Introduction

i.1The Nectar of Speech is a Mahāyāna sūtra in which the Buddha Śākyamuni, at the request of the bodhisattva Maitreya, teaches a great assembly of monks and bodhisattvas. The setting for the teaching is the famous Veṇuvana forest monastery. This monastery was located outside Rājagṛha, the capital city of Magadha, which at the time was one of the great kingdoms of ancient India (located in the modern-day state of Bihar). The teaching provides an outline of the following five qualities of bodhisattvas that will ensure they avert obstacles, live long, and attain awakening: bodhisattvas should (1) give the Dharma; (2) give freedom from fear; (3) practice great loving kindness, great compassion, great joy, and great equanimity; (4) repair dilapidated stūpas; and (5) cause all beings to aspire to the mind of awakening. When the Buddha delivers this brief teaching, a large number of the monks, bodhisattvas, and celestial beings in attendance attain different stages of realization. Maitreya is inspired to give a discourse on the benefits of this sūtra and vows to teach it himself in the future during the time of degeneration. His exposition of its benefits and commitment to teach it himself are welcomed and endorsed by the Buddha. At the end, the Buddha emphasizes the importance of this teaching and instructs Ānanda to uphold and preserve it. The Buddha names the teaching The Nectar of Speech and also gives it an alternative title, The Question of Maitreya. In the standard ending formula, the entire assembly rejoices and praises the words of the Buddha.

i.2At present we are not aware of any surviving Sanskrit version, Chinese translation, or rendering of the text in any other language. The Sanskrit titles are rendered differently in the versions in different Kangyurs: Amṛtavyāharaṇa (Degé), Amṛtadāna (Narthang), and Amṛtavarṇa (Stok Palace). According to the colophon, the Tibetan translation was produced by the Indian preceptor Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé. It can therefore be dated to the late eighth or early ninth century ᴄᴇ in central Tibet. The text was cited by the Tibetan translator Kawa Paltsek, who was a contemporary of the translators and is listed in the Denkarma catalogue, which confirms that the translation of this sūtra into Tibetan must have been completed before 812 ᴄᴇ.

i.3This English translation has been produced based on the Tibetan rendering that is found in the Degé Kangyur as well as the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript.