Notes

n.1While the title page reflects the title given at the beginning of the sūtra in most Kangyurs, this alternative title (tshul khrims lnga’i phan yon bstan pa’i mdo; Skt. *Pañcaśīlānu­śaṃsasūtra) is given in the colophon in all Kangyur editions and is also found in the collective colophon that concludes the whole group of thirteen sūtras in the Tshalpa-lineage Kangyurs, as well as at the beginning of the collection in the Berlin and the Narthang Kangyurs.

n.2thirteen late-translated sūtras

n.3In his groundbreaking article “Theravādin literature in Tibetan translation.” Skilling 1993, pp. 119–23.

n.4The Samajīvīsutta, found in “The Book of the Fours” in the Aṅguttaranikāya (Numbered Discourses) of the Pali canon (AN II 61–62), has been translated into English with the title The Same Living by Bhikkhu Bodhi (2012, pp. 445–46).

n.5This couple, whose names mean “father of Nakula” and “mother of Nakula” respectively, is also mentioned in “The Chapters on Foremost Persons” in The Book of the Ones of the Aṅguttaranikāya, in which Nakulapitā and Nakulamātā are described as the foremost in faithfulness (vissāsika) among the Buddha’s lay disciples. For an English translation, see Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, pp. 112–13. For the Pali text and an alternative English translation by Bhikkhu Sujato, see “Chaṭṭhavagga,” SuttaCentral, 2018.

n.6There is some ambiguity in the terminology used for this virtue in both Pali and Tibetan: Pali samacāga, Tib. gtong ba mnyam pa. Another possible interpretation would be “equal in renunciation.”

n.7Technically, all the great hells are said to be surrounded by these neighboring hells. However, in this sūtra they are mentioned with regard to only three and are not described using the terms “secondary” or “neighboring.” For the names and descriptions of the hells as found in Theravāda tradition, see Hazlewood 1987, pp. 140–41, particularly verses 28–33.

n.8See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287 (84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021), 2.­296.

n.9Sutta no. 145 of the Tikaṇḍakivagga in the Pañcakanipāta, AN III 170,24–171,7; for an English translation, see Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, p. 762.

n.10For a description and examples of this principle, see Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, pp. 63–65.

n.11There are other suttas in the Navakanipāta, however, that might also serve as points of comparison with the Tibetan translation, for example suttas 63, 73, and 83 of the Satipaṭṭhānavagga, the Sammappadhānavagga, and the Iddhipādavagga, respectively, in the Navakanipāta (AN IV 457,1–20; 462,1–26; and 463,23–464,7), where the “four establishments of mindfulness,” the “four right strivings,” and the four “bases for psychic potency” (translations by Bhikkhu Bodhi) are combined with “the five setbacks in the training” (as translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi; sikkhādubbalyāni literally means “weaknesses in the five trainings”). For English translations, see Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, pp. 1326–27 and 1330–31.

n.12See 1.­48.

n.13See Cabezón 2017, pp. 44–45, 315–16, 486, and 487.

n.14An edition of the Samajīvīsutta is found Morris 1995, pp. 61–62.

n.15Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, pp. 445–46. Bhikkhu Bodhi’s translation is based on the Sinhalese Buddha Jayanti edition of the Pali canon, which was collated with the editions of the Chaṭṭhasaṅgāyana and the Pali Text Society edition. He notes in the preface to this volume that Woodward’s earlier English translation was “dated both in style and technical terminology” (ibid., p. 7).

n.16Skilling (1993, p. 120) notes that “there are clearly problems with the Tibetan translation” in the thirteen texts and provides a short list (ibid., pp. 134–35). Several terms and expressions in the Tibetan of the first part of the sūtra would have remained obscure without recourse to the Pali text.

n.17This line of homage is absent in the Pali and was presumably added to the Tibetan translation in conformity with standard practice.

n.18The Pali omits “Thus did I hear” and simply reads, “At one time, the Bhagavān stayed in the country of the Bhaggas.”

n.19Pali bhesakalāvane migadāye, Tib. sman gyi nags ri dags rgyu ba’i gnas (“the deer park [called] medicinal grove”). The Pali grammar is ambiguous as to whether the deer park is inside the Bhesakalā grove or the Bhesakalā grove is the deer park. According to the commentary on the Saṃyuttanikāya, the Sāratthappakāsinī, “[t]he grove received its name from the fact that its presiding spirit was a Yakkhinī called Bhesākalā (SA.ii.181)” (DPPN, vol. 2, pp. 392–93).

n.20Pali Suṃsumāragire, Skt. Śuśumāragiri, Tib. chu srin byis pa gsod kyi ri (“makara/crocodile mountain/hill”). In the literal Tibetan translation of Pali susumāra (Skt. śiśumāra), meaning “child killing,” the word chu srin (Skt. makara) is tautological. A makara is a mythical sea creature, but the term may also mean crocodile (cf. Mvy. Sakaki 4832: śiśumāraḥ = chu srin byis pa gsod). The Pali has the variants susumāragiri in the Chaṭṭasaṅgāyana edition (which is the more regular development from Old Indo-Aryan śiśu; cf. Oberlies 2019, p. 97) and the Pali Text Society edition suṃsumāragiri . See DPPN vol. 2, p. 1173: “It is said […] that the city was so called because when it was being built a crocodile (suṃsumāra) made a noise in a lake nearby.” The Pali and Sanskrit giri means “hill” or “mountain.”

n.21Pali bhaggesu, Tib. garga ra. Bharga is the Sanskrit form of the name of this people, mentioned in the Indian epic Mahābhārata.

n.22Tib. chos gos gyon lhung bzed thogs te. The Pali reads nivāsetvā pattacīvaraṃ ādāya (“having dressed and taken up his bowl and outer robe”).

n.23On the usage of the term householder in canonical Pali texts, see Freiberger 2019, p. 72, and Cone 2010, p. 40, s.v. “gahapati.”

n.24The suffixes -pitā and -mātā mean “father” and “mother” respectively. In Tibetan, the names are also rendered with the prefixes pha (“father”) and ma (“mother”). A possible implication of these suffixes/prefixes is that the couple were already elderly at the time of this discourse with the Buddha.

n.25Pali yato me bhante Nakulamātā gahapatānī daharass’eva daharā ānītā nābhijānāmi Nakulamātaraṃ gahapatāniṃ manasā pi aticaritā, kuto pana kāyena iccheyyāma mayaṃ bhante diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passituṃ abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passitun ti (“Venerable Sir, ever since the householder Nakulamātā was brought to me when we were still young, I cannot remember having ever been unfaithful to the householder Nakulamātā in thought, let alone in body. We wish to exist together in future lives just as we do in the present life”). Both the Pali and the Tibetan employ the verb “to see” (Pali passati; Tib. mthong) here in an extended meaning, i.e., in the sense of existence or experience.

n.26Pali yatvāhaṃ bhante Nakulapituno gahapatissa daharass’eva daharā ānītānābhijānāmi Nakulapitaraṃ gahapatiṃ manasā pi aticaritā, kuto pana kāyena iccheyyāma mayaṃ bhante diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passituṃ abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passitun ti (“Since I was given to the young householder Nakulapitā as a young girl, I cannot remember having ever been unfaithful to the householder Nakulapitā in thought, let alone in body. We wish to exist together in future lives just as we do in the present life”).

n.27This phrase indicating the speaker is not found in the Pali.

n.28Pali ākaṅkheyyuṃ ce gahapatayo ubho jānipatayo diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passituṃ abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passituṃ ubho ca assu samasaddhā samasīlā samacāgā samapaññā te diṭṭh’eva dhamme aññamaññaṃ passanti abhisamparāyañ ca aññamaññaṃ passantīti (“If both husband and wife wish to exist together in future lives just as they do in the present life, they should both have equal faith, equal ethical discipline, equal generosity, and equal wisdom. Then they will exist together in future lives just as they do in the present life”).

n.29This sentence is absent in the Pali.

n.30Here following the Pali ubho saddhā vadaññū ca saññatā. The Tibetan here reads gnyis ka dad dang chos tshig dang//mnyam dang “Who are equal in faith and Dharma terms.” The Tibetan appears to have interpreted vadaññū (Skt. vadānya) as chos =ññū?) tshig (=vāda) or “Dharma terms,” and interpreted saññatā (Skt. saṃyata, meaning “self-controlled,” “restrained,” or “disciplined”) as samatā (mnyam pa), meaning “equal.”

n.31Following the Pali amittā dummanā honti. Tibetan dgra ni de la dga’ ba dang, “enemies will like them.”

n.32Here translated in light of the Pali: idha dhammaṃ caritvāna samasīlabbatā ubho nandino devalokasmiṃ modanti kāmakāmino ti. The Tibetan reads ’di ltar chos ni spyad pa dang// gnyis ka tshul khrims ldan pa dang// ’dod cing ‘dod la yi rang bas// lha yi gnas su dga’ bar ’gyur.

n.33Tib. de’i phyir bslab pa rnam pa lnga po bsrung bar bya’o. This sentence is not in the Pali Samajīvīsutta, which ends with the end of the verse. From here the translation is made from Tibetan alone.

n.34The Tibetan shi ba’i pha rol du literally means “on the other side of death.” The possible corresponding phrase in Pali is kāyassa bhedā parammaraṇā sugatiṃ saggaṃ lokaṃ upapajjati (AN III 255 passim).

n.35Tibetan rnam pa lnga yis bcing is likely a literal translation of Pali pañcavidhabandhana; cf. Stede 1914, p. 37. For an alternative list of these ordeals, see PED, p. 38, s.v. “pañca.”

n.36Translation tentative: de rnams de la yang sos kyi sdug bsngal drag po rtsub pa tsha ba ’joms shing ’joms la gang zhig la thams cad lci zhing srog bcad pa’i rnam par smin pa de’o. This English translation infers an instrumental particle after the sufferings, so that they are the instrument of ’joms shing ’joms, and it interprets lci zhing srog pa bcad pa as referring to the “weighty” taking of life, in the sense of murder, or killing a being of merit. For a fuller description of Reviving Hell, see The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.­296.

n.37de’i phyir bcom ldan ’das kyis bka’ stsal pa. This formulation is used repeatedly through the rest of the sūtra. Since this text appears to be a composite, we have chosen to translate it in such a way as to highlight that it is reported speech.

n.38D and S read wa (“fox”), and K and Y read lug (“sheep”). What the animals in this list have in common is that they are all hunted or killed by humans for different reasons.

n.39This is the first occurrence of a recurring verse that acts as a refrain throughout the sūtra. Here, however, the Tibetan deviates in including the word “body” (skye pa’am ni bud med lus), which is not found in the later iterations of the refrain.

n.40Tib. byad stems ngan. The term byad stems (or simply byad) can translate the Sanskrit kākhorda, which itself is an Iranian loanword (see BHSD, s.v. “kākhorda”). For an informative discussion of kākhorda, see Schopen 1978, pp. 256–75, with further references on p. 261.

n.41D and S read gzhan gyis; Y and K read gzhan gyi.

n.42These two departments or divisions of Wailing Hell are also mentioned, for example, in the Mahāvastu (dvau ca rauravau) and the Mvy. For references, see BHSD, s.v. “raurava.” Their Pali names are attested in the commentary on the Pali Saṃkiccajātaka (Jātaka no. 530), where they are also described (see glossary entries). For a (different) description of the Raurava and the Mahāraurava hells in Purāṇic literature, see PE, s.v. “kāla,” and Zin 2014, p. 271.

n.43The commentary on the Saṃkiccajātaka (Jātaka no. 530) describes the process in reverse, namely that fire or vapor enters their bodies and burns or cooks it from the inside (Tesu jālaroruve paccantānaṃ navahi vaṇṇamukhehi jālā pavisitvā sarīraṃ dahanti, dhūmaroruve paccantānaṃ navahi vaṇamukhehi khāradhūmo pavisitvā piṭṭhaṃ viya sarīraṃ sedeti).

n.44For more on Wailing Hell (or Howling Hell), see The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.­452.

n.45For more on Loud Wailing Hell (or Great Howling Hell) and the punishments there for sexual misconduct, see The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.­573.

n.46Translation tentative: lus po rgyang grags bcu gnyis dang ldan zhing lus la me gyen du ’bar ba. There may be a sentence missing here. As it stands it is unclear whose bodies (lus po) are being referred to as “having twelve earshots distance” (rgyang grags). The Pali Pañcagatidīpanī (translated in Hazlewood 1987) mentions huge-bodied fearsome females in this hell, who torment beings there: “Metal-toothed, huge bodied, blazing fearsome females, embracing him, feed on the one who steals another’s wife” (ibid., p. 141, verse 31).

n.47Translation tentative: de ni shal ma li’i shing gi nags la shon no. Other texts describe this hellish forest in which the leaves are sword-like and face downward as one tries to climb up, and upward when one tries to climb down. See the description in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.­375. See also a reference to the Asipattavana, “the forest where the leaves are swords,” one of the secondary hells, in the Pañcagatidīpanī (Hazlewood 1987, p. 141, verse 32).

n.48Translating N, S, and U dmyal ba’i srungs ma rnams kyis [D kyi] khar ldugs [H lugs].

n.49Regarding descriptions of the secondary hells in Pali traditions, compare the different but still recognizable version in the Pañcagatidīpanī (see n.­7 above).

n.50Translating D ri nag; S reads ri nags.

n.51Translating S rnon po yi; D reads rnon po yis.

n.52Tib. dus kyi chung ma; that is, a sexual partner.

n.53Cp., however, Feer’s differing French translation (Feer 1883, p. 267): “Une montagne noire et, à la même hauteur que son sommet, un bois hérissé d’épines, des pointes de fer aiguës; voilà le supplice de l’homme du monde. (Que doit faire) celui qui réside sur la cime du bois? Que doit faire l’épouse de celui qui gémit?”

n.54Vipariṇāma, the Pali word that likely underlies the Tibetan translation rnam par ’gyur ba, usually has a negative connotation: change (for the worse), reverse, vicissitude (see PED, s.v. “vipariṇāma”).

n.55We interpret the phrase dga’ ba’i sems in dga’ ba’i sems dang ’bral bar ’gyur ro as rendering the Pali pasannacitta (Skt. prasannacitta); cf. PED, s.v. “pasanna”: “°citta: devotion in their heart.” We think that dga’ ba here renders pasanna, although this is not a standard translation equivalent. The Pali pasāda (Skt. prasāda) has two basic meanings: (1) “clarity” and (2) “faith,” “joy,” etc. “Unhappy” or “dissatisfied” has already been expressed two sentences prior: rtag tu sems mi dga’ bar ’gyur ba dang.

n.56Reading spangs ba yis as in previous iterations of the refrain, though here D and S read spangs ba yi.

n.57As above, D and S read spangs pa yi; C reads spangs pa yis.

n.58Or “the wives of others”; cf. Feer’s translation (1883, p. 238): “L’homme qui a des désirs doit, de naissance en naissance, s’abstenir d’aller vers les femmes d’autrui et nettoyer les souillures de son esprit.”

n.59Following S and N bud med gang zhig gis; D reads bud med gang zhig gi.

n.60D gzhan yang lag pa dang / rkang pa dang / rgyab la las su bya ba mi byed pa dang. Cabezón (2017, p. 316) translates this as “who engages in inappropriate actions with her hands, her feet, and her back.”

n.61Translation tentative khyo bo la klog par byed. Cabezón (2017, p. 316) translates this as “who reads/chants (klog) to her husband” and speculates in a footnote (n. 809) that this might refer to the brahmanical injunction against women reading/reciting the Veda.

n.62On this passage, see Introduction i.­8–i.­9.

n.63Translating D and S brdzun du smras pas; C reads brdzun du smras par.

n.64Tibetan reads literally, so la srin ’byung ba, “worm(s) will appear in their teeth.”

n.65For more on Black Thread Hell (or Black Line Hell), see The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.­326.

n.66Translating S kunda kha yi dri; D reads kun da kha yi dri, K reads kun da zhim pa’i dri, and H and N read kun nang kha yi dri.

n.67Translating H, N, and S ’os par; D reads ’os pa’i.

n.68chos rnams kun la mkhas pa dang. An alternative translation could be “They will be adept in all aspects of the Dharma.”

n.69Translating D don dang tshig ’bru; S has the variant don dam (“ultimate/real meaning”), i.e., what the words refer to.

n.70Translating D sems kyi rtog la zhum pa med; H and N read sems kyi rtog pa la zhum med, and S reads sems kyi rtog la zhus pa med.

n.71Translating D and S brdzun du smra ba spangs pa yis [H and N yi]; Y omits spangs pa, and K reads brdzun du yang ni mi smra yis.

n.72Usually, rebirth in this worst of the so-called major hot hells is the result of grave negative actions such as matricide, patricide, and showing disrespect toward holy beings (cf., e.g., Hazlewood 1987, p. 140, n. 20). Why it is mentioned here as the result of speaking falsehoods, although the sūtra itself has stated earlier that the result of speaking falsehoods is rebirth in the Black Thread Hell, is unclear.

n.73Alternatively, this sentence may be interpreted to mean, “Not even for the sake of one’s life should one speak a lie,” but the sentence does not contain a concessive particle.

n.74Translating D and S ril bu bzhag; Y reads ril bu gzhag, C and J read rol bu bzhag, and K reads rol bu gzhag.

n.75Translating D and S rta’i; U reads lha’i.

n.76Translation tentative: D reads smras pa’i tshig la ral gris ske ’breg pa’i tshe tshig gnyis mi smra ba bzhin no. S reads skye ’breg, and K and Y read ske ’brel.

n.77For more on the Burning Hell (or Hell of Heat), see The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Toh 287), 2.­711.

n.78D reads ’gre bar byed; C, H, J, N, K, Y, and S read ’dre bar byed.

n.79Translating D ’gre; C, N, K, Y, and S read ’gro.

n.80The traditional imagery is as follows: the roughness of the river refers to the cutting waves, which are said to be like razors, and the water is full of unseen weapons that appear as lotuses.

n.81D and S read dogs; C and J read dgos.

n.82According to our count, the following list contains only twenty-nine items.

n.83Literally, “their words are very clear” (tshig ni shin tu gsal ba).

n.84Reading the agentive (H, N, and S) kyis, rather than (D) kyi.

n.85The Pali formula underlying this is likely kāyassa bhedā param maraṇā apāyaṃ duggatiṃ vinipātaṃ nirayaṃ uppajjati. Bhikkhu Bodhi (2012, p. 467) translates as follows: “In consequence, with the breakup of the body, after death, he is reborn in the plane of misery, in a bad destination, in the lower world, in hell.” In the Tibetan, “in hell” (Pali niraya; Tib. sems can dmyal ba) is missing.

n.86Skilling (1993, p. 132) translates this maṅgalam verse as “May the surface of the earth be like the sun and moon.”