toh172
toh172
toh172
Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā
འཕགས་པ་འཇམ་དཔལ་ིས་ས་པ་ས་་བ་ག་པ་ན་ ་མ།
’phags pa ’jam dpal gyis dris pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo
Āryamañjuśrīparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra
· Toh 172 ·
Degé Kangyur, vol. 60 (mdo sde, ma), folios 1.b–5.a
Translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
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co. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
1. The Question of Mañjuśrī
ab. Abbreviations
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
· Tibetan Sources
· Sanskrit and Chinese Sources
· Secondary Literature
g. Glossary
s. SUMMARY
s.1 The bodhisattva Mañjuśrī approaches the Buddha and asks about the extent
of the merit represented by the Buddha’s “Dharma conch,” which here
seems to mean the Buddha’s voice. The Buddha proceeds to illustrate the
vastness of this merit by means of a cosmic multiplication—sequentially
compounding the merit of all beings in a certain realm if they each possessed
the merit of a cakravartin, a brahmā god, a bodhisattva, and so forth, each
having more merit than the previous one. The expansion continues through
a list of the eighty designs marking the body of a buddha and the thirty-two
signs of a great being, which, multiplied inconceivably, are said to be equal
in merit to the Dharma conch. The Buddha then explains how the voice,
body, and light of the Buddha are made known throughout countless realms
and take on numberless manifestations to tame beings.
ac. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ac.1 This sūtra was translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group. Celso
Wilkinson, Laura Goetz, and L.S. Summer translated the text from the Tibetan
and Sanskrit. William Giddings provided comparisons to the Chinese
versions of the text.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
i. INTRODUCTION
i.1 The Question of Mañjuśrī presents a dialogue between the Buddha and the
bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, in which the Buddha illustrates the vastness of the
merit represented by the Buddha’s Dharma conch and how, by means of his
conch and other auspicious qualities, the Buddha and his teaching pervade
countless worlds and manifest in countless guises according to the myriad
needs and dispositions of beings.
i.2 The sūtra opens with Mañjuśrī approaching the Buddha and asking him
to explain the measure of the merit represented by the Buddha’s “Dharma
conch,” which in this sūtra seems to mean the Buddha’s voice. The conch
symbolizes the far-reaching power of the Buddha’s word and the vast extent
to which the teachings resonate among the incalculable realms. The conch
shell is also one of the eight auspicious emblems that each symbolize various
beneficent aspects of the Buddha’s teaching.
i.3 In order to express the vast magnitude of the merit of the Dharma conch,
the Buddha proceeds to present a sequence of hypothetical scenarios in
which all beings in a given realm possess the merit of a previously
introduced figure or attribute. That merit is then multiplied by varying
amounts to equal that of an even greater figure or attribute —from the
cakravartin monarch to Māra, to brahmā gods of increasingly vast domains,
to pratyekabuddhas and bodhisattvas, to the pores of the Buddha’s body
and his eighty excellent signs —culminating in lists of the eighty designs
marking the Buddha’s hands and feet and the thirty-two signs of a great
being. Finally, the Buddha states that the sum of multiplying these eighty
designs by an inconceivable amount is equal to the sum of merit generated
by the Dharma conch. A very similar passage, with the same sequence of
meritorious figures and signs culminating in the Buddha’s voice, can be seen
in the Ratnameghasūtra (Toh 231),1 while a somewhat less similar presentation
of the exponential superiority of the Dharma conch is found in another sūtra,
the Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra (Toh 175, placed nearby in the Degé Kangyur).2
i.4 The list of eighty designs on the Buddha’s hands and feet is a unique
feature of this sūtra. Peter Skilling has compiled an analysis of the various
sources that list the designs and symbols found on the body or on the hands
and feet of the Buddha.3 Such lists are well known in the Theravādin
traditions, which include an early list of around forty designs given by
Buddhaghosa in his commentaries on the Digha and Majjhima Nikāyas, and
several later lists of one hundred and eight signs found in Pali sources from
the twelfth to fourteenth centuries. In the Kangyur this list of eighty designs
is found exclusively in The Question of Mañjuśrī, but there are two texts in the
Tengyur that contain similar lists: Śamathadeva’s Abhidharmakośaṭīkopayikā
(Toh 4094) contains two lists —one short and one long —of designs found on
the body of the Buddha, cited from texts that no longer exist, and
Daśabalaśrīmitra’s Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya (Toh 3897) also contains a short
and long list of designs found on the hands and feet of the Buddha. In this
latter text the long list is, with some exceptions, nearly identical to that found
in The Question of Mañjuśrī and likely drawn from the same source. Skilling
points out that although The Question of Mañjuśrī is a Mahāyāna sūtra, this list
must have been taken from a Vaibhāṣika or (Mūla)Sarvāstivādin source.4
i.5 The eighty designs differ from the more commonly known eighty
excellent signs on the body of a buddha. The eighty designs are adornments
on the hands and feet that are said to be greater in the hierarchy of merit
than the eighty excellent signs on the body, which, although not
enumerated in Tibetan sources of The Question of Mañjuśrī, are listed in two of
the Chinese versions.5 The thirty-two signs listed in this sūtra align roughly
with other standard enumerations in the canonical literature.
i.6 The Buddha goes on to explain that the Dharma conch, with its power to
tame beings, causes the teachings to pervade countless world systems, as do
his body, light, and conduct—all of which manifest according to the needs
and inclinations of beings. In the end, Mañjuśrī praises the Buddha, and the
audience rejoices in his teaching.
i.7 There was no known Sanskrit original of The Question of Mañjuśrī available
until recently, when a manuscript containing a collection of twenty texts, all
of them sūtras, was found in the Potala Palace in Lhasa. Bhikṣuṇī Vinītā
published a critical edition of this collection, along with an English
translation, in the series Sanskrit Texts from the Autonomous Region (2010).
Unfortunately, due to the inaccessibility of the manuscript collection and
because it is missing a final colophon, its origin and date are currently
unknown.6 In our translation, citations of the Sanskrit are given using
Vinītā’s emendations of the handwritten manuscript.
i.8 The Question of Mañjuśrī is the last in the manuscript collection and is
abruptly cut off about one third of the way through, ending in the middle of
the third folio (F.2.b) of this sūtra as found in the Degé Kangyur. In the
Sanskrit manuscript, this sūtra is titled Dharmaśaṅkhasūtra, or The Dharma
Conch Sūtra, while in Tibetan manuscripts it is only ever called The Question of
Mañjuśrī (Mañjuśrīparipṛcchāsūtra).
i.9 There are three versions of the text found in the Chinese Tripiṭaka: one
(Taishō 473) translated by Faxian ( 法賢 , 337–422 ᴄᴇ), which combines the
titles The Question of Mañjuśrī and The Dharma Conch (佛説妙吉祥菩薩所問⼤乘
法螺經); another (Taishō 661) translated by Divākara ( 地婆訶羅, 613–687 ᴄᴇ)
called The Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Hundred Meritorious Marks (⼤乘百福相經); and
a third (Taishō 662), said to be translated by Divākara, called The Mahāyāna
⼤乘百福莊嚴相經).
Sūtra on the Marks Adorned with a Hundred Merits ( 7
1.2 Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in the Samanta
Assembly Hall in Śrāvastī together with a great saṅgha of 1,250 monks,
innumerable bodhisattva mahāsattvas, and many hundreds of thousands of
beings to be tamed, and other bodhisattva mahāsattvas headed by
Avalokiteśvara.
1.3 The Blessed One sat unwavering upon a jeweled lion throne. Through the
power of the Buddha, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mañjuśrī rose from his
seat, draped his upper robe over one shoulder, and knelt on his right knee.
Joining his palms toward the Blessed One, [F.2.a] he said, “Blessed One, how
extensive is the great merit of the Tathāgata’s Dharma conch,10 the great
merit by which the wishes of the many hundred sextillions of beings to be
tamed are completely fulfilled?”
1.4 The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mañjuśrī,
“Mañjuśrī, the great merit of the Tathāgata’s Dharma conch,11 the great merit
by which the wishes of a hundred sextillion beings to be tamed are
completely fulfilled, arises from insight and is imbued with great
compassion.12 It is inconceivable.13
1.5 “Mañjuśrī, if all of the beings in the world were to engage in the path of
the ten virtuous actions, and if that collection of merit, which is the collection
of merit of all those beings, were multiplied by a hundred, it would equal
that of a cakravartin king who has dominion over the four continents and
possesses the seven treasures. The seven treasures are as follows: the
precious wheel, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious
jewel, the precious woman, the precious steward, and the precious minister.
He has a thousand heroic sons who are courageous, have excellent well-
built bodies, and utterly defeat opposing armies. Mañjuśrī, such is the
cakravartin king’s great miraculous powers and might. [F.2.b]
1.6 “Mañjuśrī, if all beings in the world with its four continents were to
possess the cakravartin king’s merit, and if that merit, which is the merit of
all those beings, were multiplied by a hundred,14 it would equal that of
Śakra, lord of the gods. Such is the lord of the gods’ great miraculous powers
and great might.
1.7 “Mañjuśrī,15 if all of the beings in the realm of the world with its four
continents were to possess Śakra’s merit, and if that merit, which is the merit
of all those beings, were multiplied by a hundred thousand,16 it would equal
that of Māra, lord of the desire realm, who understands the teachings within
the desire realm.17 Such is Māra of the desire realm’s great miraculous
powers and great might.
1.8 “Mañjuśrī,18 if all of the beings in the realm of the world with its four
continents were to possess Māra’s merit, and if that merit, which is the merit
of all of those beings, were multiplied by a hundred thousand, it would
equal that of a brahmā, sovereign of a chiliocosm,19 whose love pervades the
domain of a chiliocosm.
1.9 “Mañjuśrī, if all of the beings in this chiliocosm were to possess the merit
of a brahmā god, sovereign of a chiliocosm, and if that merit, which is the
merit of all those beings, were multiplied by a hundred thousand, it equal
that of a brahmā god, sovereign of a dichiliocosm,20 whose love pervades the
domain of a dichiliocosm.
1.10 “Mañjuśrī, if all of the beings in this dichiliocosm were to possess the
merit of a brahmā god, sovereign of a dichiliocosm, and if that merit, which is
the merit of all of those beings, were multiplied by a hundred thousand, it
would equal that of a supremely great almighty brahmā, sovereign of a
trichiliocosm,21 [F.3.a] whose love pervades the domain of a great
trichiliocosm.
1.11 “Mañjuśrī, consider a supremely great almighty brahmā. In a single
intermediate eon following the rise of the waters after the eon of
destruction,22 the trichiliocosm fills up with rainfall with its droplets of water.
A supremely great almighty brahmā knows all the drops of water that have
amassed in his world. Therefore, he is endowed with great wisdom and has
great miraculous powers and great might. The root of virtue of a great
almighty one is no trifling thing.
1.12 “Mañjuśrī, if all of the beings in this trichiliocosm were to possess the
merit of a great brahmā, sovereign of a trichiliocosm, and if that merit, which
is the merit of all those beings, were multiplied by many hundred sextillions,
it would equal that of a pratyekabuddha who had obtained great might.23
1.13 “Mañjuśrī, put aside this great trichiliocosm. Mañjuśrī, if all the beings in
the domain of the buddhas, the realm of the worlds of the ten directions,
were to possess the merit obtained by a pratyekabuddha who had obtained
great might, and if that merit, which is the merit of all of those beings, were
multiplied by many hundred sextillions, it would equal that of a single
bodhisattva in their final existence.
1.14 “Mañjuśrī, if all of the beings in the realm of the worlds of the ten
directions of space —beings born from an egg, born from a womb, born from
heat and moisture, and born miraculously; those with form and those
without; and those with perception, those without perception, and those
with neither perception nor nonperception24 [F.3.b]—were to possess the
merit of a bodhisattva in their final existence, and if that merit, which is the
merit of all of those beings, were multiplied by many hundred sextillions, it
would equal that of a single hair pore on the body of the Tathāgata. Each of
the nine million nine hundred thousand hair pores on the body of the
Tathāgata are established in the same way.
1.15 “Mañjuśrī, if the merit that is equal to the merit contained in all those hair
pores were multiplied many hundred sextillions, it would equal that of one
of the eighty excellent signs on the body of the Tathāgata.25 Each of the
eighty excellent signs is established on the body of the Tathāgata in the
same way.
1.16 “Mañjuśrī, if that merit, which is the merit contained in the eighty
excellent signs, were multiplied by many hundred sextillions, it would be
like that of one of the designs marking the Tathāgata’s hands and feet.
1.17 “The eighty designs are as follows:26 (1) a parasol, (2) a victory banner, (3)
a śrīvatsa, (4) a garland, (5) a hook, (6) a diadem, (7) a staff,27 (8) a vase, (9) an
elephant, (10) a horse, (11) a tiger, (12) a makara, (13) a fish, (14) a turtle, (15) a
peacock, (16) a kalaviṅka bird, (17) a partridge, (18) a cāṣa bird,28 (19) a
cakravāka shelduck, (20) a parrot, (21) a goose, (22) a dove, (23) barley, (24)
the great medicine, (25) bamboo, (26) a gayal, (27) a nāga, (28) a goat, (29) a
bull, (30) a mountain, (31) a bilva fruit tree,29 (32) a black antelope, (33) a
precious jewel, (34) a supreme sword, (35) a vajra, (36) a bow, (37) an arrow,
(38) a lance, (39) a trident, (40) a plow, (41) a mace, (42) an axe, (43) a lasso,30
(44) a boat, (45) a pearl ornament, (46) a cloud, (47) Brahmā, (48) Indra, (49)
Dhṛtarāṣṭra,31 (50) Varuṇa, (51) Virūḍhaka, (52) Virūpākṣa, (53) Dhanada, (54)
a great sage, (55) Śrī, (56) a sun, (57) a moon, [F.4.a] (58) a fire, (59) wind, (60)
a lotus, (61) a nandyāvarta, (62) a triangle,32 (63) an excellent throne, (64) a
mirror, (65) a tail whisk, (66) dūrvā grass, (67) puroḍāśa cake, (68) a boy, (69) a
girl, (70) a drum, (71) a conch, (72) a mṛdaṅga drum,33 (73) a bracelet, (74) an
armband, (75) an earring,34 (76) a ring, (77) a dangling earring, (78) an
excellent flower, (79) a wish-granting tree, and (80) a lion at the center of a
wheel.35 These are the eighty designs. They appear on the palms of the
Tathāgata’s hands and the soles of his feet.
1.18 “Mañjuśrī, if that merit, which is the merit contained in those eighty
designs, were multiplied by many hundred sextillions, it would be like one
of the signs of a great being on the Tathāgata’s body; each of the thirty-two
signs of a great being are established in the same way. They are as follows:36
(1) the uṣṇīṣa on the head, (2) right-curling dark blue hair on the head, (3) an
even forehead, (4) being adorned with a beautiful complexion,37 (5) an ūrṇā
hair between the eyebrows, (6) dark blue eyes with bovine eyelashes, (7)
forty close-fitting teeth, (8) white canine teeth, (9) cheeks like a lion, (10) a
large and slender tongue, (11) a torso like a lion, (12) an arm span and height
that are identical like the banyan tree, (13) a hair growing from every pore,38
(14) a concealed male organ, (15) full and rounded thighs, (16) calves like
those of Eṇeya, king of antelopes, (17) broad heels, (18) palms and soles that
are soft and supple, (19) webbed fingers and toes, (20) long fingers and toes,
(21) feet with high arches, (22) a supreme organ of taste, (23) round
shoulders, (24) the seven prominent parts, (25) fine skin the color of gold,
(26) the ability to reach the hands to the knees without bending, (27) well-
positioned feet, (28) palms and soles with the mark of the wheel, [F.4.b] and
(29) the voice of Brahmā. These are the thirty-two signs of a great being.
They appear on the body of the Tathāgata.
1.19 “Mañjuśrī, if that merit, which is the merit contained in the thirty-two
signs of a great being, were multiplied innumerable times, multiplied
inconceivably, multiplied incalculably, and multiplied beyond expression, it
would be like that of the Tathāgata’s Dharma conch. By the power of taming
with the Dharma conch, with his voice the Tathāgata engenders
understanding throughout limitless and countless world realms. Just as with
his voice, so it is with his light and his body.39
1.20 “In this way, Mañjuśrī, this great merit, arisen from great insight, imbued
with compassion, generated through skill-in-means and aspirations,
completely pure in moral discipline,40 and authentically born from the
distinctions of practice, is inconceivable to all śrāvakas and
pratyekabuddhas.41
1.21 “Mañjuśrī, the form body of the Tathāgata is especially exalted for two
reasons. What are these two reasons? They are the power of aspiration and
the power of the complete ripening of the virtue of sentient beings to be
tamed. Mañjuśrī, for these two reasons the form body of the Tathāgata is
especially exalted.
1.22 “Mañjuśrī, just as the form body of the Tathāgata is especially exalted,42
the Dharma taught is also especially exalted.
“Mañjuśrī, just as the Dharma taught by the Tathāgata, his light is also
especially exalted.
“Mañjuśrī, just as the light of the Tathāgata is especially exalted, his
conduct is also especially exalted.
1.23 “Mañjuśrī, the Tathāgata pervades the entire world with his body.43
“Mañjuśrī, whatever particular color, shape, or conduct will tame sentient
beings, [F.5.a] sentient beings will see the Tathāgata accordingly as having
that particular color, shape, and conduct.
1.24 “Mañjuśrī, whatever particular signs will tame sentient beings, sentient
beings will see the Tathāgata accordingly as having those particular signs.
1.25 “Mañjuśrī, whatever Dharma teachings will fully ripen sentient beings,
sentient beings will understand the particular Dharma teachings of the
Tathāgata to be Dharma teachings of that kind.
1.26 “Mañjuśrī, whatever conduct tames sentient beings and causes them to
engage with the teachings of the Tathāgata, sentient beings will see the
Tathāgata abiding by that conduct.
1.27 “Mañjuśrī, in this way the tathāgata, arhat, perfect Buddha comes into the
world, benefits and brings happiness to many beings, has love and affection
for the world, and takes birth in order to help, benefit, and bring happiness
to gods, humans, and the host of beings.”
1.28 Then the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī rose from his seat and, approaching the
Blessed One, pressed his palms together and said, “Blessed One —my
unparalleled, matchless teacher, supreme protector in the three realms and
benefactor for all sentient beings, unperturbed by worldly phenomena,
unblemished like the sky, inconceivable, a worthy inspiration, desirable to
behold, and beautiful to behold—I have truly found a great treasure! Sugata,
I have truly found a great treasure!”
1.29 Youthful Mañjuśrī was overjoyed at what the Tathāgata had said. The
bodhisattva great beings and the monks praised the words of the Blessed
One.
1.30 This completes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Question of Mañjuśrī.”
ab. ABBREVIATIONS
C Choné (co ne) Kangyur
D Degé (sde dge) Kangyur
F Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur
Go. Gondhla Collection
H Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur
J Lithang (li thang) Kangyur
K Peking (pe cin) or “Kangxi” Kangyur
N Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur
S Stok Palace (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur
Sanskrit Sanskrit manuscript found in the Potala Palace
(see Introduction and Bibliography)
Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya A commentary by Daśabalaśrīmitra found within
the Tengyur containing a list of the eighty designs
found on the hands and feet of the Tathāgata (see
Bibliography)
Taishō 473 4th–5th century Chinese translation by Faxian ( 法
賢 )
Taishō 661 7th century Chinese translation by Divākara ( 地婆
訶羅 )
Taishō 662 7th century Chinese translation by Divākara ( 地婆
訶羅 )
U Urga (ku re) Kangyur
Y Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur
n. NOTES
n.1 See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Jewel Cloud (84000:
Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019), 1.233–4
(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh231.html# UT22084-064-001-310)
n.2 See Jens Braarvig and David Welsh, trans., The Teaching of Akṣayamati, (84000:
Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020), 1.102–3
(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh175.html# UT22084-060-004-129).
n.6 Currently the manuscript is kept in the Potala. Vinītā’s critical edition is
based on a copy of the manuscript that is kept in the China Tibetology
Research Center. For further details on the state of this manuscript see Vinītā
(2010), pp. xv–xvii.
n.7 There is also another text in the Chinese canon similarly called The Question
of Mañjuśrī (⽂殊師利問經, Taishō 468), which is, however, longer and differs
thematically from the text translated here. There are no known Sanskrit or
Tibetan versions of this longer sūtra.
n.8 Denkarma, folio 299.b; see also Herrmann-Pfandt, p. 112 (no. 211).
Phangthangma (2003), p. 17. Note also the zhus pa (“question”) used in the
title ’phags pa ’jam dpal gyis zhus pa, rather than dris pa found in the majority of
the Kangyur recensions’ titles, although zhus pa is found among a few of
them.
n.12 Go. adds several descriptions qualifying this great merit: “it is engendered
by skill in means and aspirations, and it is authentically born from special
meditation that fully purifies discipline. This great merit is inconceivable to
all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas” (thabs la mkhas pa chen po smon lam gyis
bskyed pa/ thul khrims dang / ting nge ’dzind shind tu rnam par dag pa bsgoms pa’i
khyad par gis yang dag pa grub pa ste/ nyan thos dang / rang sang rgyas thams cad
kyis bsam gyis myi khyab pa yin no/). This correlates with the description of the
Dharma conch at the end of the sūtra.
n.13 "Following this, the Sanskrit text includes an additional stage in the
hierarchy of merit not attested in the Tibetan translation. This stage, for a rājā
jambudvīpeśvaraḥ (“a king who is lord of Jambudvīpa"), ranks below a
cakravārtin king, the first stage in the hierarchy of merit as listed in the
Tibetan text.
n.14 From here throughout the rest of the text, the numbers for multiplying merit
vary in the different sources. Here, for example, Go., Taishō 473, Taishō 662,
and the Sanskrit have “multiplied by a thousand”; Taishō 661 has
“multiplied by a hundred thousand.” For the sake of simplicity, we have
translated the text from D and refrained from annotating these numerical
variations from the sources unless they significantly change the meaning.
n.15 Taishō 473 adds an additional stage in the hierarchy of merit comparing that
of Śakra to that of Nārāyaṇa, before going on to compare Nārāyaṇa to Māra.
n.17 D: ’dod pa’i khams su bstan pas go bar byed pa. Our translation here is
corroborated by Taishō 662: 教受護持 “who upholds and bears in mind the
teachings.” The implication of this remark is not clear. Taishō 473 adds “in
the heaven of Paranirmitavaśavartin.” This implies that Māra is the highest
deity presiding within the bounds of the desire realm, where
Paranirmitavaśavartin is the highest heaven according to Abhidharma
cosmology.
n.18 The following passage is omitted in Taishō 473, which skips to the next
stage in the hierarchy of merit, comparing the merit of Māra to that of a
brahmā, sovereign of a dichiliocosm, in the same format.
Taishō 662 adds that this is a brahmā “of the first dhyāna.” This is consistent
n.19
with the cosmology presented in the sūtra. As Māra represents the highest
deity of the desire realm, “a brahmā, sovereign of a chiliocosm,” represents a
god in one of the three lowest strata of the form realm, which is associated
with the first dhyāna, while the brahmās of a dichiliocosm and trichiliocosm
represent gods of the higher strata associated with the second and fourth
dhyānas respectively. There are some sources that seem to give the dhyānas
and the spatial locations they encompass in the form realm progressively
greater dimensions. For instance, the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya states that while
each chiliocosm contains a thousand sets of four continents, along with a
thousand suns, moons, Mount Merus, and so forth up to the desire realms,
there is one position that states that the first dhyāna encompasses a single
world system, the second dhyāna a chiliocosm, the third dhyāna a
dichiliocosm, and the fourth dhyāna a trichiliocosm. The text goes on to state
that there is a differing opinion in which the first dhyāna encompasses a
chiliocosm, the second dhyāna a dichiliocosm, and the third dhyāna a
trichiliocosm, and the fourth dhyāna is without measure. The first of these
two opinions would seem to be validated by the context of this sūtra, where
the sequential brahmās are described as being “sovereign” of exponentially
larger domains. See Vasubandhu, Abhidharmakośabhāṣya, in Sangpo (2012), pp.
1075–6.
n.22 All the Chinese versions of the sūtra describe this moment as the destruction
of the world through fire rather than water, and then, following this, the
great brahmā commands the rain to come down and fill the trichiliocosm up
to the brahmā heavens in the form realm. Go. has the phrase “when the eon
of incineration arises” (’sreg pa’i bskal pa ’byung ba de’i tshe), and following this
it also describes the trichiliocosm filling up with rain and drops of water. The
Abhidharmakośabhāṣya describes the destruction of the world through water
up to the top of the first dhyāna, through fire up to the top of second dhyāna,
and through wind up to the top of the third. See Vasubandhu, Abhidharma-
kośabhāṣya, in Sangpo (2012), pp. 1109–15.
n.23 Go. adds an additional stage in the hierarchy of merit, comparing the merit of
a great brahmā, sovereign of a trichiliocosm, to that of a great śrāvaka with
great miraculous powers (nyan thos chen po rdzu ’phrul chen po dang ldan pa).
Then, in the next passage, the śrāvaka’s merit is compared to that of a
pratyekabuddha, and it continues in the same form as in the other versions.
n.25 Taishō 661 and Taishō 662 provide a list of the eighty excellent signs here.
n.26 There are many minor spelling variations found among the Kangyur
recensions for the eighty designs. For the sake of clarity, variant readings
have not been noted unless they affected the meaning or interpretation of
the term; however, all the attested spelling variations have been represented
in the glossary. For a detailed analysis of the eighty designs compared
across various sources see Skilling (1992), pp. 67–79.
n.27 Go. has dbyig tog; all other Tibetan recensions have dbyig to. The meaning of
“staff” is derived from correlation with Taishō 473 and from consultation
with a series of dictionary entries. The meaning of dbyig to(g) could also be
“jewel” or “crest jewel.” For more details on this see Vinītā (2010), p. 741,
note d. Also see Skilling (1992), p. 73.
n.29 Go.: bil shing ba; F: bil ba dang; C, D, H, J, K, Y, N, S, and U: bil ba dang / shing
dang / (“a bilva fruit, a tree” as two items). In addition to Go., F and the
Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya also omit “a tree” as a separate item. We have
chosen to translate this as one item, “bilva fruit tree,” following Go., as this
results in a list of exactly eighty items, and the “wish-granting tree” already
appears as item number 79 in the list.
n.30 F omits.
n.31 C, D, H, J, N, and U: ’khor srung. This form is listed as an alternate spelling for
Dhṛtarāṣṭra in the Mahāvyutpatti (the imperial period Sanskrit–Tibetan
dictionary), no. 3381. K and Y: ’khor bsrung; S: ’khor bsrungs; Go.: yul ’khor srung.
n.33 F and S: mri tang ga (transliteration of the Sanskrit mṛdaṅga). Go. and the
Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya have rdza rnga, which has the same translated
meaning as the former transliteration. D, H, J, and N: smri ga; K: smri dang ga/
ga dang /; Y: smri dang ga; C and U: smrig.
n.35 Translated from Go. and the Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya: ’khor lo’i dbus kyi seng
ge. C, D, H, K, Y, J, N, and U: ’khor lo dang / dpung gi seng ge; F and S: ’khor lo
dpung gi seng ge.
n.36 Only twenty-nine of the thirty-two signs of a great being are listed here,
although in other sources (6) and (7) are usually counted as two signs each.
There are many instances of the list of thirty-two signs found throughout the
Kangyur, and significant differences can be found among them. For other
examples of the list complete with thirty-two signs, see Dharmachakra
Translation Committee, trans., The Play in Full
(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh95.html#UT22084-046-001-474), Toh 95
(84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013), 7.98; or Padmakara
Translation Group, trans, The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand
Lines (https://read.84000.co/translation/toh11.html#UT22084-031-002-270), Toh 11
(84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018), 2.15
(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh11.html# UT22084-031-002-270)
(which contains thirty-three signs). In the latter, see also note 61
(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh11.html# end-note-UT22084-031-002-
271) for further details concerning the various locations of the list found
throughout the Kangyur. There is also a standard list found in the
Mahāvyutpatti (the imperial period Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary), entries 235–
67. If one looks to the latter as a standard, the missing three can be
accounted for by entries 242, “even teeth” (samadanta, tshems mnyam pa), and
243, “close-fitting teeth” (aviraladanta, tshems thag bzang ba), which in the
Mahāvyutpatti is separate from the sign of “forty teeth,” whereas in The
Question of Mañjuśrī they are joined; 251, “collarbones that are well covered”
(citāntarāṃsa, thal gong rgyas pa); and 257 “body hairs that grow upward”
(ūrdhvagaroma, sku’i spu gyen du phyogs pa), which is found in Go. (see n.38).
Note that here in The Question of Mañjuśrī, the fourth sign in the list, “being
adorned with a beautiful complexion,” is not found in the Mahāvyutpatti.
Thus by omitting these four and adding one more The Question of Mañjuśrī
lists a total of twenty-nine signs.
n.38 Go. adds: “body hairs that grow upward” (sku’i spu gyend du phyogs pa). This
is usually included in other lists of the thirty-two signs.
A very similar passage, with the same sequence of meritorious figures and
n.39
signs culminating in the Buddha’s voice, can be seen in the Ratnameghasūtra
(Toh 231); see Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Jewel Cloud
(84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019), 1.233–4
(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh231.html# UT22084-064-001-310). A
somewhat less similar calculation of merit beginning with the Buddha’s
pores, but culminating specifically in the Dharma conch, is found in the
Akṣayamatinirdeśasūtra: see Jens Braarvig and David Welsh, trans., The Teaching
of Akṣayamati, Toh 175, (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020),
1.103 (https://read.84000.co/translation/toh175.html# UT22084-060-004-130).
See also Āryaśūra’s Pāramitāsamāsa (pha rol tu phyin pa bsdus pa, Toh 3944),
folios 227a–b.
n.41 Go. again adds the passage, “The presence of the Tathāgata’s Dharma
completely fulfilling the wishes of beings to be tamed” (de bzhin gshegs pa’i
chos kyi mur ’gram gdul bya’i bsam ba yongs su rdzogs par byed par ’gyur ro/).
n.42 This following sequence of comparison differs in Go., which first compares
the Tathāgata’s body to his voice (gsung sgra), then compares his voice to his
“signs” (mtshan), and then compares his signs to the Dharma taught (chos
bstan pa). From there the sequence continues in the same manner as D and
the other sources, continuing with his light and so forth.
n.43 For this sentence Go. has “Mañjuśrī, the Tathāgata’s body is vast through all
its marks.” (’jam dpal de bzhin gshegs pa’i sku mtshan thams cad kyis rgyas pa yin).
b. BIBLIOGRAPHY
· Tibetan Sources ·
’jam dpal gyis dris pa (Mañjuśrīparipṛcchā). Toh 172, Degé Kangyur vol. 60 (mdo
sde, ma), folios 1.b–5.a.
’jam dpal gyis dris pa. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the
Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur
khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology
Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun
khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–2009, vol. 60, pp. 3–13.
’jam dpal gyis dris pa. Stok 56, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde, cha),
folios 142.b–147.b.
’jam dpal gyis dris pa. F150, Phukdrak Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, pa), folios
260.b–265.b.
’jam dpal gyis zhus pa. Go 26.7, Gondhla Collection vol. 26 (ka-ma), folios 17.a–
21.a.
blo gros mi zad pas bstan pa (Kṣayamatinirdeśa). Toh 175, Degé Kangyur, vol. 60
(mdo sde, ma), folios 79.a–174.b. English translation in Braarvig, Jens, and
David Welsh (2020).
byams pas zhus (Maitreyaparipṛcchā). Toh 149, Degé Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde,
pa), folios 330.b–331.a. English translation in Kīrtimukha Translation
Group (2021).
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri brgyad stong pa (Āṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñā-
pāramitā). Toh 10, Degé Kangyur vol. 29 (khri brgyad, ka), folios 1.b–300.a;
vol. 30 (khri brgyad, kha), folios 1.b–206.a; vol. 31 (khri brgyad, ga), folios
1.b–206.a. English translation in Sparham (2022).
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa khri pa (Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā). Toh 11, Degé
Kangyur vol. 31 (shes phyin, ga), folios 1.b–91.a; vol. 32 (shes phyin, nga),
folios 92.b–397.a. English translation in Padmakara Translation Group
(2018).
rgya cher rol pa (Lalitavistara). Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha),
folios 1.b–216.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation
Committee (2013).
Daśabalaśrīmitra. ’dus byas dang ’dus ma byas rnam par nges pa (Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛta-
viniścaya). Toh 3897, Degé Tengyur vol. 108 (dbu ma, ha), folios 109.a–110.a.
English translation in Skilling (1992): 71–73.
Śamathadeva. chos mngon pa’i mdzod kyi ’grel bshad nye bar mkho ba (Abhidharma-
kośaṭīkopayikā). Toh 4094, Degé Tengyur vol. 146 (mngon pa, ju), folios 1.b–
95.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang,
2003.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh
4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag rtogs byed chen po). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 204
(sna tshogs, co), folios 1.b–131.a. Also in Sakaki, Ryozaburo, ed. 1916–25;
reprint, 1965; and Delhi: Tibetan Religious and Cultural Publication Centre
(bod gzhung shes rig dpe khang), 2000.
Vinītā, Bhikṣuṇī, ed. and trans. A unique collection of twenty Sūtras in a Sanskrit
manuscript from the Potala. Sanskrit Texts from the Tibetan Autonomous
Region 7/1. Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House; Vienna: Austrian
Academy of Sciences Press, 2010.
Faxian, trans. 佛説妙吉祥菩薩所問⼤乘法螺經 (fo shuo miao ji xiang pu sa suo wen
da cheng fa luo jing; Chinese translation of The Question of Mañjuśrī), Taishō
473 (https://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT2018/T0473.html).
Divākara, trans. ⼤乘百福相經 (da cheng bai fu xiang jing; Chinese translation of
The Question of Mañjuśrī), Taishō 661 (https://21dzk.l.u-
tokyo.ac.jp/SAT2018/T0661.html).
Divākara, trans. ⼤乘百福莊嚴相經 (da cheng bai fu zhuang yan xiang jing;
Chinese translation of The Question of Mañjuśrī), Taishō 662
(https://21dzk.l.u-tokyo.ac.jp/SAT2018/T0662.html).
· Secondary Literature ·
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische
übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen
Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
McRae, John, trans. “The Sutra of Mañjuśrī’s Question.” In The Sutra That
Expounds the Descent of Maitreya Buddha and His Enlightenment and The Sutra
of Mañjuśrī’s Questions, pp. 27–143. BDK English Tripiṭaka. Moraga: BDK
America, 2016.
Skilling, Peter. “Symbols on the body, feet, and hands of a Buddha, Part I —
Lists.” Journal of the Siam Society 80 (1992): 67–79.
AD Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding
language.
AA Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names
where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested
in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
SU Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often
is a widely trusted dictionary.
་་བ་མག
rasarasāgratā
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-second of the thirty-two
signs of a great being.
མ་བད་པར་ག་ས་ ་་ང་ལ་ག་པ།
anavanatapralambabāhu
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-sixth of the thirty-two signs
of a great being.
ཁ་ག་ས་བན་པ།
—
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fourth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being. This sign is not mentioned in any of the other lists of thirty-two
that we have investigated.
g.4 almighty
dbang phyug
དབང་ག
īśvara
The Sanskrit īśvara literally means “powerful one.” In both Indian and
Tibetan literature it is often an epithet applied to Śiva. However, here where
the title is given to a “supremely great almighty brahmā, sovereign of a
trichiliocosm” (tshangs pa stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi bdag po
dbang phyug chen po’i mchog), the term signifies that Brahmā, or rather a
brahmā, is the overseer of an entire trichiliocosm.
g.5 an arm span and height that are identical like the banyan tree
shing n+ya gro d+ha ltar chu zheng gab pa
ང་་ོ་དྷ་ར་་ང་གབ་པ།
nyagrodhaparimaṇḍala
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twelfth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being.
g.6 arhat
dgra bcom pa
ད་བམ་པ།
arhat
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati),
or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-
vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the
fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an
epithet of the Buddha.
g.7 armband
dpung rgyan
དང་ན།
*keyūra RS · *aṅgada RS
Seventy-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
g.8 arrow
mda’
མདའ།
*śara RS · *iṣu RS
Thirty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
g.9 Avalokiteśvara
spyan ras gzigs dbang po
ན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་།
avalokiteśvara
One of the eight “close sons” of the Buddha, the embodiment of compassion.
He first appeared as a bodhisattva beside Amitābha in the Sukhāvatī Sūtra.
The name has been variously interpreted. In his name meaning “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, not translated into Tibetan,
was the Avalokita Sūtra, in which the word is a synonym for awakening, as it
is “that which has been seen” by the buddhas. In the early tantras, he is one
of the lords of the three families, as the embodiment of the compassion of the
buddhas.
g.10 axe
sta re · sta gri · dgra sta
g.11 bamboo
’od ma
ད་མ།
veṇu
Twenty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.12 barley
nas
ནས།
yava
Twenty-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
འ་ས་ད་འ་ས་ད་ན་ི་མས་ཅན།
naivasaṃjñānāsaṃjñāsattva
This refers to the category of beings abiding in the fourth and highest level
of the formless realm. These are either the gods that abide there or persons
who have reached this state though meditative equipoise. This state is also
referred to as the “peak of existence” (bhavāgra; srid rtse) and is located at the
apex of saṃsāra. Abiding there, such beings do not experience perceptions
and yet cannot be said to be without perceptions.
ལ་ང་བ།
bilvavṛkṣa
Aegle mermelos, also known as Indian bael or wood apple. Thirty-first of the
eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. Some sources seem
to list the fruit and tree as separate designs (see n.29).
g.16 boat
gru
།
*nau RS · *jalayāna RS
Forty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
མངལ་ལས་ས་པ།
jārāyuja
One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skyes gnas bzhi).
་ང་ལས་ས་པ།
aṇḍaja
One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skes gnas bzhi).
ད་གར་ལས་ས་པ།
saṃsvedaja
One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skes gnas bzhi). Tiny bugs and
microbes are understood to be born from the confluence of heat and
moisture.
ས་་ས་པ།
upapādukaja
One of the four modes of birth (caturyoni; skes gnas bzhi). Those who take
miraculous birth are spontaneously born fully mature at the time of their
birth. There are many categories of beings that can be born under these
circumstances including gods, hungry ghosts, beings born in hell, beings
born in the intermediate state (antarābhava; bar ma do), and even humans in
special circumstances or in the pure realms.
g.21 bow
gzhu
ག།
*dhanu RS · *cāpa RS
Thirty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.22 boy
khye’u
།
—
Sixty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.23 bracelet
gdu bu
ག་།
*valaya RS · *parihāṭaka RS
Seventy-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.24 Brahmā
tshangs pa
ཚངས་པ།
brahmā
One of the primary deities of the Brahmanical pantheon, Brahmā occupies an
important place as one of two deities (the other being Indra/Śakra) that are
said to have first exhorted Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular
heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of
the most sought after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since
there are multiple universes and world systems, there are also multiple
Brahmās presiding over them; however, The Question of Mañjuśrī describes
sequentially higher brahmā gods as ruling over sequentially more numerous
world systems. The image of the singular deity, Brahmā, is depicted as the
forty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ཞབས་་ང་པ་་བ།
āyatapādapārṣṇi
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the seventeenth of the thirty-two signs of
a great being.
g.26 bull
khyu mchog
་མག
vṛṣabha · ṛṣabha
A bull. Also the second zodiac sign, vṛṣabha, which corresponds to Taurus.
Both vṛṣabha and ṛṣabha can be used as respectful epithets implying
preeminence, usually in phrases such as “a bull among men” (a frequent
epithet of the Buddha), “a bull among sages,” and the like. Here, the bull is
the twenty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
ར་པ།
cakravāka
Tadorna ferrugine or ruddy shelduck. Nineteenth of the eighty designs on the
palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.28 cakravartin
’khor los sgyur ba
འར་ས་ར་བ།
cakravartin
A cakravartin is a king who rules over at least one continent and gains his
territory by the rolling of his magic wheel over the land. Therefore he is
called a king with the revolving wheel. This is as the result of the merit he
has accumulated in previous lifetimes. An illustrative passage about the
cakravartin and his wheel can be found in Toh 95, The Play in Full 3.3–3.6
(here translated as “universal monarch”).
ན་པ་་དགས་་ལ་་་་ཡ་འ་བ།
eṇeyamṛgarājajaṅgha
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the sixteenth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being. Eṇeya (sometimes Aiṇeya) is the mythical king of ungulates,
usualy depicted as an antelope.
་ཤ། · ཙ་ཤ།
cāṣa
Eighteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
This most likely refers to the Indian Roller, Coracias indica, a small bird with
bright blue plumage.
འམ་པ་ང་་འ་བ།
siṃhahanu
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the ninth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being.
g.32 chiliocosm
stong gi ’jig rten gyi khams
ང་་འག་ན་ི་ཁམས།
sāhasralokadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, a universe that itself contains a thousand world
systems, each made up of its own Mount Meru, four continents, sun, moon,
and god realms.
g.33 cloud
sprin
ན།
megha
Forty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
་མཚན་་ང་བར་བ་པ།
—
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fourteenth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being. In the Mahāvyutpatti and other sources this sign is expressed as
“genitals concealed in a sheath” (kośagatavastiguhya; ’doms kyi sba ba sbubs su
nub pa).
g.35 conch
dung
ང་།
śaṅkha
Seventy-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
This design of the conch is represented separately from the Dharma conch
found at the apex of the hierarchy of merit described in The Question of
Mañjuśrī.
་ཆ་ང་ལ་ཅན།
—
Seventy-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
ན་མན་མཐིང་ལ་བ་་མ་འ་བ།
abhinīlanetragopakṣman
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the sixth of the thirty-two signs of a great
being. This matches the list found in the Mahāvyutpatti, no. 240, but in other
lists this is represented as two separate signs: “dark blue eyes” and “bovine
eyelashes.”
འད་པ་ཁམས།
kāmadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, this is our own realm, the lowest and most coarse of
the three realms of saṃsāra. It is called this because beings here are
characterized by their strong longing and attachment to the pleasures of the
senses. The desire realm includes hell beings, hungry ghosts, animals,
humans, asuras, and the lowest heavens of the gods. Located above the
desire realm is the form realm and formless realm.
g.39 Dhanada
nor sbyin
ར་ན།
dhanada
Dhanada (“Wealth Giver”) is another name of Vaiśravaṇa (rnam thos sras,
“Prince of the Distinctly Hearing One”), one of the Four Great Kings (rgyal po
chen po bzhi) ruling the four directions of the desire realm. Vaiśravaṇa rules
the northern direction and the yakṣas (gnod sbyin) that reside there. In The
Question of Mañjuśrī his image is the fifty-third of the eighty designs on the
palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ས་་ང་།
dharmaśaṅkha
One of the eight auspicious emblems. As a musical instrument, the conch is
blown like a trumpet, and throughout India’s history it has been a symbol of
power, authority, and auspicious beginnings. In Buddhism, the Dharma
conch has been variously described to represent the Buddha’s speech, his
thought or intention (dgongs), or the sound of his teachings —in essence the
Dharma itself. The sound of blowing the Dharma conch awakens beings from
their sleep of delusion and ignorance.
g.41 Dhṛtarāṣṭra
’khor srung po · yul ’khor srung · ’khor srung
g.42 dhyāna
bsam gtan
བསམ་གཏན།
dhyāna
One of the synonyms for meditation, referring specifically to states of mental
stability or one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind free from
afflicted mental states. The term also refers to the specific states of
absorption of the form and formless realms. Abiding in these absorptions can
cause one to be reborn into these realms, and the states themselves also
seem to have a spatial correlation to the form and formless realms. In this
way there are eight progressive dhyānas; the first four rūpāvacaradhyāna
correspond to the form realm and the latter ārūpāvacaradhyāna corrspond to
the formless realms. See also n.19.
g.43 diadem
cod pan
ད་པན།
*mukuṭa RS · *kirīṭi RS · *kirīṭa RS
Sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.44 dichiliocosm
stong gnyis kyi ’jig rten gyi khams
ང་གས་་འག་ན་ི་ཁམས།
dvisāhasralokadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, a dichiliocosm is a galaxy or aggregate of universes
that itself contains a thousand chiliocosms, or one million world systems.
g.45 dove
thi ba
ཐི་བ།
kapota
Twenty-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
g.46 drum
rnga
།
—
Seventieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
་ར་བ།
dūrvā
Cynodon dactylon (syn. Panicum dactylon), a kind of grass that is used in a
variety of Buddhist ceremonies. It is also one of the eight auspicious
substances (bkra shis rdzas brgyad). Here it is sixty-sixth of the eighty designs
on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.48 earring
rna cha
་ཆ།
*karṇika RS · *kuṇḍala RS
Seventy-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
བ་ས་གས་བད།
aṣṭamaṅgala
Eight Indian emblems signifying fortune and auspiciousness. They include
the lotus, the śrīvatsa, the pair of golden fish, the parasol, the victory banner,
the treasure vase, the conch, and the wheel. They are not discussed
particularly in this sūtra, although several of the eight are also included in
the list of eighty designs found on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
་ ་ས་་མཚན་བད་།
—
Eighty images found on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. See
Introduction and 1.17.
ད་ད་བཟང་་བད་།
aśītyānuvyañjana
A set of eighty bodily characteristics and insignia borne by both buddhas
and cakravartins. For a complete list see the Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā
Sūtra (The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines), 73.93.
g.52 elephant
glang po · glang po che
ང་། · ང་་།
hastin
Ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.53 eon
bskal pa
བལ་པ།
kalpa
A cosmic period of time. According to the traditional Abhidharma
understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty
lesser or intermediate eons. In the course of one great eon, the external
universe and its sentient life takes form and later disappears. During the first
twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and
expansion (vivartakalpa); during the next twenty it remains created; during
the third twenty it is in the process of destruction or contraction
(saṃvartakalpa); and during the last quarter of the cycle it remains in a state of
destruction (saṃvartasthāyikalpa).
བལ་པ་འག་པ།
saṃvartakalpa
The third period of destruction in the in the four-part cycle of creation and
destruction of a world system or universe (here in The Question of Mañjuśrī it
seems to be applied to an entire trichiliocosm). See also “eon.”
g.55 even forehead
dpral ba mnyam pa
དལ་བ་མཉམ་པ།
samalalāṭa
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the third of the thirty-two signs of a great
being.
་ག་བཟང་།
—
Seventy-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
ཞབས་་ང་མ་བ།
utsaṅgapāda
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-first of the thirty-two signs of
a great being. In some lists this sign is rendered “inconspicuous ankles
bones” (ucchaṅkhapāda; zhabs kyi long mo’i tshigs mi mngon pa). Because of the
similar and ambiguous meaning of the Sanskrit, both Tibetan translations are
found attested for utsaṅgapāda.
པགས་པ་བ་ལ་གར་ི་མག་འ་བ།
sūkṣmasuvarṇacchavi
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-fifth of the thirty-two signs of
a great being.
g.60 fire
me
།
agni
Fifty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.61 fish
nya
ཉ།
matsya
Thirteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
གགས་་ཁམས།
rūpadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence one level more subtle than
our own (the desire realm), where beings, though subtly embodied, are not
driven primarily by the urge for sense gratification. See the “three realms.”
གགས་ད་པ་ཁམས།
ārūpyadhātu
In Buddhist cosmology, the sphere of existence two levels more subtle than
our own (the desire realm), where beings are no longer physically embodied,
and thus not subject to the sufferings that physical embodiment brings. See
the “three realms.”
་བ་བ་ཐགས་བཟང་བ།
catvāriṃśadaviraladanta
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the seventh of the thirty-two signs of a
great being. In the Mahāvyutpatti and other lists this is represented as two
separate signs: “forty teeth” (catvāriṃśaddanta; tshems bzhi bcu mnga’ ba) and
“close-fitting teeth” (aviraladanta; tshems thags bzang ba).
ང་བ།
caturdvīpa
According to Abhidharma cosmology, each world system has four
continents surrounding a central Mount Meru: to the east, Videha (lus ’phags
po, “superior body”); to the south, our continent of Jambudvīpa (’dzam bu
gling, “Rose Apple Continent”); to the west, Aparagodānīya (ba glang spyod
“Rich in Cattle”); and to the north, Uttarakuru (sgra mi snyan, “Unpleasant
Sound”).
བ་གང་ང་མ་པ།
suvartitoru
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fifteenth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being.
g.67 garland
phreng ba
ང་བ།
mālā
Fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.68 gayal
ba men
བ་ན།
gavaya
Bos frontalis, a species of ox also known as gayal. Twenty-sixth of the eighty
designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.69 girl
bu mo
་།
—
Sixty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.70 goat
ra
ར།
aja
Twenty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
g.71 goose
ngang pa
ངང་པ།
haṃsa
Twenty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ན་ན་།
mahauṣadhi · mahauṣadha
Twenty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
This term is applied to a number of different medicinal herbs or herb
mixtures.
ང་ང་ན་།
maharṣi
Indian sage, often a wandering ascetic or hermit; in other contexts the term
is also an epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
་ང་་་་ནས་ས་པ།
—
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the thirteenth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being.
g.75 having an excellent well-built body
yan lag mchog gi gzugs dang ldan pa
ཡན་ལག་མག་་གགས་དང་ན་པ།
varāṅgarūpin
Literally “having a form excellent in all body parts.”
g.76 hook
kyo ba thang · lcags kyu
་བ་ཐང་། · གས་།
aṅkuśa
Fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.77 horse
rta
།
aśva
Tenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
་བ་ག་ག་བ་ང་།
koṭiniyutaśatasahasra
If the Abhidharma system is followed, this is a number calculated by
multiplying a koṭi (bye ba), or ten million; by a niyuta (khrag khrig), or a hundred
billion; and by a śatasahasra (brgya stong), or one hundred thousand, which all
together equals ten to the 23rd power or a hundred sextillion. This term is
often used as to express a number so large as to be inconceivable.
g.79 Indra
dbang po
དབང་།
indra
In most Buddhist texts he is known as Śakra; however, as the forty-eighth of
the designs on the Tathāgatha’s hands and feet his name Indra, meaning
“lord,” is used.
g.80 insight
shes rab
ས་རབ།
prajñā
As the sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of
the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. In other
contexts it refers to the mental factor responsible for ascertaining specific
qualities of a given object, such as its characteristics or whether it should be
taken up or rejected.
བར་ི་བལ་པ།
antarakalpa
A cosmic period of time. Following the Abhidharma system, eighty
intermediate eons together compose one great eon (mahākalpa).
ཀ་ལ་ང་ཀ · ཀ་ལ་།
kalaviṅka
An Indian bird renowned for its beautiful song. There is some uncertainty
regarding the identity of the kalaviṅka, as some dictionaries declare it to be a
type of Indian cuckoo (probably Eudynamys scolopacea, also known as the
asian koel) or a red and green sparrow (possibly Amandava amandava, also
known as the red avadavat). Within the Buddhist sūtras, the bird is usually
linked to its pleasing or striking voice. In some cases, it has also taken on
mythical characteristics, being described as part human, part bird. Here it is
the sixteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.83 lance
shag ti · mdung thung
ཤག་། · མང་ང་།
śakti
Thirty-eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ེ་་ང་བ་པ།
*prabhūtatanujihva RS
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the tenth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being. In most other sources, the Tibetan is rendered as “very long and
slender tongue” (ljags shin tu ring zhing srab pa), but the underlying Sanskrit is
likely the same or similar at the very least.
g.85 lasso
zhags pa
ཞགས་པ།
pāśa
Forty-third of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ར་་ང་བ།
dīrghāṅguli
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twentieth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being.
g.88 lotus
pad mo
པད་།
padma
Sixtieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.89 mace
gtun · gtun shing
གན། · གན་ང་།
musala
The Sanskrit has the meaning of both a club or mace-like weapon, and a
pestle used for grinding, which as a cylinder of wood or stone can also be
utilized as a weapon. The former meaning makes sense in the context of the
short list of weapons (34–43) found among the eighty designs, although the
Tibetan has the meaning of “pestle.” Mahāvyutpatti no. 5890 equates gtun
shing with musala. Here its image is the forty-first of the eighty designs on the
palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.90 makara
chu srin · chu srin ma ka ra
་ན། · ་ན་མ་ཀ་ར།
makara
A legendary sea monster often described as an amalgamation of several
terrestrial and/or aquatic animals such as an elephant, a crocodile, and a
boar, although the term is sometimes associated with the dugong, the
crocodile, or the dolphin. Here its image is the twelfth of the eighty designs
on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.91 Mañjuśrī
’jam dpal
འཇམ་དཔལ།
mañjuśrī
One of the eight “close sons” of the Buddha, the embodiment of insight
(prajñā). In Tibetan tradition he is known as rgyal ba’i yab gcig, the “sole father
of buddhas,” as he inspires them in their realization of the profound. He is
represented as bearing the sword of insight in his right hand and a volume
of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left.
g.92 Māra
bdud
བད།
māra
Said to be the principal deity in Paranirmitavaśavartin, the highest paradise
in the desire realm. He is also portrayed as attempting to prevent the
Buddha’s awakening. The name māra is also used as a generic name for the
deities in his realm and also as an impersonal term for the factors that keep
beings in saṃsāra.
g.93 mirror
me long
་ང་།
*ādarśa RS · *darpaṇa RS
Sixty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.94 moon
zla ba
་བ།
candra
Fifty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.95 mountain
ri
།
parvata
Thirtieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.96 mṛdaṅga
smri tang ga · rdza rnga · smri ga · smri dang ga
g.97 nāga
klu
།
nāga
A mythical being usually depicted as having the top half of a human and the
bottom half of a snake. However, the nāga has a myriad of associations
within Buddhism and Indian traditions in general; the term may be
associated with deities, snakes (more specifically cobras), elephants,
subterranean spirits, water spirits, or ethnic groups of people from the
Indian subcontinent. In Tibet they became specifically associated with water
spirits (klu), and in China they came to be associated with dragons. Here the
image of the nāga is the twenty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms
and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.98 nandyāvarta
g.yung drung
གང་ང་།
nandyāvarta
An auspicious design resembling a svastika with an elaborate pattern around
its border. In the Mahāvyutpatti, nandyāvarta is translated into the Tibetan as
g.yung drung; however, later on the same Tibetan was used to translate
svastika, which is translated by the Tibetan bkra shis ldan in the Mahāvyutpatti.
Sometimes the distinction is made with the extended term g.yung drung ’kyil
ba, a “rotating svastika/g.yung drung,” since the border pattern of the
nandyāvarta gives the impression that the svastika in the center is rotating.
Here the image is the sixty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles
of the Tathāgata.
ཞབས་དང་ག་་མཐིལ་འཇམ་ང་མན་པ། · ཞབས་དང་ག་་མཐིལ་འཇམ་ང་གན་ཤ་ཆགས་པ།
*mṛdutaruṇahastapādatala RS
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the eighteenth of the thirty-two signs of
a great being.
ཞབས་དང་ག་་མཐིལ་ན་འར་ ་མཚན་ད་པ།
cakrāṅkitahastapādatala
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-eighth of the thirty-two signs
of a great being.
g.101 parasol
gdugs
གགས།
chattra
First of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata. In
general Indian iconography it is a symbol of protection and royalty. In
Buddhism it symbolizes protection from blazing heat of afflictions, desire,
illness, and harmful forces, just as a physical parasol protects one from the
blazing sun or the elements. It is also included in the eight auspicious
emblems.
g.102 parrot
ne tso
་།
śuka
Twentieth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.103 partridge
shang shang te’u
ཤང་ཤང་།
jīvaṃjīva · jīvaṃjīvaka
Some times translated as “pheasant.” The Sanskrit, jīvaṃjīva refers to the
chukar partridge (Alectoris chukar). In Tibet and China, this became a mythical
bird depicted as a half human and half bird, or as a bird with two heads.
Here its image is the seventeenth of the eighty designs on the palms and
soles of the Tathāgata.
g.104 peacock
rma bya
་།
mayūra
Fifteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
་ག་་ན། · ་ག་་བན།
—
Forty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.106 plow
gshol
གལ།
hala
The Sanskrit may also refer to a weapon or a plow repurposed as a weapon,
which would make sense in the context of the short list of weapons (34–43)
found among the eighty designs, although the Tibetan meaning itself
doesn’t connote this secondary meaning. Here its image is the fortieth of the
eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.107 pratyekabuddha
rang sangs rgyas
རང་སངས་ས།
pratyekabuddha
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or
her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation,
without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized
buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyekabuddha is not
regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of
dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial
realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of
all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in
previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit,
compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-
like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as
“congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.
ང་་ན་་།
hastiratna
One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. The precious elephant is
described as having magical abilities and sometimes as having six tusks. A
passage about the precious elephant is found in Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.7.
See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 119.b.
་ན་་།
aśvaratna
One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. The precious horse is
described as having magical abilities, and a passage about it is found in Toh
95, The Play in Full, 3.8. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 120.b.
ར་་ན་་།
maṇiratna
One of the seven treasures possessed by the cakravartin king. It is often
equated with or described as a wish-fulfilling jewel (yid bzhin gyi nor bu). It is
additionally included as the thirty-third of the eighty designs found on the
palms and soles of the Tathāgata. A passage about the precious jewel is
found in Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.9. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti,
folio 121.b.
ན་་ན་་།
pariṇāyakaratna
One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. See also Toh 95, The Play
in Full, 3.12 See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 126.a.
མ་བདག་ན་་།
gṛhapatiratna
One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. See also Toh 95, The Play
in Full, 3.11. See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 124.b.
འར་་ན་་།
cakraratna
One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. The precious wheel has
one thousand spokes and is the treasure that gives the cakravartin his name,
as a king with a “revolving wheel.” This magical wheel floats in the air and
travels, followed by the cakravartin king and his army, to the continents they
will conquer. In some descriptions the wheel is made of iron, copper, silver,
or gold, depending on the degree of his power and the number of the four
continents he will conquer. A illustrative passage about the precious wheel
is found Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.3–3.6 (where “cakravartin” is translated as
“universal monarch”). See also Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 112.b.
ད་ད་ན་་།
strīratna
One of the seven treasures of the cakravartin king. Here the term is
translated literally, but elsewhere she is referred to as btsun mo rin po che, “the
precious queen.” See also Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.10. See also Toh 4087, the
Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 122.a.
g.115 puroḍāśa
pu ro da sha
་་ད་ཤ།
puroḍāśa
Cakes of grain and/or clarified butter offered as oblations in a fire ritual. The
sixty-seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ད་མན་མཐིང་ལ་གཡས་གས་་འལ་བ།
—
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the second of the thirty-two signs of a
great being. In other sources the “dark blue” (abhinīla; mthing) color isn’t
mentioned with this sign. Mahāvyutpatti no. 237 has “right-curling hair on the
head” (pradakṣiṇāvartakeśa; dbu skra gyas su ’khyil ba).
g.117 ring
sor gdub
ར་གབ།
*aṅgulīyaka RS · *valaka RS
Seventy-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
More specifically, it is a “finger ring.”
དང་མ་མ་པ།
saṃvṛtaskandha
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-third of the thirty-two signs
of a great being.
g.119 Śakra
brgya byin
བ་ན།
śakra
Common epithet of the god Indra, in Skt. meaning “Mighty One,” and in Tib.,
“Hundred Gifts.” The Tibetan translation is based on an alternate etymology
that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, “one who has performed a hundred
sacrifices.” This epithet often appears together with the title devendra “Lord
of Gods.” He is ruler of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.
ན་ནས་མས་པ།
samantaprāsāda
The name of an assembly hall in Śrāvastī. It could be that samanta, meaning
“universal,” just refers to the assembly hall in general. However, both the
Tibetan and Chinese seemed to translate this word literally, which suggests
it may be a proper noun.
བན་མ་བ།
saptotsada
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-fourth of the thirty-two signs
of a great being.
ན་་་་བན།
saptaratna
The seven possessions of a cakravartin including the precious wheel, the
precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious jewel, the precious
woman, the precious steward, and the precious minister. In some forms of
the list the steward or minister is variably replaced by the precious general
(senāpatiratna; dmag dpon rin po che) or the precious sword (khaḍgaratna; ral gri
rin po che). A more detailed description of these seven can be found in Toh 95,
The Play in Full, 3.2–3.12. There is also a detailed description of the seven
treasures and the corresponding causal conditions for obtaining them in Toh
4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 111.b. The term should not be confused with
seven precious substances, a set of seven precious stones or minerals, which
is a term found elsewhere but also rendered rin po che sna bdun.
g.123 śrāvaka
nyan thos
ཉན་ས།
śrāvaka
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the
verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the
Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of
the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own
liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the
wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering
inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no
independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate
themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing,
followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more
time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into
the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are
also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”
g.124 Śrāvastī
mnyan du yod pa
མཉན་་ད་པ།
śrāvastī
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city of the powerful
kingdom of Kośala, ruled by King Prasenajit, who became a follower and
patron of the Buddha. It was also the hometown of Anāthapiṇḍada, the
wealthy patron who first invited the Buddha there, and then offered him a
park known as Jetavana, Prince Jeta’s Grove, which became one of the first
Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha is said to have spent about twenty-five
rainy seasons with his disciples in Śrāvastī, thus it is named as the setting of
numerous events and teachings. It is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh in
northern India.
g.125 Śrī
dpal
དཔལ།
śrī
The goddess of fortune and prosperity, she is also known as Lakṣmī. In The
Question of Mañjuśrī her image is the fifty-fifth of the eighty designs on the
palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.126 śrīvatsa
dpal be’u
དཔལ་།
śrīvatsa
An auspicious symbol for eternity, taking the design of an endless looping
knot; the Tibetan translates the term as “glorious knot,” while the Sanskrit
literally means “beloved of Śrī” as an epithet of Viṣṇu (the consort of Śrī),
because the emblem is seen on Viṣṇu’s chest. In Buddhism the design
represents the endless insight and compassion of the Buddha and is
included among the eight auspicious emblems. It is also here the third of the
eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.127 staff
dbyig to · dbyig tog
དག་། · དག་ག
—
Seventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.128 sun
nyi ma
་མ།
sūrya
Fifty-sixth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
རལ་་མག · རལ་ི་མག
—
Thirty-fourth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
་ཡབ།
cāmara
Sixty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.131 tathāgata
de bzhin gshegs pa
་བན་གགས་པ།
tathāgata
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations,
it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as
tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,”
is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence.
Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or
condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in
conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different
ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the
buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening
dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence
and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha
Śākyamuni.
ད་བ་བ་ལས།
daśakuśalakarman
Refraining from the ten unvirtuous actions, i.e., not killing, not stealing, not
engaging in sexual misconduct, not lying, not speaking divisively, not
speaking harshly, not gossiping, not being covetous, not being malicious,
and not having wrong views.
ཚངས་པ་དངས།
brahmasvara
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-ninth of the thirty-two signs
of a great being.
ས་་ན་ ་མཚན་མ་་་གས།
dvātriṃśanmahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa
Thirty-two of the 112 identifying physical characteristics of both buddhas
and cakravartins, in addition to the eighty excellent signs. There are
significant variations found in this list from source to source. See n.36.
ཁམས་གམ།
tridhātu
The formless realm, the form realm, and the desire realm: the three realms
that comprise saṃsāra.
g.136 tiger
stag
ག
vyāghra
Eleventh of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
་ད་ང་་འ་བ།
siṃhapūrvārdhakāya
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the eleventh of the thirty-two signs of a
great being.
g.138 triangle
gru gsum
་གམ།
trikoṇa
Sixty-second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.139 trichiliocosm
stong gsum gyi stong chen po’i ’jig rten gyi khams
ང་གམ་ི་ང་ན་ ་འག་ན་ི་ཁམས།
trisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu
A term from Abhidharma cosmology referring to one thousand
dichiliocosms, or one billion world systems.
g.140 trident
mdung rtse gsum pa
མང་་གམ་པ།
triśūla
Thirty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.141 turtle
rus sbal · ru sbal
ས་ལ། · ་ལ།
kūrma
Fourteenth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ན་མཚམས་་མད་།
—
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the fifth of the thirty-two signs of a great
being. The ūrṇā or the “hair-treasure” (mdzod spu) is the circlet of hair
between the Buddha’s eyebrows. In the Mahāvyutpatti this sign is expressed
without mention of the eyebrows, (ūrṇākeśa; mdzod spu).
g.143 uṣṇīṣa
gtsug tor
གག་ར།
uṣṇīṣa
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as first of the thirty-two signs of a great
being. In its simplest form it is a pointed shape of the head like a turban (the
Sanskrit term, uṣṇīṣa, in fact means “turban”), or more elaborately a dome-
shaped extension. The extension is described as having various magical
attributes such as emitting and absorbing rays of light or reaching an
immense height.
g.144 vajra
rdo rje
་།
vajra
Thirty-fifth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.145 Varuṇa
chu’i lha
་།
varuṇa
The Vedic deity understood in later periods to be the lord of waters; thus the
Tibetans translate his name as “God of Water” (chu’i lha). In The Question of
Mañjuśrī his image is the fiftieth of the eighty designs on the palms of the
hand and feet of the Tathāgata.
g.146 vase
bum pa
མ་པ།
—
Eighth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ལ་མཚན།
dhvaja
Second of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.148 Virūḍhaka
’phags skyes po
འཕགས་ས་།
virūḍhaka
One of the Four Great Kings (rgyal po chen po bzhi) ruling the four directions
of the desire realm. Virūḍhaka rules the southern direction and the
kumbhāṇḍas (grul bum) that reside there. In The Question of Mañjuśrī his
image is the fifty-first of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the
Tathāgata.
g.149 Virūpākṣa
mig mi bzang
ག་་བཟང་།
virūpākṣa
One of the Four Great Kings (rgyal po chen po bzhi) ruling the four directions
of the desire realm. Virūpākṣa rules the western direction and the nāgās (klu)
that reside there. In The Question of Mañjuśrī his image is the fifty-second of
the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
ཞབས་དང་ག་་ར་ ་བར་་བར་འལ་བ།
jālāvanaddhāṅgulipāṇipāda
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the nineteenth of the thirty-two signs of
a great being.
ཞབས་རབ་་གནས་པ།
supratiṣṭhitapāda
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the twenty-seventh of the thirty-two
signs of a great being.
མ་བ་དཀར་བ།
śukladanta
Listed in The Question of Mañjuśrī as the eighth of the thirty-two signs of a
great being.
g.153 wind
rlung
ང་།
vāyu
Fifty-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.
g.154 wisdom
ye shes
་ས།
jñāna
g.155 wish
bsam pa
བསམ་པ།
abhiprāya
དཔག་བསམ་ི་ང་།
kalpavṛkṣa
Seventy-ninth of the eighty designs on the palms and soles of the Tathāgata.