The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman
Translation of འཕགས་པ་བྲམ་ཟ་མ་དཔལ་ལྡན་མས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད (འཕགས་པ་བྲམ་ཟེ་མོ་དཔལ་ལྡན་མས་ཞུས་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ)
- Language
- English
- Translator
- Lowell Cook
- Extent
- 30 passages, 2,761 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- 84000 · Published by 84000 (v 1.1.16 2025). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha,… · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha). Shown whole and unaltered, with its notes, on a…
Contents
- intro 84000's introduction — 8 parts
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- notes Notes — 15 parts
Text
84000's introduction
intro.1
During an alms round in Vārāṇasī, the Buddha Śākyamuni encounters a brahmin woman by the name of Śrīmatī. Inspired by the Buddha’s majestic and graceful presence, Śrīmatī inquires about the teaching he gave at nearby Deer Park. In response, the Buddha reprises the teaching on how the twelve links of dependent origination lead to suffering and how their cessation leads to the end of suffering. Śrīmatī then asks about the nature of ignorance, the first of the twelve links. The Buddha offers a profound response and raises the distinction between ultimate truth and conventional teaching. At this, Śrīmatī makes the aspiration that she too may turn the many wheels of Dharma just as the Buddha has done. The Buddha then smiles and prophesies her eventual awakening. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha describing Śrīmatī’s virtuous deeds in past lives, in which she had venerated each of the six previous buddhas.
intro.2
The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman presents a dialogue between the Buddha Śākyamuni and a brahmin woman called Śrīmatī whom he encounters while collecting alms in the city of Vārāṇasī. Inspired by the Buddha’s graceful presence, Śrīmatī asks him about the teachings he gave at nearby Deer Park. In response, the Buddha relates his teaching on the twelve links of dependent origination and how the cessation of suffering can be brought about by putting an end to ignorance, the first of the twelve links. This teaching is found in very similar wording in many sūtras, but the present sūtra is notable in setting the discourse soon after the first sermon and in nearby Vārāṇasī.¹ Moreover, in this Mahāyāna sūtra, the teaching on the twelve links is combined, in response to Śrīmatī’s questions on the nature and ontological status of ignorance, with a discourse on emptiness that touches on the distinction between ultimate and conventional truth. The sūtra further describes the teachings given by the Buddha in terms of the different ways in which the wheel of Dharma can be characterized.
intro.3
This is one of several Mahāyāna sūtras in the Kangyur in which the Buddha’s main interlocutor is a high-status laywoman. Others include The Questions of the Girl Vimalaśraddhā (Toh 84),² The Questions of Vimaladattā (Toh 77), The Lion’s Roar of Śrīmālādevī (Toh 92), The Sūtra of Aśokadattā’s Prophecy (Toh 76),³ The Questions of Vimalaprabhā (Toh 168), The Prophecy Concerning Strīvivarta, (Toh 190),⁴ and The Prophecy of Kṣemavatī (Toh 192).⁵ Laywomen of low social status are the main interlocutors in The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati (Toh 74),⁶ The Questions of Gaṅgottara (Toh 75), The Questions of an Old Lady (Toh 171),⁷ The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī (Toh 96),⁸ The Sūtra of the Girl Candrottarā’s Prophecy (Toh 191), and The City Beggar Woman (Toh 205).⁹ As is typical in these narratives, in The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman, at the end of the discourse, Śrīmatī’s sincere aspiration to achieve awakening and teach the Dharma in the future causes the Buddha to smile one of his magnificent smiles. The Buddha’s smile is followed by a prophecy concerning Śrīmatī’s future awakening.
intro.4
The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman was clearly extant in early Buddhist Central Asia since a long Sanskrit quotation from it can be found in Gupta Brahmi script on a Bactrian copper scroll inscription that probably dates to the fifth century ce. This scroll, the Śrīmatībrāhmaṇīparipṛcchā, as identified by Melzer (2006), is currently held in the Schøyen Collection, Oslo.
intro.5
The sūtra was translated into Chinese twice, once by Dharmarakṣa (竺法護 Zhu Fahu) in the late third or early fourth century ce (Taishō 567),¹⁰ and once by Bodhiruci (菩提流志 Putiliuzhi) in 693 ce (Taishō 568).¹¹ The dialogue with Śrīmatī is also cited in the seminal Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom (大智度論 Dazhidu lun), attributed to Nāgārjuna and translated by Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什 Jiumoluoshi) in 406 ce.
intro.6
The sūtra was translated into Tibetan in the late eighth or early ninth century ᴄᴇ by the master translator Yeshé Dé along with Surendrabodhi and Prajñāvarman, during the height of the Tibetan imperial sponsorship of Buddhism. It is listed in both the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) and Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) imperial catalogs.¹²
intro.7
A Japanese translation, along with a reconstructed Sanskrit text, was produced in two parts by Goshima (2001, 2002).¹³ An English translation of the sūtra along with an introduction was recently published by Peter Skilling (2021).¹⁴
intro.8
This English translation was made from the Tibetan as preserved in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.
1
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near Vārāṇasī, with an assembly of some seven hundred monks and many bodhisattva great beings. At dawn, the Blessed One donned his upper and lower robes, picked up his alms bowl, and went on an alms round through Vārāṇasī together with his attendant monk, the venerable Ānanda,¹⁵ and the bodhisattva great being Ajita.
As the Blessed One went steadily through the city of Vārāṇasī gathering alms, he arrived at the house of a brahmin woman by the name of Śrīmatī. As the Blessed One stayed to one side waiting for alms, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman saw from afar that the Blessed One was beautiful and inspiring, his senses at peace, and his heart at peace. He was gentle. He had arrived at tranquility; he had arrived at supreme tranquility. He was serene, peaceful, and well guarded. His senses were tamed and, without a trace of wickedness, he glowed with a fine complexion. Still and clear like a lake, elevated and unshakable like a golden offering post, he was unmoving, and due to the splendor of his attainment, he blazed, shone, and glowed with brilliance. Seeing this, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman was inspired and went to him. She paid homage at the feet of the Blessed One and the bodhisattva great being Ajita. “Welcome, Blessed One,” she said, bowing toward the Blessed One with joined palms.
2
“Welcome. Please be seated on the seat we have set out for you.”
The Blessed One and the bodhisattva great being Ajita took their respective seats. Seeing that the Blessed One and the bodhisattva great being Ajita were comfortably seated, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman bowed toward the Blessed One with joined palms and said, “Blessed One, I have heard that the Blessed One turned the wheel of Dharma at Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near the city of Vārāṇasī. Blessed One, what Dharma did the Blessed One teach?”
The Blessed One answered Śrīmatī the brahmin woman, “Śrīmatī, it is this: Through the condition of ignorance, there are formations. Through the condition of formations, there is consciousness. Through the condition of consciousness, there is name and form. Through the condition of name and form, there are the six sense sources. Through the condition of the six sense sources, there is contact. Through the condition of contact, there is sensation. Through the condition of sensation, there is craving. Through the condition of craving, there is grasping. Through the condition of grasping, there is becoming. Through the condition of becoming, there is rebirth. Through the condition of rebirth, there is old age and death, as well as sorrow, misery, suffering, mental anguish, and agitation. In this way, only great heaps of suffering come about.
“With the cessation of ignorance, formations cease. With the cessation of formations, consciousness ceases. With the cessation of consciousness, name and form cease. With the cessation of name and form, the six sense sources cease. With the cessation of the six sense sources, contact ceases. With the cessation of contact, sensation ceases. With the cessation of sensation, craving ceases. With the cessation of craving, grasping ceases. With the cessation of grasping, becoming ceases. With the cessation of becoming, rebirth ceases.
3
With the cessation of rebirth, old age and death, as well as sorrow, misery, suffering, mental anguish, and agitation, cease. In only this way will the great heap of suffering cease.
“This, Śrīmatī, is the wheel of Dharma that has never before been rightfully turned in the world by any mendicant, brahmin, god, demon, or brahmā, but was turned by the Thus-Gone One here at Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near the city of Vārāṇasī.”
Śrīmatī the brahmin woman asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, is ignorance something internal or something external?”
The Blessed One responded, “It is neither, Śrīmatī.”
“Blessed One, if ignorance is neither internal nor external, then how does something nonexistent act as a condition for formations? Are there any phenomena that are beyond this world, Blessed One?”
“There are not, Śrīmatī.”
“Blessed One, does ignorance have features?”
“It does not, Śrīmatī,” the Blessed One replied. “Ignorance comes about in a false manner, Śrīmatī; it does not come about in a true manner. Ignorance comes about in a mistaken manner, Śrīmatī; it does not come about in an unmistaken manner.”
“Blessed One, if ignorance is nonexistent then where do formations come from? And where does suffering come from? Blessed One, let me share an analogy. If a banyan tree has no roots, how do its boughs, leaves, and branches develop? In a similar manner, Blessed One, if ignorance has not come into being and is not existent, how can it act as the condition for formations?”
“Indeed, Śrīmatī,” replied the Blessed One, “all phenomena are empty of inherent characteristics.
4
Nevertheless, childish, ordinary beings who lack learning, knowledge, and realization bring about the formation of karma. Through this karma, cyclic existence manifests, and due to cyclic existence, these beings end up experiencing suffering. But there is no one who forms karma nor is there any act of manifesting cyclic existence. This is the ultimate nature of phenomena. However, Śrīmatī, thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddhas, being concerned with how beings can realize the ultimate nature, resort to convention to teach beings the Dharma. However, Śrīmatī, convention is not true. Why not? Because there is no one to comprehend it and no act of coming to understand it.
“Take the following analogy, Śrīmatī. The Thus-Gone One projects an emanation of himself which then, in turn, projects an emanation of itself. The emanation projected by the Thus-Gone One is hollow, that is, of a false and deceptive nature. The emanation projected by the emanation is also hollow, that is, of a false and deceptive nature. In a similar manner, Śrīmatī, that which conditions phenomena is hollow, that is, of a false and deceptive nature. The conditioned phenomena are also hollow, that is, of a false and deceptive nature.”
“It is so,” she replied. “The Blessed One has turned the wheel of emptiness, the wheel of emancipation, the wheel of certainty, the wheel of inconceivability, the wheel unturned, the wheel of the incomparable, the wheel just as it is, the wheel of birthlessness, the wheel of the unreal, and the wheel of the absence of characteristics.”
Then Śrīmatī the brahmin woman took a handful of sandalwood powder, sprinkled it on the Blessed One’s feet, and said,
5
“Blessed One, by this root of virtue, may I too in the future turn the wheel of Dharma in that way—the wheel of emptiness, the wheel of emancipation, the wheel of certainty, the wheel of inconceivability, the wheel unturned, the wheel of the incomparable, the wheel just as it is, the wheel of birthlessness, the wheel of the unreal, and the wheel of the absence of characteristics.”
At this, the Blessed One smiled. As is the nature of the blessed buddhas when they smile, as he smiled, lights of many colors—blue, white, red, crimson, and the colors of crystal and silver—streamed from his mouth, filling and illuminating worlds without end all the way up to the Brahmā realms, before returning, circling the Blessed One three times, and dissolving into the crown of his head.
Then the bodhisattva great being Ajita said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One! Thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddhas do not smile without cause and condition. What, then, are the causes and conditions for your smile?”
“Ajita,” he replied, “did you see Śrīmatī the brahmin woman take a handful of sandalwood powder and sprinkle it on the Blessed One’s feet?”
“I did, Blessed One. I saw it, Well-Gone One.”
“Ajita,” the Blessed One continued, “through her roots of virtue, this brahmin woman will not fall back into the lower realms for eight hundred and forty million eons. She will honor, venerate, respect, and worship sixty-four thousand buddhas. She will listen to the Dharma from them, she will retain what she hears, and she will fully master the true Dharma.
6
She will greatly worship the thus-gone ones who are present and those who have passed into parinirvāṇa. She will place countless, innumerable beings in the state of awakening. In a future life, during the eon known as Self-Luminous, she will appear in this great trichiliocosm as a thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha known as Luminous Dharma, whose lifespan will be equal to a thousand eons, and, after working for the benefit of countless, innumerable beings, she will pass into parinirvāṇa—the expanse of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the aggregates.”
Then the bodhisattva great being Ajita asked the Blessed One, “Did Śrīmatī the brahmin woman previously possess other roots of virtue?”
“She did, Ajita,” he replied. “In her desire for unsurpassed and perfect awakening, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman, in a previous life as a woman, offered a garland of flowers to the Thus-Gone One Vipaśyin. She also offered robes to the Thus-Gone One Śikhin and went forth as a renunciant in his teaching, practiced the holy life for a thousand years, and questioned that blessed one on profound topics. She offered food to the Thus-Gone One Viśvabhū and his assembly of hearers, serving them to their satisfaction. She scattered atimuktaka flowers before the Thus-Gone One Krakucchanda and from that blessed one received the five basic precepts. To the Thus-Gone One Kanakamuni she offered garments, meals, bedding, curative medicines, and supplies throughout his life. That blessed one partook of her meals for two months and she also offered him a pair of sandals.
7
In her desire for unsurpassed and perfect awakening, she threw a golden rosary before the Thus-Gone One Kāśyapa and made the aspiration, ‘Until I am prophesied to reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening, I will not inhabit any other form than that of a woman.’ These, Ajita, are the past roots of virtue of Śrīmatī the brahmin woman.”
After the Blessed One had spoken thus, the bodhisattva great being Ajita, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas all rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
Colophon
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Surendrabodhi and Prajñāvarman, the editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, and others.
Notes
notes.1
1. A peculiar feature of the setting is the inclusion of Ānanda in the opening narrative. Ānanda is generally believed to have only joined the Buddha’s community of followers in the second year after the Buddha’s awakening, yet the sermon at Deer Park took place only two months after this awakening. Therefore, the inclusion of Ānanda here seems to be an anomaly. This is confirmed by the fact that Ānanda is only included in the recensions of the sūtra found in Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line and is absent from those of the Themphangma line. In the latter, only the bodhisattva Ajita is described as accompanying the Buddha on the alms round.
notes.2
2. The Questions of the Girl Vimalaśraddhā , Toh 84, translated by the Karma Gyaltsen Ling Translation Group (2021).
notes.3
3. Aśokadattā’s Prophecy , Toh 76, translated by UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group (2024).
notes.4
4. The Prophecy Concerning Strīvivarta , Toh 190, translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2021).
notes.5
5. The Prophecy of Kṣemavatī , Toh 192, translated by the Subhashita Translation Group (2022).
notes.6
6. Sumatidārikāparipṛcchāsūtra , Toh 74.
notes.7
7. The Questions of an Old Lady , Toh 171, translated by the Sakya Pandita Translation Group (2011).
notes.8
8. The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī , Toh 96, translated by Jens Erland Braarvig (2020).
notes.9
9. The City Beggar Woman , Toh 205, translated by George FitzHerbert.
notes.10
10. 佛說梵志女首意經 (Śrīmatībrāhmaṇīparipṛcchā), Taishō 567 (CBETA; SAT).
notes.11
11. 有德女所問大乘經 (Śrīmatībrāhmaṇīparipṛcchā), Taishō 568 (CBETA; SAT).
notes.12
12. Denkarma, folio 299.b; Herrmann-Pfandt, pp. 112–13; Phangthangma, p. 17.
notes.13
13. For references to Goshima’s work, see Skilling 2021, p. 334.
notes.14
14. Skilling 2021, pp. 331–40.
notes.15
15. kun dga’ bo dang. These words are only found in Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line, while the Stok Palace Kangyur (the only Themphangma-line Kangyur consulted for this translation) omits mention of Ānanda (kun dga’ bo). Ānanda does not reappear in the narrative, even in the recensions of the Tshalpa-line Kangyurs. This suggests his inclusion in the opening narrative may have occurred as the result of a copying error.