­57
  • 7.­59
  • 7.­63
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­88
  • 7.­91
  • 7.­95
  • 7.­99
  • 7.­112
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­123-125
  • 7.­138
  • 7.­168
  • 7.­189
  • 8.­3-7
  • 8.­11
  • 8.­15-16
  • 8.­19
  • 8.­21
  • 8.­30
  • 8.­33-34
  • 8.­36
  • 8.­41
  • 9.­2-6
  • 9.­13-14
  • 9.­17-18
  • 9.­21
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­27-28
  • 10.­3
  • 10.­7
  • 10.­24
  • 10.­56-57
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­10-14
  • 11.­16
  • 11.­18-20
  • 11.­22-23
  • 11.­29
  • 11.­35-36
  • 11.­40
  • 11.­84-85
  • 11.­103
  • 12.­4-6
  • 12.­23
  • 13.­23
  • 13.­57
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­63
  • 13.­71
  • 14.­13
  • 14.­27
  • 14.­48
  • 14.­64-65
  • 15.­28
  • 15.­40
  • 16.­7-8
  • 16.­29
  • 16.­33
  • 16.­49
  • 16.­58
  • 16.­86
  • 17.­16
  • 18.­22
  • 18.­66
  • 18.­75
  • 18.­83
  • 18.­91
  • 19.­2
  • 19.­6
  • 19.­14
  • 19.­27
  • 19.­30
  • 19.­32
  • 20.­1
  • 20.­6
  • 20.­8
  • 20.­12
  • 20.­18
  • 21.­6
  • 21.­16
  • 22.­2-3
  • 22.­9-10
  • 22.­21
  • 22.­24
  • 22.­33
  • 22.­36
  • 23.­1
  • 23.­4
  • 23.­6-7
  • 23.­14
  • 23.­16
  • 23.­25
  • 24.­8-10
  • 24.­12
  • 24.­20
  • 24.­44
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­7
  • 25.­15
  • 25.­17
  • 25.­30
  • 25.­34
  • 26.­2
  • 26.­4
  • 26.­12
  • 26.­15
  • 27.­9
  • n.­78
  • n.­129
  • n.­164-166
  • n.­219
  • n.­303
  • n.­363-364
  • n.­441
  • n.­448
  • n.­471
  • n.­600
  • n.­602
  • n.­633-634
  • g.­2
  • g.­3
  • g.­4
  • g.­12
  • g.­15
  • g.­16
  • g.­19
  • g.­21
  • g.­22
  • g.­23
  • g.­27
  • g.­31
  • g.­32
  • g.­35
  • g.­39
  • g.­41
  • g.­45
  • g.­47
  • g.­49
  • g.­52
  • g.­60
  • g.­62
  • g.­67
  • g.­71
  • g.­76
  • g.­77
  • g.­79
  • g.­80
  • g.­87
  • g.­94
  • g.­95
  • g.­96
  • g.­101
  • g.­106
  • g.­107
  • g.­113
  • g.­117
  • g.­118
  • g.­121
  • g.­126
  • g.­135
  • g.­136
  • g.­147
  • g.­148
  • g.­149
  • g.­153
  • g.­157
  • g.­159
  • g.­161
  • g.­164
  • g.­167
  • g.­168
  • g.­170
  • g.­172
  • g.­174
  • g.­177
  • g.­178
  • g.­182
  • g.­196
  • g.­204
  • g.­206
  • g.­207
  • g.­210
  • g.­211
  • g.­212
  • g.­214
  • g.­215
  • g.­217
  • g.­219
  • g.­226
  • g.­228
  • g.­235
  • g.­244
  • g.­249
  • g.­254
  • g.­255
  • g.­256
  • g.­257
  • g.­259
  • g.­260
  • g.­262
  • g.­266
  • g.­267
  • g.­274
  • g.­281
  • g.­287
  • g.­289
  • g.­293
  • g.­295
  • g.­300
  • g.­302
  • g.­304
  • g.­312
  • g.­317
  • g.­318
  • g.­322
  • g.­323
  • g.­324
  • g.­328
  • g.­330
  • g.­333
  • g.­334
  • g.­335
  • g.­341
  • g.­344
  • g.­345
  • g.­346
  • g.­348
  • g.­349
  • g.­351
  • g.­352
  • g.­354
  • g.­357
  • g.­362
  • g.­364
  • g.­365
  • g.­367
  • g.­368
  • g.­371
  • g.­374
  • g.­378
  • g.­379
  • g.­380
  • g.­381
  • g.­382
  • g.­395
  • g.­397
  • g.­398
  • g.­402
  • g.­403
  • g.­406
  • g.­413
  • g.­415
  • g.­416
  • g.­418
  • g.­419
  • g.­420
  • g.­436
  • g.­442
  • g.­448
  • g.­452
  • g.­455
  • g.­459
  • g.­466
  • g.­471
  • g.­472
  • g.­476
  • g.­477
  • g.­482
  • g.­493
g.­90

cakravartin

  • ’khor los sgyur ba
  • འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བ།
  • cakravartin

A king with a magical wheel, and wherever it rolls becomes his kingdom, so that he may rule over one to four continents.

18 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­81
  • 2.­38
  • 5.­38
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­114
  • 11.­98
  • 17.­14
  • 18.­34
  • 18.­65
  • 18.­72
  • 22.­32
  • 23.­17
  • 24.­12
  • g.­16
  • g.­53
  • g.­214
  • g.­235
g.­98

chrysoberyl

  • ke ke ru
  • ཀེ་ཀེ་རུ།
  • karketana

This stone is not a type of beryl in spite of its name. The Tibetan has adopted the Prakrit form of its name: ke ke ru. It is the third hardest gemstone. It comes in three main varieties: the eponymous yellow or green chrysoberyl; cat’s eye (cymophane), which is light green or yellow with a band of light, resembling a cat’s eye; and the third form, alexandrite, which can change color from red to green to yellow according to the light. All three kinds have been mined since ancient times, in Sri Lanka in particular.

3 passages contain this term:

  • 2.­106
  • 11.­1
  • g.­376
g.­99

coral tree

  • man dA ra ba
  • མན་དཱ་ར་བ།
  • māndārava

Erythrina indica or Erythrina variegate. Mandarava, flame tree, tiger’s claw. In the summer it is covered in large crimson flowers, which are believed to also grow in Indra’s paradise. The coral tree is the most widespread species of Erythrina or māndārava, taller than the others, and all are collectively known as coral trees.

17 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­10
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­61
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­94
  • 3.­46
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­18
  • 11.­22
  • 15.­30
  • 16.­7
  • 16.­17
  • 18.­29
  • 18.­48
  • 22.­6
  • g.­279
g.­103

defilements

  • zag pa
  • ཟག་པ།
  • āsrava

A term of Jain origin, meaning “inflows.” It refers to uncontrolled thoughts as a result of being influenced by sensory objects and thus being sullied or defiled. It is also defined as “outflows,” hence the Tibetan zag pa (“leaks”) as the mind is “flowing out” toward the sensory objects.

18 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­2
  • 1.­104
  • 2.­12
  • 2.­16
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­26
  • 2.­31
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­63
  • 2.­160
  • 3.­6
  • 3.­8
  • 5.­50
  • 6.­9
  • 7.­109-110
  • 17.­7
  • 17.­21
g.­105

deva

  • lha
  • ལྷ།
  • deva

A being in the paradises from the base of Mount Meru upward. Also can refer to a deity in the human world, or can be used as an honorific form of address for kings and other important personages.

162 passages contain this term:

  • i.­37
  • i.­51
  • 1.­5-7
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­16
  • 1.­62
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­84
  • 1.­94
  • 1.­98
  • 1.­110
  • 1.­121
  • 2.­32
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­39
  • 2.­41
  • 2.­53
  • 2.­55
  • 2.­57
  • 2.­59
  • 2.­101
  • 2.­131
  • 2.­164
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­26-27
  • 3.­43
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­68
  • 3.­73
  • 3.­143
  • 4.­86
  • 5.­5-6
  • 5.­28
  • 5.­30
  • 5.­38
  • 5.­42
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­26
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­32
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­40
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­15-16
  • 7.­28-29
  • 7.­33
  • 7.­39
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­48
  • 7.­56
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­62
  • 7.­64
  • 7.­66
  • 7.­68
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79
  • 7.­88
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­95
  • 7.­99
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­142
  • 7.­144
  • 8.­5
  • 8.­39
  • 8.­42
  • 9.­1
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­6
  • 10.­36
  • 10.­54
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­6-7
  • 11.­15
  • 11.­19
  • 11.­21
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­83-84
  • 11.­103
  • 12.­8
  • 13.­60
  • 13.­77
  • 13.­81
  • 14.­56
  • 15.­3
  • 15.­30
  • 16.­17
  • 16.­61
  • 16.­84
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­14
  • 18.­19
  • 18.­29-30
  • 18.­41
  • 18.­50-54
  • 18.­64
  • 18.­70
  • 18.­74
  • 18.­81-82
  • 18.­89
  • 19.­3
  • 19.­22
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­3
  • 22.­17
  • 22.­20-21
  • 22.­27-28
  • 22.­36
  • 22.­38
  • 24.­16
  • 24.­34
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­4
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­30
  • 25.­34
  • 26.­1
  • 26.­6
  • 26.­13
  • 26.­15
  • 27.­6
  • n.­319
  • n.­481
  • g.­44
  • g.­54
  • g.­81
  • g.­82
  • g.­169
  • g.­249
  • g.­250
  • g.­251
  • g.­331
  • g.­347
  • g.­355
  • g.­385
  • g.­399
  • g.­422
g.­113

Dharma

  • chos
  • ཆོས།
  • dharma

A term that predates Buddhism, Dharma/dharmas has a wide range of meanings and usages in Buddhist texts depending on context:

As Dharma, it is the teaching of Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas, preached by their followers, and transmitted in the form of scripture; or, alternatively, it means ultimate reality itself, the referent of the teaching and what is realized through it.

As dharmas, it is variously the different teachings given by Buddha Śākyamuni, other buddhas, and their followers; the trainings enjoined in those teachings; the positive qualities acquired through applying those trainings; mental phenomena in general; or phenomena in general or their characteristics. Often in Buddhist literature there is a play on the multiple interlinked senses of this term.

616 passages contain this term:

  • i.­8
  • i.­10
  • i.­16
  • i.­23
  • i.­34-35
  • i.­43
  • i.­45-47
  • i.­49-50
  • i.­56-58
  • i.­62-63
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­9
  • 1.­11
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­21
  • 1.­24
  • 1.­35
  • 1.­40-42
  • 1.­55-56
  • 1.­70-71
  • 1.­73-75
  • 1.­77-78
  • 1.­80
  • 1.­82-85
  • 1.­88
  • 1.­90
  • 1.­92-93
  • 1.­99
  • 1.­104
  • 1.­107-111
  • 1.­118
  • 1.­122
  • 1.­131
  • 1.­133
  • 2.­1-4
  • 2.­6
  • 2.­11
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­20
  • 2.­22
  • 2.­25-27
  • 2.­36
  • 2.­40
  • 2.­42
  • 2.­44-45
  • 2.­50-51
  • 2.­53-60
  • 2.­63-64
  • 2.­67
  • 2.­69
  • 2.­86
  • 2.­95
  • 2.­99
  • 2.­101-103
  • 2.­124
  • 2.­127-130
  • 2.­136
  • 2.­138
  • 2.­144
  • 2.­152-153
  • 2.­156-157
  • 2.­162-163
  • 2.­165-166
  • 2.­173
  • 3.­2-4
  • 3.­8-9
  • 3.­14
  • 3.­20-23
  • 3.­28-29
  • 3.­31-32
  • 3.­35
  • 3.­43-44
  • 3.­46-47
  • 3.­49
  • 3.­53-54
  • 3.­69
  • 3.­76
  • 3.­142-143
  • 3.­145
  • 3.­149
  • 3.­167
  • 3.­175
  • 3.­182
  • 3.­188
  • 4.­1-3
  • 4.­25-26
  • 4.­29
  • 4.­72
  • 4.­75
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­92-95
  • 5.­2
  • 5.­6-10
  • 5.­12
  • 5.­31-34
  • 5.­37
  • 5.­40
  • 5.­45-47
  • 5.­49-50
  • 5.­53-54
  • 5.­57
  • 5.­68
  • 5.­70
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­90
  • 5.­93
  • 5.­101
  • 5.­106
  • 5.­113
  • 6.­1
  • 6.­9-10
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­27-28
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­43
  • 6.­45
  • 7.­28-29
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­47-49
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­65-67
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­79-81
  • 7.­90
  • 7.­95
  • 7.­97
  • 7.­102
  • 7.­104-105
  • 7.­108
  • 7.­110
  • 7.­113
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­118
  • 7.­120
  • 7.­122-125
  • 7.­131-134
  • 7.­146
  • 7.­150
  • 7.­154
  • 7.­156-157
  • 7.­159
  • 7.­172
  • 7.­186
  • 7.­191
  • 8.­1-4
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­15
  • 8.­17-21
  • 8.­26
  • 8.­36
  • 8.­38-39
  • 8.­41
  • 8.­49
  • 8.­62
  • 9.­1
  • 9.­4-5
  • 9.­10
  • 9.­13-16
  • 9.­20
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­30
  • 9.­34
  • 10.­1-2
  • 10.­4-8
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­26-29
  • 10.­31-37
  • 10.­48
  • 10.­56
  • 10.­58
  • 11.­3-4
  • 11.­7-8
  • 11.­10-12
  • 11.­23
  • 11.­25-26
  • 11.­29-34
  • 11.­36
  • 11.­39
  • 11.­41-42
  • 11.­49
  • 11.­58
  • 11.­63
  • 11.­72-73
  • 11.­75-79
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­85
  • 11.­90
  • 11.­97
  • 11.­103
  • 11.­105
  • 12.­1-2
  • 12.­9-12
  • 12.­17
  • 12.­33
  • 13.­1-2
  • 13.­4-6
  • 13.­16
  • 13.­22
  • 13.­34-36
  • 13.­39
  • 13.­43
  • 13.­45
  • 13.­49
  • 13.­51-52
  • 13.­55
  • 13.­58-66
  • 13.­71
  • 13.­73
  • 13.­80-83
  • 13.­86-88
  • 13.­91-92
  • 13.­94
  • 14.­1-2
  • 14.­39
  • 14.­52
  • 14.­54-56
  • 14.­61-62
  • 14.­66-68
  • 14.­76
  • 14.­80
  • 15.­6-10
  • 15.­12
  • 15.­18
  • 15.­20
  • 15.­26
  • 15.­32-33
  • 15.­40-41
  • 16.­1-7
  • 16.­9-10
  • 16.­13
  • 16.­15
  • 16.­25-26
  • 16.­46
  • 16.­48-49
  • 16.­51-52
  • 16.­55-59
  • 16.­88
  • 17.­1
  • 17.­3
  • 17.­6-7
  • 17.­10
  • 17.­12-16
  • 17.­19-21
  • 17.­24
  • 17.­29
  • 17.­31
  • 17.­33
  • 18.­1
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­20-22
  • 18.­26
  • 18.­29
  • 18.­57-59
  • 18.­61
  • 18.­63-66
  • 18.­69-70
  • 18.­72
  • 18.­75-76
  • 18.­78
  • 18.­83
  • 18.­85-86
  • 18.­91-94
  • 18.­96-97
  • 19.­1
  • 19.­3-6
  • 19.­11-14
  • 19.­16-19
  • 19.­21
  • 19.­23
  • 19.­31-34
  • 20.­1-4
  • 20.­6-9
  • 20.­19-20
  • 20.­24
  • 21.­1
  • 21.­3-4
  • 21.­24-25
  • 22.­4-5
  • 22.­8-9
  • 22.­11
  • 22.­13
  • 22.­24-34
  • 22.­36-37
  • 22.­39-42
  • 23.­2
  • 23.­6-7
  • 23.­11
  • 23.­17-21
  • 23.­27-28
  • 24.­11-12
  • 24.­14-15
  • 24.­39
  • 24.­45
  • 24.­53
  • 25.­3-5
  • 25.­9
  • 25.­15-17
  • 25.­19-21
  • 25.­25
  • 25.­27
  • 25.­35-36
  • 26.­2-8
  • 26.­11
  • 26.­14-21
  • 26.­24
  • 26.­26
  • 27.­1
  • 27.­3
  • 27.­7
  • 27.­9
  • n.­100
  • n.­102
  • n.­104
  • n.­127
  • n.­149
  • n.­160
  • n.­162-163
  • n.­219
  • n.­256
  • n.­269
  • n.­275
  • n.­363
  • n.­420
  • n.­475
  • g.­10
  • g.­25
  • g.­40
  • g.­115
  • g.­118
  • g.­128
  • g.­129
  • g.­133
  • g.­136
  • g.­157
  • g.­266
  • g.­293
  • g.­294
  • g.­310
  • g.­311
  • g.­312
  • g.­320
  • g.­413
  • g.­463
g.­130

emerald

  • rdo’i snying po
  • རྡོའི་སྙིང་པོ།
  • aśmagarbha

8 passages contain this term:

  • 2.­106
  • 6.­28
  • 6.­34
  • 11.­1
  • 11.­71
  • 24.­3
  • g.­59
  • g.­376
g.­131

enlightenment

  • byang chub
  • བྱང་ཆུབ།
  • bodhi

The Sanskrit can mean knowledge, realization, waking, blossoming, etc., according to context. The Tibetan translates as “purified and accomplished.”

275 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­40
  • i.­45
  • i.­49
  • i.­51-52
  • i.­57
  • i.­62
  • 1.­4
  • 1.­25
  • 1.­27
  • 1.­29
  • 1.­32
  • 1.­44-47
  • 1.­49
  • 1.­54-56
  • 1.­75
  • 1.­78-79
  • 1.­85-86
  • 1.­103
  • 1.­115
  • 1.­117
  • 1.­120
  • 1.­126
  • 1.­131-132
  • 2.­1
  • 2.­37
  • 2.­46
  • 2.­54
  • 2.­56
  • 2.­58
  • 2.­60
  • 2.­62
  • 2.­80
  • 2.­84
  • 2.­88
  • 2.­103-104
  • 2.­106
  • 2.­109-113
  • 2.­115
  • 2.­118
  • 2.­123-124
  • 2.­127
  • 2.­135
  • 2.­143
  • 2.­145
  • 2.­155
  • 2.­157
  • 2.­159
  • 2.­166
  • 2.­168
  • 2.­170
  • 3.­3
  • 3.­18
  • 3.­20
  • 3.­26-27
  • 3.­34
  • 3.­37
  • 3.­41
  • 3.­46
  • 3.­51-54
  • 3.­66
  • 3.­142
  • 3.­154
  • 3.­161
  • 3.­167
  • 3.­175
  • 3.­187
  • 4.­1-2
  • 4.­4
  • 4.­31
  • 4.­69
  • 4.­71
  • 4.­78
  • 4.­85
  • 4.­94
  • 5.­32
  • 5.­51
  • 5.­54-55
  • 5.­71
  • 5.­73
  • 5.­80
  • 5.­90-91
  • 5.­106
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­26
  • 6.­44
  • 7.­13-15
  • 7.­17
  • 7.­19
  • 7.­24
  • 7.­30
  • 7.­32
  • 7.­68
  • 7.­101
  • 7.­112-113
  • 7.­116
  • 7.­121
  • 7.­123-125
  • 7.­130-131
  • 7.­141-142
  • 7.­144
  • 7.­161
  • 7.­169-172
  • 8.­3-4
  • 8.­9-10
  • 8.­31
  • 8.­34
  • 8.­45
  • 8.­49-50
  • 9.­1-2
  • 9.­4
  • 9.­11
  • 9.­13-14
  • 9.­16
  • 9.­19-21
  • 9.­23
  • 9.­25
  • 9.­27
  • 10.­2
  • 10.­4
  • 10.­7
  • 10.­10
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­29
  • 10.­31
  • 11.­7
  • 11.­67
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­88
  • 11.­90
  • 11.­92-94
  • 11.­97-98
  • 11.­100
  • 11.­103-104
  • 12.­2-3
  • 12.­5
  • 12.­7
  • 12.­26
  • 13.­16
  • 13.­35
  • 13.­41
  • 13.­50
  • 13.­59
  • 13.­67
  • 13.­75
  • 13.­90-91
  • 14.­23
  • 14.­39
  • 14.­48
  • 14.­55
  • 14.­58
  • 14.­60
  • 14.­62-67
  • 14.­69
  • 14.­77
  • 15.­3
  • 15.­6-7
  • 15.­17-18
  • 15.­25
  • 15.­30
  • 15.­40
  • 16.­3-6
  • 16.­11
  • 16.­13
  • 16.­15-16
  • 16.­24
  • 16.­26-27
  • 16.­32
  • 16.­39
  • 16.­60
  • 16.­84
  • 19.­3
  • 19.­9
  • 19.­12
  • 19.­14
  • 19.­16-17
  • 19.­19-21
  • 19.­24
  • 19.­27-29
  • 20.­9
  • 20.­11
  • 20.­23
  • 22.­17
  • 22.­23
  • 24.­45
  • 24.­52
  • 25.­11
  • 25.­24
  • 26.­4
  • 27.­1-2
  • 27.­9
  • n.­90
  • n.­97
  • n.­151
  • n.­244
  • n.­363
  • n.­441
  • g.­49
  • g.­63
  • g.­76
  • g.­77
  • g.­135
  • g.­148
  • g.­149
  • g.­182
  • g.­204
  • g.­249
  • g.­267
  • g.­395
  • g.­442
g.­132

eon

  • bskal pa
  • བསྐལ་པ།
  • kalpa

The Indian concept of an eon of millions of years, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world appears, exists, and disappears. There are also the intermediate eons during the existence of a world, and the longest, which is called asamkhyeya (literally, “incalculable,” even though the number of its years is calculated).

182 passages contain this term:

  • s.­1
  • i.­10
  • i.­39
  • i.­41
  • i.­45-46
  • i.­48
  • i.­52-54
  • i.­60
  • 1.­72
  • 1.­83-85
  • 1.­89
  • 1.­108
  • 1.­112
  • 1.­118
  • 2.­8
  • 2.­17
  • 2.­19
  • 2.­61
  • 2.­98
  • 2.­163
  • 3.­29
  • 3.­31
  • 3.­33-35
  • 3.­38
  • 3.­42-44
  • 3.­132
  • 3.­135
  • 3.­152
  • 3.­168
  • 3.­173
  • 3.­187
  • 4.­87-88
  • 4.­90
  • 5.­1
  • 6.­1-2
  • 6.­9-10
  • 6.­19
  • 6.­27-28
  • 6.­34
  • 6.­37
  • 6.­40
  • 6.­43
  • 7.­1
  • 7.­4
  • 7.­6
  • 7.­9-10
  • 7.­12-17
  • 7.­21-22
  • 7.­63-64
  • 7.­73
  • 7.­76
  • 7.­93
  • 7.­104
  • 7.­115
  • 7.­118-120
  • 7.­122
  • 7.­141
  • 7.­144
  • 7.­153
  • 7.­158
  • 7.­164
  • 8.­4
  • 8.­7
  • 8.­22
  • 8.­32-33
  • 8.­38
  • 9.­5
  • 9.­25
  • 10.­9
  • 10.­20
  • 10.­22
  • 10.­24-25
  • 10.­48
  • 11.­3
  • 11.­27
  • 11.­31
  • 11.­56
  • 11.­71
  • 11.­75
  • 11.­79
  • 11.­82-83
  • 11.­94
  • 11.­98
  • 13.­48
  • 13.­91
  • 14.­7-8
  • 14.­29
  • 14.­31
  • 14.­34
  • 14.­37
  • 14.­57
  • 14.­65-66
  • 14.­70
  • 14.­75
  • 15.­3
  • 15.­6
  • 15.­10-11
  • 15.­17-19
  • 15.­27
  • 15.­35
  • 16.­26
  • 16.­29
  • 16.­32
  • 16.­36-38
  • 16.­40
  • 16.­43
  • 16.­54
  • 17.­24
  • 19.­2
  • 19.­4
  • 19.­6
  • 19.­19
  • 19.­32
  • 20.­8
  • 20.­14
  • 22.­2
  • 22.­4
  • 23.­14
  • 24.­10
  • 24.­20
  • 24.­45
  • 25.­1
  • 25.­16
  • 25.­30
  • 27.­1-2
  • n.­93
  • n.­303
  • n.­349
  • n.­446
  • n.­592
  • g.­5
  • g.­12
  • g.­16
  • g.­41
  • g.­71
  • g.­87
  • g.­224
  • g.­232
  • g.­235
  • g.­246
  • g.­300
  • g.­308
  • g.­309
  • g.­324
  • g.­334
  • g.­379
  • g.­475
  • g.­476
g.­138

flame of the forest

  • ne tso’am ci
  • ནེ་ཙོའམ་ཅི།
  • kiṃśuka

Butea monosperma, Butea frondosa, and Erythrina monosperma. A tree that grows up to 15 meters tall and has bright red flowers. Other names include parrot tree, bastard teak, dhak (Hindi), palas (Hindi), porasum (Tamil); and khakda (Gujarati).

3 passages contain this term:

  • 23.­6-7
  • n.­586
g.­142

Gadgadasvara

  • sang sang po’i dbyangs
  • སང་སང་པོའི་དབྱངས།
  • gadgadasvara

A bodhisattva in a distant realm.

25 passages contain this term:

  • i.­61
  • 23.­2-7
  • 23.­9-11
  • 23.­13-25
  • 23.­27-28
g.­143

gandharva

  • dri za
  • དྲི་ཟ།
  • gandharva

A race of deities who are particularly known to be musicians.

31 passages contain this term:

  • 1.­7
  • 1.­10
  • 1.­13
  • 1.­81
  • 1.­98
  • 2.­32
  • 3.­46
  • 7.­42
  • 7.­60
  • 7.­75
  • 7.­90
  • 10.­1
  • 10.­36
  • 11.­103
  • 18.­9
  • 18.­73
  • 20.­2
  • 20.­6
  • 22.­1
  • 22.­20
  • 22.­38
  • 24.­12
  • 24.­16
  • 26.­1
  • 27.­6
  • n.­556
  • g.­123
  • g.­202
  • g.­203
  • g.­245
  • g.­247
g.­145

garuḍa

  • nam mkha’ lding
  • ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།