The Questions of Rāṣṭrapāla (2)
Summary

The fourth of the four levels of attainment of the vehicle of the śrāvakas, it is the attainment of a nirvāṇa distinct from unexcelled perfect awakening, the type of nirvāṇa proper to buddhas.

A mendicant. Here in reference to a particular norm of monasticism as dedicated to cultivation of moral discipline.

One of the six classes of living beings, sometimes included among the gods and sometimes among the animals, they are engendered and dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility and are metaphorically described as being incessantly embroiled in disputes with the gods (devas). They are frequently portrayed in brahmanical mythology as having a disruptive effect on cosmological and social harmony.

Here seemingly in connection with ’dod chags, or desire, one of the three root poisons.

Seemingly here in connection with zhe sdang, or hatred, one of the three root poisons.

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

The bowls used by monastics to collect alms.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it 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”).

Buying and selling, trade, commerce.

The ultimate soteriological goal of the Buddhist tradition. The transcendence of suffering.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.

In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

Seemingly here in connection with gti mug, or delusion, one of the three root poisons.

Many sūtras express concern over the decline of the Dharma, among them the sūtra translated here. For a sustained study of this theme, see Jan Nattier’s (1991) Once Upon a Future Time.

See “decline of the teaching.”

This word has several senses. It can refer to the Buddhist teaching as a whole, as in the truth about reality. It can also refer to the ontological simples posited by the Abhidharma. In other cases, it can simply mean something like “quality.”

Likely a translation of udvega or a related word, skyo ba here refers to a kind of valorized world-weariness that stands somewhere between fear and disgust. For a study of this, though without reference to Tibetan, see Andrea Acri’s (2015) “Between Impetus, Fear and Disgust.”

Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independently from the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. In this sūtra, monks on the vehicle of the śrāvakas and the Great Vehicle both are to apprehend dharmas as empty. The Abhidharma position that dharmas exist as ontological simples appears by and large to be rejected here.

See “emptiness.”

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are under the jurisdiction of the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by any sentient being in the realm of desire (kāma­dhātu) during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

Gods are beings in the higher planes of existence in the desire realm, as well as in the form and formless realms.

The means by which aspirants to nirvāṇa attain the state of buddhahood and thus seek to liberate others. Though the Great Vehicle and the vehicle of the śrāvakas have distinct ends, in this sūtra the distinction between the means to the two ends is less than clear. Both paths involve the analysis and apprehension of dharmas as empty.

Typically, this word refers to followers 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. While this distinction appears to be maintained in this sūtra, the śrāvakas are here said to both cultivate moral discipline and apprehend phenomena and dharmas as empty.

A fully ordained male practitioner who is more concerned with worldly things than with cultivating moral discipline.

This term can mean both physical seclusion and a meditative state of withdrawal.

See “solitude.”

An Indian paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.

See “blessed one.”

The principal deity in Paranirmitavaśavartin, the highest heaven in the desire realm. He is best known for his role in trying to prevent the Buddha’s awakening. Māra is also used as a generic name for the deities in his abode and is an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra.

A fully ordained male practitioner.

Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. The term is often used in reference to following precepts or rules according to one’s ordination or vows.

In this sūtra, this term refers to the lack of a particular mode of existence. Insofar as all dharmas are empty, they lack inherent or independent existence. It is in this sense that such things as the eye are said to be nonexistent in this sūtra.

A fully ordained female practitioner.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance to the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”

This term refers to anything with sentience. In this text, the concern is with human persons and, more specifically, male monastics.

The regulations and rules that constitute Buddhist discipline. The number and scope of the vows differs depending on one’s status (whether lay, novice monastic, or full monastic) and whether one is a monk or a nun.

The dharmas conceived as empty, insubstantial, and the like. Possibly also a reference to the Dharma teachings in which dharmas are understood in this way. In this sūtra, analysis of the dharmas as empty is said to give rise to the goals of the vehicle of the śrāvakas.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.

A disciple of the Buddha.

The first of the four levels of attainment of the vehicle of the śrāvakas, it is considered to be when one enters “the stream” of the noble ones that flows inexorably toward awakening.

The third of the four levels of attainment of the vehicle of the śrāvakas, it is when one will no longer be reborn in the desire realm.

The second of the four levels of attainment of the vehicle of the śrāvakas, it is when one will only be reborn in saṃsāra once more. 

The religious robes of monastics.

Here refers to the community of monks.

This term seems here to refer to physical isolation, but it can have a mental sense as well.

Here seems to be a synonym for skye mched (Skt. āyatana), the bases required for consciousness to arise.

The view that there is a discrete and enduring identity or individuality to sentient beings.

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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 departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence.

The awakening of the buddhas, contrasted here with the nirvāṇa attained via the vehicle of the śrāvakas.

The means by which aspirants to nirvāṇa attain the state of a hearer by seeking self-liberation.

A peak outside Rājagṛha where the Buddha is said to have delivered many teachings.