Notes

n.1When referring to the collection of sūtras grouped under the heading buddhāvataṃsaka in the Kangyur, The 84000 translates the term as “Ornament of Buddhas.” See i.­29 for a discussion regarding this translation.

n.2This sūtra should not be confused with the early Buddhist Brahma­jāla­sūtra, which has an identical title but entirely different contents. That Brahma­jāla­sūtra (Toh 352) was translated into Tibetan and is also included in the Pāli canon.

n.3rnam par snang mdzad mngon par rdzogs par byang chub pa’i rgyud, Toh 494.

n.4rgyan stug po bkod pa, Toh 110.

n.5sa’i sying po ’khor lo bcu pa’i mdo, Toh 239.

n.6kye’i rdo rje’i rgyud, Toh 417.

n.7Asaṅga, rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa las byang chub sems dpa’i sa, Toh 4037.

n.8This forms the fifteenth chapter in the Chinese version.

n.9ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po’i mdo. See Peter Alan Roberts, trans., The King of Samādhis Sūtra , Toh 127.

n.10dgongs pa nges par ’grel pa. See Buddhavacana Translation Group, trans., Unraveling the Intent , Toh 106.

n.11dkon mchog sprin. See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Jewel Cloud , Toh 231.

n.12chos yang dag par sdud pa’i mdo. See Tibetan Classics Translators Guild of New York, trans., The Dharma Council , Toh 238.

n.13rin po che’i ’phreng ba, Toh 4158.

n.14lang kar gshegs pa’i mdo, Toh 107.

n.15theg pa chen po mdo sde’i rgyan zhes bya ba’i tshig le’ur byas pa, Toh 4020.

n.16Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, sa bcu’i rnam par bshad pa (Daśa­bhūmi­vyākhyāna), Toh 3993.

n.17A Commentary on the Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, sa bcu’i rnam par bshad pa’i rnam par bshad pa (Daśa­bhūmi­vyākhyāna­vyākhyāna), Toh 3998.

n.18A Commentary on the Introduction to the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, sa bcu’i mdo sde’i gleng gzhi’i bshad pa (Daśa­bhūmi­sūtra­nidāna­bhāṣya), Toh 3999.

n.19dbu ma la ’jug pa, Toh 3861.

n.20Sūryasiddha, A Commentary on the Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, folio 24.a.

n.21The Sanskrit and the Chinese have a sentence preceding this, which is similar between the two. The Sanskrit has, “Thus did I hear at one time: the Bhagavat was residing in the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin deva realms. Not long after his buddhahood, two weeks later, he was in the deva king Vaśavartin’s divine palace…” The ensuing description in Tibetan is a simplified version compared to the Chinese and the Sanskrit.

n.22According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan omits “and one lifetime away.”

n.23The Chinese and Śākyabodhi’s commentary have at this point, “They were one lifetime from buddhahood.”

n.24According to the Sanskrit and Śākyabodhi’s commentary. Unlike the preceding sentences, “all” in Tibetan is associated with the “accumulations” instead of the “bodhisattvas.”

n.25According to the Chinese and Śākyabodhi’s commentary. Both the Sanskrit and the Tibetan here repeat “clairvoyance.”

n.26According to the Sanskrit jñāna, the commentary, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has both rig pa and ye shes.

n.27According to the Sanskrit ṛddhi­bala­vaśita and the commentary’s byang chub sems dpa’ thams cad kyi rdzu ’phrul gyi stobs la dbang thob. The Kangyur version had broken it up into “miracles, strengths, and powers.”

n.28According to the Sanskrit pratipatti and the commentary’s ’byor ba. The Kangyur version has nan tan.

n.29According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Absent in the Tibetan.

n.30The Sanskrit and the Chinese have only “the Bhagavat Vairocana.”

n.31In the other chapters of A Multitude of Buddhas, “Vairocana” is given as one of the names of the Buddha Śākyamuni because the millions of Śākyamunis that exist simultaneously in millions of worlds are all manifestations of the Buddha Vairocana. See introduction, i.­2

n.32The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “merit and wisdom.”

n.33Sūryasiddha states that this refers to the wisdom in which the object is not separate from the subject and is therefore the wisdom of emptiness as the single characteristic of all phenomena. It is thus also known as the wisdom of equality (Sūryasiddha, folio 11.b).

n.34“Commencing upon and attaining” occurs only in the introductory sentence, but the commentaries specify that it is understood to apply to all ten.

n.35Both commentaries point out that these ten qualities benefit others in that they will support others in the attainment of the ten bhūmis.

n.36According to Vasubandhu, these would be the thirty-seven factors for enlightenment.

n.37According to the Sanskrit, both commentaries, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “attainment of the ornament of the knowledge of the great light of wisdom.”

n.38According to Vasubandhu, this is “selflessness,” and the analysis is perfect, as there is no further analysis that can be made.

n.39According to the Tibetan. BHS has sunistīrita­kauśalya­jñāna (“perfectly complete skilled knowledge”). Cleary has “complete definitive adaptive knowledge.” Both commentaries emphasize that this is a subsequent attainment through one’s own individual examination.

n.40According to the Sanskrit amanda (“not dull,” “bright”). Both commentaries have mun pa med pa (“not dark”). The Kangyur version has dma’ ba med pa (“not inferior”). Cleary has “without hesitation or obstruction.”

n.41According to the Sanskrit, the commentaries, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version adds “attainment of the…”

n.42According to the commentaries. The Kangyur version has dang (“and”).

n.43Commentaries have gzhan (“other”), although glossed as phas kyi rgol ba (“opponent”). The Kangyur version has only gnas kyi rnam pa. The Sanskrit has arhasthāna, where arha could be “worthy” but could also possibly mean “enemy.” This quality is described as being that which is needed in debate.

n.44According to the commentaries, “everything” refers to the five branches of knowledge: grammar, logic, crafts, medicine, and Dharma.

n.45According to the Sanskrit pratibhāna. The Tibetan spobs pa could be translated as “courage” or “confidence,” which does not quite match the context.

n.46Sanskrit has “doors of the Dharma’s light.”

n.47According to Sūryasiddha, this is “having confidence in the purity of the dharmadhātu,” which is glossed as “the noncomposite true nature.”

n.48Sūryasiddha states that, here, śarīra (“body”) should be understood to mean “the basis or location of wisdom.”

n.49In the Sanskrit and the Tibetan, only nine qualities are listed.

n.50The commentaries explain that this means “creating certainty in others, removing various individuals’ doubts.”

n.51The commentaries have, “As the mind is free of attachment and aversion, everyone is taught equally without bias.”

n.52The ten strengths of a buddha.

n.53According to the commentaries and the Chinese. The Kangyur version and the Sanskrit omit “strengths.”

n.54The commentaries state that the prayer was for the unique attainment of that samādhi, and that the rest on the list of ten are the other causes for the attainment of that samādhi.

n.55Vasubandhu has “like the circle of the sun, in that everything is concentrated into that wisdom as a single light.”

n.56Vasubandhu has “become victorious over the kleśas.”

n.57From the Sanskrit asambheda, meaning “separate, not in contact.” However, the Tibetan has translated this as tha mi dad pa (“not separate”), though Vasubandhu basically describes this as meaning “not being mixed up.” Cleary has “without corruption.”

n.58Vasubandhu has “because of knowledge of the ultimate.”

n.59Vasubandhu has “the first of six aspects of certainty: certainty concerning what the mind is focused on, because of one taste with what the mind is focused on.”

n.60Vasubandhu has “certainty of nature, because it transcends being an object for the worldly mind.”

n.61Vasubandhu has “certainty that this is the most important element, as it is the root of all the Buddha’s Dharma.”

n.62Vasubandhu has “certainty in causes in relation to all the phenomena that arise throughout space.”

n.63Vasubandhu has “certainty in causes in relation to nirvāṇa.”

n.64According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. According to Vasubandhu, this is “certainty in the greatness of benefiting others, and these six aspects, in addition to the initial certainty, make seven.” The Kangyur version extends the list: “(7) pervades all buddha realms and worlds of beings, (8) protects all beings.”

n.65According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Absent in the Tibetan.

n.66This sentence structure follows the Sanskrit.

n.67According to Vasubandhu and the Chinese.

n.68According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Sanskrit has “many trillions” (koṭi­śata­sahasrā: a hundred thousand times ten million, which comes to a million million, which is a trillion). Cleary has “hundreds of thousands of billions” (which would also be a trillion, as the Chinese billion is ten million). The number as given in the Kangyur version omits “many” and, literally, is ten million times a hundred thousand million times a hundred thousand, which equals a hundred thousand million million million, in other words a hundred thousand quintillion. However, Vasubandhu has simply “many tens of millions” (bye ba), probably because brgya stong (“hundred thousand”) has been accidentally omitted.

n.69According to the Sanskrit, the commentaries, and the Chinese. In the Kangyur version the order of (4) and (5) are reversed.

n.70The Sanskrit is here not in verse but repeats the preceding prose passage.

n.71According to the Sanskrit and Cleary, literally, “many hundreds of thousands of tens of millions.” According to the Kangyur version, “many tens of millions” (bye ba).

n.72According to the Sanskrit, the commentaries, and the Chinese. In the Kangyur version the order of (4) and (5) are reversed.

n.73According to the Tibetan. These two verses and their introductory sentences are absent in the Sanskrit, the commentaries, and the Chinese.

n.74According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “will not change into another.”

n.75According to the BHS, the commentaries, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version reads “this is the first bhūmi of conduct and the foundation of the complete attainment of the entire Buddhadharma.”

n.76According to Vasubandhu. Literally “number,” but meaning a number of letters forming a word.

n.77From the Sanskrit ārakṣām adhiṣṭhāsyanti. The Tibetan translates as byin gyis rlob, which would normally be translated into English as “will give their blessing for protection.” Cleary has “will protect and support you.”

n.78These verses and their introductory sentence are absent in the commentaries, the Sanskrit, and the Chinese.

n.79According to the Sanskrit, the commentaries, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version perhaps comes from a corruption of bhidha to bheda.

n.80The Kangyur version interprets paramārtha (“ultimate truth”) as “the supreme benefit for all.”

n.81From the Sanskrit buddhe. The Tibetan has spyod (“conduct”).

n.82From the Sanskrit dhṛti. The Tibetan translates it, according to its secondary meaning of “joy,” as dga’ ba.

n.83According to the Sanskrit āśayaviśuddhim. The Tibetan has shugs sogs yon tan: “the qualities such as power” or “the quality of accumulated power.” These appear to be qualities of the bhūmis in the Tibetan.

n.84According to the Sanskrit daśa. “Ten [bhūmis]” is not present in the Tibetan.

n.85In accordance with the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan here may be from a corrupt manuscript. The Tibetan has “You who know and practice the separate meanings explain / The supreme, sublime bhūmis of those who have pure conduct through memory and joy / And possess the quality of accumulating the strength of the power of the ten strengths.”

n.86“The hungry” and “the sick” were only implied in the Sanskrit and added in the Tibetan.

n.87According to Vasubandhu, this means that, like space, they cannot be stained by anything in the world.

n.88According to Vasubandhu “unequaled” refers to the buddhas being unequaled by any other beings. Those who are equal to the unequaled are so because of the dharmakāya.

n.89The Vasubandhu translation here appears to have been translated from gaṇa (tshogs, “gathering,” “multitude”), which is defined as “the multitude of bodhisattvas that are their pupils,” as the aspect of their perfect followers or retinue among the list of the perfections of the buddhas as implied by these lines of verse. Cleary has “virtues,” and therefore it appears that at the time of the later Chinese translation the Sanskrit had guṇa (yon tan, “good qualities”) instead of gaṇa. It is also guṇa in the present Sanskrit, the Tibetan sūtra, and both commentaries. This may have been an early corruption that became widespread or, alternatively, Vasubandhu’s was composed on the basis of a corruption of guṇa to gaṇa in a manuscript.

n.90According to the Tibetan. In the Chinese and the Sanskrit, the blessing is being given also by the Dharma teachings, as “Dharma” is in the plural instrumental dharmair: “…and the Dharma of the one born in the Śākya clan have given their blessing.”

n.91From the Sanskrit anubhāva. Vasubandhu translates as mthus (Narthang, Kangxi, and the Comparative Edition read mthu). The Kangyur version of the sūtra has byin.

n.92Literally, “jinahood” (jinatā; rgyal ba nyid).

n.93This verse is missing from Vasubandhu, which has only five verses in this section, even though it calls the last verse “sixth.” Present in the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and the Kangyur version.

n.94According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version verse here is not translated clearly, and the last two lines are “Teach the way of the Dharma of conduct and range and the way of wisdom in order to benefit beings.”

n.95Vasubandhu has “unexaminable,” perhaps a corruption of the Tibetan rtog med to brtag med.

n.96Vasubandhu explains the phrase “not existent” here but also notes the alternative version, which is that of the present Sanskrit, the Tibetan, and the Chinese, in a rare comment on a discrepancy between manuscripts.

n.97According to the Sanskrit advayakṣaya (read as advayākṣaya), the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Tibetan translation of the Kangyur version has “and the cessation of suffering,” presumably from kṣaya as “cessation,” with suffering interpolated.

n.98The Tibetan has translated nirvṛtam (“attained”) as “nirvāṇa,” although Vasubandhu explains this is the attainment of the equality of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa.

n.99Vasubandhu and the Chinese version translate darśanopagaṃ as “see.”

n.100According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “known by the mind and the intellect.”

n.101According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “ten million eons.”

n.102According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “as a drop of water.”

n.103According to Vasubandhu, here caraṇa (spyod pa) means “samādhi.”

n.104According to Vasubandhu, this refers to the wisdom of equality that realizes the selflessness of all phenomena and the selflessness of the individual so that the teachings are given impartially, without bias to any being.

n.105According to Vasubandhu. In the Kangyur version and the Chinese, sattva is understood to mean “beings.” The Chinese also translates from a manuscript that had buddha instead of buddhi.

n.106According to Sūryasiddha, this means “being conducive to the attainment of buddhahood that one attains oneself and is not shown to one by others.”

n.107From the BHS saṃpratyekṣaka. The Tibetan translates as tshol ba (“to seek”).

n.108From niyāma. The Tibetan translates as shin tu non pa, but also adds skyon med (“without fault”), which appears to have been transposed with the next quality in the list.

n.109According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has, “He has realized equality of the three times because he who is born in the family of the tathāgatas is heading for enlightenment.” Vasubandhu’s text reads “has entered the sameness of the three times, is born in the family of the tathāgatas, and is headed for supreme enlightenment.”

n.110Vasubandhu states that this is because of knowing the four truths and the Three Jewels.

n.111Vasubandhu states that this occurs due to satisfaction from that upon which the mind is focused.

n.112Vasubandhu states that this occurs on attaining realization.

n.113Vasubandhu states that this is because of increasing benefit to the body and mind.

n.114Vasubandhu states that this is when benefit pervades the mind and body.

n.115Vasubandhu states that this is the realization that one is close to enlightenment.

n.116Vasubandhu states that this is because of the ripening of one’s own mind.

n.117Vasubandhu states that this is because of compassion when ripening the minds of others.

n.118Vasubandhu states that this is because of patience in negative circumstances.

n.119The Sanskrit does not repeat “perfect joy thinking of” for the rest of the list.

n.120According to the Sanskrit (tathāgatāvādānuśāsanīṃ), Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “instructions and bodies.”

n.121According to the Sanskrit bhayatrāsacchambhita. Vasubandhu interprets this as only two states: ’jigs pa dang bag tsha ba. Cf. Cleary: “fears and terrors.” The Kangyur version has an additional fourth state, ’jigs pa dang bag tsha ba dang sngangs pa dang skyi g.ya’ ba (“horripilation”). These four do appear in the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu in the following paragraph.

n.122Literally, the “hairs rising” (romaharṣa).

n.123Because it is unaffected by the kleśas.

n.124Because it is distinct from the Hīnayāna.

n.125From the Sanskrit adhimukti, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has yid ches (“conviction”).

n.126From the Sanskrit avakapana.

n.127Literally, “not disheartened.” This is in reference to the commitment to work to benefit beings for eons.

n.128The Comparative Edition of the sūtra has nges pa in error for des pa.

n.129From BHS citrīkaraṇa.

n.130According to the Sanskrit aniketamanasa. Vasubandhu states that this means there is no attachment to worldly dhyāna and no resulting impediment.

n.131Although this is the tenth in the second of what Vasubandhu had said would be three groups of ten‍—perfect motivation, perfect application, and perfect dedication‍—it is classed as the first of the third group, so that the second has nine and the third has eleven.

n.132These two qualities are counted as one in Vasubandhu.

n.133According to the Sanskrit utsarga and the Chinese. Absent in Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “path of roots of goodness.”

n.134According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version omits “O jinaputras!”

n.135According to the Kangyur version and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “in order to obtain the enlightenment of all buddhas,” presumably from the Sanskrit buddha­bodhi­suparigrahāya, whereas the Sanskrit manuscript has “in order to follow all buddhas and bodhisattvas” (buddha­bodhisatva­suparigrahāya), and the Chinese translates from that version. Cf. Cleary: “to associate with all buddhas and enlightening beings.” Note that Cleary translates bodhisattva as “enlightening being.”

n.136According to the Sanskrit janajanma. Vasubandhu has skye ba ’byung ba. The Kangyur version has “life and birth” (tshe dang skye ba). Cf. Cleary: “birth.”

n.137According to the Sanskrit. Vasubandhu has “in all the paths of the childlike beings that are no different than one path of a childlike being,” byis pa’i lam (from bālapatha) gcig dang tha mi dad par byis pa’i lam (from bālapatha) thams cad du. The Kangyur version has “in all hairs no different than one hair,” skra’i sbubs (from vālapatha) gcig dang tha mi dad par skra’i sbubs (from vālapatha) thams cad du. The Sanskrit has in the first instance vālapatha and in the second bālapṛthag. Cf. Cleary: “to show at every point, without leaving one place.”

n.138According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “Mahāyāna” (theg pa chen po) in error for “great wisdom” (mahājñāna; ye shes chen po).

n.139In the Sanskrit, the commentaries, and the Chinese, there are only two of these qualities mentioned: “adept” and “gentle.”

n.140The Sanskrit alone adds an additional quality here.

n.141The Sanskrit has tathāgata­bhūmi­jñāna. The Kangyur version has “bhūmi and wisdom of the tathāgatas” (de bzhin gshegs pa’i sa dang ye shes).

n.142The list concludes with jātarūparajata, the compound word used in the vinaya for what the ordained are prohibited to possess. These are items used for currency, jātarūpa for gold coins or unworked gold and rajata for silver, though rajata may also be used for all kinds of currency other than gold, such as of wood, stone, etc. The Tibetan has simply dngul dang sa le sbram (“silver and purified gold”).

n.143From the Sanskrit visarada. Translated into Tibetan as ’jigs pa med pa (“without fear”). Cf. Cleary: “becoming expert.”

n.144The BHS meaning of pratipadyati is translated in Vasubandhu as sgrub (“accomplish”), according to its classical meaning, and in the Kangyur version as thob par bya ba’i phyir brtson pa (“making an effort in order to attain”). This correct behavior is described in Maitreya­nātha’s Mahāyāna­sūtrālaṃkāra as having a smiling face, and so on.

n.145The Kangyur version interprets this to mean “sincerely making effort to attain that which is valid.” Cf. Cleary: “arrive at what is appropriate for.”

n.146The Kangyur version here lists “the nature of [their] faith,” which is not in the Sanskrit, the commentaries, or the Chinese.

n.147According to Sūryasiddha, yathābalaṃ (ci nus) refers to the bodhisattva’s own power, and yathābajānaṃ (ci ’os) refers to the suitability of others.

n.148According to the Sanskrit, the commentaries, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version adds “the power of joy.”

n.149There appears to be an early corruption in the Sanskrit, because the numbers here are steadily increasing in value, as in the Chinese. The Sanskrit has nayuta­śata­sahasrāṇi, “a hundred thousand nayuta,” the BHS version of niyuta, which usually means “a million.” In BHS it can mean “a hundred thousand million” and is normally translated into Tibetan as khrag khrig. Unusually, the Tibetan here is bye ba, which usually translates koṭi (“ten million”). Even if nayuta was a corruption of ayuta (“ten thousand,” normally translated into Tibetan as khri), the numbers would still not match. The Chinese, as evidenced by Cleary, has an orderly progression of “many hundreds, thousands, hundreds of thousands, millions, billions, and trillions.” Most likely the addition of śatasahasrāṇi after nayuta is the error, which caused the translation of the subsequent koṭi as khrag khrig instead of bye ba, or this was a revised Sanskrit version with the numbers substituted for each other in an attempt to eliminate the anomaly. It should therefore, as in the Chinese, have been simply nayuta with the classical value of “million.”

n.150From the Sanskrit koṭi. Cleary has “billion,” which in the Chinese system is “ten million.” The Tibetan, perhaps because of the confusion of the enhanced preceding number, has here khrag khrig, the translation of nayuta in its larger meaning of “a hundred thousand million.”

n.151From the Sanskrit, assuming that nayuta is “a million” and koṭi is “ten million” as in their classical values. This is multiplied by a hundred thousand.

n.152This sentence is only in the Kangyur version and not found in the Sanskrit, the commentaries, or the Chinese.

n.153From the BHS vīryam ārabhate. Cf. Pali viryārambha. The Tibetan translates as brtson ’grus kyi rnam pa de lta bu rtsom mo (“engages in that kind of diligence”). This phrase occurs toward the end of each section on the ten bhūmis.

n.154Assuming the value of nayuta here, considering how it is used elsewhere to be a million and not a hundred thousand million as it is translated into Tibetan. Otherwise this would mean a hundred thousand quintillion. Cleary does not list these eons.

n.155According to the Sanskrit viśodhana. Cf. Cleary: “clarify.” The Kangyur version has bstan (“to teach,” “to reveal”).

n.156The Sanskrit prasāda is translated here as dad, which may be intentional or a corruption of the usual translation as dang.

n.157According to the Sanskrit, Lhasa, and Narthang. The Comparative Edition has dran instead of the correct drang.

n.158According to the Sanskrit kṛpa, which is translated into Tibetan as snying rje.

n.159According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and the corresponding prose section. The Tibetan has dga’ (“joy”).

n.160According to the Sanskrit nirata. The Tibetan has brtson (“diligent in”).

n.161According to the Tibetan and the Sanskrit of the Rahder edition (satvārtha). The Susa edition has satyārtha (“for the sake of the truth”), which is the version translated into Chinese.

n.162According to the Sanskrit bhoga, the Narthang, and the Chinese. The Comparative Edition has bskyed instead of skyid.

n.163According to the Sanskrit and the equivalent prose passage in the sūtra. Cf. Cleary: “the purifying teachings of the Buddha.” The Kangyur version has “and their minds are intent on nothing else.”

n.164According to Vasubandhu. This is another instance, as in the present Sanskrit manuscript, of a corruption of bāla (“childlike,” “foolish”) to vāla (“hair”), and was thus translated in the Kangyur version. Cf. Cleary: “they seek enlightenment everywhere.”

n.165Here the synonym nirvṛta is used, while nirvāṇa is used in the corresponding prose.

n.166According to the Sanskrit and the corresponding prose passage. Cf. Cleary: “modest and steadfast.” The Tibetan sūtra has translated this as dga’ ba (“joy”), probably from a corruption in the Sanskrit.

n.167According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “They make offerings to the unequaled ones with respect to the venerable ones.” Cf. Cleary: “They serve innumerable buddhas with reverence and respect.”

n.168According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and the corresponding prose passage. The Kangyur version has here ’gro ba’i don, which could be interpreted as “benefit for beings” instead of “for the sake of going.”

n.169The Sanskrit also has abhiṣaka. Cf. Cleary: “non-violent.”

n.170According to the Sanskrit and the corresponding prose passage in the Tibetan. Cf. Cleary: “guiding aright.” The Kangyur version has sa rnams (“bhūmis”) instead of chos rnams, presumably as a scribal corruption.

n.171The Sanskrit has the synonym jinasuta.

n.172According to the Sanskrit koṭi.

n.173This final verse is absent in the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.174Syntax according to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has the first bhūmi being taught “by the bodhisattva to the supreme bodhisattvas.”

n.175The Sanskrit has the synonym sugātatmaja (“offspring of the sugata”).

n.176These two lines are not present in the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.177The Sanskrit has the synonym sugatātmaja.

n.178The Sanskrit has the synonym jinātmaja (“offspring of the jina”).

n.179Vasubandhu has “able to naturally follow the conduct and do what should be done without having to examine for faults.”

n.180Vasubandhu has “engaging in the correct conduct with pleasure and happiness.”

n.181Vasubandhu has “Not being satisfied with their correct conduct, they wish to have a completely pure conduct.”

n.182Vasubandhu has “not aspiring for worldly excellence.”

n.183Vasubandhu has “aspiring for continued existences in order to benefit beings.”

n.184Vasubandhu has “The result attained is that there are no kleśas.”

n.185According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The introductory mention of the ten good actions is absent in the Kangyur version.

n.186From the Sanskrit śastra. The Kangyur version translates this as mtshon cha (“weapon”).

n.187Vasubandhu has “women who have been given to others.”

n.188Vasubandhu has “the ordained and those who are with child.”

n.189The Sanskrit has “and are wandering in the three realms” instead of “are in conflict with one another.”

n.190Sanskrit also has “and in which all suffering has ceased.”

n.191From the Sanskrit koṭi. Cleary has “billion,” which, in the Chinese system, is “ten million.” The Tibetan, perhaps because of the confusion of the enhanced preceding number, has here khrag khrig, the translation of nayuta in its larger meaning of “a hundred thousand million.”

n.192From the Tibetan, though it might be a translation from a corruption: g.yo med thibs po med cing shin tu nges. The Sanskrit has “They have beautiful adornment of emanation bodies (nirmāṇakāya).” Cf. Cleary: “with phantom bodies, beautifully adorned.” Gahana can be translated as either “ornament” or “obscurity.”

n.193Text has the synonym sugatātmaja.

n.194The Sanskrit has a second half to the verse: “the supreme among the bodhisattvas who wish to benefit all beings.”

n.195According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “they threw down rain from clouds of flowers.”

n.196According to Vasubandhu, this is the first of two lists of ten qualities. They are ten in Vasubandhu, the Sanskrit, and the Chinese. However, at this point, the Kangyur version has “absence of a self” as the third of what would then be eleven qualities. It was therefore likely a later insertion.

n.197According to the Sanskrit asaṃnicayabhūta, Vasubandhu’s bsags pa med pa, and the Chinese. Cf. Cleary: “without resources” (“provisions” being one of the meanings of saṃnicaya). It is omitted in the Kangyur version, though at the end of the list “has the nature of illusion” is added. According to Vasubandhu, asaṃnicaya means “When one has become old, then being a child and so on become former states.”

n.198Vasubandhu has “I will establish them in correct conduct.”

n.199Vasubandhu has “I will make them stable in samādhi and wisdom.”

n.200Vasubandhu has “I will satisfy them by dispelling doubts.”

n.201“Many thousands of previous lives” onward is absent in the Sanskrit.

n.202This is following the value of koṭi as ten million. The Tibetan translates it as a hundred thousand million and does the same for the next number in the list, even though these are meant to be increasing numbers.

n.203This is following the value of koṭi as ten million. The Tibetan translates it as a hundred thousand million and does the same for the next number in the list, even though these are meant to be increasing numbers.

n.204Literally, “many tens of millions.” According to the Sanskrit koṭi, though the Tibetan translates it as khrag khrig instead of bye ba.

n.205An instance of apparent discrepancy between the verses, which center on the Buddha, and the prose, in which the Buddha remains silent. The final verse in this section that has Vimukti­candra speaking is in a different meter and has the appearance of an interpolation.

n.206From the Sanskrit āloka (“sight,” “vision”). Cf. Cleary: “vision.” The Tibetan translates as snang ba, which can also mean “light.” Vasubandhu defines it as rtogs pa’i ye shes (“wisdom that understands”).

n.207According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version is missing the instrumental particle.

n.208Vasubandhu has “aspiration for nirvāṇa without attachment to existence and pleasures.”

n.209Vasubandhu has “the motivation to liberate all beings.”

n.210According to the Sanskrit vibhāva, which Vasubandhu has translated as rnam par ’jig pa in accordance with its alternative meaning of “annihilation,” in spite of Vasubandhu’s definition of the term: rnam par ’jig pa ni rtog pa yin par rig par bya’o (“know that vibhāva means examination” [probably vitarka]). The Kangyur version translates it as bsgom (“meditation”), the usual translation for bhāvanā. Cf. Cleary: “contemplation.” Abhāva and not vibhāva is used in this passage to mean nonexistence.

n.211From the Sanskrit praṇidadhati. Cf. Cleary: “directing it properly.” Vasubandhu has yang dag par rab tu ’jug. In the Kangyur version it is mistranslated as smon lam (“prayer”), confusing it with praṇidhāna.

n.212According to Vasubandhu these are the factors for enlightenment.

n.213According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. Cleary has “unremitting vigor.” The Kangyur version appears to have translated aprasrabdha­vīrya as both phyir mi ldog pa and rgyun mi gcod pa (“irreversible” and “continuous”), creating more than ten diligences.

n.214According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. Cleary has “unregressing vigor.” The Kangyur version appears to have translated apratyudāvartya­vīrya as both zlog par mi nus pa’i and skyo ba med pa’i (“unstoppable” and “unwearied”), creating more than ten diligences.

n.215From the Sanskrit koṭi. Cleary has “billion,” which in the Chinese system is ten million. The Tibetan, perhaps because of the confusion of the enhanced preceding number, has here khrag khrig, the translation of niyuta in its larger meaning of a hundred thousand million, whereas the Mahāvyutpatti dictionary also gives an alternate translation as sa ya (“a million”).

n.216According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. As elsewhere in the Kangyur version, the Tibetan translates koṭi as khrag khrig (normally meaning “hundred thousand million”) instead of the usual bye ba (“ten million”).

n.217In the Sanskrit the synonym nirvrti is used.

n.218Dviṣaṣti-dṛṣṭī; lta ba drug cu re gnyis. These are listed in the Brahma­jāla­sūtra. There are eighteen on contemplating the past and believing the self is eternal and the world is eternal.

n.219According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit here has dvāra (“doorways,” “mediums,” “methods”). Cf. Cleary: “sense mediums.”

n.220While not evident in the Tibetan, there is a change here from the plural to the singular.

n.221Here the Kangyur version inconsistently translates aparikliṣta as skyon med (“without fault”), while in the corresponding earlier prose passage it was translated as kun nas nyon mongs pa med pa (“completely without kleśas”).

n.222According to the Sanskrit śatakoṭi. The Tibetan translates this as khrag khrig brgya (“a hundred times a hundred thousand million,” i.e., a trillion). Cf. Cleary: “billion.”

n.223The Sanskrit uses the synonym jinasuta.

n.224According to the Tibetan rgyal ba. The Sanskrit has śāstu (BHS for “teacher”).

n.225According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “At that time, the Jina manifested his emanation body,” which does not appear to fit the context.

n.226According to Sūryasiddha, “sameness” means that in the first three of the list, the buddhas of the past, present, and future are thought of in the same way, because there is no difference between them, while the sameness of the third to the tenth in this list is that all bodhisattvas have the same kind of thoughts. Cf. Cleary: “impartiality.”

n.227Sūryasiddha states that these thoughts are composed of faith, aspiration, diligence, and methods, which are the basis of all good qualities (Sūryasiddha, folio 66.a).

n.228According to Vasubandhu, these dharmas (“qualities”) are the buddha’s strengths, confidences, and so on. Cf. Cleary: “teachings.”

n.229According to the commentaries, citta (“mind”) is here a synonym for samādhi .

n.230According to the Sanskrit vilekha, and Vasubandhu (’gyod pa). Cf. Cleary: “perplexity.” The Tibetan omits “regret.”

n.231According to the Sanskrit vibhava. Vasubandhu’s commentary reflects the alternative BHS meaning of ’jig (“destroy”).

n.232According to Vasubandhu, this is the truth of suffering, the first of the four noble truths.

n.233According to Vasubandhu, this is the truth of origination, the second of the four noble truths.

n.234According to Vasubandhu, this is the truth of cessation, the third of the four noble truths.

n.235According to Vasubandhu, this is the truth of the path, the fourth of the four noble truths.

n.236Cf. Cleary: “individual and common.”

n.237Cf. Cleary: “structure.”

n.238Following the Degé, the Comparative Edition has srid (“existence”). In other Kangyurs, including Kangxi and Lithang, we find sred (“craving”). The Sanskrit tṛṣṇa and the Chinese translation both support the reading sred.

n.239According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version omits the adjective “bad,” but this is present in Vasubandhu, where the translation is otherwise identical.

n.240From the BHS meaning of gatiman. The Chinese translates it in accordance with the classical meaning of “one who has movement.”

n.241According to Vasubandhu, the Chinese, and the primary meaning of dhṛti. The Tibetan here has dga’ ba (“joy”).

n.242According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Tibetan here translates aparahita-citta as khong khro ba med pa’i sems (“a mind without anger”).

n.243These first four qualities are the four saṃgrahavastu, that is, the four methods of attracting beings.

n.244According to the Sanskrit mudrā and the Tibetan lag brda, which in Vasubandhu appears as rgya. However, here this does not refer to the hand gestures common in practice, or to mundane seals, but to a part of Indian traditional education, a method in which the hands were used for calculations, obviating the need to write down numbers.

n.245According to Vasubandhu and the Chinese. The Sanskrit is samkhyāgaṇanā. The Tibetan translates this as “numbers and calculation.”

n.246The Sanskrit has nānādhātu­tantra, which could also be the science of physiological elements. But Vasubandhu states that it is a science that dispels poverty by the transmutation of substances. Therefore, it appears to refer to either alchemy or metallurgy, which are both called dhātuvāda in Sanskrit.

n.247The Sanskrit śoṣa refers to not only the illness but also the class of demon that was its cause, which the medical arts had to drive away, though Vasubandhu describes it as being caused by an imbalance of the physical elements.

n.248The Sanskrit apasmāra refers to not only the illness but also the class of demon that was its cause, which the medical arts had to drive away, though Vasubandhu describes it as being caused by an imbalance of the physical elements.

n.249This refers to insanity, believed to be caused by a bhūta (“spirit”) taking possession of a person, after which the medical arts had to drive that spirit out from the person.

n.250According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits “stars” (jyoti; skar ma).

n.251According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. Omitted in the Kangyur version.

n.252The larger sections of the body are the limbs, head, and trunk; the smaller sections are the fingers, toes, nose, ears, chin, forehead, and so on.

n.253In the Sanskrit there is also pradeśa­praveśāni (“entry into regions”), which corresponds with “the location of kingdoms” in the verse version.

n.254The Sanskrit and the Chinese add “and is skilled in establishing beings in the truth,” which is absent in the Kangyur version. This entire sentence is absent in Vasubandhu.

n.255According to the Sanskrit koṭīsahasra. This is translated into Tibetan as khrag khrig stong. As elsewhere, khrag khrig is used to translate koṭi instead of the usual bye ba. Cf. Cleary: “trillion.”

n.256The Comparative Edition has bzhi pa rather than the correct bzhi po.

n.257The Sanskrit has pratipatti. The Tibetan reads nan tan.

n.258According to Narthang, Lhasa, and the Sanskrit. The Comparative Edition has lnga po (“the five”).

n.259The adjective “sharp” appears only in the Tibetan.

n.260According to Narthang, Lhasa, and the Sanskrit. The Comparative Edition has lnga po (“the five”).

n.261According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has dhāraṇita, which could mean “retention.” Cleary has “mental command.”

n.262According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Here the Tibetan has dga’ ldan (“ascend to the joyful”).

n.263The Sanskrit has samyavidu (“equally wise”).

n.264According to Narthang, Lhasa, and the Sanskrit. The Comparative Edition has lnga po (“the five”).

n.265Literally, “jinahood” (jinatva).

n.266From the Sanskrit bhūmyābhasāṃ. The Tibetan interprets the bhūmi as being plural (sa rnams).

n.267According to the Sanskrit satyavibhāgam. The Tibetan has rnam par dbye ba’i bden pa (“truth of division” or “classification”). Cf. Cleary: “of distinctions.”

n.268According to the Sanskrit satyanitīraṇam. The Tibetan reads brtag bden (“truth of examination”). Cf. Cleary “structure.”

n.269According to the Sanskrit tathā vastu sāśrava­kṣayaṃ. The Tibetan has ’byung zhing ’jug dang dngos po zhi lam bden (“truth of arising and engaging [perhaps translating sāśrava] things, peace, and path”). Cf. Cleary: “the truth of substance, of the tainted and annihilation, the truth of the Path.”

n.270The verse follows the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan reads, “The ultimate truth and likewise the truth of the relative characteristics, / The truth of classification and similarly the truth of examination, / The truth of arising and engaging, the path of things, and peace, / Up to the truth of non-obscuration, are perfectly realized.”

n.271Sanskrit: arha-pratyaya. This is translated into Tibetan as dgra bcom rang rgyal. The Sanskrit phrase could mean an arhat as a result of conditions, as pratyayabuddha (“one who has attained enlightenment through factors”) can be an early pre-Sanskrit form of pratyekabuddha .

n.272The verses here change from the plural “bodhisattvas” to the singular “bodhisattva.”

n.273According to the Tibetan. In the Sanskrit and the Chinese, beings are addressed in the singular: “Yoked to the two kleśas, you appear repeatedly throughout the three times, / Without any end to the continuum of suffering.”

n.274These two lines follow the Tibetan.

n.275According to the Tibetan don rnams ma brtags. The Sanskrit has avalokanatvāt (“through beholding,” “through viewing”). Cleary translates from the Chinese as “lacking insight.”

n.276According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit and the Chinese add “stability.”

n.277“Joy” appears only in the Tibetan.

n.278“Minerals” is omitted in the Tibetan.

n.279“Poison and disease” is omitted in the Tibetan.

n.280According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has mthu thob pa (“they have attained power”).

n.281According to the Sanskrit koṭīsahasra.

n.282According to the Tibetan. These two lines of verse are absent in the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.283According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has thob in error for thos.

n.284According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit is in the plural.

n.285The Sanskrit has, literally, “immortal women.”

n.286The Sanskrit uses the synonym jinaurasa. The Tibetan omits the synonym.

n.287According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “all things previously pacified and discriminated.”

n.288According to the Tibetan, although the Sanskrit has a four-line verse and therefore there may be an inadvertent omission in the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “In that way thousands of songs were sung, / Beautifully by the goddesses in the sky. / Then the goddesses, with joy and veneration for the Dharma, / Became silent, gazing with faith at the Jina.”

n.289From the Sanskrit viśaradam. Omitted in the Tibetan.

n.290In accordance with the Sanskrit (anāvyuhānirvyuha = anāvyuha + anirvyuha), Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Tibetan separated “without adoption” and “without rejection” into two separate sentences, creating a list of eleven.

n.291According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese.

n.292The Sanskrit anusṛjan and Vasubandhu byi dor byed have the meaning of elimination. The Tibetan here translates as dpyod pa (“analyze”). Sūryasiddha explains this as eliminating the conceptualization without which there is no attachment to a self and none of the stains of saṃsāra.

n.293The Sanskrit adds six other activities such as “following” and “viewing.”

n.294According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits “motionless,” the activity of meditation that results in rebirth in the form and formless realms.

n.295According to the BHS meaning of avaropita and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as bsgos (“stained”).

n.296The accusative case according to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, the Chinese, Narthang, Kangxi, Lithang, and Yongle. Other Kangyurs have las instead of la. The verb is translated according to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit samudānetā could be translated as “someone who brings” or “someone who acquires.”

n.297Following the Tibetan. Mahāsattva is absent in the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.298According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Tibetan here has “there subsequently arises.”

n.299According to the Sanskrit sammūḍhasya and Vasubandhu’s myos. The Comparative Edition has the incorrect mos.

n.300This sentence is according to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has translated as “at the time of death and separation.”

n.301According to the Sanskrit karaka-vedaka-virahita. The Tibetan has perhaps a corruption: tshor ba med pa mngon par grub par gyur ro (“the absence of an experiencer is accomplished”).

n.302According to the Tibetan and the Chinese. “One” or “single” is absent in the Sanskrit at this point but appears in the verses. It appears that ekacitta has been corrupted to eva citta.

n.303According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan translates as ’byung ba (“arising”).

n.304The Sanskrit saṃskāra and the Tibetan ’du byed could also be interpreted to mean “formations,” the second of the twelve phases of dependent origination. But according to the definition of “formations” given here, that would be contradictory. The Chinese understands this as meaning composite phenomena.

n.305According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, the Chinese, Narthang, and Lhasa. The Comparative Edition has srid pa (“becoming”).

n.306From the Sanskrit vartmanaḥ, which is translated into Tibetan as lam gyi rgyun (“continuity of path”).

n.307According to the Sanskrit naḍa-kālapa. Cf. Cleary: “hollow reed.” The Tibetan has mdung khyim, which refers to the way poles are leaned against each other to create the framework for a tent.

n.308According to the Tibetan srid pa’i lugs dang ’thun pa and the Chinese. The Sanskrit abhāva appears to be in error for bhāva.

n.309According to the Tibetan, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Sanskrit adds more qualities, such as asvāmikata (“has no owner”).

n.310According to the BHS meaning of avatīrṇa. The Tibetan translates as zhugs.

n.311According to the Sanskrit saṃyoga and Vasubandhu kun tu sbyor ba. The Kangyur version translates as ’du ba.

n.312According to the Sanskrit sāmagrī (“totality”). The Tibetan translates as rgyu dang rkyen. Vasubandhu translates as tshogs pa. Cleary translates as “assemblage.”

n.313According to the Sanskrit, the Tibetan, and the Chinese. Vasubandhu has the negative, “We will not stop.”

n.314The Sanskrit reads svatāraśunyatā. The Tibetan has ’jug pa stong pa.

n.315According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits this samādhi, leaving only nine. This is probably a scribal omission as it is dam pa stong pa nyid and is preceded by don dam pa stong pa nyid. It could also be a scribal omission in the Sanskrit where paramārtha­śunyatā is followed by parama­śunyatā.

n.316The Sanskrit reads samprayoga. The Kangyur version has ’du ba. Vasubandhu has mtshungs dang ldan pa. Cf. Cleary: “emptiness of union.”

n.317According to the Sanskrit parapravādin, which is translated into Tibetan as phas kyi rgol ba (“adversary”).

n.318In the context of the ten perfections, jñāna is translated as “knowledge,” which is what it literally means. In other contexts, it is synonymous with prajñā (“wisdom” or, literally, “great knowledge”). While shes pa is the literal translation of jñāna when referring to buddhas, the Tibetan added an honorific prefix ye to form ye shes, literally meaning “primordial knowledge.”

n.319According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version and the Chinese omit the number.

n.320According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has translated as “primordial peace.”

n.321The Tibetan omits dharmanetrī, which can be translated as “Dharma guide” or “one who has the eyes of the Dharma.”

n.322According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “excellent,” referring to “those who have wisdom,” which is perhaps with pa’i in error for pas.

n.323According to the Sanskrit ghana. The Tibetan has sdug, perhaps in error for mthug.

n.324From the Sanskrit vibhāga. It is used here as a synonym for consciousness. The Tibetan translates as mgo rmongs (“bewilderment”), but it is the sequence of dependent origination that is being referred to here.

n.325According to BHS otaranti, which is equivalent to the Sanskrit uttaranti. The Tibetan translates as ’jug (“enter,” “engage in”), while Cleary has “realize.”

n.326According to the Sanskrit cittamātra, although the Tibetan translates the word differently here than in the earlier prose section, instead freely translating as “arising from mind as the cause” (sems kyi rgyu las byung ba).

n.327According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “single mind basis,” introducing “basis” from the equivalent prose passage. The Sanskrit citte is in the locative case.

n.328According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan here has omitted “destruction” and has the phrase “things that become.”

n.329According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has nocchedyatāpi (“even though uninterrupted”).

n.330According to the Sanskrit kara-prahāya and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as rgyu rkyen dang bral (“free from causes and conditions”).

n.331Here karma (las) is used as a synonym for saṃskāra (“formations”).

n.332According to the Tibetan. However, the Sanskrit and the Chinese have “There is the cessation of that suffering; there is no self.”

n.333From the Sanskrit vivartati. The Tibetan has bltas (“regards”).

n.334The Tibetan differs from the Sanskrit and the Chinese: “Termination and cessation is the ending of view.” Perhaps there was a corruption or misunderstanding of nirīkṣayataḥ.

n.335According to the one variant of the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan appears to be a translation of a corruption in the manuscript: “Through ignorance as a condition, there is connection with those. / Through cessation, there is connection with the conditions for enlightenment.”

n.336According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as “If there is no causal becoming from a cause, the continuity of cause is interrupted.”

n.337According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as “those who know bliss and benefit realize in that way the empty nature,” presumably from a corruption of jina-jñāna. An alternate reading rejected in Susa’s Sanskrit edition is hita-jñāna, and hita must have been in the manuscript from which the Tibetan translation was made.

n.338According to the Sanskrit.

n.339According to the Tibetan and the Chinese. The Sanskrit verses do not correspond in enumeration to the prose. The Sanskrit omits ekacitta (“one mind”), which appears to have been replaced by tathāpi ca (“and likewise”). The number ten is then reached by “generation and elimination” being separated instead of being in a single compound (abhavato ’kṣayata or abhavata akṣayata instead of abhavatākṣayata). The Tibetan is followed here for a clearer correlation with the prose, although the ten are not in the same order as in the prose.

n.340According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan appears to have “no deliberate action,” as a corruption of ’byed du mi byed to ched du mi byed.

n.341According to the Tibetan sdug bsngal gsum dang rgyus byung. Sanskrit has triya-hetu duḥkha-vibhava: literally, “three causes arising of suffering.” The Suzuki edition combines them into one compound, although they are listed as two separate points in the prose.

n.342From the Sanskrit anuloma, which is literally “following the hair,” as in stroking an animal in the direction that its fur or hair grows. It can also mean “natural order,” “successive,” and so on. It was translated into Tibetan in a previous verse as rgyun du ’thun pa (“corresponding to the flow”), and here as lugs mthun pa (“corresponding to the way”). In the Sanskrit it is in a compound with “conditions” (a BHS compound that avoids the usual Sanskrit euphonic combination of the last and first vowels: pratyaya-anuloma instead of pratyayānuloma), and most Kangyurs have a genitive for “conditions” while the Urga has the instrumental.

n.343From the Tibetan srid pa’i mthar phyin zad. The Sanskrit appears to have been abhavato kṣyata. Given in the Suzuki edition as abhavato ’kṣayata with the variants abhavato akṣayata and abhavata akṣayata, meaning “unarisen and unceasing.” The Chinese translation appears to conform with that version. Cleary translates as “unoriginate and unperishing is the procession of conditions.”

n.344To correspond with the prose passage, the Tibetan has “door of emptiness.”

n.345Following the Tibetan.

n.346Following the Sanskrit mahātma and the Chinese. Tibetan has mthu bo che (“those with great power”), perhaps translating mahāsthāna.

n.347According to the Sanskrit bhūya and the Chinese. The Tibetan only implies this.

n.348According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan adds “wise ones.”

n.349Most of the second half of this verse is missing in the Sanskrit, with the last words replacing the last words of the second line. It is complete in the Chinese.

n.350This verse is missing in the Sanskrit but present in the Chinese.

n.351Here it is the synonym jinaurasa.

n.352The Sanskrit has here the synonym sugātatmaja (“child of the sugatas”).

n.353The Tibetan has “spring sun.”

n.354The Comparative Edition has nga rgyal. Narthang and Lhasa have the correct rang rgyal.

n.355According to the Tibetan. These two lines of verse are absent in the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.356According to the Sanskrit.

n.357Tibetan: “many hundreds of goddesses.”

n.358The Sanskrit has sugātatmaja. The Tibetan has rgyal sras, which is usually the translation of jinaputra .

n.359Sanskrit: “the bodhisattva’s path.”

n.360According to the Tibetan and Vasubandhu. The Sanskrit and the Chinese add jñāna (“knowledge”) as a third quality.

n.361From the BHS desiderative bibharati.

n.362From the BHS avatarati.

n.363According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. It is the nonduality of existence and nonexistence that is realized. The Kangyur version has “neither existence, nonexistence, nor both.”

n.364From the Sanskrit patha. This can mean “path,” “course,” or “extent.” The Chinese translates this as “realms and paths.”

n.365Translated according to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “purifies and accomplishes a realm and accomplishes its adornments.”

n.366Translated according to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has, “He enters into the nature and dharma and body of all buddhas as being like space, gathers form and primary and secondary signs, and accomplishes the accomplishment of adornments.”

n.367Translated according to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version translates as “the speech of all beings,” presumably as the result of a misreading or corruption of sarvasvara as sarvasattva.

n.368According to the Tibetan. This sentence is absent in the Chinese and the Sanskrit, but it is present in Vasubandhu and may have been introduced from there.

n.369According to the Sanskrit. This is commonly a technical term for the perceivable manifestation of a buddha, but in the Tibetan here is divided into sku gzugs dang sku (“body-form and body”).

n.370“Names” is absent in the Chinese and the Sanskrit. It appears that nāma was in the manuscript that the Tibetan translated from and also in the manuscript on which the Vasubandhu commentary was based. Vasubandhu quotes ming dang gzugs kyi sku tha dad pa bstan pa (“the manifesting of different names and rūpakāyas”).

n.371According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “by the wisdom of the buddha bhagavats.”

n.372According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has mārgāntarāram­bhaviśeṣeṣu (“the superior undertakings within the path”), and the Chinese accords with the Sanskrit.

n.373According to the Tibetan, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Sanskrit has saṃjñā instead of jñāna.

n.374According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version omits “acceptance,” which here translates one of the BHS meanings of kṣānti, which in Classical Tibetan is restricted to “patience” and “endurance.”

n.375According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version omits “in each instant.”

n.376According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “ten” instead of “four.”

n.377According to the Sanskrit adhiṣṭhāna and Vasubandhu (gnas). This is presumably referring to the four states of stream entrant, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat. The Kangyur version chose byin rlabs (“blessing”) for adhiṣṭhāna.

n.378From the BHS meaning of praṇidhāna, which can also mean “a vow,” “a goal,” or “a wish.” Cleary translates this as “vow.” The Tibetan smon lam is generally translated as “prayer,” but here it indicates an aspiration rather than an actual prayer.

n.379According to the Tibetan and Vasubandhu. The Chinese and the Sanskrit have “from the eighth bhūmi up to the final conclusion.”

n.380The Chinese and the Sanskrit have “easily see.”

n.381According to the translation of prāyogikacaryā in Vasubandhu’s commentary as sbyor ba las byung ba’i spyod pa. In the Kangyur version it is translated as sbyor ba can gyi spyod pa (“the conduct of one who has engagement”).

n.382Sanskrit has “the ten virtues.”

n.383“Are endowed with the kleśas” is absent in the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese.

n.384Sanskrit has “the ten nonvirtues.”

n.385According to Vasubandhu, this concerns how one word can have different meanings.

n.386According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. Here, the Kangyur version translates as chos (“phenomena”), perhaps from a manuscript where artha was corrupted to dharma.

n.387The Kangyur version has yon tan (“qualities”). Vasubandhu has phan yon (“benefit”). The BHS Sanskrit is anuśaṃsa, which also can mean “benefit.” Cleary translates this as “praise,” which is the meaning of anuśaṃsa in Classical Sanskrit.

n.388According to the Kangyur version and Vasubandhu. The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “great compassion” instead of “compassion and kindness.”

n.389Vasubandhu explains that this is a synonym for the eighth bhūmi.

n.390According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “That is not so.”

n.391According to the Sanskrit adhipati. Cf. Cleary: “lordship.” The Tibetan translates as byin, an indigenous Tibetan term for “the divine power of a monarch.”

n.392According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “bodhisattva mahāsattva.”

n.393According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “bodhisattva mahāsattva.”

n.394In the London and Cambridge manuscripts of the Sanskrit and the Chinese, the sentence continues: “and he is not affected by the harm of considering the ultimate pacification of the composite.”

n.395“In order to ripen beings” is according to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. This is missing from the Tibetan.

n.396The Sanskrit and the Chinese read “has reached the treasury of the Buddha’s wisdom.”

n.397From the Sanskrit mahoraga . This is absent in the Tibetan.

n.398According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “in the four great continents.”

n.399“And ripens all grains” is from the Sanskrit and the Chinese. It is omitted in the Tibetan.

n.400From the BHS padānusarī. The Tibetan translates pada as dam tshig.

n.401The Sanskrit only has the implication of the negative, saying only “features and aspiration.”

n.402Translated into Tibetan as “following the equality of the true nature.” Cf. Cleary: “Gone to the state of felicity.”

n.403From the Sanskrit śodhenti. Cf. Cleary: “They purify.” Tibetan has spyod, presumably as a corruption of sbyong.

n.404According to the Tibetan, the Chinese, and certain Sanskrit manuscripts. Susa’s edition has karma instead of kalpa.

n.405According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has shes rab lam (“path of wisdom”), presumably translating from prajñamārga instead of varamārga.

n.406According to the Sanskrit pradeśa and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “entry,” presumably translating from praveśa.

n.407According to the Tibetan and the Rahder Sanskrit edition. The Suzuki edition has “path of good actions for all.”

n.408This line has numerous variations in Sanskrit: parnām-upāya, parṇam = pariṇāmana. The Tibetan has “still desiring and dedicating‍—that is their prayer.”

n.409From the BHS nitīraṇa. Mistranslated into Chinese as “guidance.” The Tibetan translates this as “high realization” (shin tu rtogs pa).

n.410The Comparative Edition has drug po (“the six”), instead of Narthang, Urga, and Lhasa’s correct drug pa (“sixth”).

n.411According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “many activities of wisdom,” perhaps translating from bahu-jñāna-karmā instead of bahu-sthāna-karmā.

n.412From the Sanskrit alipta. The Tibetan reads chags med.

n.413Here pratyaya, the synonym for pratyekabuddha , is used.

n.414According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan had “seventh” (presumably from saptamaṃ) instead of “limitless” (apramāṇaṃ).

n.415According to the Tibetan and the Chinese. The Sanskrit does not explicitly mention the gold.

n.416According to the Tibetan rang rgyal. The Sanskrit has only pratyeka.

n.417According to the Tibetan. These two lines of verse are absent in the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.418The actual Sanskrit is the synonym jinasuta (“son of the Jina”).

n.419According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “incense and precious powders.”

n.420According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “a rain of excellent clouds of garlands.”

n.421Literally, “best of the two-legged.”

n.422According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as zhing (“realms”), presumably from a corruption of kṣema to kṣetra.

n.423Literally, “tens of millions” (bye ba), which translates the Sanskrit koṭi.

n.424The Sanskrit is bhujaga (“serpent deity”), a synonym for nāga .

n.425According to the Sanskrit.

n.426In the verse he is referred to as Mokṣa­candra instead of Vimukti­candra. The Tibetan translation for both is the same.

n.427According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “bodhisattva mahāsattva.”

n.428According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. The Tibetan sūtra translates as “the seventh bhūmi.”

n.429According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version reads “has the power of having made prayers.” Vasubandhu states that this was attained on the first bhūmi.

n.430Vasubandhu states that this was attained on the second bhūmi.

n.431Vasubandhu states that this was attained on the third bhūmi.

n.432Vasubandhu states that this was attained on the fourth bhūmi.

n.433Vasubandhu states that this was attained on the fifth bhūmi.

n.434Vasubandhu states that this was attained on the sixth bhūmi.

n.435Vasubandhu states that this was attained on the seventh bhūmi.

n.436According to Vasubandhu and the Chinese, the compound tathatāvikalpa­sarvajña­jñāna is interpreted as “nonconceptual, omniscient wisdom that is like (or ‘is the same as’) the true nature.”

n.437According to the BHS meaning of asambhinna and the meaning in the Chinese translation. In both the Kangyur version and Vasubandhu, this passage was translated into Tibetan as “not separate,” the meaning in Classical Sanskrit. Vasubandhu says this profundity is on the pure bodhisattva bhūmis, and hence it is “unadulterated.”

n.438According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits “ninth.” Here, “ninth” is not referring to the ninth bodhisattva bhūmi, but to the last of the common nine stages of dhyāna.

n.439According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version reads “devoid of all movement, mentation, and unstable thoughts.” The Vasubandhu translation of the same passage is “devoid of all instability and arrogance.” Cf. Cleary: “free of all stirring cogitation and flowing thoughts.” The Sanskrit is sarveñjita-man[y]a-nāsyandita-vikapāpagataḥ, with an obscure first compound.

n.440According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The words of the analogy are repeated here but omitted in the Kangyur version.

n.441According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. “To save himself” is absent in the Tibetan.

n.442According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. “For liberation, for omniscient wisdom’s enlightenment” is absent in the Tibetan.

n.443Sanskrit: nimitta­samudācāra. The Kangyur version reads mtshan ma rgyu ba. Vasubandhu reads mtshan ma kun tu spyod pa, literally “conduct of features.”

n.444According to Vasubandhu, “not at peace” means they are in the bondage of the kleśas. “Do not have deep peace” means that they have not eliminated latent kleśas.

n.445According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. “Which is the emptiness of all phenomena, the inconceivability of all phenomena” is absent in the Tibetan.

n.446According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu.

n.447From the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as “believe and aspire,” changing from first person present to imperative.

n.448According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits the negative, so that the sentence makes no sense.

n.449According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan omits “of omniscient wisdom.”

n.450According to the Kangyur version and Vasubandhu, presumably translating from dharmanaya. The present Sanskrit has dharmakāya . Cf. Cleary: “principles of buddhahood.”

n.451According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version adds mahāsattva .

n.452According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. “Everywhere, without exception” is omitted in the Tibetan.

n.453According to the Chinese and the Sanskrit. In the Tibetan, the knowledge of the destruction of the realms precedes that of their creation.

n.454According to the Sanskrit adhitiṣṭhati and the Chinese. The Tibetan translates as an alternative meaning, “bless.”

n.455According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan omits the sentence about the śūdras.

n.456According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version appears to have been translated from a corruption in the manuscript of ākaṅkṣa (“desired”) to ākāśa (“space”) with the resulting translation “he blesses the bodies of beings as bodies of space.”

n.457According to Sūryasiddha, this means “a universe that is a group of a thousand worlds.”

n.458According to Sūryasiddha, this means “the second thousand” universe‍—a thousand groups, each with a thousand worlds, i.e., a million worlds.

n.459According to Sūryasiddha, this means “the third thousand” universe‍—a thousand groups of a thousand groups, each with a thousand worlds, i.e., a billion-world universe.

n.460According to the Sanskrit vyatyastatā. Cf. Cleary: “confusion.” Vasubandhu has chol ba. The Kangyur version has the obscure snrel zhi or snrel bzhi.

n.461According to the Sanskrit adhomūrdhatā. Cf. Cleary: “inverted.” The Kangyur version translates as spyi tshugs (“crown of the head”). Vasubandhu translates as steng g.yogs med pa nyid (“without overhead covering”).

n.462From the BHS samavasaraṇatā. Cf. Cleary: “their interaction.” Vasubandhu translates as ’jug pa’i khyim can nyid (“having a family that has been entered”), and the Kangyur version erroneously conjoins it with the previous quality, gzhi mnyam par yang dag par ’jug pa (“perfect entry into the bhūmi”), presumably because of a corruption of samatalatāṃ ca sama­vasaraṇatāṃ to sama­tala­vasaraṇatāṃ. Both Vasubandhu and the Kangyur version translate sama­vasaraṇa­tā according to its alternate meaning “descent” as in avatara or avatāra, which is generally translated as ’jug.

n.463Vasubandhu states that these last five obscure terms are described in the commentary on the first bhūmi. However, they do not appear there. Sūryasiddha does not mention them.

n.464According to Sanskrit avikopanatā and Vasubandhu mi ’khrugs pa. The Kangyur version translates with the alternate meaning ’khrul pa med (“without confusion or delusion”).

n.465According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has sems can (“beings”).

n.466According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits much of the sentence.

n.467According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Tibetan has the sentence on aspiration preceding the one on prayer.

n.468According to the Sanskrit and the Tibetan. The ACIP edition of Vasubandhu has dpung med in error for dbus med.

n.469According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has the sentence on wisdom preceding that on Dharma.

n.470According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Omitted in the Tibetan.

n.471Sanskrit: mahā­karuṇā­pūrvaka. The Tibetan translates pūrvaka as sngon du ’gro ba, which was also just used to translate pūrvaṃgama. If the last word of this compound is apūrvaka, this would mean “extraordinary.”

n.472The Kangyur version reads “bodhisattva mahāsattva.”

n.473According to the Kangyur version and Vasubandhu. The Chinese has “They have purified method and wisdom,” which is what the Sanskrit viśodhita-prajñ’upāyā appears to mean.

n.474According to the Sanskrit jñāna, the Chinese, and the corresponding prose passage in the sūtra. The verse has sems (“mind,” “motivation”).

n.475According to the Sanskrit vikalpa. Cleary translates from the Chinese as “unproduced.” The Tibetan translates as rgyu ba, which is also used in the fourth line of this verse to translate cara (“activity”).

n.476According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Kangyur version repeats “no birth or destruction.”

n.477According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version appears to have been translated from a corruption of gambhīra’calya to gambhīra-carya (“profound conduct”).

n.478In the Sanskrit, the term used here for pratyekabuddha is pratyaya.

n.479According to the Kangyur version and Vasubandhu. The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “without thought.”

n.480According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.481According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.482According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits “destruction.”

n.483According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version adds “colors.”

n.484From the BHS samosaranti, which is equivalent to samavasaranti.

n.485According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “six realms.”

n.486According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “in all human and deva assemblies.”

n.487The Comparative Edition has brgyad instead of brgyan, as in the Kangxi, Lithang, and Narthang.

n.488This line is only in the Tibetan.

n.489Literally, “tens of millions” (bye ba), which translates the Sanskrit koṭi.

n.490According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “peaceful, tamed, and completely peaceful” instead of “all these bodhisattvas.”

n.491The Sanskrit here has bhujaga (“serpent”).

n.492The last two lines are according to the Sanskrit.

n.493Here, the word for Pratyeka­buddha­yāna is pratyayāna, the same as “way of causes” (or “specifically conditional causes”).

n.494According to the Sanskrit jñeya and the Chinese. The Tibetan has ye shes (“wisdom”) instead of shes bya (“knowledge,” according to the meaning of “things to be known”).

n.495According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Comparative Edition has spyod. We find the correct dpyad in the Yongle, Kangxi, Narthang, and Lhasa.

n.496According to the Sanskrit guhya, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has the corruption of gsang ba to gsungs pa.

n.497According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan omits the name.

n.498Vasubandhu defines it as a multiplicity. The word can also mean “a thicket,” “darkness,” or “densely crowded.” Vasubandhu states that it means that these activities are difficult to know. Cf. Cleary: “complexity.” The Tibetan translation of the sūtra has this word as the adjective for “minds of beings,” instead of for “mode of activity.”

n.499Here phung po is translating rāśivya and not skandha . The groups are classifications into good, bad, and neutral.

n.500Vasubandhu explains that this refers to the mind being composed of mind, mentation, and the six sensory consciousnesses.

n.501According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. In Vasubandhu’s commentary, prabhūtatā was translated as “many-ness” (mang ba nyid), while in the Kangyur version it was translated as “governing” (dbang byed pa). Vasubandhu explains that this is the mind’s characteristic of engaging with infinite objects.

n.502According to Vasubandhu this refers to the bodhisattvas intentionally taking birth in a world.

n.503According to Vasubandhu this refers to an ordinary being taking birth as a result of karma.

n.504From the BHS paryupasthāna­tā. In the Vasubandhu commentary it was translated as “being wrapped in” (kun nas bkris pa). In the Kangyur version it was translated as “being encircled by” (kun nas ’khor ba).

n.505Vasubandhu explains that the mention of the time when the propensities are not conjoined with the mind is referring to the time of the state of liberation. The following sentences describe what occurs to the mind that is conjoined with the propensities and not liberated from them.

n.506According to BHS śalya, meaning “rope” and “binding.” The Tibetan translates from the Classical Sanskrit meaning of “anything sharp that can cause pain,” although it translates it purely as “pain.”

n.507These three, starting with “the differen­tiation of transcendent qualities,” are according to the Sanskrit and the Kangyur version. They are absent in the Chinese and Vasubandhu, and therefore may be an addition made between the fifth and ninth centuries.

n.508This parsing of the Sanskrit compounds into three parts is in accordance with the Kangyur version and Vasubandhu, although Vasubandhu does not explain the meaning of this passage. Cf. Cleary: “their nature as grasping of appearances in the rapid disintegration repeated in the net of faculties.”

n.509According to the Sanskrit durānugata, which also has a meaning of “imitation.” The Tibetan translates as ring du song ba (“gone far”), which is the same translation as used for dūraṃgamā, the name of the seventh bhūmi. Cleary translates as “extent,” and instead of “innate” has “occurrence.”

n.510According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu.

n.511Vasubandhu states that this means “the higher and lower realms.”

n.512According to the Sanskrit avasita/āvasita, an alternative translation would have been “remaining.” Tibetan translates as (bsgos), which tshig mdzod chen mo defines as “stained” as well as “command.” Mahāvyutpatti has bsgos as the equivalent of paribhāvita, which has a number of meanings, including “saturate” and “soak,” and also defines it as having a negative meaning, as being “stained” or “polluted.” Mahāvyutpatti does not give a Tibetan equivalent for āvasita. Other translations into English include “deposit” and “abide in,” the latter in particular being closer to the Sanskrit āvasita. The Chinese translations simply do not include a translation of the word; Śīladharma in his ninth-century translation simply transliterated āvasita without attempting to translate it.

n.513According to the Kangyur version. The Sanskrit has “qualities.” Vasubandhu’s commentary omits this word.

n.514According to the Sanskrit anupūrva. The Tibetan translates obscurely as mthar gyis, although Vasubandhu explains it as “the stages of giving rise to a result.” Cf. Cleary: “habituation gradually becoming dominant.”

n.515According to Vasubandhu this refers to tendencies toward the Dharma and tendencies toward other traditions. Adravya (“insubstantial”) here appears to have its common classical Sanskrit meaning of “worthless.”

n.516According to the Sanskrit saṃvāsa and Vasubandhu. Omitted in Cleary and the Kangyur version.

n.517At this point in the Sanskrit and the Chinese there are four further qualities that are described.

n.518Vasubandhu states that this refers to selflessness.

n.519According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has dran pa (“memory”) instead of snang ba (“illumination”).

n.520Vasubandhu states that this means that there is no difference in their objective.

n.521Vasubandhu states that this means that they are all equally not intimidated by liberation.

n.522Vasubandhu states that this means that there are limitless ways that individuals attain liberation.

n.523According to Vasubandhu, “time” here refers to the times when buddhas appear, “matter” refers to realms and bodies of buddhas, and “characteristics” denotes buddhas’ names.

n.524Vasubandhu states the realization is that of buddhas.

n.525Vasubandhu states that this is the dharmakāya.

n.526According to the Tibetan. The Sanskrit has “and he attains…”

n.527According to the Kangyur version. Absent in the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu.

n.528In this passage, “countless millions” is literally “countless hundreds of thousands times ten” ( brgya stong grangs med pa phrag bcu; Sanskrit daśa … saṃkhyeya­śata­sahasrāṇi).

n.529According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. Absent in the Tibetan.

n.530According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, the Chinese, Narthang, and Lhasa. The Comparative Edition has de (“that”) instead of ’di (“this”).

n.531According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. In the Kangyur version there are several sentences missing, from “I will have a vast memory” up until “different classes of Dharma pupils.”

n.532The Kangyur version reads “bodhisattva mahāsattva.”

n.533The Kangyur version reads “bodhisattva mahāsattva.”

n.534According to the BHS paritārayanti.

n.535According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan reads, “The composite, the number, and the movement‍— / They enter into that just as the world does.”

n.536This line is absent in the Sanskrit. The Chinese has a different line. Cf. Cleary: “And comprehend who can be taught, what the end and the beginning are.”

n.537According to BHS kleśānanādina and the Chinese. The Tibetan has mtha’ yas (“infinite”), perhaps from a corruption of thog med or a Sanskrit corruption to kleśānantina.

n.538According to the Tibetan and the Chinese. Presumably from the BHS vajireṇa, the instrumental of vajira, which is the equivalent to the Classical Sanskrit vajra . The Sanskrit has vinayena. The analogy here is to the vajra, which is the supreme invincible and indestructible weapon employed by Indra and other deities. The parallel prose section uses the term the ārya (“noble”) path.

n.539Cf. Cleary’s translation of this fourth line: “…who are those sunk in views, and who are those with knowledge.”

n.540According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has “They ripen, according to their aspirations and dispositions, the beings in the billion-world universe.”

n.541According to the Sanskrit paricālayanti and the Chinese. The Tibetan has skyong (“protect”), presumably a corruption of skyod.

n.542According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “sugata’s wisdom.”

n.543These two lines of verse are in the Tibetan only.

n.544According to the Sanskrit. The Tibetan has “one who has the bhūmi of a lord.”

n.545Literally, “tens of millions” (bye ba), which translates the Sanskrit koṭi.

n.546According to the Sanskrit trisahasrakoṭi. The Tibetan has khrag khrig, which in this translation was used for both nayuta and koṭi. Cf. Cleary: “trillions.”

n.547Literally, “tens of millions” (bye ba).

n.548In the verse he is referred to as Mokṣa­candra instead of Vimukti­candra. The Tibetan translation for both is the same.

n.549The Sanskrit has “asked three questions.”

n.550From the Sanskrit maṇḍala. Translated into Tibetan as snying po (“essence”). Cf. Cleary: “pinnacle.”

n.551According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. Cf. Cleary: “plenitude.”

n.552According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese.

n.553According to the Sanskrit. Cf. Cleary: “the names of all buddha-lands are voiced.”

n.554From the Sanskrit dhyāmikṛtya and Vasubandhu mog mog por byed pa. Cf. Cleary: “eclipses them.” The Kangyur version has gzil gyis mnan (“overpower with brilliance”).

n.555From the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Omitted in the Tibetan. “Clockwise” is an anachronistic expression, but this means with the world on the right-hand side of the light rays.

n.556The Sanskrit adds “throughout the entire realm of phenomena without omission.”

n.557From the Sanskrit cīvara, which is used solely for monks’ robes.

n.558According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Omitted in the Tibetan, which may have had vastra corrupted to vara as an adjective for the jewelry.

n.559According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits much of this description.

n.560According to Vasubandhu. The Sanskrit has nirvāṇa instead of nirmāṇa, and the Chinese has translated from nirvāṇa also.

n.561The Sanskrit and the Chinese have also “have the perfection of every kind of good quality and have the inconceivable empowerment of being empowered by nirvāṇa and are a great rain of a display of various riches onto each of the assemblies of the followers of the tathāgatas.” This is omitted in the Tibetan, but for clarity, “onto each of the assemblies of the followers of the tathāgatas” has been added to the translation.

n.562Śrīvatsa and vajra-svastika are synonymous, but the Tibetan lists śrīvatsa (dpal gyi be’u) as separate from svastika. It also separates vajra from svastika, which is translated simply as bkra shis (“good fortune”). Cleary translates as “the thunderbolt symbols of well-being.” Vasubandhu specifies that they are located at the region of the heart of the bodhisattvas.

n.563Literally, “highest limb.”

n.564In the Sanskrit and the Chinese: “flowers, incense, lamps, garlands, perfumes, powders, cloth, parasols, banners, music, and song.”

n.565The oceans in the cardinal directions around Sumeru in which the four continents are located.

n.566From the BHS Sanskrit samudāgama, which can also mean “attained.” The Kangyur version has yang dag par bsgrub pa, and the translation of Vasubandhu’s commentary has yang dag par ’grub pa, both of which primarily mean “accomplished.”

n.567From the Sanskrit dṛṣṭikṛtakleśa and the Chinese. Vasubandhu has lta ba gyur pa’i nyon mongs, which could be “kleśas that have become views.” The Kangyur version has lta ba’i rnam pa dang nyon mongs (“the aspect of views and the kleśas”), which is possibly from a corruption of the Sanskrit.

n.568According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Kangyur version has “turning and reversing the Dharma wheel.” Vasubandhu has “turning the Dharma wheel and entering nirvāṇa.” Both omit “displaying.”

n.569From the Sanskrit sarva­nirmāṇa-kalpākalpatāṃ. In Vasubandhu’s commentary this is translated as sprul pa thams cad la rtog pa yang rtog pa med pa nyid. Here kalpa is translated as rtog pa, which can mean “concept,” “examination,” or “recognition.” In the Kangyur version it is rnam par dgod pa dang rnam par mi dgod pa (“establishment and nonestablishment”). Cf. Cleary: “the feasibility and unfeasibility of projections.”

n.570The interpretation of the compounds in this paragraph on emanations follows Vasubandhu’s commentary. In the Kangyur version they are all interpreted as having an implicit genitive, as in, for example, “emanations of the bodies of beings.”

n.571From the Sanskrit adhiṣṭhāna. Cf. Cleary: “basis.” In the Tibetan it is translated as byin rlabs, which is usually translated into English as “blessing,” but this meaning does not appear to fit the context here.

n.572At this point in the Sanskrit and the Chinese there are also the subtleties of the Dharma teaching and the various kinds of Dharma. Absent in the Tibetan.

n.573At this point in the Sanskrit there are also the subtleties of manifesting the caste and physical form, of not transcending the disciplined way of beings, of spreading throughout all worlds, of seeing the mind and conduct of all beings, of seeing all the three times in one instant, of the entirety of the past and future, of the totality of the different kinds of minds and conduct of all beings, of the inconceivable powers, and of the confidences and the buddha qualities of the tathāgatas. This is not present in the Tibetan.

n.574In the Sanskrit the last two are “the parinirvāṇa of the tathāgatas” and “the presence of the Dharma, which is the basis of the teachings,” which are followed by “he has the correct knowledge of these and has all the other immeasurable countless wisdoms the tathāgatas have, which comprehend subtleties.” Cf. Cleary: “the ultimate nirvana of the buddhas, of the lasting of the true Teaching based on instruction.”

n.575From the Sanskrit nigraha, which could also mean “restrain,” etc. Translated into Tibetan as tshar gcad pa (“destroy”), though this may be the result of an omission in the Sanskrit manuscript, so that satva­samgraha­nigraha and vineyotsādanāvasāna becomes satva­samgrahāvasāna. Cf. Cleary: the entire compound satva­samgraha­nigraha is represented by “taking care of beings” and “the impartiality of giving instructions at the appropriate time.”

n.576At this point the Sanskrit and the Chinese list two “secrets” absent in the Tibetan: “the secret of the elevation and conclusion (or termination) of those to be guided.” Cf. Cleary: “encouragement and censure.”

n.577The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “establishing the different yānas.”

n.578The Sanskrit and the Chinese have here “the secret of the categories of the conduct and faculties of bodhisattvas,” which is absent in the Tibetan.

n.579At this point the Sanskrit has an additional seven and the Chinese an additional six secrets.

n.580From the Tibetan ’jug pa. Vasubandhu glosses it as gzhol ba (“enter into,” “be absorbed in”), and Sūryasiddha glosses it as mnyam pa nyid (“equality,” “sameness”). BHS samavasaraṇatā (“coming together,” “uniting”). Cf. Cleary: “interpenetration.”

n.581According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The Tibetan has suffered an omission so that “countable eons are congruent with countless eons, that countless eons are congruent with countable eons” has become “countless eons are congruent with countless eons.”

n.582According to Sanskrit cittakṣaṇa and the Chinese. The Tibetan omits “of mind.”

n.583According to the Sanskrit. According to Vasubandhu it is past and future congruent with the present, the past congruent with the future, and the past congruent with the present. The Kangyur version is obscurely worded. Cf. Cleary: “past containing future and present, present containing past and future, future containing past and present.”

n.584According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. The last in the list is omitted in the Tibetan. The Sanskrit adds “and so on, with incalculable, countless congruences of eons.”

n.585Sanskrit avatārajñāna. Translated in Vasubandhu as ’jug pa shes pa. Cf. Cleary: “penetrating knowledge.”

n.586According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Sanskrit has only tathāgatas .

n.587According to Vasubandhu, who emphasizes this point. The Chinese and the Kangyur version have “hair tip.” The present Sanskrit has vālapatha (“hair path”), which is presumably a corruption of bālapatha, which had already occurred by the time of the Chinese translation but after the composition of Vasubandhu.

n.588The Tibetan translates kāya (“body”) as “many” and has only “realms.” The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “buddha realms.”

n.589At this point the Sanskrit and the Chinese list further attainments such as hundreds of thousands of lights of wisdom, miraculous powers, and skills in method and wisdom.

n.590According to the Tibetan bzod and the Chinese. Cf. Cleary: “bear.” Absent in the Sanskrit.

n.591Vasubandhu explains these four verbs to be associated with, respectively, aspiration, the words, the meaning, and both words and meaning.

n.592The Kangyur version at this point erroneously repeats “Why is that?”

n.593In the Sanskrit, Māra ’s alternative name Namuci is used.

n.594According to Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version translates as “the fire of the dust.”

n.595According to the Sanskrit, the Chinese, and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version omits “level” and instead has bstan (“shows,” “manifests”).

n.596According to the Sanskrit vaśita, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese.

n.597From the Sanskrit adhiṣṭhati, translated into Tibetan as byin gyi rlabs (usually translated into English as “bless”). Cf. Cleary: “show.”

n.598According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version later repeats “blesses purity to be kleśa and blesses kleśa to be purity.”

n.599According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.600According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. Omitted in the Kangyur version and Cleary.

n.601According to the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version has “hair tip.”

n.602According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits “inconceivable.”

n.603Jujubes being unknown in Tibet, kola was translated as “juniper seed.”

n.604According to the Sanskrit naḍavana and veṇuvana. Vasubandhu translates as ’od ma’i tshal lam ’dam bu’i tshal. The Kangyur version translates as smyig ma’i tshal lam ’od ma’i tshal.

n.605“Fields of rice” is from the Sanskrit. Omitted in the Tibetan.

n.606According to Vasubandhu, who states that here tryadhva has the alternate meaning (bgrod pa gsum) referring to the three paths (of the śrāvaka, pratyekabuddha, and bodhisattva), unlike the Chinese and the Kangyur version, which have “three times” ( dus gsum).

n.607These four qualities, beginning with knowing the time for ripening beings, are absent in the Kangyur version but present in Vasubandhu, the Sanskrit, and the Chinese.

n.608Literally, ten times ten million times a million times a hundred thousand, which is actually ten quintillion.

n.609According to the Sanskrit and the Chinese. Most of this paragraph is presumably inadvertently absent in the Tibetan. Vasubandhu does not include most of this concluding section.

n.610These are rivers said to flow in each of the directions in Jambudvīpa. The list varies, but the Abhidharmakośa lists them as the Ganges (south), the Indus (west), the Vakṣu, which is the Oxus (north), and the Sīta, which has been identified with the Brahmapūtra (east).

n.611In the Degé Kangyur, folio 277.b is incorrectly the folio from Avataṃsaka vol. ga, folio 277.b rather than vol. kha, folio 277.b.

n.612One list of the ten jewels has pearls, conch, coral, silver, gold, white coral, red pearls, conch with a clockwise spiral, and two unidentified stones: keśaragarbha‍—“crest or filament-essence” (which may be the same as kekeru in an alternative list), and aśmagarbha (stone-essence). There is a Sanskrit verse that describes aśmagarbha jewels among rubies as being like green parrots among red foliage, which implies that this is one of the Sanskrit names for “emerald,” more commonly called markata (the source of the Tibetan mar gad). Another list of the ten jewels has gold, silver, copper, beryl, emerald, pearl, lapis, ruby, diamond, and an unidentified yellow-green stone named kekeru, which may be sapphire (which can be yellow or green as well as blue) or heliodor (yellow beryl).

n.613According to Vasubandhu these are the four śrāvaka families‍—the stream entrant, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat‍—and the pratyekabuddha family, each divided into the two categories of those practicing that stage and those who have attained its result. Cf. Cleary: “ten religious groups.”

n.614According to BHS Sanskrit saṃlekha (Edgerton: “extreme frugality,” “asceticism”) and Vasubandhu’s yo byad bsnyungs. In the sūtra this was combined with the preceding quality as gyi sdom. Cf. Cleary: “frugality.”

n.615According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version adds “liberation” as a second quality.

n.616From the Sanskrit parivarta. Translated in the Kangyur version as rgyud but in Vasubandhu as le’u. Cf. Cleary: “book.”

n.617This list is in accordance with the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Kangyur version omits three of the verbs.

n.618From the Sanskrit and Vasubandhu. The Kangyur version omits “flowers and incense.”

n.619From the Sanskrit. Absent in the Tibetan.

n.620According to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. Omitted in the Kangyur version.

n.621Banners and flags according to the Sanskrit, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. Absent in the Kangyur version. At this point the Sanskrit and the Chinese have “There fell rain from magnificent clouds of round kings of jewels that were the disks of suns.” This is absent in both Vasubandhu and the Kangyur version. The Sanskrit has two further kinds of magnificent clouds.

n.622The number of bodhisattvas is from the Sanskrit and the Chinese.

n.623From the Sanskrit nirukta. Translated in the Kangyur version as khong du chud par bya ba (“that which is to be understood”) and in Vasubandhu as rim pa (“stages”).

n.624According to the Sanskrit sākṣībhuta, Vasubandhu, and the Chinese. The Comparative Edition has dbang in error for dpang.

n.625From the Sanskrit niryūha. Tibetan has only rgyan (“ornament”). The passage is not in Vasubandhu. Cf. Cleary: “crest.”

n.626Literally, “tens of millions,” which translates the Sanskrit koṭi.

n.627In Sanskrit the actual term used is the synonym pratyayajina.

n.628The Kangyur version translates śiri as “glorious.”

n.629“Of the jinas” is added in the Tibetan for “clarity.” Cf. Cleary: “equal to the enlightened.”

n.630The Sanskrit and the Chinese have “perfectly comprehend.” The Kangyur version has the Tibetan equivalent of samatā (“sameness”).

n.631From this verse onward there is considerable variation from the Chinese and the Sanskrit, which do not have descriptions of the successive progress through the bhūmis. The Tibetan has twelve fewer verses than the Sanskrit.

n.632According to bstan of most Kangyurs. The Degé has bsten (“depend”).

n.633All of the Tibetan versions of this verse consulted for this translation omit the seventh bhūmi.

n.634There is no translator’s colophon, as this constitutes a chapter of the Avataṃsaka Sūtra. The colophon at the end of the sūtra gives the translators as the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Surendrabodhi, and the chief editor Yeshé Dé.