Introduction
i.1The Inquiry of Avalokiteśvara on the Seven Qualities is a brief sūtra describing seven qualities that should be cultivated by a bodhisattva immediately upon generating the altruistic mind set on attaining awakening. The mind of awakening is the intention or resolution to attain full and complete buddhahood for the benefit of oneself and all sentient beings.
i.1《觀自在菩薩七法經》是一部簡短的經典，描述了菩薩在剛剛生起菩提心時應當修習的七種品質。菩提心是一種意願或決心，目的是為了自己和一切眾生的利益而成就佛果。
i.2The structure of the sūtra is in three parts: the opening formula that gives the time, place, and Buddha’s retinue when the discourse was taught; the prescription of seven dharmas to be cultivated; and a formulaic conclusion.
i.2該經的結構分為三個部分：開頭部分說明傳法的時間、地點和佛陀的眷屬；規定應當修持的七種法；以及慣例性的結尾。
i.3The Buddha delivers his teaching in response to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Avalokiteśvara’s inquiry. What is unusual in the formulaic inquiry phrases of this sūtra is that Avalokiteśvara places his right knee in the center of a lotus flower; in most sūtras that follow such a pattern, the questioner places their knee on the ground. This implicitly demonstrates the reverence in which Avalokiteśvara was held by the compilers or transmitters of this sūtra. The Buddha prescribes seven qualities or dharmas that one should cultivate after producing the mind of awakening. They emphasize mental purity and cognitive detachment from conceptuality. These prescriptions are straightforward and easy to understand according to the overview of the sūtra by Pekar Sangpo (pad dkar bzang po, see bibliography).
i.3佛陀針對菩薩摩訶薩觀自在菩薩的提問而宣說教法。這部經獨特之處在於其程式化的提問措辭中，觀自在菩薩將右膝放在蓮花的中心；在大多數遵循此模式的經典中，提問者將膝蓋放在地上。這隱喻地展現了觀自在菩薩在此經的編纂者或傳承者心中所受的尊敬。佛陀開示了七種品質或法，應該在生起菩提心之後進行修習。它們強調心清淨和從概念化的認知超脫。根據佛經總述作者白色善色（pad dkar bzang po，見參考文獻）的介紹，這些開示直截了當，容易理解。
i.4The Inquiry of Avalokiteśvara on the Seven Qualities was initially translated into Tibetan from an Indian language, most likely Sanskrit, by Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna (982–1054) and the Tibetan monk Gewai Lodrö.
i.4《觀自在菩薩七法問經》最初由印度學者阿底峽·迪帕姆卡拉·施里·尼亞那（982-1054）和藏族僧侶格瓦·洛卓從印度語言（最可能是梵文）譯成藏文。
The translation took place in all probability at the monastery of Tholing in West Tibet, where the rulers of Ngari (mnga’ ris) first officially welcomed Atiśa and where Gewai Lodrö was active. Gewai Lodrö collaborated with the great Kaśmīri scholar Subhūtiśrī (śānti) in Tholing before working with Atiśa. Atiśa and Gewai Lodrö worked together on several translations found in editions of the Tengyur, including the verses of the Bodhipathapradīpa (Toh 3947) and the Cittotpādasaṃvaravidhikrama (Toh 3969), and two texts found in most Kangyurs, the Gaṇḍisamayasūtra (Toh 299) and the Siddhaikavīramahātantrarāja (Toh 544, Degé 541).
這項翻譯工作最有可能在西藏西部的托林寺進行，那是阿底峽首次獲得阿里地區統治者正式歡迎的地方，也是格外洛卓活躍的地點。格外洛卓在托林寺與偉大的克什米爾學者善悉提（聖）合作，之後才與阿底峽一起工作。阿底峽與格外洛卓共同翻譯了多部文獻，這些文獻收錄在丹珠爾版本中，包括《菩提道燈論》的偈頌（Toh 3947）和《菩提心戒護儀軌》（Toh 3969），以及收錄在大部分甘珠爾中的兩部文獻，即《十不善業道經》（Toh 299）和《成就者勇士大密續王》（Toh 544，德格版 541）。
i.5Atiśa makes explicit reference to this sūtra in his Bodhimārgapradīpapañjikā , Cittotpādasaṃvaravidhikrama , and Ratnakaraṇḍodghāṭanāmamadhyamakopadeśa (Toh 3930, English translation Apple 2010, pp. 142–43). In the Bodhimārgapradīpapañjikā this sūtra is mentioned in the sections discussing the mind of awakening (Sherburne 2000, p. 101), the monastic life (Sherburne 2000, p. 127), and the supersensory knowledges (Sherburne 2000, p. 209). The Cittotpādasaṃvaravidhikrama also advocates the practice of this sūtra’s prescriptions for a bodhisattva who wishes to attain supersensory knowledge quickly (Sherburne 2000, pp. 540–41).
i.5阿底峽在他的《菩提道燈論釋》、《菩提心戒護儀軌》和《寶篋開啟論》（Toh 3930，英譯參見Apple 2010，pp. 142–43）中明確提及了這部經。在《菩提道燈論釋》中，這部經在討論菩提心、出家生活和神通的章節中被提到（Sherburne 2000, p. 101; p. 127; p. 209）。《菩提心戒護儀軌》也提倡菩薩若想迅速獲得神通應當實踐這部經的教導（Sherburne 2000, pp. 540–41）。
i.6The present translation from Tibetan is based upon a critical edition of ten Kangyur exemplars. A detailed philological analysis of the extant editions of this sūtra indicates that the oldest copies of this sūtra are preserved among Western Kangyur collections such as the Gondhla Collection, Hemis Kangyur, and Phudrak (phug brag) Kangyur.
i.6本次的藏文翻譯是以十部甘珠爾版本為基礎進行的校訂版本。對現存的本經各種版本進行詳細的文獻學分析表明，本經最古老的抄本保存在西方甘珠爾收藏中，如貢德拉收藏、赫米斯甘珠爾和普德拉甘珠爾。