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Amitābha

’od dpag med
འོད་དཔག་མེད།
amitābha

The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.

Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.

bases of cognition

skye mched
སྐྱེ་མཆེད།
āyatana

These can be listed as twelve or as six sense sources (sometimes also called sense fields, bases of cognition, or simply āyatanas).

In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of twelve sense sources, which can be divided into inner and outer sense sources, namely: (1–2) eye and form, (3–4) ear and sound, (5–6) nose and odor, (7–8) tongue and taste, (9–10) body and touch, (11–12) mind and mental phenomena.

In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned, and they are the inner sense sources (identical to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

bhagavān

bcom ldan ’das
བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
bhagavān

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

domain

khams
ཁམས།
dhātu

In the context of Buddhist philosophy, one way to describe experience in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, smell, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; and mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).

This also refers to the elements of the world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added, and the sixth is consciousness.

extensive scriptures

shin tu rgyas pa’i sde
ཤིན་ཏུ་རྒྱས་པའི་སྡེ།
vaipulya

One of the twelve branches of scripture or aspects of the Dharma. Literally meaning “vast” or “extensive,” it refers to a particular set of lengthy sūtras or collections of sūtras that provides a comprehensive overview of Buddhist thought and practice. This category includes individual works such as the Lalitavistara and Saddharmapuṇḍarīka and collections such as the Mahāsannipāta, Buddhāvataṃsaka, Ratnakūta, and Prajñāpāramitā.

Maitreya

byams pa
བྱམས་པ།
maitreya

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”

For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

Mañjuśrī

’jam dpal
འཇམ་དཔལ།
mañjuśrī

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

ab.

༄༅། །དཔང་སྐོང་ཕྱག་བརྒྱ་པ།

Calling Witness with a Hundred Prostrations

s.1

Calling Witness with a Hundred Prostrations is widely known as the first sūtra to arrive in Tibet, long before Tibet became a Buddhist nation, during the reign of the Tibetan king Lha Thothori Nyentsen. Written to be recited for personal practice, it opens with one hundred and eight prostrations and praises to the many buddhas of the ten directions and three times, to the twelve categories of scripture contained in the Tripiṭaka, to the bodhisattvas of the ten directions, and to the arhat disciples of the Buddha. After making offerings to them, confessing and purifying nonvirtue, and making the aspiration to perform virtuous actions in every life, the text includes recitations of the vows of refuge in the Three Jewels, and of generating the thought of enlightenment. The text concludes with a passage rejoicing in the virtues of the holy ones, a request for the buddhas to bestow a prophecy to achieve enlightenment, and the aspiration to pass from this life in a state of pure Dharma.

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Calling Witness with a Hundred Prostrations is widely known and revered as one of the first Buddhist texts to come to Tibet, arriving during the third century according to the dating by traditional Tibetan historians, or during the fifth century, according to Western scholars such as Hugh Richardson and Erik Haarh. In any case, this was long before the people of Tibet became Buddhist or had a written language. This history is substantiated by the text’s own colophon, as well as Butön’s seminal History of Buddhism in India and Tibet. As Butön (bu ston) relates, in Obermiller’s translation:

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As the 26th of this line [beginning with the first Tibetan King Ña-thi-tsen-po], there appeared the King Tho-tho-ri-ñan-tsen. When the latter attained the age of 16 years and was abiding on the summit of the palace Yam-bu-la-gaṅ, a casket fell from the skies, and when its lid was opened, the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, the 100 Precepts Concerning Worship and a golden Caitya were found within. The casket received the name of the “Mysterious Helper” and was worshipped (by the king). The latter came to live 120 years and came to witness the dawn of the Highest Doctrine; up to that time, the kingdom had been ruled by the Bön. In a dream (which this king had) it was prophesied to him that on the 5th generation one would come to know the meaning of these (sacred texts which he had miraculously obtained).

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Although the introduction of the text itself does not state from which language it was translated, and the colophon does not state who initially translated it, both Butön and Mangthö Ludrup Gyatso (mang thos klu sgrub rgya mtsho) state that this text was first translated by Thönmi Sambhoṭa (thon mi sambhoṭa), the famous Tibetan scholar who is said to have developed the Tibetan alphabet and writing system circa 650 ᴄᴇ and who also translated several texts from Sanskrit. Thus it could well have been one of the first texts to be written in the newly developed Tibetan writing system.

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[One of King Tho-tho-ri-ñan-tsen’s descendents] was born in the year of the fire cow and received the name of Ṭhi-de-sroṅ-tsen [later becoming known as Sroṅ-btsan-sgam-po].... [At] thirteen years of age he ascended the throne and brought under his power all the petty chiefs of the borderland who offered their presents and sent their messages (of submission). As at that time no writing existed in Tibet, the son of Anu of the Thon-mi tribe [later becoming known as Thon-mi-sam-bhota] was sent with 16 companions (to India) in order to study the art of writing. After having studied with the Paṇḍit Devavidyāsiṃha, they shaped, in conformity with the Tibetan language, (the alphabet) consisting of 30 consonants and 4 vowels. The form (of these letters) was given a resemblance with the Kashmirian characters. After (this alphabet) had been definitely formed at the Maru temple in Lhasa, (Thon-mi) composed 8 works on writing and grammar, and the king studied them 4 years abiding in seclusion. The Kāraṇḍavyūha-sūtra, the 100 Precepts, and the Ratnamegha-sūtra were then translated (into Tibetan).

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Written to be recited for personal practice, the text opens with 108 prostrations and praises to the many buddhas of the ten directions and three times, to the twelve categories of scripture contained in the Tripiṭaka, to the bodhisattvas of the ten directions, and to the arhat disciples of the Buddha. After making offerings to them, confessing and purifying nonvirtue, and making the aspiration to perform virtuous actions in every life, the text includes recitations of the vows of refuge in the Three Jewels, and of generating the thought of enlightenment. The text concludes with a passage rejoicing in the virtues of the holy ones, a request for the buddhas to bestow a prophecy to achieve enlightenment, and the aspiration to pass from this life in a state of pure Dharma.

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One of the difficult aspects of translating this text was the title itself, in Tibetan dpang skong phyag brgya pa. The translation adopted here, Calling Witness with a Hundred Prostrations, differs considerably from Obermiller’s early loose translation of the title as One Hundred Precepts Concerning Worship, cited above. The phrase dpang skong means “calling witness.” It is the same word used to call a witness in a trial. In this context, it probably refers to inviting the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the ten directions to be a witness to one’s practice of Dharma, particularly to the confession and purification of nonvirtue which is contained in this sūtra, as ideally such confession and purification is done in the presence of holy beings. Following the confession, the buddhas and bodhisattvas also serve as witnesses to the vows of refuge and the thought of enlightenment, and to the subsequent rejoicing and aspiration to virtuous deeds. As for the phrase phyag brgya, it means “one hundred prostrations” or “one hundred homages.”

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Another difficult aspect of translating this sūtra was translation of the many names of the buddhas, particularly those names that are composed of long compounds. We have rendered the buddhas’ names from Tibetan back into Sanskrit when possible, following reliable glossaries and dictionaries such as, inter alia, the Mahāvyutpatti, F. Edgerton’s Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary, and J.S. Negi’s Tibetan Sanskrit Dictionary. Otherwise, we have rendered the Tibetan in English, following as closely as possible the grammar of the compound name as it appears in Tibetan.

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I constantly offer and venerate, unceasingly until the end of time, all of the Three Jewels that have not been, are not now, nor ever will be relinquished. I make Dharma offerings, as well as a variety of offerings comparable to the incomparable, that arise from the infinite merit of the bodhisattvas, and are exalted, foremost, holy, special, noble, supreme and unsurpassable, comparable to the incomparable, and that completely fill the entire world of the ten directions. Having offered these, please accept them. I shall venerate, honor, respect, and please you.

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Not holding back even the most trifling, I avow and confess the sins and nonvirtuous actions that contradict all holy scripture and that I myself have committed in this life or while wandering in the three worlds through beginningless, endless births, or that I caused others to perform, or even that I rejoiced in when performed by others. They are the ten nonvirtues of body, speech, and mind that were committed under the influence of desire, anger, and ignorance; the five heinous crimes; and so forth. I purify and dispel them, examine them and cast them out. I shall not hide, shall not conceal, and shall not fail to acknowledge them. Then, at that time, all negativities will be purified, and all merit will be completely accomplished.

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From this time until the essence of enlightenment is reached, may the virtues of my body, speech, and mind continue as unceasingly as a stream. In whatever life I might be born, may I possess magnificent happiness and joy, and attain the ability and power to work for the benefit of all sentient beings. That Dharma which is understood only by the tathāgatas, that suchness which without doubt causes unsurpassable enlightenment‍—may I fully understand it without mistake, meditate upon it, teach it to others without mistake, and guide them.

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From this time until the essence of enlightenment is reached, I take refuge in the Three Jewels. I offer them my body; may each of the greatly compassionate ones forever accept it. The buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times, who are free of all things; who are comparable to selfless dharmas not comprised within the aggregates, domains, or bases of cognition; and who are unborn since beginningless time, generated the thought of enlightenment because of their nature of emptiness. So, likewise, I whose name is… do also generate the thought of enlightenment from this time until the essence of enlightenment is reached. May I never lose or disregard the thought of enlightenment, and never be separated from noble spiritual masters.

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Just as the buddhas of the three times rejoiced in unsurpassable merit, I whose name is… also rejoice in all worldly and beyond-worldly merit. When the time of death is certain, may I directly behold the holy faces of all those buddhas and bodhisattvas, and when they extend their golden right hands and place them upon my head, may I receive a prophecy. And may I die with my mind undeluded by defilements, with aspirations that accord with the selfless dharmas, and with the limitless thought of enlightenment.

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c.1

༄༅། །དཔང་སྐོང་ཕྱག་བརྒྱ་པ།

Calling Witness with a Hundred Prostrations

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As the 26th of this line [beginning with the first Tibetan King Ña-thi-tsen-po], there appeared the King Tho-tho-ri-ñan-tsen. When the latter attained the age of 16 years and was abiding on the summit of the palace Yam-bu-la-gaṅ, a casket fell from the skies, and when its lid was opened, the Kāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra, the 100 Precepts Concerning Worship and a golden Caitya were found within. The casket received the name of the “Mysterious Helper” and was worshipped (by the king). The latter came to live 120 years and came to witness the dawn of the Highest Doctrine; up to that time, the kingdom had been ruled by the Bön. In a dream (which this king had) it was prophesied to him that on the 5th generation one would come to know the meaning of these (sacred texts which he had miraculously obtained).

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[One of King Tho-tho-ri-ñan-tsen’s descendents] was born in the year of the fire cow and received the name of Ṭhi-de-sroṅ-tsen [later becoming known as Sroṅ-btsan-sgam-po].... [At] thirteen years of age he ascended the throne and brought under his power all the petty chiefs of the borderland who offered their presents and sent their messages (of submission). As at that time no writing existed in Tibet, the son of Anu of the Thon-mi tribe [later becoming known as Thon-mi-sam-bhota] was sent with 16 companions (to India) in order to study the art of writing. After having studied with the Paṇḍit Devavidyāsiṃha, they shaped, in conformity with the Tibetan language, (the alphabet) consisting of 30 consonants and 4 vowels. The form (of these letters) was given a resemblance with the Kashmirian characters. After (this alphabet) had been definitely formed at the Maru temple in Lhasa, (Thon-mi) composed 8 works on writing and grammar, and the king studied them 4 years abiding in seclusion. The Kāraṇḍavyūha-sūtra, the 100 Precepts, and the Ratnamegha-sūtra were then translated (into Tibetan).

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Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Abbreviations

Summary

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Translation

Calling Witness with a Hundred Prostrations

Colophon

Summary

Acknowledgments

Introduction

The Translation

Calling Witness with a Hundred Prostrations

Colophon