co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

In The Inquiry of Lokadhara, the bodhisattva Lokadhara asks the Buddha to explain the proper way for bodhisattvas to discern the characteristics of phenomena and employ that knowledge to attain awakening. In reply, the Buddha teaches at length how to understand the lack of inherent existence of phenomena. As part of the teaching, the Buddha explains in detail the nonexistence of the aggregates, the elements, the sense sources, dependently originated phenomena, the four applications of mindfulness, the five powers, the eightfold path of the noble ones, and mundane and transcendent phenomena, as well as conditioned and unconditioned phenomena.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

The sūtra was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation from the Tibetan was produced by Timothy Hinkle. Andreas Doctor checked the translation against the Tibetan, edited the text, and wrote the introduction. James Gentry subsequently compared the translation against Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation and made further edits.

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

The Translation
The Noble Sūtra
The Inquiry of Lokadhara
n.

Notes

n.­1
Herrmann-Pfandt, 2008.
n.­2
Alternatively, although less likely, the Sanskrit source text for the Tibetan translation could have been nearly identical to Kumārajīva’s source text.
n.­3
Both the Stok manuscript (Tib. rgya) and the Chinese (印) read “seal” here, whereas the Degé reads “causes” (Tib. rgyu).
n.­4
Translated based on the Chinese (衆生) and Stok (Tib. sems can). Degé reads: sems.
n.­5
The expression “evil world of the five degenerations” (Tib. rnyog pa lnga’i ’jig rten ngan pa) is a rare, literal translation of the Chinese, 五濁惡世, which in turn translates the Sanskrit pañcakaṣāyaloka. This is further evidence that the Tibetan was translated from Chinese.
n.­6
Translated based on Stok: ma yin. Degé reads: yin.
n.­7
Meaning that when one takes a raft across a river, one need not carry the raft beyond the bank; it has served its purpose.
n.­8
Kumārajīva’s Chinese translation of this sentence, as it appears in Taishō 482, seems to present a quotation: “Noble children, as explained in the discourses, ‘Monks, if those who want to know my Dharma are to discard even the Dharma as they would a raft, what need is there to mention what is non-Dharma?’ ” (諸善男子。如經中説。汝等比丘。若知我法如栰喩者。法尚應捨。何況非法。). Although the parable of the teachings being like a raft that must be discarded once it has served its purpose is well-known throughout Buddhist literature, we have been unable to locate this precise statement in other scriptures.
n.­9
Translated based on the Chinese: 若邪見者則爲妄見。是人不名爲眞見。. Degé reads: gang log par mthong ba de ni yang dag pa ma yin pa mthong ba ste gang zag de ni yang dag pa nyid mthong ba zhes bya’o.
n.­10
Translated based on the Chinese: 夢中色相無有決定。但以憶想故有。色陰相亦如是。從先世業因縁出。無有決定性。. Degé reads: ri dang / chu dang / nags tshal la sogs par mthong ste / de ltar rmi lam gyis gzugs kyi mtshan ma de la nges par chad pa med de rnam par brtags pa’i ’du shes las gzugs kyi phung po’i mtshan mar skyed pa yang de bzhin te / sngon gyi las kyi rgyu dang rkyen las skyes te nges pa’i rang bzhin can ma yin no.
n.­11
Translated based on the Chinese: 是菩薩爾時不滅色亦不求滅色法。. Degé reads: de ltar byang chub sems dpa’ de’i tshe gzugs mi ’gag gzugs ’gags pa’i chos tshol lo.
n.­12
Here “the five classes of beings” translates the Tibetan lam rgyud lnga. R. A. Stein (2010) suggests that lam rgyud lnga, or lam lnga, is a Tibetan rendering of the Chinese 五道. In fact, lam rgyud lnga appears almost exclusively in texts that are openly avowed to be translations from Chinese. This is perhaps the most compelling evidence to suggest a Chinese source text.
n.­13
Translated based on the Chinese: 亦不分別想陰滅。但爲滅一切想受陰故。亦住如實知見故。. Degé reads: ’du shes kyi phung po dgag par rnam par mi rtog pa ni ’du shes kyi tshor ba thams cad dgag pa’i phyir yang dag pa ji lta ba bzhin shes shing mthong la gnas na’i phyir ro.
n.­14
Translated based on Stok, which includes …mi gnas par. This accords with the Chinese.
n.­15
“Mind, mentality, and consciousness” here respectively translate sems (Skt. citta), yid (Skt. manas), and rnam par shes pa (Skt. vijñāna).
n.­16
Translation of this sentence is tentative. This interpretive rendering is based on a comparison of the Tibetan and the Chinese. The Chinese reads: 分別虚妄事故。以一相故。以決定相故。能得是心是意是識。能得分別愛著。. Degé reads: rnam par rtog pa’i yang dag pa ma yin pa’i dngos po’i phyir / mtshan nyid gcig pa’i phyir / nges pa’i mtshan nyid gcig pa’i phyir sems de dang / yid dang / rnam par shes pa de thob cing chags pa rnam par ’byed pa la mkhas pa thob par ’gyur ro. Interestingly, the Chinese 分別 maps throughout the translation to both the Tibetan rnam par ’byed pa and rnam par rtog pa; and according to the online Digital Dictionary of Buddhism (www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb/), it is a possible translation of both the Sanskrit vibhaj and cognates like vibhāga, as well as vikalpa/saṃkalpa or even just kalpa. 能, for its part, typically lends an “agential” sense to its attached verb in the Chinese, so it could remain untranslated in Tibetan, but it can also be a translation of the Sanskrit terms kuśala, paṇḍita, and pravīṇa, all of which mkhas pa also renders. Perhaps this is a translation error from Chinese to Tibetan, possibly with an extra scribal “correction” added later due to misunderstanding, which would account for why the “childish ordinary people” would “attain skill in discerning attachment,” a concept that hardly makes sense in this context.
n.­17
Read according to Stok: ma skyes. Also, the Chinese reads: 不生。.
n.­18
Tibetan: ’khrul ’khor gyi mi; Chinese: 機關木人。. This Tibetan term appears only in Kangyur texts that were translated from Chinese.
n.­19
Translated according to the Chinese (壞) and other Tibetan variants instead of Degé, which reads: ’jog.
n.­20
Translated according to the Stok, which reads: gzugs med pa’i khams kyi lha’i nye bar len, and the Chinese, which also includes the word for “gods/devas” 諸天. Degé reads: gzugs med pa’i khams kyi nye bar len.
n.­21
Translation informed by the Chinese: …故。諸佛如來作如是分別説。. Degé does not show this sentence as explicitly introducing the following paragraph. A variant reading in the Chinese is missing 説. It reads, “the thus-gone buddhas analyzed as follows.”
n.­22
Tib. srid read as sred according to Stok and the Chinese.
n.­23
Translated from the Chinese: 從顛倒無明闇冥起。.
n.­24
Tentative translation. The Tibetan reads: nges par gcad pa (Skt. nirlūna). The Chinese reads 決定說五陰相, “speak/teach with certainty about the marks of the five aggregates,” or “speak about the marks of five aggregates as real.” Given the parallelism with the phrase below, which reads in Tibetan nges par/nges pa’i ’chad pa, and thus closely reflects the Chinese, the Tibetan nges par gcad pa is most likely a corruption of the former.
n.­25
Translation tentative. Tibetan: nges pa’i ’chad pa; Chinese: 決定說.
n.­26
Tib. sman pa read as smon pa according to Urga edition of the Kangyur, which accords with the Chinese: 所願.
n.­27
This accords also with the Chinese: 若坐若經行.
n.­28
Read according to Stok: dmigs su med and the Chinese: 不可得。.
n.­29
Interestingly, the Chinese here reads: 不合不散, “neither gathered nor separated.”
n.­30
Read according to the Chinese: 識所行處是眼識性。是識無決定故。説無決定相。 無生故。示虚妄故。能分別色相故。能示縁故。.
n.­31
This introductory phrase is supplied by the Chinese: 説是十八性…。.
n.­32
Translated in part according to the Chinese 離意性則無意。意性不能知意。假名字故説爲意性。. Degé reads: yid kyi khams las gud na yid dang yid kyi khams zhes ba ba med / yid du mi shes kyang bla dags su yid kyi khams zhes btags so.
n.­33
According to Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok: …rang bzhin med pas rang bzhin nyid. This also reflects the Chinese: 法性無自性。自性不可得。. Degé reads: …rang bzhin nyid dmigs su med de.
n.­34
Reading informed by the Chinese: 但令衆生知見善不善法。以法性説離一切法相。.
n.­35
Read according to the Chinese: 聖人求之不可得。.
n.­36
Read according to the Chinese: 意識不知意性。意性不知意識。.
n.­37
Both “element” and “realm” here translate the same term (Skt. dhātu; Tib. khams), albeit used in different contexts.
n.­38
The eye and form.
n.­39
Sentence parsed according to the Chinese: 如來説是諸入知見相。.
n.­40
Read according to Stok, Yongle, Kangxi, Choné, and the Chinese.
n.­41
Read according to the Chinese: 如來如實通達故示是諸入。.
n.­42
The Chinese reads 行, “formations” here.
n.­43
The Chinese here reads “that all phenomena do not exist”: 一切法無所有。.
n.­44
Read according to the Chinese: 是六入因名色起。.
n.­45
Read according to the Chinese: 亦不離受有愛。.
n.­46
Here the Tibetan text includes a negation (Tib. ma), which we have not translated based on the previous occurrences of this sentence in which the negation is absent.
n.­47
Read according to the Chinese (老死憂悲苦惱亦不依生) and Stok (...skye ba la mi gnas).
n.­48
Read according to the Chinese: 作者受者。.
n.­49
Read according to Stok: chos zhes bya ba med na and Chinese, which analogously reads: 若法無者。.
n.­50
Glossed with the help of the Chinese: 不得自在不得隨意。作是不作是。. Degé reads: gzhan ma yin / dbang med pa / ’dir rang nyams byar med pa / byas pa’o nyam du sems so.
n.­51
Read according to Stok: mi ’gyur ba’i mtshan nyid med pa, and the Chinese: 無不變異相。.
n.­52
Read according to Stok: mi ’gyur ba med pa, and the Chinese: 無不變異相。.
n.­53
Here the Chinese reads: 空拳, “empty fist.”
n.­54
Reading med pa according to Yongle and Kangxi. Degé and other editions read mang po.
n.­55
Parsed according to the Chinese: 作是念諸受空性空故。.
n.­56
Read according to the Chinese: 念念生滅相續不斷故. Degé: skad cig skad cig gis sky zhing ’gog pa gcig gis bsags pa rgyun mi ’chad pas sems zhes bya ste.
n.­57
Read according to the Chinese: 客塵煩惱染故有分別。. Degé: blo bur gyi nyon mongs pas kun nas nyon mongs pa rnam par rtog kyang.
n.­58
Read according to the Chinese: 菩薩見知心清淨相。亦知衆生心清淨相。作是念。心垢故衆生垢。心淨故衆生淨。. Degé: byang chub sems dpa’ rnams bdag gi sems rnam par dag pa nyid du shes shing mthong bas sems can dag gi sems kyang rnam par dag par shes te snyam du sems so / sems dri ma yod pas na / sems rnam par dag pas na sems can yang rnam par dag pa’o.
n.­59
Read according to the Chinese: 所謂是諸法屬是人。諸法本體於諸法中無諸法。. Degé: ’di lta ste / chos thams cad gang zag dbang po zhes bya ba dang chos kyi ngo bo nyid ces bya ba ni chos thams cad chos zhes ba med de.
n.­60
Read according to the Chinese: 見一切法盡滅相寂滅相。. Degé: des chos thams cad kyi mi ’gog pa zad pa’i mtshan nyid dang rab tu zhi ba’i mtshan nyid kyang mthong ngo. As such, the Tibetan translation splits 盡滅 into ’gog pa and zad pa, though curiously it includes a negative mi prefix before the two, which clearly contrasts with the Chinese 盡滅相. Also, 盡滅 need not be split, since these two characters taken together in compound can also often mean “extinguished.”
n.­61
The Chinese would read here: “pure liberation and pure knowledge and experience of liberation”; 解脱清淨。解脱知見清淨。.
n.­62
Here “bring to mind” translates Tib. dran par byed, which could also be translated “remain mindful of.” The meaning here is that they analyze the nature of such actions in general, rather than observe them unfold in the present.
n.­63
Read according to Stok: ting nge ’dzin las dka’ ba’m chung ba med par ’dod pa bzhin du, and the Chinese: 於諸定中不以爲難不以爲少。隨意所欲。.
n.­64
This term (Tib. dbang po, Skt. indriya) has many uses and connotations, and can refer to the god Indra or someone who is similarly dominant in a particular arena. Thus the word conveys a sense of power and leadership.
n.­65
Tib. kyis read as kyi according to Urga.
n.­66
Tib. mkhas pa’i read as mkhas pas according to Yongle and Kangxi. Parsed according to the Chinese.
n.­67
Read according to the Chinese: 云何名爲正見。一切法寂滅。念相不生不滅同於涅槃。. Degé: de la ji ltar na yang dag par lta bas chos thams cad rab tu zhi ba dang / rang bzhin gyis mi skye mi ’gog cing mya ngan las ’das pa dang ’thun pa gang zhe na.
n.­68
Read according to the Chinese: 如是亦不念不分別是一切法。不念不分別不現在前。. Degé: ’di ltar mi rtog pa dang / rnam par mi rtog pa’i chos thams cad la mi rtog rnam par mi rtog mngon sum du byed ma yang ma yin.
n.­69
Alternately, Stok would read: “The cessation of thought is no thought,” (rnam par rtog pa bcad pa ni rnam par mi rtog pa’o), and the Chinese would read: “The cessation of thought is right thought” (斷分別是正分別。).
n.­70
Reading ’tsho according to Yongle and Kangxi. Degé and other versions read tshor.
n.­71
For example, according to monastic regulations, monks are permitted thirteen articles of livelihood, which include their robes and basic necessities like a washing rag, razor, and sitting mat.
n.­72
Translation tentative. Degé: kha tshar dar ’dzings pa.
n.­73
Read according to the Chinese: 云何為行自墮數中。. Degé: ’du byed cis bya ba ni bgrang ba’i grangs su gtogs.
n.­74
The three characteristics are arising, remaining, and ceasing.
n.­75
Reading informed by the Chinese: 亦得如是諸法實相方便.
n.­76
Read informed by the Chinese: 所謂善觀一切法無量縁。觀一切法無量方便。亦觀無量方便起。. Variant readings provide the following for this phrase: 所謂善觀諸法無量縁。觀一切無量方便。亦觀無量方便起。. This would alternatively read: “It means contemplating the limitless conditions of Dharma teachings, contemplating the skillful application of all the limitless [conditions], and contemplating the emergence of limitless skillful applications. The Tibetan reads: chos thams cad kyi rkyen tshad med pa la rtog pa dang / tshad med pa thams cad kyi rtog pa la sbyor ba dang ldan pa’i sbyor ba’i tshad pa la rtog pa’o/.
n.­77
Degé reads “Lokadhara,” but this seems to be an error.
n.­78
Tib. zhing omitted according to Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné.
b.

Bibliography

’phags pa ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa zhes bya ba’i mdo (Āryālokadhara­paripṛcchānāma­sūtra). Toh 174, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 7b.4–78b.7.

’phags pa ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa zhes bya ba’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. 60, pp. 22–206.

’phags pa ’jig rten ’dzin gyis yongs su dris pa zhes bya ba’i mdo (Āryālokadhara­paripṛcchānāma­sūtra). In bka’ ’gyur (stog pho brang bris ma). Vol. 72 (mdo sde, zha), folios 1r–110v.

Chang, Cornelius P. “A Re-evaluation of the Development of Hsing-su Style in the Fourth Century AD.” National Palace Museum Quarterly, 11/2 (Winter 1976): 19–44.

Digital Dictionary of Buddhism. http://www.buddhism-dict.net/ddb/.

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

Lokadharaparipṛcchā; Chishi jing 持世經 (Taishō 482). Translated by Kumārajīva. In Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō 大正新脩大藏經, ed. Junjirō Takakusu, Kaikyoku Watanabe, 100 vols., Tokyo: Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō Kankōkai, 1924–34.

Stein, R. A. “The Two Vocabularies of Indo-Tibetan and Sino-Tibetan Translations in the Dunhuang Manuscripts.” In Rolf Stein’s Tibetica Antiqua with Additional Materials, trans. and ed. Arthur P. McKeown. Leiden: Brill, 2010, pp. 1–96.

Table of Contents

Search this text

Other ways to read

Download PDF
Download EPUB
Open in the 84000 App

Spotted a mistake?

Please use the contact form provided to suggest a correction.

How to cite this text

The following is an example of how to correctly cite this publication. Links to specific passages can be derived by right-clicking on the milestones markers in the left-hand margin (e.g. s.1). The copied link address can replace the url below.

(tr.). The Inquiry of Lokadhara (Lokadharaparipṛcchā, Toh 174). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023:
https://read.84000.co/translation/toh174.html?part=end-notes

Related links

Sponsor Translation