Notes

n.1The Stem Array (Skt. Gaṇḍavyūha, Toh 44-45).

n.2According to The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism, a version of the prayer does however appear in Buddhabhadra’s translation of The Vows of Mañjuśrī Sūtra. Buswell and Lopez (2014), p. 106.

n.3For further details on the textual history of the prayer, see Osto (2010), pp. 1–2. The entire Buddhāvataṃsaka has been translated from Chinese into English, based on the Śikṣānanda version (Taishō 279), by Thomas Cleary (1993).

n.4Situ Paṇchen, folio 120.a.6.

n.5Denkarma folio 303.a; Herrmann-Pfandt (2008), pp. 269–70. Phangthangma, p. 33. In both of these catalogs it is listed as having ninety-seven ślokas or verses, though this does not match its length in either the Kangyur or the Dunhuang manuscript iterations.

n.6Richardson (1985), pp. 144–47.

n.7Thirty-six manuscripts in the Pelliot tibétain archive and twelve in the India Office Library (IOL) archive contain the prayer in part or in full. For a full list, see Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies at the University of Vienna.

n.8Scans of all the manuscripts in the Pelliot tibétain archive are available online through the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. Pelliot tibétain 116 is dated to the second half of the tenth century. This version of The Prayer of Good Conduct is very close to the Kangyur versions but lacks the final three verses. PT116 has been described by van Schaik (2016) as The Tibetan Chan Compendium.

n.9The colophon in Tibetan attributes this commentary to Lopön Gyenzangpo (slob dpon rgyan bzang po), which could render a variety of possible Sanskrit names. Subhūṣita, Alaṃkārabhadra, and Bhadravaha have all been suggested.

n.10The two Sanskrit editions of the Gaṇḍavyūha are Suzuki and Idzumi 1949, and Vaidya 1960.

n.11Later on, in verse 15, this same phrase is translated less obscurely as gang rnams ji snyed pa. A more literal translation would be “whoever many,” and thus in the first verse it was translated as ji snyed su dag. The Chinese has “all.”

n.12According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan repeats bowing with the synonym phyag tshal, presumably from a text that had praṇāmaiḥ in error for pramāṇaiḥ.

n.13The Sanskrit buddhasuta literally means “children of the buddhas,” and the Tibetan sangs rgyas sras, “sons of the buddhas.” The Chinese has “bodhisattvas.”

n.14According to the BHS adhimukti. Translated into Tibetan as dad pa (usually translated as “faith”). The Chinese includes related descriptions: 廣大勝解心 (guang da sheng jie xin, “vast, supreme understanding”), 深信 (shen xin, “deep faith or devotion”) in buddhas of the three times, and the power of devotion to good conduct.

n.15The Sanskrit text uses the synonym pratyekajina, and the Tibetan uses the equivalent rang rgyal. The Tibetan appears to separate “those practicing” and “those who are accomplished” from pratyeka­buddha .

n.16The order is according to the Sanskrit; the Tibetan reverses it, beginning with “the jinas.” The Chinese has 二乘有學及無學 (er sheng you xue ji wu xue, “two yānas at learning and non-learning stages”).

n.17According to the Tibetan. “Little” is not present in the Sanskrit or the Chinese.

n.18According to the Sanskrit udāra. The Tibetan translates according to an alternative meaning as “vast.”

n.19According to the Tibetan des and the Sanskrit peśalu. The Vaidya edition of the Sanskrit has ye khalu. The Chinese translates peśalu as “pure,” but in reference to the practice of perfection rather than the person.

n.20According to the Tibetan las, which could be an error for lam or a translation of the Sanskrit patha, which can mean “path” or “way.” The Chinese has 境 (jing), translating from patha.

n.21According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit is patha. Subhūṣita’s commentary interprets this as meaning “for as long as the realms last.” The Chinese includes both meanings.

n.22According to the Sanskrit, which is singular. The Tibetan has plural. The Chinese presents the first line as two lines and omits the fourth line of this verse.

n.23The Tibetan translates as smon lam, which is usually translated into English as “prayer” or “aspiration.” The BHS praṇidhāna can also mean “vow” or “resolution.” The Chinese translates as 願 (yuan, “prayer,” “aspiration,” “vow,” “resolution”).

n.24According to the Tibetan rgya cher and the Chinese 廣大 (guang da), translating the Sanskrit udāra.

n.25According to the BHS paridīpayamāna, translated into Tibetan as snang bar byed (“illuminate”). The Chinese translates as 光顯 (guang xian), incorporating both meanings.

n.26According to the BHS first-person singular optative bhavi. The Chinese translates as 獲 (huo, “attain”).

n.27As in other verses, the verb is otari, meaning here “to comprehend,” while the commentary specifies “comprehend through hearing.”

n.28According to the Tibetan, some Sanskrit versions and commentaries, and the Chinese. Some Sanskrit versions have jina instead of jaga (“beings”).

n.29The Tibetan translates gata literally as “gone,” though the meaning as used in the Sanskrit can mean “present in.” The Chinese has “tathāgatas.”

n.30The Sanskrit has naya in the singular, but the Tibetan has the plural tshul rnams. Yeshé Dé enumerates in his commentary these various ways of guiding beings.

n.31The Tibetan translates gata literally as “gone,” though the meaning in Sanskrit is “present in.” The Chinese does not include the preposition “in,” but it could be understood as such.

n.32According to the Tibetan theg pa (“vehicle”) and the Sanskrit yāna. The Vaidya edition has jñāna, and Cleary translates accordingly. The Chinese has 大乘 (da sheng, “Mahāyāna”).

n.33According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “be immersed in.” The Chinese has 甚深入 (shen shen ru, “enter deeply into”).

n.34In the verse the name is given in the form “Samantata­bhadra.” The Chinese has 普賢尊 (pu xian zun), “Lord Samanta­bhadra.”

n.35According to the Tibetan. “All” is not present in the Sanskrit, which is transcribed into Chinese as 文殊師利 (wen shu shi li).

n.36According to the Sanskrit that uses yathā and tathā in this sentence. The Tibetan could be interpreted to make this refer to one’s training being the same as both of them, which is anyway the meaning of the verse, but it lacks the statement that Samanta­bhadra is equal in wisdom to Mañjuśrī.

n.37The name as given at this point in the Sanskrit is Samantata­bhadra.

n.38This final verse in the standalone prayer, not found in The Stem Array, is present in all Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line but is absent from those of the Themphangma line, such as the Stok Palace and Shey Kangyurs. None of the Tengyur commentaries, including the one attributed to Yeshé Dé, make any reference to it.