The Question of Mañjuśrī

A supreme organ of taste

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-second of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Adorned with a beautiful complexion

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fourth of the thirty-two signs of a great being. This sign is not mentioned in any of the other lists of thirty-two that we have investigated.

Almighty

The Sanskrit īśvara literally means “powerful one.” In both Indian and Tibetan literature it is often an epithet applied to Śiva. However, here where the title is given to a “supremely great almighty brahmā, sovereign of a trichiliocosm” (tshangs pa stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi bdag po dbang phyug chen po’i mchog), the term signifies that Brahmā, or rather a brahmā, is the overseer of an entire trichiliocosm.

An arm span and height that are identical like the banyan tree

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twelfth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Arhat

Used both as an epithet of the Buddha and to refer to the final accomplishment of the śrāvaka path.

Armband

Seventy-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Arrow

Thirty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Avalokiteśvara

One of the eight “close sons” of the Buddha, the embodiment of compassion. He first appeared as a bodhisattva beside Amitābha in the Sukhāvatī Sūtra. The name has been variously interpreted. In his name meaning “the lord of avalokita,” avalokita has been interpreted as “seeing,” although as a past passive participle, it is literally “lord of what has been seen.” One of the principal sūtras in the Mahāsamghika tradition, not translated into Tibetan, was the Avalokita Sūtra, in which the word is a synonym for awakening, as it is “that which has been seen” by the buddhas. In the early tantras, he is one of the lords of the three families, as the embodiment of the compassion of the buddhas.

Axe

Forty-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Bamboo

Twenty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Barley

Twenty-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Beings with neither perception nor nonperception

This refers to the category of beings abiding in the fourth and highest level of the formless realm. These are either the gods that abide there or persons who have reached this state though meditative equipoise. This state is also referred to as the “peak of existence” (bhavāgra; srid rtse) and is located at the apex of saṃsāra. Abiding there, such beings do not experience perceptions and yet cannot be said to be without perceptions.

Bilva fruit tree

Aegle mermelos, also known as Indian bael or wood apple. Thirty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. Some sources seem to list the fruit and tree as separate designs (see n.­29).

Black antelope

Most likely refers to the blackbuck (Antilope cervicapra), also known as the Indian antelope. Thirty-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Boat

Forty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Born from a womb

One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skyes gnas bzhi).

Born from an egg

One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skes gnas bzhi).

Born from heat and moisture

One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skes gnas bzhi). Tiny bugs and microbes are understood to be born from the confluence of heat and moisture.

Born miraculously

One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skes gnas bzhi). Those who take miraculous birth are spontaneously born fully mature at the time of their birth. There are many categories of beings that can be born under these circumstances including gods, hungry ghosts, beings born in hell, beings born in the intermediate state (antarābhava; bar ma do), and even humans in special circumstances or in the pure realms.

Bow

Thirty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Boy

Sixty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Bracelet

Seventy-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

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 found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are multiple universes and world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them; however, The Question of Mañjuśrī describes sequentially higher brahmā gods as ruling over sequentially more numerous world systems. The image of the singular deity, Brahmā, is depicted as the forty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Broad heels

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the seventeenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Bull

A bull. Also the second zodiac sign, vṛṣabha, which corresponds to Taurus. Both vṛṣabha and ṛṣabha can be used as respectful epithets implying preeminence, usually in phrases such as “a bull among men” (a frequent epithet of the Buddha), “a bull among sages,” and the like. Here, the bull is the twenty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Cakravāka shelduck

Tadorna ferrugine or ruddy shelduck. Nineteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Cakravartin

A cakravartin is a king who rules over at least one continent and gains his territory by the rolling of his magic wheel over the land. Therefore he is called a king with the revolving wheel. This is as the result of the merit he has accumulated in previous lifetimes. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his wheel can be found in Toh 95, The Play in Full 3.3–3.6 (here translated as “universal monarch”).

Calves like those of Eṇeya, king of antelopes

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the sixteenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being. Eṇeya (sometimes Aiṇeya) is the mythical king of ungulates, usualy depicted as an antelope.

Cāṣa bird

Eighteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. This most likely refers to the Indian Roller, Coracias indica, a small bird with bright blue plumage.

Cheeks like a lion

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the ninth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Chiliocosm

In Buddhist cosmology, a universe that itself contains a thousand world systems, each made up of its own Mount Meru, four continents, sun, moon, and god realms.

Cloud

Forty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Concealed male organ

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fourteenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being. In the Mahāvyutpatti and other sources this sign is expressed as “genitals concealed in a sheath” (kośa­gata­vasti­guhya; ’doms kyi sba ba sbubs su nub pa).

Conch

Seventy-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. This design of the conch is represented separately from the Dharma conch found at the apex of the hierarchy of merit described in The Question of Mañjuśrī.

Dangling earring

Seventy-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Dark blue eyes with bovine eyelashes

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the sixth of the thirty-two signs of a great being. This matches the list found in the Mahāvyutpatti, no. 240, but in other lists this is represented as two separate signs: “dark blue eyes” and “bovine eyelashes.”

Desire realm

In Buddhist cosmology, this is our own realm, the lowest and most coarse of the three realms of saṃsāra. It is called this because beings here are characterized by their strong longing and attachment to the pleasures of the senses. The desire realm includes hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals, humans, asuras, and the lowest heavens of the gods. Located above the desire realm is the form realm and formless realm.

Dhanada

Dhanada (“Wealth Giver”) is another name of Vaiśravaṇa (rnam thos sras, “Prince of the Distinctly Hearing One”), one of the Four Great Kings (rgyal po chen po bzhi) ruling the four directions of the desire realm. Vaiśravaṇa rules the northern direction and the yakṣas (gnod sbyin) that reside there. In The Question of Mañjuśrī his image is the fifty-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Dharma conch

One of the eight auspicious emblems. As a musical instrument, the conch is blown like a trumpet, and throughout India’s history it has been a symbol of power, authority, and auspicious beginnings. In Buddhism, the Dharma conch has been variously described to represent the Buddha’s speech, his thought or intention (dgongs), or the sound of his teachings‍—in essence the Dharma itself. The sound of blowing the Dharma conch awakens beings from their sleep of delusion and ignorance.

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

One of the Four Great Kings (rgyal po chen po bzhi) ruling the four directions of the desire realm. Dhṛtarāṣṭra rules the eastern direction and the gandharvas (dri za) that reside there. In The Question of Mañjuśrī the image of him is the forty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Dhyāna

One of the synonyms for meditation, referring specifically to states of mental stability or one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind free from afflicted mental states. The term also refers to the specific states of absorption of the form and formless realms. Abiding in these absorptions can cause one to be reborn into these realms, and the states themselves also seem to have a spatial correlation to the form and formless realms. In this way there are eight progressive dhyānas; the first four rūpāvacara­dhyāna correspond to the form realm and the latter ārūpāvacara­dhyāna corrspond to the formless realms. See also n.­19.

Diadem

Sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Dichiliocosm

In Buddhist cosmology, a dichiliocosm is a galaxy or aggregate of universes that itself contains a thousand chiliocosms, or one million world systems.

Dove

Twenty-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Drum

Seventieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Dūrvā grass

Cynodon dactylon (syn. Panicum dactylon), a kind of grass that is used in a variety of Buddhist ceremonies. It is also one of the eight auspicious substances (bkra shis rdzas brgyad). Here it is sixty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Earring

Seventy-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Eight auspicious emblems

Eight Indian emblems signifying fortune and auspiciousness. They include the lotus, the śrīvatsa, the pair of golden fish, the parasol, the victory banner, the treasure vase, the conch, and the wheel. They are not discussed particularly in this sūtra, although several of the eight are also included in the list of eighty designs found on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Eighty designs

Eighty images found on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. See Introduction and 1.­17.

Eighty excellent signs

A set of eighty bodily characteristics and insignia borne by both buddhas and cakravartins. For a complete list see the Aṣṭā­daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā Sūtra (The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines), 73.93.

Elephant

Ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Eon

A cosmic period of time. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser or intermediate eons. In the course of one great eon, the external universe and its sentient life takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion (vivartakalpa); during the next twenty it remains created; during the third twenty it is in the process of destruction or contraction (saṃvartakalpa); and during the last quarter of the cycle it remains in a state of destruction (saṃvarta­sthāyi­kalpa).

Eon of destruction

The third period of destruction in the in the four-part cycle of creation and destruction of a world system or universe (here in The Question of Mañjuśrī it seems to be applied to an entire trichiliocosm). See also “eon.”

Even forehead

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the third of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Excellent flower

Seventy-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Excellent throne

Sixty-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Feet with high arches

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-first of the thirty-two signs of a great being. In some lists this sign is rendered “inconspicuous ankles bones” (ucchaṅkhapāda; zhabs kyi long mo’i tshigs mi mngon pa). Because of the similar and ambiguous meaning of the Sanskrit, both Tibetan translations are found attested for utsaṅgapāda.

Fine skin the color of gold

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-fifth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Fire

Fifty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Fish

Thirteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Form realm

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 the “three realms.”

Formless realm

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 the “three realms.”

Forty close-fitting teeth

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the seventh of the thirty-two signs of a great being. In the Mahāvyutpatti and other lists this is represented as two separate signs: “forty teeth” (catvāriṃśaddanta; tshems bzhi bcu mnga’ ba) and “close-fitting teeth” (aviraladanta; tshems thags bzang ba).

Four continents

According to Abhidharma cosmology, each world system has four continents surrounding a central Mount Meru: to the east, Videha (lus ’phags po, “superior body”); to the south, our continent of Jambudvīpa (’dzam bu gling, “Rose Apple Continent”); to the west, Apara­godānīya (ba glang spyod “Rich in Cattle”); and to the north, Uttarakuru (sgra mi snyan, “Unpleasant Sound”).

Full and rounded thighs

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fifteenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Garland

Fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Gayal

Bos frontalis, a species of ox also known as gayal. Twenty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Girl

Sixty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Goat

Twenty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Goose

Twenty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Great medicine

Twenty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. This term is applied to a number of different medicinal herbs or herb mixtures.

Great sage

Indian sage, often a wandering ascetic or hermit; in other contexts the term is also an epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fifty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. As this “great sage” is listed in the eighty designs among a group of gods (47–55), it could be that this is an epithet referring to a specific god, but to whom cannot be deciphered with certainty from this narrow context.

Hair growing from every pore

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the thirteenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Having an excellent well-built body

Literally “having a form excellent in all body parts.”

Hook

Fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Horse

Tenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Hundred sextillion

If the Abhidharma system is followed, this is a number calculated by multiplying a koṭi (bye ba), or ten million; by a niyuta (khrag khrig), or a hundred billion; and by a śatasahasra (brgya stong), or one hundred thousand, which all together equals ten to the 23rd power or a hundred sextillion. This term is often used as to express a number so large as to be inconceivable.

Indra

In most Buddhist texts he is known as Śakra; however, as the forty-eighth of the designs on the Tathāgatha’s hands and feet his name Indra, meaning “lord,” is used.

Insight

As the sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. In other contexts it refers to the mental factor responsible for ascertaining specific qualities of a given object, such as its characteristics or whether it should be taken up or rejected.

Intermediate eon

A cosmic period of time. Following the Abhidharma system, eighty intermediate eons together compose one great eon (mahākalpa).

Kalaviṅka bird

An Indian bird renowned for its beautiful song. There is some uncertainty regarding the identity of the kalaviṅka, as some dictionaries declare it to be a type of Indian cuckoo (probably Eudynamys scolopacea, also known as the asian koel) or a red and green sparrow (possibly Amandava amandava, also known as the red avadavat). Within the Buddhist sūtras, the bird is usually linked to its pleasing or striking voice. In some cases, it has also taken on mythical characteristics, being described as part human, part bird. Here it is the sixteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Lance

Thirty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Large and slender tongue

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the tenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being. In most other sources, the Tibetan is rendered as “very long and slender tongue” (ljags shin tu ring zhing srab pa), but the underlying Sanskrit is likely the same or similar at the very least.

Lasso

Forty-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Lion at the center of a wheel

Eightieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Long fingers and toes

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twentieth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Lotus

Sixtieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Mace

The Sanskrit has the meaning of both a club or mace-like weapon, and a pestle used for grinding, which as a cylinder of wood or stone can also be utilized as a weapon. The former meaning makes sense in the context of the short list of weapons (34–43) found among the eighty designs, although the Tibetan has the meaning of “pestle.” Mahāvyutpatti no. 5890 equates gtun shing with musala. Here its image is the forty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Makara

A legendary sea monster often described as an amalgamation of several terrestrial and/or aquatic animals such as an elephant, a crocodile, and a boar, although the term is sometimes associated with the dugong, the crocodile, or the dolphin. Here its image is the twelfth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Mañjuśrī

One of the eight “close sons” of the Buddha, the embodiment of insight (prajñā). In Tibetan tradition he is known as rgyal ba’i yab gcig, the “sole father of buddhas,” as he inspires them in their realization of the profound. He is represented as bearing the sword of insight in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñā­pāramitā­sūtra in his left.

Māra

Said to be the principal deity in Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin, the highest paradise in the desire realm. He is also portrayed as attempting to prevent the Buddha’s awakening. The name māra is also used as a generic name for the deities in his realm and also as an impersonal term for the factors that keep beings in saṃsāra.

Mirror

Sixty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Moon

Fifty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Mountain

Thirtieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Mṛdaṅga

A two-headed hand drum that is played horizontally, wider in the middle with one drum head smaller than the other. Seventy-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Nāga

A mythical being usually depicted as having the top half of a human and the bottom half of a snake. However, the nāga has a myriad of associations within Buddhism and Indian traditions in general; the term may be associated with deities, snakes (more specifically cobras), elephants, subterranean spirits, water spirits, or ethnic groups of people from the Indian subcontinent. In Tibet they became specifically associated with water spirits (klu), and in China they came to be associated with dragons. Here the image of the nāga is the twenty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Nandyāvarta

An auspicious design resembling a svastika with an elaborate pattern around its border. In the Mahāvyutpatti, nandyāvarta is translated into the Tibetan as g.yung drung; however, later on the same Tibetan was used to translate svastika, which is translated by the Tibetan bkra shis ldan in the Mahāvyutpatti. Sometimes the distinction is made with the extended term g.yung drung ’kyil ba, a “rotating svastika/g.yung drung,” since the border pattern of the nandyāvarta gives the impression that the svastika in the center is rotating. Here the image is the sixty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Palms and soles that are soft and supple

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the eighteenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Palms and soles with the mark of the wheel

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-eighth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Parasol

First of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. In general Indian iconography it is a symbol of protection and royalty. In Buddhism it symbolizes protection from blazing heat of afflictions, desire, illness, and harmful forces, just as a physical parasol protects one from the blazing sun or the elements. It is also included in the eight auspicious emblems.

Parrot

Twentieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Partridge

Some times translated as “pheasant.” The Sanskrit, jīvaṃjīva refers to the chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar). In Tibet and China, this became a mythical bird depicted as a half human and half bird, or as a bird with two heads. Here its image is the seventeenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Peacock

Fifteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Pearl ornament

Forty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Plow

The Sanskrit may also refer to a weapon or a plow repurposed as a weapon, which would make sense in the context of the short list of weapons (34–43) found among the eighty designs, although the Tibetan meaning itself doesn’t connote this secondary meaning. Here its image is the fortieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Pratyekabuddha

Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Those who attain buddhahood in a time when the Buddha’s doctrine is no longer available in the world, and who remain either in solitude or among peers, without teaching the path to liberation to others. They are sometimes called “rhinoceros-like” for their preference for staying in solitude.

Precious elephant

One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. The precious elephant is described as having magical abilities and sometimes as having six tusks. A passage about the precious elephant is found in Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.7. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇa­prajñapti, folio 119.b.

Precious horse

One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. The precious horse is described as having magical abilities, and a passage about it is found in Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.8. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇa­prajñapti, folio 120.b.

Precious jewel

One of the seven treasures possessed by the cakravartin king. It is often equated with or described as a wish-fulfilling jewel (yid bzhin gyi nor bu). It is additionally included as the thirty-third of the eighty designs found on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. A passage about the precious jewel is found in Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.9. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇa­prajñapti, folio 121.b.

Precious minister

One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. See also Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.12 See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇa­prajñapti, folio 126.a.

Precious steward

One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. See also Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.11. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇa­prajñapti, folio 124.b.

Precious wheel

One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. The precious wheel has one thousand spokes and is the treasure that gives the cakravartin his name, as a king with a “revolving wheel.” This magical wheel floats in the air and travels, followed by the cakravartin king and his army, to the continents they will conquer. In some descriptions the wheel is made of iron, copper, silver, or gold, depending on the degree of his power and the number of the four continents he will conquer. A illustrative passage about the precious wheel is found Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.3–3.6 (where “cakravartin” is translated as “universal monarch”). See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇa­prajñapti, folio 112.b.

Precious woman

One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. Here the term is translated literally, but elsewhere she is referred to as btsun mo rin po che, “the precious queen.” See also Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.10. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇa­prajñapti, folio 122.a.

Puroḍāśa

Cakes of grain and/or clarified butter offered as oblations in a fire ritual. The sixty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Right-curling dark blue hair on the head

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the second of the thirty-two signs of a great being. In other sources the “dark blue” (abhinīla; mthing) color isn’t mentioned with this sign. Mahāvyutpatti no. 237 has “right-curling hair on the head” (pradakṣiṇāvarta­keśa; dbu skra gyas su ’khyil ba).

Ring

Seventy-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. More specifically, it is a “finger ring.”

Round shoulders

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-third of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Śakra

Common epithet of the god Indra, in Skt. meaning “Mighty One,” and in Tib., “Hundred Gifts.” The Tibetan translation is based on an alternate etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, “one who has performed a hundred sacrifices.” This epithet often appears together with the title devendra “Lord of Gods.” He is ruler of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

Samanta Assembly Hall

The name of an assembly hall in Śrāvastī. It could be that samanta, meaning “universal,” just refers to the assembly hall in general. However, both the Tibetan and Chinese seemed to translate this word literally, which suggests it may be a proper noun.

Seven prominent parts

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-fourth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Seven treasures

The seven possessions of a cakravartin including the precious wheel, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious jewel, the precious woman, the precious steward, and the precious minister. In some forms of the list the steward or minister is variably replaced by the precious general (senāpatiratna; dmag dpon rin po che) or the precious sword (khaḍgaratna; ral gri rin po che). A more detailed description of these seven can be found in Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.2–3.12. There is also a detailed description of the seven treasures and the corresponding causal conditions for obtaining them in Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 111.b. The term should not be confused with seven precious substances, a set of seven precious stones or minerals, which is a term found elsewhere but also rendered rin po che sna bdun.

Śrāvaka

Primarily referring to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat by seeking self-liberation, in contrast to followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle, who seek buddhahood for the sake of all beings. It is usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.”

Śrāvastī

A city of ancient India in present-day Uttar Pradesh. It was the capital of the kingdom of Kosala.

Śrī

The goddess of fortune and prosperity, she is also known as Lakṣmī. In The Question of Mañjuśrī her image is the fifty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Śrīvatsa

An auspicious symbol for eternity, taking the design of an endless looping knot; the Tibetan translates the term as “glorious knot,” while the Sanskrit literally means “beloved of Śrī” as an epithet of Viṣṇu (the consort of Śrī), because the emblem is seen on Viṣṇu’s chest. In Buddhism the design represents the endless insight and compassion of the Buddha and is included among the eight auspicious emblems. It is also here the third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Staff

Seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Sun

Fifty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Supreme sword

Thirty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Tail whisk

Sixty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Tathāgata

A frequently used synonym for buddha, literally meaning “one who has thus gone.” The expression 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.”

Ten virtuous actions

Refraining from the ten unvirtuous actions, i.e., not killing, not stealing, not engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, not speaking divisively, not speaking harshly, not gossiping, not being covetous, not being malicious, and not having wrong views.

Ability to reach the hands to the knees without bending

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-sixth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

The voice of Brahmā

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-ninth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Thirty-two signs of a great being

Thirty-two of the 112 identifying physical characteristics of both buddhas and cakravartins, in addition to the eighty excellent signs. There are significant variations found in this list from source to source. See n.­36.

Three realms

The formless realm, the form realm, and the desire realm: the three realms that comprise saṃsāra.

Tiger

Eleventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Torso like a lion

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the eleventh of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Triangle

Sixty-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Trichiliocosm

A term from Abhidharma cosmology referring to one thousand dichiliocosms, or one billion world systems.

Trident

Thirty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Turtle

Fourteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Ūrṇā hair between the eyebrows

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fifth of the thirty-two signs of a great being. The ūrṇā or the “hair-treasure” (mdzod spu) is the circlet of hair between the Buddha’s eyebrows. In the Mahāvyutpatti this sign is expressed without mention of the eyebrows, (ūrṇākeśa; mdzod spu).

Uṣṇīṣa

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as first of the thirty-two signs of a great being. In its simplest form it is a pointed shape of the head like a turban (the Sanskrit term, uṣṇīṣa, in fact means “turban”), or more elaborately a dome-shaped extension. The extension is described as having various magical attributes such as emitting and absorbing rays of light or reaching an immense height.

Vajra

Thirty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Varuṇa

The Vedic deity understood in later periods to be the lord of waters; thus the Tibetans translate his name as “God of Water” (chu’i lha). In The Question of Mañjuśrī his image is the fiftieth of the eighty designs on the palms of the hand and feet of the Tathāgata.

Vase

Eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Victory banner

Second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Virūḍhaka

One of the Four Great Kings (rgyal po chen po bzhi) ruling the four directions of the desire realm. Virūḍhaka rules the southern direction and the kumbhāṇḍas (grul bum) that reside there. In The Question of Mañjuśrī his image is the fifty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Virūpākṣa

One of the Four Great Kings (rgyal po chen po bzhi) ruling the four directions of the desire realm. Virūpākṣa rules the western direction and the nāgās (klu) that reside there. In The Question of Mañjuśrī his image is the fifty-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Webbed fingers and toes

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the nineteenth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Well-positioned feet

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-seventh of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

White canine teeth

Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the eighth of the thirty-two signs of a great being.

Wind

Fifty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.

Wisdom

Wish

Wish-granting tree

Seventy-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.