Notes

n.1Such views comprise one element of Buddha-nature theory associated with the Buddha’s “third turning of the wheel of Dharma” (see below), but also stem from the theory of the emanation body (nirmāṇakāya, sprul pa’i sku) that may have first developed in non-Mahāyāna schools. They have been compared by scholars in the modern era to similar views about Jesus Christ in docetism, a second century belief rejected as heretical by the early Church councils. On “docetic Buddhism” see Anesaki (1911), Seyfort-Ruegg (2008) pp. 31–34, and Radich (2015).

n.2See Radich 2015, p. 19ff.

n.3See Brunnhölzl 2014, p. 4ff; however, in his paragraph on the sūtra on p. 46 he does not note the presence in it of the themes just mentioned.

n.4See Peter Alan Roberts, trans., The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottamasūtra), Toh 555, 556, and 557 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023–24).

n.5Suzuki (1996) has suggested that The Great Cloud may in fact be the source of the interpolated passage in the Suvarṇa­prabhāsa.

n.6See Robert A. F. Thurman, trans., The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrti­nirdeśa­sūtra), Toh 176 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2017).

n.7See Forte 1976 and Radich 2017.

n.8Denkarma, 297.a.3. See also Yoshimura 1950, p. 127.

n.9Phangthangma, p. 7.

n.10See Radich 2017.

n.11For a brief description of this manuscript, see Ye 2023a and 2023b.

n.12Tib. hin Di ma.

n.13Tib. bal bi sa.

n.14Tib. shu na la.

n.15“Fiery intersection” is a tentative rendering of me’i lam gyi gzhi mdo, the sense of which is not clear in this context.

n.16Tib. thog tog, corresponding possibly to Skt. aśani, is translated here and throughout as “hail” following Ch. 雹.

n.17Tib. rgya mtsho’i dus tshod, literally the “seasons of the ocean,” which likely renders Skt. samudra-velā, has been translated as “ocean tide” following Ch. 海潮.

n.18Following the variant reading of dag byed kyi klung found in the Stok Palace edition.

n.19Following the variant reading of mthar byed pa’i rtog found in the Stok Palace edition.

n.20Both the Tib. and Ch. refer to ten Dharma gateways in this chapter, although in both versions the chapter contains only eight.

n.21“Nāga king” is added for clarification.

n.22The term “learning” is added for clarification.

n.23Tib. slob dpon lung ston pa, likely rendering Skt. ācārya­vyākaraṇa. A grammarian named Kauṇḍinya is mentioned in the Taittirīya Prātiśākhya.

n.24Ch. provides a much more detailed explanation here: “[He claims that] for those who give to charity, there will be no fruition, and the virtue that one cultivates will also not bring accomplishment; thus [his views] are no different from the nirgranthas. The irgranthas say that there is no appropriation and no giving, and Devadatta is also like this.”

n.25Here and below “Devadatta” is added to clarify the direct object of certain sentences.

n.26Ch. says the opposite: “this question, which all śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas would be incapable of asking.”

n.27“Of activity” is added here for clarification.

n.28Ch. says the opposite here: “Such followers, difficult to fathom, do not belong to the domain of śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas.”

n.29“Schism within the saṅgha” is added here for clarification.

n.30Ch. provides more detail here: “Great brahmin, the mahāsattva Yellow Head (Kapila), who is often praised by the Bhagavān Tathāgata, is none other than the bhikṣu Devadatta. The group of six monks are also great bodhisattvas who accompany Devadatta. How could you say that they are people [destined for] the hell realms?”

n.31Ch. says the opposite: “Those monks … who are capable of understanding the merit of Devadatta should undoubtedly be known as true disciples of the Buddha‍—they have attained one half of the Buddha’s merit; they have attained one eye of buddhahood; they have attained one half of the Buddha’s body.”

n.32“Such bodhisattvas” is added here for clarification.

n.33Again, “such bodhisattvas” is added for clarification.

n.34This entire exchange between Kauṇḍinya and the Licchavi youth also appears in The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light (Suvarṇa­prabhāsottama­sūtra, Toh 556), 2.­42–2.­63.

n.35Ch.: “If a water leech / Suddenly grew a white tooth / That was as large as an elephant’s tusk, / Then a relic could be obtained.”

n.36“Of future buddhahood” is added here for clarification.

n.37“Of those who teach this discourse” is added for clarification.

n.38“Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen” is added for clarification.

n.39Here and below are a number of references to dge slong ’dod or dge slong ’dod pa‍—the desiring monk. Further below, we find dge slong dam pa’i chos ’dod pa‍—the monk who desires the sacred Dharma. The corresponding Ch. terms are 持法比丘 (“the bhikṣu who upholds the Dharma”) and 持法者 (“the one who upholds the Dharma”).

n.40Michael Radich has suggested that Joyful Conduct (bde spyod) could be a rendition of Udayana. See Radich 2015, p. 72n164.

n.41“These discourses” is added for clarification.

n.42Radich has suggested that this is *Sarvalokapriyadarśana, a figure who appears in several related discourses. See Radich 2015, pp. 199–202.

n.43According to the Abhidharma, time passes differently in the different realms of existence. For example, for devaputras who reside in the desire realm, one day is the equivalent of fifty or a hundred human years.

n.44“For awakening” is added for clarification.

n.45The term “samādhi” is added here for clarification.

n.46The term “samādhi” is added here for clarification.

n.47The term “samādhi” is added here for clarification.

n.48The term “samādhi” is added here for clarification.

n.49Note that the term used here is chos kyi lus not chos kyi sku; the Tibetan honorific sku is reserved for realized beings (buddhas) and is not used for bodhisattvas who are still on the path to buddhahood.

n.50The term “bodhisattvas” is added to clarify the subjects of this passage.

n.51The term “samādhi” is added for clarification here and in parallel statements to follow that have only the demonstrative pronoun ’di (“this”).

n.52The term “tree” is added here for clarification

n.53“Passing into” is added for clarification here and in the similar passages to follow.

n.54“Bodhisattvas who abide in this samādhi” is added to clarify the subject of this passage.

n.55“Belief in” is added here and in parallel passages below for clarification.

n.56Note that the translation says “are the real,” but the explanation to follow specifies that the analogies are only pointers to what is real.

n.57The clause “that is, permanent and impermanent” is added here for clarification.

n.58“A substantial entity” is added for clarification.

n.59This simile also appears in the Mahā­pari­nirvāṇa­sūtra (Toh 120), except in that text, the jewel is beryl (vaiḍūrya).

n.60The term “bodhisattvas” is added here for clarification.

n.61Ch.: “Goddess! It is not that I do not see phenomena as dreamlike. However, I ask in order to cut off others’ grasping at signs.” The goddess’s response is the same.

n.62The previous question is not answered here. However, in Ch., the Buddha answers the previous question before moving on to the discussion of emanated bodies: “Excellent, excellent, noble son! Truly, it is as the goddess has said. Bodhisattva mahāsattvas who abide in this samādhi only see signlessness. Noble son, if men or women wish to see signlessness, they should be diligent in cultivating this samādhi.”

n.63The word “apparitions” is added here for clarification.

n.64The word “displays” is added here for clarification.

n.65“Jambudvīpa continents” is added here for clarification.

n.66The word “bodhisattvas” is added for clarification here and in parallel passages to follow.

n.67“And lions” is added here for clarification.

n.68“They display themselves” is added here for clarification.

n.69“Twelve” based on Lhasa, Peking, Lithang, Narthang, and Choné. Degé reads “thirteen.”

n.70“They display themselves” is added here for clarification.

n.71“Non-Buddhist renunciants” is added here for clarification.

n.72“They display themselves” is added here for clarification.

n.73“The goddess” is added here for clarification.

n.74“I knew that” is added here for clarification.

n.75“As king” is added here for clarification.

n.76This is the highly controversial passage that was alluded to in the introduction. The Ch. translation, which was made in the fifth century ᴄᴇ, contains this prophecy of the queen but does not specify her name. It is well known that in the seventh century, Empress Wu Zetian, the only female ruler during the imperial period of Chinese history, sponsored a new translation and commentary on the Mahāmegha that identified her as the prophesied queen (i.e., “Mrs. Wudi”‍—“Wudi” 武帝 is Chinese for “Emperor Wu,” and thus “Mr. and Mrs. Wudi” could be rendered as “Emperor and Empress Wu”); on this see Forte 1976. J. W. de Jong and others have argued that this specific passage naming the rulers as pho ’ud ti mo ’ud ti may have been added to the Tibetan translation later; Michael Radich suggests that the Tib. translation may have been completely or partially based on a later Chinese version that contained this passage added by Empress Wu’s partisans. See Radich 2017.

n.77“These discourses” is added here for clarification.

n.78“Of awakening” is added here for clarification.