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The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika”

Translation of འཕགས་པ་ཤས་རབ་ཀྱ་ཕ་རལ་ཏ་ཕྱན་པ་ཀ་ཤ་ཀ་ཞས་བྱ་བ (འཕགས་པ་ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ་ཀཽ་ཤི་ཀ་ཞེས་བྱ་བ)

Language
English
Translators
Taryn Sue, Daigengna Duoer, Caley Smith
Extent
59 passages, 3,330 words
Text
complete digital text
Source
84000 · Translated by the UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group under the patronage and supervision of 84000:… · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha). Shown whole and unaltered, with its notes, on a…

Contents

Text

84000's introduction

intro.1

The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” is a condensed prajñāpāramitā sūtra in which the Buddha summarizes the various meanings of the perfection of wisdom. In particular, the Buddha equates the characteristics of the perfection of wisdom with the characteristics of all phenomena, the five aggregates, the five elements, and the ten perfections. In this way, the sūtra places particular emphasis on the nonduality of conventional phenomena and emptiness.

intro.2

In The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika,” ¹ the Buddha Śākyamuni offers a teaching to Śakra, chief of the gods, whom in this sūtra he addresses by the epithet Kauśika. The Buddha summarizes the various meanings of the perfection of wisdom and equates the characteristics of the perfection of wisdom with the characteristics of all phenomena, the five aggregates, the five elements, and the ten perfections. The sūtra places particular emphasis on the nonduality of conventional phenomena and emptiness, and culminates in a list of the eighteen kinds of emptiness.

intro.3

The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” is a brief text barely four Tibetan folios in length and, just as in the case of The Heart Sūtra (Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, Toh 21), this prajñāpāramitā scripture also incorporates elements of both sūtra and tantra (in the form of mantra). It has therefore been variously classified in the Tibetan Kangyur, where it is included in both the Perfection of Wisdom section and the Tantra section.²

intro.4

The figure of Kauśika/Śakra also features as an important interlocutor in the larger prajñāpāramitā sūtras,³ and The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” presents a short summary of some of the elements found in those larger sūtras. Nevertheless, there does not appear to be a direct relationship between The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” and the dialogues with Kauśika that appear elsewhere in the prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

intro.5

Notably, the last part of the teaching contains a concluding verse that also appears verbatim in The Vajra Cutter Sūtra (Vajracchedikā, Toh 16) and two further verses that match the opening homage in Nāgārjuna’s Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way (Mūla­madhyamaka­kārikā, Toh 3824). ⁴

intro.6

Since there is no colophon to the Tibetan translation of this sūtra, we cannot say who translated The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” into Tibetan. The title, however, is found in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma imperial catalogs, so we do know that the sūtra was translated into Tibetan at least by the early ninth century.⁵

intro.7

In addition to the Tibetan translation, the sūtra also exists in Sanskrit and Chinese. The extant Sanskrit text is a Central Asian manuscript that was edited by Conze (1956) and later reprinted by Vaidya (1961).⁶ The dating of the Sanskrit text is uncertain, but, as noted by Conze, it largely patterns with the Chinese translation that can be dated to the late tenth or early eleventh century ce.⁷ This suggests a relatively late date for the extant Sanskrit manuscript, perhaps even later than the Tibetan translation.⁸ Unlike the Tibetan translation, which only contains a single mantra at the conclusion of the teaching, the Sanskrit text (and the Chinese translation) ends with several additional mantras that likely represent later accretions. For the reader’s convenience, we have in the appendices included a diplomatic edition of the Sanskrit text and a complete English translation from the Sanskrit.

intro.8

The colophon to the Chinese translation ( ) notes that the sūtra was translated on imperial command by Dānapāla (Shihu 施護, ?–1017 ce), an Indian scholar-monk from Uḍḍiyāna who translated over one hundred works into Chinese.⁹ Just like the Sanskrit text, the Chinese translation has a slightly different textual structure and content than the Tibetan, and in the endnotes we have noted major differences between the Tibetan and Chinese versions.¹⁰

intro.9

As well as Conze’s edition of the Sanskrit manuscript and Vaidya’s reprint of that edition, an English translation by Conze with a brief introduction was published in 1973, and a French translation by Driessens in 1996.

intro.10

The present translation is based on the Tibetan version in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript. The Tibetan text was also compared to the Sanskrit as well as the Chinese translation.

1

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing at Vulture Peak in Rājagṛha together with a great saṅgha of monks and many hundreds of thousands of bodhisattvas, all of whom were youthful.

Then the Blessed One addressed Śakra, lord of the gods: “Kauśika, this is the meaning of the perfection of wisdom: Do not view the perfection of wisdom as being two. Nor is it not two. It is neither a mark nor not a mark. It is neither something to adopt nor something to abandon. It is neither increasing nor decreasing; neither polluted nor

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not polluted; neither purified nor not purified;¹¹ neither abandoned nor not abandoned; neither remaining nor not remaining; neither to be applied nor not to be applied;¹² neither connected nor not connected; neither a condition nor not a condition;¹³ neither a dharma nor not a dharma;¹⁴ neither suchness nor not suchness;¹⁵ and neither the limit of reality nor not the limit of reality.

“Similarly, Kauśika, the meaning of the perfection of wisdom is as follows: As all phenomena are fundamentally sameness, the perfection of wisdom is itself sameness. As all phenomena are profound, the perfection of wisdom is profound.¹⁶ As all phenomena are isolated, the perfection of wisdom is isolated.¹⁷ As all phenomena are immovable, the perfection of wisdom is immovable. As all phenomena are without thought, the perfection of wisdom is without thought.¹⁸ As all phenomena are free of fear, the perfection of wisdom is free of fear. As all phenomena are free of anxiety, the perfection of wisdom is free of anxiety.¹⁹ As all phenomena are of one taste, the perfection of wisdom is of one taste. As all phenomena are unborn, the perfection of wisdom is unborn. As all phenomena are unceasing, the perfection of wisdom is unceasing. As all phenomena are like space, the perfection of wisdom is like space.²⁰

“As form is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. Similarly, as feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness are boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. As the earth element is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless.

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Similarly, as the water element, the fire element, the wind element, the space element, and the element of consciousness are boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. As Mount Sumeru is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless.²¹ As the ocean is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless.²²

“As vajra²³ is the same, the perfection of wisdom is the same. As all phenomena are undifferentiated, the perfection of wisdom is undifferentiated.²⁴ As the essential nature of all phenomena is beyond apprehending, the essential nature of the perfection of wisdom is beyond apprehending. As all phenomena are the same in lacking anything to be dispelled, the perfection of wisdom is the same in lacking anything to be dispelled.²⁵ As all phenomena are without anything to undertake, the perfection of wisdom is without anything to undertake.²⁶ As all phenomena are inconceivable, the perfection of wisdom is inconceivable.

“Similarly, as the perfection of giving, the perfection of discipline, the perfection of patience, the perfection of effort, the perfection of concentration, the perfection of wisdom, the perfection of means, the perfection of aspiration, the perfection of power, and the perfection of gnosis²⁷ are purified of the three spheres and thus boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless.²⁸

²⁹“The so-called perfection of wisdom consists of eighteen kinds of emptiness. They are internal emptiness, external emptiness, internal and external emptiness, emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness of conditioned phenomena, emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, emptiness transcending extremes,³⁰ emptiness without beginning or end,³¹ emptiness of anything to be given up,³² emptiness of nature, emptiness of all phenomena,³³ emptiness of self-characteristics,³⁴

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emptiness of nonapprehension,³⁵ emptiness of nonexistence, emptiness of essential nature, and emptiness of the essential nature of nonexistence.³⁶

“In short, such emptiness is called the perfection of wisdom.³⁷

“Like a star, a cataract, a lamp,
A magical illusion, a dew drop, a water bubble,
A dream, a flash of lightning, and a cloud³⁸—
View conditioned things in this way.³⁹

Oṁ namo bhagavatyai āryaprajñāpāramitāyai. Oṁ dhī hrī śrī śruti smṛti mati gati vijaye svāhā.⁴⁰

“Neither ceasing nor born,
Neither annihilated nor eternal,
Neither many nor one,
Neither coming nor going,

“Peaceful, because elaborations are pacified—
To the one who teaches this dependent origination,
To the perfect Buddha,
The best of speakers, I prostrate.”⁴¹ ⁴²

The Blessed One having spoken thus, Venerable Śāradvatīputra,⁴³ Śakra, the lord of the gods, and the monks, bodhisattvas, and the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas⁴⁴ rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.⁴⁵

Notes

notes.1

1. The Sanskrit title as given in the Degé Kangyur version of the text is ārya­kauśika­prajñā­pāramitānāma, but the ending -nāma is grammatically incorrect. The Sanskrit title given above, āryakauśikaprajñāpāramitā, follows the grammatically correct form given in the Stok Palace Kangyur version of the sūtra. In the Central Asian Sanskrit manuscript, the title listed at the end is kauśaka­ nāma prajñā­pāramitā (Conze 1956, p. 118. See also Bianchini 2020, pp. 103-106). The inclusion of “nāma” in the title of the extant Sanskrit manuscript helps to explain why some Tibetan Kangyurs, such as the Degé Kangyur, likewise included “nāma” in the Sanskrit title (although at the end of the title), and accounted for this with “zhes bya ba” in the Tibetan title.

notes.2

2. In the Degé Kangyur, The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” is placed in a final volume of miscellaneous Perfection of Wisdom scriptures (shes rab sna tshogs) as well as in the Action Tantra (bya ba’i rgyud) section.

notes.3

3. See, for example, Chapters 22–32 in Gareth Sparham, trans., The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines, Toh 10 (2022). Chapters 22 and 25 are even explicitly named for Kauśika (under the name Śatakratu). In Padmakara Translation Group, trans., The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines, see chapters 14 et seq. and chapter 25.

notes.4

4. In producing this translation, we have not been able to study closely the textual and historical relationships between this sūtra and the two other texts. This is, however, a topic that merits further investigation.

notes.5

5. Denkarma, folio 295.a.6; see also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 8–9, no. 13. Phangthangma 2003, p. 4.

notes.6

6. The Sanskrit manuscript, which was discovered at Dunhuang, can be viewed online at the International Dunhuang Project under the sigla “IOL Khot S 3” and “Ch.0044.” In addition to the complete Sanskrit manuscript, two smaller fragments of the sūtra have been identified, both related to the sūtra's opening section. See Bianchini 2020, p. 104.

notes.7

7. Conze 1973, p. iv.

notes.8

8. Regarding the dating of the Sanskrit manuscript, Bianchini (2020, p. 105) notes that “Despite what might look to the uninitiated as some archaic features, it would appear that there is no ground to assume a date of creation prior to the 9th C.”

notes.9

9. Muller, Digital Dictionary of Buddhism, s.v. “Dānapāla 施護.”

notes.10

10. We have not, however, noted any such divergence with the Sanskrit, as we have included both an edition of the Sanskrit text and a full translation in the appendices to this translation.

notes.11

11. This clause is absent in the Chinese translation.

notes.12

12. This clause is absent in the Chinese translation. Our translation follows the Degé, which reads sbyor ba. The Stok Palace version reads sbyong ba (“neither cleansed nor not cleansed”).

notes.13

13. An additional clause, absent in the Tibetan, follows in the Chinese: “neither real nor unreal” (fei shi fei bu shi 非實非不實).

notes.14

14. An additional clause, absent in the Tibetan, follows in the Chinese: “neither having refuge nor not having refuge” (fei you suo gui fei wu suo gui 非有所歸非無所歸).

notes.15

15. The corresponding clause (“as suchness or nonsuchness”) is absent in the Chinese translation.

notes.16

16. The corresponding clause is absent in the Chinese translation.

notes.17

17. Tib. dben pa; Skt. vivikta. The Chinese version uses jijing 寂靜, which means “tranquility and calm.”

notes.18

18. The corresponding sentence is absent in the Chinese translation. In its place, the Chinese version has “[As] all phenomena are distinctive, the perfection of wisdom is distinctive” (yi qie fa fen bie, bore bo luo mi yi fen bie 一切法分別，般若波羅蜜亦分別).

notes.19

19. The corresponding sentence is absent in the Chinese, which has the alternative, “[As] all phenomena are fully realized, the perfection of wisdom is fully realized” (yi qie fa liao zhi, bo re bo luo mi yi liao zhi 一切法了知，般若波羅蜜亦了知).

notes.20

20. The Chinese here reads, “[As] all phenomena are [akin to] space-like conceptualization, the perfection of wisdom is [akin to] space-like conceptualization” (yi qie fa xu kong wang xiang, bo re bo luo mi yi xu kong wang xiang 一切法虛空妄想，般若波羅蜜亦虛空妄想).

notes.21

21. The corresponding sentence is absent in the Chinese translation.

notes.22

22. The corresponding sentence is absent in the Chinese translation.

notes.23

23. This refers to the substance called vajra (“adamant,” “diamond”) and not to the tantric implement of the same name.

notes.24

24. The corresponding sentence is absent in the Chinese translation. In its place, the Chinese version has “[As] all phenomena are indestructible, the perfection of wisdom is indestructible” (yi qie fa bu huai, bo re bo luo mi yi bu huai 一 切法不壞，般若波羅蜜亦不壞). Note that the substance called vajra mentioned in the previous line is considered indestructible.

notes.25

25. The Stok Palace version has gsal ba (“illuminate”) as opposed to bsal ba (“dispel”). The latter reading, that within the perfection of wisdom there is nothing whatsoever to dispel, corresponds well with the clause that follows, which states that within the perfection of wisdom there is nothing to undertake. Thus, the two clauses can be taken as a pair that expresses how, in the perfection of wisdom, nothing is to be negated or taken up. It is worth noting the ambiguity of the terms “dispel” and “undertake,” since it is not clear in what sense “dispel” and “undertake” are intended. They can refer to practices to be discarded or adopted, or to the negation or assertion of certain properties (such as the property of inherent existence). Our translation allows for either interpretation. The Chinese reads, “[As] all phenomena are equal in nature, the perfection of wisdom is equal in nature” (yi qie fa xing ping deng, bo re bo luo mi yi ping deng 一切法性平等，般若波羅蜜亦平等).

notes.26

26. Here byed pa med pa may be rendered as “actionless,” but we chose to interpret it as lacking anything to undertake, as a counterpoint to the previous sentence. Thus, just as there is nothing to be dispelled, so is there nothing to be undertaken in relation to both all phenomena and the perfection of wisdom. The Chinese reads, “[As] all phenomena have no nature, the perfection of wisdom has no nature” (yi qie fa wu xing, bo re bo luo mi yi wu xing 一切法無性，般若波羅蜜亦無性).

notes.27

27. The Chinese translation lists nine perfections in a slightly different order: giving (bushi 佈施), discipline (chijie 持戒), patience (renru 忍辱), effort (jingjin 精進), concentration (chanding 禪定), means (fangbian 方便), aspiration (yuan 願), power (li 力), and gnosis (zhi 智). The perfection of wisdom (shes rab, hui 慧) is absent in the Chinese.

notes.28

28. The Chinese version reads, “The three activities of speech, thought, and deed are pure; the perfection of wisdom is also pure. Therefore, the meaning of the perfection of wisdom is boundless” (san ye qing jing, bo re bo luo mi yi qing jing. ru shi bo re bo luo mi, qi yi wu bian 三業清淨，般若波羅蜜亦清淨。如是般若波羅蜜，其義無邊).

notes.29

29. The Chinese translation begins this next section with “Furthermore, Kauśika! [The perfection of wisdom] possesses eighteen emptinesses” (fu ci, jiao shi jia! Suo you shi ba kong 復次， 憍尸迦！所有十八空).

notes.30

30. The Chinese version adds here “unchanging emptiness” (wu bian yi kong 無變異空), which is absent in the Tibetan.

notes.31

31. The Chinese version has the alternative “emptiness without beginning” (wu shi kong 無始空) here.

notes.32

32. The corresponding clause is absent in the Chinese translation.

notes.33

33. The corresponding clause is found in the Chinese translation, but it is placed at the end of the list as the last emptiness.

notes.34

34. The Chinese version adds “emptiness of no characteristics” (wu xiang kong 無相空) here.

notes.35

35. The corresponding clause is absent in the Chinese translation.

notes.36

36. This list is slightly different in the Chinese version. The eighteen emptinesses are, in the order of appearance, internal emptiness (nei kong 內空), external emptiness (wai kong 外空), internal and external emptiness (nei wai kong 內外空), emptiness of emptiness (kong kong 空空), great emptiness (da kong 大空), ultimate emptiness (sheng yi kong 勝義空), emptiness of conditioned phenomena (you wei kong 有為空), emptiness of unconditioned phenomena (wo wei kong 無為空), emptiness of transcending extremes (wu ji kong 無際空), unchanging emptiness (wu bian yi kong 無變異空), emptiness without beginning (wu shi kong 無始空), emptiness of inherent nature (ben xing kong 本性空), emptiness of self-characteristics (zi xiang kong 自相空), emptiness of no characteristics (wu xiang kong 無相空), emptiness of nonexistence (wu xing kong 無性空), emptiness of essential nature (zi xing kong 自性空), emptiness of the essential nature of nonexistence (wu xing zi xing kong 無性自性空), and emptiness of all phenomena (yi qie fa kong一切法空).

notes.37

37. This sentence is absent in the Chinese translation. In its place, the Chinese reads, “The verse says…” (song yue 頌曰).

notes.38

38. The Chinese version has a slightly different order. It reads, “Like a star, a lamp, a cataract, a dream, an illusion, a bubble, and a dew drop; like lightning as well as a cloud” (ru xing ru deng, yi meng, huan ji pao, lu, ru dian yi ru yun 如星如燈、翳， 夢、幻及泡、露，如電亦如雲).

notes.39

39. This is the verse that concludes the Buddha’s discourse in The Diamond Cutter Sūtra (Vajracchedikā, Toh 16, folio 132.b). The Chinese version indicates that this verse was spoken by “I” (wo jin lüe shuo ci 我今略說此), presumably the Buddha, considering that the conclusion of the text says “The Blessed One has spoken” (shi zun shuo ci jing yi 世尊說此經已).

notes.40

40. This mantra is included in the Tibetan version and also, albeit in a modified form, in the Sanskrit version, but not in the extant Chinese. In its place, the Chinese reads, “I now have briefly spoken about this perfection of wisdom” (wo jin lüe shuoci, bo re bo luo mi 我今略說此, 般若波羅蜜).

notes.41

41. The Sanskrit of these two verses matches the opening verses of homage in Nāgārjuna’s Fundamental Treatise on the Middle Way (Mūla­madhyamaka­kārikā, Toh 3824, folio 1.b). This suggests that the differences between this Tibetan translation of these verses and the canonical Tibetan translation of Nāgārjuna’s text reflect alternate translations of the same Sanskrit text. The Chinese translation adds a few lines here not found in the Tibetan. They read, “Thus, this is the teaching of supreme perfect awakening that ceases and pacifies the twelve links of dependent arising. Have reverent faith in the supreme guru. Take refuge in the buddhas of the ten directions of the past, present, and future, the Three Jewels, and the perfections. With an ocean of unlimited merit, make offerings to the various tathāgatas, who hold the true secret [teachings] of the Great Illumination” (ru shi shi er yuan, zhi xi ling ji jing, zheng deng zheng deng jue shuo. Gong xin zui shunag zhi, gui yi shi fang fo, guo xian ji wei lai, san bao bo luo mi, wu liang gong de hai, gong yang zhu ru lai, da ming zhen mi mi 如是十二緣， 止息令寂靜，正等正覺說。 恭信最上師，歸依十方佛， 過現及未來，三寶波羅蜜。 無量功德海，供養諸如來， 大明真祕密。).

notes.42

42. In the Sanskrit and Chinese translations, the mantras begin here. See appendices I and II.

notes.43

43. Śāriputra is absent in the Chinese version.

notes.44

44. The Chinese version contains a slightly different list here. It reads, “Sovereign Śakra, lord of the gods, various bodhisattvas, gods, humans, gandharvas, and asuras” (di shi tian zhuji zhu pus a mo he sa, tian, ren, gan ta po, a xiu luo deng 帝釋天主及諸菩薩摩訶薩、天、人、乾闥婆、阿修羅等).

notes.45

45. The Chinese translation has “all rejoiced upon hearing what the Buddha had taught and heartily took refuge in his teaching and promised to practice it” (yi qie ren zhong, wen fo suo shuo, jie da huan xi, zin shou feng xing一切大眾，聞佛所說，皆大歡喜，信受奉行).