The Basket without Words, The Illuminator’s Matrix
Notes
Toh 259
Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mde sde, za), folios 259.b–264.a
Translated by Bhikṣuṇī Thubten Damcho and team
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2022
Current version v 1.0.6 (2023)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Basket without Words, The Illuminator’s Matrix unfolds in Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak, where the Buddha is dwelling with a great assembly. The bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin requests the Buddha to give a teaching on two words and asks him to explain one factor that bodhisattvas should abandon, one quality that encompasses all the foundations of the training when safeguarded by bodhisattvas, and one phenomenon to which thus-gone ones truly and perfectly awaken. The Buddha responds by listing the afflictions that bodhisattvas abandon. Next, he advises bodhisattvas not to do to others what they themselves do not desire. Then, he teaches that there is no phenomenon to which thus-gone ones truly and perfectly awaken, and that thus-gone ones comprehend that all phenomena are free from going and coming, causes and conditions, death and birth, acceptance and rejection, and decrease and increase. At the conclusion of the sūtra, members of the assembly promise to propagate this teaching, and the Buddha explains the benefits of doing so.
Acknowledgements
This translation was produced by Bhikṣuṇī Thubten Damcho and team. Geshema Tenzin Lhadrön kindly reviewed this translation. Bhikṣuṇī Dr. Heng Ching Shih pointed us to contemporary Chinese commentaries. We are also grateful to Bhikṣuṇī Thubten Chodron and the Sravasti Abbey community, Dr. William Magee, Dr. Paul Hackett, and Maitripa College for their support and advice regarding this translation.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Introduction
The Basket1 without Words, The Illuminator’s Matrix2 begins with a description of the marvelous qualities of a massive assembly of bodhisattvas that has gathered in Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak together with the Buddha and his monastics. There follows a list of the great bodhisattvas in attendance, some of whom are accompanied by retinues of bodhisattvas, gods, goddesses, and universal monarchs. Also present are arhats, nāgas, gandharvas, and garuḍas, as well as more bodhisattvas from world systems in the ten directions, each accompanied by a fourfold assembly.
The main interlocutor of this discourse is the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin, who is praised by the Buddha in The Questions of Brahmaviśeṣacintin (Brahmaviśeṣacintiparipṛcchā, Toh 160)3 as “foremost among the bodhisattvas skilled in asking questions correctly and thoroughly.” The bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin requests the Buddha to give a teaching on two words, and he asks the Buddha about one factor bodhisattvas abandon, one quality that encompasses all the foundations of the training when bodhisattvas safeguard it, and one phenomenon to which thus-gone ones truly and perfectly awaken.
The Buddha responds to the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin’s first question by listing eight afflictions that bodhisattvas should abandon: the three poisons of attachment, anger, and delusion; afflictions derived from ignorance such as grasping at a self, laziness, and lethargy and sleepiness; and two of the twelve links of dependent origination that cause suffering in cyclic existence, namely ignorance and craving.
To the second question, the Buddha responds that one quality that encompasses all the foundations of the training when bodhisattvas safeguard it is to not do to others what they themselves do not desire. The Buddha illustrates this with the example of avoidance of the three nonvirtuous physical actions—killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct—and explains that those who seek full awakening seek the causes of their own and others’ happiness and do not desire their own and others’ suffering.
The Buddha’s response to the third question is a series of paradoxical statements. He begins by stating that there is no phenomenon to which thus-gone ones truly and perfectly awaken. Nonetheless, thus-gone ones comprehend that although all phenomena are unborn, karma is appropriated. All phenomena are without cessation, yet they depend on causes and conditions. All phenomena are free from the two extremes and are unarisen, yet there is arising that depends on causes and conditions.
Just as bodhisattvas must train in methods—by abandoning afflictions and safeguarding ethical conduct—in conjunction with cultivating wisdom, here the Buddha points to the complementary nature of dependent arising and emptiness. He explains that bodhisattvas generate mundane and supramundane wisdom by comprehending the empty yet dependently arising nature of all phenomena. By examining the nature of that wisdom, they enter into the womb of the perfection of wisdom, which is called the illuminator’s matrix.
The Buddha concludes his explanation with the statement that thus-gone ones comprehend how all phenomena are free from going and coming, causes and conditions, death and birth, acceptance and rejection, and decrease and increase.
Having heard the Buddha’s discourse, a multitude of beings attain spiritual realization and higher rebirth. The Buddha exhorts his son, Venerable Rāhula, to retain this Dharma instruction, and a multitude of bodhisattvas promise to propagate it, while the Four Great Kings pledge to fulfill the wishes of beings who are vessels of this teaching. The Buddha concludes with a description of the great benefits that will accrue for those who hear and preserve this sūtra, which includes seeing at the time of death the Buddha Amitābha with his retinue and the Buddha with his retinue at Vulture Peak, attaining supernormal powers, and becoming fully awakened.
This text is listed in both the Denkarma4 and Phangthangma5 catalogs, which indicates it was translated prior to to the compilation of the Denkarma catalog ca. 812 ᴄᴇ. According to its colophon in the Degé Kangyur, the text was edited and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Munivarman and by the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé. The colophon in the Stok Palace Kangyur does not include the names of the translators.
Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) cites the Buddha’s response to the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin’s second question in Cluster of Scriptures,6 his explanation of Haribhadra’s Commentary on Ornament for the Clear Realizations (Abhisamayālaṅkāravṛtti), in the section “Summarizing the Meaning of the Buddha’s Instructions through One Phenomenon.”7 The fifteenth-century Tibetan scholar Pekar Sangpo8 groups this text under “Sūtras Explaining the Mental States of Bodhisattvas”9 in his Presentation of the Sūtras in the Kangyur10 and asserts that this sūtra teaches the doctrine that the three provisional vehicles of the śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva lead to the one final vehicle of buddhahood.11
One folio of fragmented Sanskrit text from the end of the sūtra and corresponding to Degé folios 263.b.2 to 264.a.3, has been identified in the Vajracchedikā manuscript held at the British Library.12 The manuscript, discovered by Sir Marc Aurel Stein in 1900 in present-day Xinjiang, China, is the oldest extant Sanskrit copy of the Vajracchedikā and is dated to the late fifth or early sixth century ᴄᴇ. Paul Harrison notes that the Tibetan translation of this section matches the Sanskrit fragments in general, whereas the Chinese translations differ in places. Aside from these fragments, there is no extant Sanskrit version of the present text.
There are four Chinese translations of this sūtra, the best known of which is The Precious Casket without Words translated by Bodhiruci between 508 and 535.13 The second translation with the same title made by Buddhaśānta (dates unknown) in 529 ᴄᴇ has been lost.14 Two other Chinese translations were made by Divākara (613–87 ᴄᴇ): The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Universally Radiant Treasury Free from Words” in 683 and The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Brilliant Treasury That Illuminates All, The Dharma Gateway without Words” between 676 and 688.15
These sources may shed light on an ambiguity concerning the “two words” Viśeṣacintin refers to in his initial request. It is not entirely clear in the Tibetan translation what these two words are. Bodhiruci’s translation and Divākara’s translation The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Brilliant Treasury That Illuminates All, The Dharma Gateway without Words” appear to handle this ambiguity by grouping the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin’s three questions into two. The contemporary Chinese commentary referenced above16 asserts that they refer to rulai (如來), the Chinese translation of the Sanskrit compound tathāgata, which can be parsed as “thus gone” (tathā + gata) or “thus come” (tathā + āgata). Read in this light, the Buddha’s reply to the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin seems to mirror a section in The Ornament of the Light of Awareness That Enters the Domain of All Buddhas (Sarvabuddhaviṣayāvatārajñānālokālaṃkāra, Toh 100),17 in which the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī asks the Buddha to explain the meaning of two words, “non-arising” and “non-cessation.” The Buddha responds that these two words refer to the Tathāgata18 and provides a list of the causes of affliction and purification, which he explains are by nature empty and not perceived.19
Divākara’s other translation, The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Universally Radiant Treasury Free from Words,” continues to be taught and recited today in the Chinese Buddhist tradition. It is often accompanied by a preface of unknown authorship entitled “The Miraculous Results of Reciting and Upholding The Mahāyāna Sūtra ‘Universally Radiant Treasury Free from Words’ through the Ages,”20 which relates stories of four historical figures from the Tang through Ming Dynasties who derived benefits from reciting this sūtra.
The Basket without Words was translated from Chinese into Japanese by Hokei Izumi and published in the Kokuyaku Issaikyō (Japanese Translations of the Scriptures) series. In 1986, Sakai Shinten published a comparative study of the three extant Chinese translations and a Japanese translation of the Tibetan. Sakai reads “the basket without words” (anakṣarakaraṇḍaka) as referring to the Sanskrit letter a, described in the Buddha’s teaching to the bodhisattva Dṛḍhamati in Upholding the Roots of Virtue (Kuśalamūlasaṃparigraha, Toh 101)21 as “a point of explanation for designating the gate devoid of attributes” that all phenomena possess.22
This English translation was prepared based on the Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.
The Translation
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in Rājagṛha on Vulture Peak together with a great saṅgha of monastics.
There were also many hundred sextillions of bodhisattvas, all with extensive knowledge, skilled in means, lucid, free from laziness, and skilled in their command of words.23 They comprehended what is correct and what is incorrect. They were completely liberated. Endowed with the bud of discipline and the branch of conscience, they were compassionate by nature and [F.260.a] affectionate toward sentient beings. They had attained many meditative concentrations, possessed the hand of insight, and showed great respect to their teachers.
They resembled the bodhisattva great being Ratnadvīpa.24 They knew what was virtuous and nonvirtuous and comprehended deception. They comprehended both semantic elucidation and inexhaustible eloquence.25 They had attained victory and they engendered comprehension in all sentient beings. They emerged from and relied upon26 the limit of reality.27 Extremely heroic, they had no abode.28 They were certain about the nature of the highest teachings. Their thoughts distinctly focused on the lack of inherent existence, they were courageous with regard to the matrix.29
They were beings who despised rebirth. They comprehended phenomena and knew their bases of characterization. They were guardians and protectors of realms. They were renowned. They were endowed with the conqueror’s voice, endowed with the treasury of conquest, and endowed with the matrix without words. Absolutely awake and absorbed in the aggregate of knowledge, they delighted in their own actions and relied on those who were like them.30 They were good in every way, took delight in equality, and were completely pure. They had purified their own and others’ continuums and attained victory.
Together there were the following: the bodhisattva great being Voice of Victory, the bodhisattva great being Dharma Speaker, the bodhisattva great being Conqueror’s Abode, the bodhisattva great being Emanation of the Dharma, the bodhisattva great being Source of a Thousand Attributes,31 the bodhisattva great being Aspirations Amassed, the bodhisattva great being Viśeṣacintin, the bodhisattva great being Dharaṇīdhara, the bodhisattva great being Jagatīndhara,32 the bodhisattva great being [F.260.b] Melodious Song of the Earth, the bodhisattva great being Pratibhānasampad, the bodhisattva great being Supreme Accumulation, the bodhisattva great being Lotus Petal Eyes, the bodhisattva great being Lotus Face, and the bodhisattva great being Maṇicūḍa.
The bodhisattva great being Mañjuśrī was also there together with bodhisattva great beings beyond number, all of whom were youthful. The bodhisattva great being Maitreya33 was also there together with bodhisattva great beings who were all regents, as many as the grains of sand in the Ganges. The bodhisattva great being Viśeṣacintin was there together with many Śakras. The bodhisattva great being Samantabhadra, the bodhisattva great being Ākāśagarbha, and the Four Great Kings were there together with a multitude of universal monarchs. The bodhisattva great being Mahāsthāmaprāpta and the bodhisattva great being Avalokiteśvara were there together with a multitude of Brahmās. The bodhisattva great being Amoghadarśin was there together with a retinue of a multitude of Vaiśravaṇas. The bodhisattva great being Nakṣatrarāja was there together with the other guardians of the world. The bodhisattva great being Destroyer of Doubt and the bodhisattva great being Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin were there together with many thus-gone ones bearing the appearance of bodhisattvas.34 Śāradvatīputra, Maudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, and so forth were there together with all the arhats.
The bodhisattva [F.261.a] great being Abundant Virtues and the bodhisattva great being Viśeṣacintin35 were there together with a multitude of thousands of goddesses. The bodhisattva great being Bhaiṣajyarāja, the bodhisattva great being Arisen from Remedies, and all the Moons and Suns in as many world systems of the ten directions as there are grains of sand in the Ganges, proud of their own splendor, proceeded to where the Blessed One was. When seated in the Blessed One’s presence, it was as if lumps of soot had been placed before gold from the Jambu River—those Moons and Suns were no longer beautiful, no longer blazed, no longer shone, no longer gleamed, and no longer illuminated in the Blessed One’s presence.
All the assemblies of gods such as Nārāyaṇa; all the kings of the nāgas such as Varuṇa, Takṣaka, and Anavatapta, together with their retinues; the lord of the gandharvas Sumanāpa together with many tens of millions of gandharvas; and the king of the garuḍas Great Stainless One together with seventy million garuḍas proceeded to the place where the Blessed One was. All the bodhisattvas dwelling in as many world systems of the ten directions as there are grains of sand in the Ganges obtained permission from their respective thus-gone ones and, together with their fourfold assemblies, proceeded there and made supramundane offerings to the Blessed One and to the bodhisattvas and then sat on their respective lotus seats.
Then the bodhisattva great being Viśeṣacintin said to the Blessed One, “If the Blessed One gives me permission, I would like to ask the Blessed One about two words.”36
The Blessed One replied, “I give my permission. [F.261.b] Therefore, Viśeṣacintin, ask the Thus-Gone One whatever you have in mind. The Thus-Gone One did not appear here for the sake of just anyone's benefit, I appeared here for the sake of your benefit.”
Then the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, what is one factor that bodhisattvas abandon? Blessed One, what is one quality that, when safeguarded by bodhisattvas, encompasses all the foundations of the training? Blessed One, what is one phenomenon to which thus-gone ones have truly and perfectly awakened?”
Questioned in this way, the Blessed One gave his approval to the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin. “Brahmā,37 the words you have spoken are excellent, excellent! Child of a good family, such eloquence arises through the Thus-Gone One’s blessing. Child of a good family, if the Thus-Gone One did not bestow blessings, no one would ask the Thus-Gone One such questions. Viśeṣacintin, because of that, you should listen very carefully and keep this in mind. I will explain this to you.”
After the Blessed One said this, the bodhisattva Viśeṣacintin listened to the Blessed One accordingly.
The Blessed One said to him, “Child of a good family, someone may ask, ‘What is one factor that bodhisattvas should abandon?’ It is the quality of attachment. Child of a good family, this is one factor that should be abandoned. Moreover, one factor that should be abandoned is the quality of anger. This is one factor that should be abandoned. Moreover, one factor that should be abandoned is the quality of delusion. This is one factor that should be abandoned. Moreover, one factor that should be abandoned [F.262.a] is grasping at a self. This is one factor that should be abandoned. Moreover, one factor that should be abandoned is laziness. This is one factor that should be abandoned. Moreover, one factor that should be abandoned is lethargy and sleepiness. This is one factor that should be abandoned. Moreover, one factor that should be abandoned is craving.38 This is one factor that should be abandoned. Child of a good family, moreover, one factor that bodhisattvas should abandon is ignorance. Child of a good family, this is one factor that bodhisattvas should abandon.39
“Child of a good family, someone may ask, ‘What is one quality that bodhisattvas should constantly and continuously safeguard?’ Child of a good family, whatever bodhisattvas do not desire, they should not do to others. Child of a good family, those bodhisattvas who safeguard this one quality will thereby safeguard all the foundations of the thus-gone ones’ training. Why is this so? Child of a good family, whoever values their own life does not kill.40 Whoever values their own wealth does not take what has not been given. Whoever values their wife does not approach another’s wife.41 Child of a good family, I have explained that those who think in these or similar ways and understand, 'I should act in accordance with the Thus-Gone One’s teachings," should safeguard this one quality.
“Why is this so? Child of a good family, all those who seek unsurpassed, perfect, and complete awakening seek the causes42 of their own happiness. That means that no one desires their own suffering; beings desire happiness. I say, ‘Do not do to others what you do not desire.’ Child of a good family, this is one quality that bodhisattvas should constantly and continuously safeguard.
“Child of a good family, [F.262.b] someone may ask, ‘What is one phenomenon to which thus-gone ones have truly and perfectly awakened?’ Child of a good family, there is no one phenomenon to which thus-gone ones have truly and perfectly awakened. Child of a good family, without any phenomenon whatsoever to realize,43 thus-gone ones have truly and perfectly awakened.
“Child of a good family, thus-gone ones also comprehend that all phenomena are unborn. Thus-gone ones comprehend that all phenomena are without cessation. Child of a good family, thus-gone ones also comprehend that all phenomena are free from the two extremes. Child of a good family, thus-gone ones comprehend that all phenomena are unarisen.44 Child of a good family, thus-gone ones comprehend the appropriation of karma. Thus-gone ones comprehend that all phenomena depend on causes and conditions. Child of a good family, thus-gone ones comprehend that causes and conditions are like lightning. Thus-gone ones comprehend that there is no birth without causes and conditions.45 In this way, thus-gone ones comprehend the true nature that is the illuminator’s matrix.
“Someone may ask, ‘Why are these realizations46 called the illuminator’s matrix?’ Child of a good family, this is because they are the womb from which all mundane and supramundane wisdom and so forth arises. When one examines the nature of that wisdom, then one enters the womb of the perfection of wisdom. That is called the illuminator’s matrix.
“Child of a good family, thus-gone ones also comprehend that all phenomena are like a magician’s illusions and like mirages. Thus-gone ones comprehend their own true nature47 that is naturally liberated. That which is liberated is the true nature of the illuminator’s matrix. [F.263.a]
“Child of a good family, thus-gone ones also comprehend the single gateway of the Dharma. Child of a good family, that which is without going, without coming, without causes, without conditions, without death and transmigration, without birth, without acceptance, without rejection,48 without decrease, and without increase; and, child of a good family, what is naturally natureless, what cannot be indicated by analogy, what cannot be expressed by words or language—that single gateway of the Dharma is comprehended by the thus-gone ones.”
When the teaching of the king of arrays, this Dharma discourse on the basket without words, the illuminator’s matrix, was explained,49 as many sentient beings as the minute particles that would appear to the eyes of a bodhisattva abiding on the tenth ground generated the mind of unsurpassed, perfect, and complete awakening. The same number attained arhatship. Moreover, an even greater number of sentient beings than that died and transmigrated from among the hell beings and were born as humans and gods. Many bodhisattvas attained the grounds.50 Many bodhisattvas actualized hundreds of thousands of meditative concentrations. Many found that due to this discourse they did not lack anything they needed.
Then the Blessed One said to Venerable Rāhula, “Rāhula, you should remember this Dharma instruction of mine enthusiastically.”
Immediately after the Blessed One spoke, by the power of the Buddha, ninety million bodhisattvas from that retinue arose from their seats and said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, we will remember this Dharma instruction of the Thus-Gone One. At a later time, in the future, we will explain it well in the Sahā world to those who seek the Bodhisattva Collection.”51 [F.263.b]
The Four Great Kings said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, we will fulfill all the wishes of those bodhisattvas who become vessels of teachings like this.”
Then the Blessed One looked upon the entire retinue and said, “Friends, those who hear this Dharma discourse on the basket without words, the illuminator’s matrix, which condenses the very extensive sūtras, will not be endowed with lesser roots of virtue. Why is this so?52 This is because all those excellent beings have served, venerated,53 and honored me. Those children of a good family will carry my awakening on their shoulders. Their consummate eloquence will be unceasing. Their buddha realms will be thoroughly and completely pure.
“Also, at the time of death, they will see standing before them the Thus-Gone One Amitābha surrounded by a saṅgha of śrāvakas and attended by an assembly of bodhisattvas. They will also see me together with these very bodhisattvas abiding on Vulture Peak, the king of mountains. The treasury of the Dharma will never be exhausted for those children of a good family. They will remember their past lives. They will not be born in the lower realms.
“Child of a good family, I have spoken these words that contradict the whole world.54 I have never seen children of a good family who commit the five actions with immediate retribution and then fasten this Dharma discourse to their bodies, write it out, recite it, or master it fall into the lower realms. Those bodhisattvas will be empowered by all the buddhas and attain the five eyes. They will not have inferior faculties. [F.264.a] They will be embraced by all buddhas. They will be embraced by all bodhisattvas. Their limitless actions will be purified. Child of a good family, I see that they will speak these words in the future and become truly and perfectly awakened.”
When the Blessed One had spoken these words, Viśeṣacintin and the other bodhisattvas, Śakra and the gods, the Four Great Kings, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
Notes
Bibliography
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yi ge med pa’i za ma tog rnam par snang mdzad kyi snying po (Anakṣarakaraṇḍakavairocanagarbha). Toh 259, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 259.b–264.a.
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Shi, Miaohui 释妙慧. “Miaohui fashi jiangjie dacheng liwenzi puguangmingzang jing” 妙慧法师讲解《大乘离字普光明藏经》 [Venerable Miaohui explains The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Universally Radiant Treasury Free From Words”]. Accessed September 21, 2021.
Siderits, Mark, and Shōryū Katsura, trans. Nāgārjuna’s Middle Way: “Mūlamadhyamakakārikā.” Classics of Indian Buddhism. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2013.
van der Kuijp, Leonard. “On the Vicissitudes of Subhūticandra’s Kāmadhenu Commentary on the Amarakoṣa in Tibet.” Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies 5 (December 2009): 1–105.
Yoshimura, Shyuki. The Denkar-Ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950.
Glossary
Abundant Virtues
- dge mang
- དགེ་མང་།
- —
Ākāśagarbha
- nam mkha’i snying po
- ནམ་མཁའི་སྙིང་པོ།
- Ākāśagarbha
Amitābha
- ’od dpag med
- འོད་དཔག་མེད།
- Amitābha
Amoghadarśin
- mthong ba don yod
- མཐོང་བ་དོན་ཡོད།
- Amoghadarśin
Anavatapta
- ma dros pa
- མ་དྲོས་པ།
- Anavatapta
Anger
- zhe sdang
- ཞེ་སྡང་།
- dveṣa
Arisen from Remedies
- sman yang dag byung
- སྨན་ཡང་དག་བྱུང་།
- —
Aspirations Amassed
- smon lam brtsegs
- སྨོན་ལམ་བརྩེགས།
- —
Asura
- lha ma yin
- ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
- asura
Attachment
- ’dod chags
- འདོད་ཆགས།
- rāga
Avalokiteśvara
- spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug
- སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་ཕྱུག
- Avalokiteśvara
Bhaiṣajyarāja
- sman gyi rgyal po
- སྨན་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- Bhaiṣajyarāja
Blessed one
- bcom ldan ’das
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- bhagavān
Bodhisattva Collection
- byang chub sems dpa’i snod
- བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྣོད།
- Bodhisattvapiṭaka
Brahmā
- tshangs pa
- ཚངས་པ།
- Brahmā
Conqueror’s Abode
- rgyal ba’i gnas
- རྒྱལ་བའི་གནས།
- —
Conscience
- ngo tsha shes pa
- ངོ་ཚ་ཤེས་པ།
- hrī
Craving
- sred pa
- སྲེད་པ།
- tṛṣṇā
Dānaśīla
- dA na shI la
- དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།
- Dānaśīla
Delusion
- gti mug
- གཏི་མུག
- moha
Destroyer of Doubt
- yid gnyis ’joms
- ཡིད་གཉིས་འཇོམས།
- —
Dharaṇīdhara
- sa ’dzin
- ས་འཛིན།
- Dharaṇīdhara
Dharma Speaker
- chos sgrogs
- ཆོས་སྒྲོགས།
- —
Emanation of the Dharma
- chos sprul pa
- ཆོས་སྤྲུལ་པ།
- —
Equality
- mnyam pa nyid
- མཉམ་པ་ཉིད།
- samatā
Five actions with immediate retribution
- mtshams med pa lnga
- མཚམས་མེད་པ་ལྔ།
- pañcānantarya
Five eyes
- mig lnga
- མིག་ལྔ།
- pañcacakṣus
Four Great Kings
- rgyal po chen po bzhi
- རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི།
- Caturmahārāja
Fourfold assemblies
- ’khor bzhi
- འཁོར་བཞི།
- catuḥpariṣad
Gandharva
- dri za
- དྲི་ཟ།
- gandharva
Ganges
- gang gA
- གང་གཱ།
- Gaṅgā
Garuḍa
- nam mkha’ lding
- ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
- garuḍa
God
- lha
- ལྷ།
- deva
Grasping at a self
- bdag tu ’dzin pa
- བདག་ཏུ་འཛིན་པ།
- ātmagraha
Great Stainless One
- dri ma med pa chen po
- དྲི་མ་མེད་པ་ཆེན་པོ།
- —
Ground
- sa
- ས།
- bhūmi
Hand of insight
- shes rab kyi lag pa
- ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ལག་པ།
- —
Hell beings
- sems can dmyal ba
- སེམས་ཅན་དམྱལ་བ།
- naraka
Hundred sextillion
- bye ba khrag khrig brgya stong
- བྱེ་བ་ཁྲག་ཁྲིག་བརྒྱ་སྟོང་།
- koṭiniyutaśatasahasra
Ignorance
- ma rig pa
- མ་རིག་པ།
- avidyā
Jagatīndhara
- ’gro ba ’dzin
- འགྲོ་བ་འཛིན།
- Jagatīndhara
Jambu River
- ’dzam bu’i chu bo
- འཛམ་བུའི་ཆུ་བོ།
- Jambūnadī
Jinamitra
- dzi na mi tra
- ཛི་ན་མི་ཏྲ།
- Jinamitra
Laziness
- le lo
- ལེ་ལོ།
- kausīdya
Lethargy and sleepiness
- rmugs pa dang gnyid
- རྨུགས་པ་དང་གཉིད།
- styānamiddha
Limit of reality
- yang dag pa’i mtha’
- ཡང་དག་པའི་མཐའ།
- bhūtakoṭi
Lotus Face
- pad ma’i gdong
- པད་མའི་གདོང་།
- —
Lotus Petal Eyes
- pad ma’i ’dab ma’i mig
- པད་མའི་འདབ་མའི་མིག
- —
Mahākāśyapa
- ’od srung chen po
- འོད་སྲུང་ཆེན་པོ།
- Mahākāśyapa
Mahāsthāmaprāpta
- mthu chen thob
- མཐུ་ཆེན་ཐོབ།
- Mahāsthāmaprāpta
Maitreya
- byams pa
- བྱམས་པ།
- Maitreya
Maṇicūḍa
- gtsug na nor bu
- གཙུག་ན་ནོར་བུ།
- Maṇicūḍa
Mañjuśrī
- ’jam pa’i dbyangs
- འཇམ་པའི་དབྱངས།
- Mañjuśrī
Matrix
- snying po
- སྙིང་པོ།
- garbha
Maudgalyāyana
- maud gal gyi bu
- མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ།
- Maudgalyāyana
Meditative concentration
- ting nge ’dzin
- ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།
- samādhi
Melodious Song of the Earth
- sa’i sgra dbyangs
- སའི་སྒྲ་དབྱངས།
- —
Moon
- zla ba
- ཟླ་བ།
- Candra
Munivarman
- mu ni barma
- མུ་ནི་བརྨ།
- Munivarman
Nāga
- klu
- ཀླུ།
- nāga
Nakṣatrarāja
- skar ma’i rgyal po
- སྐར་མའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- Nakṣatrarāja
Nārāyaṇa
- sred med kyi bu
- སྲེད་མེད་ཀྱི་བུ།
- Nārāyaṇa
Pratibhānasampad
- spobs pa phun sum tshogs pa
- སྤོབས་པ་ཕུན་སུམ་ཚོགས་པ།
- Pratibhānasampad
Rāhula
- sgra gcan
- སྒྲ་གཅན།
- Rāhula
Rājagṛha
- rgyal po’i khab
- རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
- Rājagṛha
Ratnadvīpa
- rin po che’i gling
- རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་གླིང་།
- Ratnadvīpa
Sahā world
- ’jig rten gyi khams mi mjed
- འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས་མི་མཇེད།
- Sahālokadhātu
Śakra
- brgya byin
- བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
- Śakra
Samantabhadra
- kun tu bzang po
- ཀུན་ཏུ་བཟང་པོ།
- Samantabhadra
Śāradvatīputra
- sha ra dwa ti’i bu
- ཤ་ར་དྭ་ཏིའི་བུ།
- Śāradvatīputra
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin
- sgrib pa thams cad rnam par sel ba
- སྒྲིབ་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་རྣམ་པར་སེལ་བ།
- Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin
Source of a Thousand Attributes
- stong gi ’byung gnas
- སྟོང་གི་འབྱུང་གནས།
- —
Śrāvaka
- nyan thos
- ཉན་ཐོས།
- śrāvaka
Sumanāpa
- shin tu yid du ’ong ba
- ཤིན་ཏུ་ཡིད་དུ་འོང་བ།
- Sumanāpa
Sun
- nyi ma
- ཉི་མ།
- Sūrya
Supreme Accumulation
- shin tu brtsegs
- ཤིན་ཏུ་བརྩེགས།
- —
Takṣaka
- ’jog po
- འཇོག་པོ།
- Takṣaka
True nature
- chos nyid
- ཆོས་ཉིད།
- dharmatā
Two extremes
- mtha’ gnyis
- མཐའ་གཉིས།
- antadvaya
Universal monarch
- ’khor los sgyur ba
- འཁོར་ལོས་སྒྱུར་བ།
- cakravartin
Vaiśravaṇa
- rnam thos kyi bu
- རྣམ་ཐོས་ཀྱི་བུ།
- Vaiśravaṇa
Varuṇa
- chu lha
- ཆུ་ལྷ།
- Varuṇa
Viśeṣacintin
- khyad par sems
- tshangs pa khyad par sems
- tshangs pa chen po khyad par sems
- ཁྱད་པར་སེམས།
- ཚངས་པ་ཁྱད་པར་སེམས།
- ཚངས་པ་ཆེན་པོ་ཁྱད་པར་སེམས།
- Viśeṣacintin
Voice of Victory
- rnam par rgyal ba’i dbyangs
- རྣམ་པར་རྒྱལ་བའི་དབྱངས།
- —
Vulture Peak
- bya rgod kyi phung po’i ri
- བྱ་རྒོད་ཀྱི་ཕུང་པོའི་རི།
- Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata
World system
- ’jig rten gyi khams
- འཇིག་རྟེན་གྱི་ཁམས།
- lokadhātu
Yeshé Dé
- ye shes de
- ཡེ་ཤེས་དེ།
- —