ལས་ཀྱ་རྣམ་པར་འགྱར་བ་ཞས་བྱ་བའ་ཆས་ཀྱ་གཞང notes.61

notes.61

61. Tibetan ’dus pa (literally “collect,” “accumulate”; “assemble”) in gang zag las ’di lta bu ’dus pas na has a technical sense when applied to karmically relevant actions (see also BHSD, s.v. upacita and Lévi 1932, 9, 47–48, n. 8). The differentiation between the technical expressions “action that is carried out” (Skt. karma kṛtaṃ) and “action that is accumulated” (Skt. karmopacita) is explained in detail in Vasubandhu’s Abhidharma­kośabhāṣya, verse IV,120 (see Abhidh-k-bh at AKK IV,120 Abhidh-k-bh(P) 271,20-272,3 = Pruden 1988–91, 701–702): “Action ‘done’ (Skt. kṛta) is distinguished from ‘accumulated’ (Skt. upacita) action. What are the characteristics and conditions of accumulated action? 120. Action is termed ‘accumulated’ by reason of its intentional character, by its completion, by the absence of regret and opposition, by its accompaniments, and by its retribution.” Although the phrase “to accumulate an action” is not natural English, we have kept this rather clumsy literal translation to indicate the specialized meaning of ’dus pa (Skt. upacita) here and throughout this translation. Sylvain Lévi opted for a more elegant solution in his French translation of the closely related Karma­vibhaṅga (Toh 338, ) by employing a translation equivalent that expresses the sense of ’dus pa in accordance with Vasubandhu’s definition: “Quel est l’acte qui, étant fait, n’est pas aggravé?” (Lévi 1932, 121).