Notes
n.1NAK 3/693; NGMPP reel no. A 936-11(5).
n.2This attribution to Aśvaghoṣa, however, was called into question by Lévi (1928) and Bhattacharya (1966). In addition to comparing the Tibetan text with the Sanskrit, we have also made occasional reference to the second Chinese translation by Ri Cheng.
n.3The Skt. here reads “If the body is without self, there is no supreme self” (yadi śarīraṃ nairātmakaṃ paramātmā na vidyate).
n.4The Skt. reads “compounded nature” (saṃskāra).
n.5The phrase “or to say that it is existent” is absent in the Skt., which instead reads “friends” (mārṣā). Taishō 1643 lacks this entire sentence.
n.6Instead of “this is called the ultimate,” the Skt. reads “this is the middle way of all phenomena” (sā madhyamā pratipattir dharmāṇām).
n.7The passage “The relative consists in … and purification” is missing in the Skt.
n.8The Skt. reads “Ordinary immature people, being blind, / Do not see the path to liberation” (muktimārgaṃ na paśyanti andhā bālāḥ pṛthagjanāḥ).
n.9The Skt. reads “They are born and perish unceasingly in the five realms” (utpadyante nirudhyante ajasraṃ gatipañcasu).
n.10In the extant Sanskrit, the preceding two verses appear to have become conflated into a single verse of six lines: “Fools involved in worldly phenomena Wander round and round like a wheel. They do not know the ultimate, Where saṃsāra ceases. Trapped in the net of saṃsāra, They go round again and again.” (bhramanti cakravan mūḍhā lokadharmasamāvṛtāḥ | paramārthaṃ na jānanti bhavo yatra nirudhyate | veṣṭitā bhavajālena saṃsaranti punaḥ punaḥ.)
n.11The Skt. reads “all compounded things” (sarvasaṃskārā).
n.12The Tib. reads “devas and humans” (lha mi). Since devas are already mentioned in the first line of this verse, we opted for the Skt. reading “apsaras.” Taishō 1643 has only “gandharva” (乾闥婆).
n.13The Skt. reads “kinnaras” ( kinnara ).
n.14This verse is missing in the Skt.
n.15According to the Skt. mahāsukha. The Tib. reads “pleasant truth” (bden pa bzang po).
n.16The Skt. has two more stanzas here: “Neither white nor red, Neither dark blue nor yellow, Without color or form— Such is the definition of the mind of awakening. “Without transformation or manifestation, Without antagonism or bondage, Without form, like the sky— Such is the definition of the mind of awakening.” (na śvetaṃ nāpi raktaṃ ca na kṛṣṇaṃ na ca pītakam | avarṇaṃ ca nirākāraṃ bodhicittasya lakṣaṇam | nirvikāraṃ nirābhāsaṃ nirūhaṃ nirvibandhakam | arūpaṃ vyomasaṃkāśaṃ bodhicittasya lakṣaṇam.)
n.17The Skt. reads “form” (rūpam).
n.18We are translating “vase” based on the Skt. (ghaṭī). The Tibetan translation reads “Assembled from a lump of clay,” (gong bu bzhin du bsdus gyur pa).
n.19Translation of this verse is tentative. The Sanskrit and the two Chinese translations all differ slightly. The Skt. reads: “Just as a lightning in the midst of clouds, Is no longer seen after a moment, With the view of transcendent insight, The supreme state should be cultivated.” (abhrāntare yathā vidyut kṣaṇād api na dṛśyate | prajñāpāramitādṛṣṭyā bhāvayet paramaṃ padam ||.) Taishō 1643 reads: “Just as a moon in the midst of clouds Is no longer seen after a moment, Using profound insight, One realizes that the conditioned is like an illusion.” (如月處雲中 剎那而不現 以甚深般若 達有為如幻.) Taishō 846 reads: “Just as lightning is no longer seen after a moment, observe that the perfection of insight and virtuous actions are also thus.” (如電之住剎那不見。觀彼般若波羅蜜多。及作諸善。亦復如是.)
n.20In the Tib. this line seems to have been rendered twice, in two slightly different ways. To leave both in place would make for an irregular verse of five lines, whereas the Skt. verse only has four lines. We have therefore followed the Skt. here.
n.21The Sanskrit reads “Is liberated from all wrongdoing” (sarvapāpanirmuktaḥ).
n.22The Skt. reads “nirvāṇa” instead of “Mahāyāna.” After this verse, the Sanskrit adds another verse and a concluding sentence: “As many faults as relative reality has, Just as many virtues does nirvāṇa have. Nirvāṇa is nonarising; It is unstained by any faults. “Then the tīrthikas, being satisfied, became free from conceptualization, and having concentrated on the practice, they acquired the wisdom of the Mahāyāna.” (yāvantaḥ saṃvṛter doṣās tāvanto nirvṛter guṇāḥ | nirvṛtiḥ syād anutpattiḥ sarvadoṣair na lipyate || atha te tīrthikāḥ tuṣṭā vikalparahitāḥ | tadā bhāvanāṃ samādhāya mahāyānajñānalābhino 'bhūvann iti || mahāyānanirdeśe nairātmaparipṛcchā samāptā ||.)