འཕགས་པ་བྱམས་པས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད intro.7

intro.7

It is difficult to determine the precise historical relationship of The Question of Maitreya with the much shorter sūtra that follows it, The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities (Toh 86). Their themes are closely linked—in both, Maitreya questions the Buddha about the bodhisattvas’ qualities. However, their geographic settings differ: The Question of Maitreya is delivered in a relatively obscure location, Mount Śuśumāra in the country of the Bhargas, while The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities is set on Vulture Peak Mountain near Rājagṛha, like many other Ratnakūṭa sūtras. The two texts also have different colophons. The translation of the longer sūtra is attributed to Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi, under the editorial supervision of Yeshé Dé, which would date its Tibetan translation to the early ninth century. The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities, however, is said to have been translated by Jinamitra and Danaśila, while Yeshé Dé is said to have corrected it using the revised terminology (skad gsar). This may imply a slightly later date for this translation, but could also indicate the existence of an earlier Tibetan translation of The Question of Maitreya on the Eight Qualities which required updating in its terminology.