Aśokadattā’s Prophecy

Translation of འཕགས་པ་མྱ་ངན་མད་ཀྱས་བྱན་པ་ལང་བསྟན་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད (འཕགས་པ་མྱ་ངན་མེད་ཀྱིས་བྱིན་པ་ལུང་བསྟན་པ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ)

Language: English
Translators: Erdene Baatar Erdene-Ochir, Jed Forman
Extent: 81 passages, 10,460 words
Text: complete digital text
Source: 84000 · Published by 84000 (v 1.0.5 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…

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84000's introduction

intro.1

In this Mahāyāna sūtra, a group of the Buddha’s most eminent śrāvaka disciples are collecting alms in the city of Rājagṛha when they arrive at the palace of King Ajātaśatru. There, the king’s daughter Aśokadattā, who is seated on an ornate throne, neither rises from her seat to greet them nor pays them any form of respect. Outraged by her rudeness, the king chastises her. The girl is unrepentant, and in a series of elegant verses she explains to her father the superiority of the bodhisattva path, which renders such obeisance to śrāvakas inappropriate. The eminent śrāvaka disciples then engage the girl in debate, but each in turn is silenced by the eloquence and confidence of her replies, by which she deconstructs their questions based on her knowledge of the emptiness of all phenomena. Having thus impressed them, she descends from her throne and serves them humbly with food and drink. They then all go together to Vulture Peak, where the Buddha prophesies her future full awakening.

intro.2

This Mahāyāna sūtra in the (Tib. dkon brtsegs, Skt. ratnakūṭa) collection recounts the story of its titular character, Aśokadattā,¹ who was a daughter of King Ajātaśatru, the famed lord of Rājagṛha and a major patron of the Buddhist community during the latter part of the Buddha’s life.

intro.3

One day, while the Buddha was staying at nearby Vulture Peak, a large group of śrāvaka disciples including such eminent figures as Śāriputra, Mahāmaudgalyāyana, Mahākāśyapa, Subhūti, Rāhula, and others go into the city of Rājagṛha to collect alms, eventually arriving at the palace of King Ajātaśatru. When the king’s daughter Aśokadattā sees the disciples arriving, she neither rises from her seat nor makes any sign of greeting or respect. Her father is dismayed by her rudeness and chastises her for her impudence, but Aśokadattā is unrepentant. She defends her behavior with a series of eloquent analogies, illustrating for her father that those who follow the śrāvaka path are not worthy of respect or veneration, since they have failed to accept the full wealth offered by the Buddha’s Dharma. This, she says, is in contrast to bodhisattvas, who are motivated to help others on the path to liberation, and who have embraced the more profound teachings on the emptiness of all phenomena. Śrāvakas, she says, are like physicians concerned only with treating themselves, or travelers who depend on the hospitality of others. Bodhisattvas, on the other hand, are like physicians who care for others just as they care for themselves, or like those who generously share their provisions with others while on the road. Śrāvakas, she says, are like passengers on a boat, while bodhisattvas are like the captains of ships. While the light of a bodhisattva shines like the sun, the light of a śrāvaka is as dim as a firefly, and “who,” Aśokadattā asks, “would relinquish the sun and the moon to pay homage to fireflies?”

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In turn, each of the eminent śrāvakas engages the girl in debate, but each is left speechless by her responses and expresses awe at the eloquence and confidence with which she is able expound the Dharma and her acumen in deconstructing conventional distinctions from the perspective of the emptiness of all phenomena. On hearing her insightful and eloquent teachings, the mind set on complete awakening (Skt. bodhicitta) is stirred in twenty of the ladies of the royal household, including Aśokadattā’s own mother, the queen consort Moonlit. Aśokadattā then descends from her throne and humbly serves the śrāvakas with food and drink, and they all go together to Vulture Peak for an audience with the Buddha himself.

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When the Buddha is informed of the girl’s extraordinary eloquence and confidence, he explains that she has already cultivated roots of virtue with countless buddhas in former lives. Śāriputra then inquires why, if she has already accumulated such roots of virtue, does she still have a female form? The Buddha rebuffs Śāriputra’s question, saying that bodhisattvas may manifest in whatever form they wish. Aśokadattā adds the rejoinder that in truth “all phenomena are neither male nor female,” and to illustrate the point she transforms in front of them into a male form and in a state of ecstasy rises into the sky to the height of seven palm trees. The Buddha then prophecies Aśokadattā’s future awakening as a truly complete buddha and that her mother, too, will attain awakening in the same future world system. The bodhisattva Aśokadattā then descends from the sky and takes the form of a monk, illustrating for the king that all experienced phenomena are the contrivances of perception. The Buddha then instructs Ānanda to memorize and widely propagate the discourse.

intro.6

Aśokadattā’s Prophecy is among several sūtras that have a female bodhisattva as their main protagonist. Several of these feature the daughters of kings. Another daughter of King Ajātaśatru, Vimalaprabhā, is the main protagonist in The Questions of Vimalaprabhā (Vimalaprabhaparipṛcchā, Toh 168). Daughters of King Prasenajit are the main protagonists in The Questions of the Girl Vimalaśraddhā (Dārikāvimalaśraddhāparipṛcchā, Toh 84),² The Questions of Vimaladattā (Vimaladattaparipṛcchā, Toh 77), and The Lion’s Roar of Śrīmālādevī (Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanāda, Toh 92). In The Prophecy of Kṣemavatī (Kṣemavatīvyākaraṇa, Toh 192),³ King Bimbisāra’s queen Kṣemavatī receives a prediction of future awakening, as do the main protagonists in The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman (Śrīmatībrāhmaṇīparipṛcchā, Toh 170)⁴ and The Prophecy of the Girl Candrottarā (Candrottarādārikāvyākaraṇa, Toh 191). Laywomen of lesser social status who are likewise prophesied to achieve awakening are the main interlocutors in The Questions of the Girl Sumati (Sumatidārikāparipṛcchā, Toh 74),⁵ The Questions of Gaṅgottarā (Gaṅgottaraparipṛcchā, Toh 75),⁶ The Questions of an Old Lady (Mahallikāparipṛcchā, Toh 171),⁷ and The City Beggar Woman (Nāgarāvalambikā, Toh 205).⁸ In The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī (Mañjuśrīvikrīḍita, Toh 96),⁹ a courtesan also receives such a prophecy. While some of the women in these sūtras aspire to be reborn as males as they progress toward awakening, the point emphasized in many of these discourses, including this one, is that there is no gender in the awakened state. Nevertheless, the accounts all culminate in the prediction that the female protagonist will ultimately become an apparently male buddha.

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Aśokadattā’s Prophecy does not appear to have been widely referenced by the Buddhist scholar-monks in ancient India. However, it is cited at some length in The Compendium of Sūtra Teachings on the Stages of Meditation (Bhāvanākramasūtrasamuccaya), one of four compendia included in the Middle Way (dbu ma) section of the Tengyur. The section cited there includes the following:

intro.8

Dear father, though hundreds of jackals may howl,
The herds of wild animals are unperturbed.
But when a lion roars, elephants, beasts, and birds alike
Flee in all directions.

intro.9

Dear father, see that the śrāvakas are like jackals.
Their words scare not the demons,
But demons and their kind are terrified
When a king conducts himself as a bodhisattva.¹⁰

intro.10

Bodhidhara (fl. 1000 ce), a teacher at Nālandā University and a guru of the famed Atiśa,¹¹ also references this passage in passing in his Text on the Tools for Concentration (Samādhisambhāraparivarta), stating that it contains “methods for averting the activity of demons” (Tib. bdud kyi las bzlog pa'i thabs).¹² Both The Compendium of Sūtra Teachings on the Stages of Meditation and The Text on the Tools for Concentration are essentially meditation manuals, so it is interesting to find them quoting Aśokadattā’s Prophecy, which itself gives no specific instructions on meditation.

intro.11

There is no extant Sanskrit witness to this text. It was translated twice into Chinese, first by Dharmarakṣa in 317 ce (Taishō 337) and then again by Buddhaśānta in 539 ce (Taishō 310/32). Though Buddhaśānta’s Chinese version, as translated into English in Chang 1983,¹³ is close in narrative structure to the Tibetan, there are also some differences in the order of events and many divergences in detail. For example, there is a notable difference between the Tibetan and the Chinese in the treatment of Aśokadattā’s gender transformation. While the Tibetan version leaves us with Aśokadattā in the form of a male monk for the final exchange with the king, the Chinese has her transforming back again into her female form, confusing her father: “I do not [know how to] see you as you physically appear, because I just saw you as a monk, before seeing you now as a maiden again.”¹⁴ Such discrepancies may reflect different Sanskrit source texts.

intro.12

Aśokadattā’s Prophecy was translated into Tibetan by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi, along with the senior editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, indicating a translation made from Sanskrit during the height the Tibetan imperial sponsorship of Buddhism in the late eighth or early ninth century ce. This dating is supported by the title’s listing in both the Phangthangma¹⁵ and Denkarma¹⁶ imperial catalogs of translated texts.

intro.13

This is the first English translation of the Tibetan to be published. It is based on the Tibetan text as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur and the variants listed in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). Where variant readings have been preferred, this has been recorded in the notes.

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Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was dwelling in Rājagṛha at Vulture Peak together with a great monastic assembly of five hundred monks. Also in attendance were eight thousand bodhisattvas, all of whom had obtained dhāraṇī;¹⁷ whose confidence was unimpeded; who were expert in supernormal powers; who in the tradition of the profound Dharma dwelt in emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness and in the unperceived Dharma; who taught the Dharma without engaging with the world; and who had reached acceptance of the unborn nature of phenomena. These eight thousand bodhisattvas who had gathered there included the bodhisattva Meru, the bodhisattva Mahāmeru, the bodhisattva Jñānameru, the bodhisattva Ratnasiṃha,

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the bodhisattva Siṃhamati, the bodhisattva Nityotkṣiptahasta, the bodhisattva Perpetually Raised Hand, the bodhisattva Nityodyukta, the bodhisattva Always Smiling and Joyful, the bodhisattva Beyond the Senses, the bodhisattva Nityotkaṇṭhita, the bodhisattva Precious Mind, the bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi, the bodhisattva Holding a Jewel in Hand, the bodhisattva Radiant Jewel, the bodhisattva Sārathi, the bodhisattva Mahāsārathi, the bodhisattva Delights in Truth, the bodhisattva Maitreya, and the bodhisattva Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, as well as the eight holy beings—the bodhisattva Bhadrapāla, the bodhisattva Ratnākara, the bodhisattva Guhyagupta, the bodhisattva Indradeva, the bodhisattva Varuṇadeva, the bodhisattva Viśālamati, the bodhisattva Viśeṣamati, and the bodhisattva Vardhamānamati.

At that time, while the Bhagavān was staying at the great city of Rājagṛha, he was honored, revered, venerated, and worshiped by King Ajātaśatru along with his counselors, ministers, chancellors, ministerial kinsmen,¹⁸ officials, and courtiers, as well as by brahmins, kṣatriyas, and householders. Surrounded and venerated by a retinue of hundreds and thousands, the Bhagavān taught the attendees the Dharma.

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He taught the Dharma of holy living, wholesome in the beginning, in the middle, and in the end, excellent in meaning, beautiful in expression, unadulterated, complete, pristine, and pure.

One morning, many great śrāvakas—Venerable Śāradvatīputra, Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, Venerable Mahākāśyapa, Venerable Subhūti, Venerable Pūrṇamaitrāyaṇīputra, Venerable Aśvajit, Venerable Upāli, Venerable Rāhula, Venerable Revata, Venerable Ānanda, Venerable Aniruddha, and others—came into the great city of Rājagṛha to collect alms, all wearing their inner and outer Dharma robes and carrying alms bowls. Those great śrāvakas went progressively through the great city of Rājagṛha seeking alms and eventually reached the palace of King Ajātaśatru. Upon arrival, they waited silently to one side.

At that time, the daughter named Aśokadattā was at King Ajātaśatru’s palace. Her body was excellent like that of a twelve-year-old girl, beautiful, pleasant to behold, and with a clear complexion and full figure. She had done great deeds for victors of the past, developed roots of virtue, revered many hundreds and thousands of buddhas, and reached irreversibility on the path to unsurpassable awakening. She was seated upon a gold-legged throne in her father’s palace.

When the girl Aśokadattā saw the great śrāvakas, she neither stood up from her seat nor went to welcome them. She stayed silently where she was, making no gesture of greeting, not uttering a word, preparing no seats, and offering no alms.

When King Ajātaśatru was informed that the great śrāvakas had arrived, he came to the forecourt of the palace where they were. Since he held the great śrāvakas in the highest esteem, he was delighted to see them, and he had seats prepared for them.

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When he saw his daughter Aśokadattā sitting silently, just looking at them, King Ajātaśatru said to her, “Daughter, these are the great śrāvakas of the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the truly awakened Buddha Śākyamuni. They possess the qualities of greatness, they have exhausted their defilements, they have done what needs to be done, they have completed their work, they have laid down their burdens and attained their goal, they have completely exhausted the bonds to existence, they have liberated their minds through correct understanding, they have become fields of merit, and they are compassionate. Do you not understand that they seek alms out of compassion for the world? Why is it that, when you see them, you do not rise immediately from your seat, and you neither welcome them nor pay homage to them, talk to them, invite them to sit, or offer them alms? Why do you show them disrespect by sitting there silently, bereft of faith and devotion? What is the meaning of your gaze?”

The girl Aśokadattā responded to her father King Ajātaśatru by asking, “Father, consider this—have you ever heard of or seen a universal monarch standing up for or coming to welcome¹⁹ a vassal king?”

“No, my daughter,” answered the king.

The girl asked, “Does Śakra, the lord of gods, stand up for or come to welcome other gods?”

“No, my daughter,” answered the king.

The girl asked, “Father, does Brahmā, the lord of the Sahā world, stand up for or come to welcome other gods?”

“No, my daughter,” answered the king.

The girl asked, “Father, have you ever heard of or seen the great ocean paying homage to lakes, ponds, springs, small lakes, pools, and wells?”

“No, my daughter,” answered the king.

The girl asked, “Father, have you ever heard of or seen Sumeru, the king of mountains, bowing or paying homage to the other Black Mountains?”

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“No, my daughter,” answered the king.

She asked, “Father, have you ever heard of or seen the sun, the moon, and the stars wishing they had the light of fireflies?”

“No, my daughter,” answered the king.

She asked, “Father, have you ever heard of or seen a lion, the king of beasts, standing up for or coming to welcome a jackal?”

“No, my daughter,” answered the king.

She asked, “Father, in the same way, who, once they have already generated the mind set upon unsurpassable, truly complete awakening and proclaimed the lion’s roar of great loving-kindness and great compassion, would have admiration for jackal-like śrāvakas, who are inclined toward the inferior and who lack great loving-kindness and great compassion? Who would stand up for them, come to welcome them, pay homage to them, or honor them? Father, what great Dharma king who has already turned the unsurpassable wheel of Dharma, or who is now turning it, would happily pay homage or bow down to inferior śrāvakas, who are lowly, weak, cowardly, and have limited understanding? Father, what lord of gods, such as Indra, when striving to be a perfect lord of gods, would aspire to the state of, pay homage to, stand up for, or come to welcome śrāvakas, who are like lesser gods? Father, what lord of the Sahā world, such as Brahmā, when striving for Brahmā’s supreme reception hall in this world system,²⁰ would aspire to the state of, stand up for, come to welcome, or pay homage to śrāvakas, who are like brahmās with lesser roots of virtue? Father, who, when seeking realization in the Dharma that is equal to the unequaled, the immeasurable ocean of gnosis, would aspire to the state of, stand up for, come to welcome, or pay homage to śrāvakas, who follow a moral discipline that is like the water left in a cow’s hoofprint? Father,

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who, when striving for the form of a tathāgata whose meditative concentration is like Sumeru and who is liberated, would stand up for, come to welcome, pay homage to, bow to, or desire the state of a śrāvaka, whose power of meditative stability is like that of a mustard seed? Father, who, when they have heard of the greatness of the bhagavān buddhas—their wisdom, merit, gnosis, and qualities, which are like the immeasurable light of the sun and the moon—would want the liberation of a śrāvaka, whose luminosity of mind is as feeble as the light of a firefly and who follows the words of others? I do not pay homage to śrāvakas, even after tathāgatas have already passed into parinirvāṇa, not to mention while they are still present. Why? Because who would relinquish the sun and the moon to pay homage to fireflies? Father, if one relies on śrāvakas, one will remain with the mentality of a śrāvaka. But if one relies on completely perfect awakening, one will develop and gain the precious mind of omniscience.”

Thereupon King Ajātaśatru said to his daughter Aśokadattā, “So this is why, when you see these śrāvakas, you do not stand up, do not come to welcome them, do not pay homage, do not pay your respects, and do not invite them to be seated or receive alms. Daughter, you are exceptionally conceited!”²¹

The girl Aśokadattā replied to her father, King Ajātaśatru, “Father, I am not exceptionally conceited. Father, you neither stand up for nor go out to welcome the poor of this city. You do not prepare seats for them. So, you must consider yourself exceptionally conceited too.”

“Daughter, they are not my equals,” replied the king.

“In the same way, father,” she replied, “a bodhisattva, from the moment their mind is first set on awakening, is without equal among all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas.”

The king asked,

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“Daughter, do bodhisattvas not abandon conceit and arrogance, and bow and pay homage to all sentient beings?”

“Father,” she replied, “bodhisattvas do indeed bow and pay homage to all sentient beings, in order to abandon enmity, rigidity, anger, harmful intent, and faults and to ripen the roots of virtue. But, father, these great śrāvakas have not purified themselves of enmity, rigidity, anger, harmful intent, and faults—they have not abandoned them, nor have they cultivated virtue. Father, though all śrāvakas have been taught the Dharma of the śrāvakas by a hundred thousand buddhas, no matter how many times they are taught moral discipline, meditative stability, and wisdom, still, father, where is their moral discipline? Where is their meditative stability? Where is their wisdom? Where is their liberation? Where is their knowledge and seeing of liberation?²² As an analogy, father, they are like pots already filled with water that cannot accept or retain a single drop more when it rains. In the same way, father, even when a hundred thousand buddhas teach śrāvakas the Dharma they cannot grasp it. They neither retain nor increase their moral discipline, meditative stability, wisdom, liberation, or knowledge and seeing of liberation.

“On the other hand, father, by the same analogy, the vast ocean catches and retains the water of all rivers and all rain-flow. Why? Because the vast ocean is immeasurable. Father, bodhisattva mahāsattvas are like the ocean. They can likewise hold all the water of Dharma teachings and perfectly retain all Dharma teachings. Why?

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Because the vessel that is the mind of omniscience of the bodhisattva mahāsattvas is equal to the unequaled.”

About that, this is said:

When five hundred śrāvakas approached,²³
Aśokadattā, the daughter of Ajātaśatru,
Radiant with good qualities,
Did not rise to greet them.

Ajātaśatru said to her,
“Daughter, listen to my words!
When you see five hundred śrāvakas,
Why do you not stand to greet them?”

The girl Aśokadattā replied,
“When I saw these śrāvakas,
Why had I no thought to pay them homage?
Pray listen, father, to what I have to say.

“Take, for example, a person who goes to the ocean
And from that source of precious jewels takes only trinkets.
I consider all śrāvakas to be just like that,
Accepting only the śrāvakas’ doctrine from the expanse of gnosis.

“Take, for example, someone who has pleased a king,
A lord of wealth, a lord of the earth, a universal monarch,
But in return asks for just one kārṣāpaṇa coin—
Their service to that king has been pointless.

“But when someone has pleased a universal monarch
And asks for ten billion,
And with it makes the poor wealthy—
Such a person has served that king well.

“I consider all śrāvakas,
Who have heard of the limitless good qualities of buddhahood
Yet still aspire to the lesser vehicle,
As being like the person who asks for just one kārṣāpaṇa coin,

“While learned bodhisattvas
Are like the person who achieves great wealth
By pleasing a victorious Dharma king.
Having touched awakening, they train sentient beings.

“Just as, to give an analogy, a sick person tormented by a hundred ailments
Is released from their condition by a physician,
So, too, are all śrāvakas, who follow others’ instructions and are tormented by afflictions,
Released by bodhisattvas, who are like physicians.

“Who, when curing many beings by prescribing medicine,
Bows to those beings they treat?

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Similarly, who, when striving to be a perfectly awakened physician,
Bows to the śrāvakas they treat?

“Likewise, just as a physician cannot treat
Every sick person there is to be treated,
So, too, are physician buddhas unable to treat
Every śrāvaka who is to be treated.

“But physicians who think only
Of treating themselves and no other sentient beings—
Such conceited, selfish, and arrogant physicians
Will not generate the necessary intention for awakening,

“While a physician who develops compassion
And treats others’ illnesses as they would their own
Is a physician worthy of honor and praise
And is revered by all the world,

“Those preeminent in the realization of knowledge and awareness²⁴
Who liberate only themselves and no other sentient beings
Are like physicians who treat only themselves.
They are not esteemed by the learned.

“Those preeminent in the realization of knowledge and awareness
Who liberate countless sentient beings from suffering
Are those who have the aspiration to supreme awakening.
They are praised by all the world.

“The stem of the castor-oil plant is not beautiful,
And the shade it casts is not wide.
All śrāvakas are like the castor-oil plant,
And the liberating shade they offer is not valued.

“Great trunks of the best sandalwood trees
Are valued by those tormented by heat.²⁵
This is how I consider bodhisattvas,
Who benefit all the world, including its gods.

“The water left in a cow’s hoofprint is meager.
It offers no respite from the torments of heat,
While the Ganges River satisfies ten billion beings
And then flows to the great ocean.

“All śrāvakas are like the water in a cow’s hoofprint—

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They cannot relieve the heat that torments beings.
Bodhisattvas are like the Ganges River—
They satisfy limitless beings with Dharma.

“When a rain of precious things falls,
The poor are those who collect only cowrie shells,
While those who collect many gems
Make the poor wealthy.

“Likewise, when the buddhas make fall a rain of precious Dharma,
Śrāvakas are those who take only a little from the precious, holy Dharma,
While bodhisattvas, for the sake of sentient beings,
Take a lot.

“When sentient beings come before Mount Sumeru,
They assume a golden hue.
When they come before other mountains,
They do not assume a golden hue.

“Bodhisattvas are like Mount Sumeru—
By their power, the single hue of liberation
Spreads over living kind, including gods.
The same cannot be claimed for the gnosis of śrāvakas.

“Father, a dewdrop on the tip of a wet blade of grass
Is not enough to make crops grow.
Yet, a blanket of clouds covering the land
Will satisfy the earth and make crops multiply.

“All śrāvakas are like dewdrops,
While bodhisattvas are like the blanket of clouds.
Actualizing compassion, they bring relief to the trichiliocosm
With a rain of holy Dharma for those who rely on them.

“The oleander flower has not the best of scents
And so is not favored by man or woman.
The magnolia flower has a pleasing scent,
As do the blue lotus and jasmine.²⁶

“Śrāvakas are like the scent of oleander.
None are pleased by what they understand,
While both gods and humans are enraptured
By a bodhisattva’s scent of omniscience.

“What awe can there be for those who go it alone?
The truly marvelous are those who guide limitless beings.
Śrāvakas are like those who travel alone,
While bodhisattvas are like captains.

“There are travelers who seek provisions from others
And those who give hospitality to all.
Śrāvakas, who follow the advice of others, are all like the former,

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While bodhisattvas are like those who host everyone.

“With only a small boat,
One cannot rescue others from a great body of water.
But coming in a sturdy ship,
One can rescue many millions of beings.

“Śrāvakas are like those who rely on a small boat,
So how can they save other beings?
Bodhisattvas come in the ship of perfect awakening
And save beings from the ocean of suffering.

“One cannot gain victory over enemies
Riding a donkey into battle.
By riding elephants, horses, and chariots
One can defeat enemies in battle.

“Śrāvakas are like those who ride donkeys,
While bodhisattvas, who ride elephants,
Will be victorious over the demons before the Bodhi tree,
For the benefit and happiness of all beings.

“Though stars fill the sky,
They do not make the night beautiful.
But when the moon’s light fills the heavens,
It beautifies the night like a bindi for the sky.²⁷

“Dear father, these śrāvakas are like the stars,
Whereas, king, a bodhisattva is like the moon,
Shining brilliant gnosis upon living kind
In order to heal all sentient beings.

“Dear father, one can accomplish little
By the light of a swarm of fireflies.
But with the light of the sun in Jambudvīpa,
One can complete hundreds of various deeds.

“Śrāvakas are like fireflies—
The brilliance of their intellect is barely perceptible.
Buddhas are like the sun of liberation—
Their wisdom and gnosis liberate sentient beings.

“Dear father, though hundreds of jackals may howl,
The herds of wild animals are unperturbed.
But when a lion roars, elephants, beasts, and birds alike
Flee in all directions.

“Dear father, see that the śrāvakas are like jackals.
Their words scare not the demons,
But demons and their kind are terrified
When a king conducts himself as a bodhisattva.

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“Dear father, for these reasons,
I could not aspire to those of the lesser vehicle.
Who, after forsaking unsurpassable awakening,
Would aspire to the lesser vehicle?

“Those who have completely forsaken supreme awakening
And yet aspire to the lesser vehicle
Make an evil living and have not profited—
They have wasted their human birth.

“Those who, for the sake of healing the world with its gods,
Aspire to supreme awakening
Make a worthy living and achieve greatness—
They fulfil the purpose of this human birth.

“Those who, with body, speech, and mind,
Are resolved in thought and deed to heal the world,
Who always strive to heal sentient beings,
Are like an uḍumbara flower.”

On hearing these verses taught by his daughter Aśokadattā, King Ajātaśatru was speechless. Venerable Śāriputra thought to himself, “Well! This girl has achieved unimpeded eloquence, but I should ascertain whether or not she has achieved patience.”

So Venerable Śāriputra asked Aśokadattā, “Girl, have you truly practiced the Śrāvaka Vehicle, or do you not claim to have done so? Have you truly engaged in the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, or do you not claim to have done so? Girl, what is your purpose? What do you seek in making such a lion’s roar?”

“Reverend Śāriputra,” she replied, “if I were striving for the sake of some dharma, then I would not make a lion’s roar, but since, Reverend Śāriputra, I am not striving for the sake of any dharma, that is why I have made this lion’s roar.²⁸ Furthermore, Reverend Śāriputra, you asked me, ‘girl, have you truly practiced the śrāvaka’s vehicle?’ Well, is the dharma realized by the reverend Śāriputra classified as the vehicle known as that of the śrāvakas, the pratyekabuddhas, or the truly complete buddhas?”²⁹

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“Girl,” replied the elder Śāriputra, “in those dharmas there is no classification into vehicles. Dharma has only one characteristic: that it lacks any such characteristics.”

The girl asked, “Reverend Śāriputra, what is the purpose sought in this dharma without characteristics?”

“Girl,” replied Śāriputra, “no purpose whatsoever is sought in Dharma.”

The elder Śāriputra then further questioned Aśokadattā: “Girl, what distinguishes the dharmas³⁰ of a buddha and the dharmas of an ordinary person? What are the differences between the two?”

“Reverend Śāriputra,” replied the girl, “what distinguishes emptiness and voidness? What are the differences between the two?”

“There is no distinction or difference between them,” answered Śāriputra.

“Reverend Śāriputra,” the girl continued, “just as there is no distinction or difference between emptiness and voidness, so, too, Reverend Śāriputra, is there no distinction or difference whatsoever between the dharmas of a buddha and the dharmas of an ordinary person. Just as, Reverend Śāriputra, there is no distinction or difference between, for example, the sky and open space, so, too, Reverend Śāriputra, is there no distinction or difference between the dharmas of a buddha and the dharmas of an ordinary person.”

To this the elder Śāriputra made no reply.

Then Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana asked the girl Aśokadattā, “Girl, from what you have said, you consider the dharmas of the Buddha to be vastly superior, and you consider the dharmas of the śrāvakas to be vastly inferior. Is this why, when you see great śrāvakas, you do not stand up for them, or pay homage to them, or come to welcome them, or speak to them, or invite them to sit and receive alms?”

The girl Aśokadattā replied to the elder Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how many stars there are in this world system of the great trichiliocosm?”

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“Girl,” replied Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “were I immersed in meditative absorption, I could count them. But when I am not immersed in meditative absorption, I do not know.”

“Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana,” said the girl, “in just an instant of meditative equipoise, a tathāgata knows every thought of every sentient being of the past, present, and future, throughout the great trichiliocosm of world systems as numerous as the grains of sand of the Ganges River—not to mention the mere number of sentient beings included in just a single world system of the trichiliocosm. Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, this is what distinguishes the Tathāgata from the śrāvakas—this is what differentiates them. Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how many buddhafields have been destroyed and formed in the worlds of the ten directions?”

“No, girl, I do not know,” replied Maudgalyāyana.

The girl asked further, “Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how many bhagavān buddhas there have been in the past, how many there will be in the future, and how many there are now?”

“No, girl, I do not know,” replied Maudgalyāyana.

The girl asked further, “Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how many beings conduct themselves with attachment, how many with aversion, how many with ignorance, and how many with all three equally?”

“No, girl, I do not know,” replied Maudgalyāyana.

The girl asked, “Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how many beings there are who follow the Śrāvaka Vehicle, how many who follow the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle, and how many who are truly engaged in the Great Vehicle?”

“No, girl, I do not know,” replied Maudgalyāyana.

The girl asked, “Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how many beings there are who have been trained by śrāvakas, how many who have been trained by pratyekabuddhas,

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and how many who have been trained by buddhas?”

“No, girl, I do not know,” replied Maudgalyāyana.

The girl asked, “Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how many beings there are who make correct determinations, how many who make false determinations, and how many who make no determinations at all?”

“No, girl, I do not know,” replied Maudgalyāyana.

“Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana,” said the girl, “when the Tathāgata thoroughly knows this and all the other foregoing points that śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas do not, what need is there to mention other sentient beings? Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, this is the distinct superiority of the Tathāgata.

“Furthermore, Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, since the Tathāgata has taught that you are the greatest among those who possess magical powers, Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, go to the world system called Gandhaprabhāsa, where the tathāgata, the arhat, the truly complete buddha called Incense-Emitting Light dwells and accepts a livelihood teaching the Dharma to bodhisattvas, a buddhafield in which the scent of uragasāra sandalwood incense comes from every tree, and where fragrant incense pervades the entire buddhafield.”

“Girl,” replied the elder Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “I have only just now heard the name of that buddhafield. How can I go there to see that buddha and listen to his dharma?”

Without rising from her throne, the girl Aśokadattā said, “I declare with truth and true words that a bodhisattva mahāsattva, as soon as the mind of awakening is cultivated for the first time, outshines all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas in brilliance. So, by this truth and these true words, may the Tathāgata Incense-Emitting Light reveal himself and his buddhafield to these great śrāvakas!

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May these great śrāvakas experience its scents of sandalwood!”

The moment the girl Aśokadattā uttered these words, by the power of their truth, at that very instance, there radiated from the body of the bhagavān Tathāgata Incense-Emitting Light such light that the great śrāvakas were able to see the Gandhaprabhāsa world, with the tathāgata, arhat, truly complete Buddha Incense-Emitting Light seated there teaching the Dharma, and by the power of the Buddha, his Dharma teaching could even be heard in this world, while the scent of uragasāra sandalwood pervaded this entire Sahā world system.

With speech endowed with the sixty melodious aspects, the Tathāgata Incense-Emitting Light then said, “Just as the girl Aśokadattā has said, as soon as a bodhisattva mahāsattva cultivates the mind of awakening for the first time, they outshine all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas in brilliance.”

When the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya, who was staying at Vulture Peak, sensed the perfume of uragasāra sandalwood, he asked the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, where is this scent of uragasāra sandalwood coming from?”

The Bhagavān replied to the bodhisattva Maitreya, “Maitreya, the girl Aśokadattā has proclaimed a lion’s roar in front of the great śrāvakas. By the power of its truth, she has revealed to the great śrāvakas the Tathāgata Incense-Emitting Light, who lives in the world called Gandhaprabhāsa, teaching the Dharma to bodhisattva mahāsattvas. It is the scent of uragasāra sandalwood from the Gandhaprabhāsa world that now pervades this world as well.”

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The girl Aśokadattā then asked Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, who among the wise, when they have seen or heard the marvelous inconceivable magical displays and emanations of bodhisattva mahāsattvas, would still stand up for, come to welcome, or pay homage to inferior śrāvakas, who are weak and timid and whose understanding is limited? Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana, do you know how far away the Gandhaprabhāsa world is?”

“No, girl, I do not,” replied Maudgalyāyana.

“Reverend Mahāmaudgalyāyana,” continued the girl, “if this world system of the trichiliocosm were, like an endless field, to be filled with sugarcane, or bamboo, or reeds, or rice, then even for a magically-endowed being like you it would take an eon to count the number of plants. However, you would never be able to calculate how many buddhafields lie between here and the Gandhaprabhāsa world.”

Then the bhagavān Tathāgata Incense-Emitting Light made the light disappear, and he made the buddhafield disappear too.

Venerable Mahākāśyapa then asked the girl Aśokadattā, “Girl, have you ever seen the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the truly complete Buddha Śākyamuni?”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” responded the girl, “can one see a tathāgata? Has the Tathāgata not said:

“ ‘Whoever sees me as form,
And whoever knows me as words,
Has turned away from the path and abandoned it.
Such people do not see me.

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“ ‘Consider buddhas as the true nature
And guides as bodies of reality.
Since the true nature is not knowable,
They cannot be cognized.’

“Moreover, Reverend Mahākāśyapa, you asked, ‘Girl, have you ever seen the bhagavān, the tathāgata, the arhat, the perfectly awakened Buddha Śākyamuni?’ Reverend Mahākāśyapa, indeed I have seen the Tathāgata, but not with the flesh eye, not as form; not with the divine eye, not as feeling; not with the wisdom eye, not as perception; not with the Dharma eye, not as mental formation; and not with the buddha eye, not as consciousness. Instead, Reverend Mahākāśyapa, I have seen the Tathāgata in the same way that, for example, an elder sees ignorance and craving for existence. Reverend Mahākāśyapa, I see the Tathāgata in the same way that, for example, an elder sees grasping onto the self as ‘I,’ and onto phenomena as ‘mine.’ ”

“Girl,” responded the elder Mahākāśyapa, “ignorance, craving for existence, and both the phenomena of grasping as ‘I’ and grasping as ‘mine’ do not exist, and it is impossible to see nonexisting phenomena.”

The girl Aśokadattā replied, “Indeed, Reverend Mahākāśyapa, this is the case. Since all dharmas are nonexistent, they cannot be seen.”

“So, girl,” said Mahākāśyapa, “does the dharma³¹ of the Buddha also not exist?”

The girl replied, “Elder, regardless of whether you are asking about the dharmas of the Buddha or those of ordinary people, would you assert there are any dharmas that are completely real?”

“Girl, I do not assert that any dharmas of ordinary beings are completely real, let alone those of the Buddha,” said Mahākāśyapa.

The girl asked, “Reverend Mahākāśyapa,

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do those dharmas that are not completely real exist or not?”

“Girl, those that are not do not exist,” said Mahākāśyapa.

The girl said, “So, Reverend Mahākāśyapa, all dharmas are nonexistence. There is no need to purify the vision of that which does not exist. So, Reverend Mahākāśyapa, any noble son or daughter who wishes to purify their view of the Buddha should purify their view of the self.”

Mahākāśyapa asked, “Girl, how can one purify the view of the self?”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” replied the girl, “when one is convinced that because the self has no inherent existence all phenomena have no inherent existence, then simply with that, the view of the self has been purified.”

Mahākāśyapa asked, “Girl, what is the inherent nature³² of the self?”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” said the girl, “the inherent nature of the self is emptiness. Because the self has no inherent nature, the self is also void. By being without inherent nature, the self is void. By being without inherent nature, all phenomena are void.”

Mahākāśyapa asked, “Girl, from whom did you learn the Dharma, such that your view is so perfect? Girl, it is said that two causes or two conditions can lead to the arising of a perfect view: it can arise from the words of another, or it can arise from one’s own manner of mental application.”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” replied the girl, “those wise ones who rely on others³³ gain a perfect view from ordinary understanding according to both the teachings of others and their own practice, but, Reverend Mahākāśyapa, those wise ones who do not rely on others do not seek out others’ teachings.

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa, how does a monk properly engage in his practice?”

“Girl,” replied Mahākāśyapa, “whenever a monk closely attends to the meaning of the teachings he has heard, he properly engages in his practice.”

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Then Mahākāśyapa asked, “Girl, how do bodhisattvas properly engage in their practice?”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” the girl answered, “when bodhisattvas, even while living among all sentient beings, do not impute them as sentient beings, they are properly engaging in their practice. Reverend Mahākāśyapa, ‘to engage’ suggests that all phenomena have an essential beginning, that all phenomena have an essential end, and that all phenomena have an essential present. But, Reverend Mahākāśyapa, when bodhisattvas do not make such attributions, merely by that, they properly engage in bodhisattva practice.”

Mahākāśyapa asked, “Girl, how does one make any attribution about phenomena?”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” replied the girl, “one may make attributions about all phenomena while seeing their essence as neither containing attributions nor free of attribution.”

Mahākāśyapa asked, “Girl, so how does one see all phenomena?”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” replied the girl, “when one sees all phenomena as nondual, uncreated, and undestroyed, then one sees all phenomena. Reverend Mahākāśyapa, ‘seeing’ is a verbal designation for not seeing.”

Mahākāśyapa asked, “Girl, how should one regard the self?”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” the girl answered, “one should regard it as one sees it.”

Mahākāśyapa said, “Girl, I have not seen the self nor anything belonging to it.”

“Reverend Mahākāśyapa,” said the girl, “one should regard all phenomena in the same way, as being without self and anything belonging to it.”

In the midst of this discourse, the elder Subhūti interjected, saying to the girl Aśokadattā, “Girl, such eloquence

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is well found!”

“Reverend Subhūti,” replied the girl Aśokadattā, “the ability to speak with confidence does not come from finding anything. The one who has found nothing has confidence. The one who apprehends nothing, neither internally nor externally, has confidence.”

Subhūti asked, “Girl, if one has found nothing, how can one have confidence?”

“Reverend Subhūti,” the girl answered, “when one does not find the self, nor the other, nor virtue, nor nonvirtue, nor that which is faulty, nor that which is unfaulty, nor that which is contaminated, nor that which uncontaminated, nor that which is compounded, nor that which is uncompounded, nor that which is worldly, nor that which is beyond the world, nor affliction, nor purification, nor saṃsāra, nor nirvāṇa, and when one does not apprehend the qualities of ordinary beings, nor those of noble beings, nor even those of the Buddha, then, Reverend Subhūti, such a person, who has found nothing, will have confidence.”

Subhūti further asked, “How will they be confident?”

“Just as Reverend Subhūti finds no phenomena, so, too, does one become confident,” the girl replied. “Can one speak of, or express, any essential nature of the Dharma, taught as supreme, of the elders who are free of afflictions? Is there anything at all about which to speak with confidence concerning the absence of mental afflictions and the essential nature of the Dharma?”

“Neither the absence of mental afflictions nor an essential nature can be taught or expressed,” answered Subhūti.

“So, Reverend Subhūti,” said the girl, “if all phenomena are inexpressible, why did you say, ‘Girl, this eloquence you have found is well found!’ ”

“Girl, the confidence with which you teach is not like this,” answered Subhūti.

The girl asked, “Elder Subhūti, do you believe that all phenomena are like echoes?”

“Yes, girl, I do,” said Subhūti.

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The girl asked, “Elder Subhūti, is there anything one can say with confidence about echoes?”

“No, girl, there is not,” said Subhūti. “Echoes are just sounds that arise from a collection of causes and conditions.”

The girl continued: “Reverend Subhūti, any sound that arises dependently has no inherent nature whatsoever. Why? Because whatever arises dependently has no point of origin.”

“Girl, all phenomena arise dependently,” said Subhūti.

“So indeed, Reverend Subhūti,” the girl replied, “are all phenomena inherently unproduced— they do not originate from their own nature.”

Subhūti asked, “Girl, if all phenomena are inherently unproduced, why has the Bhagavān taught that tathāgatas as numerous as the grains of sand along the river Ganges have already gone, that tathāgatas as numerous as the grains of sand along the river Ganges are still to come, and that tathāgatas as numerous as the grains of sand along the river Ganges are currently living?”

“Reverend Subhūti,” she replied, “it cannot be asserted that in the expanse of phenomena there is anything that is produced or that disappears.”

“Girl, that nothing is produced is a teaching on ultimate truth,” said Subhūti.

“Reverend Subhūti, teachings are no teachings.” said the girl. “If one asks why teachings are no teachings, it is because whether they are fit to be taught or not, they are not real, and do not reject the extremes of the unreal and the inexpressible.”³⁴

“Girl, it is indeed marvelous that as a layperson you are so immersed in the Dharma and can teach it with such purity!” exclaimed Subhūti.

“Reverend Subhūti,” the girl replied, “a bodhisattva mahāsattva should not be regarded as a layperson or a monastic. Why? Because they are distinguished by their intention,

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by their wisdom, and by their gnosis. Reverend Subhūti, do you know what it is like to be a bodhisattva?”

Subhūti replied, “Girl, you explain and I will listen.”

The girl continued: “Reverend Subhūti, if a bodhisattva mahāsattva possesses eight qualities, whether they are a householder or a monastic is inconsequential. Whatever code of conduct they observe and live by, there is no fault either way. What are the eight? Reverend Subhūti, they are as follows: (1) Bodhisattva mahāsattvas perfect the highest intention, the intention to achieve unsurpassable, truly complete awakening. (2) Never giving up on sentient beings, they maintain loving kindness. (3) Being without worldly pleasures and activities, they maintain great compassion. (4) Relinquishing concern for their own body and life, they maintain equanimity. (5) Perfecting the skill of inspiring devotion, they are skillful in means. (6) Being free of all views, they have traversed the perfection of wisdom. (7) Not being content with enthusiasm for seeking out roots of virtue, they engage in real diligence. (8) Having achieved real patience, they understand that which has not been taught before. Reverend Subhūti, if a bodhisattva mahāsattva possesses these eight qualities, whether they are a householder or a monastic is inconsequential. Whatever code of conduct they observe and live by, there is no fault.”

Thereupon Venerable Rāhula said to the girl Aśokadattā, “Girl, it not appropriate for you to converse with great śrāvakas in this manner while sitting on a high throne with golden legs. Have you not learnt that the Dharma should not be taught while seated on a low seat to a girl who is not sick seated on a high seat?”

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Hearing this, the girl Aśokadattā replied to Venerable Rāhula, “Reverend Rāhula, do you know what in this world is appropriate and what is not?”

“Yes, girl, I do!” said Rāhula. “It is said that training in the precepts as they have been taught and not transgressing them is appropriate, while transgressing the precepts is inappropriate.”

“Reverend Rāhula, let it go! Do not say that!” the girl Aśokadattā exclaimed. “Reverend Rāhula, whatever trainings are undertaken in the precepts are not appropriate. Why? Because they are contrived and conceptual. Reverend Rāhula, that which is neither contrived nor conceptual is that which should be called ‘appropriate.’ Reverend Rāhula, appropriate ³⁵ is a verbal designation for those monk-arhats who have put an end to their defilements. They do not transgress the precepts. Why? Because the śrāvakas of the Bhagavān have completely transcended the precepts, and since they have no further need for precepts, they are ‘appropriate.’ They will never return to the three realms, they have truly gone beyond training, and they are called ‘those with no more to learn.’ As such, they do not apprehend the precepts, and they understand the phenomena of the three realms to be mere designations. That is why they are called ‘appropriate.’ ”

Rāhula asked, “Girl, what is the difference between appropriate and inappropriate?”

“Reverend Rāhula,” replied the girl, “what is the difference, for example, between someone who adorns themselves with gold and silver and someone who does not?”

“Girl, there is no difference,” Rāhula replied.

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The girl continued: “Reverend Rāhula, in the same way, since appropriate and inappropriate are equally linguistic terms, there is no actual difference. Why? Because all phenomena are without anything at all and are naturally without affliction.

“Reverend Rāhula, you also asked whether one may listen to teachings on the Dharma while sitting on high. Well, a bodhisattva, though sitting on a straw mat, actually sits on high.”

Rāhula asked, “On the basis of what discourse do you say that?”

“Reverend Rāhula, what do you think?” the girl replied. “What was the Bodhisattva sitting upon when he attained awakening?”

“He attained awakening while sitting on a mat of straw,” answered Rāhula.

“Reverend Rāhula,” the girl continued, “while the Bodhisattva was seated on a mat of straw, did Brahmā, Śakra, the world protectors, and all the other gods right up to those in Akaniṣṭha Heaven in the great trichiliocosm bow down to him with palms pressed together and prostrate at his feet?”

“Yes indeed, girl, they did as you have described,” said Rāhula.

“Well, Reverend Rāhula,” said the girl, “one should understand therefore that although a bodhisattva mahāsattva may sit on a straw mat, they actually sit on high, while a śrāvaka, even when sitting atop Brahmā’s world, does not.”

Then King Ajātaśatru said to the girl Aśokadattā, “Daughter, do you not know that Reverend Rāhula is the son and heir of the Bhagavān Śākyamuni himself, and foremost among those who aspire to his training?”

“Let it go, let it go, father!” exclaimed the girl Aśokadattā. “Do not say that Reverend Rāhula is the Bhagavān Śākyamuni’s heir!

First 38 of 83 passages. Read on

Aśokadattā’s Prophecy

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