A collection of forty-five sūtras presented as a single, long sūtra, although many of its chapters are independent works.

An image of the Buddha.

The attainment of effortless and spontaneous insight into emptiness and the lack of birth of phenomena. Attained by a bodhisattva on the 8th level.

A god.

A bodhisattva.

Four contemplations on (1) the body, (2) feelings, (3) mind, and (4) phenomena.

The historical Indian king of the Maurya dynasty who ruled over most of India c. 268–232 ʙᴄᴇ. In this text he appears to be briefly referenced as the biological father of the prince Suckler of the Earth Breast, adopted as the Chinese prince who, according to this text, is said to have been the first person to settle in Khotan.

One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.

Four types of absorption related to intention, diligence, attention, and analysis.

A bodhisattva.

The king of Magadha and a great patron of the Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s, and his father, King Mahāpadma, named him “Essence of Gold” after mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (“Goldie”). Accounts of Bimbisāra’s youth and life can be found in The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, Pravrajyāvastu).King Śreṇya Bimbisāra first met with the Buddha early on, when the latter was the wandering mendicant known as Gautama. Impressed by his conduct, Bimbisāra offered to take Gautama into his court, but Gautama refused, and Bimbisāra wished him success in his quest for awakening and asked him to visit his palace after he had achieved his goal. One account of this episode can be found in the sixteenth chapter of The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara). There are other accounts where the two meet earlier on in childhood; several episodes can be found, for example, in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340, Karmaśataka). Later, after the Buddha’s awakening, Bimbisāra became one of his most famous patrons and donated to the saṅgha the Bamboo Grove, Veṇuvana, at the outskirts of the capital of Magadha, Rājagṛha, where he built residences for the monks. Bimbisāra was imprisoned and killed by his own son, the prince Ajātaśatru, who, influenced by Devadatta, sought to usurp his father’s throne.

A castle in the country of Virtue .

A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).

A Chinese king. He is identified by Thomas (1935, p. 17) as the founder of the Qin dynasty: Qin Shi Huang (秦始皇; 259–210 ʙᴄᴇ).

An image of the Buddha.

A great scholar of Narthang monastery in central Tibet. He lived from 1227 to 1305 and was one of the first compilers of the the Kangyur.

An image of the Buddha.

Correct knowledge of meaning, Dharma, language, and eloquence.

A kinnara king.

The relative nature of phenomena, which arises in dependence upon causes and conditions. Together with the four noble truths, this was the first teaching given by the Buddha.

A temple in Khotan.

A previous buddha who gave Śākyamuni the prophecy of his buddhahood.

Drugu is the name of an ancient people living in north west Tibet.

A title used when addressing the most venerable bhikṣus.

A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”

A god.

A river in Khotan.

A sacred stūpa in Khotan, said to have been blessed by several past buddhas.

A collection of seventeen sūtras on a range of themes, compiled as a separate collection. Today, this collection only exists in Chinese translation, although several of the individual scriptures exist in Sanskrit and Tibetan translation.

A nāga king.

A river in Khotan.

Forty-nine selected sūtras on a range of themes, compiled as a separate collection.

The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

A goddess.

A central Asian region, at times referring to Mongolia.

The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.

A senior minister at the court of the Chinese king Cayang.

A market in Virtuous Castle.

The buddha who preceded Śākyamuni in this Excellent Eon.

An ancient kingdom, located on the southern branch of the Silk Route that passed through the Tarim Basin. The kingdom, which was an important oasis and center for trade, existed during the first millennium ᴄᴇ.

A king in Khotan. Identified by Thomas (1935, p. 25) as Yehu-la.

A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name‍—which means “is that human?”‍—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.

An image of the Buddha.

An ancient settlement in the western part of Khotan.

A bodhisattva.

The name given to Khotan by prince Suckler of the Earth Breast.

This term has three meanings: (1) the ultimate nature, (2) the experience of the ultimate nature, and (3) the quiescent state of a worthy one (arhat) to be avoided by bodhisattvas.

A bodhisattva.

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

Also called here “Mañjuśrī­kumāra­bhūta.”

Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñā­pāramitā­sūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.

An elder, a senior student of the Buddha.

The hill in Khotan from which the Buddha deliveres his prophecy. Gośṛṅga means “cow horn” in Sanskrit and the hill is said to have received this name due to having two pointed peaks.

A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.

The third level of noble ones when practicing the path of the hearers (bound to never be reborn).

A piece of land belonging to Virtuous Castle.

The second level of Noble Ones when practicing the path of the hearers (bound to be born again no more than once).

A gandharva king who is employed by Śakra to serve the Buddha. He is sometimes said to be a form of Mañjuśrī or historically to have been his original identity.

A bodhisattva.

The collection of discourses on the Perfection of Wisdom.

A buddha.

A temple on Mount Gośṛṅga.

The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha‍—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)‍—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.

A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.

A temple on Mount Gośṛṅga.

A temple on Mount Gośṛṅga.

The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.

An epithet for the historical Buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama: he was a muni (“sage”) from the Śākya clan. He is counted as the fourth of the first four buddhas of the present Good Eon, the other three being Krakucchanda, Kanakamuni, and Kāśyapa. He will be followed by Maitreya, the next buddha in this eon.

A bodhisattva.

An ancient settlement in the eastern part of Khotan.

One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the wise (often paired with Maudgalyā­yana, who was praised as foremost in the capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form, Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

A legendary mountain in Khotan.

A buddha.

A god.

A buddha.

A goddess.

The first level of noble ones when practicing the path of the hearers.

Another name for the prince Kunāla, Kustana, or Gostana, biological son of Aśoka and adopted prince of China.

Sumpa is the name of an ancient people living to the north-west of Tibet. They may be the same as the people known as Supiya in Gāndhāran Kharoṣṭhī texts, or may be Hephthalites (see Thomas 1935, pp. 42, 156-9).

A temple on Mount Gośṛṅga.

Emptiness, signlessness, and wishlessness.

A temple in Khotan.

The ancient capital of the Licchavi republican state, the Buddha visited this city several times during his lifetime. It is perhaps most famous as the location where, on different occasions, the Buddha cured a plague, admitted the first nuns into the Buddhist order, was offered a bowl of honey by monkeys, and announced his parinirvāṇa three months prior to his departure.

One of the four great guardian kings, he presides over the northern quarter and rules over the yakṣas. He is also known as Kubera.

A temple on Mount Gośṛṅga.

A country prophesied by the Buddha. It refers to the country of Khotan.

A castle in the country of Virtue .

A temple on Mount Gośṛṅga.

A temple on Mount Gośṛṅga.

A person who has accomplished the final fruition of the path of the hearers and is liberated from saṃsāra.

A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa. Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.