འཕགས་པ་ཡལ་འཁར་སྐྱང་གས་ཞས་པ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད notes: Notes

The Questions of Rāṣṭrapāla (1) notes

Language: English

Notes

notes.1

1. On the Ratnakūṭa, or Mahāratnakūṭasūtra, see Pedersen 1980.

notes.6

6. We are much indebted to Michael Radich, who shared with us his insights concerning the comparison of the Chinese and Sanskrit versions of the text on Dec. 6, 2018.

notes.9

9. According to Michael Radich’s talk given at the University of Vienna, Institute of South Asian, Tibetan, and Buddhist Studies, on Dec. 6, 2018.

notes.11

11. E.g., : “Rāṣṭrapāla, not giving up life in the forest is something that causes bodhisattvas to be free from distress.”

notes.12

12. E.g., : “Rāṣṭrapāla, complete abandonment of possessions is a quality that causes delight in the bodhisattvas dwelling in saṃsāra.”

notes.13

13. E.g., : “They will be like broken vessels, looking for mistakes in one another, their practice corrupted. They will be ignorant and lazy.”

14. E.g., verse 85: “Not restraining themselves in this manner in the future, they will be very far away from the qualities of a monk’s discipline. By exposing faults out of rancor and jealousy, they will cause the Dharma to decline.”

notes.15

15. E.g., verse 255: “Your majesty, no one has done anything unpleasant to me. I have no longing for sensory pleasures now. Making one fall into the abyss of defiling emotions and lower destinies, all these alluring beauties are like enemies—I am not fond of them.”

notes.16

16. E.g., verse 171: “Never noble, they are hostile toward the Dharma. They disparage the teachings and are devoid of qualities. When they hear the peaceful Dharma, they say ‘This was not spoken by the Victorious One.’ ”

notes.17

17. E.g., verse 177: “There are monks who are devoid of embarrassment, shame, and modesty, very impudent like crows, agitated and enraged, and consumed by jealousy, pride, and vanity regarding my teaching.”

notes.18

18. The Tibetan text translated Skt. vaśitāparamapārami as the verbal construction dbang dam pa’i pha rol tu son pa nas, which is misleading. We follow the Sanskrit.

notes.19

19. Here, snying po (Skt. maṇḍa) is an abbreviation of byang chub kyi snying po (Skt. bodhimaṇḍa), the “seat [essence, lofty place] of enlightenment.” “Of enlightenment” is therefore added for clarity.

notes.20

20. We follow the Sanskrit prabhāsa.

notes.21

21. “Swift” here translates Skt. āśu, which is missing in the Tibetan version of the text (D and K).

notes.22

22. “The Dharma that is” is added here for clarity.

notes.23

23. We understand Skt. kṛpasāgara here as a third-case tatpuruṣa, which means that the original Tibetan should read thugs rjes rgya mtsho instead of thugs rje’i rgya mtsho (D) or thugs rje rgya mtsho (K).

notes.24

24. Skt. anubhāsan.

notes.25

25. Tib. nor bu me (Skt. agnimaṇi) is believed to emit heat when exposed to sunlight, just like sūryakānta (or arkamaṇi), the sunstone.

notes.26

26. The last two pādas are missing in Vaidya’s edition of the Sanskrit text.

notes.27

27. I.e., the bodhisattvas.

notes.28

28. We follow the Sanskrit śrutva buddhasuta enti harṣitāḥ.

notes.29

29. Literally “a hundred billion” (Skt. niyuta) times ten million (Skt. koṭi). Hereafter we use “myriad” for such astronomical numbers.

notes.30

30. We follow the Sanskrit rāgadveṣa jahi mohasaṃbhavaṃ.

notes.31

31. These are past, present, and future.

notes.32

32. “The hair” is added for clarity.

notes.33

33. We take Skt. sattva as “existence.”

notes.34

34. We follow the Sanskrit doṣagahana.

notes.35

35. We follow the Sanskrit lokasya saṃskṛtagatau.

notes.36

36. We follow the Sanskrit ājāneyagatayo.

notes.37

37. We follow the Sanskrit mahāyaśānāṃ.

notes.38

38. We follow Sanskrit iha, which is also supported by K.

notes.39

39. We follow K: mthun instead of ’thung.

notes.40

40. We follow the Sanskrit yasya matir bhuvilokapradīpo. The subject here is the bodhisattvas.

notes.41

41. We follow the Sanskrit eṣata.

notes.42

42. Not in the Sanskrit.

notes.43

43. Following the Sanskrit pañcagatibhramabhrāmita sattvān, we emend ’khyams pas to ’khyams pa’i.

notes.44

44. According to Edgerton (BHS, s.v. kaliṅgarājan), kaliṅgarājan is an error for kalirājan.

notes.45

45. We follow K, where “gods” is in the ergative (Tib. kyis).

notes.46

46. Lit. “I gave away my dear body.” The bodhisattva surrendered himself to a brahmin who was thus able to collect a bounty put on the former king’s head.

notes.47

47. We follow the Sanskrit dattamapi svatanur na bhayārtas tyakta.

notes.48

48. Here we read rnam instead of rnams.

notes.49

49. Here we follow the Sanskrit pūrvabhaveṣu.

notes.50

50. Skt. pīna.

notes.51

51. Following the Sanskrit bodhivarāśrita, we read mchod rten here as mchog rten.

notes.52

52. This stanza is spoken by the farmer, who points out that the parrot’s compassion makes it more human and humane than the farmer, who had initially been reluctant to part with a little bit of rice.

notes.53

53. Following the Sanskrit śama we emend zhing to zhi.

notes.54

54. Following the Sanskrit ādhyātmikaṃ, we emend nang gi dag to nang gi bdag.

notes.55

55. Here we follow the Sanskrit dhutayāna deśita jinebhiḥ yatra prayujyato jina bhavanti. The Tibetan is difficult to construe.

notes.56

56. The Tibetan lhur len (Skt. para/parama) suggests “obsessed with [food and sex].” The Sanskrit reads parāste.

notes.57

57. We follow the Sanskrit cāmitaguṇaughaḥ.

notes.58

58. “Some say” is added for clarity.

notes.59

59. Sanskrit kavitāni (“fanciful”) has no equivalent in the Tibetan.

notes.60

60. See Boucher 2008, 233, n. 233: “Tib. replaces -śīla- here with ’dzem, which may reflect an original lajjā (modesty).”

notes.61

61. The Sanskrit reads kāṣāyakaṇṭha; regarding this term see Boucher 2008, 233, n. 234: “The term ‘ochre necks’ is known already in Pāli sources (kāsāvakaṇṭha) as a sign of degeneracy in the saṅgha. . . . The Pāli commentaries explain kāṣāvakaṇṭha as a yellow cloth wrapped around the neck, being the last of the outward signs remaining for one who is a monk in name only (von Hinüber 1994, 92–93).”

notes.62

62. See Boucher 2008, 233, n. 235: “The banner of the Buddha is a recurring metaphor in Mahāyāna literature for the monastic robe.”

notes.63

63. Boucher 2008, 234, n. 236 explains that Jñānagupta renders this sentence as “they take pleasure in acting as postal messengers for the laity,” which implies the “criticism … that monks have abandoned their detachment from secular concerns by acting as go-betweens for the laity.”

notes.64

64. The translation of the last line follows the Tibetan bu med ’jigs byed mi bzad rab ces rjod. The Sanskrit reads kuhāste strī ca vināśayanti hi sughorāḥ.

notes.65

65. We follow the Sanskrit piṇḍa.

notes.66

66. “Realms of” is added for clarity.

notes.67

67. Skt. citragātra. This probably refers to vitiligo or leukoderma—a chronic condition which causes loss of skin pigment.

notes.68

68. Translated after the Sanskrit varjita, which points toward śmaśāna being at the head of the phrase.

notes.69

69. “They say” is added for clarity here and in verses 198 and 199 below.

notes.70

70. In this stanza “good monks” and “rogue monks” is added for clarity.

notes.71

71. Literally “forests and woods.”

notes.72

72. H reads rtogs, the imperative form.

notes.73

73. Skt. ajñā.

notes.74

74. “They say” is added for clarity.

notes.75

75. We follow the Sanskrit dṛḍhavairā.

notes.76

76. We follow the Sanskrit ayuktaparibhāṣāñjanasaṃjñaptyā.

notes.77

77. Sanskrit: anulomikīkṣānti; Tibetan: rjes su ’thun [mthun] pa’i bzod pa.

notes.78

78. We follow the Sanskrit āryapatha.

notes.79

79. We follow the Sanskrit sakiṃcanāḥ (BHSD), since nyong mongs bcas in the same line, which has nyon mongs zil non at the beginning, is awkward.

notes.80

80. “Chance of” is added here for clarity.

notes.81

81. We translate according to the Sanskrit syntax. The Tibetan loses the subject (Skt. mūḍhāḥ) by using the absolutive rmongs nas.

notes.82

82. We follow the Sanskrit pramādalābhena.

notes.83

83. “The likes of” is added for clarity.

notes.84

84. “Bodhisattvas” is added for clarity.

notes.85

85. “Virtuous friends” is added for clarity.

notes.86

86. In the Sanskrit text, this verse contains six pādas instead of the usual four. The last pāda (eṣatā padavaraṃ hyanuttaram) is missing in the Tibetan and is translated from the Sanskrit.

notes.87

87. Tibetans seem to have read Skt. tāla as palm trees, but that meaning does not fit the context of the next sentence.

notes.88

88. “The pond” is added for clarity.

notes.89

89. The Tibetan is missing the negation. Sanskrit has mā kumārasya rajo pāṃśurvā śarīre nipatiṣyatīti.

notes.90

90. “The throne” is added for clarity.

notes.91

91. We follow the Sanskrit na ca sakhībhiṃrvismayati sma.

notes.92

92. We follow the Sanskrit abhiracit(t)aṃ. The Tibetan smras pa does not make sense.

notes.93

93. See Boucher 2008, 242, n. 94.

notes.94

94. “Indra’s” is added for clarity.

notes.95

95. We follow the Sanskrit triviṣṭapa and translate “godly realms.”

notes.96

96. Reading srid pa as sred pa according to the Sanskrit tṛṣṇā.

notes.97

97. We follow the Sanskrit kāmātura.

notes.98

98. We follow the Sanskrit naṭaraṅga.

notes.99

99. Lit. “ten million” (Tib. bye ba).

notes.100

100. Following the Sanskrit saṃhṛṣṭa.

notes.101

101. Following the Sanskrit dṛkṣye (optative).

notes.102

102. Following H and N, we emend Tib. spyod pa to sbyong ba, which would be Skt. śodhanī. However, we translate the reading of our Sanskrit text bodhanī. Cf. Boucher 2008, 244, n. 130.

notes.103

103. In ancient Indian physiology, the seven major body parts are hands, torso, sides, stomach, waist, thighs and feet. These seven major body parts are included in the list of thirty-two major marks of a great man (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), i.e., a buddha. The mention of “his seven prominent body parts” (tasya saptotsadāṅgam) in the Sanskrit text seems oddly placed in the stanza, occurring after descriptions of the Buddha’s neck, head, and shoulders and before a longer list of bodily features.

notes.104

104. We follow the Sanskrit sucitrāḥ svastikāścakracitrāḥ.

notes.105

105. We emend Tib. gros stobs to gros stabs.

notes.106

106. We emend Tib. stobs can to stabs can.

notes.107

107. We emend Tib. ji ltar srid pa’i ’ching ba to ji ltar srid pa ’ching ba.

notes.108

108. We emend Tib. dga’ ba to rga ba.

notes.109

109. We follow the Sanskrit kathaṃ narāṇāṃ bhavate pramādaḥ.

notes.110

110. Here begin verses enumerating and praising the thirty-two marks of a buddha.

notes.111

111. We follow the Sanskrit jaṅgha.

notes.112

112. We follow the Sanskrit dharaṇiśailataṭam and read the second and third parts of the compound as a tatpuruṣa instead of as a dvandva.

notes.113

113. We follow the Sanskrit vādiśūra.

notes.114

114. “The path” is added for clarity.

notes.115

115. We take the Sanskrit addition manujeṣu tathā as “and likewise [the pleasures] among men.”

notes.116

116. “All beings” is added for clarity.

notes.117

117. Skt. kṣetra; Tib. zhing, wrongly given in D as cing.

notes.118

118. Following K, we emend D: nam nangs pa to mtshan mo de’i nam langs pa.

notes.119

119. Literally, “very quickly with a hasty appearance” (Tib. myur ba myur bar rings pa’i gzugs kyis).

notes.120

120. We follow the Sanskrit candrārka-maṇi.

notes.121

121. Skt. nirvṛti.

notes.122

122. The Sanskrit here says “white and blue lotuses.”

notes.123

123. The translation here follows the Sanskrit divase divase.

notes.124

124. We follow the Sanskrit nātmaprema kṛtavān.

notes.125

125. We follow the Sanskrit na sarpitailena vā gātraṃ mrakṣitam.

notes.126

126. “Puṇyaraśmi” is added for clarity.

notes.127

127. “Puṇyaraśmi” is added for clarity.

notes.128

128. Following the Sanskrit āropitavān, we read Tib. phub instead of phul.

notes.129

129. The Tibetan reads de ltar instead of da ltar for Skt. etarhi (“now”).

notes.130

130. Skt. jñātra.

notes.131

131. The phrase “of spiritual practice” is added here for clarity.

notes.132

132. Tib. shes kyi khe phyir; the Sanskrit here says kṣetrārthaṃ “for the purpose of acquiring land.” Boucher (2008, 249, n. 217) reads the Nepalese manuscript that served as the basis of Finot’s edition as jñātrārthaṃ, which is more consistent with the Tibetan.