Colophon
c.1It is said in the original Jangpa manuscript:
This [Tibetan translation of] The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines has been edited twice on the basis of the original “gold manuscript,” which had been [commissioned as] a commitment of the spiritual mentor Nyanggom Chobar, and it has also been edited on the basis of the manuscript kept at Yerpa. Since it is extant, scribes of posterity should copy [the text] according to this version alone.
c.2In the [recast] version of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines [Toh 3790] that was edited by master Haribhadra, and in some [other] manuscripts, the text ends with the seventy-first chapter entitled “Unchanging Reality.” In certain [other] manuscripts, including the original (phyi mo) [Toh 9], there are seventy-six chapters, with [F.380.b] the addition of the [seventy-second] chapter entitled “Distinctions in the Training of a Bodhisattva,” the [seventy-third] chapter entitled “The Attainment of the Manifold Gateways of Meditative Stability by the Bodhisattva Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fourth] chapter entitled “Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fifth] chapter entitled “Dharmodgata,” and the [seventy-sixth] chapter entitled “Entrustment.” This accords with earlier accounts and the authentic records of teachings received. Insofar as there are distinctions in the translation of these five later chapters, I have seen a few manuscripts where the terminology is slightly dissimilar, although there are no differences in meaning.
c.3In general, throughout the present text there are all sorts of unique allusions and variations in the elaboration of the points that are expressed. In particular, in the chapter entitled “The Introductory Narrative,” there are some passages where the text corresponds to The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.
OṂ SVĀSTIRespectfully served by Indra, mighty lord of the gods, and others,The supreme guides, best of humankind, embodying the three buddha bodies,Are supreme in liberation, the path of liberation, and the provisions—Objects of homage for all embodied beings and lord protectors.In the perspective of the divine path where emptiness and compassion are indivisible,May the conquerors and their heirs again bestow excellent merits,Causing a downpour of nectar of spiritual and temporal well-beingFrom the dense accumulating clouds of enlightened activity!The supreme source of the marvelous attributes of existence and quiescence,Monarch of supreme eloquence who reigns over needs and wants,Is a manifestly high support, like the pinnacle of a victory banner—May this supreme support enhance the glory of the Buddhist teaching!Although the sequences of the manifold vehicles are infiniteOwing to distinctions between disciples, who are low and high,They are subsumed in the three definitive piṭakas,Among which are the profound middle turning preceptsConcerning the absence of defining characteristics.Among these, the billion- line version extant in the domain of the gandharvas,The ten-million- line version extant in the domain of Śatakratu,And the hundred-thousand- line version extant in the domain of hooded nāgasWere established as the long, middle-length, and abridged versions of the extensive text.The twenty-five-thousand- line , eighteen-thousand- line , and ten-thousand- line versionsAre known as the long, middle-length, and abridged versions of the intermediate text.Many scholars profess that the eight-thousand- line version and the verse summationAre respectively the abridged and extremely abridged texts.Alternatively, the versions in one hundred thousand lines ,Twenty-five thousand lines , and eight thousand linesAre respectively known as the long, medium, and short texts.Among these, the long version fell as a downpour of kingly power,Inexhaustible as an offering lamp for living beings, without partiality.In order that the excellent merit of the teaching and living beings might yet again increase,Lord [Tenpa Tsering], who bestows the good fortune of resourcesFor the sustenance of spacious Degé—A great community endowed with the ten virtuous actions—Instantly opened countless doors of the inexhaustible treasure-store of space,Containing the gems of the twenty-five-thousand- line version—it was a wondrous springtime. [F.381.a]Acting in service of the entire teaching impartially,Stealing the pride of the mighty long-living [gods],In the great palace of Lhundrubteng,A seminary triumphant over all directions,Bastion of the twofold tradition [of sūtra and tantra]Enveloped by the white parasol of the glorious Sakya school,During the water tiger year, also known as Śubhakṛta,At the time when the youthful face of the Jyeṣṭha moon made her appearance,Her surface resembling translucent crystal,He completed this task with two hundred and fifty elite [wood] carversThrough the excellence of meritorious circumstances.By this virtuous action I dedicate meritThat king [Tenpa Tsering] might have a long life and stable rule,Sustaining the spacious kingdom with the bliss of the perfect age,And that living beings, exemplified by those with auspicious connections,Might attain the rank of liberation, the four buddha bodies!c.15At the time when the carving of the xylographs of this very text, along with those of the Multitude of the Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka), was completed, in the presence of King Tenpa Tsering, the ruler of Degé, the beggar monk Tashi Wangchuk composed these verses at Sharkha Dzongsar Palace, where the wood-carving workshop was based. May they be victorious!
c.16ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetun teṣāṃ tathāgato bhavat āha teṣāṃ ca yo nirodho evaṃ vādī mahāśramaṇaḥ [ye svāhā]
“Whatever events arise from causes, the Tathāgata has told of their causes, and the great ascetic has also taught their cessation.”