Notes

n.1The Tibetan title (’phags pa dga’ bo la mngal na gnas pa bstan pa) does not correspond exactly to the Sanskrit title as given in the text, which is Ārya­nanda­garbhāvakrānti­nirdeśa. The Sanskrit would be translated “The Noble Teaching to Nanda on Entry into the Womb.”

n.2For more on the different versions of the story of Nanda in Indian Buddhist literature, see The Sūtra of Nanda’s Going Forth (Nanda­pravrajyā­sūtra, Toh 328), i.­7-i.­11.

n.3See The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharma­smṛty­upasthāna, Toh 287), 5.­38 et seq. See also Kritzer, forthcoming.

n.4See The Sections of Dharma (Dharmaskandha, Toh 245), 1.­26 et seq.

n.5See The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Daśasāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā, Toh 11), 31.­20.

n.6See The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95), 21.­159.

n.7See The Inquiry of Lokadhara (Lokadhara­pari­pṛcchā, Toh 174), 6.­4.

n.8See Garrett 2008.

n.9Kritzer 2013.

n.10The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the Womb (Āyuṣmannanda­garbhāvakrānti­nirdeśa, Toh 58).

n.11See Denkarma, folio 296.a, and Hermann-Pfandt, pp. 24–25. The other early inventory, the Phanthangma, is less informative as it neither lists these two texts as part of the Ratnakūṭa, nor distinguishes them by length; see Phangthangma, p. 48.

n.12See Butön, folio 147.a. Chomden Rigpai Raltri’s dkar chag (q.v. folio 9.a) has the titles in the same order as the Chinese but gives them the equal length of two bam po.

n.13In addition to the Degé, the Kangyurs in which the two texts are ordered in this way are the Choné, Lithang, and Urga Kangyurs, but in the Qianlong, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs, as well as in the Mongolian Kangyur, the order reflects that of the Chinese Ratnakūṭa.

n.14Kritzer 2012.

n.15Rutai jing has been translated into modern Japanese in the Kokuyaku issaikyō series (Hōshaku bu 3, pp. 218–56), as has Chutai hui (Hōshaku bu 3, pp. 203–17). Western-language translations of other versions of the sūtra include Franz Huebotter’s German translation of Baotai jing (1932), Robert Kritzer’s translation of The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the Womb for 84000 (mngal du ’jug pa, Toh 58, 2021), and Kritzer’s English translation of one of the long versions of the sūtra as contained in Toh 6 (2014a). Studies devoted to the sūtra include Kritzer (2006–7, 2009, 2012, 2013, 2014a, 2014b) and Langenberg (2017).

n.16Adapted from Kritzer 2014b, pp. 181–82.

n.17Ueyama 1967, p. 178.

n.18bcu gsum. D, J, and Q all give the number as 13. F, N, and S do not give a number here but give it as 14 at the end of the text. The Chinese gives the number as 14. See the introduction for an explanation of the differences in this paragraph. See i.­12.

n.19Chinese: Rutai 入胎, “Entrance into the Womb.”

n.20Literally “immeasurable assemblies” (dge ’dun tshad med pa rnams), but clearly it is the monks who are many, not the assembly.

n.21This is a reference to thirty of the thirty-two marks of a great being (skyes bu chen po’i mtshan sum cu rtsa gnyis; dvātriṃ­śanmahā­puruṣa­lakṣaṇa).

n.22sun da ri ka. The Chinese reads Suntuoluo (孫陀羅), which suggests Sundarī, the form of the name as it appears in Aśvaghoṣa’s Saundarananda.

n.23The Chinese reads pisheqia luzemu 毘舍佉鹿子母. “Viśākhā” is rendered as sa ga in Tibetan. For more on this person, see Malalasekera 1974, vol. 2, pp. 900–4.

n.24At this point, Toh 6 describes two incidents involving Nanda. In the first, Nanda ejaculates on Viśākhā’s head when she touches his feet. Upon hearing this, the Buddha absolves Nanda and recommends that monks wear a pouch in case of accidental ejaculation. In the second incident, Mahākāśyapa comes across Nanda, who is drawing a picture of Sundarikā, and reports him to the Buddha. This results in the Buddha forbidding monks from depicting living beings, although they are allowed to decorate stūpas (vol. tha, folios 241.a.1–142.b.7; see Formigatti 2009, pp. 140–47). This portion is not found in the present text or in Yijing’s translation of the sūtra in Taishō 310; however, it is included in Yijing’s translation of the Mūla­sarvāsti­vāda Vinaya (Taishō 1451.251c21–252a27).

n.25Here we follow the reading in the corresponding passage in Toh 6. D reads gang gA’i rdzing bu, while Y and K read gang rga’i rdzing bu.

n.26This is the point in the narrative where The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the Womb (Toh 58) begins.

n.27The Sanskrit word antarābhava sometimes indicates the intermediate existence, between death in one life and birth in the next, and sometimes the sentient being in the intermediate existence. In this sūtra, the word always refers to the sentient being. The word was translated into Tibetan as bar ma do’i phung po (“skandhas of the antarābhava”), or as bar ma do’i srid pa (“intermediate existence”). Since English translations such as “the being in the intermediate existence” are awkward, the Sanskrit term will be used throughout.

n.28The Chinese version does not seem to mention this new fertile period, but the version in Toh 6 says that in these cases a woman’s “fertile periods are contiguous” (folio 125.b).

n.29Toh 58 (1.­5) clearly mentions semen (khu chu) here, while thung ba in Toh 6 probably also suggests that the liquid is in fact semen (see Kritzer 2014, p. 43, n. 168).

n.30pho dang mo’i srid pa gnyis med pa. Translation tentative. This seems to refer to the idea that its future sex corresponds to its desire either for the male or for the female. If the antarābhava has neither desire for the male nor desire for the female, then it cannot be said to be (or “exist” as) male or female, since its future birth as male or female corresponds to desires that it lacks. This is why it is said here that “rebirth will not occur” if it cannot be said to be male or female by virtue of its desire for one or another of the two people engaged in intercourse.

n.31Literally “the object that appears,” namely, the parents engaged in intercourse, one of whom the antarābhava will be attracted to, thereby indicating its future sex.

n.32These “incorrect perceptions” are presumably what “distorted thought” refers to in the previous sentence.

n.33The Chinese here says something different: “It has as its causes and conditions the mixture of the father’s and mother’s semen and blood and it continues to exist as the basis of consciousness” (由父母精血和合因縁。爲識所縁依止而住 (Taishō 310.14.328b26–28).

n.34This and the many analogies that follow throughout the text begin with the phrase “as an analogy” (dper na). This phrase is omitted for the sake of readability.

n.35C agrees with D in including before this the clause “nor does it arise from the father’s marrow (pha’i rkang)”; N reads pha’i bskyed pa, “the father’s begetting”; F, Q, L, S all omit this clause, as does the Chinese. Therefore, it is not included in the translation. For more on a similar sentence in Toh 6, see Kritzer 2014, p. 49, n. 203.

n.36Here, as in the descriptions of all the winds that arise during gestation, the text reads “from the mother’s womb (mngal nas).” In each case the Chinese has been followed in this translation: “within the mother’s womb” (yu mufu zhong yu mufu zhong).

n.37Tib. mdzod kha. The Chinese differs: “knife sheath opening” (dao qiao kou 刀鞘口, Taishō 310, 329a28). The original Sanskrit must have been kośa, which has the meanings of both “sheath” and “treasury.” “The translator of Tohoku 57, who presumably translated from Yijing’s Chinese, either knew a meaning of mdzod as ‘sheath’ or was looking at a different Chinese version or at another Tibetan translation” (Kritzer 2014, p. 53, n. 226).

n.38Tib. nang rab tu ’byed pa. The Chinese differs: Taishō 310 gives the reading internal door (nei mon 内門, Taishō 310.329b2). However, the alternate reading internal opening (nei kai 内開, which can also mean internal explanation) is given in the notes. This is probably the correct reading since it is attested in Taishō 1451 (254b16).

n.39mngal na gnas pa’i zug rngu rab tu ’bar ba.

n.40A kind of plant that grows on water. For more on śaivala, see Kritzer 2014, p. 55, n. 244.

n.41The Chinese calls this wind universal door, as does Toh 58.

n.42rgyu ma dang gnye ma. For these terms, see Kritzer 2014, pp. 57–58, n. 261.

n.43rtsa rgyus. This could mean “ligaments” alone, or “ligaments and nerves,” or “ligaments and veins.” See Kritzer 2014, p. 59, n. 275.

n.44sa ga, presumably for Sanskrit sakha. For more details, see Kritzer 2014, p. 59, n. 279.

n.45The Chinese does not include a corresponding name.

n.46Q, D, and J substitute the tawny color like arsenic (bab la lta bu’i ser skya, ba bla lta bu’i ser skya) for the color of lentils. This substitution appears to be based on Toh 6.

n.47The text here literally says “the sense sources (skye mched, āyatana) of the eyes, ears, and nose.” The Chinese (chu suo 處所) refers explicitly to the physical bases of the sense organs, i.e., the material eyes, ears, and nostrils.

n.48spel zhing rnam par ’jog pa.

n.49long bu’i rus pa. It seems strange to mention the ankle bones here, since the description is generally from low to high on the body. Perhaps this indicates a misunderstanding on the part of the translator. The Chinese here is ke 髁, which can mean both “ankle” and “coccyx.” The Chinese yao ke you san gu 腰髁有三骨 probably refers to three bones in the sacral area, two “waist,” “hip,” or “loin” bones (rked pa) and the coccyx. The Tibetan, on the other hand, understands the compound yao ke as referring to three yao (waist, hip) bones and three ke (coccyx) bones. For more on this, see Kritzer 2014, p. 63, n. 310.

n.50F, Q, N, and S rkyong shing mdog dang ldan par byed do (“stretch it out and cause it to have color”) for rab tu dang bar byed do. We accept the reading of D and J, which agree with the Chinese. For more on the action of this wind, see Kritzer 2014, p. 66, n. 335.

n.51D, Q sman yon po. F, N, S read sman yon chen po, “expensive doctor’s fee.” sman yon po agrees with the Chinese qu yao (曲藥).

n.52btsal ba dag. This has no equivalent in the Chinese, and its meaning here is unclear. Perhaps it refers to morally good pursuits.

n.53ngan ’gro sems can dmyal ba. It is not clear whether this or “hell beings in an unfortunate destiny” is the meaning.

n.54spu. S kha spu, “facial hair.”

n.55phyogs gcig. This may also mean “one-sided.” Note, too, that the corresponding passage in Toh 58 lists five such perceptions.

n.56According to Q, this wind is called assembling the flowers (me tog sdud). F reads ma tog sdud, perhaps mistakenly for me tog sdud. The Chinese calls it indigo flower (lan hua 藍花). For more on this wind, see Kritzer 2014, p. 72, n. 386.

n.57bcum nas. F, Q, N, and S all read brkyang nas, “having stretched out,” which agrees with the Chinese chang shu 長舒. Toh 6 reads lag pa gnyis bcum ste, which agrees with our text. It has been argued that bcum, which usually means “contracted” or “shrunk,” here means “hang down” (Kritzer 2014, p.73, n. 387). It is possible that the Tibetan translator originally translated the Chinese chang shu as brkyang nas, while the Degé editors altered the text to agree with Toh 6 (see Kritzer 2012 for the relationships among the various Tibetan texts of the Garbhāvakrānti­sūtra).

n.58Literally “the place of birth” (skye ba’i gnas). The Chinese chan men 產門 is more explicit.

n.59Following N and S, which read bcug. D, F, and Q read bcum (“contract”), which makes no sense. The Chinese has nothing equivalent to bcum. It simply says “push the hand and make it enter.”

n.60bsgul ba’i shing leb. The Chinese is yao che 搖車, “shaking cart.” Langenberg translates it as “cradle” (2008, p. 189).

n.61rgyu dang rkyen des thams cad du.

n.62shing gdong. The Chinese, however, is wood mouth (mu kou 木口). The original Sanskrit was probably mukha, which can mean either “face” or “mouth.”

n.63Or fragrance mouth.

n.64As Langenberg points out, the S block print says that drinking mother’s milk is not included (2008, p. 191, n. 33). F, Q, N, and S all agree with D.

n.65Tib. gag shing. Toh 6 reads gag shing du gzhug pa. This translation reflects that reading and its commentarial gloss.

n.66The Tibetan here is difficult to understand, though if the referent of “all of these sufferings” is all of the sufferings of birth that have been enumerated, then perhaps the sense is that because one has not abandoned the sufferings of birth, then one is bound to experience suffering in everything that one does in life. In the Chinese, by contrast, there is no negative: “All this is abandoning suffering and seeking suffering.” In the Chinese, this sentence seems to refer to the four activities of walking, etc., and the meaning seems to be that one “abandons suffering” when, for example, one stops walking and “seeks suffering” when one stands still. At the same point, Toh 6 says “Nanda, because one interrupts the suffering of a particular activity, when a new, different suffering arises, a pleasurable thought arises. Nanda, in arising, it is only suffering that arises, and in cessation it is only suffering that ceases” (Kritzer 2014, p. 88). The Tibetan text of Toh 6 is as follows: dga’ bo ’on kyang spyod lam gyi sdug bsngal de dang de rgyun gcad pa’i phyir / sdug bsngal sar pa gzhan dang gzhan ’byung ba la bde ba’i ’du shes ’byung ste / dga’ bo ’byung ba na yang sdug bsngal ’di kho na ’byung la ’gag pa na yang sdug bsngal kho na ’gag.

n.67“Dharmas” has the sense here of the phenomena of experience.

n.68yang dag pa’i mthar phyin pa ma yin pa.

n.69yang dag pa ma yin pa. The meaning is unclear, but perhaps it reflects the idea that even things that seem pleasant are ultimately suffering. The Chinese similarly mentions deceit (xukuang 虚誑).

n.70skye gnas mi gtsang ba, Chinese shengchu bujing 生處不淨. This might refer to the rebirth destination specifically, but the descriptions of the vagina in the account of week 27 and in the section on the four types of garbhāvakrānti suggest that skye gnas here refers specifically to the womb or vagina from which beings are born.

n.71That is, with only a single life standing between them and liberation.

n.72snying ’phyang.

n.73Alternatively, this might be “the wind of karma.” Here the Chinese reads “due to the causes and conditions of karma, it is blown by a wind.”

n.74The Chinese includes gods, as well.

n.75This is translated from the Chinese (zi shenyuyi 恣身語意). The Tibetan is lus dang ngag dang yid thal rangs su gtong, which is obscure.

n.76Translation tentative. Tib. ngas de skad smras pa de la tha dad du gyur pa yod dam.

n.77Tib. tha mi dad par gsung ba.

n.78D, F, and J dbang po rnams kyi bran byed pa. Q, N, and S dbang po rnams kyi dran pa med pa, “lack awareness of the senses.” This does not make sense. The Chinese yu zhu gen er wei nupu 與諸根而為奴僕 supports bran byed pa, and dran pa med pa seems to be the result of a scribe’s confusion between dran and bran, which have the same pronunciation in Tibetan.

n.79sla ba’i dngos po. D slu ba’i dngos po, “deceptive things,” is clearly a scribal error. Other editions agree with the Chinese yi shi 易事.

n.80Tib. chos de dag las bsgom pa’i ’du shes yongs su rdzogs par byas te.

n.81Following K and Y, which read yid la myi/mi sems. This agrees with the repetition of this passage below and makes better sense.

n.82N, Q, and S nang gi lus la sdug bsngal yin par rjes su lta ba, which agrees with the Chinese. D, F, and J nang gi lus la lus kyi rjes su lta ba, “observation of the body with respect to the internal body.” These versions do not mention suffering here.

n.83Tib. thob pa dang ldan pa.

n.84Translation tentative. Tib. phyi dro’i dus kyi tshe chos rjes su bstan pa yang bdag nyid thob pa dang ldan par smra bar byed pas na.

n.85This clause is not found in the Chinese.

n.86rnal ’byor. The Chinese has “subtle contemplation” (miao guan 妙觀). In this context the term yoga refers to meditation or spiritual practice in general.

n.87For this meaning of ’drul, see Btsan lha (1996, p. 370).

n.88D, F, J, and Q bsten. S brten, which is closely related to bsten, while N brtan is probably a result of dropping the e vowel marker from brten.

n.89byin pa. The Chinese does not mention calf bones; instead, it simply mentions pairs of two shoulder bones (jian ou 肩偶 [Taishō 310.334c19], probably a mistake for jian yu 肩髃 [Taishō 1451.260a18]).

n.90D, F, J, and Q brgyad, which agrees with the Chinese. N, S brgya, “a hundred.”

n.91Hoernle says that Caraka counts four bones in each vertebra, and his illustration shows a vertebra at the bottom of which are two transverse processes on either side of a spinous process (1987, pp. 151–52). Perhaps these processes are the “roots” mentioned in this verse. Yijing’s translation of the sūtra as included in the Mūla­sarvāstivāda­vinaya reads “four eight” (si ba [四八]), while the version of his translation in the Ratnakūṭa, which corresponds to the present text, reads “four parts” (si fen [四分]). Toh 6 does not mention roots. Instead, it says that the bones of the ribs of the back (rgyab kyi rtsib ma’i rus pa) number thirty. This number corresponds to the total number of bones in the vertebral column according to Suśruta (Hoernle, 1987, p. 152).

n.92Likely the parts of the body.

n.93For this translation, based on the Chinese sao 梢, see Kritzer 2014, p. 145, n. 818.

n.94According to D, J, and Q, “it resembles a filthy device.” Here we have accepted the readings of L, N, P, and S, which agree with the Chinese.

n.95Tib. zhag ser. We have followed the Chinese huang zhi 黄脂, which means “yellow fat,” but what that means is unclear. The only other occurrence of this term in the Taishō Tripiṭaka is in Ōjōyōshū 往生要集 by Genshin 源信, where these verses are quoted (Taishō 2682.41b3). On the other hand, in several lists of body parts, a word for “fat” immediately precedes a word for “lymph” or “joint fluid,” Tibetan chu ser, Sanskrit lasīkā (see, for example, Glass 2007, p. 53), and ser in this verse could conceivably be short for chu ser.

n.96Tib. klad rgyas dag ni klad pas gang. The words klad rgyas and klad pa are problematic. klad rgyas can mean either “brain membrane” or “brains,” while klad pa can mean either “brains” or “head.” We have followed the Chinese here.

n.97It is strange that klad rgyas is repeated here. The Chinese reads fang gao 肪膏, “fat.” Jäschke (1881, p. 8), referring to “Sch.,” presumably Schmidt’s Tibetan-German dictionary of 1841, says that klad rgyas is equivalent to lha ba, “the bloody marrow in the bones.” However, this definition could not be found in Schmidt’s dictionary, nor could it be confirmed independently. Perhaps the Tibetan translator simply made a mistake here.

n.98According to Q, L, and S, it is the Bhagavān who speaks this verse. We accept the reading of D, F, J, and N, on the basis of the Chinese. In addition, Toh 6 clearly indicates that it is Nanda who speaks the verses.

n.99bstabs pa. Other readings include F bstams pa, Q bstab pa, N bslab pa, and S bstan pa.

n.100The Chinese simply says, “The maturation of results returns and the very one (who performed the action) receives it” (guo bao hai zi shou 果報還自受).

n.101Tib. mnyen ldan. This name is obscure. F, as well as Toh 6, give it as gnyen ldan, which seems to translate the Sanskrit bandhumatī. The Chinese qinhui (親慧) also appears to be a translation of bandhumatī; however, instead of taking matī in the sense of “possessing,” the Chinese understands it as mati, “intelligence.” If we assume that mnyen ldan is simply a variant spelling of gnyen ldan, it would appear that the Tibetan translator either was looking at a Sanskrit manuscript that differed from the one from which the Chinese was translated or was independently familiar with the Sanskrit place name and knew what it meant.

n.102That is, to become a monk.

n.103Langenberg notes that these three items correspond to similar items typically used to welcome guests in Tibet and suggests that the “list is maybe ‘Tibetanized’ ” (2008, p. 207, n. 56). The Chinese mentions only “many flags and parasols” (zhong fan kai 衆幡蓋); this supports Langenberg’s conjecture.

n.104This refers to the merit that results from making offerings to and performing other acts of reverence and service for exalted individuals such as buddhas, pratyekabuddhas, arhats, bodhisattvas, members of the monastic community, and so forth. The analogy is to planting seeds that will bear fruit.

n.105The Chinese here says that he entered the bliss of the supreme dhyāna and liberation. Toh 6, on the other hand, says that he experienced the bliss of dhyāna and liberation, samādhi, and samāpatti. It seems as though the text is not being very precise about the pratyekabuddha’s meditation.

n.106Tib. rus bu. Q lus (“body”).

n.107Tib. bla ma, probably for the Sanskrit uttara. The Chinese does not give a name.