One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

Another name for Maitreya.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

dmigs (pa) translates a number of Sanskrit terms including ālambana, upalabdhi, and alambhate. These terms commonly refer to apprehending or perception both in the sense of act and object (perceiving and what is perceived). As part of their doctrine of “threefold nonapprehending/nonreferentiality” (’khor gsum mi dmigs pa), Mahāyāna Buddhists famously assert that all three categories of apprehending lack substantiality.

The name of an eon (kalpa).

A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

The name of an eon (kalpa).

A householder, listed as one of the sixteen holy beings attending this teaching.

In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term‍—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa‍—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).

A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.

(1) In this text, the term is frequently used as a shorthand for Brahma­viśeṣacintin, one of the main interlocutors in this sūtra. (2) A high-ranking deity, presiding over a divine world where other beings consider him the creator; he is also considered to be the “Lord of Enduring” (our universe).

A bodhisattva who is one of the interlocutors in this teaching.

See “seven branches of awakening.”

(1) One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching. (2) A buddha in the eastern buddha realm Pariśuddha.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the five aggregates.

Another term for saṃsāra , this is the counterpart of “purification.”

Named as one of the editor-translators of this sūtra.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

The Dharma body, which is a buddha’s awakening, in contrast to his “Form body,” the rūpakāya, which is his visible form perceived by other beings.

An Indian scholar from the eighth century named as one of the translators of this sūtra.

Named as one of the editor-translators of this sūtra.

One of the Four Great Kings, or guardians of the world, he presides over the eastern quarter and rules over the gandharvas that live there.

Correct view, intention, speech, actions, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration. These eight are included in the thirty-seven elements of awakening.

Literally “one who is stable” and usually translated as “elder,” a senior monastic teacher in the early Buddhist communities. Also became the name of the Buddhist tradition within which the Theravāda developed.

The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote. Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.

The name for our world system, the universe of a thousand million worlds, or trichiliocosm, in which the four-continent world is located. Each trichiliocosm is ruled by a god Brahmā; thus, in this context, he bears the title of Sahāṃpati, Lord of Sahā. The world system of Sahā, or Sahālokadhātu, is also described as the buddhafield of the Buddha Śākyamuni where he teaches the Dharma to beings. The name Sahā possibly derives from the Sanskrit √sah, “to bear, endure, or withstand.” It is often interpreted as alluding to the inhabitants of this world being able to endure the suffering they encounter. The Tibetan translation, mi mjed, follows along the same lines. It literally means “not painful,” in the sense that beings here are able to bear the suffering they experience.

An important form of Buddhist meditation focusing on developing insight into the nature of phenomena. Often presented as part of a pair of meditation techniques, the other being “tranquility.”

One of the five aggregates.

Synonym of emotional defilements, which lead beings to act negatively and prevent them from acting virtuously, hence keeping them fettered to suffering in their next lives.

The five aggregates (skandha) of form , feeling, perception , formation, and consciousness . On the individual level the five aggregates refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected.

Faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and insight. These are the same as the five strengths at a further stage of development.

Faith, diligence, mindfulness, absorption, and insight. These are the same as the five powers at a lesser stage of development.

One of the five aggregates.

The visible form of a buddha that is perceived by other beings, in contrast to his “Dharma body,” the dharmakāya, which is his awakening.

One of the five aggregates.

Loving kindness, compassion, joy, and equanimity.

Mindfulness of the body, feelings, mind, and phenomena.

Intention, diligence, attention, and discernment.

Four types of effort consisting in abandoning existing negative mind states, abandoning the production of such states, giving rise to virtuous mind states that are not yet produced, and letting those states continue.

Perceiving what is impermanent to be permanent; what is suffering to be happiness; what is impure to be pure; and what is no self to be a self.

Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the Heaven of the Four Great Kings and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a semidivine class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, Virūḍhaka, Virūpākṣa, and Vaiśravaṇa.

The first teaching of the Buddha, covering (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.

The name of the third of the three abodes in the first level of the form realm, so called because the beings here are like the great god Brahmā, being lords of this trichiliocosm called Endurance.

See “Four Great Kings.”

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

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.”

The third of the six heavens of the desire realm.

The buddha realm in which the Buddha Amitāyus lives.

The fifth of the six heavens of the desire realm.

Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy , (Toh 199).

The highest of the six heavens of the desire realm.

The second heaven of the desire realm, located above Mount Meru and reigned over by Śakra (Indra) and thirty-two other gods.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

As the sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality‍—also sometimes rendered as wisdom. 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.

A bodhisattva and one of the interlocutors in this teaching.

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

An Indian paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries and named as one of the translators of this sūtra.

A place where the Buddha often resided, within the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana) outside Rājagṛha that had been donated to him by King Bimbisāra of Magadha.

Another name of Mahākāśyapa.

Another name of Śakra.

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

Named as one of the editor-translators of this sūtra.

A class of dwarf beings subordinate to Virūḍhaka, the Great King of the South. The name uses a play on the word āṇḍa, which means “egg” but is a euphemism for testicle. Thus, they are often depicted as having testicles as big as pots (from khumba, or “pot”).

A synonym for ultimate truth and a way of describing the attainment of perfection as the culmination of the spiritual path.

An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges river in what is today the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (Mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and was home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, Nālandā, and Rājagṛha. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern day Patna) sometime after the reign of Bimbisāra's usurper son, Ajātaśatru.

Another name for Brahma­viśeṣacintin, a bodhisattva who is one of the interlocutors in this teaching.

A senior disciple of the Buddha Śākyamuni, famous for his austere lifestyle.

Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

A buddha realm.

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñā­pāramitā­sūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

Māra is the personification of spiritual death in Indian religious mythology. In Buddhism, it refers to the lord of death as well as his minions, who attempted in various ways to prevent the Buddha’s awakening and likewise try to thwart the spiritual aims of Buddhist practitioners. Figuratively, they are the personification of everything that acts as a hindrance to awakening, and are often listed as a set of four: the māra of the aggregates, the māra of the emotional defilements, the māra of the lord of death, and the māra of the sons of gods.

In the general Mahāyāna teachings the mind of awakening (bodhicitta) is the intention to attain the complete awakening of a perfect buddha for the sake of all beings. On the level of absolute truth, the mind of awakening is the realization of the awakened state itself.

A semidivine class of beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments and are said to hoard wealth and esoteric teachings. They are associated with snakes and serpents, and are subordinate to Virūpākṣa, the Great King of the West.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

A follower of one of the non-Buddhist religious systems in India.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

A buddha realm.

One of the five aggregates.

The name of an eon (kalpa).

An ancient buddha realm, home to Buddha Samantaraśmi.

Another term for nirvāṇa, this is the counterpart of “defilement.”

The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha‍—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)‍—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

A future buddha realm, home to Buddha Ratnavyūha.

The real nature, true quality, or condition of things. Throughout Buddhist discourse this term is used in two distinct ways. In one, it designates the relative nature that is either the essential characteristic of a specific phenomenon, such as the heat of fire and the moisture of water, or the defining feature of a specific term or category. The other very important and widespread way it is used is to designate the ultimate nature of all phenomena, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms and is often synonymous with emptiness or the absence of intrinsic existence.Also rendered here as “nature” or “truth.”Note that the term “reality” has also been used to render terms of similar meaning such as yang dag (nyid), as in “limit of reality” (yang dag pa’i mtha’).

The “sphere of dharmas,” a synonym for the nature of things.

An ancient title given to ascetics, monks, hermits, and saints. namely, someone who has attained the realization of a truth through their own contemplation and not by divine revelation.Here also used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.

An Indian scholar from the eighth century named as one of the translators of this sūtra.

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the wise (often paired with Maudgalyā­yana, who was praised as foremost in the capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form, Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

A present buddha realm, home to Buddha Ekaratna­chattra.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

Bodhimaṇḍa, the “seat of awakening,” can be explained in terms of location , in which case it refers to the sphere in which the dharmakāya is realized; to Akaniṣṭha, which is the place of awakening for the saṃbhogakāya ; or to the foot of the bodhi tree at Vajrāsana, which is the site of awakening for the supreme nirmāṇakāya . In terms of realization , the “seat of awakening” refers to unsurpassable, perfect awakening.

These can be listed as twelve or as six sense sources (sometimes also called sense fields, bases of cognition, or simply āyatanas).In the context of epistemology, it is one way of describing experience and the world in terms of twelve sense sources, which can be divided into inner and outer sense sources, namely: (1–2) eye and form, (3–4) ear and sound, (5–6) nose and odor, (7–8) tongue and taste, (9–10) body and touch, (11–12) mind and mental phenomena.In the context of the twelve links of dependent origination, only six sense sources are mentioned, and they are the inner sense sources (identical to the six faculties) of eye, ear, nose, tongue, body, and mind.

Mindfulness, discernment of phenomena, effort, joy, suppleness, concentration, and impartiality. These are contained in the thirty-seven elements of awakening.

Faith, discipline, generosity, learning, dignity, propriety, and wisdom.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

The six practices or qualities that a follower of the Great Vehicle perfects in order to become a buddha. They are generosity (dāna, byin pa), discipline (śīla, tshul khrims), patience or acceptance (kṣānti, bzod pa), diligence (vīrya, brtson ’grus), meditative concentration (dhyāna, bsam gtan), and insight (prajñā, shes rab).

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.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

The subtlemost form of deluded consciousness , which serves as the store-house for karmic seeds, therefore serving as the substratum from which appearances manifest.

The name of a giant vajra jewel.

Divine sight, divine hearing, knowing how to manifest miracles, remembering previous lives, knowing the minds of others, and knowing that all defects have been eliminated. Sometimes listed as five, without the sixth.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

A bodhisattva listed as one of the sixteen holy beings attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

Ten areas of a buddha’s knowledge, through which he is omniscient.

The thirty-seven elements are the practices that lead the practitioner to the awakened state: the four applications of mindfulness, the four correct abandonments, the four bases of miraculous power, the five faculties, the five powers, the eightfold path of the noble ones, and the seven branches of awakening.

The desire, form, and formless realms.

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.

One of the basic forms of Buddhist meditation, which focuses on calming the mind. Often presented as one of a pair of meditation techniques, with the other technique being “extraordinary insight.”

The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvi­sāhasra­mahā­sāhasra­lokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Sumeru, continents, sun and moon, etc.

An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), 3.3–3.13. Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the Four Great Kings, or guardians of the world, he presides over the northern quarter and rules over the yakṣas that live there. He is also known as Kubera.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

A park near Rājagṛha. It was the first settled residence dedicated to the Buddhist saṅgha, offered to the Buddha by King Bimbisāra of Magadha.

One of the epithets applied to a buddha.

The name of an eon (kalpa).

One of the bodhisattvas attending this teaching.

One of the Four Great Kings, or guardians of the world, he presides over the southern quarter and rules over the preta kumbhāṇḍa spirits that live there.

One of the Four Great Kings, or guardians of the world, he presides over the western quarter and rules over the nāgas that live there.

A female lay practitioner.

(1) One of the sixteen bodhisattvas attending this teaching in the retinue of the Buddha Śākyamuni. (2) A bodhisattva in the retinue of the Thus-Gone One Bhaiṣajyarāja who went to meet the Thus-Gone One Samantaraśmi and became the bodhisattva and brahmin householder Samavartin.

A future buddha realm where Vaiśravaṇa will awaken.

The name of an eon (kalpa).

The name of an eon (kalpa).

An epithet of a buddha also meaning “gone to bliss.”

Although the Sanskrit term jñāna can refer to knowledge in a general sense, it is often used in Buddhist texts to refer to the mode of awareness of a realized being. In contrast to ordinary knowledge, which mistakenly perceives phenomena as real entities having real properties, wisdom perceives the emptiness of phenomena, their lack of intrinsic essence.

The eight worldly concerns are gain and loss, fame and disgrace, praise and blame, and pleasure and pain.

One who has achieved the fourth and final level of attainment on the hearer’s path and who has attained liberation from saṃsāra with the cessation of all defilements. Also used as an epithet of the buddhas.

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa. Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.

From Vedic times, the Lord of Death, who directs the departed into the next realm of rebirth.