Introduction

i.1The Teaching on the Inconceivable Scope of a Buddha, which is the thirty-fifth sūtra in the Heap of Jewels (Tib. dkon brtsegs, Skt. ratnakūṭa) collection, proceeds in two parts.

i.2The first part is largely a philosophical discourse between the Buddha, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī, and the elder Subhūti on the subject of “the scope of a buddha” (Skt. buddhaviṣaya, Tib. sangs rgyas kyi yul). As becomes clear, the scope of a buddha here refers to the perceptual range of the awakened state, which transcends the duality of ordinary perception, and is therefore beyond the capacity of the ordinary mind to conceive. When the Buddha asks Mañjuśrī where this scope of a buddha may be found, he replies, “In the afflictions of all sentient beings.” He continues, “The nature of the scope of a buddha is also the nature of all afflictions.”

i.3Mañjuśrī’s answer reflects a recurrent theme in Mahāyāna literature, namely the inseparability of saṃsāra‍—the suffering world that all who are not awakened inhabit‍—and nirvāṇa‍—the state that transcends this suffering world. In the ensuing discussion, Mañjuśrī invokes a series of paradoxical responses that culminate in the statement that neither is he besotted with nor free of the three poisons‍—attachment, hatred, and delusion‍—since he has realized the “sameness of all phenomena in the expanse of reality.” The śrāvaka disciple Subhūti, a figure often present during philosophical discourses of this nature, then joins the discussion, and Mañjuśrī explains to him how bodhisattvas manage to cultivate the ultimate view while still remaining involved in the affairs of the world so as to lead others from saṃsāra.

i.4The sūtra then transitions to an exploration of a different type of inconceivability. In attendance is a god, Śrībhadra, who, delighted by Mañjuśrī’s teaching, invites him to come to his own home world, the Heaven of Joy, to teach the Dharma to the gods there. Without answering, Mañjuśrī decides to do Śrībhadra one better. Instead of traveling to the Heaven of Joy, he miraculously manifests the entire heaven‍—along with all its beautiful gardens, ornate architectural features, and vivacious attending goddesses‍—there and then. All who witness this are awestruck, and the Buddha extols Mañjuśrī’s ability to conjure “inconceivable miraculous manifestations.”

i.5In the second part of the sūtra, Māra Pāpīyān (lit. “Wicked Māra”), who is also present at that assembly in the guise of a monk, asks for proof of the extravagant claims that the Buddha has made about Mañjuśrī’s magical powers. This request seems somewhat discontinuous with what immediately precedes it, since Mañjuśrī has just concluded his inconceivable manifestation of the Heaven of Joy for Śrībhadra, which Māra seems to have missed. In any event, in response to Māra’s request, Mañjuśrī again produces inconceivable manifestations. Witnessing these miraculous powers, faith is kindled in the awestruck Māra, who promises that he will henceforth never seek to harm anyone devoted to this sūtra, and he also reveals a dhāraṇī, or magical formula, that will provide protection against any obstructions caused by his kind.

i.6Following this interlude with Māra, Mañjuśrī then returns to the god Śrībhadra’s initial request and agrees to travel to the Heaven of Joy to teach its divine inhabitants. Mañjuśrī’s teaching in the Heaven of Joy takes up the remainder of the sūtra. This teaching has a rather different tenor from that which preceded it in the first half. Here Mañjuśrī offers a detailed survey of how to cultivate the bodhisattva path. Several sets of eight outline how to purify moral discipline, learning, meditative concentration, wisdom, higher perceptions, gnosis, certainty, and heedfulness. Mañjuśrī also provides elaborations on how to correctly cultivate each of the six perfections in turn, and then gives a full account of all thirty-seven factors that lead to awakening, from the four applications of mindfulness and the four correct exertions through to the seven branches of awakening.

i.7The closing act of the sūtra involves another instance of miraculous display. Śrībhadra asks Mañjuśrī about a distant world called Light of All Good Qualities. Mañjuśrī confirms he knows this world, which is an unfathomable distance above them, where another buddha, Samantabhadra, is teaching. He sends light rays from his body, which are seen by the inhabitants of that world. When Samantabhadra is asked where these light rays came from, he answers in mirror form: from an unfathomable distance below, in a world called Sahā where the Buddha Śākyamuni resides and teaches. Samantabhadra then sends light back to Mañjuśrī’s assembly in the Heaven of Joy, revealing the gods and bodhisattvas there to those in Light of All Good Qualities.

i.8One bodhisattva named Holding the Lamp of Gnosis is inspired to visit Mañjuśrī in order to hear his Dharma, and arrives in the Heaven of Joy instantaneously with his own retinue of millions. Mañjuśrī then stays in the Heaven of Joy for some time, teaching the now inconceivably massive retinue comprising both the gods of the Heaven of Joy and their guests from the distant buddhafield. Eventually both the gods and their guests decide to pay the Buddha Śākyamuni a visit. They arrive in a flash and the guests from the distant buddhafield convey Samantabhadra’s greetings to the Buddha Śākyamuni. The sūtra ends on this note, with all those in attendance returning to their respective celestial homelands.

i.9Although the titular theme of the sūtra‍—the inconceivable scope of a buddha‍—is found throughout Buddhist texts, this sūtra itself does not appear to be widely cited in other works and no Sanskrit versions appear to be extant today. There is, however, a Chinese translation of the sūtra, made by Bodhiruci in the late seventh century ᴄᴇ, which is included twice in the Taishō canon as Taishō 310-35 and Taishō 340.

i.10The version of The Teaching on the Inconceivable Scope of a Buddha found in the Tibetan Kangyur was translated and edited under imperial Tibetan patronage in the early ninth century by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Munivarman, along with the great editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, a team that also worked together on other texts in the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa) collection. The colophon also states that the translation was finalized according to the revised translation terminology established by imperial decree in the early ninth century. This dating is confirmed by the text’s inclusion in the Denkarma imperial catalog. It is not, however, included in the Phangthangma catalog.

i.11This translation was made from the version found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variants listed in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. This is to our knowledge the first full translation of the sūtra into English.