Notes

n.1See the appendix for an outline of the various sections of this sūtra.

n.2See The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharma­smṛtyupasthāna, Toh 287), 5.38 et seq. See also Kritzer, forthcoming.

n.3See The Sections of Dharma (Dharmaskandha, Toh 245), 1.26 et seq.

n.4See The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Daśa­sāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā, Toh 11), 31.20.

n.5See The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95), 21.159.

n.6See The Inquiry of Lokadhara (Lokadhara­paripṛcchā, Toh 174), 6.4.

n.7See Garrett 2008.

n.8Kritzer 2013.

n.9The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Dwelling in the Womb (Ārya­nanda­garbhāvakrānti­nirdeśa, Toh 57).

n.10See Denkarma, folio 296.a, and Herrmann-Pfandt, pp. 24–25. The other early inventory, the Phangthangma, 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.11See Butön, folio 147.a. Chomden Rikpai 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.12In 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.13Kritzer 2012.

n.14Chutai hui has been translated into modern Japanese in the Kokuyaku issaikyō series (Hōshaku bu 3, pp. 203–17), as has Rutai jing (Hōshaku bu 3, pp. 218–56). Western-language translations of versions of the sūtra include Amy Paris Langenberg’s English translation of Toh 57 as part of her PhD thesis (2008), Franz Huebotter’s German translation of Baotai jing (1932), Robert Kritzer’s translation of The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Dwelling in the Womb for 84000 (mngal du gnas pa, Toh 57, 2024), 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.15Adapted from Kritzer 2014b, pp. 181–82.

n.16Ueyama 1967, p. 178.

n.17bcu 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.18Chinese: Rutai 入胎, “Entrance into the Womb.”

n.19The 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.20At this point, all other versions, Chinese and Tibetan, say something to the effect that, due to karma, the great elements are all present and enable the kalala to grow.

n.21Degé reads mdzod ka, which has no meaning. The reading mdzod kha has been adopted, which corresponds to the original Chinese (zang kou 藏口, Taishō 310.323a17) and is found in Lhasa, folio 413.b, as well as in Toh 57, folio 214.b.

n.22Tib. nang rab tu ’byed pa. The Chinese differs: “gather and receive” (she qu 攝取, Taishō 310.323a21).

n.23Tib. mchi gu. The Chinese differs: “warm(ing) stone” (wen shi 温石, Taishō 310.323a22). Other versions of the sūtra explicitly call this stage ghana .

n.24Tib. rkang lag ’gyur ba sgyur bar byed pas gor gor po gang yin pa de rnam par phye nas. The Chinese differs: “turns the ghana into a praśākha” (ling jia na zhuan wei ban luo she qu 令伽那轉爲般羅奢佉, Taishō 310.323a24), praśākha being a name given to the embryo at this stage of development.

n.25Tib. bu ni ma mngal gnas pa na/ /mngal gnas de la phan ’dogs pas/ /des na lus srog rab gnas shing / /rim gyis skye dang ’phel bar byed/ /mas ni zos shing ’thungs pa dag /mngal na gnas na phan ’dogs pas/ /rim gyis skye dang (for tshad nga) ’phel bar byed/ /. The Chinese differs significantly: “That child having dwelt in the mother’s womb for thirteen weeks, Its body experiences emptiness and weakness And immediately produces a notion of hunger and thirst. That which is eaten and drunk by the mother Nourishes the being in the womb. Due to this, its body and life persist, And it gradually grows and increases. (qi zi chu mutai yi jing shisan qi shen ji jue xu lei bian sheng jike xiang mu suoyou yinshi zi yi yu tai zhong you ci shenming cun jianjian er zengzhang 其子處母胎 已經十三七 身即覺虚羸 便生飢渇想 母所有飮食 滋益於胎中 由此身命存 漸漸而増長, Taishō 310.323c1–4.)

n.26For this translation, see Kritzer 2014a (an edition and annotated translation of the version of Garbhāvakrānti­sūtra in the Tibetan Mūla­sarvāstivāda­vinaya ), p. 59, n. 279.

n.27According to the Chinese, this is the previous wind, i.e., the wind from week eighteen.

n.28According to the Chinese, there are three hip and groin bones, probably what is called trika (“triple”) in Sanskrit, referring to the triangular bone called “sacrum” in English. The Tibetan translator seems to have misunderstood the Chinese, which counts three bones in total, not three bones each.

n.29According to the Chinese, there are thirteen chest bones. Other versions of the sūtra mention seven chest bones.

n.30A calculation of the totals yields 212 bones in the Tibetan and 192 bones in the Chinese. Perhaps some of the bones mentioned above are considered to be “fine bones,” and hence not included in the total. Otherwise, it is difficult to account for the number 200 in the Tibetan. The Chinese also gives a total of 200, which is even more difficult to explain than the Tibetan.

n.31Emended to pags pa from Degé lag pa (“hand”) on the basis of the Chinese, Toh 57, and Taishō 317.

n.32Tib. rab tu dang bar byed. The Chinese differs: “nourishes it” (zirun 滋潤, Taishō 310.324b2).

n.33This refers to the sort of body being described in general.

n.34Tib. rtswa’i. This is probably a misreading of cao 草 (“grass”), which resembles ge 革 (“leather”).

n.35Tib. thogs pa’i rkyen. This is a translation of the Chinese ju yuan 拘縁 (“seize conditions”) which is probably a mistake for ju yuan 拘櫞 (“citron”); see Kritzer (2014a, p. 72, n. 386).

n.36Tib. pa ha na, for Sanskrit vāhana [?] (“chariot,” “horse,” etc.); Chinese: an sheng 鞍乘.

n.37Tib. rkan ldan. The Chinese differs: “having jaws,” you e 有腭 (Taishō 310.325a18).

n.38Tib. khab mchu. The Chinese differs: “needle mouth,” zhen kou 針口 (Taishō 310.325a21–22).

n.39“Hand net” in the Chinese.

n.40Tib. mu kha. The Chinese differs: “salt mouth,” yan kou 鹽口 (Taishō 310.325a21–22).

n.41Tib. po ta ra ka. Presumably a transliteration of Sanskrit poṭaraka. The Chinese differs: “breast wrinkles,” yi zhou 臆皺; see Kritzer 2012, p. 140.

n.42Tib. khong rde. This is not found in dictionaries. The translation is based on the Chinese, gan xiao 乾消 (Taishō 310.325c14).

n.43A type of skin disease.

n.44With saṃsāra.

n.45Tib.: chos. Chinese: fa 法. It is not clear whether this refers to the teaching or to nirvāṇa.