[Pramāṇa](https://indike.org/pramana/) › [Indian literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in) › [Buddhist Literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha) › [Buddhist Sanskrit literature](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit) › [Mahāyāna sūtras](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra) › [Sūtras of meditation and contemplation](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi) › [Samādhicakra](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra) › [འཕགས་པ་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo) › The Wheel of Meditative Concentration # The Wheel of Meditative Concentration Translation of [འཕགས་པ་ཏང་ང་འཛན་གྱ་འཁར་ལ་ཞས་བྱ་བ་ཐག་པ་ཆན་པའ་མད (འཕགས་པ་ཏིང་ངེ་འཛིན་གྱི་འཁོར་ལོ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ་ཐེག་པ་ཆེན་པོའི་མདོ)](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo) - **Language:** English - **Translators:** [Zhuo Siyu](https://indike.org/pramana/person/zhuo-siyu), [Shenghai Li](https://indike.org/pramana/person/shenghai-li) - **Extent:** 31 passages, 2,047 words - **Text:** complete digital text - **Source:** 84000 · Translated by the Sarasvatī Translation Team under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the… · 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](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro) — 7 parts - [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.1) - [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.2) - [3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.3) - [notes Notes](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes) — 21 parts ## Text ### 84000's introduction ### [intro.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro.1) While dwelling on Vulture Peak in Rājagṛha, the Buddha is absorbed in the meditative concentration called wheel of meditative concentration. In response to a series of questions posed by the Buddha, Mañjuśrī explains the nature of ultimate reality. Pleased with his replies, the Buddha praises Mañjuśrī for being skilled in expressing the meaning of the profound Dharma. ### [intro.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro.2) Named for the meditative concentration in which the Buddha is absorbed, this short sūtra explores the nature of ultimate reality. Mañjuśrī elucidates its meaning through a series of answers to questions posed by the Buddha, in which ultimate reality is referred to by terms such as very limit of reality (Skt. bhūtakoṭi, Tib. yang dag pa’i mtha’) and sphere of phenomena (Skt. dharmadhātu, Tib. chos kyi dbyings). He explains that the very limit of reality is without any location and neither comes nor goes, and he declares that he does not see any phenomenon that is not the sphere of phenomena. ### [intro.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro.3) The sūtra was translated from Chinese, most likely in the Tibetan imperial era,¹ but it is not listed either in any of the early catalogs or in the Chinese Tripiṭaka.² It is one of a handful of sūtras found in the Degé Kangyur whose Chinese sources have not been identified.³ In addition to the Degé Kangyur, The Wheel of Meditative Concentration is only found in Kangyurs of the Tshalpa (tshal pa) group and in the Lhasa and Narthang Kangyurs. Among those, only the Lhasa version has a colophon, which simply identifies the Indian abbot Śīladharma and Nampar Mitokpa (rnam par mi rtog pa) as its translators from Chinese.⁴ ### [intro.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro.4) Many parts of this sūtra bear substantial resemblance to passages in the larger Infinite Jewels (Ratnakoṭi, Toh 118),⁵ which was translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan by the Indian preceptor Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé and corresponds to two Chinese sūtras—Rufajie tixing jing 入法界體性經 (Entering the Nature of the Sphere of Phenomena, Taishō 355) and Foshuo baoji sanmei wenshushili pusa wen fashen jing 佛説寶積三昧文殊師利菩薩問法身經 (Sūtra in Which the Buddha Speaks of the Meditative Concentration Called “Infinite Jewels” and the Bodhisattva Mañjuśrī Asks about the Dharma Body, Taishō 356).⁶ ### [intro.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro.5) A comparison of The Wheel of Meditative Concentration with Toh 118, Taishō 355, and Taishō 356 reveals differences in certain details, but these differences do not constitute contradictions in terms of the overall meaning conveyed.⁷ ### [intro.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro.6) Moreover, both The Wheel of Meditative Concentration and Infinite Jewels (Ratnakoṭi, Toh 118) have a thematically close relationship with yet a third text, The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena (Dharmadhātu­prakṛtyasambheda­nirdeśa, Toh 52). That longer and more detailed work opens with a teaching on the realm of phenomena given by Mañjuśrī at the Buddha’s request. The short passage recounting that teaching⁸ bears a striking resemblance to the teaching on the limit of reality and the realm of phenomena in these two texts, and in that longer text too the Buddha warns that “if those who are possessed of excessive pride hear that teaching, it will frighten them.” Mañjuśrī responds to this warning in essentially the same way as in the present text, though perhaps less cryptically: “Those who become afraid … are themselves of the nature of the realm of phenomena, and the nature of the realm of phenomena does not become frightened.” Unlike the other two shorter texts, however, The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena then goes on to elaborate in some detail on the theme of pride in this context. First, some “proud monks” are immediately liberated by hearing the teaching.⁹ Then, another group of proud monks leaves the scene, confused and disconcerted, and Mañjuśrī has to use his powers and bring them back by means of a further teaching.¹⁰ Further on still in the narrative, Mañjuśrī explains in detail what is meant by unfounded or excessive pride on many levels, culminating in its sense of dualistic, conceptual conceits that prevent one from engaging fully with the emptiness and sameness of all phenomena.¹¹ Although the historical relationship of these texts remains to be determined,¹² The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena does help to throw light on the two shorter texts in which Mañjuśrī’s statements are left unexplained. ### [intro.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.intro.7) The present translation is based on the Degé Kangyur, with reference to variants in other versions noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). ### [1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.1) Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas! Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing on Vulture Peak in Rājagṛha accompanied by a saṅgha of 1,250 bhikṣus and a saṅgha of innumerable, countless bodhisattvas. Surrounded also by various retinues of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, and other beings, he was teaching them the Dharma. At that time, the Blessed One was absorbed in the meditative concentration called wheel of meditative concentration. Through the power of that meditative concentration, all the buddha lands shook and were illuminated by a great light. Then, the bodhisattva Youthful Mañjuśrī, who was present in that retinue, rose from his seat and said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, your absorption in the wheel of meditative concentration is amazing. Sugata, it is truly amazing.” The Blessed One asked, “Mañjuśrī, do you know the very limit of reality?”¹³ “I know it, Blessed One,” replied the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. “Mañjuśrī, where is the very limit of reality?” asked the Blessed One. Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, the very limit of reality is where it is not.” “Mañjuśrī, where is it not?” asked the Blessed One, Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, it is without any location.”¹⁴ The Blessed One asked, “Mañjuśrī, what is meditation?” Mañjuśrī replied, “Blessed One, meditation means nonmeditation.” Then Mañjuśrī asked, “How does the Tathāgata teach the Dharma?” “Mañjuśrī,” replied the Blessed One, “I teach the Dharma to the effect that forms are undestroyed and unborn. I teach the Dharma to the effect that feelings, perceptions, formations, and consciousnesses are undestroyed and unborn. I turn the wheel of Dharma to the effect that attachment, hatred, and ignorance are undestroyed and unborn. ### [2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.2) I have taught that in this way no phenomenon whatsoever has been destroyed or produced in the state of unsurpassed, perfect, and complete awakening.”¹⁵ Then, though he already knew the answer, the Blessed One asked the Youthful Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, do you know the sphere of phenomena?” “I know it if I focus on it,” replied Mañjuśrī. The Blessed One asked, “Mañjuśrī, do you know the world that is experienced?” “Blessed One, the world is merely that which is experienced by people who are illusory apparitions.¹⁶ Blessed One, that which is called ‘the world’ is essentially a nonexistent thing.” The Blessed One said, “The Tathāgata wishes to hear the Dharma. Demonstrate your inspired speech!” Mañjuśrī asked, “With what should I begin to demonstrate my inspired speech?” “Begin with the sphere of phenomena, Mañjuśrī,” replied the Blessed One. “Blessed One, I do not see any phenomenon that is not the sphere of phenomena.”¹⁷ “Those who have unfounded pride will be afraid,” said the Blessed One. “Blessed One,” replied Mañjuśrī, “if the very limit of reality is afraid, then those who have unfounded pride will be afraid. Why? Because the very limit of reality and those who have unfounded pride are one and the same, and indistinguishable.” “Mañjuśrī,” said the Blessed One, “you are a vajra basis.” “Blessed One,” said Mañjuśrī, “since all phenomena are indivisible and inconceivable, they too are vajra bases. Why are they said to be vajra bases? Because sentient beings do not exist and things do not exist, they too are vajra bases.¹⁸ “Blessed One, such a very limit of reality does not exist. Whatever is such a limit neither comes nor goes. Blessed One, dwelling on the meaning of having such a limit, one meditates on the meaning of the absence of an intrinsic nature, keeps to remote places, and abandons distractions.” ### [3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.3) Then Venerable Śāriputra said to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, the Dharma you have taught is amazing.” “Honorable Śāriputra, it is not so amazing,” replied Mañjuśrī. “The uncontaminated arhats are not vessels for this Dharma teaching. Why? Because a Dharma teaching like this does not engage with the attributes of ordinary beings, it does not engage with the attributes of arhats, it does not engage with the attributes of pratyekabuddhas, and it does not engage with the attributes of tathāgatas. It does not engage at all in the observation of phenomena. This is because it neither engages in nor retreats from anything.¹⁹ This is because all phenomena are void.”²⁰ “Mañjuśrī, will you say what you had in mind?” “Honorable Śāriputra,” replied Mañjuśrī, “if the state of an arhat is the state in which attachment, hatred, and ignorance have been extinguished, then of what can they be a vessel? Of what kind of Dharma can they be a vessel? It is with this in mind that I say that arhats, whose contaminants have been extinguished, are not vessels for this Dharma teaching.²¹ “Honorable Śāriputra, do you esteem this as a Dharma without death and rebirth?” “Mañjuśrī, I do.” Then, the Blessed One said to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, “Mañjuśrī, excellent! Excellent! You are to be praised for your mastery of the meaning of the profound Dharma.” After the Blessed One had spoken thus, the bodhisattva Youthful Mañjuśrī, the venerable Śāriputra, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said. ### Notes ### [notes.1](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.1) 1. Li 2021, p. 207, n. 107; Saerji 2011, p. 186. Li places this in the Tibetan imperial or early post-imperial era. Saerji’s research indicates that the translator Śīladharma lived during the Tibetan imperial era. ### [notes.2](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.2) 2. Li 2021, p. 189, n. 61; Saerji 2011, p. 189. ### [notes.3](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.3) 3. Silk 2019, p. 239. ### [notes.4](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.4) 4. Saerji 2011, p. 189. ### [notes.5](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.5) 5. For the English translation, see Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., Infinite Jewels (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022). ### [notes.6](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.6) 6. Saerji points to the probability that The Wheel of Meditative Concentration is a kind of summary or outline of Infinite Jewels. See Saerji 2011, p. 190. ### [notes.7](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.7) 7. For example, in The Wheel of Meditative Concentration, after the Buddha declares that Mañjuśrī is a vajra basis, Mañjuśrī proclaims that all phenomena are vajra bases. In Infinite Jewels , Taishō 355, and Taishō 356, however, the vajra bases seem to refer to statements such as “all phenomena are inconceivable” and “all phenomena are awakening.” ### [notes.8](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.8) 8. See The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena 1.3–1.6. ### [notes.9](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.9) 9. See The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena 1.9. ### [notes.10](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.10) 10. See The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena 1.19–1.31. ### [notes.11](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.11) 11. See The Teaching on the Indivisible Nature of the Realm of Phenomena 1.39–1.47. ### [notes.12](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.12) 12. Toh 118 seems to the earliest to have been translated into Chinese, probably in the second or third century. ### [notes.13](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.13) 13. Here the “very limit of reality” (bhūtakoṭi, yang dag pa’i mtha’) refers to the absence of an intrinsic nature in all phenomena. This compound is typically parsed as the “very limit” (koṭi) of “reality” (bhūta). This compound might also be parsed as the “true (bhūta) goal (koṭi).” Later in the sūtra, Mañjuśrī says, “Blessed One, dwelling on the meaning of having such a limit, one meditates on the meaning of the absence of an intrinsic nature.” ### [notes.14](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.14) 14. This idea related to location occurs again later, when Mañjuśrī explains that the very limit of reality neither comes nor goes. In Infinite Jewels, Taishō 355, and Taishō 356, in response to the question of where the very limit of reality is, Mañjuśrī says “the very limit of reality is wherever my limit is.” Infinite Jewels, 1.10. ### [notes.15](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.15) 15. Compare Infinite Jewels, 1.14 . ### [notes.16](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.16) 16. Reading ’jig rten ni for ’jig rten na here, following Toh 118, F.293.b.7, and the variant noted in the Comparative Edition. Compare Infinite Jewels, 1.24. ### [notes.17](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.17) 17. Omitting the first bdag gis as in Toh 118, F.294.b.2. Compare Infinite Jewels, 1.30. ### [notes.18](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.18) 18. Reading bgyi ni for bgyi na. Compare Infinite Jewels, 1.32, as well as Taishō 355 and Taishō 356. Following those sources, we might also read the Tibetan corresponding to this passage as follows: “Mañjuśrī said, ‘Blessed One, since all phenomena are indivisible and inconceivable, \[the statement ‘all phenomena are indivisible and inconceivable’\] is a vajra basis. Why is it said to be a vajra basis? Because sentient beings do not exist and things do not exist, it is a vajra basis.” ### [notes.19](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.19) 19. Compare Infinite Jewels, 1.47–1.49. ### [notes.20](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.20) 20. “All phenomena are void” (Tib: shin tu dben pa) here means that all phenomena are devoid of an intrinsic nature. Compare Infinite Jewels 1.77. ### [notes.21](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000.notes.21) 21. Compare Infinite Jewels, 1.49. --- Source: [https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000](https://indike.org/pramana/in.bauddha.sanskrit.mahayanasutra.samadhi.samadhicakra*bo~en-84000) · Pramāṇa