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དཀོན་མཆོག་ཏ་ལ་ལའི་གཟུངས།

The Dhāraṇī of the Jewel Torch
Notes

Ratnolkādhāraṇī
འཕགས་པ་དཀོན་མཆོག་ཏ་ལ་ལའི་གཟུངས་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།
’phags pa dkon mchog ta la la’i gzungs zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Dhāraṇī of the Jewel Torch”
Āryaratnolkānāmadhāraṇīmahāyānasūtra

Toh 847

Degé Kangyur, vol. 100 (gzungs, e), folios 3.b–54.b

Translated by David Jackson

under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2020
Current version v 1.4.22 (2022)
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Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Dhāraṇī of the Jewel Torch starts with a profound conversation between the Buddha and the bodhisattvas Samantabhadra and Mañjuśrī on the nature of the dharmadhātu, buddhahood, and emptiness. The bodhisattva Dharma­mati then enters the meditative absorption called the infinite application of the bodhisattva’s jewel torch and, at the behest of the millions of buddhas who have blessed him, emerges from it to teach how bodhisattvas arise from the presence of a tathāgata and progress to the state of omniscience. Following Dharma­mati’s detailed exposition of the “ten categories” or progressive stages of a bodhisattva, the Buddha briefly teaches the mantra of the dhāraṇī and then, for most of the remainder of the text, encourages bodhisattvas in a long versified passage in which he recounts teachings by a bodhisattva called Bhadraśrī on the qualities of bodhisattvas and buddhas. Some verses from this passage on the virtues of faith have been widely quoted in both India and Tibet.

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Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by David Jackson and edited by the 84000 editorial team. The introduction, also by the 84000 editorial team, expands on an original version by David Jackson. The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

ac.­2

The generous sponsorship of Make and Wang Xiao Juan (馬珂和王曉娟), which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.

The Translation
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Dhāraṇī of the Jewel Torch
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Colophon

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Translated, checked, and verified by the Indian preceptor Surendra­bodhi and the chief editor and translator, Bandé Yeshé Dé.

n.

Notes

n.­1
It is from this section that the long passage of some two hundred and thirty stanzas making up much of the eighteenth chapter of the Śikṣāsamuccaya is quoted, constituting the longest quotation of any scripture in Śāntideva’s text; see below.
n.­2
See Denkarma F.297.b.4.
n.­3
See Phangthangma (F.2) p. 5. The other texts in the Phangthangma list, apart from the 105 bam po Buddhāvataṃsaka itself, are the Lokottaraparivarta (ch. 44 in the Degé version of Toh 44), the Daśabhūmika (ch. 31), and the Tathāgatotpattisambhavanirdeśa (ch. 43).
n.­4
See Skilling and Saerji (2012).
n.­5
See Skilling and Saerji (2013) p. 199, n35.
n.­6
See n.­34 and n.­81.
n.­7
See also n.­100 and n.­141. The equivalent passage in the Tibetan Avataṃsaka­sūtra starts on Degé Kangyur vol. 35 (phal po che, ka) F.219.b.
n.­8
大方廣總持寶光明經 (Da fangguang puxian suoshuo jing).
n.­9
See the entry for Volume 10 of the Taishō at ntireader.org, and the entry K 1095 in The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue. The Chinese text was not considered essential for producing this translation.
n.­10

The present text (Toh 847), and all those contained in the same volume (gzungs ’dus, e), are listed as being located in volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases‍—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room‍—list this work as being located in volume 101. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text‍—which forms a whole, very large volume‍—the Vimalaprabhā­nāmakālacakra­tantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the present volume, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.

n.­11
The four instances here come close to covering, between them, the four types of dhāraṇī set out in the commentarial literature, notably the Bodhi­sattva­bhūmi: the dhāraṇī (1) of Dharma (dharma­dhāraṇī, chos kyi gzungs), sometimes also called dhāraṇī of words (tshig gi gzungs); (2) of meaning (artha­dhāraṇī, don gyi gzungs); (3) of mantras (mantra­dhāraṇī, gsang sngags kyi gzungs); and (4) to attain the bodhisattvas’ acceptance (bodhi­sattva­kṣānti­dhāraṇī, byang chub sems dpa’ bzod pa ’thob par byed pa’i gzungs), i.e., acceptance of the non-arising of phenomena. See Negi 1993–2005, vol. 6, p. 2318. For more on dhāraṇī, their different types, their history, and their place in the literature, see Braarvig 1985, Buswell and Lopez 2013, Davidson 2009 and 2014, Gyatso 1992, and McBride 2005.
n.­12
Eight examples of this kind of dhāraṇī are explained at length and very clearly in the Tathāgata­mahā­karuṇā­nirdeśa (Toh 147) at F.218.b et seq., (for translation see Burchardi 2020, The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata, 2.524–2.604). Interestingly the same text mentions, a little later at F.231.b (see idem 2.614–2.652), another dhāraṇī called “the Jewel Lamp” for which the Tibetan in this case is rin chen sgron ma, but which among other possibilities could have been, as here, the Sanskrit ratnolkā.
n.­13
In the Mahāvyutpatti, the three different Tibetan terms given under Skt. ulkā (Mvy. 6899) are skar ma (“star”), sgron ma, and ta la la in a list of 97 general terms, while the title Ratnolkā (without any text-type ending) is listed as dkon mchog ta la la (Mvy. 1375) in a list of 105 saddharma titles. The equivalence of ta la la to sgron ma is mentioned in the li shi’i gur khang, a fifteenth century glossary of archaic terms and their later renderings by Kyok Lotsāwa Ngawang Rinchen Tashi (skyogs lo tsA ba ngag dbang rin chen bkra shis), although he appears to have misspelt it tal la.
n.­14
Of the four quotations from this work in the Śikṣāsamuccaya, the first, describing the virtues of faith, comprises verses 2.­37–2.­61 followed almost immediately by the second, verses 2.­386 and 2.­390; these excerpts appear in the first chapter (on the perfection of giving), see Bendall’s 1902 Sanskrit edition pp. 2–5; for translations see also Bendall and Rouse (1922) pp. 3–5 and Goodman 2016, pp. 3–5. The third quotation, a brief one comprising the paragraph 1.­63 on the second category of bodhisattva, appears in the seventh chapter (on protection), see Bendall (1902) p. 153; for translations see Bendall and Rouse p. 152 and Goodman p. 153. The fourth, a very long quotation (and perhaps the longest of all quotations in the Śikṣāsamuccaya), comprises verses 2.­122–2.­322 and then selected verses culminating in 2.­354 and appears in the eighteenth chapter (on the recollection of the Three Jewels), see Bendall (1902) pp. 327–47; for translations see Bendall and Rouse pp. 291–306 and Goodman pp. 304–322.
n.­15
See Mahāvyutpatti no. 1375, in section 65, saddharmanāmāni; it lists 105 items, mostly names of sūtras but also some vinaya texts, as well as category terms.
n.­16
See, for example, the fifteenth chapter of Longchen Rabjampa’s yid bzhin rin po che’i mdzod, which first enumerates these three, four, and six kinds of faith, and then explains the six using quotations from 2.­37 onward (the same passage that Śāntideva cites, see n.­104). The six kinds of faith are: (1) yearning faith (’dod pa’i dad pa), (2) inspired faith (mos pa’i dad pa), (3) respectful faith (gus pa’i dad pa), (4) clear faith (dang ba’i dad pa), (5) confident faith (yid ches pa’i dad pa), and (6) faith from conviction in the profound teachings (chos zab mo nges par sems pa’i dad pa).
n.­17
Titles used include the canonical dkon mchog ta la la’i gzungs, dkon mchog ta la la’i mdo, erroneous renderings such as dkon mchog ta la, and a range of secondary variants using the dkon mchog sgron ma form.
n.­18
The word is found neither in Goldstein or Inagaki. Negi says it is a synonym of dbus, and also notes the similar (rare) verb dbung ba (=khro ba).
n.­19
Also found in Negi as an old spelling.
n.­20
Tib. nges par byung ba; Skt. niṣkrānta. The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné read nges par ’byung ba (p. 207).
n.­21
Tib. tshad med par. The Comparative Edition notes that the Narthang and Lhasa editions read tshad med pas, which seems preferable (p. 207). The Stok Palace version also reads tshad med pas (F.149.b.6).
n.­22
Tib. stong pa nyid spyod yul ba. The Comparative Edition observes that the Narthang and Lhasa editions read stong pa nyid kyi spyod yul ba (p. 207). The Stok Palace also reads stong pa nyid kyi spyod yul ba (F.149.b.6).
n.­23
Here “all dharmas” (Tib. chos thams cad; Skt. sarvadharma) denotes both teachings and matters taught.
n.­24
I.e., the teachings and phenomena.
n.­25
Tib. gzhi med pa’i don. The Stok Palace version reads med pa’i don “the meaning of nonexistence” (F.152.a.3).
n.­26
Note that Tib. mi mnyam pa dang mnyam pa; Skt. asamasama means, according to Inagaki, “equal to the unequaled.” According to Edgerton, it means “unequalled,” lit. “having no equal like him.”
n.­27
Note that the Stok Palace version has zhes instead of shes (F.152.a.7), which we follow here.
n.­28
Tib. dmigs pa med pa. The Comparative Edition notes that the Narthang and Lhasa editions read mi dmigs pa (p. 208). The Stok Palace version also reads mi dmigs pa (F.152.a.5).
n.­29
Note that here Tib. byin, an archaic verb, is used with the meaning to say or speak.
n.­30
Tib. rnam par dag pa’i sgo. We have here added “the Dharma” for the sake of clarity.
n.­31
Tib. rgyu mthun pa. The Comparative Edition follows the Degé and others by including rgyu ’thun pa, though the more common spelling rgyu mthun pa is reflected in the Kangxi, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace versions. See Comparative Edition, p. 208; Stok Palace, F.153.b.1.
n.­32
Tib. sā la. The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné read sa la (p. 208). The Stok Palace version reads sā la (F.153.b.1).
n.­33
Here we have the very rare term: Tib. dmigs pa can; Skt. aupalambhika, which refers to someone with a heretical view according to Edgerton.
n.­34
The passage from here down to and including 1.­178 (see n.­81) is paralleled as chapter 20 of the Tibetan Avataṃsaka, “The Ten Categories of Bodhisattvas” starting in the Degé Avataṃsaka in volume 35 (phal po che, ka) on folio 245.a.1. The Tibetan translations of these two versions are not the same but the content matches closely, except for the names of the meditative absorption (see next note). In the Chinese Avataṃsaka the equivalent is chapter 15.
n.­35
In the Chinese Avataṃsaka this meditative absorption is called “of infinite techniques of bodhisattvas,” and in the Tibetan Avataṃsaka “the bodhisattva’s meditative absorption called ‘infinite refining’” (byang chub sems dpa’i ting nge dzin sbyong ba mtha’ yas pa zhes bya ba).
n.­36
Tib. byang chub sems dpa’ rnam par gzhag pa bcu. The term rnam par gzhag pa probably renders Skt. vyavasthāna, which can also mean “differentiation” (see Edgerton) i.e., “classification,” and by association, “category” and the “distinctive features” of each category. Hence, here it is “the ten categories of the bodhisattva.”
n.­37
Tib. nyug pa is an old term meaning “to touch,” according to Negi.
n.­38
Note that we should here read this as Tib. sras (singular) rather than sras dag (plural).
n.­39
Tib. gzhon nur gyur pa. Skt. Kumāra­bhūta according to Edgerton, “while still a youth/remaining a youth.”
n.­40
Tib. kha dog bzang po rgyas pa’am/ rgya che ba’am/ gzi brjid che ba’am. Here we read rgyas pa, rgya che ba, and gzi brjid che ba as modifiers of kha dog bzang po. Compare, in the Tibetan Avataṃsaka, mdzad pa dang bzang ba dang / myig tu ’ong ba dang / kha dag rgyas pa dang.
n.­41
Tib. kun tu brjod pa’i cho ’phrul; Skt. ādeśanā-prātihārya, as explained in Edgerton.
n.­42
I.e., miracles of insightful admonition effecting destruction of one’s vices. Tib. rjes su bstan pa’i cho ’phrul, Skt. anuśāseniprātihārya, as explained in Edgerton.
n.­43
On “possible” and “impossible” for Tib. gnas dang mi gnas; Skt. sthānāsthāna, see Edgerton.
n.­44
The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions omit las dang (pp. 208–209).
n.­45
Tib. ldang ba. The Comparative Edition notes that the Narthang and Lhasa versions here read ldan pa (p. 209). The Stok Palace version also reads ldan pa (F.157.b.4).
n.­46
This paragraph is quoted in chapter 7 of the Śikṣāsamuccaya (see Bendall 1902, p. 153).
n.­47
Lit. “knowing time” (Tib. dus shes pa; Skt. kālajña). Edgerton refers only to the entry for sarvakālajña, which means knowing past, present, and future, but that is too early in the training here.
n.­48
Tib. brjed pa med pa, lit. “without forgetfulness,” but probably rendering Skt. asammoṣa; see Edgerton. Indeed the next sentence begins with Tib. rmongs pa med pa as its synonym.
n.­49
The Comparative Edition notes that the Narthang and Lhasa versions omit ’di la (p. 209). The Stok Palace version also omits ’di la (F.158.b.7).
n.­50
Here the word khams could be understood in several ways: as the realms inhabited by beings, as the constituent elements of which beings are made up, as the various propensities of beings, or possibly of the “constituent” or “element” (the buddha-nature) present in them. It has here been rendered as “constitution” to avoid what might be a mistaken choice of interpretation.
n.­51
Note that the desire realm is found below in the verse restatement.
n.­52
Note that our rendering here is tentative since the expression gsung rab ’phags par skyes pa is unknown.
n.­53
Here and in the next few phrases we should either add du or understand mnyam pa nyid du, “as sameness.”
n.­54
The Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace versions all have “expertise in understanding the three times” as item 8, “expertise in understanding the relative truth” as item 9, and “expertise in understanding ultimate truth” for item 10. This is important to note, given that the appearance of “exprtise in understanding” (mkhas pa yin) after all three statements suggests that they form a single item in the list, and thus we should prefer the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace readings. See Comparative Edition, p. 209; Stok Palace, F.163.b.1–3.
n.­55
In all editions consulted, only nine things that bodhisattvas who are regents are to be taught are listed.
n.­56
In the term rgyal po’i pho brang ’khor, the entire expression (including ’khor) means “royal palace.”
n.­57
Note that Negi gives dbung (“center”) as a normal synonym of dbus, but it and the verb dbung ba are both archaic spellings. Also, the Comparative Edition indicates that the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Choné, and Lhasa editions all read dbus (p. 210). Interestingly, the Stok Palace edition preserves the archaic spelling dbung (F.164.b.5), suggesting that it is a reading from the Thempangma recension.
n.­58
This passage consists of repeated verbs with changes in prefixes, which we choose to reflect with adverbial modifiers in the English.
n.­59
bsnyen dka’ in such contexts usually means “difficult to approach” in the sense of being dazzling or overpowering, but here an alternative interpretation might be that it refers rather to the marks of having attained the “ten things that are difficult to approach” (bsnyen par dka’ ba’i gnas bcu) listed in the equivalent prose passage above, at 1.­61.
n.­60
The phrase byang chub don du brtan pa sems ’jog byed (“They set their thought firmly on the goal of awakening”) is repeated in many of the verses, although most of these lines in the Stok Palace version read byang chub don du bstan pa sems ’jog byed (“They set their thought on the teachings for the sake of awakening”). See Stok Palace F.166.a.3 for the first occurrence. The reading bstan pa (“teaching”) appears only a couple of times in the present General Sūtra version in the editions consulted in the Comparative Edition (p. 210), but the equivalent lines in the Tibetan Avataṃsaka also vary somewhat between several variants with either brtan pa or bstan pa (Degé Kangyur vol. phal po che, ka, F.253.a et seq.. These verses refer back to the prose description of bodhisattvas of the first category above (at 1.­61) and the “firmly” (brtan pa) variant seems the better fit.
n.­61
This stanza does not seem to exist in the Chinese Avataṃsaka. It is not entirely clear whether it refers to places, or to what is possible and impossible; but the latter, given the order of the items in 1.­61, seems considerably more likely. In the Tibetan Avataṃsaka the equivalent stanza (Degé Kangyur, vol. 35, phal po che, ka, F.253.a.3) reads: khams gsum kun na gnas ni ’di dag yin/ /gnas myin rang bzhin dag kyang ’di yin zhes/ /ma nor dngos po khong du chud bya’i phyir/ /brtan pa byang chub don du sems bskyed do.
n.­62
A detailed account of the cosmological eons (Skt. kalpa) is found in the Abhidharmakośa ch. III, stanzas 89–102.
n.­63
In the Tibetan Avataṃsaka version (Degé Kangyur vol. 35, phal po che, ka, F.254.a.6) the meaning of the equivalent stanza is clearer and probably justifies translating the second skad cig here in line 2 as “in a single voice.” That version is: sems can kun gyi sgra skad ji snyed pa/ dbyangs gcig brjod pas ji ltar brjod bya bar/ sgra yi rang bzhin khong du chud bya’i phyir/ brtan pa byang chub don du sems bsgyur ro. However, in that version the object of the understanding is “sound” or “language” (sgra) instead of “peace,” as here.
n.­64
There are a number of different ways in which this stanza could be interpreted. In the Tibetan Avataṃsaka version (Degé Kangyur vol. 35, phal po che, ka, F.254.b.5–6) the equivalent stanza supports the probability that the buddhas mentioned here are those in the buddha realms of all directions: de ltar byang chub don du bskyed byed pa/ phyogs bcu’i sangs rgyas brjod du med pa kun/ mchod par bya la yongs su bskul bar bya/ ’di ni phyir mi ldog gi gdams ngag go. Note also that these verses, down as far as 1.­132, still refer to the first of the ten categories of bodhisattva, and the recurring description in the final line in this group of seven stanzas, “those who do not turn back” (mi ldog rnams), is not quite the same as that of the “irreversible” (phyir mi ldog pa’i) bodhisattvas, the seventh category.
n.­65
The Degé Kangyur here reads yon tan kun ldan de bzhin gshegs pa yi/ tshe nyid ’di na . . ., while the Stok Palace, Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi and Choné Kangyurs all read che instead of tshe. The latter reading is more likely as well as closer to the equivalent stanza in the Tibetan Avataṃsaka version (Degé Kangyur vol. 35, phal po che, ka, F.255.a.2): de bzhin gshegs pa yon tan kun ldan pa/ ’jig rten mgon po bdag nyid che ba kun.
n.­66
I.e., bodhisattvas who engage in yogic practice (see 1.­65).
n.­67
Here we should read rtog par as rtogs par, even though all the versions consulted for this translation read rtog par. See Comparative Edition, p. 129; Stok Palace, F.169.b.4–5.
n.­68
As in 1.­66, here the word khams could be understood in several ways: as the realms inhabited by beings, as the constituent elements of which beings are made up, as the various propensities of beings, or possibly of the “constituent” or “element” (the buddha-nature) present in them. It has here been rendered as “constitution” to avoid what might be a mistaken choice of interpretation.
n.­69
I.e., the fourth class of bodhisattva as described in the prose section at 1.­67.
n.­70
“Incomparable” (Tib. mtshungs med) and “inconceivable” (Tib. bsam yas) appear in reverse order here vis-à-vis the corresponding prose list found earlier in the text.
n.­71
Note that for the last term “nonexistent nature” (Tib. med pa’i rang bzhin) the original list above has two terms: med pa nyid and rang bzhin med pa.
n.­72
Here the subject is the sixth class of bodhisattva, namely, bodhisattvas who have perfected intention.
n.­73
Tib. ’chags pa. The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle, Kangxi, and Lhasa versions here read chags pa (p. 211). The Stok Palace version reads ’chags pa (F.170.b.6). In Negi, ’chags par has several meanings, though in this context it means the opposite of destruction.
n.­74
In comparison with the corresponding prose list given earlier in the text, the attributes missing here are “nonexistent” (med pa nyid), “essenceless” (ngo bo nyid med pa), and “without conceptual thought” (rnam par rtog pa med pa nyid). Note that the prose list includes “dream-like” (rmi lam lta bu nyid) while the verse list includes “like visual distortions” (mig yor ’dra ba).
n.­75
The Degé and the Comparative Edition based on it read don dam here, which clearly does not refer to the ultimate (Skt. paramārtha). That the dam signifies “or” is suggested by the Comparative Edition’s variant readings of don tam in the Yongle and the Kangxi. The Stok Palace version (F.171.a.4) has don dang (“meaning and”), a reading that best matches the corresponding prose passage that appears earlier in the text and is repeated here.
n.­76
Here we should follow the Stok Palace version’s rtogs (F.171.a.6) rather than rtog, which is witnessed in the Degé and other versions consulted in the Comparative Edition.
n.­77
Tib. grangs med; Skt. asaṃkhyeya (“incalculable”) refers to the system of incalculable world systems presented in Avataṃsaka cosmology. The term “world systems” is here added for context.
n.­78
Tib. tshang ’byin, an archaic form of tshar phyin/mthar phyin (“to go to the end,” “to conclude,” or “to finalize”). The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions read tshar ’byin (p. 211). The Stok Palace version also reads tshar ’byin (F.171.b.5).
n.­79
I.e., royal heirs.
n.­80
Note that here we have a verse of five lines.
n.­81
Here the passage that began at 1.­55 and is paralleled as chapter 20 of the Tibetan Avataṃsaka, “The Ten Categories of Bodhisattvas” (chapter 15 in the Chinese) comes to an end. The equivalent point in the Degé Avataṃsaka comes on folio 258.a in volume 35 (phal po che, ka). See also n.­34.
n.­82
Note that here the versions consulted all agree that the Blessed One “assented” (Tib. gnang ba mdzad), which is a stock phrase in such contexts, although in the lines that immediately follow the Blessed One seems not to have assented yet, or at least not to have been perceived to have done so. It may be that he has here granted his permission for the teaching to be given by others, or that he is waiting for Śāriputra to make the request, too.
n.­83
The Comparative Edition notes that this line (Tib. chos ’dod pa rnams dang / chos ’dod pa ma yin pa’i gang zag rnams kyang ’dus par gyur to/) is missing from the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions (p. 211). The Stok Palace version includes this line.
n.­84
The Comparative Edition indicates that the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné editions omit this line (i.e., btsun pa shar a dva ti’i bu gal te stong pa nyid tshig med pa yin na/ ci zhig bshad par bya/).
n.­85
Note that here forty-six bodhisattvas are named.
n.­86
Tib. rtag tu lag brkyang. This appears in Negi as a bodhisattva name.
n.­87
Tib. cho ga. Notably, the Stok Palace version reads go cha (“weapon” or “armor”).
n.­88
Tib. a la la chos. The Comparative Edition notes that the Yongle version does not repeat a la la chos a third time.
n.­89
The Comparative Edition (p. 212) notes that the Lhasa version omits bcom ldan ’das kyis (“by the Blessed One”). The Stok Palace version also omits this (F.179.b.7).
n.­90
Tib. rab tu ’bar ba, which is not in Negi as a hell. The Comparative Edition notes that the Narthang and Lhasa editions read rab tu ’bar (p. 212). The Stok Palace version also reads rab tu ’bar (F.180.b.5).
n.­91
Tib. reg dka’ ba. Not in Negi as a hell. The Comparative Edition notes that the Narthang and Lhasa editions read reg dka’ (p. 212). The Stok Palace version also reads reg dka’ (F.180.b.6).
n.­92
Tib. mgo bstod. Name unknown in any source. If emended to mgo stod, lit. “upper head.”
n.­93
Tib. spri’u gdong (should be emended to spre’u gdong). Not in Negi. The Comparative Edition observes that the Yongle and Kangxi versions read spyi’u gtong (p. 212).
n.­94
Tib. rtag tu rab ’bar. Not in Negi. The Comparative edition notes that the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné versions read rtag tu ’bar (p. 212).
n.­95
Tib. shin tu gnod ’joms. Not in Negi as a hell. The Comparative Edition records that the Narthang and Lhasa editions read shin tu gnod ’byung (p. 212). The Stok Palace version also reads shin tu gnod ’byung (F.180.b.7).
n.­96
Note that rigs kyi bu (“son of a good family”) occurs twice in this sentence but is only translated once.
n.­97
The Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra (za ma tog bkod pa, Toh 116) is one of the primary Mahāyāna sūtras associated with Avaloki­teśvara. It was first translated into Tibetan during the Imperial Period and is the earliest textual source for the mantra oṃ maṇi padme hūṃ. See Roberts and Bower, The Basket’s Display.
n.­98
The text literally says, “so much as their flinging a single lump of their phlegm.”
n.­99
Tib. sangs rgyas phal chen; it may be significant that this is also the short form of the title Buddha­vataṃsaka, given that the passage about to follow, starting at 2.­27, makes up chapter 17 of the Tibetan Avataṃsaka­sūtra, and chapter 12 of the Chinese (see i.­10 and i.­12).
n.­100
The verse passage from this point in the text down to 2.­396 is a close match in terms of content to the entirety of chapter 17 of the Tibetan Avataṃsaka­sūtra, “Bhadraśrī” (chapter 12 of the Chinese), though a different translation in Tibetan. See i.­10 and i.­8.
n.­101
This line in the Avataṃsaka version instead states that the victors would never finish explaining them: phyogs bcu’i rgyal bas bstan kyang zad mi ’gyur, see Degé Kangyur vol. 35 (phal po che, ka), F.220.a.3.
n.­102
This line reads rgyu med ma yin gyi na ma yin gyi, while the Avataṃsaka version reads rgyu med ma yin rkyen las ’byung ba yin (“Is not without cause and arises from conditions”), see Degé Kangyur vol. 35 (phal po che, ka), F.220.a.4.
n.­103
I.e., the buddhafields, a reference to an important element of the bodhisattva training; see 1.­79.
n.­104
The twenty-five stanzas from here to 2.­61 are quoted in chapter 1 of the Śikṣāsamuccaya (see Bendall 1902, pp. 2–4).
n.­105
The twenty-five stanzas from 2.­37 to here are quoted in chapter 1 of the Śikṣāsamuccaya (see Bendall 1902, pp. 2–4).
n.­106
Tib. snrel zhi. Negi gives Skt. vyatyasta (“reversed”).
n.­107
Starting from this stanza is a very long quote comprising the last two thirds of chapter 18 of the Śikṣāsamuccaya. The quote includes all stanzas down to 2.­322 and then selected passages down to 2.­354 (see Bendall 1902, pp. 327–347).
n.­108
Preferring the Lhasa version’s rab dpyangs (“hung up,” “suspended”) over rab spyangs. See Comparative Edition, p. 215.
n.­109
Tib. rkyen gyi theg pa; Skt. pratyayayāna. This refers to the pratyekabuddha path, which seeks to understand the “conditions” of cyclical existence via doctrine of dependent arising.
n.­110
Preferring the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace versions’ zhags over the bzhag found in other versions. See Comparative Edition, p. 215; Stok Palace, F.198.a.7.
n.­111
gau ta ma, Pali gotamaka: a class of non-Buddhist ascetics, perhaps followers of a Śākya teacher of the same clan as the Buddha, also mentioned in the Lalitavistara, Toh 95 (see The Play in Full 24.91.). The phrase about observing silence that follows may (as the Sanskrit suggests) apply to them, or may (as the Tibetan suggests) refer to another group.
n.­112
bla na yod dang bla na med rnams, which in the Sanskrit of the Śikṣāsamuccaya reads uttarikāṇa anuttarikāṇāṃ. These two terms do not appear to be attested as names of specific sects or groups; the meaning might be “those who have or have not the higher aim” as Bendall and Rouse (1922) suggest, or may be references to beliefs in transcendence, or an after-life, and their negation.
n.­113
Skt. kumāravratānāṃ. The Tibetan Avataṃsaka version (Degé Kangyur, phal po che, ka, F.226.b.5) has byis pa’i brtul zhugs can, which might suggest rather practitioners who deliberately act like children.
n.­114
Translated tentatively according to the Sanskrit (cārika tīrthya daśa tritayānāṃ). A literal translation of the Degé reading gle’u can dag dang mu stegs sum cu pa might be “[Of] those who have young musk deer and [of] the thirty tīrthikas.” However, it seems likely that the gle’u (which might mean “young musk deer” according to Bacot, or might be a variant of gle’o which can mean “conversation”) is related rather to gle or gle bar, meaning a small island or land between two rivers, a meaning close to one of the meanings of Skt. tīrtha, a ford, river crossing, sacred bank, pilgrimage site (and origin of the word tīrthika). The Tibetan Avataṃsaka version (Degé Kangyur, phal po che, ka, F.226.b.6) also has gle’u can, and then mentions thirteen kinds of tīrthika rather than thirty.
n.­115
Tib. gtun shing, Skt. muṣala, may also be translated as “pestle,” and in other texts is used in the context of grinding or pounding grains, seeds, etc. as well as appearing as a weapon. The term in the equivalent verse in the Tibetan Avataṃsaka is dbyig pa, “stick” or “staff” (Degé Kangyur, phal po che, ka, F.226.b.7). Similar references to tīrthika practitioners sleeping on beds of gtun shing are found in The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95), see Dharmachakara Translation Committee (2013), 17.15 and 17.56.
n.­116
For an analysis of the terms and concepts, in the eight stanzas starting from this one down to 2.­174 regarding different kinds of language, the various terms that are componds of the Sanskrit pada, and their uses in this and other sūtras, see Pagel (2007), pp. 67–68.
n.­117
Skt. mānuṣamantrapada; the Tibetan (mi skad tshig) makes no mention of mantra.
n.­118
The Sanskrit of the Śikṣā­samuccaya reads: te yatha­satya nirukti­vidhi­jñā evam aśeṣata ye jina­dharmā | dharmam acintiya vākya­patha­jñā deśayi eṣa samādhi­vikurvā. Bendall 1902, p. 333.
n.­119
The meaning of this line is not very clear and there may be an error. The Degé Kangyur here reads: mi rnams kun la sangs rgyas yongs bstan cing / chos kyang yongs bstan de la ma bstan cing, with only minor variants in other Kangyurs. However the Sanskrit of the Śikṣā­samuccaya reads darśayi buddha vidarśayi dharmaṃ saṃgha nidarśayi mārga narāṇām (Bendall 1902, p. 333), and the Tibetan translation of the same verse in the Avataṃsaka is sangs rgyas bstan te chos rnams lam bstan te / dge ’dun bstan nas mi rnams lam bstan te (Degé Kangyur vol. 35, phal po che, ka, F.227.a.7): “Displaying the buddhas, displaying their dharmas and the path, displaying their saṅghas, they show all humans the way.”
n.­120
We have here opted for gtong found in the Narthang, Choné, Lhasa, and Stok Palace versions over stong witnessed in the Degé. See Comparative Edition, p. 216; Stok Palace, 201a7.
n.­121
Note that the phrase “secret eulogies” (Tib. gsang bstod sgra; Skt. uccasvara) is not in Edgerton or Monier-Williams, but it appears in Negi.
n.­122
We here follow the Stok Palace version, reading khrim kyi instead of khrims kyis. See Stok Palace, F.203.a.5.
n.­123
Tib. sna tshogs bkod pa; Skt. vicitravyūha. Negi includes this phrase and identifies it as a type of light ray.
n.­124
Tib. shin tu dang byed; Skt. prasādakarī. Negi includes this phrase and identifies it as a type of light ray.
n.­125
Here we follow the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné, which read rnams kyis rather than rnams kyi (Comparative Edition, p. 216).
n.­126
Here we follow the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace editions’ sgra min rather than sgra mi. See Comparative Edition, p. 217; Stok Palace, F.204.b.3.
n.­127
Tib. bzhon pa. The Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Choné, and Stok Palace versions read gzhon pa, though this carries the sense of “young” and does not work well in this context (Comparative Edition, p. 217; Stok Palace, F.205.b.2).
n.­128
The term “great being” (Tib. bdag nyid chen po) does not occur in this line but is added for consistency.
n.­129
In this and the stanzas to follow, “he” (referring to the great being) is added for consistency.
n.­130
Tib. mi slob (=mi slob pa); Skt. aśaikṣa. Lit. “one who no longer needs training,” or an arhat‍—the eighth state (i.e., spiritual level) according to Edgerton.
n.­131
Tib. rkyen gyi sangs rgyas. Although this term does not appear in Negi, it refers to a pratyekabuddha. See also note 101 above.
n.­132
Tib. sgra ldan. Possibly also Skt. Rāvaṇī or Rutavatī. See Goodman 2016, p. 321 and n. 15.
n.­133
Note that dbu ba is the honorific of lbu ba.
n.­134
Note that the Brahmā path refers to compassion.
n.­135
The very long quote comprising the last two thirds of chapter 18 of the Śikṣāsamuccaya (see i.­25) ends at this point.
n.­136
Tib. sgra snyan; in Sanskrit can be the name Sughoṣa and can also be sughoṣaka, the name of an instrument‍—a lute.
n.­137
This is a traditional etymology of rgya mtsho (“ocean”).
n.­138
Tib. rdo’i snying po. Negi identifies this as a type of jewel, while Inagaki states that it means a kind of emerald.
n.­139
This stanza is quoted in chapter 1 of the Śikṣāsamuccaya (see Bendall 1902, p. 5).
n.­140
This stanza is quoted in chapter 1 of the Śikṣāsamuccaya (see Bendall 1902, p. 5).
n.­141
The verse passage from 2.­27 down to this point in the text is a close match in terms of content to the entirety of chapter 17 of the Tibetan Avataṃsaka­sūtra, “Bhadraśrī” (chapter 12 of the Chinese), though a different translation in Tibetan. See i.­10 and i.­8.
b.

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