Notes

n.1Though not explicitly identified as a Mahāyāna sūtra, the APD states that it was taught to a gathering of bodhisattvas, with the bodhisattva Avikalpa­prabhāsa serving as the primary interlocutor.

n.2On the relationship between the APD and the Dharma­dharmatā­vibhāga, see Brunnhölzl 2012, pp. 49–52; Mathes 2005, pp. 12–13; Meinert 2003, p. 180; Robertson 2006, p. 91.

n.3This is the rnam par mi rtog pa la ’jug pa’i gzung gyi ’grel pa, listed in the Denkarma catalog on F.306.a.6; see also Lalou (1953), no. 552, p. 332.

n.4See Denkarma, F.199.a.7; see also Lalou (1953), no. 197, p. 324.

n.5For more on the debate between proponents of the gradual and spontaneous paths to awakening, see Meinert 2003, pp. 179–80, particularly footnote 13; Robertson 2006, pp. 36–87.

n.6See Robertson 2006, pp. 87–91.

n.7For a detailed discussion of the relationship between the APD and the Lamp for the Eye of Meditation, see Meinert 2003.

n.8See Brunnhölzl 2012, pp. 150–51; Mathes 2005, passim.

n.9See Matsuda, 1996.

n.10The extant folia of IOL Tib J 52 correspond to folios 2.b.7–4.b.2 and 5.b.3–6.a.3 of the Degé Kangyur recension. It should be noted that the digitized images of the scans are disordered and one folio is reversed. The Arabic numerals on the right side of the folios do not represent the correct order. There also appears to be one folio missing in the sequence. Only variants that suggest differences between Sanskrit recensions have been noted.

n.11See Meinert 2003, pp. 178–79; Ueyama 1983, pp. 34–35. Ueyama presents an edition of the Ru wu fenbie zongchi jing in the same publication, pp. 38–40.

n.12Instead of Nirvikalpasvara, the Degé translation reads Nirvikalpeśvara (rnam par med dbang phyug).

n.13The Degé translation adds Nirvikalpa- to the name of Maheśvara (rnam par rtog med dbang phyug chen po).

n.14The Degé translation includes the statement “according to the Mahāyāna” (theg pa chen po la).

n.15The Degé translation lacks “noble sons,” but the phrase appears in the Dunhuang version.

n.16The Degé translation and Dunhuang version lack “completely transcends all conceptual signs.”

n.17The Degé translation lacks “secondary afflictive emotions,” but the phrase does appear in the Dunhuang version.

n.18These lines are cited by Ratnākaraśānti in his Sarvarahasyanibandha, a commentary on the Sarvarahasya Tantra (Toh 2623; see Isaacson, forthcoming, p. 16), and in his Sāratamā (or Sārottamā, Toh 3803), a commentary on the Perfection of Wisdom in 8000 Lines (Jaini 1979, p. 82). It is also cited by Sthiramati in his Triṃśikāvijñaptibhāṣya (Toh 4064; see Buescher 2002, p. 45, lines 16–18).

n.19The Tibetan translations lack an equivalent for vibhutva, “power.”

n.20The Degé translation and the Dunhuang version lack an equivalent for vihāra, “maintaining.”

n.21The Degé translation omits “great” here, which is attested in the Sanskrit.

n.22The Tibetan gnyen po la rnam par mi rtog pa’i mtshan ma here lacks an equivalent for the Sanskrit °nirūpaṇa in the compound pratipakṣanirūpaṇavikalpanimitta.

n.23The Degé translation reads rnam par mi rtog pa’i dbyings, “the nonconceptual realm.”

n.24The Degé translation should be emended from gzungs to gzugs following the Sanskrit and the variant attested in the Kangxi and Lhasa Kangyurs.

n.25The Degé translation omits “sign.”

n.26The Degé reading spyod pa should be emended here to dpyod pa in accordance with the Sanskrit °nirūpaṇa.

n.27The Tibetan translation reads, “omniscience is purification,” thus omitting “the three worlds.”

n.28The Degé translation omits the clause beginning with “to think, ‘omniscience arises.’ ” The Dunhuang version reads, “is difficult” (rab tu dka’ ba) instead of “is purified.”

n.29We have followed the Degé translation in including “noble sons” here.

n.30The Degé translation reads, “through any concepts of omniscience” (rnam pa thams cad mkhyen pa’i rnam par rtog pa thams cad kyis). The repetition of rnam pa thams cad mkhyen pa, “omniscience,” in the Tibetan passage suggests the possibility that mkhyen pa was added here by scribal error.

n.31The Degé translation includes “memorizing it” (’chang ba).

n.32These verses are cited in the Guṇavatīṭīkā (Toh 1623), Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary on the Mahāmāyā Tantra (Damron 2014, p. 90). Regarding the phrase “equaled and unequaled” (samāsama), Ratnākaraśānti comments: “[Nonconceptual bliss] is ‘equaled’ because it is equivalent with general classes of bliss that are other than it. It is ‘unequaled’ because is distinct through those [previously mentioned] four distinctions.”