Notes

n.1We have translated the title following Narthang and Stok (and all other them spangs ma witnesses, which read kyi. The Degé and all other tshal pa witnesses‍—except the Lhasa (zhol)‍—read kyis in the opening title, but in the colophon, the Degé also reads kyi.

n.2See Miller (2018), The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1), 1.67–1.102 and 1.281–1.312.

n.3See Kīrtimukha Translation Group (2021), The Questions of Dīrghanakha the Wandering Mendicant (Toh 342).

n.4In chapter 1 of the Aṣṭa­sāhasrikā (Toh 12); chapter 11 of the Daśa­sāhasrikā (Toh 11, see Padmakara Translation Group 2018, 11.31–11.33); chapter 8 of the Aṣṭa­daśa­sāhasrikā (Toh 10, see Sparham forthcoming); chapter 5 of the Pañca­viṃśati­sāhasrikā (Toh 9, see Padmakara Translation Group forthcoming); and in chapter 5 of the Śata­sāhasrikā (Toh 8).

n.5See particularly Majjhimanikāya 71–73, Saṃyuktāgama SA 962–964 and SA2 196–198.

n.6The first chapter of Nāgārjuna’s Mahā­prajñā­pāramitā­śāstra mentions that among the Buddha’s reasons for teaching the Prajñāpāramitā was to bring Dīrghanakha, Śreṇika Vatsagotra, and another interlocutor, Satyaka Nirgranthī­putra, to have faith in the Dharma. See Lamotte, vol.1, pp. 58–61.

n.7The earliest translation with the title Di yi yi fa sheng jing 第一義法勝經 (Taishō 833) is by Gautama Prajñāruci (542 ᴄᴇ). For more information on this version of the sūtra, see Lewis R. Lancaster, “K 202,” The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue. The other, almost contemporary, translation is titled Da wei dengguang xianren wen yi jing 大威燈光仙人問疑經 (Taishō 834) and is by Jñānagupta (586 ᴄᴇ). For more information on this version of the sūtra, see Lewis R. Lancaster, “K 203,” The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue.

n.8Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 95.

n.9Following Stok Palace ( yan lag mchog pa) instead of the Degé ( yan lag chog pa).

n.10Tibetan: lto zhar.

n.11This most likely refers to a group of ascetics who perform intense austerities and whiten their limbs with funeral-pyre ashes. This may be a reference to Śaivite ascetics who are known for such cremation ground practices. Other related features include dreadlocked hair and the donning of animal skins.

n.12This could also be rendered “by the three inexpressible miracles” or “by the three miracles that involved no words.” The rendering used here seems to capture the essence of the sūtra, since not by words but by the display of miracles does the Buddha win over his audience.

n.13According to J. S. Negi’s Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary, the Tibetan term ’gro lding ba is the translation of the Sanskrit word dramiḍa or drāviḍa. It was translated earlier as “Drāviḍians” in this text. However, in this particular context, it seems most appropriate to translate it as “magical birds,” according to the Tibetan meaning of ’gro lding. Alternatively, according to the meaning of drāviḍa, it could also be translated as “cardamom seeds.” In the Mongolian translation, the translators preserved the Sanskrit word dramiḍa; it seems that they also shared our hesitation!

n.14We have read bskal pas sreg pa as bskal pa’i mes sreg pa.

n.15The Tibetan word ’byin pa is multivalent, but it seems to suggest that the tathāgatas are actually causing the apocalyptic fire. J. S. Negi’s Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary has several pertinent renderings of ’byin pa. For example, niścar and pramuñc both carry the connotation of bringing something forth or about through an emittance. Uddharaṇa and its associated verb uddhṛ refer to a brand used to transfer fire from one sacrificial fire to another. The related ’byin pa po renders as sraṣtṛ, the creator of the universe. These connotations may create a more theistic image of the Tathāgata that is not generally accepted in Tibetan Mahāyāna Buddhism. However, there are several reasons internal to the text that suggest this reading: (1) Ulka’s original question asks why the world will be destroyed by fire, not why the tathāgatas teach about the destruction. The object of ’byin pa in the Tibetan is always the destruction proper, with no mention of its teaching. (2) The subsequent passages, via the gold analogy, describe the destruction of the world itself as beneficial, not the teaching as beneficial, and that the tathāgatas are the agents of this benefit. (3) The destruction of the world by a deity is central to brahmanical cosmology, elements of which the Buddha seems to incorporate in answering Ulka’s questions. (4) The reassurance that no being is harmed by the fire suggests that the Tathāgata would be responsible if some being were harmed, also suggesting the Tathāgata is the agent of the fire. However, one of the translation equivalents of ’byin pa is udbhid, which can mean “to mention,” so the theistic interpretation is not definitive. Keeping in mind the Mahāyāna notion of skillful means, the language here may be intentionally ambiguous to suit the metaphysical suppositions of a brahmanical audience. Thus, the equally ambiguous “bring forth” seems the most felicitous here.

n.16The emendation here is zha, meaning moisture or a puddle, for zhwa, a hat, which makes little sense in context. Butterflies are known to “mud-puddle” or collect around pools or puddles. The image here works on two levels: just as butterflies blown in the wind needing to land somewhere gather around puddles, so too are sentient beings blown by karmic winds forced to take rebirth, gathering in specific realms of saṃsāra.