The Sūtra on Timings for the Gaṇḍī
Translation of གཎ་ཌའ་དས་ཀྱ་མད (གཎ་ཌཱིའི་དུས་ཀྱི་མདོ)
- Language
- English
- Translator
- Lowell Cook
- Extent
- 22 passages, 1,915 words
- Text
- complete digital text
- Source
- 84000 · Published by 84000 (v 1.0.1 2024). 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…
Contents
- intro 84000's introduction — 10 parts
- 1
- 2
- 3
- notes Notes — 9 parts
Text
84000's introduction
intro.1
In this short text, the Buddha instructs monks on the correct timings for sounding the gaṇḍī during each of the twelve months of the year. The timings are given based on the use of a solar clock.
intro.2
The Sūtra on the Timings for the Gaṇḍī is a short instruction given by the Buddha concerning the specific times at which the gaṇḍī is to be struck, depending on the month. The gaṇḍī is a long wooden beam¹ that is ritually struck, in a variety of methods, on certain occasions in order to call monks to assemblies or meals, to alert them to gatherings, or to herald the beginning of a rite.²
intro.3
Whereas the sūtra immediately preceding this in the Degé Kangyur, The Gaṇḍī Sūtra ³ describes the construction, consecration, benefits, and symbolism of the gaṇḍī—the sound of which is said to quell conflict and symbolize the Perfection of Wisdom—the present sūtra is concerned exclusively with the times at which the gaṇḍī should be struck during the various seasons and months of the year. Two times are given per month, and the times indicated are before noon. The timings given in this sūtra may relate to the bi-monthly gatherings for the poṣadha or Restoration Rite held on the new moon and full moon of every month, at which monastics reaffirm their commitments.⁴ However this remains a conjecture since the gaṇḍī may be used on a variety of ritual occasions, and The Sūtra on the Timings for the Gaṇḍī does not specify what event the timings prescribed in the text relate to.
intro.4
In ancient and medieval India, two principal methods for telling time were in use, namely the shadow clock (Skt. chāyāpramāṇa, Tib. grib tshod) and the water clock (Skt. nāḍikā, Tib. chu tshod). The timings prescribed in this sūtra relate to the former. We know that this method of determining time was widely used in the Buddhist monasteries of India during the seventh century ce, since it is described in some detail by the Tang-era Chinese monk Yijing (義浄 635–713 ce), who spent time at Nālandā monastery and gave an account of his experiences in An Account of Buddhism Sent from the South Seas (Taishō 2125, Nanhai ji gui nei fa chuan 南海寄歸內法傳).⁵
intro.5
As described by Yijing, telling time based on shadow length was premised on the use of a long L-shaped stick or cane. The shorter, vertical length of the stick that casts the shadow was known as the “man” (Skt. puruṣa, Tib. skyes bu). This vertical portion corresponds to the gnomon of a sundial. The shadow cast by this “man” was measured along the longer horizontal portion of the stick. When the shadow was equal in length to its height, that measurement was also called one “man.” Not unlike how a sundial works, the length of the shadow cast by the gnomon was used to indicate the seasonal hour, a unit of time that varied between seasons.⁶
intro.6
In this eleventh-century Tibetan translation of The Sūtra on the Timings for the Gaṇḍī, the units of measurement for the shadow are given in “feet” (Skt. pada/pāda, Tib. rkang pa) and “fingerbreadths” (Skt. aṅgula, Tib. sor). Typically in ancient and medieval India, twelve or fourteen fingerbreadths were equal to one foot.⁷ In The Sūtra on the Timings for the Gaṇḍī it is uncertain how many “feet” correspond to one “man.” Since the Sanskrit term pāda can also mean “a quarter,” it is possible that here four feet correspond to one man. All of these measurements would be scaled down in ratio according to the size of the gnomon or “man” in use. Yijing states that the gnomons he witnessed in use in India were four fingerbreadths in height.
intro.7
In The Sūtra on the Timings for the Gaṇḍī, the Buddha gives a schedule of twenty-four bi-monthly readings which vary over the course of twelve months and four seasons⁸ to cover the entire year. In each case, he gives two shadow length readings which denote the times when the gaṇḍī is to be struck and when it is not. With a few exceptions, these readings are two feet apart. Since the length of the shadow shortens from the first reading to the second, we can infer that these times are in the morning, when the shadows cast by the sun progressively decrease. Hence, for each time of year, the Buddha provides a range from the earliest time at which the gaṇḍī may be struck until the time it may no longer be struck.
intro.8
While the use of the gaṇḍī was widespread in India and continues to be used by monastic communities today, this sūtra does not appear to have survived in any Indic language.
intro.9
The sūtra’s colophon states that it was translated into Tibetan by the Tibetan monk Gewai Lodrö (11th ce) and the Indian preceptor Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna, more widely known as Atiśa Dīpaṃkara (982–1054), the great revitalizer of Buddhism in Tibet after the period of fragmentation. Atiśa and Gewai Lodrö worked closely together to translate a number of works. There is no mention of the sūtra in the catalogs of scriptures translated during the Imperial Period (629–841 ᴄᴇ), which suggests that Atiśa and Gewai Lodrö’s translation was the first time it was translated into Tibetan. Based on the dates recorded in Atiśa’s biographies, we can say with some certainty that this sūtra was likely translated sometime between 1040, when Atiśa first arrived in Tibet, and 1054, the year of his passing.
intro.10
The present translation is based on the version found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Manuscript Kangyur.
1
Homage to the blessed Youthful Mañjuśrī.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in the Bamboo Grove, in the Kalandakanivāpa near Rājagṛha. The Blessed One called forth the monks and delivered the following teaching.
“Monks, I will explain the times of the year to you. Listen well.
“Monks, in the first half of the first winter month, seven feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than four and a half feet is not. In the second half of that month, eight feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than six feet is not. In the first half of the middle winter month, nine feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than seven feet is not. In the second half of that month, ten feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than eight feet is not. In the first half of the last winter month, eleven feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than nine feet is not.
2
In the second half of that month, twelve feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than ten feet is not.
“In the first half of the first month of spring, eleven feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than nine feet is not. In the second half of that month, ten feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than eight feet is not. In the first half of the middle month of spring, nine feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than seven feet is not. In the second half of that month, eight feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than six feet is not. During the first half of the last month of spring, seven feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than five feet is not. In the second half of that month, six feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than four feet is not.
“In the first half of the first month of summer, six feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than four feet is not. In the second half of that month, five feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than three feet is not. In the first half of the middle month of summer, four feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than three feet is not. In the second half of that month, four feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than two feet is not. In the first half of the last summer month, three feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than two feet is not.
“In the first half of the first month of fall, three feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than two and a half feet is not. In the second half of that month, two feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than half a foot is not.⁹ In the first half of the middle month of fall, four feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than two feet is not. In the second half of that month, four feet is the time for the gaṇḍī;
3
a fingerbreadth less than two feet is not. In the first half of the last month of fall, five feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than three feet is not. In the second half of that month, six feet is the time for the gaṇḍī; a fingerbreadth less than four feet is not.”
After the Blessed One spoke these words, the monks rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had taught.
Colophon
Translated by the Indian preceptor Dīpaṃkara Śrījñāna and the translator monk Gewai Lodrö.
Notes
notes.1
1. For historical and ethnographical details concerning the gaṇḍī and its wide-ranging usage in Buddhist monasteries, see Helffer 1983, Hu-von Hinüber 1991, and Sobkovyak 2015. In The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary, the term gaṇḍī is defined as “a shaft or stalk, used as a bar.” The related Sanskrit term gaṇḍi is defined in the Monier-Williams dictionary as “the trunk of a tree from the root to the beginning of the branches.” For a discussion of the various definitions and etymologies of the term, see Sobkovyak 2015, p. 689.
notes.2
2. The Poṣadhavastu of the Vinayavastu classifies five different types or uses of the gaṇḍī: the gaṇḍī to summon the saṅgha, the gaṇḍī for formal acts, for the dead, for meditation, and for danger. Different methods of striking the gaṇḍī are used in these different contexts. See The Chapter on the Restoration Rite . See also Sobkovyak 2015, pp. 690–708.
notes.3
3. The Gaṇḍī Sūtra , Toh 298.
notes.4
4. For a description of the ritual of striking the gaṇḍī that begins the poṣadha restoration rite, as observed in 2011 at Gandantegchenlin monastery in Ulan Bator, see Sobkovyak 2015, pp. 724-16.
notes.5
5. Takakasu (trans.) 1896, pp. 100–101. Taishō 2125, (CBETA).
notes.6
6. For discussions of the systems of recording time in ancient India based on a wide variety of Sanskrit texts, see Ôhashi 1993, Ôhashi 1994, and Hayashi 2017.
notes.7
7. In Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra 2.20.10, for example, fourteen aṅgula are said to make one pada. See Olivelle (trans.) 2013, p. 146.
notes.8
8. It is notable that the year is divided here into four seasons of three months each, rather than the five or six seasons more commonly found in Indian treatises. For example, Kauṭilya’s Arthaśāstra 2.20.54–60 describes six seasons of two months each. See Olivelle (trans.) 2013, p. 147.
notes.9
9. The readings for the second half of the first month of fall are inconsistent. In all the other readings, there is an incremental change every two weeks, as the shadows get longer as the days get shorter. It seems likely the correct measurements here should be three and a half feet and two and a half feet respectively.