ཟ་མ་ཏོག་བད་པ།

The Basket’s Display

Kāraṇḍavyūha
 འཕགས་པ་ཟ་མ་ཏོག་བད་པ་ས་་བ་ག་པ་ན་པོ་མདོ།

’phags pa za ma tog bkod pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Basket’s Display”

Āryakāraṇḍavyūhanāmamahāyānasūtra
 Toh 116
Degé Kangyur, vol. 51 (mdo sde, pa), folios 200.a–247.b.

Translated by Peter Alan Roberts with Tulku Yeshi

under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2013

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co. CONTENTS

ti. Title
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
1. Part One
2. Part Two
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
g. Glossary
s. SUMMARY

s.1 The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha) is the source of the most prevalent mantra of
Tibetan Buddhism: oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. It marks a significant stage in the
growing importance of Avalokiteśvara within Indian Buddhism in the early
centuries of the first millennium. In a series of narratives within narratives, the
sūtra describes Avalokiteśvara’s activities in various realms and the realms
contained within the pores of his skin. It culminates in a description of the
extreme rarity of his mantra, which, on the Buddha’s instructions, Bodhisattva
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin obtains from someone in Vārāṇasī who has broken
his monastic vows. This sūtra provided a basis and source of quotations for the
teachings and practices of the eleventh-century Maṇi Kabum, which itself
served as a foundation for the rich tradition of Tibetan Avalokiteśvara practice.

ac. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ac.1 The sūtra was translated from the Tibetan and Sanskrit by Peter Alan Roberts.
Tulku Yeshi of the Sakya Monastery, Seattle, was the consulting lama who
reviewed the translation. The project manager and editor was Emily Bower, and
the proofreader was Ben Gleason. Thanks to William Tuladhar-Douglas and
Charles Manson for their assistance in obtaining Sanskrit manuscripts, and to
Richard Gombrich and Sanjukta Gupta for their elucidations.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The generous sponsorship of Tony Leung Chiu Wai and family for work on
this sūtra is gratefully acknowledged.
i. INTRODUCTION

i.1 The Kāraṇḍavyūha is an early Mantrayāna sūtra that is the source of the mantra
oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. The sūtra is thus of particular importance, as this mantra
now holds a central role in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition, especially
throughout the lay population. This sūtra also records Avalokiteśvara’s
transformation into the principal figure of the Buddhist pantheon, greater than
all other buddhas, let alone bodhisattvas. In this sūtra, Avalokiteśvara is a
resident of Sukhavātī and acts as a messenger and gift bearer for Amitābha,
even though he is also described as superior to all buddhas and therefore
paradoxically has both a subservient and dominant status.

The sūtra in India and its translations

i.2 The appearance in writing of the Kāraṇḍavyūha probably dates to around the
fifth century ᴄᴇ. In terms of place, the text indicates familiarity with the cesspits
of Vārāṇasī, and assumes the reader’s knowledge of Candradvīpa, the
southern part of Bengal where the Ganges Delta is situated. In the Tibetan
version, the merchants who wish to sail to Laṅka ask whether the winds are
blowing toward the land of the Greeks. This appears to locate their port of
departure on the northwest coast of India. In terms of time, the text is located
within a culture where the Mahābhārata and the Purāṇas had a dominant place
in Indian culture, particularly the Skandha Pūraṇa, probably during the Gupta
period of the third to fifth century.
i.3 The earliest surviving manuscript is comprised of fragmentary pages from
two manuscripts discovered within a Gilgit stūpa in the 1940s. It was written in
a hybrid of Middle Indic and Sanskrit, now called Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit,
which was frequently used in sūtras. Adhelheid Mette, who has published
these fragments, suggests that it was composed in the fourth or fifth century;1
the script in which it is written had fallen out of use by the early seventh
century, and the fragments show variations between the two manuscripts that
 are the result of the texts having gone through generations of copying. Other
existing Sanskrit manuscripts (see below) date from a century or more later
than the ninth century Tibetan translation.
i.4 According to Lokesh Chandra,2 in 270 ᴄᴇ Dharmarakṣa of Dunhuang
translated the Kāraṇḍavyūha into Chinese. Then, between 435 and 443 ᴄᴇ,
Gunabhadra translated it into Chinese again. However, this is a case of
misidentification. The sūtra they translated was the Ratnakaraṇḍavyūha. The
Kāraṇḍavyūha itself was not translated into Chinese until 983 ᴄᴇ, considerably
later than the Tibetan translation; the translator was T’ien Hsi-tsai.
The sūtra also exists in a later, longer, and more polished form, entirely in
verse and incorporating passages from such texts as Śantideva’s Bodhisattva-
caryāvatāra, which has great importance within Nepalese Buddhism. Dating to
the fifteenth century, it is one of the last Sanskrit Buddhist sūtras. It has not
been translated into Tibetan.

Avalokiteśvara

i.5 Avalokiteśvara is noticeable by his absence in early sūtras where Mañjuśrī

figures prominently. In the Sukhāvatīvyūha or The Display of the Pure Land of
Sukhāvatī,3 which describes the realm of Amitāyus, the buddha who later
became known by the name Amitābha, Avalokiteśvara has yet to appear. He
makes his first prominent appearance in the longer Sukhāvatīvyūha 4 in which he
stands beside Amitāyus as one of his two principal bodhisattva attendants. The
other bodhisattva is Mahāsthāmaprāpta, and in a number of subsequent sūtras
they are included as a pair in the introductory description of the assembly of
those who are listening to the teaching. In one of the Kāraṇḍavyūha’s internal
contradictions, both Mahāsthāmaprāpta and Avalokiteśvara are listed as being
in the audience awaiting Avalokiteśvara’s appearance.
i.6 Each bodhisattva later had a chapter dedicated to him in the White Lotus of
Compassion Sūtra,5 but while Avalokiteśvara reached preeminence over all
buddhas in the Kāraṇḍavyūha, Mahāsthāmaprāpta declined in importance. In the
Tibetan tradition, even in the Sukhāvatīvyūha, he has become conflated with
Vajrapāṇi. At the time of the composition of the Kāraṇḍavyūha, Vajrapāṇi, who in
earlier Buddhism was a powerful yakṣa, appears as one of the gathered
bodhisattvas, which is indicative of sūtras that contain mantras. However, this
is a recent development, as one of Avalokiteśvara’s qualities given in the sūtra
is that he terrifies Vajrapāṇi! Vajrapāṇi would soon join Mañjuśrī and
Avalokiteśvara to form the principal trinity of bodhisattvas in the early tantra
tradition.
i.7 The Kāraṇḍavyūha does not mention Avalokiteśvara’s abode in this world on
the Potalaka Mountain, which was a later feature that first appeared in South
Indian Buddhism. The origin of the popular four-armed version of
Avalokiteśvara appears within the sūtra as the goddess who is the embodiment
of the six-syllable mantra, referred to throughout as a vidyā (which is a feminine
noun) or often as the queen of mahāvidyās. Many forms of Avalokiteśvara
appeared in India, such as the thousand-armed Avalokiteśvara included in
fasting practice, and in the eleventh century there appeared the higher tantra
form named Jinasāgara, a red, four-armed Avalokiteśvara in union with a
consort. This practice was introduced into Tibet in the beginning of the twelfth
century.
i.8 Eventually Avalokiteśvara practices spread throughout the Buddhist world.
There are still ancient Avalokiteśvara statues even in Śrī Laṅka, though the
figure is identified as Śiva in Tamil areas and as Maitreya in Buddhist temples.
Avalokiteśvara was prominent in China for centuries before the Kāraṇḍavyūha
was translated into Chinese. In particular Avalokiteśvara became a dominant
figure in Chinese Buddhism as Kuan Yin (or Guanyin in Pinyin), transforming
into a female bodhisattva, a process described by Chün-Fang Yü in Kuan-yin:
The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara, as the result of focusing on his
incarnation as the Princess Miao-chan.6

The Kāraṇḍavyūha in Tibetan Buddhism

i.9 The Pillar Testament (Tib. bka’ chems ka khol ma) from the eleventh or twelfth
century states that the Kāraṇḍavyūha was one of the texts that descended from
the sky in a casket onto the palace roof of the fifth-century ruler of the Yarlung
Valley, Lhathothori Nyentsen (Tib. lha tho tho ri gnyan btsan), and that during the
reign of his descendant Songtsen Gampo (Tib. srong btsan sgam po), who became
the king of most of the Tibetan plateau and introduced Buddhism to Tibet, it
was translated by Thönmi Sambhota, the inventor of the Tibetan alphabet.7 In
the thirteenth century Nelpa Paṇḍita, rejecting this legend, stated that the
casket was brought by a paṇḍita on his way to China.8 However, he only
records the maṇi mantra as being within the casket, which happens to be called
a za ma tog or “a solid and precious casket” (rinchen za ma tog) and not a reed
basket. Nevertheless, this is probably why this sūtra became associated with
the legend.
i.10 The earliest and only translation of the sūtra appears to be the one presently
in the canon. All of the versions of the Kangyur except one have a colophon
ascribing the translation of the Kāraṇḍavyūha to Yeshé Dé and the Indian
 paṇḍitas Dānaśīla and Jinamitra, who collaborated with each other on the
majority of their translations. The Narthang Kangyur (snar thang bka’ ’gyur) is
alone in attributing the translation to Śākyaprabha and Ratnarakṣita.
i.11 Nanam Yeshé Dé (sna nam ye shes sde) was a Tibetan who became the principal
translator in the translation program set up under the royal auspices of King
Trisong Detsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 742–798 ᴄᴇ). The translation work took
place in a building dedicated to the translation program. It was situated within
the circular compound of Samye (bsam yas) Monastery. Yeshé Dé’s name is in
the colophon of no fewer than 347 texts in the Kangyur and Tengyur, three of
which are his own original works in Tibetan. Jinamitra was invited to Tibet
during the reign of Trisong Detsen, and 234 texts name him as Yeshé Dé’s co-
translator. Dānaśīla, also known as Mālava, was invited to Tibet from Kashmir
during the reign of Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–838 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with
the translation of around 165 texts. He was also the author of seven texts, five
of which he helped translate. He was still active in Tibet during the reign of
King Langdarma (glang dar ma, r. 838–841 ᴄᴇ).
i.12 Jinamitra and Dānaśīla were also two of the four or five Indian paṇḍitas who
played principal roles in the completion of the Mahāvyuttpati, the Sanskrit-
Tibetan concordance that was intended to regulate the translation of Sanskrit
texts into Tibetan. Work on this dictionary began during the reigns of Trisong
Detsen and Senaleg (sad na legs, r. 800–815 ᴄᴇ), but it was completed in the reign
of Ralpachen. The catalog for the Tangtong Denkar Palace (pho brang thang stong
ldan dkar) collection, which was compiled in 824 ᴄᴇ, lists the Kāraṇḍavyūha.
i.13 There is at least one instance in the Kāraṇḍavyūha where the translation does
not accord with the Mahāvyuttpati. In describing the twenty peaks of the
mountain that is the belief in the existence of an individual self in relation to the
skandhas (“aggregates”), the peaks are described as samudgata, which the
Mahāvyuttpati translates as “high” (Tib. mtho ba). In the Kāraṇḍavyūha, however,
it is translated as “arisen” (Tib. byung ba). Unless the translators changed their
minds, this would appear to identify the translation as having taken place
before the Mahāvyuttpati was completed. Therefore we can say that the
translation was certainly made during the decade between 815 and 824 ᴄᴇ, and
presumably in the earlier part of that decade, around 820 ᴄᴇ or earlier. Neither
Yeshé Dé nor Jinamitra are specified to have lived beyond the end of
Ralpachen’s reign in 824 ᴄᴇ. Yeshé Dé’s remains are said to be interred within a
stūpa on Hepori Hill next to Samye Monastery, where he worked on so many
translations.
i.14 A later translation or revision of the Tibetan version was never made.
However, the Kāraṇḍavyūha served as the basis for the eleventh-century Maṇi
Kabum (A Hundred Thousand Teachings on the Maṇi Mantra; Tib. ma Ni bka’ ’bum),
which was attributed to Songtsen Gampo, although the extracts from the sūtra
 that it includes are clearly derived from the early ninth-century translation. The
Maṇi Kabum was a highly influential work in propagating the practice of
Avalokiteśvara, known in Tibetan as Chenrezi (spyan ras gzigs), the repetition of
the maṇi mantra, and the identification of Songtsen Gampo as an emanation of
Avalokiteśvara; it has had a much greater impact on Tibetan culture than the
sūtra upon which it is based.

Translation of the title

i.15 The title of the sūtra is somewhat ambiguous. A karaṇḍa is usually a basket
made of reeds. The karaṇḍa is frequently portrayed in the background of
portraits of Indian siddhas as a large pot-bellied basket with a lid, containing
collections of scriptures. These siddhas are also portrayed making the hand
gesture representing the basket, the karaṇḍamudrā (“basket gesture”). There is
even a layperson’s hairstyle named karaṇḍamakuṭa (“basket crest”), where the
hair is arranged on top of the head in the shape of a tall, rounded basket with a
lid.
Another word for basket is piṭaka, which forms the basis of the most common
metaphor for the Buddha’s teachings, “the three baskets” or tripiṭaka, which
contain the Vinaya, Sūtra, and the Abhidharma or its predecessor the Mātṛkā.
However, there are many instances in Tibetan literature where za ma tog, the
translation of karaṇḍa, means something more solid and smaller than a pot-
bellied reed basket, as in the precious casket (rin chen za ma tog) in the legend of
the Kāraṇḍavyūha’s appearance to King Lhathothori. The name of the earlier
Ratnakaraṇḍasūtra could at first seem to mean “precious casket,” but the contents
of that sūtra validate the Tibetan translation as The Basket of the [Three] Jewels
(dkon mchog gi za ma tog).9 There are also instances in the Sanskrit where the
word karaṇḍa is apparently used for something more solid than a reed basket.
There is a dhāraṇī in the tantra section of the Kangyur that has in its title the
phrase dhātukaraṇḍa (Tib. ring bsrel gyi za ma tog), which means “the casket of
relics,” or “reliquary.”10
i.16 The Kāraṇḍavyūha is spelled with a long initial a in all existing Sanskrit
manuscripts, while every Tibetan edition has a short initial vowel. The long
vowel is more likely to be lost than added, as errors generally replace the
uncommon with the common. The enhanced vowel is used in Sanskrit to
denote affiliation, origin, and ancestry. In the case of kāraṇḍa, the word usually
means “ducks”; they live among the river reeds that are used to make baskets.
Here kāraṇḍa may be signifying that this sūtra has its origin in the basket that
contains the description of Avalokiteśvara’s qualities. A basket or casket is
normally spelled without the long vowel: karaṇḍa.
 There are also titles in the Tengyur that contain the word ratnakaraṇḍa
(without the long vowel) where it means “a casket that is made of a precious
material,” even though that meaning is not necessarily evident in Tibetan
because of the syntax of the titles in question.11
i.17 Therefore, after hesitating between “basket” and “casket” and wishing there
was one word for both (or at least a word for a lidded, pot-bellied reed basket),
we chose “basket” as the better translation, primarily because of the way
karaṇḍa is used in the sūtra itself. This term occurs only within the description of
the Avīci hell. The Vaidya edition has visphurad ratnakaraṇḍavat, which means
“raging [flame] like a precious casket,” but this appears to be a corruption, with
the Cambridge manuscript having visphurantaṃ karaṇḍavat, and the Tibetan not
having the equivalent of ratna (“precious”). If karaṇḍa is being used here to
describe the shape of the flame, then it is referring to the distinctive shape of
the reed basket, wider at its middle. This shape is still associated with za ma tog
in contemporary Tibetan, and it is also compared with the shape of an egg.
i.18 Vyūha has a wide range of meanings, but is based on the idea of things being
set out or displayed, and was therefore translated into Tibetan as bkod pa. The
word can also mean “description” or “explanation” and even “chapter.” The
sūtra is therefore a display from a basket, or the presentation of its contents.
The later Nepalese version of the sūtra has a longer title, Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha,
which could be translated as A Display from the Basket of Qualities, the “qualities”
being those of Avalokiteśvara. Both versions of the sūtra are dedicated
primarily to a description of Avalokiteśvara’s qualities, which are stated to be
greater than that of any buddha. The use of vyūha in the title is also evocative of
the earlier Gaṇḍavyūha, which forms the last chapter of the Avataṃsaka, where
gaṇḍa means “supreme” or “best.” The influence of the contents of that chapter
is also discernible in this sūtra.

Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ

i.19 The Kāraṇḍavyūha’s principal content is the introduction of the oṁ maṇipadme

hūṁ mantra and the descriptions of its inconceivable benefits. These are also
the most quoted sections of the sūtra. However, it contains no instructions on
the qualities and benefits of each syllable, of the kind that subsequently
became widespread in Tibetan Buddhism. It also gives no explanation of the
meaning of the mantra as a whole, a meaning that has been understood in
various ways. Donald Lopez has given an account of various interpretations of
the mantra in the West in his Prisoners of Shangri-la.12
i.20 Alexander Studholme, in his The Origins of Oṁ Maṇipadme Hūṃ, describes
how the sūtra was composed within the context of familiarity with, and under
the influence of, Purāṇic literature, in particular the Skandapurāṇa. In this sūtra,
 Avalokiteśvara has taken on various attributes and characteristics of Śiva, to the
extent that one passage could be misread as describing Avalokiteśvara to be
the creator of the universe. Even so, he is still being described as the creator of
its deities, including Śiva and Viṣṇu. In particular, Avalokiteśvara’s mantra is
evidence of the influence of Śiva’s five-syllable mantra, oṁ namaḥ śivāya (“Oṁ—
Homage to Śiva!”), which is found in the Skandapurāṇa together with a
description of the benefits of its recitation.
i.21 In classical Sanskrit grammar, padme would be the locative case, which has
led to the interpretation of oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ as “jewel in the lotus.” However,
mantras are typically given in the vocative or dative case, usually with the
name of a deity being invoked. Padme is in fact the vocative for padma, this being
Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit. In classical Sanskrit, the e-ending vocative form is
only used for feminine nouns.13 P.C. Verhagen has translated one of the few
native Tibetan texts to be found in the Tengyur, a grammar text that uses this
very mantra to explain the e-ending vocative form for masculine nouns.14 This
vocative form of masculine nouns is a characteristic of the Magadhi, or
northeastern Middle Indic, dialect. However, this form appears to have been
much more widespread, extending as far as Sanskrit loan words in the
Tocharian language of Central Asia.15 Maṇipadma is therefore a compound and
is a name for Avalokiteśvara meaning “Jewel Lotus.”

Difficulties inherent in the sūtra

i.22 The sūtra itself is rarely read in Tibet, other than in the annual ritual chanting of
the Kangyur, and as mentioned above it has been eclipsed by the eleventh-
century Maṇi Kabum. There is no evidence of it having had any significant
impact on religious life in Tibet in the preceding centuries. In spite of the
eventual importance of the oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ mantra, the sūtra is still primarily
known only through select quotations. One reason for this is that very little of
the teaching and meditation practice of the Maṇi Kabum is to be found in the
sūtra.
i.23 Another reason is the difficulty involved in reading the sūtra due to its
structure of narratives within narratives. After a buddha is initially introduced,
he is subsequently only referred to as “Bhagavat,” and it is easy for readers to
lose track of which level of the narrative they are reading. Although the
speakers’ names were not repeated in the original, we have added them in here
for clarity. We have not marked these insertions with square brackets, again for
the sake of readability.
i.24 Another problem with the sūtra is that although it is a compilation of
narratives, the sūtra does not always use its source material in a skillful manner.
The Sanskrit original itself does not compare well with the clarity and style of
 writing found in other sūtras. There are abrupt transitions, inconsistency in the
use of pronouns, and the contents of one part of the narrative appear to be in
contradiction with those of another. For example, the Buddha tells the tale of
the merchants being rescued from the land of the rākṣasīs in the first person,
but there are sporadic lapses into what must have been the original third
person of the narrative. The asura king Bali’s account of his downfall likewise
transitions from a first- to a third-person account. In common with many other
Mahāyāna sūtras but perhaps more frequently than most of them, the
Kāraṇḍavyūha refers to itself within its own narrative as a sūtra that is being
taught, requested, or longed for, but appears to describe itself as being
comprised of verses, almost as if the Kāraṇḍavyūha is a different sūtra that is
simply being referred to in this sūtra.
i.25 The sūtra assumes that the reader is familiar with the Mahābhārata and the
Rāmāyaṇa, the two great epics of Indian literature, and the story of Viṣṇu’s
avatar as a dwarf deceiving Bali, the lord of the asuras. Tibetan readers,
however, would be unfamiliar with personages referred to in passing in the
text, such as Śukra, who is both the deity of the planet Venus and counselor for
the king of the asuras. Viṣṇu is usually referred to as Nārāyaṇa in the sūtra, but
in the passage where he rescues the Pāṇḍavas and other kṣatriyas of
Mahābhārata fame, he is referred to as Daśarathaputra (“son of Daśaratha”),
which is actually the name of Rāma, another of Viṣṇu’s avatars. This may be
because the story of the dwarf avatar also appears in the Rāmāyaṇa when it is
told to Rāma, that is, Daśarathaputra.
i.26 The sūtra also includes a variation of a well-known jātaka tale in which the
Buddha as a horse saves merchants from the island of the rākṣasīs,16 which has
been retold with variations many times in Buddhist literature. Here it is retold
with Avalokiteśvara as the horse and the Buddha as the head merchant who is
being rescued. However, this too implies an unexplained internal contradiction:
the sūtra had earlier narrated how Avalokiteśvara, in the form of a handsome
man, had converted all the rākṣasīs from their cannibalistic ways to become
devotees of Buddhism.

Problems arising from the Tibetan translation

i.27 The Tibetan translation occasionally transliterates the Sanskrit rather than
attempting to find a Tibetan equivalent, particularly when it comes to fauna
and flora—even the Sanskrit word for “wolf” is simply transliterated as tarakṣa.
There are also instances of obscure translations of words that do not agree with
the Mahāvyuttpati.
i.28 In some passages, we relied more on the Sanskrit than we had originally
anticipated because there is evidence that the manuscript from which the
Tibetan translation was made had suffered from scribal corruption, as revealed
by the surviving Sanskrit and confirmed by the English translation of the
Chinese. For example, when describing the maṇḍala as adṛṣṭa (“not seen”), this
was corrupted to aṣṭa (“eight”); a mountain made of padmarāga (“ruby”) was
corrupted to padmarakta, which was translated as “red lotuses” (pad ma dmar po);
and in the middle of the Buddha’s describing Avalokiteśvara’s qualities, ayaṃ
(“this”) was corrupted to ahaṃ (“me”) so that the Buddha seems to be
describing himself.
i.29 There are also omissions of sentences in the Tibetan (whether as the result of
omission in the original Sanskrit manuscript or later copies of the Tibetan) that
affect the narrative or meaning. The omissions are particularly evident when
there are lists of qualities or meditations that are more easily left out in the
process of copying manuscripts. On the other hand, there are also instances of
members of lists that are preserved in the Tibetan but omitted in the available
Sanskrit texts.
i.30 The most egregious flaw in both the Tibetan and Chinese translations, and
one which has already attracted scholarly attention, occurred on rendering the
obscure term ratikara, which literally means “that which creates joy,” and is also
the name of one of the apsarases that are in the audience for this sūtra. The later
Nepalese version used instead dvīpa, the common word for “lamp,” but both
the Chinese and Tibetan translators, even with the assistance of Sanskrit
scholars, were understandably stumped by this odd word, particularly as the
ratikara laughs and speaks. Both Yeshé Dé and T’ien Hsi-tsai chose to make it
refer to the rākṣasī wife speaking in her sleep, as she is the only other person in
the room and is the merchant’s paramour. This entailed interpolating the word
“sleeping” into the translation. However, the result makes little narrative sense,
whereas the unlikely meaning of lamp, which we therefore preferred (see 2.7),
does make narrative sense.

The translation into English

i.31 Our aim was to make the most readable, accurate, and coherent version of the
sūtra as it is preserved in the Tibetan translation. The Degé edition and the
version in the critical edition of the Kangyur were therefore our principal
sources.
Sanskrit manuscripts do not necessarily reflect the original form of a text,
even though they are in the original language, because they may have their
own accretion of omissions and additions that have occurred in the centuries
following the time a Tibetan or Chinese translation was made. There has not yet
 been a critical edition from all available Sanskrit manuscripts, but we consulted
three Sanskrit editions, the most important being a palm-leaf manuscript from
the Cambridge University Library, which was written in the beginning of the
second millennium before the development of the Devanāgarī script. It is
notable for being closer to the Tibetan. Of easier access but less representative
of the original text are the Sāmaśrami edition of 1872 and the 1962 Vaidya
edition that is based closely on Sāmaśrami. The Sāmaśrami is available on the
Online Sanskrit Texts Project of the Theosophical Network, and the Vaidya is
openly available on the internet. To complete the translation of some difficult
passages, we also referred to the Gilgit manuscript fragments, though they
were not readily accessible. Silfung Chen’s online English translation from the
Chinese proved interesting in its correspondences with these editions.
i.32 Nevertheless, as noted above, there were a number of points where we relied
on the Sanskrit to fill in missing elements, words, members of a list, and
sometimes whole sentences, although it is possible that some of the latter may
have been later additions to improve the flow and clarity of the sūtra’s
sometimes clumsy narrative. Where our translation favors the Sanskrit over the
Tibetan, annotations indicate that this is the case.
An important objective was readability, so the syntax does not necessarily
reflect that of the Tibetan or Sanskrit versions. For example, an active
construction may be used instead of a passive construction found in the
original. The inconsistencies of first and third person have been resolved, and,
as noted above, names are repeated when otherwise the reader might lose track
of who is speaking or to whom the text is referring. Hopefully this will make
reading the sūtra in English far less challenging than attempting to do so in
Tibetan or Sanskrit. Readers will find the variant readings in Tibetan and
Sanskrit in the notes if they wish.

Summary of the text

i.33 Buddha Śākyamuni is at Jetavana Monastery with many disciples. Lights shine
upon the monastery and miraculously transform it. The bodhisattva Sarva-
nīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asks the Buddha where the lights came from. The Buddha
explains that they came from Avalokiteśvara, who had just visited the Avīci hell
and the city of the pretas, and then describes those visits.
Then Buddha Śākyamuni recounts being a merchant at the time of Buddha
Vipaśyin and how he heard him describe how various deities, including Śiva
and Viṣṇu, were created from Avalokiteśvara’s body.
Buddha Śākyamuni then recounts being Bodhisattva Dānaśūra at the time of
Buddha Śikhin and how light rays shone from Buddha Śikhin. In response to
questioning by Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi, Śikhin says that the lights and other
 omens are a sign of the approach of Avalokiteśvara, who then arrives from
Sukhāvatī with an offering of lotuses from Buddha Amitābha.
After Avalokiteśvara’s departure, Śikhin describes to Ratnapāṇi how
Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit is inconceivable by using a series of
analogies. Then he describes how Avalokiteśvara teaches this very sūtra to the
asuras in the form of an asura.

i.34 Buddha Śākyamuni then states that he was a rishi (ṛṣi) at the time of Buddha
Viśvabhū. Before repeating what Viśvabhū taught, Śākyamuni relates how
Avalokiteśvara taught upside-down beings in the realm of gold and four-
legged beings in the land of silver. There then follows a long description of
Avalokiteśvara’s visit to the asuras in the land of iron. Avalokiteśvara teaches
the asuras the inconceivable merit that comes from making offerings to a
buddha. Bali, the king of the asuras, tells Avalokiteśvara that he had in the past
made an offering to the wrong recipient. He had imprisoned all the kṣatriyas,
but Viṣṇu secretly freed them and came to him in the form of a dwarf asking for
two steps of land. Bali offered him three, but Viṣṇu took on his divine form and
covered the whole world in two steps. He then banished Bali to the underworld
where he now dwells for having failed to fulfill his promise.
Avalokiteśvara then describes to him the suffering in hells that awaits those
who have not made offerings to the Buddha.
Avalokiteśvara then radiates light rays to where Viśvabhū and his pupils are
residing in Jetavana Monastery. Bodhisattva Gaganagañja asks Viśvabhū
where the lights came from. Viśvabhū states that the lights are a sign that
Avalokiteśvara is coming. However, Avalokiteśvara first goes to a land of
darkness to teach the yakṣas and rākṣasas about the merit that comes from this
sūtra.
i.35 Avalokiteśvara then goes to the Śuddhāvāsa realms, where in the form of a
brahmin he begs from a poor deva. The deva goes into his empty palace to give
him whatever he has, but finds it full of jewels and food that he then offers to
the brahmin. Avalokiteśvara in the form of the brahmin tells the deva that he is
a bodhisattva from Jetavana Monastery.
Avalokiteśvara then descends to Siṃhala Island, the land of the rākṣasīs, in
the form of a handsome man. He agrees to be their husband if they follow his
instructions, which they do, giving up killing.
Avalokiteśvara then travels to Vārāṇasī, where in the form of a bee he buzzes
the prayer of homage to the Three Jewels to the insects in a large cesspit,
liberating them.
Avalokiteśvara then goes to Magadhā, where starving beings have been
eating each other for twenty years, and he causes a rain of food to fall. One of
the people, a man who is hundreds of thousands of years old, realizes that only
 Avalokiteśvara could have caused this miracle, and tells the others of the
benefits of making offerings to him.
Avalokiteśvara then goes to Buddha Viśvabhū. Bodhisattva Gaganagañja
meets him, Viśvabhū teaches the six perfections, and the audience disperses.
This is the end of part one.

i.36 Part two begins with Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asking for teachings from
Buddha Śākyamuni, who lists the samādhis that Avalokiteśvara possesses.
Then Buddha Śākyamuni recounts being a head merchant who became
stranded on Siṃhala Island with other merchants. Each of them goes to live
with a rākṣasī. One night, a talking lamp warns the head merchant that the
women are all rākṣasīs. As proof, the lamp directs him to an iron fortress where
other merchants are being kept prisoner and then eaten. Then the lamp tells
him of Bālāha,17 a miraculous horse on which the merchants can escape. As
they flee upon the horse, all the other merchants look back, fall off the horse,
and are eaten by the rākṣasīs, while the head merchant reaches home safely.
Buddha Śākyamuni states that Avalokiteśvara was the horse.
i.37 Buddha Śākyamuni then begins a description of two pores on
Avalokiteśvara’s body and their inhabitants.
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, to the Buddha’s approval, describes the benefits
that come from this sūtra.
Buddha Śākyamuni describes another pore and explains to Sarvanīvaraṇa-
viṣkambhin that the pores are immaterial and cannot be seen even by buddhas.

i.38 Buddha Śākyamuni describes two more pores, saying that those who remember
Avalokiteśvara’s name, meaning the six-syllable mahāvidyā, will be reborn in
them, but that no one, not even the buddhas, know this mantra.

i.39 After Buddha Śākyamuni describes more benefits that come from the mantra,
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin declares his intention to obtain it.
Buddha Śākyamuni recounts his own fruitless search for it until, after
meeting trillions of buddhas, he finally met Buddha Ratnottama who directed
him to Buddha Padmottama. Padmottama describes the incalculable benefits
that come from saying the mantra once and then describes his own long
fruitless search for the mantra until he came to Buddha Amitābha, who
instructed Avalokiteśvara to give the mantra to Padmottama. Avalokiteśvara
does so through a maṇḍala made of precious stones and gives the instructions
on how to make the maṇḍala.

i.40 Buddha Śākyamuni follows this narrative with a description of how

incalculable the benefits are from even one syllable of the mantra.
 He then tells Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin that he can only obtain it from an
unnamed dharmabhāṇaka who has lost his monastic vows and lives in
Vārāṇasī. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin goes to him in a huge procession of people
and offerings.
The dharmabhāṇaka describes the benefits of the mantra and, at the urging
of Avalokiteśvara, who appears in the sky, gives the mantra to Sarvanīvaraṇa-
viṣkambhin, who returns to Buddha Śākyamuni. Seventy million buddhas recite
the mantra of the goddess known as both Cundi and Cundā.
Buddha Śākyamuni then describes five more of Avalokiteśvara’s pores.

i.41 Buddha Śākyamuni then describes the oceans that come from Avalokiteśvara’s
big toe, and says there are no more pores but those ten. Then omens of
Avalokiteśvara’s arrival appear. He leaves Sukhāvatī and comes to Buddha
Śākyamuni and offers him lotuses from Buddha Amitābha.
Buddha Śākyamuni then directs Maheśvara and Umādevī to receive the
prophecies of their future buddhahood from Avalokiteśvara.
Buddha Śākyamuni then gives a teaching on the incalculability of
Avalokiteśvara’s merit and listing the samādhis he has.
Then Buddha Śākyamuni recounts when he was with Buddha Krakucchanda
and saw Samantabhadra and Avalokiteśvara both practicing various samādhis.
Krakucchanda declares that not even the buddhas have Avalokiteśvara’s
samādhis.

i.42 Buddha Śākyamuni then describes the benefits that come from this sūtra, and
Avalokiteśvara departs.
Then Ānanda requests teachings on monastic conduct. Buddha Śākyamuni
prophesizes how there will be monks who do not maintain their conduct in the
future and who should be expelled. He describes the tortures in hell and other
rebirths that await laypeople who misuse the property of the saṅgha.
Ānanda departs and the sūtra concludes.

Outline of the sūtra

i.43 This outline is intended as a guide to the complicated narrative levels of the
sūtra.

I. Sūtra narrative: Buddha Śākyamuni is in the Jetavana Monastery when lights

appear, transforming the monastery’s appearance. Bodhisattva
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin questions Buddha Śākyamuni about this, and the
Buddha states that the cause of the lights is Avalokiteśvara visiting Avīci hell
and then the city of the pretas.
 1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Avalokiteśvara appears in the Avīci hell
and liberates beings. As a result, Yama’s creatures go to Yama and describe
Avalokiteśvara’s arrival. Yama goes to Avalokiteśvara and praises him.

II. Sūtra narrative: Buddha Śākyamuni responds to a question from

Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin about whether Avalokiteśvara has left the hell.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Avalokiteśvara leaves the hells, visits the
city of the pretas, and liberates them from their suffering. This very sūtra
sounds in their realm.

III. Sūtra narrative: Buddha Śākyamuni says that he remembers being a

merchant listening to Buddha Vipaśyin.18
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Buddha Vipaśyin describes the activities of
Avalokiteśvara in the past.
A. Buddha Vipaśyin’s narrative: Avalokiteśvara emanates such deities as
Maheśvara (Śiva), and Avalokiteśvara gives a prophecy to Śiva about the
future rise of Śaivism, and how this will not bring liberation.

IV. Sūtra narrative: Buddha Śākyamuni tells Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin about

his memories of being a bodhisattva named Dānaśūra when Buddha Śikhin
taught about Avalokiteśvara.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Lights radiate from Buddha Śikhin,
prompting Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi to question Buddha Śikhin. Signs appear
as omens of the coming of Avalokiteśvara from Sukhāvatī. Avalokiteśvara
arrives and tells Buddha Śikhin he has been liberating hell beings and pretas,
and then Avalokiteśvara departs. In response to a question from bodhisattva
Ratnapāṇi, Buddha Śikhin describes Avalokiteśvara’s qualities.
A. Buddha Śikhin’s narrative: Buddha Śikhin gives analogies for the
inconceivability of Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit. He describes
his various manifestations as a guide for beings and his visit to the asuras
where he teaches them the benefit of this very sūtra (even though the sūtra
is itself the description of these events).

V. Sūtra narrative: The story of Buddha Śikhin teaching Ratnapāṇi ends

abruptly. Buddha Śākyamuni then describes his memory of being a rishi with
Buddha Viśvabhū when he taught on Avalokiteśvara.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Buddha Viśvabhū begins a description of
what Avalokiteśvara has been doing.
A. Buddha Viśvabhū’s narrative: There is a brief description of how
Avalokiteśvara visits adhomukha (“head-down”) beings in the realm of gold
and four-legged beings in the realm of silver. There then follows a lengthy
 episode in the land of iron where he meets Bali, the king of asuras, who
tells him how he came to be in the underworld.
i. Bali’s narrative: Bali explains how he imprisoned many kṣatriyas,
including the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas of Mahābhārata fame, and how
Nārāyaṇa rescued them. Then he describes how he followed the
tradition of a king making a vast offering from his wealth and granting
the requests of anyone who came. Viṣṇu comes as a brahmin dwarf
requesting the amount of land that he can cover in two footsteps. Bali
offers him three footsteps’ worth. Viṣṇu takes on a gigantic form,
encompasses the world in two steps, and then banishes the asuras to the
underworld.
B. Buddha Viśvabhū’s narrative: Avalokiteśvara teaches Bali and the
asuras, primarily describing the tortures by Yama’s guardians in hell. Then
he takes his leave, saying he has to go to Jetavana Monastery. (Although
this is the time of Viśvabhū, not Śākyamuni, here Viśvabhū’s own reported
narrative transforms with no clear dividing line into Śākyamuni’s narrative
about Viśvabhū.)
2. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Avalokiteśvara radiates light rays to
Viśvabhū in Jetavana Monastery. The appearance of the light rays prompts
the bodhisattva Gaganagañja to ask Viśvabhū a question as to their source.
A. Buddha Viśvabhū’s narrative resumed:
Avalokiteśvara leaves the realm of the asuras. (Although he had
previously said Avalokiteśvara was leaving for Jetavana, Viśvabhū now
says that he is going to Tamondhakāra, a realm of darkness inhabited by
yakṣas and rākṣasas, where he teaches them analogies concerning the
merit of knowing this very sūtra.)
Avalokiteśvara leaves that realm for the Śuddhāvāsa realms, where he
appears in the form of a brahmin who begs from an impoverished deity.
The poor deity goes into his empty palace to look for something to give the
brahmin and discovers his pots miraculously filled with jewels.
Avalokiteśvara then goes to the island of Siṃhala, which is inhabited by
rākṣasīs, where he appears as a handsome man. They all become his wives,
follow the Dharma, and attain liberation.
Avalokiteśvara goes to Vārāṇasī, where he takes on the form of a bee
and flies over a huge cesspool in the city. His buzzing is actually the sound
of the Namo buddhāya prayer, and it liberates all the insects living in the
cesspool.
Avalokiteśvara then goes to Magadhā, where people in the wilderness
are eating each other for lack of food. He causes a miraculous rain of food
and drink to fall. An old man among them describes the source of this
miracle.
 i. Old man’s narrative: The old man gives a description of
Avalokiteśvara’s qualities.
3. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative:
(Here Viśvabhū’s own narrative transforms, with no clear dividing line,
into Śākyamuni’s narrative about Viśvabhū.) Avalokiteśvara goes into the sky
and thinks that it has been a long time since he has been to see Buddha
Viśvabhū, so he decides to go to Jetavana.
Avalokiteśvara arrives in Jetavana to see Buddha Viśvabhū. There is a brief
mention of Viśvabhū teaching the six perfections and then everyone leaves,
concluding part one of the sūtra.

VI. Sūtra narrative: Buddha Śākyamuni responds to Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin’s

request for teachings on Avalokiteśvara by first giving a list of Avalokiteśvara’s
samādhis.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: An account of when Śākyamuni was the
leader of five hundred merchants who became stranded on the island of the
rākṣasīs, and how he alone escaped on Avalokiteśvara in the form of a horse.

VII. Sūtra narrative: Śākyamuni says he will describe Avalokiteśvara’s ten pores
and their inhabitants and landscapes.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Śākyamuni describes the first and second
of Avalokiteśvara’s pores:
(1) The pore Suvarṇa, where gandharvas dedicated to the Dharma live.
(2) The pore Kṛṣṇa, where rishis and gandharvas live who play music that
teaches birds and animals, who then remember the name of this very sūtra.

VIII. Sūtra narrative: Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin describes the benefits of

possessing and writing the sūtra to Buddha Śākyamuni’s approval.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Buddha Śākyamuni describes the third of
Avalokiteśvara’s pores:
(3) The pore Ratnakuṇḍala, where female gandharvas live who remember
the name of Avalokiteśvara.

IX. Sūtra narrative: Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin wishes to go to the pores but

Buddha Śākyamuni describes how Samantabhadra failed to find the pores in
twelve years of searching. Buddha Śākyamuni describes how Avalokiteśvara
has a subtle form that even he cannot perceive, and that Avalokiteśvara has
eleven heads, a hundred thousand arms, and a trillion eyes. Buddha Śākyamuni
laughs and tells Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin that it is not yet time for
Avalokiteśvara to come, and then returns to the description of the ten pores.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: He describes the fourth and fifth of
Avalokiteśvara’s pores:
 (4) The pore Amṛtabindu, where devas live on the bhūmis and gandharvas
live on mountains of gold and silver.
(5) The pore Vajramukha, where kiṃnaras live who contemplate the six
perfections and human suffering and remember Avalokiteśvara’s name.

X. Sūtra narrative: Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asks where he can find the six-

syllable mahāvidyā. Buddha Śākyamuni tells him that the buddhas have spent
sixteen eons looking for the mahāvidyā but failed to find it. He gives a
description of the benefits gained by those who do possess, repeat, and wear it.
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin says he will use his own skin, bone, and blood to
write it down if he can obtain it.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Śākyamuni describes how in a previous life
he searched through many realms and met trillions of buddhas but failed to
find the mahāvidyā. Then Buddha Ratnottama sends him to see Buddha
Padmottama, and Śākyamuni tells of his search.
A. Buddha Padmottama’s narrative: This is a description of the merit
gained by repeating the mahāvidyā and a story of how, in the past,
Padmottama searched for the mantra through many realms and met many
buddhas but did not find it. Padmottama comes to Amitābha and tells him
of his search. Amitābha tells Avalokiteśvara to give the mahāvidyā to
Padmottama. Avalokiteśvara describes to Padmottama how to make the
maṇḍala of the mahāvidyā so that he may in the future give the mahāvidyā
to others.
In response to Amitābha’s questions, Avalokiteśvara describes how to
give the mahāvidyā if one cannot make such a maṇḍala.
Avalokiteśvara gives the mahāvidyā to Padmottama, who returns to his
realm.

XI. Sūtra narrative: The sūtra does not state specifically that Padmottama gives
the mahāvidyā to Buddha Śākyamuni, and Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin does not
ask the Buddha for it but asks where he can go to find it. Buddha Śākyamuni
describes the dharmabhāṇaka in Vārāṇasī who possesses the mahāvidyā.
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin goes to Vārāṇasī with a great procession of people
and offerings, praises the dharmabhāṇaka, and asks for the mahāvidyā. The
dharmabhāṇaka describes the qualities of the mahāvidyā, wrong paths, and the
devotion of even Prajñāpāramitā to the mahāvidyā.
Avalokiteśvara appears in the sky and tells the dharmabhāṇaka several times
to give the mahāvidyā to Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin.
The dharmabhāṇaka does not create a maṇḍala, as was described by
Avalokiteśvara, but simply recites the mahāvidyā to Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin.
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin returns to the Jetavana grove and tells Buddha
Śākyamuni that he has received the mahāvidyā.
 Trillions of buddhas recite the dhāraṇī of the goddess Cundi: oṁ cale cule
cunde svāhā. No explanation for this dhāraṇī is given, so the reader is assumed
to be familiar with it.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: Abruptly, without any transition, the
description of the last five of Avalokiteśvara’s pores continues from where it
had previously been left off.
(6) The pore Sūryaprabha, where bodhisattvas dwell. They can see
Avalokiteśvara and the seven buddhas when they remember the
mahāvidyā.
(7) The pore Indrarāja, where irreversible bodhisattvas live.
(8) The pore Mahoṣadī, where bodhisattvas who have just developed
bodhicitta live, and gandharvas live on mountains.
(9) The pore Cittarāja, where pratyekabuddhas live.
(10) The pore Dhvajārāja, where buddhas live who teach the six perfections
to the humans of Jambudvīpa.

XII. Sūtra narrative: Buddha Śākyamuni, in response to Sarvanīvaraṇa-

viṣkambhin’s question, says there are no more pores than those ten, but that
beyond the last pore, the four oceans come from Avalokiteśvara’s big toe.
He states that Avalokiteśvara is coming to give prophecies to Śiva
(Maheśvara) and Umādevī about their eventual buddhahood. Avalokiteśvara
arrives with a gift of lotus flowers from Amitābha. Maheśvara asks the Buddha
for a prophecy, and he is sent to Avalokiteśvara who prophesies his
buddhahood and then does the same for Umādevī. Buddha Śākyamuni, in
response to Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin’s question, describes the qualities of
Avalokiteśvara.
1. Buddha Śākyamuni’s narrative: He gives a description of the
inconceivability of Avalokiteśvara’s merit and a list of Avalokiteśvara’s
samādhis, which differs from that given earlier.
Śākyamuni describes his memory of being Bodhisattva Dānaśūra at the time
of Buddha Krakucchanda. He sees Samantabhadra with Avalokiteśvara. They
each enter different states of samādhis, and Buddha Krakucchanda
emphasizes Avalokiteśvara’s superiority.

XIII. Sūtra narrative: Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asks for this very sūtra to be

taught (although it is near its conclusion), and the Buddha describes the
benefits of the sūtra. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin sits silently.
Avalokiteśvara and all the other various kinds of beings assembled leave.
In an abrupt change of content, Ānanda asks Śākyamuni Buddha about
monastic training. Śākyamuni condemns bhikṣus with incorrect conduct,
saying they should be banished from the community. He prophesies how in
three hundred years people will use the property and possessions of the
saṅgha or monastery, and describes the sufferings they will endure, such as in
the hells.
Ānanda leaves, and again the various classes of beings are said to leave
(though they had already done so earlier), and the entire world rejoices in the
Buddha’s words.
tr. THE TRANSLATION

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Basket’s Display

1. Part One
1.1 [F.200.a] Thus have I heard: One time the Bhagavat was staying, with a great
saṅgha of 1,250 bhikṣus and a multitude of bodhisattvas, at Jetavana, the
monastery of Anāthapiṇḍada, in Śrāvastī.
Eight hundred million19 bodhisattva mahāsattvas had gathered there, such
as Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Vajramati, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Jñānadarśana,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Vajrasena, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Guhyagupta,20
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Ākaśagarbha, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sūryagarbha,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Anikṣiptadhura, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Ratnapāṇi,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Mahāsthāmaprāpta, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sarvaśūra, [F.200.b] Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Bhaiṣajyasena, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Vajrapāṇi, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sāgaramati, Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Dharmadhara, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Pṛthivīvaralocana,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Āśvāsahasta, and Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Maitreya.
1.2 The thirty-two classes of devas had also gathered there, the principal ones
being Maheśvara and Nārāyaṇa. Śakra, who is the lord of the devas, Brahmā,
who is the lord of the Sahā universe, Candra, Āditya, Vāyu, Varuṇa, and other
deities were also assembled there.21
1.3 Many hundreds of thousands of nāga kings had also gathered there in that
retinue. Nāga King Utpala, Nāga King Elapatra, Nāga King Timiṃgira, Nāga
King Gavāṃpati, Nāga King Śataśīrṣa, Nāga King Hullura,22 Nāga King
Vahūdaka,23 Nāga King Takṣaka, Nāga King Gośīrṣa, Nāga King Mṛgaśīrṣa,
Nāga Kings Nanda and Upananda, Nāga King Vātsīputra, Nāga King Sāgara,
Nāga King Anavatapta, and many hundreds of thousands of other nāga kings
were gathered there.
1.4 Many hundreds of thousands of gandharva kings had also assembled there.
Gandharva King Dundubhisvara, Gandharva King Manojñasvara, [F.201.a]
Gandharva King Sahasrabhuja, Gandharva King Sahāpati,24 Gandharva King
Śarīraprahlādana, Gandharva King Nirnāditabhūrya, Gandharva King
 Alaṃkārabhūṣita, Gandharva King Kumāradarśana, Gandharva King
Subāhuyukta, Gandharva King Dharmapriya, and many hundreds of
thousands of gandharva kings were gathered there in that retinue.
1.5 Also gathered in that retinue were many hundreds of thousands of kiṃnara
kings. Kiṃnara King Sumukha, Kiṃnara King Ratnakirītī, Kiṃnara King
Svārimukha, Kiṃnara King Prahasita,25 Kiṃnara King Cakravyūha, Kiṃnara
King Puṣpāvakīrṇa, Kiṃnara King Maṇi, Kiṃnara King Pralambodara,
Kiṃnara King Dṛdhavīrya, Kiṃnara King Suyodhana, Kiṃnara King
Śatamukha, Kiṃnara King Druma,26 and many hundreds of thousands of other
kiṃnara kings were gathered there.
1.6 Many hundreds of thousands of apsarases had gathered there. The apsaras
named Tilottamā, the apsaras named Suvyūhā, the apsaras named
Suvarṇamekhalā, the apsaras named Vibhūṣutā, the apsaras named
Karṇadhārā, the apsaras named Amṛtabindu, the apsaras named
Pariśobhitakāyā, the apsaras named Maṇiprasthanā, the apsaras named
Cuḍakā, the apsaras named Mṛdukā, the apsaras named
Pañcabhūryābhimukhā, the apsaras named Ratikarā, the apsaras named
Kañcanamālā, the apsaras named Nīlotpalā, the apsaras named
Dharmābhimukhā, the apsaras named Sakrīḍā, [F.201.b] the apsaras named
Kṛtsnākarā, the apsaras named Suvyūhamati, the apsaras named Keyūradharā,
the apsaras named Dānaṃdadā, the apsaras named Śaśī, and many hundreds
of thousands 27 of other apsarases were gathered there.
1.7 Many hundreds of thousands 28 of female nāgas were gathered there. The
female nāga named Vibhūṣaṇadharā, the female nāga named Acilillanā,29 the
female nāga named Trijaṭā, the female nāga named Svātimukhā,30 the female
nāga named Jayaśrī, the female nāga named Vijayaśrī, the female nāga named
Mucilindā,31 the female nāga named Vidyullocanā, the female nāga named
Vidyutprabhā,32 the female nāga named Svātigiri, the female nāga named
Śataparivārā, the female nāga named Mahauṣadhi, the female nāga named
Jalabindu,33 the female nāga named Ekaśīrṣā, the female nāga named
Śatavāhāna,34 the female nāga named Śatabāhu, the female nāga named
Grasatī, the female nāga named Anākṛtsnagatā,35 the female nāga named
Subhūṣaṇā,36 the female nāga named Pāṇḍarameghā,37 the female nāga named
Rathābhiruḍhā,38 the female nāga named Tyāgānugatā,39 the female nāga
named Anāgatā,40 the female nāga named Abhinnaparivārā, the female nāga
named Pulindā,41 the female nāga named Sāgarakukṣi, the female nāga named
Chatramukhā, the female nāga named Dharmapīṭhā, the female nāga named
Mukhakarā,42 the female nāga named Vīryā, the female nāga named
Sāgaragambhīrā, the female nāga named Meruśrī, and many hundreds of
thousands of other female nāgas were gathered there.
1.8 Many hundreds of thousands of female gandharvas had also gathered there.
The female gandharva named Priyamukhā, the female gandharva named
Priyaṃdadā, [F.202.a] the female gandharva named Anādarśakā, the female
gandharva named Vajraśrī, the female gandharva named Vajramālā, the female
gandharva named Sumālinī, the female gandharva named Vanaspati, the
female gandharva named Śatapuṣpā, the female gandharva named Mukulitā,
the female gandharva named Ratnamālā, the female gandharva named
Muditapuṣpā,43 the female gandharva named Sukukṣi, the female gandharva
named Rājaśrī, the female gandharva named Dundubhi, the female gandharva
named Śubhamālā, the female gandharva named Vibhūṣitālaṃkārā, the female
gandharva named Abhinamitā, the female gandharva named Dharmakāṅkṣiṇī,
the female gandharva named Dharmaṃdadā,44 the female gandharva named
Audumbarā,45 the female gandharva named Śatākārā, the female gandharva
named Padmaśriyā,46 the female gandharva named Padmāvatī,47 the female
gandharva named Padmālaṃkārā,48 the female gandharva named
49
Pariśobhitakāyā, the female gandharva named Vilāsendragāminī, the female
gandharva named Pṛthivīṃdadā, the female gandharva named Phalaṃdadā,50
the female gandharva named Siṃhagāminī, the female gandharva named
Kumudapuṣpā, the female gandharva named Manoramā, the female gandharva
named Dānaṃdadā, the female gandharva named Devavacanā,51 the female
gandharva named Kṣāntipriyā, the female gandharva named Nirvāṇapriyā, the
female gandharva named Ratnāṅkurā, the female gandharva named Indraśrī,
the female gandharva named Indramaghaśrī, the female gandharva named
Prajāpatinivāsinī, the female gandharva named Mṛgarājinī, the female
gandharva named Sphurantaśrī, the female gandharva named Jvalantaśikharā,
the female gandharva named Rāgaparimuktā, [F.202.b] the female gandharva
named Dveṣaparimuktā, the female gandharva named Mohaparimuktā, the
female gandharva named Sujanaparivārā, the female gandharva named
Ratnapīṭhā, the female gandharva named Āgamanagamanā, the female
gandharva named Agniprabhā, the female gandharva named
Candrabimbaprabhā, the female gandharva named Sūryalocanā, the female
gandharva named Suvarṇāvabhāsā,52 and many hundreds of thousands 53 of
other female gandharvas.
1.9 Many hundreds of thousands 54 of female kiṃnaras had gathered there. The
female kiṃnara named Manasā, the female kiṃnara named Mānasī, the female
kiṃnara named Vāyuvegā, the female kiṃnara named Varuṇavegā, the female
kiṃnara named Ākāśaplavā,55 the female kiṃnara named Vegajavā, the female
kiṃnara named Lakṣmīṃdadā, the female kiṃnara named Sudaṃṣṭrā, the
female kiṃnara named Acalaśriyā,56 the female kiṃnara named Dhātupriyā, the
female kiṃnara named Jvalantapriyā,57 the female kiṃnara named Suśriyā,58
the female kiṃnara named Ratnakāraṇḍakā, the female kiṃnara named
 Avalokitalakṣmī, the female kiṃnara named Kuṭilā, the female kiṃnara named
Vajramuṣṭi, the female kiṃnara named Kapilā, the female kiṃnara named
Subhūṣaṇabhūṣitā, the female kiṃnara named Vistīrṇalalāṭā, the female
kiṃnara named Sujanaparisevitā, the female kiṃnara named Sahāpatī,59
[F.203.a] the female kiṃnara named Ākāśarakṣitā, the female kiṃnara named
Vyūharājendrā, the female kiṃnara named Maṇicūḍā, the female kiṃnara
named Maṇidhāriṇī, the female kiṃnara named Maṇirocanī, the female
kiṃnara named Vidvajjanaparisevitā, the female kiṃnara named Śatākārā,60 the
female kiṃnara named Āyurdadā, the female kiṃnara named
Tathāgatakośaparipālitā, the female kiṃnara named Dharmadhātuparirakṣiṇī,
the female kiṃnara named Satataparigrahadharmakāṅkṣiṇī, the female kiṃnara
named Sadānukāladarśinī, the female kiṃnara named Nūpurottamā, the female
kiṃnara named Lakṣaṇottamā,61 the female kiṃnara named Āśvāsanī, the
female kiṃnara named Vimokṣakarā, the female kiṃnara named Sadānuvṛtti,
the female kiṃnara named Saṃvegadhāriṇī, the female kiṃnara named
Khaṅgajvalanā, the female kiṃnara named Pṛthivyupasaṃkramaṇā, the female
kiṃnara named Surendramālā, the female kiṃnara named Surendrā, the female
kiṃnara named Asurendrā, the female kiṃnara named Munīndrā, the female
kiṃnara named Gotrakṣānti, the female kiṃnara named Tyāgānugatā,62 the
female kiṃnara named Bahvāśrayā, the female kiṃnara named Śatāyudhā, the
female kiṃnara named Vibhūṣitālaṃkārā, the female kiṃnara named
Manoharā, and many hundreds of thousands 63 of other female kiṃnaras were
gathered there.
Many hundreds of thousands 64 of upāsakas and upāsikās had gathered
there.
Many hundreds of thousands 65 of tīrthika mendicant renunciants 66 had also
gathered there. [F.203.b]
1.10 At the time of this great gathering, light rays shone in the great Avīci hell.
Having shone there, they came to the Jetavana Monastery, where they became
adornments for the monastery: pillars adorned with divine, precious jewels;
multistoried buildings that were covered with gold; buildings with doors made
of gold and silver; buildings with steps made of gold and silver; and upper
stories made of gold and silver, the silver upper stories having gold pillars
adorned with divine jewels and the gold upper stories having silver pillars
adorned with divine jewels.
In the gardens around Jetavana, there appeared various kinds of wish-
fulfilling trees. They had trunks of gold and leaves of silver and were bedecked
with a variety of adornments, with beautiful monastic robes,67 with Kaśika
cloth, with hundreds of thousands of pearl necklaces, and with hundreds of
thousands of crowns, earrings, braided ribbons, armlets, and anklets.
1.11 Outside the monastery there appeared hundreds of trees, which, like the
wish-fulfilling trees, were made from precious metals and were bedecked with
precious bracelets.
Within the Jetavana Monastery, there appeared stairs made from diamonds
and entrance chambers hung with pearls and silks.68
Many bathing pools also appeared. Some were completely filled with water
that had the eight qualities.69 Some were completely filled with a variety of
flowers: they were completely filled with blue lotuses, red lotuses, night
lotuses, white lotuses,70 tiger claw flowers and great tiger claw flowers,71 and
udumbara flowers.
Moreover, there were a variety of tree blossoms: magnolia, [F.204.a] ashoka,
oleander, trumpet flower, mountain ebony, jasmine, and other beautiful tree
blossoms.
The Jetavana Monastery appeared completely beautified.

1.12 From within that assembly Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin arose from

his seat, bared one shoulder, and kneeling on his right knee and facing the
Bhagavat, placed his palms together and inquired of the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I
have perceived a great, wonderful marvel. Bhagavat, where did these great
light rays come from? Who has this power?”
The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva72 Avalokiteśvara
entered the great Avīci hell. When he had completely liberated the beings
there, he went to the city of the pretas. It was he who emanated these light
rays.”73
1.13 Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, as the great
Avīci hell is without respite, how did Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara
enter it? In the great Avīci hell a wall encloses a ground made of burning iron,
which has become one raging flame in the shape of a reed basket. Within this
Avīci hell there is a pot from which comes the sound of wailing. Many
hundreds of thousands of tens of millions of hundreds of millions of beings
have been thrown into that pot. Just as green or black mung beans are massed
together in a water-filled vessel, rising and sinking as they are cooked, [F.204.b]
that is how the beings in the great Avīci hell undergo physical suffering.
Bhagavat, how did Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara enter the great
Avīci hell?”
1.14 The Bhagavat answered him, “Noble son, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara entered the great Avīci hell just as a cakravartin king enters a
grove made of divine jewels. Noble son, it had no effect upon his body. As he
approached the Avīci hell, it cooled. The beings that were Yama’s guards were
in a state of agitation and extremely terrified. They wondered,74 ‘Why has an
inauspicious sign appeared in this Avīci hell?’ When the bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara entered the Avīci hell, lotus flowers the size of cartwheels
 appeared, the pot burst open, and the inferno of fire transformed into a pool. On
seeing these inauspicious signs appear in Avīci hell, Yama’s guardians became
dismayed.
1.15 “Then Yama’s guardians gathered their swords, clubs,75 short spears, long
spears, maces, discuses, tridents, and so on, and, taking all their Avīci
utensils,76 went to the Dharmarāja Yamarāja. When they arrived, they told him,
‘Divine One, know first that our place of work is completely destroyed.’
“Dharmarāja Yamarāja asked them, ‘Why is your place of work completely
destroyed?’
“Yama’s guardians answered, ‘Divine One,77 know first that an inauspicious
omen appeared in this Avīci hell, all of which became peaceful78 and cool.
There entered a handsome being, with his hair in a topknot, his body beautified
by divine adornments, with an extremely loving mind, and resembling a golden
statue.79 [F.205.a] That is the kind of being that arrived. The moment he arrived,
lotus flowers the size of cartwheels appeared, the pot burst open, and the
inferno of fire was transformed into a pool.’
“Yamarāja wondered, ‘What deity has manifested this power? Is this a
special result that has occurred through the blessing of the deity Maheśvara,
Nārāyaṇa, or some other deity? Have they descended to this level? Or has a
powerful rākṣasa been born who rivals great Rāvaṇa?’80
“He looked with his divine sight into the heavens, wondering whose
blessing this could be. Then he looked back into the Avīci hell and saw
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara there.
1.16 “Yamarāja went to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, bowed down his
head to his feet, and made this special praise:
“ ‘I pay homage to Avalokiteśvara, Maheśvara, lover of lotuses, giver of the
supreme boon, who has power; who illuminates the world;81 who brings relief;
who has a hundred thousand arms; who has a hundred thousand times ten
million eyes; who has eleven heads; who reaches Vaḍavāmukha; who delights
in the Dharma; who completely frees all beings; who brings relief to turtles,
crocodiles, and fish; who creates the greatest mass of wisdom; who brings joy;
who is a splendor of jewels; who is sublime; who extinguishes Avīci; who is
adorned by the splendor of wisdom; who delights in wisdom; who is the one to
whom all devas make offerings, pay homage, and show reverence; who brings
freedom from fear; who teaches the six perfections; who illuminates like the
sun;82 [F.205.b] who creates the lamp of Dharma; whose perfectly supreme form
is whatever form is pleasing; who has the form of a gandharva; who has a form
like a mountain of gold; who is deep like the vast ocean; who has attained the
ultimate yoga; who shows his own face; who has many hundreds of thousands
of samādhis; who brings true pleasure; who has a beautified body; who
manifests as the supreme rishi;83 who brings freedom from the terrors of
 bondage in stocks and manacles; who is free from all existences; who has many
retinues; who creates abundance;84 who is a precious wish-fulfilling jewel; who
teaches the path to nirvāṇa; who brings the city of the pretas to an end; who is
a parasol for beings; who liberates beings from illness; who has a sacred thread
made of the nāga kings Nanda and Upananda;85 who reveals the beneficial
lasso; who has hundreds of mantras; who terrifies Vajrapāṇi; who terrifies the
three worlds; who frightens yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, pretas, and piśācas,86
vetālas, ḍākinīs, kūṣmāṇḍas, and apasmāras; who has eyes like blue lotuses;
who has profound wisdom;87 who is the lord of knowledge; who brings
freedom from all afflictions; who accumulates various paths to enlightenment;
who has entered sacred liberation; who has paths to enlightenment
accumulated within his body; who completely liberates pretas; and who has
hundreds of thousands of samādhis as numerous as atoms.’
“In that way, Yamarāja praised Avalokiteśvara with a particularly sacred
praise. Then Yamarāja circumambulated him three times and departed.”
[F.206.a]

1.17 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, did

Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara leave?”
1.18 The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, he left the Avīci hell and went to the city
of the pretas. Many hundreds of thousands of pretas came running toward him.
They were like burned tree trunks; they were like standing skeletons; they
were covered with hair; they had stomachs the size of mountains and mouths
the size of a needle’s eye.
“As Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara arrived at the city of the pretas,
it cooled and the vajra hail ceased. The staff-wielding guard at the gates, who
had thick calves and red eyes, became kind and said, ‘I should not be
performing this duty.’
“Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s mind was filled with compassion
on seeing these beings, and he emitted ten rivers from his ten fingers; he
emitted ten rivers from his ten toes; and he emitted great rivers from all his
pores. When the pretas tasted the water, their throats widened, their bodies
became whole, and they were completely satisfied by the supreme flavor of
divine food.
1.19 “Then they contemplated human existence.88 They thought about saṃsāric
existence in this way: ‘Oh! The humans in Jambudvīpa are happy. They can
perfectly enjoy cool shade. Happy are those humans in Jambudvīpa who are
always supporting their parents and honoring them. [F.206.b] Happy are those
good humans who always rely on a kalyāṇamitra. Those who continuously
learn the Mahāyāna are good contemplative beings. Those who follow the
eightfold path are good beings. Those who beat the dharmagaṇḍī are good
beings. Those who repair dilapidated and ruined monasteries are good beings.
 Those who repair dilapidated, ruined, ancient stūpas are good beings. Those
who are dedicated to the sacred representations and the dharmabhāṇakas are
good beings. Those who have seen the activities of a tathāgata are good beings;
those who have seen the activities of a pratyekabuddha are good beings; those
who have seen the activities of a bodhisattva are good beings.’
“At that time there appeared the sound of the precious king of the Mahāyāna
sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display; wisdom, like a thunderbolt, destroyed the
view of the aggregates as a self,89 which is like a mountain with twenty peaks;
and the pretas were all reborn in the realm of Sukhāvatī as bodhisattvas named
Ākāṅkṣitamukha.
“Avalokiteśvara, having completely liberated those beings, departed from
the city of the pretas.”90

1.20 Then Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat,

did Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara leave?”
1.21 The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, each day he completely ripens a million
trillion beings. Noble son, not even the tathāgatas have Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s prowess.”
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked him, “Bhagavat, how is that so?” [F.207.a]
The Bhagavat answered, “Noble son, there appeared in this world the
Tathāgata, the arhat, the samyaksaṃbuddha, perfect in wisdom and conduct,
the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed
beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the Bhagavat Vipaśyin.
“At that time, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, I was a merchant named
Sugandhamukha, and I heard Tathāgata Vipaśyin describe the qualities of
Avalokiteśvara.”
1.22 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “What were the
qualities of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara that you heard the
tathāgata describe?”
The Bhagavat said, “Āditya and Candra came from his eyes, Maheśvara came
from his forehead, Brahmā came from his shoulders, Nārāyaṇa came from his
heart, Devi Sarasvatī came from his canines, Vāyu came from his mouth,
Dharaṇī came from his feet, and Varuṇa came from his stomach.
1.23 “When those deities had come from Avalokiteśvara’s body, that bhagavat
told the deity Maheśvara, ‘Maheśvara, in the kaliyuga, when beings have bad
natures, you will be declared to be the primal deity who is the creator, the
maker. All those beings will be excluded from the path to enlightenment. They
will say to ordinary beings:

1.24 “ ‘It is said: the sky is his liṅga,

The earth is his seat.
He is the foundation of all beings.
 The liṅga is so called because they dissolve into it.’91

“Noble son, those are the words I heard Tathāgata Vipaśyin say. [F.207.b]

1.25 “In a later time, there appeared in this world the Tathāgata, the arhat, the
samyaksaṃbuddha, the one with wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower
of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of gods
and humans, the buddha, the Bhagavat Śikhin.
“At that time, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, I was Bodhisattva Dānaśūra, and I
heard from him the description of the qualities of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara.”
1.26 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “What were the
qualities of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara that you heard the
tathāgata describe?”
The Bhagavat said, “When all the devas, nāgas, yakṣas, rākṣasas,
gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas, and humans had gathered
together, the bhagavat Śikhin looked at the great gathering and began to speak
of the Dharma within that assembly. At that time, light rays of various colors
emanated from the mouth of Bhagavat Śikhin. They were blue, yellow, red,
white, orange, and the color of crystal and of silver. They shone on all worlds in
the ten directions, then returned and entered the mouth of the bhagavat.
1.27 “From within that assembly Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi arose from his seat, bared
one shoulder, and kneeling on his right knee and facing Bhagavat Śikhin,
placed his palms together and addressed these words to him: [F.208.a]
‘Bhagavat, why did this sign appear?’
“Bhagavat Śikhin replied, ‘Noble son, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara is coming from the realm of Sukhāvatī. I manifest this kind of
sign when he is coming. When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara comes,
a profusion of wish-granting trees appears, a profusion of mango trees appears,
star jasmine flowers and magnolia trees appear, ponds covered with flowers
appear, and precious trees appear. There is a rain of various flowers,92 a rain of
precious stones—jewels, pearls, diamonds, beryl, conch, crystal, and coral—
and there is a rain of divine cloth. In the vicinity of the monastery the seven
jewels of a cakravartin appear—the precious wheel, the precious horse, the
precious elephant, the precious jewel,93 the precious wife, the precious
householder, and the precious counselor—and the ground appears to be made
of gold. When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara comes from the realm of
Sukhāvatī, the entire world shakes six times.’
1.28 “Then Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi asked Bhagavat Śikhin, ‘Bhagavat, what are
these omens of?’
“Bhagavat Śikhin answered, ‘Noble son, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara is arriving, and that is why these omens appear.’
1.29 “As the earth shook and it rained beautiful lotuses, [F.208.b] Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara came to Bhagavat Śikhin. He was holding lotus
flowers, each with a thousand petals and a golden stem. He bowed down his
head to the bhagavat’s feet and offered the lotuses to him. He said, ‘Tathāgata
Amitābha sends these flowers to you. The Tathagāta asks if you are in health, if
you are at ease, and if all is well.’94
“Bhagavat Śikhin took the lotuses and placed them on his left. He then spoke
of the qualities of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara. ‘How did you,
Avalokiteśvara, accomplish your task among the pretas, the beings in the Avīci
hell, the beings in Kālasūtra and Raurava, the beings in Hāhava, Tāpana, the
great hell Pretāyana, the great hell Agnighaṭa, the great hell Śālmali,95 the great
hell Śītodaka, and others?’96
1.30 “Avalokiteśvara replied, ‘The beings in those great hells are my task. I will
completely ripen those beings, and then I will bring them to the highest
complete enlightenment.’
“Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, having given this answer, bowed
his head to the bhagavat’s feet, departed alone,97 and disappeared into the sky
as a blazing mass of fire.
“Then Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi asked Bhagavat Śikhin, ‘Bhagavat, if I may ask
for an answer to a question, how much merit has Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara accumulated?’ [F.209.a]
1.31 “Bhagavat Śikhin replied, ‘If someone were for a deva’s eon to serve
tathāgatas, arhats, and samyaksaṃbuddhas as numerous as the grains of sand
in the Ganges with robes, food, bowls, bedding, seats,98 necessary medicine,
and utensils, the merit that would be produced through those tathāgatas would
be the same as that of the tip of one hair on the body of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, if it were to rain day and night
on the four great continents for a twelve-month year, I could count each drop,
but, noble son, I cannot calculate Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s
accumulation of merit.
1.32 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, the ocean is 84,000 yojanas deep
and has an immeasurable expanse, but I can count each drop all the way down
to Vaḍavāmukha. However, noble son, I cannot calculate Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count every hair on all the
four-legged creatures in the four great continents, such as lions, tigers, bears,
hyenas, deer, camels, jackals,99 and so on, and oxen, donkeys, cattle, elephants,
horses, buffalo, and cats, but, noble son, I cannot calculate Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit.
 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, if stūpas 100 for tathāgatas, arhats,
and samyaksaṃbuddhas as numerous as atoms were made in divine gold and
precious stones, [F.209.b] and in one day the relics were placed in them all, I can
calculate the accumulation of that merit, but I cannot calculate Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count the number of leaves
in a forest of agarwood trees, but I cannot calculate Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, if all the women, men, boys, and
girls in the four great continents were to gain the result of becoming stream
entrants, once-returners, non-returners, arhats, and pratyekabuddhas, their
merit would only be, as said before, equal to the merit of the tip of one hair on
the body of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara.’
1.33 “Then Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi asked Bhagavat Śikhin, ‘Bhagavat, I have
never seen nor heard of tathāgatas having the kind of accumulation of merit
that Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has, let alone bodhisattvas.’
“Bhagavat Śikhin said, ‘Noble son, even if all who are tathāgatas, arhats, and
samyaksaṃbuddhas like me were gathered in one place and provided for an
eon with robes, food, bowls, bedding, seats, necessary medicine, and utensils,
those tathāgatas, arhats, and samyaksaṃbuddhas [F.210.a] would still not be
able to calculate Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of
merit. So, noble son, it is needless to say that I cannot do so all by myself in this
world.
1.34 “‘Those who remember Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s name will
have happiness in this world. They will be completely freed from the sufferings
of aging, death, and illness. They will be freed from the unavoidable sufferings
of saṃsāra. Like white and pale yellow birds, like kings of geese moving with
the speed of the wind, they will go to the realm of Sukhāvatī. They will hear the
Dharma by listening to Tathāgata Amitābha teach. The sufferings of saṃsāra
will not afflict their bodies. They will not become old or die. They will have no
desire, anger, or stupidity. Their bodies will feel no hunger or thirst. They will
not know the suffering of being inside a womb. Completely inspired by the
taste of the Dharma, they will be reborn within a lotus and will remain in that
realm until Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s powerful commitment is
fulfilled and all beings have been brought to liberation.’
1.35 “Then Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi asked Bhagavat Śikhin, ‘Bhagavat, when will
that powerful commitment be fulfilled?’
“Bhagavat Śikhin replied, ‘He completely ripens the many beings who circle
in saṃsāra, teaches them the path to enlightenment, and teaches the Dharma in
whatever form a being can be taught through. He teaches the Dharma in the
form of a tathāgata to beings who are to be taught by a tathāgata. [F.210.b] He
 teaches the Dharma in the form of a pratyekabuddha to beings who are to be
taught by a pratyekabuddha. He teaches the Dharma in the form of an arhat to
beings who are to be taught by an arhat. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a
bodhisattva to beings who are to be taught by a bodhisattva. He teaches the
Dharma in the form of Maheśvara to beings who are to be taught by Maheśvara.
He teaches the Dharma in the form of Nārāyaṇa to beings who are to be taught
by Nārāyaṇa. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Brahmā to beings who are
to be taught by Brahmā. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Śakra to beings
who are to be taught by Śakra. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Āditya to
beings who are to be taught by Āditya. He teaches the Dharma in the form of
Candra to beings who are to be taught by Candra. He teaches the Dharma in
the form of Agni to beings who are to be taught by Agni. He teaches the
Dharma in the form of Varuṇa to beings who are to be taught by Varuṇa. He
teaches the Dharma in the form of Vāyu to beings who are to be taught by
Vāyu. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a nāga to beings who are to be
taught by a nāga. He teaches the Dharma in the form of Vighnapati to beings
who are to be taught by Vighnapati. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a
yakṣa to beings who are to be taught by a yakṣa. He teaches the Dharma in the
form of Vaiśravaṇa to beings who are to be taught by Vaiśravaṇa.101 He teaches
the Dharma in the form of a king to beings who are to be taught by a king. He
teaches the Dharma in the form of a paṇḍita to beings who are to be taught by a
paṇḍita. He teaches the Dharma in the form of a king’s soldier to beings who
are to be taught by a king’s soldier. [F.211.a] He teaches the Dharma in the form
of parents to beings who are to be taught by their parents. He teaches the
Dharma in whatever particular form a being should be taught through. That,
noble son, is how Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara completely ripens
beings and teaches them the Dharma of nirvāṇa.’
1.36 “Then Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi said to Bhagavat Śikhin, ‘Bhagavat, this is
extraordinarily marvelous. I have never seen nor heard of such a thing before.
Not even the tathāgatas have what Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara
has.’
“Bhagavat Śikhin said, ‘Noble son, in this Jambudvīpa there is a cave named
Vajrakukṣi in which a hundred thousand million times ten million asuras live.
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara teaches the asuras there in the form of
an asura. He teaches them the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra
of the Basket’s Display. He says to the listening asuras,102 “You must listen.”
“ ‘Then all other asuras, with loving minds and peaceful minds, with palms
placed together, come to listen to this Dharma teaching from Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara:
1.37 “ ‘ “Those who turn their minds to this king of the sūtras will have happiness
in this world. Hearing it will purify them of the five actions with immediate
results on death. At the time of death, twelve tathāgatas will come and reassure
them, saying, ‘Noble son, do not be afraid. You have heard the precious king of
the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display. You have prepared various
paths for going to Sukhāvatī. [F.211.b] You have prepared various parasols,
various crowns, various earrings, and various necklaces.’ When that kind of
omen appears, at death they will go without impediment to Sukhāvatī.”
“ ‘Ratnapāṇi, in that way, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara teaches
the Dharma of nirvāṇa to the asuras and shows them the entranceway to
nirvāṇa.’
“Then Bodhisattva Ratnapāṇi bowed his head to Bhagavat Śikhin’s feet and
departed.”

1.38 At this point, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “It is very

difficult, Bhagavat, to hear the manifold description of Avalokiteśvara’s
qualities.”
The Bhagavat told him, “Noble son, there will be a description of
Avalokiteśvara’s qualities after he has left Vajrakukṣi and come to the land of
iron. Listen to it at that time. Before that there is this teaching:103
1.39 “In a later time, there was the Tathāgata, the arhat, the samyaksaṃbuddha,
perfect in wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the
unsurpassable guide who tamed beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the
buddha, the Bhagavat Viśvabhū.
“At that time, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, I was a rishi who taught patience
and lived in a cliff among the mountains where people did not go. At that time,
I heard Tathāgata Viśvabhū describe the qualities of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara.
1.40 “Avalokiteśvara had gone to the land of gold and taught the eightfold noble
path, the Dharma that teaches nirvāṇa, to the upside-down beings 104 who lived
there.
“He then left the land of gold and went to the land of silver. Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara said to the four-legged beings who lived there,
‘You must listen with perfect, pure thought to this Dharma teaching on
contemplating nirvāṇa, on turning the mind to nirvāṇa.’ Then Avalokiteśvara
taught them the Dharma.
1.41 “Those beings sat before Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara and
requested him, [F.212.a] ‘Show the path to blind beings! Be a protector and
refuge to beings who have no protector! Be a father and mother to those who
do not have a father and mother! Be a lamp for the darkness of the three lower
 existences! Be aware of us and show us, with great compassion, the path to
liberation.105 The beings who have obtained and always remember your name
are happy; they are free from this kind of suffering that we experience.’
“At this, the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s
Display, issued forth into the ears of those beings. When they heard it, they
reached an irreversible level and were established in the highest happiness.[B2]
1.42 “Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara then left for another land, which
was made of iron, where he approached the asura king Bali.106
“When the asura king Bali saw Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara
approaching from the distance, he went toward Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara, accompanied by his queens, his retinue, and many asuras such
as Kubja and Vāmanaka107 with their retinues. Bali bowed down at his feet and
said these words:

1.43 “ ‘On this day, my life has borne fruit.

On this day, my wishes have been fulfilled.
On this day, my wishes have been fulfilled,
For actually seeing you has brought me happiness for all my lifetimes.’

1.44 “Bali offered a bejeweled throne to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara and

implored him, ‘Bhagavat, look with compassion upon those who like to perform
bad actions, who lust after the wives of others, [F.212.b] who are dedicated to
killing, who kill others, and who are old and dying. Be a refuge to those who
are weary of saṃsāra. You, lord, be our father and mother and show the path to
we who are bound in bondage.’
1.45 “Avalokiteśvara said, ‘Noble son, it is like this: I will explain how much merit
is acquired by those who give alms to a tathāgata, an arhat, a
samyaksaṃbuddha.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, were there to be as many
bodhisattvas like myself as there are grains of sand in twelve Ganges Rivers,
and were they to be in one place with every facility for a deva’s eon, they would
still be unable to calculate that aggregation of merit. So it is needless to say that
I cannot do so all by myself in the realm of the asuras.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count how many atoms
there are, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit through
that alms giving.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count each drop in the vast
extent of the ocean, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit
through that alms giving.
1.46 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, if all the men, women, boys, and
girls in the four continents were to apply themselves to work, and those people
in the four continents were to do no other work than growing mustard, and
 from time to time the king of the nāgas would send down rain, and the mustard
would grow perfectly for one harvest; and then if the men, women, boys, and
girls were to load that mustard into carts, bags, and baskets, onto camels,
donkeys, and cattle, and collect the great harvest together; and then if the
donkeys and cattle threshed it to make a vast heap of mustard seeds, [F.213.a]
noble son, I could count each one of those grains, but, noble son, I cannot
calculate the accumulation of merit through that alms giving.
1.47 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, the lower half of the supreme
mountain Sumeru extends downward for 84,000 yojanas and the upper half
extends upward for 84,000 yojanas. Noble son, if Sumeru were to become a
mass of birch bark; if the vast ocean was to become an inkwell; and if all the
men, women, boys, and girls who live in the four continents were to become
scribes; and if they were to write on the limitless, endless extent of Mount
Sumeru as birch bark, I would be able to count each letter, but, noble son, I
cannot calculate the accumulation of merit through that alms giving.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, if all those scribes were to
become bodhisattvas on the tenth bhūmi, then the accumulation of merit of all
those bodhisattvas on the tenth bhūmi would then equal the accumulation of
merit through that alms giving.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count each grain of sand in
the ocean, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit through
that alms giving.’

1.48 “Then the asura king Bali, with tears, a darkened face,108 choking, with
stuttering words and sighs, told Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara his
story:
“ ‘What kind of gift did I, Bali, make, with my queens and retinue, that
brought me bondage in this lifetime? I made an offering to a bad recipient, and I
am now experiencing the result of that action. Even a handful of dust thrown
toward an omniscient one transforms into amṛta, but I made my offerings not
knowing that, [F.213.b] and made an offering to a petitioner who came to me in
the form of a dwarf.
1.49 “ ‘I had prepared offerings of elephant- and horse-drawn carts carrying
diadems, earrings, and necklaces, hung with precious yak-tail whisks, and
covered with strings of pearls, a net of pearls as a rear adornment, and jingling
golden bells hanging from silver cords.
“ ‘I had also prepared offerings of a thousand tawny cows with silver
hooves, golden horns, and covered with nets of pearls.
“ ‘I had also prepared an offering of a thousand young women with excellent
complexions, who were full-bodied, very beautiful, similar to and rivaling
divine maidens; adorned with divine jewelry; wearing diadems, earrings, and
 necklaces; adorned with armlets, bracelets, anklets, and girdles; and wearing
rings, sash necklaces, and gold rings on the big toes of their left feet.109 They
jingled as they moved, and wore clothing of silks in a variety of colors.
“ ‘I had also prepared a hundred thousand precious seats, numerous heaps
of gold, heaps of silver, and heaps of jewels.
“ ‘I had prepared numerous heaps of clothing and jewelry.
“ ‘I had prepared many hundreds of thousands of herds of cows along with
herders.
“ ‘I had prepared numerous kinds of food and drink. I had prepared divine
food with supreme flavors.
“ ‘I had continuously prepared bejeweled bells of gold and silver, many
bejeweled lion thrones of silver and gold, many thousands of divine yak-tail
whisks, parasols, shoes adorned with gold, and bejeweled gold diadems.
1.50 “ ‘At that time, I had invited a thousand kings, a hundred thousand
brahmins, and many hundreds of thousands of kṣatriyas, and I became
arrogant on seeing 110 that I was their sole ruler. [F.214.a]
“ ‘I now confess my first bad action. I tore out the hearts of the kṣatriya
wives, slaughtered the boys and girls, bound all the great kṣatriyas in stocks 111
and shackles, and took them to a copper cave. I imprisoned many hundreds of
thousands of kṣatriyas in that copper cave. I fastened the legs and arms of
those kṣatriyas, such as the Khasas and Pāṇḍavas, with iron chains and iron
pegs to keep them in that cave.
“ ‘I made doors for the cave: the first door was made of wood, the second
door was made of acacia, the third door was made of bronze, the fourth door
was made of copper, the fifth door was made of iron, the sixth door was made
of silver, and the seventh door was made of gold. Then I heaped seven
mountains, one on top of the other, in front of the golden door.112
1.51 “ ‘Then I went in search of Daśarathaputra,113 one day in the form of a
beggar, one day in the form of a bee, one day in the form of a pig, and one day
in the form of a man, transforming into a different form each day, but I did not
see him.
“ ‘Then, after contemplating, I began to make my offerings. Daśarathaputra,
seizing the opportunity, quickly removed the seven mountains, throwing them
to another place. He then shouted loudly to the kṣatriyas. Yudhiṣṭhira, Nakula,
Sahadeva, Bhīmasena, Arjuna, the Kauravas, and the other kings heard him
and were relieved and comforted.114
1.52 “ ‘Daśarathaputra asked, “Are you alive or dead?”
“ ‘They replied, “We are alive, Bhagavat.”
“ ‘Then the great hero destroyed all the doors and looked inside the copper
cave. All the bound kings saw Nārāyaṇa. They discussed among each other,
saying, “Either the time has come for the asura king Bali to die, [F.214.b] or the
 time has come for us to be slain.” They said to each other, “It is good if we die
in battle, but it’s not good to die in chains. If we die in chains, the way of the
kṣatriyas will come to an end, but if we die on the battlefield, we will be reborn
in the higher realms.”
“ ‘Then all the great kings returned to their own cities and made preparations
with many horse-drawn chariots.
1.53 “ ‘While they prepared their very precious chariots and weapons, Daśaratha-
putra transformed himself into a dwarf who wore a deerskin as a sash, held a
bamboo staff, and carried a stool. He came to where I was and arrived at my
door.
“ ‘The guard stationed there said, “Brahmin dwarf, you can’t enter.”
“ ‘He said, “I have come a long way.”
“ ‘Then the guard asked, “Brahmin, where do you come from?”
“ ‘He answered, “I have come to the rishi king from Candradvīpa.”
1.54 “ ‘Then the guard came to me 115 and said, “Your Majesty, a brahmin dwarf
has arrived here.”
“ ‘I, the lord of the asuras, asked, “What is it that he requires?”
“ ‘The guard said, “Your Majesty, I don’t know.”
“ ‘Then I said, “Go and bring the brahmin to me.”
“ ‘The guard summoned him, saying, “Come in, great brahmin.”
“ ‘Then he came inside and was placed on a precious seat.
1.55 “ ‘Śukra, who was renowned as my upādhyāya, was also present at this time
and said to me, “This is a person who brings doom.116 He will certainly cause
you an obstacle.”
“ ‘I asked him, “Bhagavat, how do you know that?”
“ ‘Śukra answered, “I know by seeing his signs and omens.”
“ ‘I asked, “What can we do?” [F.215.a]
“ ‘Nārāyaṇa thought, “If he thinks about this, he will definitely decide
against making a gift, so I will put divinely inspired speech into his mouth.”
1.56 “ ‘So I said, “Come here, brahmin. What is your wish?”
“ ‘The brahmin answered, “I ask for two steps of ground.”
“ ‘I said, “Great brahmin, if you are asking for two steps, I will give you
three.”
“ ‘The dwarf accepted this gift, saying, “This is auspicious.” He accepted it
along with a gift of water, sesame, and gold, and then vanished.
“ ‘Śukra said to me, “Rishi King, I said that this was a man of doom who had
come, but you did not pay heed to what I said. So may you experience the result
of your actions!”
1.57 “ ‘Then Nārāyaṇa appeared in his own form. He was vast, with the sun and
moon on his shoulders, and holding a sword, a bow, a wheel, a long spear, and
a short spear117 in his hands. I, lord of the asuras, became faint, grew dizzy, fell
 headlong, and said, “What have I done? I have taken poison with my own
hand!”
“ ‘Nārāyaṇa took two steps and said, “Give me my third step!”
“ ‘I said, “There can be no third. You have taken all the ground that can be
taken. What can I do?”
“ ‘Nārāyaṇa said, “Wherever I place you, there shall you stay.”
“ ‘Then I, lord of the asuras, said to him, “Whatever you command, that I will
do.”
“ ‘Nārāyaṇa asked, “Is this true? Is this true?”
“ ‘I answered, “It’s the truth, it’s the truth.”
1.58 “ ‘Thus Nārāyaṇa caught me in the noose of truth. The offering site was
destroyed and the offering bowls discarded. The Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas took
away the maidens. The Kauravas, Pāṇḍavas, and the others 118 took away the
golden lion thrones, the divine parasols, the bejeweled shoes, the clothing, the
jewelry, the bejeweled golden armlets, [F.215.b] and the tawny cows,
destroying the offering site.
“ ‘I, lord of the asuras, having been expelled from the offering site,119
contemplated my situation and said, “I was about to make an excellent offering,
but I made an unfortunate offering that has resulted in this bondage. Homage
to you, lord. Do what is to be done. It will be as you do.”120
“ ‘Then Nārāyaṇa took me, my queens, and my retinue and placed us in the
underworld.
1.59 “ ‘I 121 have this to say to the bhagavat: In the past I made that gift to a bad
recipient, and now I am experiencing the result of that action.
“ ‘Be my refuge, holder of beautiful lotuses.
“ ‘I make this praise to the one who wears a matted topknot; to the one who
has an omniscient buddha122 upon his head; to the one who brings relief to
many beings; to the one who has compassion for the inferior and desolate; to
the one who has beautiful eyes like parasols; to the one who has illuminated
the world;123 to the one who is a supreme king of healing; to the one who is a
perfectly pure being; to the one who has the supreme attainment of yoga; to the
one who has perfect liberation; to the one who is a lover of liberation; to the one
who is like a wish-fulfilling jewel; to the one who protects the treasure of the
Dharma; to the one who is a teacher of the six perfections; and to the one whose
thoughts are good.
1.60 “ ‘The beings who remember your name, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara, will have happiness. When those who have been born in
Kālasūtra, Raurava, Avīci,124 and in the city of the pretas remember your name,
they will be freed from the great suffering of the lower existences. The beings
who remember your name will have good thoughts. They will go to the realm of
Sukhāvatī, and listen to the Dharma from Tathāgata Amitābha.’
1.61 “Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara made the following prophecy
to Bali, the lord of the asuras: [F.216.a] ‘You, lord of the asuras, will become the
Tathāgata, the arhat, the samyaksaṃbuddha, perfect in wisdom and conduct,
the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tamed
beings, the teacher of devas and humans, the buddha, the Bhagavat Śrī. You
will guide all the asuras. In your buddha realm there will not be the word desire,
there will not be the word anger, there will not be the word ignorance, and you
will come into possession of the six-syllable mahāvidyā.’
1.62 “As a gift with which to request the Dharma, Bali presented Avalokiteśvara
with strings of pearls worth a hundred thousand silver coins 125 and diadems
adorned with various jewels.
“Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara began to teach the Dharma.
1.63 “ ‘Listen, great king. Human beings are continually thinking about transitory
things, about acquisitions,126 about great pleasures, about male and female
slaves, servants, and hired workers, about costly clothes, beds, and seats, about
valuable treasures, riches, stores of grain, and storerooms, about sons and
daughters, and about wives and parents. They are ignorant. Those things that
they are attached to appear as dreams do.
1.64 “ ‘At the time of death, there will be no one to protect them. When they are
separated from their lives they will look back at Jambudvīpa. They will see the
great river filled with pus and blood. They will see the great trees that blaze
with fire, blaze strongly, and blaze fiercely. When they see them they will be
terrified. Yama’s guards 127 will bind them with nooses and drag them away.
When their feet are cut through on the great road of razors, as they lift that foot
another foot will replace it. [F.216.b] Numerous ravens, vultures, eagles, and
dogs will devour them. They will experience the sensation of great suffering in
the hells. When they step off the great road of razors, five hundred thorns, each
with sixteen spikes, will pierce each foot. They will cry out, “What have I, who
delighted in bad actions, done?”128
1.65 “ ‘Yama’s servants will reply, “Friend, you did not offer alms to the
Tathāgata. You did not hear the gaṇḍī being beaten. You did not
circumambulate a stūpa anywhere.”
“ ‘To that they will reply, “We were without faith, delighted in bad actions,
rejected the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha, and are experiencing the result of
those actions.”
“ ‘Yama’s guardians will then take them to King Yama, bring them before
him, and present them to him.
“ ‘King Yama will say to the guardians, “Show them today your place of
work!”
1.66 “ ‘So Yama’s guardians will bring them to the great Kālasūtra hell and put
them into it. Inside there, though a hundred spears strike them, they will not
die. Though a hundred spears strike them a second time, they will not die.
Though a hundred spears strike them a third time, they still will not die.
Because they will not die, they are thrown into a furnace, but there they still
will not die.
“ ‘A red hot metal ball will be inserted into their mouths, incinerating their
lips, destroying their teeth, splitting their palate, and loudly burning up their
throat, gullet, heart, anus, and whole body.
“ ‘It is like this, great king. There will be no one to protect them in that other
world. Therefore, great king, you must diligently create merit in this life.’

1.67 “In that way Avalokiteśvara gave Bali the appropriate Dharma teaching.
[F.217.a] Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara then told that great king, ‘I
must leave, for today many are gathering in the Jetavana Monastery.’129
“Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara now radiated many blue, yellow,
red, white, crystal, and silver light rays that reached Tathāgata Viśvabhū,
before whom devas, nāgas, yakṣas, mahoragas, and humans had gathered.
“From within that assembly of bodhisattvas the bodhisattva named
Gaganagañja arose from his seat, bared one shoulder, and kneeling on his right
knee and facing Bhagavat Viśvabhū, placed his palms together and addressed
these words to him: ‘Bhagavat, where did these light rays come from?’
“Bhagavat Viśvabhū said, ‘Noble son, the light rays came from Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, who is in the palace of Bali, the lord of the asuras.’
“Bodhisattva Gaganagañja then asked Bhagavat Viśvabhū, ‘Is there a way
for me to see Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara?’
“Bhagavat Viśvabhū answered, ‘Noble son, he is coming here.’
1.68 “When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara left the palace of Bali, lord of
the asuras, divine flowers fell on Jetavana Monastery, and extremely beautiful
wish-granting trees appeared there. They were hung with hundreds of
thousands of adornments, with many hundreds of thousands of strings of
pearls, with silk, with monastic robes,130 and with clusters of garlands. Their
trunks were red, and their leaves were made of gold and silver. There were also
many trees made of coral, many blossom-covered trees, [F.217.b] and pools that
were completely filled with flowers.
1.69 “Then Bodhisattva Gaganagañja asked Bhagavat Viśvabhū, ‘Bhagavat, is
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara not coming?’
“Bhagavat Viśvabhū answered, ‘Noble son, he has left the palace of Bali, lord
of the asuras, and is going to an extremely dreadful land131 named
Tamondhakāra where there are no humans. There, noble son, the sun and
moon do not shine. A wish-fulfilling jewel named Varada provides light in that
place.
 “Many hundreds of thousands of yakṣas and rākṣasas live in that continent.
They become happy as Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara arrives there,
and with joy in their hearts they run to him. When they come to Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, they pay homage at his feet and ask, ‘You are not
tired? You are not exhausted? It has been a long time since you were here in
Tamondhakāra.’
1.70 “He answers, ‘I have been doing much. I have not been ripening my own
mind for the sake of one being, but have been, with the motivation of great
compassion, ripening many beings.’132
“The yakṣas and rākṣasas lead him to a lion throne of divine gold and jewels,
upon which he sits. Seated,133 he teaches the Dharma to the yakṣas and
rākṣasas:
1.71 “ ‘Listen! Those who hear and then possess, study, promulgate,134 and have
their minds completely focused on even one four-line verse 135 of the precious
king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, will be inspired to
accumulate merit.
1.72 “ ‘Noble sons, it is like this: For example, I know the number of atoms that
exist, but, noble sons, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit that comes
from the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display.
“ ‘Noble sons, it is like this: For example, I can count the drops in the vast
ocean, but, noble sons, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit that comes
from even one four-line verse 136 of the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras,
The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display. [F.218.a]
1.73 “ ‘Noble sons, if tathāgatas, arhats, and samyaksaṃbuddhas as numerous as
the grains of sand in twelve Ganges Rivers were gathered together in one
place and for twelve eons were provided with robes, food, bowls, bedding,
seats,137 necessary medicine, and utensils, they would still not be able to
calculate the merit that comes from even one four-line verse 138 of the precious
king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display. So it is needless to
say that I cannot do so all by myself in Tamondhakāra.
“ ‘Noble sons, it is like this: For example, even if all the households in the
four continents built monasteries of gold and jewels and built a thousand
stūpas inside each of those monasteries, and in one day inserted relics in them
all, the accumulation of merit from one four-line verse 139 of the precious king of
the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, would be far greater than
the merit from inserting the relics.
“ ‘Noble sons, it is like this: For example, just as the five great rivers flow into
the great ocean, noble sons, in that same way merit accumulates from one four-
line verse 140 of the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s
Display.’
1.74 “Then the yakṣas and rākṣasas asked Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara, ‘What kind of accumulation of merit is obtained by those
beings who write out this precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the
Basket’s Display?’
“ ‘Noble sons, their accumulation of merit is immeasurable. Those who
engage in writing out the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the
Basket’s Display, are engaged in writing the eighty-four thousand compilations
of the Dharma. They will become kings; they will become cakravartins who rule
the four continents; they will give birth to thousands of brave heroic sons with
perfect bodies and who defeat their adversaries.
1.75 “ ‘Those who always possess and remember the name of the precious king of
the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, [F.218.b] will be completely
liberated from the suffering of saṃsāra and be completely liberated from birth,
aging, sickness, death, misery, lamentation, suffering, unhappiness, and
conflict. Wherever they are reborn, in every life they will remember their
previous lives. Their bodies will have an aroma like gośīrṣa sandalwood. From
their mouths will come the scent of the blue lotus. Their bodies will be
completely perfect, and they will have immense, powerful strength.’
1.76 “In that way Avalokiteśvara taught them an appropriate Dharma. Some of the
yakṣas and rākṣasas attained the result of becoming a once-returner. The others
attained the result of becoming a non-returner.141
The yakṣas and rākṣasas then said, ‘Stay here.142 Do not go anywhere else.
We will build a stūpa of divine gold in Tamondhakāra. We will create a
circumambulatory walkway of gold.’
“But Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara said to them, ‘I have to bring
many beings onto the path to enlightenment.’
“The yakṣas and rākṣasas, resting cheeks on hands, brooded and said to
each other, ‘Our Avalokiteśvara is going to leave us, and we will not be able to
talk about the Dharma with him.’
“As Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was leaving, the yakṣas and
rākṣasas followed him.
“Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara said to them, ‘It is too far for you to
come, so you should go back.’
“The yakṣas and rākṣasas bowed down at the feet of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara and returned.
“Then Avalokiteśvara vanished into the sky as a mass of flames.”

1.77 “Avalokiteśvara then manifested in the form of a brahmin and went among the
devas in the Śuddhāvāsa realms. [F.219.a] Among those devas there was a deva
named Sukuṇḍala who was poor and suffering.
“Avalokiteśvara came to that deva in the form of the brahmin and said to him,
‘I’m hungry and thirsty.’
 “The deva said to the brahmin, ‘Great brahmin, I have nothing at all.’
“The brahmin said, ‘You should give me what little you have.’
1.78 “So Sukuṇḍala entered his divine palace and looked inside his pots. He saw
that some pots had become completely filled with priceless precious jewels,
other pots had become completely filled with food that had the supreme
flavors, and the left side of the divine palace had become completely filled with
divine clothing.
“Sukuṇḍala thought, ‘Without a doubt the one at my door is an excellent
recipient for offerings, and he has brought me this attainment of splendor.’
“Sukuṇḍala invited the brahmin into his divine palace. The brahmin entered,
and Sukuṇḍala offered him the divine jewels, served him the food with divine
perfect flavors, and gave him the divine clothing.143 The brahmin ate and
recited a benediction.
“The deva Sukuṇḍala then asked him, ‘Great brahmin, where do you come
from?’
“He replied, ‘I come from the monastery named Jetavana.’
1.79 “Sukuṇḍala asked him, ‘What is that place like?’
“The brahmin answered, ‘It is a place that is delightful, filled with divine
jewels, and completely beautified by divine wish-granting trees. There are
beautiful flowers, many kinds of bathing pools, many who have the qualities of
right conduct and are worthy recipients for offerings, and there are the miracles
of Tathāgata Viśvabhū. Son of a deva, that is how pleasant that place is.’
“The deva then said, ‘Brahmin, you definitely speak the truth. Who are you?
Are you a deva or a human? If you are a human you don’t seem to be one.’
[F.219.b]
“The brahmin replied, ‘I am not a deva and I am not a human. I am one who
has compassion for the poor and the wretched. I am one who shows them the
path to enlightenment. I am a bodhisattva.’
1.80 “Deva Sukuṇḍala then offered his diadem and earrings to the brahmin and
recited:

“ ‘Oh, the one who is comprised of qualities

Is devoid of all evil.
On this day the seed has been planted,
And on this day the fruit has been produced.’

“After the deva had recited this verse, the brahmin departed.

1.81 “The great brahmin descended from the deva realms to the island of Siṃhala.
Arriving there, he transformed himself into a handsome form and approached
the rākṣasīs. When they saw his handsome body they desired him. Desiring
him, they came to him and said, ‘Sir, take us young women. We have no
husband. For we who have no husband, be a husband. For we who have no
 protector, be a protector. For we who have no support, be a support. These are
your homes with food; homes with drink; and homes with clothes and a variety
of multicolored beds,144 beautiful gardens, and beautiful pools.’
“He said, ‘Only if you do as I command.’
“They answered, ‘We will!’
1.82 “He then taught them the noble eightfold path. He made them recite the
fourfold scriptures. Some of them attained the result of becoming a once-
returner, and some attained the result of becoming a non-returner.145 The
rākṣasīs were no longer afflicted by the suffering of desire, there was no anger
in their minds, they did not wish to cause anyone’s death, they continually
delighted in the Dharma, and they took vows. They promised, ‘We shall kill no
more. We will nourish ourselves in the same way that humans do in
Jambudvīpa: with food and drink. From now on we will not act like rākṣasīs,
and we will keep the upāsikā vows.’146 In this way the rākṣasīs took vows.

1.83 “Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara then left the island of Siṃhala

[F.220.a] and went to a place where many hundreds of thousands of different
kinds of insects lived within a cesspit in the great city of Vārāṇasī. When
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara arrived there, he transformed himself
into the form of a bee that made a buzzing sound that was heard by the insects
as the words, ‘Namo buddhāya, namo dharmāya, namaḥ saṃghāya.’147 The insects
remembered the words namo buddhāya, namo dharmāya, namaḥ saṃghāya,148 and
the thunderbolt of wisdom destroyed the mountain, which has twenty peaks,
that is the view of the aggregates as a self,149 and they were then all reborn in
the realm of Sukhāvatī as bodhisattvas named Sugandhamukha.
“After Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara had ripened those beings, he
left the great city of Vārāṇasī.

1.84 “Next he went to Magadha. When he arrived in the land of Magadha, he saw
beings that had lived for twenty years in the wilderness eating each other’s
flesh. Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara wondered, ‘By what method can
I bring contentment to these beings?’
“Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara then caused divine rains to fall.
First there was a rain of water, and the water brought them satisfaction. Then
there came a rain of divine food with supreme flavors, and they were
completely filled. When they were completely satisfied by eating the food, a
rain of grain fell. Then there fell sesame, rice, jujubes, and wild rice. Whatever
those beings wished for, their wishes were fulfilled each time.
1.85 “Those beings in the land of Magadha were amazed, and they all sat down150
together. Seated,151 they asked each other, ‘What deity manifested all of this?’
 “Among them there was one being who was many hundreds of thousands of
years old. He was aged, old, feeble, hunchbacked, and bent like a cow’s ear. He
said to them, ‘Only Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has this kind of
power [F.220.b], no other deity.’
“Those gathered there asked him, ‘What are the qualities of Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara?’
1.86 “The man began to describe Avalokiteśvara’s qualities to them:
“ ‘He is a lamp for those in darkness. He is a parasol for those burned and
pained by the sun. He is a river for those afflicted with thirst. He gives freedom
from fear to those who are terrified and afraid. He is medicine for those afflicted
with sickness. He is a father and mother for beings who suffer. He is a teacher
of nirvāṇa to those reborn in Avīci. Those are his special qualities.
“ ‘Those who remember his name will have happiness in this world and will
completely leave behind every suffering in saṃsāra.
1.87 “ ‘Those who continually gather and offer flowers and incense to
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara will become cakravartin kings who
possess the seven jewels. The seven jewels are: the precious wheel, the
precious horse, the precious elephant, the precious jewel, the precious wife, the
precious householder, and the precious counselor.
“ ‘Those who offer flowers to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara will
have aromatic bodies, and wherever they are reborn, their bodies will be
perfect.’
“The old man taught Avalokiteśvara’s special qualities in that way. Then
those gathered there returned to their homes, and the aged man, having taught
them an appropriate Dharma, returned to his home, and Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara [F.221.a] vanished into the sky.

1.88 “While Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the sky he thought, ‘It
has been a long time since I’ve seen Tathāgata Viśvabhū,’ and so he next went
to Jetavana Monastery. Bhagavat Viśvabhū saw him coming.
“As Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara approached the Jetavana
monastery, he saw devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas,
kiṃnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans, and a gathering of many
hundreds of bodhisattvas.
“Bodhisattva Gaganagañja asked Bhagavat Viśvabhū, ‘Bhagavat, which
bodhisattva is arriving?’
“Bhagavat Viśvabhū said, ‘This is Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara
who is arriving.’
1.89 “Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara bowed his head to Bhagavat
Viśvabhū’s feet, circumambulated him three times, and sat on his left.
“Bhagavat Viśvabhū asked him, ‘Are you tired? Are you weary? Noble son,
what work have you been doing?’
 “Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara told Viśvabhū what had occurred.
Bodhisattva Gaganagañja was extremely amazed and said, ‘I have never seen
such a field of activity as that of this bodhisattva. There is no such field of
activity among the tathāgatas, let alone among the bodhisattvas.’
1.90 “Bodhisattva Gaganagañja now came to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
152
Avalokiteśvara and sat before him. Seated, he asked Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara, ‘Are you tired? Are you weary?’
“He replied, ‘I am not tired and I am not weary.’
“They talked with each other and then became silent. [F.221.b]
1.91 “Bhagavat Viśvabhū then began to teach upon the six perfections:
“ ‘Noble sons, listen. Having become a bodhisattva, you must complete the
perfection of generosity. Similarly, you must complete the perfection of
conduct, the perfection of patience, the perfection of diligence, the perfection of
meditation, and the perfection of wisdom.’
“Having taught that Dharma he became silent.
“The assembled beings each returned to their own dwelling places, and the
bodhisattvas returned to their own buddha realms.”

This completes part one of the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, “The Sūtra of the
Basket’s Display.”
2. Part Two
2.1 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin then said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I
request that you teach what samādhis Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara
has previously remained in.”
2.2 The Bhagavat said, “Noble son, they are as follows: the samādhi named
Creation, the samādhi named Illumination, the samādhi named Sublime Vajra,
the samādhi named Sunlight, the samādhi named Dispersal, the samādhi
named Armlet, the samādhi named Supreme Vajra Victory Banner, the samādhi
named Ornament, the samādhi named King of Arrays, the samādhi named
Seeing the Ten Directions, the samādhi named The Supreme Illumination of the
Wish-fulfilling Jewel,153 the samādhi named Dharma Holder,154 the samādhi
named Descending into the Ocean,155 the samādhi named Totally Stable,156 the
samādhi named Giving Joy,157 the samādhi named Vajra Victory Banner,158 the
samādhi named Viewing All Worlds,159 the samādhi named Completely
Present,160 [F.222.a] the samādhi named Truly Bowing Down, the samādhi
named Coiled at the Crown, the samādhi named Supreme Illumination by the
Moon,161 the samādhi named Many Attendants, the samādhi named Divine
Bright Earrings,162 the samādhi named Lamp of the Eon,163 the samādhi named
Manifesting Miracles, the samādhi named Supreme Lotus, the samādhi named
King’s Power,164 the samādhi named Extinguishing Avīci, the samādhi named
Blazing, the samādhi named Divine Circle,165 the samādhi named Drop of
Amṛta, the samādhi named Circle of Light, the samādhi named Immersion in
the Ocean, the samādhi named Door of the Celestial Palace, the samādhi named
Cuckoo’s Song, the samādhi named Scent of the Blue Lotus, the samādhi
named Mounted, the samādhi named Vajra Armor, the samādhi named
Elephant’s Delight, the samādhi named Lion’s Play, the samādhi named
Unsurpassable, the samādhi named Subduing, the samādhi named Moon on
High, the samādhi named Shining, the samādhi named Hundred Light Rays,
the samādhi named Sprinkling, the samādhi named Brightening, the samādhi
named Beautiful Appearance, the samādhi named Summoning the Asuras, the
samādhi named Meditation, the samādhi named Summoning Nirvāṇa, the
 samādhi named Great Lamp,166 the samādhi named Liberation of Sensation,167
the samādhi named King of Lamps,168 the samādhi named Creating the
Supreme State,169 the samādhi named Creating Indestructibility,170 the samādhi
named Facing the Deities,171 the samādhi named Creating Union, the samādhi
named Teaching Ultimate Truth, the samādhi named Lightning, the samādhi
named Array of Names,172 the samādhi named Gaping Lion, the samādhi
named Face of Arcturus,173 [F.222.b] the samādhi named Approaching, the
samādhi named Flash of Intelligence,174 the samādhi named Increasing Power
of Mindfulness, the samādhi named Aspiration, the samādhi named Carriage of
Victory, and the samādhi named Teaching the Path.
2.3 “Noble son, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has those samādhis. In
each of his pores there are a hundred thousand samādhis. Noble son,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara thus has an incalculable accumulation
of merit. Even the tathāgatas do not have that kind of accumulation of merit, let
alone a bodhisattva. [B3]

2.4 “Noble son, in the past, when I was a bodhisattva named Siṃhalarāja,175 I was
going to the island of Siṃhala with five hundred merchants. We were going to
Siṃhala Island bringing much merchandise in chariots, in bags, baskets, and
pots, carried by camels, oxen, donkeys, and so on, so as to go to villages, towns,
suburbs, cities, and markets.
“I found an excellent ship that had been to Siṃhala Island many times. I
asked the pilot, ‘Toward what lands are the winds blowing? Are the winds
blowing toward Ratnadvīpa,176 or are the winds blowing toward
177
Yavanadvīpa, or are the winds blowing toward the island of the rākṣasīs?’178
“The pilot answered, ‘Know this, lord: the breeze is blowing toward Siṃhala
Island.’179
“So we set sail in the great ship in the direction of Siṃhala Island, but the
rākṣasīs who lived on Siṃhala Island sent untimely winds that broke the great
ship into pieces. We 180 fell into the water and swam to the shore.
2.5 “Five hundred rākṣasīs took on the form of maidens, and with a great cry
came down to the shore. They gave us cotton robes. We put them on, wrung
our clothes dry, [F.223.a] and went to sit under a large magnolia tree. Seated, we
talked among ourselves, asking each other what we should do, but we agreed
that there was nothing we could do, and we became silent.
“The rākṣasīs came to us and said, ‘You who are not masters of a house,
become masters. You who have no refuge, obtain a refuge. You who have no
home, obtain a home. These will be your homes supplied with food. These will
be your homes supplied with drink. These will be your gardens for you to
enjoy. These will be your bathing pools for you to enjoy.’
2.6 “After the rākṣasīs had spoken to us thus, each one took a merchant home to
be the master of her house. The senior rākṣasī 181 took me home to be the master
of her house. She satisfied me with food that had perfect, divine flavors. Having
satisfied me with food, she frolicked with me, and in this way I was perfectly
satisfied with human pleasures. Two or three weeks 182 passed in that manner.
2.7 “One night as I was lying in bed, I was astonished to see that the lamp was
laughing. I had never seen or heard before of a burning, laughing lamp.183 I
asked it, ‘Why are you laughing?’
“It answered, ‘This is one of the rākṣasīs who live on Siṃhala Island. She is
going to kill you.’
“I asked it, ‘How do you know she is a rākṣasī?’
“It answered, ‘If you don’t believe me, take the road south184 and follow it.
You will come to a high fortress 185 without windows or doorways. Many
hundreds of merchants have been thrown in there. Some are alive. Some are
dead. If you don’t believe me, follow that road. Follow that road and observe.
Then you will believe me.’
2.8 “So I 186 made the rākṣasī enter the sleep named Ignorance’s Net, and I went
out at night, armed with a sword187 that glowed like moonlight. [F.223.b] I took
the road that led south, and followed it until eventually I came to an iron
fortress. I walked around it, but could not find a door. However, there was a
magnolia tree beside the iron fortress, and so I 188 climbed up it. I made the
sound of spitting, and the merchants inside heard me,189
“They said, ‘Great head merchant, know this! We have been thrown into this
iron fortress. Each day a hundred men are taken and eaten. When they have
been eaten, their bones are scattered around the iron fortress.’
2.9 “That is how they described what had happened to them. I climbed down the
magnolia tree and went quickly back up the southern road.
“When I returned to the house, the lamp asked me, ‘Head merchant, did you
see?’
“I answered, ‘I saw,’ and then asked it, ‘What can I do?’
“The lamp said, ‘Lord, I have a way by which you can comfortably and
happily leave Siṃhala Island and see Jambudvīpa once more.’
“It said, ‘There is a divine king of horses named Bālāha who has compassion
for the desolate and destitute. Bālāha, the king of horses, eats the herb named
sarvaśetāna,190 rolls back and forth on the golden sand, shakes his body, and
then asks, “Who is going to cross over to the far shore?” You should then say,
“Lord, I am going to cross over to the far shore.” ’
“Once the lamp had told me this, I went to lie down next to the rākṣasī. She
awoke and asked me, ‘Noble son, why is your body cold?’
“I answered, ‘I went outside the town to defecate and urinate. [F.224.a] That’s
why my body has become cold.’ And so she went back to sleep.
2.10 “At sunrise I got up and said to all the merchants, ‘Come with me. We are
going outside the town.’
“Then we all left the town. When we were outside the town and had sat
down,191 I asked them, ‘How affectionate are your wives toward you?’
“Some said, ‘She is very loving toward me.’
“Some said, ‘She takes care of me with food that has perfect, divine flavors.’
“Some said, ‘She provides me with all kinds of clothes.’
“Some said, ‘She gives me diadems, earrings, and necklaces.’
“Some said, ‘I don’t have to do any physical work.’
“Some said, ‘She cares for me with sandalwood, musk, and camphor.’
“After the merchants told me these things, I said to them, ‘It is not right for
us to be attached to rākṣasīs in this way.’
2.11 “They were disturbed by my words, and asked, ‘Great head merchant, is it
true that they are the rākṣasīs who live on Siṃhala Island?’
“I answered, ‘It is true, indeed it is true. By the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha,
they are not humans. They are rākṣasīs.’
“The merchants asked me, ‘What can we do? Do you have a plan for us?’
“I told them, ‘On Siṃhala Island there is Bālāha, the king of horses, who has
compassion for the desolate and destitute. He eats the herb called sarvaśetāna,
rolls back and forth on the golden sand, shakes his body, and then asks three
times, “Who is going to cross over to the far shore? Who is going to cross over
to the far shore? Who is going to cross over to the far shore?”192 We should go
to him.’
“The merchants asked me, ‘On what day should we go?’
“I answered, ‘We should definitely leave in three days’ time. Each person
should prepare provisions for the journey.’ [F.224.b]
“They promised they would and returned to town, each to their own home.
2.12 “The rākṣasī asked me,193 ‘Are you tired? Are you weary? Have you seen the
delightful gardens and the delightful bathing pools?’194
“I answered, ‘I haven’t seen any.’
“The rākṣasī then said, ‘Noble son, in this Siṃhala Island there are pleasing
gardens of all kinds that are completely filled with flowers, and there are many
hundreds of bathing pools.’
“I said, ‘I will go to those gardens and the various flower-filled pools in three
days’ time. I will gather beautiful flowers there and then return. Therefore you
should prepare good traveling provisions for me.’
“She said, ‘Noble son, I will do so.’
2.13 “I contemplated my predicament, thinking, ‘These rākṣasīs will kill us if they
find out.’ I remained silent, contemplating this predicament. The rākṣasī served
me good food, and as I ate it, I sighed.
“The rākṣasī asked me, ‘Noble son, why did you sigh?’
 “I said to her, ‘The people of Jambudvīpa and my homeland are so pleasant.’
“The rākṣasī said, ‘Noble son, what would you do in your homeland? In this
Siṃhala Island you have a home with food, a home with drink, a home with
clothes, a variety of delightful gardens, and a variety of delightful bathing
pools.195 Enjoy these divine pleasures. Why be sorrowful in Jambudvīpa?’ I said
nothing in reply.
2.14 “That day passed, and on the second day, my provisions of good food were
quickly prepared. Everyone had made his preparations, and at dawn on the
third day we all left the city, coming out through its gate. When we were
outside, we agreed that not one of us would turn to look back at Siṃhala Island.
After we had made that agreement, we hurried as quickly as we could, and
eventually reached the location of Bālāha, the king of horses. [F.225.a]
“Bālāha, the king of horses, was enjoying the sarvaśetāna herb. When he had
finished enjoying it, he rolled back and forth on the golden sand and shook his
body. When he shook his body, the island of Siṃhala shook.
2.15 “He asked three times, ‘Who is going to cross over to the far shore? Who is
going to cross over to the far shore? Who is going to cross over to the far
shore?’196
“The merchants said, ‘We are going to cross over to the far shore.’
“Bālāha, the king of horses, said to us, ‘None of you must look back at
Siṃhala Island. None of you must turn your eyes toward Siṃhala Island.’
“We agreed to do as he said. Then first I alone mounted him, and then the
five hundred merchants mounted him. When we were all mounted, the rākṣasīs
who lived on Siṃhala Island came running after us, making a great clamor,
weeping and wailing pitifully. Hearing the noise, the merchants turned round
and looked back at them, and when they did so they fell headlong into the
water. When they had fallen into the water, the rākṣasīs pulled them out and
ate them.
2.16 “I arrived in Jambudvīpa alone. When we reached the shore, I
circumambulated Bālāha, the king of horses, three times, bowed to him, and
departed. I journeyed toward my home and eventually arrived there. My father
and mother embraced me and wept, and their tears dissolved their cataracts so
they regained their sight.
“Then I sat with my parents and told them everything that had happened.
My parents said, ‘Son, we have got you back alive. We do not need wealth. We
only need a walking stick for when we are old, someone to guide us on the
path when we are blind, someone to make food offerings to us when we have
died, and someone to be our protector when we are dead. Son, you have
brought us delight like a cooling breeze.’ That is what my parents said to me.
2.17 “Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, those are the sufferings I experienced when I
was a head merchant. [F.225.b] Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it was like this:
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was Bālāha, the king of horses, and he
rescued me from the fear of death.

“Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: I cannot calculate Bodhisattva

Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit, but I can say just a little
about his pores.
“Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: A trillion gandharvas dwell in a
pore named Suvarṇa. They do not experience the sufferings of saṃsāra and are
satisfied by perfect happiness. They perceive divine objects but are free from
attachment. They have no aversion, they do not become angry, and they never
have malice. They all dwell on the noble eightfold path and always aspire to the
Dharma. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: in this pore named Suvarṇa
there is a wish-fulfilling jewel named Avabhāsa. Whenever the gandharvas
wish for something, their wishes are fulfilled.

2.18 “Beyond the pore named Suvarṇa, there is a pore named Kṛṣṇa, within which a
trillion rishis dwell. Some have one clairvoyance; some have two clairvoyances;
some have three clairvoyances; some have four clairvoyances; some have five
clairvoyances; and some have the six clairvoyances.
“Within that pore the ground is silver and the mountains are gold with silver
peaks adorned by rubies.197 There are seventy-seven such mountains, and on
each of those mountains live eighty thousand rishis. Those rishis have leaf
huts 198 where there are wish-fulfilling trees with red trunks and gold and silver
leaves that shine like jewels. [F.226.a] There are four pools near each wish-
fulfilling tree. Some are filled with water that has the eight qualities, and some
are completely filled with divine flowers. The area around them is completely
adorned by wish-fulfilling trees that are divine coral trees hung with divine
adornments; hung with diadems and earrings; hung with one hundred and
eight-string necklaces and sixty-four-string necklaces; and hung with bracelets;
and their leaves are made of jewels and gold.
2.19 “In each of those wish-fulfilling trees there live a hundred gandharvas.
When they play music, deer, birds, and so on contemplate deeply. They see the
suffering and happiness of beings in saṃsāra199 and the way in which
suffering is experienced in Jambudvīpa. They see birth, aging, and death. They
see separation from the desired and beloved, and encounters with the disliked.
They see human beings undergoing many kinds of suffering. The deer and
birds contemplate deeply200 in that way. When they remember the name the
precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, food with
 supreme divine flavors appears, divine aromatic substances appear, and divine
clothing appears. Whenever they wish for something, their wishes are
fulfilled.”

2.20 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I am

utterly astonished.”
The Bhagavat said, “Noble son, why are you astonished?”
Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, if
those kinds of things appear just because someone thinks of the name of the
precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, [F.226.b]
then those who listen to, cause to be written out,201 possess, recite, study, and
have their minds completely focused on the precious king of the Mahāyāna
sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, will have happiness.
2.21 “Those who write a single letter from the precious king of the Mahāyāna
sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, will have happiness and will not see these
sufferings of saṃsāra. They will not be reborn as an untouchable 202 or of mixed
caste;203 they will not be reborn as someone with defective senses; they will not
be reborn as lame, hunchbacked, with a deformed nose, a goiter, or a cleft lip,
nor with leprosy.204 Their bodies will not be afflicted by illness. They will have
health, great strength, and clear faculties.”
The Bhagavat gave his approval, saying, “That is excellent, Sarvanīvaraṇa-
viṣkambhin. Your eloquence and your teaching of this kind of Dharma to a
gathering of devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras,
mahoragas, humans, nonhumans, upāsakas, and upāsikās is excellent!
Excellent!”
2.22 Then Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat,
“Bhagavat, when you teach what I request, the devas gain unwavering faith.”
The Bhagavat gave his approval, saying, “Excellent, noble son. That you
repeatedly make these requests is excellent, excellent.

“Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: Beyond the Kṛṣṇa pore there is a pore

named Ratnakuṇḍala. Many trillions of female gandharvas live within it. Those
female gandharvas have excellent figures; are beautiful and attractive; have
magnificent, fair complexions; their bodies are adorned with divine jewelry;
and they rival the apsarases. [F.227.a] Even though they have this beauty, they
are not afflicted by the suffering of desire, they are not afflicted by the suffering
of anger, and they are not afflicted by the suffering of stupidity. Their bodies do
not experience the sufferings that humans do.
“Those gandharva maidens remember the name of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara. Whenever in the three periods they remember it, all valuable
things appear for them.”
2.23 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I will go to those
pores because I want to see them.”
The Bhagavat said, “Noble son, those pores cannot be perceived, just as the
element of space cannot be perceived. Noble son, those pores cannot be
perceived, and they cannot be touched.
“Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra spent twelve years wandering in
search of those pores, but he never saw them. He did not even see the hundred
buddhas who live in each of those pores, let alone any bodhisattvas.”205
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, if Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Samantabhadra did not see them in twelve years of wandering, if
he did not see those pores and did not even see the hundred buddhas who are
in each of those pores,206 why should I go?”
2.24 The Bhagavat answered, “Noble son, I also searched and looked for one of
his pores but did not see one.
“Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, noble son, this bodhisattva is taught to be
illusory, unattainable, and subtle.207 This bodhisattva is described as being
unstained;208 as being with form,209 a vast form, a hundred thousand arms, a
trillion eyes, and eleven heads; as being a great yogin, a sublime yogin; as
residing on the level of nirvāṇa; as having an excellent mind;210 as having great
wisdom; as liberated from existence; as being from the good family;211 as being
imperceptible; and as being wise; and therefore he casts no shadow in the
midst of all phenomena.212
2.25 “Thus, noble son, no one can see or hear213 Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara. [F.227.b] No tathāgata can see the body of his true nature,214 let
alone Samantabhadra or other bodhisattvas.
“Noble son, this bodhisattva mahāsattva is inconceivable. He manifests
inconceivable 215 miracles. He has completely ripened many trillions of beings.
He has led those beings onto the path to enlightenment. Having entered that
path, they have gone to the realm of Sukhāvatī where they hear the Dharma
from Tathāgata Amitābha.”

2.26 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, how can I see

Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara?”
The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, you will see him if he comes here, to the
Sahā universe, to look at me, bow down to me, and honor me.”
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “I request it, Bhagavat, that
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara may come.”
The Bhagavat answered, “Noble son, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara first comes when a being is ripened.”
Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin rested his cheek on
his hand216 and said, “What point is there in my having a long life that is
devoted to bad actions, deprived of the sight of Avalokiteśvara, blind, and
 following a path of darkness?”217

2.27 Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, when is

Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara coming?”
The Bhagavat laughed and said, “Noble son, it is not yet time for Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara to come. [F.228.a]
2.28 “Noble son, it is like this: Beyond that pore, there is a pore named
Amṛtabindu.218 In that pore a million trillion devas live. Some are on the first
bhūmi; some are on the second bhūmi; some are on the third bhūmi; some are
on the fourth bhūmi; some are on the fifth bhūmi; some are on the sixth bhūmi;
some are on the seventh bhūmi; some are on the eighth bhūmi; some are on the
ninth bhūmi; and some are on the tenth bodhisattva bhūmi.
“Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: Within that pore named
Amṛtabindu there are sixty mountains of gold and silver. Each one is sixty
thousand yojanas high, and each one has ninety thousand peaks adorned by
gold. Bodhisattvas who have developed one-pointed minds 219 dwell on their
slopes. On those kings of mountains, there dwell many millions of trillions of
gandharvas, who are continuously playing music.
“Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: Within that pore named
Amṛtabindu there are many millions of trillions of extremely beautiful celestial
palaces completely adorned with divine jewels, having many kinds of visual
delights, and adorned by a hundred thousand strings of pearls.
2.29 “Bodhisattvas relax in those celestial palaces and discuss the Dharma. Then
they leave the celestial palaces and go each to their own walkways, each of
which has seventy bathing pools. Some are filled with water that has the eight
qualities, some are completely filled with flowers, and some are completely
filled with blue lotuses, red lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, fragrant water
lilies, tiger claw flowers, and great tiger claw flowers.220 Along these walkways
there are beautiful wish-fulfilling trees that have red trunks and leaves made of
silver and gold; are adorned with divine adornments; [F.228.b] are hung with
diadems, earrings, garlands, one hundred and eight-string and sixty-four-
string necklaces; and are perfectly hung with armlets and a variety of other
adornments.
“The bodhisattvas walk each evening along these walkways while thinking
about various aspects of the Mahāyāna. They think of nirvāṇa, they
contemplate all the sufferings of saṃsāra, and after contemplating suffering
they meditate on love. Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, such are the bodhisattvas
within that pore.

2.30 “Beyond that pore, there is a pore named Vajramukha.221 Within it live many
hundreds of thousands of kiṃnaras beautified by necklaces, earrings, garlands,
various jewelry, and ointments.
 “They have continuous faith in the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha. They are
focused one-pointedly on the Dharma, remain in loving kindness, meditate on
patience, contemplate nirvāṇa, and are saddened for humans. Noble son, such
are the kiṃnaras that live there.
“There are many hundreds of mountains within that pore. Some are made of
diamonds, some of silver, some of gold, some of crystal, some of rubies,222 some
of sapphires, and some of the seven jewels. Noble son, such are the signs seen
within that pore.
2.31 “Noble son, within that pore there are many wish-fulfilling trees, coral trees,
sandalwood trees, and aromatic trees. There are many hundreds of thousands
of bathing pools. There are extremely beautiful and delightful divine celestial
palaces of crystal and silver. Such are the celestial palaces that appear there.
“The kiṃnaras relax in those celestial palaces and discuss the Dharma.
Seated,223 they talk about the Dharma. They talk about the perfection of
generosity, [F.229.a] they talk about the perfection of conduct, they talk about
the perfection of patience, they talk about the perfection of diligence, they talk
about the perfection of meditation, and they talk about the perfection of
wisdom.
2.32 “When they have talked about the six perfections, they leave the celestial
palaces and they each go to walk in their own walkways. Some of the
walkways are made of gold. Some of the walkways are made of silver. All
around the walkways there are wish-fulfilling trees that have red trunks and
leaves made of silver and gold, and that are hung with divine ornaments; hung
with diadems, earrings, and garlands; hung with armlets; hung with anklets;
hung with one hundred and eight-string and sixty-four-string necklaces; and
hung with strings of jewels. These wish-fulfilling trees around the walkways
are like many-storied mansions.
2.33 “The kiṃnaras take walks along these walkways. While they are walking,
they contemplate with sadness the sufferings of saṃsāra: ‘Oh, the suffering!
Oh, the suffering! Death is suffering! Oh, the suffering! Poverty is also
suffering! Oh, the suffering! Separation from the desired and beloved and
encountering the undesired and the disliked is extremely unendurable
suffering! There are those who are born in Kālasūtra, born in Raurava, born in
the great hell of Hāhava, born in Agnighaṭa, born in Vajraśaila,224 and born in
the city of the pretas.225 Those beings have the greatest suffering.’
“The kiṃnaras contemplate in that way, and following that contemplation
they contemplate the essence of nirvāṇa.
2.34 “Noble son, the kiṃnaras who rejoice in the Dharma in that way continually
remember the name of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara. Remembering
his name, they receive all kinds of things.
 “Thus, noble son, it is difficult to find Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara, [F.229.b] who is the father and mother of all beings, who brings
freedom from fear to all beings, who reveals the path to all beings, who is a
kalyāṇamitra for all beings. Noble son, this is what Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara is like.
“Noble son, it is difficult to obtain his name. Those who remember the name
that is the six-syllable vidyāmantra will be reborn in those pores. They will no
longer continue to be in saṃsāra. They will go from one pore to another, living
within those pores until they reach the level of nirvāṇa.”

2.35 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, where can the six-
syllable mahāvidyā be obtained?”
The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, even the tathāgatas do not know the six-
syllable mahāvidyā, let alone the bodhisattvas.”
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, do the tathāgatas,
arhats, and samyaksaṃbuddhas not know it?”
The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, the six-syllable mahāvidyā is the supreme
essence of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara. Those who know that
supreme essence know liberation.”
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, are there any
beings who know the six-syllable vidyāmantra?”
The Bhagavat answered him, “Noble son, no one knows the six-syllable
mahāvidyā. It is an inconceivable yoga and therefore difficult to obtain. Even
the tathāgatas do not know it, let alone the bodhisattvas. [F.230.a]
“Noble son, all the tathāgatas have spent sixteen eons wandering in search
of this six-syllable mahāvidyā, so therefore how could bodhisattvas know it? It
is the supreme essence of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara.
2.36 “If someone traveled throughout this realm of beings, there would be found
a few226 who know the six-syllable mahāvidyā. Those beings who continually
possess the six-syllable mahāvidyā and are dedicated to repeating it are
meritorious. When they repeat it, bhagavats and buddhas to the number of
sand grains in ninety-nine Ganges Rivers gather around them, bodhisattvas to
the number of atoms gather around them, and they reach the entranceway to
the six perfections.
“The devas of the Trāyastriṃśa paradise also gather there. The four
mahārājas guard the four directions. Many millions of trillions of nāgas such as
Nāga King Sāgara, Nāga King Anavatapta, Nāga King Takṣaka, and Nāga King
Vāsuki227 guard the ground.228 Also, the yakṣas from above the earth guard the
open space above them.
2.37 “Ten million tathāgatas reside in each pore of that noble son. Residing there
they give their approval, saying, ‘Excellent, excellent, noble son! You have
acquired such a wish-fulfilling jewel as this. Seven generations of your
 descendants will attain liberation.229 Noble son, even all the beings who live in
your stomach will become irreversible bodhisattvas.
“ ‘Noble son, those who wear this six-syllable mahāvidyā on their body or on
their throat230 will be known to have a body that is a vajra body, will be known
to be a stūpa containing relics, and will be known to be the wisdom of ten
million tathāgatas.’ [F.230.b]
2.38 “A noble son or noble daughter who repeats the six-syllable mahāvidyā will
have indestructible mental brilliance. He or she will become a pure mass of
wisdom. That person will have great love and great compassion. That person
will complete the six perfections each day. That person will receive the
consecration of a vidyādhara cakravartin.
“Those who inhale that person’s breath, whether in love or in anger, will
become irreversible bodhisattvas. They will quickly attain the highest complete
enlightenment and be samyaksaṃbuddhas.
“All those who just touch that person with their clothing 231 will become
bodhisattvas in their last existence.
“Women, men, boys, and girls who just see that person, and even the deer,
birds, oxen, donkeys, and so on, who see that person, will all become
bodhisattvas in their last existence. They will not experience the suffering of
birth, aging, sickness, death, and separation from the beloved. They will
become inconceivable yogins.”
In that way the Bhagavat encouraged the repetition of the six-syllable
mahāvidyā.

2.39 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I wish to hear the

six-syllable mahāvidyā, which is the inconceivable yoga and the immeasurable
and highest dhyāna; which shows the way to the nirvāṇa of supreme
enlightenment; which is the entranceway into liberation; which pacifies desire
and hatred;232 which fills the treasury of the Dharma;233 which uproots saṃsāra
and the five existences; which brings the hells and afflictions to an end; which
takes those who have become animals to a higher existence; [F.231.a] which
completes the taste of the Dharma; and which is the imperishable 234 teaching of
omniscience.
2.40 “Bhagavat, how can I obtain it? I would offer the four continents filled with
the seven precious materials to anyone who bestows upon me the six-syllable
mahāvidyā.
“Bhagavat, if I cannot find a birch bark page to write it on, nor ink, nor a reed
pen, I will make ink from my blood, I will slice off my skin to make a page, and I
will break one of my bones to make a pen. Bhagavat, I have no concern for my
body. The one who bestows it upon me will be my parents, my guru of gurus.”
2.41 The Bhagavat told Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, “Noble son, I remember going
to as many worlds as there are atoms in the world for the sake of obtaining this
six-syllable mahāvidyā. I honored many millions of trillions of tathāgatas, but I
did not obtain it, and I did not hear it from those tathāgatas.
“At that time I went, weeping, to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the
samyaksaṃbuddha, the one with wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower
of the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods
and humans, the buddha, the Bhagavat Ratnottama.
“The Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Ratnottama said, ‘Noble
son, don’t weep so pitifully. Noble son, go to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the
Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama.235 He knows this six-syllable mahāvidyā.’
2.42 “Noble son, I went to Tathāgata Padmottama. I approached the realm of
Tathāgata Padmottama, arrived there [F.231.b], and bowed my head to the feet
of Tathāgata Padmottama. I placed my palms together before him and said,
‘Bhagavat Padmottama, I must obtain this six-syllable mahāvidyā, which
purifies all bad karma merely by the remembrance of its name. I seek to obtain
that which is difficult for a bodhisattva to obtain. For that purpose I have been
to many worlds, in distress. I have arrived here, exhausted and without any
result.’
2.43 “Then Tathāgata Padmottama praised the qualities of this six-syllable
mahāvidyā:
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can know the number of atoms,
but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit from repeating the
six-syllable mahāvidyā once.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count the grains of sand in
the ocean, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit from
repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā once.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, a person builds a building that is
a hundred yojanas high and five hundred yojanas wide, and completely fills it
with sesame seeds. There isn’t even a needle-sized hole in this building. At its
door there is an immortal man who never ages. If every hundred eons that man
takes out one sesame seed, I can calculate 236 the time when such a building
would be emptied down to the floor, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the
accumulation of merit that comes from repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā
once.
2.44 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, if the people in the four
continents were all to work at various kinds of agriculture, such as barley,
wheat, rice, green or black mung beans, and so on; and jujubes, horse gram,
and so on; and the nāga kings sent rain at the appropriate times; and those
grains grew, ripened, and were harvested; if Jambudvīpa were made into one
threshing floor, and the grain was brought in carts, in animal loads, in bundles
 and baskets, and put on that threshing floor, trodden by oxen and donkeys,
and made into one big heap; [F.232.a] then, noble son, I could count every
single grain, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit that
comes from repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā once.
2.45 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, in Jambudvīpa there are great
rivers that flow day and night. They are the Sītā,237 the Ganges,238 the Yamuna,
the Indus,239 the Pakṣu,240 the Sutlej,241 the Chenab,242 the Ravi,243 the
Sumāgandha,244 the Himavatī,245 and the Godavari.246 Each of these rivers has
five hundred tributaries. Day and night they flow into the ocean. Noble son, this
is how the accumulation of merit increases as the result of a single repetition of
the six-syllable mahāvidyā: I can count each drop in those great rivers, but,
noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit that comes from
repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā once.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count each hair on all four-
legged beings such as herds of oxen, donkeys, buffaloes, horses, and
elephants; dogs, jackals,247 goats, and similarly lions, tigers, wolves, deer,
monkeys, hares, pigs, and so on; and rats and cats, and so on; but, noble son, I
cannot calculate the accumulation of merit from repeating the six-syllable
mahāvidyā once.
2.46 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, the king of mountains, named
Vajrāṅkuśa, is 99,000 yojanas high and extends downward into the sea for
84,000 yojanas. Vajrāṅkuśa, the king of mountains, is 84,000 yojanas wide on
each side. On the side of that king of mountains there is an ageless, immortal
man, who once every eon wipes the mountain one time with a Kaśika cloth.
Even this alone will eventually cause the mountain to be worn down and
vanish. I can count the number of years, months, days, hours,248 and minutes of
time that would take,249 but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of
merit that comes from repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā once.
2.47 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. [F.232.b] As a comparison, the ocean is 84,000
yojanas deep, and it has an immeasurable expanse, extending as far as
Vaḍavāmukha. I can count all its drops of water, which are the size of the tip of
a hair, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the accumulation of merit that comes
from repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā once.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, I can count the number of leaves
in a forest of agarwood trees, but, noble son, I cannot calculate the
accumulation of merit that comes from repeating the six-syllable mahāvidyā
once.
2.48 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, even if all the men, women, boys,
and girls who live in the four continents were to be on the seventh bodhisattva
bhūmi,250 the accumulation of merit that comes from repeating the six-syllable
 mahāvidyā once would be far greater than the accumulation of merit of those
bodhisattvas.
“ ‘Noble son, it is like this. As a comparison, if for a year of twelve months, or
with a leap-month to make a year of thirteen months,251 it were to rain day and
night, noble son, I could count each drop of rain, but, noble son, I cannot
calculate the accumulation of merit that comes from repeating the six-syllable
mahāvidyā once.
2.49 “ ‘Noble son, it is like this: There is no need to say much, but if, for example, a
million tathāgatas like me were to be in one place for an eon, provided with all
requirements, with robes, food, bowls,252 bedding, seats,253 necessary medicine,
and utensils, still those tathāgatas would not be able to calculate the
accumulation of merit from the six-syllable mahāvidyā, so it is needless to say
that I cannot do so all by myself in this world.
“ ‘Noble son, I have entered the yoga of meditation through an inconceivable
dhyāna. This is a subtle Dharma, an imperceptible Dharma, an unknown
Dharma; it is the attainment of the ultimate essence. It has been established
through the qualities of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s skillfulness
in methods. In that way, noble son, [F.233.a] I too obtained skillfulness in
methods through the six-syllable mahāvidyā.
“ ‘Noble son, I also wandered through many hundreds of thousands of
millions of tens of millions of worlds, and then in front of Tathāgata Amitābha,
with palms placed together, I wept because of my emotion for the Dharma.
2.50 “ ‘At that time, Tathāgata Amitābha, who knew the present and the future,
said, “Noble son who is united with the yoga of meditation, do you desire the
six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās?”
“ ‘I replied, “I do desire it, Bhagavat;254 I do desire it, Sugata. I have gone to
many worlds in search of the six-syllable mahāvidyā, Bhagavat, just like a
thirsty person seeks water. I have attended to many millions of trillions of
tathāgatas, but I have not obtained the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās.
Bhagavat, be my protector, refuge, and support. Be the eyes for those whose
faculties are poor. Be the path for those who have lost the path. Be a parasol for
those burned by the sun. Be like a great sal tree for a great crossroad. Be infinite
teachings for those thirsty for the Dharma. Be armor for the complete stability of
the mind.”
2.51 “ ‘Then the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Amitābha said to
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara with a voice as beautiful as a cuckoo’s
song, “Noble son, look! The Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha
Padmottama has been to many millions of trillions of worlds for the six-syllable
mahāvidyā. The Tathāgata has traveled like this, noble son, so therefore give
him the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās.”
2.52 ‘Then Bhagavat Bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara said, [F.233.b] “It should not be
given to one who has not seen the maṇḍala.255 How would one apprehend the
Bhagavat’s lotus-hook hand gesture?256 How would one know the Maṇidhara
hand gesture?257 How would one know the lord-of-all-kings hand gesture?258
How would one know the correct maṇḍala?259
2.53 “ ‘ “These are the features of the maṇḍala: It should be square with a
circumference of five cubits.
“ ‘ “Draw Amitābha in the center of the maṇḍala. To create the body of
Tathāgata Amitābha, sprinkle powder made from precious sapphire powder,
emerald powder, ruby powder, crystal powder, and powdered silver and gold.
“ ‘ “On his right create Bodhisattva Mahāmaṇidhara. On his left draw
Ṣaḍakṣarī Mahāvidyā, who has four arms and is white like the autumn moon.
She is adorned with various adornments and holds a lotus in her left hand.
Draw a jewel upon that lotus. Draw a jewel rosary in her left hand. Portray the
palms of two hands being placed together in the gesture named the lord-of-all-
kings.
2.54 “ ‘ “Draw a vidyādhara beneath the legs of Ṣaḍakṣarī Mahāvidyā. Draw him
holding a smoking stick of incense in his right hand and a basket filled with
various adornments in his left hand.
“ ‘ “Draw the four mahārājas at the four doors 260 of the maṇḍala. Draw them
holding their individual offerings.261
“ ‘ “Place vases filled with various precious jewels at the four corners of the
maṇḍala.
2.55 “ ‘ “A noble son or noble daughter who wishes to enter that maṇḍala should
write the names of the entire lineage of his or her family and first of all cast
those names into the maṇḍala. They will then all be freed from every human
suffering [F.234.a] and will become bodhisattvas in their last life. They will also
quickly attain the highest complete enlightenment, which is complete
buddhahood.
“ ‘ “The ācārya should not give it to those who are inappropriate. It should be
bestowed upon those who aspire for it with faith, or bestowed upon those who
aspire for it with faith in the Mahāyāna. It should not be given to tīrthikas.”
2.56 “ ‘Then the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Amitābha said to
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, “Noble son, what if the noble son or
noble daughter is poor and cannot use precious sapphire jewel powder,
emerald powder, or gold or silver powder?”
“ ‘ “Bhagavat, he should use powder dyed with various colors and use
various flowers and various incenses.”
“ ‘ “Noble son, what if, because he has gone to another land and lacks the
facilities, he cannot even obtain those?”
 “ ‘ “Then the ācārya should imagine the maṇḍala in his mind, and the ācārya
should teach the nature of the mantras 262 and gestures.” ’
2.57 “Then the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama263 said
to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, ‘Noble son, give the six-syllable
queen of mahāvidyās to me. I will liberate many millions of trillions of beings
from saṃsāra so that they will quickly attain complete buddhahood with the
highest complete enlightenment.’
“Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara gave the six-syllable queen of
mahāvidyās 264 to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama:

“Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. [F.234.b] [B4]

2.58 “When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara gave the six-syllable queen of

mahāvidyās to the tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama,
everywhere from the four continents to the deva realms shook like plantain
leaves. The four great oceans shook. All vighnas and vināyakas, yakṣas and
rākṣasas, together with the companies of mahākālas, and mātṛs, fled.265
2.59 “Tathāgata Padmottama extended his arm like an elephant extending its
trunk and offered a hundred thousand precious strings of pearls to Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, who accepted them and offered them to the
Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Amitābha, who then offered them
back to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama.
“Then the Tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama, having
received the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās, went to the realm named
Padmottama.266
“Noble son, in the past, that is what I heard from the Tathāgata, the arhat, the
Samyaksaṃbuddha Padmottama.”
2.60 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, how
can I obtain the six-syllable mahāvidyā of perfect yoga? Bhagavat, just like
those who are not satisfied by just a taste of amṛta, Bhagavat, I am not satisfied
by simply hearing about the six-syllable mahāvidyā. Meritorious are those
beings who, with higher motivation, possess this six-syllable mahāvidyā and
repeat, listen to, and contemplate it.”
The Bhagavat answered him, “Noble son, those who write out this six-
syllable mahāvidyā are writing out the collection of eighty-four thousand
Dharmas. [F.235.a] If stūpas 267 were made from precious divine gold for
tathāgatas, arhats, and samyaksaṃbuddhas equal in number to atoms, and if in
one day they were all filled with their relics, the result ripening from that would
only equal the result that ripens from one syllable of the six-syllable
mahāvidyā, which has inconceivable qualities and brings liberation.
2.61 “The noble son or noble daughter who repeats this six-syllable mahāvidyā
will attain these samādhis: the samādhi named Jewel Holder, the samādhi
named Purification of Hells and Animals, the samādhi named Vajra Armor, the
samādhi named Stable Conduct, the samādhi named Skillfulness in All
Methods, the samādhi named Scattering, the samādhi named Revealing All
Buddha Realms,268 the samādhi named Entering All Dharmas, the samādhi
named Adornment of Dhyāna, the samādhi named Entering the Chariot of the
Dharma, the samādhi named Complete Liberation from Desire and Anger, the
samādhi named Eternal Calf, the samādhi named Teaching 269 the Six
Perfections, the samādhi named Holding Great Meru, the samādhi named
Rescuing from All Existences, the samādhi named Seeing All the Tathāgatas,
and the samādhi named Complete Stability.
“Noble son, it is like this: those who possess the six-syllable queen of
mahāvidyās will attain one hundred and eight samādhis.”
2.62 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat,
where can I go to obtain this mahāvidyā?” [F.235.b]
“Noble son, in the great city of Vārāṇasī there is a dharmabhāṇaka who
possesses, recites, and is completely focused on the six-syllable mahāvidyā.”
“Bhagavat, I will go to the great city of Vārāṇasī in order to see that
dharmabhāṇaka, to bow down to him, and to honor him.”
2.63 “Excellent! Excellent! Do so, noble son! A dharmabhāṇaka who possesses,
recites, and is completely focused on270 the six-syllable mahāvidyā is rare. He
should be seen as being equal to the tathāgatas; seen as being the life of the
world;271 seen as a mass of merit;272 seen as being like the Ganges and all
sacred places;273 seen as one who speaks that which is not false; seen as one
who speaks the truth;274 seen as a heap of jewels; seen as a wish-fulfilling
jewel; seen as a Dharma king;275 and seen as a savior of beings.
2.64 “Noble son, you should have no doubts when you see this dharmabhāṇaka.
Noble son, do not fall from a bodhisattva bhūmi to be reborn in the lower
existences. This dharmabhāṇaka’s conduct is poor, and his behavior is poor. He
is surrounded by his wife, sons, and daughters. His orange robes are filled with
feces and urine; he has not followed the noble path.”276
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “I will do as the Bhagavat
has instructed.”

2.65 So Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin set forth accompanied by

many hundreds of thousands of lay bodhisattvas, monastics, boys, and girls. In
order to make offerings to the dharmabhāṇaka, they brought divine parasols,
divine shoes, diadems, earrings, garlands, armlets, [F.236.a] one hundred and
eight-string and sixty-four-string necklaces for covering the shoulders, ear
adornments, and finger rings; and also various kinds of clothing: monastic
robes,277 clothing commanded by the vidyādharas, and Kaśika cloth; and also
 various flowers: blue lotuses, red lotuses, night lotuses, white lotuses, tiger
claw flowers and great tiger claw flowers,278 mañjuṣukas and mahāmañjuṣukas,
udumbaras, various kinds of turmeric flowers, magnolias, oleanders, trumpet
flowers, mountain ebony, gardenia,279 star jasmine,280 night-flowering
jasmine,281 and so on; beautiful peacocks, brahminy ducks, and delightful
mynas;282 the colors blue, yellow, red, white, and crystal; and also various fruits
and flowers.
2.66 He went to the great city of Vārāṇasī and eventually arrived there. He went
to where the dharmabhāṇaka was and bowed his head to his feet.
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin saw someone whose conduct was poor, whose
behavior was poor, and whose path was imperfect.283
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin gave him a great offering of parasols, shoes, cloth,
adornments, scents, and ointments, and placing his palms together in front of
the dharmabhāṇaka, he said:
2.67 “O you who are the treasurer of the Dharma, you are like an unfathomable
ocean that is an accumulation of the treasure of amṛta. You are a repository
within the human realm. The devas, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, kiṃnaras,
mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans gather to listen to the Dharma from you.
“You teach a Dharma that is like a great vajra. [F.236.b] You liberate many
beings who are bound in the bondage of saṃsāra. Meritorious are those beings
who live in Vārāṇasī, can see you, and always gather around you. The instant
they see you, you burn up all their bad karma. You burn up all bad karma like a
fire burns a forest, just through being seen. The tathāgatas, arhats, and
samyaksaṃbuddhas know of you. Many millions of trillions of bodhisattvas
come to make offerings to you, as do Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Āditya,
Candra, Vāyu, Varuṇa, Agni, Dharmarāja Yama, and the four mahārājas.”
2.68 The dharmabhāṇaka said to him, “Noble son, do not create a cause for
remorse. Those who indulge in the afflictions create the realms of beings and
have the characteristics of saṃsāra.
“Those who know the six-syllable mahāvidyā will not be polluted by desire,
anger, or stupidity. Noble son, just as the gold in the Jambu River does not
become stained, someone who wears the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās on
his body will have a body that is not polluted by desire, anger, or stupidity.”
2.69 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin grasped the dharmabhāṇaka’s feet tightly and
said, “My senses are impaired, so be my eyes! I have lost the path, so show me
the path! I am thirsty for the Dharma, so quench my thirst with the taste of the
Dharma! I lack the highest complete enlightenment,284 so give me the seed for
enlightenment! Give me the opportunity of the Dharma! Give me the pure body
of perfectly established forms!285 [F.237.a] Give me a good reputation so that all
beings say, ‘He has gained unwavering goodness!’ Thus, guru, give me the six-
syllable queen of mahāvidyās, through which I will quickly achieve the highest
 complete enlightenment and be a samyaksaṃbuddha! Turn the twelve wheels
of the Dharma! Free all beings from the suffering of saṃsāra! Give me the six-
syllable queen of mahāvidyās that I have not obtained! Give me the six-syllable
queen of mahāvidyās! Be my protector, refuge, and support. Be a home for the
homeless.”
2.70 The dharmabhāṇaka answered, “The six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās is a
recitation that is hard to find. It is an unequalled286 vajra recitation. It is an
unbreakable vajra recitation. It is a recitation of the highest wisdom. It is a
recitation of unceasing wisdom. It is an unsurpassable recitation. It is a
recitation that brings liberation. It is a recitation of the pure wisdom of the
tathāgatas. It is a recitation that eliminates desire, anger, stupidity, and the
sufferings of saṃsāra. It is a recitation of skill in all methods. It is a recitation of
dhyāna, liberation, samādhi, and samāpatti. It is a recitation of entry into all
Dharmas. It is a recitation continuously yearned for by the devas.
2.71 “Noble son, people are ordained in various orders and are ordained in the
various garments of those seeking liberation, which are rainbow-colored
garments,287 white garments, and pure white garments.288 They are ordained
into those who stare at the sun,289 the followers of Maheśvara, the followers of
Viṣṇu and Garuḍa, and naked ascetics.290 They take ordination in those orders,
but those deities do not bring liberation; [F.237.b] they are not protectors, nor is
theirs the conduct that is to be followed. All the hosts of deities—Brahmā,
Viṣṇu, Maheśvara, Śakra, who is the lord of devas, Āditya, Candra, Vāyu,
Varuṇa, Agni, Dharmarāja Yama, and the four mahārājas—constantly request
the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās.”
2.72 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked him, “Bhagavat, how can we obtain the six-
syllable queen of mahāvidyās, so that we can dedicate ourselves to liberation?”
The dharmabhāṇaka replied, “Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this:
Prajñāpāramitā is known to be the one who gave birth to all the tathāgatas.
Even she places her palms together and pays homage to the six-syllable queen
of mahāvidyās, let alone the tathāgatas, arhats, samyaksaṃbuddhas, and the
hosts of bodhisattvas.
“Noble son, this is an essence, like rice. Noble son, through this you can
obtain anything from within the Mahāyāna: many Mahāyāna sūtras, the geyas,
the vyākaraṇas, the gāthās, the udānas, the nidānas, the avadānas, the
itivṛttakas, the jātakas, the vaipulyas, the adbhūtadharmas, and the
upadeśas.291 Simply repeating it will bring peace and liberation. Why say more
about its other virtues?
2.73 “What does it mean that it is conceived of as a central essence? It can be
conceived of as being like the essence of rice. We take it home and fill our pots
with rice and keep it in there. And then, in accord with the sun, we dry it in the
sun’s heat. When it is dried, we pound it with a pestle to remove the chaff. What
 is the essence?292 The essence is the rice. In that way, [F.238.a] all other yogas
are like husks, and from among all yogas, the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās
is like the rice.
2.74 “Noble son, the bodhisattvas produce merit in order to possess the six-
syllable queen of mahāvidyās, so as to have the perfection of generosity, the
perfection of conduct, the perfection of patience, the perfection of diligence, the
perfection of meditation, and the perfection of wisdom. Noble son, one
repetition of the mahāvidyā completes the six perfections. Those who just touch
it with their clothes 293 will attain the level of irreversibility. Noble son, that is
what the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās is like. Those who recite that name
are rare. Possessing its name just once will make them equal to someone who
has provided all the tathāgatas with all requisites: with robes, food, bowls,
bedding, seats,294 necessary medicine, and utensils.”

2.75 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin then said to the dharmabhāṇaka, “Give me the six-

syllable queen of mahāvidyās.”
The dharmabhāṇaka295 thought and thought about this. Then a voice came
from the sky saying, “Give him the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās!”
The dharmabhāṇaka wondered where this voice had come from. Again there
came the voice from the sky, saying, “This bodhisattva has undergone many
hardships. Give him the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās!”
The dharmabhāṇaka looked up into the sky and saw someone who had a
body white as the autumn moon, a crown of coiled hair, an omniscient
buddha296 upon his head, and a beautiful lotus in his hand, and was adorned
with the splendor of lotuses.
Then the dharmabhāṇaka said to Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, [F.238.b] “Noble
son, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has given permission for the
six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās to be given to you.”
2.76 Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin reverently placed his palms together to
receive it.

Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ.

As soon as this was given, the earth shook in six ways.

Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin attained these samādhis: the samādhi named
Unceasing True Nature, the samādhi named Love, Compassion, and Rejoicing,
the samādhi named Practicing Yoga, the samādhi named Established in the
Entry to Liberation, the samādhi named Illuminating Everywhere, the samādhi
named The King of Arrays, and the samādhi named Holding the Dharma.
Those are the samādhis he attained.
2.77 As soon as Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin had obtained
the six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās, he offered the four continents,
completely filled with the seven jewels, as payment to that upādhyāya.
The dharmabhāṇaka said, “There is no payment required for even one of the
syllables, let alone the six syllables of the mahāvidyā, nor will I take anything
from you, noble son. You are a bodhisattva, a noble being, with no one higher,
and you are my pupil, noble son.”
The dharmabhāṇaka presented him with a string of pearls to the value of a
hundred thousand silver coins and said, “Noble son, in accord with my
instruction, present this to the Tathāgata, the arhat, the samyaksaṃbuddha
Śākyamuni.”
2.78 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin bowed his head to the feet of the dharmabhāṇaka
and departed, having obtained what he sought and with his wishes fulfilled.
He went to the Jetavana Monastery, arrived there, bowed down to the feet of
Bhagavat Śākyamuni, and sat to one side. [F.239.a]
Then the Bhagavat, the tathāgata, the arhat, the Samyaksaṃbuddha
Śākyamuni asked, “Noble son, did you find what you sought?”
“Bhagavat, it happened, as the Bhagavat knows.”
2.79 Seventy-seven times ten million297 samyaksaṃbuddhas gathered there, and
those tathāgatas recited this dhāraṇī:

Namaḥ saptanām saṃyaksaṃbuddhakoṭinām tadyathā Oṁ cale cule cunde298 svāhā.299

[The homage by seven times ten million samyaksaṃbuddhas is like this: Oṁ

cale cule cunde svāhā.]

That was the dhāraṇī recited by seventy-seven times ten million

samyaksaṃbuddhas.

2.80 “Beyond that pore 300 there is the pore named Sūryaprabha, in which many
millions of trillions of bodhisattvas dwell. Within that pore named Sūryaprabha
there are ten thousand mountains of gold. Each mountain has 22,000 peaks.
Rubies adorn the sides of each mountain. On the sides there are extremely
beautiful gardens with divine precious jewels and adorned with many very
beautiful and delightful walkways and bathing pools. There are many
hundreds of thousands of many-storied palaces made of divine gold and
jewels. They are decorated with braided lengths of strings of pearls and silk,
and they are hung with hundreds of strings of pearls.
“Within each of the many-storied palaces there is a precious wish-granting
jewel named Śārada,301 that provides each bodhisattva with everything he
needs.
2.81 “When those bodhisattvas have entered their many-storied palaces, they
remember the six-syllable mahāvidyā. When they remember it, they realize
nirvāṇa. They see the seven tathāgatas that are at the level of nirvāṇa. They also
see Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara. [F.239.b] When they see him, faith
arises in their minds. After that has occurred, the bodhisattvas leave the many-
storied palaces. Then some go to their walkways; some go to the gardens of
precious wish-granting jewels; some go to the bathing pools; and some go to
the sides of the mountains, which are made of precious ruby jewels.
“When they arrive there, they sit cross-legged, sitting up straight, and
establish themselves in focused mindfulness. Noble son, such are the
bodhisattvas who live in that pore.

2.82 “Beyond that there is the pore named Indrarāja, in which many millions of
trillions 302 of irreversible bodhisattvas dwell. Within that pore named Indrarāja
there are eighty thousand mountains made of divine gold and jewels.303 In the
middle of those mountains there is a precious jewel named Padmāvabhāsa. It
fulfills whatever wishes the bodhisattvas make.
“In that way those bodhisattvas live on these kings of mountains without
thinking about food or drink. They have none of the sufferings of saṃsāra.
They are not stained by the afflictions of saṃsāra. They remain at all times in
contemplation of nirvāṇa. They have no other thought concerning their bodies.

2.83 “Noble son, beyond that there is the pore named Mahoṣadhī in which many304
millions of trillions of bodhisattvas live who have first developed bodhicitta.
“Noble son, there are 99,000305 mountains in that pore. Some are made of
diamonds, some are made of silver, some are made of gold, some are made of
precious sapphire jewels, some are made of rubies, some are made of emeralds,
and some are made of crystal. Those kings of mountains are like that. Each one
has eighty thousand peaks, is adorned with various jewels, [F.240.a] and is
extremely beautified by various delightful features.
“On the peaks there live gandharvas who continually play music, which
emanates from that pore.
2.84 “Those bodhisattvas who have first developed bodhicitta contemplate
emptiness and featurelessness. They contemplate sadness concerning the
body, thinking, ‘Alas, there is suffering: the suffering of birth, aging, sickness,
and death; the suffering of being separated from the beloved and pleasant; the
suffering of encountering the disliked and unpleasant; the suffering of being
born in Avīci; the suffering of being born in Kālasūtra; and the suffering of
being born in the city of the pretas.’ At that time they are sitting cross-legged,
their bodies straight, establishing themselves in focused mindfulness, dwelling
in the mountains.
2.85 “Noble son, beyond that there is the pore named Cittarāja,306 in which live
many millions of trillions of pratyekabuddhas. They perform miracles of fire,
heat, rain, and lightning.
“Noble son, there are a hundred thousand mountains in that pore. All those
kings of mountains are made of the seven jewels.307 There are a variety of wish-
granting trees on those kings of mountains. Their trunks are gold, and their
leaves are silver.308 They are studded309 with a variety of jewels and hung with
a variety of adornments. They are hung with diadems, earrings, garlands,
armlets, and one hundred and eight-string and sixty-four-string pearl
necklaces. They are hung with Kaśika cloth. They have the jingling sounds of
silver and gold bells.
“Pratyekabuddhas live on these kings of mountains. [F.240.b] They talk with
each other about the sūtras, the geyas, the vyākaraṇas, the gāthās, the udānas,
the nidānas, the avadānas, the itivṛttakas, the jātakas, the vaipulyas, the
adbhūtadharmas, and the upadeśas.

2.86 “Then, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, beyond that pore, last of all, there is the pore
named Dhvajārāja.310 That pore is 84,000 yojanas wide. Within that pore there
are 84,000 mountains, beautifully adorned with a variety of jewels.
“On those kings of mountains, there are many hundreds of thousands of
wish-fulfilling trees. There are many hundreds of thousands of sandalwood
trees. There are hundreds of thousands of agarwood trees.
“Within that pore the ground is made of diamonds. Within that pore there are
many hundreds of thousands of ninety-nine-story311 palaces made of divine 312
gold and jewels,313 decorated with pearls, cloth, and garlands, hung with
strings of bells, and shining with moonstone gems.
2.87 “In those many-storied palaces, there are golden stairs beautified by
delightful jewels of various kinds.
“In those many-storied palaces, there are seated tathāgatas who teach the
Dharma to the humans in Jambudvīpa.314 They teach the six perfections: they
teach the perfection of generosity, they teach the perfection of conduct, they
teach the perfection of patience, they teach the perfection of diligence, they
teach the perfection of meditation, and they teach the perfection of wisdom.
[F.241.a] They teach various kinds of Dharma, continually teaching the humans
who live in Jambudvīpa.
“Thus, noble son, they see the pores of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara. They also see deities such as devas, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras,
garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas,315 humans, nonhumans, Maheśvara, and
Nārāyaṇa assembled in Jetavana Monastery, and many millions of trillions of
bodhisattvas assembled there.”
2.88 Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, are
there no other pores?”
 The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, beyond that pore are the four great oceans
that come from the big toe of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s right
foot. Their depth is immeasurable. When water comes from the right big toe, it
falls on Vaḍavāmukha, transforming it into a heap of ash. Noble son, that is the
kind of blessing that Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has.”
2.89 But again, Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat,
“Bhagavat, is there yet another pore?”
The Bhagavat answered, “There are no more, noble son.”
Bodhisattva Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, is
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara coming?”
The Bhagavat said, “Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara [F.241.b] will
come to this great monastery of Jetavana in order to see me, to bow down to
me, to honor me, and to give a prophecy concerning the deity Maheśvara in a
realm within this universe.”316

2.90 The noble Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara radiated blue, yellow, red,
white, crystal, and silver light rays, and those light rays went to Jetavana. When
they came there, they circled the Bhagavat three times. Then they left Jetavana
Monastery and went to the great Avīci hell. When they arrived there, they
cooled the great Avīci hell.
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, from where did
those light rays come, and where did they go?”
The Bhagavat answered, “Noble son, Avalokiteśvara radiated those various
light rays. They came to this Jetavana Monastery. When they arrived they
circled me three times and then went to the great Avīci hell.”317
2.91 At that time, good omens manifested in Jetavana Monastery. Divine magnolia
trees appeared and divine lotus pools appeared.318 At that time, Jetavana
Monastery appeared to shine like divine gold. That is what Jetavana Monastery
looked like.
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara then left the realm of Sukhāvatī and
went to Jetavana Monastery, and eventually arrived there. He went inside
Jetavana Monastery, bowed his head to the Bhagavat’s feet, and sat to one
side.319
2.92 The Bhagavat, with the voice of the cuckoo, asked, “Noble son, are you tired?
Are you weary? Have you completely ripened beings?”
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara said to the Bhagavat, “I have done
as the Bhagavat instructed. I have accomplished the task.”
The Bhagavat gave his approval, saying, “Noble son, it is excellent that you
have accomplished the task. Excellent.”
Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara offered lotus flowers to the
Bhagavat [F.242.a] and said, “Bhagavat, the tathāgata Amitābha presents you
with these lotus flowers and hopes you are not unwell, not fatigued, that you
 are in good health, and that life is pleasant.”
The Bhagavat accepted the lotuses and placed them on his left.
2.93 Then the deva Maheśvara came to the Bhagavat, bowed his head to the
Bhagavat’s feet, and said, “Bhagavat, I pray that you give me a prophecy.”
The Bhagavat said, “Go, noble son, to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara, who will give you the prophecy.”
So the deva Maheśvara went and bowed down to the feet of Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara and said, “I pay homage to Avalokiteśvara, great
lord, who holds a lotus,320 who has a lotus face, who loves the lotus, who has a
beautiful lotus in his hand, who has the splendor of lotuses, who travels
around, who brings relief to beings, who completely illuminates the world, and
who brings comfort.”
The deva Maheśvara praised Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara in that
way and then sat silently.
2.94 Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara asked the deva Maheśvara,
“Noble son, why are you silent?”
The deva Maheśvara answered, “I request the prophecy of my
unsurpassable true enlightenment.”
Avalokiteśvara said, “Noble son, in the world named Vivṛta, [F.242.b] you will
be the Tathāgata, the arhat, the samyaksaṃbuddha, perfect in wisdom and
conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who
tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the Bhagavat
Bhasmeśvara.”321
2.95 Then Umādevī came and bowed her head to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara’s feet and praised him, saying, “I pay homage to
Avalokiteśvara, great lord, who gives life, who completely illuminates the
world,322 who has a beautiful lotus in his hand,323 who has the splendor of
beautiful lotuses, who travels around, who brings beings to nirvāṇa, who
creates excellent minds, and who holds the Dharma.”
Umādevī praised Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara in that way and
then said, “I pray that you free me from this inferior female body of a woman. I
pray that you free me from the suffering of the dark impurities in the womb,
and from always being owned.”
2.96 Then Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara said to her, “Sister, your realm
will be on the southern324 slope of Himavat, the king of mountains.”325 You will
be the Tathāgata, the arhat, the samyaksaṃbuddha, perfect in wisdom and
conduct, the sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassable guide who
tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the buddha, the Bhagavat
Umeśvara.”
That was the prophecy that Umādevī received.
 The Bhagavat said, “Look, Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, [F.243.a] Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has given them prophecies of the highest complete
enlightenment. This, noble son, is entitled ‘the Maheśvara episode.’ ”326

2.97 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, Avalokiteśvara has

come. I who was blind can now see. Today my life has borne fruit. Today my
wishes have come true. Today my wishes have been fulfilled. Today my path to
enlightenment has been cleansed.327 I have been taught correct thought, the
dharmakāya, and nirvāṇa.”
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin then said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I pray that
you teach today the special qualities of Avalokiteśvara.”
2.98 The Bhagavat said, “Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it like this: there are the kings
of mountains Mount Cakravāla and Mount Mahācakravāla,328 the kings of
mountains Mount Mucilinda and Mount Mahāmucilinda,329 the kings of
mountains Mount Kāla and Mount Mahākāla, the kings of mountains Mount
Saṃsṛṣṭa and Mount Mahāsaṃsṛṣṭa,330 the king of mountains Mount
Pralambodara,331 the king of mountains Mount Anādarśaka, the king of
mountains Mount Kṛtsrāgata, the king of mountains Mount Jālinīmukha, the
king of mountains Mount Śataśṛṅga, the king of mountains Mount Bhavana,
the king of mountains Mount Mahāmaṇiratna, the king of mountains Mount
Sudarśana, and the king of mountains Mount Akāladarśana.
“I can calculate, noble son, the number, parts, and groups of how many
palas 332 are in those mountains, how many hundreds of palas, or thousands of
palas, or millions of trillions of palas, but, noble son, I cannot calculate
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation of merit.
2.99 “Noble son, it is like this: I can count each drop in the vast ocean, but, noble
son, I cannot calculate Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s accumulation
of merit. [F.243.b]
“Noble son, it is like this: I can count each leaf in a forest of agarwood trees,
but, noble son, I cannot calculate Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s
accumulation of merit.
“Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: If the king of mountains Sumeru
were to become birch bark, and if the vast ocean were to become an inkwell,333
and if all the men, women, boys, and girls who live in the four continents were
to become scribes, and if they were to write on the limitless, endless extent334 of
Mount Sumeru as birch bark, I would be able to count every single letter, but,
noble son, I cannot calculate Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s
accumulation of merit.
2.100 “Noble son, it is like this: If someone were to provide tathāgatas, arhats, and
samyaksaṃbuddhas as numerous as the grains of sand in twelve Ganges
Rivers with robes, food, bowls, bedding, seats, necessary medicine, and
 utensils for an eon, the accumulation of merit that would come from serving
those tathāgatas would only equal the merit of the tip of one hair on the body
of Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara.
2.101 “Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara [F.244.a] has many hundreds of thousands of samādhis: the
samādhi named Completely Defeating, the samādhi named Adorning, the
samādhi named Unadorning, the samādhi named Lightning’s Illumination,335
the samādhi named Being Patient, the samādhi named Great Brilliance, the
samādhi named Manifesting, the samādhi named Vajra Garland, the samādhi
named Sublime Gift, the samādhi named Hundred Strengths, the samādhi
named Endless Array,336 the samādhi named Summit of Mental Brilliance,337 the
samādhi named King’s Powers, the samādhi named Vajra Wall,338 the samādhi
named Vajra Doorway, the samādhi named Continuous Sublime Gift, the
samādhi named Liberation from the Senses,339 the samādhi named Liberation
from Anger, the samādhi named the Senses’ Sublime Illumination,340 the
samādhi named Day-Maker’s 341 Sublime Illumination,342 the samādhi named
Facing the Dharma, the samādhi named Vajra Womb, the samādhi named Well
Taught, the samādhi named Creating Nirvāṇa, the samādhi named Creating
Infinite Light Rays, the samādhi named Creating Yoga, the samādhi named
Scattering, the samādhi named Complete Illumination of the World,343 the
samādhi named Illumination of the Buddha Realms,344 the samādhi named
Facing Love,345 the samādhi named Wisdom’s Light,346 the samādhi named
Well Tamed,347 the samādhi named Abode of Beings,348 the samādhi named
Creating Inexhaustibility, the samādhi named Extinguishing Avīci, the
samādhi named Ocean Deep, the samādhi named Hundred Retinues, [F.244.b]
and the samādhi named Teaching the Path.349 Noble son, Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara has those samādhis.
2.102 “Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, it is like this: When the Tathāgata, the arhat, the
samyaksaṃbuddha, perfect in wisdom and conduct, the sugata, the knower of
the world, the unsurpassable guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods and
humans, the buddha, the Bhagavat Krakucchanda, appeared in this world, at
that time I was a bodhisattva named Dānaśūra.
“When I was in the presence of that tathāgata, I heard that description of the
qualities of Avalokiteśvara,350 and I saw these different samādhis of
Bodhisattva Samantabhadra and others.
2.103 “When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the samādhi named
Ascending Vajra, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the samādhi
named Scattering.351 When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the
samādhi named Moon’s Sublime Illumination,352 Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Avalokiteśvara was in the samādhi named Sun’s Sublime Illumination.353 When
 Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the samādhi named Sprinkling,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the samādhi named Treasury of
Space.
2.104 “When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the samādhi named
Plenitude, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the samādhi named
Indra’s Intelligence.354
“When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the samādhi named
Creating Indra, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the samādhi
named Indra’s Intelligence.355
“When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the samādhi named
Indra’s Way,356 [F.245.a] Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the
samādhi named Ocean Deep.
2.105 “When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the samādhi named
Intimidating Lion, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the samādhi
named Play of the Lion.
“When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra was in the samādhi named
Sublime Gift, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara was in the samādhi
named Drying Up Avīci.
“When Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra opened up his pores,
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara opened all his pores.357
2.106 “At that time, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Samantabhadra said to Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara, ‘Avalokiteśvara, it is excellent that you have this
capability. Excellent.’
“Then Tathāgata Krakucchanda said to Bodhisattva Mahāsattva
Samantabhadra, ‘Noble son, you have seen only a little of Bodhisattva
Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s prowess. Even the tathāgatas do not have
Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s prowess.’
“That is what I heard Krakucchanda say.”

2.107 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I pray that you

teach the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display,
so that we will enjoy and be satisfied by the taste of the Dharma.” [F.245.b]
The Bhagavat replied, “Noble son, those who hear the precious king of the
Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, will not have the obscuration
of previous karma. Those who, enamored of another’s wife, have sexual
intercourse with her; those who have killed their parents; those who have
killed an arhat; those who have destroyed stūpas; those who have maliciously
caused a tathāgata to bleed; and those who delight in such bad actions will be
freed from bad karma by the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of
the Basket’s Display.”
 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, how can I know
the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, which
brings freedom from all bad karma?”
The Bhagavat said, “Noble son, on the southern358 side of Sumeru, the king
of mountains, the seven359 samyaksaṃbuddhas examine the extent of stains
and stainlessness. I also am presently examining them.
“A white cloth becomes black,360 and a black cloth becomes white. When the
white cloth becomes black, that is like an accumulation of bad karma. When a
black cloth becomes white, that is like the accumulation of the Dharma.
2.108 “Noble son, in that way, the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra
of the Basket’s Display, burns up all bad karma. It makes it white. It eliminates all
obscurations. It is like this: For example, during the summer, plants and forests
become very green. Then the nāga king Śatamukha comes from his residence
and burns the grass, the bushes, the herbs, and the forests.
2.109 “Noble son, in that same way, this precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The
Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, burns up all bad karma. Those who hear the precious
king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The Sūtra of the Basket’s Display, will have
happiness. Noble son, they should not be known as ordinary beings. [F.246.a]
They should be seen as irreversible bodhisattvas. When they die, twelve
tathāgatas will come and reassure them, saying, ‘Do not be afraid, noble son, do
not be afraid. You have heard the precious king of the Mahāyāna sūtras, The
Sūtra of the Basket’s Display. You will no longer continue in saṃsāra. You will
never again see birth, aging, sickness, and death. You will not be separated
from that which is beloved and pleasant, and will not encounter that which is
disliked. You will go, noble son, to the realm of Sukhāvatī. You will hear the
Dharma from Tathāgata Amitābha.’ In that way, noble son, those beings will
have happiness.”

2.110 At this, Bodhisattva Mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara bowed his head to the

Bhagavat’s feet and departed.
Then Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin became silent.
The devas, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, gandharvas,361 garuḍas, kiṃnaras,
mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans all departed.
After they had departed, Brother Ānanda said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, I
pray that you teach us the vows of training.”
2.111 The Bhagavat said, “Those bhikṣus who wish to give complete ordination
should first go and examine the various locations. When they have examined
them, they should tell the other bhikṣus, ‘Noble ones,362 the various locations
are completely pure. There are no bones in those various locations. There are no
feces and urine. Those various places are completely pure and are worthy for
bhikṣus to give ordination.’
2.112 The Bhagavat said, “Those who have incorrect conduct should not give
ordination. They cannot even make the announcement of the request for
ordination, the intermediate motions, and the fourth.363 [F.246.b] What need is
there to say more? Bhikṣus, a bhikṣu with incorrect conduct cannot establish
the various locations for ordination, let alone make the fourth motion.364 They
destroy the teaching. Those who have incorrect conduct should not dwell
among those who receive offerings. They should dwell outside the monastery.
The saṅgha’s alms should not be given to them. They are not worthy to be in
the saṅgha. They have no part of being a bhikṣu.”
2.113 Brother Ānanda asked the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, in what time will they
become recipients of offerings?”
The Bhagavat said, “There will be those kinds of recipients of offerings three
hundred years after my passing into nirvāṇa. They will see the monastery as
their home. Sons and daughters will encircle them. They will use the saṅgha’s
seats, stools, clothing bags, cushions, and beds, which are prohibited to them.
They will urinate and defecate in the places the saṅgha uses, and they will be
reborn as insects in a cesspool of feces and urine in the great city of Vārāṇasī.365
2.114 “They will also spit in the places the saṅgha uses, not knowing the karma
that ripens from it. Those who spit in places the saṅgha uses will be reborn in a
sal tree forest as insects the size of the eye of a needle for twelve years.
“Those who use the toothpicks of the saṅgha, which are prohibited to them,
will be reborn as turtles, crocodiles, and fish.
“Those who use the saṅgha’s sesame, rice, millet,366 horse gram, and other
grains, which are not for them to eat, will be reborn in the city of the pretas.
They will be like burned tree trunks, like standing skeletons covered with hair,
with stomachs the size of mountains and mouths the size of a needle’s eye.
They will experience that kind of physical suffering.
2.115 “Those who use the food of the saṅgha to feed dogs will be reborn in a low
caste, with defective faculties, crippled and hunchbacked, [F.247.a] and unable
to look others in the face while begging. When they die, they will be reborn
with diseased bodies. They will have blood and pus dripping from their bodies;
the tendons in their bodies will shrink. When they stand up, red lumps of their
flesh will fall onto the ground, and their bones will be exposed. They will
experience that kind of suffering for many years, for many hundreds of
thousands of years.
2.116 “Those who use land exclusive to the saṅgha will be reborn in the Raurava
great hell for twelve eons. Lumps of red hot iron will be squeezed into their
mouths, burning them, destroying their lips and teeth, splitting their palates,
burning their throats, and burning their hearts and all their entrails until there
is nothing left but bones. Bhikṣus, at that time the winds of karma will blow,
and although they have died they will come back to life. Then Yama’s guards
 will again seize them. Their karma will come; they will be under the power of
their karma. Their tongues will become vast, and a hundred thousand plows
will plow them. They will experience that kind of suffering in that hell for
hundreds of thousands of years.
2.117 “When they die and leave that hell, they will be reborn in the Agnighaṭa
great hell. Yama’s guards will seize them and insert a hundred thousand
needles into their tongues. Then, through the power of karma, they will be
come back to life and will be hurled into a mass of flames. When they are cast
out from that mass of flames, they will be hurled into the Vaitarāṇi River.367
When they die, they will be reborn in other hells. They will wander in that way
for three eons. When they die and leave the hells, they will be reborn in
Jambudvīpa as poor people, blind from birth. Therefore, Ānanda, protect the
property of the saṅgha.
2.118 “Bhikṣus, those who have the vows of training should have the three
Dharma robes. One Dharma robe is worn by the saṅgha so that there will be
confidence in the saṅgha. The second robe is for when one goes to the king’s
palace. [F.247.b] The third robe is for when one goes to the villages, towns,
marketplaces, and hamlets. So the bhikṣus must have the three robes.
2.119 “Those bhikṣus who have good conduct, who have good qualities, and who
have wisdom368 should remember my words of instruction.
“Bhikṣus, the exclusive property of the Saṅgha, such as the embers of the
saṅgha’s fire, the smoke of the saṅgha, the vajras of the saṅgha, or the baggage
of the saṅgha, should not be used. There are remedies for poison, but there are
no remedies for using the property of the saṅgha.”369
2.120 Brother Ānanda said to the Bhagavat, “Bhagavat, every bhikṣu will
remember these words of instruction given by the Bhagavat and will keep the
pratimokṣa vows, will follow the Vinaya, and will preserve the Bhagavat’s
words of instruction.”

Then Brother Ānanda bowed his head to the Bhagavat’s feet and departed.
Then the mahāśrāvakas departed to their own buddha realms.
The devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, garuḍas, kiṃnaras, mahoragas,
humans, and nonhumans also departed.
The joyful Bhagavat had spoken these words, and the entire community and
the world with its devas, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced in what the
Bhagavat had said.

2.121 The noble Mahāyāna sūtra, “The Basket’s Display,” is concluded.

c. COLOPHON
c.1 Translated and revised by the Indian paṇḍitas Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, and by
Yeshé Dé, the translator and chief editor.
n. NOTES

1 Mette (2005).

2 Chandra (1999).

3 Toh 115 (http://read.84000.co/translation/UT22084-051-003.html), see Sakya

Pandita Translation Group (2012).

4 Toh 49 in the Heap of Jewels section, with the formal title Amitābhavyūhasūtra
(The Sūtra of the Array of Amitābha).

5 Karuṇāpuṇḍarīka (Toh 112), see Roberts and Bower (forthcoming).

6 Yü (2000), 293–350.

7 Pillar Testament (1989), 95–6, 108.

8 Uebach (1987, 7a).

9 See The Basket of the Jewels Sūtra, Toh 117.

10 Toh 507, see bibliography under The Dhāraṇī Named The Relic Casket.

11 See bibliography, under Dīpaṃkarajñāna and Śūra.

12 Lopez (1998), 114–34.

13 Martin (1987), 1.

14 Verhagen (1990), 133–138.

15 Cohen (2002), 67–68.

16 See sman gyi gzhi (Bhaiṣajyavastu), chapter 6 of the ’dul ba gzhi (Toh 1); ’dul ba rnam
par ’byed pa (Toh 3); and Rouse (1895), 127.

17 This is a Sanskritization of the name Valāhassa, which means “cloud horse.”

The version of the story in the Vinayavāstu was translated into Tibetan as rta’i
rgyal po sprin gyi shugs can, “the king of horses who has the power of the
clouds.”
18 In the tradition that enumerates Śākyamuni as the seventh buddha, Vipaśyin is
the first. The sūtra will introduce successively each buddha in order up to the
fifth.

19 According to the Sanskrit, aśīti-koṭyo, literally, “eighty ten millions.” Tibetan: bye
ba (“ten million”), “eighty” being omitted.

20 According to the Sanskrit; the Tibetan has sbas corrupted to sban.

21 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to be corrupt at this point,

adding another sentence mentioning both thirty-two and thirty-three classes of
deities: “Also, Īśvara, Nārāyaṇa, and the other deities of the thirty-two classes
of devas were assembled there. Also the deities of the thirty-three classes of
devas were assembled there. Assembled with such deities as the deity
Maheśvara, Āditya, Candra, Vāyu, and Varuṇa, were Śakra, the lord of the
devas, and Brahma, the lord of Sahā.”

22 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Huluta.”

23 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Nāga King Vahūdaka.”

24 According to the Cambridge. The Tibetan has blo gros chen po (a translation of
“Mahāmati,” a scribal error for “Sahāpati”). The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have
“Sahāṃpati.”

25 Following the Tibetan and Vaidya. Cambridge: “Maharṣita.”

26 Following the Tibetan and Vaidya. The Cambridge omits “Kiṃnara King
Druma.”

27 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

28 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

29 According to the Cambridge. The Tibetan has Pulinda, which is repeated a few
lines later. Absent in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

30 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has sa ri’i bzhin, with sa ri a corruption of
“Svāti.”

31 Vijayaśrī and Mucilindā are absent in the Tibetan and Cambridge.

32 According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. Absent in the Cambridge.

33 According to the Vaidya, “drop of water.” The Cambridge has only bindu. The
Tibetan has thigs pa, meaning “drop.”

34 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge (“hundred mounts”). The Vaidya has
śatabāhu (“hundred arms”).

35 According to the Tibetan. The first element comes from the Cambridge
manuscript compound (“Anākṛtsna-karā”), and the second from the Vaidya
(“Anākṛcchragatā”).
36 According to the Sanskrit. After Subhūṣaṇā, the Tibetan has “a female nāga
named thig le” (possible from Tilakā). We have omitted it.

37 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Vaidya has “Pāṇḍalameghā.”

38 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan de bzhin du chags pa appears to have been
translating from Tathāvirūdhā. According to the Cambridge, the female nāga
Nīlotpalā is listed after Rathābhiruḍhā here, though an apsaras has already
been given that name. We have omitted it.

39 According to the Cambridge and Tibetan. The Vaidya has “Tyāgagatā.”

40 According to the Cambridge. Absent in the Tibetan and Vaidya.

41 According to the Tibetan and Vaidya. The Cambridge has “Nillau.”

42 According to the Cambridge. The Vaidya has “Mukharā”; the Tibetan translates
from “Sukhakarā.”

43 According to the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya (“joyful flower”). The Cambridge and
Tibetan have rudita puṣpa (“weeping flower”), which seems anomalous here.

44 According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. Absent in the Cambridge.

45 According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. The Cambridge has

audumvararudita and the Tibetan has me tog u dum ba ra’i lto ba, both implying a
second part to the compound, although the Cambridge appears corrupt and the
Tibetan “stomach” also has a dubious origin.

46 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. Absent in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

47 According to the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya. Absent in the Cambridge and Tibetan.

48 According to the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya. The Cambridge has “Padmālaṃbā.”

Either that or Padmālaṃbāna translated into Tibetan as pad ma’i dmigs.

49 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the obscure cha bas dbang po.

50 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge; occurs earlier in the Sāmaśrami and
Vaidya.

51 According to the Sāmaśrami, Vaidya, and Tibetan. The Cambridge has devavara-
locana.

52 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have
“Suvaca.” The Tibetan has three additional names: ’khor gyis yongs su bskor ba,
mchog dga’, and dam pa’i dpal.

53 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

54 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

55 According to the Tibetan, Sāmaśrami, and Vaidya. The Cambridge has

“Ākāśayūvanā.”
56 According to the Cambridge. The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have “Acalaśrī.”

57 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge (last two letters illegible). Absent in
the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

58 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. Absent in the Sāmaśrami and Vaidya.

59 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has blo gros chen mo, a translation of
“Mahāmati,” itself a scribal error of “Sahāpati.” The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya
have “Sahāṃpati.”

60 The Cambridge has śatā. The Tibetan has bdog ma, translated from a corruption.

61 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates from a corruption, beginning

with akṣa instead of lakṣa.

62 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Sāmaśrami and Vaidya have
yogānugatā.

63 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

64 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

65 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “hundreds.”

66 Nirgrantha in its general meaning as “one with no possessions.” The Tibetan

has gcer bu pa, “naked ones,” which would refer specifically to Jains, but that
does not appear to be the meaning here.

67 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has rgya’i gos (“Chinese cloth”), perhaps
from cīnakavastra or cīnavastra, a corruption of cīvaravastra (“monastic robes”).
rgya’i gos does not occur anywhere else in the Kangyur, whereas “monastic
robes, sometimes made of divine material” occurs elsewhere along with
“parasols, victory banners, etc.” “Chinese cloth” would be silk, which is next in
the list of hangings.

68 According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “strings of pearls.”

69 Water of the eight good qualities is: cool; delicious; light; soft; clear; unstained;
not harmful to the stomach; and not harmful to the throat.

70 Strictly speaking only the padma (red lotus) and puṇḍarika (white lotus) are
lotuses. The utpala (blue lotus) is a water lily, as is the kuduma (night-flowering
water lily).

71 Māndārava, and mahāmāndārava. The author, in copying lists of flowers from

earlier sutras, has placed tree flowers on the pond. Tiger claw or Indian coral
trees (Erythrina stricta) are trees prized for their beauty and are believed to grow
in Indra’s paradise. The greater tiger claw tree is presumably Erythrina variegata,
which grows much taller.

72 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Mahāsattva.”

73 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “It was he who emanated these
light rays.”

74 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has this passage as a description of the
events instead of the thoughts of Yama’s guards: “At that time Yama’s
creatures were dismayed as they saw bad omens appear in the Avīci hell, for
when the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara arrived there, lotus flowers the size of
cartwheels…”

75 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has btun, “pestle,” which is an

alternative meaning of musala.

76 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “taking all their Avīci utensils.”

77 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Divine One, you don’t know? First
an inauspicious…”

78 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “peaceful,” and makes this omen
occur on Avalokiteśvara’s entry into hell: “…a being, handsome, with a topknot
and his body having all adornments, came and it became cool.”

79 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “…with an extremely loving mind,
and resembling a golden statue.”

80 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan interpreted mahārāvaṇa incorrectly as

“the elephant of the gods,” a name for Indra’s elephant.

81 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates pṛthivīvaralocanakarāya as “the

eyes of the world.”

82 According to the Cambridge and Tibetan. The Vaidya omits “who teaches the
six perfections; who illuminates like the sun…” The Tibetan translates this as
“who creates perfect eyes like the sun.”

83 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “who manifests as the supreme
rishi.”

84 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “who creates abundance.”

85 In other words, two cobras tied together and worn diagonally over the torso
across one shoulder, as a brahmin’s thread. Śiva is also depicted wearing this.

86 According to the Tibetan (phra men pha dang phra men ma). Not present in the
Sanskrit.

87 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “who has profound wisdom.”

88 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Then they contemplated human
existence.”

89 The Tibetan ’jig tshogs means “an aggregation that is destroyed.” The Sanskrit
satkāya means “existent accumulation,” a secondary meaning of kāya, which is
 usually translated as sku, meaning “body.” The mountain is singular in the
Sanskrit and has twenty peaks, which are the views of the relationship of the
self to each of the five skandhas or aggregates—i.e., the self is form, form
possesses self, self possesses form, and self is located within form—and the
same for the other four aggregates (sensations, identifications, mental
activities, and consciousnesses), which comes to twenty views.

90 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “from the city of the pretas.”

91 Liṅga was translated into Tibetan as rtags, which can mean “sign,” “emblem,” or
“gender.” The etymology of liṅga is here given a fanciful etymology from the
verb līyana (“dissolve”), which is lost in translation.

92 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “flowers.”

93 The seven jewels are listed here in the order given in Cambridge, and in
agreement with the second time they are listed.

94 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation of these phrases is obscure.

95 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Shambala.”

96 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and others.”

97 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “departed in one direction.”

98 Śayanāsana, literally, “sleeping-sitting,” can mean “bed and seat” as translated

into Tibetan (mal stan). However, it is also a Buddhist term for a monk’s cell or
dwelling.

99 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan transliterates and does not translate the
Sanskrit for “hyenas” (tarakṣu, though tarakṣa would mean “wolf”) and omits
“camels, jackals.”

100 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “statues.”

101 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has ngal bso po, the translation of viśrama
(“tranquility”).

102 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “He says to the listening asuras.”

103 The dialogue between the Buddha and Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkhambin is absent in

both the Tibetan and Cambridge. It has been added here from the Sāmaśrami as
the narrative is more confusing without it.

104 In Indian literature such as the Pūraṇas, those beings that do not produce
descendants are reborn in a realm where the inhabitants continually hang
upside down. The seven underworlds, called patala, include realms made of
gold. The implication here is that Avalokiteśvara is traveling through the
underworlds, one of which is ruled by Bali, which this sūtra describes as being
made of iron. The hells and the preta realm are also located below the ground.
105 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the peculiar “Show us the path of
liberation that creates sensation.”

106 The Sanskrit editions added an extra sentence here: “As he approached, King
Bali saw him in the distance, resembling a disk of gold emitting light rays of
various colors.” This would easily have been omitted when copying a
manuscript, since the next sentence begins in a similar way.

107 One example of these names being used separately for two attendants, as
opposed to the compound name Kubjavāmanaka for one asura, is found in verses
31–32 and 35–36 in chapter 69 of the Bṛhatsaṃhita by Varāhamihira (505–587 ᴄᴇ),
where Kubja and Vāmanaka are listed as separate attendants of kings. See
Varāhamihira (1869), 287.

108 This is a poetic metaphor for a face covered or darkened by tears as clouds
darken the land.

109 List of jewelry is given according to the Tibetan.

110 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “I became astonished on having
become…”

111 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation is obscure.

112 The English translation of the Chinese translation adds here that there were
five hundred locks on each door.

113 “Son of Daśaratha” is another name for “Rāma,” who came to be regarded as
one of Nārāyaṇa’s (i.e., Viṣṇu’s) incarnations. The English translation of the
Chinese translation has Nārāyaṇa transforming into these different beings.

114 According to the Sanskrit the five named kṣatriyas are the five Pāṇḍava
brothers, and the Kaurava brothers were their enemies. This is the principal
theme of the Mahābhārata epic.

115 This passage is awkward in the original text, as from this point on, descriptions
of Bali shift from first-person voice to third-person voice. In this translation we
have maintained the first-person voice throughout, as noted in the
introduction.

116 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the literal but obscure translation
“being of time.”

117 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “weapons” instead of “long spear
and short spear.”

118 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and the others.”

119 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “having been expelled from the
offering site.”
120 According to the Gilgit manuscript. This passage is corrupted in later
manuscripts and translated into Tibetan as “like a creator.”

121 At this point in the original, the narrative switches back to the first person,
though the next sentence has one incident of Bali in the third person in his own
narrative.

122 “Omniscient buddha” here is referring to Amitābha.

123 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “eyes of the world.”

124 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Avīci.”

125 The text has only “hundred thousand,” assuming that the reader will know this
refers to the silver coin, the raupya, the origin of the present day rupee, which
was tied to the value of silver until the end of the nineteenth century.

126 According to the Cambridge and Tibetan.

127 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “others.”

128 According to the Cambridge: kiṃ mayā pāparatena sattvena karma kṛtam.

129 This is the Jetavana Monastery of Buddha Viśvabhū, and not the Jetavana
Monastery in which Buddha Śākyamuni is relating the sūtra.

130 See note 67.

131 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “an extremely dreadful.”

132 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has simply “I have been ripening many
beings.”

133 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “rested.”

134 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “promulgate.”

135 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “one four-line verse that is the root
of this king…”

136 See note 135.

137 See note 98.

138 See note 135.

139 See note 135.

140 See note 135.

141 According to the Tibetan. The Cambridge only lists “once-returner.” The other
later Sanskrit editions have a complete list of attainments: “Some attained the
result of a stream entrant, some attained the result of becoming a once-returner,
some attained the result of becoming a non-returner, some attained the state of
an arhat, and some attained enlightenment.”
142 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Stay in this vihāra!”

143 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and gave him the divine
clothing.”

144 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “homes with drink” and “a variety
of multicolored beds.”

145 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. See note 141 for the fuller list given in
other Sanskrit editions.

146 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and we will keep the upāsikā
vows.”

147 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “namo dharmāya, namaḥ saṃghāya”
(“Homage to the Buddha, homage to the Dharma, homage to the Saṅgha”).

148 See note 147.

149 See note 89.

150 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “they all rested.”

151 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “rested.”

152 See note 151.

153 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “Supreme Eyes of the
Wish-fulfilling Jewel.”

154 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Dharma King.”

155 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “the samādhi named Descending
into the Ocean.”

156 According to the Tibetan (shin tu gnas pa), Cambridge, and Sāmaśrami
(supratiṣṭha).

157 According to the Tibetan (dga’ ba sbyin par byed pa) and the Cambridge
(priyaṃdada).

158 According to the Tibetan (rdo rje rgyal mtshan), Cambridge, and Sāmaśrami
(vajradhvaja).

159 According to the Tibetan (’jig rten thams cad la rnam par lta ba), Cambridge, and
Sāmaśrami (sarvvalokadhātuvyavalokana).

160 According to the Tibetan (ma lus ’ongs ba) and Sāmaśrami (kṛtsangata).

161 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “Supreme Eyes of the
Moon.”

162 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Divine Eyes” (from a corruption of
rocana to locana).
163 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “The Continent of the
Eon,” from the alternative meaning of dvīpa that here means “lamp.”

164 According to the Tibetan. Omitted in the Sanskrit.

165 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Divine Earrings.”

166 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “The Great Continent,”
from the alternative meaning of dvīpa that here means “lamp.”

167 According to the Tibetan. Omitted in the Sanskrit.

168 According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

169 According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

170 According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

171 According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

172 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Array of Nāgas” (klu bkod pa), from
a corruption of nāmavyuha to nāgavyuha.

173 Arcturus is the brightest star in the northern sky.

174 According to the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

175 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “named Siṃhalarāja.”

176 Ratnadvīpa, Siṃhala, and Rākṣasidvīpa (“island of rākṣasīs”) are normally

synonyms, but here “Ratnadvīpa” appears to be differentiated. The Gilgit
manuscript also has “Ratnadvīpa,” but the Cambridge manuscript has
“Jambudvīpa.”

177 “Yavanadvīpa” (nas kyi gling) appears only in the Tibetan.

178 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Vaidya has “Land of the
Rākṣasas.” See also note 176.

179 The original text is inconsistent in making the island singular or plural.

180 The original text is inconsistent in switching to the third person “the
merchants.”

181 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “extremely aged,” which is not the
intended meaning here.

182 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “from two or three to seven days.”

183 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translation, not comprehending the
unusual word used for lamp in the Sanskrit, assumes it is the sleeping woman
who is laughing (see Introduction, i.30).

184 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates it as “to the right,” an
alternative meaning for dakṣiṇa. The Vinaya version of the story (’dul ba gzhi)
 translates this correctly as lho at first but later in the story use g.yas, “right,”
even though they are describing the same road.

185 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “city.”

186 At this point the narrative in the original changes briefly from first to third
person.

187 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “sword that glowed like moonlight
named ‘provision for me.’ ”

188 At this point the narrative changes back to first person.

189 … “inside [who] heard me” is absent in the manuscript; it has been added to
make the narrative clearer in English.

190 The herb is unidentified and may be fictional. The Vinaya version (’dul ba gzhi)
has “the wild rice that does not need to be farmed” (ma smos ma btab pa’i ’bras sa
lu’i ’bru), which is considered superior to farmed rice. “Wild rice” there
translates taṇḍulaphalaśa. Other names for rice include śetaśala, sarvasaṃgata, and
śvetaṇḍula. Therefore this may be the origin of the name for this mythical herb.

191 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “they all rested.”

192 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only two repetitions.

193 In the original this passage began with the plural for both “rākṣasī” and
“merchant,” but then changed to singular.

194 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and the delightful bathing
pools.”

195 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and a variety of delightful
bathing pools.”

196 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only two repetitions.

197 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “adorned by red lotuses,”
presumably translating from a corruption of padmarāga to padmarakta.

198 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “leaf huts.”

199 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “the suffering and happiness of
beings in saṃsāra.”

200 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “deeply contemplate emptiness in
that way.”

201 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “cause to be written out.”

202 According to the Sanskrit, caṇḍāla, a term that is used for all those outside the
caste system or those with the lowest status among them, or more specifically,
 those who deal with dead bodies. The Tibetan translates as phyag dar pa
(“sweeper”).

203 According to the Sanskrit, kukkura. The Tibetan translates as rme sha can (“one
with spotted flesh”), which has various definitions including “butcher.”

204 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “lame, hunchbacked, bent, knock-
kneed, large-bodied, and having leprosy.”

205 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “he did not even see those who live
in each of those pores, let alone any other bodhisattvas [being able to see
them].”

206 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “and did not even see [them], why
should I go?”

207 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Noble son, I am unwavering,
without illusion, and appear as subtle.” The reading of “I” is from a corruption
of ayam (“this [bodhisattva]”) to aham (“I”).

208 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “imperceptible.”

209 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “without form.”

210 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “without mind.”

211 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Lord of the family.” The family is
that of the bodhisattvas or Mahāyāna.

212 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “and becomes a shadow on/in all
phenomena.”

213 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “or hear.”

214 According to the Cambridge (svabhāvakāyaṃ) and the Tibetan (rang bzhin gyi lus).
The Vaidya has svabhāvakā (“nature”).

215 According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit omits “inconceivable.”

216 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “rested his cheek on his hand.”
This is a gesture of despondency.

217 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “following the three paths.”

218 The Tibetan has only bdud rtsi (amṛta).

219 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “first mind.”

220 See note 71.

221 Translated into Tibetan as “Vajra Door.”

222 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “adorned by red lotuses,”
presumably translating from a corruption of padmarāga to padmarakta.
223 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “rested.”

224 This is presumably the name of a hell. Translated into Tibetan literally as “Vajra
Mountain.”

225 The list of hells is according to the Tibetan.

226 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “there would be none who know.”

227 Naga King Vāsuki omitted in the Tibetan.

228 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “the ground.”

229 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “seven, eight generations will
obtain [it].”

230 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “or on their throat.”

231 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “with their hand.”

232 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “which pacifies desire and
hatred.”

233 According to the Cambridge (dharmagaṃjasya) and Tibetan (chos kyi mdzod). The
Vaidya has dharmarājasya (“Dharma king”).

234 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “imperishable.”

235 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Vaidya adds the dubious “the
realm named Padmottama.”

236 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “I can calculate.”

237 Unidentified. Tibetan texts refer to the source of the Indus by this name. There
is also a river of that name in South India, though it is not likely to be referred to
here. This does not refer to the Tarim River of Sinkiang, which is also known as
the Sītā.

238 The Tibetan transliterates as “Gaṅga.”

239 The Tibetan transliterates as “Sindhu.”

240 Unidentified, though Tibetan texts use this name for the source of the
Brahmaputra.

241 The Tibetan transliterates as “Śatadru.”

242 The Tibetan transliterates as “Candrabhaga.”

243 The Tibetan transliterates as “Airavati.” The Sanskrit has “Erāvatī,” though it is
primarily known as Irāvatī.

244 Unidentified. Possibly the Son River.

245 Unidentified. “Himarati” in Vaidya. “Himakala” in Tibetan. Possibly the Kali

Gandaki.
246 Written as “Kodapari” in the Tibetan; “Kalaśodari” in the Sanskrit; and
“Kalasodarī” in the Cambridge.

247 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates jambuka as “fox.”

248 “Hour” here translates muhurta, but as there are thirty muhurta in a day, this
“hour” is forty-eight minutes long.

249 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “I can count the number of years,
months, days, hours, and minutes of time that would take.”

250 According to the Tibetan, sa bdun pa, and the Cambridge manuscript saptami-
bhūmi. The Vaidya has daśabhūmi (“tenth bhūmi”).

251 This is according to the lunisolar calendar. When the year of twelve lunar
months falls thirty days behind the solar year, an extra month, a leap-month, is
added.

252 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “bowls.”

253 See note 98.

254 According to the Tibetan.

255 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “through eight maṇḍalas” through a
corruption in Sanskrit that has loss of the negative and adṛṣta (“not-seen”)
becoming aṣṭa (“eight”).

256 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only “lotus” and omits “hook.”
Amitābha’s hand gesture (mudrā) is portrayed in the maṇḍala.

257 This hand gesture is portrayed in the maṇḍala as being performed by

Mahāmaṇidhara.

258 This hand gesture is portrayed in the maṇḍala as being performed by

Ṣaḍakṣarī.

259 According to the Sanskrit.

260 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “four corners.”

261 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “individual implements.”

262 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “mantras.”

263 In the original text the narrative suddenly changes here from Padmottama’s
first-person narration to Śākyamuni’s narration.

264 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “queen of.”

265 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the vighnas and vināyakas being
frightened and the others fleeing.

266 According to the Cambridge and Sāmaśrami. The Tibetan has only Padma.
Vaidya, though it had Padmottama earlier, has Patrottama at this point.
267 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “statues.”

268 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan and Cambridge have this further on in
the list, before “the samādhi of Seeing All the Tathāgatas.”

269 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Possessing the Six Perfections.”

270 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “recites, and is completely focused
on.”

271 According to the Cambridge (jaṃgamayuṣyatitha, corruption of jagadāyuṣyatitha).

Omitted in the Vaidya. The Tibetan has “should be seen as the shore of the
merit of beings.”

272 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “merit,” which was conjoined with
the preceding phrase.

273 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “should be seen as being like the
Ganges and all sacred places.”

274 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits.

275 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Dharma treasury.”

276 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “his conduct is not controlled.”

277 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “cloth from China.” The Sāmaśrami
and Vaidya follow this with dhyuṣitāni, which is not included in the Cambridge
or Tibetan.

278 See note 71.

279 According to the Sanskrit vārṣika. The Tibetan has vāraṣikā. The name means “a
monsoon flower.” It is described as white and fragrant. Though the Sanskrit
dictionary gives Arabian jasmine (Jasminum sambac), the description matches
gardenia (Gardenia gummifera).

280 According to the Tibetan compound kunda (Jasminum multiflorum) and dhyuṣita
(white). The Sanskrit has śakunakādhyuṣita. The Cambridge has śakuntādhyuṣita.

281 According to the Sanskrit, vimalika. The Tibetan has vimānaka.

282 Transliterated into Tibetan as vyaśārika. The Vaidya has śālika, but the
Cambridge has śārikā. The myna is a vocalizer that has always been a popular
house pet in India, the Gracula religiosa or the Turdus salica.

283 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “his conduct was not controlled.”

284 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “I lack the highest complete
enlightenment, so…”

285 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Give me the completely pure state
of great stability.”
286 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “unequalled.”

287 Literally “Indra garments.” This obscure term is found only in this sūtra. It
appears in the Sanskrit to be a kind of compound called madhyamapadalopī,
“omission of the middle word.” As this appears to be in a list referring to colors
of cloth, the first part of the compound is presumably short for indradhanu,
indrayudha, or indrakārmuka, all meaning “rainbow.”

288 According to the Sanskrit. The obscure word dhyuṣita is found only in this sūtra.
It is also used to describe star jasmine earlier in the sūtra, which has been
interpreted as “bright white.” It has also been interpreted as a variant of a word
meaning “dwell,” and therefore the Tibetan translates it as “dwelling” (literally
“based”) garments. Edgerton sees it as related to duṣya, which he interprets as
meaning “very fine” when applied to cloth.

289 According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has just divasa (“day”), which is
presumably short for divasakara (“day-maker”), a common term for the sun.

290 The Sāmaśrami has nagnaśravaṇeṣu and the Vaidya has nagnaśramaneṣu, which
are here synonymous. This could refer to Jains—monks of the Digambara sect
are always naked—but nakedness was also a common feature among Śaivite
and Vaiśnavite ascetics. The Cambridge has nagnaśávareṣu (“naked savages”),
referring to the tribal people living in the mountains of present day Orissa. The
Tibetan is based on a similar version, but with the compound divided into two,
“naked ones and mountain men” (gcer bu pa dang ri mi).

291 This is the traditional division of the twelve kinds of teachings given by the
Buddha. See “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

292 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “What is the essence?”

293 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “with their hands.”

294 See note 98.

295 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has mkhan po for dharma upādhyāya, or
“preceptor.”

296 This is referring to Amitābha.

297 The mantra itself has seven times ten million buddhas. The compiler must have
been aware of the apparent contradiction and is presumably stating that in this
sūtra a greater number of buddhas are reciting this mantra than did so in the
Cundī sūtra. See also note 299.

298 According to the Tibetan and Cambridge. The Vaidya and Sāmaśrami have
cunye.

299 This is the mantra of the Goddess Cundi in the form written in The Dhāranī
Named Goddess Cunde (folio 46b7). However, it is oṁ cale cule cundi svāhā, the form
 that is popular in Chinese Buddhism, in the same text as repeated in the
Dhāraṇī section of the Kangyur (The Dhāranī Named Goddess Cunde, folio 143a5).
Cale cule cunde are the vocative forms of Calā, Culā, and Cundā, three variations
of her name. Cundi is the vocative for Cundī. The words seventy million buddhas
are a reference to her being the mother of seventy million buddhas as described
in her sūtra, which was not translated into Tibetan, but was translated into
Chinese (The Dhāraṇī of Cundī). This sūtra was evidently popular in India at the
time of the creation of the Kāraṇḍavyūhasūtra, at least in its present form.

300 Here the narrative abruptly changes to continue on directly from the
description of the previous pore (Vajramukha). No attempt has been made to
smooth this fracture of the original.

301 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan did not translate but transliterated it as
śaridaka.

302 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “many hundreds of thousands.”

303 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and jewels.”

304 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “many.”

305 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “ninety thousand.”

306 According to the Sanskrit, cittarāja. The Tibetan had sna tshogs kyi rgyal po (“King
of Variety”), translating citrarāja. The Chinese has “Painting King,” which was
also translating citrarāja.

307 Not the same as the identically named “seven jewels of the cakravartin.” The
seven jewels were associated with the seven heavenly bodies: ruby, moonstone
or pearl, coral, emerald, yellow sapphire, diamond, and blue sapphire.

308 According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Cambridge has “the trunks are
red, and the leaves are red-gold.” Tibetan has “the trunks are red pearl, and the
leaves are gold and silver.” For consistency in the description of the trees, the
Vaidya and Sāmaśrami versions have been followed.

309 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the verb “hung” used for both the
jewels and the adornments.

310 According to the Cambridge (Dvhajārāja) and Tibetan (rgyal mtshan gyi rgyal po).
The Vaidya and Sāmaśrami have Dhvajāgra.

311 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “ninety-nine thousand multistoried
palaces.”

312 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “divine.”

313 According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit omits “and jewels.”

314 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “they face Jambudvīpa and teach
the Dharma.”

315 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits mahoragas.

316 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “in a realm within this universe.”

317 The preceding two paragraphs were absent in the Tibetan, and could easily
have been omitted in the copying of the Sanskrit manuscripts.

318 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “divine magnolia trees appeared
and divine lotus pools appeared.”

319 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits.

320 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “who holds a lotus.”

321 “Lord of Ashes,” according to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has only Iśvara (“Lord”).

322 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “who creates the eyes of
the world.”

323 According to the Cambridge (śubha-padma-hastāya) and Tibetan (pad ma bzang po

phyag na mnga’ ba). Omitted in the Vaidya and Sāmaśrami.

324 According to the Sanskrit.

325 Himavat (“having snow”) is also an alternative name for the Himalayas.

326 “Noble son” is from the Sanskrit, which makes it clear that this sentence is a
continuation of Śākyamuni’s speech. Otherwise it could seem to be the
description of a conclusion of a section of the book. The uncommon word
nirvyūha, used for the two parts this sūtra is divided into, was translated in the
Tibetan version as le’u, which is more commonly used to translate parivarta and
normally means a chapter. Neither the Cambridge manuscript nor the Tibetan
has a chapter division at this point in the text—unlike later Sanskrit
manuscripts, which have here and elsewhere a number of additional divisions
into chapters, which they call prakaraṇa. The text from which the Chinese
translation was made included neither this Maheśvara episode, nor the
preceding description of the oceans coming from Avalokiteśvara’s toe. This
strange final sentence of the Maheśvara episode, therefore, in which the
Buddha is giving a title and text division to what has occurred, is probably
indicative of yet another case of unskillful compilation in this sūtra.

327 The Tibetan has translated this freely as “my path is without obstacles.”

328 These are probably synonymous with Cakravāḍa and Mahācakravāḍa in other
sūtras, which can refer either to the submarine mountain that contains the hells
or the circle of mountains around the edge of the world.

329 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Mahāmucilinda.”

330 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Mahāsaṃsṛṣṭa.”

331 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “Pralambodhara.”

332 A pala is said to be the equivalent to the weight of 640 grains of rice. The weight
of four rice grains is called one guñjā; five guñjās are one paṇa; eight paṇas are
one karṣa; and four karṣas are one pala. In practice the actual weight of the pala
varied in different regions and when used for different purposes, ranging in
modern equivalents from 30 to 50 grams. The Tibetan srang is roughly
equivalent to the pala, and is often translated into English as “ounce,”
although it is somewhat more (an avoirdupois ounce is 28 grams, a troy ounce
31 grams).

333 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has just “ink.”

334 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “write on the endless.”

335 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “Eyes of Lightning.”

336 According to the Cambridge (anantavyūha) and Tibetan (bkod pa mtha’ yas pa). The
Vaidya and Sāmaśrami have andhavyūha.

337 According to the Sanskrit, Pratibhānakūṭa. The Cambridge has Pratibhāsakūṭa,

“Mountain of Brilliant Light”; the Sāmaśrami has the corrupt Pratihāsakūṭa,
“Mountain of Laughter.” The Tibetan has spobs pa’i phung po, agreeing with
Vaidya; spobs pa is the standard Tibetan translation of pratibhāna.

338 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “the samādhi named Vajra Wall.”

339 According to the Tibetan and Sāmaśrami. The Cambridge has “purification of
the senses” (-śodhano instead of -mocano).

340 The Tibetan translates locana (“illumination”) as “eyes.” The Cambridge has
śodhana (“purification”). The Vaidya and Sāmaśrami have candra-(instead of
indriya) vara-locana (“The Moon’s Sublime Illumination”).

341 “Day-maker” (Sanskrit: divakara, Tibetan: nyin byed) is an epithet for the sun.

342 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “The Sun’s Sublime Eyes.”

343 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “The Complete Eyes of the
World.”

344 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “The Sacred Eyes of the
Buddha Realms.”

345 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “Facing the Deeds to Be Done.”

346 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits.

347 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits.

348 According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit omits.

349 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits.

350 According to the Tibetan.

351 According to the Cambridge (vikirṇa) and Tibetan (’thor ba). The Vaidya has the
corrupt vividhamādhi, and the Sāmaśrami has viviṇamādhi.

352 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “Sacred Eyes of the Moon.”

353 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “Sacred Eyes of the Sun.”

354 This paragraph omitted in the Tibetan.

355 This paragraph only in the Tibetan.

356 According to the Tibetan. The Vaidya has bhadrarāja (“excellent king”), the
Sāmaśrami has rāja (“king”), and the Cambridge has Indrarāja (“Indra king”).

357 The Tibetan uses the same word for “open” while the Sanskrit has two different
synonyms.

358 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as “the right hand side,”
another meaning of the word dakṣiṇa.

359 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “six buddhas.”

360 Literally “blue,” but in Sanskrit this is a euphemism for “black.”

361 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “gandharvas.”

362 Bhadanta, a relic from the Middle Indic language of the original monastic
communities, which in its Sanskritized form would be bhadrānta, “one who has
the utter limit of goodness.” It is translated into Tibetan as btsun po, “noble
one.”

363 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan here is particularly obscure: “They
should not do the supplication and the fourth.” See also note 364.

364 The announcement that someone wishes to take ordination, followed by three
inquiries as to whether any bhikṣu present has an objection, are together called
“the four motions.”

365 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and they will be reborn as insects
in a cesspool of feces and urine in the great city of Vārāṇasī.”

366 “Kodrava” is specifically Paspalum scrobiculatum, which is kodo millet. The

Tibetan has rgya shug, or “jujubes.”

367 Generally in Indian mythology the Vaitarāṇi River is analogous to the River
Styx, as it separates the living from the dead. However, in the context of the
hells it is simply another place of suffering.

368 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and who have wisdom.”

369 According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “using the property of.”
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Ronald M. Davidson and Christian Wedemeyer, 55–72. Leiden: EJ Brill, 2006.

Varāhamihira. The Bṛhat-Samhitā or Complete System of Natural Astrology, trans.

Hendrik Kern. London: Trubner & Co., 1869.

Verhagen, P.C. “The Mantra ‘Oṁ maṇi-padme hūṁ’ in an Early Tibetan

Grammatical Treatise.” In The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist
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Yü, Chün-fang. Kuan-yin: The Chinese Transformation of Avalokiteśvara. New York:
Columbia University Press, 2001.
g. GLOSSARY

g.1 Adbhūtadharma
chos rmad du byung ba
ས་ད་་ང་བ།
adbhūtadharma
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means descriptions of miracles.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.2 Āditya
nyi ma
་མ།
Āditya
In the Vedas, the name originally meant “child of Aditi” so that in some texts it refers to a group of
deities. However, in the Kāraṇḍavyūha it has the later meaning of being synonymous with Surya, the
deity of the sun. It was translated into Tibetan simply as the common word for sun.

g.3 Affliction
nyon mongs
ན་མོངས།
kleśa
Negative qualities in the mind, the basic three being ignorance, attachment, and aversion.

g.4 Aggregate
phung po
ང་པོ།
skandha
The constituents that make up a being’s existence: form, sensations, identifications, mental activities,
and consciousnesses.

g.5 Agni
me lha
་།
Agni
The Vedic deity of fire. The name can also mean fire, particularly the sacrificial fire.

g.6 Agnighaṭa
me’i rdza ma
་་མ།
 Agnighaṭa
This might be a variation on the name for the third of the eight hot hells, the “crushing hell,” (Tib. bsdus
’joms, Skt. saṃghāta) as the name occurs in no other sūtra than the Kāraṇḍavyūha.

g.7 Amṛta
bdud rtsi
བད་།
amṛta
The divine nectar that prevents death.

g.8 Amṛtabindu
bdud rtsi
བད་།
Amṛtabindu
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.9 Anāthapiṇḍada
mgon med pa la zas sbyin pa
མན་ད་པ་ལ་ཟས་ན་པ།
Anāthapiṇḍada
Anāthapiṇḍada was a wealthy merchant in the town of Śrāvastī, who became a patron of Buddha
Śākyamuni. He bought the Jeta Park there to be the Buddha’s first monastery. He is better known in the
West by the alternative Pāli form Anāthapiṇḍika.

g.10 Apasmāra
brjed byed
བད་ད།
apasmāra
This is the name for epilepsy, but also refers to the demon that causes epilepsy and loss of
consciousness, as in the Kāraṇḍavyūha. The Tibetan specifically means “causing forgetting.”

g.11 Apsaras
lha mo
་མོ།
apsaras
The “apsarases” are popular figures in Indian culture, they are said to be goddesses of the clouds and
water and to be wives of the gandharvas. However, in the Kāraṇḍavyūha, they are presented as the female
equivalent of the devas. Therefore the Tibetan has translated them as if the word were devī (“goddess’’).

g.12 Arhat
dgra bcom pa
ད་བམ་པ།
arhat
Used as both an epithet of the Buddha and the final accomplishment of early Buddhism, or the
Hīnayāna.

g.13 Asura
lha ma yin
་མ་ན།
asura
The asuras are the enemies of the devas, fighting with them for supremacy.
g.14 Avadāna
rtogs pa brjod pa
ོགས་པ་བད་པ།
avadāna
As one of the twelve aspects of Dharma, it means stories of previous lives of beings.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.15 Avalokiteśvara
spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug
ན་རས་གགས་དབང་ག
Avalokiteśvara
First appeared as a bodhisattva beside Amitābha in the Sukhāvativyūha. The name has been variously
interpreted. “The lord of Avalokita,” Avalokita has been interpreted as “seeing,” although, as a past
passive participle, it is literally “lord of what has been seen.” One of the principal sūtras in the
Mahāsamghika tradition was the Avalokita Sūtra, which has not been translated into Tibetan, in which
the word is a synonym for enlightenment, as it is “that which has been seen” by the buddhas. In the
early tantras, he was one of the lords of the three families, as the embodiment of the compassion of the
buddhas. The Potalaka Mountain in South India became important in Southern Indian Buddhism as his
residence in this world, but Potalaka does not feature in the Kāraṇḍavyūha.

g.16 Avīci
bstir med · mnar med
བར་ད། · མནར་ད།
Avīci
The lowest hell, translated in two different ways within the sūtra and in the Mahāvyutpatti
concordance, although mnar med became the standard form.

g.17 Bali
gtor ma
གཏོར་མ།
Bali
Bali wrested control of the world from the devas, establishing a period of peace and prosperity with no
caste distinction. Indra requested Viṣṇu to use his wiles so that the devas could gain the world back from
him. He appeared as a dwarf asking for two steps of ground, was offered three, and then traversed the
world in two steps. Bali, keeping faithful to his promise, accepted the banishment of the asuras into the
underworld. A great festival is held in Bali’s honor annually in South India. In the Kāraṇḍavyūha, he
abuses his power by imprisoning the kṣatriyas, so that Viṣṇu has cause to banish him to the underworld.

g.18 Bhagavat
bcom ldan ’das
བམ་ན་འདས།
Bhagavat
“One who has bhaga,” which has many diverse meanings including “good fortune,” “happiness,” and
“majesty.” In the Buddhist context, it means one who has the good fortune of attaining enlightenment.
The Tibetan translation has three syllables defined to mean “one who has conquered (the maras),
possesses (the qualities of enlightenment), and has transcended (saṃsāra, or both saṃsāra and nirvāṇa).

g.19 Bhūmi
sa
ས།
bhūmi
A level of enlightenment, usually referring to the ten levels of the enlightened bodhisattvas.
g.20 Bhūta
’byung po
འང་པོ།
bhūta
This can be a general name for spirits or demons, but is also used specifically for ghosts.

g.21 Bodhisattva
byang chub sems dpa’
ང་བ་མས་དཔའ།
bodhisattva
A person who is dedicated not merely to attaining liberation through attaining the state of an arhat, but
to becoming a buddha. A name created from the Sanskritization of the middle-Indic bodhisatto, the
Sanskrit equivalent of which was bodhisakta, “one who is fixed on enlightenment.”

g.22 Brahmā
tshangs pa
ཚངས་པ།
Brahmā
The personification of the universal force of Brahman, who became a higher deity than Indra, the
supreme deity of the early Vedas.

g.23 Brahmin
bram ze
མ་།
brāhmaṇa
A member of the priestly class or caste from the four social divisions of India.

g.24 Cakravartin
’khor los sgyur ba
འར་ལོས་ར་བ།
cakravartin

g.25 Candra
zla ba
་བ།
Candra
The deity of the moon, as well as the moon itself. In the Kāraṇḍavyūha, when Avalokiteśvara emanates
Candra, it is the deity that is meant.

g.26 Candradvīpa
zla ba’i gling
་བ་ང་།
Candradvīpa
A well-known site of pilgrimage in Bengal. Candradvīpa was a prosperous kingdom with Buddhist
sites, located on what is now the south coast of Bangladesh, centered on the Barisal district.

g.27 Cittarāja
sna tshogs kyi rgyal po
་ཚོགས་་ལ་པོ།
Cittarāja
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.
g.28 Ḍākinī
mkha’ ’gro ma
མཁའ་འ་མ།
ḍākinī
In the higher tantras they are portrayed as keepers of tantric teachings or embodiments of
enlightenment. Otherwise in Indian culture, however, they are possibly dangerous female spirits
haunting crossroads and charnel grounds, and are in Kāli’s retinue.

g.29 Daśarathaputra
shing rta bcu pa’i bu
ང་་བ་པ་།
Daśarathaputra
“The son of Daśaratha” is actually Rāma. At the point in the Kāraṇḍavyūha where Nārāyaṇa, really
Viṣṇu, rescues the kṣatriyas, he is inexplicably called by this name, which may reference a Rāma story.
Rāma came to be viewed as one of the ten incarnations of Nārāyaṇa.

g.30 Deva
lha
།
deva
A being in the realms above the human-inhabited world.

g.31 Dhāraṇī
gzungs
གངས།
dhāraṇī
An alternative name for vidyā (knowledge) and synonymous with mantra.

g.32 Dharmabhāṇaka
chos smra ba
ས་་བ།
dharmabhāṇaka
In early Buddhism a section of the Saṅgha would be bhāṇakas, who, particularly before the teachings
were written down and were transmitted solely orally, were the key factor in the preservation of the
teachings. Various groups of bhāṇakas specialized in memorizing and reciting a certain set of sūtras or
vinaya.

g.33 Dharmagaṇḍī
chos kyi gaN dI
ས་་གཎ་།
dharmagaṇḍī
A gong, or a wooden block or beam, sounded to call the community together for a teaching or other
assembly.

g.34 Dharmakāya
chos kyi sku · chos sku
ས་་། · ས་།
dharmakāya
In distinction to the rūpakāya, or form body of a buddha, this is the eternal imperceptible realization of
a buddha. In origin it was a term for the presence of the Dharma, and has come to become synonymous
with the true nature.
g.35 Dhvajārāja
rdo rje rgyal mtshan
ོ་་ལ་མཚན།
Dhvajārāja
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.36 Dhyāna
bsam gtan
བསམ་གཏན།
dhyāna
One of the synonyms for meditation, referring to a state of mental stability.

g.37 Five actions with immediate results on death

mtshams med lnga
མཚམས་ད་།
pañcānantarīya
The five extremely negative actions which, once those who have committed them die, result in their
going immediately to the hells without experiencing the intermediate state. They are killing an arhat,
killing one’s mother, killing one’s father, creating schism in the Saṅgha, and maliciously drawing blood
from a tathāgata’s body.

g.38 Four mahārājas

rgyal po chen po bzhi
ལ་པོ་ན་པོ་བ།
mahārāja
Four deities on the base of Mount Meru, each one the guardian of his direction: Vaiśravaṇa in the north,
Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the east; Virūpākṣa in the west; and Virūḍhaka in the south.

g.39 Four motions

gsol ba dang bzhi pa
གསོལ་བ་དང་བ་པ།
jñāpti-caturtha
For someone to be accepted into the Saṅgha, and for any other action that needs the assent of the
Saṅgha, first a motion (jñāpti; gsol ba) is presented to the community, for example, a certain person’s wish
for ordination. The motion would be followed by three propositions, in which is it said that all who
assent should remain silent. If no one speaks up after the third proposition, the motion is passed. The
Tibetan translated it literally as “supplication and fourth.”

g.40 Gaganagañja
nam mkha’ mdzod
ནམ་མཁའ་མཛོད།
Gaganagañja
In the Kāraṇḍavyūha it is the name of both a bodhisattva and a samādhi. In this sūtra the bodhisattva is a
pupil of Buddha Viśvabhū, but he is also portrayed in other sūtras receiving teaching from Śākyamuni,
and is one of the sixteen bodhisattvas in the Vairocana maṇḍala.

g.41 Gandharva
dri za
་ཟ།
gandharva
A race of deities who are particularly known to be musicians.
g.42 Garuḍa
khyung
ང་།
garuḍa
One of the races of supernatural beings said to come to listen to the Buddha’s teachings; it is a bird with
humanoid features, gigantic in size.

g.43 Garuḍa
nam mkha’ lding
ནམ་མཁའ་ང་།
Garuḍa
As a personal name this refers to the deity who is said to be the ancestor of all birds and became the
steed of Viṣṇu; he is also worshipped in his own right.

g.44 Gāthā
tshigs su bcad pa
གས་་བཅད་པ།
gāthā
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means those teachings given in verse.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.45 Geya
dbyangs kyis bsnyad pa
དངས་ས་བད་པ།
geya
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means the repletion of prose passages in verse form.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.46 Gośīrṣa sandalwood

ba lang gi spos kyi tsan dan
བ་ལང་་ོས་་ཙན་དན།
gośīrṣacandana
A particular kind of sandalwood, known as “ox-head,” that grows in southern India. It is reddish in color
and has medicinal properties. It is said to have the finest fragrance of all sandalwood. The Sanskrit word
go means “ox,” and śīrṣa means “head;” candana means “sandalwood.” The name of this sandalwood is
said to derive from either the shape of or the name of a mountain upon which it grew. The Tibetan
translated gośīrṣa as ba lang gi spos or “ox incense.”

g.47 Hāhava
ha ha zhes ’bod pa
ཧ་ཧ་ས་འབོད་པ།
Hāhava
The first of the eight cold hells, named after the cries of the beings within it.

g.48 Himavatī
hi ma ka la
་མ་ཀ་ལ།
Himavatī
Unidentified river, possibly the Kali Gandaki.

g.49 Indra
 dbang po
དབང་པོ།
Indra
The lord of the devas, the principal deity in the Vedas. Indra and Brahmā were the two most important
deities in the Buddha’s lifetime, and were later eclipsed by the increasing importance of Śiva and Viṣṇu.

g.50 Indrarāja
dbang po’i rgyal po
དབང་པོ་ལ་པོ།
Indrarāja
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.51 Īśvara
dbang phyug
དབང་ག
Īśvara
One of the most frequently used names for Śiva. A deity of the jungles, named Rudra in the Vedas, he
rose to prominence in the Purāṇic literature at the beginning of the first millennium.

g.52 Itivṛttaka
’di lta bu ’das pa
འ་་་འདས་པ།
itivṛttaka
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means accounts of the lives of past buddhas and
bodhisattvas.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.53 Jambu River

’dzam bu
འཛམ་།
Jambu
River carrying the remains of the golden fruit of a legendary jambu (rose apple) tree.

g.54 Jambudvīpa
dzam bu ling
ཛམ་་ང་།
Jambudvīpa
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can mean the known world of
humans or more specifically the Indian subcontinent. In the Kāraṇḍavyūha, Sri Laṅka is described as
being separate from Jambudvīpa. A gigantic miraculous rose-apple tree at the source of the great Indian
rivers is said to give the continent its name.

g.55 Jātaka
skyes pa’i rabs
ས་པ་རབས།
jātaka
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means accounts of the Buddha’s previous lifetimes.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.56 Jetavana
dze ta’i tshal


 ་ཏ་ཚལ།
Jetavana
A grove owned by Prince Jeta in Śrāvastī, the capital of the kingdom of Kośala (presently an area within
Uttar Pradesh). It was bought by Anāthapiṇḍada and became the monastery that the Buddha spent most
rainy seasons in, and is therefore the setting for many sūtras.

g.57 Kālasūtra
thig nag po
ག་ནག་པོ།
Kālasūtra
The second of the eight hot hells. Black lines are drawn on the bodies of the inhabitants and then they
are sawed apart along those lines.

g.58 Kaliyuga
snyigs dus
གས་ས།
kaliyuga
The last and worst of the four ages (yuga), the present age of degeneration.

g.59 Kalyāṇamitra
dge ba’i bshes gnyen
ད་བ་བས་གན།
kalyāṇamitra
A title for a teacher of the spiritual path.

g.60 Kaśika cloth

ka shi ka nas byung ba’i gos
ཀ་་ཀ་ནས་ང་བ་ས།
kaśikavastra
Cotton from Vārāṇasī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kashi, renowned as the best.

g.61 Kaurava
ko’u ra pa
་ར་པ།
Kaurava
The hundred sons of King Dhṛtarāśtra, who were the enemies of their cousins, the Pāṇḍava brothers.
Their family name means they are the descendants of the ancient King Kur (as were the Pāṇḍava
brothers). Their battle is the central theme of the Mahābhārata, India’s greatest epic.

g.62 Khasa
kha sha
ཁ་ཤ།
khasa
A tribe of people from the northwest of India and central Asia who were significant in ancient India and
are described in the Mahābhārata as having taken part in the Kurukṣetra war on the side of the Kurus
against the Paṇḍavas. The Purāṇic literature generally describes them in a negative light, as barbarians.
They are often mentioned in Buddhist literature and presently maintain Khasa culture in Himachal
Pradesh.

g.63 Kiṃnara
mi’am ci
འམ་།
 kiṃnara
A race of celestial musicians who are half humanoid and half horse.

g.64 Krakucchanda
log par dad sel
ལོག་པར་དད་ལ།
Krakucchanda
The fourth of the seven buddhas, with Śākyamuni as the seventh. Also the first of the buddhas in this
eon, with Śākyamuni as the fourth. The Tibetan translation in the Kāraṇḍavyūha is “elimination of
incorrect faith,” and this is found in the Mahāvyutpatti, whereas the later standard Tibetan translation
is ’khor ba ’jig or “destruction of saṃsara.” It is a Sanskritization of the middle-Indic name Kakusaṃdha.
Kaku may mean summit and saṃdha is the inner or hidden meaning.

g.65 Kṛṣṇa
nag po
ནག་པོ།
Kṛṣṇa
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.66 Kṣatriya
rgyal rigs
ལ་གས།
kṣatriya
The warrior, or royal, caste in the four-caste system of India.

g.67 Kūṣmāṇḍa
grul bum
ལ་མ།
kūṣmāṇḍa
A disease-causing demon, with an etymology of “little warm egg,” also used for benevolent deities.
However, the Tibetan term used in the Kāraṇḍavyūha is more commonly used (as in the Mahavyutpatti
concordance) to translate kumbhanda, a humanoid being with an animal’s head that dwells in the sea.

g.68 Liṅga
rtags
གས།
liṅga
The phallus as the symbol of Śiva.
See also note 91.

g.69 Magadha
ma ga dha
མ་ག་དྷ།
Magadha
The ancient kingdom in what is now south Bihar. Its king, Bimbisāra, became a patron of Śakyāmuni.

g.70 Mahākāla
nag po chen po
ནག་པོ་ན་པོ།
mahākāla
 Not to be confused with the protectors in the later higher tantras in this sūtra, or with Śiva who also has
this name (though then it has the alternative meaning of “Great Time”), in the Kāraṇḍavyūha these are
dangerous spirits. Elsewhere they are also said to be servants of Śiva, which may be the meaning here as
they are grouped with the mātṛ goddesses.

g.71 Mahāsattva
sems dpa’ chen po
མས་དཔའ་ན་པོ།
mahāsattva
An epithet for an accomplished bodhisattva.

g.72 Mahāśrāvaka
nyan thos chen po
ཉན་ཐོས་ན་པོ།
mahāśrāvaka
Principal Hīnayāna pupils of the Buddha.

g.73 Mahāvidyā
rig pa chen po
ག་པ་ན་པོ།
mahāvidyā · vidyāmantra
Vidyā is synonymous with mantra. Although grammatically it is a female word, the Tibetan has it
translated as a male noun.

g.74 Mahāyāna
theg pa chen po
ག་པ་ན་པོ།
mahāyāna
Literally the Sanskrit means “great way,” but in Buddhism this has developed the meaning of great
vehicle, and so is translated literally into Tibetan as “great carrier.”

g.75 Maheśvara
dbang phyug chen po
དབང་ག་ན་པོ།
Maheśvara
A name for Śiva.

g.76 Mahoraga
lto ’phye chen po
ོ་འ་ན་པོ།
mahoraga
A serpent deity that inhabits specific localities.

g.77 Mahoṣadhī
sman chen po
ན་ན་པོ།
Mahoṣadhī
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.78 Maṇḍala
dkyil ’khor

 
 དལ་འར།
maṇḍala
In the higher tantras this is usually a diagram representing the details of the visualization of a deity and
its palace and retinue. In the Kāraṇḍavyūha it is a simpler representation of a few deities, made of
precious powders.

g.79 Mātṛ
bu med
་ད།
mātṛ
Also called Mātarā and Mātṛkā. Normally seven or eight in number, these goddesses are considered
dangerous, but have a more positive role in the tantra tradition.

g.80 Monastery
gtsug lag khang
གག་ལག་ཁང་།
vihāra
Originally a place where the wandering “viharin” monks would stay during the monsoon only, they later
developed into permanent domiciles for monks.

g.81 Mount Akāladarśana

dus ma yin par ston pa
ས་མ་ན་པར་ོན་པ།
Akāladarśana

g.82 Mount Anādarśaka

mi ston pa
་ོན་པ།
Anādarśaka

g.83 Mount Bhavana

khang pa
ཁང་པ།
Bhavana

g.84 Mount Cakravāla

’khor yug
འར་ག
Cakravāla
Unidentified mountain, probably synonymous with Cakravaḍa, which sometimes refers to the
mountain that leads to hell.

g.85 Mount Jālinīmukha

’bar ba’i kha
འབར་བ་ཁ།
Jālinīmukha

g.86 Mount Kāla

nag po
ནག་པོ།
Kāla
g.87 Mount Kṛtsrāgata
thams cad du gtogs pa
ཐམས་ཅད་་གཏོགས་པ།
Kṛtsrāgata

g.88 Mount Mahācakravāla

’khor yug chen po
འར་ག་ན་པོ།
Mahācakravāla

g.89 Mount Mahākāla

nag po chen po
ནག་པོ་ན་པོ།
Mahākāla

g.90 Mount Mahāmaṇiratna

nor bu rin po che chen po
ནོར་་ན་པོ་་ན་པོ།
Mahāmaṇiratna

g.91 Mount Mahāmucilinda

Mahāmucilinda

g.92 Mount Mahāsaṃsṛṣṭa

Mahāsaṃsṛṣṭa

g.93 Mount Mucilinda

mu tsi lin da
་་ན་ད།
Mucilinda

g.94 Mount Pralambodara

Pralambodara

g.95 Mount Saṃsṛṣṭa

gsus shol
གས་ཤོལ།
Saṃsṛṣṭa

g.96 Mount Śataśṛṅga

rtse mo brgya pa
་མོ་བ་པ།
Śataśṛṅga

g.97 Mount Sudarśana

ston pa
ོན་པ།
Sudarśana

g.98 Nāga
klu
 །
nāga
In India, this was the cobra deity, which in Tibet was equated with water spirits and in China with
dragons, neither country having cobras.

g.99 Nārāyaṇa
mthu bo che
མ་བོ་།
Nārāyaṇa
An alternate name for Viṣṇu. The Sanskrit is variously interpreted, including as “dwelling in water,” but
is most obviously “the path of human beings.”

g.100 Nelpa Paṇḍita

nel pa pandi ta
ལ་པ་པན་ཏ།
Nelpa Paṇḍita
A 13th century Tibetan historian. Personal name: Drakpa Mönlam Lodrö (grags pa smon lam blo gros).

g.101 Nidāna
gleng gzhi
ང་ག།
nidāna
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means the introductions to teachings.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.102 Nirvāṇa
mya ngan las ’das pa
་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
nirvāṇa
Sanskrit: the causes for saṃsāra are “extinguished.” Tibetan: suffering has been transcended.

g.103 Non-returner
phyir mi ’ong ba
ར་་འོང་བ།
anāgāmin
The third of the four stages that culminate in becoming an arhat. At this stage a being will not be reborn
in this world but will be reborn in the Śuddhāvāsa paradise where he will remain until liberation.

g.104 Once-returner
lan cig phyir ’ong ba
ལན་ག་ར་འོང་བ།
sakṛdāgāmi
Second of the four stages that culminates in becoming an arhat. At this stage a being will only be reborn
once again in this world.

g.105 Padmottama
pad ma dam pa
པད་མ་དམ་པ།
Padmottama
The buddha who receives the six-syllable mantra from Avalokiteśvara.
g.106 Pakṣu
pa k+Shu
པ་།
Pakṣu
Unidentified river, though there are Tibetan texts that use this name to refer to the source of the
Brahmaputra.

g.107 Pala
srang
ང་།
pala
A weight that in both Indian and Tibetan systems is in the range of 30 to 50 grams. The Tibetan is often
translated as an ounce.
See also note 332.

g.108 Pāṇḍava
pan da pa
པན་ད་པ།
Pāṇḍava
Five brothers who were the sons of Paṇḍu. The most famous was Arjuna (of Bhagavadgīta fame); the other
four were Yudhiṣṭhira, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Bhīmasena. The story of the Pāṇḍava brothers and their
battle with their cousins, the Kauravas, is the subject of the Mahābhārata, India’s greatest epic. In the sūtra,
Bali imprisons the Pāṇḍavas and Kauravas together.

g.109 Paṇḍita
mkhas pa
མཁས་པ།
paṇḍita
An official title for a learned scholar in India.

g.110 Perfect in wisdom and conduct

rig pa dang zhabs su ldan pa
ག་པ་དང་ཞབས་་ན་པ།
vidyācaraṇasaṃpanna
A common description of buddhas. According to some explanations, “wisdom” refers to awakening, and
“conduct” to the three trainings (bslab pa gsum) by means of which a buddha attains that awakening;
according to others, “wisdom” refers to right view, and “conduct” to the other seven elements of the
eightfold path.

g.111 Piśāca
sha za
ཤ་ཟ།
piśāca
A spirit that haunts the night, feeds on corpses, and is fatal to see.

g.112 Prajñāpāramitā
shes rab pha rol tu phyin pa
ས་རབ་ཕ་རོལ་་ན་པ།
Prajñāpāramitā
The Kāraṇḍavyūha is referring to the goddess who is the personification of the perfection of wisdom, and
is in the feminine case. However, the Tibetan has the male ending -pa, instead of the female ending -ma,
which is presently normally used for the goddess, but does not appear in the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit-
 Tibetan concordance.

g.113 Pratyekabuddha
rang sangs rgyas
རང་སངས་ས།
pratyekabuddha
Someone who has attained liberation entirely through his own contemplation as a result of progress in
previous lives but, unlike a buddha, does not have the accumulated merit and motivation to teach
others.

g.114 Pretāyana
sdong du ma lta bu
ོང་་མ་་།
Pretāyana
Very hot hell. Probably a variation of Pratāpana (Tib. rab tu tsha ba), as the name occurs in no other sūtra.

g.115 Rākṣasa
srin po
ན་པོ།
rākṣasa
A race of physical beings who are ugly, evil-natured, and have a yearning for human flesh, but who also
have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance, as in the Kāraṇḍavyūha.

g.116 Rākṣasī
srin mo
ན་མོ།
rākṣasī
A female rākṣasa.

g.117 Ratnadvīpa
rin po che’i gling
ན་པོ་་ང་།
Ratnadvīpa
The Kāraṇḍavyūha in the Vaidya edition references a group of islands, the distinction between singular
and plural being lost in the Tibetan. Ratnadvīpa was one of the ancient names of Laṅka, as it was a rich
source of jewels. In this same passage, however, Laṅka is identified as the land of the rākṣasīs. The theme
of an ocean island rich in jewels appears frequently in Buddhist narratives.

g.118 Ratnakuṇḍala
rin po che’i rna cha
ན་པོ་་་ཆ།
Ratnakuṇḍala
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.119 Ratnapāṇi
lag na rin po che
ལག་ན་ན་པོ་།
Ratnapāṇi
In the Kāraṇḍavyūha he is, as well as being listed as present at Buddha Śākyamuni’s teachings, the one
who is described in Śākyamuni’s memories as the bodhisattva who questions Buddha Vipaśyin. He is
the principal bodhisattva being addressed by Śākyamuni in chapter 35 of the Avatamsaka Sūtra. In the
 early tantras he is one of the sixteen bodhisattvas in the dharmadhātu maṇḍala. In the higher tantras he
is associated with the ratna family of Buddha Ratnasambhava.

g.120 Ratnottama
dmar po’i mchog
དམར་པོ་མག
Ratnottama
This Buddha who sends the previous life of Śākyamuni to Buddha Padmottama. However, the Tibetan
had dmar po’i mchog, “supreme red,” which would have been a translation of Raktottama, evidently a
mistake for Ratnottama, which would have been translated as nor bu’i mchog or rin chen mchog.

g.121 Raurava
’o dod ’bod pa
འོ་དོད་འབོད་པ།
Raurava
The fourth of the eight hot hells. In later translations it is ngu ’bod, which also means “wailing” as a
compound of the words for “weep” and “shout.”

g.122 Rāvaṇa
Rāvaṇa
King of the Rākṣasas in Laṅka. He features prominently in the Ramāyāna where he kidnaps Rāma’s
wife Sīta.

g.123 Ṣaḍakṣarī
yi ge drug pa
་་ག་པ།
Ṣaḍakṣarī
The four armed goddess who is the embodiment of the six-syllable mantra. Though female in Sanskrit,
it is translated into Tibetan as a male name.

g.124 Sahā
mi mjed
་མད།
Sahā
Indian Buddhist name for the thousand-million world universe of ordinary beings. It means
“endurance,” as beings there have to endure suffering.

g.125 Śakra
brgya byin
བ་ན།
Śakra
More commonly known in the West as Indra, the deity who is called “lord of the devas” and dwells on
the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation is based on an
etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, “one who has performed a hundred sacrifices.” The
highest vedic sacrifice was the horse sacrifice and there is a tradition that he became the lord of the gods
through performing them.

g.126 Śālmali
sham ba la
ཤམ་བ་ལ།
Śālmali
 The hell of the Simul trees, also called cotton trees, that have vicious thorns. The Tibetan had a
corrupted, transliterated version of the name. This is classed among the neighboring hells. It is where
beings continually climb up and down the trees in search of a loved one.

g.127 Samādhi
ting nge ’dzin
ང་་འན།
samādhi
One of the synonyms for the meditative state, meaning a completely focused state.

g.128 Samantabhadra
kun tu bzang po
ན་་བཟང་པོ།
Samantabhadra
One of the eight principal bodhisattvas, he figures strongly in the Gaṇḍavyūha (the final chapter of the
Avataṃsakasūtra) and in the Lotus Sūtra. His prominence in these sūtras is the reason why emphasis is
placed on Avalokiteśvara’s superiority over him. (Not to be confused with the buddha in the Nyingma
tradition.)

g.129 Samāpatti
snyoms par gzhog pa
མས་པར་གཞོག་པ།
samāpatti
One of the synonyms for the meditative state. The Tibetan translation interpreted it as sama-āpatti, which
brings in the idea of “equal,” or “level,” whereas it may very well be like “samādhi,” sam-āpatti, with the
same meaning.

g.130 Saṃsāra
’khor ba
འར་བ།
saṃsāra
An unending series of unenlightened existences.

g.131 Sarasvatī
dbyangs can ma
དངས་ཅན་མ།
Sarasvatī
The goddess of music and eloquence. The Sanskrit name means “she who has flow,” or “she who has a
body of water.” She was originally the personification of the Punjab river of that name.

g.132 Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin
sgrib pa thams cad rnam par sel ba
བ་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་མ་པར་ལ་བ།
Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin
One of the eight great bodhisattvas. In particular, he has an important role in the Lotus Sūtra, in which
Buddha Śākyamuni sends him to Vārāṇasī to see Avalokiteśvara. This is paralleled in the Kāraṇḍavyūha,
in which he is sent to Vārāṇasī to obtain Avalokitesvara’s mahāvidyā.

g.133 Śatamukha
kha brgya pa · bzhin brgya pa
ཁ་བ་པ། · བན་བ་པ།
Śatamukha
 The sūtra contains the only known reference to a nāga king and kiṃnara king who both have this name
in Sanskrit. The nāga’s name was translated into Tibetan as “hundred mouths” (kha brgya pa), and the
kiṃnara as “hundred faces” (bzhin brgya pa). Other deities with the name Śatamukha appear in Indian
literature.

g.134 Śikhin
gtsug ldan
གག་ན།
Śikhin
The second of the seven buddhas, with Śākyamuni as the seventh. The Tibetan translation could also be
read as “one with a crown protuberance.”

g.135 Siṃhala
sing gha la
ང་གྷ་ལ།
Siṃhala
Sri Laṅka, formerly Ceylon. The Rāmāyaṇa epic specified that Laṅka is inhabited by rākṣasas. Siṃhala
was the name by which Laṅka was referred to in the Mahābhārata. The indigenous Buddhist population
and their language is still called Singhalese.

g.136 Sītā
si ta
་ཏ།
Sītā
Unidentified river. Tibetan texts refer to the source of the Indus by this name.

g.137 Śītodaka
chu grang ba
་ང་བ།
Śītodaka
This name for a hell, “cold water,” only appears in the Kāraṇḍavyūha.

g.138 Six-syllable mahāvidyā

yi ge drug pa’i rig pa chen po
་་ག་པ་ག་པ་ན་པོ།
ṣaḍakṣarī mahāvidyā
Oṁ maṇipadme hūṁ. This appears to be a vocative call to Avalokiteśvara under the name of Maṇipadma
(see Introduction, i.21). Ṣadakṣarī (q.v.) is also the name of the four-armed goddess who personifies the
mantra.

g.139 Six-syllable mantra

yi ge drug pa
་་ག་པ།
ṣaḍakṣarī
Ṣadakṣarī (q.v.) is also the name of the four-armed goddess who personifies the mantra. See “six-syllable
mahāvidyā.”

g.140 Six-syllable queen of mahāvidyās

yi ge drug pa’i rig sngags chen mo’i rgyal mo
་་ག་པ་ག་གས་ན་མོ་ལ་མོ།
ṣaḍakṣarī mahāvidyārājñī
See “six-syllable mahāvidyā.”
g.141 Six-syllable vidyāmantra
yi ge drug pa’i rig sngags
་་ག་པ་ག་གས།
—
See “six-syllable mahāvidyā.”

g.142 Skandha
phung po
ང་པོ།
skandha
See “aggregates.”

g.143 Śrāvastī
mnyan du yod pa
མཉན་་ཡོད་པ།
Śrāvastī
The capital of Kośala, a kingdom in what is now Uttar Pradesh, where Buddha Śākyamuni spent most
of his life. The Tibetan translation is dubious. There are differing explanations for the name, including
that it was founded by King Śrāvasta or that it was named after a rishi, Sāvattha, who lived there.

g.144 Stream entrant

rgyun du zhugs pa
ན་་གས་པ།
srotāpatti
The four stages of spiritual accomplishment are stream entrant, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat.

g.145 Stūpa
mchod rten
མད་ན།
stūpa
Reliquary for the remains of a buddha or enlightened master.

g.146 Śuddhāvāsa realms

gnas gtsang ma
གནས་གཙང་མ།
Śuddhāvāsa
A form-realm paradise that is never destroyed during the cycles of the destruction and creation of the
universe.

g.147 Sugata
bde bar gshegs pa
བ་བར་གགས་པ།
sugata
An epithet of the buddhas.

g.148 Sukhāvatī
bde ba can
བ་བ་ཅན།
Sukhāvatī
The realm of Buddha Amitābha, described in the Sukhāvatīvyuha Sūtra, where Avalokiteśvara first
appears in the sūtras.
g.149 Śukra
pa bsangs
པ་བསངས།
Śukra
Śukra is both the planet Venus and the guru of the asuras. In the Vaiśnavite literature, he loses an eye
from his encounter with the dwarf incarnation of Viṣṇu. The Sanskrit also means “bright.”

g.150 Sumāgandha
su ma ga da
་མ་ག་ད།
Sumāgandha
Unidentified river. Possibly the Son River.

g.151 Sūryaprabha
nyi ma’i ’od
་མ་འོད།
Sūryaprabha
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.152 Sūtra
mdo
མདོ།
sūtra
Generally used for pithy statements, rules, and aphorisms, for the Buddha’s non-tantric teachings in
general, and as one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means “teaching given in prose.”

g.153 Suvarṇa
gser
གར།
Suvarṇa
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.154 Tamondhakāra
mun pa mun nag
ན་པ་ན་ནག
Tamondhakāra
A region where the sun and moon do not shine.

g.155 Tāpana
gdung ba
གང་བ།
Tāpana
The sixth of the hot hells. In later Tibetan translations it is “hot” (tsha ba).

g.156 Tathāgata
de bzhin gshegs pa
་བན་གགས་པ།
tathāgata

g.157 Thönmi Sambhota

thon mi sam bho ta

ོ  ོ
 ཐོན་་སམ་བྷོ་ཏ།
Thönmi Sambhota
First recorded in medieval Tibetan literature as a seventh-century minister of the Tibetan King Songtsen
Gampo, he is credited with the invention of the Tibetan alphabet and the composition of two much-
studied grammar texts.

g.158 Trāyastriṃśa
sum cu rtsa gsum
མ་་་གམ།
Trāyastriṃśa
Indra’s paradise on the summit of Sumeru.

g.159 Twelve wheels of the Dharma

chos kyi ’khor lo
ས་་འར་ལོ།
dharmacakra
The classification of all aspects of Buddha’s teachings into twelve types: sūtra, geya, vyākaraṇa, gāthā,
udāna, nidāna, avadāna, itivṛttaka, jātaka, vaipulya, adbhūtadharma, and upadeśa (see individual terms).
Respectively, the sūtras, literally “threads,” does not mean entire texts as in the general meaning of sūtra
but the prose passages within texts; the geyas are the verse versions of preceding prose passages; the
vyākaraṇas are prophecies; the gāthās are stand-alone verses; the udānas are teachings not given in
response to a request; the nidānas are the introductory sections; the avadānas are accounts of the previous
lives of individuals who were alive at the time of the Buddha; the itivṛttakas are biographies of buddhas
and bodhisattvas in the past; the jātakas are the Buddha’s accounts of his own previous lifetimes; the
vaipulyas are teachings that expand upon a certain subject; the adbhūtadharmas are descriptions of
miracles; and the upadeśas are explanations of terms and categories.

g.160 Udāna
ched du brjod pa
ད་་བད་པ།
udāna
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means teachings that were not given in response to a
request.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.161 Umādevī
lha mo u ma
་མོ་་མ།
Umādevī
Umādevī is also known as Pārvatī. The name is of obscure origin, but can mean “splendor,”
“tranquility,” or “light.” She is the consort of Śiva, also known as Maheśvara, and believed to be the
rebirth of Sīta, his previous consort.

g.162 Umeśvara
u ma’i dbang phyug
་མ་དབང་ག
Umeśvara
The name that Avalokiteśvara prophecies the goddess Umādevī will have on attainment of
Buddhahood.

g.163 Upadeśa
gtan phab
 གཏན་ཕབ།
upadeśa
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means the explanation of details in the teachings and is
synonymous with Abhidharma.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.164 Upādhyāya
mkhan po
མཁན་པོ།
upādhyāya
A personal preceptor and teacher. In Tibet, it has also come to mean a learned scholar, the equivalent of
a paṇḍita, but that is not the intended meaning in the Kāraṇḍavyūha.

g.165 Upāsaka
dge bsnyan
ད་བན།
upāsaka
A male who has taken the layperson’s vows.

g.166 Upāsikā
dge bsnyan ma
ད་བན་མ།
upāsikā
A female who has taken the layperson’s vows.

g.167 Vaḍavāmukha
rta rgod ma’i gdong
་ད་མ་གདོང་།
Vaḍavāmukha
A great submarine fire in the far south-east of the ocean, which is the fire that will ultimately burn up
the world. Also regarded as the entrance to the hells.

g.168 Vaipulya
shin tu rgyas pa
ན་་ས་པ།
vaipulya
As one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma, it means an extensive teaching on a subject.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.169 Vaitarāṇi River

chu bo be’i ta ra ni chen po
་བོ་་ཏ་ར་་ན་པོ།
Vaitarāṇi
A river said to separate the living from the dead, like the River Styx. It causes great suffering to anyone
who attempts to cross it.

g.170 Vajra
rdo rje
ོ་།
vajra
 The word vajra refers to the “thunderbolt,” the indestructible and irresistible weapon that first appears
in Indian literature in the hand of the Vedic deity Indra. As a symbol of indestructibility and great power
it is used in the Kāraṇḍavyūha to describe the qualities of the maṇi mantra.

g.171 Vajrakukṣi
rdo rje’i mngal
ོ་་མངལ།
Vajrakukṣi
A cave inhabited by the asuras.

g.172 Vajramukha
rdo rje’i sgo
ོ་་།
Vajramukha
A pore on Avalokiteśvara’s body.

g.173 Vajrāṅkuśa
rdo rje’i lcags kyu
ོ་་གས་།
Vajrāṅkuśa

g.174 Vajrapāṇi
phyag na rdo rje
ག་ན་ོ་།
Vajrapāṇi
He first appears in Buddhist literature as the yakṣa bodyguard of the Buddha, ready at times to shatter a
person’s head into a hundred pieces with his vajra if he speaks inappropriately to the Buddha. His
identity as a bodhisattva did not take place until the rise of the Mantrayāna in such sūtras as the
Kāraṇḍavyūha. However, although listed (paradoxically along with Avalokiteśvara) as being in the
assembly that hears the teaching of this sūtra, in the sūtra itself he is grouped with the worldly spirits
that Avalokiteśvara frightens.

g.175 Vārāṇasī
khor mor ’jigs
ར་མོར་འགས།
Vārāṇasī
Also known as Benares, the oldest city of northeast India in the Gangetic plain. It was once the capital of
its own small kingdom and was known by various names. It was an important religious center, as well
as a major city in India, even during the time of the Buddha. The name may derive from being where
the Varuna and Assi rivers flow into the Ganges.

g.176 Varuṇa
chu yi lha
་་།
Varuṇa
In the Vedas, Varuṇa is an important deity and in particular the deity of the sky, but in later Indian
tradition only of the water and the underworld. The Tibetan does not attempt to translate his name but
instead says “god of water.” The Sanskrit name has ancient pre-Sanskrit origins, and as he was
originally the god of the sky is related to the root vṛ, meaning “enveloping” or “covering.” He has the
same ancient origins as the ancient Greek sky deity Uranus and the Zoroastrian supreme deity Mazda.

g.177 Vāyu
 rlung gi lha
ང་་།
Vāyu
The deity of the air and the wind.

g.178 Vetāla
ro langs
རོ་ལངས།
vetāla
A spirit that can inhabit and animate dead bodies, a zombie spirit. Hence, the Tibetan means “risen
corpse,” although in the context of the Kāraṇḍavyūha it refers to a disembodied spirit.

g.179 Vidyādhara
rig ’dzin
ག་འན།
vidyādhara
Popular in Indian literature as a race of superhuman beings with magical powers who lived high in the
mountains, such as in the Malaya range of southwest India. The term vidyā could be interpreted as both
“knowledge” and “mantra.”

g.180 Vighna
bgegs
བགས།
vighna
A class of malevolent spirits.

g.181 Vighnapati
bgegs med pa’i bdag po
བགས་ད་པ་བདག་པོ།
Vighnapati
“Lord of obstacles,” although the Tibetan translates it as “lord of no obstacles.” One of the names of the
elephant-headed deity that is the son of Śiva and Pārvatī, also known as Ganesh (Ganeśa or Gaṇapati;
tshogs kyi bdag po).

g.182 Vināyaka
bar chad byed pa
བར་ཆད་ད་པ།
vināyaka
In the time of the Kāraṇḍavyūha this was a group of four demons that created obstacles. This later became
the name for the deity Ganesh (as a remover of obstacles), but that is not what is intended here.

g.183 Vipaśyin
lhag mthong
ག་མཐོང་།
Vipaśyin
The first of the seven buddhas, with Śākyamuni as the seventh.

g.184 Viṣṇu
khyab ’jug
བ་འག
Viṣṇu
 One of the central gods in the Hindu pantheon today. He had not yet risen to an important status during
the Buddha’s lifetime and only developed his own significant following in the early years of the
common era. Vaishnavism developed the theory of ten emanations, or avatars, the ninth being the
Buddha. His emanation as a dwarf plays an important role in this sūtra. The Sanskrit etymology of the
name is uncertain, but it was already in use in the Vedas, where he is a minor deity, and has been
glossed as “one who enters (everywhere).”

g.185 Viśvabhū
thams cad skyob pa
ཐམས་ཅད་བ་པ།
Viśvabhū
The third of the seven buddhas, with Śākyamuni as the seventh (in some texts his name is rendered kun
skyobs in Tibetan).

g.186 Vivṛta
phye ba
་བ།
Vivṛta
A legendary realm in which Śiva will attain buddhahood.

g.187 Vyākaraṇa
lung bstan pa
ང་བན་པ།
vyākaraṇa
Prophecies. This is also specifically one of the twelve aspects of the Dharma.
See also “twelve wheels of the Dharma.”

g.188 Water lily

ku mu da
་་ད།
kumuda
This water lily, Nymphaea pubescens, can be pink or white and is sometimes incorrectly called a lotus. It
flowers at night, and therefore is also called “night lotus.”

g.189 Yakṣa
gnod sbyin
གནོད་ན།
yakṣa
A class of supernatural beings, often represented as the attendants of the god of wealth, but the term is
also applied to spirits. Although they are generally portrayed as benevolent, the Tibetan translation
means “harm giver,” as they are also capable of causing harm.

g.190 Yama
gshin rje rgyal po
གན་་ལ་པོ།
Yama
The lord of death, who judges the dead and rules over the hells.

g.191 Yarlung Valley

yar lung
ཡར་ང་།
A valley in South Tibet.
g.192 Yavanadvīpa
nas kyi gling
ནས་་ང་།
Yavanadvīpa
Literally “The Barley Islands,” this refers to the land of the Greeks, whose empire at one time extended
along the northern coasts of the Persian gulf as far as India.

g.193 Yoga
rnal ’byor
ལ་འོར།
yoga
Literally “union” in Sanskrit; Tibetan specifies “union with the natural state.”

g.194 Yogin
rnal ’byor pa
ལ་འོར་པ།
yogin
The Tibetan means “one united with the genuine state,” in other words, “one who has attained the
supreme accomplishment.”

g.195 Yojana
dpag tshad
དཔག་ཚད།
yojana
The longest unit of distance in classical India. The lack of a uniform standard for the smaller units
means that there is no precise equivalent, especially as its theoretical length tended to increase over time.
Therefore it can mean between four and ten miles.