The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines
Chapter 42
Toh 9
Degé Kangyur, vol. 26 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka), folios 1.b–382.a; vol. 27 (shes phyin, nyi khri, kha), folios 1.b–393.a; and vol. 28 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ga), folios 1.b–381.a
Imprint
![84000 logo](https://cached-fe.84000.co/imgs/logo.png)
Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2023
Current version v 1.1.12 (2024)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.23.4
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
![Logo for the license](https://i.creativecommons.org/l/by-nc-nd/2.0/88x31.png)
This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license.
Table of Contents
Summary
The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines is among the most important scriptures underlying both the “vast” and the “profound” approaches to Buddhist thought and practice. Known as the “middle-length” version, being the second longest of the three long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, it fills three volumes of the Kangyur. Like the two other long sūtras, it records the major teaching on the perfection of wisdom given by the Buddha Śākyamuni on Vulture Peak, detailing all aspects of the path to enlightenment while at the same time emphasizing how bodhisattvas must put them into practice without taking them—or any aspects of enlightenment itself—as having even the slightest true existence.
Acknowledgements
Translation by the Padmakara Translation Group. A complete draft by Gyurme Dorje was first edited by Charles Hastings, then revised and further edited by John Canti. The introduction was written by John Canti. We are grateful for the advice and help received from Gareth Sparham, Greg Seton, and Nathaniel Rich.
This translation is dedicated to the memory of our late colleague, long-time friend, and vajra brother Gyurme Dorje (1950–2020), who worked assiduously on this translation in his final years and into the very last months of his life. We would also like to express our gratitude to his wife, Xiaohong, for the extraordinary support she gave him on so many levels.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Kris Yao and Xiang-Jen Yao, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Text Body
Chapter 42
Then the venerable Śāradvatīputra asked the venerable Subhūti, “Venerable Subhūti, when certain bodhisattva great beings are absorbed in the three meditative stabilities of emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness in their dreams, are they enhanced by the perfection of wisdom?” [F.385.b]
“Venerable Śāradvatīputra,” replied Subhūti, “if they are enhanced by cultivating it during the day, they would also be enhanced by cultivating it in their dreams. If you ask why, Venerable Śāradvatīputra, they are without discriminating thoughts concerning dreams and daytime experiences. Venerable Śāradvatīputra, if {Ki.IV: 179} bodhisattva great beings who practice the perfection of wisdom during the day do cultivate the perfection of wisdom, then bodhisattva great beings will also cultivate the perfection of wisdom in their dreams.”
“Venerable Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings perform an action in their dreams, will that action accumulate or diminish? If, as the Blessed One has said, all phenomena are like dreams, then there would be no accumulation or diminution. If you ask why, there is no accumulation or diminution of anything at all that is apprehended in dreams. But if, on waking up, one ponders it, then there will indeed be an accumulation or diminution of that [action].”
Subhūti replied, “If one who has committed an act of killing by day and one who has committed an act of killing in a dream were to think, ‘I have killed. It is right that I have killed,’ in that case, Venerable Śāradvatīputra, what would you say about that action?”
“Venerable Subhūti, no action will occur without an objective support. No volition will occur without an objective support.”
“Venerable Śāradvatīputra, it is so!” replied Subhūti. “No action will occur without an objective support. No volition will occur without an objective support. Actions will occur with an objective support, but not without an objective support. Volition will occur with an objective support, but not without an objective support. The mind engages with phenomena that are seen, heard, thought of, and appraised. [F.386.a] The mind does not engage with phenomena that are unseen, unheard, not thought of, and not appraised. On that basis some minds grasp afflicted mental states, and some minds grasp purified mental states. Therefore, Venerable Śāradvatīputra, actions occur with an objective support, but not without an objective support. Volition occurs with an objective support, but not without an objective support.”
“Venerable Subhūti, if, as the Blessed One has said, all actions and all volitions are void, how then do actions occur with an objective support, but not without an objective support? How do volitions occur with an objective support, but not without an objective support?”
“Venerable Śāradvatīputra,” replied Subhūti, “following the creation of a conceptual image, actions occur with an objective support, but do not without an objective support. Volitions occur with an objective support, but not without an objective support.”
“Venerable Subhūti, if bodhisattva great beings in their dreams have dispensed generosity, maintained ethical discipline, practiced tolerance, undertaken perseverance, become absorbed in meditative concentration, {Ki.IV: 180} and cultivated wisdom, and then they dedicate those roots of virtuous action to unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, would they actually dedicate them to unsurpassed, complete enlightenment?”
“Venerable Śāradvatīputra,” replied Subhūti, “since the bodhisattva great being Maitreya is destined for only one more rebirth and has been manifestly prophesied by the Blessed One as irreversible, you should ask him, and he will answer this point.”
Thereupon the venerable Śāradvatīputra [F.386.b] asked the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, “Noble son, this elder Subhūti has said, ‘The bodhisattva great being Maitreya has been manifestly prophesied by the Blessed One as irreversible because he is destined for only one more rebirth. You should ask him, and he will answer this point!’ ”
The bodhisattva great being Maitreya then said to the venerable Śāradvatīputra, “Will this one named the bodhisattva great being Maitreya answer? Or will physical forms answer? Or will feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness answer? Or else will the emptiness of physical forms answer? Will the emptiness of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness answer? Or else will the real nature of physical forms answer? Will the real nature of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness answer? The emptiness of physical forms and the emptiness of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness has no ability to answer. The real nature of physical forms and the real nature of feelings, perceptions, formative predispositions, and consciousness has no ability to answer. I do not observe anything that would answer, by which an answer is given,468 or with respect to which an answer is given. I do not observe anything that is prophesied to attain unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, anything by which that is prophesied, or anything with respect to which that is prophesied. [F.387.a] All these phenomena are not two things and are not to be divided into two.”
Śāradvatīputra then asked, “Have you realized those phenomena, just as you have explained them?”
“I have not realized those phenomena, just as I have explained them,” replied Maitreya.
Then the venerable Śāradvatīputra thought, “This bodhisattva great being Maitreya is endowed with profound wisdom. He has indeed revealed this, having over a long period of time practiced the perfection of generosity, and practiced the perfection of ethical discipline, the perfection of tolerance, the perfection of perseverance, the perfection of meditative concentration, and the perfection of wisdom. He has revealed this, having practiced without apprehending anything.” {Ki.IV: 181}
Then the Blessed One asked the venerable Śāradvatīputra, “Śāradvatīputra, do you think you can observe anything by which you are declared to be an arhat?”
“No, Blessed Lord!”
“Śāradvatīputra, so it is!” said the Blessed One. “Bodhisattva great beings who practice the perfection of wisdom do not think, ‘This is the thing that is prophesied. This is the thing that will be prophesied. This is the thing that has been prophesied. This is the thing that will attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.’ Bodhisattva great beings who practice in that manner practice the perfection of wisdom. Hesitation will not arise in them. They will not think that they themselves will not attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Rather, they will think that they themselves will undoubtedly attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. [F.387.b] Śāradvatīputra, those who practice in that manner practice the perfection of wisdom. Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva great beings who practice in that manner will not fear, they will not be afraid, and they will not be terrified. They will not think that they themselves will not attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment. Rather, they will think that they themselves will undoubtedly attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.”
The venerable Subhūti then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed Lord, how do bodhisattva great beings complete the six perfections and also approach all-aspect omniscience?”
The Blessed One replied to the venerable Subhūti as follows: “In this regard, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of generosity, if they see beings who are hungry, or if they see beings who are thirsty, with poor clothing, or lacking food, clothing, and bedding, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, all these faults of beings will in each and every way not occur and they will be impossible. I will practice the perfection of generosity in that manner until the resources and felicity of that buddhafield resemble the resources and felicity of the gods of the Caturmahārājakāyika realm, and the gods of the Trayastriṃśa, Yāma, Tuṣita, Nirmāṇarata, and Paranirmitavaśavartin realms.’ Subhūti, [F.388.a] bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the perfection of generosity. They will also approach unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of ethical discipline, if they see persons who kill living creatures; those who steal, commit sexual misconduct, tell lies, speak slanderously, and speak words that are harsh and words that are nonsensical; those who have thoughts of desire, thoughts of malice, {Ki.IV: 182} and hold wrong views—or if they see those who are short-lived, having many illnesses, of poor complexion, with little strength, with few resources, and of low status, or beings with disabled limbs—they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, all these faults of beings will in each and every way not occur and they will be impossible. I will practice the perfection of ethical discipline in that manner until all beings are established in the way of the ten virtuous actions.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the perfection of ethical discipline. They will also approach unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of tolerance, if they see beings acting maliciously toward one another, striking and hitting out with clods of earth, with clubs and swords, depriving others of their lives, they should reflect, [F.388.b] ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, all these faults of beings will in each and every way not occur and they will be impossible. I will practice the perfection of tolerance until all beings think of all other beings as their mother, think of them as their father, think of them as their brother, think of them as their sister, think of them with loving kindness, and think of them with altruism.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the perfection of tolerance. They will also approach unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of perseverance, if they see beings who are languid and indolent, and who have turned against the three vehicles, namely, the vehicle of the śrāvakas, the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas, and the vehicle of the buddhas, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, all these faults of beings will in each and every way not occur and they will be impossible. All beings will indeed undertake resolute perseverance and attain final nirvāṇa through the three vehicles.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the perfection of perseverance. They will also approach unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Moreover, Subhūti, [F.389.a] when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of meditative concentration, if they see beings who are clouded by the five obscurations, namely, craving for sensual pleasures, malice, dullness and sleep, agitation and regret, and doubt, {Ki.IV: 183} or see them lacking the first meditative concentration; see them lacking the second, third, and fourth meditative concentrations; see them lacking loving kindness; see them lacking compassion, empathetic joy, and equanimity; see them lacking absorption in the sphere of infinite space; and see them lacking absorption in the sphere of infinite consciousness, absorption in the sphere of nothing-at-all, and absorption in the sphere of neither perception nor nonperception, then they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, all these faults of beings will in each and every way not occur and they will be impossible. I will practice the perfection of meditative concentration until all beings attain the four meditative concentrations, the four immeasurable attitudes, and the four formless absorptions. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the perfection of meditative concentration. They will also approach unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the perfection of wisdom, if they see beings immersed in stupidity, [F.389.b] who lack genuine views, whether mundane or supramundane, who propound inaction, who propound nonexistence, who propound nihilism, or who propound eternalism to beings, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, all these faults of beings will in each and every way not occur and they will be impossible. I will practice the perfection of wisdom until all beings have abandoned all such aspects of false view and dwell in the perfection of wisdom. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the perfection of wisdom. They will also approach unsurpassed, complete enlightenment.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings belonging to the three categories—of certain receptivity, of unpredictable receptivity, and of certain nonreceptivity—they should then reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until, at the least, not even the words beings of certain nonreceptivity will be heard any longer and it will not be possible for beings to belong to that category. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ [F.390.a] Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings who have been born in the hells, or if they see beings in the animal realm, or beings in the world of Yama, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until, at the least, not even the words the three inferior realms will be heard any longer, and it will not be possible for beings to be born in them. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity! {Ki.IV: 184} Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see that this earth is scarred with tree stumps, thorn bushes, jungle ravines, precipices, sewage, and cesspits, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, all these faults of beings will in each and every way not occur and they will be impossible. [F.390.b] I will practice the six perfections until this buddhafield is level like the palm of a hand. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see that this great earth is made of clay, and lacking in gold and silver, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until this great earth is fashioned of blue beryl, and strewn with sands of gold. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings indulging in acquisitiveness, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, beings will not indulge in acquisitiveness. [F.391.a] That will be impossible. I will practice the six perfections until all beings are without possessiveness and without acquisitiveness. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see the four social classes, namely, the royal class, the priestly class, the merchant class, and the laboring class, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until, at the very least, even the names of the four social classes are no longer heard. That will be impossible. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience. {Ki.IV: 185}
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings of higher, average, and lower status, and if they see beings of upper classes and lower classes, [F.391.b] they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until these faults of beings no longer occur and are impossible. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings of different color, they should reflect, “In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until beings can no longer be distinguished by their color, and that to so distinguish them is impossible. Rather, all beings will acquire a fine and splendid physique, beautiful to behold, and the finest of complexions. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings with feudal masters, they should reflect, [F.392.a] ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until even the designation feudal master is no longer heard and to have such positions will be impossible. Rather, the kings of the Dharma—tathāgatas, arhats, completely awakened buddhas—will be present. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see the different pathways of beings, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, the different pathways of beings—the god realms, the human realm, the realms of the denizens of the hells, the animal realm, and the world of Yama—will be nonexistent, and to follow them will be impossible. In their place, all beings will follow a single pathway. {Ki.IV: 186} I will practice the six perfections until they are not separated from the applications of mindfulness, the correct exertions, the supports for miraculous ability, the faculties, the powers, the branches of enlightenment, the noble eightfold path, the truths of the noble ones, the meditative concentrations, the immeasurable attitudes, the formless absorptions, the aspects of liberation, the serial steps of meditative absorption, emptiness, signlessness, wishlessness, the extrasensory powers, the meditative stabilities, [F.392.b] the dhāraṇī gateways, the ten powers of the tathāgatas, the fearlessnesses, the kinds of exact knowledge, great loving kindness, great compassion, and the eighteen distinct qualities of the buddhas. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see the four distinct modes of birth of beings, namely oviparous birth, viviparous birth, birth from heat and moisture, and miraculous birth, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until the three [lower] modes of birth [of beings]—oviparous birth, viviparous birth, and birth from heat and moisture—do not occur, and would be impossible. In their place, all beings will be born miraculously. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings lacking the five extrasensory powers, they should reflect, [F.393.a] ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until all beings are endowed with the five extrasensory powers. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see the excrement and urine of beings, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until all beings partake of the nourishment of the Dharma, the nourishment of delight, and the nourishment of meditative concentration. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience. [V28] [B53] [F.1.b]
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings bereft of luminosity, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, {Ki.IV: 187} I will practice the six perfections until luminosity absolutely emerges from all beings themselves. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings [F.2.a] practice the six perfections, if they see among beings the temporal divisions of day, night, month, fortnight,469 season, and year, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until even the words for the temporal divisions of day, night, month, fortnight, season, and year, as employed by beings, are unknown and no longer exist. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings bereft of long life, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until all beings possess an inestimable lifespan. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly [F.2.b] will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings bereft of the major marks, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until all beings possess the thirty-two major marks of a great person. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings bereft of the roots of virtuous action, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until all beings possess the roots of virtuous action, and honor the lord buddhas with the roots of their virtuous actions. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience. {Ki.IV: 188} [F.3.a]
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings afflicted by disease, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until beings are free from the four kinds of disease, namely wind disorders, bile disorders, phlegm disorders, and combined humoral disorders. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see beings smitten by the three afflicted mental states, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until for all beings the afflicted mental states of desire, hatred, and delusion no longer arise, and all beings are indeed bereft of desire, hatred, and delusion. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings [F.3.b] practice the six perfections, if they see beings of inferior resolve, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until even the words for the two [lower] vehicles—the vehicle of the śrāvakas and the vehicle of the pratyekabuddhas—are no longer heard, and until all beings indeed have set out for all-aspect omniscience. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, if they see conceited beings, they should reflect, ‘In this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until even the word conceited is no longer heard, and, apart from that, until all beings indeed understand genuine reality and are without conceit. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ {Ki.IV: 189} Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, they should reflect, [F.4.a] ‘In this buddhafield where I attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will not attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment merely with a limited lifespan, a limited luminosity, and a limited community of monks, but in this buddhafield where I will have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, I will practice the six perfections until I have an immeasurable lifespan, an immeasurable luminosity, and an immeasurable community of monks. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, they should reflect, ‘I will not attain consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment merely by transforming a few worlds into my buddhafield, but when I have by all means attained consummate buddhahood in unsurpassed, complete enlightenment, as many worlds as there are, numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, will become one with my buddhafield. I will refine the buddhafields! I will bring beings to maturity!’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.
“Moreover, Subhūti, [F.4.b] when bodhisattva great beings practice the six perfections, they should reflect, ‘Alas! This cyclic existence is long-lasting. Alas! This world of beings is infinite.’ They should be focus their attention correctly, saying, ‘Alas! This cyclic existence is limitless like space. Alas! This world of beings is limitless like space. But in it there is no cyclic existence, nor is there nirvāṇa. Rather, terms such as being, cyclic existence, and nirvāṇa are merely conventional designations.’ Subhūti, bodhisattva great beings who practice accordingly will indeed complete the six perfections. They will also approach all-aspect omniscience.”
This completes the forty-second chapter from “The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines.”
Colophon
It is said in the original Jangpa manuscript:
This [Tibetan translation of] The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines has been edited twice on the basis of the original “gold manuscript,” which had been [commissioned as] a commitment of the spiritual mentor Nyanggom Chobar, and it has also been edited on the basis of the manuscript kept at Yerpa. Since it is extant, scribes of posterity should copy [the text] according to this version alone.
In the [recast] version of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines [Toh 3790] that was edited by master Haribhadra, and in some [other] manuscripts, the text ends with the seventy-first chapter entitled “Unchanging Reality.” In certain [other] manuscripts, including the original (phyi mo) [Toh 9], there are seventy-six chapters, with [F.380.b] the addition of the [seventy-second] chapter entitled “Distinctions in the Training of a Bodhisattva,” the [seventy-third] chapter entitled “The Attainment of the Manifold Gateways of Meditative Stability by the Bodhisattva Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fourth] chapter entitled “Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fifth] chapter entitled “Dharmodgata,” and the [seventy-sixth] chapter entitled “Entrustment.” This accords with earlier accounts and the authentic records of teachings received. Insofar as there are distinctions in the translation of these five later chapters, I have seen a few manuscripts where the terminology is slightly dissimilar, although there are no differences in meaning.
In general, throughout the present text there are all sorts of unique allusions and variations in the elaboration of the points that are expressed. In particular, in the chapter entitled “The Introductory Narrative,” there are some passages where the text corresponds to The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.
At the time when the carving of the xylographs of this very text, along with those of the Multitude of the Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka), was completed, in the presence of King Tenpa Tsering, the ruler of Degé, the beggar monk Tashi Wangchuk composed these verses at Sharkha Dzongsar Palace, where the wood-carving workshop was based. May they be victorious!
ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetun teṣāṃ tathāgato bhavat āha teṣāṃ ca yo nirodho evaṃ vādī mahāśramaṇaḥ [ye svāhā]
“Whatever events arise from causes, the Tathāgata has told of their causes, and the great ascetic has also taught their cessation.”
Bibliography
Primary Sources in Tibetan and Sanskrit
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Toh 9, Degé Kangyur vols. 26–28 (shes phyin, nyi khri, ka–a), folios ka.1.b–ga.381.a.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines, Toh 9]. 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, vols. 26–28.
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit text based on the edition by Takayasu Kimura. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin 2007–9 (1–1, 1–2), 1986 (2–3), 1990 (4), 1992 (5), 2006 (6–8). Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL). Page references: {Ki.}
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Dutt, Nalinaksha. Calcutta Oriental Series 28. London: Luzac, 1934. Reprint edition, Sri Satguru Publications, 1986. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL). Page references: {Dt.nn}
Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit text based on the edition by P. L. Vaidya, in Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, vol. 4. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute, 1960. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL). Page references (for chapters 73–75): {Va.nn}
Secondary References in Tibetan and Sanskrit
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines, the “eight-chapter” (le’u brgyad ma) Tengyur version]. Toh 3790, Degé Tengyur vols. 82–84 (shes phyin, ga–ca), folios ga.1.b–ca.342.a.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines]. Toh 8, Degé Kangyur vols. 14–25 (shes phyin, ’bum, ka–a).
Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit text of the Anurādhapura fragment, based on the edition by Oskar von Hinüber, “Sieben Goldblätter einer Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā aus Anurādhapura,” in Nachrichten der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Phil.-Hist.Kl. 1983, pp. 189–207. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Śatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā [The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines]. Sanskrit texts based on Ghoṣa, Pratāpacandra, Çatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā: A Theological and Philosophical Discourse of Buddha With His Disciples in A Hundred Thousand Stanzas. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1902–14 (chapters 1–12); and on Kimura, Takayasu, Śatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā, II/1–4, 4 vols. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 2009–14. Available as e-texts, Part I and Part II, on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
The Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Sanskrit edition (mostly according to the Gilgit manuscript GBM 175–675, fols. 1–27) from Zacchetti, Stefano (2005). In Praise of the Light: A Critical Synoptic Edition with an Annotated Translation of Chapters 1-3 of Dharmarakṣa’s Guang zan jing, Being the Earliest Chinese Translation of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica, Vol. 8. The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology. Tokyo: Soka University, 2005. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
The Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Sanskrit edition (Gilgit manuscript fols. 202.a.5-205.a.12, GBM 571.5–577.12) from Yoke Meei Choong, Zum Problem der Leerheit (śūnyatā) in der Prajñāpāramitā, Frankfurt: Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe 27, Bd. 97, 2006, pp. 109–33. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Daṃṣṭrasena. shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa ’bum pa rgya cher ’grel pa (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā) [“An Extensive Commentary on The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines”], Toh 3807, Degé Tengyur vols. 91–92. Also in Tengyur Pedurma (TPD) (bstan ’gyur [dpe bsdur ma]), [Comparative Edition of the Tengyur], 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). 120 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 1994–2008, vol. 54 (TPD 54) pp. 627–1439 and vol. 55 pp. 2–550.
Denkarma (ldan dkar ma; pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Butön (bu ston rin chen grub). bde bar gshegs pa’i bstan pa’i gsal byed chos kyi ’byung gnas gsung rab rin po che’i mdzod. In gsung ’bum/_rin chen grub/ zhol par ma/ ldi lir bskyar par brgyab pa/ [The Collected Works of Bu-ston: Edited by Lokesh Chandra from the Collections of Raghu Vira], vol. 24, pp. 633–1056. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–71.
Jamgön Kongtrül (’jam mgon kong sprul). shes bya kun khyab mdzod [“The Treasury of Knowledge”]. Root verses contained in three-volume publication. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1982; Boudhnath: Padma Karpo Translation Committee edition, 2000 (photographic reproduction of the original four-volume Palpung xylograph, 1844). Translated, along with the auto-commentary, by the Kalu Rinpoche Translation Group in The Treasury of Knowledge series (TOK). Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 1995 to 2012. Mentioned here are Ngawang Zangpo 2010 (Books 2, 3, and 4) and Dorje 2012 (Book 6, Parts 1–2).
Nordrang Orgyan (nor brang o rgyan). chos rnam kun btus. 3 vols. Beijing: Krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang, 2008.
Tsongkhapa (tsong kha pa blo bzang grags pa). byang chub sems dpa’ sems dpa’ chen po rtagtu ngu’i rtogs pa brjod pa’i snyan dngags dpag bsam gyi ljong pa [“An Avadāna of the Bodhisattva-Mahāsattva Sadāprarudita”], in Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur vol. 34, folios 523.b–555.b (pp. 1046–1110). The same text is also to be found in Tsongkhapa’s Collected Works: gsung ’bum tsong kha pa (bkras lhun par rnying ldi lir bskyar par brgyab pa), vol. 3, Ngawang Gelek Demo, 1975, pp. 242–96.
Zhang Yisun et al. bod rgya tshig mdzod chen mo. 3 vols. Subsequently reprinted in 2 vols. and 1 vol. Beijing: Mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 1985. Translated in Nyima and Dorje 2001 (vol. 1).
Secondary References in English and Other Languages
Bhattacharya, B. [Illustrations of the Indikutasaya Copper Plaques], in Bulletin of the Baroda State Museum and Picture Gallery, I 1. Baroda: 1943-4.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu, trans. The Sūtra on the All-Embracing Net of Views. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1978.
Bongard-Levin, G.M., and Shin’ichirō Hori. “A Fragment of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā from Central Asia.” Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 19, no. 1 (1996): 19-60.
Boucher, Daniel. “Dharmarakṣa and the Transmission of Buddhism to China.” Asia Major (Academia Sinica) no. 1/2, (2006): 13–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/41649912.
Burchardi, Anne, trans. The Teaching on the Great Compassion of the Tathāgata (Tathāgatamahākaruṇānirdeśa, Toh 147). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Brunnhölzl, Karl. Gone Beyond: The Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras, The Ornament of Clear Realization, and its Commentaries in the Tibetan Kagyü Tradition. 2 vols. Ithaca: Snow Lion, 2010 and 2011.
Chimpa, Lama and Alaka Chattopadhyaya, trans. Tāranātha’s History of Buddhism in India. Atlantic Highlands: Humanities Press, 1980.
Choong, Yoke Meei. Zum Problem der Leerheit (śūnyatā) in der Prajñāpāramitā. Frankfurt: Europäische Hochschulschriften, Reihe 27, Bd. 97, 2006, pp. 109–33.
Conze, Edward (1962). The Gilgit Manuscript of the Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā: Chapters 50 to 55 corresponding to the 5th Abhisamaya. SOR 26. Rome: ISMEO, 1962.
———, trans. (1973). The Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Lines and Its Verse Summary. Bolinas, CA: Four Seasons Foundation, 1973.
——— (1974). The Gilgit Manuscript of the Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikā-prajñāpāramitā: Chapters 70 to 82 corresponding to the 6th, 7th, and 8th Abhisamayas. SOR 46. Rome: ISMEO, 1974.
——— (1975). The Large Sūtra on Perfect Wisdom: With the Divisions of the Abhisamayālaṅkāra. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1975.
——— (1978). The Prajñāpāramitā Literature (Second edition). Tokyo: The Reiyukai, 1978.
Davidson, Ronald. “Studies in Dhāraṇī Literature I: Revisiting the Meaning of the Term Dhāraṇī.” Journal of Indian Philosophy 37, no. 2 (April 2009): 97–147.
Dayal, Har. The Bodhisattva Doctrine in Buddhist Sanskrit Literature. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1932. Reprinted Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1970.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2013). The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
——— (2019a). The Jewel Cloud (Ratnamegha, Toh 231). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
——— (2019b). The Precious Discourse on the Blessed One’s Extensive Wisdom That Leads to Infinite Certainty (Niṣṭhāgatabhagavajjñānavaipulyasūtraratnānanta, Toh 99). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
——— (2022). The Heart of the Perfection of Wisdom, the Blessed Mother (Bhagavatīprajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, Toh 21). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
Dorje, Gyurme, trans., (1987). “The Guhyagarbhatantra and its XIVth Century Tibetan Commentary Phyogs bcu mun sel.” 3 vols. PhD diss. University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies, 1987.
———, trans. (2012). Indo-Tibetan Classical Learning and Buddhist Phenomenology. Book 6, Parts 1–2 of Jamgön Kongtrul, The Treasury of Knowledge. Boston: Snow Lion, 2012.
Dudjom Rinpoche. The Nyingma School of Tibetan Buddhism: Its Fundamentals and History. 2 vols. Translated by Gyurme Dorje with Matthew Kapstein. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 1991.
Dutt, Nalinaksha. Pañcaviṃśati-sāhasrikā Prajñā-pāramitā. Calcutta Oriental Series 28. London: Luzac, 1934. Reprinted Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1986.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.
Falk, Harry. “The ‘Split’ Collection of Kharoṣṭhī texts.” ARIRIAB 14 (2011): 13–23.
Falk, Harry, and Seishi Karashima (2012). “A first‐century Prajñāpāramitā manuscript from Gandhāra – parivarta 1 (Texts from the Split Collection 1).” ARIRIAB 15 (2012): 19–61.
——— (2013). “A first‐century Prajñāpāramitā manuscript from Gandhāra – parivarta 5 (Texts from the Split Collection 2).” ARIRIAB 16 (2013): 97–169.
Ghoṣa, Pratāpacandra, ed. Çatasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā: A Theological and Philosophical Discourse of Buddha With His Disciples in A Hundred Thousand Stanzas. Calcutta: Asiatic Society of Bengal, 1902–14. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die Lhan Kar Ma: Ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte, Kritische Neuausgabe mit Einleitung und Materialien. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Hikata, Ryusho. Suvikrāntavikrāmi-paripṛcchā-Prajñāpāramitā-sūtra: Edited with an Introductory Essay. Fukuoka, 1958.
Hinüber, O. von. (1983) “Sieben Goldblätter einer Pañca-viṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā aus Anurādhapura.” NAWG 7 (1983): 189–207.
——— (2014). “The Gilgit Manuscripts: An Ancient Library in Modern Research.” In From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances in Buddhist Manuscript Research, edited by P. Harrison & J. Hartmann, 79–135. Vienna: 2014.
Kimura, Takayasu, ed. Śatasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā, II/1–4, 4 vols. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 2009 (II-1), 2010 (II-2, II-3), 2014 (II-4). Available as e-text (see links) on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
———, ed. Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñā-pāramitā, I–VIII, 6 vols. Tokyo: Sankibo Busshorin, 2007–9 (1-1, 1-2), 1986 (2-3), 1990 (4), 1992 (5), 2006 (6-8). Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Kloetzli, Randy. Buddhist Cosmology. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983.
Konow, Sten. The First Two Chapters of the Daśasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā: Restoration of the Sanskrit Text, Analysis and Index. Oslo: I Kommisjon Hos Jacob Dybwad, 1941.
Lamotte, Etienne (1998). Śūraṃgamasamādhisūtra: The Concentration of Heroic Progress, An Early Mahāyāna Buddhist Scripture. English translation by Sara Boin-Webb. London: Curzon Press.
——— (2001). The Treatise on the Great Virtue of Wisdom of Nāgārjuna (Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra). English translation by Gelongma Karma Migme Chodron. Unpublished electronic text, 2001.
Lethcoe, Nancy R., “Some Notes on the Relationship between the Abhisamayālaṅkāra, the Revised Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā and the Chinese Translations of the Unrevised Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā.” JAOS 96/4 (1976): 499–511.
Lopez, Donald S. The Heart Sūtra Explained: Indian and Tibetan Commentaries. Albany: SUNY, 1988.
Martini, Giuliana (a.k.a. Dhammadinnā). “Bodhisattva Texts, Ideologies and Rituals in Khotan in the Fifth and Sixth Centuries.” In Buddhism Among the Iranian Peoples of Central Asia, vol. 1 of Multilingualism and History of Knowledge, edited by Matteo de Chiara, Matteo, Mauro Maggi, and Giuliana Martini. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2013.
Ñāṇamoli, Bhikkhu, trans. The Path of Purification by Buddhaghosa. Kandy: Buddhist Publication Society, 1979.
Negi, J.S., ed. Tibetan Sanskrit Dictionary (bod skad dang legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). 16 vols. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993–2005.
Ngawang Zangpo, trans. Jamgön Kongtrul, The Treasury of Knowledge (Books Two, Three, and Four): Buddhism’s Journey to Tibet. Ithaca, NY: Snow Lion Publications, 2010.
Nyima, Tudeng and Gyurme Dorje, trans. An Encyclopaedic Tibetan-English Dictionary. Vol. 1. Beijing and London: Nationalities Publishing House and SOAS, 2001.
Obermiller, E. Prajñapāramitā in Tibetan Buddhism. Delhi: Book Faith India (reprint), 1999.
Padmakara Translation Group, trans. The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 11). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
Pagel, Ulrich “The Dhāraṇīs of Mahāvyutpatti # 748: Origins and Formation,” in Buddhist Studies Review 24 no. 2 (2007), 151–91.
Patrul Rinpoche. Kunzang Lama’i Shelung: The Words of My Perfect Teacher. Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Revised second edition, 1998. London: International Sacred Literature Trust and Sage Altamira, 1994–98.
Paranavitana, S. “Indikaṭusāya Copper Plaques.” EZ 3 (1933): 199–212.
Rhys Davids, Caroline A.F. Psalms of the Early Buddhists: II Psalms of the Brethren. London: Pali Text Society, 1913. See Internet Archive.
Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans. The Sūtra on Reliance upon a Virtuous Spiritual Friend (Kalyāṇamitrasevanasūtra, Toh 300). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2011.
Salomon, Richard (2014). “Gāndhārī Manuscripts in the British Library, Schøyen and Other Collections.” In From Birch Bark to Digital Data: Recent Advances In Buddhist Manuscript Research, Edited by Paul Harrison and Jens-Uwe Hartmann. Vienna: Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften.
——— (2018). The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra: An Introduction with Selected Translations. Somerville, MA: Wisdom Publications.
Skilling, Peter, Prapod Assavavirulhakarn, Saerji: “Schøyen MS 2381/241 + 2382/uf18/2d + 2381/186: A (possible) Sanskrit parallel to the Pali Uruvela-sutta.” In Buddhist Manuscripts in the Schoyen Collection, Vol. IV, edited by Jens Braarvig and Jens-Uwe Hartmann. Oslo: Hermes Academic Publishing, 2013.
Sparham, Gareth, trans. (2006–2012). Abhisamayālaṃkāra with vṛtti and ālokā / vṛtti by Ārya Vimuktisena; ālokā by Haribhadra. 4 vols. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing.
———, trans. (2022a). The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 10). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
———, trans. (2022b). The Long Explanation of the Noble Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand, Twenty-Five Thousand, and Eighteen Thousand Lines (*Āryaśatasāhasrikāpañcaviṃśatisāhasrikāṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitābṛhaṭṭīkā, Toh 3808). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
———, trans. (2024). The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines (Śatasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 8). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Stein, Lisa, and Ngawang Zangpo, trans. Butön’s History of Buddhism: In India and its Spread to Tibet, A Treasury of Priceless Scripture. Boston: Snow Lion, 2013.
Suzuki Kenta & Nagashima Jundo. “The Dunhuang Manuscript of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā.” In Buddhist Manuscripts from Central Asia: The British Library Sanskrit Fragments, vol. III/2, edited by S. Karashima, J. Nagashima & K. Wille: 593–821. Tokyo, 2015.
Vaidya, P.L. “Aṣṭasāhasrikā prajñāpāramitā.” In Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, vol. 4. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1960. Available as e-text on Göttingen Register of Electronic Texts in Indian Languages (GRETIL).
Watanabe Shōgo, “A Comparative Study of the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā.” JAOS 114/3 (1994): 386–96.
Zacchetti, Stefano (2005). In Praise of the Light: A Critical Synoptic Edition with an Annotated Translation of Chapters 1-3 of Dharmarakṣa’s Guang zan jing, Being the Earliest Chinese Translation of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā. Bibliotheca Philologica et Philosophica Buddhica, Vol. 8. The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology. Tokyo: Soka University.
——— (2015). “Prajñāpāramitā Sūtras.” In Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, vol. 1, edited by Jonathan Silk. Leiden: Brill.
——— (2021). The Da zhidu lun 大智度論 (*Mahāprajñāpāramitopadeśa) and the History of the Larger Prajñāpāramitā: Patterns of Textual Variation in Mahāyāna Sūtra Literature. Numata Center for Buddhist Studies: Hamburg Buddhist Studies 14, edited by Michael Radich and Jonathan Silk. Bochum / Freiburg: Projekt Verlag, 2021.
Zürcher, Erik. The Buddhist Conquest of China: The Spread and Adaptation of Buddhism in Medieval China, 3rd ed. [1st ed. 1959] with a foreword by S. F. Teiser. Leiden: Brill (Sinica Leidensia 11), 2007.