The Questions of Sāgaramati
Toh 152
Toh 152, Degé Kangyur, vol. 58, (mdo sde, pha), folios 1.b–115.b.
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2020
Current version v 1.5.8 (2021)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.4.3
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
Heralded by a miraculous flood, the celestial bodhisattva Sāgaramati arrives in Rājagṛha to engage in a Dharma discussion with Buddha Śākyamuni. He discusses an absorption called “The Pristine and Immaculate Seal” and many other subjects relevant to bodhisattvas who are in the process of developing the mind of awakening and practicing the bodhisattva path. The sūtra strongly advises that bodhisattvas not shy away from the afflictive emotions of beings—no matter how unpleasant they may be—and that insight into these emotions is critical for a bodhisattva’s compassionate activity. The sūtra deals with the preeminence of wisdom and non-grasping on the path. In the end, as a teaching on how to deal with māras, the sūtra illuminates the many pitfalls possible on the path of the Great Vehicle.
Acknowledgements
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Timothy Hinkle, who also wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan and edited the text.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Zhou Tian Yu, Chen Yi Qin, Zhou Xun, and Zhao Xuan, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Introduction
The Questions of Sāgaramati begins in a courtyard in the city of Rājagṛha, where the Buddha Śākyamuni, a celestial bodhisattva named Sāgaramati, and many other gods and bodhisattvas converse on a wide variety of subjects relevant to the Great Vehicle. Sāgaramati’s arrival in our world is preceded by a great miracle in which the world is flooded like a vast ocean, a miracle prompted by Sāgaramati’s departure from a distant realm for our world, where he can receive the Buddha’s teachings in person. The conversation between the Buddha Śākyamuni and Sāgaramati in Rājagṛha touches on many issues of the bodhisattva path. They converse about the adversities that bodhisattvas must face, the preeminence of wisdom, how māras are to be defeated, the necessity of understanding the afflictive emotions of sentient beings, the importance of diligence, the commonalities between all phenomena and buddhahood, the nature of the Dharma, and the importance of dedication. Much of the dialogue presupposes a duality between agents and objects, but at times Mañjuśrī and other exalted beings challenge this and articulate the teachings in the light of the wisdom of nonduality.
Chapter One: Refining the Precious Mind of Omniscience
[B1] [F.1.b]
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Rājagṛha, domain of the thus-gone ones, in a jeweled pavilion. It is the home of the thus-gone ones, adorned with accumulations of great merit, produced by great deeds, the result of the ripening of all qualities of buddhahood; the home of great bodhisattvas; an infinite display; a place blessed with the thus-gone ones’ magic; an entry point to wisdom’s unobstructed domain; a source of great joy; a gateway to mindfulness, intelligence, and realization; a place without blame; [F.2.a] a place formed with wisdom; a gateway to unobstructed wisdom; a place that has been praised for limitless eons; and a place that embodies an immeasurable accumulation of positive qualities.
Chapter Two: Accepting Harm and Gaining Certainty
“Sāgaramati, how does one accept challenges to the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience? What are the challenges to the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience?
“Sāgaramati, once bodhisattva great beings have engendered the jewel of developing the mind directed toward omniscience in the aforementioned manner, they will not lose their development of the intention to awaken in the face of ignoble beings who have corrupt discipline, māras, gods of the echelon of māra, those blessed by māras, threats from Māra’s messengers, menaces, disturbances, violent disturbances, agitation, violent agitation, threats, or abuse. [F.14.a] They will not lose their compassionate diligence that seeks to free all beings. They will not lose the effort needed to keep the lineage of the Three Jewels unbroken. They will not lose their training in the roots of virtue that manifest the qualities of buddhahood. They will not lose their accumulation of merit that manifests the major and minor marks of perfection. They will not lose the effort needed to actualize the purification of buddha realms. They will not lose their effort to give up concern for body and life and uphold the sublime Dharma. They will not lose the effort to ripen all beings nor will they lose their lack of attachment to their personal happiness.
Chapter Three: The Teaching on the Absorption
The Blessed One then spoke to the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati: “Along these lines, Sāgaramati, when bodhisattva great beings become completely pure, they have a genuinely good motivation and, even if all beings were to rise up to challenge them, they would not be angered. They develop the wisdom of deep certainty and the insight free from doubt. At that time, they sustain the fundamental state of the pristine and immaculate absorption seal. What is the fundamental state of this absorption? [F.23.a] It is great compassion that knows no anger toward any being.
Chapter Four: Teaching Through Analogies
The bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how do bodhisattvas defeat māras and obstructers?”
“Sāgaramati,” answered the Blessed One, “when bodhisattva great beings are no longer interested in any clinging, they defeat māras and obstructers. When they are no longer interested in marks and reference points, they defeat māras and obstructers. Sāgaramati, there are four māras: the māra of the aggregates, the māra of the afflictions, the māra of the Lord of Death, and the māra of the gods.
Chapter Five: Practicing Diligence
The Blessed One then spoke to the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati: “Sāgaramati, bodhisattvas must practice diligence. Bodhisattvas must always persevere and show great determination. They should not give up their dedication. Sāgaramati, unsurpassed and perfect awakening is not difficult to discover for bodhisattvas who practice diligence. And why not? Sāgaramati, where there is diligence there is awakening. Awakening is far and distant from those who are lazy. Those who are lazy have no generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, insight, personal benefit, or benefit for others. Sāgaramati, one should understand from this lesson that unsurpassed and perfect awakening is not difficult for bodhisattvas who practice diligence.
Chapter Six: Teaching on the Qualities of Buddhahood
Then, Mahābrahmā Great Compassionate One asked the bodhisattva great being Sāgaramati, “Noble son, what does the term qualities of buddhahood refer to?”
Bodhisattva Sāgaramati responded, “Brahmā, ‘the qualities of buddhahood’ refers to all phenomena.22 Why is this? Brahmā, a thus-gone one does not awaken to perfect buddhahood in a restricted and limited manner. Rather, a thus-gone one awakens to perfect buddhahood in an unrestricted and unlimited manner [F.47.a] due to realizing the sameness of all phenomena. Brahmā, realizing all phenomena to be sameness is awakening. Therefore, Brahmā, all phenomena are qualities of buddhahood. Brahmā, all phenomena are precisely the qualities of buddhahood. The essence of all phenomena is the essence of all the qualities of buddhahood. The qualities of buddhahood are realized to be disengaged because all phenomena are disengaged. Because all phenomena are empty, the qualities of buddhahood are realized as emptiness. Brahmā, because all phenomena are dependently originated, realizing dependent origination is awakening. The qualities of buddhahood are seen by a thus-gone one in the same way that all phenomena are seen.”
Chapter Seven: Entrustment
Then, the bodhisattva great being Light King of Qualities, who was seated amongst the assembly, addressed the Blessed One: “Blessed One, you have said that all phenomena that you understand are indescribable. In that case, Blessed One, since all phenomena are indescribable, how is the Dharma to be upheld?”
“Noble son,” answered the Blessed One, “that is true. You have described it accurately. Any phenomenon that I understand is indescribable. However, noble son, while all phenomena are indescribable and unconditioned, [F.52.b] using linguistic definitions to apprehend, perceive, teach, demonstrate, define, elucidate, distinguish, clarify, or teach such phenomena is what is meant by upholding the Dharma. Moreover, noble son, when Dharma teachers uphold, teach, or practice a sūtra such as this, that is also upholding the Dharma. Likewise, when others attend such Dharma teachers and rely upon them while extending them honor, reverence, service, respect, praise, care, protection, shielding, and shelter, that is also upholding the Dharma. Likewise, so is providing them with clothing, food, bedding, medicine, or provisions; as is offering them approval, protection, preservation of their virtues, praise, or concealment of their unflattering sides. Moreover, noble son, having faith in emptiness, trusting signlessness, believing in wishlessness, and gaining certainty that suchness is the unconditioned state is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, seeking to avoid debate, yet using proper Dharma arguments to defeat those who argue against the Dharma, is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, giving Dharma to others with a mind free of anger, an intention to gather and free beings, and a mind free of concern for material things, is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, disregarding one’s body and life and staying in solitude to preserve, conceal, and practice sūtras such as this is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, even a single step or a single inhalation or exhalation of the breath that comes from the cause of having either studied or taught the Dharma [F.53.a] is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Moreover, noble son, not grasping to or appropriating any phenomena is also upholding the sublime Dharma. Light King of Qualities, based on this explanation, you should understand this point.
Chapter Eight
The bodhisattva Sāgaramati then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, it is incredible how much the Great Vehicle is able to benefit beings so that they experience the pleasures of gods and humans and attain the unsurpassed pleasure of nirvāṇa. Blessed One, what are the teachings that summarize the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that are held in high regard in the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that are challenging in the Great Vehicle? What are the teachings that reveal the Great Vehicle? Blessed One, what are the ways the Great Vehicle is obstructed? Blessed One, why is the Great Vehicle called the Great Vehicle?”
Chapter Nine: Dedication
The Blessed One then addressed the bodhisattva Sāgaramati: “Sāgaramati, thus a bodhisattva should retain the following entrance words, seal words, and vajra statements in order to protect, guard, and preserve this Dharma teaching; so that they may delight their own minds; and so that they may understand the faculties—supreme and otherwise—of other beings and people. Beyond retaining them, they should also examine them. They should carefully reflect on them with insightful engagement.
Chapter Ten: A Tale of What Came Before
Then the bodhisattva Sāgaramati said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, even though bodhisattvas guard against confusion to this extent, they must work hard to be free from confusion. Blessed One, for that reason bodhisattvas are continuously skilled in dedication and skilled in means. Why is this? Blessed One, through skillful means, when bodhisattvas practice concentration, freedom, absorption, and equipoise, they are not disturbed by the concentration, freedom, absorption, and equipoise. Through skill in means, they demonstrate all these deeds but do not fall prey to doing things. [F.84.b] They sustain the sameness of phenomena and teach the Dharma in order to bring beings who have gone astray to the fixed state of reality. Until they complete their intention, they do not themselves fall into that state.”
Chapter Eleven: The Revelation of Buddha Realms
Then the Blessed One said to Sāgaramati, [F.94.b] “Therefore, Sāgaramati, bodhisattva great beings who wish to swiftly and fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood should follow your training, sublime being. Bodhisattvas should not be verbose and obsessed with the use of words; rather, they should practice what they preach. How do bodhisattvas practice what they preach, you ask? Sāgaramati, they do so by appreciating how easy it is to say, ‘I am going to become a buddha,’ yet how hard it is to actually accomplish the virtues of the factors of awakening. Sāgaramati, any bodhisattva who regales beings with the gift of Dharma, announcing to them, ‘You will be satisfied by my gift of Dharma,’ and then teaches them extensively, but himself acts otherwise, failing to strive toward the virtues of the factors of awakening, has let those beings down. He has not practiced what he preached. However, Sāgaramati, when he regales everyone with the gift of the factors of awakening, announcing to them, ‘You will be satisfied by my gift of Dharma,’ and then teaches them extensively and himself strives toward the virtues of the factors of awakening, then he has practiced what he preached.
Chapter Twelve: Blessings
The bodhisattva Sāgaramati then requested the Blessed One, “Blessed One, given that the awakening of the thus-gone ones encounters many obstacles and much opposition, please carefully grant your blessings, Blessed One, such that through the blessings of the Thus-Gone One, these sūtras will not fade, but grow; that they will be upheld and read; that their teachers will not have to vie with māras and gods of the class of māras; that this sublime Dharma may long remain; and that these sūtras will be preserved, kept safe, and accepted.”
Colophon
This was translated, proofed, and finalized according to the new terminological register by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Buddhaprabhā, as well as the editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
Notes
Bibliography
’phags pa blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Toh 152, Degé Kangyur vol. 58 (mdo sde, pha), folios 1.b–115.b.
’phags pa blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 58, pp. 3–270.
’phags pa blo gros rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. In bka’ ’gyur (stog pho brang bris ma). Vol. 66 (mdo sde ba), folios 1.b– 166.a.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan [/ lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur, vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b - 310.a.
Pekar Sangpo (pad dkar bzang po). mdo sde spyi’i rnam bzhag. Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang [Minorities Publishing House], 2006.
Braarvig, Jens (tr.). The Teaching of Akṣayamati (Akṣayamatinirdeśa, Toh 175). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Conze, Edward. Buddhist Texts Through the Ages. Oxford: Bruno Cassirer, 1955.
Griffiths, Arlo. “Epigraphy: Southeast Asia” in Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume One: Literature and Languages. Leiden: Brill Academic Publishers, 2015.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Wien: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Ju Mipham (’jam mgon mi pham rgya mtsho). Speech of Delight: Mipham’s Commentary on Śāntarakṣita’s Ornament of the Middle Way. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2004.
Lamotte, Étienne. The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra), Vol. 5. English translation from the French (Le Traité de La Grande Vertu De Sagesse, Louvain 1944–1980) by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron, 2007.
Skilling, Peter. “Sāgaramati-paripṛcchā Inscriptions from Kedah, Malaysia” in Lutz Edzard, Jens W. Borgland, and Ute Hüsken (eds). Reading Slowly: A Festschrift for Jens. E. Braarvig. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2018
Tsongkhapa. The Great Treatise on the Stages of the Path to Enlightenment. Vol. 1. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
Glossary
Absorption
- ting nge ’dzin
- ting ’dzin
- ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
- ཏིང་འཛིན།
- samādhi
A synonym for meditation, this refers to the state of deep meditative immersion that results from different modes of Buddhist practice.
Absorption of the heroic gait
- dpa’ bar ’gro ba
- དཔའ་བར་འགྲོ་བ།
- śūraṃgama
Acceptance of phenomena concurring with reality
- rjes su ’thun pa’i chos la bzod pa
- rjes su ’thun pa’i chos kyi bzod pa
- རྗེས་སུ་འཐུན་པའི་ཆོས་ལ་བཟོད་པ།
- རྗེས་སུ་འཐུན་པའི་ཆོས་ཀྱི་བཟོད་པ།
- ānulomikadharmakṣānti
A particular realization attained by a bodhisattva on the sixth bodhisattva level. This realization arises as a result of analysis of the essential nature of phenomena (dharmas).
Adorned with Every Pleasure
- bde ba thams cad kyis brgyan pa
- བདེ་བ་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱིས་བརྒྱན་པ།
- —
An eastern buddha realm where the buddha Mārapramardaka resides.
Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities
- yon tan rin po che dri ma dang bral ba dpag tu med pa bkod pas brgyan pa
- ཡོན་ཏན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་དྲི་མ་དང་བྲལ་བ་དཔག་ཏུ་མེད་པ་བཀོད་པས་བརྒྱན་པ།
- —
A buddha realm below our world where the buddha Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge resides.
Aggregate
- phung po
- ཕུང་པོ།
- skandha
The five psycho-physical components of personal experience: form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness.
Ānanda
- kun dga’ bo
- ཀུན་དགའ་བོ།
- Ānanda
The Buddha’s cousin and principal attendant.
Application of mindfulness
- dran pa nye bar bzhag pa
- དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་པ།
- smṛtyupasthāna
Asaṅga
- thogs med
- ཐོགས་མེད།
- Asaṅga
Indian commentator from the late fourth- early-fith centuries; closely associated with the works of Maitreya and the Yogācāra philosophical school.
Astounding Sight
- shin tu rnam par bltas pa
- ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་བལྟས་པ།
- —
A past buddha realm where the buddha Dīptavīrya resided.
Asura
- lha ma yin
- ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
- asura
One of the six classes of sentient beings according to the Buddhist tradition. The asuras are engendered and dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility, who are metaphorically described as being incessantly embroiled in disputes with the gods (deva). They are frequently portrayed in brahmanical mythology as having a disruptive effect on cosmological and social harmony.
Bases of miracles
- rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa
- རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།
- ṛddhipāda
The four factors that serve as the basis for magical abilities: Intention, diligence, attention, and discernment.
Blessed One
- bcom ldan ’das
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- bhagavat
In Buddhist literature, an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generically means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts implies that a buddha is in possession of the virtous qualities and wisdom associated with complete awakening.
Brahmā
- tshangs pa
- ཚངས་པ།
- Brahmā
One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Among his epithets is “Lord of Sahā World” (Sahāṃpati).
Branches of awakening
- byang chub kyi yan lag
- བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཡན་ལག
- bodhyaṅga
Mindfulness, discrimination, diligence, joy, pliability, absorption, and equanimity.
Buddha realm
- sangs rgyas kyi zhing
- སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་།
- buddhakṣetra
A pure realm manifested by a buddha or advanced bodhisattva through the power of their great merit and aspirations.
Buddhaprabha
- bud dha pra bha
- བུད་དྷ་པྲ་བྷ།
- Buddhaprabha
One of the Indian preceptors who assisted in translating this text.
Consciousness
- rnam par shes pa
- རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ།
- vijñāna
One of the five aggregates; also counted as the sixth of the six elements.
Continuous Intelligence
- blo gros rgyun mi ’chad pa
- བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱུན་མི་འཆད་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Correct discriminations
- so so yang dag par rig pa
- སོ་སོ་ཡང་དག་པར་རིག་པ།
- pratisaṃvid
Genuine discrimination with respect to dharmas, meaning, language, and eloquence.
Dānaśīla
- dA na shI la
- དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།
- Dānaśīla
One of the Indian preceptors who assisted in translating this text.
Desire realm
- ’dod pa’i khams
- འདོད་པའི་ཁམས།
- kāmadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, our sphere of existence where beings are driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification and attachment to material substance. See also three realms.
Dhāraṇī
- gzungs
- གཟུངས།
- dhāraṇī
An incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula that distills essential points of the Dharma. It is used by practitioners as an aid to memorize and recall detailed teachings, and to attain mundane and supramundane goals. According to context, this term has also been rendered here as “recollection.”
Dharma Teacher
- chos smra ba
- ཆོས་སྨྲ་བ།
- —
Name of a bodhisattva great being.
Diligent Intelligence
- brtson ’grus blo gros
- བརྩོན་འགྲུས་བློ་གྲོས།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Dīpaṃkara
- mar me mdzad
- མར་མེ་མཛད།
- Dīpaṃkara
A former buddha in front of whom Buddha Śākyamuni (in a past life) first formed the aspiration to awaken.
Dīptavīrya
- brtson ’grus ’bar ba
- བརྩོན་འགྲུས་འབར་བ།
- Dīptavīrya
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Dīptavīrya
- brtson ’grus ’bar ba
- བརྩོན་འགྲུས་འབར་བ།
- Dīptavīrya
A buddha in a world called Astounding Sight and an eon in the past called Flower Origin.
Discerning Vision
- nges par brtags te blta ba
- ངེས་པར་བརྟགས་ཏེ་བལྟ་བ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Eight branches
- yan lag brgyad
- ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད།
- aṣṭāṅga
This can refer either to what is also known as the eightfold path (’phags lam yan lag brgyad): (1) right view, (2) right intention, (3) right speech, (4) right action, (5) right livelihood, (6) effort, (7) mindfulness, and (8) meditative concentration. Or to what is also known as the eight precepts (bsnyen gnas yan lag brgyad): (1) abstaining from killing, (2) stealing, (3) sexual misconduct, (4) lying, (5) intoxication, (6) eating after noon, (7) dancing and singing, and (8) lying on an elevated bed.
Eight wrong modes
- log pa nyid brgyad
- ལོག་པ་ཉིད་བརྒྱད།
- aṣṭamithyātva
Wrong view, wrong thought, wrong speech, wrong actions, wrong livelihood, wrong effort, wrong recollection, and wrong samādhi.
Element
- khams
- ཁམས།
- dhātu
In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, odor, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).
These also refer to the elements of the physical world, which cab enumerated as four, five, or six elements may be enumerated. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added. The six elements are: earth, water, fire, air, space, and consciousness.
Eloquence
- spobs pa
- སྤོབས་པ།
- pratibhāna
The capacity of realized beings to speak in a confident and inspiring manner.
Emanation
- shin tu sprul pa
- ཤིན་ཏུ་སྤྲུལ་པ།
- —
A past buddha realm where the buddha Infinite Light resided.
Emptiness
- stong pa yid
- སྟོང་པ་ཡིད།
- śūnyatā
In the Great Vehicle this is the term for how phenomena are devoid of any nature of their own. Also, one of the three gateways to liberation.
Excellent Garland
- phreng ba bzang po
- ཕྲེང་བ་བཟང་པོ།
- —
A monk disciple of the Buddha.
Excellent Intelligence
- blo gros legs pa
- བློ་གྲོས་ལེགས་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Excessive pride
- mngon pa’i nga rgyal
- མངོན་པའི་ང་རྒྱལ།
- abhimāna
A conceited, false sense of attainment. One of seven types of pride related to the spiritual path.
Factors of awakening
- byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos
- བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས།
- bodhipakṣadharma
The qualities necessary as a method to attain the awakening of a hearer, solitary buddha, or buddha. There are thirty-seven of these: (1–4) the four applications of mindfulness: mindfulness of body, sensations, mind, and phenomena; (5–8) the four right abandonments: the intention to not do bad actions that are not done, to give up bad actions that are being done, to do good actions that have not been done, and increase the good actions that are being done; (9–12) the bases of miracles: intention, diligence, attention, and discernment; (13–17) five faculties: faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and wisdom; (18–22) five strengths: an even stronger form of faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and wisdom; (23–29) seven branches of awakening: correct mindfulness, correct discrimination of phenomena, correct diligence, correct joy, correct pliability, correct absorption, and correct equanimity; and (30–37) the eightfold noble path: right view, examination, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and absorption.
Faculties
- dbang po
- དབང་པོ།
- indriya
The term “faculties,” depending on the context, can refer to the five senses (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste) plus the mental faculty, but also to spiritual “faculties,” see “five faculties.”
Five faculties
- dbang po lnga
- དབང་པོ་ལྔ།
- pañcendriya
These are spiritual “faculties” (indriya) or capacities to be developed: faith (śraddhā), diligence (vīrya), mindfulness (smṛti), absorption (samādhi), and insight (prajña). These are included in the thirty-seven factors of awakening. See also “five strengths.”
Five obscurations
- sgrib pa lnga
- སྒྲིབ་པ་ལྔ།
- pañcanivaraṇa
These are five impediments that hinder meditation (dhyāna): desire (kāmacchanda), malice (vyāpāda), torpor and sloth (styānamiddha), wildness and excitement (auddhatyakaukṛtya), and doubt or skepticism (vicikitsā).
Five strengths
- stobs lnga
- སྟོབས་ལྔ།
- pañcabala
Similar to the five faculties but at a further stage of development and thus cannot be shaken by adverse conditions, these are: faith (śraddhā), diligence (vīrya), mindfulness (smṛti), absorption (samādhi), and insight (prajña).
Flower Source
- me tog ’byung gnas
- མེ་ཏོག་འབྱུང་གནས།
- —
Name of a past eon, when the buddha Dīptavīrya resided in the buddha realm Astounding Sight.
Form realm
- gzugs kyi khams
- གཟུགས་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
- rūpadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence one level more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings, though subtly embodied, are not driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification. See also “three realms.”
Form realm
- gzugs kyi khams
- གཟུགས་ཀྱི་ཁམས།
- rūpadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence one level more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings, though subtly embodied, are not driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification. See also three realms.
Formation
- ’du byed
- འདུ་བྱེད།
- saṃskāra
One of the five aggregates; formative forces concomitant with the production of karmic seeds causing future samsaric existence.
Formless realm
- gzugs med pa’i khams
- གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་ཁམས།
- ārūpyadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence two levels more subtle than our own (the desire realm), where beings are no longer physically embodied, and thus not subject to the sufferings that physical embodiment brings. See also three realms.
Four applications of mindfulness
- dran pa nye bar bzhag pa bzhi
- དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་པ་བཞི།
- catuḥsmṛtyupasthāna
Mindfulness of the (1) body, (2) feelings, (3) mind, and (4) mental phenomena.
Four concentrations
- bsam gtan gzhi
- བསམ་གཏན་གཞི།
- caturdhyāna
The four levels of meditative absorption of the beings of the form realms.
Four elements
- khams bzhi
- ཁམས་བཞི།
- caturdhātu
The four “great” outer elements (mahābhūta, ’byung ba chen po): earth, water, fire, and air. See also “element.”
Four errors
- phyin ci log bzhi
- ཕྱིན་ཅི་ལོག་བཞི།
- caturviparyāsa
Taking what is impermanent to be permanent, what is painful to be delightful, what is unclean to be clean, and what is no-self to be a self.
Four fearlessnesses
- mi ’jigs pa rnam pa bzhi
- མི་འཇིགས་པ་རྣམ་པ་བཞི།
- caturvaiśāradya
The four types of fearlessnes possessed by all buddhas: They have full confidence that 1) they are fully awakened; 2) they have removed all defilements; 3) they have taught about the obstacles to liberation; and, 4) have shown the path to liberation.
Four floods
- chu bo bzhi
- ཆུ་བོ་བཞི།
- caturogha
Sensual desire, desire for cyclic existence, holding views, and ignorance.
Four immeasurables
- tshad med bzhi
- ཚད་མེད་བཞི།
- caturpramāṇa
These are (1) loving kindness, (2) compassion, (3) joy, and (4) equanimity.
Four means of attracting disciples
- bsdu ba’i dngos po bzhi
- བསྡུ་བའི་དངོས་པོ་བཞི།
- catuḥsaṃgrahavastu
Generosity, kind talk, meaningful actions, and practicing what one preaches.
Four reliances
- rtan po bzhi
- རྟན་པོ་བཞི།
- catuspratisaraṇa
A bodhisattva should 1) rely on the meaning, not the expression; 2) on the teaching, not the person; 3) on wisdom, not on normal consciousness; and 4) on discourses the definitive meaning, not on the interpretable meaning.
Four right abandonments
- spong ba bzhi
- yang dag par spong ba bzhi
- སྤོང་བ་བཞི།
- ཡང་དག་པར་སྤོང་བ་བཞི།
- catuḥprahāṇa
- catuḥsamyakprahāṇa
Four types of right effort consisting in (1) abandoning existing negative mind states, (2) abandoning the production of such states, (3) giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and (4) letting those states continue.
Four truths of the noble ones
- ’phags pa’i bden pa bzhi
- འཕགས་པའི་བདེན་པ་བཞི།
- catvāry āryasatyāni
- caturāryasatya
The four truths that the Buddha realized and transmitted in his first teaching: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering.
Gandharva
- dri za
- དྲི་ཟ།
- gandharva
Gandharvas are a class of spirits, sometimes described as celestial musicians. In other contexts the term can also refer to beings in the bardo-state.
Gaṇḍī
- gaN DI
- གཎ་ཌཱི།
- gaṇḍī
A wooden gong used to summon monks.
God
- lha
- ལྷ།
- deva
According to the Buddhist tradition, one of the five or six classes of sentient beings, specifically engendered and dominated by exaltation, indulgence, and pride. The gods are said to exist in many levels of celestial or divine realms, higher than that of the human realm, within in the desire realm (kāmadhātu), and also in the form realm (rūpadhātu) and the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu).
Great Compassionate One
- snying rje chen po sems pa
- སྙིང་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ་སེམས་པ།
- —
A divine being from the Brahmā world.
Great Compilation
- ’dus pa chen po
- འདུས་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
- Mahāsannipāta
An anthology of Great Vehicle Sūtras. A collection of seventeen sūtras under this title is available in Chinese translation, but The Questions of Sāgaramati is not included among them. It is thus likely that there were more than one anthology using this title.
Guardians (of the world)
- skyong ba
- སྐྱོང་བ།
- pāla
In this case, “guardians” seems to refer to the Four Great Kings of the cardinal directions, namely: Vaiśravaṇa, Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūḍhaka, and Virūpākṣa, who pledged to protect the Dharma and practitioners.
Guṇarājaprabhāsa
- yon tan gyi rgyal po snang ba
- ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་སྣང་བ།
- Guṇarājaprabhāsa
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Hearer
- nyan thos
- ཉན་ཐོས།
- śrāvaka
Derived from the Sanskrit verb “to hear,” the term is used in reference to followers of the non-Great Vehicle traditions of Buddhism, in contrast to the bodhisattvas who follow the Great Vehicle path.
Heaven of Joy
- dga’ ldan gyi gnas
- དགའ་ལྡན་གྱི་གནས།
- tuṣita
A divine world located in the Desire Realm; in Great Vehicle Buddhist thought, it is where all future buddhas dwell prior to their awakening.
Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations
- gzhan ’phrul dbang byed pa
- གཞན་འཕྲུལ་དབང་བྱེད་པ།
- paranirmitavaśavartin
The highest of the six heavens of the desire realm.
Heaven of the Thirty-Three
- sum cu rtsa gsum
- སུམ་ཅུ་རྩ་གསུམ།
- Trāyastriṃśa
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology. Counted among the six heavens of the desire realm, it is traditionally located atop Sumeru, just above the terrace of the Abodes of the Four Great Kings.
Hill of Fallen Sages
- drang srong lhung ba
- དྲང་སྲོང་ལྷུང་བ།
- ṛṣipatana
A hill near the deer park at Sarnath where the Buddha first taught the Dharma following his awakening.
Incense Elephant
- glang chen spos kyi bal glang
- གླང་ཆེན་སྤོས་ཀྱི་བལ་གླང་།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Inexhaustible Treasury
- mdzod mi zad pa
- མཛོད་མི་ཟད་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Infinite Eloquence
- spobs pa mtha’ yas
- སྤོབས་པ་མཐའ་ཡས།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Infinite Light
- ’od zer snang ba mtha’ yas
- འོད་ཟེར་སྣང་བ་མཐའ་ཡས།
- —
A buddha from a previous eon.
Intellect of Pure Conduct
- spyod pa rnam dag blo gros
- སྤྱོད་པ་རྣམ་དག་བློ་གྲོས།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Jambudvīpa
- ’dzam bu gling
- འཛམ་བུ་གླིང་།
- jambudvīpa
The continent to the south of Mt. Sumeru, where according to Buddhist cosmology “the world as we know it” is located.
Jinamitra
- dzi na mi tra
- ཛི་ན་མི་ཏྲ།
- Jinamitra
An Kashmiri paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
Kapilabhadrā
- ser skya bzang mo
- སེར་སྐྱ་བཟང་མོ།
- Kapilabhadrā
A famous nun who was the wife of Mahākāśyapa for twelve years prior to their ordination.
Kesara
- ke sa ra
- ཀེ་ས་ར།
- keśara
- kesara
Kesara can be the name of several species of plants.
King of Splendors
- dpal brtsegs rgyal po
- དཔལ་བརྩེགས་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
King of the Immense Lamp
- lhun po’i sgron me’i rgyal po
- ལྷུན་པོའི་སྒྲོན་མེའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Kinnara
- mi’am ci
- མིའམ་ཅི།
- kinnara
- kiṃnara
A class of semidivine beings depicted as half-horse and half-human, or half-bird and half-human.
Lesser Vehicle
- theg pa dman pa
- ཐེག་པ་དམན་པ།
- hīnayāna
It is a collective term used by proponents of the Great Vehicle to refer to the śrāvakayāna (hearer vehicle) and pratyekabuddhayāna (solitary buddha vehicle). The name stems from their goal—i.e. nirvāṇa and personal liberation—being seen as small or lesser than the goal of the Great Vehicle—i.e. buddhahood and liberation of all sentient beings.
Light King of Qualities
- yon tan gyi rgyal po snang ba
- ཡོན་ཏན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་སྣང་བ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Limit of reality
- yang dag pa’i mtha’
- ཡང་དག་པའི་མཐའ།
- bhūtakoṭi
This term has three meanings: (1) a synonym for the ultimate nature, (2) the experience of the ultimate nature, and (3) the quiescent state of a worthy one (arhat) to be avoided by bodhisattvas.
Limitless Intelligence
- blo gros tshad med pa
- བློ་གྲོས་ཚད་མེད་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Lokāyata
- ’jig rten rgyang ’phen pa
- འཇིག་རྟེན་རྒྱང་འཕེན་པ།
- lokāyata
An ancient school of Indian philosophy whose doctrine, outlined primarily in the Bārhaspatya Sūtras, is characterized by atheism and a strict form of materialism.
Lover of the Stars
- skar ma la dga’ ba
- སྐར་མ་ལ་དགའ་བ།
- —
Name of a buddha.
Mahābrahmā
- tshangs pa chen po
- ཚངས་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
- Mahābrahma
Mahākāśyapa
- ’od srung chen po
- འོད་སྲུང་ཆེན་པོ།
- Mahākāśyapa
A senior student of Buddha Śākyamuni, famous for his austere lifestyle.
Major and minor marks of perfection
- mtshan dang dpe byad bzang po
- མཚན་དང་དཔེ་བྱད་བཟང་པོ།
- lakṣaṇānuvyañjana
The thirty-two major and the eighty minor distinctive physical attributes of a buddha or a superior being.
Mañjuśrī
- ’jam dpal
- འཇམ་དཔལ།
- Mañjuśrī
One of the eight “close sons” of the Buddha, the embodiment of wisdom. In this text, he is one of the main interlocutors of the Buddha.
Māra
- bdud
- བདུད།
- māra
The demon who assailed Śākyamuni prior to his awakening. When used in the plural, the term refers to a class of beings who, like Māra himself, are the primary adversaries and tempters of people who vow to take up the religious life. Figuratively, they are the personification of everything that acts as a hindrance to awakening, and are often listed as a set of four: the Māra of the aggregates, the Māra of the afflictions, the Māra of the Lord of Death, and the Māra of the gods.
Mārapramardaka
- bdud rab tu ’joms pa
- བདུད་རབ་ཏུ་འཇོམས་པ།
- Mārapramardaka
A buddha that resides in an eastern world system called Adorned with Every Pleasure.
Master of the Ocean with Noble and Playful Super-knowledge
- rgya mtsho’i mchog mnga’ ba’i blos rnam par rol pa mngon par ’phags pa’i mgnon par mkhyen pa
- རྒྱ་མཚོའི་མཆོག་མངའ་བའི་བློས་རྣམ་པར་རོལ་པ་མངོན་པར་འཕགས་པའི་མགནོན་པར་མཁྱེན་པ།
- —
A buddha that resides in a world system below our world called Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities.
Meaningful Contemplative
- don legs sems
- དོན་ལེགས་སེམས།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Mind of awakening
- byang chub kyi sems
- བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།
- bodhicitta
The intent at heart of the Great Vehicle, namely to obtain buddhahood in order to liberate all sentient beings from suffering. In it’s relative aspect, it is both this aspiration and the practices towards buddhahood. In it’s absolute aspect, it is the realization of emptiness or the awakened mind itself.
Nāga
- klu
- ཀླུ།
- nāga
A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean acquatic environments and who are known to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents.
Nāgārjuna
- klu sgrub
- ཀླུ་སྒྲུབ།
- Nāgārjuna
Second- or third-century Indian master whose writings formed the basis for the Madhyamaka tradition.
Nārāyaṇa
- sred med kyi bu
- སྲེད་མེད་ཀྱི་བུ།
- Nārāyaṇa
In the ancient Indian tradition, the son of the first man; later seen as a powerful avatar of Viṣṇu, but also as the progenitor of Brahmā. In Buddhist texts, he figures in various ways including as a bodhisattva, while still one of the most powerful gods of the form realm.
Nine things that harm
- gnod pa’i dngos po dgu
- གནོད་པའི་དངོས་པོ་དགུ
- āghātavastu
Nine points of reference that inflame one’s anger and hostility: 1) my enemy has harmed me, 2) is harming me, and 3) will harm me; 4) my enemy has harmed my friend, 5) is harming my friend, and 6) will harm my friend; 7) my enemy has assisted other enemies, 8) is assisting other enemies, and 9) my enemy will assist my other enemy.
Noble Bliss
- dga’ ba ’phags pa’i bskal pa
- དགའ་བ་འཕགས་པའི་བསྐལ་པ།
- —
Name of an eon (kalpa).
Non-aggressive Intellect
- zhes ’gras pa med pa’i blo gros
- ཞེས་འགྲས་པ་མེད་པའི་བློ་གྲོས།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Non-referential Concentration
- dmigs pa med pa’i bsam gtan pa
- དམིགས་པ་མེད་པའི་བསམ་གཏན་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Perfectly Immaculate Being
- shin tu dri med sems pa
- ཤིན་ཏུ་དྲི་མེད་སེམས་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Pinnacle of Nonattached Fearlessness
- chags pa med pa’i mi ’jigs pa brtsegs pa
- ཆགས་པ་མེད་པའི་མི་འཇིགས་པ་བརྩེགས་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Prātimokṣa
- so sor thar pa
- སོ་སོར་ཐར་པ།
- prātimokṣa
“Prātimokṣa” is the name given to the code of conduct binding on monks and nuns. The term can be used to refer both to the disciplinary rules themselves and to the texts from the Vinaya that contain them. There are multiple recensions of the Prātimokṣa, each transmitted by a different monastic fraternity in ancient and medieval India. Three remain living traditions, one of them the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya of Tibetan Buddhism. Though the numbers of rules vary across the different recensions, they are all organized according to the same principles and with the same disciplinary categories. It is customary for monastics to recite the Prātimokṣa Sūtra fortnightly. According to some Mahāyana sūtras, a separate set of prātimokṣa rules exists for bodhisattvas, which are based on bodhisattva conduct as taught in that vehicle.
Preceptor
- mkhan po
- མཁན་པོ།
- upādhyāya
Teacher, (monastic) preceptor; “having approached him, one studies from him” (upetyādhīyate asmāt).
Priest
- bram ze
- བྲམ་ཟེ།
- brāhmaṇa
A member of the Indian priestly caste, a brahmin.
Pure City
- grong khyer shin tu rnam par dag pa
- གྲོང་ཁྱེར་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ།
- —
Name of a palace.
Pure Domain
- yul shin tu rnam par dag pa
- ཡུལ་ཤིན་ཏུ་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ།
- —
A universal monarch in the past who ruled over a world called Emanation.
Pure Intellect
- blo gros rnam par dag pa
- བློ་གྲོས་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Pure Light
- ’od rnam par dag pa
- འོད་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ།
- —
A past buddha realm where the buddha Teacher of the Power of Great Wisdom resided.
Qualities of buddhahood
- sangs rgyas kyi chos
- སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས།
- buddhadharma
- buddhadharmāḥ
The specific qualities of a buddha; may sometimes be used as a general term, and sometimes referring to sets such as the ten strengths, the four fearlessnesses, the four correct discriminations, the eighteen unique qualities of buddhahood, and so forth; or, more specifically, to another set of eighteen: the ten strengths; the four fearlessnesses; mindfulness of body, speech, and mind; and great compassion.
Alternatively, in the context of this sūtra, see Chapter Six.
Rāhula
- sgra gcan zin
- སྒྲ་གཅན་ཟིན།
- Rāhula
The Buddha’s son who became the first novice monk and a prominent member of his monastic saṅgha.
Rājagṛha
- rgyal po’i khab
- རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
- rājagṛha
The ancient capital of Magadha, and the site where many Great Vehicle sūtras take place.
Razor
- spu gri ba
- སྤུ་གྲི་བ།
- —
A vulture king.
Reality
- chos nyid
- ཆོས་ཉིད།
- dharmatā
Lit. the “nature of phenomena” or “phenomena themselves.” The quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms.
(Note that the term “reality” has also been used to render terms of similar meaning such as yang dag nyid and others.)
Realm of phenomena
- chos kyi dbyings
- ཆོས་ཀྱི་དབྱིངས།
- dharmadhātu
The “sphere of dharmas,” a synonym for the nature of things.
Recollection
- gzungs
- གཟུངས།
- dhāraṇī
Often paired with “eloquence” (pratibhāna), recollection is the capacity to properly retain and recall the teachings.
Sāgaramati
- blo gros rgya mtsho
- བློ་གྲོས་རྒྱ་མཚོ།
- Sāgaramati
A bodhisattva from the world Adorned with Immaculate and Countless Precious Qualities. The protagonist of this discourse, his name can be translated as Oceanic Intelligence, which is referenced in the omen of the flooding of the trichiliocosm at the beginning of the sūtra.
Sage
- thub pa
- ཐུབ་པ།
- muni
An ancient title given to ascetics, monks, hermits, and saints. namely, someone who has attained the realization of a truth through their own contemplation and not by divine revelation.
Here also used as a specific epithet of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Sahā world
- mi mjed
- མི་མཇེད།
- sahā
A name for the world in which we live.
Śakra
- brgya byin
- བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
- Śakra
A divine being who rules the Heaven of the Thirty Three; equivalent to, or identified with, Indra.
Śākyamuni
- shAkya thub pa
- ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།
- Śākyamuni
The buddha of this age; the historical buddha.
Sameness
- mnyam pa nyid
- མཉམ་པ་ཉིད།
- samatā
(The state of) “equality,” “equal nature,” “equanimity,” or “equalness.”
Śāntamati
- zhi ba’i blo gros
- ཞི་བའི་བློ་གྲོས།
- Śāntamati
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Śāntideva
- zhi ba’i lha
- ཞི་བའི་ལྷ།
- Śāntideva
Indian commentator from the eighth century renowned for his work The Way of the Bodhisattva (Bodhicaryāvatāra).
Śāradvatīputra
- sha ra dwa ti’i bu
- ཤ་ར་དྭ་ཏིའི་བུ།
- Śāradvatīputra
One of the closest disciples of the Buddha, known for his pure observance of discipline. Also known as Śāriputra.
Seat of awakening
- byang chub kyi snying po
- བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སྙིང་པོ།
- bodhimaṇda
The seat of awakening, which can mean both the physical location where buddhas sit to become awakened and the state of awakening itself.
Sense source
- skye mched
- སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
- āyatana
These can be listed as twelve or as six sense sources (sometimes also called sense fields, bases of cognition, or simply āyatanas):
In context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of twelve sense sources, which can be divided into inner and outer sense sources, namely: 1-2) eye and form, 3-4) ear and sound, 5-6) nose and odor, 7-8) tongue and taste, 9-10) body and touch, 11-12) mind and mental phenomena.
In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned and they are the inner sense sources (similar to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.
Seven bases of consciousness
- rnam par shes pa’i gnas bdun
- རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པའི་གནས་བདུན།
- sapta-vijñānasthiti
Seven categories that describe living beings in the higher realms, from humans up to the formless realm: 1) those different in body and different in perception; 2) those different in body and equal in perception; 3) those equal in body but different in perception; 4) those equal in body and equal in perception; 5) those reborn in the sphere of boundless space; 6) those reborn in the sphere of boundless consciousness; and 7) those reborn in the sphere of nothingness.
Seven precious materials
- rin po che sna bdun
- རིན་པོ་ཆེ་སྣ་བདུན།
- saptaratna
The list of seven precious materials varies. Either they are: gold, silver, turquoise, coral, pearl, emerald, and sapphire; or else they are: ruby, sapphire, beryl, emerald, diamond, pearls, and coral.
Signlessness
- mtshan ma med pa
- མཚན་མ་མེད་པ།
- animitta
One of the three gateways to liberation; the ultimate absence of marks and signs in perceived objects.
Silky White Mane And Perfect Limbs
- dar dkar lta bu’i ral pa can yang lag ma smad pa
- དར་དཀར་ལྟ་བུའི་རལ་པ་ཅན་ཡང་ལག་མ་སྨད་པ།
- —
A lion king.
Six perfections
- pha rol tu phyin pa drug
- ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག
- ṣaṭpāramitā
The six practices or qualities that a follower of the Great Vehicle perfects in order to transcend cyclic existence. They are generosity (dāna, byin pa), discipline (śīla, tshul khrims), patience or acceptance (kṣānti, bzod pa), diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), meditative concentration (dhyāna, bsam gtan), and insight (prajñā, shes rab).
Solitary buddha
- rang sangs rgyas
- རང་སངས་རྒྱས།
- pratyekabuddha
Beings who attain buddhahood without relying on a teacher in their final lifetime. They may live alone or with peers, but do not teach the path of liberation to others because of a lack of motivation or the requisite merit.
Son of Manu
- shed bu
- ཤེད་བུ།
- mānava
Manu is the archetypal human and the progenitor of humanity in Indian lore. Thus, “son of Manu” is a synonym for humanity in general. Also rendererd “born of Manu.”
Special insight
- lhag mthong
- ལྷག་མཐོང་།
- vipaśyanā
An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “tranquility.”
Śrīgarbha
- dpal gyi snying po
- དཔལ་གྱི་སྙིང་པོ།
- śrīgarbha
A type of red-colored precious gemstone.
Star-Color
- skar mdog
- སྐར་མདོག
- —
Name of an eon (kalpa).
Steadfast Intelligence
- blo gros brtan pa
- བློ་གྲོས་བརྟན་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Suchness
- de bzhin nyid
- དེ་བཞིན་ཉིད།
- tathatā
The ultimate nature of things, or the way things are in reality, as opposed to the way they appear to non-enlightened beings.
Sunirmita
- rab ’phrul
- རབ་འཕྲུལ།
- Sunirmita
The principal deity in Nirmāṇarata, the second highest paradise in the desire realm.
Super-knowledge
- mngon par shes pa
- མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།
- abhijñā
Traditionally listed as five: divine sight, divine hearing, the ability to know past and future lives, the ability to know the minds of others, and the ability to produce miracles.
Suryagarbha
- nyi ma’i snying po
- ཉི་མའི་སྙིང་པོ།
- Suryagarbha
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Susārthavāha
- ded dpon bzang po
- དེད་དཔོན་བཟང་པོ།
- Susārthavāha
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Teacher of the Power of Great Wisdom
- ye shes chen po’i stobs kyi bsgrags pa
- ཡེ་ཤེས་ཆེན་པོའི་སྟོབས་ཀྱི་བསྒྲགས་པ།
- —
A buddha that resided in a previous world called Pure Light.
Ten levels
- sa bcu
- ས་བཅུ།
- daśabhūmi
The ten levels of a bodhisattva’s development into a fully enlightened buddha.
Ten nonvirtuous deeds
- mi dge ba bcu
- མི་དགེ་བ་བཅུ།
- daśākuśala
Killing, stealing, sexual misconduct, lying, divisive speech, harsh speech, gossip, covetousness, ill will, and wrong views.
Ten strengths
- stobs pa rnam pa bcu
- སྟོབས་པ་རྣམ་པ་བཅུ།
- daśabala
The ten strengths are (1) the knowledge of what is possible and not possible; (2) the knowledge of the ripening of karma; (3) the knowledge of the variety of aspirations; (4) the knowledge of the variety of natures; (5) the knowledge of the different levels of capabilites; (6) the knowledge of the destinations of all paths; (7) the knowledge of various states of meditation (dhyāna, liberation, samādhi, samāpatti, and so on); (8) the knowledge of remembering previous lives; (9) the knowledge of deaths and rebirths; and (10) the knowledge of the cessation of defilements.
Thinker of Good Thoughts
- bsam pa legs par sems
- བསམ་པ་ལེགས་པར་སེམས།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Three gateways of liberation
- rnam thar sgo gsum
- རྣམ་ཐར་སྒོ་གསུམ།
- trivimokṣadvāra
Emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.
Three realms
- khams gsum
- ཁམས་གསུམ།
- tridhātu
- traidhātuka
The three realms are the desire realm (kāmadhātu, ’dod khams), form realm (rūpadhātu, gzugs khams) and the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu, gzugs med khams), i.e., the three worlds that make up saṃsāra. The first is composed of the six sorts of beings (gods, asuras, humans, animals, hungry ghosts and hell beings), whereas the latter two are only realms of gods and are thus higher, more ethereal states of saṃsāra. See also three realms of existence.
Three realms of existence
- srid pa gsum
- སྲིད་པ་གསུམ།
- tribhava
- tribhuvana
This alternatively refers to the underworlds, earth, and heavens, or can be synonymous with the three realms of desire, form, and formlessness (see three realms).
Three spheres
- ’khor gsum
- འཁོར་གསུམ།
- trimaṇḍala
Subject, object, and the various physical and cognitive actions that proliferate based on that duality.
Three vows
- sdom pa gsum
- སྡོམ་པ་གསུམ།
- trisaṃvara
In Great Vehicle treatises, the vows of a layperson or monk (prātimokṣa), the vows of a solitary buddha, and the vows of a bodhisattva.
Thus-gone one
- de bzhin gshegs pa
- དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
- tathāgata
A frequently used synonym for a buddha. The expression is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has arrived at the realization of the ultimate state.
Here also used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
Tranquility
- zhi gnas
- ཞི་གནས།
- śamatha
One of the basic forms of Buddhist meditation, which focuses on calming the mind. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “special insight.”
Transitory collection
- ’jig tshogs
- འཇིག་ཚོགས།
- satkāya
The transitory collection of the five aggregates, the basis for the view of a self or that which belongs to a self.
Trichiliocosm
- stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi khams
- སྟོང་གསུམ་གྱི་སྟོང་ཆེན་པོའི་འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
- trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu
The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Meru, continents, sun, and moon, as well as desire, form and formless realms, heavens of gods, etc.
Unimpeded Light
- ’od zer thogs pa med pa
- འོད་ཟེར་ཐོགས་པ་མེད་པ།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Unique qualities of buddhahood
- sangs rgyas rnams kyi ma ’dras chos
- སངས་རྒྱས་རྣམས་ཀྱི་མ་འདྲས་ཆོས།
- āveṇikabuddhadharma
Eighteen qualities that are exclusively possessed by a buddha. These are listed in the Dharmasaṃgraha as follows: The tathāgata does not possess: (1) confusion; (2) noisiness; (3) forgetfulness; (4) loss of meditative equipoise; (5) cognition of distinctness; or (6) nonanalytical equanimity. A buddha totally lacks: (7) degeneration of motivatedness; (8) degeneration of perseverance; (9) degeneration of mindfulness; (10) degeneration of samādhi; (11) degeneration of prajñā; (12) degeneration of complete liberation; and (13) degeneration of seeing the wisdom of complete liberation. (14) A tathāgata’s every action of body is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom; (15) every action of speech is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom; (16) a buddha’s every action of mind is preceded by wisdom and followed through with wisdom. (17) A tathāgata engages in seeing the past through wisdom that is unattached and unobstructed and (18) engages in seeing the present through wisdom that is unattached and unobstructed.
Universal monarch
- ’khor los sgyur ba’i rgyal po
- འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- cakravartin
The term “universal monarch” denotes a just and pious king who rules over the universe according to the laws of Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he wields disc (cakra) that rolls (vartana) over continents, worlds, and world systems, bringing them under his power. A univerisal monarch is often considered the secular, polticial correlate of a buddha.
Unsurpassed Diligence
- brtson ’grus gong na med
- བརྩོན་འགྲུས་གོང་ན་མེད།
- —
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Ūrṇa hair
- mdzod spu
- མཛོད་སྤུ།
- ūrṇakeśa
A hair between the eyebrows of a buddha. One of the marks of an awakened being.
Vairocana
- rnam par snang byed
- རྣམ་པར་སྣང་བྱེད།
- Vairocana
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Vārāṇasī
- bA rA Na sI
- བཱ་རཱ་ཎ་སཱི།
- vārāṇasī
An ancient city in North India close to which the Buddha first taught the Dharma.
Vimalaprabhā
- ’od dri ma med pa
- འོད་དྲི་མ་མེད་པ།
- Vimalaprabha
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Vinaya
- ’dul ba
- འདུལ་བ།
- vinaya
The Buddha’s teachings that lay out the rules and disciplines for his followers.
Viśeṣagāmin
- khyad par du ’gro ba
- ཁྱད་པར་དུ་འགྲོ་བ།
- Viśeṣagāmin
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Vyūharāja
- bkod pa’i rgyal po
- བཀོད་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- Vyūharāja
A bodhisattva in the retinue of Buddha Śākyamuni.
Wishlessness
- smon pa med pa
- སྨོན་པ་མེད་པ།
- apraṇihita
One of the three gateways to liberation; the ultimate absence of any wish, desire, or aspiration, even those directed towards buddhahood.
Worthy one
- dgra bcom pa
- དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
- arhat
According to Buddhist tradition, one who has conquered the enemies, i.e. mental afflictions or emotions, (kleśa-ari-hata) and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It’s the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by hearers. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.
Yakṣa
- gnod sbyin
- གནོད་སྦྱིན།
- yakṣa
A class of semi-divine beings that haunt or protect natural places and cities. They can be malevolent or benevolent, and are known for bestowing wealth and worldly boons. They are associated with Kubera, the god of wealth, who is often counted as their king.
Yeshé Dé
- ye shes sde
- ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
- —
A prolific Tibetan translator active during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
Youthful Mañjuśrī
- ’jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa
- འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུར་གྱུར་པ།
- Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta
See Mañjuśrī.