༄༅། །གར་ི་་མ་་།

Like Gold Dust

Suvarṇavālukopamā
 འཕགས་པ་གར་ི་་མ་་་ས་་བ་ག་པ་ན་ ་མ།
’phags pa gser gyi bye ma lta bu zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “Like Gold Dust”

Āryasuvarṇavālukopamānāmamahāyānasūtra

· Toh 126 ·
Degé Kangyur vol. 54 (mdo sde, tha), folios 293.a–296.a

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ

· Surendrabodhi · Prajñāvarman · Bandé Yeshé Dé ·
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co. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
1. Like Gold Dust
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
· Tibetan
· Western Languages
g. Glossary
s. SUMMARY
s.1 This sūtra presents a short dialogue between Ānanda and the Buddha on
the theme of limitlessness. In response to Ānanda’s persistent inquiries, the
Buddha uses analogies to illustrate both the limitlessness of the miraculous
abilities acquired by realized beings, and the limitless multiplicity of the
world systems in which bodhisattvas and buddhas are to be found.
s.2 The Buddha then concludes his teaching with a further analogy—
referenced in the sūtra’s title —to illustrate that although buddhas and
bodhisattvas are innumerable, it is nevertheless extremely rare and precious
to find a buddha within any given world system, or to find bodhisattvas who
engage sincerely in bodhisattva conduct. To encounter such beings, he says,
is as rare as finding a single grain of gold dust among all the sands of the
ocean, or all the sands of the mighty river Gaṅgā.
ac. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ac.1 A draft translation by Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Chodrungma Kunga
Chodron of the Sakya Pandita Translation Team was revised, introduced,
and edited by George FitzHerbert and finalized by members of the 84000
editorial team.
ac.2 The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Nathaniel Rich edited the
translation and the introduction, and Ven. Konchog Norbu copyedited the
text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
i. INTRODUCTION
i.1 The short Mahāyāna sūtra known as Like Gold Dust1 presents a dialogue in
which Ānanda questions the Buddha on the theme of limitlessness.
i.2 In response to Ānanda’s persistent inquiries, the Buddha illustrates, by
means of analogy, both the limitlessness of the miraculous abilities acquired
by realized beings, and the limitless multiplicity of the world systems in
which bodhisattvas and buddhas are found. The analogy he uses to illustrate
miraculous abilities is the extraordinary speed with which his disciple
Mahāmaudgalyāyana can travel across world systems. As a starting point for
trying to imagine such speed, the Buddha offers a vivid description of a fine
chariot racing through water so fast that the water does not even touch the
rims of its wheels. This, he goes on to explain, is but a vanishingly small
fraction of the speed with which Mahāmaudgalyāyana can traverse world
systems.2
i.3 The analogy is then extended to illustrate the limitless number of worlds
in which there are buddhas and bodhisattvas. If one were to travel in each of
the ten directions at this lightning speed for seven days and seven nights
without stopping, and then enclose the enormous area thus delimited within
a fence, and create in it a single gargantuan city, then the number of mustard
seeds it would take to completely fill such a city from top to bottom would
barely begin to approach the number of world systems in which
bodhisattvas are striving at various stages of the journey to awakening.
i.4 The Buddha then concludes his teaching with a further analogy—
referenced in the sūtra’s title —to illustrate that although buddhas and
bodhisattvas are innumerable, it is nevertheless extremely rare and precious
to find a buddha within any given world system, or to find a world system in
which bodhisattvas engage sincerely in bodhisattva conduct. To encounter
such things, he says, is as rare as finding a single grain of gold dust among
all the sands of the ocean, or all the sands of the mighty river Gaṅgā.
i.5 According to its colophon, the Tibetan translation of Like Gold Dust was
made by the Indian masters Surendrabodhi and Prajñāvarman working with
the Tibetan master translator and editor Yeshé Dé, indicating a translation
made during the height of the Tibetan imperial patronage of Buddhism in
the early ninth century ᴄᴇ. This is corroborated by the text’s inclusion in the
Denkarma imperial catalog.3
i.6 No extant parallel versions of this text have been identified in either
Sanskrit or Chinese. An English translation, together with a brief
introduction, is included in Peter Skilling’s recent anthology, Questioning the
Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.4
i.7 The present translation is based on the Tibetan as found in the Degé
Kangyur, with reference to the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the
Stok Palace Kangyur version.
The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
Like Gold Dust
1. The Translation
[F.293.a]

1.1 Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas. [F.293.b]

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying in Śrāvastī, in
Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park, along with a great saṅgha of
1,250 monks and many thousands of bodhisattvas.
1.2 Venerable Ānanda rose from his seat, draped his upper robe over one
shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, and bowing toward the
Blessed One with palms pressed together, asked the Blessed One, “Blessed
One, are thus-gone, worthy, perfectly complete buddhas limitless? Blessed
One, do thus-gone, worthy, perfectly complete buddhas possess limitless
good qualities?”
1.3 The Blessed One replied to Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, thus-gone,
worthy, perfectly complete buddhas are limitless. Ānanda, thus-gone,
worthy, perfectly complete buddhas possess limitless good qualities.”
1.4 Venerable Ānanda then asked the Blessed One a second time, “Blessed
One, are thus-gone, worthy, perfectly complete buddhas limitless? Blessed
One, do thus-gone, worthy, perfectly complete buddhas possess limitless
good qualities?”
1.5 The Blessed One replied to Venerable Ānanda a second, and also a third
time, “Yes, Ānanda, [F.294.a] thus-gone, worthy, perfectly complete buddhas
are limitless. Yes, Ānanda, thus-gone, worthy, perfectly complete buddhas
possess limitless good qualities.
1.6 “Ānanda, do you wish to hear of the limitlessness of thus-gone ones, to
know about the range of thus-gone ones,5 and to know of the good qualities
of thus-gone ones?”
1.7 “Yes, Blessed One, please teach the monks,” Venerable Ānanda replied.
“Please teach us, Well-Gone One. If the monks hear it from you directly, they
will retain it well.”
1.8 The Blessed One then asked Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, do you know
the miraculous powers with which Mahāmaudgalyāyana can travel in the
cardinal and intermediate directions?”
1.9 Ānanda replied, “Please tell us, Blessed One. With what miraculous
powers does Mahāmaudgalyāyana travel in the cardinal and intermediate
directions? Well-Gone One, please teach us.”
1.10 “Ānanda, I will illustrate it for you by means of an analogy,” said the
Blessed One. “Why? Because, Ānanda, learned people reach understanding
through analogies. Ānanda, take the analogy of a pool measuring eight
thousand leagues. It is so filled with water that a crow can drink from it, it is
of equal depth on all sides, and it is covered with lotus leaves. Over this pool
someone then rides an iron chariot pulled by fine horses that are stronger
than the wind. They race with such power, force, and speed that the wooden
rims of the wheels do not even touch the water, nor do the horses’ hooves
touch the water, and the lotus leaves are not crushed by the horses’ hooves,
not even slightly. [F.294.b] Ānanda, if a poisonous snake were to appear from
that pool and coil itself around the chariot eight times before the chariot had
left the lake, well, Ānanda, in the time it took to coil itself just once around
that chariot, you can give eight kinds of Dharma teaching and make them
understood. But in the time it takes you, Ānanda, to utter one word,
Mahāmaudgalyāyana can give eight kinds of Dharma teaching and make
them understood. However, Ānanda, in the time it takes
Mahāmaudgalyāyana to utter one word, the elder Śāradvatīputra can give
eight kinds of Dharma teaching and make them understood. Similarly, in the
time it takes the elder Śāradvatīputra to utter one word, a pratyekabuddha
can give innumerable kinds of Dharma teaching. And in the time it takes a
pratyekabuddha to utter one word, a bodhisattva can give unutterably and
inconceivably innumerable kinds of Dharma teaching and make them
understood.6 Well, Ānanda, in the time it takes a bodhisattva to utter just one
word, the elder Mahāmaudgalyāyana can traverse eighty thousand world
systems.
1.11 “Ānanda, imagine if one who has developed such a miraculous ability
traveled in this way in the eastern direction for seven days and nights
without rest, through however many world systems there may be; and then,
in the same way, traveled to the south, to the west, and to the north; and
likewise for seven days and nights without rest to the southeast, to the
southwest, to the northwest, the northeast, and likewise in the upward and
downward directions. Then, imagine someone enclosed all of those world
systems in the ten directions within a fence, and, having leveled the ground
and cleared it of rocks, stones, gravel, and debris, [F.295.a] made it into a
single city, and filled it right to the top with mustard seeds. Well, Ānanda, I
 see beings embarked upon awakening in world systems even more
numerous than the number of mustard seeds in that city. In world systems
even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas engaging in bodhisattva
conduct. In world systems even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas
taking birth among the gods of the Heaven of Joy. In world systems even
more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas seated among the gods of the
Heaven of Joy. In world systems even more numerous than that, I see
bodhisattvas dying among the gods of the Heaven of Joy. In world systems
even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas entering their mothers’
wombs. In world systems even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas
emerging from their mothers’ wombs. In world systems even more
numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas engaged in child’s play. In world
systems even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas abandoning their
kingdoms and going forth as renunciants. In world systems even more
numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas demonstrating the practice of
austerities. In world systems even more numerous than that, I see
bodhisattvas proceeding towards the seat of awakening. In world systems
even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas gazing upon the seat of
awakening. In world systems even more numerous than that, [F.295.b] I see
bodhisattvas circumambulating the seat of awakening three times with the
utmost devotion and respect. In world systems even more numerous than
that, I see bodhisattvas seated at the seat of awakening. In world systems
even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas seated before the Bodhi
tree. In world systems even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas
who will completely realize unsurpassed and perfectly complete awakening.
In world systems even more numerous than that, I see bodhisattvas who
have completely realized unsurpassed and perfectly complete awakening. In
world systems even more numerous than that, I see blessed buddhas
turning the wheel of Dharma. In world systems even more numerous than
that, I see blessed buddhas displaying the great parinirvāṇa.
1.12 “All of these are merely those bodhisattvas with fitting names and fitting
family lineages, which is not to mention those great bodhisattvas, in
whichever world systems, with different names and different family
lineages, who are renouncing, who are proceeding toward the seat of
awakening, who are gazing upon the seat of awakening, who are
circumambulating the seat of awakening, who are seated at the seat of
awakening, who are seated before the Bodhi tree, who are completely
awakened and have turned the wheel of Dharma, and who are displaying
the great parinirvāṇa.”
1.13 Venerable Ānanda then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, are there
any world systems in which blessed buddhas do not appear? [F.296.a] Are
there any world systems in which bodhisattvas do not engage in
bodhisattva conduct?”
1.14 The Blessed One replied, “To draw an analogy Ānanda, in those world
systems that I have spoken of, the appearance of blessed buddhas, and
bodhisattvas who engage in bodhisattva conduct, is as rare, Ānanda, as gold
dust among the sands of the great ocean or the sands of the river Gaṅgā.
Ānanda, the appearance of blessed buddhas in any world system, and world
systems in which bodhisattvas engage in bodhisattva conduct, are as rare as
this. Ānanda, world systems in which blessed buddhas appear, and in which
bodhisattvas engage in bodhisattva conduct, are as uncommon as someone
finding a single grain of gold among all the sands of the great ocean or the
sands of the river Gaṅgā.”
1.15 Thus spoke the Blessed One, and Venerable Ānanda, together with the
monks and bodhisattvas, as well as the world of gods, humans, asuras, and
gandharvas, rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.

1.16 This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “Like Gold Dust.”
c. Colophon
c.1 Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Surendrabodhi
and Prajñāvarman, and the chief editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, and
others.
n. NOTES

n.1 The Stok Palace Kangyur, the only Kangyur of the Thempangma line
consulted for this translation, renders the title of the sūtra with the Tibetan
phye ma rather than the bye ma found in all the Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line.
Both spellings, like the Sanskrit vāluka, can indicate any kind of powder or
dust, including sand. Since in English “gold dust” is the common idiom,
while “golden sand” would be ambiguous (between color and substance),
we have rendered the title with the English “gold dust.”

n.2 See n.6.

n.3 Denkarma, folio 299.b; see also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 114–15. The
Denkarma catalog is believed to have been first compiled ca. 812 ᴄᴇ, with
further additions for some years afterwards. This text is not listed in the
Phangthangma catalog believed to have been compiled only a few years
before the Denkarma.

n.4 Skilling 2021, pp. 439–50.

n.5 Tib. de bzhin gshegs pa’i yul. Lit. the “realm” or “domain” of thus-gone ones.
Peter Skilling suggests that here it likely translates the term tathāgataviṣaya.
On this topic, see Skilling 2021, pp. 441–45.

n.6 This rather striking analogy for speed (using the pool, the chariot, and the
snake, followed by the sequence of further fractions of time based on the
efficacy of various figures in teaching the Dharma) is not unique to the
present sūtra but, as pointed out by Peter Skilling, is also found in The Seal of
Engagement in Awakening the Power of Faith (Śraddhābalādhānāvatāramudrā, Toh
201), 1.444, and in a citation in The Compendium of Sūtras (Sutrasamuccaya, Toh
3934) which identifies it as being from the Buddhāvataṃsaka. For a discussion
comparing the varying details of these three instances, see Skilling 2021, pp.
441–44.
b. BIBLIOGRAPHY
· Tibetan ·

’phags pa gser gyi bye ma lta bu zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Āryasuvarṇa-
vālukopamānāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 126, Degé Kangyur vol. 54 (mdo sde,
tha), folios 293.a–296.a.

’phags pa gser gyi bye ma lta bu zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe
bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa
zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe bsdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka
Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes.
Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology
Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 54, pp. 761–69.

’phags pa gser gyi bye ma lta bu zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok Palace
Kangyur vol. 57 (mdo sde, cha), folios 139.a–142.b.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag).
Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.

Phangthangma (dkar chag ʼphang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang,
2003.

· Western Languages ·

Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische
übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der österreichischen
Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.

Skilling, Peter. Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.

Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2021.
g. GLOSSARY

· Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding ·

source language

AS Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding
language.

AA Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names
where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested
in dictionaries or other manuscripts.

RP Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the
term.

RS Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan
translation.

SU Source unspecified
This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often
is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.1 Ānanda
kun dga’ bo

ན་དགའ་།
ānanda
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
 A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni
during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha
(according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers
of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other
sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King
Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).

Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have

memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all
the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist
saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The
phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras,
usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after
the passing of Mahākāśyapa.

g.2 Bandé Yeshé Dé

ban de ye shes sde

བན་་་ས་།
—
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator
of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more
than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred
additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great
importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era,
only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources
describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is
also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his
own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam)
clan.

g.3 Blessed One

bcom ldan ’das

བམ་ན་འདས།
bhagavan AS
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to
Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in
specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six
auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The
Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan
 to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going
beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition
where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys
the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat
(“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to
break”).

g.4 Bodhi tree

byang chub kyi shing

ང་བ་་ང་།
bodhivṛkṣa
The name of the tree under which the Buddha Śākyamuni attained
awakening. The same term is used to describe the trees under which other
tathāgatas, both in this realm and others, attain awakening.

g.5 bodhisattva conduct

byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa

ང་བ་མས་དཔ་ད་པ།
bodhisattvacaryā
The proper conduct of a committed bodhisattva is a topic addressed in many
Mahāyāna sūtras, as wells as the commentarial literature.

g.6 elder
gnas brtan

གནས་བན།
sthavira
A monk of seniority within the assembly of the śrāvakas.

g.7 going forth as renunciants

rab tu byung ba

རབ་་ང་བ།
pravrajyā
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving
the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the
term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male
novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this
being a first stage leading to full ordination.
g.8 great parinirvāṇa
yongs su mya ngan las ’das pa chen po

ངས་་་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ་ན་།
mahāparinirvāṇa
Synonymous with parinirvāṇa, the final or complete nirvāṇa, which occurs
when a buddha passes away. It implies the non-residual nirvāṇa where the
aggregates have also been consumed within emptiness.

g.9 Heaven of Joy

dga’ ldan

དགའ་ན།
tuṣita
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of
the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications,
such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six
counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to
dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the
Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu.
When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva
Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in
Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in
Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a
description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy,
(Toh 199).

g.10 league
dpag tshad

དཔག་ཚད།
yojana
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A measure of distance sometimes translated as “league,” but with varying
definitions. The Sanskrit term denotes the distance yoked oxen can travel in
a day or before needing to be unyoked. From different canonical sources the
distance represented varies between four and ten miles.

g.11 Mahāmaudgalyāyana
maud gal gyi bu chen po
 ད་གལ་ི་་ན་།
mahāmaudgalyāyana
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra.
He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was
descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyāyana, “the son of
Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana,
“Great Maudgalyāyana.”

g.12 monk
dge slong

ད་ང་།
bhikṣu
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the
eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly.
The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the
fact that Buddhist monks and nuns —like other ascetics of the time —
subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.

In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk

follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma)
follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge
tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya
traditions novices typically follow only ten).

g.13 park
kun dga’ ra ba

ན་དགའ་ར་བ།
ārāma
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Generally found within the limits of a town or city, an ārāma was a private
citizen’s park, a pleasure grove, a pleasant garden—ārāma, in its etymology,
is somewhat akin to what in English is expressed by the term “pleasance.”
The Buddha and his disciples were offered several such ārāmas in which to
dwell, which evolved into monasteries or vihāras. The term is still found in
contemporary usage in names of Thai monasteries.

g.14 perfectly complete buddha

yang dag par rdzogs pa’i sangs rgyas
 ཡང་དག་པར་གས་པ་སངས་ས།
samyaksaṃbuddha
A term used to emphasize the superiority of buddhas as contrasted with the
achievement of worthy ones (arhat) and solitary buddhas (pratyekabuddha).

g.15 Prajñāvarman
pradz+nyA barma

་བ།
prajñāvarman
A Bengali paṇḍita resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth
centuries. Arriving in Tibet at the invitation of the Tibetan king, he assisted
in the translation of numerous canonical scriptures. He is also the author of a
few philosophical commentaries contained in the Tengyur.

g.16 pratyekabuddha
rang sangs rgyas

རང་སངས་ས།
pratyekabuddha
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Literally, “buddha for oneself” or “solitary realizer.” Someone who, in his or
her last life, attains awakening entirely through their own contemplation,
without relying on a teacher. Unlike the awakening of a fully realized
buddha (samyaksambuddha), the accomplishment of a pratyekabuddha is not
regarded as final or ultimate. They attain realization of the nature of
dependent origination, the selflessness of the person, and a partial
realization of the selflessness of phenomena, by observing the suchness of
all that arises through interdependence. This is the result of progress in
previous lives but, unlike a buddha, they do not have the necessary merit,
compassion or motivation to teach others. They are named as “rhinoceros-
like” (khaḍgaviṣāṇakalpa) for their preference for staying in solitude or as
“congregators” (vargacārin) when their preference is to stay among peers.

g.17 Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park

rgyal bu rgyal byed kyi tshal mgon med zas sbyin gyi kun dga’ ra ba

ལ་་ལ་ད་་ཚལ་མན་ད་ཟས་ན་ི་ན་དགའ་ར་བ།
jetavanam anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ AO
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
 One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the
capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was
originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s
grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the
Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said
he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold
coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except
the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning
Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as
“Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu
the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince
Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park.
Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then
offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha
specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name
in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.

Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the
monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of
the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season
retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses
and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in
use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth
century it had been reduced to ruins.

In this text:
See also “park.”

g.18 river Gaṅgā

gang gA’i klung

གང་་ང་།
gaṅgānadī
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river
of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas,
flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī,
and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras,
however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its
abundant sands —noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its
delta—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.
 According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is
one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern
continent of Jambudvīpa—the known human world or more specifically the
Indian subcontinent.

g.19 Śāradvatīputra
sha ra dwa ti’i bu

ཤ་ར་་་།
śāradvatīputra
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, he was renowned for
his discipline and for having been praised by the Buddha as foremost of the
wise (often paired with Maudgalyāyana, who was praised as foremost in the
capacity for miraculous powers). His father, Tiṣya, to honor Śāriputra’s
mother, Śārikā, named him Śāradvatīputra, or, in its contracted form,
Śāriputra, meaning “Śārikā’s Son.”

g.20 seat of awakening

byang chub kyi snying po

ང་བ་་ང་།
bodhimaṇḍa
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The place where the Buddha Śākyamuni achieved awakening and where
every buddha will manifest the attainment of buddhahood. In our world this
is understood to be located under the Bodhi tree, the Vajrāsana, in present-
day Bodhgaya, India. It can also refer to the state of awakening itself.

g.21 Śrāvastī
mnyan du yod pa

མཉན་་ད་པ།
śrāvastī
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city of the powerful
kingdom of Kośala, ruled by King Prasenajit, who became a follower and
patron of the Buddha. It was also the hometown of Anāthapiṇḍada, the
wealthy patron who first invited the Buddha there, and then offered him a
park known as Jetavana, Prince Jeta’s Grove, which became one of the first
Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha is said to have spent about twenty-five
 rainy seasons with his disciples in Śrāvastī, thus it is named as the setting of
numerous events and teachings. It is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh in
northern India.

g.22 Surendrabodhi
su ren+d+ra bo d+hi

་་་།
surendrabodhi
Surendrabodhi came to Tibet in the early ninth century ᴄᴇ. He is listed as the
translator of forty-three texts and was one of the small group of paṇḍitas
responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.

g.23 thus-gone one

de bzhin gshegs pa

་བན་གགས་པ།
tathāgata
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations,
it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as
tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,”
is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence.
Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or
condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in
conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different
ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the
buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening
dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence
and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha
Śākyamuni.

g.24 Well-Gone One

bde bar gshegs pa

བ་བར་གགས་པ།
sugata
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers
three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities
of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete
buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa
 (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as
in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has
gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot
that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the
way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt.
gata) is good (Skt. su).

g.25 world system

’jig rten gyi khams

འག་ན་ི་ཁམས།
lokadhātu
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The term lokadhātu refers to a single four continent world-system illumined
by a sun and moon, with a Mount Meru at its center and an encircling ring of
mountains at its periphery, and with the various god realms above, thus
including the desire, form, and formless realms.

The term can also refer to groups of such world-systems in multiples of

thousands. A universe of one thousand such world-systems is called a
chiliocosm (sāhasralokadhātu, stong gi ’jig rten gyi khams); one thousand such
chiliocosms is called a dichiliocosm (dvisāhasralokadhātu, stong gnyis kyi ’jig rten
gyi khams); and one thousand such dichiliocosms is called a trichiliocosm
(trisāhasralokadhātu, stong gsum gyi 'jig rten gyi khams). A trichiliocosm is the
largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology.

g.26 worthy
dgra bcom pa

ད་བམ་པ།
arhat
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati),
or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-
vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the
fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an
epithet of the Buddha.