Notes

n.1Phangthangma, p. 15 no. 12; Denkarma F.299.a; Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 101–2.

n.2The Questions of Brahmadatta (translated 2020).

n.3The Questions of Brahma­viśeṣacintin (translated 2021).

n.4See, for example, The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines Toh 9, 9.­1 .

n.5See Majjhima Nikāya no. 119. There is also a series of suttas on mindfulness of the body in the Aṅguttara Nikāya.

n.6Here the Tibetan for the first concentration is slightly different from the classic formulation as found in the Mahāvyutpatti and elsewhere. The present text reads rtog pa dang bcas pa/ dpyod pa dang bcas pa’i ting nge ’dzin las skyes pa “[joy] arising from meditative absorption with thought and scrutiny,” whereas the Mahāvyutpatti reads rtog pa dang bcas pa dpyad pa dang bcas pa dben pa las skyes pa “arising from thought and scrutiny while in seclusion.” Note that here “in seclusion” does not refer to seclusion in the sense of being in a secluded place while practicing, but rather to being mentally secluded, as it were, from the objects of the senses. In the Mahāvyutpatti it is only the second concentration, not the first, that mentions “absorption.” Since the Mahāvyutpatti is an authoritative source, we have emended the translation here to conform with the first concentration as found there, as does Skilling (2021) in his translation. For the equivalent Sanskrit consult the Mahāvyutpatti with sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa online at Bibliotecha Polyglotta (see Bibliography).

n.7For an elaboration of the four concentrations as found in the Perfection of Wisdom literature, see, for example, The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Toh 10, 16.­54).

n.8Following Narthang and Stok Palace brten pa. Degé here reads brtan pa, “stability,” which doesn’t fit the context.

n.9Tib. gsug gis bsgrub dgos pa ste. See Skilling 2021, p. 562 n. 800.

n.10The translation of this passage is tentative. Tib. lus ’di ni sdug bsngal rtsom pas gzung bar mi nus kyi/ bde ba rtsom pas gzung ba bya ba yin te/ bdag gis lus brtan zhing ’tsho ba ’dis dge ba’i chos rnams bsgrub par bya’o

n.11Tib. rgya shug tsam mam/ mon sran gre’u tsam. On the possible referents of these terms see Skilling 2021, p. 562 n. 803 and n. 804.

n.12Following the Narthang and Stok among others, ’dris pa rnams la ma yin no. The Degé reads ’dris pa rnams la yin no.

n.13As noted by Skilling, śrāmaṇas were often considered inauspicious in ancient Indian society, as reflected in the term muṇḍaka srāmaṇa. See Skilling 2021, p. 562 n. 805.

n.14Tib. gnas gsum. This is likely a reference to the head, throat, and heart, which represent the body, speech, and mind, respectively.

n.15Tib. de dag la mtshan mar mi ’dzin mngon rtags su mi ’dzin to. This phrase is repeated in the following sentences, where we have translated it as “not grasping onto characteristics or taking them as indications [of some object].” Peter Skilling translates it as “he does not grasp at the features, he does not grasp at the details.” Skilling 2021, pp. 363–4.

n.16The implication being that they were taught by the Buddha himself. See Skilling 2021, p. 563 n. 817.

n.17Tib. zin pa’i sa’i khams dang/ ma zin pa’i sa’i khams. As noted by Skilling (2021, p. 563 n. 821), the Tib. zin pa and ma zin pa (lit. “held” and “not held”) here translate the Sanskrit upātta and anupātta, respectively, terms with which the elements are classified as “appropriated,” in the sense of being part of a person’s body, or “unappropriated” in the sense of belonging to any other matter. Hence our translation, following Skilling, as “inner” and “outer” elements, respectively.

n.18The twofold liberation (Skt. ubhayato­bhāgavimuktaḥ, Tib. gnyis ka’i cha las rnam par grol ba) refers to being liberated through both wisdom (prajñā, shes rab) and meditative concentration (dhyāna, bsam gtan), whereas being liberated through wisdom alone lacks the perfection of dhyāna. See Buswell and Lopez 2014, p. 931. For references to further discussion, see Skilling 2021, p. 563 n. 825.

n.19We read here lus yod skyon rnams mi sten to, following the Beijing and Stok Palace editions, instead of lus yod skyon rnams mi ston to, as found in the Degé.