འཕགས་པ་སྙང་རྗ་པད་མ་དཀར་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད notes: Notes

The White Lotus of Compassion notes

Language: English

Notes

notes.1

1. The origin story in this sūtra for the 1,004 buddhas of our eon is one among several others. The sūtra The Good Eon (Bhadrakalpika, Toh 94) itself contains two origin stories for them (see Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2022, ff, and ff.), The Secrets of the Realized Ones (Tathāgatācintyaguhyanirdeśa, Toh 47, Degé Kangyur vol. 39, F.117.b–125.b) another, and The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, Toh 176) yet another (see Thurman 2017, ff.)

notes.2

2. See Roberts, Peter Alan. trans., The White Lotus of the Good Dharma , Toh 113 (2018).

notes.3

3. Consequently, although the notion of multiple buddhas arising over time, as well as over space, is most fully developed in the Mahāyāna tradition, it is also a theme present in the texts of Nikāya Buddhism, including several in the Pali Canon and the Mahāvastu of the Lokottaravāda-Mahāsāṅghika. For a general survey of accounts of multiple buddhas, see The Good Eon –. See also Salomon 2018, pp. 265–293.

notes.4

4. In essence the process begins with a period in which an individual accumulates merit independently, followed by the first vow to attain awakening, made in the presence of a buddha; the subsequent prophecy of awakening, made by the same or another, later buddha; a long period of maturation during which the six (or more) perfections are practiced and the successive bodhisattva levels are traversed; the attainment of a stage of irreversible progress leading to inevitable awakening; being anointed as the next buddha to come by the preceding buddha; taking birth in the Heaven of Joy; and being reborn in the lifetime during which awakening as a tathāgata will occur. The stages of a bodhisattva’s practice are the topic of numerous scriptures, treatises, and commentaries, some in vast detail such as the Buddhavataṃsakasūtra (Toh 44) and the Yogācārabhūmi (Toh 4035–4037). Perhaps the most succinct summary comes in the opening lines of the Mahāvastu, where four stages are described: (1) prakṛticaryā (“natural career”), (2) pranidhānacaryā (“resolving stage”), (3) anulomacaryā (“conforming stage”), and (4) anivartanacaryā (“preserving career”). See Mahāvastu, vol. I, 1.2; the four stages are explained in more detail in vol. 1, ch. 5 and are a feature of other works including the Bahubuddhaka sūtras of Gandhāra. See also Jaini 2001, p. 453, and Salomon 2018, pp. 276–279.

notes.5

5. Taishō 158: 大乘悲分陀利經 (Dasheng beifen tuoli jing); Taishō 157: 悲華經 (Bei hua jing). A Chinese bibliography written in 730 by Zhi Seng claims that the sūtra was first translated by Dharmarakṣa (ca. 230–317), and that there was also another lost translation by Dao Gong made between 401 and 412. However, Yamada’s research shows the first attribution to have been a misunderstanding of the earlier Seng Min bibliography, which also records that the Dharmakṣema translation had been mistakenly ascribed to Dao Gong. See Yamada 1967, vol. 1, pp. 15–20.

notes.6

6. The opening section that features the Buddha Padmottara seems to have only a tenuous connection to the main body of the text. There are also some internal inconsistencies, such as an unexplained name change for King Araṇemin.

notes.7

7. Yamada 1967, 1:167–71.

notes.8

8. Denkarma, F.296.b.7. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 44, no. 78.

notes.9

9. Sakya Pandita Translation Group, trans., The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī , Toh 115 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021).

notes.10

10. Roberts, Peter Alan. trans., The White Lotus of the Good Dharma , Toh 113 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022).

notes.11

11. The buddhas are said to teach beings who have faith in Maheśvara by appearing to them in the form of Maheśvara. The sūtra seems to take a sympathetic view of Vaiṣṇavism in particular. For example, when Samudrareṇu makes his buddhahood contingent on a variety of good things occurring, he says, “If beings who have faith in Nārāyaṇa fall into the lower existences when they die, then may I be unable to accomplish all the deeds of a buddha.” Nārāyaṇa is also used as a positive example for power, as when King Araṇemin prays, “May those beings have the power of Nārāyaṇa.” The names of several samādhis and buddhas that are given also incorporate the name Nārāyaṇa, such as Nārāyaṇavijitagarbha.

notes.12

12. Mañjuśrīkīrti (Toh 3534), folio 217.a. Atiśa writes that he is quoting from it in one of his works (Toh 3930), but the actual text of his quotation resembles nothing in the sūtra and is nowhere to be found in the Kangyur. Cf. Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna, folio 99.b.

notes.13

13. Mipham’s text has the title The White Lotus: Supporting Material for “A Treasury of Blessings, a Liturgy of the Muni” (thub chog byin rlabs gter mdzod kyi rgyab chos pad+ma dkar po); see bibliography.

notes.14

14. There are two ways to interpret this traditional beginning of a sūtra, with such Indian masters as Kamalaśīla claiming that both are equally correct: the version used in this translation, and the alternative interpretation “Thus did I hear: At one time, the Bhagavat…” The various traditional and modern arguments for both sides are given in Galloway (1991).

notes.15

15. Skt. ājāneya; Tib. cang shes. The term ājāneya was primarily used for thoroughbred horses but was also applied to people in a laudatory sense.

notes.16

16. From this point on, the Sanskrit version of the introduction is more elaborate.

notes.17

17. This paradise is not to be confused with the subterranean realm of Yama, the lord of death, which is inhabited by pretas.

notes.18

18. The four errors are mistaking the impermanent as permanent, the impure as pure, nonself as self, and suffering as happiness.

notes.19

19. The syntax of the Tibetan is awkward in this passage, for which there is no surviving Sanskrit equivalent. In the Sanskrit at this point there is a long passage where light rays from the Buddha reveal to the assembly other buddha realms and their buddhas and inhabitants.

notes.20

20. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has parvata (“filled with precious mountains”) instead of padma (“filled with precious lotuses”).

notes.21

21. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has sahasra (“one thousand”).

notes.22

22. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “one hundred and a quarter (i.e., 125) yojanas.”

notes.23

23. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “filled with lotuses made of the seven jewels.”

notes.24

24. A period or watch of three hours: the eighth part of a day.

notes.25

25. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “pleasant” (yid di ’ong ba).

notes.26

26. One would expect this to be describing the lotus’s distinctive pericarp, or seed pod, which forms a flat circular seat ringed by the stamens, but it is clearly in the plural.

notes.27

27. According to the Tibetan. The word kulaputra (“noble son”) is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.28

28. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has ṣaṣtiraśmi koṭinayutaśatasahasrāṇi, which comes to six thousand million trillion.

notes.29

29. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit does not have the description “who have transcended the levels of the śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.”

notes.30

30. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has, “Then the bodhisattvas who are in meditation arise from their samādhi and that entire assembly applies itself to making offerings to the Tathāgata,” which seems to be the better version.

notes.31

31. According to the Chinese. The Sanskrit has kṣetrābhayā, which is probably a scribal corruption. The Tibetan therefore translates this as zhing gi snang ba (“radiance of the realm”).

notes.32

32. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “for the benefit, welfare, and happiness.”

notes.33

33. According to the Tibetan. “The bodhisattvas arise from their samādhis” is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.34

34. According to the Tibetan ’od dpag tshad brgya pa. The Sanskrit has yojanaprabhā (“[one] yojana[-wide] light”). The Tibetan brgya pa could be a corruption of rgya pa (“wide”).

notes.35

35. According to the Sanskrit snigdhacittā. The Tibetan translated this with its alternative meaning of snum pa’i sems (lit. “oily mind”). It also means “sticky” and “adhering,” but the essential meaning is “friendly and affectionate.”

notes.36

36. According to the Sanskrit pratyaya, which could be translated as “condition,” “circumstances,” “factor,” or “cause.” The Tibetan has rkyen.

notes.37

37. According to the Tibetan. “The power of courage” is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.38

38. According to the Tibetan. “Mahāsattvas” is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.39

39. According to the Tibetan. “Mahāsattvas” is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.40

40. According to the Sanskrit gandhāhārās. Translated into Tibetan as dri za, which would normally be understood to be the translation of gandharva, a specific class of deities, but this is not what is meant here.

notes.41

41. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has priyāpriya (“pleasant and unpleasant”).

notes.42

42. According to the Tibetan de bzhin du sbyar and the BHS usage of peyālaṃ.

notes.43

43. According to the Sanskrit durgandha and the Tibetan thog dri nga ba yang. The Narthang and Lhasa versions have the corruption dri ma’ang; the Urga and Degé have dri ma yang (“stain”).

notes.44

44. According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit “gentle” and “pleasing” are adjectives for the birds and not their songs.

notes.45

45. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has the height as 68,000 yojanas, aṣṭaṣaṣṭhiyojanasahasrāṇi.

notes.46

46. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates caraṇa as “feet.”

notes.47

47. The Sanskrit has “said” instead of “thought.”

notes.48

48. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “in the first period of the night.”

notes.49

49. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “we wish to remain.”

notes.50

50. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “past and future.”

notes.51

51. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “will teach this entranceway into the dhāraṇī that is the form of omniscience to the bodhisattvas whom they have consecrated to be their regents.”

notes.52

52. Tadyathā (“it is thus”) is taken in the Tibetan to be the beginning of the dharāṇī. Nearly every word has variations in the various editions of the Kangyur. Here we follow the critical edition of the Sanskrit by Yamada.

notes.53

53. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit here adds “came to this Sahā world realm.”

notes.54

54. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “by a great assembly of bodhisattvas.”

notes.55

55. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “8,400,000.”

notes.56

56. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has, “Solely to obtain this samādhi, a bodhisattva mahāsattva has to realize the thirty-seven factors of enlightenment and attain the knowledge of an omniscient one.”

notes.57

57. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has gāḍhakarmāni (“strong karma”). The Tibetan has dang po’i las (“initial karma”).

notes.58

58. According to the Sanskrit paṭṭaṃ bandhati. The Tibetan translates this as “binding silk,” but toward the end of the sūtra translates it as thod bcings (“turban”).

notes.59

59. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit adds “by passing on their diadem turban.”

notes.60

60. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit omits dharmabhāṇaka (“Dharma reciter”).

notes.61

61. The Sanskrit bhakṣyānna just means “food” and does not specify “cooked rice.”

notes.62

62. The Tibetan gtams (“filled”) seems to be an early scribal corruption from gdams. The Sanskrit has avādata (“to be addressed,” “to be spoken to”).

notes.63

63. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit āmantrayate could also mean “greeted.”

notes.64

64. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit omits “bhagavat.”

notes.65

65. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits Candrottama.

notes.66

66. According to the Sanskrit avakrāmanti. The Tibetan translates here as las ’das (“passing beyond,” “transcending”), although when this same phrase occurs later in the sūtra, the verb is translated as gnon par byed (“ascend to”).

notes.67

67. “Tenth” is not specified in this passage but is said to be the result of listening to the dhāraṇī further on.

notes.68

68. According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit, “bodhisattvas” is in the genitive case, so that the passage reads: “and he planted good roots for those bodhisattva mahāsattvas for ten intermediate eons.”

notes.69

69. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “established many hundred thousand million trillion hundreds of thousands of millions of trillions of beings in irreversible progress toward the highest, most complete enlightenment.”

notes.70

70. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has Ratnacandravairocana.

notes.71

71. This line is abridged in the Tibetan, but has been rendered in full here.

notes.72

72. Dravidian is the term used for the people, language, and culture of South India, and here the mantra is identified as being linguistically Dravidian.

notes.73

73. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “all his other karmic obscurations.”

notes.74

74. According to the Sanskrit syntax.

notes.75

75. According to the Sanskrit avaropya. The Tibetan has bsrungs (“protected,” “guarded”).

notes.76

76. The Sanskrit has atulya (“unequaled”).

notes.77

77. The Sanskrit repeats aprameyāṇi, while Tibetan has first tshad ma mchis pa and second dpag tu ma mchis pa, which means the Sanskrit must have had aparimāṇa, as later in the sūtra.

notes.78

78. According to the Sanskrit. As a result of the ambiguity of the Sanskrit here, the Tibetan associates these qualities with the buddhas to whom the bodhisattvas made offerings.

notes.79

79. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has gzhol (“enter into”).

notes.80

80. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “pretas and piśācas.”

notes.81

81. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has translated the Sanskrit eta as “come here!”

notes.82

82. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “…‘and you will always have this kind of bliss.’ Then those pretas placed their palms together and recited, ‘Homage to the Buddha! Homage to the Dharma! Homage to the Saṅgha.’ ”

notes.83

83. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “a buddha realm with the five degeneracies.”

notes.84

84. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “inferior buddha realm with the five degeneracies.”

notes.85

85. The length from the fingertips of one arm outstretched sideways to the other.

notes.86

86. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “many powers.”

notes.87

87. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “touched his feet and bowed with palms together toward the Tathāgata Ratnagarbha.”

notes.88

88. The Sanskrit reads “alms bowls” instead of “food.”

notes.89

89. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “mightiest soldiers.”

notes.90

90. The precious householder is one of the seven precious possessions, or treasures, of the cakravartin, which, in the more widespread version of the seven treasures, is replaced by the precious minister.

notes.91

91. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “doors in the four directions.”

notes.92

92. Four legs, two tusks, and the trunk.

notes.93

93. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.94

94. According to the Sanskrit singular. The Tibetan has the plural “those parklands.”

notes.95

95. According to the Sanskrit puruṣamātrapramāṇam. The Tibetan could be interpreted as meaning “floating at the height of a man.”

notes.96

96. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “uragasāra.”

notes.97

97. Infantry, chariots, cavalry, and elephants.

notes.98

98. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “eaten.”

notes.99

99. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “400,000.”

notes.100

100. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has Devī.

notes.101

101. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan uses two words for “incense” and one for “incense smoke.”

notes.102

102. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.103

103. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit is obscure and varies between manuscripts, and there is repetition of the sentence later in the text.

notes.104

104. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.105

105. Skt. bherī; Tib. rnga bo che. There are many kinds of kettledrums. The bherī is described as a conical or bowl-shaped kettledrum, with an upper surface that is beaten with sticks.

notes.106

106. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has, “Then the chief prince, Animiṣa, honored the Bhagavat and his saṅgha of bhikṣus for three months in the same way that King Araṇemin had. King Araṇemin also came on some days to see the bhagavat and his saṅgha of bhikṣus and to listen to his teaching.”

notes.107

107. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit instead reads “and completely golden and divine cities.”

notes.108

108. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.109

109. The paṭaha is a cylindrical drum hung from the body and usually played standing up by beating the upper surface with drumsticks.

notes.110

110. According to the Sanskrit. Most Kangyur editions, such as the Lithang, Narthang, and Choné, have yang dag skyes (“truly born”). The Comparative Edition has yan lag skyes, which could be a translation of aṅgaja.

notes.111

111. In most Sanskrit manuscripts and in Chinese it is “Middha,” but some Sanskrit manuscripts have the corruption “Siddha,” which the Tibetan follows.

notes.112

112. According to Sanskrit and most Tibetan editions, but not the Comparative Edition.

notes.113

113. According to Sanskrit and most Tibetan editions, but not the Comparative Edition.

notes.114

114. According to the Tibetan.

notes.115

115. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and Chinese have more aspirations: “Some of them prayed to be a deva, some to become Śakra, some to become Māra, some to become Brahmā, some to become a cakravartin, some to have great wealth, some to be in the Śrāvakayāna, and some to be in the Pratyekabuddhayāna.”

notes.116

116. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.117

117. According to the Tibetan; “tathāgata arhat samyaksambuddha Ratnagarbha” is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.118

118. The Sanskrit repeats “robes, food, beds, seats, medicines, and necessities.”

notes.119

119. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “to be a deva, or to be Śakra, or to be Māra, or to have great wealth, or for the way of the śrāvaka.”

notes.120

120. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.121

121. This time the Tibetan transliterates rather than translates eraṇḍa.

notes.122

122. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has, “I have seen a great sight in my dream. I have seen the buddhas, the bhagavats, in the ten directions.”

notes.123

123. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit is more elaborate in this passage.

notes.124

124. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.125

125. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “and carried it to.”

notes.126

126. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates the compound as three nouns: “fame and sound and verse.”

notes.127

127. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit adds “not even Brahmā and the other deities.”

notes.128

128. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.129

129. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.130

130. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.131

131. According to the Sanskrit kṣaṇasaṃpat, which is translated into Tibetan as an alternative, meaning dal ba (“leisure”).

notes.132

132. The Sanskrit is udumbara. The fig tree never flowers. It also became the name for a legendary lotus in Tibet, as there are no fig trees there.

notes.133

133. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.134

134. According to the Tibetan yang dag par sbyor pa. The Sanskrit has sumṛdu (“very gentle”).

notes.135

135. According to the Sanskrit śītala, which can also mean “cold” or “cool,” as in the Tibetan translation bsil ba.

notes.136

136. According to the Sanskrit. This line is missing in the Tibetan.

notes.137

137. According to the Sanskrit sadānandita. The Tibetan translates as “the attainment of perfect joy.”

notes.138

138. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has akliṣṭa (“the path is unafflicted”).

notes.139

139. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit omits “great.”

notes.140

140. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “in the care of all the tathāgatas.”

notes.141

141. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “dust,” one of the meanings of rajas.

notes.142

142. Sanskrit: gamanīya. The Tibetan has mchi ba la sman pa (“medicine for going”) likely in error for mchi ba la phan pa (“benefit for going”).

notes.143

143. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “bodhisattvas.”

notes.144

144. According to the Tibetan sku, presumably translating from a manuscript that had kāya. The Sanskrit has āśraya (“shelter,” “refuge,” “location”).

notes.145

145. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit also has, “Through what karma do bodhisattva mahāsattvas obtain a pure buddha realm? Through what karma will it be completely an impure one? Through what karma will there be superior beings? And so on, until through what karma will beings have long lifespans?”

notes.146

146. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit also has, “Through what karma do bodhisattva mahāsattvas obtain a pure buddha realm? Through what karma do they obtain an impure one? Through what karma will there be superior beings?…Through what karma will beings have long lifespans?”

notes.147

147. According to the Sanskrit upanimantrita. The Tibetan has translated it with its alternative but more frequent meaning of spyan drangs (“invite”), which is not as appropriate here.

notes.148

148. According to the Sanskrit upakaraṇa, which the Tibetan has translated with an alternative meaning of yo byad (“commodities”).

notes.149

149. The Sanskrit has, “I will make offerings to the Bhagavat, so you also should be eager to make offerings.”

notes.150

150. According to the Sanskrit pratiśrutya, translated into Tibetan with the meaning mnyan (“listened”).

notes.151

151. According to the Sanskrit. Missing in the Tibetan.

notes.152

152. According to the Tibetan.

notes.153

153. According to the Chinese. The Tibetan and Sanskrit make the last two names into one.

notes.154

154. Although all Sanskrit, Tibetan, and Chinese versions have these beings as hell beings, at this point one would expect reference to pretas, the beings in Yama’s realm, who are freed of hunger and thirst.

notes.155

155. This prince does not appear in the earlier list, even though he is second in importance. At this point the Sanskrit has his name as Nimu, but in all later instances it is Nimi.

notes.156

156. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has nirhārapati (“lord of accumulation”).

notes.157

157. According to the Tibetan. “Silver” is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.158

158. A conical or bowl kettledrum, also called a nagada. The upper surface is beaten with sticks; often in pairs one larger than the other.

notes.159

159. A variety of kettledrum. The mṛḍaṅga is wider in the middle with skin at both ends played horizontally using one’s hands. One drumhead is smaller than the other. The mṛḍaṅga is a South Indian drum and is often used to maintain the rhythm in Carnatic music.

notes.160

160. A large cylindrical drum, its upper surface played with sticks, and played standing, hung from the body.

notes.161

161. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has kathayati ca (“and he recited”).

notes.162

162. According to the Tibetan. Literally “as fast and wavering as the strength of the wind.” The Sanskrit has drutavāyuvegacapalām (“wavering like a swift gust of wind”).

notes.163

163. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to take the bhagavad in the compound bhagavadgandha as a vocative.

notes.164

164. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit pratibhāna covers the qualities of being quick-witted, eloquent, and confident.

notes.165

165. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to have a scribal corruption of sgra (“word”) to sgrib (“obscuration”).

notes.166

166. The last clause is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.167

167. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.168

168. Sanskrit: “all buddha realms.”

notes.169

169. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “bodhisattvas” instead of “beings” (sattva).

notes.170

170. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit omits “karmic.”

notes.171

171. There are several enumerations of patience. The list of two kinds of patience usually includes the worldly patience of forbearance and the supramundane patience of the realization of the illusory nature of phenomena. The list of three kinds is usually patience in response to harm caused by others, patience in response to suffering, and patience in relation to the profound meaning of the Dharma, in that one is not frightened by it.

notes.172

172. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “supreme joy, delight, and happiness.”

notes.173

173. See .

notes.174

174. According to the Tibetan. The Chinese has “for thirty-five intermediate eons,” whereas the Sanskrit has “for the same number of intermediate eons.”

notes.175

175. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan could be read to mean “as many incalculable eons as there are grains of sand,” and “incalculable” could be taken as a general adjective rather than the name of the specific eon that is a quarter of a great eon. The Sanskrit, however, has the eon in the singular.

notes.176

176. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “who have first come.”

notes.177

177. According to the Sanskrit adhikāra, translated literally into Tibetan as lhag par bya ba.

notes.178

178. The Sanskrit for “seen” is avalokita, which here refers to the first part of Animiṣa’s bodhisattva name, Avalokiteśvara.

notes.179

179. According to the Sanskrit dṛṣṭigrāhagrasta. The Tibetan has “held by a makara view.”

notes.180

180. The Sanskrit svareṇa (“by voice”) here refers to the second half of Animiṣa’s bodhisattva name, Avalokiteśvara.

notes.181

181. Based on the language of this passage, avalokiteśvara can be understood to mean “Lord of That Which Has Been Viewed.”

notes.182

182. Literally “ninety-six times ten million (Skt. koṭi; Tib. bye ba) times a hundred thousand million (Skt. niyuta; Tib. khrag khrig) times a hundred thousand (Skt. śatasahasra; Tib. ’bum).” This meaning of niyuta is only found in Buddhist Sanskrit. Niyuta is translated in other texts into Tibetan as sa ya according to its classical meaning of “one million.”

notes.183

183. According to the Tibetan, literally “three times a hundred million, plus three times ten million,” or in other words, 330,000,000. The Sanskrit has 630,000,000.

notes.184

184. According to the Tibetan. “Treetops” is absent in the Sanskrit.

notes.185

185. According to the Sanskrit mahāsthāma. The Tibetan translates this as gnas chen (“great state”) and therefore may be translating from mahāsthāna. It may be translating sthāma from its alternative meaning of “place” or “station,” but that contradicts the Tibetan translation of sthāma in the name Mahāsthāmaprāpta as mthus chen thob (“One Who Has Attained Great Power”).

notes.186

186. This is assuming that sthāna in the Sanskrit is a scribal corruption of sthāma, as this passage is giving the reason for the name Mahāsthāmaprapta.

notes.187

187. Literally “One Who Has Attained Great Power” (mthu chen thob), although, as the preceding translations of Mahāsthāma were interpreted as gnas chen or were from texts in which sthāma was corrupted as sthāna, the reason for the name is not evident in Tibetan.

notes.188

188. According to the Sanskrit.

notes.189

189. According to the Tibetan “filled.” The Sanskrit has “purified.”

notes.190

190. The Sanskrit reads “pure bodhisattvas.”

notes.191

191. The Sanskrit reads “right hand.”

notes.192

192. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has, literally, “unhappiness,” though this could be translated as “physical discomfort.”

notes.193

193. According to the Tibetan. The Chinese was also translated from a version that had tuṣita. The Sanskrit has so ’nyatra lokadhātāv uṣitvā (“after living in another world”).

notes.194

194. According to the Sanskrit mama and the Tibetan gi found in the Yongle and Kangxi versions.

notes.195

195. According to the Sanskrit, as the Tibetan syntax appears disordered: “May that buddha realm be filled with various divine, wonderful trees, with divine mandārava and mahāmandarava flowers, without any trees made of wood. May there be no evil smells there.”