Introduction

i.1The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman presents a dialogue between the Buddha Śākyamuni and a brahmin woman called Śrīmatī whom he encounters while collecting alms in the city of Vārāṇasī. Inspired by the Buddha’s graceful presence, Śrīmatī asks him about the teachings he gave at nearby Deer Park. In response, the Buddha relates his teaching on the twelve links of dependent origination and how the cessation of suffering can be brought about by putting an end to ignorance, the first of the twelve links. This teaching is found in very similar wording in many sūtras, but the present sūtra is notable in setting the discourse soon after the first sermon and in nearby Vārāṇasī. Moreover, in this Mahāyāna sūtra, the teaching on the twelve links is combined, in response to Śrīmatī’s questions on the nature and ontological status of ignorance, with a discourse on emptiness that touches on the distinction between ultimate and conventional truth. The sūtra further describes the teachings given by the Buddha in terms of the different ways in which the wheel of Dharma can be characterized.

i.2This is one of several Mahāyāna sūtras in the Kangyur in which the Buddha’s main interlocutor is a high-status laywoman. Others include The Questions of the Girl Vimalaśraddhā (Toh 84), The Questions of Vimaladattā (Toh 77), The Lion’s Roar of Śrīmālādevī (Toh 92), The Sūtra of Aśokadattā’s Prophecy (Toh 76), The Questions of Vimalaprabhā (Toh 168), The Prophecy Concerning Strīvivarta, (Toh 190), and The Prophecy of Kṣemavatī (Toh 192). Laywomen of low social status are the main interlocutors in The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati (Toh 74), The Questions of Gaṅgottarā (Toh 75), The Questions of an Old Lady (Toh 171), The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī (Toh 96), The Sūtra of the Girl Candrottarā’s Prophecy (Toh 191), and The City Beggar Woman (Toh 205). As is typical in these narratives, in The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman, at the end of the discourse, Śrīmatī’s sincere aspiration to achieve awakening and teach the Dharma in the future causes the Buddha to smile one of his magnificent smiles. The Buddha’s smile is followed by a prophecy concerning Śrīmatī’s future awakening.

i.3The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman was clearly extant in early Buddhist Central Asia since a long Sanskrit quotation from it can be found in Gupta Brahmi script on a Bactrian copper scroll inscription that probably dates to the fifth century ᴄᴇ. This scroll, the Śrīmatī­brāhmaṇī­pari­pṛcchā, as identified by Melzer (2006), is currently held in the Schøyen Collection, Oslo.

i.4The sūtra was translated into Chinese twice, once by Dharmarakṣa (竺法護 Zhu Fahu) in the late third or early fourth century ᴄᴇ (Taishō 567), and once by Bodhiruci (菩提流志 Putiliuzhi) in 693 ᴄᴇ (Taishō 568). The dialogue with Śrīmatī is also cited in the seminal Treatise on the Great Perfection of Wisdom (大智度論 Dazhidu lun), attributed to Nāgārjuna and translated by Kumārajīva (鳩摩羅什 Jiumoluoshi) in 406 ᴄᴇ.

i.5The sūtra was translated into Tibetan in the late eighth or early ninth century ᴄᴇ by the master translator Yeshé Dé along with Surendrabodhi and Prajñāvarman, during the height of the Tibetan imperial sponsorship of Buddhism. It is listed in both the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) and Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) imperial catalogs.

i.6A Japanese translation, along with a reconstructed Sanskrit text, was produced in two parts by Goshima (2001, 2002). An English translation of the sūtra along with an introduction was recently published by Peter Skilling (2021).

i.7This English translation was made from the Tibetan as preserved in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.