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རྒྱ་ཆེར་རོལ་པ།

The Play in Full

Lalitavistara

འཕགས་པ་རྒྱ་ཆེར་རོལ་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ།

’phags pa rgya cher rol pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Play in Full”

Āryalalitavistaranāmamahāyānasūtra

Toh 95

Degé Kangyur, vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1.b–216.b

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2013
Current version v 4.48.12 (2023)
Generated by 84000 Reading Room v2.18.4.1

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.

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.

co.

Summary

s.1

The Play in Full tells the story of how the Buddha manifested in this world and attained awakening, as perceived from the perspective of the Great Vehicle. The sūtra, which is structured in twenty-seven chapters, first presents the events surrounding the Buddha’s birth, childhood, and adolescence in the royal palace of his father, king of the Śākya nation. It then recounts his escape from the palace and the years of hardship he faced in his quest for spiritual awakening. Finally the sūtra reveals his complete victory over the demon Māra, his attainment of awakening under the Bodhi tree, his first turning of the wheel of Dharma, and the formation of the very early saṅgha.

ac.

Acknowledgments

ac.1

This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche.

Cortland Dahl, Catherine Dalton, Hilary Herdman, Heidi Koppl, James Gentry, and Andreas Doctor translated the text from Tibetan into English. Andreas Doctor and Wiesiek Mical then compared the translations against the original Tibetan and Sanskrit, respectively. Finally, Andreas Doctor edited the translation and wrote the introduction.

The Dharmachakra Translation Committee would like to thank Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche for blessing this project, and Khenpo Sherap Sangpo for his generous assistance with the resolution of several difficult passages.

This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

ac.2

The generous sponsorship of 簡源震及家人江秀敏，簡暐如，簡暐丞 Chien YuanChen (Dharma Das) and his wife, daughter, and son for work on this sūtra is gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

i.1

The Play in Full (Lalitavistara) is without a doubt one of the most important sūtras within Buddhist Mahāyāna literature. With parts of the text dating from the earliest days of the Buddhist tradition, this story of the Buddha’s awakening has captivated the minds of devotees, both ordained and lay, as far back as the beginning of the common era.

i.2

In brief, The Play in Full tells the story of how the Buddha manifested in this world and attained awakening. The sūtra, which is structured in twenty-seven chapters, begins with the Buddha being requested to teach the sūtra by several gods, as well as the thousands of bodhisattvas and hearers in his retinue. The gods summarize the sūtra in this manner (chap. 1):

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Play in Full

Chapter 2

The Inspiration

2.1

Now, monks, what is this extensive discourse on the Dharma known as The Play in Full?

Monks, the Bodhisattva dwelt in the supreme realm of the Heaven of Joy, where he was honored by offerings, received consecration, and was praised and revered by one hundred thousand gods. [8] He had achieved his goal and was elevated by his former aspirations. His intelligence was such that he had attained the entire range of the Buddhadharma. Indeed his eye of wisdom was at once both vast and utterly pure. Radiating with mindfulness, intelligence, realization, modesty, and joyfulness, his mind was extremely powerful. He had mastered the perfections of generosity, discipline, patience, diligence, mental stability, knowledge, and skillful means, and was adept in the fourfold path of Brahmā: great love, great compassion, great joy, and great equanimity. With great awareness, he was free of obscurations and had manifested the vision of wisdom free from attachment. Likewise he had perfected each and every quality of awakening: the applications of mindfulness, the thorough relinquishments, the bases of miraculous power, [F.6.a] the faculties, the powers, the branches of awakening, and the path.

Chapter 3

The Purity of the Family

3.1

Monks, in this way the Bodhisattva was exhorted that the time for the Dharma had come. Emerging from that great celestial palace, [F.9.b] the Bodhisattva went to the great Dharmoccaya Palace, where he taught the Dharma to the gods in the Heaven of Joy. In the palace, he seated himself upon a lion throne known as Sublime Dharma. He was joined in the palace by a group of gods whose good fortune equaled that of the Bodhisattva, and who had entered the same vehicle. Bodhisattvas with similar conduct to the Bodhisattva gathered from throughout the ten directions. Retinues with equally pure intentions accompanied the gods, without the assembly of divine maidens and even without ordinary gods. Altogether a retinue of 680 million entered the palace, each sitting on a lion throne according to rank.

Chapter 4

The Gateways to the Light of the Dharma

4.1

Monks, while the Bodhisattva was seeing the family of his birth, he dwelt in the Heaven of Joy in Uccadhvaja, a great celestial palace measuring sixty-four leagues around, where he taught the Dharma to the gods of the Heaven of Joy. The Bodhisattva had come to this great celestial palace where he now addressed all the gods of the Heaven of Joy. “Come, gather here,” he said. “Come listen to the Bodhisattva’s final teaching on the Dharma, a recollection of the Dharma entitled ‘The Application of Passing.’ ” [30]

Chapter 5

Setting Out

5.1

Monks, in that way the Bodhisattva taught this Dharma discourse to the large congregation of gods, [F.24.a] instructed them, inspired them, delighted them, and caused them to be receptive. He then said to that assembly of fortunate gods:

“Friends, I will now proceed to Jambudvīpa. In the past when I practiced the conduct of a bodhisattva, I attracted sentient beings through the four activities of giving, pleasant speech, beneficial activity, and demonstrating consistency in speech and aims. But friends, I would be acting without gratitude, and it would be inappropriate, if I were not now to achieve unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening.”

Chapter 6

Entering the Womb

6.1

Monks, the cold season had passed and it was the third month of spring. It was the finest season, when the moon enters the constellation Viśākhā. The leaves of trees unfurled and the most exquisite flowers blossomed. It was neither cold nor hot, and there was no fog or dust in the air. Fresh green grass covered the grounds everywhere.

6.2

The Lord of the Three Worlds, [55] revered by all the worlds, now judged that the time had come. On the fifteenth day, during the full moon, while his future mother was observing the poṣadha precepts during the constellation of Puṣya, the Bodhisattva moved, fully conscious and aware, from the fine realm of the Heaven of Joy to the womb of his mother. [F.32.a]

Chapter 7

The Birth

7.1

Monks, in this way ten months passed, and the time came for the Bodhisattva to take birth. At that time thirty-two omens occurred in King Śuddhodana’s parks:

All flowers budded and blossomed. In the ponds, all the blue, red, and white lotus flowers also budded and blossomed. New fruit and flower trees sprung from the earth, budded, and came into blossom. Eight trees of precious gems appeared. Twenty thousand great treasures emerged and remained on the grounds. [F.42.b] Inside the women’s quarters, jeweled shoots sprouted forth. Scented water, saturated with fragrant oils, flowed forth. Lion cubs descended from the snow mountains. They joyfully circled the sublime city of Kapilavastu and then rested by the gates without harming anyone. Five hundred young white elephants arrived, stroking King Śuddhodana’s feet with the tips of their trunks, and then settling down next to him. Divine children, wearing sashes, [77] were seen moving back and forth between the laps of the women in the retinue of King Śuddhodana’s queen.

Chapter 8

Going to the Temple

8.1

Monks, on the very evening of the Bodhisattva’s birth, there were twenty thousand girls born among the ruling class, the priestly class, the merchants, and the householders, such as the landowners. All of them were offered to the Bodhisattva by their parents to serve and honor him. King Śuddhodana also gave twenty thousand girls to the Bodhisattva to serve and honor him. His friends, his ministers, his [118] kinfolk, and his blood relatives also offered twenty thousand girls to serve and honor the Bodhisattva. [F.63.a] Finally the members of ministerial assemblies also offered twenty thousand girls to serve and honor the Bodhisattva.

Chapter 9

The Ornaments

9.1

Monks, at the time of the constellation of Citrā, after the constellation of Hastā had passed, the chief priest of the king, who was called Udayana, the father of Udāyin, [F.64.b] went before King Śuddhodana surrounded by some five hundred priests and said, “Your Majesty, please know that it is now proper for ornaments to be made for the prince.”

The king replied, “Very well, then do it.”

9.2

At that time King Śuddhodana had five hundred types of ornaments made by five hundred Śākyas. He commissioned bracelets, anklets, crowns, necklaces, rings, earrings, armbands, golden belts, golden threads, nets of bells, nets of gems, shoes bedecked with jewels, garlands adorned with various gems, jeweled bangles, chokers, and diadems. When the ornaments were completed the Śākyas went before King Śuddhodana at the time of the constellation of Puṣya and said, “King, please ornament the prince.”

10.

Chapter 10

The Demonstration at the Writing School

10.1

Monks, when the young child had grown a little older, he was taken to school. He went there amid hundreds of thousands of auspicious signs, and he was surrounded and attended by tens of thousands of boys, along with ten thousand carts filled with hard food, soft food, and condiments, and ten thousand carts filled with gold coins and gems. These were distributed in the streets and road junctions, and the entrances to the markets of the city of Kapilavastu. At the same time a symphony of eight hundred thousand cymbals was sounded, and a heavy rain of flowers fell.

11.

Chapter 11

The Farming Village

11.1

Monks, on another occasion when the prince had grown a little older, he went with the sons of the ministers and some other boys to visit a farming village. After seeing the village, he entered a park at the edge of the fields. The Bodhisattva wandered around there in complete solitude. As he was strolling through the park, he saw a beautiful and pleasant rose apple tree, and he decided to sit down cross-legged under its shade. Seated there, the Bodhisattva attained a one-pointed state of mind. [129]

12.

Chapter 12

Demonstrating Skill in the Arts

12.1

Monks, one time, when the prince had grown older, King Śuddhodana was sitting in the meeting hall together with the assembly of Śākyas. There some of the Śākya elders spoke to King Śuddhodana:

“Your Majesty, you know that the priests who are skilled in making predictions, as well as the gods who have definite knowledge, have foretold that if Prince Sarvārthasiddha renounces the household, he will become a thus-gone one, a worthy one, a completely perfect buddha. Yet if he does not renounce the household, he will become a universal monarch, a righteous Dharma king who has conquered the four quarters and is equipped with the seven treasures. The seven treasures that will be his are the precious wheel, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious wife, the precious jewel, [F.71.b] the precious steward, and the precious minister. He will have one thousand sons, all of them full, fierce warriors with well-built bodies that destroy the armies of the enemy. He will conquer the entire earth without the use of violence or weapons, and then he will rule [137] according to the Dharma. Therefore we must arrange a marriage for the prince. Once he is surrounded by a group of women, he will discover pleasure and not renounce the household. In that way the line of our universal monarchy will not be cut, and we will be irreproachably respected by all the kings of the realm.”

13.

Chapter 13

Encouragement

13.1

Monks, while the Bodhisattva was staying in the midst of his retinue of consorts, there were numerous gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, as well as [160] Śakra and Brahmā and the guardians of the world, who were eager to make offerings to the Bodhisattva. They arrived calling out in joyous voices. However, monks, as time went on, many of these gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas, as well as Śakra, Brahmā, and the world protectors, began to think to themselves:

14.

Chapter 14

Dreams

14.1

Monks, while the god in this way was encouraging the Bodhisattva, a dream occurred to King Śuddhodana. As he was sleeping, King Śuddhodana dreamed that the Bodhisattva was leaving the palace in the quiet of the night, [186] surrounded by a host of gods. As the Bodhisattva left the palace, the king saw that he had become ordained and was wearing the saffron-colored robes.

As soon as the king awoke, he immediately asked the chamberlain, “Is the young prince with the consorts?”

15.

Chapter 15

Leaving Home

15.1

Monks, in the meantime the Bodhisattva thought to himself, “It would not be right if I did not share my plans with the great king Śuddhodana and simply left home without his permission. It would be very ungrateful of me.”

So that night when everything became quiet, he left his own quarters and entered the quarters of King Śuddhodana. As soon as the Bodhisattva stepped foot on the palace floor, the entire palace became illuminated with light. The king woke up and, when he saw the light, he promptly asked his chamberlain, “Did the sun rise? It is such a beautiful light!”

16.

Chapter 16

The Visit of King Bimbisāra

16.1

Monks, through the blessing of the Bodhisattva, Chanda told King Śuddhodana, the Śākya princess Gopā, the retinue of consorts, and everyone else among the Śākyas what had happened in order to alleviate their suffering. [238]

Monks, the Bodhisattva first gave his silken robes to a god in the form of a hunter, and then he donned the hunter’s saffron-colored robes. He adopted the lifestyle of a renunciant in order to act in agreement with the perception of worldly people, and also because he felt compassion for others and wished to mature them.

17.

Chapter 17

Practicing Austerities

17.1

Monks, at that time a son of Rāma by the name of Rudraka arrived in Rājagṛha, where he stayed with a large group of seven hundred of his students. He was teaching his students the principles of the disciplined conduct necessary for attaining the state where there is neither perception nor nonperception. [F.120.a]

Monks, the Bodhisattva saw that Rudraka, the son of Rāma, was in charge of a group, indeed a large group, and that as the head of the congregation, he was well-known, popular, venerated by the masses, and recognized by all scholars. Witnessing this, the Bodhisattva thought to himself:

18.

Chapter 18

The Nairañjanā River

18.1

Monks, during the six years that the Bodhisattva practiced austerities, he was continually followed by Māra, the evil one. Yet, although Māra tried his best to harm the Bodhisattva, he never found an opportunity. As it became apparent that it would be impossible to harm the Bodhisattva, Māra, sad and dejected, finally left. [261]

18.2

It is also expressed in this way:

There is a pleasant wilderness

With forest thickets full of herbs

To the east of Urubilvā,

Where the Nairañjanā River flows.

19.

Chapter 19

Approaching the Seat of Awakening

19.1

Monks, when the Bodhisattva bathed in the Nairañjanā River and enjoyed a meal, his physical strength came back to him. With a triumphant gait, he now began the walk toward the great Bodhi tree. This tree was the king of trees and was found at a place characterized by sixteen unique features.

19.2

He walked with the gait of a great being. It was an undisturbed gait, a gait of the nāga Indrayaṣṭi, a steadfast gait, a gait as stable as Mount Meru, the king of mountains. He walked in a straight line without stumbling, not too fast and not too slow, without stomping heavily or dragging his feet. It was a graceful stride, a stainless stride, a beautiful stride, a stride free from anger, a stride free from delusion, and a stride free from attachment. It was the stride of a lion, the stride of the king of swans, the stride of the king of elephants, the stride of Nārāyaṇa, the stride that floats above the surface, the stride that leaves an impression of a thousand-spoked wheel on the ground, the stride of he whose fingers are connected through a web and who has copper-colored nails, the stride that makes the earth resound, and the stride that crushes the king of the mountains.

20.

Chapter 20

The Displays at the Seat of Awakening

20.1

Monks, as the Bodhisattva sat down at the seat of awakening, the gods of the six classes within the desire realm decided to protect the Bodhisattva from obstacles. These gods therefore took position in the eastern direction. Likewise the southern, western, and northern directions were taken over by other classes of gods.

Monks, when the Bodhisattva sat down at the seat of awakening, he began to emit a light known as inspiring the bodhisattvas. The light shone in all the ten directions, illuminating all the boundless and immeasurable buddha realms‍—the realms that filled the entire field of phenomena.

21.

Chapter 21

Conquering Māra

21.1

Monks, in order to venerate the Bodhisattva, the other bodhisattvas manifested many such displays at the seat of awakening. The Bodhisattva himself, however, caused all the displays that ornamented all the seats of awakening of the past, present, and future buddhas in all the buddha realms in the ten directions to become visible right there at the seat of awakening.

Monks, as the Bodhisattva now sat at the seat of awakening, he thought to himself, “Māra is the supreme lord who holds sway over the desire realm, the most powerful and evil demon. [F.147.b] [300] There is no way that I could attain unsurpassed and complete awakening without his knowledge. So I will now arouse that evil Māra. Once I have conquered him, all the gods in the desire realm will also be restrained. Moreover, there are some gods in Māra’s retinue who have previously created some basic goodness. When they witness my lion-like display, they will direct their minds toward unsurpassed and complete awakening.”

22.

Chapter 22

Perfect and Complete Awakening

22.1

Monks, once the Bodhisattva had destroyed his demonic opponents, vanquished his enemies, triumphed in the face of battle, and raised high the parasols, standards, and banners of conquest, he settled into the first meditative concentration. That state is free from desires, free of factors connected with evil deeds and nonvirtues, accompanied by thought and analysis, and imbued with the joy and pleasure born of discernment.

23.

Chapter 23

Exaltation

23.1

Then the gods from the pure realms circumambulated the Thus-Gone One, who sat at the seat of awakening. They showered him with a rain of divine sandalwood powder and praised him with these fitting verses: [358]

23.2

“You are a light that has dawned upon this world!

Illuminating Lord of the World,

You have given eyes for abandoning afflictions

To this world gone blind!

23.3

“You are victorious in battle!

Through merit you have fulfilled your aim!

Replete with virtuous qualities,

You will satisfy beings!

24.

Chapter 24

Trapuṣa and Bhallika

24.1

Monks, while the Thus-Gone One was being praised by the gods after he had reached perfect and complete awakening, he stared at the king of trees without blinking and without getting out of his cross-legged position. Seven days passed in this way while he was at the foot of the Bodhi tree experiencing bliss from the sustenance of concentration and joy.

24.2

Then, once the seven days had passed, the gods from the desire realm approached the Thus-Gone One, carrying tens of thousands of vases containing scented water. The gods from the form realm also approached the Thus-Gone One, carrying tens of thousands of vases containing scented water. When they arrived, they bathed the Bodhi tree and the Thus-Gone One with the scented water. Innumerable gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, demigods, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas anointed their own bodies with the scented water that had come into contact with the body of the Thus-Gone One. This engendered among them the intention set on unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening. Even after the gods and the others had returned to their respective realms, they did not part from the scented water and desired no other scent. [370] Through the joy and the supreme joy that are born from respectfully taking to heart the Thus-Gone One, they became irreversible from unexcelled, perfect, and complete awakening.

25.

Chapter 25

Exhortation

25.1

Monks, while the Thus-Gone One was seated at the foot of the Bodhi tree, in the privacy of solitude after he had first attained perfect and complete awakening, he had the following thought about the conventions of the world: [F.187.b]

25.2

“Alas! This truth that I realized and awakened to is profound, peaceful, tranquil, calm, complete, hard to see, hard to comprehend, and impossible to conceptualize since it is inaccessible to the intellect. Only wise noble ones and adepts can understand it. It is the complete and definitive apprehension of the abandonment of all aggregates, the end of all sensations, the absolute truth, and freedom from a foundation. It is a state of complete peace, free of clinging, free of grasping, unobserved, undemonstrable, uncompounded, beyond the six sense fields, inconceivable, unimaginable, and ineffable. It is indescribable, inexpressible, and incapable of being illustrated. It is unobstructed, beyond all references, a state of interruption through the path of tranquility, and imperceptible like emptiness. It is the exhaustion of craving and it is cessation free of desire. It is nirvāṇa. If I were to teach this truth to others, they would not understand it. Teaching the truth would tire me out and be wrongly contested, and it would be futile. Thus I will remain silent and keep this truth in my heart.”

26.

Chapter 26

Turning the Wheel of Dharma

26.1

Monks, at that point the Thus-Gone One had accomplished everything he had to do. [F.193.a] With nothing more to achieve, all his fetters had been cut. All negative emotions had been cleared away, along with his mental stains. He had conquered Māra and all hostile forces, and [403] now he joined the Dharma-way of all awakened ones. He had become omniscient and perceived everything. He possessed the ten powers and had discovered the fourfold fearlessness. All the eighteen unique qualities of a buddha had unfolded within him. Equipped with the fivefold vision, he surveyed the entire world with the unobscured eye of an awakened one and began to reflect:

27.

Chapter 27

Epilogue

27.1

The gods, who had requested this Dharma teaching from the Thus-Gone One, were now gathered for the turning of the wheel of Dharma. In total there were more than 18,000 divine beings from the Pure Realms, led by such beings as Maheśvara, Nanda, Sunanda, Candana, Mahita, Śānta, Praśānta, and Vinīteśvara. At that point the Thus-Gone One addressed the divine beings, headed by Maheśvara, who had come from the pure realms, in the following way: [F.213.b]

Colophon

Colophon to the Sanskrit Edition

c.1

The Thus-Gone One explained the causes

Of those dharmas that have a cause

And also their cessation.

This is the teaching of the Great Ascetic.

May there be good goodness! May there be goodness in every way!

Colophon to the Tibetan Translation

c.2

This was taught and translated by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Munivarman, and the translator-editor Bandé Yeshé Dé, who proofed and finalized the translation.

Notes

n.1

The Sanskrit here has Kauṇḍinya, who (with his title Ajñāta-) has already been mentioned. However, Negi cites this and one another instance to suggest the possibility that the Tibetan gsus po che is sometimes used to refer to Kauṇḍinya.

n.2

The four rivers is a technical term for the streams (ogha) that are identical to the four “outflows” (āśrava), namely, sensual desires, desire for cyclic existence, wrong views, and ignorance.

n.3

Translation is based on the Sanskrit.

n.4

The translation of the verses in the following section is primarily based on the Sanskrit.

n.5

This is the first time the text shifts to the first person.

n.6

The translation is based on the Tibetan tsa sha (Skt. cāṣa), the Sanskrit has apsaras.

n.7

The following six verses are missing in the Sanskrit text.

n.8

The first three lines of this verse are missing in the Sanskrit text.

Bibliography

Source Texts

’phags pa rgya cher rol pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryalalitavistaranāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1b–216b.

’phags pa rgya cher rol pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol 46, pp. 3–434.

Lefmann, Salomon (1874). Lalitavistara: Erzählung von dem Leben und der Lehre des Çâkya Simha. Berlin: Dümmler, 1874.

Secondary Sources

Bays, Gwendolyn. The Voice of the Buddha, The Beauty of Compassion: The Lalitavistara Sutra. Tibetan Translation Series, vol. 2. Berkeley, CA: Dharma Publishing, 1983.

Foucaux, Édouard. Le Lalitavistara : l’histoire traditionnelle de la vie du Bouddha Çakyamuni. Les Classiques du bouddhisme mahāyāna, Musée National des Arts Asiatiques Guimet, vol. 19. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1892.

Lefmann, Salomon. Lalita Vistara. Halle: Verlag der Buchhandlung des Waisenhauses, 1883.

Mitra, R. L. (1875) The Lalita Vistara. Delhi: Sri Satguru Publications, 1998.

Vaidya, P. L. Lalitavistara. Buddhist Sanskrit Texts, vol. 1. Darbhanga: The Mithila Institute, 1958.

Winternitz, Maurice (1927). A History of Indian Literature. 3rd ed. Delhi: Munshiram Manoharlal, 1991, 2:249–56.

Further Resources

Goswami, Bijoya. Lalitavistara. Bibliotheca Indica Series, vol. 320. Calcutta: The Asiatic Society, 2001.

Khosla, Sarla. Lalitavistara and the Evolution of Buddha Legend. New Delhi: Galaxy Publications, 1991.

Thomas, E. J. “The Lalitavistara and Sarvastivada.” Indian Historical Quarterly 16:2 (1940): 239–45.

Glossary

Types of attestation for Sanskrit names and terms

Attested in source text

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

Attested in other text

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

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in Tibetan-Sanskrit dictionaries.

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.

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

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

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

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

Source Unspecified

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

g.1

Ābhāsvara

’od gsal

འོད་གསལ།

ābhāsvara

g.2

Able One

thub pa

ཐུབ་པ།

muni

g.3

absorption

ting nge ’dzin

ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན།

samādhi

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.

In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.

g.10

Ājñātakauṇḍinya

kun shes kau N+Di nya

ཀུན་ཤེས་ཀཽ་ཎྜི་ཉ།

ājñātakauṇḍinya

One of the monks attending this teaching in Śrāvastī, at Jeta Grove. He was one of the five companions who joined Prince Siddhārtha while practicing austerities and attended his first turning of the wheel of Dharma at the Deer Park, after the Buddha’s awakening. As he was the first to understand the teachings on the four truths, he received the name Ājñātakauṇḍinya, meaning “Kauṇḍinya who understood.” Also known simply as Kauṇḍinya.

g.17

Amogharāja

don yod rgyal po

དོན་ཡོད་རྒྱལ་པོ།

amogharāja

g.19

Ānanda

kun dga’ bo

ཀུན་དགའ་བོ།

ānanda

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).

Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist Saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.

In this text:

One of the monks attending this teaching in Śrāvastī, at Jeta Grove.

g.21

Anāthapiṇḍada

mgon med zas sbyin

མགོན་མེད་ཟས་སྦྱིན།

anathapiṇḍada

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A wealthy merchant in the town of Śrāvastī, famous for his generosity to the poor, who became a patron of the Buddha Śākyamuni. He bought Prince Jeta’s Grove (Skt. Jetavana), to be the Buddha’s first monastery, a place where the monks could stay during the monsoon. Although his Sanskrit name is Anāthapiṇḍada, he is better known in the West by the Pāli form of his name, Anāthapiṇḍika. Both mean “the one who gives food to the destitute.”

g.25

Aniruddha

ma ’gags pa

མ་འགགས་པ།

aniruddha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Lit. “Unobstructed.” One of the ten great śrāvaka disciples, famed for his meditative prowess and superknowledges. He was the Buddha's cousin‍—a son of Amṛtodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana‍—and is often mentioned along with his two brothers Bhadrika and Mahānāma. Some sources also include Ānanda among his brothers.

In this text:

One of the monks attending this teaching in Śrāvastī, at Jeta Grove.

g.34

applications of mindfulness

dran pa nye bar bzhag pa

དྲན་པ་ཉེ་བར་བཞག་པ།

smṛtyupasthāna

g.49

aspiration

smon lam

སྨོན་ལམ།

praṇidhāna

g.52

Aśvajit

rta thul

རྟ་ཐུལ།

aśvajit

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The son of one of the seven brahmins who predicted that Śākyamuni would become a great king. He was one of the five companions with Śākyamuni in the beginning of his spiritual path, abandoning him when he gave up asceticism, but then becoming one of his first five pupils after his buddhahood. He was the last of the five to attain the realization of a “stream entrant” and became an arhat on hearing the Sūtra on the Characteristics of Selflessness (Anātmalakṣaṇasūtra), which was not translated into Tibetan. Aśvajit was the one who went to meet Śariputra and Maudgalyāyana so they would become followers of the Buddha.

In this text:

One of the monks attending this teaching in Śrāvastī, at Jeta Grove.

g.59

awakened one

sangs rgyas

སངས་རྒྱས།

buddha

g.63

bases of miraculous power

rdzu ’phrul gyi rkang pa

རྫུ་འཕྲུལ་གྱི་རྐང་པ།

ṛddhipāda
ṛddhipada

g.64

Bāṣpa

rlangs pa

རླངས་པ།

bāṣpa

g.66

beneficial activity

don spyad pa

དོན་སྤྱད་པ།

arthakriyā

g.68

bhadraṃkara gem

rin po che bzang byed

རིན་པོ་ཆེ་བཟང་བྱེད།

ratnabhadraṃkara

g.70

Bhadrika

bzang po

བཟང་པོ།

bhadrika

g.81

blessed one

bcom ldan ’das

བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།

bhagavān

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhist literature, an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

g.84

Bodhi tree

byang chub kyi shing
byang chub shing

བྱང་ཆུབ་ཀྱི་ཤིང་།
བྱང་ཆུབ་ཤིང་།

bodhivṛkṣa

g.85

bodhisattva

byang chub sems dpa’

བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།

bodhisattva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the five bodhisattva paths and ten bodhisattva levels. Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize the two aspects of selflessness, with respect to afflicted mental states and the nature of all phenomena.

In this text:

Here, “Bodhisattva” is also used to refer specifically to the Buddha prior to his awakening, both during this life, as Prince Siddhārtha, and during his previous life, as Śvetaketu, in the Heaven of Joy.

g.86

Brahmā

tshangs pa

ཚངས་པ།

brahmā

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world where other beings consider him the creator; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of Sahā World” (Sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (Mahābrahmā).

g.95

branches of awakening

byang chub yan lag

བྱང་ཆུབ་ཡན་ལག

bodhyaṅga

g.96

buddha

sangs rgyas

སངས་རྒྱས།

buddha

The Indic term buddha is used in Buddhism as an epithet for fully awakened beings in general and, more specifically, often refers to the historical buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, also known as the Buddha Śākyamuni. The term buddha is the past participle of the Sanskrit root budh, meaning “to awaken,” “to understand,” or “to become aware.”

Sometimes also translated here as “awakened one.”

g.100

Candana

tsan dan

ཙན་དན།

candana

g.106

celestial palace

gzhal med khang

གཞལ་མེད་ཁང་།

vimāna

g.107

Chanda

dun pa

དུན་པ།

chanda

g.108

Citrā

ga pa

ག་པ།

citrā

g.114

craving

sred pa

སྲེད་པ།

tṛṣṇā

g.118

Cunda

skul byed

སྐུལ་བྱེད།

cunda

g.119

Dānaśīla

dA na shI la

དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།

dānaśīla

g.124

demigod

lha ma yin

ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།

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).

g.125

demon

bdud

བདུད།

māra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

(1) The demon who assailed Śākyamuni prior to his awakening. (2) The deities ruled over by Māra who do not wish any beings to escape from saṃsāra. (3) Any demonic force, the personification of conceptual and emotional obstacles. They are also symbolic of the defects within a person that prevent awakening. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)

g.146

Dharmoccaya

chos kyis mtho ba

ཆོས་ཀྱིས་མཐོ་བ།

dharmoccaya

g.149

diligence

brtson ’grus

བརྩོན་འགྲུས།

vīrya

g.153

discipline

tshul khrims

ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས།

śīla

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”

g.154

disciplined conduct

brtul zhugs

བརྟུལ་ཞུགས།

vrata

g.170

eighteen unique qualities of a buddha

sangs rgyas kyi chos ma ’dres pa bco brgyad

སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཆོས་མ་འདྲེས་པ་བཅོ་བརྒྱད།

aṣṭādaśāveṇikabuddhadharma

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Eighteen special features of a buddha’s behavior, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by other beings. They are generally listed as: (1) he never makes a mistake, (2) he is never boisterous, (3) he never forgets, (4) his concentration never falters, (5) he has no notion of distinctness, (6) his equanimity is not due to lack of consideration, (7) his motivation never falters, (8) his endeavor never fails, (9) his mindfulness never falters, (10) he never abandons his concentration, (11) his insight (prajñā) never decreases, (12) his liberation never fails, (13) all his physical actions are preceded and followed by wisdom (jñāna), (14) all his verbal actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (15) all his mental actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (16) his wisdom and vision perceive the past without attachment or hindrance, (17) his wisdom and vision perceive the future without attachment or hindrance, and (18) his wisdom and vision perceive the present without attachment or hindrance.

g.178

equanimity

btang snyoms

བཏང་སྙོམས།

upekṣā

g.180

faculty

dbang po lnga

དབང་པོ་ལྔ།

pañcendriya

g.189

fivefold vision

spyan lnga

སྤྱན་ལྔ།

pañcacakṣuḥ

g.193

fortunate

bkra shis dang ldan pa

བཀྲ་ཤིས་དང་ལྡན་པ།

maṅgalya

g.200

fourfold fearlessness

mi ’jigs pa bzhi

མི་འཇིགས་པ་བཞི།

caturabhaya

g.203

gandharva

dri za

དྲི་ཟ།

gandharva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are under the jurisdiction of the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by any sentient being in the realm of desire (kāmadhātu) during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

g.206

garuḍa

nam mkha’ lding

ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།

garuḍa

g.210

Gavāṃpati

ba lang bdag

བ་ལང་བདག

gavāṃpati

g.212

Gayākāśyapa

ga y’a ’od srung

ག་ཡའ་འོད་སྲུང་།

gayākāśyapa

g.213

generosity

sbyin pa

སྦྱིན་པ།

dāna

g.214

god

lha
lha’i bu

ལྷ།
ལྷའི་བུ།

kauṇḍinyadeva
devaputra

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.216

goddess

lha’i bu mo
lha mo

ལྷའི་བུ་མོ།
ལྷ་མོ།

devakanyā
apsaras

g.218

Gopā

sa ’tsho ma

ས་འཚོ་མ།

gopā

g.220

great being

sems dpa’ chen po

སེམས་དཔའ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāsattva

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term can be understood to mean “great courageous one” or "great hero,” or (from the Sanskrit) simply “great being,” and is almost always found as an epithet of “bodhisattva.” The qualification “great” in this term, according to the majority of canonical definitions, focuses on the generic greatness common to all bodhisattvas, i.e., the greatness implicit in the bodhisattva vow itself in terms of outlook, aspiration, number of beings to be benefited, potential or eventual accomplishments, and so forth. In this sense the mahā- (“great”) is close in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna.” While individual bodhisattvas described as mahāsattva may in many cases also be “great” in terms of their level of realization, this is largely coincidental, and in the canonical texts the epithet is not restricted to bodhisattvas at any particular point in their career. Indeed, in a few cases even bodhisattvas whose path has taken a wrong direction are still described as bodhisattva mahāsattva.

Later commentarial writings do nevertheless define the term‍—variably‍—in terms of bodhisattvas having attained a particular level (bhūmi) or realization. The most common qualifying criteria mentioned are attaining the path of seeing, attaining irreversibility (according to its various definitions), or attaining the seventh bhūmi.

g.223

Great Vehicle

theg pa chen po

ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāyāna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

When the Buddhist teachings are classified according to their power to lead beings to an awakened state, a distinction is made between the teachings of the Lesser Vehicle (Hīnayāna), which emphasizes the individual’s own freedom from cyclic existence as the primary motivation and goal, and those of the Great Vehicle (Mahāyāna), which emphasizes altruism and has the liberation of all sentient beings as the principal objective. As the term “Great Vehicle” implies, the path followed by bodhisattvas is analogous to a large carriage that can transport a vast number of people to liberation, as compared to a smaller vehicle for the individual practitioner.

g.224

guardians of the world

’jig rten skyong ba

འཇིག་རྟེན་སྐྱོང་བ།

lokapāla

g.233

Hastā

དབོ།

hastā

g.235

hearer

nyan thos

ཉན་ཐོས།

śrāvaka

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

It is usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily it refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat by seeking self-liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering disturbing emotions, they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

In this text:

Also translated here as “listener.”

g.242

Heaven of Joy

dga’ ldan

དགའ་ལྡན།

tuṣita

g.257

householder

khyim bdag

ཁྱིམ་བདག

gṛhapati

g.267

Indrayaṣṭi

dbang po’i mchod sdong

དབང་པོའི་མཆོད་སྡོང་།

indrayaṣṭi

g.269

intelligence

blo gros

བློ་གྲོས།

mati

g.272

Jambudvīpa

’dzam bu’i gling

འཛམ་བུའི་གླིང་།

jambudvīpa

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

g.277

Jeta Grove

rgyal bu rgyal byed kyi tshal

རྒྱལ་བུ་རྒྱལ་བྱེད་ཀྱི་ཚལ།

jetavana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A park in Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. It was owned by Prince Jeta, and the wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, bought it from him by covering the entire property with gold coins. It was to become the place where the monks could be housed during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It is therefore the setting for many of the Buddha's discourses.

g.278

Jinamitra

dzi na mi tra

ཛི་ན་མི་ཏྲ།

jinamitra

Jinamitra was invited to Tibet during the reign of King Trisong Detsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 742–98 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with the translation of nearly two hundred texts, continuing into the reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary and also author of the Nyāyabindupiṇḍārtha (Toh 4233), which is contained in the Tengyur (bstan ’gyur) collection.

g.284

joy

dga’ ba

དགའ་བ།

muditā
tuṣṭi
nandana
rati

g.289

Kampila

’ug pa

འུག་པ།

kampila

g.292

Kapilavastu

ser skya

སེར་སྐྱ།

kapilavastu

g.296

Kauṇḍinya

kau N+Di n+ya

ཀཽ་ཎྜི་ནྱ།

kauṇḍinya

g.298

Kauṣṭhila

gsus po che

གསུས་པོ་ཆེ།

kauṣṭhila

g.302

Khadiravaṇika

seng ldeng nags pa

སེང་ལྡེང་ནགས་པ།

khadiravaṇika

g.304

kinnara

mi’am ci

མིའམ་ཅི།

kinnara
kiṃnara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are also usually depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

g.320

league

dpag tshad

དཔག་ཚད།

yojana

g.338

Mahākapphiṇa

ka pi la na chen po

ཀ་པི་ལ་ན་ཆེན་པོ།

mahākapphiṇa

g.341

Mahākāśyapa

’od srung chen po

འོད་སྲུང་ཆེན་པོ།

mahākāśyapa

g.342

Mahākātyāyana

ka tya ya na’i bu chen po

ཀ་ཏྱ་ཡ་ནའི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahākātyāyana

g.343

Mahāmaudgalyāyana

maud gal gyi bu chen po

མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāmaudgalyāyana

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

One of the principal hearer disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra. He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyāyana, “the son of Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana.

In this text:

One of the monks attending this teaching in Śrāvastī, at Jeta Grove.

g.344

Mahānāma

ming chen

མིང་ཆེན།

mahānāma

g.346

Mahāpāraṇika

pha rol tu ’gro ba chen po

ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་འགྲོ་བ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahāpāraṇika

g.354

Maheśvara

dbang phyug chen po

དབང་ཕྱུག་ཆེན་པོ།

maheśvara

g.356

Mahita

mchod byas

མཆོད་བྱས།

mahita

g.357

mahoraga

lto ’phye chen po

ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་ཆེན་པོ།

mahoraga

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

g.364

Māra

bdud

བདུད།

māra

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

g.377

mental stability

bsam gtan

བསམ་གཏན།

dhyāna

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.

g.378

merchants

tshong dpon

ཚོང་དཔོན།

śreṣṭhin

g.379

merit

bsod nams

བསོད་ནམས།

puṇya

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

In Buddhism more generally, merit refers to the wholesome tendencies imprinted in the mind as a result of positive and skillful thoughts, words, and actions that ripen in the experience of happiness and well-being. According to the Mahāyāna, it is important to dedicate the merit of one’s wholesome actions to the benefit of all sentient beings, ensuring that others also experience the results of the positive actions generated.

g.380

Meru

ri rab

རི་རབ།

meru

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, Meru is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit lies Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four great island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the gods of the realm of desire. Often also referred to as Mount Sumeru.

g.381

mindfulness

dran pa

དྲན་པ།

smṛti

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

This is the faculty that enables the mind to maintain its attention on a referent object, counteracting the arising of forgetfulness, which is a great obstacle to meditative stability. The root smṛ may mean “to recollect” but also simply “to think of.” Broadly speaking, smṛti, commonly translated as “mindfulness,” means to bring something to mind, not necessarily something experienced in a distant past but also something that is experienced in the present, such as the position of one’s body or the breath.

Together with alertness (samprajāna, shes bzhin), it is one of the two indispensable factors for the development of calm abiding (śamatha, zhi gnas).

g.382

minister

blon po

བློན་པོ།

amātya

g.387

modesty

khrel yod

ཁྲེལ་ཡོད།

hrī
lajjā

g.388

monk

dge slong

དགེ་སློང་།

bhikṣu

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns‍—like other ascetics of the time‍—subsisted on alms begged from the laity.

In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣu follows 253 vows as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 263 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).