The Ten Bhūmis

The Ten Bhūmis states that the discourse is taking place during the second week after the Buddha’s enlightenment, and that the teachings occur in the palace of Vaśavartin, the lord of the deities in the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise. The assembly is composed of the deities dwelling in that paradise, together with bodhisattvas from countless worlds. The teaching is given by the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha in response to questions from the bodhisattva Vimukti­candra, who is the only bodhisattva listed in the introduction whose name does not end in garbha.

Vajra­garbha appears among the lists of bodhisattvas present in other Kangyur texts and is the interlocutor in such sūtras as the Ghanavyūha⁴ and the Daśa­cakra­kṣiti­garbha­sūtra.⁵ In particular, he is the Buddha’s interlocutor in the Hevajra Tantra.⁶

The ten bhūmis are one of the groups of ten that are a frequent motif in A Multitude of Buddhas. For example, these teachings are said to occur within the Buddha Vairocana’s realm of activity, which is composed of ten vast universes. Several of its individual sūtras also present a set of ten qualities as their principal subjects: for example, the titles of chapters 15, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, and 40 are respectively ten vihāras (“abodes”), ten practices, ten treasures, ten bhūmis, ten samādhis, ten clairvoyances, ten kinds of patience, and ten kāyas (“bodies”) of the Buddha. Within The Ten Bhūmis itself, each of the ten bhūmis is described through successive lists of ten qualities. The Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, the earliest of which were compiled earlier than The Ten Bhūmis, teach just six perfections of generosity, correct conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. The Ten Bhūmis, however, in accord with A Multitude of Buddhas’ emphasis on groups of ten, and in correlation with the ten bhūmis, contains the first appearance in Mahāyāna texts of the ten perfections, adding the four perfections of skillful method, prayer, strength, and knowledge.