Introduction

i.1The Chapter on Mañjuśrī’s Magical Display provides a teaching on the subject of the appropriate conduct for bodhisattvas. Set in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, on the outskirts of Śrāvastī, the sūtra is framed primarily as a conversation between the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī and the god Great Light, while the Buddha listens to their dialog and occasionally comments. The god Great Light poses a series of questions to Mañjuśrī as to how bodhisattvas should conduct themselves properly and avoid the negative influence of Māra. While these questions generally deal with basic tenets of Buddhism and monastic conduct, Mañjuśrī’s answers prioritize intention and proper view over actions themselves.

i.2Midway through the text, the evil demon Māra makes an appearance in the form of a dark cloud (1.­51). He is caught and bound by Mañjuśrī, who transforms him into a propagator of the Buddha’s teaching. In the section that follows, Māra unwillingly responds to questions from elder members of the sangha concerning proper conduct as well as the bodhisattva path. At the end of this section, the god Susīma requests Mañjuśrī to free Māra (1.­75). Mañjuśrī responds by saying that Māra was never physically bound, just as beings are not truly bound by suffering either. In fact, both can be liberated by understanding the empty nature of their perceived bonds. Following this section, Mañjuśrī resumes his answers to questions about the bodhisattva path.

i.3Throughout the sūtra, conventional aspects of the Buddhist path, from generosity and discipline to insight and wisdom, are framed within an understanding of the empty nature of phenomena. In response to questions about the most appropriate conduct, Mañjuśrī teaches that the primary concern must be the proper view, rather than physical actions. Likewise, while Māra is bound by Mañjuśrī’s power, he explains to the elder Upāli that upholding monastic discipline, too, is dependent upon understanding the empty nature of phenomena. Although the sūtra teaches that the view of ultimate truth is paramount, it also makes clear that bodhisattvas must engage with beings on the conventional level for the sake of helping others. In this way, skillful means and insight, which are so central to the path of the Mahāyāna, are united.

i.4The Chapter on Mañjuśrī’s Magical Display is prominently placed in the Degé Kangyur as the fourth scripture in the General Sūtra section. It appears to have been an influential scripture in both India and Tibet, as it is quoted by scholars as prominent as Vasubandhu (fourth–fifth century ᴄᴇ), Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (sgam po pa bsod nams rin chen, 1079–1153), and Longchen Rabjam (klong chen rab ’byams, 1308–1364). It also appears that this sūtra was at times confused with a similarly named sūtra, The Play of Mañjuśrī ( Mañjuśrī­vikrīḍita­sūtra, Toh 96).

i.5While there is no extant Sanskrit or other Indic version of this text, we can trace its textual history back to at least 289 ᴄᴇ, when it was first translated into Chinese (Taishō 589). The translator was the monk Dharmarakṣa, who was one of the most important translators of Mahāyāna Buddhist texts in China; he was responsible for the translation of around 150 texts, including the first Chinese version of the Lotus Sūtra. Another text identified with this title was translated into Chinese in 427 ᴄᴇ by Zhi Yan and Bao Yun (Taishō 590), although it is much shorter and contains other differences in content that make its precise identity difficult to determine without further research. We can reliably date the Tibetan translation to the early ninth century at the latest, as it appears in the imperial Denkarma (ldan kar ma) catalog. The translators for the Tibetan version were the translator-editor Yeshé Dé and the Indian preceptors Śīlendrabodhi and Jinamitra. This sūtra was also translated into Mongolian and Korean and included in their respective canons.

i.6This translation was prepared primarily based on the Degé Kangyur version of The Magical Display of Mañjuśrī. The Stok Palace manuscript and the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) were also consulted for variant readings.