co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

In Transformation of Karma the Buddha is staying in Prince Jeta’s Grove in Śrāvastī, where he is visited by the brahmin youth Śuka, who asks the Blessed One to explain the reason why living beings appear so diversely. The Buddha answers Śuka’s question with a discourse on various categories of actions as well as rebirth and the actions leading to it. The discourse presents fifty-one categories of actions, followed by explanations of the negative consequences of transgressing the five precepts observed by all Buddhists, the advantages gained through caitya worship, and the meritorious results of specific acts of generosity.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

This sūtra was translated by Bruno Galasek-Hul with the help of Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche of the Evam Choden Buddhist Center in Kensington (Berkeley), California. Roxanne Shooshani proofread and edited the English version. Thanks are due also to Mr. Yi Ding of Stanford University, who consulted the Chinese translations. The translator also wishes to thank Prof. Stephen Jenkins for his helpful comments.

i.

Introduction

Content

i.­1

The Dharma Scripture “Transformation of Karma” (short title: Transformation of Karma), which is presented here for the first time in an English translation, takes places in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s Grove, where the Buddha is staying with a large following of 1,250 monks. The Buddha is visited by a brahmin youth named Śuka, who requests the Buddha to explain how karmic ripening can lead to such a great diversity of beings. In response, the Buddha explains that individual karmic results are the reason for the diversity of beings, and he teaches in detail fifty-one categories of negative and positive consequences together with the specific actions that function as their causes. Next, the Buddha lists ten negative consequences for transgressing each of the five precepts: abstaining from taking life, abstaining from stealing, abstaining from sexual misconduct (here transgressing the vow of celibacy), abstaining from lying, and abstaining from consuming intoxicants. Lastly, the Buddha explains the karmic advantages that result from building and worshiping a caitya of the Tathāgata. Also enumerated are the advantages gained through making offerings and leading a religious life, living a secluded life, becoming a Buddhist mendicant, and developing confidence.

Textual Classification

i.­2

Transformation of Karma belongs to a group of Buddhist scriptures that scholars of Buddhism have called the Karma­vibhaṅga or Śukasūtra class.1 The texts in this group deal extensively with the topic of karma and rebirth according to individuals’ actions. Characteristic of the treatment of karma and rebirth in these texts is their detailed, catalog-like listing of specific karmic consequences and their causative actions. It is clear, however, that this is not meant to be understood as determinism. For example, in several places the presence or absence of intention and remorse are mentioned as factors that can determine whether a particular karmic result will be experienced, whether its outcome can be influenced, and whether it can be avoided altogether.

i.­3

In the Tibetan canon, Transformation of Karma is classified as a sūtra belonging to the Śrāvakayāna, and in the Degé edition of the Kangyur it is listed in the sūtra section under “various sūtras belonging to the Hīnayāna.”2 The Japanese scholar Kudo Noriyuki and others proposed that the related Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338)3 belonged to the canon of the early Buddhist ordination lineage of the Sāṃmitīyas (or Sammatīyas). The Sāṃmitīyas were a branch of the Vātsīputrīya sect, whose adherents were also known as the “Personalists” (Skt. Pudgalavādin) because they posited the existence of the individual or person (Skt. pudgala) that transmigrates from one existence to the next and is neither identical with nor different from the five aggregates. Whether Transformation of Karma, too, can be considered to have belonged to the canon of the Sāṃmitīyas, however, is difficult to say with certainty without further research.4 However, the text contains some clues that may point in that direction. The first indication is a curious statement found in 1.­25, which lists as one of the karmic causes that lead to rebirth in the realm of the asuras “conceiving of nonexistence with regard to the self (Skt. ātman).” If our translation of this difficult passage is correct, the view expressed therein may betray the doctrinal position of the Pudgalavādins.5 A second clue is found in 1.­88, which contains the following statement: “one will not become lost in the intermediate state between death and rebirth.” We know that not all the early Buddhist sects accepted the concept of an intermediate state between death and rebirth. Those that did, according to André Bareau, included the Sarvāstivādins (Vaibhāṣikas), the Sammatīyas, the Pūrvaśailas, the later Mahīśāsakas, and the Dārṣṭāntikas.6

i.­4

The Karma­vibhaṅga group of texts appears to have been particularly popular in Central Asia and in China, where the continued interest in it is shown by the existence in the Chinese Tripitaka of no fewer than six different translations spanning a period of eight centuries from the late third or early fourth century ᴄᴇ to the eleventh.7 Four of these are listed in the Tōhoku catalog of the Tibetan canon of the Degé edition as corresponding to the text translated here (particularly the Fen bie shan e bao ying jing 分別善惡報應經, Taishō no. 81). However, none of them seems to be an exact match.8

The Title

i.­5

Sanskrit versions of the titles of translations of Indic texts in the Kangyur and Tengyur are traditionally given in transliteration at the beginning of the texts‍—but for Toh 339, the Sanskrit title differs from its Tibetan title. The Tibetan phrase rnam par ’gyur ba would suggest an original Sanskrit vikāraḥ, vikṛtiḥ, vikriyā, or vipariṇata, etc.,9 all of which belong to the English semantic field of change. The text’s transliterated Sanskrit title, on the other hand, is given as Karma­vibhaṅga­nāma­dharma­grantha, for which in Tibetan one would rather expect something like rnam par ’byed pa.10 The word vibhaṅga occurs in Buddhist literature as the title of certain works, for instance, as part of the title of one of the three major parts of the Pāli Vinaya (Suttavibhaṅga); as the title of the second, and oldest, book of the Pāli Abhidhamma (Vibhaṅga); as the Division of the Expositions (Vibhaṅgavagga), which is a section of the Majjhima Nikāya of the Pāli Canon that contains the Pāli “relatives” of the Karma­vibhaṅga-group of texts (the Cūḷa- and Mahākammavibhaṅga-suttas, MN 135, 136); or as part of the title of a short work on the twelve links of dependent origination (Skt. pratītya­samutpāda) composed in Sanskrit (the Pratītya­samutpāda­vibhaṅga­nirdeśa­sūtra) that was found at the site of the great Indian university Nālandā, inscribed on bricks. In those contexts, Sanskrit vibhaṅga means “explanation,” in the sense of offering a more detailed explanation or elucidation‍—occasionally illustrated by examples, stories, or word-for-word explanations‍—of individual items in a list, such as the list of Vinaya rules or, in this case, a list of categories of karmically relevant actions and results. The derived meanings “exposition” and “commentary” can be regarded as generic terms applied to texts exhibiting certain stylistic features like the ones mentioned.

i.­6

The final part of the Tibetan title, chos kyi gzhung (Skt. Dharmagrantha), seems to be very rare as part of the title of canonical works. A search for the expression chos kyi gzhung in the online database Resources for Kanjur and Tenjur Studies of the Tibetan Manuscripts Project of the University of Vienna yielded only the text translated here.11 Instead of translating the Tibetan rnam par ’gyur ba literally as “transformation,” “change,” or “ripening,” we have accepted the transliterated Sanskrit given in the text itself as the original title of the work, and have translated it consistent with the common Buddhist usage of the Sanskrit word vibhaṅga when applied to texts that exhibit certain characteristics.12 This choice furthermore highlights its kinship with the longer Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338).13

i.­7

Mention must be made here, however, of the fact that the Kangyur editions not belonging to the Tshalpa (tshal pa) line preserve variant titles: the versions in the Stok Palace manuscript, the Shey Palace manuscript, and the Shelkar manuscript Kangyurs14‍—all belonging to the Thempangma (them spangs ma) line‍—give the Sanskrit name of the text as Karma­vibhaṅga­nāma­dharma­paryāya.15

i.­8

Furthermore, the Shelkar Kangyur records as the Tibetan title las kyis rnam par ’gyur ba zhes bya ba’i chos kyi gzhung: “The Dharma Scripture Called Transformation through Karma.” If this is not simply a scribal error (the Stok and Shey Kangyurs read las kyi rnam par ’gyur ba), this title may support Sanskrit pariṇāma (“transformation,” “change,” “ripening”) as part of a possible original Sanskrit title of the work.

i.­9

Yet another variant of the title should be noted. The Denkarma (Tib. ldan/lhan dkar ma), one of the three imperial catalogs of Tibetan translations made during the early transmission of the Dharma in Tibet during the eighth to ninth centuries, gives the title as las kyi rnam par ’gyur ba bstan pa’i gzhung.16

On Karma

i.­10

Apart from its occurrence in the title of the sūtra, we have largely avoided the lexicalized English word karma as a rendition of the Tibetan las. Instead, we translate las as “action(s).” We feel that contemporary common usage of the loanword karma is often fuzzy or unclear in that it seemingly blends together the senses “the totality of a person’s actions and conduct during successive incarnations,” a resultant state as “fate or destiny,” which is perceived to be causally influenced by the totality of a person’s actions, the “law or principle through which such influence is believed to operate,” and the woolly but popular sense of “a distinctive aura, atmosphere, or feeling.”17 We do, however, use the lexicalized adjective karmic (as, for example, in karmic result, or karmic cause and effect) in the sense of “relating to one’s action(s)” in the translation. We have furthermore used the expression karma and rebirth in this introduction knowing full well that these terms are equally difficult to define abstractly, but with the understanding that in Indic and Buddhist contexts the terms karma and rebirth are amalgamated in the term saṃsāra.

i.­11

As for the “mechanics” of karmic cause and effect, the Buddha explains it in Transformation of Karma, 1.­6:

i.­12

“Therefore, again, the multiple varieties of sentient beings, due to their being bad, good, or middling, are karmically connected with many kinds of actions, many kinds of sufferings, and many kinds of views, in accordance with what I have taught as the black and white fruits of karmic ripening. Young brahmin, it is like this: Through carrying out black actions, sentient beings are reborn in the unfortunate rebirth destinies; they are reborn as hell beings, animals, ghosts (that is, those who have gone to the afterlife), and asuras. Through carrying out white actions, beings are reborn as devas or as humans.”

i.­13

Two things are noteworthy in this passage regarding Buddhist doctrine. First is the work’s assumption of six realms of rebirth (Skt. gati). Some early Buddhist schools accepted only five realms, including the asuras in the god realm. By contrast, here the unfortunate realms or destinations of rebirth (Skt. durgati) are constituted by hell beings, animals, ghosts, and asuras; the fortunate realms or destinations of rebirth (Skt. sugati) include the devas and humans, omitting the asuras.

i.­14

The second observation concerns the classification of actions into “black” and “white.” One frequently encounters this classification in Abhidharma-style works where, in an extension of the basic color metaphor, karmically efficacious action is divided into four kinds: (1) wholesome (Skt. kuśala, i.e., morally or ethically good), (2) unwholesome (Skt. akuśala, i.e., morally or ethically bad), (3) mixed (i.e., actions and results possessing both morally or ethically good and bad aspects and corresponding resultant experiences), and (4) neutral (Skt. avyākṛta or āniñjya, “undetermined” or “immovable, immobile,” e.g., the actions of an enlightened being, an arhat, etc.). For example, the Saṅgītisutta of the Dīgha Nikāya (DN 33) explains as follows: “Four kinds of kamma: There is (a) black kamma with black result, (b) bright [white] kamma with bright result, (c) black-and-bright kamma with black-and-bright result, (d) kamma that is neither black nor bright, with neither black nor bright result, leading to the destruction of kamma.”18

i.­15

The same explanation, but much more technical and elaborate in its interpretive details, is found in Vasubandhu’s Abhidharma­kośabhāṣya: “Action is of four types, white, black, etc. The sūtra teaches that action is of four types: black, of black retribution; white, of white retribution; black-white, of black-white retribution; neither black nor white, without black or white retribution; and that which destroys the other actions.”19

i.­16

The third type, of black-white action, is further explained: “Good action of the sphere of Kāmadhātu, being mixed with the bad, is black-white; its retribution is mixed, so it is thus black-white. This definition is to be understood as applying not to the nature of the action itself, but to the ‘series’ or the person; in one and the same mental series, good action is mixed with bad action. There is no action which is black-white, nor any retribution which is black-white, which would be a contradiction.”20

i.­17

The third kind of action as black-white is not specifically mentioned in Transformation of Karma’s explanations of karmic categories, but the possibility seems to be implied. For instance, when a person first experiences happiness, which later changes to the experience of unhappiness due to certain black-white actions as causes (1.­44–1.­48). Actions of the fourth kind, which are actions after enlightenment and which have no effect in saṃsāra, are more difficult to identify with certainty in Transformation of Karma. The explanations in 1.­55, 1.­57, and 1.­58 seem to state that arhats are still subject to karmic punishment and reward. But they do not make any statement about the karmic efficacy (or inefficacy) of acts carried out by arhats, which was a point of contention between, for instance, the Sarvāstivādins and the Theravādins.

Tibetan and Sanskrit Versions

i.­18

Three different recensions or versions of the Karma­vibhaṅga are preserved in different Kangyur editions, which Kudo calls “Tib-1” (Toh 338),21 “Tib-2” (Toh 339, the text translated here), and “Tib-3,” respectively.22 The content of the third version not included in the Degé Kangyur (“Tib-3”) but found in other mixed-lineage Kangyurs and in the Themphangma Kangyurs has been explored by Walter Simon.23 Tib-3 is distinguished by the inclusion, among other things, of an introductory story that is found only in one Sanskrit manuscript, and not in Toh 338 or Toh 339. This introduction to the discourse proper tells the story of the conversion of Śuka, the son of the brahmin Taudeya, who after his death was reborn as a dog in his son’s house; he is identified by the Buddha on one of his visits to Śuka’s house during his rounds to collect alms. Śuka does not believe the Buddha’s assertion that the dog is his deceased father and at first becomes angry; but he is later convinced by the Buddha’s demonstration of the identity of the dog as his late father. After being the addressee of the Buddha’s teachings on karmic cause and effect on several occasions, Śuka eventually becomes a lay follower.

i.­19

Walter Simon noted three distinguishing features of Tib-3 in comparison to Toh 338 and 339: (1) “the preservation . . . of the ‘introductory tale,’ ” (2) the absence of the “illustrative stories,” and (3) “the inclusion of . . . a table of contents.” These features, he wrote, “point to an earlier Sanskrit original.”24 Transformation of Karma, too, contains a a table of contents, and it lacks stories illustrating the various karmic categories. But, more importantly, it also lacks the introductory tale characteristic of the (Mahā-)­Karma­vibhaṅga (Lévi 1932, 21–29) and its Tibetan version in the manuscript Kangyur of the British Museum.

i.­20

Like the Tib-3 version of the Karma­vibhaṅga, the summary of the fifty-one karmic categories at the beginning of Transformation of Karma (1.­8–1.­63) does not include the items contained in 1.­64–1.­68 (a list of ten negative consequences each of the actions of killing, stealing, lying, unchastity, and drinking alcohol) or 1.­69–1.­90 (the advantages gained by making various offerings at caityas). The Tib-3 version contains the advantages of venerating and making offerings at caityas, but it does not contain the list of five negative actions and their consequences included in 1.­64–1.­68 of Transformation of Karma. It is reasonable to argue, therefore, that 1.­64–1.­68 of Transformation of Karma, and perhaps a portion of 1.­69–1.­90, are later additions to the text.

i.­21

As we have already mentioned, no complete Sanskrit version of Transformation of Karma is extant. In his study of the Khotanese fragments of the Karma­vibhaṅga, Mauro Maggi remarks that Transformation of Karma “corresponds” to “S2” (that is, a manuscript fragment of the Śukasūtra from Eastern Turkestan, in the British Library, Oriental and India Office Collections, London, which was edited by A. F. R. Hoernle in 1916 and reproduced in Lévi 1932, 235–36).25 However, Sylvain Lévi had already observed that although the two texts‍—the Central Asian Sanskrit fragment and the Tibetan text of Transformation of Karma Toh 339 (i.e., Lévi’s “T2”)‍—exhibit a family likeness, they are different.26 A careful comparison of Lévi’s edition of the extant Sanskrit portions of the Śukasūtra fragment from Central Asia (paragraphs VIII–XII) with the corresponding paragraphs in the Tibetan text of Transformation of Karma confirms Lévi’s observation.

i.­22

To sum up, no exactly corresponding Sanskrit source text of the Tibetan translation of Transformation of Karma seems to be extant. Nevertheless, due to their similarity, the Sanskrit fragment of the Central Asian recension allowed us to throw some light on certain obscure terms in the Tibetan text.

i.­23

Regrettably, we possess no information about who translated the text or when. The Tibetan text in the Degé edition (as well as in the other editions) has no colophon, which usually provides this information, and according to the Tōhoku catalog, the identity of the translator(s) is unknown.27 It is not possible at this point to establish the relationship between these different extant versions of the text, and Transformation of Karma thus seems to be the sole textual witness of yet another recension or a different version in the Karma­vibhaṅga or Śukasūtra group.

i.­24

Nevertheless, we have frequently consulted (in a rather unsystematic way and as indicated in the footnotes) the extant Sanskrit witnesses: the two Sanskrit manuscripts in the National Archives of Nepal, Kathmandu, published by Lévi in 1932 and Kudo in 2004; the two-folio fragment of a different recension, published by Fukita in 1990 and Kudo in 2004; a Kuchean Sanskrit fragment of the Śukasūtra, published by Lévi in 1932; and the Pāli (MN 135, 136), Tibetan (Toh 338), and Khotanese (in English translation by Maggi in 1995) versions of the related (Mahā-)Karma­vibhaṅga (Lévi 1932) to aid our understanding of this often obscure Tibetan text.

The Tibetan Translation

i.­25

The Tibetan text of Toh 339 is notable for its idiosyncrasies. It contains several nonstandard expressions and names of Buddhist concepts that are worthy of mention, such as ngan pa, ring du ’khyams pa, and mya ngan bsring(s).28 Furthermore, it contains an idiosyncratic rendering of the four formless meditative absorptions (Skt. ārūpya­samāpatti) or, as they are called in Transformation of Karma, “the four states of imperturbability.” These observations lead us to believe that the translation of Transformation of Karma predates the third Tibetan language revision or language reform of 814 ᴄᴇ, as it was codified in the Mahāvyutpatti and the sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa. On the other hand, a more detailed analysis of the wording describing the four states of imperturbability, as well as the frequent use of an epithet for the Buddha of yang dag par gshegs pa,29 instead of the more standard de bzhin gshegs pa, has led us to also consider the possibility that Toh 339 may have been translated from the Chinese.30 A comparison with several of the Chinese versions of our text by Mr. Yi Ding, however, could not confirm this hypothesis.31

i.­26

What we can safely say, though, is that Transformation of Karma represents a translation that does not strictly adhere to the reformed, standardized language that was prescribed by decree for the translations from Indic originals in the ninth-century Tibetan manuals for translators, the Mahāvyutpatti and the sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa.

i.­27

It is generally assumed that the Tibetan translation activity of the first dissemination of the Dharma began around the middle of the eighth century ᴄᴇ32 and continued until the demise of the Tibetan empire, that is, by 840 ᴄᴇ. Since the identity of Transformation of Karma with the las kyi rnam par ’gyur ba bstan pa’i gzhung (no. [282]) in the Denkarma (Tib. lhan kar ma) catalog seems unambiguous, these two dates (i.e., 763 ᴄᴇ and 840 ᴄᴇ) are likely the earliest and latest dates, respectively, of the translation of Transformation of Karma into Tibetan.33 If we additionally consider the fact that Toh 339 contains pre-reform terms and expressions, we may be able to push the date for the latest date closer to the beginning of the ninth century. In the absence of a colophon or other pertinent information about the text, however, it is impossible to be more precise.34

The English Translation

i.­28

This translation into English was made directly from the Tibetan text of the Degé edition with the help of its parallel versions. However, mention must be made of the pioneering French translation by Léon Feer in 1883. This French Sanskritist and Orientalist, who was the first to translate Kangyur materials into a European language, gave us the first translation of Transformation of Karma in a European language in his Fragments: Extraits du Kandjour.35 However, Feer did not have at his disposal the wealth of material on the Karma­vibhaṅga group of texts that we have today, and he was thus unable to consult similar or related versions of the text to assist him in his efforts to make sense of obscure and difficult passages in the Tibetan text. Our translation refers frequently to Feer’s translation in the notes, especially where Feer’s interpretation of the Tibetan deviates from ours.36 However, our translation should not be considered definitive or final. Rather, it is an attempt to improve upon Feer’s where possible.

i.­29

Since the text itself is not very long, and the Tibetan text in the Kangyur does not have any chapter subdivisions, we have likewise refrained from inserting any such divisions. We have, however, referenced Feer’s sensible general outline of the text in the notes to the translation. Feer divided the text into three main parts, each with subdivisions and individually numbered paragraphs, and in the notes to our translation we have noted his general division of the text.

i.­30

In producing the translation, we have used the Degé edition (siglum D) as the basis. We have also perused the Comparative Edition of the Kangyur (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) (A), together with its list of variant readings. Where the Degé text seemed ambiguous or was not readily comprehensible, we have directly consulted two versions of the text belonging to the Thempangma line, namely, the Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur (S) and the Shey Palace manuscript Kangyur from Ladakh (Z). For variant readings that affect the meaning of a passage, we have done our best to provide an alternative English translation in the notes. Where we were unable to provide an alternative translation for a variant (e.g., because we didn’t understand it) that nevertheless seemed significant enough to be recorded, the variant is followed by a question mark. Except for the two witnesses (S and Z) belonging to the Thempangma line, all other variant readings (of the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Choné, Narthang, Urga, and Lhasa editions of the Kangyur; see Abbreviations for their sigla) are taken from list of variants in the Comparative Edition edition.

The Dharma Scripture “Transformation of Karma” in one fascicle
1.

The Translation

[F.298.b] [F.299.a] [B1]


1.­1

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!


1.­2

Thus did I hear at one time:37 The Bhagavān was staying in Śrāvastī in Prince Jeta’s Grove, the park donated by Anāthapiṇḍada, together with a large assembly of twelve hundred fifty monks.38

1.­3

On that occasion the brahmin youth Śuka,39 the son of Taudeya, went to where the Bhagavān was staying. Upon his arrival, he exchanged many courteous and amiable pleasantries with the Bhagavān and remained standing to one side.40 The brahmin youth Śuka, the son of Taudeya, then addressed the Bhagavān with the following question: “Gautama, if I ask you a small question, will you kindly give an answer?”41

1.­4

The Bhagavān replied, “Young brahmin, ask whatever you like! I will answer.”

Then the brahmin youth Śuka, the son of Taudeya, asked the Bhagavān the following question: “Sir42 Gautama, there are many types of sentient beings, such as beings who have a short lifespan or a long lifespan, have many illnesses or few illnesses, are ugly or beautiful, have little power or are powerful, are highborn or lowborn, are poor or rich, are ignorant of the Dharma,43 or possess knowledge of the Dharma to a lesser or greater degree, have good or bad fortune, and so forth. How does karmic ripening lead to this diversity of beings?”44

1.­5

The Bhagavān replied, “Young brahmin, listen45 and pay careful attention to what I shall explain.46 Young brahmin, sentient beings are the owners of their actions committed in former lives;47 sentient beings have actions as their heritage, actions as their origin, actions as their individual causes; sentient beings develop through actions, young brahmin.48 [F.299.b]

1.­6

“Therefore, again, the multiple varieties of sentient beings, due to their being bad, good, or middling, are karmically connected with many kinds of actions, many kinds of sufferings, and many kinds of views, in accordance with what I have taught as the black and white fruits of karmic ripening.49 Young brahmin, it is like this: Through carrying out black actions, sentient beings are reborn in the unfortunate rebirth destinies;50 they are reborn as hell beings, animals, ghosts (that is, those who have gone to the afterlife51), and asuras.52 Through carrying out white actions, beings are reborn as devas or as humans.

1.­7

“Therefore, young brahmin, as a result of one’s actions,53 one’s life is short or long, one has many or few illnesses, one is ugly or beautiful, one is insignificant or influential, one is lowborn54 or highborn, one is poor or rich, one is ignorant of the Dharma,55 or one has extensive knowledge of the Dharma;56 as a result of one’s actions, one is reborn as a hell being, an animal, a ghost, an asura, a human, a deva possessing a physical body,57 or a deva without a physical body; as a result of one’s actions, one’s rebirth is determinate in accordance with the action,58 one’s rebirth is indeterminate,59 there is rebirth in a foreign country, there is rebirth through carrying out an action without intent,60 there is rebirth when one has intended an action but not carried it out, there is rebirth when one has intended an action and carried it out, [F.300.a] and there is rebirth when one has neither intended an action nor carried it out. There are also actions that, when accumulated,61 lead to rebirth into a new existence only after the lifespan in hell has been completed; furthermore, there are actions that, when accumulated, lead to rebirth into a new existence after only half the lifespan in hell is exhausted, as well as actions that lead to rebirth immediately upon arriving in hell.62 There are actions that, when accumulated, lead to future unhappiness following upon past happiness.63 There are actions that, when accumulated, lead to to future happiness following upon past unhappiness.64 There are actions that, when accumulated by people and sentient beings,65 lead to future happiness following upon past happiness. There are actions that, when accumulated, lead to miserliness, to being poor and generous, to being wealthy and generous, and to being poor and miserly. There are individuals whose lifespans are exhausted but not their actions,66 there are individuals whose actions are exhausted but not their lifespans, and there are individuals whose lifespans and actions are simultaneously exhausted. There are individuals who will eliminate their sufferings although neither their lifespans nor their actions are exhausted. There are individuals who will become unwell in their minds while their bodies are well.67 There are actions that lead an individual to be well in their mind while their body is unwell,68 or to be well in mind and body,69 or to be unwell in both mind and body.70 There are actions that, when accumulated, lead to having a body that is graceful,71 beautiful looking, and pretty, with a nice and glossy complexion, a feast for the eyes, although an individual is reborn in an inferior form of existence.72 There are actions that, when accumulated, lead to having an inferior physique, [F.300.b] a crude body and an unpleasant and unsightly appearance for an individual reborn in an inferior form of existence. Furthermore, young brahmin, it is like this: through carrying out the ten nonvirtuous courses of action, conditions in one’s environment will deteriorate.73

1.­8

“Now, in what way does action lead to a short74 lifespan?75 Due to ten factors,76 one’s lifespan will be shortened. What are the ten?77 (1) Taking life,78 (2) encouraging others to take life,79 (3) speaking praise of killing, (4) resolving to80 kill, (5) aborting a fetus, (6) encouraging abortion, (7) wishing one’s enemy to be killed, (8) feeling joy at the death of one’s foe,81 (9) preparing the ground for slaughtering animals and killing them there, and (10) watching a battle and delighting in it.82 Through these ten factors, one’s lifespan will be shortened, and one will suffer many illnesses.

1.­9

“How can one achieve a long life through carrying out good actions? Ten factors lead to a long life. What are the ten? (1) Abstaining from killing; (2) preventing others from killing; (3) speaking praise of abstaining from killing; (4) resolving to abstain from killing; (5) freeing sentient beings who have been captured in order to be slaughtered; (6) freeing imprisoned humans who are to be executed; (7) giving refuge to sentient beings83 who are frightened and terrified; (8) having a compassionate attitude toward those who are without protection; (9) embracing with one’s love those who are ill; and (10) giving clothing, food, and drink to the destitute. Through these ten factors, one will have a long life and be free from illness.

1.­10

“In what way does action lead to having many illnesses? Ten factors lead to having many illnesses. What are the ten? (1) Beating somebody with a stick, with the hand,84 or with something else; (2) encouraging someone to beat somebody with a stick, with the hand, or with something else; (3) praising the action of beating somebody with a stick, with the hand, or with something else; (4) resolving to beat somebody with a stick, with the hand, or with something else; (5) distressing one’s parents; (6) distressing monks and nuns;85 (7) feeling joy about one’s enemies falling ill; [F.301.a] (8) feeling joy when one’s enemies do not recover from an illness; (9) giving them the wrong medicine; and (10) eating indigestible food.86 These are the ten. Through these ten factors, one will have many illnesses.

1.­11

“How will one have few illnesses through carrying out good actions? Ten factors lead to having few illnesses. What are the ten? (1) Not beating somebody with a stick, with one’s hand, or with something else; (2) preventing others87 from beating somebody with a stick, with their hands, or with something else; (3) not speaking praise of beating somebody with a stick, with a hand, or with something else; (4) resolving not to beat88 somebody with a stick, with one’s hand, or with something else; (5) serving89 one’s ill parents; (6) serving monks and nuns when they are ill; (7) being unhappy when one’s enemies have fallen ill; (8) feeling joy when one’s enemies recover from an illness; (9) giving medicine to the sick; and (10) eating digestible food.90 These are the ten. Through these ten factors, one will have few illnesses.

1.­12

“In what way does action lead to ugliness?91 Ten factors lead to ugliness. What are the ten? (1) Anger; (2) inflicting harm;92 (3) holding a grudge,93 even for a trifle; (4) rage; (5) reviling one’s parents;94 (6) reviling monks and nuns;95 (7) corrupting the dwelling of monks and nuns;96 (8) extinguishing the offering lamps at a caitya97 of the Tathāgata;98 99 (9) treating ugly persons with contempt;100 and (10) being uncleanly.101 These are the ten factors.102

1.­13

“In what way does action lead to being beautiful?103 Ten factors lead to being beautiful. What are the ten? (1) Non-hatred; (2) donating clothing; (3) sweeping often at a caitya of the Tathāgata; (4) sweeping clean the shrine hall; (5) speaking pleasingly to one’s parents; (6) speaking pleasingly to monks and nuns;104 (7) not treating ugly persons with contempt;105 and (8) being very cleanly.106 These are the ten factors.107

1.­14

“In what way does action lead to having little power?108 Ten factors lead to having little power. What are the ten? (1) Envying others’ achievements;109 (2) being happy when others fail; (3) being unhappy about others’ attainments; (4) being happy about others’ unhappiness, [F.301.b] dishonor, bad reputation, obscurity, and criticism;110 (5) being unhappy about others’ happiness, glory, good reputation, and renown; (6) not venerating111 one’s parents and one’s virtuous spiritual teacher; (7) not serving monks and nuns;112 (8) generating the roots of unwholesome states with regard to those who have little power;113 (9) cutting off the roots of wholesome states with regard to those who are powerful;114 and (10) praising those who act wickedly. These are the ten factors.

1.­15

“In what way does action lead to possessing power? Ten factors lead to being powerful. What are the ten? (1) Not envying others’ achievements; (2) rejoicing in others’ achievements; (3) not rejoicing in others’ failures; (4) not rejoicing in others’ unhappiness, disgrace, bad reputation, obscurity, or criticism; (5) rejoicing in others’ happiness, glory, good reputation, and renown; (6) arousing the mind of enlightenment; (7) erecting a stūpa and (8) a caitya for the Tathāgata;115 (9) cutting off the roots of unwholesome states with regard to those who are powerless;116 and (10) generating the roots of wholesome states with regard to those who are powerful. These are the ten factors.

1.­16

“In what way does action lead to being lowborn? Ten factors lead to being lowborn. What are the ten? (1) Not honoring one’s parents;117 (2) not honoring118 ascetics;119 (3) not honoring brahmins; (4) not esteeming those of noble birth;120 (5) not serving, not respecting,121 or not regaling122 one’s monastic preceptor,123 one’s teacher, or those who have entered the path of liberation;124 (6) not revering one’s parents; (7) showing contempt for and not venerating one’s monastic preceptor, one’s teacher, or those who have entered the path of liberation; (8) shunning those coming from powerful families; and (9) commending people who do bad deeds. These are the ten factors.

1.­17

“In what way does action lead to being highborn? Ten factors lead to being highborn. What are the ten? (1) Commemorating one’s parents; (2) honoring those who have entered the path of liberation; (3) honoring brahmins; (4) esteeming those who are of noble birth;125 [F.302.a] (5) arising from one’s seat and preparing it,126 bowing respectfully, and then offering one’s seat and so forth to one’s monastic preceptor, one’s teacher, those who have entered the path of liberation, and those others who apply themselves to the path [of liberation];127 128 (6) venerating one’s parents; (7) venerating one’s preceptors, teachers, those who have entered the path of liberation, and others;129 (8) making no distinction between one who is of high social status and one who is of low social status, and equating them; (9) planting the life tree inside a stūpa of the Tathāgata; and (10) hanging floral wreaths and raising parasols. These are the ten factors.

1.­18

“In what way does action lead to poverty? Ten factors lead to becoming poor. What are the ten? (1) Stealing;130 (2) encouraging others to commit theft; (3) commending theft; (4) resolving to steal; (5) depriving one’s parents of their sustenance; (6) depriving one’s preceptors, teachers, or those who have entered the path of liberation of their temples,131 living quarters, offerings, or service;132 (7) being unhappy about others’ gains;133 (8) rejoicing in others’ losses;134 (9) hindering others from obtainment; and (10) wishing135 for a famine to occur. These are the ten factors.

1.­19

“In what way does action lead to wealth? Ten factors lead to becoming rich. What are the ten? (1) Abstaining from stealing; (2) encouraging others to give up stealing; (3) rejoicing when others give up stealing; (4) providing one’s parents with sustenance;136 (5) providing one’s monastic preceptor,137 one’s teacher, and the other members of the monastic saṅgha138 with a temple, living quarters, service,139 robes, a bed,140 medicine141 to cure illness, a servant,142 or sustenance; (6) having joyful thoughts about others’ gains; (7) making an effort so that others can acquire [wealth];143 (8) not rejoicing in others’ losses; (9) praying for a good harvest everywhere;144 and (10) rejoicing in the actions of those who practice generosity and so forth liberally. These are the ten factors.

1.­20

“In what way does action lead to being ignorant of the Dharma?145 Ten factors lead to being ignorant of the Dharma. What are the ten? (1) Not valuing inquiry of a qualified person,146 (2) fostering all that is not the true Dharma, (3) abandoning the true Dharma, (4) not honoring and venerating those who teach the true Dharma, (5) praising well those who speak inconsequentially,147 148 (6) attending to and serving those who are ignorant of the Dharma, (7) abandoning those who are truly learned in the Dharma,149 (8) regarding wrong views as authoritative and praising them, [F.302.b] (9) abandoning correct views, and (10) abandoning those who are knowledgeable. These are the ten factors.

1.­21

“In what way does action lead to possessing extensive knowledge of the Dharma?150 Ten factors lead to possessing extensive knowledge of the Dharma. What are the ten? (1) Valuing inquiries of anyone using a progression of questions;151 (2) not attending to, not serving, not honoring, and not venerating unlearned ascetics, brahmins, and persons who are ignorant of the Dharma; (3) attending to, serving, honoring, and venerating learned persons; (4) giving up all that is not the true Dharma; (5) fostering the true Dharma; (6) cultivating fearlessness toward persons who are worthy receptacles of the Dharma;152 (7) praising by saying, ‘Well done!’ those who speak pleasing words that are true; (8) not praising by saying, ‘Well done!’ those who speak ill of others;153 (9) not lauding wrong view; and (10) praising right view. These are the ten factors.

1.­22

“In what way does action lead to rebirth as a hell being? Ten factors lead to hell. What are the ten? (1) Engaging a grave154 evil deed with the body, (2) engaging in a grave evil deed with the speech, (3) engaging in a grave evil deed with the mind, (4) holding the wrong view of annihilation, (5) holding the wrong view of eternalism, (6) holding the wrong view that actions are without consequences,155 (7) destroying others’ welfare, (8) speaking ill of monks and nuns,156 and (9) instigating them to transgress their vows of celibacy.157 These are the ten factors.

1.­23

“In what way does action lead to rebirth as an animal? Ten factors lead to rebirth as an animal. What are the ten? (1) Engaging in a middling bad deed with one’s body; (2) engaging in a middling bad deed with one’s speech; (3) engaging in a middling bad deed with one’s mind;158 (4) carrying out actions motivated by different kinds of desire;159 (5) carrying out actions motivated by different kinds of anger; (6) carrying out actions motivated by different kinds of confusion; (7) giving inappropriate gifts; (8) being aggressive toward those who have been reborn as animals; (9) being reborn as a lion through the power of aspiration of the bodhisattva;160 and (10) being reborn as a monkey, like a certain brahmin,161 which was due to making a foulmouthed remark. These are the ten factors.

1.­24

“In what way does action lead to rebirth in the realm of ghosts?162 Ten factors lead to rebirth in the realm of ghosts: (1) engaging in a minor bad deed with one’s body, [F.303.a] (2) engaging in a minor bad deed with one’s speech, (3) engaging in a minor bad deed with one’s mind, (4) having a desire for base things,163 (5) having very strong desire,164 (6) pursuing a wrong way of making a living, (7) being stingy and tightfisted, (8) obstructing others in making offerings, (9) having died while under the influence of sexual desire, and (10) having died while being hungry and thirsty. These are the ten factors.

1.­25

“In what way does action lead to rebirth in the realm of the asuras? Ten factors lead to rebirth in the realm of the asuras. What are the ten? (1) Frequently committing minor bad deeds with one’s body, (2) frequently committing minor bad deeds with one’s speech, (3) frequently committing minor bad deeds with one’s mind, (4) conceit,165 (5) conceiving of oneself as having no equal, (6) conceiving of oneself as being greater than one’s equals,166 (7) conceiving of oneself as being greater than those who are superior, (8) conceiving of oneself as being superior to those who are supreme, (9) conceiving of nonexistence with regard to the self,167 168 and (10) dedicating one’s roots of wholesome states to false aspirations.169 These are the ten. These ten factors will lead to rebirth in the realm of the asuras.

1.­26

“In what way does action lead to rebirth in the human realm? Ten factors lead to rebirth in the human realm. What are the ten? By not violating and not corrupting the ten virtuous courses of action, one will be reborn in the human realm.

1.­27

“In what way does action lead to rebirth as a deva in one of the six heavens of sensuous pleasure?170 Ten factors lead to rebirth as a deva in one of the six heavens of sensuous pleasure. By not violating, and remaining diligently committed171 to, the ten virtuous courses of action, one will be reborn as a deva in one of the six heavens of sensuous pleasure.

1.­28

“In what way does action lead to rebirth as a deva possessing a physical body? Ten factors lead to rebirth as a deva possessing a physical body. What are the ten? While one is devoted to the ten virtuous courses of action, one brings the six perfections and the four boundless states to perfection‍—this will lead to rebirth as a deva possessing a physical body.172

1.­29

“In what way does action lead to rebirth as a deva without a physical body?173 Practicing the ten virtuous factors and the four states of imperturbability174 leads to rebirth as a deva without a physical body. As for the four states of imperturbability:175

1.­30

1. “One transcends all materiality by contemplating the infinity of space, so that, when all names designating physical objects176 have become inexpressible and void,177 one goes beyond labeling and imagining the manifold phenomena, [F.303.b] but one does not grasp178 at the stillness179 that is produced by180 the sphere of infinite space.

1.­31

2. “Having completely transcended the entire sphere of infinite space, one contemplates the infinity of consciousness, but one does not grasp at the stillness that is produced by the sphere of infinite consciousness.

1.­32

3. “Having completely transcended the entire sphere of infinite consciousness, one contemplates that nothing at all exists, but one does not grasp at the stillness that is produced by the sphere of nothingness.

1.­33

4. “Having completely transcended the entire sphere of nothingness, one contemplates that neither mind nor no-mind exists, but one does not grasp at the stillness that is produced by the sphere of neither mind nor no-mind.

1.­34

“It is through these four factors181 that one will be reborn as a deva in the formless realm.

1.­35

“How does action lead to a predetermined rebirth?182 Having carried out actions based on the roots of wholesome states, one dedicates them to whichever rebirth location one has aspired to;183 or one commits the evil actions that bring immediate karmic retribution. In these ways, one’s rebirth will have the nature of being predetermined.

1.­36

“How can rebirth be changed through action?184 A person carries out a virtuous action and makes an aspiration prayer‍—by virtue of this action, that person’s rebirth destiny can be changed.185

1.­37

“How does action cause a person to be reborn in another country? After one has contemplated with strong faith either the Buddha, the Dharma, the Saṅgha, or any person who possesses moral discipline, one makes an offering and prays to be reborn in another country.186 According to whatever [other] actions one has committed, their good or bad187 [karmic results] are exemplified in the story of the merchant: his actions ripened after he had traveled to a foreign country.188

1.­38

“What kind of action is considered to be carried out without intent?189 Having carried out an action, one feels remorse, is conscience stricken, thinks that one has made a mistake and that it was wrong, and confesses; one does not give up effacing it, one does not engage in it again, and one vows not to do it again in the future. This kind of action [F.304.a] is considered to be carried out without intent.

1.­39

“What kind of action190 is considered to be intended but not carried out? An action was not physically carried out191 if, when the thought welled up192 and at that moment one said, ‘I will do this,’ one did not carry it out. This kind of action is considered to be intended but not carried out.

1.­40

“What kind of action is considered to be intended and carried out?193 Whatever action one has carried out, one does not feel remorse, is not conscience stricken, does not think that it was a mistake, does not confess, does not try to efface it, engages in it again, and does not vow to not do it again in the future.

1.­41

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person who has been born in a hell realm to be reborn194 again as a hell being after completion of the full lifespan of the hell realm?195 Suppose one has carried out an intentional action that leads to rebirth in hell, and one does not feel remorse, is not conscience stricken, does not consider one’s action a mistake, does not consider it inappropriate, does not confess, does not try to efface it, engages again in this evil action, even vows to commit this action again in the future, rejoices in this action, and admires such action. A person who has accumulated such an action will be reborn in the hell realm, and after completion of the full lifespan of the hell realm, will again be reborn in hell.

1.­42

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person who has been born in a hell realm to be reborn again as a hell being after only half of the lifespan in that hell has elapsed? Suppose one has carried out an action that leads to rebirth in hell, but one feels remorse, is conscience stricken, and thinks that one has made a mistake and that it was wrong; and one confesses, does not give up effacing it, does not engage in this evil action again, and vows not to commit this action again in the future. While one who has accumulated this kind of action will be reborn as a hell being, one will subsequently take rebirth after only half the lifespan in that hell has elapsed.

1.­43

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person who has been born in a hell realm to be reborn immediately upon rebirth in the hells? Suppose one has carried out an intentional action that leads to rebirth in hell, but one feels remorse, is conscience stricken, thinks that one has made a mistake and that it was wrong; [F.304.b] and one confesses, does not give up effacing it, does not engage in this evil action again, and vows not to commit it again in the future; and later, one is unhappy about having carried out such an action, dispenses with, shuns, and renounces this action, and arouses an intense sense of renunciation.196 The person who has accumulated such an action will take rebirth immediately upon being born into the hell realm, as did King Ajātaśatru, for example.197

1.­44

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be happy at first, and become unhappy later? Suppose one makes a donation but does not give joyfully.198 By failing to make one’s mind happy and joyful, one feels regret after having given. Then, when one is reborn as a human, one will be born into a wealthy family, richly endowed with wealth and possessions. Having become an important person of high rank, one will have many ministers, [F.305.a] assistants, relatives, and clan members;199 one will have many possessions; and one’s treasury and granary will always be well filled. One will be happy and possess many mounts and carriages.200 Throughout, one is enjoying happiness, but later it diminishes and is exhausted. Having thus arrived at unhappiness, the person who has accumulated such an action consequently is powerful, wealthy, and happy at first; but later, weakened by hunger, becomes unhappy.

1.­45

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be unhappy at first, and happy in the future as a karmic result?201 Suppose one makes an offering without faith at first, but later one’s mind grows faithful and one feels elated.202 If one is reborn as a human, one will be born into a poor family. Food and possessions will be scarce. From a state of being distressed and without food and clothing, one will later become powerful, wealthy, and happy, and everything will increase. A person who has thus come to lack nothing203 is unhappy at first but becomes happy in the future.

1.­46

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be happy at first, and happy in the future? Suppose that one makes a lavish offering and gives it joyfully, and that because of giving, one’s own mind becomes happy, and one does not have regrets later. The karmic fruit for one such as this, if reborn as human, is that one will be born into a wealthy family and enjoy abundant wealth. After becoming an important person of high rank, one will have many ministers, assistants, relatives, and clan members; one will have plentiful possessions, and the granary will always be full. One will be profoundly happy and possess many mounts and carriages. Born in such a family, happiness of that kind will arise and increase.204 Therefore, a person, by accumulating such an action, will be happy at first, and in the future.

1.­47

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be unhappy at first, and unhappy in the future as a karmic result?205 Suppose one has abandoned one’s virtuous friend, no one at all has encouraged one to engage in generosity, and one also has not made any offerings to others on one’s own accord. If one such as this is reborn as a human, one will be poor and famished, lacking food and drink, lacking clothing, and therefore living in distress, or one will live without food, drink, or clothing. Also, in the future, due to those conditions one will not become happy or enjoy an increase in resources. One who has accumulated such an action will not be happy at first and will also be unhappy in the future.

1.­48

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be stingy although being wealthy as a karmic result? Suppose one is not at all magnanimous toward worthy recipients of offerings and offers only a small amount; through being parsimonious when giving, while nonetheless making it a habit, one will be born in a wealthy family. Although one will have at one’s disposal extensive wealth and many possessions, one will be stingy. A person who has accumulated such an action will, although wealthy, be very stingy.

1.­49

“What kind of action leads a person to be wealthy and generous as a karmic result?206 Suppose one offers lavishly and has developed the habit of making very a large offering to a worthy recipient of offerings. If one is reborn as a human, one will be reborn into a wealthy family; one can lead a life of abundance in food and possessions,207 and one will be a generous person. The accumulation of such an action leads to being wealthy and generous.

1.­50

“What kind of action leads a person to be poor and generous as a karmic result? Suppose one offers lavishly and has made it a habit to make a large offering to those who are not worthy recipients of offerings. If one is reborn as a human, one will be reborn into a poor family, [F.305.b] will not be able to lead a life of abundance in food and possessions, and will suffer hardship.208 But even though one does not have enough clothing or food to provide for one’s own life, one is generous. A person who has accumulated such an action will be poor and generous.

1.­51

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be poor and stingy? Suppose one has abandoned one’s virtuous friend, no one at all has encouraged one to engage in generosity, and neither has one made any offerings on one’s own accord209‍—but one has not intentionally carried out any evil actions‍—then, even if one were to be reborn as a human, one would be born into a poor family. One would live without food or possessions and suffer hardship. Constantly toiling to obtain clothing and food, one will be stingy. A person who has accumulated such an action will be poor and stingy.

1.­52

“What kind of persons have exhausted their lifespans but not the potential of their past actions?210 Suppose that someone, although having passed away in the hell realm, is subsequently reborn in hell; or having passed away as an animal, is reborn as an animal; or having passed away in the ghost realm, is reborn as a ghost; or having passed away in the realm of asuras, is reborn as an asura; or having died as a human, is reborn as a human. Such persons have exhausted their lifespans but not the potential of their past actions.

1.­53

“What kind of persons have exhausted the potential of their past actions but not their lifespans? Those who formerly were happy and later became unhappy; or those who formerly were unhappy and later became happy. Such persons have exhausted the potential of their past actions but not their lifespans.

1.­54

“What kind of persons have exhausted both the potential of their past actions and their lifespans? Suppose a person, having passed away in the hell realm, is reborn as an animal; or having passed away as an animal, is reborn as a ghost; or having passed away as a ghost, is reborn as an asura; or having passed away as an asura, is reborn as a human; or having passed away as a human, is reborn as a god. Such persons have exhausted both the potential of their past actions and their lifespans.

1.­55

“What kind of persons, through which kind of action, have eliminated suffering while neither their lifespans nor the potential of their past actions is exhausted? The stream enterers, the once-returners, the non-returners, and the arhats‍—these individuals have eliminated suffering, although they have indeed neither exhausted the potential of their past actions nor their lifespans.

1.­56

“What kind of person is well in body but not in mind? [F.306.a] An ordinary worldly person who,211 after having acquired merit, becomes a universal monarch‍—this kind of person is well in body but not in mind.212

1.­57

“What kind of person is well in their mind but not in their body? An arhat who has not accumulated merit but whose ethical conduct is perfect. A person such as Lekuñcika,213 who is an arhat, is well in mind, but his body is not well.

1.­58

“What kind of person is well in both mind and body? An arhat who has accumulated merit, a person like Śaivala,214 whose ethical conduct is perfect, is well in both mind and body.

1.­59

“What kind of persons are unwell in their minds and in their bodies? Ordinary, worldly persons who have not accumulated any merit. Such persons are unwell both in their minds and in their bodies.

1.­60

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be born into an inferior form of existence with a body that is healthy, pleasant, pretty, beautiful in color, with a brilliant complexion, and beautiful to behold? A person who, motivated by desire, has violated their moral discipline, when reborn in the lower realms, will have a body that is healthy, pleasant, and pretty.

1.­61

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be born into an inferior form of existence with a body that is inferior, coarse, ugly, and revolting?215 When a person has an angry disposition and is unable to keep moral discipline, after accumulating the corresponding action, is reborn in an inferior form of existence, they will possess a body that is inferior, coarse, ugly, and revolting.

1.­62

“What kind of action, when accumulated, leads a person to be born into an inferior form of existence, foul smelling, and with impaired, missing, or inadequate sense organs? When a person has a disposition toward confusion and is unable to keep moral discipline, and after accumulating the corresponding action is reborn in an inferior form of existence, they will be foul smelling and have impaired, missing, or inadequate sense organs.

1.­63

“How will one’s external environment216 deteriorate by reason of carrying out the ten nonvirtuous actions?217 As a consequence218 of killing, [F.306.b] the earth will lose its color;219 as a consequence of stealing, the land will be hit by hail and infested by birds, mice, and insects; through the act of leading an unchaste life, one will be born in a place beset by fog, wind, dust, and dust storms; the karmic result of lying is a bad taste in one’s mouth, and one’s breath will be foul smelling; the karmic result of frequently exercising divisive speech is that one will be born in a land where the ground is uneven,220 rugged, and unclean‍—a land where the skin disease called rkong221 is prevalent and where heaps of stones are scattered everywhere; the karmic result of trivial talk is that one will be born in a country with many ravines, where the trees, branches, and foliage all have thorns, and which is covered by a dense jungle;222 the karmic result of greed is that grain and fruit will be scanty; as a consequence of hatred,223 grain and fruit will be pungent, sour, and bitter; and through the act of holding wrong views and causing others to have wrong views, grain and fruit will be scanty and of inferior quality. By engaging in the ten nonvirtuous actions in this way, one’s external environment224 will deteriorate and one will be born in unpleasant places.”225

1.­64

And the Bhagavān declared in addition, “Young brahmin,226 you should furthermore understand and know that there are ten negative consequences of killing.227 What are the ten? (1) One will have numerous enemies; (2) one will have an ugly appearance; (3) one’s life will be short; (4) one will think about evil actions; (5) one will frighten sentient beings; (6) one will constantly fall asleep feeling sad; (7) one will constantly awaken feeling sad; (8) one will dream about sins228 and later have regrets; (9) one will think about and carry out actions that lead to having a short lifespan; and (10) after one has died and parted with the physical body, one will fall down into bad states229 and be reborn in hell.

1.­65

“The karmic ripening of stealing leads to ten negative consequences.230 What are the ten? (1) One will become an enemy; (2) one will feel qualms; (3) one will walk about inappropriately;231 (4) one will roam about at night; (5) one will be conjoined with every evil companion;232 (6) one will be bereft of any virtuous friends;233 (7) one will be incapable of keeping a household;234 (8) one will be put on trial and convicted by the king; (9) one will constantly think about and carry out actions [F.307.a] that lead to others’ unhappiness; and (10) after one has died and parted with the physical body, one will fall down into bad states and be reborn in hell.

1.­66

“One should recognize that leading an unchaste life leads to ten negative consequences. What are the ten? (1) One will sleep with others’ spouses; (2) one will seek an opportunity [to sleep with others’ spouses]; (3) one will quarrel with one’s spouse; (4) one’s partner will leave one; (5) all kinds of nonvirtuous personal qualities will arise, and virtuous qualities will steadily diminish; (6) one will not find true protection; (7) one’s family will not be truly protected; (8) one will feel anxiety; (9) one will contemplate and carry out actions that turn one’s relatives, friends, and fellow clansmen into enemies; and (10) after one has died and parted with the physical body, one will fall down into bad states and be reborn in hell.

1.­67

“When one lies, ten negative consequences ensue. What are the ten? (1) Around the liar’s body, deities will not congregate; (2) instead, nonhuman spirits will gather; (3) others will deceive one; (4) one’s word will be unreliable; (5) one will always have bad breath; (6) everybody will mistrust one, even when one speaks honestly; (7) people will say that it is wrong to ask such a great liar anything; (8) one will become known as someone with a bad reputation and without commendation; (9) one will habitually contemplate and carry out actions that are regarded as evil,235 leading to the situation in which nobody listens to what one says;236 and (10) after one has died and parted with the physical body, one will fall down into bad states and be reborn in hell.

1.­68

“One should know the negative consequences associated with drinking alcohol that lead to thirty-five kinds237 of heedlessness. Which thirty-five? (1) The wealth that one is currently experiencing will dissipate;238 (2) one’s faith [in the Three Jewels] will dissipate;239 (3) quarrels and disputes will arise; (4) one will neither feel embarrassment nor have a guilty conscience;240 (5) drinking makes one disgrace oneself; (6) drinking makes one’s knowledge deteriorate; (7) previously unaccumulated happiness241 will not be accumulated in the future;242 (8) the happiness that one has accumulated will diminish and eventually disappear completely; (9) one will reveal secrets; (10) one will neglect one’s duties; (11) one will become feeble and sickly; (12) one will be a source of suffering [for others];243 (13) one will not honor one’s mother; (14) one will not honor one’s father; (15) one will not honor those who have entered the path of liberation; (16) one will not honor brahmins; (17) one will not show respect and reverence for those of noble birth; (18) one will not venerate the Buddha; (19) one will not venerate the Dharma; [F.307.b] (20) one will not venerate the Saṅgha; (21) instead, one will venerate immoral friends; (22) one will completely abandon and loathe virtuous friends; (23) one will not have a guilty conscience; (24) one will not be afraid of embarrassment; (25) one will neglect one’s appearance;244 (26) one will be heedless with regard to sexual misconduct; (27) one will be considered unattractive by many beings; (28) one will be despised by many; (29) one will abandon noble families, relatives, and fellow clansmen;245 (30) one will fully embrace that which is not the true Dharma; (31) one will completely abandon the true Dharma; (32) the people above one246 will turn away from one in disgust, saying, ‘This one is not commendable because of his bad behavior’; (33) one will be separated from nirvāṇa for a long time; (34) one will ponder how to get drunk,247 and one will make ignoble mistakes in very many ways; and (35) after one has died, one will fall down into the hell realms and, even if one is without a physical body, one will go to a bad state. Therefore, [alcohol] should not be drunk and should be abandoned by everyone, high and low.248

1.­69

“Young brahmin,249 one will gain ten advantages250 through worshiping with devotion, with the palms of one’s hands joined in reverence, at the caitya of the Sugata. What are the ten? (1) One will be born into a noble family; (2) one will have a tall body; (3) one will have many servants; (4) one will have great veneration and reverence toward one’s parents; (5) one will have great wealth; (6) one will have great erudition; (7) one will possess faith; (8) one will have a good memory and (9) vast knowledge; and (10) one will obtain a sure path to heaven.

1.­70

“One will gain ten advantages from prostrating oneself before a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will have a beautiful body; (2) one will have a pleasant voice; (3) all will listen to one’s words; (4) all one’s servants will praise one; (5) one will be endowed with happiness; (6) one will be influential among devas and (7) humans; (8) one’s possessions will be abundant;251 (9) one will be reborn in heaven; and (10) one will quickly attain even nirvāṇa.

1.­71

“One will gain ten advantages from offering a parasol at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will be like a parasol,252 (2) one will not cause harm to the world,253 (3) one will become the object of [people’s] aspirations,254 (4) one will gain worldly power,255 (5) one will act on one’s intentions,256 (6) eventually one will attain the state of a universal monarch,257 (7) one will become very powerful, (8) one will have abundant possessions, and (9) one will be reborn in heaven [F.308.a] and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­72

“One will gain ten advantages from offering a bell at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will have a beautiful body; (2) one’s voice will be melodious; (3) one’s speech will be pleasing; (4) one’s speech will be like the song of the kalaviṅka bird; (5) all will listen to what one says; (6) one will always be happy and filled with delight; (7) one will continuously hear pleasing sounds; (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) attain nirvāṇa.

1.­73

“One will gain ten advantages from offering robes at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will have a fine complexion; (2) dust won’t stick to one’s body;258 (3) one will be conscientious; (4) one will be a delight to behold; (5) one will always have clothing; (6) one’s garments will remain soft forever and be durable; (7) one will obtain anything that one wants; (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­74

“One will gain ten advantages from offering flowers at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will be like a flower in the world;259 (2) one’s power of expression will be purified; (3) the scent produced by one’s body will be sweet smelling; (4) one’s body will become purified; (5) one will go to spread the strength260 to uphold moral discipline in all directions [like a powerful fragrance pervades everywhere]261 and (6) attract all beings;262 (7) one will make a profit in the world;263 (8) one will obtain countless desired qualities; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­75

“One will gain ten advantages from offering a flower garland at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One’s physical body will become fragrant like a garland of flowers for the world; (2) one’s body will become purified; (3) one’s scent will always be good; (4) one will be endowed with adornments; (5) the entirety of one’s entourage will be close and (6) in harmony;264 (7) one will be appealing to all men and women; (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven [F.308.b] and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.265

1.­76

“One will gain ten advantages from offering a lamp266 at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will become like a lamp for the world;267 (2) one’s physical eyes will become purified and (3) one will obtain the magical eye;268 (4) one will not be shrouded in the black darkness of ignorance; (5) one will obtain the light of knowledge; (6) one will be able to distinguish between virtuous and nonvirtuous objectives; (7) even when wandering in saṃsāra, one will not be intoxicated by its darkness; (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­77

“One will gain ten advantages from offering incense at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will become like a perfume for the world; (2) one’s sense of smell will become acute; (3) the scent of one’s body will become purified and (4) one will remain forever fragrant; (5) one will have a beautiful body; (6) sentient beings will like and flock to one; (7) one will make a profit in the world;269 (8) one will obtain countless desired qualities; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­78

“One will gain ten advantages from offering a drum at a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will have a beautiful body; (2) one will have a pleasing voice; (3) one’s speech will be pleasing; (4) one will be endowed with happiness; (5) one will always be liked; (6) all will listen to one’s words, and (7) eventually one will obtain a renowned voice; (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­79

“One will gain ten advantages by building a caitya of the Tathāgata. What are the ten? (1) One will be born into a noble family; (2) one’s body and one’s eyes will be beautiful and attractive;270 (3) because one will be a person of influence, one will have a large retinue and its members will be cordial with one another;271 (4) one will have abundant possessions; (5) one will become a unifying presence for all;272 (6) because renown and a good reputation are constantly being generated about oneself, [F.309.a] one will attain great fame everywhere and receive reverence from devas and humans alike; (7) eventually, one will have abundant wealth and (8) become a universal monarch; (9) one will acquire the body of a bodhisattva whose essence is [indestructible] like a diamond;273 and (10) one will quickly attain nirvāṇa.274

1.­80

“One gains ten advantages by making the generous offering of a seat. What are the ten?275 (1) One will [attain a] high [rank] in the world; (2) one will excel [in the world]; (3) to the multitude of sentient beings, one will become the resounding of joy; (4) one will have abundant possessions; and (5) one will be reborn in heaven and (6) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­81

“Through making the offering of shoes, one gains ten advantages. What are the ten?276 (1) One will not be lacking in vehicles or mounts;277 (2) one will have excellent legs; (3) while on a journey, one will be endowed with strength throughout; (4) one’s body will not be fatigued;278 (5) while on a journey, one will not be wounded by either stone or wood; (6) one will obtain supernatural legs; (7) one will be satisfied with one’s servants;279 and (8) one will be reborn in heaven and (9) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­82

“One gains ten advantages by making the generous offering of a bowl. What are the ten? (1) One will possess a bowl;280 (2) one will come to embody good worldly qualities; (3) one will have little thirst, and (4) when one is thirsty, one will be endowed with drink; (5) one’s mind will be supple;281 (6) one will not be reborn as a ghost; (7) one will be ever dear to devas and humans;282 (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­83

“One gains ten advantages by making the generous offering of food. What are the ten?283 (1) One’s life will be long; (2) one will possess power; (3) one will possess physical strength; (4) one will possess good memory; (5) one will become eloquent;284 (6) having gathered followers, one will delight them;285 (7) one will make all devas and humans content; (8) one will have abundant possessions; (9) one will be happy; and (10) one will be reborn in heaven and (11) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­84

“One gains ten advantages by making the generous offering of shelter. [F.309.b] What are the ten? (1) One will become a vassal king; (2) one will become the ruler of a province;286 (3) one will become a ruler who is unchallenged287 by others; (4) one will become the king of a continent; (5) one will become the king of two continents; (6) one will become the king of three continents; (7) one will become the king of four continents; (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­85

“One gains ten advantages from entering the path of liberation.288 What are the ten?289 (1) One will be free from attachment to children, wives, relatives, and the diversions of the world; (2) one will be free from jealousy; (3) one will be free from grasping at one’s desires; (4) one will not be unhappy dwelling in the forest;290 (5) one will venerate the Three Jewels; (6) one will be free from the state of ignorance; (7) one will be free from the factors that lead one to an unfavorable rebirth destiny; (8) one will strive for virtuous qualities; (9) one will be disengaged among devas and men;291 (10) one will always enter the path of liberation and practice the Dharma like a noble disciple of the Tathāgata; and (11) after being swiftly liberated from suffering, one will attain nirvāṇa.

1.­86

“One gains ten advantages through offering drink. What are the ten? (1) One’s sense faculties will be unimpaired; (2) one’s forehead will have the perfect size;292 (3) one’s words will delight all; (4) one’s mind will be supple;293 (5) one will have little thirst, and (6) when one is thirsty, one will be endowed with drink; (7) one will not be reborn as a ghost; (8) one will have abundant possessions; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­87

“One gains ten advantages by making the generous offering of a vehicle.294 What are the ten? (1) One’s legs will be supple; (2) one’s legs will be perfectly shaped; (3) when walking by foot, one’s body will not be hurt; (4) one will be without enemies; (5) one will be endowed with the bases of supernatural powers; (6) one will never lack a vehicle or mount; (7) one will have abundant possessions; (8) one will have happiness; and (9) one will be reborn in heaven and (10) quickly attain nirvāṇa.

1.­88

“One gains ten advantages by dwelling in seclusion.295 What are the ten? (1) One will have abandoned large crowds; (2) one will enjoy complete solitude; (3) one’s mind will become focused on meditative absorption; [F.310.a] (4) one will engage in few activities;296 (5) one will venerate the Buddha;297 (6) one’s body will be well and at ease; (7) one will not become lost in the intermediate state between death and rebirth; (8) one will understand in detail the meaning of the Dharma, exactly as one has heard it; (9) one will fully attain the four states of imperturbability; and (10) one will fully attain knowledge.

1.­89

“One gains ten advantages through begging.298 What are the ten? (1) One will become accustomed to walking; (2) one will be far from leading a sedentary life; (3) one will have abandoned pride;299 (4) one will achieve one’s own benefit,300 and (5) one will have established others in merit;301 (6) one will spread the Dharma teachings,302 and (7) thus illuminate those who will be born in the future; (8) one will not transgress the monastic discipline;303 (9) one’s mind will become clear;304 and (10) because one has entered the practice of begging305 with a mind that is completely occupied by virtuous discipline, there will be no darkness in any direction.306

1.­90

“One gains ten advantages from being self-controlled and confident. What are the ten? (1) with confidence one enters a city; (2) with confidence one emerges from the city; (3) with confidence one enters a family home; (4) with confidence one explains the Dharma in an assembly;307 (5) with confidence one approaches the saṅgha; (6) with confidence one approaches308 one’s preceptor and one’s instructor; (7) one trains oneself in309 the power of loving-kindness; (8) one faultlessly uses one’s robes, alms food, mat, medicine, and other utensils;310 (9) one faultlessly performs one’s daily recitations with a loud voice; and (10) even when one’s time to die has come, one is confident.”

1.­91

This is what the Bhagavān said. The young brahmin Śuka, son of Taudeya,311 having arisen from his seat and remaining to one side, knelt on his right knee and faced the Bhagavān, with palms together at his chest, paying homage, and prayed: “Bhagavān, I prostrate myself to the three rare and precious ones and take refuge.312 I beg of you‍—be my virtuous spiritual teacher now and forever!”

1.­92

Transformation of Karma in one fascicle is completed.

ab.

Abbreviations

AKK Vasubandhu. Abhidharma­kośakārikā, as included in the commentary (bhāṣya), see Abhidh-k-bh(P).
Abhidh-k-bh Vasubandhu. Abhidharma­kośabhāṣyam (edition, see Abhidh-k-bh(P)).
Abhidh-k-bh(P) P. Prahlad, A. Haldar. Abhidharma­kośabhāṣyam, Patna 1975.
Apte Apte, Vaman Shivaram. 1957–59. Revised and Enlarged Edition of Prin. V. S. Apte’s The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary
BGT Zhāng Yísūn. bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo.
BHSD Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary.
CPD A Critical Pāli Dictionary. Begun by V. Trenckner.
DN Carpenter, Joseph Estlin, and T. W. Davids. The Dīgha Nikāya. Vol. III.
DPPN Malalasekera, G. P. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names, 2 vols.
LC Lokesh Chandra. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary.
Mh-karmav Lévi, Sylvain. Mahā­Karma­vibhaṅga and Karma­vibhaṅgopadesa, Paris 1932.
Mh-karmav(K) Kudo Noriyuki. Karma­vibhaṅga, Tokyo 2004.313
Mvy Sakaki, Ryōzaburō (ed). Mahāvyutpatti.
Negi Negi, J. S. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary.
PED Rhys Davids, T. W., and W. Stede. The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary.
Pañcaskandhaka Xuezhu Li, Ernst Steinkellner, and Tōru Tomabechi. Vasubandhu’s Pañcaskandhaka. Vienna 2008.
cf. compare with.
pw Böhtlingk, Otto. Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer Fassung.
s.v. sub verbo, “under the word”
v.l. varia lectio, “variant reading”
vv.ll. variae lectiones, “variant readings”
w.r. wrong reading
Sigla of Kangyur editions:
A Kangyur (bka’ ’gyur dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur]
C Choné printed Kangyur
D Degé printed Kangyur
H Lhasa (Zhol) printed Kangyur
J Lithang/ ’jang sa tham / Jiang printed Kangyur
KQ Peking 1737 (Qianlong) printed Kangyur
KY Yongle 1410 printed Kangyur
L London (Shelkar; shel dkar) manuscript Kangyur, kept at the British Museum
N Narthang printed Kangyur
S Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur
U Urga (khu re) printed Kangyur
Z Shey Palace (shel mkhar) manuscript Kangyur
n.

Notes

n.­1
The latter designation‍—which is also the actual title of some of the texts or recensions belonging to this group of texts, named after one of the protagonists of these sūtras, Śuka (Pāli: Subha), the son of Taudeya‍—originated with Yamada Ryūjō, who surveyed all the texts belonging to this group in 1935; see Kudo 2004, viii. For a synopsis of all the texts that constitute the Śukasūtra class, see Kudo 2004, Introduction and specifically pp. xx–xxii (Bibliography and Abbreviations); see also Kudo 2008, 366–68.
n.­2
Tibetan: mdo sde, sa; theg dman gyi mdo mang. For a full list of the text’s location, classification, and context in the different Kangyur editions, see Resources for Kanjur and Tenjur Studies, online database by the Tibetan Manuscripts Project Vienna (TMPV), located at the Department of South Asian, Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, University of Vienna, accessed 2 December, 2017, https://www.istb.univie.ac.at/kanjur/rktsneu/verif/verif2.php?id=339.
n.­3
See Bruno Galasek-Hul and Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche, trans., The Exposition of Karma (Karma­vibhaṅga), Toh 338 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023).
n.­4
Although Transformation of Karma is thematically closely related to the longer (Mahā-)Karma­vibhaṅga, it is quite different in terms of style and lexicon. Since these are two essential criteria for the determination of a text’s school-affiliation, we avoid jumping to conclusions about its potential school-affiliation.
n.­5
Cf. Priestley 1999, ch. 5: “The Reality of the Pudgala,” specifically p. 83.
n.­6
See Bareau 1955, app. I, 289.
n.­7
For a list of the Chinese translations, see Kudo 2004, Bibliography, p. xx.
n.­8
See the chapter concordance in Kudo 2008, 370–72. Mr. Yi Ding, who kindly consulted us on the Chinese translations, suggests that Taishō 80 may be an even closer match than Taishō 81. Another interesting text, extant in Chinese, Tibetan, and Sogdian, the Sutra of the Causes and Effects of Actions (shan wo yin guo jing; Taishō vol. 85, no. 2881), although very different in content, shows some structural resemblance to Transformation of Karma (see MacKenzie 1970). It was, probably like the majority of Buddhist literature in Sogdian, translated from the Chinese.
n.­9
The Mvy lists Sanskrit vipariṇatam as translation equivalent of Tibetan rnam par ’gyur ba (cf. Sakaki 7315). Cf. also the Sanskrit equivalents for rnam par ’gyur ba provided by Negi, 3047. Negi (3047, II, 6.) cites the title of this work as the only instance of rnam par ’gyur ba to render Sanskrit vibhaṅga. Perhaps the Tibetan title could also be interpreted as meaning “The Dharma Scripture on the Ripening of Karma,” if we interpreted Tibetan rnam par ’gyur ba as non-standard rendering of Sanskrit pariṇāma or pariṇāmana (see BHSD, s.v. pariṇāma and parṇāmana). In Sanskrit, pariṇāma seems to cover two distinct lexical fields: change and transference. The concept of transference of merit (Skt. puṇyapariṇāma) played an important role in the practices of Central Asian lay Buddhists, especially in the context of pilgrimage and pilgrimage sites (among the Uyghurs in particular; see Jens Wilkens, “Buddhismus bei den Türkischen Völkern in Zentralasien,” in Hutter, Manfred, Der Buddhismus II (Stuttgart: Kohlhammer, 2016), 482.
n.­10
Cf., e.g., the Mvy, s.v. vibhaṅga (Sakaki 1372, 1425). Cf. also the work immediately preceding this one in the Kangyur, the Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338). Sanskrit vibhaṅga is also found rendered as rnam par dbye ba in Tibetan, probably hinting at a confusion or the interchangeable usage of Sanskrit vibhaṅga and Sanskrit/Pāli vibhajana, vibhāga, meaning “division,” “classification,” “distinction,” “distribution,” or “detailing.” Cf. also Edgerton, BHSD, s.v. vibhaṅga. In the old canonical texts of Buddhism in Pāli, the opposite term of vibhaṅga is uddesa: “indication in outline” (CPD, s.v. uddesa 2.). Thus vibhaṅga was understood as detailed explanation of a teaching given in outline, and later may have taken on the sense of commentary and developed into a genre designation.
n.­11
See Resources for Kanjur and Tenjur Studies: https://www.istb.univie.ac.at, accessed 2 December, 2017. Similarly, the only reference in Negi’s Tibetan-Sanskrit dictionary (Negi, 1259) for Tibetan chos kyi gzhung (Skt. dharmagrantha) is to the title of Toh 339.
n.­12
The Sanskrit word vibhaṅga can also mean “classification,” etc. Thus, the words chosen by L. Feer (Feer 1883, 252: partage) and Sylvain Lévi (Lévi 1932: classification) in the titles of their translations.
n.­14
This is an eighteenth-century copy of a manuscript kept in the Shelkar monastery; it is also known as the London Kangyur or British Museum Kangyur after its current location.
n.­15
See Resources for Kanjur and Tenjur Studies, accessed 4 December, 2017, https://www.istb.univie.ac.at/kanjur/rktsneu/verif/verif2.php?id=339>.”
n.­16
See Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, 155: No. [282].
n.­17
See The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (website), last accessed May 21, 2020, https://ahdictionary.com/word/search.html?q=karma>). Equally problematic are the definitions of the individual senses themselves, and that the Dictionary entry treats the Buddhist and the Hindu understanding of the term karma indiscriminately.
n.­18
Cattāri kammāni. Atth’ āvuso kammaṃ kaṇhaṃ kaṇha-vipākaṃ. Atth’ āvuso kammaṃ sukkaṃ sukkavipākaṃ. Atth’ āvuso kammaṃ kaṇha-sukkaṃ kaṇha-sukka-vipākaṃ. Atth’ āvuso kammaṃ akaṇhaṃ asukkaṃ akaṇha-asukka-vipākaṃ, kammakkhayāya saṃvattati (DN III, 230). Trans. by Walshe 1995, 492.
n.­19
Abhidh-k-bh(P), 234,26–235,3, ad AKK 4.59 c,d: kṛṣṇa­śuklādibhe­dena punaḥ karma caturvidham || 4.59 || asti karma kṛṣṇaṃ kṛṣṇavipākam | asti karma śuklaṃ śuklavipākam | asti karma kṛṣṇaśuklaṃ kṛṣṇa­śuklavipākam |
asti karmākṛṣṇa­maśuklama­vipākam | yat tatkarma karma­kṣayāya saṃvartata iti |. Trans. by Pruden 1988–91, 635.
n.­20
Trans. by Pruden 1988–91, 635.
n.­22
See Kudo 2004, ix, xx–xxi.
n.­23
See Simon 1970. This version may be identical with the title no. 280: las rnam par ’byed pa chung ngu in the Denkarma (Tib. lhan kar ma) catalog (Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, 154). It is represented by the Tibetan translation H343 in the Lhasa Kangyur (despite the misleading entries in the dkar chag), S287 in the Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur, B346 in the Berlin manuscript Kangyur, and N784 in the Narthang Kangyur’s supplementary (kha skong) volume, as well as by a Dunhuang version (PT944). 84000 hopes to add an English translation to this collection in future.
n.­24
Simon 1970, 161. These characteristics seem to be shared by all the witnesses of the of the Karma­vibhaṅga mentioned above in n.­23.
n.­25
Maggi 1995, 20.
n.­26
Lévi 1932, 235, n. 1: “Cf. Kandjour, Mdo XXVI, 468a, texte très voisin, mais différent.”
n.­27
Kanakura, Yenshô, Munetada Suzuki, and Hakuju Ui. 1934. A Complete Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons (Bkaḥ-ḥgyur and Bstan-ḥygur) (= Chibetto daizōkyō sōmokuroku). Sendai: Tôhoku Imperial Univ., p. 63, no. 339: que 闕, translator unknown.
n.­28
For translations and short comments on these terms, see glossary entries: “ignorant of the Dharma,” “ghost,” “monks and nuns.”
n.­29
Equivalent to Skt. “tathāgata.”
n.­30
See McKeown 2010, 1–96 (for a discussion of yang dag par gshegs pa, see pp. 10, 19, 23, 24, 29).
n.­31
Mr. Yi Ding states the following in two emails to the translator: “Based on my impression, I don’t think that anyone in Japan has raised the question whether D 339 [the las kyi rnam par ’gyur ba zhes bya ba’i chos kyi gzhung] is a translation from China, which might indicate that there are no obvious giveaways. Also, Ch-1, Ch-2 and Ch-3 are too different from D 339; Ch-4 and Ch-6 were translated into Chinese at a very late stage when there was virtually no known cultural exchange between Tibet and China,” (May 29, 2017), and “[. . .] among the Chinese translations, Taishō no. 80 is the closest to D 339 but not close enough for a direct relationship. And I totally agree that D 339’s language is pre-reform and very idiosyncratic,” (June 1, 2017). For a complete list of the Chinese translations, see Kudo 2004, Bibliography, p. xx. We are very grateful to Mr. Yi Ding (Stanford University) for providing us with his comments and information about the Chinese translations as well as the Japanese scholarly literature on the group of (Mahā-)Karma­vibhaṅga texts, in particular the works written in Japanese by Noriyuki Kudo (see bibliography).
n.­32
Cf. Apple & Apple 2017, 83: “Cristina Scherrer-Schaub (2002) has proposed that Tibetan translation practices began as early as 763 C.E. with the arrival to Tibet of the Indian scholar Śāntarakṣita.”
n.­33
See Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, 155. The catalog lists a text with an almost identical title (las kyi rnam par ’gyur ba bstan gyi gzhung) and the same length (270 ślokas and 1 bam po correspond almost exactly to the 23 folios of Toh 339 in the Degé edition.
n.­34
The reader should keep in mind that these dates should not be accepted without skepticism, for much of the early history of Tibet and the history of the transmission of Buddhism to Tibet remains obscure, due to a lack of reliable historical sources. Also, we should not forget that this does not tell us anything about the history of the transmission of the Karma­vibhaṅga­nāma­dharma­grantha before its translation into Tibetan, let alone the history and geographical origin of its composition.
n.­35
See Feer 1883, pp. 250–79.
n.­36
Sylvain Lévi mentioned in the introduction to his edition and translation of the MahāKarma­vibhaṅga that Feer’s translation contained some “grave errors” (Lévi 1932, 4).
n.­37
According to D, S ’di skad bdag gis thos pa dus gcig na|. V.l. KY, KQ, L ’di skad bdag gis thos pa’i dus gcig na|.
n.­38
According to Feer, part one starts at this point.
n.­39
This form of the name according to D shu ko; vv.ll., S sho ko; L sho go.
n.­40
Part of ancient Indian etiquette when interacting with prominent and respected religious leaders was to never position oneself directly in front of the person, but to stand or sit slightly to one side. Also, when leaving, one would first circumambulate the teacher clockwise, i.e., with one’s right shoulder toward the teacher, before leaving from the side.
n.­41
A, D gau ta ma khyod la bdag cung shas shig [C cung shes shig] ’dri na; S, Z go’u ta ma khyod la | bdag cung shas shig ’dri na |. The spelling of the quantifier cung shas here is unusual, and we have not seen it elsewhere so far (usual spelling is cung zad or chung zad). However, all Kangyur editions that we have consulted use this spelling. Moreover, the entire sentence strikes us as rather unusual in this context of a sūtra introduction.
n.­42
Tibetan kye here probably translates the Middle Indic/Buddhist Sanskrit expression bho (contracted form of the vocative of Sanskrit bhagavant; cf. PED, s.v. bho: “sir, friend, you, my dear [. . . ].”
n.­43
Tibetan ngan pa in this context means “ignorant” or being without knowledge or understanding of the Dharma and‍—more specifically in this context of the teachings on karmic cause and effect and Buddhist ethics‍—knowing which actions to choose and which to avoid, including respect for and belief in those who possess such knowledge and understanding. L. Feer (1883, 254), in accord with the context, translates this as C’est par les actes qu’on est dans le mal de (l’ignorance). See 1.­20 below for the detailed account of this category.
n.­44
The Tibetan is unclear (D 299.a,6: kye gau ta ma las kyi rnam par smin pa gang gi phyir na sems can sna mang por ’gyur); more literally perhaps “Sir Gautama, [how] do beings become varied due to karmic ripening?” The Tibetan syntax bears some resemblance to a corresponding sentence in the Sanskrit Mh-karmav (Lévi 1932, 29): kasya nu bho gautama karmaṇo vipākenedaṃ satvānāṃ nānātvaṃ prajñāyate (“How, sir Gautama, can one understand the apparent diversity of human beings in terms of (or by way of) karmic results of actions?”), which has guided our translation here.
n.­45
This translates a unique version of the otherwise familiar stock phrase found at the opening of many sūtras (khyod nyon la dge bar shin tu yid la zung shig). L. Feer translates the Tibetan dge bar (shin tu yid la zung shig) literally as “virtuously” (cf. Feer 1883, 253). However, it is probably just equivalent to the Sanskrit sādhu- or Chinese shan zai 善(哉) here of the commonly found stock phrase. Cf. Mvy. (Sakaki 6315) for the standard rendering of the common Sanskrit version of this phrase: dena hi śṛṇu sādhu ca suṣṭhu ca manasikuru (Tib. de’i phyir legs par rab tu nyon la yid la zungs shig).
n.­46
Tibetan de’i phyir (Skt. tena hi?), “now then,” which Feer (1883, 253) has translated as “I will speak on this subject” (Je vais parler sur ce sujet).
n.­47
D tshe rabs kyi las las gyur te; S, L have a sentence terminating particle instead: las gyur to.
n.­48
The diction of this paragraph is challenging, and our translation is uncertain. Due to the similarity of this passage with another variant of this group of terms in Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­2) and in order to make the text more intelligible, we tentatively assume that tshe rabs kyi las las gyur te was supposedly intended to render Skt. karmasvaka, sbyin pa’i rnams kyang las Skt. karmadāyāda, skye ba’i rnams kyang las Skt. karmayoni, so sor rgyu ba yang las Skt. karmabandhu, and sems can rnams ni las kyis rnam par bsgyur Skt. karmapratisaraṇa. This rendition here seems to be closer to the parallel version in the Pāli canon (MN III, 203,4–6): Kammassakā, māṇava, sattā kammadāyādā kammayonī kammabandhū kammapaṭisaraṇā. Kammaṃ satte vibhajati yad idaṃ hīnappaṇītatāyāti. Translation Bhikkhu Ñāṇamoli and Bhikkhu Bodhi 2009, 1053, paragraph 4: “Student, beings are owners of their actions, heirs of their actions; they originate from their actions, are bound to their actions, have their actions as their refuge. It is action that distinguishes beings as inferior and superior.” Cf. the standard renditions in Mvy of these otherwise well-known terms: Tib. las bdag gyir byed pa renders Skt. karmasvakaḥ (Sakaki 2313); las kyi skye gnas pa renders karmayoniḥ (Sakaki 2315); las kyi bgo skal la spyod pa renders karmadāyādaḥ (Sakaki 2314); las brten par bya ba renders karmapratisaraṇam/karmapratiśaraṇam (Sakaki 2316). Feer (1883, 253) translates: “Manava, les êtres provenant des actes de leurs existences (antérieures), le don et tout ce qui s’y rattache étant un acte, la naissance et tout ce qui s’y rattache étant un acte, la cause individuelle de chaque être étant un acte, Manava, les êtres se transforment par l’effet des actes.”
n.­49
We have retained the agricultural metaphor here. An alternative translation of Tibetan las rnam par smin pa’i ’bras bu may be: “the result of one’s acts” or “karmic punishment and reward” (cf. The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340). A slightly different translation is offered by L. Feer (1883, 253): “It follows that, according to the good, the evil or the in-between (good and bad), the varieties of beings are associated with many different kinds of acts, with many different kinds of sufferings, with many different kinds of views; I will say, for example: the [respective] fruit results from [either] a black act or a white act. Thus, Manava, by the effect of black acts, a being is born (goes) in a bad direction, such as Narakas, Animals, Yaxas (sic), roamers (?), Asuras, etc. Those who have done white acts are reborn among gods or humans.” (Il s’ensuit que, selon le bien, le mal ou l’entre-deux (du bien et du mal), beaucoup d’espéces d’ètres sont liés à beaucoup d’espéces d’actes, à beaucoup d’espéces de douleurs, à beaucoup d’espéces de vues; je veux dire, par exemple: le fruit résultant d’un acte noir et d’un acte blanc. Ainsi, Manava, par l’effet des actes noirs, un être naît (pour aller) dans la mauvaise direction, telle que le Naraka, les animaux, les Yaxas, les rôdeurs, les Asuras, etc. Ceux qui ont fait des actes blancs renaissent parmi les dieux et les hommes.) It is noteworthy that this particular Tibetan translation deviates strongly from parallel passages in related texts in Sanskrit and Pāli, respectively: karma māṇava satvān vibhajati. yad idaṃ hīnotkṛṣṭamadhyamatāyām. tadyathā . . . . (Mh-karmav paragraph 30); Kammaṃ satte vibhajati yadidaṃ hīnappaṇītatāyāti (MN III, 203). Both of these may be translated as “Living beings are differentiated by their actions, namely, [with regard to their] inferiority or superiority.” (Sanskrit adds “mediocrity.”) The diction in the Shelkar (London) Kangyur (L 353b,2–3) version of the related Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338) is clearer: sems can rnams kyi las sna tshogs dang| nyon mongs pa sna tshogs dang| lta ba sna tshogs dang| spyod pa sna tshogs rig nas| las nag po dang| dkar po rnams kyi ’bras bu rnam par smin pa brjod par bya ste|, “having discerned the manifold actions, defilements, views, and modes of conduct of sentient beings, I will describe the resultant ripening (or the ripening of the result, Skt. phala-vipāka) of black and white acts.”
n.­50
Tibetan ngan song, Sanskrit apāya, is synonymous with Sanskrit durgati, more commonly translated as the “lower realm(s).”
n.­51
Tibetan ring du ’khyams pa. Feer (1883, 254) seems to have missed the mark: C’est par les actes qu’on nait parmi les rôdeurs, “It is through acts that one will be born as a prowler” (Germ. Herumtreiber). See the glossary for the term “ghost.”
n.­52
Here, the asuras, or demigods, are counted among the unfortunate rebirth destinies, or lower realms, which are more commonly known as Tibetan ngan ’gro gsum, the “three lower realms” (hells, animal realms, and ghosts).
n.­53
This is a free translation of the Tibetan, which reads literally: “through/due to the “ripening” of an action/actions” (las kyi rnam par smin pas), and which we have otherwise translated as “karmic ripening” throughout (See the glossary, s.v. las kyi rnam par smin pa, for a more detailed explanation). We have also abbreviated the Tibetan in our English translation. The sentences after the first one start with las kyis which we interpret to be short for las kyi rnam par smin pas.
n.­54
Tibetan ma rabs kyi rigs su ’gyur ba. According to Lama Kunga Rinpoche, “In colloquial Tibetan, ma rabs refers to a person who is very vulgar, rude, mostly low-class, and uneducated, with very bad manners; and whose mere presence causes nothing but trouble for everyone around, by being loud and disrespectful.”
n.­55
D ngan par; L, S ngan por.
n.­56
We understand “the Dharma” to be implied here, as becomes clear in 1.­21. Tibetan shes rab, Sanskrit prajñā, is a notoriously difficult term to translate. Common translations include “wisdom,” “gnosis,” “insight,” “cognition,” “discriminating awareness,” etc. In this particular text, context most often suggests a sense of the word that expresses an analytical quality (or aspect) of one’s mental faculty that is based on prior knowledge or learning of a moral code. Feer (1883, 254) translates Tibetan shes rabs chen po as “extensive knowledge” (une connaissance grande et etendue). See the glossary entry on shes rab for an explanation.
n.­57
Tibetan gzugs yod pa’i lha is an uncommon term for Sanskrit rūpāvacaradeva (Tib. gzugs yod pa na spyod pa’i lha).
n.­58
Tibetan las bzhin du mi ’gyur bar skye ba yang yod (possible Skt. astyapi karmamukhā aniyatopapattiḥ). However, later in the text (at 1.­7), the Tibetan reads: las kyis bzhin mi ’gyur bar skye ba yang zhe na|. See also 1.­35. The karmic category spoken of here is that of Sanskrit (a)niyata, i.e., determined, fixed, definite, or inevitable, which means that the karmic result cannot be altered or averted, i.e., it is certain to be experienced in this life, in a future life or, in the case of the evil actions that bring immediate karmic retribution, immediately after death. Furthermore, its experience corresponds to the moral quality of the action. Cf. Abhidh-k-bh(P), ad AKK IV.54. Tr. by Leo M. Pruden (Pruden 1988–91, 629): “Action accomplished through intense defilement or through intense faith, with regard to the field of qualities, continually, and the murdering of a father and a mother, are determinate.”
n.­59
Feer (1883, 254) translates: “It is through actions that rebirth occurs without change; it is through actions that rebirth occurs with change.” (XXIII. C’est par les actes que la naissance se produit sans changement; XXIV. C’est par les actes que la naissance se produit avec changement.)
n.­60
According to D, L, S ma bsams par byas pas; vv.ll. KY, KQ ma bsams par byas pa ma|; U ma bsams par bya bas. Feer (1883, 254) translates: “When one has carried out actions without thinking about them (or having intended them; Tib. bsams pa), there will nonetheless be rebirth.” (Quand on a fait des actes sans les méditer, la naissance se produit tout de même). However, Tibetan skye bar ’gyur ba here as in the following three categories may be a dittography. The paragraphs corresponding to this category later in the text (cf. 1.­38–1.­40 below) make no mention of any specific kind of rebirth as the karmic result of (unintended) actions, but rather generally qualify or define actions with regard to the absence or presence of intention.
n.­61
Tibetan ’dus pa (literally “collect,” “accumulate”; “assemble”) in gang zag las ’di lta bu ’dus pas na has a technical sense when applied to karmically relevant actions (see also BHSD, s.v. upacita and Lévi 1932, 9, 47–48, n. 8). The differentiation between the technical expressions “action that is carried out” (Skt. karma kṛtaṃ) and “action that is accumulated” (Skt. karmopacita) is explained in detail in Vasubandhu’s Abhidharma­kośabhāṣya, verse IV,120 (see Abhidh-k-bh at AKK IV,120 Abhidh-k-bh(P) 271,20-272,3 = Pruden 1988–91, 701–702): “Action ‘done’ (Skt. kṛta) is distinguished from ‘accumulated’ (Skt. upacita) action. What are the characteristics and conditions of accumulated action? 120. Action is termed ‘accumulated’ by reason of its intentional character, by its completion, by the absence of regret and opposition, by its accompaniments, and by its retribution.” Although the phrase “to accumulate an action” is not natural English, we have kept this rather clumsy literal translation to indicate the specialized meaning of ’dus pa (Skt. upacita) here and throughout this translation. Sylvain Lévi opted for a more elegant solution in his French translation of the closely related Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­48) by employing a translation equivalent that expresses the sense of ’dus pa in accordance with Vasubandhu’s definition: “Quel est l’acte qui, étant fait, n’est pas aggravé?” (Lévi 1932, 121).
n.­62
The syntax of the Tibetan in this sentence (and below) is obscure. The meaning of the karmic categories can be more clearly understood from the parallel passages in the Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­48–1.­50).
n.­63
In light of the explanations of the items listed in the full paragraphs later in the text, we have translated them in a way that tries to bring out the fact that both the former and the latter states (of happiness and unhappiness) are seen as being related by a combination of certain actions.
n.­64
According to D (phyi nas bde bar) gyur pa’i las; v.l. H (phyi nas bde bar) ’gyur ba’i las. Here, the sentence structure differs from the preceding, parallel sentence, which reads phyi nas mi bde ba’i las. We have attempted to make this difference recognizable in our English translation.
n.­65
It is not clear why the Tibetan reads sems can gang zag thams cad here.
n.­66
While the sentence structure is generally the same as in the preceding sentences, here the word las (“action”) is missing, so that the subject of the sentence becomes gang zag (“person”). Although it may be the case that las should be supplied in this and the following sentences, we have translated according to the syntax as it is. Feer (1883, 255) translates: “For such an individual the [life]time is exhausted (but) the actions are not.” (Pour tel individu, le temps est épuisé, l’acte ne l’est pas). An individual’s actions not being exhausted means that this person still must experience the karmic consequences in the future.
n.­67
Tibetan lus bde la.
n.­68
According to D, L gang zag lus mi bde la sems bde bar ’gyur ba’i las kyang yod|. The editor, in consultation with the translator, settled for this perhaps less accurate but less wordy translation. The Kangyur editions of KQ, KY, J, N, C read: “well in body as well as in mind.” (Vv.ll. KQ, KY gang zag lus kyang bde ba sems kyang bde bar ’gyur ba’i las ba yang yod|; J, N, C gang zag lus kyang bde la sems kyang bde bar ’gyur ba’i las kyang [J, C ba yang] yod|; H gang zag lus mi bde la sems kyang mi bde bar ’gyur ba’i las ba’ang yod|).
n.­69
According to D, S, Z; L reads gang zag lus kyang bde la sems kyang ’gyur ba yang yod| (which could be a scribal omission). KQ, KY, J, N, C read: “unwell in body as well as in mind.”
n.­70
According to D, L, S, Z; KQ, KY, J, N, C omit this sentence.
n.­71
According to S, Z gzugs legs pa dang; v.l. D, L gzugs ngan pa [L: ngan ba] dang|. Feer (1883, 255) translates: “The individual who has accumulated such actions and who was born in the region of bad beings(?), will be physically beautiful, agreeable, with a charming complexion, good-looking, with a body that is pleasing to the sight, by virtue of his karma.” (L’individu qui a accumulé tels et tels actes et qui est né sur le terrain des êtres-pervers sera physiquement beau, agréable, d’un teint charmant, de bonne mine, avant un corps agréable á la vue en vertu de son karma).
n.­72
Meaning in a lower realm of saṃsāric rebirth (Tib. sems can ngan pa’i sar yang skyes te|).
n.­73
According to D phyi rol gyi yul sa’i don ngan du ’gyur ba, which agrees with the reading and the content of the corresponding paragraph (see 1.­63 below). V.l. S, Z, L phyi rol gyi yul sa’i don du ’gyur ba yang yod do||, “there is (or will be) benefit for the external environment(?),” must be an error. Feer (1883, 255) translates: “Manava, it is like this: through following the path of the ten negative actions, one will arrive at a bad destination, the adverse region[s] [of rebirth?]. (Manava, cela est ainsi: c’est parce qu’on a suivi le chemin des dix actions vicieuses, c’est à cause de cela que l’on arrive au but mauvais de la région adverse).
n.­74
According to D, L, S, Z tshe thung. V.l. C ’thung (possibly w.r. for thung).
n.­75
In classical Tibetan, the verb is generally impersonal, and the expression zhe na is often found in philosophical discourses or in treatises in which a (hypothetical) opponent’s position is presented before being refuted. Thus, common translations are “if someone asks (or says),” or “if it is asked (or said).” We have chosen a translation that is reflective of the sūtra’s narrative frame and its dialogic structure. In the following paragraphs, we have therefore treated Tibetan zhe na simply as signifying a question.
n.­76
“Factors” is our translation of Tibetan chos (bcus na/ni) in this context (literally: “when (or because) ten factors are present”). D, L chos bcus na; S, Z chos bcus ni (later chos bcus na throughout). Feer (1883, 256) translates Tibetan chos bcus as “ten conditions” (Ici, tu me demandes par l’effet de quel genre d’actes le temps de la vie est court. Je te dirai que dix conditions font que la vie est courte. ‍— Quelles sont ces dix? Si tu les demandes (les voici), “Here, you ask me, through the effect of which kind of act one’s lifespan is short. I will tell you that there are ten conditions that make one’s life short. What are the ten? If you wish to hear them, they are as follows.”) In an earlier draft of this translation, we chose to translate chos with “factors,” which, while not wrong, seemed too vague. Feer’s choice of “conditions,” on the other hand, does not seem to capture the idea that the respective actions enumerated in the text are major factors able to produce a karmic result, and not just conditions that need to be present for a result manifest. Chos in this text appears to be a different way of saying “(karmically relevant) action.”
n.­77
According to D (de la ji ltar las kyis tshe thung bar ’gyur zhe na| chos bcus na tshe thung bar ’gyur zhe na| bcu gang zhe na|), “if you ask,” (zhe na) is at the end of each subset, thus apparently interpreting the whole to be Śuka’s question. We think, however, that the sentence beginning with chos bcus constitutes the Buddha’s answer to the initial question, and not a new question or part of the first one. This interpretation may be corroborated by the vv.ll. KQ, KY, N, U, L, S, Z chos bcus na [L | shad after na] [S, Z ni] tshe thung bar ’gyur te [H ste].
n.­78
According to D gcod pa; L, S, Z bcad pa (perfective of verb gcod, “having taken life; killed; murdered”); v.l. KQ, KY bcod (seems to be a relatively common variant of gcod).
n.­79
According to D, L, S, Z srog gcod du bcug pa|. V.l. N srog gcod du bcod pa|.
n.­80
According to D, L, S, Z smon pa; vv.ll. J smin pa; N sman pa.
n.­81
The Tibetan here uses mi mdza’ ba, which is synonymous with dgra bo “enemy, foe” used in the preceding item.
n.­82
The Tibetan is not entirely clear, but cf. (Toh 338, 1.­8), for a similar content and context, where the meaning of ’thab mo is unmistakably that of battle. A, D read thab mo [C, H, S, Z: ’thab mo] la lta zhing dad pa dang bcu ste|. The preferable reading, however, seems to be that of C, H, S, Z: ’thab mo “quarrel, fight; battle.” Z, moreover, has just ’thab mo la lta zhing dad pa dang|. Feer’s (incorrect) translation (1883, 256) may result from reading thab (mo) without considering the vv.ll.: “Having one’s desires and one’s view focused on the hearth (where the meat is cooking?) . . .” (porter ses désirs et ses regards sur le foyer (où cuit la viande?) . . .).
n.­83
D, S, Z: sems can rnams la skyabs byas. V.l. L, KY, J, KQ, N, C: sems can rnams skyabs byas (without la).
n.­84
Tibetan thal mo (la sogs pas), literally “the palm of one’s hand.”
n.­85
This translates the obscure Tibetan mya ngan bsring ba rnams (D). See the Glossary of Terms, s.v. “monks and nuns” for a discussion of this term and a possible literal meaning. Vv.ll. L mya ngan sring ba rnams; S, Z mya ngan srid pa rnams.
n.­86
Tibetan zas mi zhu ba za ba. However, cf. a very similar passage in the Sanskrit text of the Mh-karmav, paragraph 4, (Lévi 1932, 37): “giving [someone] indigestible foods ([ . . .-]pradānaṃ tathāparijīrṇabhojanaṃ).”
n.­87
According to D, L ’tshog [S, Z tshog] tu mi gzhug pa; N mchog tu mi gzhug pa.
n.­88
The Tibetan means literally “not aspiring (or desiring) to beat” (’tshog pa la mi smon pa).
n.­89
Tibetan rim gro byed pa, in contexts like this, can have two main senses: (1) honoring, worshiping (also in form of rites and rituals), reverence; and (2) service, to serve, attend to (or upon), to aid, to see after. We have adopted the latter sense, considering the context of illness. Exact translation into English is complicated by the fact that the Tibetan seems to carry both senses at the same time: tending to or caring for someone with respect or reverence because he or she is in an elevated position, which demands one’s respect and reverence (parents, clerics).
n.­90
The Tibetan is unclear (zas zhu nas za ba) and could perhaps also be interpreted as “[only] eating food that one has begged for (or received).” But based on a corresponding and very similar passage in the Sanskrit text of the Mh-karmav, paragraph 4 (Lévi 1932, 37), we are somewhat confident that Tibetan zas zhu ba must mean “digestible foods,” and the passage here originally (i.e., in the source text for the Tibetan translation) perhaps meant “providing them with digestible food.” Cf. also the preceding 1.­10 above.
n.­91
Feer (1883, 257) politely rendered Tibetan mi sdug pa into French idiomatically: “a moderately pleasant [i.e., unpleasant] situation” (Comment, diras-tu, arrive-t-on par l’effet des actes à une situation peu agréable.). Lévi (1932, 37, n. 2) has identified the corresponding paragraph of the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­15) with relief 21 of the hidden base of the Borobudur (cf. ibid. for references), carrying the inscription “virūpa” (possibly meaning “deformed” or “ugly”). All consulted editions of Transformation of Karma (A, D, L, S, Z) read mi sdug pa. The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, F.278.b) reads kha dog mi sdug pa, “complexion, color; appearance” (corresponding to Skt. durvarṇa; Lévi 1932, 37); L mdog mi sdug pa.
n.­92
According to S, Z khro ba| gnod bcas pa| (two items are needed here in order to parse ten items in this paragraph). D khro ba gnod bcabs pa|; vv.ll. L khro ba gnong(?) (read gnod) bcas pa|. The reading and the interpretation of this passage, however, is not clear. Is D khro ba gnod bcabs pa meant to constitute one term, two terms, or three terms (“anger, harming, disparaging”)? Feer (1883, 257) interpreted this phrase as containing two expressions: “enmity and concealed [bcabs pa, perfective of the Tibetan verb ’chab pa (Skt. mrakṣa, “resentment”)] hostility” (l’animosité; l’hostilité secréte). The related Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338) in its corresponding 1.­15 even contains four terms: anger (khro ba), enmity (’khon du ’dzin pa), resentment (’chab pa), and spite (’tshig pa), as does the Mh-karmav (Lévi 1932, 37: krodhaḥ, upanāhaḥ, mrakṣaḥ, pradāśaḥ [read paridāghaḥ?], cf. Kudo 2009, 52; the last term, however, is doubtful, since the following Mh-karmav, paragraph 6, which contains the antipodes of the first three terms mentioned in Mh-karmav, paragraph 5, does not contain the opposite of pradāśaḥ). The Khotanese Karma­vibhaṅga (Maggi 1995, 67) gives a curious interpretation of the apparent juxtaposition of terms signifying anger and jealousy or jealous disparagement (Tib. khro ba gnod bcabs pa?): “[The] first act is (if) he should see the advantage of a man being angry and violent, harsh (and such) that envy of the other (man) arises in him because of it.” (Note that the different terms here seem to constitute one “act” and not individual acts as in Transformation of Karma).
n.­93
D ’khon du ’dzin pa; KY, KQ, L, S, Z khon du ’dzin pa|.
n.­94
The Tibetan is not entirely clear here. D and L (gtum pa pha ma rnams la ngan du smra ba|) do not seem to separate gtum pa from the following act (reviling ones’ parents), while S, Z do (shad | between gtum pa and the following sentence). Alternatively, one could perhaps interpret the passage to mean “being haughty (gtum pa is Old Tibetan for gzu lum(s) che ba), one is not welcoming (Tib. ngan du smra; Skt. durāgata) toward one’s parents, toward monks and nuns.” Parsing the Tibetan in this way, however, would leave one with fewer than ten acts in this category.
n.­95
According to D, which reads mya ngan bsrings pa in both instances: mya ngan bsrings pa rnams la ngan du smra ba|; L, S, Z mya ngan bsrings [L: srings] pa rnams la ngan du smra ba| mya ngan srid pa’i spyad pa kun la ngan du byed pa|.
n.­96
D mya ngan bsrings pa’i spyad pa kun la ngan du byed pa|; L, S, Z mya ngan srid pa’i spyad pa kun la ngan du byed pa|. A corresponding passage in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338) of the London manuscript Kangyur (mdo sde, ci, 357a,6,7) reads ’phags pa’i yongs su spyad pa ma rung bar byed pa dang|, “destroying the dwelling (or property, shrine) of a noble one.” Our translation follows the parallel passage of the London manuscript which seems clearer. However, the exact meaning of (yongs su?) spyad pa (Skt. paribhoga) here remains ambiguous, and the collocation with the predicate ngan du byed seems to carry moral overtones (Skt. duṣ + √kṛ? Or cf. the Tibetan expression spyod ngan byed, “to misbehave”).
n.­97
According to the Mvy Tibetan mchod rten should be used to translate both Sanskrit stūpa and caitya (see Sakaki 6999, 7000). The Sanskrit word caitya can refer to a stūpa, but also to a shrine, sacred place or any sacred object. We have therefore rendered mchod rten with the broader term caitya in this translation to retain and express this ambiguity, except where it is clear that specifically a stūpa is referred to.
n.­98
Feer, in his French translation of Transformation of Karma, uses the Sanskrit reconstruction samyaggata to render Tibetan yang dag par gshegs pa, whereas the standardized rendering of Sanskrit tathāgata is de bzhin gshegs pa (Sakaki 3). Feer (1883, 257, n. 2) comments: “ ‘He who has come, once and for all,’ one of the epithets of the Buddha. I use the Sanskrit word which corresponds to the Tibetan term of our text. It seems to me preferable to a translation that could otherwise only be bizarre.” (“ ‘Celui qui est venu réellement, venu une fois pour toutes,’ une des épithétes du Buddha. J’emploie le mot sanskrit auquel correspond le terme tibétain de notre texte. Il me paraît préférable à une traduction qui ne pourrait être que bizarre.”). However, as far as we know, samyaggata is not usually used as an epithet of the Buddha in Indic Buddhist texts (in the Sanskrit and Pāli texts we have searched, samygaggata is exclusively an adjective). The Sanskrit adjective samyaggata (Pāli sammaggata) generally means “behaving properly,” or “(being) of correct or perfect conduct.” In our interest to preserve the text’s idiosyncratic character, we would have liked to adopt Feer’s very original choice of samyaggata for our translation. However, we chose Tathāgata instead, which is what one would expect in the Sanskrit original.
n.­99
Feer (1883, 257) translates: “To refuse to keep a caitya of the Samyaggata (i.e., Tathāgata) clean.” (le refus de la propreté au caitya du Samyaggata). In a parallel paragraph to this one, (Toh 338, 1.­15) has two different sentences: “soiling stūpas and monasteries and the site of a stūpa,” and “extinguishing offering lamps at stūpas and images.” Literally, Tibetan ’od gcod pa can also mean “eliminate the luster (or brightness).” We have decided to follow the reading of the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, F.278.b: mar me gsad pa).
n.­100
According to S, Z rngan chan byed pa (archaic for brnyas thabs “to despise; treat contemptuously”; cf. BGT, s.v.). Vv.ll. D, L dngan can byed pa (Old Tibetan orthography for ngan (see Rnam rgyal tshe ring 2001, s.v. dngan can); J, N, C, H mngon can. The passage seems corrupt: Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­15, (F.278.b)) reads A, D phyas ’dogs pa [vv.ll. J phyas ’drogs; KQ phyes ’dogs], which is obscure. The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338) of the London manuscript Kangyur has dbang za ba, which has the sense of feeling entitled to despise, belittle, or humiliate, and to manipulate or exploit others (cf. BGT, s.v.). The Mh-karmav is clear: Sanskrit avahasanam (Lévi 1932, 38) means “ridiculing someone.”
n.­101
This is a free translation of Tibetan ci la yang mi gtsang bar byed pa|, literally “making everything dirty.”
n.­102
The sentence “Through [the presence of] these ten factors one will . . .,” is omitted here (chos ’di bcus . . . -r’gyur ro).
n.­103
Feer (1883, 258) translates Tibetan bzang po as “prosperity” (situation prospère). But context and a parallel passage in the Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­16 (F.278.b): mdzes pa as the antonym of kha dog mi sdug pa) suggest “beautiful” as the more appropriate translation.
n.­104
D mya ngan las [T, KQ omit las] bsrings pa rnams; L, S, Z mya ngan bsrings par rnams.
n.­105
See above, 1.­12, D, L dngan; vv.ll. J, N, H mngan; C ngan.
n.­106
The Tibetan (D ci la yang gtsang bar byed pa ste|) says literally “making everything clean”; vv.ll. KY, KQ gcad par byed pa; J, N, C gcod par byed pa.
n.­107
Note that this paragraph includes only eight items. Some of the following paragraphs also include less than ten items. We will not note this in every case, but only when it is connected to linguistic problems, or when there is a conflict between different readings of the various Kangyur editions.
n.­108
Tibetan dbang chung ngu, from Buddhist Sanskrit alpeśākhya (Pāli appesakkha); cf. CPD, s.v. appesakkha; BHSD, s.v. alpeśākhya. The word originally meant “unrespected, insignificant; of little esteem” (It has been accepted that the Middle Indic form of the term is derived from an original Sanskrit form alpa-/mahā-yaśas-ka). The respective Sanskrit form of the word (alpa-/mahāśakya vs. alpe-/maheśākhya) can be an indicator of a text’s school affiliation (see O. von Hinüber, “Die Bestimmung der Schulzugehörigkeit buddhistischer Texte nach sprachlichen Kritertien,” 1985, in Bechert 1985). The form alpa-/mahāśakya is surmised by F. Edgerton to have originated as a folk-etymological alteration of alpe-/maheśākhya (see BHSD, s.v. mahāśakya). It is predominantly found in the texts affiliated with the Sarvāstivādins. The traditional derivation or analysis of the term is alpa-īśa-ākhya (with maheśākhya being an analogical formation), perhaps meaning literally “named after an insignificant chief or master, or low origin” (see Apte, s.v.). This meaning is reflected in the standardized Tibetan translation as given in the Mvy. (Sakaki 6412): dbang chung bar grags pa. The Tibetan form present here, however, dbang chung ngu appears to be closer to Sanskrit alpaśakya, or perhaps even Chinese shao shi 少勢.
n.­109
It is not clear whether Tibetan thob pa should be rendered into English in the sense of “achievement” (HTOED semantic field 01.15.16.02 n.: success), “acquisition” (HTOED semantic field 02.06.08 n.: acquisition), or rather “profit, gain” (HTOED semantic field 01.15.14 n.: advantage). Given the apparent context of social prestige in this paragraph, we have leaned toward the first in our translation.
n.­110
“Criticism” is our rendition of Tibetan sgra bstod pa med pa, sgra bstod being a variant of sgras (b)stod.
n.­111
For Tibetan sri zhu mi byed pa, cf. Dan Martin’s entry in the Rangjung Yeshe Dictionary, sri zhu: “ ‘reverence’ (for elders, parents, etc.). Coblin in JAOS 111, p. 317. As translation of a Sinitic concept, see Stein, Tibetica Antiqua I 163, 195. khrus dang sku mnye dang dril phyis byed pa. bka’ drin bsam nas bkur sti byed pa. Btsan-lha.” However, sri zhu is an ancient Tibetan term that may or may not exactly correspond content-wise to Chinese xiao 孝, “filial piety.”
n.­112
According to D mya ngan bsrings pa; vv.ll. L srings pa; J, N, C bsings pa.
n.­113
It is also possible to translate this sentence as “causing the roots of unwholesome states to arise in those who have little power.” However, it may be more likely that the meaning of the passage has been that which is preserved in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338) of the London manuscript Kangyur (mdo sde, ci, 357b,6): dge ba’i rtsa ba chung ngu yang dag par phar ’dzin du ’jugs pa dang| dge ba’i rtsa ba chen po’i rgyun gcod pa dang, “Causing someone to overly(?) esteem small (or weak) roots of wholesome states, while cutting off a stream of strong roots of wholesome states.” Cf. also the extant Central Asian Sanskrit fragment from Eastern Turkestan (the Śukasūtra; cf. Lévi 1932, 235f.): [mahā-]śakyāt kuśalamūlād vicchandanam alpaśakyānāṁ pudgalānāṁ paribhavaḥ, “cutting [oneself or another?] off from powerful roots of wholesome states; contempt for persons with little power.”
n.­114
The “roots of unwholesome states” are the three mental poisons: greed, hate, and delusion.
n.­115
Tibetan yang dag par gshegs pa’i mchod rten dang gnas byed pa|. Tibetan gnas here likely means “a holy place” or “object of veneration” (Sanskrit caitya; cf. BHSD, s.v. caitya). The Śukasūtra fragment (Lévi 1932, 235f.) reads tathāgata­bimbakaraṇam “making an image (or statue) of the Tathāgata.” The las rnam par ’byed of the London manuscript Kangyur (mdo sde, ci, 358a,3) reads de bzhin gshegs pa’i mchod rten gyi khang pa byed pa dang|, which could mean (depending on what one assumes to have been the cultural milieu of the text) “erecting a raised platform on which a stūpa can be built,” or, literally, “building a caitya-hall (a house or a cave?) for a stūpa.”
n.­116
Translating D, L, S, Z dbang chung ngu; v.l. KY, KQ des chung ngu. The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338) of the London manuscript Kangyur (mdo sde, ci, 358a,3-4) reads dge ba’i rtsa ba chung ngu rgyun mi gcod pa dang| dge ba’i rtsa ba chen po yang dag par ’dzin du ’jug pa’o|. The Śukasūtra-fragment (Lévi 1932, 235) reads alpaśakyāt kuśalamūlāt vicchandanam, “separating [oneself or another?] from weak roots of wholesome states,” and mahāśakye kuśalamūle samādāpanam, “encouraging/motivating [oneself or another?] [to make an effort] with regard to the strong roots virtue,” respectively.
n.­117
Tibetan pha ma la pha mar mi ’dzin pa| seems pleonastic. Tibetan mar/phar mi ’dzin pa translates the (Buddhist?) Sanskrit idiomatic expression amātajñaḥ/amātajñatā and apitṛjña/apitṛjñatā respectively (or as one compound, amātāpitṛjñatā; see Mh-karmav, paragraph 9; cf. Negi 3497, II).
n.­118
Tibetan [phar] mi shes pa = phar mi ’dzin pa, cf. Negi 3497, II.
n.­119
According to D, S, Z dge sbyong (Skt. śramaṇa “renunciate, ascetic”); v.l. L, KY, KQ: dge slong (Skt. bhikṣu “mendicant”). This phrase may translate Sanskrit aśrāmaṇyatā (see Lévi 1932, 235).
n.­120
D, L, S, Z rigs kyis btsun pa, which should nevertheless be corrected to rigs kyi btsun pa (see also below 1.­17).
n.­121
D, S, Z bsti stang; vv.ll. L, KY, KQ, N, C sti stang; J sti stong.
n.­122
This passage seems corrupt. D nams [KQ, N, C, H rnams] kyang mgron [KY, J, KQ, N ’gron] mi gnyer ba|; L nams kyang mgon mi gnyer ba|, “not offering protection”?; S, Z nams kyang mgron du mi gnyer ba.
n.­123
According to D, L, S, Z. N adds nga ba dang, H adds pha ma dang before mkhan po dang|.
n.­124
Here and throughout, we have opted for a literal translation of Tibetan thar par zhugs pa rnams (Skt. pravrajitāḥ; see Negi, 2004, II). See also “those who have entered the path of liberation” in the glossary.
n.­125
(Realm of the asuras) The vv.ll. might support emendation to rigs kyi btsun pa: N, H: kyi instead of D kyis. Sanskrit or Pāli abhijāta (“noble birth”) is well attested (cf. pw and CPD, s.v.).
n.­126
We are not entirely sure what spag here means; cf. however BGT, s.v. spags (perfective of spog): 2) (rnying) sta gon byas pa “to make preparations.”
n.­127
It is unclear to what exactly the Tibetan term thar par spyod pa refers; perhaps “lay Buddhist practitioners?”
n.­128
A similar sentence in the Śukasūtra-fragment (Lévi 1932, 235) reads kule jyeṣṭhānupālakatvam āsanāt paryutthānam āsanenābhinimantraṇam (mātāpitroḥ śuśrūṣā) “respecting/preserving [the right or custom?] of seniority in the family, getting up from one’s seat [and] offering the seat [to the elder?]; (obeying/revering one’s parents).”
n.­129
According to D, L gzhan; S, Z gzhun, “those who have been tamed?”
n.­130
KY, N, J, KQ, C omit Tibetan ma byin par len pa “stealing.”
n.­131
Tibetan gtsug lag khang can also mean “house/building where the Buddhist scriptures (Tib. gtsug lag = sde snod; Skt. tripiṭaka) are kept.”
n.­132
Tibetan mchod cing spyod pa kun gcod pa|. The suffix cing (zhing, shing) here seems to indicate coordination of what appear to be the verbs mchod and spyod, the former in the sense of “to venerate,” with the specialized sense “to make offerings,” and “to honor” (cf. BGT, s.v. mchod pa), here rendered as nouns.
n.­133
The Tibetan uses the same word here (thob pa) as in 1.­14 and 1.­15 above, where we translated it as “achievement.” We think, however, that the context in this paragraph demands the sense of (material) obtaining (HTOED semantic field 02.06.08 n.: acquisition).
n.­134
Literally “Rejoicing when [something] was not obtained (or acquired) by others.”
n.­135
According to D mu ge byung [U ’byung] du smon pa; L, S, Z mu ge byung na smon pa; v.l. J, C smod “to loathe, deprecate,” does not fit this context. The D reading may be confirmed by the reading in the Śukasūtra-fragment (Lévi 1932, 235): durbhikṣāyācanā ca|.
n.­136
J adds la don: ’tsho ba la sbyin pa, instead of D ’tsho ba sbyin pa|.
n.­137
Feer (1883, 260) translates Tibetan mkhan po as savant, “scholar.”
n.­138
The structure of this sentence seems to be parallel to D 302a,1: mkhan po dang bla ma thar par zhugs pa rnams la gzhan la yang, where thar par zhugs pa rnams is replaced (abbreviated?) by ltag ma (or lhag ma). D, KY, H mkhan po dang bla ma ltag ma [A, p. 875, line 5: lhag ma!] dang gzhan rnams la, which may mean “the head teacher and all others (i.e., all those who are thar par zhugs pa following in the order of their rank / seniority).” S mkhan po dang| bla ma dang| ltag ma dang gzhan rnams la. The v.l. of L, Z mkhan po dang| bla ma dang| lhag ma dang| gzhan rnams la (if one understands lhag ma to mean “rest.” But lhag ma can have a meaning similar to ltag ma), although “the monastic preceptor, the teacher, the rest, and all others,” seems to make less sense. For D bla ma [bla] ltag/lhag ma, cf. also Negi, 3910: bla lhag pa (Skt. adhikaḥ; upacayaḥ; ādhikyaṃ).
n.­139
The meaning of Tibetan rim par spyod pa is not entirely clear (“service,” “veneration,” “attendant/servant?”), but given the context, it seems to express the same as mchod cing spyod pa “offerings and service” in the previous paragraph. The parallels of the word formation to Tibetan rim gro, “veneration,” can hardly be accidental. Feer (1883, 260) translates: “[providing them with the possibility of] the regular exercise of their practices” (L’exercice régulier de leurs pratiques).
n.­140
Tibetan mal stan; Sanskrit śayanāsana; Chinese 臥具.
n.­141
D gsos sman; L, S, Z gso sman; and J gsol sman are not different in meaning.
n.­142
Tibetan g.yog here probably means “servants,” but could also just mean “service.”
n.­143
Feer (1883, 260) (mis)understood Tibetan gzhan gyis don thob par nan tan du bsgrubs pa to mean “To regard one’s own success as others’ success” (regarder comme ses propres succès les succès d’autrui.) Or should we translate “assisting (= translating nan tan tu bsgrubs pa as nan tan sgrub pa = Skt. adhiṣṭhāna) others in obtaining wealth?” Our translation may be confirmed by the reading in the Śukasūtra-fragment (Lévi 1932, 236): parasya lābhodyogaḥ.
n.­144
Reading D lo legs par smon pa| (KY, KQ lo legs pa smon pa|) may again be confirmed by the Śukasūtra-fragment (Lévi 1932, 237): subhikṣāyācanā ca (vv.ll. L, S, Z lo legs par ston pa|).
n.­145
Tibetan ngan pa. We have added “of the Dharma” here. According to our interpretation, it becomes clear in this paragraph that ngan pa refers to people with poor or no understanding or knowledge of the Dharma, and that it must mean the opposite of knowing, following, and applying the Dharma (cf. Negi, 935, II, s.v. ngan pa, for ngan pa in the sense of Sanskrit ajñaḥ, “not knowing, devoid of knowledge; stupid, foolish,” etc.).
n.­146
D, L gang zag su yang rung ste|; S, Z gang zag su’ang ste ’dri mi shes pa|. Perhaps D, L gang zag su yang rung ste could also be interpreted as “not knowing how to ask a qualified (Tib. rung as free morpheme) person questions.” However, Tibetan ’dri mi shes pa here seems to have the same sense as the Sanskrit suffix -jña has in Sanskrit (a)mātṛjñaḥ and (a)pitṛjña (i.e., Tibetan mar/phar mi ’dzin pa, cf. 1.­16 (F.301.b) above), “not appreciating.” This sentence makes the impression of being a summary, or abbreviation, of a similar sentence in a parallel passage in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, F.280.a): de ni ’di la la la zhig dge sbyong ngam bram ze gzhan dag la chos ni gang yin| chos ma yin pa ni gang yin| bdag gis ci zhig byas na legs par ’gyur zhes mi ’dri’i| (see also Mh-karmav paragraph 13). Thus, Tibetan rung, “qualified” or “appropriate,” here might refer to śramaṇas and brahmins, explicitly mentioned in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338).
n.­147
According to D, L gtsigs; v.l. N btsigs. The most apparent and straightforward reading seems to be ma gtsigs par smra ba, also because it has an attested possible Sanskrit equivalent in asambaddha[-pralāpa?], “incoherent/inconsequential [palaver?],” in the Yogācārabhūmi, cf. Yokoyama & Hirosawa 1996, s.v. 不相應 bu xiang ying.
n.­148
D, S, Z ma gtsigs [N: btsigs] par smra ba la dge bar stod [L, KY, KQ, C, H: bstod] pa|.
n.­149
We have added “in the Dharma.”
n.­150
Tibetan shes rab chen po. Again, we understand “the Dharma” to be implied.
n.­151
This attempts to translate the very concise Tibetan rim par ’dri shes pa.
n.­152
D, S, Z chos kyi snod gang zag rnams mi ’jigs pa la goms [L gom] par byed pa| (Z mhkas pa’i gang zag rnams la is dittography) is not exactly clear. Feer (1883, 261) translates: “Assure the safety of those who are worthy recipients of the Dharma” (assurer la sécurité de ceux qui sont des vases de la loi). However, the grammar more naturally seems to call for the translation “One cultivates a lack of fear (literally self-confidence) toward those persons who are worthy receptacles of the Dharma.” This means that one should become unafraid of approaching teachers to ask them questions or request teachings (cf. also 1.­90 below). A parallel sentence in the corresponding Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­26 (F.280.a)) reads slightly differently but seems to have the same meaning: chos smra ba rnams la mi ’jigs pa nye bar sgrub pa|, “one praises the confidence of the Dharma-reciters.” The Sanskrit of Mh-karmav reads: dharma­bhāṇakānāṃ vaiśāradyaṃ varṇayati, “She or he praises the skill (or proficiency) (Skt. vaiśāradyaṃ according to the meaning of the word in Classical Sanskrit) of the Dharma-reciters.”
n.­153
According to D (ngan [C: mngon] par smra ba la dge’o zhes mi stod pa|); L, S, Z omit this sentence.
n.­154
Feer (1883, 261): “to a high degree” (à un haut degré).
n.­155
Tibetan bya ba’i mi rigs par lta ba seems to render Sanskrit akriyādṛṣṭi/-vāda (Pāli akiriyadiṭṭhi), “the theory of nonexistence of (bad or good) action,” here (cf. CPD, s.v.; Mh-karmav, paragraph 15). Feer (1883, 261): “having views relating to actions that are inappropriate (avoir des vues relatives à des choses qu’il n’est pas convenable de faire)?
n.­156
D mya ngan bsrings pa; L, S, Z mya ngan bsring ba.
n.­157
Our interpretation of Tibetan ’dod pas log par spyod du bcug pa, lit. perhaps “having made [someone] conduct himself or herself wrongly (or illicitly) out of desire.” Feer (1883, 261), like the Tibetan, does not specify what “deleterious” or “harmful” (accomplir des actes nuisibles) behavior amounts to. We think that it most probably means the same as Tibetan ’dod pas log par g.yem pa (Skt. kāmamithyācāra, Tib. spyod pa often used to translate Skt. ācāra, etc.) “sexual misconduct.” (Cf. the Mh-karmav, paragraph 19).
n.­158
D, S, Z yid kyis; L ’dod yid kyi ngan pa, “evil deed of a wanting (or craving) mind.”
n.­159
Translating D ’dod pa sna tshogs kun g.yos pa’i las byas pa; v.l. KY, KQ ’dod pas. Cf. the corresponding sentences in paragraph 16 of Mh-karmav (Lévi 1932, 44) and Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­28).
n.­160
Tibetan smon lam, Sanskrit praṇidhāna “vow.” This most likely refers to the Buddha when he was still a bodhisattva. It might, however, refer to bodhisattvas in general. In the Mahāyāna, Sanskrit praṇidhāna constitutes one of the ten powers of a bodhisattva: (the powers of bodhisattvas in Mahāyāna literature were perhaps inspired by the older list of the ten powers of a buddha; apart from being listed, there are unfortunately no clear explanations about what exactly these powers comprise; cf. Har Dayal 1975, 148) the aspirations or vows of bodhisattvas are made with such concentration and commitment that they are guaranteed to be realized. Here, the Tibetan word mthu (Skt. anubhāva) is used instead of Tibetan stobs (Skt. bala), which is generally used in lists of the ten powers of bodhisattvas (Tib. byang chub sems dpa’i stobs bcu’i min la; Skt. bodhisattvabalāni, cf. Mvy. (Sakaki 759)). The phrase here probably does not refer to any standard doctrinal list. This particular statement may refer to the Sanskrit Siṃhajātaka (cf. Kudo 247, Note 17; cf. also Mh-karmav, paragraph 16 (Lévi 1932, 44), where the title Siṃhajātaka is given); the edition of the respective Jātakas mentioned by Kudo are now available, edited by the late Michael Hahn: Hahn, M., Haribhaṭṭa in Nepal: Ten Legends from His Jātakamālā and the Anonymous Śākyasiṃhajātaka. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies of the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, 2007.
n.­161
This passage is probably corrupt. We have translated according to what we think is conjecture in D: bram ze khyad par byed pa| kha ngan par byas pa’i lan gyis spre’ur skyes pa lta bu. V.l. S, Z bram ze ched [L, KY, J, KQ, N, C: chad] par byed pa kha ngan par byas pa’i las kyis spre’ur skyes pa lta bu, “harassing/seizing (killing?) a brahmin?” does not seem to make sense in this context. Feer (1883, 261) translated: “abusing a brahmin” (maltraiter un Brahmane). Like the previous item in this paragraph, this one, too, is reminiscent of the corresponding passage of the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­29) (Tib. bram ze char ’bebs spre’ur skye par gyur pa ste), which tells the story of the brahmin Varṣakāra’s lot (see Mh-karmav paragraph 16, Lévi 1932, 44, 45); we should therefore read it as one sentence. The brahmin’s name (Varṣākāra), whose story is most probably alluded to here, was either forgotten, unknown, or not deemed important by the compilers, translators, or authors of this text. But it is also possible that S, Z bram ze ched [L, KY, J, KQ, N, C: chad] par byed pa is a corruption of the Tibetan version of the brahmin’s name: bram ze char ’bebs?
n.­162
Tibetan ring du ’khyams pa’i ’jig rten du skye bar ’gyur te|, alternatively perhaps “being reborn in the world of long wandering”? Feer (1883, 262) translates: “rebirth as a prowler (or roamer)” (rôdeur), which remains equally vague. See the glossary for an explanation of the term ring du ’khyams pa.
n.­163
Tibetan dad pa certainly cannot mean “faith” here; Jäschke, s.v. dad pa, records dad pa as a secondary form of ’dod pa “to wish.”
n.­164
The object of the previous sentence (“base/ bad things”) is probably implied here too. A corresponding passage in the Mh-karmav, paragraph 17 (Lévi 1932, 46) reads lobho, viṣamalobho, mithyājīvo, “greed/lust,” “very strong greed/lust [or (morally) wrong desire; for Skt. viṣama, adj. in the sense “very strong,” see Apte, s.v.], “wrong livelihood.” The Tibetan (A, p. 817, lines 19, 20) reads ’dod chags dang mi rigs par ’dod pas log par ’tsho ba, “wrong livelihood by means of passion and very strong (or inappropriate) passion for sensual pleasure.”
n.­165
Feer (1883, 262): “being exclusively preoccupied with oneself” (un moi dont on se préoccupe (exclusivement).
n.­166
See Jäschke, s.v. zla bo.
n.­167
Tibetan bdag la mi srid pa’i nga, literally “the conceit of nonexistence with regard to the self (Skt. ātman).” Feer (1883, 262) translated: “An ‘I’ (the self, Skt. ātman) that cannot exist in the ‘I’ (the individual)” (un moi qui ne peut exister dans le moi), and further commented (ibid., note 3): “The ‘I’ [nga] of which the whole paragraph speaks is the ego of pride; the second ‘I’ in this sentence [nga] is, I believe, the philosophical ego/ self. The sentence would mean that pride, which is misplaced in any case, is even more so in an elusive/ impermanent being that is without duration, which has only an ephemeral existence. (Le moi dont il s’agit dans tout le paragraphe est le moi de l’orgueil; le second moi dont il s’agit dans cette phrase est, je crois, le moi philosophique. La phrase signifierait que l’orgueil, déplacé de toutes les manières, l’est encore plus dans un être fugitif, sans durée, qui n’a qu’une existence éphémère.) We cannot easily emend this to a more orthodox reading, e.g., bdag la sred pa’i nga (For bdag la sred pa = Skt. ātmatṛṣṇā, see Negi, s.v.); the reading mi srid pa’i is found in all consulted Kangyur editions (A, D, L, S, Z)‍—whether belonging to the Tshalpa or the Thempangma group. This obscure phrase may thus very well be Transformation of Karma’s definition of Sanskrit mithyāmāna or mithyādṛṣṭi. Therefore, we think, contrary to Feer’s interpretation that the “I” or the/a self (Tib. nga; Skt. ātman) cannot exist in the “I” or in “me” (Tib. bdag; the person/individual, the pudgala?), that this is precisely the content or the object of the conceit (Tib. nga) or the wrong view (cf. Priestley 1999, ch. 5: “The Reality of the Pudgala,” especially p. 83). If our interpretation is correct, this statement might hold the key for identifying the school-affiliation of this text (i.e., a Pudgalavāda school, or more precisely, the Sāṃmatīyas or Vātsīputrīyas).
n.­168
With regard to content, these different terms for various kinds of pride or conceit seem not too far removed semantically from the definitions given in Vasubandhu’s Pañcaskandhaka (māno ’timāno mānātimāno ’smimāno ’bhimāna ūnamāno mithyāmānaś ceti |). The actual terms, however, are markedly different from those found in other lists, including the Mahāvyutpatti (Mvy. Sakaki nos. 1946–52); cf. Engle 2009, 375 (p. 234 for the English translation). We have attempted here to strike a balance between an overly literal translation and superimposing the standardized meanings of the later, more established scholastic terminology. Feer’s (1883, 262) translation of this passage is overly literal: “Being exclusively preoccupied with oneself; an ego that rises above the moon; an ego that rises above superiors; an ego (which claims to be) even superior to superiors; a self that cannot exist in the self.” (un moi dont on se préoccupe (exclusivement); un moi qui s’élève au-dessus de la lune; un moi qui s’élève au-dessus des supérieurs; un moi (qui se prétend) supérieur même aux supérieurs; un moi qui ne peut exister dans le moi).
n.­169
This translation is based on a parallel passage in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­39; Mh-karmav paragraph 18), which reads “dedicating the roots of wholesome states of one’s positive actions to rebirth in the world of the asuras.” (legs pa spyad pa’i dge ba’i rtsa ba).
n.­170
Tibetan ’dod pa drug na spyod pa’i lha. In the Abhidharma, the term spyod pa, which here translates Sanskrit avacara “sphere (of activity),” usually designates the state of consciousness of the rebirth-mind that is produced by the respective action, as differentiated from the actual or physical realm of rebirth (Skt. dhātu) that is considered to be the result or the outer manifestation of the respective rebirth-mind (cf. Gethin 1998, 121f.). However, here the expression is probably synonymous with Sanskrit rūpadhātu “the realm of (subtle) materiality.” Furthermore, the text uses a modification of the technical term for “sense-sphere” (Tib. ’dod pa drug na spyod pa; Skt. kāmāvacara), which also comprises the human realm, etc., mentioned in the previous paragraph. This is the reason why we cannot translate ’dod pa [drug] na spyod pa as “sense-sphere” here. Interestingly, this category is absent from Summary of the Fifty-one Karma Categories in 1.­8–1.­63.
n.­171
Tibetan brtson ’grus su bsdams pas, literally perhaps “By being bound/tied to diligence/perseverance, . . . .” Feer (1883, 261f.): “If one does not deviate from the path of the ten virtues, and (moreover) one remains firmly attached to heroism, . . . (Si l’on ne s’écarte pas du chemin des dix vertus, et que (de plus) on reste attaché fermement à I’héroisme, . . .).
n.­172
It is perhaps noteworthy that the six perfections are generally associated with the Mahāyāna: giving (Skt. dāna), morality (Skt. śīla), patience or forbearance (Skt. kṣānti), effort (Skt. vīrya), concentration (Skt. dhyāna), and wisdom (Skt. prajñā). These differ from the ten perfections (Pāli pāramī) taught in Pāli Buddhism. We do not know which precise list of perfections our text refers to here. While the four boundless states leading to rebirth in the form realm is a standard Abhidharma teaching, the mention of the practice of the six perfections as constituting a cause for rebirth in the form realm is unusual. In any case, the six perfections plus the four boundless states appear to constitute the ten “factors” that are to be practiced in this paragraph. The role of the ten virtuous courses of action, however, is unclear. The Tibetan syntax seems to suggest that they should be observed while at the same time one practices the six perfections and the four boundless states.
n.­173
From here on until 1.­64, the individual paragraphs do not contain the phrase bcu gang zhe na, “What are the ten (factors)?”
n.­174
D mi g.yo ba ’dzin pa bzhi’i chos spyad; L, Z mi g.yo ’dzin pa bzhi’i chos spyod [S spyad] pa. According to Lama Kunga Rinpoche, this is a descriptive or alternative expression for Tibetan gzugs med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa bzhi, or the “four meditative absorptions associated with the formless realm” (Skt. ārūpyāvacara­dhyāna or arūpa­samāpatti).
n.­175
The names of the four meditative absorptions also deviate slightly from their standardized forms listed in the Mvy. (cf. Sakaki 3109–13).
n.­176
D rig; v.l. H, N, KQ, S, KY, Z reg; v.l. L. rags pa’i ming. We have adopted the v.l. reg/ rags “tangible/coarse,” “material.” According to Lama Kunga Rinpoche’s explanation, this essentially signifies the transcendence of “name (Tib. ming) and form (Tib. chos sna tshogs)” (Skt. nāmarūpa).
n.­177
We have chosen to translate Tibetan brjod du med pa, literally “inexpressible,” by two adjectives.
n.­178
According to D, L mi ’dzin; S, Z ’dzin.
n.­179
Tibetan mi g.yo. Lama Kunga Rinpoche suggested “stillness” as an alternative translation for “imperturbability.”
n.­180
Tibetan stengs gi (v.l. H steng gi) is a postposition meaning “above” or “depending upon,” which we have translated here according to the context as “produced by.”
n.­181
Tibetan chos ’di bzhis.
n.­182
The Tibetan expression las kyis bzhin mi ’gyur bar skye ba, “[How] does action [lead] to an unchangeable rebirth that corresponds with the action?” is not the standard rendition of this karmic category (cf. also n.­58). Regarding content, this paragraph corresponds to paragraph 30 of the MahāKarma­vibhaṅga (Lévi 1932, 50). Cf. also Maggi 1995, 73–4, who translates the Khotanese as “[Which is the act by which it is not yet known] where [a man] takes birth?”
n.­183
The Tibetan des bdag cir smon lam btab is rather truncated. Literally perhaps “wherever (or whatever) one has aspired for oneself through that.” Cf. Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­53): “Having performed an action one says, ‘may I be reborn as such-and-such [Sanskrit Mh-karmav, paragraph 30 (Lévi 1932, 50) reads: amutra, “here or there”]!’ and by dedicating [his or her action], he or she will be reborn as that.” Feer (1883, 263–64) translated: “How is it possible, through the effect of acts, to be reborn almost [Tib. bzhin?] without change? If, after having carried out acts (which are) the roots of virtue, one says to oneself, ‘Why should I make a vow/aspiration?’ and through that vicious act being continually committed, by the effect of the acts, it is possible to be reborn almost without change.” (Comment arrive-t-on, par l’effet des actes, a renaître Presque sans changement? Si, après avoir fait des actes (qui sont) des racines de vertu, on se dit: Pourquoi formulerais-je un voeu? et qu’on fasse continuellement des actes vicieux, c’est ainsi que, par l’effet des actes, on arrive à renaître presque sans changement.) It appears that Feer did not interpret or understand ānantarya­karman to be a Buddhist technical term, nor did he have the Mh-karmav at his disposal to clarify the meaning of this passage.
n.­184
Cf. the parallel passages in Mh-karmav paragraphs 30-31 and Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­53).
n.­185
Cf. Mh-karmav paragraph 31 and Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­53).
n.­186
Tibetan says literally: yul gzhan du smon lam btab pa (“one has made an aspiration in another country”), which, however, cannot be the meaning here.
n.­187
D, L read las gang byas kyang rung ste| bzang po dang| ngan pa gar ’gyur ba ni ’di lta ste|. This sentence is unclear. We have instead followed the v.l. S, Z bzang po dang ngan par ’gyur ba ni ’di lta ste|.
n.­188
This paragraph is unclear. It seems to contain two different arguments: (1) The actions of making offerings and praying to the Three Jewels or other suitable fields of merit can result in determining or changing one’s future rebirth location, and (2) one will experience the karmic results of one’s (other) actions in another country (i.e., one’s actions cannot be effaced by rebirth in another country). This may refer to the dharma called avipranāśa in the interpretation of the Sāṃmitīyas. Cf. the parallel passage in the Mh-karmav, paragraph 32 (Lévi 1932, 50): “In what way does action lead to the ripening of a karmic result in a foreign country? Action which ripens in this very life as either a good or a bad karmic result for someone who has gone to another country is [called] action whose result ripens in another country.” (Read Sanskrit according to Kudo 2004, 88, 89: tatra katamat karma deśāntaravipākam ucyate | yat karma tasminn eva janmāntare deśāntaragatasya vipacyate śubham aśubhaṃ vā | tat karma deśāntaravipākaṃ). Feer (1883, 264) seems to have misinterpreted this paragraph (Le Buddha est convenable; la Loi est convenable; la Confrérie est convenable; il est convenable de se rendre complètement maître de la moralité. Quand on a bien réfléchi de manière à croire complètement ces (quatre propositions), qu’on a fait des dons et formulé un voeu pour un autre pays, que tous les actes qu’on a accomplis sont convenables, bons, que les mauvais deviennent blancs, quand il en est ainsi . . . c’est par de tels actes que l’on va dans un autre pays et qu’on s’y mûrit complètement.) This alludes to the famous story of the sea merchant’s son Maitrāyajña, or Maitrakanyaka in the Sanskrit avadāna literature and Mittavindika in the Pāli jātakas), who travels the sea with his friends to find riches, suffers shipwreck, and experiences the ripening of both his good and bad actions in foreign lands. Another version of this story can be found in Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­55) and Mh-karmav, paragraph 32 (Lévi 1932, 51–65).
n.­189
The Tibetan means literally: “Someone may ask: ‘How/in what way is action done without intent?’ ” This paragraph corresponds to Mh-karmav paragraph 23.
n.­190
According to D, L, S, Z las; v.l. KY, KQ ltas|.
n.­191
D lus kyis ma byas pa; v.l. L, S, Z lus kyi ma byas pa, “not carried out physically.”
n.­192
D sems rgyus shing; L, S, Z sems rgyas shing.
n.­193
Reading according to D: ji ltar las bsams te byas pa gang zhe na|; v.l. KQ: bsams te ma byas pa, which is the same as in the preceding paragraph, and is likely to be a mistake here. V.l. KY: bsams te da byas pa.
n.­194
D, L, S, Z sems can las dmyal bar skyes te|; KY, KQ omit las. We do not understand the significance of las here (“reborn in hell, [fallen] from the realm of [human] beings?”).
n.­195
All consulted editions read skye ba’i lam here. The sentence as it stands would then read in English: “What is the path of rebirth for a person who has accumulated the corresponding action and is reborn as a hell being after the completion of the lifespan of the hells?” Two structurally very similar sentences, however, that begin the following two paragraphs read slar skye ba’i las instead. We have therefore emended this passage to slar skye ba’i las. The syntax remains challenging though, and the sentence is likely corrupt.
n.­196
We have taken the liberty to translate the Tibetan expression shin tu mi dga’ ba’i yid skyod pa|, “arousing a [state of] mind that is extremely unhappy,” more freely.
n.­197
The example-case alluded to here can be read in more detail in Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­51) and Mh-karmav paragraph 29.
n.­198
D reads yi rangs; KQ, KY yid rangs. We follow the D reading here. Cf. also Mvy (Sakaki 2931): yi rangs ba (Skt. āttamanāḥ).
n.­199
According to Lama Kunga Rinpoche, Tibetan rigs gcig pa may mean “one’s own clan,” but the exact meaning is unclear.
n.­200
Tibetan shin tu bde zhing [L omits zhing] bzhon [KY, KQ gzhon (“young,” “youthful”?); C gzhen] pa mang po dang ldan pa|; Tibetan bzhon pa as a noun designates a mount of any kind as a means of transport (a horse, a mule etc.), but it can also mean “carriages.” We have decided to use both referents in our translation.
n.­201
The Tibetan here reads las kyi ’bras bu ni gang yin zhe na (“What is the karmic result?”) instead of las gang yin zhe na as in the previous sentences.text here deviates from the usual sentence structure.
n.­202
Translated according to D, L: dad cing rangs pa’i sems phyis skyes pa’i [. . .]. V.l. KY, J, KQ, N, C dad cing rangs pa sems yid la skyes pa’i [. . .].
n.­203
Translation follows D cis kyang; v.l. KY, KQ mis kyang.
n.­204
Feer (1883, 267) translates: “Born in such families, his enjoyments only increase at each [re-]birth” (Naissant dans de telles familles, ses jouissances ne font que s’augmenter à chaque naissance.) D, L, S, Z skyid pa de lta bu’i phyir skye; KY, J, KQ, N, C, H skyid pa de lta bu phyir skye.
n.­205
Here too, as in the following three sentences, Tibetan reads las kyi ’bras bu ni gang yin zhe na (“What is the karmic result?”) instead of las gang yin zhe na.
n.­206
The Tibetan here and in the following sentence leaves out the usual phrase gang zag las ’di lta bu ’dus pas, “a person, by accumulating the corresponding actions.”
n.­207
Free translation of Tibetan zas dang spyod pas ’tsho ba.
n.­208
This is again a nontechnical interpretation of the Tibetan phrase nyon mongs nas sdug.
n.­209
Tibetan reads nyid kyis here instead of bdag nyid kyis as in paragraph 1.­47 above, which has virtually the same sentence.
n.­210
As an exception we have here and in the following sentences translated Tibetan las not simply as action but with a phrase. Tibetan las here really means the potential of an action or intention to produce or ripen into a karmic result in the future. See “action” in the glossary. Cf. also BHSD, s.v. kṣaya, for a similar passage from the Mahāvastu and Edgerton’s translation.
n.­211
The parallel passage in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­123) here has so so’i skye bo phal ba, “ordinary person,” the standard translation equivalent of Sanskrit pṛthagjana. The Tibetan ma rabs is thus used here in a religious sense as the opposite of a noble person (Tib. ya rabs? or Skt. āryapudgala). In another context, however, the term designates a person of low social status, a commoner (Tib. ma rabs kyi rigs, as opposed to ya rabs kyi rigs). The grammar of this sentence also allows us to translate ma rabs kyis adverbially: “in a vile manner.” However, it is difficult to think of a concrete example from canonical Buddhist literature in which merit was acquired by rude, low, or vile actions, especially since this example alludes to the famous wheel-turning monarch Māndhātar. The crucial difference rather seems to be whether merit is dedicated to religious or worldly ends.
n.­212
The “wheel-turning monarch” (Tib. ’khor lo skor ba’i rgyal po) in this paragraph is likely a reference to the story of the mythical King Māndhātar, who is mentioned in the Mh-karmav, and whose full story can be found in the Pāli Jātaka (No. 258) and in the Divyāvadāna (Vaidya No. 17: Māndhātāva­dānaṃ).
n.­213
Tibetan ’gug pa, “crooked,” “bent,” “stooped” appears to be the Tibetan appropriation of the Sanskrit name of an Elder (Tib. gnas brtan) called Lekuñcika (Pāli Lakuntaka, “dwarf”), who features in the Pāli-Jātaka literature and in the Sanskrit Avadānaśataka No. 94 (for exact references, see DPPN, s.v. Lakuntaka Bhaddiya Thera), and who is described as having been short, ugly, and even hunchbacked (Skt. kuñcita means “bent” or “contracted”) as a karmic result of his deeds in former lives. Indeed, the Shelkar (London manuscript Kangyur) and the Stok Palace Kangyur editions of the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338) read le kun ci ka. The D edition has ka ra ma sha instead (Skt. Karmaśa‍—identity unknown; cf. Lévi 1932, 75, n. 3), while the extant Sanskrit edition gives the Arhats Śoṇottara and Jaṃghākāśyapa as examples (cf. Mh-karmav(K), paragraph 45).
n.­214
Tibetan rdo stobs; The Stok Palace and the Shey Palace manuscript Kangyur editions of the related Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­127) read “like the sthavira Śebala (Tib. she ba la).” The latter is perhaps a transliteration of a Sanskrit name śaivala. The Elder Śaivala is known from the Vinaya of the Mūlasarvāstivādins (see BHSD, s.v. śaivala). Chinese da shi li: 大 (Tib. gnas brtan) 石 (Tib. rdo) 力 (Tib. stobs). The Saṅgha­bhedavastu has once Chinese (ming yue) da li (名曰)大力 for Sanskrit śaivala (see Thesaurus Literaturae Buddhicae, University of Oslo, Faculty of Humanities; Saṅgha­bhedavastu; permanent link: http://www2.hf.uio.no/common/apps/permlink/permlink.php?app=polyglotta&context=record&uid=f7fc0f5c-8285-11e1-ab97-001cc4df1abe). Perhaps the peculiar Tibetan translation of the elder’s name can be explained by a Chinese rendering of the Sanskrit name that interpreted (or read) -vala as -bala “strong”; “strength,” “power,” Chinese li 力. The Tibetan translators may then have rendered Chinese li with Tibetan stobs. However, we cannot explain Tibetan rdo. Another possibility may be that Sanskrit śaibala (or śaivala) was interpreted by the Tibetan translators as śaila “stone-like”; “mountain,” “rock” plus bala “strength” and translated into Tibetan accordingly as rdo stobs.
n.­215
Tibetan mthong na mi sdug pa means literally “unpleasant to look at.”
n.­216
Our tentative translation of Tibetan phyi rol gyi yul sa rnams.
n.­217
For reasons that are unknown to us, Toh 339 lists only nine (non-)virtuous courses of action.
n.­218
According to D, S, Z srog gcod [bcad] na de’i lan gyis; L srog bcad na de’i lan gyi; v.l. KY, J, KQ, N, C, H srog gcod pa de’i las kyis. The following sentence has las kyis, but the remaining items of the list have again lan gyis, or ’bras bu and las kyi ’bras bu, which supports the reading of D, S, Z.
n.­219
What is probably meant by this is that the soil’s vitality or productivity will deteriorate or decay; cf. Abhidh-k-bh, ad AKK IV,85 (= Pruden 1988–91, 669–71).
n.­220
Translation follows D mtho dman; v.l. Yongle, KQ mthon sman.
n.­221
It is not known to us what specific illness the text refers to here. D na rkong; v.l. Yongle, KQ nad rkong. According to LC, s.v. rkong pa = za rkong which, according to an entry in dag yig: “za ’phrug che ba’i pags nad ’brum bu can zhig gi ming ste/ yul skad la lar yang zer/. a skin disease. [. . .]” is some form of skin disease accompanied by strong itching and skin eruptions/pustules. See also BGT, s.v. (1) rkong: pags par za ’phrug skye ba’i nad cig, “a certain disease that causes itching of (on) the skin.” Cf. also Jäschke, s.v. rkong pa: “itch; [. . .] Others describe it as a scabby eruption of the skin, chiefly affecting animals, but occasionally also men.” The Sanskrit equivalents (dadru, dadrū, dardu, dardū) given in Negi (145, II) appear to be Negi’s own translations into Sanskrit from the Tibetan, on the basis of the same definition as given in BGT.
n.­222
Missing from this list is the sixth nonvirtuous action, abusive language (Tib. tshig rtsub po mi dge ba’i las; Skt. pāruṣyavāda).
n.­223
Again, according to D, L, S, Z lan gyis; v.l. KY, J, KQ, N, C, H las kyis.
n.­224
D phyi rol gyi yul sa rnams; v.l. L, S, Z pha rol gyi yul sa rnams seems to have the same sense (one’s “environs”).
n.­225
According to Feer, part two starts at this point.
n.­226
A man pa, which is w.r. for D (unclear print), L, S, Z ma na ba (Skt. māṇava “young brahmin”).
n.­227
That the subject of this paragraph is the negative act of killing is implied; the Tibetan text here does not mention the word for killing (srog gcod pa).
n.­228
Translated according to D rmi lam na sdig pa mthong ba; v.l. KY, KQ rmi lam na sdig pa’i thod pa.
n.­229
Translated according to D, L, S, Z lam ngan par ltung; v.l. KY, J, KQ, N, C, H las (ngan par ltung).
n.­230
The Tibetan omits ngan pa rnam pa bcu here.
n.­231
The Tibetan is not entirely clear here (mi rigs par ’gro ba yin). It probably means that one walks around in a suspicious manner or in inappropriate places or at inappropriate times, as thieves would be expected to do. In fact, the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­156) reads “one goes around at inappropriate times” (Tib. dus ma yin par rgyu ba).
n.­232
According to L, S, Z sdig pa’i grogs po kun gyis zin pa yin|; v.l. D sdig pa’i grogs po kun gyi nad kyis zin pa yin|, “one’s evil friends will be stricken with all kinds of diseases”?
n.­233
The Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­156) has “One will be abandoned by virtuous friends” (Tib. dge ba’i bshes gnyen gyis rnam par spangs pa).
n.­234
According to L, S, Z khyim; vv.ll. D khyims; KY, J, KQ, N, C, H khrims: “one will be incapable of keeping moral discipline.” The reading of the Kangyur editions of the Thempangma line seems more plausible, given that the subject of this paragraph is stealing.
n.­235
According to D kun tu ngan du rjod [H, S, Z brjod] pa’i las (literally “thoroughly bad.”); v.l. KY rdzod.
n.­236
L, S, Z separate the two sentences (su’ang mi nyan pa’i tshig tu ’gyur ba| kun tu ngan du brjod pa’i las sems shing byed pa yin te|), thus treating them seemingly as separate items in the list. We have adopted the D reading here in order to retain ten list items.
n.­237
The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­159) mentions thirty-six kinds.
n.­238
An alternative translation of Tibetan mngon par snang bzhin du may be “One’s wealth will dissipate like an apparition.” Cf., however, the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­159): “In this life one’s wealth will be depleted” (tshe ’di la nor zad pa). Tibetan-Sanskrit dictionaries give abhilakṣita as a common Sanskrit equivalent for Tibetan mngon par snang ba (Negi, 1037; LC, 630), “marked with signs,” and “distinguished, renowned” in Buddhist Sanskrit (cf. BHSD, s.v.), which does not fit our context. Feer (1883, 272) translates: “One’s wealth (or resources) disappear at lightning speed” (Les richesses se dissipent avec la rapidite de l’éclair.)
n.­239
According to D, L, S, Z ma dad pa here. v.l. KY, J, KQ, N, C nad (“one will accumulate many illnesses”). Feer (1883, 272) translated according to the Tshalpa reading: “[one’s own?] diseases will accrete” (les maladies se multiplient). Cf. also Mh-karmav, paragraph 13: “(as a result of drinking alcohol) distrust (or disbelief; lack of respect) toward the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha develops” (buddhe cāgauravo bhavati. dharme saṃghe cāgauravo bhavati).
n.­240
These terms were clearly defined by Vasubandhu (Pañcaskandhaka, p. 5): “Embarrassment (or shame).”
n.­241
D, L skyid pa sngan cad [S, Z chad] ma bsags pa|; vv.ll. KY, N sngan chad ma gsags|; KQ sngon chad ma gsags|; N ngan cad ma bsags|. Feer (1883, 272) translated: “The imperfect happiness which one enjoys does not increase; not only does this happiness not increase, but that which has been accumulated of happiness exhausts itself completely and no longer exists (le bonheur imparfait dont on jouit ne s’accroît pas; non seulement ce bonheur ne s’accroît pas, mais ce qui avait été accumulé de bonheur s’épuise complètement et n’existe plus).
n.­242
The shad in all the consulted editions (A, D, L, S, Z) might indicate that this was regarded as constituting two separate items (skyid pa ngan chad ma bsags pa| da yang mi sogs pa|).
n.­243
According to D zhan [KQ zhen] te nyam chung bar gyur pa| mya ngan gyi rtsa ba|; L, S, Z read zhan te ma mya ngan gyi rtsa ba, “one becomes feeble and a source of anguish for one’s mother,” which is obscure. The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­159) reads: “one will become a source of suffering [for others]; one will become weak” (mya ngan gyi rtsa bar ’gyur ba dang| nyam chung bar ’gyur ba dang|)
n.­244
According to D, L spa; v.l. S, Z sba. Literally perhaps “one won’t take care to cover and beautify oneself.” (Tib. sba zhing mdzes pa’i bag mi byed pa). However, compare a similar sentence in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­159) that reads “one’s mindfulness with regard to women will fail” (bud med rnams la shin tu bag med par ’gyur ba). Feer (1883, 273) translated nos. 23–26 as “one does not know shame; one is unscrupulous, with no sense of shame; one does not have vigilance with regard to the charms of beauty”; (on ne connaît pas la honte; on n’a point les scrupules de la pudeur; on n’a point de vigilance à l’égard des charmes do la beauté).
n.­245
D rigs gcig pa; L, S, Z rigs gcig par. Feer (1883, 272): on rejette ses parents, ceux de la famille dont on est soi-même.
n.­246
Tibetan bla ma may alternatively mean “[one’s] teacher (or guru).”
n.­247
According to D smyon par gyur pa’i las, literally perhaps “(one will think about) actions that lead to drunkenness.” L, S, Z read smon par ’gyur ba’i las. Feer (1883, 273): “one has in mind only acts which lead to madness, and one commits faults of every kind” (on n’a en tête que des actes qui conduisent à la folie, et on ne commet que des fautes de toute espèce), thus reading smyon pa.
n.­248
D, L, S, Z bla ’og, which can be old Tibetan for steng ’og, “above and below”; v.l. KY bla ’od. According to Feer, part three starts at this point.
n.­249
A (wrongly) man pa; D (slightly unclear), L, S, Z ma na ba, Sanskrit māṇava “young brahmin.”
n.­250
Tibetan legs pa bcu, literally: “ten good [factors or things]”? Cf. Mh-karmav, paragraph 62ff. (Lévi 1932, 82, et passim): Sanskrit guṇa (or Pāli ānisaṁsa; Buddhist Sanskrit ānuśaṁsa, anuśaṁsā, and ānṛśaṁsa; Sanskrit ānṛśaṁsya); the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­160) has phan yon “benefit, advantage.”
n.­251
The parallel passage in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­161 (F.294.a)) reads longs spyod che bar ’gyur ba, literally “one’s resources (or possessions; consumables) (Tib. longs spyod) will be abundant.”
n.­252
The parasol (Skt. chattra; Tib. gdugs) symbolizes protection and secular wealth or royalty (cf. Beer, Robert, The Encyclopedia of Tibetan Symbols and Motifs, Boston: Shambhala, 1999, 176–80).
n.­253
This rendering appears to be the more “natural” reading of the Tibetan (the verb gnod pa is classified as tha dad pa’i bya tshig in the BGT and is often seen to demand the la-don (la).) However, in the Buddhist literature translated from the Sanskrit, the construction gnod par ’gyur is often found to render Sanskrit vihanyamāna; viheṭhyati, i.e., in a passive sense. A possible alternative rendering of Tibetan ’jig rten la mi gnod par ’gyur might therefore be “one will be unharmed in the world,” expressing the idea of protection, implicit in the symbol of the parasol, as karmic retribution for raising a parasol at a caitya.
n.­254
Tibetan smon pa’i gnas su ’gyur may alternatively be translated as “one will become the focal point (or object of) [peoples’] prayers (or wishes).”
n.­255
According to D, S, Z ’jig rten gyi dbang por ’gyur| las sems shing byed par ’gyur|; L seems to read as one sentence: ’jig rten gyi dbang por ’gyur las sems shing byed par ’gyur. It is tempting, therefore, to accept the v.l. KY, J, KQ, N, C, H ’jig rten gyi dbang por ’gyur ba’i| las sems shing byed par ’gyur| (phyi phyir ’khor los [b]sgyur ba’i rgyal po thob par ’gyur|) and translate as one continuing sentence: “one will intend and carry out actions that lead to worldly power and eventually attain the state of a universal monarch.” Very similar also is Feer (1883, 274): “on a dans la tête et on accomplit des actes qui font arriver à la domination du monde; on finit par obtenir (la puissance d’) un roi Cakravartin.”
n.­256
Tibetan las sems shing byed par ’gyur|, literally “one intends an action and will carry [it] out.” All consulted editions seem to regard this as a separate sentence except for the Tshalpa v.l. provided in the apparatus of A (see following note).
n.­257
D phyi phyir ’khor los sgyur ba’i rgyal po; L, S, Z phyi phyir ’khor lo’i rgyal po.
n.­258
Translating the v.l. C lus la rdul mi chags pa yin instead of D lus rdul (mi chags pa yin).
n.­259
Tibetan ’jig rten gyi nang na me tog dang ’dra bar ’gyur|; a metaphor for physical beauty?
n.­260
D gzugs; Our translation follows the v.l. L, S, Z, KY, KQ gzungs “power,” “strength” (see Jäschke, s.v. gzungs).
n.­261
The meaning of this sentence is not clear. Alternative translations: “The body of the Buddha (Tib. thub pa’i gzugs) will spread throughout the ten directions [in the form of (or as)] moral discipline (Tib. khrims)”; or “the capability (L, S, Z, KY, KQ gzungs) of [keeping] moral discipline (or the rules) (of monastic conduct) will spread throughout the ten directions?” Feer (1883, 275): “a form that is adequate to the rules (of Buddhist moral discipline?) is spreading across the ten directions” (une forme adéquate à la régle s’étendant à travers les dix régions.) In Buddhism, perfect moral discipline (or ethics) has long been associated with fragrance or a fragrant body odor. Cf. also a parallel sentence in the Mh-karmav, paragraph 74 (Lévi 1932): daśa diśaḥ śīlagandhaḥ khyātim gacchati, “the fragrance of moral discipline will spread throughout the ten directions.” Very similar is the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­167 (F.295.a): phyogs dang phyogs mtshams rnams su de’i tshul khrims kyi dri’i ngad ldan bar ’gyur ba).
n.­262
The Tibetan is not entirely clear. This translation is tentative. The Sanskrit Mh-karmav reads abhiga­manīyaś ca bhavati “one will be [easily] approached” (Lévi 1932, 100).
n.­263
The Tibetan is unclear (’jig rten gyi nang na rnyed par ’gyur); Tibetan rnyed par ’gyur is Sanskrit pratilabhate, labhyate, lapsyate? Cf., however, the parallel sentence in the Mh-karmav, paragraph 74 (Lévi 1932, 100 f.): lābhī ca bhavati iṣṭānāṃ dharmāṇām “one will acquire [all] desired qualities.” Very similar is the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­167 (F.295.a): yid du ’ong ba’i chos rnams thob par ’gyur ba).
n.­264
The exact meaning of this sentence is unclear. The passage may be corrupt. D, S, Z ’khor gyi rnams gtong zhing nye bar ’gyur|; L ’khor gyi zhing nye bar ’gyur|; KY, J, KQ, N, C ’khor gyi rnams stong zhing [H bstod cing] nye bar ’gyur|. The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­168 (F.295.b)), which reads g.yog ’khor mi phyed par ’gyur ba dang|, “one’s entourage will be undivided (or harmonious),” suggests emending gtong/ stong/ bstod to stongs/ bstongs, which is archaic Tibetan for phan pa’am grogs byed pa, or grogs byed pa’am gzhan dang mthun par ’jug pa: “to be friends; to assist [each other],” and “to be in harmony (or in accordance)” (cf. Rnam rgyal tshe ring 2001 and BGT, s.v. stong, bstongs). The connective zhing (cing) may indicate that two items should be counted here.
n.­265
The way this paragraph divides the items into ten is not entirely clear. The same is true for the corresponding paragraph in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­168; Mh-karmav paragraph 73, Lévi 1932, 98 ff.), despite its mention of ten items, too. Items in single phrases connected by the word “and” have been taken as two to make the full complement of ten items.
n.­266
Feer (1883, 275): “offering of butter” (l’offre du beurre).
n.­267
According to D, S, Z ’jig rten gyi nang na; v.l. L ’jig rten gyi mngon.
n.­268
Literal translation of Tibetan ’phrul gyi mig. The post-reform term for this is lha’i mig (or lha’i spyan; Skt. divyaṃ cakṣuḥ), “divine eye”; cf. Mvy (Sakaki 202). See also McKeown 2010, 52 f., specifically n. 75.
n.­269
Cf. n.­263 on the same sentence in 1.­74, above.
n.­270
Cf., however, the parallel passage in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­172 (F.296.a)): gzugs bzang bar ’gyur ba dang| mdzes shing mig tu sdug par ’gyur ba dang|, approximately “one’s body will be pleasing and beautiful, and a feast for the eyes.”
n.­271
Tibetan according to D dbang che zhing ’khor mang la ’khor snying nye bar ’gyur|; L, S, Z dbang che zhing ’khor ma la ’khor snying nye bar ’gyur (“while (or as) one will be a person of influence, one will be affectionate toward the female attendant?” This reading is likely corrupt). The parallel sentence in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­172 (F.296.a)) reads g.yog ’khor mi phyed ba “the retinue is cordial (or undivided).”
n.­272
Translated according to D, L ’dum; vv.ll. H zlum; S, Z bzlum. More concretely, this may mean that one will naturally be chosen as an arbitrator or mediator by all.
n.­273
More literally perhaps “one will transform into the body of a (or the) bodhisattva [i.e., the Buddha in one of his earlier existences as a bodhisattva] whose essence is [indestructible] like a diamond.” However, the Tibetan is ambiguous (byang chub sems dpa’ rdo rje snying po’i lus su ’gyur). The more “natural” reading of the Tibetan byang chub sems dpa’ rdo rje snying po is probably “the bodhisattva Vajragarbha.” However, the mention of a Mahāyāna (vajra-) bodhisattva figure in a sūtra that is‍—at least according to one edition, i.e., the Degé Kangyur‍—classified as belonging to the Hīnayāna (and which originally may have belonged to the canon of one of the Śrāvakayāna nikāyas) appears strange to us. The figure of the bodhisattva Vajragarbha is attested in some Mahāyāna sūtras that gained special importance in East Asian Buddhist traditions, specifically in the Avataṃsaka­sūtra, the Daśabhūmikasūtra, the Laṅkāvatāra­sūtra, and in the Sūtra of Perfect Enlightenment (Chinese Yuanjue jing 圓覺經; probably a Chinese composition). He also appears in the Buddhist tantric literature, e.g., as one of the sixteen vajra-bodhisattvas in the Kongōkai Mandara (Skt. vajra­dhātu-maṇḍala) of Dainichi Nyorai (Skt. Buddha Vairocana) of Japanese Esoteric Buddhism, and in the Hevajra Tantra. Perhaps this is an interpolation and thus reflects Chinese influence? The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­172 (F.296.a)) reads lus rdo rje ltar mkhregs [vv.ll. ’khregs/khregs] par ’gyur ba dang|, “one will acquire an adamantine [literally, hard like stone (or diamond)] body” (v.l. L, S editions of Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338): lus rdo rje’i tshogs ltar ’gyur ba dang|); MS[C] of the Mh-karmav(K) reads vajra­kāyaśarīraḥ (= Kudo 2004, 218) = Tibetan lus rdo rje tshogs ltar, “having a body that is like a collection(?) of stones (or diamonds).”
n.­274
Feer, in his translation (1883, 276), makes another subdivision of the text here (“II”), but thematically, the exposition continues in a similar fashion as before, and in the same manner as Mh-karmav paragraph 2./67. We have therefore used continuous numbering.
n.­275
Note that this list for unknown reasons contains only six items. Cf. the parallel passage in Toh 338, 1.­173.
n.­276
This paragraph contains only nine items.
n.­277
D, L, S bzhon pa “vehicle,” “mount.” V.l. Z gzhon pa “youth?”‍—gzhon pa here is probably a wrong (or alternative) spelling for bzhon pa.
n.­278
Translated according to the D reading mi zhan pa; v.l. KQ mi zhen pa.
n.­279
D g.yog bran dang ldan par ’gyur; translated according to v.l. L, S, Z g.yog bran dang ldan ba [S, Z pa] bde bar ’gyur. Cf. also Mh-karmav(K), paragraph 3 (Kudo 2004, 219; Sanskrit reconstructed): upasthānaiś cāsyavaikalyaṃ bhavati |.
n.­280
According to D, L snod spyad (v.l. KY spyed); S, Z snod spyod (w.r. for spyad?). A begging bowl (usually lhung bzed in Tibetan) is one of the utensils required for monks or novices entering the order. The Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­175) reads (1) and (2) as one sentence: “one will become like a container for all good qualities of the world” (’jig rten gyi yon tan gyi snod lta bur ’gyur ba dang|). Cf. also the Sanskrit of a Karma­vibhaṅga fragment edited by Takamichi Fukita (Fukita 1990, 5), which reads bhājanabhūto bhavati lokasya gunāṃ [w.r. for gunāṇāṃ], “one will become like a receptacle for the virtues of the world.” Interestingly, the edition of the same fragment (“MS[C]”) by Noriyuki Kudo omits lokasya (Kudo 2004, 220). The Tibetan is unclear: snod spyad dang ldan par ’gyur| ’jig rten gyi yon tan du ’gyur|. The Tibetan alone could be interpreted as containing two statements: “One will possess a (begging) bowl; one will become the good qualities of the world.” (Cf. also Mh-karmav(K), MS[C] paragraph 4/Mh-karmav 68).
n.­281
Translated according to D mnyen par ’gyur (cf. also Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­175) (= Mh-karmav(K), MS[C] paragraph 4/Mh-karmav 68): sems gyi rgyud mnyen par ’gyur ba dang|); v.l. N, H gnyen par ’gyur|: “[one’s mind] becomes a friend (or helpful).”
n.­282
It is also grammatically possible to translate as “devas and humans will delight (or be happy).”
n.­283
For unknown reasons this paragraph actually lists eleven items.
n.­284
Cf. the parallel sentence in Mh-karmav(K), MS[C] paragraph 5/Mh-karmav 69: pratibhānavān bhavati and Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­176): “one will be endowed with quick-wittedness (or presence of mind)” (spobs pa dang ldan par ’gyur ba dang|); Tibetan spobs and Sanskrit pratibhāna are in Buddhist Sanskrit literature associated with speech: “inspired (or insightful) speech” and “eloquence.”
n.­285
Tibetan ’khor ’du zhing mgu bar byed par ’gyur|. But cf. the parallel sentence in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­176) (= Mh-karmav(K), MS[C] paragraph 5/Mh-karmav 69): (’khor ’dun par ’gyur ba dang|) “one will win over the assembly [to one’s own side, through argument].”
n.­286
To the best of our knowledge, no Sanskrit equivalent is attested for the Tibetan term ’khor gyi rgyal po. Sanskrit maṇḍala in the sense of a political (or administrative) unit can designate a district or a country as part of a larger circle of neighboring states or kingdoms whose relationships to oneself and among each other are to be managed skillfully by the successful ruler.
n.­287
Tibetan mi tshugs pa seems to have two basic meanings (cf. BGT): 1. unharmed (Skt. anihata), 2. not independent; unable to be autonomous; not established through one’s own power. The sense that fits this context best is “unharmed,” here in the sense of “unrivaled,” “unchallenged.””
n.­288
Tibetan thar par zhugs, here denoting the activity rather than the person. It likely has the same meaning as Sanskrit pravrajita “Buddhist mendicant,” “monk or nun,” “renunciant.” Cf. Mh-karmav, paragraph 77 (= Lévi 1932, 104) and Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­180), which has the regular rab tu byung ba.
n.­289
Note that this paragraph actually lists eleven items.
n.­290
Translated according to v.l. S, Z shing khrod na gnas pa la mi dga’ ba med pa yin|; D, L shing khrod na gnas pa la mi dga’ ba yin|.
n.­291
Translated according to the Tibetan lha dang mi la dben pa yin|, for which an alternative translation may be: “one will be isolated from devas and humans.” Somehow this passage is reminiscent of one of the characteristics of a tathāgata: even the devas are unable to locate/find him (cf. Samyutta Nikāya I.12). Cf., however, the parallel passage in Mh-karmav, paragraph 77, and Mh-karmav(K), p. 222 (MS[C] paragraph 9): devā asya spṛhayanti, “devas will desire (or long for) one.” Cf. also the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­180 (F.298.a)): lha dang mir smon pa med pa.
n.­292
Literal translation of D, S, Z dpral [L ’phral] ba’i dbyes legs par ’gyur|. A broad forehead is one of the eighty secondary physical characteristics of a great being or a buddha (Skt. aśīty anuvyañjanāni). See also Jäschke, s.v. dbyes, who seems to have taken it as a general characteristic of beauty, which appears to be the meaning here; perhaps “one will have a beautiful head/face?” Cf., however, a related sentence in the Mh-karmav(K), p. 223 (MS[C] paragraph 8/Mh-karmav paragraph 72): Sanskrit (vi)śuddha-lalāṭaḥ (Tib. dpral ba dag?), “a bright (or pure) forehead?” According to widespread popular South Asian belief, Brahmā (or some other deity) appears on the sixth day after a child is born to inscribe the child’s fate on her or his forehead.
n.­293
Translated per S mnyen; D sems mnyam par ’gyur, “equanimous?” KY, KQ mnyan; L, Z gnyen. Cf. Mh-karmav, paragraph 72 (Lévi 1932, 97): snigdhacchaviḥ, “shiny skin”; Mh-karmav(K), MS[C] paragraph 8 (Kudo 2004, 223): snigdhasantatiḥ, “supple mindstream?”
n.­294
Translated per the D, S, Z reading bzhon pa. V.l. L, KY, KQ, N gzhon pa “youth” (more likely an incorrect spelling of bzhon pa). Cf. Mh-karmav, paragraph 70 (Lévi 1932, 94): yāna.
n.­295
Translation per the D, L, S, Z reading khrod dben par gnas pa. V.l. KY, KQ dur khrod dben par gnas pa, “dwelling in the solitude of a cemetery (or burial ground).”
n.­296
According to D bsam gtan la dmigs pa’i sems su ’gyur ba| chung ngu byed pa|; similarly, Mh-karmav(K), paragraph 78 (Kudo 2004, 211f.): dhyāna­lambanaṃ cittam bhavati| na ca karma­kṛtyatām prāpnoti|. L, S, Z parse the sentence differently (which would lead to having only nine items in this paragraph): bsam gtan la dmigs pa’i sems su ’gyur ba chung ngu byed pa|, approximately perhaps “one limits one’s mental focus to the object of meditation?”
n.­297
Additional lus sangs rgyas la bsnyen pa of S is very likely a dittography.
n.­298
Asking for alms food is part of the life of a Buddhist mendicant or wandering ascetic.
n.­299
Translating D, S, Z reading nga rgyal. V.l. L, KY, J, KQ, N, C nga “I,” “ego.”
n.­300
One’s own benefit refers to the goal of the Buddhist path‍—one’s own liberation. The following sentences illustrate the benefit for others.
n.­301
The saṅgha is considered a “field of merit” (Skt. puṇyakṣetra). This sentence means that by living on alms food that others provide one with, one has provided them with an opportunity to accumulate religious merit. Only monks who keep strict ethical conduct, don’t break their vows, and actualize the teachings are said to be worthy of receiving alms food.
n.­302
Tibetan bstan pa’i chos commonly means “the Dharma of the teachings” as opposed to “the Dharma of realization.” We think, however, that this distinction represents a later categorization that cannot necessarily be applied to an early translation like this. Could this perhaps mean “commentaries?”
n.­303
Tibetan thar par zhugs pa’i tshul las mi ’gal bar byed par ’gyur|. If interpreted literally, one may also translate as “one will not deviate from the method of those who have entered the path of liberation.” It is, however, more likely that tshul here is short for tshul khrims.
n.­304
According to D, L, S, Z snang ba’i sems su ’gyur|. V.l. KY, KQ smad pa’i sems, “one will develop a humble attitude”; J, N, C smra ba’i sems. Cf., however, also Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­182 (F.298.a)): dma’ ba’i sems, and Mh-karmav, paragraph 79 (Lévi 1932, 105): nīcacittam (upasthāpitaṃ bhavati).
n.­305
Translated according to v.l. C, H slong mo “beggar; begging.” D, L, S, Z read slongs mo.
n.­306
Cf., however, the parallel sentence in the Karmavibhaṅga (Toh 338, 1.­182 (F.298.a)): “alms will manifest unobstructedly for the well-disciplined ascetic” (bsod snyoms kyis yongs su dul ba’i dge sbyong gi phyogs la mun pa med par snang ba’o). Cf., however, also Mh-karmav, paragraph 79 (Lévi 1932, 105): piṇḍapāta­paracittasya bhikṣoḥ sarvā diśo ’pratikūlā bhavanti gamanāya: “a monk whose thoughts are absorbed by collecting alms is free to go anywhere unhindered.”
n.­307
Translated per D, L, S, Z ’khor la; v.l. KQ ’khor lo.
n.­308
D ’jug pa; L, S, Z ’gro ba, but with the same meaning.
n.­309
Translated per D, L, S, Z sbyong ba; v.l. KQ, C, H spyod pa “to apply oneself”; “to act,” “to practice”; “to enjoy.”
n.­310
These items are permitted by the Vinaya for monks and nuns to possess and use without violating their precepts.
n.­311
D to’u te ya’i; L sto’u te yi’i; S, Z sto’u te ya’i.
n.­312
D phyag ’tshal zhing skyabs su mchi’o; L, S, Z phyag ’tshal skyabs [Z adds su] mchi’o.
n.­313
This is not an official abbreviation and it is not found in Bechert’s Abkürzungsverzeichnis; it was invented by the translator, attempting to follow and emulate Bechert’s system.
b.

Bibliography

Primary Sources/Editions

Tibetan

las kyi rnam par ’gyur ba zhes bya ba’i chos kyi gzhung (Toh 339). Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 298b–310a.

las kyi rnam par ’gyur ba zhes bya ba’i chos kyi gzhung (Toh 339). 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. 72, pp. 867–94.

las rnam par ’byed pa (Toh 338). 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. 72, pp. 808–59.

Locations of Toh 339 in other Kangyurs consulted

L: mdo sde, chi 136b–151a (vol. 66)

S: mdo sde, chi 148b–165b (vol. 87)

Z: mdo, chi 127b–141a (vol. 83)

Sanskrit and Pāli

Carpenter, Joseph Estlin, and T. W. Rhys Davids. The Dīgha Nikāya. Vol. III. London: Frowde, 1911. Citations refer to the GRETIL version (input by the Dhammakaya Foundation, Thailand, 1989–96).

Kudo, Noriyuki. The Karmavibhanga: Transliterations and Annotations of the Original Sanskrit Manuscripts from Nepal. Tokyo: The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, 2004.

Lévi, Sylvain. Mahakarmavibhanga, la grande classification des actes, et Karmavibhangopadeśa, discussion sur le Maha Karmavibhanga. Textes sanscrits rapportes du Népal, édités et traduits avec les textes paralléles en sanscrit, en pali, en tibétain, en chinois et en koutchéen. Ouvrage illustré de quatre planches: le Karmavibhanga sur les basreliefs de Boro-Budur, a Java par Sylvain Levi. Paris: E. Leroux, 1932.

MacKenzie, David Neil. The ‘Sutra of the causes and effects of actions’ in Sogdian. London: Oxford University Press, 1970.

Maggi, Mauro. The Khotanese Karma­vibhaṅga. (Serie Orientale Roma Fonda ta da Giuseppe Tucci, diretta da Gherardo Gnoli; Vol. LXXIV). Roma: Istituto italiano per il medio ed estremo oriente, 1995.

Pradhan, Prahlad, and Aruna Haldar. Abhidharmakośabhāṣyam of Vasubandhu. Patna, India: K.P. Jayaswal Research Institute, 1975.

Li, Xuezhu, Ernst Steinkellner, and Tōru Tomabechi (eds.). Vasubandhu’s Pañcaskandhaka. Vienna: Austrian Academy of Sciences Press, 2008.

Secondary Sources, Dictionaries, and Other Consulted Works

A Critical Pāli Dictionary, begun by V. Trenckner. 3 vols: vol. I, 1924–48; vol. II, 1960; vol. 3, 1995. Copenhagen: The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. Electronic version maintained by the Data Center for the Humanities at the University of Cologne in cooperation with the Pali Text Society.

Anālayo, Bhikkhu. Madhyama-Āgama Studies. Taipei (Taiwan): Dharma Drum Publ. Corp., 2012.

Apple, James B., and Shinobu A. Apple. “A Re-evaluation of Pelliot tibétain 1257: An Early Tibetan-Chinese Glossary from Dunhuang.” In Revue d’Etudes Tibétaines 42, October 2017, 68–180.

Apte, Vaman Shivaram. The Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Containing Appendices on Sanskrit Prosody, Important Literary and Geographical Names of Ancient India. Poona, Shiralkar, 1890. Electronic version: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries.

Bareau, André. Les Sectes Bouddhiques du Petit Véhicule. Saigon: École Française d’Extrême-Orient, 1955.

Bechert, Heinz (ed.). Zur Schulzugehörigkeit von Werken der Hīnayāna-Literatur. Erster Teil. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1985.

‍—‍—‍—. Abkürzungsverzeichnis zur buddhistischen Literatur in Indien und Südostasien. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1988.

Böhtlingk, Otto. Sanskrit-Wörterbuch in kürzerer Fassung. Bearbeitet von Otto Böhtlingk. 7 Theile. St. Petersburg: Buchdruckerei der Kaiserlichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 1879–89. Electronic version: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries.

Bronkhorst, Johannes. Karma (Dimensions of Asian Spirituality). Honolulu: University of Hawai’i Press, 2011.

Buswell, Robert E., Jr., and Donald S. Lopez Jr. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2014.

Chandra, Lokesh. Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary. Reprint: Kyoto: Rinsen Book Company, 1976.

Chandra, Lokesh. Buddhism: Aesthetics, Time and Quintessence. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 2010.

dag yig gsar bsgrigs. Delhi: Sherig Parkhang, Tibetan Cultural & Religious Publication Centre, 2008.

Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953. Electronic version: Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries.

Engle, Artemus B. The Inner Science of Buddhist Practice: Vasubandhu’s “Summary of the Five Heaps” with Commentary by Sthiramati. Ithaca: Snow Lion Publications, 2009.

Feer, Léon. Fragments Extraits du Kandjour. Annales du Musée Guimet 5. Paris: E. Leroux, 1883, 250–79.

Fukita, Takamichi. 1990. “Sanskrit Fragments of Karma­vibhaṅga Corresponding to the Canonical Tibetan and Chinese Translations.” In The Bukkyo Bunka Kenkyusho Nenpo (Annual of Buddhist Studies), No. 7, 8 (April 1990). Kyoto: The Institute of Buddhist Culture, Bukkyo University, 1–23.

Galasek-Hul, Bruno, and Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche, trans. Exposition of Karma (Karmavibhaṅga, Toh 338). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

Gethin, Rupert. The Foundations of Buddhism. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1998.

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

Jäschke, Heinrich August. A Tibetan-English Dictionary. London: Routledge & Kegan, [1881] 1972.

Kudo, Noriyuki. “An Enlargement of the Number of Sections in the Karma­vibhaṅga.” Offprint from Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University for the Academic Year 2007 [ARIRIAB], vol. XI, March 2008. Tokyo: The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology Soka University.

Mahāvyutpatti with sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa. University of Oslo, Det humanistiske facultet: Bibliotheca Polyglotta, Thesaurus Literaturae Buddhicae (TLB), input by Jens Braarvig and Fredrik Liland.

Malalasekera, G. P. Dictionary of Pāli Proper Names. 2 vols., London: John Murray, 1937–1938.

McKeown, Arthur P., trans. and ed. Rolf Stein’s Tibetica Antiqua: With Additional Materials. (Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library, Vol. 24). Leiden, Boston: Brill, 2010.

Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu, and Bhikkhu Bodhi. The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Majjhima Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2009.

Negi, J. S. Bod skad daṅ Legs-sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo. [Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary]. 16 vols. Sarnath, Varanasi: Dictionary Unit, Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993–2005.

Priestley, Leonard C.D.C. Pudgalavāda Buddhism: The Reality of the Indeterminate Self. Toronto: University of Toronto, Centre for South Asian Studies, 1999.

Pruden, Leo M., trans. Abhidharma­kośabhāṣyam. Vols. I–IV. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press,1988–91.

Rhys Davids, T. W., and W. Stede. The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary. Chipstead, Surrey: Pali Text Society, 1925. Electronic version: Digital Dictionaries of South Asia.

Rnam rgyal tshe ring. Bod yig brda rnying tshig mdzod. (Dictionary of Old Tibetan Orthography). Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2001.

Sakaki, Ryōzaburō, ed. Mahāvyutpatti. 2 vols., Kyoto: Shingonshū Kyōto Daigaku, 1916–25.

Scherrer-Schaub, Cristina A. “Enacting Words. A Diplomatic Analysis of the Imperial Decrees (bkas bcad) and their Application in the sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa Tradition.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 25, nos. 1–2, 2002: 263–341.

Schwieger, Peter. Handbuch zur Grammatik der Klassischen Tibetischen Schriftsprache. Halle, Saale: International Institute for Tibetan and Buddhist Studies, 2009.

Simon, Walter. “A Note on the Tibetan Version of the Karma­vibhaṅga Preserved in the MS Kanjur of the British Museum.” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 33, no. 1 (1970): 161–66.

Snellgrove, David L. Indo-Tibetan Buddhism: Indian Buddhists and Their Tibetan Successors. Boston: Shambhala, 2002.

Walshe, Maurice O’C. The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1995.

Yokoyama, Koitsu, and Takayuki Hirosawa. Index to the Yogācārabhūmi: (Chinese-Sanskrit-Tibetan). Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin Publishing, 1996.

Zhang Yisun et al. Bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo, Zang han da ci dian. 3 volumes. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1985.

g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for Sanskrit names and terms

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in the Sanskrit manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other Sanskrit manuscripts of the Kangyur or Tengyur.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in Tibetan-Sanskrit dictionaries.

AA

Approximate attestation

The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where Tibetan-Sanskrit relationship is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source Unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­2

Ajātaśatru

  • ma skyes dgra
  • མ་སྐྱེས་དགྲ།
  • ajātaśatru

The son of Bimbisāra, ruler of Magadha at the time of the Buddha, who committed patricide, usurped his father’s throne, and conspired with Devadatta to take over the saṅgha. He later repented and became a lay disciple of the Buddha.

g.­3

Anāthapiṇḍada

  • mgon med pa la zas byin
  • མགོན་མེད་པ་ལ་ཟས་བྱིན།
  • anāthapiṇḍada

A wealthy merchant of Śrāvastī (Pāli. Sāvatthi) who became an early follower of the Buddha and an important donor.

g.­4

animal

  • byol song
  • བྱོལ་སོང་།
  • tiryak

One of the three lower realms of existence (Skt. durgati, apāya). Unlike the Western biological classification of life (in which humans belong to the animal kingdom), Buddhism in ancient Asia has developed its own unique taxonomic system that divides all forms of sentient life (plants are mostly excluded from sentient life in the South Asian and Tibetan Buddhist taxonomies) into six (sometimes five) realms or rebirth destinies (Skt. gati): gods (Skt. deva), demigods (Skt. asura), humans (Skt. manuṣya), animals (Skt. tiryak), hell (Skt. naraka), and ghosts (Skt. preta).

g.­5

arhat

  • dgra bcom pa
  • དགྲ་བཅོམ་པ།
  • arhat

There are four kinds of noble persons (Skt. āryapudgala) according to the Śrāvakayāna path, characterized by a gradual abandonment of ten kinds of fetters (Skt. saṃyojana) that bind one to saṃsāra. This is the fourth and final of the four (or eight) stages of the realization of the supermundane path (and fruit), equivalent with awakening or liberation.

g.­6

ascetic

  • dge sbyong
  • དགེ་སྦྱོང་།
  • śramaṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A general term applied to spiritual practitioners who live as ascetic mendicants. In Buddhist texts, the term usually refers to Buddhist monastics, but it can also designate a practitioner from other ascetic/monastic spiritual traditions. In this context śramaṇa is often contrasted with the term brāhmaṇa (bram ze), which refers broadly to followers of the Vedic tradition. Any renunciate, not just a Buddhist, could be referred to as a śramaṇa if they were not within the Vedic fold. The epithet Great Śramaṇa is often applied to the Buddha.

g.­7

asura

  • a su ra
  • ཨ་སུ་ར།
  • asura

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

In this text:

See also “animal.”

g.­8

bad deed

  • ngan pa
  • ངན་པ།
  • —

Also translated here as “ignorant of the Dharma.”

g.­9

bases of supernatural powers

  • rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa
  • རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།
  • ṛddhipāda

Four (supernatural) qualities or powers of the mind that help to gain the fruit of the path: aspiration, effort, concentration, and analysis. In contrast to what the name suggests, the actual supernatural powers‍—like the ability to walk on water, dive into the earth, pass through solid objects, flying, etc.‍— are usually considered byproducts and even distractions from attaining the fruit of the path: liberation.

g.­10

bhagavān

  • bcom ldan ’das
  • བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
  • bhagavat
  • bhagavān

A common epithet of the historical Buddha. The Sanskrit word bhaga means, among other factors, good fortune, happiness, prosperity, and excellence. The suffix -vat indicates possession. A common English translation is thus “the Blessed One” or “the Fortunate One.” The three syllables of the Tibetan translation mean that the Buddha has “overcome, conquered” (Tib. bcom), is “endowed with (qualities)” (Tib. ldan), and has “gone beyond (saṃsāra)” (Tib. ’das).

g.­11

brahmin youth

  • ma na ba
  • མ་ན་བ།
  • māṇava

See “young brahmin.”

g.­12

caitya

  • mchod rten
  • མཆོད་རྟེན།
  • caitya
  • stūpa

The Sanskrit word caitya can refer to a stūpa, but also to a shrine (containing an image or a stūpa), a sacred place of worship, or any sacred object.

g.­13

conceit

  • ngar sems pa
  • ངར་སེམས་པ།
  • mananā
  • manyanā
  • asmimāna?
g.­14

conceiving of nonexistence with regard to the self

  • bdag la mi srid pa’i nga
  • བདག་ལ་མི་སྲིད་པའི་ང།
  • —
g.­15

conceiving of oneself as being greater than one’s equals

  • zla las lhag pa’i nga
  • ཟླ་ལས་ལྷག་པའི་ང།
  • atimānaḥ?
g.­16

conceiving of oneself as being greater than those who are superior

  • gong ma las lhag pa’i nga
  • གོང་མ་ལས་ལྷག་པའི་ང།
  • mānātimānaḥ
g.­17

conceiving of oneself as being superior to those who are supreme

  • gong ma las kyang gong ma’i nga
  • གོང་མ་ལས་ཀྱང་གོང་མའི་ང།
  • abhimāna?
g.­18

conceiving of oneself as having no equal

  • mi mtshungs pa’i nga
  • མི་མཚུངས་པའི་ང།
  • adhimāna
  • atimāna?
g.­19

confidence

  • mi ’jigs pa
  • མི་འཇིགས་པ།
  • viśārada
  • vaiśāradya

The literal translation of Tibetan mi ’jigs pa (Skt. vaiśāradya) is “fearlessness.” Usually four kinds of confidence or fearlessness are enumerated when describing a buddha: a fully enlightened buddha is confident of having (1) attained complete, perfect enlightenment regarding all phenomena, (2) eliminated all contaminants, (3) correctly declared all obstacles to enlightenment, and (4) shown the path that actually leads to the liberation from obstacles and suffering. This sūtra, on the other hand, talks about confidence regarding the daily routines of monks and nuns and their deportment. They have confidence in their ability to faultlessly adhere to the monastic discipline in all situations because it provides a sense of protection.

g.­20

deva

  • lha
  • ལྷ།
  • deva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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

g.­21

deva in one of the six heavens of sensuous pleasure

  • ’dod pa drug na spyod pa’i lha
  • འདོད་པ་དྲུག་ན་སྤྱོད་པའི་ལྷ།
  • kāmāvacaradeva
  • kāmadhātvavacaradeva
g.­22

deva possessing a physical body

  • gzugs yod pa’i lha
  • gzugs yod pa na spyod pa’i lha
  • གཟུགས་ཡོད་པའི་ལྷ།
  • གཟུགས་ཡོད་པ་ན་སྤྱོད་པའི་ལྷ།
  • rūpāvacaradeva

Term for a deva belonging to the realm of form, which is the second of the three realms of existence according to Buddhist cosmology, rebirth in which is achieved through mastering meditative techniques known as the four dhyānas or meditative absorptions; this realm has seventeen subdivisions. The beings reborn here possess ethereal physical bodies and experience only three senses: sight, hearing, and touch. Attachment to material objects is in general less than in the desire realm (Skt. kāmadhātu).

g.­23

deva without a physical body

  • gzugs med pa’i lha
  • gzugs med pa na spyod pa’i lha
  • གཟུགས་མེད་པའི་ལྷ།
  • གཟུགས་མེད་པ་ན་སྤྱོད་པའི་ལྷ།
  • ārūpyāvacara­deva

A deva or god in the formless realm.

g.­24

distress

  • nyon mongs
  • ཉོན་མོངས།
  • —

Here in Transformation of Karma Tibetan nyon mongs pa is an old Tibetan expression for sdug bsngal ba (see Rnam rgyal tshe ring 2001, s.v. nyon mongs pa) and is used in the senses of to afflict, distress, to cause someone (mental) pain or suffering; distressing; (living in) distress (n.).

g.­25

divisive speech

  • phra ma
  • ཕྲ་མ།
  • paiśunyavāda

The fifth of the ten nonvirtuous actions.

g.­26

embarrassment

  • khrel
  • ཁྲེལ།
  • apatrāpya

One of the eleven virtuous mental factors (Tib. sems byung dge ba; Skt. kuśalacaitta), a subgroup of the mental states or factors associated with the mind (Skt. caitasika, caitta), according to the Abhidharma. According to Vasubandhu (in his Pañcaskandhaka), khrel (“embarrassment” or “shame”) is different from ngo tsha (“scruples,” “conscience”) in that it is independent from others’ judgment of one’s behavior, and solely internal, in that it contradicts one’s internalized values. See “guilty conscience.”

g.­27

evil actions that bring immediate karmic retribution

  • mtshams med pa’i sdig
  • mtshams med pa’i sdig las
  • མཚམས་མེད་པའི་སྡིག
  • མཚམས་མེད་པའི་སྡིག་ལས།
  • pañcānantarīyāṇi (mvy. 2323)
  • ānantaryakarma (mh-karmav §29a)

Sanskrit ānantarya is a short for pañcā­nantaryāṇi karmāṇi. These are five grave sins which, when committed, lead one to fall immediately, i.e., with no intermediate period, into the Avīci hell after death due to their severity. Usually five are enumerated: killing one’s mother, father, or an arhat; causing dissension in the order of monks (the saṅgha); and deliberately causing a tathāgata’s blood to flow. But the exact number of items varies in different lists from two or three to five (cf. BHSD, s.v. ānantarya).

g.­28

faultlessly

  • mi ’jigs pa
  • མི་འཇིགས་པ།
  • viśārada
  • vaiśāradya

See “confidence.”

g.­29

five aggregates

  • phung po lnga
  • ཕུང་པོ་ལྔ།
  • pañcaskandha

In Buddhist philosophy, the five basic constituents upon which persons are conventionally designated. They are material forms, sensations, perceptions, formations, and consciousness.

g.­30

four boundless states

  • tshad med pa bzhi
  • ཚད་མེད་པ་བཞི།
  • catvāry apramāṇāni

Love, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity; also often called the four immeasurables.

g.­31

four states of imperturbability

  • mi g.yo ba ’dzin pa bzhi
  • mi g.yo ba bzhi
  • mi g.yo bzhi
  • མི་གཡོ་བ་འཛིན་པ་བཞི།
  • མི་གཡོ་བ་བཞི།
  • མི་གཡོ་བཞི།
  • ārūpya­samāpatti

This translates Sanskrit ārūpya­samāpatti (“attainment of formless absorptions”) or ārūpyāvacara­dhyāna in Transformation of Karma, which in Tibetan is usually translated as gzugs med pa’i snyoms par ’jug pa. The four states of imperturbability are (1) the sphere of infinite space; (2) the sphere of infinite consciousness; (3) the sphere of nothingness (literally, “the sphere in which there is not the slightest bit of anything present”); and (4) the sphere of neither mind nor no-mind. See also “meditative absorption.”

g.­32

Gautama

  • gau ta ma
  • གཽ་ཏ་མ།
  • gautama

The family name of the historical Buddha Śākyamuni.

g.­33

ghost

  • ring du ’khyams pa
  • ring du ’khyam pa
  • རིང་དུ་འཁྱམས་པ།
  • རིང་དུ་འཁྱམ་པ།
  • dūragata
  • dūraṃgama

Literally “those who have gone to the afterlife.” A synonym or interlinear gloss for preta; ghost in Transformation of Karma. Pretas are a class of sentient beings belonging to the “bad” or “unfortunate rebirth destinies” (Skt. apāya); see “animal.” In the commentary to the Petavatthu (the seventh book of the Khuddakanikāya of the Pāli Canon), the former term is explained as “having gone to the beyond or the afterlife” (Pāli paralokagata), which is effectively the same as Sanskrit preta and Pāli peta; departed, dead. The meaning of durāgata or dūraṃgama (“far-going,” “going here and there”) may refer to the belief that the ghosts of the deceased are able to move freely and quickly through space because they do not have physical bodies, and that the realm of the ghosts does not, in fact, exist in a fixed location but is everywhere. As the stories of the Petavatthu illustrate, the worlds of ghosts and humans often intertwine.

g.­34

glory

  • grags pa
  • གྲགས་པ།
  • kīrti

Part of the Tibetan translation of a Skt. stock phrase for the expression of esteem. See “renown,” “good reputation.”

g.­35

good reputation

  • tshigs su bcad pa
  • ཚིགས་སུ་བཅད་པ།
  • śloka

Part of the Tibetan translation of a Skt. stock phrase for the expression of esteem. See glory, renown.

g.­36

greed

  • rkam pa
  • རྐམ་པ།
  • abhidhyā

The eighth of the ten nonvirtuous actions.

g.­37

guilty conscience

  • ngo tsha
  • ངོ་ཚ།
  • hrī

One of the eleven virtuous mental factors (Tib. sems byung dge ba; Skt. kuśalacaitta), a subgroup of the mental states or factors associated with the mind (Skt. caitasika; caitta), according to the Abhidharma. According to Vasubandhu (in his Pañcaskandhaka), ngo tsha (“scruples,” “conscience”) is different from khrel (“embarrassment” or “shame”) in that it is independent from others’ judgment of one’s behavior, and solely internal, in that it contradicts one’s internalized values and one’s inner moral compass. See “embarrassment.”

g.­38

hell

  • dmyal ba
  • དམྱལ་བ།
  • naraka
  • nāraka

The hell realm(s); Transformation of Karma does not differentiate, or at least does not itemize, the different Buddhist hells.

g.­39

human

  • mi
  • མི།
  • manuṣya

One of the six rebirth states; see “animal”.

g.­40

ignorant of the Dharma

  • ngan pa
  • ངན་པ།
  • —

Lacking knowledge of or being ignorant [of the Dharma]. J. S. Negi (Negi 935, s.v. ngan pa) cites a few instances where Tibetan ngan pa represents the Sanskrit semantic field “lack of understanding,” e.g., Bodhi­caryāvatāra (Tib. ngan pa; Skt. ajñaḥ “not knowing,” “devoid of knowledge,” “stupid,” “foolish,” etc.); Jātakamālā (Tib. ngan pa; Skt. jaḍā matiḥ “dull,” “stupid,” “irrational”); Avadāna­kalpalatā (Tib. ngan pa; Skt. mūrkhāḥ “stupid, dull-headed; a fool”). Context suggests that this is one sense of ngan pa in Transformation of Karma when it talks about the Dharma and knowledge thereof. Also translated here as “bad deed.”

See also n.­43.

g.­41

inferior form of existence

  • ngan pa’i sa
  • ངན་པའི་ས།
  • apāya-bhūmi?
g.­42

instructor

  • slob dpon
  • སློབ་དཔོན།
  • ācārya

In early Buddhism, a teacher who teaches the Dharma and Vinaya to novices and new monks, and who can replace the preceptor (Skt. upādhyāya), if one loses one’s preceptor.

g.­43

intermediate state between death and rebirth

  • bar ma do
  • བར་མ་དོ།
  • antarābhava
  • antarā

A transitional, discarnate state of a sentient being between death and rebirth, classically said to last up 49 days; its existence was and is not accepted by all Buddhist schools (not, e.g., by the Theravādins).

g.­44

kalaviṅka

  • ka la ping ka
  • ཀ་ལ་པིང་ཀ
  • kalaviṅka

A bird said to have a song sweeter than any other. Sometimes said to refer to the avadavat, sometimes to the Indian Cuckoo, but used as a simile it is a reference that is partly mythical; the kalaviṅka is said to sing sublimely even before being hatched.

g.­45

karmic result

  • las kyi ’bras bu
  • ལས་ཀྱི་འབྲས་བུ།
  • karmaphala

Literally meaning the “fruit” of action(s), karmic result denotes rebirth and karmic punishment and reward as a consequence of, and in accordance with the moral character of, one’s actions.

g.­46

karmic ripening

  • las kyi rnam par smin pa
  • ལས་ཀྱི་རྣམ་པར་སྨིན་པ།
  • —

The complex process of the ripening of karma, i.e., the development of the karmic result (las kyi ’bras bu) of karmically relevant actions committed with body, speech and mind, by virtue of the power of the action as cause and supporting conditions.

g.­47

killing

  • srog gcod
  • སྲོག་གཅོད།
  • prāṇātipāta

The first of the ten nonvirtuous actions.

g.­48

knowledge

  • shes rab
  • ཤེས་རབ།
  • prajñā

In this text shes rab seems to mean primarily knowledge (defined as insight and understanding one has gained through studying and experience), specifically knowledge of the teachings of the Buddha in general, and of karmic cause and effect in particular (Cf. Edgerton, BHSD, s.v. prajñā: “(Skt., and Pāli paññā), knowledge: three kinds, śrutamayī, cintāmayī, and bhāvanāmayī”, i.e., knowledge consisting in listening to the teachings, reflecting on them, and meditation (cultivating or internalizing the teachings). Also translated here as “knowledge of the Dharma.”

See also n.­56.

g.­49

knowledge of the Dharma

  • shes rab
  • ཤེས་རབ།
  • prajñā

See entry “knowledge” and also n.­56.

g.­50

leading an unchaste life

  • mi tshangs par spyod pa
  • མི་ཚངས་པར་སྤྱོད་པ།
  • abrahmacarya

Here, the third of the ten nonvirtuous actions.

g.­51

Lekuñcika

  • ’gug pa
  • འགུག་པ།
  • lekuñcika

See n.­213.

g.­52

lying

  • brdzun
  • བརྫུན།
  • mṛṣāvāda

The fourth of the ten nonvirtuous actions.

g.­53

magical eye

  • ’phrul gyi mig
  • འཕྲུལ་གྱི་མིག
  • divyaṃ cakṣuḥ

Pre-reform Tibetan term for lha’i mig (“divine eye,” “clairvoyance”) one of the six supramundane powers (Skt. abhijñā) and of the three knowledges (Skt. trividyā): the ability to see things that are far away, mind-made bodies (of enlightened beings and advanced meditators), and the destinies of all beings according to their actions.

g.­54

meditative absorption

  • bsam gtan
  • བསམ་གཏན།
  • dhyāna

Designates both the mental state of deep concentration and the meditative practices leading to it. These states are characterized by a gradual withdrawal of consciousness from external sense data. Two broad distinctions are made: rūpāvacara­dhyāna or the meditative absorption associated with the form realm, and ārūpyāvacara­dhyāna or the meditative absorption associated with the formless or immaterial realm. Each of the two dhyānas is subdivided into four stages. See also “four states of imperturbability.”

g.­55

merit

  • bsod nams
  • བསོད་ནམས།
  • puṇya

The karmic potential that accumulates through good actions and which in the future results in happiness and good fortune.

g.­56

mind of enlightenment

  • byang chub kyi sems
  • བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་སེམས།
  • bodhicitta

The intention or the strong aspiration to attain enlightenment for the sake of all sentient beings. Its two aspects on the relative level of truth are famously summarized in Śāntideva’s Bodhi­caryāvatāra (ch. 1, verses 15, 16): “15. Bodhichitta, the awakened mind, / Is known in brief to have two aspects: / First, aspiring, bodhichitta in intention; / Then active bodhichitta, practical engagement. 16. As corresponding to the wish to go / And then to setting out, / The wise should understand respectively / The difference that divides these two.” (tr. Padmakara Translation Group, The Way of the Bodhisattva, Boston: Shambala, 2011). On the level of absolute truth, mind of enlightenment means the realization of emptiness.

g.­57

monastic preceptor

  • mkhan po
  • མཁན་པོ།
  • upādhyāya

A sponsor of young novices and monks; he or she must have at least ten years of standing in the saṅgha, confers ordination, teaches, and provides students with all the necessary requisites. See also “instructor.”

g.­58

monks and nuns

  • mya ngan bsrings pa
  • mya ngan bsring ba
  • མྱ་ངན་བསྲིངས་པ།
  • མྱ་ངན་བསྲིང་བ།
  • —

This is likely a pre-reform expression. We were unable to determine the exact meaning of this Tibetan expression, and we did not find it used elsewhere in either the Kangyur or the Tengyur. In the Dictionary of Old Tibetan Orthography (Tib. bod yig brda rnying tshig mdzod) by rnam rgyal tshe ring (2001), we find the entry nyon mongs bzod; one who endures hardship or suffering, as an older Tibetan expression for a monk or nun (Tib. dge slong gi ming). Thus, one literal translation that we are proposing for this expression is “one who sustains (or endures) suffering (or hardship).” Comparison with similar contexts in related texts (Toh 338, 1.­13 (F.278.ab)) and passim, i.e., where we find rab tu byung ba tshul dang ldan pa rnams etc. instead, suggests that the expression may be a collective term for those who have entered the path to liberation (Skt. āryapudgala; Pāli ariyapuggala) or for the Buddhist saṅgha generally. See also “those who have entered the path of liberation.”

g.­59

nirvāṇa

  • mya ngan las ’das pa
  • མྱ་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
  • nirvāṇa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally “extinction,” the state beyond sorrow, it refers to the ultimate attainment of buddhahood, the permanent cessation of all suffering and of the afflicted mental states that lead to suffering. Three types of nirvāṇa are identified: (1) the residual nirvāṇa where the person is still dependent on conditioned psycho-physical aggregates, (2) the non-residual nirvāṇa where the aggregates have also been consumed within emptiness, and (3) the non-abiding nirvāṇa transcending the extremes of phenomenal existence and quiescence.

g.­60

non-returner

  • phyir mi ’ong ba
  • ཕྱིར་མི་འོང་བ།
  • anāgāmin

There are four kinds of “noble persons” (Skt. āryapudgala) according to the Śrāvakayāna path, characterized by a gradual abandonment of ten kinds of fetters (Skt. saṃyojana) that bind one to saṃsāra. This is the third of the four (or eight) stages of the realization of the supermundane path (and fruit) leading to awakening.

g.­61

once-returner

  • lan cig phyir ’ong ba
  • ལན་ཅིག་ཕྱིར་འོང་བ།
  • sakṛdāgāmin

The second of the four (or eight) stages of the realization of the supermundane path (and fruit) leading to awakening. See “those who have entered the path of liberation.”

g.­62

potential of their past actions

  • las
  • ལས།
  • karman

The (invisible) potential of a past action is that action’s inherent capacity “to ripen” into a karmic result under certain circumstances. Also translated here as “action.”

g.­63

Prince Jeta’s Grove

  • rgyal bu rgyal byed kyi tshal
  • རྒྱལ་བུ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ།
  • jetavana

A grove that was bought by the Buddha’s wealthy follower and supporter Anāthapiṇḍada from a prince named Jeta and donated to the Buddha and his saṅgha (the story of the purchase and the events leading to it is told in the Cullavagga of the Pāli Vinaya (Vin II 158f.)).

g.­64

realm of ghosts

  • ring du ’khyams pa’i ’jig rten
  • རིང་དུ་འཁྱམས་པའི་འཇིག་རྟེན།
  • pretaloka

The Sanskrit word means literally “world of the dead”; one the five (or six) rebirth destinies belonging to the unfortunate (or lower) realms of rebirth. According to Indian Buddhist sources, Yama as the Lord of Death presides over the realm of the (hungry) ghosts (Skt. preta).

g.­65

realm of the asuras

  • a su ra’i ’jig rten
  • ཨ་སུ་རའི་འཇིག་རྟེན།
  • asuraloka

Sanskrit and Pāli asura literally means “non-gods”; often translated as “demigods, titans.” A class of beings that rank between devas and humans. The asuras were expelled from their original home in the god realm because of their chronic jealousy; now they wage constant war with the devas in the hope of regaining their old home. According to Transformation of Karma, this class of beings is counted among the unfortunate (or lower) realms of rebirth.

g.­66

renown

  • sgra bstod
  • sgras stod
  • སྒྲ་བསྟོད།
  • སྒྲས་སྟོད།
  • śabda
  • praśaṃsā

Part of the Tibetan translation of a Skt. stock phrase for the expression of esteem. See glory, good reputation.

g.­67

right view

  • yang dag par lta ba
  • ཡང་དག་པར་ལྟ་བ།
  • samyagdṛṣṭi

Here, the opposite of wrong view, i.e., belief in karmic cause and effect.

g.­68

roots of unwholesome states

  • mi dge ba’i rtsa ba
  • མི་དགེ་བའི་རྩ་བ།
  • akuśalamūla

See “roots of wholesome states.”

g.­69

roots of wholesome states

  • dge ba’i rtsa ba
  • དགེ་བའི་རྩ་བ།
  • kuśalamūla

According to most lists (specifically those of the Pāli and some Abhidharma traditions), the (three) roots of virtue or the roots of the good or wholesome states (of mind) are what makes a mental state good or bad; they are identified as the opposites of the three mental “poisons” of greed, hatred, and delusion. Actions based on the roots of virtue will eventually lead to future happiness. The Dharmasaṃgraha, however, lists the three roots of virtue as (1) the mind of enlightenment, (2) purity of thought, and (3) freedom from egotism (Skt. trīṇi kuśala­mūlāni | bodhi­cittotpādaḥ, āśayaviśuddhiḥ, ahaṃkāramama­kāraparityāgaśceti|).

g.­70

ruler of a province

  • ’khor gyi rgyal po
  • འཁོར་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
  • —
g.­71

Śaivala

  • rdo stobs
  • རྡོ་སྟོབས།
  • śaivala

See n.­214.

g.­72

saṃsāra

  • ’khor ba
  • འཁོར་བ།
  • saṃsāra

A state of involuntary existence conditioned by afflicted mental states and the imprint of past actions, characterized by suffering in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. On its reversal, the contrasting state of nirvāṇa is attained, free from suffering and the processes of rebirth.

g.­73

six perfections

  • pha rol tu phyin pa drug
  • ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་དྲུག
  • ṣaṭpāramitā

The six perfections of the bodhisattvas: giving (Skt. dāna), morality (Skt. śīla), patience or forbearance (Skt. kṣānti), effort (Skt. vīrya), concentration (Skt. dhyāna), and wisdom (Skt. prajñā). The Mahāyāna also offers a list of ten perfections which, however, are different from the ten perfections of the bodhisattva in the Pāli tradition. (See also n.­172.)

g.­74

sphere of infinite consciousness

  • rnam par shes pa mtha’ yas pa’i skye mched
  • རྣམ་པར་ཤེས་པ་མཐའ་ཡས་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • vijñānānantyāyatana

The second of the four states of imperturbability, which leads to rebirth in the formless realm (Skt. ārūpyadhātu).

g.­75

sphere of infinite space

  • nam mkha’ mtha’ yas skye mched
  • nam mkha’ mtha’ yas pa’i skye mched
  • ནམ་མཁའ་མཐའ་ཡས་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • ནམ་མཁའ་མཐའ་ཡས་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • ākāśānantyāyatana

The first of the four states of imperturbability. In the formless realm (Skt. ārūpyadhātu), no bodies or materiality of any kind exist, only mind; rebirth there is the result of accomplishing four formless meditative absorptions (Skt. ārūpya­samāpatti; five absorptions, i.e., if one includes the stage of Skt. saṃjñā-vedayita-nirodha or nirodhasamāpatti).

g.­76

sphere of neither mind nor no-mind

  • sems med pa dang sems med pa ma yin pa’i skye mched
  • སེམས་མེད་པ་དང་སེམས་མེད་པ་མ་ཡིན་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • naiva­saṃjñānāsaṃjñāyatana

The fourth of the four states of imperturbability or formless meditative absorptions or attainments (Skt. ārūpya­samāpatti), which leads to rebirth in the formless realm (Skt. ārūpyadhātu) as a deva without form.

g.­77

sphere of nothingness

  • cung zad med pa’i skye mched
  • ཅུང་ཟད་མེད་པའི་སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
  • ākiṃcanyāyatana

The third of the four states of imperturbability, which leads to rebirth in the formless realm (Skt. ārūpyadhātu) as a deva without form.

g.­78

Śrāvastī

  • mnyan du yod pa
  • མཉན་དུ་ཡོད་པ།
  • śrāvastī

The capital of the ancient Indian kingdom of Kośala, and the setting for many sūtras as the Buddha spent many rains retreats outside the city. It has been identified with the present-day Sāhet Māhet in Uttar Pradesh on the banks of the river Rapti.

g.­79

stealing

  • ma byin par blangs pa
  • མ་བྱིན་པར་བླངས་པ།
  • adattādāna

The second of the ten nonvirtuous actions.

g.­80

stillness

  • mi g.yo
  • མི་གཡོ།
  • —
g.­81

stingy

  • ser sna
  • ser sna byed
  • ser sna can du byed pa
  • སེར་སྣ།
  • སེར་སྣ་བྱེད།
  • སེར་སྣ་ཅན་དུ་བྱེད་པ།
  • mātsarya
  • matsara

One of twenty or twenty-four so-called secondary mental defilements or afflictions.

g.­82

stream enterer

  • rgyun du zhugs pa
  • རྒྱུན་དུ་ཞུགས་པ།
  • srota āpanna

There are four kinds of noble persons (Skt. āryapudgala) according to the Śrāvakayāna path, characterized by a gradual abandonment of ten kinds of fetters (Skt. saṃyojana) that bind one to saṃsāra. This is the first of the four (or eight) stages of the realization of the supermundane path (and fruit) leading to awakening or liberation.

g.­83

stūpa

  • mchod rten
  • མཆོད་རྟེན།
  • caitya
  • stūpa

A Buddhist monument and reliquary holding the relics of a buddha or some highly revered Buddhist master, representing the enlightened mind of a buddha. See “caitya.”