ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོའི་མདོ།
The King of Samādhis Sūtra
Samādhirājasūtra
འཕགས་པ་ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་རང་བཞིན་མཉམ་པ་ཉིད་རྣམ་པར་སྤྲོས་པ་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa chos thams cad kyi rang bzhin mnyam pa nyid rnam par spros pa ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The King of Samādhis, the Revealed Equality of the Nature of All Phenomena”
Āryasarvadharmasvabhāvasamatāvipañcitasamādhirājanāmamahāyānasūtra
Toh 127
Degé Kangyur, vol. 55 (mdo sde, da), folios 1.b–170.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 1.45.12 (2021)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.1.37
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.
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Summary
This sūtra, much quoted in later Buddhist writings for its profound statements especially on the nature of emptiness, relates a long teaching given by the Buddha mainly in response to questions put by a young layman, Candraprabha. The samādhi that is the subject of the sūtra, in spite of its name, primarily consists of various aspects of conduct, motivation, and the understanding of emptiness; it is also a way of referring to the sūtra itself. The teaching given in the sūtra is the instruction to be dedicated to the possession and promulgation of the samādhi, and to the necessary conduct of a bodhisattva, which is exemplified by a number of accounts from the Buddha’s previous lives. Most of the teaching takes place on Vulture Peak Mountain, with an interlude recounting the Buddha’s invitation and visit to Candraprabha’s home in Rājagṛha, where he continues to teach Candraprabha before returning to Vulture Peak Mountain. In one subsequent chapter the Buddha responds to a request by Ānanda, and the text concludes with a commitment by Ānanda to maintain this teaching in the future.
Acknowledgements
Translated from the Tibetan, with reference to Sanskrit editions, by Peter Alan Roberts. The Chinese consultant was Ling-Lung Chen. Edited by Emily Bower and Ben Gleason.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous donation of an anonymous donor, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Introduction
The Samādhirājasūtra, or King of Samādhis Sūtra, is one of the earlier Mahāyāna sūtras to appear in India. It contains teachings on emptiness, bodhisattva conduct, and mendicancy, as well as tales of previous lifetimes and prophecies for the future. Its teaching on emptiness is much quoted by such Mādhyamaka masters as Candrakīrti and Śāntideva, as well as in later Buddhist literature.
History of the Sūtra
The Contents
The Translation
Outline
The Translation
The Mahāyāna Sūtra
The King of Samādhis, the Revealed Equality of the Nature of All Phenomena
Chapter 1
The Introduction
[F.1.b] [B1] I pay homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.7
Chapter 2
Śālendrarāja
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, I remember that in the past, when I was practicing the conduct of a bodhisattva, I became a cakravartin. I desired this samādhi and I desired to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. For many hundred thousand quintillions171 of eons on this Vulture Peak Mountain I served, venerated, revered, honored, worshiped, and made offerings to many countless, innumerable tathāgatas, arhats, perfectly enlightened buddhas with the presentation of many hundred thousand quintillions of every kind of jewel, and various kinds of beautiful flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, powders, parasols, banners, flags, music, musical instruments, flags of victory, and precious monasteries.172
Chapter 3
Praise of the Buddha’s Qualities
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, therefore, if bodhisattva mahāsattvas wish to teach the buddha qualities as described by the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, without any loss of meaning or words, and for all their words to come forth as those of the Buddha, then those bodhisattva mahāsattvas, young man, [F.10.a] should, for the sake of all beings, obtain196 this samādhi, understand197 it, preserve it,198 recite it to others,199 promote it,200 proclaim it,201 chant it,202 meditate on it with unadulterated203 meditation, promulgate it,204 and make it widely known to others.205
Chapter 4
Samādhi
Then the youth Candraprabha [F.12.b] rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee with palms placed together, he bowed toward the Bhagavān and made this request: “If the Bhagavān will give me an opportunity to seek answers to them, I have a few questions for the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
Chapter 5
Ghoṣadatta
Then the Bhagavān again addressed the youth Candraprabha, saying, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should think that they are like someone whose hair and clothes are on fire, and they should cast off father, mother, [F.14.b] son, daughter, family, kinsmen, relatives, kindred, wife, and so on, as if they were fire, throw away all the pleasures of a kingdom as if they were a lump of phlegm, turn toward solitude, and depart from home.
Chapter 6
Cultivating the Samādhi
The Bhagavān now said to the youth Candraprabha,299 “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should cultivate this samādhi.
“Young man, what is the cultivation of this samādhi? [F.18.b] Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas with a compassionate mind are dedicated to making offerings to the tathāgatas, whether living or passed into nirvāṇa, of Dharma robes, alms, seat and bedding, medicines for when ill, and of monastic utensils, and of flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, ointments, aromatic powders, clothing, parasols, banners, and flags, and of music and musical instruments. They dedicate that root of merit to the attainment of samādhi. They do not make offerings to a tathāgata with the hope for anything at all—not with the hope for anything they desire, nor with the hope for any enjoyment, nor with the hope for a higher existence, nor with the hope for followers—but do so with the Dharma in mind. They do not even, with that wish, perceive the Tathāgata as the dharmakāya, let alone perceiving him as the rūpakāya.
Chapter 7
The Attainment of Patience
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should become skilled in the wisdoms of the three kinds of patience. They should know the first patience. They should know the second patience. They should know the third patience. They should become skilled in the differences between the three kinds of patience and skilled in the differences between the wisdoms of the three kinds of patience.
Chapter 8
Buddha Abhāvasamudgata
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should become skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena.
“Young man, what is being skilled in the wisdom of the nonexistent nature of all phenomena? Bodhisattva mahāsattvas know that all phenomena have no existence, have no essence, have no attributes, have no characteristics, have no origin, have no cessation, have no words, are empty, are primordial peace, and are pure by nature.
Chapter 9
The Patience of the Profound Dharma
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, [F.24.b] “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood and liberate all beings from the ocean of existence should hear this king of samādhis, in which the equality of the nature of all phenomena is revealed, which is praised by all the buddhas and is the mother of the tathāgatas. They should obtain it, preserve it, understand it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others.
Chapter 10
The Entry into the City
The Bhagavān then said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, you should be someone who makes practice essential, and always trains in that way. Why is that? Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who make practice essential will not even find it difficult to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, not to mention attaining this samādhi.”
Chapter 11
Becoming a Keeper of the Sūtra
The Bhagavān came to the street on which was the home of the youth Candraprabha, and soon arrived at the home of the youth Candraprabha. Once he had arrived, he sat on the seat prepared for him. The saṅgha of bodhisattvas and the saṅgha of bhikṣus also sat on the appropriate seats that had been arranged for each of them.
Then the youth Candraprabha, knowing that the Bhagavān, the saṅgha of bodhisattvas, and the saṅgha of bhikṣus were seated, [F.39.b] himself presented and served a series of great offerings: numerous excellent foods, with hundreds of flavors to savor as they chewed, licked, sucked, and drank.
Chapter 12
The Training According to the Samādhi
“Young man, those are the qualities and benefits that bodhisattvas who know the nature of all phenomena will have. They will describe the true, excellent qualities of the tathāgatas. They will not falsely say that which is untrue about the tathāgatas. Why is that? It is because they know perfectly that nature, which is the nature through which a tathāgata comes to be.530 They know the infinite qualities of a buddha. Why is that? Young man, the qualities of a buddha are infinite, inconceivable, beyond thought. They cannot be conceived or measured. Why is that? The mind, young man, is taught to be without a nature of its own,531 to be without form.532 Young man, that nature of the mind is also the nature of the qualities of a buddha. That nature of the qualities of a buddha is also the nature of the tathāgatas, and that is the nature of all phenomena.
Chapter 13
The Teaching of the Samādhi
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should be skilled in teaching this samādhi.
“Young man, what is the teaching of this samādhi? It is the true nature of all phenomena; it is equality; it is the absence of inequality; it is devoid of notions; it is devoid of concepts; it is devoid of creation; it is devoid of arising; it is devoid of production; it is devoid of cessation; it is the termination of notions, concepts, and assumptions; it is devoid of an object for the mind; it is devoid of a focus of the mind;546 it is the termination of designations; it is the termination of concepts from analysis; it is the termination of desire, anger, and ignorance; it is without a limited or limitless focus of the mind; it is the termination of any focus of the mind; it is the knowledge of the nature of the skandhas, dhātus, and āyatanas; it is the state of accomplishing the field of activity that is the performance of the conduct of mindfulness, understanding, comprehension, conscience, and stability; it is the level of freedom from corruptions;547 it is the level of peace; it is the termination of all conceptual elaboration; it is the training of all bodhisattvas; it is the field of activity of all tathāgatas; [F.45.a] and it is the perfection of all good qualities.
Chapter 14
The Buddha’s Smile
Then the youth Candraprabha rose from his seat, removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, [F.46.b] with palms placed together he bowed toward the Bhagavān and said to him,568 “Bhagavān, it is marvelous that the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha has taught the equality that is the nature of all phenomena, which is the samādhi that all bodhisattvas train in.
Chapter 15
The Elucidation of the Buddha’s Smile
At that time the Bhagavān spoke these appropriate verses to Bodhisattva Maitreya:
“This youth, Candraprabha,
Has praised the Buddha with unequaled joy.
He described the unique superior qualities of the buddhas.
All the time he is reciting their praises.612 {1}
Chapter 16
The Past
The Bhagavān then said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas thus wish to liberate all beings from all the suffering of existence. They wish to establish beings in the noble, unsurpassable bliss and joy of samādhi. Therefore they should hear this king of samādhis, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, obtain it, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others.
Chapter 17
The Entranceway to the Samādhi That Is Taught by Many Buddhas
When the Bhagavān had finished speaking, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, who was seated there, in his mind recited this verse to the Bhagavān.636
Chapter 18
The Entrustment of the Samādhi
The Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, in that way know that there are four beneficial qualities possessed by bodhisattva mahāsattvas who obtain this samādhi, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, and make it widely known to others.
“What are those four beneficial qualities? They will be unsurpassable in merit, they will be undefeatable by opponents, they will have unlimited wisdom, and they will have unending confidence of speech.
Chapter 19
The Teaching of the Inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha
The Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, in that way bodhisattva mahāsattvas, having heard the inconceivable and measureless benefits of the qualities that come from the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, through wishing not to be fearful, wishing not to be terrified, and not to be gripped by terror, will become learned in the teaching of the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Aspire to the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Be wise in asking questions about the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Be wise in seeking the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha. Do not be fearful, do not be terrified, and do not be gripped by terror on hearing the inconceivable Dharma of the Buddha.” [F.67.b]
Chapter 20
Indraketudhvajarāja
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, in that way bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this Dharma teaching of entering great compassion and wish to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood quickly should rely upon all roots of merit, training, qualities, and completely pure conduct.
“Bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have few involvements, avoid bad companions, rely on kalyāṇamitras, have an inquiring nature, unrelentingly seek the Dharma, have the Dharma as their goal, desire the Dharma, delight in the Dharma, obtain the Dharma, and practice the Dharma in accord with the Dharma will, young man, develop great compassion for beings and will develop the aspiration for the highest, complete enlightenment.
Chapter 21
The Past
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should entertain no misgivings about all the teachings on the root of merits, the training, and the qualities.758 They should have few involvements, avoid bad companions, rely on kalyāṇamitras, have an inquiring nature, unrelentingly seek the Dharma, have the Dharma as their goal, desire the Dharma, delight in the Dharma, obtain the Dharma, and practice the Dharma in accord with the Dharma. They should perceive every buddha and bodhisattva as the teacher. They should with joy and veneration perceive as the teacher the person from whom they hear this Dharma teaching.
Chapter 22
The Teaching on the Body
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should have no attachment to their life or body. Why is that? Because, young man, beings accomplish bad actions due to attachment to their lives and bodies.782
Chapter 23
The Teaching on the Tathāgata’s Body
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should not know the Tathāgata to be the rūpakāya.784 Why is that? It is because the Buddha Bhagavān manifests because of the dharmakāya and does not manifest because of the rūpakāya. [F.74.a]
Chapter 24
The Inconceivable Tathāgata
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, [F.76.b] “Young man, aspiring bodhisattva mahāsattvas think, ‘How can I make manifest the four discernments? What are these four? They are the discernment of meaning, the discernment of phenomena, the discernment of definitions, and the discernment of eloquence. I shall manifest these four!’ On having this thought, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should obtain this samādhi, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, and make it widely known to others.
Chapter 25
Engaging in Discernment
“Young man, how do bodhisattva mahāsattvas who practice that discernment of phenomena, who view phenomena as phenomena, attain the highest, complete enlightenment?
“Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who practice that discernment of phenomena, who view phenomena as phenomena, do not perceive enlightenment as other than form. They do not approach enlightenment as other than form. They do not seek enlightenment as other than form. They do not attain enlightenment as other than form. They do not inspire beings to an enlightenment that is other than form. They do not see a tathāgata as other than form. They see a tathāgata in this way: ‘The Tathāgata is the fearlessness that is the nature of form.’ They do not see the tathāgata as other than form, as other than the nature of form. They do not see the nature of form as other than the tathāgata. The nature of that which is called form and that of the tathāgata are nondual. The bodhisattva mahāsattvas who see in that way are engaging in the discernment of phenomena.
Chapter 26
Rejoicing
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should be skillful in methods. [F.87.a]881
Chapter 27
The Benefits of Generosity
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, as it has been said, ‘Be careful,’ you, young man, should consequently train in that way. Why is that? Because, young man, for bodhisattva mahāsattvas who are careful, the highest, complete enlightenment is not difficult to attain, let alone this samādhi.
“Young man, in what way should bodhisattva mahāsattvas be careful? For that, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should have perfectly pure conduct. Young man, in what way should bodhisattva mahāsattvas have perfectly pure conduct? For that, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who have perfectly pure conduct, never separating from an all-knowing mind, should practice the six perfections. Listen, for I shall teach you their benefits.
Chapter 28
The Teaching on Correct Conduct
“Young man, there are ten benefits for bodhisattva mahāsattvas from perfectly pure, correct conduct. What are the ten benefits? They are: [1] they devote889 themselves to wisdom and perfect it; [2] they follow the example of the buddhas; [3] they do not criticize the wise; [4] they do not waver from their vows; [5] they maintain their practice; [6] they turn away890 from saṃsāra; [7] they are led to attain nirvāṇa;891 [8] they live without faults arising; [F.89.a] [9] they attain samādhi; and [10] they will never be poor.892
Chapter 29
Ten Benefits
“Young man, there are ten benefits for bodhisattva mahāsattvas from maintaining patience and being kind. [F.89.b] What are these ten? They are: [1] they are not burned by fire; [2] they are not slain by weapons; [3] they are not affected by poison; [4] they do not drown in water; [5] the devas protect them; [6] they attain a body adorned by the primary signs of a great being; [7] all the doorways to their rebirth in lower existences are closed; [8] it is not difficult for them to be reborn in the paradise of Brahmā; [9] they are happy day and night; and [10] their physical sensations of comfort and pleasure are never lost.
Chapter 30
Tejaguṇarāja
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, you should train in this way, thinking, ‘I will abandon even the pleasures of the kingship of a divine cakravartin and enter homelessness.’
“Young man, having entered homelessness you should maintain the disciplines of mendicancy, live in solitude, and develop perfect mildness and patience.
Chapter 31
Benefits
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who think, ‘I shall understand the languages of all beings and, knowing their higher or lesser capabilities, I will teach them the Dharma,’ those bodhisattva mahāsattvas should listen to the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, learn it, understand it, keep it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others.”
Chapter 32
The Teaching on the Nature of All Phenomena
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wonder, ‘How can I know the nature of all phenomena?’ should listen to this samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, learn it, understand it, keep it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others.”
Chapter 33
The Benefits of Possessing the Sūtra
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish to train in purifying1055 the great higher cognition of all phenomena should listen to the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, learn it, understand it, keep it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it, and make it widely known to others.1056
Chapter 34
Kṣemadatta
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha,1160 “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should abide in the absence of attributes and be dedicated to making vast offerings to a present tathāgata or to the stūpa of a tathāgata who has passed into nirvāṇa.
Chapter 35
Jñānāvatī
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for this samādhi, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should plant roots of merit and apply themselves to practicing generosity through the Dharma or generosity through material things.
“Those bodhisattva mahāsattvas should dedicate that generosity through four prayers of dedication.
Chapter 36
Supuṣpacandra
Then at that time Brother Ānanda rose from his seat, [F.125.b] removed his robe from one shoulder, and, kneeling on his right knee, with palms placed together he bowed toward the Bhagavān and made this request: “If the Bhagavān will give me an opportunity to seek answers to them, I have a few questions for the Bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha.”
The Bhagavān addressed Brother Ānanda, saying, “That is why, Ānanda, I am seated upon this seat. Ask whatever question you wish to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly enlightened Buddha, and I shall gratify you with answers to each and every question you have asked.”
Chapter 37
Teaching the Aggregate of Correct Conduct
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood should hear the samādhi, the revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena, should obtain it, study it, keep it, recite it, disseminate it, transmit it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, and in other ways make it widely known. They should also maintain the aggregate of correct conduct.”
Chapter 38
Yaśaḥprabha
Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who wish for these and countless other wonderful1336 and marvelous bodhisattva qualities, and wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood, should hear this revealed equality of the nature of all phenomena samādhi and obtain it, understand it, preserve it, recite it to others, promote it, proclaim it, chant it, meditate on it with unadulterated meditation, promulgate it,1337 and make it widely known to others. [F.146.a]
Chapter 39
Restraint of the Body, Speech, and Mind
Then the Bhagavān [F.151.a] said to the youth Candraprabha, “Therefore, young man, you should train by thinking, ‘I shall have self-control through physical restraint.’
“Young man, what is meant by physical restraint? That which is called ‘physical restraint’ is the physical restraint through which bodhisattva mahāsattvas are free of attachment to all phenomena.
Chapter 40
[Untitled]
“Young man, what is purity of action? Seeing the three existences as being like a dream and becoming free of desire. Young man, that is purity of action.
“Young man, what is the transcendence of the mind’s fixation on perceptions? It is knowing that the skandhas, dhātus, and āyatanas are like illusions, and renouncing them. That is the transcendence of the mind’s fixation on perceptions.
Colophon
The Indian preceptor Śrīlendrabodhi, and the chief editor Lotsawa Bandé Dharmatāśīla, translated and revised this work. It was later modified and finalized in terms of the new translation.
Abbreviations
| BHS | Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. |
|---|---|
| Chinese | Sixth century Chinese translation by Narendrayaśas (see introduction, i.7). |
| Commentary | Mañjuśrīkīrti (see bibliography). |
| Gilgit | Sixth to seventh century Sanskrit manuscript (see introduction i.9 and bibliography under Dutt). |
| Hodgson | Later Nepalese Sanskrit manuscript (see introduction i.9 and bibliography under Dutt). |
| Matsunami | Matsunami’s Sanskrit edition (see bibliography). |
| Shastri | Later Nepalese Sanskrit manuscript (see introduction i.9 and bibliography under Dutt). |
| Vaidya | Vaidya’s Sanskrit edition (see bibliography). |
Notes
According to the BHS vipañcita. The Tibetan translates as rnam par spros pa.
Toh 129, see bibliography.
Brian Houghton Hodgson (1801–1894) was a linguist, ethnologist, naturalist, and diplomat who lived in Nepal from 1824 to 1844, becoming British Resident; among his many other activities, he studied and collected Sanskrit Buddhist texts. Haraprasad Shastri (1853–1931) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar and historian who visited Nepal several times, also collecting and publishing manuscripts. Both scholars were associated with the Asiatic Society in Kolkata. The Sanskrit edition of the sūtra published by Dutt (as one of a series centered on the Gilgit manuscripts; see bibliography) is not only based on the Gilgit manuscript, but also represents the Hodgson and Shastri manuscripts, which Dutt refers to, respectively, as manuscripts A and B.
Vibhuticandra; dpal bde mchog gi dkyil ’khor kyi cho ga; Śrī-samvara-maṇḍala-vidhi. Toh 1511, Degé Tengyur, Vol. 22, (rgyud, zha), 322b. 308b–334a.
The Yogacāra tradition of Asaṅga and his followers has philosophical viewpoints quite distinct from those of the Mādhyamika tradition, of which Candrakīrti was perhaps the most uncompromising proponent.
The Tibetan of the quote is: nga ’das lo ni nyis stong na / gdong dmar yul du bstan pa ’byung / spyan ras gzigs kyi gdul byar ’gyur / de yi bstan pa’i snyigs ma la / byang chub sems dpa’ seng ge’i sgra / karma pa zhes ba ba ’byung / ting ’dzin dbang thob ’gro ba ’dul / mthong thos dran regs bde la bkod (Rinchen Palzang, p. 650).
This line of homage, as is customary for Kangyur texts, was added by the Tibetan translators, and therefore does not appear in the Sanskrit or Chinese. The Gilgit Sanskrit manuscript has 12 initial verses, Hodgson 14 verses, and Shastri 43 verses, none of which are in the Tibetan.
This number depends on whether niyuta is taken to mean “one million,” as in Classical Sanskrit, or “a hundred thousand million,” as is found in BHS. The Tibetan has chosen the latter meaning, translating it as khrag khrig. Therefore the resulting number in Tibetan is “ten million [times] a hundred thousand million times eighty,” i.e., eighty million million million (eighty quintillion in the American or short scale system) (bye ba khrag khrig phrag brgyad bcu, apparently translating koṭiniyutena aśityā). The translation of the commentary by Mañjuśrīkīrti, however, has khrag khrig phrag brgyad bcu: “a hundred thousand million times eighty,” which would be eight million million, i.e., eight trillion. The Vaidya Sanskrit edition has niyutaśatasahasrena aśītyā which would be literally “a hundred thousand million [times] a hundred [times] a thousand times eighty,” which comes to eight hundred thousand million million, i.e., eight hundred thousand trillion. However if niyuta is taken as only one million, this would be eight million million, i.e., eight trillion, which would agree with the resulting number in Mañjuśrīkīrti’s commentary. The Dutt edition of the Gilgit manuscript has aśityā ca bodhisattva-niyutaiḥ and accordingly the translation of Gómez et al. is “eighty million,” where niyuta has presumably been given the value of one million. The Chinese simply transliterates as na-yo-ta. The Chinese tradition gives numerous, widely differing explanations of what this number means.
In the Chinese the description of the bodhisattvas and the list of names do not appear. The Chinese continues at this point with Ajita.
According to the BHS abhijñābhijñātair. The Tibetan, translating both abhijña and abhijñāta as mngon par shes pa, has mngon par shes pas mngon par shes pa. However, the translation of the commentary has a preferable translation of the second abhijñāta: rab tu grags pa.
According to the BHS gatiṃgata. The Tibetan translates as rtogs par khong du chud pa.
According to the commentary these are not only the dhāraṇī in recited form, but comprise the four kinds of retention (dhāraṇī): the recited dhāraṇī sentences and phrases themselves, the retention of the memory of the words of all teachings given, the retention of the memory of the meaning of these teachings, and the retention of the realization gained through meditation on that meaning.
According to the Tibetan, though the Sanskrit compound could also be interpreted to mean “who had praised, extolled, and lauded all the buddhas.”
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. The Sanskrit could also be interpreted, as in Gómez et al., as “knowing all the terrors [that come from] the māras.”
According to the commentary, this means “adorned by the ten good actions: three of body, four of speech, and three of mind,” or, among the primary and secondary signs of a great being: “the voice of Brahmā, and the mind’s realization of the nature of beings so that they may be guided.”
According to most Kangyurs, the commentary, and the Sanskrit. The Degé has kyi instead of kyis.
According to the commentary, this means the bodhisattvas are on the tenth bhūmi, as taught in the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis. The ten-bhūmi system does not appear in the Gilgit version or the Chinese but does in the later Sanskrit versions and the Tibetan.
According to the Sanskrit. Absent from the Tibetan.
According to the Tibetan lhun po’i rtse mo ’dzin and Matsunami. Vaidya: Meruśikhariṁdhara. Dutt: Meruśikharindhara.
According to the Tibetan lhun po’i rgyal po and Matsunami. Dutt: Merugāja. Does not appear in Hodgson.
According to the Tibetan and Matsunami. Dutt: Meruśikhare saṁghaṭṭanarājena. Hodgson: Meruśikhare saṃghaḍanagajena. Shastri: Meruśikhare saṃghaṭanagajena.
According to the Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan.
According to the Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan.
According to the Tibetan (nyi ma me’i ’od ’phro can) and the Hodgson. The Tibetan takes daśaśataraśmi, “a hundred thousand rays,” as an epithet of the sun and translates it simply as nyi ma (“sun”). Gilgit and Shastri: Daśaśataraśmikṛtārci with huta (“fire,” equivalent to the Tibetan me) replaced by kṛta (“made,” “created”).
According to the Tibetan and Hodgson. Vaidya: Satatamabhayaṁdadāna. Dutt has both versions.
According to the Sanskrit anupamacitta. The Tibetan has dpe med sems dpa’, whereas one would expect dpe med sems pa. The Sūtra of the Samādhi of the Seal of the Wisdom of the Tathāgatas (see bibliography) refers to this group as sems dpa’ dpe med pa, naming two of them: Pramodyarāja (mchog tu dga’ ba’i rgyal po) and Mañjuśrī (Degé Kangyur, vol. 55, F.248.a). The Sūtra of Possessing the Roots of Goodness (see bibliography) refers to byang chub sems dpa’ dpe med pa sems pa (“bodhisattvas with incomparable minds”), with Bhadrapāla being the one that is named (Degé Kangyur, vol. 48, F.48.a). Bhadrapāla is also listed as one of a group of five hundred bodhisattvas in that sūtra (F.22.b).
This is referencing a group of beings that is listed in the White Lotus of the Good Dharma Sūtra (Degé Kangyur, vol. 67, 2b). In that sūtra Bhadrapāla is also listed as one of a group of fifty bodhisattvas (F.142.b).
A bodhisattva who appears prominently in certain sūtras, such as The Samādhi of the Presence of the Buddhas, and perhaps also the merchant of that name who is the principal interlocutor in the Sūtra of the Questions of Bhadrapāla the Merchant (see bibliography).
This refers to the standard list of god realms beginning with the lowest, that of the Four Mahārājas.
According to the Sanskrit udārodārair, which repeats udāra. The Tibetan translates as “vast and illustrious.”
According to the Sanskrit, which uses repetition to state that each one of them has that quality, maheśākhyamaheśākhyair. The Tibetan translates as “very powerful and renowned to be very powerful.”
Tibetan: bkur stir bya ba. Sanskrit: satkṛta.
Tibetan: bla mar bya ba. Sanskrit: gurukṛta.
Tibetan: ri mor bya ba. Sanskrit: mānita.
Tibetan: mchod par bya ba. Sanskrit: pūjita.
Tibetan: rjed par bya ba. Sanskrit: arcita.
Tibetan: gsol ba. Sanskrit: apacāyita.
According to the Sanskrit repetition of lokasya lokasya.
Tibetan: phyag bya ba. Sanskrit: vandanīya.
This epithet “youth” or “young man” has been translated by others as part of his name, resulting in “Candraprabhakumāra.” However, in the Sanskrit it is not compounded as it would be in a name, but is clearly in adjectival apposition. Kumāra can also have the meaning of “prince” and is so translated in the translation of the Gilgit manuscript. However, there is no indication that he is a prince, and therefore it more likely has its usual meaning of “a youth.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit at this point has in addition, “I am a perfectly enlightened buddha,” which does not appear in the Chinese or the Tibetan.
According to the Tibetan, Chinese, and later Sanskrit manuscripts. The Gilgit has an additional part in the sentence: “there is nothing among all phenomena in the endless, infinite worlds….”
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit here has a number of adjectives describing his state of joy.
According to the Tibetan gzhal med. The BHS has atuliyu (“unequaled”).
According to the Sanskrit śāṭhyaṁ mama na vidyate.
According to the Sanskrit sākṣī and the Tibetan dpang in the Lithang and the Lhasa Kangyurs; other Kangyurs have dbang (“power”).
According to the Tibetan gces spras bgyid. The BHS has bahuṃkāra (“beneficial”).
According to the Tibetan zhe sdang and Matsunami. The Dutt and Vaidya have doṣa, which is the BHS equivalent of the Classical Sanskrit dveṣa (“anger”), while the Classical Sanskrit doṣa means “fault.”
Only this half-verse appears in the Hodgson and the Tibetan. In the Chinese, no part of this verse is present. The Shastri manuscript has a second half to this verse: “Will be without arrogance, desire, anger, and ignorance, / And will practice conduct in which all faults have ceased / So that his body becomes like space, / And all phenomena are destroyed.” The Matsunami version of this last line has prakṛti-prabhāsa instead of pramṛtiprahāra : “And all phenomena will have a radiant nature.”
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has: “How is there increase through wisdoms?”
Different words are translated as quality and qualities here: the one quality is the Sanskrit dharma (Tibetan chos), which has a wide range of other meanings, while for qualities the word is the more specific guṇa (Tibetan yon tan).
According to the Tibetan and the commentary, which must have translated from caraṇapāṇatalāḥ (“feet and hands”) instead of caraṇavaratalāḥ (“soles of the perfect feet”) as in the Sanskrit. The Chinese has only “soles.”
The singular is according to the Sanskrit. In the commentary it is in the plural.
From this point on in the Chinese translation, the qualities are grouped into 21 sets with 10 qualities in each set.
The explanation of these first three qualities (counting the three kinds of restraint as one) will form chapter 39, and all of the others are explained in chapter 40.
According to the commentary and the definitions in chapter 40. The commentary states that this is engagement in actions in order to benefit beings.
According to the Tibetan gsal ba, the commentary’s bstan pa, and the Chinese 顯示諸因 (xian shi zhu yin). The Sanskrit dīpanā could mean “burning up.”
According to the commentary and chapter 40, where the Sanskrit is sattvānupraveśa and the Tibetan translates accordingly. Here the Sanskrit is satyānupraveśa (“penetrating the truth”) in all available editions, and is translated accordingly in the Tibetan, although it does not match the definition given in the commentary or in chapter 40.
According to the commentary, dharma here means “knowing the nature of phenomena” rather than “the Dharma teachings.”
The Tibetan drang ba, literally “straight,” can also mean “honest.” The Sanskrit ārjavatā could also mean straightforwardness and honesty, as well as sincerity. In chapter 40 [F.162.a] it is defined as “uncontrived.” The commentary defines it as both “sincerity” and “directness,” as in a direct route to buddhahood, unlike the paths of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas
According to the Tibetan mnyen pa and the Sanskrit mārdavatā. It is missing from the definitions of the terms in chapter 40 and also from the commentary. It is followed in the Sanskrit by ṛjakatā, “It is being honest,” which is absent from the Tibetan and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan gya gyu med pa and the Sanskrit akutilatā. It is missing from the definitions of the terms in chapter 40 and also from the commentary. Apparently Matsunami has yet another item, translated by Gómez et al. as “lack of deviousness.”
According to the Tibetan des pa, the commentary, and the Sanskrit suratatā. The list in chapter 40 [F.162.a.6] has dge ba instead of des pa, although the definition matches that in the commentary for des pa. This may be the remainder of the following ngang tshul dge ba, which is absent from the chapter 40 definitions and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan ngang tshul dge ba and the Sanskrit suśīlatā. This is absent from the chapter 40 definitions and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan ’byams par ’dzin pa and the Sanskrit sākhilyam. This is absent from the chapter 40 definitions and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan ’jam pa and the Sanskrit mādhuryam, which can also mean “sweet.” In the chapter 40 definitions it is translated as mnyen pa, which in the first chapter had just been used to translate mārdavat. This was translated as “tolerant,” although it can also according to context mean “lenient,” “pliable,” “kind,” “soft,” “weak,” or “gentle.”
According to the Tibetan, Sanskrit, and commentary. Absent from the list in chapter 40 [F.162.a.6].
According to the BHS pūrvābhilāpitā (literally, “speaking first”), translated into Tibetan as “speaking honestly” (gsong por smra ba).
According to the Degé Tibetan tshur shog legs par ’ong so and the Sanskrit ehīti svāgatavāditā. In both the commentary and chapter 40 [F.162.a.6-7] this item appears within the definition of “courteous.” The Degé appears to divide this into two: legs par ’ong so / tshur shog ces smra ba.
From the Tibetan le lo med pa and the Sanskrit anālasya. Absent from the list in chapter 40 [F.162.a.7] and in the commentary, it is included within the definition of “serving the guru.”
Tibetan: gus pa. Sanskrit: gaurava. The commentary’s explanation is to be fearful in the guru’s presence while seeing him as your teacher and being his follower at all times.
The Chinese divides this into two qualities (respecting and making offerings) and has “venerable elders” instead of guru.
Tibetan: sri zhu che ba. Sanskrit: guruśuśrūṣā. The Tibetan means “respect or reverence,” while the Sanskrit is “wish to listen” or “obedience.” The definition in chapter 40 [F.162.a.7] is to honor and serve the guru. The commentary defines it as the wish to listen to the guru, be near him, and look at him.
There are spelling mistakes in the online version of the Vaidya Sanskrit: saṃghisamuddhāta should be saṃdhisamudghāta.
According to the Tibetan khyad par du ’gro ba, and its definition in chapter 40 [F.162.b.7-8] and in the commentary, which say that this refers to the strengths, fearlessness, distinct qualities, and knowledge of the buddhas; the Sanskrit has jñānaviśeṣagāmitā (“being brought to superior or special knowledge”).
Bhāvanābhiniṣyandaḥ could be translated literally as “irrigation” or “outflow of meditation.” The Tibetan rgyu mthun pa has also been translated literally as “having a concordant cause.”
According to the Sanskrit āpatti, which in this chapter was translated as nyes pa (“bad action,” “fault”). In chapter 40, when it is being defined, it is translated as ltung ba.
According to the BHS Sanskrit (anunaya) and the Tibetan (rjes su chags pa) of chapter 40, and the first part of its definition. There appears to be a scribal error in this chapter in all the extant Sanskrit manuscripts of anuśaya for anunaya, and the Tibetan translates accordingly as bag la nyal (“latent tendency”). It is possible the scribal error is the other way around.
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. According to chapter 40 [F.163.a.6] and the commentary, here it refers to a bodhisattva.
According to the Tibetan and the Sanskrit. In chapter 40 [F.163.b.1] and the commentary it is translated as “a perfection of good qualities.”
According to the definition in chapter 40 [F.163.b.4] and the commentary, where mtha’ yas pa’i ye shes is obviously translated from anantajñāna; in chapter 1 the term is samatajñāna (“knowledge of equality”), but the definition indicates that to be a scribal corruption. The word samatā appears just over a dozen items later.
Pratisaṃdhi is translated into Tibetan in chapter 1 as tshig gi mtshams sbyor (“the connection of words”), while the commentary to chapter 1 translates this as tshig gi dgongs pa (possibly from abhisaṃdhi). The definition in chapter 40 of tshig gi mtshams sbyar ba [F.163.b.4-5] is ldem po ngag (saṃdhābhāṣya) (“words in which the intended meaning is not obvious”).
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. It is absent from the list in chapter 40 and the commentary.
The Gilgit manuscript has here an extra term pravrajyācittam, “the aspiration to mendicancy,” which does not appear in the Hodgson, Shastri, commentary, or Tibetan.
According to the Tibetan, commentary, and Sanskrit. In the translation of chapter 40, “the words of” is omitted.
Absent from chapter 1, but in the list in chapter 40 [F.164.a.5], the commentary, and the Sanskrit. Therefore it is added here for consistency, as it is evidently an unintended omission.
Absent from the list of definitions in chapter 40, and from the translation of the commentary to chapter 1.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has īryāpathavikopanam instead of īryāpathāvikopanam, so that the negation is omitted.
The Tibetan translates avikalpa here and in the commentary as mi ’chos pa’i, but as rnam par mi rtog pa (“not conceptually fabricated”), a particular BHS meaning of the word, in chapter 40, [F.164.b] when it is being defined. The Sanskrit has īryāpathavikalpanam instead of īryāpathāvikalpanam here, so that the negation is omitted, but the negation is present in chapter 40 in the Sanskrit. The commentary encompasses both meanings by saying that this means being free of negative thoughts and therefore the conduct is uncontrived, unfabricated.
Here the Tibetan translates īryāpatha-prāsādikatā as spyod pa mdzes pa (“beautiful conduct”). The Chinese translates prāsādikatā as two different qualities: 端 (duan) (“proper,” “upright,” “dignified”), and 雅 (ya) (“elegant,” “graceful”). However, in chapter 40 [F.164.b] the Tibetan translates prāsādikatā in the more usual way as dang ba (“clear,” “serene,” “attractive”), but the Sanskrit has indriyapatha, presumably a corruption of īryāpatha, and therefore the Tibetan has dbang (“faculties”) instead of spyod pa (“conduct”). In that chapter the term is defined as the mind “being focused upon engagement with the Dharma, speaking rationally, knowing the right time, and teaching the Dharma correctly.” In this translation, for consistency, it will be translated here and in chapter 40 as spyod lam dang ba, in accord with the Sanskrit. The commentary to chapter 1, however, has dbang mdzas pa (“beautiful faculties”). The commentary states that this means seeing the equality of all phenomena, and therefore seeing what is correct and incorrect, and teaching others according to their aspirations. However, both the commentary and the definition in chapter 40 have subsumed the following two qualities as given in the sūtra’s first chapter.
In chapter 40, this forms part of the definition of attractive conduct.
In chapter 40, this forms part of the definition of attractive conduct.
Literally, “the hands are always extended.” The commentary says “ready to give material possessions or the Dharma.”
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent from the definitions in chapter 40 [F.165.a.1] and in the commentary.
According to the Tibetan sgrub pa dang nges par sgrub pa. Sanskrit: āhāranirhāra. Cf. Edgerton (112), where āharaṇatā means “winning, getting, attainment.” The Mahāvyutpatti has ’phrogs pa (“take”), zas (“food”), and when with prefixes as brjod (“say”) and gsol (“request”), and also ’snyod cing stobs pa, which means “to feed someone.” Also there is āharana, “to take” or “to hold.” The Tibetan translators have not been consistent, as in the definitions of the terms in chapter 40 where the Tibetan is zas sgrub pa (“attainment of food”), [F.165.a.1] with āhāra here translated as “food.” The definition is “sharp wisdom,” which does not appear to be food related. The commentary also defines it as “perfecting good qualities and eliminating negative ones, and that sharp wisdom develops from that.” Gómez et al. (n. 18, p. 85) describe this compound as a problematic term and give a conjectural translation as “bringing together and taking away” (p. 57).
According to the Tibetan nges pa’i tshig rnam par gzhag pa shes pa and the Sanskrit niruktivyavasthānajñānam. Chapter 40 and the commentary omit “definitions” and define rnam par gzhag pa shes pa and vyavasthānajñānam, which the commentary describes as “skill in presenting the teachings to various kinds of individuals.”
This is absent from the list in chapter 1, but present in the list in chapter 40, in the commentary, the Sanskrit, and the Chinese.
In chapter 40 this is called “no clinging” (Tibetan: ma chags pa; BHS: anadhyavasāna).
According to the Sanskrit kurvaṇa. Translated into Tibetan as cho ’phrul.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit of chapter 40, its definition there, and the commentary. Here in chapter 1 the Sanskrit has saṃskāra, translated into Tibetan as ’du byed, “composite activity.”
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. It is later in the list in chapter 40 and the commentary.
This paragraph differs in its order and contents from chapter 40 and the commentary, with an extra term, “no interest in gain and honors,” and without the two items of happiness and suffering.
This is presented in two separate points in chapter 40.
At this point the Matsunami Sanskrit apparently has another item in the list, translated by Gómez et al. as “gentleness.”
According to chapter 40 [F.168.b.5], this is “not gaining profit from wisdom,” and in the commentary it is “not dishonoring the family of the tathāgata, by keeping one’s commitment.”
The Tibetan smra ba nyung zhing mnyen pa literally means “speaking little and softly,” which could be taken as one quality. The BHS (malpabhāṣaṇatā / mitabhāṣaṇatā) and Chapter 40 have these two qualities clearly separated. In chapter 40 mnyen pa translates mārdavatā, which more explicitly means “softly.”
According to the Tibetan; apparently does not appear in the Sanskrit, chapter 40, or the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and the BHS meaning of avasādanatā.
According to the commentary this is “the path of the Dharma.”
According to the Tibetan (mi g.yo ba) and the Gilgit Sanskrit (akampya) of chapter 1, and the Sanskrit and Tibetan of chapter 40. For chapter 1 the Vaidya has aśāṭhya and the Hodgson and Shastri have sasādhya.
According to the Tibetan gnyer pa. Sanskrit nimantraṇatā (Shastri: nimantrahatā): “to invite”; chapter 40 [F.166.a.6], and the commentary: mgron du gnyer ba (take care of as one’s guests). Does not appear in the Matsunami.
In accordance with the commentary and chapter 40. In chapter 1, “characteristics” is absent.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
From the Sanskrit upalakṣanatā. The Tibetan has rtogs, which can mean “realize” or “understand.”
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
In chapter 1 the Sanskrit has śīladṛdhatā (“stability of conduct”) and the Tibetan has tshul khrims dam pa (“excellent conduct”). In chapter 40 the Sanskrit has śīlādhiṣṭhānatā and the Tibetan has tshul khrims kyi gnas (“the basis of conduct”).
According to the Sanskrit prajñāpratilambhaḥ in chapter 40 [F.166.b.6] and in the commentary. Although it is absent in chapter 1, it is included here, as it has evidently been inadvertently omitted.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Nevertheless, this does not appear in the list of qualities as given in chapter 40 [F.166.b]. According to Gómez et al. (n.20, p.85) this ātmajñatā and the preceding item, ekāramatā, form the single compound ekālambātajñatā (“knowledge of relying on solitude”) in Matsunami’s edition, even though they are separate items in all his three sources, and in the Gilgit. However, ekārāmatjñānatā is a possible original form of the compound.
According to the Tibetan and Matsunami. The Sanskrit separates “contentment” and “little known” into separate items: alpajñatā / santuṣti. Although the phrase alpajñatā can mean “ignorance” in Sanskrit, here the BHS meaning is being assumed (Edgerton 68).
According to the BHS meaning of dṛṣṛikṛta (Tibetan: lta bar gyur pa in chapter 1; lta bar byas pa in chapter 40 [F.166.b.7]; and lta bas byas pa in the commentary). Edgerton (269) translates them as “heresy.”
According to the Tibetan, the Sanskrit here and in chapter 40, and the commentary.
According to the Sanskrit and chapter 1 in the Tibetan, which could be read as dividing these into separate terms, with “knowledge” applying to the last. According to the commentary and chapter 40 [F.167.a.1-2], sthāna is translated as gnas, and is defined as the basis or root for a time of opportunity to practice good actions. The second part of the compound according to the commentary and chapter 40 is āsthāna (“basis” or “ground”) and not asthāna (Tibetan: gnas min) as translated in chapter 1. In chapter 40 the Sanskrit is avasthāna, translated as gzhi (“basis,” “foundation,” “ground”) and in the commentary as gnas skabs (“state,” “level,” “situation”), and this is defined as “the mind as the basis for all phenomena.” Third, in chapter 1, prasthāna was translated as ’jug pa (“entry,” “engagement”). The commentary translates this as rab tu gnas, and in chapter 40 the Sanskrit is pratisthāna, translated as rten. The commentary defines this as “faith as the foundation for all buddha qualities.” The commentary agrees with the translation in chapter 1 of pratipatti as sgrub pa (“accomplishment,” or “practice”), while chapter 40 translates it as nan tan (“application”). The commentary defines it as “perfecting that which is to be accomplished through familiarization with the path.” Neither the commentary nor chapter 40 have the concluding part of the compound: jñāna (Tibetan: shes pa, “knowledge”). The Tibetan translation of chapter 1 seems to be at fault in comparison to chapter 40 and the commentary, and therefore for consistency it has not been followed. gnas dang gnas min would be the standard way of saying “the appropriate and the inappropriate.”
According to the Sanskrit hetu, chapter 40 (rgyu), and the commentary. In chapter 1, hetu is translated as gtan tshigs (“reason”).
According to the Sanskrit yukti. Tibetan: rigs pa.
Sanskrit: naya. Tibetan: tshul.
Sanskrit: kāraṇa. Tibetan: rgyu. Absent in chapter 40 and the commentary.
Sanskrit: dvāra. Tibetan: sgo. Defined in chapter 40 [F.167.a.3] as “giving up bad actions,” and defined by the commentary as “skill in methods of eliminating faults, which is the doorway into the city of liberation.”
Sanskrit: mārga. Tibetan: lam. In chapter 40 this is part of the definition of “practice.”
The Tibetan here in chapter 1 appears to translate pratipatti as two separate terms: nan tan dang sgrub pa, which does not occur in chapter 40 or in the commentary. The Sanskrit follows pratipatti with saṃdeśa (“teaching”), which is absent from the Tibetan, the commentary, and chapter 40.
From the Tibetan phrin. Does not appear in the Sanskrit, chapter 40, or the commentary.
Sanskrit: avavāda. Tibetan: gdams pa. The Sanskrit is in chapter 40, but the Tibetan is absent.
According to the Tibetan of most Kangyurs: bstan pa la spyod pa. The Sanskrit divides this into two: anuśasanī caryā (“the instruction and the conduct”). The Degé has bsten pa (“reliance”), which is a scribal error.
Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary. In chapter 6 [F.19.a.3] it is defined as patience that is in accord with the Buddha’s teaching, in which there is no doubt about the Buddha’s teaching and no negative conduct is engaged in.
According to the Sanskrit and chapter 1 Tibetan. In chapter 40 and the commentary there is only “the level.”
According to the Sanskrit akṣāntivigama and the Tibetan mi bzod pa dang bral ba. However, in chapter 40 and the commentary this is jātivigama (skye ba dang bral ba), “freedom from rebirth.”
Yogācārabhūmi. Here, “yoga” according to chapter 40 is “meditation on the thirty-seven aspects of enlightenment.” It does not refer here to “the Yogācāra tradition of Asaṅga.”
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary.
This is divided into two points in chapter 40.
According to the Sanskrit vandanīyā. Tibetan: phyag bya ba (“pays homage,” “bows down to”).
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Absent from chapter 40 [F.167.b.7] and the commentary, which instead have, “It is freedom from misery.”
According to the Sanskrit viṣaya. Tibetan: g.yul, “battle,” which may be a scribal corruption of yul, perhaps because they are homophones and the copying was done by dictation.
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary.
According to the Sanskrit kola. The Tibetan gzings can mean “a boat,” but also “a ferry,” which in Tibet was sometimes a raft.
According to the commentary and chapter 40, which has “anger” (zhe sdang), while this chapter has “evil” or “wickedness” (nyes pa), mistakenly translating doṣa according to its meaning in Classical Sanskrit, while the BHS doṣa is the equivalent of the Classical Sanskrit dveṣa (“anger”).
In the Sanskrit this appears earlier in the list, after “medicine for the sick.” Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary.
In the Vaidya Sanskrit there follows at this point, “It is the liberation of all beings,” which is absent in the Tibetan, the commentary, and the Matsunami edition. The Dutt edition, online page 225, is not available.
According to the Tibetan in chapter 1: sgrub pa. The Sanskrit āhārikā was translated by Gómez et al. according to an alternate meaning, “that which brings.” Chapter 40 has asaṃhartya, and therefore in that chapter and in the commentary it is accordingly translated as mi ’phrogs (“cannot be taken away”). The Sanskrit and Tibetan of chapter 1 better fit the definition of this term as given in chapter 40, but the commentary specifies that it cannot be undermined by māras or tīrthikas.
Sanskrit: dharmakāya. Tibetan: chos kyi sku. Here, according to the commentary and chapter 40 [F.168.b.4], this does not refer to the immaterial state of buddhahood, but to the thirty-two physical signs that adorn the evident body of a buddha. However, this definition explaining what is meant by “adornment” may possibly refer instead to the next item but one, “the adornment of the bodhisattvas,” since both in chapter 40 and the commentary only one instance of “adornment” is mentioned.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary. The text has only “conduct,” and “bodhisattva” is implied.
Sanskrit: buddhaputra, Tibetan: sangs rgyas kyi sras. Literally, “sons of the buddhas.”
Literally, “eldest sons.” Sanskrit: jyeṣṭhaputra; Tibetan: sras thu bo. A designation for the principal bodhisattvas.
In chapter 40 this is combined with the next quality, while omitting “the wisdom of buddhahood.”
In the commentary and chapter 40 this and the preceding quality appear to have been combined into one, perhaps due a scribal ommission.
According to the Tibetan thos pa, and the Sanskrit śruta. The commentary has thob pa (“attainment”) in error for thos pa.
This is separated into three points in chapter 40.
According to the Tibetan and the Vaidya Sanskrit. Absent from chapter 40 and the commentary, but apparently partially present, conjoined with the preceding term, in the Matsunami.
Sanskrit: sūratā. Tibetan: des pa. It can also mean “pleasant,” “heroic,” “noble.”
Depending on the value of nayuta, which means “a million” in classical Sanskrit and can mean “a hundred thousand million” in BHS. It is the latter meaning that has been taken here, translated as khrag khrig. Thus, “eighty hundred thousand,” which is “eight million million,” which is “eight trillion.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has just “a thousand,” though “a hundred thousand” is mentioned at the beginning of the sūtra.
Literally, “ten million times a hundred thousand times a hundred thousand million.”
According to the Sanskrit vihāra. Tibetan: gtsug lag khang. These are equivalents in the Mahāvyutpatti, but gtsug lag khang can also mean “temple” in Tibetan.
Literally, “a hundred thousand [times a] hundred thousand million.”
Literally, “seventy-six hundred thousand.”
Literally, “eighteen thousand ten-millions.”
Literally, “seventy-six thousand ten-millions.”
Literally, “fourteen thousand ten-millions.”
According to the Tibetan and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts. The prose up to this point does not appear in the Chinese or the Gilgit manuscript.
The Sanskrit is in the third person in this first line of the verse, and the Tibetan is non-specific, but the first person is used here to avoid an appearance of contradiction.
I.e. buddhas. In the Chinese, “who have the ten strengths” does not appear, but it is in the Tibetan and all Sanskrit versions.
In all appearances in the translation that read “bodhisattva conduct,” “bodhisattva” is only implied in the original, but added in the translation for clarity.
Literally, “biped” in the Sanskrit, Chinese, and Tibetan.
According to the Sanskrit sadā. Does not appear in the Tibetan or Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the plural “those jinas,” which does not fit the narrative here. The Chinese does not specify singular or plural.
Literally, “biped.” The Chinese has “who save(s) beings from lower realms.”
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan btsun mo is honorific for “wife,” but could also mean “queen.”
Sanskrit: bimbara (variants: viṃbara, viṃvara, vivara). Tibetan: dkrigs. In the Sanskrit the value of the number varies between “a hundredth of a kaṅkara” or “a hundred kaṅkara.” According to Edgerton (p. 400), bimbara in the Tibetan tradition is synonymous with kaṅkara. In the Tibetan tradition of numbers, dkrigs is “a hundred thousand trillion.” In this verse, the number is “a thousand million dkrigs,” yielding “a hundred million million million million,” a hundred followed by 24 zeros, i.e., a hundred septillion. The Chinese has a number that is most likely four billion.
According to the Tibetan lag rkang and the Chinese. “Legs” does not appear in the available Sanskrit. Unavailable in the Gilgit manuscript.
The Buddha’s hometown. In the Sanskrit and Chinese there is only the shorter form, Kapila.
According to the Sanskrit yuga. According to the Mahāvyutpatti, the Tibetan equivalent would be zung (pair). The Tibetan here seems corrupt. The Degé has ’phrul (“miracle”). Kangyurs such as Lithang, Peking, and Narthang have phrugs. However, this is clearly intended to be a reference to the Buddha’s two principal students. The Chinese has a transliteration that resembles śiṣya.
According to the Sanskrit alolupa, the Chinese, and the Yongle and Peking Kangyurs, brkam. The Degé has bskam (“withered”).
According to the Sanskrit īryāya caryāya, īryā (lifestyle of a mendicant) and caryā, which regularly implies that the conduct is that of a bodhisattva. Tibetan: spyod dang spyod lam, which could be translated as “just conduct and behavior.” The Chinese combines them both into one: 安住威儀諸行等 (an zhu wei yi zhu xing deng), which usually refers to the conduct of the ordained saṅgha, but can refer to bodhisattva conduct as well.
According to the Sanskrit pratibhāna and the Chinese. The Tibetan spobs pa is “confidence,” though it implies confidence in teaching.
According to the Tibetan, Hodgson, and Shastri. The Gilgit and Chinese have “the buddhas in the ten directions / who have appeared in the past.”
From the Sanskrit udgrahītavya. Tibetan: gzung.
From the BHS paryavāptavya. Tibetan: kun chub pa.
From the Sanskrit dhārayitavya. Tibetan: bcang.
From the Sanskrit vācayitavya. Tibetan: klog.
From the Sanskrit pravartayitavya. Tibetan: rab tu gdon pa.
From the Sanskrit uddeṣṭavya. Tibetan: lung mnod par bya.
From the Sanskrit svādhyātavya. Tibetan: kha ton du bya.
From the Sanskrit araṇa, which also means “passionless, sinless, without impurity.” This is regularly translated into Tibetan as nyon mongs, which is also used to translate kleśa. Gómez et al. have interpreted it as “being in solitude,” presumably from an edition with araṇya (“solitude”).
From the Sanskrit bahulīkartavya. Tibetan: mang du bya.
From the Sanskrit parebhyaśca vistarena saṃprakāśayitavya. Tibetan: gshan dag la yang rgya cher rab tu bstan par bya. This entire list is simplified in the Chinese to three elements: “should recite, uphold / retain, and explain it to others widely.”
Sanskrit: vidyācaraṇasaṃpannaḥ; Tibetan: rig pa dang zhabs su ldan pa. A common description of buddhas. According to the commentary, it refers to the eightfold path, with “wisdom” being the right view and “conduct” the other seven aspects of the path.
From the Sanskrit āgama. Tibetan: gzhi (“basis”), but the commentary defines it as “a direct perception by those who are worthy.”
According to the Tibetan. “Blossomed” does not appear in the Sanskrit. The Chinese is similar to the Tibetan interpretation, but uses the verb “attain” 得諸相花 (de zhu xiang hua).
According to the Tibetan bsam gyis mi khyab. The Sanskrit has ananta (“infinite,” “endless”) and the Chinese has “infinite.” Apparently absent from the Mitsunami.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. Absent from the Tibetan.
From one of the meanings of the Sanskrit saṃvrta. Tibetan: bsdams pa.
According to the Tibetan. BHS Sanskrit: grantha (“fetters”); the Chinese corresponds to the Sanskrit. The commentary defines this as “the bondage of the māras.”
Sanskrit literally, “burning” (paridāha).
According to the Sanskrit tṛṣṇa and the Yongle and Peking sred pa. The Degé has srid pa (“becoming”) in error for sred pa. Sred pa is also confirmed by the commentary. The Chinese seems to have combined this with the preceding quality into one 盡諸渴愛 (jin zhu ke ai): literally, “the exhaustion of all thirsts (渴, ke, derived from “burning”) and cravings (愛, ai),” which can be understood as “strong cravings.”
This long passage, starting from “The Bhāgavan is thus…” (3.3) forms the text of the sūtra Remembering the Buddha (Toh 279, Buddhanusmṛti). Although composed of groups of epithets, many of which are found elsewhere (particularly in the Vinaya texts), the passage as a whole is only found in the Kangyur in these two places, and the King of Samādhis is therefore presumably the source of the shorter text. See also i.15.
According to the Tibetan bsngags pa. The Sanskrit varṇa has a number of meanings, including “color” and “caste.” In this instance it could mean “qualities,” “nature,” “splendor,” and so on, which could have been a more appropriate translation.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and Chinese are much briefer: “Then at that time, the Bhagavān recited these verses.”
Literally, “ten millions.” Sanskrit: koṭi. Tibetan: bye ba. The highest number in Classical Sanskrit. Does not appear in the Chinese.
The Chinese adds 無量 (wu liang), “numerous, countless times.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “I showed great kindness at all times.”
The order of verses 7 and 8 is reversed in the Sanskrit. Verse 7 is not present in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit śīla. Tibetan: ngang tshul.
According to the Tibetan translation of matsarī, which accords with the Mahāvyutpatti and the Chinese, whereas in Sanskrit dictionaries it is said to mean “envy.”
According to the Sanskrit īrṣya, the Mahāvyutpatti definition, and the Chinese. The Tibetan repeats ser sna (“stinginess”).
According to the Sanskrit nimantraṇa. The Tibetan and Chinese translate it by the more usual meaning “invite.”
According to the Tibetan dad pa. Sanskrit: prema (affection).
The order of the first and second half of this four-line verse is reversed in the Sanskrit and Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit where samāhita is in the accusative. The Tibetan translates it as instrumental, “through meditation,” probably through an error of pas for pa’i, which was used in an earlier verse: “verses of meditation.” Chinese: “one verse of this samādhi.”
At this point in the Gilgit, Sanskrit, and Chinese (but not in the Tibetan, Hodgson, or Shastri), there is a prose section where the Buddha tells Candraprabha that a bodhisattva should preserve and promulgate this teaching.
According to the Tibetan, which here has the unusual spelling mnod pa. For the Sanskrit here, uddiśatha, the Mahāvyutpatti has both “give” (phog pa) and “receive” (nod pa), as in “receive instruction.” Uddiśatha is a BHS word that usually means “propose” or “calculate.” The Classical Sanskrit uddiśatha can mean “show, explain.” The Chinese word used here is 說 (shuo), which literally means “tell,” but can also mean “teach, explain.”
This alternative title for the sūtra was used in a few instances by Indian authors quoting it, e.g. Śāntarakṣita and Kamalaśīla (see Gómez et al., 1989, p. 16).
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Chinese: “sandalwood is the best of all kinds of incense.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has vana (“wood”) in error for varṇa (“praise”).
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Chinese: 實不聞香 (shi bu wen xiang), “never smelled that incense.”
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Chinese: “There will be bhikṣus with inappropriate conduct,” 不應式比丘 (bu ying shi bi qiu).
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Chinese: “…by teaching it.”
The Sanskrit is maruta, which can mean specifically the deities of storms and winds, but is also used generally for “deities,” and therefore like deva was translated into the Tibetan as lha. Chinese: “gods and dragons.”
Verses 31 and 32 are combined into one in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan. BHS: atuliyu (“unequaled”).
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Chinese: 若得三昧微妙地，智者便得廣智藏 (ruo de san mei wei miao di, zhi zhe bian de gang zhi zang), “If he attains the level of subtle samādhi, the wise will gain the vast treasure of wisdom (or the treasure of vast wisdom).”
Verse 33 in the Chinese.
According to the BHS saukhya. The Tibetan has skyed (“born”) in error for skyid (“happiness”). Chinese: “all kinds of happiness.”
According to the Sanskrit pūrvamgama (“going first”), which is usually translated as ’dren pa (“leader”). The Chinese also has 上首 (shang shou, “leader”).
According to the commentary, the title of this chapter is “Mindfulness of the Buddha’s Qualities.”
According to Tibetan, Hodgson, and Shastri. In the Gilgit manuscript, the opening of this chapter is just one sentence: “Then the youth Candraprabha asked the Bhagavān.” This opening does not appear in the Chinese.
Sanskrit: upapatti. Tibetan: skyes pa. Chinese: 無所起 (wu suo qi) This term is also used for “physical,” but here the commentary defines it as “the non-arising of thoughts in samādhi.”
Sanskrit apratisaṃdhi. Tibetan: mtshams sbyor ba med pa. This is the negation of pratisaṃdhi, a term that is used for the transition between lives, i.e., conception in the womb, but here the commentary defines it as being “the continued process of thinking.”
Sanskrit pratisaṃdhijñāna. According to the commentary this means that it is not a state of cessation but a continuous clear knowledge. Translation according to the Tibetan, Gilgit, Hodgson, and Shastri. However, the Matsunami edition apparently has “knowledge of non-continuation.” The Chinese agrees with the Matsunami edition: 無和合智 (wu he he zhi).
The commentary has khung in error for khur.
According to the Tibetan, Matsunami, and Chinese. The BHS Sanskrit doṣa is the equivalent of the Classical Sanskrit dveṣa (“anger”), while in Classical Sanskrit doṣa means “fault” or “wickedness.”
These are listed as three, 7-9, in Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Vaidya Sanskrit has akuśala (“wickedness”) in error for kuśala (“goodness”).
According to the commentary, this means “abstaining from sleeping in the first and last of the three periods of the night, in order to engage in virtuous activities.”
Sanskrit: prahāṇa. Tibetan spong ba. Gómez et al. (p. 87) discuss its alternative meaning of “exertion.” Its definition seems to not be present in the commentary. The Chinese has “not abandoning samādhi,” 不捨禪定 (bu she chan ding).
According to the Sanskrit upapattiṣu, most Kangyurs skye ba, and the Chinese. The Degé has skye bo (“beings”), which occurs later in this list as the translation of pṛthagjaneṣu. The commentary defines it as “not creating the causes of continuing in saṃsāra.”
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Vaidya Sanskrit adds karmaṇām, “the activities of the internal āyatanas.”
[23] is not present in the Chinese.
According to Tibetan gzi chen po and Matsunami. The Vaidya has BHS mahaujaskatā, which can mean both “great might” and “great majesty” or “great brilliance.” The Chinese has “great merit” 大福德 (da fu de).
The Chinese has 善知識 (shan zhi shi) from the Sanskrit kalyāṇa-mitra.
According to the Sanskrit. In the Tibetan, this has been conjoined with “not harming those with good conduct.” The Chinese has combined [30], [31], and [35] into one, 無怒恚心 (wu nu hui xin), and added “abandoning crude and malicious speech” 捨麁惡言 (she cu er yan) and “helping and protecting others” 救護於彼 (jiu hu yu bi).
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. The Vaidya Sanskrit divides this into two: “the emptiness of phenomena” and “analogous patience.”
The Chinese has combined [39] and [40] into one quality: 於一切智而得順忍 (yu yi qie zhi er de shun ren).
The Gilgit and Chinese have simply, “Then, the Bhagavān taught these extensive verses.”
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has thos (“hear”), apparently in error for thob (“attain”).
As elsewhere in the sūtra, āhārī is translated into Tibetan as “taking food.” This does not make much sense here, and so it is translated here in one of its other Sanskrit meanings. The Chinese also translates as 食 (shi), which is “food” as a noun and “eating (and drinking)” as a verb, but interprets the entire verse as a vipaśyanā practice: “If jealousy arises in your mind because of food, you should meditate on the impurity of food. If you strive for accomplishment with boundless effort and meditate deeply on this, you will attain samādhi.” 若為食起嫉妬心, 當觀食已無有淨, 用功無量乃得成, 若深觀此能得定 (ruo wei shi qi ji du xin, dang guan shi yi wu you jing, yong gong wu liang nai de cheng, ruo shen guan ci neng de ding).
According to the BHS arthi. Absent from the Tibetan, but added here for clarity.
This verse is described by Gómez et al. as being problematic in Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Chinese translations differ from each other.
According to the Tibetan and Dutt. The Hodgson, Shastri, and Matsunami have the unusual na yubuddhi instead of bhayubuddhi. The Chinese has a slightly different translation of this line.
I.e., the buddhas.
The commentary explains that this means “knowing the equality of the composite and noncomposite.”
Chinese: 此緣佛相是有作, 能除一切有相想 (ci yuan fo xiang shi you zuo, neng chu yi qie you xiang xiang) “such an attribute of the Buddha is created, it can eliminate the conceptualization of attributes.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “having ceased conceptualizing ‘nothing.’ ”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit mahānubhava has many meanings, such as “great experience” or “great authority.” Gómez et al. translate it as “overpowering inspiration.” Chinese: “buddhas of the ten directions.”
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit does not have “suffering.”
According to the Tibetan ’ongs dang mi ’ongs, literally, “come (i.e. ‘is present’) and not come,” and the Sanskrit anāgatā āgatā. This was translated in Gómez et al. (p. 78) as “past and future,” though “past” is usually gata (which also means “gone”), but “past” is implied and therefore added to the translation. The Chinese has simply “all phenomena.”
According to most Kangyurs rkyal pa and the Sanskrit vastra. The Degé has the scribal corruption rgyal ba. Chinese: “excellent medicines,” 良妙藥 (liang miao yao).
According to the Tibetan, Vaidya, Sanskrit, and Chinese. The Matsunami edition appears to be quite different from the translation by Gómez et al.
According to the Tibetan. The title of this chapter in the Sanskrit is Buddhānusmṛti (“Remembering the Buddha,” or “Mindfulness of the Buddha”). This is the end of fascicle 1 in the Chinese.
This entire opening does not appear in the Gilgit or Chinese. There is simply, “Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha.”
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan appears to translate as “more innumerable than innumerable.”
The Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese use two synonymous phrases.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan in the Degé has the negative: “they are not concerned with their next life.” Chinese: “They are merely concerned with this life and their next life.”
Chinese: “They do not emphasize the accumulation …”
There is a paragraph in the Gilgit Sanskrit and the Chinese that does not appear in the later Sanskrit or the Tibetan: “What, young man, is the concern for the present life? It is the intention to have the five sensory pleasures. What, young man, is the concern for the next life? It is attaining rebirth in higher existences.”
The Chinese has a different interpretation here: 我今說如是法, 令眾生於其檀行不為究竟勝供養, 但以無上行而供養我 (wo jin shuo ru shi fa, ling zhong sheng yu qi tan xing bu wei jiu jing sheng gong yang, dan yi wu shang xing er gong yang wo) “I will now teach this Dharma so that beings will not perceive their acts of generosity as the ultimate supreme offering; instead, they will make their unsurpassable conduct / practice as their offering to me.”
According to the Tibetan skyo bar bya ba (literally, “to make sad”) and the BHS saṃvejana (“to shudder at”). Chinese: 覺悟 (jue wu), literally, “waking them up,” and also “making them realize, or enlightening them.”
According to the Tibetan, the commentary, and the Hodgson Sanskrit. The commentary states that the Buddha has praised entering the homeless life. In the Gilgit and Shastri Sanskrit: “He does not praise the perfection of generosity, he does not praise the perfection of conduct. He praises the ultimate conclusion.” Chinese: 如來非說檀波羅蜜以為究竟清淨，究竟吉祥，究竟梵行，究竟窮盡，究竟最後，究竟涅槃 (ru lai fei shuo tan po luo mi yi wei jiu jing qing jing, jiu jing ji xiang, jiu jing fan xing, jiu jing qiong jin, jiu jing zui hou, jiu jing nie pan) The Chinese interprets this as, “He does not consider the generosity paramita as ultimate purity,” and so on. The Chinese sentence includes more items.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. Sanskrit: “800,000.”
This name does not appear in the Sanskrit, but śūra as the original of dpa’ ba, rather than vīra, is based on the name that his followers attain.
According to the bye phrag of the Urga Kangyur. The Degé has bye brag, which does not match the prose passage. The Chinese has eight “yi” 八億, which can be “800,000” or “80 million.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese, but is present in the Sanskrit, including the Gilgit.
According to the Tibetan, Hodgson, and Chinese. The Gilgit and Shastri Sanskrit have “as an offering to the Dharma.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “Through all that good karma.”
Not in the Gilgit or Chinese.
Chinese: 若人增上修此忍 (ruo ren zeng shang xiu ci ren), “If a person practices this patience with great force.”
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan translation here reads, “This is the path to deathlessness.” Chinese: 非此能證甘露道 (fei cie neng zheng gan lu dao), which can mean, “abandoning this (incorrect view) is the path to deathlessness.”
Chinese: 勸捨惡道住善趣 (quan she er dao zhu shan qu), “Therefore they advise beings to abandon the wrong / nonvirtuous path and dwell in the correct / virtuous path.”
There is a play on words in the Sanskrit in relation to why the word bodhisattva is used, which is not evident in Tibetan or English. In the first line, the words “knows” (Tibetan: rtogs) and “beings” (sems can), which are the first two words of the verse, are in Sanskrit: bodheti sattvān.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese for clarity. The Tibetan has “There is no soul within the body / And you have not attained buddhahood.” The commentary has “If as many millions of māras as there are sands in the Ganges came before them in the forms of buddhas, and said, ‘There are beings and souls,’ and so on, they would, with an unwavering mind, answer them in this way: ‘Through the power of the realization of selflessness by valid knowledge, I have realized correctly that there are no beings, souls, and so on. And you are not buddhas!’ ”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “within.” Chinese: 悉斷惡見煩惱盡 (xi duan er jian fan nao jin), “They have terminated all wrong views and exhausted all defilements.”
According to the Sanskrit nara, the commentary skye ba, and the Chinese 眾生及壽命 (zhong sheng ji shou ming). The Tibetan has ming (“name”) in error for mi (“human,” “man”).
According to the Sanskrit stabdha. The Tibetan translates as “proud” (nga rgyal). The Chinese has 姦偽 (jian wei, “crafty”), 兇暴 (xiong bao, “cruel, violent”), and 不攝斂 (bu she nian, “unrestrained, undisciplined”).
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit (BHS) has prasādu (to be attracted to, or to have faith in).
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese, for the sake of clarity. The Tibetan appears to have blended together the last two groups to create “brings fulfilment” (don, artha), “benefit” (phan pa, hita), “and happiness to a multitude of beings, to humans, and devas.”
These are the four retentions (dhāraṇī) explained in this sūtra (see 24.63) to be retention of all that is taught about the infinite composite phenomena, retention of what is said in infinite sounds, retention of everything that is taught about the infinite kleśas, and retention of everything that is taught about the infinite benefits of the qualities of purification.
The corresponding Chinese verse is a summary of the three kinds of patience.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “the best of humans, the sugatas, see him.” The Chinese has, “When the sugatas see such bodhisattvas,” 善逝見彼菩薩時 (shan shi jian bi pu sa shi).
BHS: āryacetikā (revered noble ones). The Tibetan mchod rten could be misunderstood to mean “stūpa.” The Chinese devotes the last three lines to various auspicious signs instead.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan seems to be the result of a corruption so that jāyati (birth) was changed to perhaps jānāti (“know,” “perceive”): “The emptinesses do not see / are not seen and have no death.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit vijānatha
is the present-tense, second-person-plural form, but presumably this is the Sanskritization of a second-person-plural middle-Indic optative, such as the Pali second-person-plural optative ending yetha.
The first part of the chapter until this point is missing in the Gilgit and the Chinese.
The name means “arising from nonexistence,” 無所有起 (wu suo you qi) in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit tṛṇa and the Yongle and Peking rtswa. The Degé has rtsa ba (“roots”).
The Sanskrit adds auṣadha (“herbs”) before “forests.” Chinese: “trees, forests, and medicinal herbs.”
According to the Tibetan ri. Sanskrit: auṣadha (“herbs”).
According to the Tibetan dpa’ bo. The Sanskrit dhīra can mean “constant and resolute and calm” as well as “brave and courageous.”
The past passive participle nirvṛta means “extinguished,” so the line reads literally, “he was extinguished like a flame.” Nirvāna literally means “extinguishment.”
These concluding eleven verses do not appear in the Chinese. Instead there is this concluding sentence: “Then the Bhagavān said to the youth Candraprabha, ‘Young man, you should reflect that this samādhi has such great power. It can cause a bodhisattva to attain perfect buddhahood.’ ”
The Sanskrit has an additional concluding verse exhorting those who wish to attain buddhahood to possess this sūtra.
This opening of the chapter until this point is absent in the Gilgit and the Chinese.
In Gilgit, this verse was the last verse of the preceding chapter. This verse and the preceding prose that begin this chapter do not appear in the Chinese.
Sanskrit: “who wish for this samādhi.” Absent from the Tibetan. “Who wish to attain quickly the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood” does not appear in the Chinese.
Chinese: “should rest in.”
According to the Sanskrit, including Gilgit. The Chinese is briefer: “Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should rest in the patience of profound Dharma.” The entire passage in Chinese is: “Young man, you should know that this samādhi has such great power; it will enable bodhisattva mahāsattvas to attain the highest, complete enlightenment of perfect buddhahood. Young man, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should rest in the patience of profound Dharma.”
According to the commentary: “They arise from oneself and not from illusions created by another.” In this sentence, the Chinese includes another analogy: “like a wild horse” 如野馬 (ru ye ma).
The Chinese repeats all the analogies here.
According to the Tibetan mi ’jigs pa thob pa, the Gilgit abhayaprāpta, and the Chinese 無畏 (wu wei). The Dutt has arūpaprāpta (attainment of formlessness), apparently from the Hodgson and Shastri, which is repeated in the Vaidya edition.
According to the commentary, this means “the memory of previous lives.”
According to the Tibetan rtogs pa can and the BHS meaning of gatiman. The Chinese has translated it literally as 去者 (qu zhe), “those who have gone to.”
According to the BHS ananganaḥ and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as nyon mongs med pa, which it also uses as the translation for niṣkleśa (being without kleśas) just a little further on in this list.
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. The commentary at a later point states this this means both “tamed” and “fearless.” Chinese translates as “those who are tamed” 調伏者 (tiao fu zhe).
This term probably has its origins in the Middle Indic mahānāga, from which came the BHS Sanskrit mahānagna, meaning “a great champion,” “a man of distinction and nobility.” The BHS nagna can mean both “champion” and “naked” while in Classical Sanskrit it only means “naked.” Nāga can mean “elephant” and can also refer to the cobra deity that is called “nāga” in this translation. Therefore the Chinese translated this as “great dragon” 大龍 (da long).
In this passage the prestigious titles of those in the traditional brahmanical tradition are used as titles of those who have mastered the Buddhist path. The commentary states, “the bodhisattvas are brahmins because they do no bad actions.”
For snātaka, see glossary; Chinese: “one who has bathed” 沐浴者 (mu yu zhe). However, the commentary states here that bodhisattvas are snātaka because they have been washed clean of all the stains of the kleśas and remain in the water of patience.
The Sanskrit of the threefold description here (of which this is the first) is pāragaḥ vedakaḥ śrotriyaḥ. The commentary states that bodhisattvas are masters (pāraga, pha rol du song ba) of the Vedas, as they have reached their ultimate conclusion (rig byed kyi mthar thug pa’i pha rol du song bas so, F.43.b.4).
The commentary states that bodhisattvas are vedaka (rig par byed), as they know the nature of whatever is taught.
For śrotriya, see glossary. However, the commentary states here that bodhisattvas are śrotriya because they have renounced everything.
The commentary states that “Śākya” refers to Buddha Śākyamuni, who was born in the Śākya clan.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese; does not appear in the Vaidya Sanskrit or the commentary.
This is an analogy to the defensive trench around a fortification, which the commentary states is a boundary created by anger, and so on.
The commentary states this means that they utter the lion’s roar that proclaims selflessness.
The commentary states this means that their minds are at rest in meditation at all times.
The commentary states this means that they are both trained and fearless in the battle with the kleśas.
The commentary states this means that they are able to pull the heavy burden of benefiting all beings.
The commentary states this means that they can single-handedly overcome the strength of the māras.
The commentary states this means that their qualities are a delight to beings.
The commentary states this means that they are unstained by the mud of saṃsāra.
The commentary states this means that thay are filled with “white,” i.e. good, qualities.
The commentary states this means that they know how to tame the most malicious beings.
The commentary states this means that they bring delight and light that is like amrita to beings.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Chinese omit “human.”
Verses 9 and 10 are condensed into one verse in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit śailavanāntare and the commentary gcong rong du. The Tibetan translates this as nags ri’i khrod (“a mountain forest”). The Chinese translates it as “mountain valley” 山谷 (shan gu).
Verses 13 and 14 are condensed into one verse in the Chinese.
The numbering follows the Sanskrit. Verse 17 is absent in the Tibetan, but it is commented on in the commentary. It repeats much of the content of verse 16: “When the mother’s son dies / In a dream she loudly laments. / But no son died for that mother. / Know that all phenomena are like that.” Absent in the Chinese as well.
Tibetan: de ni ’dus ma byas kyi rigs zhes bya. Sanskrit: asaṃskṛtaṃ gotramidaṃ pravucyati. The language of the Tibetan and the commentary, and the notion of a noncomposite lineage (gotra) is here reminiscent of tathāgatagarbha theory.
This verse is not present in the Chinese.
The Chinese has “four methods of mindfulness.”
The Sanskrit uses the term kāyasakṣin, “one who has the body as a witness,” which is explained in, for example, the Pali Kāyasakkhisutta as someone whose body has experienced the qualities, such as bliss and samādhi, of the four dhyānas. That is, they have directly experienced it for themselves.
BHS: pṛthu sarva manyanā, “all worldly pride.”
The order of verses 7–35 is heavily rearranged in the Chinese.
The commentary states that Udraka was also known as Digambhara, which is also the name of a Jain school. However, the name Udraka (Rudraka in some texts) is best known in Buddhism as one of the first teachers of the Buddha. The Buddha stated that after death he was born in the formless realm but would eventually be reborn as an animal. The story for Udraka given in the commentary is that his motivation to meditate was to attain miraculous powers. He succeeded and was famous for being able to fly. But when he was told that his path was not genuine, he fell from the sky and went to the hells.
According to the Sanskirt hanyate. The Tibetan translates as bcom (“vanquished”). The Chinese has “he will be killed ….”
According to the Tibetan mi rgod. The Sanskrit caura is “bandit” or “thief.” The Chinese omits “thousands” and describes the bandits or thieves as “strong and carrying spears.” In Tibetan mi rgod can also mean “an ape” and could be used for “bandits.”
The singular form is according to the Sanskrit.
According to the Tibetan mar. The Sanskrit arpimaṇḍa actually means the scum formed when heating melted butter in order to create ghee. The Chinese has “like two clarified butters in accord” 猶二醍醐合 (you er ti hu he).
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “eat and drink.” The Chinese does not contain either verb and inteprets generally as, “Without proper understanding of the way.” 不應於其法 (bu ying yu qi fa).
According to the Sanskrit bisā and the commentary pad ma’i rtsa ba. The Tibetan here has simply rtsa ba. Here the Chinese translates the Sanskrit bisā as 泥藕 (ni ou), “mud and lotus roots,” rather than simply as “lotus roots,” denoting that lotus roots grow in the mud and are covered in mud when the elephants rip them up from the mud.
According to the Sanskrit hastipota. The Mahāvyutpatti has glang for “elephant,” though in later translations this was used exclusively for “oxen.” The Chinese has “elephant.”
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit has “birth and illness.”
According to the Sanskrit. In Tibetan “beyond description” is an adjective only for the true nature of the jinas. In Chinese, it works both as a noun and an adjective.
The prose and verse from this point down to “Young Candraprabha adorned the road with many different precious arrangements” 10.30 do not appear in the Chinese, apart from the one prose sentence in which Candraprabha requests the Buddha to come to his home. There is somewhat more in the Gilgit manuscript than in the Chinese.
The Roman numerals indicate verses that are not contained in the Gilgit manuscript and therefore are not in the Vaidya edition, but are given in footnotes in the Dutt edition of the Gilgit manuscript.
The commentary states that this means that anything the samādhi is focused upon will be overcome.
The commentary states that this means that whatever is desired will appear from space.
The commentary states that this means that it is invulnerable to all distractions.
The commentary states that this means that one can go miraculously anywhere at the speed of thought.
The commentary states that this means that all forms can be perceived.
The commentary states that this means that one can directly perceive the tathāgatas in infinite realms.
The commentary states that this means the consecration of the perfection of wisdom, which has the direct perception of the essence of all emptiness.
The usual traditional list is of eight liberations, but as in the Gaṇḍavyūhasūtra, this term can be used for any method that brings liberation.
Literally deva, and translated into Tibetan as lha, but this was a term of respect used for kings, as the equivalent of “Your Majesty,” and so on. It is not meant to be taken literally as “a deity.”
According to the Sanskrit toraṇa. Translated into Tibetan as rta babs.
Synonymous with agallochum and aloeswood. A dark resin in the heartwood of certain tropical trees.
According to the Sanskrit. Basically the same as damaru. Translated into Tibetan as mkhar rnga.
The text gives both the Sanskrit tuṇava and the Tibetan translation pi wang rgyud gcig pa.
A kettle drum played horizontally, wider in the middle with the skin at both ends, played by the hands. One drumhead is smaller than the other. It is a South Indian drum, and maintains the rhythm in Karnataka music.
Tibetan rnga mu kun da. Also called rnga zlum (“round drum”). From its representation in a sculpture of a mukunda drummer, it appears to be a much smaller version of the mṛḍaṅga drum, held in the middle with one hand with one end beaten by the other hand.
Tibetan rdza rnga chen po (“large kettle drum”). It is a kettle drum played horizontally. Unlike the mṛdaṅga, one half of the body of the drum is wider than the other. The Sanskrit for the list of instruments is in Dutt (116). There the spelling is muruja.
Considered the purest form of gold, found in the rivers, and believed to have come from a legendary site beyond the Himalayas.
The Chinese account of this event resumes here, after a few introductory sentences. The Gilgit also omits all the preceding passage, apart from the description of Candraprabha taking leave of the Buddha and returning home.
From the Sanskrit svādanīya (“tasty,” “flavorful”). The Tibetan translates as a noun: myang ba.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit niryūha can also mean “a pinnacle” or “turret.”
According to the Tibetan ba gam, which is an ornamental roof. The Sanskrit pañjara principally means “a cage,” and therefore could be “railings.”
Tibetan: skar khung dra ba ris (“window-net pattern”). Sanskrit jāla (“net”), though jālaka does mean “lattice-window.”
Sanskrit: ardhacandra. Tibetan: zla ba kham pa. This appears to have been a prominent part of a building’s design.
None of the verses with Roman numerals appear in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan, perhaps as a result of a scribal omission in the Sanskrit manuscript, or an omission in translation, as the next name is Durabhisambhava.
The commentary states that this is on the south side of the city. Rājagṛha is well known for its natural hot springs. This passage does not appear in the Chinese from “accompanied by many adorned horses” up to this point.
From this point until Candraprabha speaks does not appear in the Chinese.
The following seven verses and two lines of prose do not appear in the Chinese or the Gilgit manuscript.
According to most Kangyurs: zan. Degé: bran.
According to the Narthang, Cone, and Degé: ’dong. Pedurma: ’dod.
“After speaking these lines” does not appear in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
Literally “ten million [times] a hundred thousand million [times] a hundred thousand, which adds up to “a hundred thousand quintillion.” The Chinese has 百千萬億那由他 (bai qian wan yi na yu ta), “one thousand million” (yi’ nayuta).
Also known in the past as “Indian blue jay.”
According to the Gilgit Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan, presumably accidentally.
Also called “red avadavats,” “strawberry finches,” and “kalavingka sparrows.” Dictionaries have erroneously identified them as cuckoos; kalaviṅgka birds outside India have evolved into a mythical half-human bird. The avadavat is a significant bird in the Ganges plain and is renowned for its beautiful song.
The birds do not appear in Gilgit manuscript. The following prose and verses do not appear in the Chinese.
From the Sanskrit muṣala. Yongle, Lithang, Peking Narthang, Cone, and Lhasa: rdung ’dzin. Degé: gtun ’dzin. Musala here refers to a large pestle, about three feet long, which is also used as a weapon, like a mace, by a deity such as a yakṣa who hurls it at an enemy.
These are the four traditional divisions of the army: cavalry, elephants, chariots, and infantry. These are also the basis for the game of chess, which originated in India.
These do not appear in the Gilgit manuscript.
The Gilgit manuscript fragment has tilaka[ba]kula with what appears to be an omission of the syllable ba (sesame flowers, medlar flowers).
This prose section does not appear in the Gilgit, but is present in the Shastri and Hodgson (Dutt p. 121).
In the BHS verse their names are given as Avalokitu and Sthāmu.
In the BHS verse this name is shortened to Amogha.
In the verse this is given in the short form, “Ratna.” The commentary states that this is another name for Ratnapāṇi, a bodhisattva who appears in Mahāyāna sūtras.
In the BHS verse his name is given as Durabhisambhavu.
In the BHS verse the name is shortened to Vīra.
According to the BHS jinapādānubaddha. The Tibetan could be interpreted as just meaning “attendants.”
The Tibetan erroneously translates the kāya in bhāvitakāya as lus (body).
Here the Tibetan has three lines of verse, where the Sanskrit has four. The BHS verse is: “He is one who has cultivated love, rejoicing, and equanimity, / He is a great being who has developed compassion, / And through the qualities of the teaching of the Dharma / He has infinite understanding of the qualities of the Lord of jinas.” The Tibetan translation therefore has the last line of each verse being the first line of the following verse, as compared to the Sanskrit. In addition, the last three lines of the final śloka in Sanskrit are not present in the Tibetan.
According to the BHS. The Tibetan, zhabs ’bring byed, could be interpreted as “attended to.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “those humans.”
In the verse, for the sake of the meter, the name is given as Mañjuśirī.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to mean “many thousands of millions of Mañjuśrīs.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Who have accomplished bodies with the qualities of superior powers.” The Tibetan may have been translating śura instead of śarira.
The Sanskrit here is “Maudgal,” which is the name shortened for the verse.
BHS: Bhradrikurāja. Usually referred to simply as “Bhadrika.”
In the BHS verse the name is given as Kauñciku. This may be Katyayāna (also known as Kaccāyana or Kaccāna), the only one of the Buddha’s ten principal students not to appear in this list.
In the BHS verse the name is given as Koṣṭhilu.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has stong du, which appears to be a scribal error for stong dgu.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit also has vrata (“vows of discipline”), which would have been translated into Tibetan as brtul zhugs.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “And had mastered the recitation of curses and beneficial incantations.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: Kārttika, the twelfth month of the Indian year, named after the Pleiades constellation, as the full moon appears near that constellation. In the Western calendar it is in October / November. In India, this is the time after the monsoon has ended and the sky is at its clearest.
The Tibetan concludes here. The Sanskrit has the final line of that verse being the first of a four-line verse: “Scattered excellent flowers and supreme incense, / And an abundant variety of sandalwoods. / They circumambulated the Instructor, / And bowed down to the enlightened one.”
The Chinese account of this event resumes again. This paragraph is brief in the Gilgit and Chinese.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: ṛṣabha-gaṇa, “herds of bulls.” Chinese: “a hundred thousand.”
Chinese: “kings of bulls.”
According to the Sanskrit dvirada and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates both “bull” and “elephant” with glang.
The BHS has parihāraka, equivalent to the Sanskrit parihaṭaka, which can mean “anklet” or “bracelet.” “Anklet” is chosen here, as the others follow. The Tibetan translates this and the following ornament identically as gdu bu.
From the Sanskrit kaṭaka.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: ambarakusumān (“cloth and flowers”).
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: maṇisūtra (“strings of jewels”).
According to the Tibetan mtsho bya (“lake birds”). The Sanskrit has haṃsa-krauñca (“ducks / geese and cranes”).
The last half of this verse in the Sanskrit does not appear in the Tibetan. The entire verse does not appear in the Chinese. In the Gilgit and Shastri the second half is: “They were free from the net of fear, evil, and ignorance / And wished to bow down before the Sugata.” Hodgson has “stains” (mala) instead of “fear” (bhaya).
The Chinese has “the body of the Buddha with the ten strengths.”
Literally, a hundred-thousand ten-million.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: lokanātha (“Lord of the World”). Chinese: “the Buddha, the Lord with the ten strengths.”
This verse is absent in the Chinese.
The main road connecting towns.
Literally “principal and intermediate directions.” Chinese: “ten directions.”
This verse is in the Gilgit, Shastri, and Hodgson, but does not appear in the Tibetan or the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese, but there is an alternative verse that relates how joy arose in those who saw the Buddha and that they wondered when they, too, could make supreme offerings.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit does not have “in saṃsāra.” Chinese: “difficult to encounter for a long time,” 久遠難值遇 (jiu yuan nan zhi yu).
According to the Sanskrit mahānubhāva and most Kangyurs. The Degé has thub chen (“great muni / sage”). The Chinese has 大比丘眾 (da bi qiu zhong), from the Sanskrit bhikṣu-saṃgha.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “precious jewels.” (BHS maṇiratana = Sanskrit maṇiratna.)
The Sanskrit has Śubhamarutāḥ. Maruta is a synonym for deva, and Śubha is a shorter form for the name of the Parīttaśubha paradise.
The Sanskrit has the synonym “Aparimitaśubha.”
Both the Sanskrit and Tibetan give here the shortened form of the name of this realm: Paranirmita; gzhan ’phrul. Chinese: 他化天 (ta hua tian), a shortened form too.
The Sanskrit gives a shortened form tridaśa (thirty) instead of the usual Trāyastriṃśa (“thirty-three”). The Tibetan and Chinese, however, translate as thirty-three.
This first line is conjoined into Verse 53 in the Chinese; the rest is omitted.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit omits this and instead has “Also countless Māladhāra devas.”
This verse is in the Gilgit manuscript but not present in the Chinese.
This verse and the following two do not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese. They are present in the Shastri and Hodgson. The Tibetan corresponds with the Hodgson version of the verses.
According to the Tibetan gdengs ka can and the Mahāvyutpatti. Gilgit: Bhogaka.
This verse is not present in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit, which is in the singular. The Chinese assumes the plural, referring to all the previous nāga kings.
Vachellia farnesiana. The common English name is “needle bush,” because of its numerous thorns. The Sanskrit name is kept in both the English and Chinese translation because it is the origin of the nāga’s name.
According to the Sanskrit, which has the adjective “little,” and also the account in the Vinaya, which states that as a monk in the time of Buddha Kāśyapa he cut down the thorny bush at the entrance of his cave because it always snagged his robes. Cutting down bushes or even grass is contrary to the bhikṣu rules. Therefore he was reborn as a nāga with a tree growing out of his head. This caused him pain whenever the wind blew. In Chinese the word 小 (xiao), as an adjective, means “little,” as in the Sanskrit. As a verb it means “belittle” or “make something small.” The main verb used is 壞 (huai), i.e., “to destroy or damage,” rather than “to cut down.” These two verbs together, 壞小 (huai xiao), could be interpreted as “cutting the bush to make it small,” or “cutting the bush in contempt.”
This verse is considerably different in the Chinese.
This is the first of eight verses that in the Chinese are reduced to three verses listing names.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan here translates the names, earlier translated as lngas rtsen and shā kya ’phel, as dus ’phel lnga po, which appears to indicate a corruption in the Sanskrit text that was used for the translation, resulting in kālavṛddho (“time increase”), which would match dus ’phel (“time increase”).
This verse and the following verses are absent in the Chinese.
This name seems to appear twice, once in transliteration and once in translation in another line: mi’u thung (dwarf).
According to the Sanskrit nadi and the Chinese 河 (he). The Tibetan ’bab chu could have been interpreted to mean “waterfall.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “rejoiced at the Jina’s entry.” The line order follows the Sanskrit. The last two lines are not present in the Chinese.
Chinese: “When the Buddha and others had concluded their meals, put down their alms bowls, and washed their hands…”
The Tibetan ras bcos bu (literally, “processed cotton”) is said in Tibetan-English dictionaries to mean “calico.” The Sanskrit has “divine duṣya cloths.” Duṣya in Sanskrit can mean “cotton” and “calico.” Calico was traditionally made in Karnataka, but was always the cheapest cloth, and therefore it is unlikely that it would have that meaning here. Dūṣya is probably a Sanskritization of a Middle Indic word such as the Pali dussa, which means “woven cloth.” In ancient India, cloth was usually made of cotton, but as the cloth referred to here is extremely expensive it may literally mean “divine cotton,” or alternatively, “silk,” which at that time in ancient India could only be imported from China and was very expensive.
Only the number is given. In the Sanskrit the number is ninety-nine trillion. In the Chinese it is ten thousand. It is assumed that the reader will know this refers to silver coins, the raupya (the origin of the present day rupee), which was also tied to the value of silver until the end of the nineteenth century.
The following verses are not in the Gilgit, Sanskrit, or Chinese, but are in the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts.
According to the Sanskrit kroṣṭaka. The Tibetan translates this as wa (“fox”), and the Chinese also translates it as “fox,” as the jackal is not native to China. However, the analogy is clearly concerning the rivalry between lions and jackals, the latter generally eating what the lions leave. The Chinese has “lion’s roar” rather than “lion.”
The Sanskrit uses the same word as in the first line, svabhāva, translated in the first line as rang bzhin. In this second line svabhāva is translated into Tibetan as ngo bo nyid instead of rang bzhin (“nature”), and prakṛti (which can also mean “character” as well as “nature”) is translated as rang bzhin.
The Tibetan translates prakṛti as rang bzhin, which in the first line had been used to translate svabhāva.
In the Sanskrit but absent in the Tibetan is vipākalakṣaṇānārambhaṇalakṣaṇān.
This is repeating with different words what is said in verse 27 of chapter 2. Here prabhāṣa is equivalent to pratibhāṇa (“confident eloquence”) in that verse. The Tibetan has here byang chub (“enlightenment”), possibly from a corruption of bhoti (“will be”) to bodhi (“enlightenment”) in the manuscript it was translated from. The Chinese version is slightly different: 若說如是法, 菩薩了知者, 彼得無愛辯, 說億修多羅 (ruo shuo ru shi fa, pu sa liao zhi zhe, bi de wu ai bian, shuo yi xiu duo luo). The equivalent of pratibhāṇa is used.
The Tibetan sngon pa’i mtha’ from the Sanskrit pūrvāntaṃ means “the past.” The commentary explains this as knowing that phenomena have no past or future. However, this may be the result of an early corruption in the text, perhaps of prakṛtatvaṃ or similar, as the Chinese translates it more cogently as “they know the nature of the sound,” and so on.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. The Chinese has “nature.”
The Sanskrit has hriyate (“ashamed”). The Tibetan ’phrogs appears to have translated from something like hāryate (“taken away”). Chinese: 染 (ran), (“polluted / afflicted”).
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. The Chinese has “nature.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “on birth.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to have translated from a manuscript in which duḥkhaṃ had been corrupted to dharmaṃ, with the resulting meaning “cessation of phenomena.”
Literally, buddhaputra (“sons of the buddhas”).
Sanskrit: mitrabhadra. This is synonymous with kalyāṇamitra.
According to the Tibetan and the Chinese 柔何處眾演說法 (rou he chu zhong yan shuo fa). Vaidya Sanskrit: paryāyasūtrato, “teaches the Dharma according to the way of the sūtra.”
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan appears to say, “they teach the buddhas.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “always skilled.”
According to the Tibetan and Dutt’s Gilgit vipāka (ripening). The Shastri and Gilgit have vibhakti (“different categories”) and the Hodgson has the corruption virakti instead of vipāka. Chinese: 為人顯示因果理 (wei ren xian shi yin guo), “they reveal to others the principle / law of cause and results.”
According to the Tibetan and Dutt’s Gilgit. The Vaidya Sanskrit has sbhṛti (“no meaning”) instead of smṛti (“memory”). The Chinese does not have “pure.”
Unusually here nāga has been translated not just as klu but as klu ’brug, adding the syllable for “dragon.” Chinese: “dragon.”
All four lines of this verse begin with vipula (“vast”), though this is not reflected in the Tibetan translation. There the word is translated differently in each line, but here an attempt has been made to keep the repetition in English.
Chinese: 廣大 (guang da), “vast,” appears in the first and third line only.
According to the Sanskrit rāṣṭra, translated into Tibetan as grong, which could mean “village,” “town,” or “city.” Chinese: “of the world” 世間.
According to the Sanskrit. The order of the lines in the Tibetan translation is rather awkward, and it appears that the second and third lines have changed place. Rearranged they would be: “Similarly Buddha Amitāyus also / Has taught many kinds of benefits: / ‘All who wish (’dod) for my Sukhāvatī / Will go to Abhirati and see Buddha Akṣobhya.’ The Chinese does not include the name “Abhirati.”
This last verse appears to be spoken by Candraprabha in the Sanskrit and Tibetan. In the Chinese, however, these are the words of the Buddha: “Now I have explained such innumerable benefits and merits / qualities. Those who wish to attain merits / qualities similar to mine should uphold this sūtra during the time of degeneration.”
From the Sanskrit prabhāvyate. The Tibetan appears to have translated from a manuscript with something like pravbhidyate or prabhedyate (“divide,” “categorize”).
According to the Sanskrit, the commentary, and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as “the nature of the mind is without form,” presumably translating from svabhāvam arūpyam as a corruption of niḥsvabhāvam arūpyam.
The Chinese adds “and cannot be seen.”
According to the BHS and the Chinese. The Tibetan has either translated from a corruption in a manuscript from akṣara-vibhāvita-jñāna to akṣaya-vibhāvita-jñāna (“letters” being changed into “indestructible, unending”) or chosen akṣara’s alternative meaning, “imperishable.” The BHS meaning of vibhāva can be “to be free of.” However, vibhāva can be translated into Tibetan as “meditation” as well as “non-existing,” and so on. Therefore the Tibetan has, “They meditate on unending wisdom,” which does not appear to fit the context.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Chinese omit “the words.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Chinese omit “the words.”
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan omits “the knowledge.”
According to the Sanskrit karmakṛtāyāḥ. The Tibetan yongs su sbyang ba could be translated as “completely purified.” The Chinese omits “who created the karma (or completely purified) in previous lifetimes.”
According to the Tibetan ’khyil ba and the Sanskrit avartāyāḥ, though it could also be translated as “repetition of dharāṇīs.”
The commentary states that here “retention” (dhāraṇī) is equivalent to wisdom. The reference to retentions does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the list of qualities as all being attainments. The commentary has “unobscured patience.” The Chinese 得修無障法忍 (de xiu wu zhang fa ren) can be interpreted as “became capable of practicing unobscured patience.”
This verse is very different in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan has only “They know all phenomena.”
This verse is very different in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from śīlaṃ, though the Sanskrit has śikṣāṃ (“learning,” “study”).
Chinese: “They would rather forsake their own life than violate the teaching of the tathāgatas.”
The Sanskrit manasikāra and the Tibetan yid la byed pa can mean, according to context, “fixed attention,” “concentration,” “focused reflection,” etc. The commentary states that the samādhi being devoid of such factors is in relation to mind and thoughts, subject and object, action and object, and so on. The negative of the term (amanasikāra, yid la mi byed pa) was later adapted into the mahāmudrā tradition.
According to the Sanskrit: na… asti. The commentary and various Kangyurs, including the Degé, have yod med. The Pedurma has yong med.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “grasping.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “grasping.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “without attachment.”
According to the Sanskrit spṛśi. Tibetan: dran pa, translated from a corruption of spṛśi to smrti (“mindfulness” without pride).
According to the Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Chinese: “is the noble path.”
According to the Sanskrit śantibhūmi. The Tibetan has “level of buddhahood,” perhaps translating from buddhabhūmi.
According to the Tibetan, Sanskrit, and Chinese: “meditation and wisdom.”
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan has “peace” instead of “meditation.”
Some of the lines of this verse have been exchanged with lines from the subsequent verse for a clearer reading.
In the Chinese, the order of this and the preceding verse is reversed.
According to the Sanskrit and the Kangyurs that have the genitive gi. The Degé has the instrumental gis.
From the Sanskrit dharmadhātumaya, and as in the Chinese. The Tibetan may be translated from a manuscript that read dharmadhātunaya: “the way of the essence of phenomena.”
According to the Tibetan mya ngan. The BHS has aṅgana (“blemish,” “impurity,” “evil”). The Chinese 惱 agrees with the BHS.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. The Chinese has “It cannot be understood through words. This is because phenomena do not have characteristics.” This is also a legitimate translation if it is assumed that in sarvadharmāṇa lakṣaṇam the latter word is actually alakṣaṇam.
According to the Sanskrit and most Kangyurs. The Degé has dga’ (“joy”).
The Chinese appears to mean, “through language only knowledge is gained.”
The Degé has erroneously repeated the first two lines of the last verse at the beginning of this penultimate verse, making it into six lines.
There is a play of words here on saṃpāra (“the further side”) and the BHS pārami (“perfection”). The Chinese translates as “the other side” and translates the verse as “a command to the listener.”
Chinese: “Then the youth Candraprabha said these words to the Bhagavān.”
According to the Tibetan spobs. The Sanskrit pratibhāti could also mean “elucidates this for me.”
Chinese: “tormented by sickness, old age, and death.”
According to the Tibetan dpa’ bo, which appears to have translated from a manuscript that had vīra instead of the Sanskrit vīrye, “with diligence.” Chinese: 善哉, the most common translation of Sanskrit sādhu, (“holy man,” “saint”).
According to the Sanskrit krudhyase. The Tibetan translates as ’khrugs, which primarily has the meaning of “disturbed.” According to the Mahāvyuttpati this would be a translation of kṣubhyase, meaning “disturbed.” Therefore this may be a translation from a scribal corruption in the Sanskrit.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has “maintain various views.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to make this line the voice of devas that are accompanying the music.
According to the Sanskrit kalaviṅka, translated into Tibetan here as “cuckoo,” even though earlier they were listed separately where kalaviṅka was simply transliterated. The Chinese transliterates as 迦陵頻伽. The avadavat was unknown in Tibet while the cuckoo was very familiar. However, the avadavat is a bird known in North India for its beautiful song.
The Sanskrit is literally “twice born,” referring to first the egg being laid and then the hatching.
According to the Tibetan, the Gilgit manuscript, and the Chinese. The later Sanskrit manuscripts from Nepal (the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts) have here the line about musical instruments—conches, drums, and so on—that will occur in the next verse in this version. There are two verses in the Tibetan and Gilgit version compared to one in the later Sanskrit manuscripts and the Chinese.
The Tibetan here translates paṭaha as rdza rnga, which is usually the translation for the mṛḍaṅga drum.
The Tibetan translation here (rnga bo che) does not make a very strong distinction between the bherī and the earlier muraja drum (rdza rnga chen po). The Chinese has simply “drums” and does not differentiate the two kinds, but also has “three-stringed lutes, lutes, and flutes.”
This verse is in the Gilgit manuscript and the Tibetan. It does not appear in the later Sanskrit versions. In the Chinese this is a continuation of the previous verse without the line about the deva maidens.
In the Chinese, this verse is preceded by a verse describing how the songs and music played by the king of the kiṃnaras cannot compare to the Buddha’s speech. This verse is not found in the Tibetan or Sanskrit.
In the Sanskrit the synonym sura is used.
In the Sanskrit the synonym dānu is used. In the Chinese both deva and dānu were translated by the same term.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates it as mkhar rnga (“gong”).
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has just rnga (“drums”).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit appears to be still describing the music: “delightful, beautiful, and divine.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “by the Buddha’s light rays.” The Chinese has “one light ray emitted by the Buddha.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “unequaled.”
According to the Tibetan and close to the version in Dutt’s “manuscript A” (the Shastri manuscript). Chinese: “requests the Buddha to be compassionate.”
The Chinese has an extra verse here, requesting a prophecy, which does not appear in the Tibetan or the Sanskrit.
The Chinese has different epithets.
From the first half of the Sanskrit compound ratha-pattiya; the meaning of the second half is obscure, as is the Tibetan translation: rta rkang thang. The commentary glosses it as shing rta mchog (“perfect chariots”).
According to the Tibetan. “Pearls” does not appear in the Sanskrit, but instead, “male and female slaves” (dāsadāsi). The Chinese has “male and female slaves, jewels, pearls, gold, cows, and sheep.”
The commentary states that these lotuses appear as seats for the bodhisattvas.
Chinese: “innumerable.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has rnga (“drums”) and the Chinese also just has “drums.”
According to the Tibetan mkhar rnga. Sanskrit: tunava (“flutes”). Chinese: 鐃, similar to “cymbals.”
From the Sanskrit krauñca. Tibetan: khrung khrung. According to the Mahāvyutpatti, the Tibetan for krauñca is krung krung. See Julia Leslie, A Bird Bereaved: The identity and significance of Vālmīki’s krauñca, for the identification of this bird. Present Sanskrit dictionaries state it is a curlew. However, it is specifically the Sarus crane, which in Sanskrit is also called the sārasa krauñca, which can also be confusing because sārasa, as in this sūtra, is the word for “swan.”
Chinese: 拘翅 (jue chi), 頻迦 (pin jia), 鵞鶴 (er he). The first two are from the pronunciation of the Sanskrit, and the third is a Chinese name, referring to one kind of crane.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “tender ones.” Chinese: “tamed and gentle ones.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan could have been interpreted as “speak to Mañjughoṣa,” except for the adverbial particle su. Chinese: 和潤語, “harmonious and gentle speech.”
Literally in Sanskrit, “sound of the clouds.” Chinese: “thunder” 雷霆.
Although translated earlier in the text as bzhad (in accord with the Mahāvyutpatti), the Tibetan here simply transliterated sārasa (sa ra sa).
According to the Tibetan. Vaidya Sanskrit: “You are sublime because of the results of good actions.”
From the Sanskrit jīvaṃjīva (Tibetan: shang shang te’u). According to the Mahesh Sharma (141), jīvjīva is a pheasant, and jīvaṃjīva (as in Monier-Williams) is the chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar, also known as the Greek partridge). In later times, in China and Tibet this became a legendary half-human bird, or a two-headed bird. The Chinese transliterates: 命命鳥.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
The Chinese has 47 consecutive verses: the first 16 verses are in chapter 15 of the Tibetan-Sanskrit version and the remaining 31 verses are in chapter 16.
According to the Sanskrit, and the Degé, Lithang, Narthang, and Lhasa Kangyurs: dpang. The Pedurma has dbang (“power”).
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit aviruddha, and the Chinese 不為他壞不違他.
Sanskrit: ogha. A term also found in the Pali tradition, it refers to ignorance, desire, and so on. Translated in the Chinese as its implied meaning.
Sanskrit: grantha. A term also found in the Pali tradition (gantha), it refers to the knots that bind one to existence. Chinese: “knots.”
According to the Sanskrit tṛṣṇa. The Tibetan has srid pa (“existence”) in error for sred pa.
The prose section that begins this chapter does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit, the Tibetan klag, and the Chinese. Degé: lhogs.
According to the commentary (’dod pa can) and the Sanskrit lubdha, which can also mean “confused,” hence the Tibetan translation brkam (“scattered”).
Chinese: 放逸 (“careless”), 毀禁 (“do not follow precepts”), and 多慳吝 (“covetous”).
According to the commentary, the Sanskrit, and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “attached to towns.”
Chinese: “slander.”
A euphemism for sexual activity. The Chinese is less specific in its descriptions.
According to the Sanskrit parakumārī and the Tibetan gzhan gyi bu mo (“the girls of others”). Chinese: 童女 “girls” or “virgins.”
Sanskrit: “path of the mendicant.”
In the Chinese this verse is preceded by “one describing deviations from the path of the mendicant.”
According to dhenu in the Sanskrit and gzho in the Mahāvyutpatti. The Tibetan Kangyurs have gzhon and bzhon in error for gzho or bzho.
According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit and Chinese it could mean “among a hundred thousand.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has, “They become intoxicated.”
Chinese: 若得虛名自欣慶 (ruo de xu ming zi xin qing), “if they gain false reputation and become overjoyed.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan, Chinese, and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts. The Dutt and Vaidya have vihāru, “play with each other.”
This entire opening section about Maitreya and his miraculous activities does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript and therefore not in the Vaidya either. The Tibetan follows the version in the Hodgson manuscript.
According to the Sanskrit, where tathāgata is clearly in the vocative and the verb “to go” is in the first-person singular.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Lamp of the three worlds.”
The first part of this chapter up to this point does not appear in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
This sentence does not appear in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
“Through the gateway of peace” does not appear in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
“Kneeling on his right knee, with palms placed together, bowed toward the Bhagavān” does not appear in Gilgit or the Chinese.
The Chinese gives the full name of the samādhi.
The Chinese gives the full name of the samādhi.
The Sanskrit has an additional quality at this point: “wish to leave them.”
The Sanskrit has an additional quality at this point: “have no endurance for them.”
Chinese: 深怖三界起驚畏心 (shen bu san jie qi jing wei xin), “they are deeply terrified of the three realms and develop a fearful mind”; 厭離三界起不染心 (yan li san jie qi bu ran xin), “they are determined to leave the three realms and develop the aspiration to be free from defilements”; 不著三界起逼惱心 (bu zhuo san jie qi bi nao xin), “they are not attached to the three realms and develop the aspiration to overcome suffering.”
The Chinese omits part of these two sentences, apparently in error, resulting in: “If they accomplish this, they will attain this samādhi” and gives the full name of the samādhi.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Chinese: “are widely learned.”
According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit and Chinese this is phrased as a question.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “proved,” “tried.” The Chinese has “trained in.”
According to the Sanskrit (Hodgson and Shastri manuscripts). Absent in the Tibetan.
According to the Tibetan and all Sanskrit. This paragraph does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. The Chinese has one yi 一憶 (yi yi), which can mean 100,000, one million, or ten million in various Buddhist scriptures.
According to the Sanskrit and most Kangyurs. The Degé has mi in error for me.
According to the Tibetan bye ba. The Sanskrit has ṣaḍvarṣakoṭyaḥ: “sixty times ten million,” i.e., six hundred million.
According to the Tibetan nyin zhag. The Sanskrit has rātrimdivā (“day and night”).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “thirty thousand years.”
The Chinese lists twelve buddhas in twelve verses up to this point.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: Svarabrahmadatta.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has Brahmaghoṣa (tshangs pa’i dbyangs).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit appears to be two names.
Much of this verse repeats the names from the preceding verse, and there may have been a corruption. It is possible that they were meant to be variations of the same compounds but with a group beginning with Dānta, followed by a group beginning with Śānta. This would give: “Dāntottara, Dānta, Sudāntacitta, / Sudānta, Dāntendriya, Dāntamānasa, / Dāntottara, Dāntaśirin, Pradānta, / Dāntīyapāraṃgata and Dāntaśūra, [23] Śantottara, Śānta, Suśāntacitta, / Suśānta, Śāntendriya, Śāntamānasa, / Śāntottara, Śāntaśriyajvalanta, / Śāntapraśānteśvara, Śāntiśūra. [24]”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan here translates parivarta as le’u (“chapter”) and omits nirhāra. This paragraph is absent in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit viśārada. Tibetan: “very great fame” (grags pa shin tu che). Absent from the Chinese.
The last line of this verse is in the next verse in the Chinese version.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. Sanskrit: “forsaken the world in all their words.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has, literally, “He renounced the earth for accomplishing food,” which differs from all Sanskrit versions. In the Tibetan rendering, nirhāra is translated as sgrub pa (“accomplish”), though its other meanings are “to extract, remove, take, acquire, accumulate, or store,” which seems more appropriate here for food; and sthapetva (“established in”) as bor ba (“renounce”). The Chinese has “remained in peace and practiced great diligence.”
According to the BHS vasthitu. The Tibetan apparently translates as “being upright, standing” (’greng).
Literally, “elephant-king.”
The order of this and the previous verse is reversed in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit śānti. The Tibetan has bzhi (“four”) in error for zhi (“peace”).
The Chinese has an additional line: 於諸白法常無厭 (yu zhu bai fa chang wu yan), “never tired of engaging in virtuous actions [white dharmas].”
The Tibetan ’chad could mean “to teach” or “to explain,” as well as “to cut through, destroy.” The latter meaning is supported by the Sanskrit uccheda and the Chinese 斷 (duan).
Chinese: “termination of the speech (or views) of ordinary people.”
The Chinese has an additional verse at this point concerning not violating precepts and not having attachment to families.
According to the BHS niḥsṛti. The Tibetan translates as ’byung ba.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit sadā. The Tibetan and Chinese use synonyms for the first and second line: the Tibetan has rtag tu and khor mo; Chinese: 常 (chang) and 恆 (heng). The third line also uses sadā but with a negative in Tibetan. The Chinese is a simple negative without the meaning “never.”
According to the BHS gatiṃgata.
According to the Sanskrit anartha, translated into Tibetan as gnod pa (“harm”), interpreting it to mean “non-beneficial.” The Chinese also translates as “non-beneficial.” Its other meaning has been translated here, as it appears to be more appropriate to the context.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan lists three separate elements.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit appears to have no negative: “there is mingling with…”
The online Vaidya has vajane in error for varjane.
Darśī is translated into Tibetan as “seen.” The Chinese translation focuses on how the certainty is arrived at: 心境相稱詞決定 (xin jing xiang chen ci jue ding).
This verse is absent in the Gilgit and Hodgson, but present in the Tibetan and Shastri.
According to the Sanskrit śīla. The Tibetan has only tshul instead of tshul khrims.
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. The Chinese lists all four qualities as doorways that are entered.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan makes the second and third lines into a single sentence.
The Chinese here translates yoga as “method.”
Sanskrit: ayuktayogin. Translated into Tibetan as mi rigs brtson pa.
The online Vaidya has abhūbhi in error for abhūmi.
According to the Sanskrit anubuddha and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as rjes su ’brang (“followed”) instead of the expected khong du chud pa, or the like.
According to the Tibetan grags pa chen po, which appears to have translated mahāyaśānām, although all Sanskrit versions have mahāśayānām (“those with great aspiration”). The Chinese translates as “those of the Mahāyāna.”
The Tibetan adds “mantra” to make it vidyāmantra. The Chinese uses the unusual term 作明術 (zuo ming shu), literally meaning “techniques of clarifying,” which can be understood as “knowledge.”
Chinese: “can quickly attain wisdom.”
According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: “seeks bliss.”
According to all Sanskrit versions and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “ninety-nine,” which appears to be an early scribal corruption in the Tibetan transmission.
In the Chinese this verse is preceded by an additional verse not found in the Sanskrit or Tibetan.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “In which there are no extremes or desire,” where anantasaṅga was taken as being negated and saṅga as having a negative meaning. The Chinese has “So that they can see many buddhas after their lives have ended.”
At the beginning of this chapter he is the first in the list of past buddhas related by Śākyamuni, though the Tibetan and Chinese translations of the name differ from previous translations of the name.
According to the Sanskrit prasannacitta. The Tibetan only translates citta (“mind”).
Chinese: “in the past” instead of “numerous eons.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “numerous acts of generosity.”
Chinese: “If I were to describe them it would take a long time.”
Chinese: “go with you.”
The Sanskrit has, in contrast to the earlier spelling, Śīrībala.
This verse is not in the Gilgit or Chinese, but is in the Tibetan and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, and is mentioned in the commentary.
This verse is not in the Gilgit or Chinese, but is in the Tibetan and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, and is referred to in the commentary.
According to the Tibetan, and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts.
Chinese: End of fascicle 4.
According to the Tibetan.
Chinese: “mendicancy and perfect conduct.”
According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: “Those who have qualities of conduct and who have few requisites.” Chinese: “Numerous qualities of meditation and peace.”
According to the Tibetan, Chinese, and the Dutt edition of the Sanskrit: literally, “destroyed.” The Vaidya edition has loke, “in the world,” in error for lope, “destroyed, ruined.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan repeats “beings.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese, though a variation of it appears four verses later.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Buddha.” Chinese: “Lord of Munis.”
A verse in the Sanskrit and Chinese, which is a variation of a preceding verse, is absent in the Tibetan: “After eight hundred million eons / They will all, within the same eon, / Become guides of the world, / Compassionate and wishing to benefit.” The earlier version is absent in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Chinese: “seventy.”
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Chinese: “and are moved to tears and weep.”
From the Sanskrit satkṛta. Tibetan: mchod pa. Chinese: “offering.”
According to the BHS ārocayāmi.
According to the Sanskrit sparśita (“reached”). The Tibetan has thob corrupted to thos (“heard”).
The passage from this point on until “the gandharva Pañcaśikha” (19.9) is present in the Tibetan, Shastri, and Hodgson; it is briefly referenced in the commentary, but it is absent in the Gilgit.
According to the Sanskrit padāni. The Tibetan tshig could mean “words.”
These preceding three paragraphs are absent in the Chinese.
The Sanskrit has them making the sounds ha ha and kilikilā. The Tibetan translates as “a la la.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “a la la.”
According to the Sanskrit ahaṃ. The Tibetan has bdag cag (“we”).
The Sanskrit pañcamātra, “fivefold” music, was not translated into Tibetan. It presumably refers, as in the White Lotus of Compassion Sūtra, to the five tempos (Sanskrit: pañcāṅgika; Tibetan: yan lag lnga dang ldan pa), referring to the number of strokes per beat. This is a characteristic of South Indian music, particularly that of Karnataka.
According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: “five hundred holders of musical instruments.”
According to the Sanskrit saṃyukta. Tibetan: dang ldan pa (“possessing”).
This paragraph does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the BHS upīḍa for utpīḍa, and the Chinese 逼窄. Tibetan: gnod par byed pa (“causing harm”).
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Chinese: “sixteen.”
According to the Sanskrit ramaṇīyāḥ. The Tibetan dbyangs dga’ ba may be a scribal corruption. Absent in the Chinese.
The Sanskrit here changes to the singular. The plural has been kept for consistency.
The Sanskrit has “tathāgatas.”
According to the Sanskrit kāmān and the Chinese. The Tibetan has a scribal corruption of ’dod to gdod.
According to the BHS mata jñātaṃ. The Tibetan has rig dang bye brag phyed (“known and discriminated”). Chinese: 憶念, literally, “remembered”; can mean “have known.”
In accordance with the Tibetan and the Hodgson and Shastri manuscripts. “The sound of the lute” is absent in the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese.
The prose introduction for this chapter is more concise in the Chinese.
According to the BHS. Tibetan: “It is taught to all foolish (childlike) beings.”
According to the Sanskrit paitṛkadhana. The Tibetan translates as “the wealth of the other shore” or “transcendent wealth,” pha rol nor, presumably from a corruption in a Sanskrit manuscript.
According to the BHS and the commentary, where this is singular. The Kangyur version translates it as plural in this and the next verse. The commentary adds that Buddha Śākyamuni is stating that this is his previous life.
This verse is in the Tibetan, and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, but not in the Gilgit manuscript.
According to the Tibetan, in which the verb here is gdon mi za bar bya’o. The Sanskrit of the Hodgson and Shastri manuscripts has “…should depend upon the duties and qualities of the training that is the root of all merit” (śikṣāguṇadharmaniśrita). They also have at this point “…should have pure conduct through depending on roots of merit…” and so on. The Gilgit manuscript chapter is composed only of the verses.
According to the BHS nirhāra. The Tibetan translates as mos pa (“aspire”), which does not appear to fit the context.
The prose introduction to this chapter is absent in the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. The Sanskrit has jambusāhvaye (“called Jambu”).
According to the commentary they were sons of merchants. Chinese: 二不放逸長者子 (er bu fang yi zhang zhe zi) “two sons of elders.”
According to the Sanskrit and the Yongle Kangyur. The other editions have lam in error for las.
Tibetan rgyal po’i glang po, translating the Sanskrit rājakuñjara (literally, “king-elephant”), which has the meaning “preeminent king.” It is classified in Sanskrit as a metaphor, i.e., “a king who is an elephant,” meaning “an elephant among kings,” in contrast to the simile “a king who is like an elephant.” The Chinese translates this epithet either as simply “king” or “great king.”
The Sanskrit and Tibetan omit the number “ten million” so that it becomes six trillion, but this is evidently a brief way of referring to the entire sixty quintillion in the army, as later that number is said to have all developed the aspiration to enlightenment. Chinese: six yi, which can mean “sixty thousand,” “six million,” or “sixty million.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Chinese: “protector.”
According to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. Chinese: “great king.”
According to the Sanskrit ghātaya and the Chinese. Tibetan: spong (“abandon”).
Chinese: “The king should remain with friends who act according to the Dharma.”
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. Chinese: “This deva speaks the truth to the king; please do not abandon the Buddhadharma.”
The commentary states that this refers to the bhikṣus. The Chinese translates as “was stationed at the border to safeguard the nation.”
The Dutt and therefore the Vaidya divide the verses into fewer numbers with six lines each.
The Chinese adds: “and would not let you live.”
In the Chinese this verse is preceded by an additional verse. The Gilgit manuscript repeats the earlier verse that begins, “You must kill those two dharmabhāṇakas.”
According to the commentary, “the king” in this and the succeeding three verses is not the king himself but “the king’s brother.” This is further established by the supplementary verses that were not present in the Gilgit manuscript. The Chinese translates as “the king’s brother.” The Sanskrit and Tibetan have just “king” or “elephant king,” which is confusing.
In the Chinese the last line states that one should avoid bad friends. The following verses are absent in the Chinese.
This is the final verse in the Gilgit manuscript. The Hodgson and Shastri manuscripts and the Tibetan have three additional verses.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Those dharmabhāṇakas.”
According to the Tibetan rgyal po. This verse is absent in the Gilgit. The Hodgson and Shastri have maitreyurāhu. The Tibetan may have been translating from a manuscript that read maitreyurāju.
The Chinese adds: “Therefore, bodhisattvas should know about the dharmakāya and the rūpakāya.” The rest of this chapter does not appear in the Chinese.
In the Sanskrit manuscripts and in the commentary, chapter 22 continues and includes the chapter numbered 23 in the Tibetan.
This paragraph does not appear in the Chinese.
The Chinese adds “born from immeasurable merit.”
According to the Tibetan, Chinese, and Hodgson manuscript, budhyā ekarthani. The Gilgit and Shastri have budhyānekarthani (“many meanings” instead of “one meaning”).
Chinese: “this is because all phenomena arise from causes.”
Chinese: “It is devoid of all features because it is profound.”
Chinese: “It is immeasurable because it has no limits.”
Chinese: “It is without attributes because it has no nature of its own.”
Chinese: “It is without attributes because it is devoid of attributes.”
Chinese: “It is unwavering because it abides in tranquility.” This is followed by a few additional descriptions: “It is nondual because it has only one aspect. It is unchanging because it is free from conceptualization. It is indescribable because it transcends words / languages.” After these, there are a few extra and missing verses here and there, compared to the Tibetan and Sanskrit. For example, an extra verse is: “Phenomena have no base because they transcend all views.”
This sentence does not appear in the Chinese.
The Gilgit manuscript follows this with “It cannot be shown,” which is absent in the later manuscripts and the Tibetan.
Sanskrit: aniketa. The Tibetan translates as gnas med pa. Earlier in the list apratiṣṭhita (“no location”) was translated as mi gnas pa. Not present in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan here interprets this as “has the quintessence that transcends the scope of words …”
According to the Tibetan and the BHS: doṣapatha in Classical Sanskrit would mean “the path of wickedness.” The Chinese puts “transcendence of desire, anger, and ignorance and their respective causes” together in one phrase, and follows it with “because all phenomena are empty in essence.”
Chinese: “It is unborn because it has ended all births.” At this point the Gilgit manuscript also has “It is undefiled as it transcends the ripening [of karma]. It is permanent…” This is all absent in the later manuscripts and the Tibetan. See also the following note.
According to the Gilgit Sanskrit nityo vyāhāreṇa vyavahāraś ca śūnyaḥ. The words vyavahāraś ca śūnyaḥ are omitted from the later Sanskrit manuscripts, whereas the commentary was evidently based on a text that omitted only ca śūnya, but retained nityo vyāhāreṇa (“ ‘permanent’ in terms of words”). The Tibetan appears to be based on a manuscript that also omitted nityo so that the resulting vyāhareṇa vyavahāra was translated as meaning “through language there is terminology.” The commentary, because of the absence of ca śūnya, explains “terminology” as referring to nirvāṇa. The corresponding Chinese phrase seems to be 以無常但言説故（yi wu chang dan yan shuo gu), which could be understood as “It is impermanent because it is [permanent] only in terms of words or speech.”
According to the commentary no differentiation is taken as a cause for nirvāṇa, which is just a term used in the world, and there is no difference between the nirvāna of buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, and śrāvakas.
Literally, nirvṛta, the past passive participle “extinguished.” According to the commentary this means that it is indescribable through words.
According to the commentary: “The words that are like an echo pacify the concepts of the subject that is talked about, and therefore there is peace.”
According to the commentary: “Designations are merely concepts, and therefore mere designations can act as terminology for anything.”
According to the commentary the correct speech uses synonyms, such as “truth,” “true nature,” and “the ultimate,” which are used to teach the ultimate truth.
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan in the Kangyur translates as “there is calmness because of the absence of anguish” because they are corollaries. The same words could mean “There is coolness, the absence of fever.” The commentary states: “anguish or fever means the kleśas.” The Chinese has 以清涼離惱熱故 (yi qing liang li nao re gu), in which 清涼 (qing liang) literally means “coolness” but can be understood as “calmness.” 惱熱 (nao re) literally means “the fever of agitated mind,” but can also mean “anguish” and “kleśas.”
From the Sanskrit animitta, translated into Tibetan as gnas med pa, here meaning “baseless,” or “groundless,” even though gnas med pa had just been used to translate aniketa.
The Sanskrit has anindita, and the commentary has smad du med pa (“cannot be denigrated” or “irreproachable”).
The commentary states that this is because its qualities are endless. The Tibetan translates “description” literally as “teaching its color,” which is not quite appropriate in this context. In the Chinese this is followed by: “There is no end to the description of its merit.”
Chinese: “If someone wishes to see the Lord of the World and know his body.”
The commentary states that this is because the nature of the samādhi and the Buddha’s body are the same.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has added “hundred,” presumably for metrical reasons.
Chinese: “His body.”
According to the commentary, these three bad perceptions are those arising from aversion, attachment, and ignorance.
According to the commentary, but not the Sanskrit manuscripts, chapter 22 ends here.
According to the Sanskrit acintya and most Kangyurs. The Degé has bstan (resulting in “unteachable,” or “unshowable”) instead of bsam.
This paragraph is more concise in the Chinese.
The Dutt divides up the verses unevenly.
According to the Sanskrit naikakāle prajānitum. The Tibetan may have been translated from a corrupt manuscript and has du ma dag ni shes mi sla (“the numerous that are not easy to know.”) Chinese: “I can look at all beings, whose number is greater than that of these particles, and know their aspirations and motivations all at the same time.” 我觀一切生, 多於彼塵數, 發心及起信, 於一時悉知 (wo guan yi qie zhong sheng, duo yu bi chen shu, fa xin ji qi xin, yu yi shi xi zhi).
According to the Tibetan, Chinese, Gilgit, and Shastri manuscripts (naiva). The Hodgson has only caiva, without any negation.
According to the Sanskrit niittakarmanā, which is in the instrumental, but the Tibetan has dang (“and”) instead of kyis (“through”).
Sanskrit: varṇa. Translated into Tibetan as kha mdog (“color”).
According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from tatrākalpitam. There appears to be no negation in the Sanskrit tatra kalpitam.
End of the fascicle 5 and beginning of fascicle 6 in the Song, Yuan, Min, Gong, and Sheng editions, but in the Taisho edition fascicle 5 continues. 卷第五終【宋】【元】【明】【宮】【聖】本.
According to the Sanskrit varṇavyāhāra and the Mahāvyutpatti’s translation of varṇa and vyāhāra as brjod pa. The Tibetan in both the sūtra and the commentary is bsngags brjod pa (“expression of praise”), which does not fit the context here, and may be a scribal corruption of ngag brjod pa.
The text has just “inconceivable,” which is used numerous times in this chapter, but with the meaning of an inconceivable number, rather than one of the inconceivability of the words expressed.
This first part of the chapter up to this point does not appear in the Chinese.
From this point on, the Gilgit lists the names of the sets of four with the nature of the four merely implied because of the repetition. The Tibetan, Hodgson, and Shastri have the same variation in the list, and the contents of each set of four are given in full.
From the Sanskrit udbhāva. The Tibetan translates this freely as sgrol ba (“liberation”). The Chinese translates as 度 (du), which means “reach the other shore.” This is the same word that translates paramitas.
This is followed in the Sanskrit by a list of vyavāhāra (“practices”), absent in the Tibetan and Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. Not present in the Sanskrit.
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. Not present in the Sanskrit.
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. Not present in the Sanskrit.
According to the Tibetan spyad pa. Not present in the Sanskrit manuscripts or the commentary.
Here both “countless” and “inconceivable” are translating the same word: acintya; bsam gyis mi khyab pa. However, the first appears from context to mean “an inconceivable number.”
According to the commentary these words prove that there is no center and no edge, no past and no future.
According to the Tibetan rgyu ba med pa and the commentary. The commentary explains that this means that there is no coming or going by anyone. The Hodgson and Shastri have pracārapadāni (“conduct”) at this point.
Tibetan: gzhal du med pa, which in the Mahāvyutpatti corresponds with atulya. Gilgit: [a]tulyapatha. The Chinese translates from atulya (不可稱, bu ke cheng). Hodgson and Shastri: aparyantapāda (“unlimited words”). The commentary states that the words describe qualities that are unequaled or incomparable because there are no phenomena like them.
According to the commentary, this means that these words are the cause for the listening, contemplation, and meditation that give rise to wisdom.
According to the BHS chanda. The commentary states that this means “teaching definitions through various languages so as to bring delight to beings.”
According to the Sanskrit and BHS prajñapana.
According to the Sanskrit prakāśana.
According to the Sanskrit prasthānapa.
According to the BHS uttānīkaraṇa. The Tibetan has gsal bar byed pa (“make clear”).
According to the BHS anela. The commentary has tshig mi ’dres pa (“unmixed”). Tibetan: tshig mi ’dor (“casting out”).
According to the Tibetan. Absent in the Sanskrit and commentary.
According to the Tibetan. Absent in the Sanskrit and commentary.
The Chinese has an additional verse that precedes this one.
According to the BHS jānamī and the Chinese 我知 (wo zhi). The Tibetan has bshad pa (“teach”), which may be a scribal corruption of shes through copying from dictation.
According to the Sanskrit guṇāḥ and the Chinese 功德 (gong de). The Tibetan has bsngags (“praise”).
Sanskrit: “highest of engagements with discernment.”
From “They do not seek enlightenment as other than consciousness” to this point does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from a text that read śabdena saṃprakāśitam, and the commentary. The Sanskrit has śabdenāsaṃprakāśitam (“is not taught through words”).
Dutt’s edition accidentally numbers this verse as 9, so that all subsequent verses are misnumbered.
According to the Sanskrit niḥsṛta and the Chinese. The Tibetan has mi brten par (“without being based on”), perhaps from a text that had śrita instead of sṛta.
These apparently extra lines in this verse appear in both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan.
In the Chinese the order of this and the preceding verse is reversed.
According to one meaning of the Sanskrit pranaṣṭa, and the Chinese. Translated into Tibetan in this verse as brlag (destroyed) and in the next verse as shin tu ’khyams (“wandering far”).
According to the Sanskrit bhave cābhāvasaṃjinaḥ, the Chinese, and the commentary, which explains that this means “not believing in the existence of nirvāṇa and the ultimate nature.” The Tibetan basically repeats the first line.
According to the Tibetan interpretation of the Sanskrit compound jñātralabha. However, these terms appear uncompounded in other texts, meaning “acquisition and reputation.” The Chinese has “close relations (families) 親 (qin) (presumably from a manuscript that had jñatri), wealth / possessions 財 (cai), and profits 利 (li).”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit pranaṣṭa literally means “destroyed” or “lost.” The Chinese has “lost” (有失, you shi).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit, including the Gilgit, has “will think of their sons and daughters as being their wives.”
The Chinese specifies the five lay precepts.
According to the Sanskrit avadata. The Degé has skya bo (“white”). The Yongle, Peking, Narthang, and Lhasa Kangyurs have skye bo.
A conical or bowl kettle drum, also called a nagada. The upper surface is beaten with sticks. Often played in pairs, one larger than the other.
A kettle drum played with the hands. Held horizontally, it is wider in the middle with the skin at both ends. One drumhead is smaller than the other. It is a South Indian drum; it maintains the rhythm in Karnataka music.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “They will perceive the enlightenment of buddhahood / Through being incited by false words.”
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Will prattle on about the wisdom of buddhahood.”
The Chinese of this verse is different: “I have never heard of or seen those with that kind of conduct, who are ignorant and dwell in bad ways, attaining the wisdom of buddhahood.”
The Chinese of this verse is different: “If I were to talk for an eon / About the various faults of those / Who claim to be bodhisattvas, / I could mention only a fraction. 我若一劫中, 說彼諸過失, 自謂菩薩者, 但能說小分 (ruo wo yi jie zhong, shuo bi zhu guo shi, zi wei pu sa zhe, dan neng shuo xiao fen).
According to the Sanskrit saṃstava, the Lithang, Narthang, and Cone Kangyurs, and the Chinese. The Degé has ston (“teach”) instead of sten.
Literally, “guides.” Chinese: “buddhas.”
According to the Sanskrit vaipulya and the Chinese 我學習不廣 (wo xue xi bu guang). The Tibetan mtshungs med appears to have translated from a corruption to atulya (“unequaled”). The Hodgson manuscript has a corruption to puṇya (“merit”).
Chinese: “the merit of correct conduct.”
The Chinese has an additional verse following this one.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “the bliss of meditation.”
According to the Tibetan, Chinese, Shastri (vidhāraṇīmukham), and Hodgson (dhāraṇīye mukham). The Gilgit manuscript, however, has evaṃ hi dhārayet sukham (“and thus you should possess happiness”).
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “the wisdom of enlightenment.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
Literally, “the Teacher.” Chinese: 汝今得值佛, 發於菩提心 (ru jin de zhi fo, fa yu pu ti xin), “Now that you have met the Buddha, you should arouse bodhicitta.”
Beginning of fascicle 6 of the Taisho ed., and fascicle 7 of the Song, Yuan, Ming, Gong, and Sheng eds.
There are two verses in the Gilgit manuscript, numbered 4 and 5, that are also present in the Chinese, but do not appear in the later Sanskrit manuscripts, are not mentioned in the commentary, and are absent in the Tibetan: “I rejoice in those who do not believe in a self, / Who do not believe in existence or believe in a soul. / I rejoice in those who do not have bad views, / Who have seen emptiness and developed contentment. / I rejoice in those who follow the Sugata’s teaching, / Who attain the state of a mendicant, / And who have few desires, dwell content in the forest, / And have peaceful conduct and the practice of meditation.”
This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese, and does not appear to be mentioned in the commentary.
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
Divided into two points in the Chinese.
Points 8 and 9 are combined into one point in the Chinese.
The Chinese adds “that is, the disciples of the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, and śrāvakas.”
From the BHS anuparivārayati and according to the definition in the commentary. The Tibetan translates with the alternative meaning of “encircling” or “surrounding.” The Gilgit version has pariśodhayati (“purifies”). The Chinese translates this sentence as “They will perfect wisdom of all kinds.” 滿足一切智 (man zu yi qie zhi).
According to the Sanskrit, the commentary, and most Kangyurs, except for the Degé which has ’byor pa in error for ’byol ba. Chinese: “They abandon all concern about life and death.” 棄捨生死 (qi she sheng si).
Tibetan: thob par byed pa (“cause to obtain”). Sanskrit: arpayati (see Mahāvyutpatti 7428). Chinese: “They long for the joy of nirvāṇa,” 慕樂涅槃 (mu le nie pan).
Chinese: “They will not lack faith or wealth,” 不乏信財 (bu fa xin cai).
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan repeats “the wise ones.”
Chinese: “obstructions” or “obstacles,” 無障礙 (wu zhang ai).
According to the Sanskrit niraṅga. Translated into Tibetan as nyon mongs med pa.
Literally, “they are difficult to approach.” The commentary explains that this means they have such a complete attainment of qualities that they cannot easily be surpassed. Chinese: “Others cannot surpass their attainments.”
The Chinese adds the point: “their confidence of speech increases,” 增長辯才 (zeng zhang bian cai).
According to the Sanskrit musala and the Mahāvyupatti. The Chinese combines 9 and 10 as the tenth point. The verses that follow do not expand on the last analogy, but the commentary’s explanation (F.85.a.7) of these two last benefits is: “Their positive qualities progressively increase without being contaminated by the mud of saṃsāra’s defects, without gradually being worn down like the metal of a pestle, and without giving rise to suffering.”
Chinese: “always,” 常 (chang).
Does not appear in the Chinese.
At this point the Chinese has an additional two lines concerning discernment and wisdom.
This line does not appear in the Chinese.
The first half of this verse is absent in the later Sanskrit and the Tibetan. The Gilgit has: “He maintains what he has learned / And is presented with what he has not learned.” The order of qualities in this and the succeeding verse differs in the Tibetan from all three Sanskrit manuscripts.
In the Chinese this four-line verse is in a shorter form as the first half of a verse.
At this point, Dutt has a second half-verse that is said to be reconstructed from the Tibetan and absent in the Sanskrit (although these lines are not present in the Degé, their absence is not noted in the Pedurma, and they are not present in the Stok Palace): “When it comes time to die, / It is similarly fruitful for them.” The commentary does not gloss any of these verses. Here, the Chinese has: “In this way, after hearing the Dharma / They develop the Dharma they have heard. / They remember it constantly, / Day and night, without intermission.”
The commentary states that this refers to “the levels, the six perfections, and so forth.” The Chinese has “engage in the field of loving kindness,” 行慈境界.
According to the commentary, this means that in a state of meditation the senses are disengaged from their objects. The Chinese has “protected,” 守護 (shou hu).
Chinese: “bliss without food.” “Without food” is a synonym for the meditative state.
The Tibetan here has bsam gtan (as in the prose opening on this topic), while the Sanskrit has samādhi both here and in the last line of the preceding verse.
According to the commentary, this means that there is no conceptualized fixation upon the diligent activity of body, speech, or mind.
Chinese: “Their minds cannot be swayed by other views,” 於他言論其心不動 (yu ta yan lun qi xin bu dong).
The commentary explains that involvement with the composite is like darkness and the bodhisattvas’ wisdom is like a light that eliminates that darkness. The Chinese here has: 能達生死海底 (neng da sheng si hai), literally, “they have reached the bottom of the ocean of life and death,” which means, “they know the depth of the ocean of saṃsāra” or “they transcend saṃsāra.”
These two qualities are the ninth and tenth benefits in the Chinese.
This does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. Here the Sanskrit has vimukta (“liberation”) instead of the earlier vivikta (“isolation”).
“Wise” does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit, here māra is in the singular, while earlier it was in the plural. Neither is indicated in the Tibetan or Chinese.
Chinese: “They are unswayed by other views.”
According to the Sanskrit gādha. The Tibetan has gting, “depth.” The Chinese uses the expression, “have reached the bottom of (the ocean of) life and death (compare n.914),” to mean “knowing the depth of samsara, or the composite.” Gādha translated into Chinese can mean “shallowness” or “depth.”
Chinese: “faith and wisdom.”
Chinese: “They know purification.”
According to the Sanskrit pratiṣthate (“to be upon”) and the Yongle and Peking Kangyur sten (“to rely upon”). The Degé has ston (“teach”).
The commentary explains that this means that they dedicate the merit they have to the beings who do not have that merit. The Chinese translates as “portion of merit.”
According to the Sanskrit singular form. The Chinese has “realms.”
According to the later Sanskrit manuscripts and the Tibetan. The Gilgit has “the highest.” Chinese: “as the Buddha has taught.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit bodhimaṇḍaṃ samārūḍha means, “He has taken his seat upon the Bodhimaṇḍa.”
According to the Tibetan mi gnas pa. The BHS aniśrita and the Chinese could be translated as “nondependent.”
The Chinese adds “of any kind.”
According to the Sanskrit parmāṛṣati and the Chinese 於戒不取 (yu jie bu qu). Translated into Tibetan as mchog tu ’dzin pa (literally, “holding as supreme”). According to the commentary this means there is freedom from the concepts of a self who maintains conduct, a conduct that is being maintained, and a goal that is to be achieved through that conduct. Śīlavrataparāmarśa (tshul khrims dang brtul zhugs mchog tu ’dzin pa), “clinging to conduct and observance,” is one of the four kinds of attachment (upādana, len pa) as well as one of the ten fetters (saṃyojana, kun tu sbyor ba).
Commentary: “they see the empty nature of all things.” Chinese: “they are without conflict.”
According to the commentary, disparaging the Buddha means claiming that the Buddha’s true teaching was the existence of individuals, and so on, instead of the emptiness of all phenomena.
Chinese: “all white, pure Dharma.”
Chinese: “have immaculate conduct,” 成就無漏戒 (cheng jiu wu lou jie), from anāsravaśīla.
According to the Sanskrit and the prose section. The Tibetan adds “path” here, making it the superior, or noble, path rather than a superior being.
The Chinese has a different version of the second half of the verse: “They will not be born in lower realms, 不生惡道中 (bu sheng yu er dao zhong) / And will always remain within noble families 常安住聖種 (chang an zhu sheng zhong).”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has āryas (the superior, noble ones). The Chinese has “buddhas and āryas” (佛勝人, fo sheng ren).
According to the Sanskrit and Tibetan. The commentary, however, has chos (“Dharma”) instead of the similarly sounding spyod (“conduct”). However, the definition of it as both “realization” and “scriptural transmission” indicates that it was “Dharma” in the Sanskrit commentary.
According to the commentary: “they do not have any doubt as to whether the Buddha’s wisdom exists, or their ability to attain it.” Chinese: “wisdom of the Buddha.”
According to the commentary this means engaging in looking at the Buddha, paying homage to him, making offerings to him, and so on, as a result of knowing the qualities that come from hearing, contemplating, and meditating on the Dharma. The Chinese has only “they have gratitude.”
Chinese: “disparage,” 謗 (bang).
According to the commentary these are the kleśas and karma that arise from ignorance, aversion, and attachment.
The Tibetan has the plural here, while the Sanskrit is in the singular, as in other lines of this passage. For this translation, as in many other similar passages, the plural has been preferred because it avoids the use of gender-specific pronouns.
According to the commentary, this means the four noble truths. The Chinese does not have “four.”
According to the commentary, this is referring to “households from which they receive food on their alms rounds, maintaining equanimity or impartiality toward them all.” Chinese: “they are devoid of attachment and aversion.”
According to the Sanskrit nirāmiṣa and the commentary. The Tibetan translates vaguely as zang zing (“material goods”). Āmiṣa can mean gifts in general and also specifically food. The Chinese integrates this into the previous point. Chinese: “They teach the Dharma without expectation of food.”
Chinese: “These are the qualities of austere mendicancy.”
Chinese: “These are the qualities of austere mendicancy.”
This verse is absent in the Chinese.
The beginning of this chapter, up to this point, is absent in the Chinese.
“In order to explain this topic” does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan.
This is a reference to the Haṃsajātaka, the story of the Buddha’s previous life as a goose king named Dhṛtarāṣṭra who taught the Dharma to a king and queen.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit vihaga is usually a generic word for “birds.”
According to the commentary this is referring to the Samkhya view of a puruṣa (“individual”) and his or her jīva (“soul”), which keeps them bound to prakṛti (“nature”). Chinese: “lifespan,” 壽 (shou).
According to the Sanskrit nara, Chinese 人 (ren), and Yongle, Peking, Lithang, Narthang, and Cone Kangyurs mi. Degé: ming (“name”).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has phena (“foam”), and this is matched by the Tibetan of the commentary (dbu ba). The Tibetan may therefore have been translated according to a variant Sanskrit manuscript not represented today.
Instead of “dreams / foam or a plantain tree,” the Chinese has “like a wild horse.”
At this point in the Shastri manuscript there is a verse that begins, “The three realms are like a dream…” which is absent in the Gilgit, Chinese, Tibetan, and the Hodgson manuscript, and yet is quoted by Candrakīrti in the seventh century.
Chinese: “six.”
According to the BHS nipuṇa. The Tibetan translates incorrectly according to its classical Sanskrit meaning mkhas pa (wise, or skillful). Absent in the Chinese.
In this and the following verses, there is much word-play in both Sanskrit and Tibetan between the closely related (see glossary) terms for “movement” or “going” (Sanskrit gati, Tibetan ’gro), and “mode” (Sanskrit gatī, Tibetan ’gros).
According to the BHS nipuna and the Chinese 微細 (wei xi). The Tibetan translates incorrectly according to its classical Sanskrit meaning mkhas pa (“wise,” “skillful”).
Chinese: “true.”
According to the Sanskrit nipurṇārtha. The Tibetan has zhi ba’i don (“peaceful meaning”). The Sanskrit nipurṇārtha is sometimes translated into Chinese as “true,” and sometimes as “subtle.” Here it is translated as “mode of true meaning,” 真義道 (zhen yi dao).
The Chinese has a different order for this and the preceding three verses.
According to the Gilgit manuscript tada, and the commentary; does not appear in the Shastri. The Hodgson has sadā, and the Tibetan has translated from sadā as rtag (“always”), which does not seem to fit the context.
Here the synonym “Jambudhvaja” (Jambu Banner) is used. The Chinese has “Jambudvīpa,” 閻浮提 (yan fu ti).
In the Chinese there are an additional two lines to make the second half of a verse, about pursuing the bliss of bodhicitta.
In the Chinese there are an additional two lines to make the second half of a verse, about suffering and lack of faith.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has the obscure bla ma yi chad pa, presumably meaning “punishment from on high.”
Replaced by a different verse in the Chinese.
Chinese: “they guard their own fortune but rob others of their wealth.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has translated as mkhas pa (“wise”).
Chinese: “When they see a Dharma teacher make a small mistake, / They would exaggerate it and add hundreds or thousands more to it.” 若見法師少過失，增長加說百千種 (ruo jian fa shi shao guo shi, zeng zhang jia shuo bai qian zhong).
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “do not praise.” Chinese: “do not get close to,” 勿親近 (wu qin jin).
According to the Sanskrit nirvrtti. The Tibetan translates as mnya nga las ’das pa (nirvāṇa). This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit rucira. The Tibetan perhaps translated from a text that had cūrna (“powders”) translated as “incense.”
This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit vipañcī. Apparently replaced in Tibetan by the word sna tshogs (“various”).
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “wiped clean.” The Chinese has “skillfully made and adorned with precious materials,” 眾寶善巧而雕飾 (zhong bao shan qiao er diao shi).
This verse is absent in the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese.
This verse is absent in the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese.
Absent in the Chinese.
In the Chinese, this verse is followed by an additional verse about offerings.
Sanskrit: śila. These are ammonite shell fossils, of great significance and value in India.
From the Sanskrit ghana. The Tibetan appears to have translated from a manuscript that had dhāna (“grain”).
Sanskrit sīhanukāḥ, Tibetan seng ge can rin chen. The meaning is obscure.
No number in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “hundreds.”
Chinese: “There were hundreds and thousands (or many hundred thousands) of other kinds of hardship, which I endured to the point that my body was totally exhausted.”
Chinese: “How did I attain this samādhi? By freeing others from hundreds and thousands of kinds of suffering.”
According to the Sanskrit, in which, in all manuscripts, there is the adjective maitraka. The commentary glosses this as meaning Maitreya after he has attained buddhahood. The Tibetan rgyal ba byams pa grags pa mtha’ yas could be translated as “infinitely famous Jina Maitreya,” and possibly, “the Jina with infinitely famous kindness.”
“Infinite fame” does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from manuja and the Chinese 人. The Sanskrit has maruta, which is a synonym for “the devas.”
According to the Tibetan ’byung po and the Gilgit manuscript bhūta. The Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts have deva. The Chinese has a combination of two words: “spirits” and “worldly gods,” 鬼神.
Chinese: “Do not have a mind of love and desire.”
According to the Sanskrit gira and the Yongle and Peking Kangyurs dbyangs. Other Kangyurs have the incorrect dbyings. Chinese: “delightful voice.”
According to the Sanskrit krauñca. The Tibetan translation is khrung khrung, which usually means “the crane.” Sanskrit dictionaries normally identify this as “the curlew.” The Mahāvyutpatti has krung krung for krauñca.
The Chinese does not have “crane,” but has “peacocks, avadavats, and various musical instruments.”
This refers to the sixteen vowels and thirty-four consonants in Sanskrit. The Chinese describes the voice as the melodious sounds of geese, bells, and drums blended with the sound of a hundred musical instruments.
According to the Tibetan grong. The Sanskrit has kula (“families”).
Chinese: “every family who has come to pay their respects all praise them,” 往詣家家皆讚歎.
According to the Tibetan, presumably from supraśāntamana. The Sanskrit has suviśuddhamana (“a pure mind”).
The Sanskrit is in the singular, the Tibetan in the plural. This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
These are taught in the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis (see bibliography).
This verse is not in any of the Sanskrit sources, nor in the Chinese, but is glossed in the commentary.
These are taught in,the Tathāgatotpattisambhavanirdeśa (“The Teaching on the Emergence of the Tathāgata”), chapter 43 in the Avataṃsaka Sūtra.
According to the commentary, power over life means that the bodhisattva can remain alive for countless eons.
According to the commentary, power over karma means that the bodhisattva can control the time when it ripens.
According to the commentary, power over materials means that the bodhisattva can adorn many worlds.
According to the commentary, power over devotion means that the bodhisattva can see all worlds filled with buddhas.
According to the commentary, power over aspiration means that the bodhisattva can choose the time and world of his buddhahood.
According to the commentary, power over miracles means that the bodhisattva can manifest every kind of miracle.
According to the commentary, power over birth means that the bodhisattva can manifest taking birth in every world.
According to the commentary, power over Dharma means that the bodhisattva can teach every kind of Dharma.
According to the commentary, power over mind means that the bodhisattva is able to remain in countless samādhis.
According to the commentary, power over wisdom means that the bodhisattva can without fear teach the understanding of all the strengths of the Buddha. This verse is not in any of the Sanskrit sources, or in the Chinese, but is glossed in the commentary.
This verse is absent in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit akhila (“complete,” “without a gap”) and the Yongle and Peking Kangyurs dag (“pure,” “correct”). Other Kangyurs have dge (“virtuous”).
Chinese: “restrain the sense faculties.”
According to the Tibetan and the Shastri manuscript priyabhaṇi. Other Sanskrit manuscripts: priyavāṇi.
The Sanskrit and Chinese add “and truthfully.”
Chinese: “pride.”
Chinese: “patient,” and also “they remain honest, avoid sharp language, and are lovable.”
This verse is expanded into two in the Chinese.
Chinese: “Their voice is like five hundred kinds of pleasant sounds,” 亦如五百美妙音 (yi ru wu bai mei miao yin).
Chinese: “Their fame spreads into numerous worlds,” 名聞遍彰諸世間 (min wen pian zhang zhu shi jian).
This verse is in the Tibetan, and referred to in the commentary. It is in the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, but does not appear in the Gilgit or Chinese.
Chinese: “they have wisdom and miraculous power,” 智慧及神足 (zhi hui ji shen zu).
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan in all Kangyurs has gzugs in error for gzungs.
Chinese: “they know dhāraṇīs and have reached the other shore” (or “the way to reach the other shore”), 總持到彼岸 (zong chi dao bi an).
Chinese: “they are skilled in removing poisonous arrows.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese, which has another verse about the quality of non-attachment and being worthy of offering.
Chinese: “lions.”
The Degé and other Kangyurs of the tshal pa group have the verb of this sentence as mi gtong (“not letting go”), which would not make much sense. The Stok Palace Kangyur has mi mthong (“not seeing”), closer to the sense of the Sanskrit and the commentary.
In the Chinese this verse is followed by an additional verse concerning knowing the three times and the three realms.
These are, according to the commentary, the four retentions (dhāraṇīs), which might mean either of the two sets of four (see glossary). The commentary has gzugs (“forms,” or “bodies”) in error for gzungs.
The Sanskrit has “ten million māras.” This verse is present in the Tibetan, and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, but absent in the Gilgit and Chinese.
This verse is present in the Tibetan, and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, but absent in the Gilgit and Chinese.
Conclusion of fascicle 6 in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan byi dor bya ba yongs su sbyang ba. The Sanskrit parikarmadhāraya could be translated as “maintaining or gaining the preparation for.”
This paragraph is in a simpler form in the Gilgit and Chinese.
According to the main classical meaning of vivekadarśana and its description and translation, or gloss, in the commentary as de bzhin nyid mthong ba. The Tibetan translates according to its alternate meaning of “separation,” dben pa.
The five “aggregates” mentioned here are the “five undefiled aggregates” (Tibetan zag med kyi phung po lnga, known in Sanskrit according to Mahāvyutpatti 103 as the “five aggregates of those equal to the unequaled ones,” asamasamapañcaskandhaḥ). See glossary under “aggregate of correct conduct.” The Gilgit manuscript adds here “insight into the empty nature of all phenomena,” which is absent in the later Sanskrit manuscripts and the Tibetan.
According to the Sanskrit na durlabhāḥ and the Chinese. The Tibetan has dkon ma yin (“are not rare”), perhaps in a scribal error of dkon for dka’.
There is a play on words here that is lost in translation, as phenomena and the Buddha’s teaching are both called “dharma.” The commentary explains that this is because the nature of phenomena (dharmatā) is such that no phenomenon ever transcends its nature of emptiness.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
According the commentary and the Sanskrit yāvanta. The Tibetan ’jig rten (“worldly”) in the sūtra may be a translation of a corruption in a Sanskrit manuscript. Chinese: “various.”
According to the commentary, the Sanskrit, and the Chinese. The sūtra’s Tibetan has sangs rgyas sgra (“the word buddha”), perhaps translating from buddhaśabda in error for buddhadharma. Also, throughout this passage, Dharma is in the plural, meaning “the numerous Dharma teachings,” though rendered here into English as singular.
The Gilgit manuscript has a verse 26 (anāsravā hi te dharmā […] nena ucyanti hi / stṛtā aparyāpannā daśadiśe eṣā buddhan deśanā) that does not appear in the Hodgson, Shastri or Tibetan, but is present in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit pratibhāsa, the commentary, and the Chinese. The Tibetan here has mig yor (“mirages” or “optical illusions,” as defined by the tshig mdzod chen mo), another meaning of pratibhāsa, and the Mahāvyupatti gives mig yor as the equivalent, while gzugs brnyan (“reflection”) is given as the equivalent of pratibimba. Pratibhāsa and pratibimba both appear in the same list of types of illusory appearances, where pratibhāsa evidently does not mean “reflection.” The etymology of mig yor makes it unlikely that the Tibetan translator intended it to mean “reflection.”
Here the word for “body” in Sanskrit is vigraha and not kaya. The Tibetan translates as lus gzugs (“body-form”). Chinese: “shapes and forms / images,” 形像 (xing xiang). The Sanskrit vigraha is variably translated as “images,” “shapes,” “body,” and so on.
The plural forms of dharmakāya and buddha are in accordance with the Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Chinese could be either singular or plural.
The Gilgit manuscript has a verse 34 (aprāpti [prāpti] nirdiṣṭā sattvānāṃ jñātva āśayam / yo sandhābhāṣyottarate na so kena vihanyate) that does not appear in the Hodgson, Shastri, or Tibetan. It is present in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has the synonym rgyal ba’i sras (jinaputra).
The Chinese has simply “no attachment.”
Intentional change from singular to plural.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “practiced by all the buddhas.”
According to the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit or Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts. According to the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese it would be “And they attain the highest enlightenment.”
According to the Sanskrit vṛkṣa and the Chinese “marvelous trees,” 復化作妙樹 (fu hu zuo miao shu). The Tibetan has zhing (“realm”), which appears to be a scribal corruption of shing (“tree”), though a translation from a manuscript corruption to kṣetra is possible.
According to the Sanskrit saharṣika, which is an obscure term, but presumably adjectival from saharṣa (“delight”). The Tibetan translates as pu shu bcas, (“having harṣa” which would still seem to mean “having delight”) with pu shu meaning “the water gutter” usually, but can mean “balcony” or “upper level.” The Chinese has no adjective.
Sanskrit vimāna. This term, while it can generally mean “a palace” may refer, as it seems to here, to a particular architectural style. Vimāna is a South Indian term (South Indian terminology appearing to be distinctively present in a number of sūtras), with the northern equivalent being śikhara. It means “a tapering tower with progressively smaller stories of pavilions.”
According to the Sanskrit puṣkariṇī. The Tibetan translates simply as “ponds.” The Chinese has literally, “flower ponds,” implying, as does the Sanskrit, “lotuses.”
According to the Tibetan and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts (upalambhika). The Gilgit and Chinese have tīrthikas.
This verse is in the Tibetan and the later Sanskrit manuscripts, but not in the Gilgit. However, it is present in the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit. Tibetan: “That which is a concept is taught.”
According to the Gilgit, Chinese, and the Shastri manuscript. The Hodgson manuscript has “The nature of conceptions is wisdom” (with jñāna in error for jñāta); the Tibetan translates accordingly.
According to the Tibetan, the Hodgson manuscript, the Vaidya edition, and the Chinese. The Gilgit and Shastri manuscript do not have the negative na but have ca (“and”) instead.
Chinese: 不寂者是想 (bu ji zhe shi xiang), “Conceptions are detachment”; 寂滅者是智 (ji mie zhe shi zhi), “Detachment is wisdom.” 若知想自性 (ruo zhi xiang zi xing), “If one knows the nature of conception,” 便離於諸想 (bian li yu zhu xiang), “Then he is free from conceptions.”
Chinese: 名心盡法者 (ming xin jin fa zhe), “[though] the name and thought of cessation exist,” 盡中本無智 (jin zhong ben wu zhi), “there is no wisdom in [that] cessation.”
According to the Tibetan and the Hodgson manuscript, which has saṃvṛti (“conventional” or “relative”). According to the Gilgit and Shastri, it is nirvṛti (extinction).
According to the Tibetan dmigs pa med, and the Shastri manuscript nirālambhā. The Gilgit and Hodgson have nirābhogā, which in BHS means “without desire.” Chinese: “naturally free of defilements.”
This line is missing in the Degé. The Chinese has “having faith in the teaching of the Buddha,” 於佛語決定 (yu fo yu jue ding).
This verse is followed by an additional verse in the Chinese that is absent in all Sanskrit versions and the Tibetan.
According to the Tibetan and the later Sanskrit manuscripts. The Gilgit has, “They roar the lion’s roar, / The inconceivable roar of the buddhas.”
According to the Tibetan mtha’ yas. The Sanskrit analpa and the Chinese 無量 (wu liang) mean “a great number,” or “a multitude.”
According to the Tibetan and the Shastri manuscript. The Gilgit, Hodgson, and Chinese have “domain of the bodhisattvas.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit (atuliyanāyakānāṃ) could mean “offerings to the unequaled guides.” Chinese: “buddhas” 佛 (fo).
According to the Tibetan and Chinese. “Teaching” does not appear in the Sanskrit.
According to the Tibetan and the commentary’s explanation. The Sanskrit and Chinese have “stainless” (vimala; 無垢, wu gou ). The Tibetan has rgya che (“vast”) perhaps translating from a corruption in a Sanskrit manuscript from vimala to vipulya.
According to the commentary, this means that one cannot color with thoughts the mind that is in the nondual state of the samādhi.
Chinese: “ten.”
According to the Tibetan ma chags. Sanskrit: anopalipta (“undefiled”); Chinese: “undefiled by the world.”
This verse does not appear in the Chinese,
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “will never dwell in…”
The Chinese has a different version of the second half of this verse: “No beings in the three existences are comparable to them. / Only buddhas of the three existences are their equals.”
According to the commentary this is referring, of the three realms, to the desire realm and the form realm, with the formless realm implied. Chinese: “rebirth in the gods’ realm,” 生天 (sheng tian).
According to the Sanskrit svarga. The Tibetan has rgyal srid (“kingdom”), which from the context may be a translation of a corruption to rājya.
According to the Tibetan spos. Sanskrit: saṃga (“meeting”).
The following six verses are not present in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and the Chinese.
Referring to the contemplation of that which is unpleasant. Chinese: “the unpleasantness of one’s own body.”
Chinese: “born in the most excellent, wealthy, and prominent family,” 最勝賢善豪貴家 (zui sheng xian shan hao gui jia).
According to the Sanskrit bahujana. Tibetan: g.yogs bran (“servants and slaves”). Chinese: “live in abundance with great wealth and extensive retinues,” 資生眷屬悉豐備 (zi sheng juan shu xi feng man).
The Tibetan adds “and cowries.” Cowrie shells were used as currency in ancient India. Chinese: “abundant silver, gold, and all kinds of treasures / precious jewels,” 豐饒金銀具眾寶 (feng rao jin yin ju zhong bao).”
According to the Tibetan. Hodgson manuscript: “And turn the Dharma wheel in thousands of buddha realms.” The Sanskrit could be interpreted as “unequaled buddha realms.” “Buddha realms” does not appear in the Chinese.
Verse 205 is not present in the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “Unending, numerous hundreds of thousands of millions of beings / Who there hear of the roots of merit, / will also attain the highest aspiration to enlightenment / when the Jina, the great being, teaches the bodhisattva.” Chinese: “…teaches one bodhisattva.”
The singular is in accordance with the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the plural. The Chinese indicates neither.
According to the Sanskrit sattvā vijānanti and the Chinese. The Tibetan has presumably read it as sattvā-avijānanti, which includes the negative, and translates it “all beings do not know this.”
There is a play on words here, as the Sanskrit for “phenomena” is “dharma” and the teaching given by a Buddha is also “Dharma;” also, the word “understood” here is budhyate.
According to the BHS gatiṃgata, and the Chinese. Gatiṃgata is not translated consistently into Tibetan. Previously it was translated as rtogs pa khong du chud, and here its two elements are split up into ’gro ba and shes pa (“knowing states of existence”). There is here as elsewhere a play on words in using both gati (“state of existence”) and gatiṃgata (“complete understanding”).
According to the Sanskrit sarvasya māyā. Hodgson: sarvepy māyā. The Tibetan appears to have been translated from a text that read as sarvasyāpāyā, translating as ngan song thams cad (“all lower realms”), which does not appear to fit the context. The Chinese has “lower realms” instead of “illusions” and reverses the order of the lines: “He is free from lower realms / And knows the characteristics of all dharma / phenomena,” 遠離於惡道，能知諸法相 (yuan li yu e dao, neng zhi zhu fa xiang).
According to the Tibetan, and the Hodgson and Shastri manuscripts. This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and Chinese have “These teachers of the Dharma.”
Chinese: “Go to various worlds to benefit beings.”
This verse is followed by an additional verse in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has “main and intermediate directions.”
According to the Sanskrit, taking prāsāda as the first part of a bahuvrīhi compound. The Tibetan translates as khang pa (“house”), which appears to be the meaning of prāsāda in verse 74 (the Tibetan khang pa is translated as “mansions”). The Chinese translation conforms with ideas of Chinese architecture.
According to the Sanskrit harmya, which is usually translated into Tibetan as bsil khang (“cool room”) as it is designed to benefit from both shade and breeze. Here the Tibetan translates it as pu shu, which in verse 74 was used to translate saharṣika.
According to the Sanskrit. Translated here as stegs bu, which can mean “a turret,” although according to the Mahāvyupatti it should be ba gam, which has a range of meanings from “dome” to “tower.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan here has “and incense in censers,” which appears to be a corruption brought in from the first line of the next verse. The Chinese has 香瓶 (xiang pin) “and so on,” which could be interpreted as “incense and vases” or “vases of fragrances.”
According to the Gilgit gandhena. The Hodgson is corrupted and the Shastri has dhūpena in agreement with the Tibetan bdugs pa, repeating “incense.”
According to the Tibetan, Hodgson, and Shastri. Gilgit: “spreads to the summit of the sky.” The Chinese translation is roughly “spread out [to] the beautiful platform of clouds,” and therefore corresponds more to the Gilgit version.
Literally, “a thousand ten-million,” which would be “ten billion.” The translation here follows the spirit of a poetic description of a great number rather than a mathematically precise enumeration of realms. Chinese: 千世界, literally, “one thousand worlds.”
Could also be translated as “thorn,” as in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and BHS doṣaśalya (“the pain of faults / wickedness”). The BHS doṣa is the equivalent of the Classical Sanskrit dveṣa (“anger”), while doṣa in Classical Sanskrit means “fault” or “wickedness.” The Tibetan appears to have been translating from tṛṣna or perhaps chanda instead of śalya. The Chinese has “the kleśa of anger.”
According to the Sanskrit mohajālaṃ and the Chinese. The Tibetan appears to have translated from a manuscript that had mahājālam (“great net”).
The number of seats in Chinese is 億 (yi), which can mean a wide range of numbers, but many scholars simply interpret the term as an expression of “numerous.”
The specific number of ten million cannot be intended here, because there would not be enough cloths for the seats!
There is considerable variation between the Gilgit (which does not have in this verse the words “beautiful seats,” but only their descriptions), the Shastri, and the Hodgson (though they both agree in also having parasols as an adornment, which is absent in the Tibetan). The Tibetan is closest to the Hodgson, though the Tibetan translation has literally, “cloths adorned by the lattices of jewels,” and omits the parasols.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan does not have the word “seats,” which appears instead in the previous verse.
According to the Sanskrit daṇḍa. The Tibetan translates as yan lag (“branches”).
The Sanskrit pañjara usually means “an enclosing cage.” The Tibetan has khog pa, which means “interior.” However, the leaves are the part of the lotus that is usually described in this way, and pañjara may be an early corruption in the text, perhaps of palāśa.
Sanskrit: girigarbha, (“mountain essence”). Tibetan: dpal gyi snying po can (“glorious essence”). The Hodgson has sirigarbha, which is a corruption. The Tibetan appears to have translated from śrīgarbha. This appears to be a synonym for aśmagarbha (“stone-essence”), which is an emerald. The commentary repeats ’dab ma, though this can mean “leaves” as well as “petals.” Compare with the Ten Bhūmi Sūtra in which a lotus has a beryl stem, a pericarp of sandalwood, emerald stamens, and leaves of gold. The Chinese has “stems and leaves of crystal, and stamens of gold.”
Absent in the Gilgit, Shastri, Hodgson, and Tibetan. The Chinese has a combination of this and the following verse.
According to the Tibetan and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts. The Gilgit has śakunta (“jays”).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “unsurpassable,” as in the preceding and following verses.
Three verses here (this one and the following two) are absent in the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese, but present in the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, and the Tibetan.
This verse is followed in the Chinese by an additional verse summarizing the marvelous decorations and sights.
This verse is followed in the Chinese by an additional verse stating that these decorations are blessings from the Buddha to benefit beings.
Chinese: “grasping.”
According to the Tibetan and the Hodgson manuscript.
This verse is followed by an additional verse in the Chinese that reiterates that there should be no doubt and that strong faith will surely lead to rebirth in Sukhāvatī.
According to the Tibetan, Hodgson, and Shastri. The Gilgit has “this supreme realm.”
This verse is expanded into two verses in the Chinese.
Chinese: “pure conduct.”
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “practitioners who are Dharma protectors.” In the Chinese, “in later times” is absent and this verse is followed by six additional verses.
In the Gilgit manuscript, the prose is absent from this point until “Young man, in the past…” (34.7).
In the Chinese the prose up to this point is absent.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan appears to translate as “more innumerable than innumerable.”
The Chinese has three synonymous phrases.
Chinese: “he composed melodious verses on…”
According to the Sanskrit saṃgīti. The Tibetan rol mo usually means “music.” In the Chinese, “The apsarases engaged in singing divine songs” is absent.
According to the Sanskrit; absent in the Tibetan.
The Sanskrit here is specifically in the dual form hastau, meaning both hands, although the preceding prose specifies his right hand only. The Tibetan and Chinese have no specific plural form and so could be read as singular. This appears to be an instance of inconsistency revealing the different authorship of verses and prose. For consistency in English the singular of “hand” is used here.
According to the Sanskrit pūti, the Chinese, and the commentary rul pa. In the Tibetan version of the sūtra there is a scribal corruption of rul pa (“rotten”) to rus pa (“bones”).
The Chinese has some variation in the preceding two verses and they are followed by an additional verse.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Chinese omit “sandalwood.” The Chinese has “incense.”
In the Chinese this verse is followed by an additional verse.
Chinese: “All became men.”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan associates “all” with “worlds.” The Chinese does not indicate singular or plural.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has saṃlekhaguṇa (“the qualities / disciplines of austerity”).
In the Chinese, at this point fascicle 7 comes to an end in the Taisho edition, and fascicle 8 in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Gong, and Sheng editions.
From the Sanskrit avaropayāmi. The Tibetan is bskyed (“generate,” “create”).
The Chinese version of this sentence differs.
From the Sanskrit aśāṭhyena (literally “without craftiness”) and the Chinese. The Tibetan translation g.yo ba med pa could otherwise be understood as meaning “unwaveringly.”
According to the Sanskrit sevitavyā bhjitavyāḥ.
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary, which mentions correct conduct. The Tibetan omits the qualifying characteristics, which obscures the meaning. “Good qualities and wisdom” does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit visaradena. Translated into Tibetan as g.yo ba med pa.
According to the BHS (īrya), the commentary (spyod lam), and the Chinese 威儀. In the Tibetan of the sūtra it is translated as g.yo ba (“movement,” “wandering”), which is one meaning of īrya but does not fit the context well.
The Sanskrit and Chinese have here the additional sentence, “He was wise in certainty in meaning,” which is absent in the Tibetan version of the sūtra and the commentary.
Tibetan: gsong por smra. The BHS has pūrvabhilāpī (“respectfully”). In Sanskrit this is followed by, “He had a smiling face,” which is absent in the Tibetan but incorporated to make a single sentence in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan here has “blood and flesh,” which does not appear to fit the context. Chinese: “fresh blood of a young virgin.”
According to the Sanskrit ācārya and the Tibetan of the commentary slob dpon. The Tibetan has ’phags pa (“noble one”), which appears to be translated from a corruption of cācāryam (“and the ācārya”) to cāryam (“and the ārya”). Chinese: “She went to the king who then called the sick bhikṣu into the palace. He was seated in front of the king…”
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits the negative, and gang could be misunderstood as a personal pronoun rather than the interrogative.
According to the Tibetan, which specifies “red sandalwood” for candana, and translates kālānusārī literally as ’dus brang (“following time”). The Chinese has simply “sandalwood.”
This prose section does not appear in the Gilgit, Sanskrit, or Chinese, but is present in the Tibetan, and in the Hodgson and Shastri.
The BHS sugatāna putrakāḥ appears to be specifically male as “sons of the sugatas,” although putra can be taken in the more general sense of “child.” The Tibetan translates as byang chub sems mo, specifically meaning a female bodhisattva, which accords with the use of the female personal pronoun, but although the female pronoun is used she is also described as having become irreversibly male.
Translated into Tibetan in the sūtra and commentary as mar me mdzad, and therefore this may have been from a text that had dīpaṃkara instead of dīpaprabha, although that would be in contradiction with the standard account of Buddha Śākyamuni’s previous life as a student of Dīpaṃkara.
This verse is in the Tibetan, the commentary, and the Shastri and Hodgson manuscripts, but absent in the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan and the BHS doṣa, which is the equivalent of the Classical Sanskrit dveṣa (“anger”), while the Classical Sanskrit doṣa means “fault” or “wickedness.” Chinese: “anger and pride,” though doṣa has been translated variably as “faults, pride, and anger.”
These last three sentences are absent in the Gilgit manuscript and the Chinese.
The Sanskrit has the obscure vitardda, while the Mahāvyutpatti gives vitardi and vedika as the corollary of the Tibetan stegs bu. A vedika is a raised platform, usually with a railing, around a building or stūpa.
The Sanskrit niryūha, which the Mahāvyutpatti defines as sgo khang or ba gam according to context, is translated here as sgo khang.
Sanskrit: toraṇa. Tibetan: rta babs. The name of the outer gateways for entering a courtyard, it was also an ornamental form above the doorways of a building.
Sanskrit: gavakṣa. Tibetan: skar khung. Literally, “ox-eye.” This does not refer to the modern glass windows, but rather apertures, usually round, for the breeze or wind to pass through.
Sanskrit: harmya. Tibetan: pu shu. The Tibetan has various meanings, such as “rainwater spouts,” but here probably means “the pavilion or upper room in a palace, open to cool breezes.”
Sanskrit: kūṭāgāra. Tibetan: khang pa brtsegs pa. Here this means, not a building that has a tower, but the tower itself. Here the Tibetan has khang pa, “twice,” without an equivalent in Sanskrit, therefore probably a scribal error. Otherwise, according to the Mahāvyutpatti, khang pa could be a translation of kuṭikā, which could mean “a belvedere.”
The description of the king and his palace does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit siddha-vidyādhara… and the commentary (grub pa dang rig pa ’dzin pa dang). The Tibetan of the sūtra has grub pa’i rig sngags ’chang.
According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.
According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits translating kiṃ, or has lost the word in ci in skyes bu’am ci (literally, “person or what?”) in a scribal omission, leaving only skyes bu’am (“person and”).
According to the Sankrit. The Tibetan omits “It was inhabited by flocks of birds.” The commentary mentions them.
The entire description of the forest does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit rājaputrāḥ. Literally, “king-sons.” The Tibetan translates as just “king,” omitting “sons.” The translation of the commentary also has just “king.”
According to the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit or the commentary.
This paragraph is absent in the Chinese.
Verses 6 to 14 in the Sanskrit have longer lines than the others, and each four-line verse in Sanskrit was therefore translated into eight lines of Tibetan. This English translation maintains the Tibetan verse structure, although the numbering (as elsewhere) is from the Sanskrit.
According to the Sanskrit gandha and the Chinese. However, the Tibetan has sgra (“sound”) instead, which does not fit the context.
According to the Sanskrit. Chinese: “ministers,” 大臣 (da chen).
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan numbering in the sūtra translation appears to be in disarray. Chinese: “36 yi,” 三十六億 (xan shi liu yi), which can be 360,000, or 36 million, or 360 million.
According to the Sanskrit pṛṣṭhaḥ samanubaddhāni, and the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit doṣa and the Chinese. The Tibetan translation has dveṣa (“anger”), which seems to be an obvious error for this sentence.
See the preceding note. The Chinese switches to “bondage,” 結縛 (jie fu).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit could be translated as: “The unequaled buddha heroes, dedicated to beings, / The heroes of the past, disseminated the supreme Dharma. / They will also appear in that way in future times. / Thereby, the son has gained the power of a king of the Dharma.”
Gilgit: “strings of pearls.” Chinese: “jewels strung as long necklaces.” Includes the word 珠 (zhu), which can mean “pearls” or “pearl-shaped jewels.”
Verses 29 to 33 in the Sanskrit have longer lines than the others, and each four-line verse in Sanskrit was therefore translated into eight lines of Tibetan. This English translation maintains the Tibetan verse structure, although the numbering (as elsewhere) is from the Sanskrit.
The original assumes that the reader will know this refers to silver coins, the raupya—the origin of the present day rupee, which was itself tied to the value of silver until the end of the nineteenth century.
This verse has an extra line in the Sanskrit (two extra lines in the Tibetan format) and here both the Hodgson and Shastri have an additional verse of offerings that is not present in the Tibetan, Gilgit manuscript, or the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “vajras.”
The Tibetan has nang las byung ba (“emerged from”) and the Sanskrit has antargata (“entered”), though in both cases the other verb is implied.
This paragraph does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan.
This paragraph does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript.
The Chinese does not mention what the crowd saw.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit and Chinese: “eighty-four thousand.”
According to the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit or Chinese.
The first two lines are divided into four in the Tibetan. This line does not appear in the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript, but is present in the Chinese.
From the Sanskrit suduṣṭa. The Vaidya online edition has sudṛṣṭa.
Chinese: “At that time, driven by anger, I ordered someone to kill him.” 我時瞋心遣令殺 (wo shi chen xin qian ling sha).
The commentary explains that as the bhikṣu’s body parts are not decomposing, the king believes him to still be alive and able to return to his former condition.
According to the Sanskrit adoṣaduṣṭa, and in accordance with the commentary. The Tibetan has zhe sdang gtum med pa (“neither anger nor wrath”), translating in accordance with the BHS meaning of the phrase, which does not seem to fit the context here. There is a different verse here in the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
This verse is in the Tibetan, the commentary and the Hodgson manuscript. It is absent in the Gilgit, Chinese, and Shastri.
According to the Sanskrit sūrata and the Chinese 善調柔 (shan tiao rou); the Tibetan has nges in error for des.
The Tibetan divides the Sanskrit four-line verses into eight-line verses from verses 63 to 65.
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese; “tastes” has been omitted in Tibetan.
The Tibetan and Chinese again divide the Sanskrit four-line verses into eight-line verses from verses 67 to 69.
According to the commentary and the Sanskrit. The Kangyur has gnas (“places”), probably being translated from a scribal corruption of bhārya.
This fourth line is according to the Tibetan, Chinese, Hodgson, and Shastri.
This is according to the Gilgit manuscript. The addition of the line, “The bodhisattvas established in retention,” in the later versions creates an unequal number of lines in the verses. The extra line is in the Chinese, while retaining a four-line format.
According to the Gilgit manuscript. Following later versions, this line would be in the next verse, where it clearly does not belong. Does not appear in the Chinese.
The Chinese makes this a verse on the “three poisons” by speaking of anger in the third line instead of stupidity: 非非貪想非貪想 (fei fei tan xiang), 非非瞋想非瞋想 (fei fei chen xiang fei chen xiang), 非非癡想非癡想 (fei fei chi xiang fei chi xiang). In Chinese Buddhist literature, the word 癡 (chi) can mean either “stupidity” (as in 愚痴, yu chi) or “ignorance” (無明, wu ming, literally “not clear,” “not knowing”) or both. However, when refering to the “three poisons” 三毒 (san du), the word 癡 (chi) is used.
This verse does not appear in the Gilgit or Chinese.
The Tibetan and Chinese divide the Sanskrit four-line verses 78 and 79 into eight-line verses. This verse marks the end of fascicle 8 of the Taisho editon and fascicle 9 of the Song, Yuan, Ming, Gong, and Sheng editions.
The verse literally says, “avoid both of those,” referring back to the verse on attachment and anger.
This paragraph and the following ten verses, along with the prose paragraph they include, do not appear in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
The Sanskrit is literally, pratyekajina.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has mṛtyu (“death”) instead of māra. Probably a scribal corruption in the Sanskrit, or perhaps a free translation, since Mṛtyu can also mean Yama, the lord of death, and by extension Māra.
According to the BHS karvaṭaka, which is equivalent to the Sanskrit karvaṭa. They are defined as being the central administrative town for two to four hundred villages. It is also said to mean “a mountain village,” though that is not the meaning here. However, the Tibetan translation ri khrod means just “mountains,” which does not fit the context.
This paragraph does not appear in the Gilgit or the Chinese.
This sentence is simpler in the Gilgit and Chinese. Fascicle 9 in the Taisho edition, and fascicle 10 in the Song, Yuan, Ming, Gong and Sheng editions, begin here.
This does not quite match the description of the princesses in palanquins, and simply “maidens” pulling the chariot, as given in the prose, perhaps indicative of different origins for these passages. Chinese: “Their chariots are completely covered in nets of gold,” 金網彌覆於車上 (jin wang mi fu yu che / ju shang).
This verse is followed by an additional verse in the Chinese in which the sons elaborate on their reasons for refusal.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “glorious svastikas and wheels.” This verse not in the Gilgit manuscript, but is present in the Chinese.
From this point on in the verses, Supuṣpacandra is frequently referred to as Puṣpacandra, and once as Supuṣpa, presumably because of the verse meter. The Tibetan translates all as if they were Supuṣpacandra (me tog zla mdzes, “beautiful flower moon”), although, literally, Puṣpacandra would be me tog zla ba (“flower moon”) and Supuṣpa would be me tog mdzes pa (“beautiful flower”). The Chinese consistently translates the name as 善花月 (shan hua yue), the equivalent of Supuṣpacandra, except for three instances of Puṣpacandra 花月 (hua yue, flower moon). Rather than “beautiful,” it uses the word 善 (shan, “excellent,” “virtuous”) which in the Chinese perception is more befitting and dignified for a dharmabhāṇaka.
This verse is not in the Gilgit manuscript, but is in the Chinese.
This paragraph of prose and the subsequent nine verses are not in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit siddha-vidyādhara, and to the commentary (grub pa dang rig pa ’dzin pa dang). The sūtra translation has grub pa’i rig sngags ’chang.
A group of lions is called a “pride.”
The Degé here has bde in error for de, as in the Yongle and Peking Kangyurs.
According to one of the meanings of the Sanskrit sāra, and the commentary. The Tibetan translation of the sūtra has snying po (“essence”).
This sentence does not appear in the Chinese.
According to the Tibetan, which presumably translated from a manuscript with āścarya. The Shastri and Hodgson have ācārya (“master,” “spiritual teacher”).
This and the twenty-six verses that follow are not in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
According to the Sanskrit vihvala. The Tibetan translation has mi dran (“without memory”).
According to the Tibetan and the commentary. Sanskrit: “In a pure body come and teach beings.”
According to the Sanskrit bho bho. The Tibetan translates as kye ma and kye kye. The commentary explains that this is an exclamation to keep someone’s attention.
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The sūtra in Tibetan has a scribal corruption of gzungs to gzugs.
The four-line verses from 14 to 27 in the Sanskrit are each made into eight-line verses in the Tibetan.
The Degé has bcu (“ten”) in error for dang, which is in most Kangyurs. The Tibetan appears to have translated from a manuscript with bala (“strength”), while present manuscripts have vara (“supreme”).
According to the Tibetan, which may have translated from a text that had vīrāya (“heroism”), or vīrayā (“heroically”), or less likely vīrya (“heroism”), or vira (“hero”). The Sanskrit has virajā (“stainless one”).
According to the Sanskrit tṛṣṇāya and the Yongle and Peking sred pas. Other Kangyurs have srid pas (“by existence”).
According to the Sanskrit. Another variation of the shorter form of Supuṣpacandra.
These lines are actually from verse xxi, but in the Tibetan and in this translation have been moved forward to make the passage more readable in these languages.
In the Tibetan, this line is erroneously repeated in a slightly different translation. That repetition has been avoided here.
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has instead sattvān nātha (“lord of humans”).
According to the Sanskrit. This line is absent in the Tibetan.
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. “Four” is omitted in the translation of the sūtra.
According to the commentary’s sangs rgyas dang sangs rgyas ma yin pa’i sems can (“buddhas and beings who are not buddhas”). The sūtra translation has the obscure sangs rgyas sangs rgyas sems can (“buddhas, buddhas, beings”). The Sanskrit has buddhaputra-sattva (“bodhisattvas and beings”).
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The Tibetan translation of the sūtra has just “tree.”
According to the Tibetan; “quickly” is absent in the Sanskrit.
According to the Sanskrit patitaṃ mṛttikaṃ. The Tibetan has shing bzhin ’gyel (“fallen like a tree”), presumably from a corruption in a Sanskrit manuscript of mṛttikaṃ (“dead”) to vṛkṣaṃ (“tree”).
According to the Tibetan gnod byed. The Sanskrit has anitya (“transient,” “impermanent”).
Chinese: “The world is destroyed by desires.”
According to the Tibetan, which unusually here is in accord with the Gilgit jvara (“fever”) while the Shastri and Hodgson have jala (“net”).
Chinese: “This fever and anxiety of the body and mind.”
This is followed by an additional verse in the Chinese.
The four-line verses from 108 to 115 in Sanskrit are each rendered as eight-line verses in the Tibetan and Chinese.
This is followed by two additional verses in the Chinese.
The Gilgit has padmaka (“cherry wood”).
These two lines translated according to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has de yi rus pa sgrom ni byas par gyur / dge slong dag gis de yang der bsregs te, interpreting droṇa according to one of its other Sanskrit meanings of “bucket,” as sgrom (“box”) and seeming to mean that the bhikṣus then burned the relics, which is surely not the intended meaning; the verb here in the Sanskrit, māpita, meant “measure” or “amount,” as in the Pali equivalent doṇamāpaka. One droṇa is said to be roughly equivalent to 5 liters or 9.5 kilograms, and therefore this is a substantial amount of relics.
Morning, noon, and evening.
Chinese: “made offerings three times a day.” This is followed by two additional lines describing the offerings in the Chinese.
Past, present, and future. Chinese: “To correct all the wrongdoings resulting from stupidity, he confessed in front of the stūpa.”
The Chinese adds “tirelessly.”
This line does not appear in the Chinese.
The text reverts briefly to the third-person narration at this point.
As throughout this translation, the bracketed verse numbers are those of the Sanskrit text; here, the order of the verses in the Tibetan differs and verses 119-120 appear below. In the Chinese, this verse is followed by an additional verse.
According to the Sanskrit, the Tibetan of the commentary zhi ba’i rgyal po, and the Chinese 寂王佛 (ji wang fo). The Tibetan translation of the sūtra has zhi ba’i rgyal ba, which appears to have been a scribal corruption. A buddha of this name is briefly mentioned elsewhere in the Kangyur.
This verse does not appear in the Gilgit manuscript or the Chinese.
This is followed by an additional verse in the Chinese.
According to the sūtra translation, Chinese, Shastri, and Gilgit susamvṛta. The commentary translates as bsdams (“restrained”), which is in accordance with the Dutt saṃbṛhita.
The Chinese has: “the bodhisattva is learned in the Dharma, which is like a vast ocean, and has limitless merit.”
According to the Sanskrit and the commentary. The sūtra translation has “below them.” The Chinese has “comparable.”
The division of the lines into verses in this passage differs in the Chinese. The last line of this verse is the first of a Chinese verse that has three additional lines not present in the Sanskrit or the Tibetan.
The Degé has zhing (“realm”) in error for zhi (“peace”).
Translated according to the Sanskrit śrutasya and the Tibetan thos in the Narthang, Coné, Peking, Lithand and Yongle Kangurs. The Degé, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs have stong (“thousand” or “empty”).
This verse does not appear in the Chinese.
In the Chinese this verse is followed by a short prose passage.
From this point to the end of the chapter, each four-line Sanskrit verse is rendered in Tibetan as an eight-line verse.
According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from a Sanskrit text that read adānta instead of the extant Sanskrit text’s sudānta, according to which this line would be translated as “They are tamed, perfectly tamed, and tamers of beings.”
According to the Tibetan and the Hodgson. The Gilgit and the Shastri have, “pacified and follow the perfectly pacified.”
According to the Sanskrit nairyāṇika. The Tibetan has simply ’byung bar ’gyur ba (“arising”).
According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “wild and intoxicated.”
This verse is followed by an additional verse in the Chinese.
The Chinese has, “They are supreme ones, leaders of the three realms.”
According to the Sanskrit and Chinese. The Tibetan has gsal (“clarity”).
According to the Sanskrit jātyandha and the Chinese 生盲無所睹 (sheng mang wu suo du). The Tibetan has just “blind.”
The Chinese has a different verse.
According to the Tibetan. Sanskrit: “immeasurable.”
According to the Sanskrit bahulīkartavya. The Tibetan mang du bya, a regular element in this list elsewhere, is missing here.
According to the Sanskrit puṇyabalādhipataye and the Tibetan of the commentary bsod nams kyi dbang du gyur pa. The Tibetan translation of the sūtra has bsod nams kyi zhing du gyur pa (“becoming a field of merit”), which from the context appears to be an error.
The prose up to this point does not appear in the Chinese.
The Chinese version of this sentence is more detailed.
According to the Sanskrit abhirata and the Tibetan dga’ zhing of the Narthang, Coné, Peking, and related Kangyurs. The Degé, Lhasa, and Stok Palace have dpa’ zhing (“heroic”), which may be a scribal corruption of dga’ zhing. but could also mean “were heroic” [with the strength of patience].
In the Chinese the last line of this verse is the first line of a verse with three additional lines. The division into verses of this entire passage differs in the Chinese.
The Chinese uses the analogies of a wild horse and foam.
The commentary explains this verse at great length (18 pages in the Degé Tengyur, from F.239.a.1 to F.248.a.3).
This verse is translated according to the Tibetan and accords with the Chinese.
The order of this and the preceding verse is reversed in the Chinese.
Chinese: “because.”
The order of this and the preceding verse is reversed in the Chinese.
Chinese: “moon on water.”
The Chinese uses the name 善花 (shan hua), which translates Supuṣpa, the name of the bhikṣu in chapter 36, which appears to be a scribal error for 善化 (shan hua, Varapuṣpasa). The first character is the same, while the second characters sound very similar; one is “flower” 花 (hua, the first tone), the other one is “tamable” 化 (hua, the fourth tone): “transformation, transformable, teachable, tamed, tamable.” However, both Varapuṣpasa and Supuṣpa have been prophesied to become Maitreya.
Chinese: “At that time King Supuṣpa (in error for Varapuṣpasa) had a son named …”
In the Sanskrit, this interjection translated into Tibetan as a la la is actually hūṃ. Hūṃ, though presently associated with seed-syllables and mantras in tantric practice, in this context is clearly an expression of rejoicing. The Chinese has literally, “uttered loud voices and wept aloud.”
The order of this and the preceding verse is reversed in Chinese.
The Gilgit has “unblemished correct conduct” instead of “countless Dharma teachings.” The Chinese agrees with the Gilgit, but adds “thought” or “motivation.”
The Gilgit has “said these words to him” instead of “felt great joy.” Chinese: “even when he went to visit Puṇyamatin.”
Chinese: “The king…”
Chinese: “The king…”
According to the BHS padumotturu, and the commentary’s pad ma’i mchog. The Tibetan translation of the