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}}{{VerseVariation | }}{{VerseVariation | ||
|VariationLanguage=Tibetan | |VariationLanguage=Tibetan | ||
|VariationOriginal= | |VariationOriginal=ཇི་བཞིན་ཡང་དག་མཐོང་བའི་ཕྱིར། །<br>སྐྱེ་སོགས་རྣམས་ལས་འདས་གྱུར་ཀྱང་། །<br>སྙིང་རྗེའི་བདག་ཉིད་སྐྱེ་བ་དང་། །<br>འཆི་དང་རྒ་དང་ན་བར་སྟོན། ། | ||
|VariationOriginalSource=[https://adarsha.dharma-treasure.org/kdbs/degetengyur/pbs/2380996 Dege, PHI, 114] | |VariationOriginalSource=[https://adarsha.dharma-treasure.org/kdbs/degetengyur/pbs/2380996 Dege, PHI, 114] | ||
|VariationTrans=Due to their character of compassion,<br>They display birth, death, aging, and sickness,<br>[But] they are beyond birth and so on<br>Because they see [the basic element] as it really is. | |VariationTrans=Due to their character of compassion,<br>They display birth, death, aging, and sickness,<br>[But] they are beyond birth and so on<br>Because they see [the basic element] as it really is. | ||
|VariationTransSource=[[When the Clouds Part]], [[Brunnhölzl, K.|Brunnhölzl]], 379 <ref>[[Brunnhölzl, Karl]]. [[When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra]]. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.</ref> | |VariationTransSource=[[When the Clouds Part]], [[Brunnhölzl, K.|Brunnhölzl]], 379 <ref>[[Brunnhölzl, Karl]]. [[When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra]]. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.</ref> | ||
}}{{VerseVariation | |||
|VariationLanguage=Chinese | |||
|VariationOriginal=而依慈悲力故示現生老病死而遠離生等以見如實故<br>(This verse is not marked as such in the Chinese translation.) | |||
|VariationOriginalSource=http://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/en/T31n1611_p0833c07 | |||
}} | }} | ||
|EnglishCommentary=::'''Due to their character of compassion''', | |||
::'''They display birth, death, aging, and sickness''', | |||
::'''[But] they are beyond birth and so on''' | |||
::'''Because they see [the basic element] as it really is.''' I.68 | |||
Bodhisattvas who are united with roots of virtue,<ref>I follow MA °''saṃyojanā hi bodhisattvāḥ'' (supported by DP ''bhang chub sems dpa’ rnams ni . . . kun tu sbyor ba can'') against J ''saṃyojanād dhi bodhisattvāḥ''.</ref> by relying on their mastery over [taking] birth as they wish, connect with [saṃsāra] in its three realms due to their compassion. '''They display birth''', and they also display '''aging, sickness, and death'''. However, these phenomena of birth and so on do not exist in them because they see the lack of birth and the lack of arising of the basic element '''as it really is'''. | |||
This phase of bodhisattvas is to be understood in detail according to the ''[Sāgaramatiparipṛcchā]sūtra'', which says: | |||
<blockquote>"What are the afflictions that continue saṃsāra and are associated with roots of virtue? They are as follows. [Bodhisattvas] are never content with [their efforts in] seeking out the accumulation of merit, take birth in [saṃsāric] existence as they wish, earnestly desire to meet buddhas, are never weary of maturing sentient beings,<ref>VT (fol. 13r3) glosses ''aparikhedaḥ'' as "unimpeded"with regard to maturing sentient beings.</ref> make efforts in grasping the genuine dharma, exert themselves in whatever is to be done for sentient beings, are never separated from the motivation of desiring the dharma, and do not abandon their union with the pāramitās. Sāgaramati, these are the afflictions that are associated with roots of virtue, through which bodhisattvas connect [with saṃsāra], but they are never affected by the flaws of these afflictions."<br>Then [Sāgaramati] said, {P103b} "Bhagavan, if these are roots of virtue, for what reason are they called ‘afflictions’?"<br>[The Bhagavān] answered, "Sāgaramati, it is as follows. It is through afflictions of such a nature that bodhisattvas connect with [saṃsāra] in its three realms. [Saṃsāra] in its three realms arises from afflictions. Now, {D100a} it is through their skill in means and through bringing about the power of their roots of virtue<ref>I follow MA ''kuśalamūlabalādhānena'' and MB ''kuśalamūlabalādhādhānena'' (dittography of –''dhā'') against J ''kuśalamūlabalānvādhānena''.</ref> that bodhisattvas connect with [saṃsāra] in its three realms as they wish. Therefore, [these afflictions] are called ‘afflictions that are associated with roots of virtue.’ [They are called ‘afflictions’] because they connect [bodhisattvas] with [saṃsāra] in its three realms for as long as [these realms] exist, but not because they afflict their minds.<br> | |||
O Sāgaramati, suppose there were a distinguished<ref>DP "merchant or householder" (''tshong dpon nam khyim bdag'').</ref> householder’s only son, who is beloved, handsome, attractive, and lovely to behold. This boy, being a child, would fall into a pit of excrement while dancing. Then the family and the relatives<ref>MB reads ''matṛjñātayaḥ'', which accords with DP and the Chinese translations of this sūtra, while the Tibetan translation has *''mātṛmitrajñāyataḥ''. MA ''mātāpitṛjñātayaḥ'' accords with C and is also found in VT (fol. 13r3), but the latter unravels this compound to mean "the relatives of father and mother (''mātāpitṛṇāṃ jñātayaḥ'')." The translation follows Schmithausen, who prefers the reading of MA since ''mātāpitṛ'' can also mean "family." As such, it does not have to include the father, who only appears later on the scene. </ref> of this boy would see that the boy has fallen into that pit of excrement. Upon seeing this, they would sigh deeply, wail, and lament. However, they would not [be able to] enter that pit of excrement {J48} and pull out the boy. Then the father of this boy would come to this place and see his only son fallen into the pit of excrement. Upon seeing that, out of [his fatherly] love, he would wish to seize<ref>I follow Schmithausen’s suggestion °''adhyālamba''° (supported by DP '' ’don pa'') against °''adhyāśaya''°.</ref> his only son, thus hurrying to enter the pit of excrement very quickly without feeling any disgust and pulling him out.<br>Sāgaramati, this example is given in order to make a certain meaning understood. What is to be regarded as the meaning<ref>I follow MA ''kaḥ punar artho draṣṭavyaḥ'' (supported by DP ''don gang yin par lta zhe na'') against J ''kaḥ prabhando draṣṭavyaḥ'' and MB ''purartho''. </ref> [illustrated by this example]? Sāgaramati, "the pit of excrement" is a designation for [saṃsāra] in its three realms. "The only son" is a designation for sentient beings. [For] bodhisattvas entertain the notion about all sentient beings that they are [like] their only son. "The mother and the relatives" {P104a} is a designation for the persons who belong to the yānas of śrāvakas and pratyekabuddhas. [For] upon seeing sentient beings fallen into saṃsāra, they wail and lament, but they are not able to pull them out. "The distinguished householder" is a designation for bodhisattvas who are pure and stainless, possess a mind that is free from stains, and have directly realized the unconditioned dharma {D100b} [but still] link up with [saṃsāra] in its three realms for the sake of maturing sentient beings as they wish. Sāgaramati, such is the great compassion of bodhisattvas that they, despite being completely liberated from all fetters, again assume birth in [saṃsāric] existence. By virtue of being skilled in means and being embraced by prajñā, they are not harmed<ref>I follow MA/MB ''hanyate'' (DP ''gnod'') against J ''lipyate''.</ref> by [their own] afflictions and teach the dharma to sentient beings in order to relinquish all the fetters of their afflictions."<ref>D152, fols. 85b.5–86b.4. </ref></blockquote> | |||
The instruction in this sūtra passage explains the [tathāgata element’s] phase of being both impure and pure because (1) bodhisattvas who have gained mastery for the sake of acting for the benefit of others connect with births in [saṃsāric] existence through the powers of their roots of virtue and of their compassion as they wish and (2) because they are not afflicted by this [saṃsāric existence] through the powers of their [skill in] means and prajñā.<ref>Compare the detailed discussion of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis deliberately retaining subtle portions of the afflictions in order to be able to take rebirth in saṃsāra for the welfare of sentient beings, while not being affected by these afflictions or saṃsāra, in the Eighth Karmapa’s commentary on the ''Abhisamayālaṃkāra'' (Brunnhölzl 2010, 549–59, 589–90, and 596 and Brunnhölzl 2011b, 135–36).</ref> | |||
Here, the manner in which<ref>gainst ''yadā'' in MB and J, but with Schmithausen, I follow MA ''yathā'' (P ''ji lta bar'' [text: ''ba’i'']) as the correlate of ''tathā'' in the text below.</ref> bodhisattvas, upon having arrived at seeing the lack of birth and the lack of arising of the tathāgata element as it really is, attain that true nature of a bodhisattva should be understood in detail according to the [same] sūtra, which says: | |||
<blockquote>Sāgaramati, look at phenomena’s lack of an essence, lack of a creator, lack of an identity, lack of a sentient being, lack of a life force, {J49} lack of a person, and lack of an owner. {P104b} Indeed, they are [simply] created as one wishes. Being thus created,<ref>DP omit "created" in the preceding sentence and "Being thus created," but the Sanskrit quote accords with D152.</ref> they do not think or imagine. Sāgaramati, bodhisattvas who believe that phenomena are [thus] created<ref>DP ''gzhan du mi ’gyur ba’i chos''.</ref> do not give rise to weariness<ref>DP ''khong khro''.</ref> of any phenomenon. Their vision of wisdom is immaculate and pure, [seeing] that there is nothing here that causes benefit or harm. In this way, they know the true nature of phenomena as it really is and never cast off the armor of great compassion.<br> | |||
O Sāgaramati, suppose there were a priceless precious jewel of beryl, {D101a} excellently polished, excellently pure, and excellently stainless. Suppose [this jewel] would be thrown into the mud and would remain there for a thousand years. After these thousand years have passed, it would be pulled out of the mud and would be washed and cleansed. Having been rinsed well, perfectly purified, and perfectly polished, it would never lose its nature of being such a pure and stainless precious jewel.<br> | |||
Likewise, Sāgaramati, bodhisattvas know the natural luminosity of the mind of sentient beings, but they [also] see that this [luminosity] is afflicted by adventitious proximate afflictions. Now, bodhisattvas think as follows, "These afflictions do not enter the natural luminosity of the mind of sentient beings. These afflictions are adventitious and are produced by false imagination. I am able to teach the dharma in order to remove the adventitious afflictions of these sentient beings." In this way, a fainthearted state of mind never arises in them. [Instead,] with much greater intensity than such [potential faintheartedness] and in an immediate manner, they give rise to the mind-set for liberating all sentient beings. They also think thus, "These afflictions do not have any power or strength. These afflictions are powerless and of weak power. They have no real foundation. {J50} These afflictions {P105a} are false imagination. When examined with proper mental engagement that accords with true reality, they do not stir.<ref>DP ''khro bar mi gyur''.</ref> We should scrutinize them in such a way that they may never adhere to us [again]. Indeed, it is good when the afflictions do not adhere, but it is not [good] when they do adhere. If the afflictions were to adhere to me, how could I teach the dharma for the sake of relinquishing the fetters of the afflictions of sentient beings who are bound by the fetters of the afflictions? Look, we will not adhere to the afflictions, so we shall teach the dharma to sentient beings in order to relinquish their fetters of the afflictions. {D101b} On the other hand, in order to mature sentient beings, we should adhere to those afflictions that connect us with saṃsāra and are associated with roots of virtue."<ref>D152, fol. 85a.2–85b.5.</ref></blockquote> | |||
Here, "saṃsāra" implies the three bodies of a mental nature in the uncontaminated basic element that are a reflection of [the bodies of beings in] the three realms. This is [referred to as] saṃsāra because it is formed by uncontaminated roots of virtue. It is also [referred to as] nirvāṇa because it is not formed by contaminated karma and afflictions. With regard to this, [the ''Śrīmālādevīsūtra''] says: | |||
::Therefore, Bhagavan, there is both conditioned and unconditioned saṃsāra. There is both conditioned and unconditioned nirvāṇa.<ref>D45.48, fol. 271b.2–3.</ref> | |||
Now, this is called "the phase of being impure and pure" because it entails the operation of minds<ref>DP omit "minds" (''sems''). </ref> and mental factors in which the conditioned and the unconditioned are mixed. Furthermore, this [phase] is primarily presented [as occurring] on the [sixth] bodhisattvabhūmi, [called] "The Facing" for the following [two] reasons. [On this bhūmi,] by virtue of having cultivated the unobstructed pāramitā of prajñā, [bodhisattvas] face<ref>I follow Schmithausen’s emendation of J ''āsravakṣayābhijñābhimukhy''° (MB °''ābhimukhyām'') to ''āsravakṣayābhijñābhimukhyād''. </ref> the supernatural knowledge of the termination of contaminations.<ref>This is the sixth and most supreme of the six supernatural knowledges, which only a buddha possesses. Here, bodhisattvas on the sixth bhūmi are said to be very close to this knowledge.</ref> [On the other hand,] by virtue of having cultivated great compassion, {P105b} they do not directly realize [this supernatural knowledge of the termination of contaminations] in order to [remain in saṃsāra and] protect all the basic elements of sentient beings. | |||
This is as described in the example of a city<ref> DP "man" (mi; Skt. ''nara'' instead of ''nagara'')</ref> for the wisdom of the termination of contaminations.<ref>This example in the ''Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchāsūtra'' (D45.47, fols. 241b.7–242.a5) describes a huge city free from suffering and with many pleasures, which can be reached by several dangerous roads. A man with a single son hears of it, leaves his child behind, and traverses all these dangerous paths. However, when he sets one foot on the thresh- old of the gate of this city, while his other foot is still outside, he remembers his son. Overwhelmed by his fatherly love for him and the worry about his well-being, the man does not enter the city, but returns to fetch his son in order to provide its pleasures for him too. What follows in our text here is the explanation of the meaning of this example. VT also mentions this example here and says that the father stands for bodhisattvas, while his only son exemplifies all sentient beings.</ref> | |||
<blockquote>Likewise, son of noble family, bodhisattvas give rise to the five supernatural knowledges through great effort, great vigor, and the firm cultivation of the superior intention. With their minds purified by dhyānas and supernatural knowledges, they come to face [the wisdom of] the termination of contaminations. [However,] by virtue of having generated the mind-set of great compassion, in order to protect all sentient beings, [instead of merging with the wisdom of the termination of contaminations, they consider sentient beings and therefore turn away from this wisdom and return, appearing even at the level of ordinary beings].<ref>Ibid., fol. 242a.5–7. The passage in "[ ]" is from this sūtra (''de snying rje chen po’i sems skyes nas sems can thams cad yongs su bskyab pa’i phyir zag pa zad pa’i ye shes ’dris par byas pa las sems can rnams la lta bas phyir phyogs te / slar log nas so so’i skye bo’i sa na yang kun du snang ngo /''). It seems that both the Sanskrit and DP are missing something here since the first part of this paragraph up through "in order to protect all sentient beings" is clearly an (unfinished) quotation, while the remainder is a further explanation of this quotation.</ref></blockquote> | |||
[Thus,] having trained in the wisdom of the termination of contaminations, {D102a} once again, {J51} by virtue of giving rise to unobstructed<ref>DP "unattached" (''chags pa med pa'') instead of "unobstructed" (''thogs pa med pa'').</ref> prajñā through their excellently purified mind, on the sixth [bhūmi] they come to face the termination of contaminations.<ref>As it stands, the text’s sentence sa ''mahākaruṇācittotpādena sarvasattvaparitrāṇāyāsravakṣayajñāne parijayaṃ kṛtvā punar api suparikarmakṛtacetāḥ ṣaṣṭhyām asaṅgaprajñotpādād āsravakṣaye ’bhimukhī bhavati'' includes the above phrase, "by virtue of having generated the mind-set of great compassion, in order to protect all sentient beings . . ." Thus, this sentence reads as something like: "Having trained in the wisdom of the termination of contaminations by virtue of having generated the mind-set of great compassion, in order to protect all sentient beings, once again, by virtue of giving rise to unobstructed prajñā through their excellently purified mind, they come to face [the wisdom of] the termination of contaminations on the sixth [bhūmi]." However, given the above example and its explanation in the sūtra as well as the text’s own explanations immediately above and below it, it appears to be unsuitable to connect "by virtue of having generated the mind-set of great compassion, in order to protect all sentient beings"with the cultivation of the wisdom of the termination of contaminations. Rather, it is to be connected with the fact that bodhisattvas do not enter this wisdom fully, but return to saṃsāra in order to help sentient beings.</ref> | |||
In this way, they attain mastery over the direct realization of the termination of contaminations on this bodhisattvabhūmi [called] "The Facing." Therefore, this is explained as the bodhisattvas’ phase [of the tathāgata element’s] being pure. [On the other hand,] by virtue of their character of correctly engaging [in the tathāgata element] and due to their great compassion, thinking, "I shall establish others too in this same correct engagement," they wish to protect sentient beings who engage in a wrong way. Having trained in the means for the bliss of peace without tasting it, out of consideration for sentient beings who are facing saṃsāra, [bodhisattvas] who are facing nirvāṇa<ref>With de Jong, I follow DP ''may ngan las ’das pa la mngon du phyogs pa (nirvāṇābhimukhasya'') against J ''nirvāṇavimukhasya''.</ref> rise from the dhyānas [that they cultivate] for the sake of completing [all] the factors [concordant with] awakening and again assume birth in the desire realm as they wish. Therefore, wishing to promote the welfare of sentient beings as quickly as possible, {P106a} they gain mastery over displaying the bodies of ordinary beings by way of [assuming] different births [even] in the forms of various animals. Therefore, this is explained as [the bodhisattvas’] phase [of the tathāgata element’s] being impure. | |||
|OtherTranslations=<h6>Obermiller (1931) <ref>Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.</ref></h6> | |OtherTranslations=<h6>Obermiller (1931) <ref>Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.</ref></h6> | ||
:As he has perceived the Absolute Truth, | :As he has perceived the Absolute Truth, | ||
Latest revision as of 12:22, 18 August 2020
Ratnagotravibhāga Root Verse I.68
Verse I.68 Variations
जन्ममृत्युजराव्याधीन् दर्शयन्ति कृपात्मकाः
जात्यादिवि निवृत्ताश्च यथाभूतस्य दर्शनात्
जात्यादिवि निवृत्ताश्च यथाभूतस्य दर्शनात्
janmamṛtyujarāvyādhīn darśayanti kṛpātmakāḥ
jātyādivi nivṛttāśca yathābhūtasya darśanāt
jātyādivi nivṛttāśca yathābhūtasya darśanāt
E. H. Johnston as input by the University of the West.[1]
ཇི་བཞིན་ཡང་དག་མཐོང་བའི་ཕྱིར། །
སྐྱེ་སོགས་རྣམས་ལས་འདས་གྱུར་ཀྱང་། །
སྙིང་རྗེའི་བདག་ཉིད་སྐྱེ་བ་དང་། །
འཆི་དང་རྒ་དང་ན་བར་སྟོན། །
སྐྱེ་སོགས་རྣམས་ལས་འདས་གྱུར་ཀྱང་། །
སྙིང་རྗེའི་བདག་ཉིད་སྐྱེ་བ་དང་། །
འཆི་དང་རྒ་དང་ན་བར་སྟོན། །
Due to their character of compassion,
They display birth, death, aging, and sickness,
[But] they are beyond birth and so on
Because they see [the basic element] as it really is.
They display birth, death, aging, and sickness,
[But] they are beyond birth and so on
Because they see [the basic element] as it really is.
而依慈悲力故示現生老病死而遠離生等以見如實故
(This verse is not marked as such in the Chinese translation.)
(This verse is not marked as such in the Chinese translation.)
Comme ils voient tel quel et correctement,
Ils dépassent la naissance et ses suites, Mais comme ils incarnent la compassion, Ils se montrent naissants, malades, vieux et morts.
Charrier, Christian and Patrick Carré. Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule. Plazac: Éditions Padmakara, 2019.
RGVV Commentary on Verse I.68
Tibetan
English
Sanskrit
Chinese
Full Tibetan Commentary
Full English Commentary
Full Sanskrit Commentary
Full Chinese Commentary
Other English translations
Obermiller (1931) [29]
- As he has perceived the Absolute Truth,
- He is delivered from birth and the other (stages of Phenomenal Life);
- But being full of Great Commiseration,
- He appears as (being subjected to) birth, death, decrepitude, and illness.
Takasaki (1966) [30]
- They, being full of mercy, make appearance
- Of birth, death, decrepitude and illness,
- Though they have got rid of birth, etc.
- Because of their perception of the truth.
Fuchs (2000) [31]
- Since they have seen reality as it is,
- they are beyond being born and so on.
- Yet, as the embodiment of compassion itself
- they display birth, illness, old age, and death.
Textual sources
Commentaries on this verse
Academic notes
- Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input
- Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.
- I follow MA °saṃyojanā hi bodhisattvāḥ (supported by DP bhang chub sems dpa’ rnams ni . . . kun tu sbyor ba can) against J saṃyojanād dhi bodhisattvāḥ.
- VT (fol. 13r3) glosses aparikhedaḥ as "unimpeded"with regard to maturing sentient beings.
- I follow MA kuśalamūlabalādhānena and MB kuśalamūlabalādhādhānena (dittography of –dhā) against J kuśalamūlabalānvādhānena.
- DP "merchant or householder" (tshong dpon nam khyim bdag).
- MB reads matṛjñātayaḥ, which accords with DP and the Chinese translations of this sūtra, while the Tibetan translation has *mātṛmitrajñāyataḥ. MA mātāpitṛjñātayaḥ accords with C and is also found in VT (fol. 13r3), but the latter unravels this compound to mean "the relatives of father and mother (mātāpitṛṇāṃ jñātayaḥ)." The translation follows Schmithausen, who prefers the reading of MA since mātāpitṛ can also mean "family." As such, it does not have to include the father, who only appears later on the scene.
- I follow Schmithausen’s suggestion °adhyālamba° (supported by DP ’don pa) against °adhyāśaya°.
- I follow MA kaḥ punar artho draṣṭavyaḥ (supported by DP don gang yin par lta zhe na) against J kaḥ prabhando draṣṭavyaḥ and MB purartho.
- I follow MA/MB hanyate (DP gnod) against J lipyate.
- D152, fols. 85b.5–86b.4.
- Compare the detailed discussion of bodhisattvas on the bhūmis deliberately retaining subtle portions of the afflictions in order to be able to take rebirth in saṃsāra for the welfare of sentient beings, while not being affected by these afflictions or saṃsāra, in the Eighth Karmapa’s commentary on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra (Brunnhölzl 2010, 549–59, 589–90, and 596 and Brunnhölzl 2011b, 135–36).
- gainst yadā in MB and J, but with Schmithausen, I follow MA yathā (P ji lta bar [text: ba’i]) as the correlate of tathā in the text below.
- DP omit "created" in the preceding sentence and "Being thus created," but the Sanskrit quote accords with D152.
- DP gzhan du mi ’gyur ba’i chos.
- DP khong khro.
- DP khro bar mi gyur.
- D152, fol. 85a.2–85b.5.
- D45.48, fol. 271b.2–3.
- DP omit "minds" (sems).
- I follow Schmithausen’s emendation of J āsravakṣayābhijñābhimukhy° (MB °ābhimukhyām) to āsravakṣayābhijñābhimukhyād.
- This is the sixth and most supreme of the six supernatural knowledges, which only a buddha possesses. Here, bodhisattvas on the sixth bhūmi are said to be very close to this knowledge.
- DP "man" (mi; Skt. nara instead of nagara)
- This example in the Ratnacūḍaparipṛcchāsūtra (D45.47, fols. 241b.7–242.a5) describes a huge city free from suffering and with many pleasures, which can be reached by several dangerous roads. A man with a single son hears of it, leaves his child behind, and traverses all these dangerous paths. However, when he sets one foot on the thresh- old of the gate of this city, while his other foot is still outside, he remembers his son. Overwhelmed by his fatherly love for him and the worry about his well-being, the man does not enter the city, but returns to fetch his son in order to provide its pleasures for him too. What follows in our text here is the explanation of the meaning of this example. VT also mentions this example here and says that the father stands for bodhisattvas, while his only son exemplifies all sentient beings.
- Ibid., fol. 242a.5–7. The passage in "[ ]" is from this sūtra (de snying rje chen po’i sems skyes nas sems can thams cad yongs su bskyab pa’i phyir zag pa zad pa’i ye shes ’dris par byas pa las sems can rnams la lta bas phyir phyogs te / slar log nas so so’i skye bo’i sa na yang kun du snang ngo /). It seems that both the Sanskrit and DP are missing something here since the first part of this paragraph up through "in order to protect all sentient beings" is clearly an (unfinished) quotation, while the remainder is a further explanation of this quotation.
- DP "unattached" (chags pa med pa) instead of "unobstructed" (thogs pa med pa).
- As it stands, the text’s sentence sa mahākaruṇācittotpādena sarvasattvaparitrāṇāyāsravakṣayajñāne parijayaṃ kṛtvā punar api suparikarmakṛtacetāḥ ṣaṣṭhyām asaṅgaprajñotpādād āsravakṣaye ’bhimukhī bhavati includes the above phrase, "by virtue of having generated the mind-set of great compassion, in order to protect all sentient beings . . ." Thus, this sentence reads as something like: "Having trained in the wisdom of the termination of contaminations by virtue of having generated the mind-set of great compassion, in order to protect all sentient beings, once again, by virtue of giving rise to unobstructed prajñā through their excellently purified mind, they come to face [the wisdom of] the termination of contaminations on the sixth [bhūmi]." However, given the above example and its explanation in the sūtra as well as the text’s own explanations immediately above and below it, it appears to be unsuitable to connect "by virtue of having generated the mind-set of great compassion, in order to protect all sentient beings"with the cultivation of the wisdom of the termination of contaminations. Rather, it is to be connected with the fact that bodhisattvas do not enter this wisdom fully, but return to saṃsāra in order to help sentient beings.
- With de Jong, I follow DP may ngan las ’das pa la mngon du phyogs pa (nirvāṇābhimukhasya) against J nirvāṇavimukhasya.
- Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.
- Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.
- Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.
