1441. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit states that there are beings in those realms. Here the Chinese describes how Sudhana saw all the worlds, dwelling on five “earth wheels” 地輪 (di lun).
1442. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit does not have “and nonhumans.” The Chinese appears to have split this phrase into two: 諸趣輪轉 (zhu qu lun zhuan, “rotation of the wheel of realms”) and 生死往來 (sheng si wang lai, “migration between life and death”).
1443. According to the Tibetan and the Chinese. There appears to be an omission in the Sanskrit.
1444. The Sanskrit at this point also has “focused on the creation of all good actions.” The Chinese and Tibetan do not have this phrase.
1445. The Sanskrit has “gazed upon her face.” The Chinese has 一心瞻仰 (yi xin zhan yang, “[gazed upon her] respectfully and one-pointedly”).
1446. According to the Sanskrit vipula and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace yangs. Degé has yang. The Chinese has 尊妙 (zun miao, “excellent and beautiful”), migrating adjectives from the second line.
1447. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit translates as “adorned with the jewels of the excellent signs.” The Tibetan has bris pa (“painted”), which might be a scribal error for spras pa as a translation of ābharaṇa, or perhaps a translation of citravicitra. The Chinese has “adorned with various signs,” omitting adjectives.
1448. According to the Sanskrit anupama. The Tibetan, as it does not have the negative, has “in the manner of examples.” The Chinese has 微妙 (wei miao, “excellent,” “marvelous”).
1449. According to the Tibetan. BHS ābhakūṭu, i.e., abhakūṭa, would mean “a mass of light,” as in Cleary, “multitude of lights.” Carré, translating from the Chinese, has entre-sourcils (“between the eyebrows”). The Tibetan has phrag pa’i lhun po (“mass of the shoulders”). The Chinese has 兩眉 (liang mei, “two eyebrows”), which can be understood as a reference to “between the eyebrows,” as in verse 10.
1450. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan interprets the compound as “clouds of mists and vast suns.”
1451. According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from vimalāt. The Sanskrit has vimalāḥ, making “stainless” an adjective for “the clouds of suns,” as in Carré and Cleary translating from the Chinese. The Chinese has “stainless light emitted from her mouth, as immeasurable as the sun(light).”
1452. The Sanskrit has paripācayanti (“ripen”). The Chinese has 度脫三有海 (du tuo san you hai, “liberate [beings from] the ocean of the three states of existence”).
1454. From the Sanskrit śarīra. Translated into Tibetan as lhun dang lus (“mass and body”). The Chinese translates as 體 (ti, “body”) but can also mean “mass.”
1455. According to the Sanskrit miśra, the Chinese 雜 (za), and the Choné ’dres. Other Kangyurs (including Stok) have ’dren (“led”).
1456. From the Tibetan ’bru, translating kośa. The Chinese has 奇寶 (qi bao, “rare jewels”).
1457. According to the Sanskrit subhikṣa. The Tibetan translates as rtag tu lo legs (“always good harvests”), which could seem to contradict the earlier description of spontaneous harvests. The Chinese has 豐 (feng, “abundance,” “good harvests”).
1458. According to the Sanskrit virāṇāṃ, the Chinese 勇健 (yong jian, “courageous and strong”), and the Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, Lhasa, and Stok Palace rtul phod. Degé has rdul phod.
1459. According to the Sanskrit parasainyapramardakānāṃ. The Tibetan translates obscurely as gzhan gyi ’khor.
1460. From the Tibetan and the Sanskrit. Cleary omits this. Carré has “born at the same time as the cakravartin.” The Chinese is 與王 … 同時誕生 (yu wang … tong shi dan sheng).
1461. According to the Sanskrit pariṇāyaka. The Tibetan has just blon po (“minister”). The Chinese has 良臣 (liang chen, “good ministers,” “virtuous ministers”).
1462. According to the Sanskrit abhinīlanetra. The Tibetan translates as “black and white.” The Chinese has 目髮紺青 (mu fa gan qing, “eyes and hair in reddish black”), which is the same as the color of the Buddha’s eyes and hair.
1463. According to the Tibetan and the later mention of her name in Sanskrit. The Sanskrit manuscript may have had a scribal error resulting in the name concluding with śrīr nāma cakravartin instead of śrīcandra. The Tibetan omits the reference to her being a cakravartin’s daughter.
1464. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit states, “There was no definite lifespan. There was no death during it.” Carré’s translation agrees with the Tibetan. Cleary’s translation agrees with the Sanskrit. The Chinese has 或有不定而早夭者 (huo you bu ding er zhong yao zhe, “Some had unstable conditions or uncertain lifespan and met an early death”).
1465. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “made of the kings of jewels.” The Chinese has 大蓮華 (da lian hua, “great lotus”).
1466. According to the Tibetan and the later appearance of the name. At this point in the sūtra, the present Sanskrit has Samantajñānārciśrīguṇaketudhvaja.
1467. According to the Sanskrit prathamakalpika. The Tibetan has translated it as “the first kalpa” (bskal pa’i thog ma). The Chinese has “the first buddha among them.”
1468. According to the Sanskrit maṇi, transcribed as 摩尼 (mo ni) in the Chinese. The Tibetan rin po che here is the noun “jewel” and not the adjective “precious.”
1469. The Sanskrit has here the sentence on the Buddha’s turning of the Dharma wheel that follows the list of benefits for beings in the Tibetan. Not present in the Chinese.
1470. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has the plural. The Chinese has 一切 (yi qie, “all,” “everything,” “everywhere”).
1471. From the Sanskrit maṣi. The Tibetan translates according to its alternative meaning as “ink,” though it is not liquid that is meant here. It could mean a block of ink. The “lampblack powder” (also called “powder black”) was commonly used in India for eye makeup. The Chinese also translates according to the meaning of “ink,” as 聚墨 (ju mo, “piled ink,” “a pile of ink”).
1472. There is a slight, but not identical, variation in the name in both the Tibetan and the Sanskrit. See g.1030.
1473. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “heard light, miracle, decoration, and voice.” The Chinese has “saw the miraculous light radiating from the bodhisattva Samantabhadra’s body and heard the marvelous sounds emitting from all the ornaments on his body.”
1474. According to the Sanskrit prāmodya. The Tibetan translates as mos pa, which could mean “aspiration.”
1475. Infantry, cavalry, elephants, and chariots.
1476. Literally, “a hundred ten millions.” The Chinese has 無量無數劫 (wu liang wu shu jie jie, “limitless, innumerable kalpas”).
1477. Degé has ldang in error for snang.
1478. From the Sanskrit adhitiṣṭhana translated into Tibetan as byin gyis brlab, which is usually translated into English as “blessing.” The Chinese has “clouds of fragrant oceans.”
1479. Vaidya romanized edition has the error bodhigaṇḍa.
1480. According to the Sanskrit prāmodya. The Tibetan translates as mos pa, which could mean “aspiration.” The Chinese has 其心清淨, 生大歡喜 (qi xin qing jing, sheng da huan xi, “her mind became pure and clear, experienced great happiness and delight”).
1481. According to the Sanskrit divasa. The Tibetan has “like the moment.” The Chinese omits it and adds 其心柔軟, 無有粗彊 (qi xin rou ruan, wu you cu jiang, “her mind was gentle and supple, without any rough edge or agitation, like the first conception, or a newborn, or the first sprout of a sal tree”).
1482. According to the Sanskrit divasa. The Tibetan and the Chinese omit it.
1483. According to the Sanskrit sāla and the Chinese 娑羅 (suo luo). The Tibetan omits or has dam pa translated from a manuscript that had vara instead of sāla.
1484. According to the Sanskrit vṛkṣa, the Chinese 樹 (shu), and Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Stok Palace shing. Degé and others have zhing (“field”).
1485. The sentence follows the meaning of the Sanskrit. It is similar to Cleary and absent in Carré. The Tibetan appears to state, “like the planted seed of the excellent, perfect tree, which is the cause for a sprout to come soon.”
1486. The Tibetan translates both anīrita here and aniñja earlier in the list as mi g.yo ba. Not present in the Chinese.
1487. At this point in the list in the Sanskrit there is also abhinnacittā (“a mind that is undivided”). The Chinese has “a mind without arrogance.”
1488. At this point in the list in the Sanskrit there is also anavanatacittā (“a mind that is without interruption”), which is also not present in the Chinese.
1489. At this point in the list in the Sanskrit there is also sarvadharmasvabhāvanidhyapticittā (“a mind that understood the nature of all phenomena”), which the Chinese translates as 思惟諸法自性心 (si wei zhu fa zi xing xin, “a mind that contemplates the nature of all phenomena”).
1490. According to the Sanskrit pratilābha. The Tibetan has spobs pa (“eloquence,” “confidence in speech”), presumably translating from a manuscript that had pratibhāna. It is also used in Tibetan to mean “confidence” in general. The Chinese has 現見 (xian jian, “perceive directly”), a common translation of pratyakṣa.
1491. From the BHS adhyālamabanatāyai (“acquire,” “attain,” “grasp”) in the dative case. The Tibetan translates as lhag par dmyigs pa (“perceive,” “focus on”; with dmyigs as the archaic spelling of dmigs) with the instrumental particle. The Chinese has the first part of this sentence as, “With her mind focused on the great aspiration of completely good (普賢, pu xian, could also be read as “Samantabhadra’s”) conduct, she made an ocean of prayers as numerous as the atoms in ten buddha realms like all tathāgatas.” Then, the first in the list of her prayers is “to purify all buddha realms.”
1492. At this point the world realm is given a shorter version of its name: Vairocanaśrī, and only Vairocana (rnam par snang ba) in Tibetan. The Chinese repeats the longer version, which this translation also does, for consistency.
1493. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. “Wisdom” is not present in the Tibetan.
1494. In Sanskrit the order of these two buddhas is reversed. In the Chinese, the eighth buddha is 山勝佛 (shan sheng fo), “the Buddha Mount Supreme,” and the ninth is 大悲華 (da bei hua), “the Buddha Flower of Great Compassion.” “Kāruṇika” means “Compassionate One.”
1495. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “Prabhaketurāja.”
1496. According to the Tibetan and the Chinese 金剛照 (jin gang zhao). The present Sanskrit has “Virajaprabha.”
1497. According to the Tibetan. The present Sanskrit appears to make Tejavativegaprabha a name. In the Chinese, the fifth one is 寂靜音 (ji jing yin), “peaceful, tranquil voice or sound,” and the sixth is 寂靜幢 (ji jing chuang), “peaceful banner.”
1498. According to the Sanskrit prasaran. The Tibetan has mchod pa (“making offerings to it”). In Chinese, the list is shorter and omits this.
1499. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit does not have “unpleasant” and begins the list with “name and form.” Cleary does not have “unpleasant,” just “objects of sense.” Carré has des désagréments des sens (“the tribulations of the senses”). The Chinese has 不可意 (bu ke yi, “unpleasant”) and adds 法 (fa, “dharma”) as the sixth object in ṣaḍsaṃvṛta.
1500. The Sanskrit at this point has nigama (“market towns”). “Villages, towns, countryside, kingdoms, realms, and capital cities” not present in the Chinese.
1501. According to the Tibetan khams. Not present in the Sanskrit and the Chinese.
1502. According to the Tibetan, Carré, and the Chinese 妻子 (qi zi). The Sanskrit and Cleary have “wives and children.”
1503. According to the Sanskrit vyūha, regularly translated into rgyan within this sūtra and most Kangyurs. The Chinese reads 莊嚴 (zhuang yan). Degé has the error rgyun (“continuity”).
1504. According to the Tibetan gzhal med khang, which would have been a translation of vimāna. The present Sanskrit has vinaya (“training,” “guidance”). The Chinese has 門 (men, “gates”).
1505. The Sanskrit (and Cleary) has the addition prītivega (“with the power of delight”). The Chinese translates as just 集 (ji) without the addition.
1506. According to the Tibetan. “Colors” is not present in the Sanskrit or in the Chinese.
1508. According to the Tibetan gting med pa. The Sanskrit is atula (“unequaled”). Carré’s French translation reads n’a pas de fond (“bottomless”).
1509. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit is pratiṣṭhāpanatā (“brings to”), which would accord with a translation of “wind” instead of “air.” The Chinese has 大風 (da feng, “great wind”) and continues by saying 令眾生速疾趣於一切智 (ling zhong sheng su ji qu yu yi qie zhi gu, “because it brings beings to omniscience swiftly”).
1510. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and Carré’s translation from Chinese are very different from the Tibetan and each other. The Sanskrit is obscure and possibly corrupt, reading vyūhanayavātamaṇḍala. Carré’s French translates as “It is similar to the suburbs of a great city because it is surrounded by extraordinary teachings.” Not present in Cleary. The Chinese has 大城郭 (da cheng guo), with the whole line translating as “It is like a great walled city because it is a grand display of all excellent Dharma.”
1511. Not present in the Tibetan according to the Sanskrit mahābhāga, which was probably dbye ba chen po, and omitted in a scribal error, as it is followed by rnam par dbye ba chen po. The entire sentence is absent in the Chinese.
1512. According to the Tibetan. Carré’s French translation reads, où pur et impûr se melent (“where pure and impure are blended”). The Vaidya Sanskrit has viśuddho'saṃkliṣṭaḥ (“pure and undefiled”).
1513. According to the Sanskrit bhūmi and the Chinese 地 (di). The Tibetan has kyis in error for kyi sa.
1514. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The passage “…clouds of the complete light of the tree. Subsequently, I venerated the Tathāgata Guṇasumeruprabhatejas at that bodhimaṇḍa. As soon as I saw that tathāgata, I attained a samādhi called…” appears to have been inadvertently omitted in the scribal transmission of the Tibetan or the Sanskrit manuscript it was translated from. Present in the Chinese.
1515. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits siṃha at the end of the name, which would have been seng ge in Tibetan. In the Chinese, 師子 (shi zi, “Siṃha”) appears at the very beginning of the name.
1516. According to the Sanskrit, which has “clouds of Dharma,” and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné chos. Degé has tshul (“ways”). The Chinese has 一一法門中, 悟解一切修多羅雲 (yi yi fa men zhong, wu jie yi qie xiu duo luo, “Within each of these ways of the Dharma, I realized/understood clouds of all sūtras”). The noun-verb 悟解 (wu jie), meaning “realization/realize” or “understanding/understand,” is used in the preceding and five subsequent phrases as well.
1517. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has las (“actions” or “from”) as a scribal error for la sa (“bhūmis within”).
1518. According to the Sanskrit bhūmi and Yongle and Kangxi gyi sa’i (though it should be just gyi sa). Degé has the scribal error of gyis for gyi sa.
1519. According to the Sanskrit spharaṇa, the Yongle and Kangxi gang, and Lithang, Narthang, and Choné dgang. Degé has the error dga’ (“joy”).
1520. From the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Not present in the Tibetan. In the Chinese, in this and subsequent phrases throughout this section, the adjective “immeasurable” appears to apply to the quantity of tathāgatas.
1521. According to the Sanskrit and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné tsho. Degé has mtshos, making the ocean of knowledge the agent.
1522. Literally, “doors of various methods,” thabs sna tshogs kyi sgo, translating from a manuscript that had nānopāyamukha. Translated in the Chinese as 方便門 (fang bian men). The present Sanskrit has nānopāyasukha (“the happiness of various methods”).
1523. According to the Tibetan. “Attaining” is not present in the Sanskrit.
1524. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has just “immeasurable level of the tathāgatas.”
1525. According to the Sanskrit samudācāra. The Tibetan translates as rgyud. The Chinese has just “bodies.”
1526. According to the Sanskrit. Not present in the Tibetan. The Chinese has instead 知無量如來廣大力海 (zhi wu liang ru lai guang da li hai), “knowing the vast ocean of great strengths of limitless tathāgatas,” which is followed by a summary of seeing all of the above, from the initial aspiration to the cessation of Dharma, in each instant of mind.”
1527. According to the Tibetan. BHS has nirupamo (“incomparable”), as in Cleary. Carré’s French translates as “very pure” (très purs). The Chinese has “I was able to hear pure Dharma, with great happiness and delight.”
1528. The Sanskrit and the Chinese also have jala (“water”).
1529. The Tibetan is two lines longer than the Sanskrit. The Chinese maintains five words per line, four lines per verse.
1530. The Tibetan rjes su sgom is apparently a translation for anubhava, which is not present in the Sanskrit or the Chinese.
1531. The Tibetan rig pa does not here translate vidyā but gati, which is most commonly used for states of existence, good or bad, but also for movement (hence the translation ’gro) and for classes of beings, in addition to having many other meanings. Here it has the meaning as in gatiṃgata.
1532. According to the Tibetan de bzhin nyid, presumably translating tathatā. The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “tathāgata,” so that this would mean “having the nature of the tathāgatas.”
1533. According to the Tibetan sman. The Sanskrit reads upakari (“help,” “aid”). The Chinese has 饒益 (rao yi, “benefit”).
1534. According to the Tibetan rgya cher, presumably translating from a manuscript that had vipula. The present Sanskrit has vimala (“stainless”). Cleary and Carré, translating from the Chinese 淨 (jing), accord with the Sanskrit.
1535. According to the Sanskrit avināśana, the Chinese 不可壞 (bu ke huai), and Narthang thub pa med pa. Degé and other Kangyurs have thug pa med pa (“untouched”).
1536. At this point in the Tibetan there is “the domain of mental retention called the essence of the lamp of the entire ocean of buddhas,” which appears to be a scribal corruption.
1537. According to the Sanskrit avartana. Translated into Tibetan as the obscure glong. Absent from the Chinese.
1538. According to the Sanskrit viśuddhasaṃkliṣṭa (“pure” and “defiled”), with which Cleary (“pure with some defilement”) and the Narthang and Lhasa Kangyurs concur. Others have the addition of med pa, meaning “pure and undefiled,” which, while unlikely, could have been a translation of viśuddhāsaṃkliṣṭa. Not present in Carré. Not present in the Chinese.
1539. According to the Tibetan and the later instance in Sanskrit of the name. Here the Sanskrit has Vimalaprabha. Not present in the Chinese.
1540. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has maṇḍalāvabhāsaprabhacūḍa. The Chinese appears to be the same as the Tibetan.
1541. Not present in the Sanskrit. Reconstructed from the Tibetan. The Chinese has 須彌華光明 (xu mi hua guang ming, “Sumeru-Flower-Light”).
1542. According to the Sanskrit vākpatha and Degé. The Comparative Edition has dag lam in error for ngag lam. The Chinese has 能知一切語言自性 (neng zhi yi qie yu yan zi xing, “who know the nature of all languages”).
1543. According to the Sanskrit karma and the Narthang, Yongle, and Stok Palace las. Other Kangyurs have the error lam (“path”). The Chinese has 業 (ye), which can refer to either karma or activity; but here it refers to activity.
1544. Unlike the other instances when Sudhana is instructed to ask this question, “bodhisattvas” is in the plural form in both Sanskrit and Tibetan.
1545. According to the Tibetan shes byed. Sanskrit has ākāśa (“space”), and Carré and Cleary both concur.
1546. According to the Sanskrit pratilābha, Chinese 證入 (zheng ru), and Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace thob. Degé has the scribal error thos (“hear”).
1547. According to the BHS verse, śiri (the BHS form of śrī) is evidently adjectival to “realm” and not part of the name.
1548. According to the Tibetan yangs, perhaps translating from vipula. The present Sanskrit has vimala (“stainless”). Cleary concurs, though neither is present in Carré. In the Chinese, the adjective vast applies to “aspiration,” and “stainless” is not present.
1549. According to the Tibetan so so yang dag par rig pa, which would have been from a manuscript that had pratibhāna. The Sanskrit has prīti (“joy,” “delight”) as in the next quality. Cleary concurs. Carré has “eloquence” (an alternative translation for pratibhāna). The Chinese reads 大辯才 (da bian cai), “great eloquence.”
1550. According to the Tibetan yangs. The Sanskrit has gabhira (“deep,” “profound”). This appears to be an adverb modifying “enter” in the Chinese.
1551. According to the Sanskrit sārathi, which can also mean “charioteer.” The Chinese concurs with 調御師 (tiao yu shi). The Tibetan appears to have translated from a corruption and has rgya mtsho (“ocean”), so that the line appears to read, “you have been born from the supreme ocean of beings.”
1552. According to the Sanskrit vipula and Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace yangs. Degé has yang. The Chinese has 已受菩提廣大教 (yi shou pu ti guang da jiao), “you have received vast teachings on enlightenment.”
1553. According to the Sanskrit bala, the Chinese 力 (li), and the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Lhasa, Choné, and Stok Palace stobs. Degé has stabs (“method”).
1554. According to the Sanskrit jala and the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace dra ba. Other Kangyurs have dri ba and Degé has ’dri ba, both meaning “question.”
1555. According to the Tibetan yid ches par bya ba. The Sanskrit has saṃbhāva (“produce,” “generate”). Not present in the Chinese.
1556. According to the Tibetan ’dzum and Carré’s translation from the Chinese. The Sanskrit has sugandhībhavanti (“become fragrant”), with which Cleary concurs. The Chinese has 覆合 (fu he), “closed up.”
1557. From the Tibetan dmigs pa, presumably translating from a manuscript that had ālambana. The Sanskrit has āvaraṇa (“obstacles”). Cleary and Carré concur with the Sanskrit. The Chinese has 多留礙 (duo liu ai, “have many hindrances or obstacles”), and the three situations of beings are reversed in order.
1558. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “the path of the wisdom of the tathāgatas.” The Chinese has 如來所印道 (ru lai suo yin dao, “the path with the seal (印, yin) of the tathāgatas”).
1559. From the Tibetan chos. The Sanskrit has karma (“actions”). The Chinese has 智慧 (zhi hui, “wisdom”).
1560. According to the Sanskrit tṛṣṇa. The Chinese has 貪愛 (tan ai), and Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace have sred pa. Degé has srid pa (“existence”).
1561. According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from hetupratyayāsaṃmūḍha. The available Sanskrit has hetupratyayasaṃmūḍha, which does not have the negative. Chinese has 無迷惑 (wu mi huo),“with no confusion.”
1562. According to Degé and Stok Palace, which have phyir mi ldog pa. Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné have phyir ldog pa. The Sanskrit has abhivartyatā (“victorious”). The Chinese has 恆 (heng, “constantly,” “continuously”). Carré translates as éternellement (“eternally”).
1563. According to the Narthang and Stok Palace ’thon pa, which matches abhyudgata in the Sanskrit version. Degé has bstan (“teach,” “manifest”).
1564. From the Sanskrit vamśavyavasthāna. Translated into Tibetan as rgyud rnam par gnas pa.
1565. According to the Tibetan phrin las, presumably translating karma. The present Sanskrit has kāya (which can mean “body” but also “multitude”). The Chinese also has kāya (“body”).
1566. According to the Tibetan. This sentence is not present in the Sanskrit or the Chinese.
1567. According to the BHS praskandha, translated in the Chinese as 入 (ru, “enter”). The Tibetan inexplicably has mgo rlag (“heads destroyed”).
1568. According to the Sanskrit vividha and the Narthang and Lhasa sna tshogs. Not present in Degé. The Chinese has “immeasurable suffering of all kinds.”
1569. According to the Sanskrit samudāgama, translated in the Chinese as 證入 (zheng ru). The Tibetan translates as bsdu ba (“gather”).
1570. According to the Tibetan yid ches and the Chinese 難信 (nan xin). The BHS is durabhisaṃbhava (“difficult to attain”).
1571. At this point, after the qualities that are in the masculine singular instrumental in the Sanskrit, there is a series of qualities in the feminine singular instrumental case, which are all moved to the end of the list, following the qualities that in Sanskrit were in the masculine instrumental plural.
1572. From the Sanskrit prattipati. The Tibetan translates as nan tan. The Chinese translates as 能修 (neng xiu, “can practice and attain”).
1573. According to the Tibetan. The present Sanskrit has sarva (“all”) instead of dharma. Cleary has “omniscience,” which would be from sarvajñā. Carré has la cité des enseignements insurpassables (“the city of unsurpassable teachings”). The Chinese has 無上法城 (wu shang fa cheng, “the supreme city of the Dharma.”)
1574. According to the Tibetan bsam pa thag pa. The Sanskrit adhyāśaya was translated earlier in the sentence as lhag pa’i bsam pa (“superior motivation”). Not present in the Chinese.
1575. The Sanskrit has gotra and kula. Both are translated as rigs in the Tibetan. The Chinese has “the family of buddhas.”
1576. According to the Sanskrit avinīta. Apparently not present in the Tibetan. The first two lines in the Chinese are “With stainless mind, free of defilements; completely free of regrets.”
1577. According to the Sanskrit akhinna, the Chinese 不退 (bu tui), and Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Lhasa, Choné, and Narthang mi skyo. Degé has mi skye (“unborn”).
1578. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has muni. The Chinese has just “blessing of the buddhas,” but describes the vast field of Vairocana as 無量無邊不可思 (wu liang wu bian bu ke si, “immeasurable, limitless, and inconceivable”).
1579. According to the Sanskrit. There is a piece of text missing between two identical phrases, suggesting a scribal corruption caused by an unintentional omission during copying. The phrase “had purified the ocean of world realms called Maṇikanakaparvataśikharavairocana” is missing in the Tibetan, resulting in an unintelligible sentence. The Chinese refers to it as “that ocean of world realms.”
1580. According to the Sanskrit. The end of the previous sentence and the beginning of this sentence are missing in the Tibetan, which has suffered a scribal corruption, due to repetition of similar sentences in the original translation or possibly a corrupt Sanskrit manuscript. There may also be a missing sentence that says, “in each group of world realms there were numerous world realms.” The description of kalpas is not present in the Chinese.
1581. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan is ambiguous in its phrasing and punctuation. In the Chinese, this and subsequent sentences with an additional description 淨穢相雜 (jing hui xiang za, “mixture of pure and impure features”) constitute the lower part of the world.
1582. According to Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné, which have ’gyel. Degé has gyed. Narthang and Stok Palace have gyen. Sanskrit has abhyudgatāṅga (“stretched-out limbs”). Not present in Cleary. Carré has “beating their chests.”
1583. From the Sanskrit saṃjñā. Translated into Tibetan as ’du shes, which could be “perception,” “identification,” or “impression.” The entire sentence is not present in the Chinese.
1584. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “obtaining possession of what is delighted in.” The Chinese is the same as the Sanskrit.
1585. The Sanskrit includes at this point, “perceived as someone who practices the great path, perceived as someone who is the vessel (patra) of the Mahāyāna, perceived as someone who is a jewel island of great wisdom.” The Chinese has “jewels or treasures” instead.
1586. According to the Tibetan gzi brjid, which may have been translating tejas. The present Sanskrit has dhvaja (“banner”). The Chinese has “great brilliant banner made of kings of jewels,” which brings comfort to those touched by its light.
1587. From the Sanskrit ājāneyāśva. The Tibetan separates the compound into two, “horses” and “thoroughbreds,” but perhaps with thoroughbred as an adjective for all three animals. Not present in the Chinese.
1588. According to the Sanskrit gaja. The Tibetan translation ba lang, used in earlier times for “elephant,” would now be considered to mean “oxen.” Not present in the Chinese.
1589. According to the Sanskrit pralambita and the Narthang dpyangs. Degé and other Kangyurs have sbyangs (“purified”).
1590. According to the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit.
1591. According to the Sanskrit where this clause ends. The Tibetan has a genitive particle connecting the verb with the next clause.
1592. According to the Tibetan. “Nets of jewels” is not present in Sanskrit.
1593. According to the Sanskrit saṃsthāna and Degé dbyibs. Most Kangyurs have dbyings (“realm” and so on, which would have been from dhātu.)
1594. From the Tibetan gam yo. The Sanskrit has sarva (“all”).
1595. The previous two sentences are according to the Tibetan interpretation of the Sanskrit compounds.
1596. From the BHS nirdeśa. Translated into Tibetan as brjod du yod pa (“describable”). The Chinese has in place of this passage a short description stating that his commands were followed by all.
1597. From the Sanskrit śalāka. Translated into Tibetan as shar bu (which can mean “waterspouts”). Not present in the Chinese.
1598. From the Sanskrit prasāda, translated into Tibetan as spro ba (“attraction”). Chinese has “compassion, delight, respect.”
1599. From the Sanskrit ekānta. Not present in the Tibetan. The Chinese uses four adjectives: “loving, kind, filial, and social.”
1600. According to the Sanskrit mātya. The Tibetan translates according to an alternative meaning of the word: blon po (“minister”). Not present in the Chinese.
1601. According to the Sanskrit avakranta. The Tibetan appears to have translated from avakranda (“roar”), resulting in nga ro in Lithang, Choné, and Stok Palace, which was “corrected” to ro (“taste”) in other Kangyurs.
1602. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit could mean that he has “become gentle with the faculties and thoughts of a kalyāṇamitra.”
1603. The order of this and the following line is reversed in the Sanskrit.
1604. According to Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné las (“from”). Degé has la (“to”) from the Sanskrit yathāgata.
1605. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit yathāsaṃprāpta could be “whenever they arrived.” The Chinese has “whatever their family, whatever their physical appearance, whenever they arrived.”
1606. From the Sanskrit cīvara. The Tibetan translates this as gos, as it does for vastra (“clothes”). Not present in the Chinese.
1607. According to the BHS abhicchādayāmāsa. The Tibetan translates as mngon par sdud (“gathered”). Not present in the Chinese.
1608. From the BHS nirābhiramya. The Tibetan translates as mdangs dkar (“white glow”). The Chinese translates as 不可樂 (bu ke le) in accordance with the BHS but omits “no magnificence.”
1609. From the Sanskrit vinaṣṭa (“destroyed”). The Tibetan translates as chab ’tshal (“sought water”). Not present in the Chinese.
1610. According to the Sanskrit vadhyate. The Tibetan translates as gzungs, which could be translated as “seized” or “arrested.” The Chinese translates as 刑獄 (xing yu, “punishments and incarceration”).
1611. From the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “remaining on a wrong path, accumulating and venerating” (sri zhu), which appears to be a scribal corruption. Not present in Cleary. Carré has “meager profits” and “looting in chaos.”
1612. According to the Sanskrit viṣama and the Narthang and Lhasa mi bzad. Degé has mi zad (“inexhaustible,” “unending”). The Chinese has “engaged in wrong conduct.”
1613. Following the Tibetan. The Sanskrit specifies candana (“sandalwood”). Not present in the Chinese.
1614. According to the Sanskrit tuṣtāḥ. The Tibetan has rgyan gyis ’tshal or, as most Kangyurs including Stok Palace have, rkyen gyis ’tshal. The Chinese interprets this verse as “Today, when they see the wives of others, endowed with beautiful features and beautifully adorned, their minds are not defiled by desires, just like those in the Paradise of Contentment” (an alternative translation of Tuṣita).
1615. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has jvalita (“shining”). The Chinese has “complete with all kinds of adornments.”
1616. According to the Sanskrit avabhāso 'rkasamo (avabhāsa arkasama, “light as bright as the sun”). The Chinese concurs. The Tibetan has gdugs, which is normally “parasol” but can also mean “sun.”
1617. According to the Sanskrit, and in accord with the pond architecture of India and what subsequently occurs. The Tibetan translates as “on top of the palace of the good Dharma in the middle of that central pond.” “Middle” was added, presumably to fit in with the king’s reaching out for the lotus.
1618. According to the Tibetan byung ba. The Sanskrit samucchraya could mean “sitting upright,” as in the Chinese 端身 (duan shen).
1619. According to the Sanskrit prāsādapṛṣṭha. The Tibetan translates as pho brang (“palace”). The Chinese has “he got into the pond.”
1620. According to the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné mchog, used in btsun mo’i mchog to translate the honorific devā. Degé and others, including Stok Palace, have mgo, which could be a scribal error resulting in “the queen’s head” or is meant to be “the head of the queens.” The Chinese has 夫人 (fu ren), an honorific meaning “wife.”
1621. According to the Tibetan bdag. The Sanskrit has naḥ (“we”), and the Chinese concurs.
1622. From the Sanskrit utsaṅge. The Tibetan has the obscure thu bo. The Chinese omits this detail.
1623. The online romanized Vaidya has samudrāgama in error for samudāgama (Suzuki, p. 339). The online Devanāgarī Vaidya does not have the error.
1624. According to the Tibetan and the Chinese. Not present in the Sanskrit.
1625. According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from a manuscript that read lakṣaṇa. The present Sanskrit has cittakṣaṇād (“in an instant of mind”), and the Chinese concurs with that.
1626. According to the Tibetan mos pa. Earlier tuṣti was translated as dga’ ba (“joy”). Chinese has as the third line: “now that I have taught it to you.”
1627. According to the Sanskrit and the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace chos. Degé and others have zhing (“realm”). Carré has “qualities,” an alternative translation of dharma. Cleary has “teachings.”
1628. Not present in the Tibetan. The Chinese appears to agree with the Sanskrit.
1629. According to the Sanskrit suciraṃ and the Chinese 良久 (liang jiu). Not present in the Tibetan unless it is translated as rgyangs bcad pa.
1630. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit compound could be translated as “commonality of the kalyāṇamitras.” The following long section on “commonality” is interpreted quite differently in Cleary and in Carré via the Chinese. The Tibetan phyir could be translated as either “because” or “in order to,” but the Sanskrit is clearly in the dative case and therefore has the latter meaning. However, Carré translates as puisqu’il (“because”). The Chinese has 於善知識生十種心 (yu shan zhi shi qi shi zhong xin), which can mean “he developed ten aspirations in the presence of the kalyāṇamitra,” i.e., the night goddess Sarvajagadrakṣāpraṇidhānavīryaprabhā. Here 心 (xin, “mind”) can be understood as “aspiration.”
1631. According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from samantabhadracārya. The Sanskrit and the Chinese have samantabhadrayāna (“completely good vehicle”). The Chinese has 普賢菩薩所有行 (pu xian pu sa suo you xing, “all the conduct of the bodhisattva Samantabhadra”).
1632. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has suparipūrṇa (“well completed”). The Chinese has 增長 (zeng zhang, “increase and enhance”).
1633. According to the Tibetan chos, translating dharma. The Chinese has 法 (fa, “dharma”). The Sanskrit has karma (“action,” “activity”).
1634. According to the Sanskrit asaṃbheda, which means “separate,” “distinct.” The Tibetan translates as tha mi dad pa (“not different,” “undifferentiated”), which does not appear to be the intended meaning here. Translated in the Chinese as 差別 (cha bie).
1635. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan appears to have suffered a corruption here, with “fearlessness,” which comes later in the list, being added here too, and the absence of a verb for “the ways of the Dharma.” The Tibetan has, “The commonality of Dharma practice for the ocean of all the ways of the Dharma; the commonality of fearlessness for the destruction of the mountain of all obscurations.” The Chinese has “the commonality of ‘vigor, prowess’ 同勇猛 (tong yong meng), which can destroy the mountain of all obstacles.”
1636. According to the Sanskrit vacana. “Speech” is not present in the Tibetan. The Chinese has 愛語 (ai yu, “loving words”), which means kind speech that brings joy to all beings.
1637. According to the Sanskrit anugama and the Chinese 往詣 (wang yi). The Tibetan translates as khong du chud pa (“comprehend”).
1638. According to the Sanskrit locative plural case. The Tibetan translates as instrumental. The Chinese appears to have rearranged the order of key words and translates as 隨樂 (sui le, “the commonality of”), “following the wishes [of beings] in manifesting objects according to the perception of beings.”
1639. According to the Sanskrit, though adhiṣṭhāna can mean “residence” or “abode,” which appears to be the intended meaning here rather than “empowerment” or “blessing.” The Tibetan has an omission of the middle of the clause, probably missing from the Sanskrit manuscript, resulting in simply “The commonality of the empowerment of all the tathāgatas.” The Chinese translates as 護念 (hu nian, “blessed,” “protected”).
1640. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has las in error for la sa.
1641. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has kyis in error for kyi sa.
1642. According to the Tibetan mi mnyam. The Sanskrit has dyuitmāna (“shining,” “majestic”). The Chinese translates as “I have attained ‘the fruit of enlightenment.’ ”
1643. According to the Sanskrit akṣaya and the Chinese 無盡 (wu jin). The Tibetan has the meaningless mi bas, presumably in error for mi zad.
1644. According to the Sanskrit hitāya and the Chinese 饒益 (rao yi). The Tibetan has sman (“medicine”) in error for phan (“benefit”).
1645. According to the Sanskrit mārga and the Chinese 道 (dao). Not present in the Tibetan.
1646. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has tvadantike and adya (“I have today, in your presence”). This verse is not present in the Chinese.
1647. According to the Tibetan. The Chinese has 白淨法 (bai jing fa, “pure dharmas”).
1648. In Sanskrit, the section from “no dissimilarities” is included in the following description of the various bodies the goddess manifests.
1649. According to the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit.
1650. According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from two compounds: “pariśuddhivarṇā varapravarottama.” In the present Sanskrit there is one compound: “pariśuddhivarapravarottama.” This presumably inadvertently omits varṇā. The Chinese has 最勝廣大 (zui sheng guang da, “supreme and vast”).
1651. From the Tibetan ’jigs, presumably translating bhaya. The Sanskrit has naya (“way”). The Chinese has 一切眾生見不虛色身 (yi qie zhong sheng jian bu xu se shen), the meaning of which is unclear.
1652. According to dbyings in Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné. Degé and others have dbyangs (“voice”). Not present in the Sanskrit. The Chinese has 妙身雲普現世間皆蒙益色身 (miao shen yun pu xian shi jian jie meng yi se shen, “form bodies that appear everywhere as clouds of excellent bodies and benefit the world”).
1653. According to the Tibetan sprin and the Chinese 雲 (yun), presumably translating megha. The Sanskrit has amogha (“meaningful,” “efficacious”).
1654. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has no negative and can mean “intent upon.” The Chinese has 無決定無究竟 (wu jue ding wu jiu jing, “not stable/unchanging, not ultimate”).
1655. The Degé reprint has an incorrect page for folio 187.b. The page order has been emended in the Degé reader.
1656. According to the Sanskrit dharmatā and the Chinese 法性 (fa xing). The Tibetan has just chos (“phenomena”) instead of chos nyid.
1657. According to the Sanskrit plural accusative. The Tibetan has “through roots of merit” or in Yongle “of roots of merit.”
1658. According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and the Narthang med pa, which is absent in the Degé but occurs when this topic is soon repeated. The BHS kalpa, vikalpa, and parikalpa were translated into Tibetan as rtog pa, rnam par rtog pa, and yongs su rtogs pa. However, the third of these is missing at this point in the text but occurs when this subject is repeated. The Chinese has 遠離一切分別境界 (yuan li yi qie fen bie jing jie, “free from all states of differentiation”).
1659. According to the Sanskrit and the Narthang and Lhasa med, which is absent in Degé in this sentence but is preserved in the following sentence.
1660. From the Sanskrit vimatratā. Translated into Tibetan as tha dad par bya ba. The Chinese conjoins these three as 諸劫分別 (zhu jie fen bie, “distinct various kalpas”).
1661. According to the Tibetan nub. The Sanskrit has rātri (“night”), as does the Chinese 夜 (ye).
1662. According to the Sanskrit, where they form a single compound. In the Chinese, “birth” and “death” are counted as the ninth and tenth qualities.
1663. According to the Sanskrit. Saṃsāra is not present in the Tibetan or the Chinese.
1664. According to the commentary, this refers to the eightfold path, with wisdom being the right view and conduct the other seven aspects of the path.
1666. While the Sanskrit gata can mean “came,” it is also used to specify location. The Tibetan translated this literally as “came” to the bodhimaṇḍa, even though he is already there. The Chinese translates as “had been sitting at the bodhimaṇḍa for one hundred years.”
1667. In the Sanskrit it is stated that he taught “for a thousand years.” The Chinese is “for one hundred years.”
1668. The present Sanskrit (including Suzuki, p. 353) has bhirutra, which may be a corruption of paritra (“save”). The Tibetan translates as “those not frightened by fear.” Cleary has “save the frightened.” Not present in Carré. Absent in the Chinese.
1669. According to the Sanskrit anāryajñānām. The Tibetan translates as tshul mi shes pa (“not knowing the [proper] way”). Absent in the Chinese.
1670. There is at this point a page numbered simply a hundred in the Degé reprint, and the numbering recommences on the next folio. The page order has been emended in the Degé reader.
1671. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan uses an obscure vocabulary here. The Chinese has “punishable by death.”
1672. The Tibetan appears to have ces in error for the homophone skyes, perhaps in making a copy through dictation.
1673. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “the royal treasuries.” The Chinese has 王法 (wang fa, “laws of the kingdom”).
1674. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Here the Tibetan has yo byed (upakaraṇa), thus having it twice in the list.
1675. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “all beings.” This phrase is absent in the Chinese.
1676. From the Sanskrit gupta and according to the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné pa. Degé has par. The Chinese separates the descriptions of the senses and the mind: 寂定 (ji ding, “all senses are pacified”). This literally means “peaceful and still,” so the translation would read “like a tamed elephant, the mind…”
1677. In accordance with the Sanskrit and the Tibetan translation earlier in the chapter. This time the bodhisattva liberation includes the additional phrase “in accordance with their dispositions.” The Chinese has 教化眾生令生善根 (jiao hua zhong sheng ling sheng shan ge, “guide beings and let roots of merit develop in them”).
1678. The Sanskrit translates as “great compassion.”
1679. According to the Tibetan and the Chinese. The Sanskrit has “the path.”
1680. According to the Sanskrit duṣkarāṇi and the Narthang and Lhasa dka’. Degé and others have dga’ (“delight”). The Chinese has “practiced ascetic practices” and presents the next sentence simply as “and attained this liberation.”
1681. According to the Tibetan mthu. The Sanskrit (including Suzuki, p. 358) repeats prabhā, presumably in error for prabhāva.
1682. Literally, “ten hundred thousands.” The Chinese has 阿僧祇 (a seng qi, “one million asaṃkya”).
1683. The Sanskrit has “great treasures.” The Chinese has 法藏 (fa zang, “Dharma treasures”).
1684. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit could also mean “good caste” and “bad caste.” The Chinese translates as 好色 (hao se, “good color”) and 惡色 (e se, “bad color”), which can also refer to physical appearance or caste.
1686. According to the Lithang and Choné grogs po. Degé has grags pa (“famous”). The Sanskrit has prapīta (“swollen”!). Cleary has “resolute.” Carré has “you in whom faith delights the heart.”
1687. The Sanskrit dharmeṇa yastānanuśāsti sattvān could also be translated as “he punished those beings with the law.” The Chinese translation 恆以正法御群生 (heng yi zheng fa yu qun sheng) could be interpreted either as “always tamed those beings with the Dharma” or “always governed those beings with the law.”
1688. According to the Sanskrit vāk and the Chinese 言辭 (yan ci). Degé and so on, including Stok Palace, have dag in error for ngag.
1689. According to the Tibetan gzhol. The Sanskrit is anusmaranti (“remember”). The Chinese has 入 (ru, “enter”).
1690. According to the Sanskrit and Lithang and Choné kyi. Degé and others have kyis (“by”). The Chinese has 獲勝神通 (huo sheng shen tong, “attain excellent higher recognition”).
1691. The Sanskrit is mahāprasthāna. Degé has bsham chen po, Lhasa has bshams chen po, Yongle and Kangxi have brtsam chen po, and Lithang and Choné have brtsams chen po. The Chinese has 廣大趣向心 (guang da qu xiang xin).
1692. According to the Sanskrit yathāvādītathākārī (“to practice what one preaches”). The Tibetan may have been translating from a corrupt manuscript, as it has, literally, “to wash the body below the mouth.” The Chinese is similar to the Sanskrit: 如說行 (ru shuo xing).
1693. According to the Sanskrit avisaṃvādana. The Tibetan has “not deceive the body.” The Chinese has 不誑 (bu kuang, “not deceive”).
1694. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit uses the positive anupālanatā (“preserve,” “maintain”). The Chinese is the same as the Sanskrit: 守護 (shou hu).
1695. According to the Sanskrit aṅga. Not present in the Tibetan or the Chinese.
1696. According to the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit. The Chinese has “great diligence, in seeking omniscience and accumulating merit, which is like the fire at the end of a kalpa that burns continuously.”
1697. According to the Tibetan tshogs, presumably translating from saṃbhara. The present Sanskrit has sambhava (“origin”). The Chinese is similar to the Tibetan.
1698. According to the Tibetan kun tu bzang po and the Chinese 普賢 (pu xian), translating from samantabhadra. The present Sanskrit has anantamadhya (“without end or middle”).
1699. According to the Sanskrit vimukhī, the Chinese 背捨 (bei she), and Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné phyir. Degé has the error phyin.
1700. The Sanskrit has “sharp faculties.” The Chinese has 具菩薩根 (ju pu sa gen, “attain the faculties of a bodhisattva”).
1701. From the BHS samanvāhṛta, which is translated into Chinese as 護念 (hu nian, “considered/looked upon kindly [by all tathāgatas].” The Tibetan appears to interpret this as “is focused on by all the tathāgatas.”
1702. In accordance with the Tibetan, presumably translating from sarvajñā. The present Sanskrit has sarvata, and Cleary agrees with “everywhere.” Carré’s translation from the Chinese agrees with the Tibetan. The Chinese has “with great diligence, set forth to attain omniscience, and cross over to the other shore.”
1703. According to the Sanskrit “Dharma of the buddhas.” Missing in the Tibetan. The Chinese has 一切甚深法門 (yi qie shen shen fa men, “all profound Dharmas or entrances into the Dharma”).
1704. The Sanskrit has “teaching the ways.” The Chinese has 開示法界咸令究竟 (kai shi fa jie xian ling jiu jing, “attains the supreme perfection of teaching the Dharma realm”).
1705. The Sanskrit has “differentiated.” Carré has “differentiated” for both knowledge and phenomena (dharma). Cleary has “differentiated” for knowledge and “undifferentiated” for “objects” (dharmas). The Chinese has 於有差別境入無差別定, 於無差別法現有差別智 (yu you cha bie jing ru wu cha bie ding, yu wu cha bie fa xian you cha bie zhi, “rest in undifferentiated samādhi with differentiated objects, manifest differentiating knowledge in undifferentiated phenomena (dharma)”).
1706. According to the Tibetan, perhaps translating from anavaraṇe. The present Sanskrit has anārambaṇe (“without objects of perception”), which is translated into Chinese as 無境界 (wu jing jie).
1707. According to the Tibetan thams cad translating sarva. The present Sanskrit has sattva (“beings”). The Chinese has just “attains fearlessness.”
1708. According to the Tibetan sems can gyi lus presumably translating from satvakāya. The present Sanskrit has sarvakāya (“all bodies”). In the Chinese, some phrases and contents are reordered; it has “is skilled in manifesting the bodies of all beings and buddhas” as the second phrase in this segment.
1709. According to the Sanskrit. “Conduct” is not present in the Tibetan. The Chinese has 修行 (xiu xing, “practice”).
1710. In the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné, there is a very long passage of two or three folio sides that occurs within this sentence. It is not present in the available Sanskrit or the Chinese.
1711. The Sanskrit has two other items in this list. The Chinese has four: “practice, increase, complete, and accomplish.”
1712. From the Sanskrit prabhāvayanti. Missing from the Tibetan. Here the Chinese has 住無量處通達無礙 (zhu wu liang chu tong da wu ai, “dwell in countless places and reach anywhere without obstruction”).
1713. In accordance with the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit this sentence is conjoined with the following sentence, with the verb “teach” therefore occurring only once. The Chinese has “They manifest buddhahood to beings.”
1714. Edgerton discusses this verse, the verb praṇidhyeti, and a possible error in the Sanskrit. See his Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 360. The Chinese omits numbering in all ten verses, and the third line in the first verse states “who wish to make offerings all the time in the future.”
1715. According to the Tibetan, presumably translating from sattva. The Sanskrit has sarva (“all”) in reference to the realms. The Chinese has “beings and buddhas.”
1716. According to the Sanskrit sāra, the Chinese 堅 (jian), and the Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa brtan. Degé has bstan (“teach,” “reveal”).
1717. The Sanskrit has “the worlds in the ten directions.” The Chinese has 一切 (yi qie, “all”), which can refer to “all directions,” “all beings,” or both.
1718. According to Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa kyi. Degé has kyis.
1719. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “this world realm of the four continents.” Carré has “of our world.” Not present in Cleary or the Chinese.
1720. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. This sentence is not present in the Tibetan.
1721. According to the Tibetan lus. The Sanskrit kukṣi and the Chinese 腹 (fu) could more specifically mean “belly,” “abdomen,” or “womb.”
1722. According to the Sanskrit nadī and the Chinese 河 (he). Not present in the Tibetan.
1723. According to the Sanskrit. The last two items appear to have suffered an omission and been merged in the Tibetan to “adornment of jewels.”
1724. According to the Sanskrit garbha. The Tibetan has chu ba (“joint” or “root”). The Chinese has 金剛為莖 (jin gang wei jing, “its stalk made of vajra”).
1725. At this point there is an apparently unintelligible sentence in the Tibetan, with no parallel in the Chinese or Sanskrit, that appears to have been subject to scribal corruption. Literally it states, “It had the inner levels of an ocean of beings, kings of jewels.”
1726. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “It had the display of light rays from the filaments made of all kings of jewels.” Perhaps the Tibetan was translated from a text that had kesaraśikhara (“tip”) instead of kesararaśmi (“rays”). The Chinese has 花鬚 (hua xu), presumably translating from kesara.
1727. According to the Tibetan mdzes pa. Not present in the Chinese, which may have been translating from a text that had cāru instead of rāja (“king”).
1728. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “wish-fulfilling kings of jewels.”
1729. According to the Sanskrit devendra and the Chinese 一切天王 (yi qie tian wang), and in conformity with the following list of lords of various deities. The Tibetan has lha ris (“classes of deities”).
1730. According to the Sanskrit pralambita and the Chinese 垂 (chui). The Tibetan has spyangs in error for phyang.
1731. The Tibetan may have suffered an omission. The Sanskrit has “All the lords of garuḍas hung precious clouds of precious cloths that adorned the sky as an awning over the crowd of bodhisattvas.” The Chinese has 繒幡 (zeng fan, “silk banners,” “flags”) from patākā or ketu, without mentioning the clouds.
1732. According to the Sanskrit janma, the Chinese 初生 (chu sheng), and its Tibetan translation elsewhere in this passage. In this sentence the Tibetan translates as tshe (“life”).
1733. According to the Sanskrit janma, the Chinese 初生 (chu sheng), and its Tibetan translation elsewhere in this passage. In this sentence the Tibetan translates as tshe (“life”).
1734. According to the commentary, this refers to the eightfold path, with wisdom being the right view and conduct being the other seven aspects of the path. The Chinese has 十號具足 (shi hao ju zu, “with the ten synonyms of the tathāgata”).
1736. The Sanskrit and the Chinese translate as “buddhas.”
1737. The name differs in the prose (mnyam par gzhag pa) and verse (snga phyi mnyam) in the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit the prose has samāpadyata, while in the Sanskrit verse there is the phrase kalpa ādiriva ananta nāyako (literally, “a kalpa like the first, endless, guide,” which is ambiguous). However, the Sanskrit that the Tibetan translated from was different, with the Tibetan meaning “The name of the kalpa was Sameness of Beginning and End.” The Tibetan appears to have translated from a manuscript that may have had kalpa ādiriva anta nāmako. Cleary does not give a name but simply “age.” Carré, translating from the Chinese 悅樂 (yue le), has the kalpa’s name as Plaisirs de la Joie (“The Pleasures of Joy”). Because of this uncertainty we have repeated the name as given in the prose.
1738. A different number is given in the prose. The Chinese has “eighty nayuta” in both the prose and the verse.
1739. According to the Tibetan. The second half of the verse in Sanskrit is quite different, and the next three verses are not present in the Sanskrit. The Chinese has “leaving home and going to the bodhimaṇḍa” as the third line and “manifesting the scope of buddhahood.”
1740. This verse is not present in the Sanskrit but is present in the Chinese.
1741. This verse is not present in the Sanskrit. In the Chinese the fourth line is “rain down nectar of Dharma.”
1742. According to Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, Choné, and Lhasa, which have la. Degé has las (“from”). The Chinese has 內 (nei, “within”).
1743. This verse is not present in the Sanskrit but is present in the Chinese.
1744. According to the Tibetan khrag khrig. The Sanskrit has koṭi (“ten million”). The number is not present in the Chinese.
1745. The Sanskrit follows uttāpayan (“purifying”) with parijayan (“cultivating”). Not present in the Chinese.
1746. In accordance with the Yongle, Lithang, and Choné. Degé has here the particle la (“in”). The Chinese has 聖智身 (sheng zhi shen), which can be understood to mean “the body of āryajñāna.”
1747. According to the Sanskrit mantra and Cleary. Not present in the Tibetan, Carré, or the Chinese.
1748. From the Sanskrit animiṣa, which can mean “unblinking.” The two variant spellings in Tibetan are blan pa myed pa and glan pa myed pa, which both mean “not covered,” presumably referring to the eyes not being covered by the eyelids. The Chinese has two phrases: “mind/intentions without any momentary indolence” and “all actions are pure.”
1749. From the Tibetan nyam nga ba, translating presumably from viṣama. The present Sanskrit has viśaya (“range,” “field,” “scope”). The Chinese is the same as the Tibetan.
1750. From the Sanskrit śītibhāva. The Tibetan translates according to its other meaning of “coolness” (bsil ba), which is also a part of the metaphor of shelter from heat. The Chinese also translates this as 清涼 (qing liang, “coolness”). Instead of “shelters,” it has 究竟 (jiu jing, “the ultimate,” “the utmost”) without reference to a physical presentation.
1751. “Of the Dharma” is according to the Tibetan. It is not found in the present Sanskrit.
1752. Literally, many “ten millions.” The Chinese reads 無量億千 (wu liang yi qian, “innumerous thousands of yi”).
1753. According to the Tibetan sems can thams cad, translating from sarvasattvān. The present Sanskrit has sarvadharmān (“all phenomena”). The Chinese accords with the Tibetan.
1754. According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and the preceding passage in Tibetan. The Tibetan omits “wisdom” here.
1755. According to the Sanskrit saṃkrama. Degé has bzem pa (“avoid”). Yongle has bzad pa (“endure” or “be exhausted”). Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné have bzod pa (“patience”).
1756. The Sanskrit has “gathers together the bodhisattvas.” The Chinese has 菩薩攝智 (pu sa she zhi), which can be understood to mean the same as the Sanskrit.
1757. The Sanskrit has “that ripens the bodhisattvas.” The Chinese has “that ripens all beings.”
1758. According to the Sanskrit vikurvita. The Tibetan has rnam par rtse ba (“play”), presumably translating from vikrīḍita. The Chinese has 神通 (shen tong), which could have been translated from either vikurvita or vikrīḍita.
1759. According to the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Lhasa, and Choné rnam par spyod pa. Degé has dam par spyod pa. The Tibetan appears to have been translating vicāra. The present Sanskrit has vihāra, usually translated into Tibetan as gnas pa. The Chinese appears to be a translation of vihāra as 所住方便 (suo zhu fang bian).
1760. The Sanskrit has “in every direction.” The Chinese has “the ten directions.”
1761. According to the Tibetan rta babs (Degé has rta bgab), normally used as a translation of toraṇa, which can also mean “gateway” and “portico.” However, the present Sanskrit has the obscure khāraka. Edgerton (p. 205) speculates that it might mean a large number, having only found the word in this very passage. Pali often shines a light on the meaning of BHS words, but in Pali, khāraka is an adjective meaning “sharp” or “dry.” “Rivers,” “vortexes,” “trees,” and “portals” are not present in the Chinese.
1762. From the Sanskrit ākramaṇa and the Yongle, Kangxi, and Narthang gnan. Degé has gnas (“dwell”). Not present in the Chinese.
1763. The Sanskrit also has koṭi, which would make the number “eight hundred and forty billion.” The Chinese translates as “It was the most important or excellent among the eighty royal cities.”
1764. The Sanskrit has “clouds of nets” with no reference to gold. This segment describing the royal city and surrounding towns is not present in the Chinese.
1765. According to the Sanskrit aṣṭapada, which apparently has the meaning of “eight sections” (vertical and horizontal), like a checkerboard or chessboard, referring to a game that originated in its earliest form in the first centuries of the first millennium in India, where board games were very popular. Therefore, this appears to be a specific reference to the eight-by-eight-square game board, and it has been translated in The Lotus Sūtra by Tsugunari and Akira as “like a chessboard,” or by Kern as “like a checkerboard.” Other English translations of the Chinese have interpreted this as “eight intersecting roads.” In the translation of this sūtra Cleary has “jeweled checkerboards.” This passage is absent in Carré.
1766. According to the Tibetan myam and Sanskrit sama (“equal”). Narthang and Lhasa have snyan (“melodious”).
1767. According to the Tibetan rkang pa’i bol and the Chinese 足趺 (zu fu). The term ucchaṅkhapāda (also seen in other texts as utsaṅgapāda) has been variously interpreted and translated. See Edgerton (p. 118) for variant meanings in Pali, Tibetan, and Chinese.
1768. According to the Sanskrit. “Young” is not present in the Tibetan. All such details are not present in the Chinese.
1769. From the Sanskrit gurusthānīya. The Tibetan translates as bla mar bya ba. All such details are not present in the Chinese.
1770. From the Tibetan zhum pa med pa. Not in the present Sanskrit or in the Chinese.
1771. According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese (conjoined with the next description). The Tibetan omits “his arms.”
1772. According to Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Urga, and Lhasa mnyen. Degé has gnyen. Not present in the Chinese.
1773. According to the BHS and Pali rasaharaṇyaḥ. Literally, “bringers of taste.” The Tibetan has just rtsa (“channel”). Not present in the Chinese.
1774. According to the Tibetan. Not present in the Sanskrit.
1775. From the BHS abhiṣyanda, which can also mean “oozing,” in reference to the pus of an abscess. The Tibetan has thogs pa (“obstruction,” “impediment”). Narthang has ma thogs pa (“unimpeded”).
1776. According to the Tibetan gseb ’gang ba. The BHS paryavanāha can mean “covered over.” Edgerton (p. 334) discusses the possible meanings. This is followed in the Sanskrit by atisarjana, which may mean the loss of a tooth. Edgerton, finding the meaning obscure (p. 10), believes it is the same as abhiṣajjana (p. 57), perhaps meaning the teeth get stuck together. There is no translation for this term in the Tibetan.
1777. The Sanskrit nīla is literally “blue,” but in Sanskrit literature it is used as a euphemism for “black.” The Tibetan translates here nonliterally as nag (“black”). The Sanskrit has abhinīla (“deep black”), and the Tibetan translates this as dkar nag (“white and black”).
1778. According to the BHS viprasanna. The Tibetan translates as rnam par gsal ba (“clear”). This and other details are not present in the Chinese.
1779. Sanskrit has also “stretched, unequal, and unstable.” The Chinese describes the skin as “soft, smooth, and golden in color.”
1780. According to the Sanskrit indranīla and the Chinese 帝青 (di qing). The Tibetan appears to have omitted “sapphire.”
1781. According to the Sanskrit nīla. The Tibetan appears to have omitted “blue.” Such additional details are not present in the Chinese.
1782. Degé has a superfluous gcig not present in Yongle, Kangxi, and Choné. The Chinese has 爾時 (er shi), “at one time” or “at that time.”
1783. According to the Tibetan dra ba, presumably translating from jāla. The present Sanskrit has rāja (“king”). The Chinese accords with the Sanskrit.
1784. According to the Tibetan gdugs, presumably translating from chattra. Not present in the Sanskrit. In this segment, the Chinese has “one billion people holding precious parasols.”
1785. According to the Sanskrit chattra. The Tibetan translates as skyabs (“shelter,” “refuge”). The Chinese translates as three objects: 寶傘 (bao san), 寶幡 (bao fan), and 寶幢 (bao chuang), which are “precious umbrellas” and two types of “precious banners,” respectively, without mentioning the types of jewels.
1786. According to the Sanskrit gaṇika and the narrative itself. The Tibetan has sbrul ’tshong ma (“snake seller”). The Chinese has 母 (mu), “mother.”
1787. According to the commentary, this refers to the eightfold path, with wisdom being the right view and conduct the other seven aspects of the path. The Chinese has 十號具足 (shi hao ju zu, “with all the ten synonyms”).
1788. From the Sanskrit hita and the Chinese 利益 (li yi). The Tibetan appears to have phan pa corrupted to sman pa (“medicine,” “healing”), which can easily occur in the dbu med script.
1789. According to the Sanskrit kumāra and the Narthang and Lhasa sku gzhon. Degé has sku gzhan (“other body”). The Chinese has 太子 (tai zi), “the Crown Prince.”
1790. The Sanskrit here is cakradhara, literally, “wheel holder.” The Chinese has the last two lines as 必當於此世界, 而作轉輪位 (bi dang yu ci shi jie, er zuo zhuan lun wei, “you definitely will assume the position of a cakravartin in this world”).
1791. From the Sanskrit uddhura. The Tibetan varies. Degé has ye brngam, Lhasa has ye rngam, Kangxi has ye ’jam, and Lithang and Choné have yi dam. The Chinese has 不作 (bu zuo, “are not engaged in”).
1792. The Sanskrit is kalyāṇasuhṛt, a synonym for kalyāṇamitra. The Chinese translates from kalyāṇamitra.
1793. According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has kalyatāṃ (“good”). The Chinese has “develop firm faith and utmost respect” to the kalyāṇamitra and/or the Dharma.
1794. According to the Sanskrit 'pariṇāyakeṣu, which without the saṃdhi (euphonic combination) would be apariṇāyakeṣu. The initial a is a negation, but the Tibetan omits the negation. The Chinese describes such beings as 孤獨者 (gu du zhe, “those who are alone,” a common translation of Skt. anātha and anātha-bhūta).
1795. From the Sanskrit niśākṣaya. The Tibetan translates as dgung sangs. The Chinese has “on the day.”
1796. According to the Tibetan dga’ rtse. The Sanskrit has cira (“for a long time”). Neither is present in the Chinese.
1797. According to the Sanskrit ghana and the Yongle and Kangxi stug. Degé has sdug (“pretty”). The Chinese has 妙華 (miao hua, “excellent,” “splendid,” or “beautiful”).
1798. According to the Sanskrit mahā. Not present in the Tibetan or the Chinese.
1799. From the Sanskrit samabhāga. Narthang and Lhasa have rkyen du mnyam. Yongle and Kangxi have rkyan du mnyam. Degé has rgyan du mnyam (“equal as adornments”). This line is not present in the Chinese.
1800. The Tibetan here translates the Sanskrit cāpodari (“belly like a bow”) as lto ba, though the Mahāvyutpatti translates this as rked pa gzhu’i chang gzungs (“a bow-handle waist”). It appears to describe the inward curve at the waist, as occurs in the design of certain bows at the midpoint where they are gripped. This line is not present in the Chinese.
1801. According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan bzhong (or bzho) zhing dbab pa is obscure.
1802. According to the BHS vyādhayaḥ and the Chinese 患 (huan). The Tibetan has gnas (“place”) in error for nad (“illness”), which would have occurred during copying by dictation in a time and place when nad and gnas had become near homonyms.
1803. According to the Sanskrit hitāni and the Chinese 自利樂 (zi li le). The Tibetan has sman in error for phan, a mistake that can occur when transcribing from the dbu med script.
1804. According to the Sanskrit hita and the Chinese 益眾生 (yi zhong sheng, “benefit beings”). The Tibetan has sman in error for phan, a mistake that can occur when transcribing from the dbu med script.
1805. According to the Sanskrit śuddha. The Tibetan has bdag (“self”) in error for dag. In the Chinese, the third and fourth lines are reversed in order with variation in meaning: “Her mind is never agitated or wandering. She contemplates before she acts.” The analogy of Sumeru is omitted.
1806. According to the Sanskrit vaṃśa. The Tibetan translates vaṃśa as rigs in the preceding sentence when used for buddhas, and as rgyud in this sentence when used for beings. The Chinese has the same term 種性 (zhong xing).
1807. According to the Sanskrit sthitatā, the Chinese 堅固 (jian gu), and Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, Urga, and Lhasa brtan. Degé has bstan (“teach”).