འཕགས་པ་ཟ་མ་ཏག་བཀད་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད notes: Notes

The Basket’s Display notes

Language: English

Notes

notes.3

3. Āryasukhāvatīvyūhanāmamahāyānasūtra (Toh 115), see Sakya Pandita Translation Group (2012).

notes.4

4. Toh 49 in the Heap of Jewels section, with the formal title Amitābhavyūhasūtra (The Sūtra of the Array of Amitābha).

notes.5

5. Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka (Toh 112), see Roberts.

notes.9

9. See The Basket of the Jewels Sūtra, Toh 117.

notes.10

10. Toh 507, see bibliography under The Dhāraṇī Named The Relic Casket.

notes.11

11. See bibliography, under Dīpaṃkarajñāna and Śūra.

notes.16

16. See sman gyi gzhi (Bhaiṣajyavastu), chapter 6 of the ’dul ba gzhi (Toh 1); ’dul ba rnam par ’byed pa (Toh 3); and Rouse (1895), 127.

17. This is a Sanskritization of the name Valāhassa, which means “cloud horse.” The version of the story in the Vinayavāstu was translated into Tibetan as rta’i rgyal po sprin gyi shugs can, “the king of horses who has the power of the clouds.”

notes.18

18. In the tradition that enumerates Śākyamuni as the seventh buddha, Vipaśyin is the first. The sūtra will introduce successively each buddha in order up to the fifth.

notes.19

19. According to the Sanskrit, aśīti-koṭyo, literally, “eighty ten millions.” Tibetan: bye ba (“ten million”), “eighty” being omitted.

notes.20

20. According to the Sanskrit; the Tibetan has sbas corrupted to sban.

notes.21

21. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to be corrupt at this point, adding another sentence mentioning both thirty-two and thirty-three classes of deities: “Also, Īśvara, Nārāyaṇa, and the other deities of the thirty-two classes of devas were assembled there. Also the deities of the thirty-three classes of devas were assembled there. Assembled with such deities as the deity Maheśvara, Āditya, Candra, Vāyu, and Varuṇa, were Śakra, the lord of the devas, and Brahma, the lord of Sahā.”

notes.22

22. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Huluta.”

notes.23

23. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Nāga King Vahūdaka.”

notes.24

24. According to the Cambridge. The Tibetan has blo gros chen po (a translation of “Mahāmati,” a scribal error for “Sahāpati”). The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have “Sahāṃpati.”

notes.25

25. Following the Tibetan and Vaidya. Cambridge: “Maharṣita.”

notes.26

26. Following the Tibetan and Vaidya. The Cambridge omits “Kinnara King Druma.”

notes.27

27. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

notes.28

28. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

notes.29

29. According to the Cambridge. The Tibetan has Pulinda, which is repeated a few lines later. Absent in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

notes.30

30. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has sa ri’i bzhin, with sa ri a corruption of “Svāti.”

notes.31

31. Vijayaśrī and Mucilindā are absent in the Tibetan and Cambridge.

notes.32

32. According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. Absent in the Cambridge.

notes.33

33. According to the Vaidya, “drop of water.” The Cambridge has only bindu. The Tibetan has thigs pa, meaning “drop.”

notes.34

34. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge (“hundred mounts”). The Vaidya has śatabāhu (“hundred arms”).

notes.35

35. According to the Tibetan. The first element comes from the Cambridge manuscript compound (“Anākṛtsna-karā”), and the second from the Vaidya (“Anākṛcchragatā”).

notes.36

36. According to the Sanskrit. After Subhūṣaṇā, the Tibetan has “a female nāga named thig le” (possible from Tilakā). We have omitted it.

notes.37

37. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Vaidya has “Pāṇḍalameghā.”

notes.38

38. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan de bzhin du chags pa appears to have been translating from Tathāvirūdhā. According to the Cambridge, the female nāga Nīlotpalā is listed after Rathābhiruḍhā here, though an apsaras has already been given that name. We have omitted it.

notes.39

39. According to the Cambridge and Tibetan. The Vaidya has “Tyāgagatā.”

notes.40

40. According to the Cambridge. Absent in the Tibetan and Vaidya.

notes.41

41. According to the Tibetan and Vaidya. The Cambridge has “Nillau.”

notes.42

42. According to the Cambridge. The Vaidya has “Mukharā”; the Tibetan translates from “Sukhakarā.”

notes.43

43. According to the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya (“joyful flower”). The Cambridge and Tibetan have rudita puṣpa (“weeping flower”), which seems anomalous here.

notes.44

44. According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. Absent in the Cambridge.

notes.45

45. According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. The Cambridge has audumvararudita and the Tibetan has me tog u dum ba ra’i lto ba, both implying a second part to the compound, although the Cambridge appears corrupt and the Tibetan “stomach” also has a dubious origin.

notes.46

46. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. Absent in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

notes.47

47. According to the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya. Absent in the Cambridge and Tibetan.

notes.48

48. According to the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya. The Cambridge has “Padmālaṃbā.” Either that or Padmālaṃbāna translated into Tibetan as pad ma’i dmigs.

notes.49

49. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the obscure cha bas dbang po.

notes.50

50. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge; occurs earlier in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

notes.51

51. According to the Sāmaśrami, Vaidya, and Tibetan. The Cambridge has devavaralocana.

notes.52

52. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have “Suvaca.” The Tibetan has three additional names: ’khor gyis yongs su bskor ba, mchog dga’, and dam pa’i dpal.

notes.53

53. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

notes.54

54. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

notes.55

55. According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. The Cambridge has “Ākāśayūvanā.”

notes.56

56. According to the Cambridge. The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have “Acalaśrī.”

notes.57

57. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge (last two letters illegible). Absent in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

notes.58

58. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. Absent in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

notes.59

59. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has blo gros chen mo, a translation of “Mahāmati,” itself a scribal error of “Sahāpati.” The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have “Sahāṃpati.”

notes.60

60. The Cambridge has śatā. The Tibetan has bdog ma, translated from a corruption.

notes.61

61. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates from a corruption, beginning with akṣa instead of lakṣa.

notes.62

62. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have yogānugatā.

notes.63

63. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

notes.64

64. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

notes.65

65. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

notes.66

66. Nirgrantha in its general meaning as “one with no possessions.” The Tibetan has gcer bu pa, “naked ones,” which would refer specifically to Jains, but that does not appear to be the meaning here.

notes.67

67. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has rgya’i gos (“Chinese cloth”), perhaps from cīnakavastra or cīnavastra, a corruption of cīvaravastra (“monastic robes”). rgya’i gos does not occur anywhere else in the Kangyur, whereas “monastic robes, sometimes made of divine material” occurs elsewhere along with “parasols, victory banners, etc.” “Chinese cloth” would be silk, which is next in the list of hangings.

notes.68

68. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “strings of pearls.”

notes.69

69. Water of the eight good qualities is: cool; delicious; light; soft; clear; unstained; not harmful to the stomach; and not harmful to the throat.

notes.70

70. Strictly speaking only the padma (red lotus) and puṇḍarika (white lotus) are lotuses. The utpala (blue lotus) is a water lily, as is the kuduma (night-flowering water lily).

notes.71

71. Māndārava, and mahāmāndārava. The author, in copying lists of flowers from earlier sutras, has placed tree flowers on the pond. Tiger claw or Indian coral trees (Erythrina stricta) are trees prized for their beauty and are believed to grow in Indra’s paradise. The greater tiger claw tree is presumably Erythrina variegata, which grows much taller.

notes.72

72. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Mahāsattva.”

notes.73

73. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “It was he who emanated these light rays.”

notes.74

74. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has this passage as a description of the events instead of the thoughts of Yama’s guards: “At that time Yama’s creatures were dismayed as they saw bad omens appear in the Avīci hell, for when the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara arrived there, lotus flowers the size of cartwheels…”

notes.75

75. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has btun, “pestle,” which is an alternative meaning of musala.

notes.76

76. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “taking all their Avīci utensils.”

notes.77

77. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Divine One, you don’t know? First an inauspicious…”

notes.78

78. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “peaceful,” and makes this omen occur on Avalokiteśvara’s entry into hell: “…a being, handsome, with a topknot and his body having all adornments, came and it became cool.”

notes.79

79. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “…with an extremely loving mind, and resembling a golden statue.”

notes.80

80. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan interpreted mahārāvaṇa incorrectly as “the elephant of the gods,” a name for Indra’s elephant.

notes.81

81. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates pṛthivīvaralocanakarāya as “the eyes of the world.”

notes.82

82. According to the Cambridge and Tibetan. The Vaidya omits “who teaches the six perfections; who illuminates like the sun…” The Tibetan translates this as “who creates perfect eyes like the sun.”

notes.83

83. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “who manifests as the supreme rishi.”

notes.84

84. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “who creates abundance.”

notes.85

85. In other words, two cobras tied together and worn diagonally over the torso across one shoulder, as a brahmin’s thread. Śiva is also depicted wearing this.

notes.86

86. According to the Tibetan (phra men pha dang phra men ma). Not present in the Sanskrit.

notes.87

87. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “who has profound wisdom.”

notes.88

88. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Then they contemplated human existence.”

notes.89

89. The Tibetan ’jig tshogs means “an aggregation that is destroyed.” The Sanskrit satkāya means “existent accumulation,” a secondary meaning of kāya, which is usually translated as sku, meaning “body.” The mountain is singular in the Sanskrit and has twenty peaks, which are the views of the relationship of the self to each of the five skandhas or aggregates—i.e., the self is form, form possesses self, self possesses form, and self is located within form—and the same for the other four aggregates (sensations, identifications, mental activities, and consciousnesses), which comes to twenty views.

notes.90

90. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “from the city of the pretas.”

notes.91

91. Liṅga was translated into Tibetan as rtags, which can mean “sign,” “emblem,” or “gender.” The etymology of liṅga is here given a fanciful etymology from the verb līyana (“dissolve”), which is lost in translation.

notes.92

92. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “flowers.”

notes.93

93. The seven jewels are listed here in the order given in Cambridge, and in agreement with the second time they are listed.

notes.94

94. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation of these phrases is obscure.

notes.95

95. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Shambala.”

notes.96

96. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and others.”

notes.97

97. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “departed in one direction.”

notes.98

98. Śayanāsana, literally, “sleeping-sitting,” can mean “bed and seat” as translated into Tibetan (mal stan). However, it is also a Buddhist term for a monk’s cell or dwelling.

notes.99

99. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan transliterates and does not translate the Sanskrit for “hyenas” (tarakṣu, though tarakṣa would mean “wolf”) and omits “camels, jackals.”

notes.100

100. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “statues.”

notes.101

101. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has ngal bso po, the translation of viśrama (“tranquility”).

notes.102

102. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “He says to the listening asuras.”

notes.103

103. The dialogue between the Buddha and Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkhambin is absent in both the Tibetan and Cambridge. It has been added here from the Sāmaśrami as the narrative is more confusing without it.

notes.104

104. In Indian literature such as the Pūraṇas, those beings that do not produce descendants are reborn in a realm where the inhabitants continually hang upside down. The seven underworlds, called patala, include realms made of gold. The implication here is that Avalokiteśvara is traveling through the underworlds, one of which is ruled by Bali, which this sūtra describes as being made of iron. The hells and the preta realm are also located below the ground.

notes.105

105. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the peculiar “Show us the path of liberation that creates sensation.”

notes.106

106. The Sanskrit editions added an extra sentence here: “As he approached, King Bali saw him in the distance, resembling a disk of gold emitting light rays of various colors.” This would easily have been omitted when copying a manuscript, since the next sentence begins in a similar way.

notes.107

107. One example of these names being used separately for two attendants, as opposed to the compound name Kubjavāmanaka for one asura, is found in verses 31–32 and 35–36 in chapter 69 of the Bṛhatsaṃhita by Varāhamihira (505–587 ce), where Kubja and Vāmanaka are listed as separate attendants of kings. See Varāhamihira (1869), 287.

notes.108

108. This is a poetic metaphor for a face covered or darkened by tears as clouds darken the land.

notes.109

109. List of jewelry is given according to the Tibetan.

notes.110

110. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “I became astonished on having become…”

notes.111

111. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation is obscure.

notes.112

112. The English translation of the Chinese translation adds here that there were five hundred locks on each door.

notes.113

113. “Son of Daśaratha” is another name for “Rāma,” who came to be regarded as one of Nārāyaṇa’s (i.e., Viṣṇu’s) incarnations. The English translation of the Chinese translation has Nārāyaṇa transforming into these different beings.

notes.114

114. According to the Sanskrit the five named kṣatriyas are the five Pāṇḍava brothers, and the Kaurava brothers were their enemies. This is the principal theme of the Mahābhārata epic.

notes.115

115. This passage is awkward in the original text, as from this point on, descriptions of Bali shift from first-person voice to third-person voice. In this translation we have maintained the first-person voice throughout, as noted in the introduction.

notes.116

116. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the literal but obscure translation “being of time.”

notes.117

117. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “weapons” instead of “long spear and short spear.”

notes.118

118. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and the others.”

notes.119

119. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “having been expelled from the offering site.”

notes.120

120. According to the Gilgit manuscript. This passage is corrupted in later manuscripts and translated into Tibetan as “like a creator.”

notes.121

121. At this point in the original, the narrative switches back to the first person, though the next sentence has one incident of Bali in the third person in his own narrative.

notes.122

122. “Omniscient buddha” here is referring to Amitābha.

notes.123

123. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “eyes of the world.”

notes.124

124. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Avīci.”

notes.125

125. The text has only “hundred thousand,” assuming that the reader will know this refers to the silver coin, the raupya, the origin of the present day rupee, which was tied to the value of silver until the end of the nineteenth century.

notes.126

126. According to the Cambridge and Tibetan.

notes.127

127. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “others.”

notes.128

128. According to the Cambridge: kiṃ mayā pāparatena sattvena karma kṛtam.

notes.129

129. This is the Jetavana Monastery of Buddha Viśvabhū, and not the Jetavana Monastery in which Buddha Śākyamuni is relating the sūtra.

notes.130

130. See .

notes.131

131. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “an extremely dreadful.”

notes.132

132. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has simply “I have been ripening many beings.”

notes.133

133. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “rested.”

notes.134

134. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “promulgate.”

notes.135

135. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “one four-line verse that is the root of this king…”

notes.136

136. See .

notes.137

137. See .

notes.138

138. See .

notes.139

139. See .

notes.140

140. See .

notes.141

141. According to the Tibetan. The Cambridge only lists “once-returner.” The other later Sanskrit editions have a complete list of attainments: “Some attained the result of a stream entrant, some attained the result of becoming a once-returner, some attained the result of becoming a non-returner, some attained the state of an arhat, and some attained enlightenment.”

notes.142

142. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Stay in this vihāra!”

notes.143

143. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and gave him the divine clothing.”

notes.144

144. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “homes with drink” and “a variety of multicolored beds.”

notes.145

145. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. See for the fuller list given in other Sanskrit editions.

notes.146

146. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and we will keep the upāsikā vows.”

notes.147

147. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “namo dharmāya, namaḥ saṃghāya” (“Homage to the Buddha, homage to the Dharma, homage to the Saṅgha”).

notes.148

148. See .

notes.149

149. See .

notes.150

150. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “they all rested.”

notes.151

151. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “rested.”

notes.152

152. See .

notes.153

153. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “Supreme Eyes of the Wish-fulfilling Jewel.”

notes.154

154. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Dharma King.”

notes.155

155. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “the samādhi named Descending into the Ocean.”

notes.156

156. According to the Tibetan (shin tu gnas pa), Cambridge, and Sāmaśrami (supratiṣṭha).

notes.157

157. According to the Tibetan (dga’ ba sbyin par byed pa) and the Cambridge (priyaṃdada).

notes.158

158. According to the Tibetan (rdo rje rgyal mtshan), Cambridge, and Sāmaśrami (vajradhvaja).

notes.159

159. According to the Tibetan (’jig rten thams cad la rnam par lta ba), Cambridge, and Sāmaśrami (sarvvalokadhātuvyavalokana).

notes.160

160. According to the Tibetan (ma lus ’ongs ba) and Sāmaśrami (kṛtsangata).

notes.161

161. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “Supreme Eyes of the Moon.”

notes.162

162. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Divine Eyes” (from a corruption of rocana to locana).

notes.163

163. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “The Continent of the Eon,” from the alternative meaning of dvīpa that here means “lamp.”

notes.164

164. According to the Tibetan. Omitted in the Sanskrit.

notes.165

165. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Divine Earrings.”

notes.166

166. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “The Great Continent,” from the alternative meaning of dvīpa that here means “lamp.”

notes.167

167. According to the Tibetan. Omitted in the Sanskrit.

notes.168

168. According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

notes.169

169. According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

notes.170

170. According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

notes.171

171. According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

notes.172

172. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Array of Nāgas” (klu bkod pa), from a corruption of nāmavyuha to nāgavyuha.

notes.173

173. Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern sky.

notes.174

174. According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

notes.175

175. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “named Siṃhalarāja.”

notes.176

176. Ratnadvīpa, Siṃhala, and Rākṣasidvīpa (“island of rākṣasīs”) are normally synonyms, but here “Ratnadvīpa” appears to be differentiated. The Gilgit manuscript also has “Ratnadvīpa,” but the Cambridge manuscript has “Jambudvīpa.”

notes.177

177. “Yavanadvīpa” (nas kyi gling) appears only in the Tibetan.

notes.178

178. According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Vaidya has “Land of the Rākṣasas.” See also .

notes.179

179. The original text is inconsistent in making the island singular or plural.

notes.180

180. The original text is inconsistent in switching to the third person “the merchants.”

notes.181

181. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “extremely aged,” which is not the intended meaning here.

notes.182

182. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “from two or three to seven days.”

notes.183

183. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation, not comprehending the unusual word used for lamp in the Sanskrit, assumes it is the sleeping woman who is laughing (see Introduction, ).

notes.184

184. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates it as “to the right,” an alternative meaning for dakṣiṇa. The Vinaya version of the story (’dul ba gzhi) translates this correctly as lho at first but later in the story use g.yas, “right,” even though they are describing the same road.

notes.185

185. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “city.”

notes.186

186. At this point the narrative in the original changes briefly from first to third person.

notes.187

187. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “sword that glowed like moonlight named ‘provision for me.’ ”

notes.188

188. At this point the narrative changes back to first person.

notes.189

189. … “inside [who] heard me” is absent in the manuscript; it has been added to make the narrative clearer in English.

notes.190

190. The herb is unidentified and may be fictional. The Vinaya version (’dul ba gzhi) has “the wild rice that does not need to be farmed” (ma smos ma btab pa’i ’bras sa lu’i ’bru), which is considered superior to farmed rice. “Wild rice” there translates taṇḍulaphalaśa. Other names for rice include śetaśala, sarvasaṃgata, and śvetaṇḍula. Therefore this may be the origin of the name for this mythical herb.