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ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རྒྱ་མཚོས་ཞུས་པ།

The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (1)

Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā

འཕགས་པ་ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རྒྱ་མཚོས་ཞུས་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།

’phags pa klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

Āryasāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra

Toh 153

Degé Kangyur, vol. 58 (mdo sde, pha), folios 116.a–198.a.

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2021
Current version v 1.0.3 (2021)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.14.6

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

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co.

Summary

s.1

The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara begins with a miracle that portends the coming of the Nāga King Sāgara to Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha. The nāga king engages in a lengthy dialogue with the Buddha on various topics pertaining to the distinction between relative and ultimate reality, all of which emphasize the primacy of insight into emptiness. The Buddha thereafter journeys to King Sāgara’s palace in the ocean and reveals details of the king’s past lives in order to introduce the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. In the nāga king’s palace in the ocean, he gives teachings on various topics and acts as peacemaker, addressing the ongoing conflicts between the gods and asuras and between the nāgas and garuḍas. Upon returning to Vulture Peak, the Buddha engages in dialogue with King Ajātaśatru and provides Nāga King Sāgara’s prophecy.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.1

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance 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.

ac.2

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

ac.3

The generous sponsorship of Kelvin Lee, Doris Lim, Chang Chen Hsien, Lim Cheng Cheng, Ng Ah Chon and family, Lee Hoi Lang and family, the late Lim Kim Heng, and the late Low Lily, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

i.1

Set at Vulture Peak Mountain and in the ocean realm of the Nāga King Sāgara, The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara covers many topics of interest to bodhisattvas, including karma and rebirth and the ultimate view of emptiness. The primary interlocutor is the eponymous Nāga King Sāgara, whose arrival at Vulture Peak Mountain is presaged by the appearance of a magical jeweled parasol covering the entire world. With the Buddha’s consent, Sāgara asks a series of questions, which are answered in sequence. Replying to a question about seeing with unobscured wisdom, the Buddha introduces a distinction between ordinary seeing and wisdom seeing, indicating that seeing with unobscured wisdom allows the bodhisattva greater perception that includes both relative and ultimate reality. At this point the Buddha’s discourse is explicitly identified by the gods, who have been listening in the sky above, as belonging to the second turning of the wheel of Dharma.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara

Chapter One: The Setting

[F.116.a]

1.1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

1.2

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Rājagṛha at Vulture Peak Mountain with a great saṅgha of eight thousand monks and with twelve thousand bodhisattvas with higher knowledge that had gathered from the worlds of the ten directions by means of their higher knowledge. Those bodhisattvas possessed all the greatest attributes. They knew the dhāraṇīs and the discourses. They delighted all beings with their eloquence. They were skilled in teaching the wisdom of the higher knowledges. They had traveled to the sublime far shore of all the perfections. They were skilled in the knowledge of the bodhisattvas’ absorptions and attainments. They were praised, commended, and lauded by all buddhas. They were skilled in the knowledge of traveling to all buddha realms through their miraculous powers. They were skilled in the knowledge of terrifying the māras. They were skilled in the knowledge of all phenomena just as they are. They were skilled in the knowledge of beings’ supreme and ordinary faculties. They were skilled in the knowledge of accomplishing the factors of awakening. They were skilled in the knowledge of correctly accomplishing the acts of venerating all the buddhas. They were unstained by any worldly phenomena and were adorned with all the ornaments of body, speech, and mind. They had donned the armor consisting of delight in great love and compassion. They could be diligent over the course of countless eons without becoming discouraged. They roared the great lion’s roar. They were not overcome by any of the arguments of their adversaries. They had been marked by the seal of the irreversible Dharma. They had been crowned with all the qualities of buddhahood. [F.116.b]

Chapter Two: Aspirations

2.1

When Nāga King Sāgara heard this, he was satisfied, elated, happy, delighted, joyful, and at ease. As a shelter for the Dharma, he offered the Blessed One a large jewel called the gem that purifies the ocean with bright light, whose value matched that of the entire trichiliocosm. [F.129.b] The light of this precious gem eclipsed even that of the sun and the moon. The entire assembly was astonished and prostrated to the Blessed One, announcing, “The appearance of a buddha is amazing. When a buddha appears, such amazing things as this are possible, and marvelous Dharma teachings also appear.”

Chapter Three: The Inexhaustible Casket Dhāraṇī

3.1

Then Nāga King Sāgara asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, how could it be that discussions of worldly giving, restraint, vows, gentleness, going forth, emancipation, pure conduct, discipline, learning, carefulness, ascetic practices, and voluntary poverty are not the speech of the buddhas?”

3.2

The Blessed One answered, “Nāga Lord, any teaching that is not produced to give rise to blessed buddhas and to bring about cessation and does not lead to renunciation of involvement with the three realms is worldly. It is not buddha speech. Those that fall into that category are the four concentrations, the four immeasurables, the four formless attainments, the five types of higher knowledges, the ten courses of virtuous action, and knowledge of worldly giving, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and insight. Also included here are knowledge of language, numbers, counting, and palmistry; knowledge of origins; knowledge of spells, medicine, and healing; and knowledge of crafts and manufacture. In this category are also those types of knowledge that involve marks, administration, material things, employment, physics, the world, and any other engagement with the three realms. All of these are not buddha speech.

Chapter Four: The Benefits of the Inexhaustible Casket Dhāraṇī

4.1

“Nāga Lord, at one point in the past, even longer than a countless eon ago, at a point so long ago that it defies reckoning or fathoming, there was an eon called Action. At that time there was a world called Constellation of Unique Attributes in which the Blessed Buddha Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor appeared. He was a thus-gone one, a worthy one, a perfect buddha, someone learned and virtuous, [F.146.a] a well-gone one, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed charioteer who guides beings, and a teacher of gods and humans. The world Constellation of Unique Attributes was at that time well-off, vast, and happy, had abundant harvests, was delightful, had many inhabitants, and was filled with gods and humans. It was a four-continent world as large as the billion four-continent worlds in this buddha realm. Thus, one billion such four-continent worlds constituted the Blessed Thus-Gone One Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor’s world Constellation of Unique Attributes. The extent of this world was immeasurable. In this world shone the light of precious ever-luminous vajra jewels. This world was draped with a net of jewels, hung with many silken banners, adorned with hoisted parasols, banners, and standards, and draped with great canopies. At night the sound of thousands of instruments resounded from the firmament unplayed, unstruck. The sounds of instruments and song could be heard clearly by the entire trichiliocosm. Such instruments and song did not reinforce desire, nor did they inflame attachment, aggression, delusion, and the afflictions. Rather peace, absolute peace, Dharma joy, and satisfaction issued from these sounds. By simply hearing them, all gods and humans attained mindfulness, peace, joy, and bliss, [F.146.b] and they were no longer harmed by the afflictions. Additionally, the world was flat like the palm of a hand, soft and pleasing to the touch like fabric made from feathers of the kācilindi bird. The lower realms and poor migrations were not to be found in that world. Rather, its gods and humans lived in complete purity. For the most part, everyone was inspired toward vastness and had entered the Great Vehicle. Practitioners of the vehicles of hearers and solitary buddhas were scarce. All manner of enjoyments arose simply by being imagined in the mind. These gods and humans all experienced pleasures and enjoyments‍—none suffered or was poor. The humans situated there were similar to the gods of the Heaven of Joy in their enjoyments and pleasures. The lifespan of this thus-gone one was counted as33 67.2 million years. The lifespan of the humans there was the same. Nobody failed to live out their lifespan. There were 7.2 billion bodhisattvas in the assembly of this thus-gone one; his saṅgha of hearers was immeasurable.

Chapter Five: Prophecy

5.1

Venerable Śāriputra then said to the Blessed One, [F.154.b] “Blessed One, if even beings born into the nāga realms can develop the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening in this fashion, it is astounding that some people are incapable of developing the mind set on awakening.”

5.2

The Blessed One responded, “Śāriputra, these twelve thousand nāgas went forth in the Thus-Gone One Kāśyapa’s body of teachings. They heard the message on the mind set on awakening from that thus-gone one. Not only did they hear it, but the Thus-Gone One gave them his approval. The Great Vehicle is inconceivable, and yet he expressed his approval. Still, they were distracted by nonvirtue in the following way: in order to keep a family household or a household that gives to beggars, they failed to practice discipline. As they let their discipline become impaired, once they died, they were reborn in the nāga realm. Through the cause, contributing condition, and roots of virtue of them hearing the message of the Great Vehicle and the Blessed One expressing his approval, they now hear the Great Vehicle message from me. Having heard teachings on the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī, they are developing the mind set on unsurpassed and perfect awakening. Śāriputra, just consider this difference of intention.

Chapter Six: Being Supported by the Path of the Ten Virtues

6.1

Nāga King Sāgara then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, out of care for us, to benefit many beings, to bring many beings happiness, and out of love for the world, I beg you to take tomorrow’s midday meal in the ocean. Blessed One, the ocean is home to limitless beings such as gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, and other species of animals. If they see the Thus-Gone One, they will develop roots of virtue. By hearing the sublime Dharma, they will comprehend how there can be an end to beginningless saṃsāra. My royal nāga realm will flourish, [F.159.a] and the world and its gods will be unable to defeat us. In this way, the Thus-Gone One could demonstrate the eminence of the buddhas and explain the Dharma that describes the factors of awakening in relation to me.”

Chapter Seven: The Protection of the Nāgas

7.1

Nāga King Sāgara then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, through what Dharma door should bodhisattvas enter such that not only do they abandon all the flaws of previous karmic obscuration, but, having abandoned all karmic obscuration, they proceed to become distinguished persons? What Dharma door should they enter?”

7.2

The Blessed One answered, “Nāga Lord, the continuity of all karmic obscuration is severed by a single quality. What is this single quality? It is to abide by one’s vows and, should a fault occur, to confess it. [F.170.a] Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by two qualities. What are these two? They are to discriminate the Dharma accurately and to not have preconceptions about what is presently arising. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by three qualities. What are these three? They are the discrimination of the consciousness that engages conditional phenomena, the discrimination of phenomena that are neither new nor old, and the discrimination of phenomena that are naturally without affliction. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by four qualities. What are these four? They are certainty in emptiness, abiding in the absence of marks, freedom from wishing, and unconditioned consciousness. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by five qualities. What are these five? They are the nonexistence of self, the nonexistence of a being, the nonexistence of a life principle, the nonexistence of personhood, and the nonexistence of life. Nāga Lord, the continuity of karmic obscuration is severed by six qualities. What are these six? They are aspiration, trust, certainty, confidence, discerning the real, and engaging in actions motivated by the pure motivation. These six qualities sever the continuity of karmic obscuration.”

Chapter Eight: Nāga King Sāgara’s Prophecy

8.1

The four garuḍas, the kings of the birds, heard of the Thus-Gone One’s blessing and were displeased. With due haste, they made their way to where the Blessed One was. Arriving, they bowed their heads before the Blessed One, encircled him three times, and asked, “Blessed One, if we do not kill our prey, what shall we do?”

8.2

The Blessed One answered, “Friends, four types of food will lead one to be reborn as a hell being, an animal, or a resident of the realms of the Lord of Death. What are these four? Friends, any food that involves taking a being’s life, harming another being, or supporting oneself through taking the life of another is the first type of food that will lead one to be reborn as a hell being, an animal, or a resident of the realms of the Lord of Death. Furthermore, friends, any food that involves stealing, destroying another’s livelihood, or striking someone with a club, sword, weapon, or tool is the second type of food that will lead one to be reborn as a hell being, an animal, or a resident of the realms of the Lord of Death. Friends, any food that involves deceit, disrespect, or harming another, or that involves making a show of having genuine conduct while having degenerate behavior, [F.181.a] discipline, view, livelihood, or wrong and inappropriate qualities is the third type of food that will lead one to be reborn as a hell being, an animal, or a resident of the realms of the Lord of Death. Friends, any food that involves falsely claiming to be a teacher when one is not, claiming to be living appropriately when one is not, claiming to be a mendicant when one is not, or claiming to observe pure conduct when one is not, is the fourth type of food that will lead one to be reborn as a hell being, an animal, or a resident of the realms of the Lord of Death. Friends, I can teach the Dharma because I have genuinely desisted from partaking of these four types of food.

Chapter Nine: The Inherent Purity of All Phenomena

9.1

King Ajātaśatru then remarked to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, all phenomena accord with their causes. When they are produced, they have the characteristic of arising. They come into being just as they are desired. Blessed One, the conduct of awakening is infinite. In this regard, for as long as bodhisattvas have not taken hold of a buddha realm replete with all supreme aspects, they will engage in bodhisattva conduct. Blessed One, [F.189.b] all bodhisattvas will purify buddha realms just like Nāga King Sāgara.”

10.

The Conclusion

10.1

The Blessed One [F.194.a] then addressed all the bodhisattvas, saying, “Sublime beings, you must uphold this sūtra to ensure that the Thus-Gone One’s awakening will remain for a long time. Who among you is enthusiastic about upholding this sūtra?”

10.2

Twenty thousand bodhisattvas and ten thousand gods then rose from their seats. Bowing with palms joined toward the Blessed One, they said, “Blessed One, we commit to upholding this sūtra in this way. We will propagate it.”

Colophon

c.1

It was translated, proofed, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman and the editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé and others.

Notes

n.1

This part of the text has been translated and discussed by Diana Paul (1979). Paul also points out a similar episode in The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, Toh 176), 6.12–6.43, where Śāriputra challenges a goddess for the same reasons and is soundly defeated.

n.2

For English translations of Toh 154 and Toh 155, see Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (2), 2020; and Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans. The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (3), 2011.

n.3

佛說海龍王經 (Foshuo hailong wang jing).

n.4

Denkarma, folio 297.a.6. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, page 55, number 96.

n.5

Phangthangma, page 7.

n.6

For references, see Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, page 55, number 96.

n.7

Ratnakaraṇḍodghāṭanāmamadhyamakopadeśa, (Tib. dbu ma’i man ngag rin po che’i za ma tog kha phye ba, Toh 3930). For a recent translation of this text, see Apple (2019).

n.8

The sūtra is cited to this effect in Rangjung Dorjé’s zab mo nang gi don rnam par bshad pa’i bstan bcos kyi tshig don gsal bar byed pa’i legs bshad nor bu rin po che’i phreng ba and Gorampa Sönam Sengé’s sdom gsum rab dbye’i spyi don yid bzhin nor bu.

n.33

bsgras pa reads as bsgres pa in the Yongle, Kangxi, Lithang, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa Kangyurs.

Bibliography

Tibetan Canonical Texts

klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa (Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā). Toh 153, Degé Kangyur vol. 58 (mdo sde, pha), folios 116.a–198.a.

’phags pa klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bye 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), 2006–9, vol. 58, 303–518.

’phags pa klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bye ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, ba), folios 166.a.–282.a.

dri med grags pas bstan pa (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa). Toh 176, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 175.a–239.a. English translation in Thurman (2017).

phung po gsum pa’i mdo (Triskandhakasūtra). Toh 284, Degé Kangyur vol. 68 (mdo sde, ya), folios 57.a–77.a.

pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag [Denkarma]. Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.

klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa (Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā). Toh 154, Degé Kangyur vol. 58 (mdo sde, pha), folios 198.b–205.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2020b).

klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa (Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā). Toh 155, Degé Kangyur vol. 58 (mdo sde, pha), folios 205.a–205.b. English translation in Sakya Pandita Translation Group (2011).

Atiśa. dbu ma’i man ngag rin po che’i za ma tog kha phye ba (Ratnakaraṇdodghātanāmamadhyamakopadeśa). Toh 3930, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 96.b–116.b. .

Śāntideva. bslab pa kun las btus pa (Śikṣāsamuccaya). Toh 3940, Degé Tengyur vol. 111 (dbu ma, khi), folios 3.a–194.b.

Secondary Sources

Apple, James. Jewels of the Middle Way: The Madhyamaka Legacy of Atiśa and His Early Tibetan Followers. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2019.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2020b). The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (2) (Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā, Toh 154). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.

Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary, Volume II: Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1993.

Gorampa Sönam Sengé (go rams pa bsod nams seng ge). sdom gsum rab dbye’i spyi don yid bzhin nor bu. In gsung ’bum bsod nams seng ge, vol. 9 (ta), 437–603. Degé: rdzong sar khams bye’i slob gling, 2004–14. BDRC W1PD1725.

Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.

Paul, Diana, and Frances Wilson. Women in Buddhism: Images of the Feminine in the Mahāyāna Tradition. University of California Press, 1979.

Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans. The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (3) (Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā, Toh 155). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2011.

Śikṣāsamuccaya. GRETIL edition input by Mirek Rozehnahl, March 17, 2017.

Thurman, Robert A. F., trans. The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, Toh 176). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2017.

Glossary

g.1

Ābhāsvara

’od gsal

འོད་གསལ།

Ābhāsvara

A god, king in the Luminous Heaven.

g.2

Abhirati

mngon par dga’ ba

མངོན་པར་དགའ་བ།

Abhirati

The celestial realm of the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya in the east.

g.3

Absorption

ting nge ’dzin

ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།

samādhi

A synonym for meditation, this refers to the state of deep meditative immersion that results from different modes of Buddhist practice.

g.8

Affliction

nyon mongs

ཉོན་མོངས།

kleśa

A term meaning “defilement” or “affliction” that refers to a wide range of mental factors that disturb the mind and lead to unwholesome deeds by body, speech, and mind. The Pāli kilesa, Middle-Indic kileśa, and Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “to soil, stain, defile.” The meaning “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of kliś (“to harm, to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators. The basic three defilements are attachment, aversion, and ignorance.

g.11

Ajātaśatru

ma skyes dgra

མ་སྐྱེས་དགྲ།

Ajātaśatru

King of Magadha, son of the king Bimbisāra. As a prince, he befriended Devadatta, who convinced him to kill his father and take the throne for himself. After his father's death he was tormented with guilt and became a follower of the Buddha. He supported the compilation of the Buddha’s teachings during the First Council in Rājagṛha, and also built a stūpa for the Buddha's relics.

g.24

Ascetic practices

sbyangs pa’i yon tan

སྦྱངས་པའི་ཡོན་ཏན།

dhūtaguṇa

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

g.25

Asura

lha ma yin

ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།

asura

A class of divine beings who are engaged in a mythic war with the gods (Skt. deva) for possession of the nectar of immortality. In Buddhist cosmology, they inhabit a realm below those of the gods, from which they observe the gods with intense jealousy.

g.26

Attainment

snyoms par ’jug pa

སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ།

samāpatti

A technical term referring to a meditative state attained through the practice of concentration. Usually a reference to the nine gradual attainments (navānupūrvavihārasamāpatti, mthar gyis gnas pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa dgu) that include the four attainments of the form realm, the four formless attainments, and the attainment of the state of cessation. (The word “attainment” is also used here to translate non-technical words that have the sense of “obtain” or “acquire.”)

g.31

Blessed one

bcom ldan ’das

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།

bhagavān
bhagavat

In Buddhist literature, an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts the term implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj, “to break.”

g.45

Constellation of Unique Attributes

khyad par gyi yon tan bkod pa bsdus pa

ཁྱད་པར་གྱི་ཡོན་ཏན་བཀོད་པ་བསྡུས་པ།

The realm of the Buddha Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor

g.54

Dhāraṇī

gzungs

གཟུངས།

dhāraṇī

An incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula that distils essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. It also has the sense of “retention,” referring to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings.

g.59

Divine King of Brahmā’s Splendor

tshangs pa’i dpal lha’i rgyal po

ཚངས་པའི་དཔལ་ལྷའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།

A buddha.

g.76

Factors of awakening

byang chub kyi phyogs kyi chos

བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཕྱོགས་ཀྱི་ཆོས།

bodhipakṣadharma

Thirty-seven practices that lead the practitioner to the awakened state: the four applications of mindfulness, the four correct abandonments, the four bases of miraculous absorption, the five faculties, the five powers, the eightfold path, and the seven branches of awakening.

g.77

Faculties

dbang po

དབང་པོ།

indriya

Refers to the “five faculties” and, more generally, the sense faculties and other capacities of beings.

g.88

Four concentrations

bsam gtan bzhi

བསམ་གཏན་བཞི།

caturdhyāna

The four progressive levels of concentration of the form realm that culminate in pure one-pointedness of mind, and are a requirement for cultivation of the five or six types of higher knowledges, and so on. These are part of the nine gradual attainments.

g.91

Four formless attainments

gzugs med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa bzhi

གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་སྙོམས་པར་འཇུག་པ་བཞི།

caturārūpyasamāpatti

These comprise the attainments of (1) the sense field of infinite space, (2) the sense field of infinite consciousness, (3) the sense field of nothing-at-all, and (4) the sense field of neither perception nor non-perception.

g.93

Four immeasurables

tshad med bzhi

ཚད་མེད་བཞི།

caturpramāṇa

These are four attitudes and qualities to be cultivated, namely: (1) loving kindness, (2) compassion, (3) empathetic joy, and (4) equanimity. Also known as the four abodes of Brahmā.

g.100

Gandharva

dri za

དྲི་ཟ།

gandharva

Lower class of divine beings said to dwell in the east, under the jurisdiction of the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. Capable of flight, they are often described as “celestial musicians.”

g.101

Garuḍa

mkha’ lding

མཁའ་ལྡིང་།

garuḍa

Lower class of divine beings described as eagle-type birds with gigantic wingspans. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth.

g.105

God

ལྷ།

deva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Cognate with the English term divine, the devas are most generally a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), material realm (rūpadhātu), and immaterial realm (arūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the material and immaterial realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted, Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.

g.110

Great Vehicle

theg pa chen po

ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāyāna

When the Buddhist teachings are classified according to their power to lead beings to an awakened state, a distinction is made between the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle, which emphasizes the individual’s own freedom from cyclic existence as the primary motivation and goal, and those of the Great Vehicle, which emphasizes altruism and has the liberation of all sentient beings as the principal objective. As the term “Great Vehicle” implies, the path followed by bodhisattvas is analogous to a large carriage that can transport a vast number of people to liberation, as compared to a smaller vehicle for the individual practitioner. See also “Lesser Vehicle.”

g.113

Hearer

nyan thos

ཉན་ཐོས།

śrāvaka

A follower of those teachings of the Buddha that focus on the monastic lifestyle and liberating oneself from suffering, in contrast to followers of the bodhisattva vehicle who seek buddhahood for the sake of all beings.

g.119

Heaven of Joy

dga’ ldan gyi gnas
dga’ ldan

དགའ་ལྡན་གྱི་གནས།
དགའ་ལྡན།

Tuṣita

One of the six heavens of the desire realm; in Great Vehicle Buddhist thought, it is where all future buddhas dwell prior to their awakening.

g.125

Higher knowledge

mngon par shes pa
mngon shes

མངོན་པར་ཤེས་པ།
མངོན་ཤེས།

abhijñā

A category of extrasensory perception gained through spiritual practice, in the Buddhist presentation consisting of five types: miraculous abilities, divine eye, divine ear, knowledge of others’ minds, and recollection of past lives. A sixth, knowing that all defilements have been eliminated, is often added.

g.139

Insight

shes rab

ཤེས་རབ།

prajña

The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. It is also one of the five faculties.

g.149

Jinamitra

dzi na mi tra

ཛི་ན་མི་ཏྲ།

Jinamitra

A Kashmiri paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

g.154

Kāśyapa

’od srung

འོད་སྲུང་།

Kāśyapa

A previous buddha.

g.173

Lord of Death

gshin rje

གཤིན་རྗེ།

Yāma

From Vedic times, the Lord of Death who directs the departed into the next realm of rebirth.

g.174

Lower realms

ngan ’gro

ངན་འགྲོ།

durgati

The realms of hell beings, pretas, and animals.

g.188

Māra

bdud

བདུད།

māra

The demon who assailed Śākyamuni prior to his awakening and the deities ruled by him; any demonic force; the personification of conceptual and emotional obstacles. The māras are also symbolic of the defects within a person that prevent awakening. These four personifications are (1) devaputramāra (lha’i bu’i bdud), the divine māra, which is the distraction of pleasures, (2) mṛtyumāra (’chi bdag gi bdud), the māra of the Lord of Death, (3) skandhamāra (phung po’i bdud), the māra of the aggregates, i.e., the body, and (4) kleśamāra (nyon mongs pa’i bdud), the māra of the afflictive emotions.

g.191

Mark

mtshan ma

མཚན་མ།

nimitta

Can refer both to a physical mark or trait and to the data of perception.

g.205

Nāga

ཀླུ།

nāga

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments where they are known to guard wealth and esoteric teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and often assume a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, nāgas are regularly portrayed as being half human and half snake, and, as mentioned in this sūtra, said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. Nāgas likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

g.219

Perfection

pha rol tu phyin pa

ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།

pāramitā

This term is used to refer to the main trainings of a bodhisattva. Because these trainings, when brought to perfection, lead one to transcend saṃsāra and reach the full awakening of a buddha, they receive the Sanskrit name pāramitā, meaning “perfection” or “gone to the farther shore.” Most commonly listed as six: generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, concentration, and insight. They are also often listed as ten by adding: skillful means, prayer, strength, and knowledge.

g.224

Prajñāvarman

pra dz+nyA barma

པྲ་ཛྙཱ་བརྨ།

Prajñāvarman

A Bengali paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth/early ninth centuries. Arriving in Tibet on an invitation from the Tibetan king, he assisted in the translation of numerous canonical scriptures. He is also the author of a few philosophical commentaries contained in the Tibetan Tengyur (bstan ’gyur) collection.

g.238

Rājagṛha

rgyal po’i khab

རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།

Rājagṛha

The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.

g.259

Sāgara

rgya mtsho

རྒྱ་མཚོ།

Sāgara

A nāga king.

g.268

Śāriputra

shA ri’i bu

ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།

Śāriputra

One of the closest disciples of the Buddha, known for his pure discipline and, of the disciples, considered foremost in wisdom.

g.280

Solitary buddha

rang sangs rgyas

རང་སངས་རྒྱས།

pratyekabuddha

Someone who has attained liberation entirely through their own contemplation as a result of progress in previous lives but, unlike a buddha, does not have the accumulated merit and motivation to teach others.

g.307

Ten courses of virtuous action

dge ba bcu’i las kyi lam

དགེ་བ་བཅུའི་ལས་ཀྱི་ལམ།

daśakuśalakarmapatha

See “ten virtues.”

g.317

Three realms

khams gsum

ཁམས་གསུམ།

tridhātu

The three realms are the desire realm (kāmadhātu), the form realm (rūpadhātu), and the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu), i.e., the three worlds that make up saṃsāra. The first is composed of the six classes of beings (gods, asuras, humans, animals, hungry spirits, and hell beings), whereas the latter two are only realms of gods and are thus higher, more ethereal states of saṃsāra.

g.321

Thus-gone one

de bzhin gshegs pa

དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།

tathāgata

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has gone in the same way that the buddhas of the past have gone, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence.

Here also used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

g.347

Vulture Peak Mountain

bya rgod phung po’i ri
bya rgod kyi phung po’i ri

བྱ་རྒོད་ཕུང་པོའི་རི།
བྱ་རྒོད་ཀྱི་ཕུང་པོའི་རི།

Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata

A hill located in modern-day Bihar, India, and in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern Rajgir). A location where many sūtras were taught, and which continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.

g.352

Worthy one

dgra bcom pa

དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།

arhat

A person who has accomplished the final fruition of the path of the hearers and is liberated from saṃsāra.

g.353

Yakṣa

gnod sbyin

གནོད་སྦྱིན།

yakṣa

A class of semidivine beings said to dwell in the north, under the jurisdiction of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa. They are said to haunt or protect natural places and cities, can be malevolent or benevolent, and are known for bestowing wealth and other boons.

g.354

Yeshé Dé

ye shes sde

ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།

A prolific Tibetan translator active during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

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