༄༅། །་ལ་་་མས་ས་པ།

The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (3)

Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā
 འཕགས་པ་་ལ་་་མས་ས་པ་ས་་བ་ག་པ་ན་ ་མ།
’phags pa klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara”

Āryasāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchānāmamahāyanasūtra

· Toh 155 ·
Degé Kangyur, vol. 58 (mdo sde, pa), folios 205.a–205.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ

· Surendrabodhi · Yeshé Dé ·
 Translated by the Sakya Pandita Translation Group (Tsechen Kunchab Ling Division)
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2011

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co. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgments
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
1. The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara
c. Colophon
ab. Abbreviations
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
g. Glossary
s. SUMMARY
s.1 In this very short sūtra, the Buddha explains to a nāga king and an assembly
of monks that reciting the four aphorisms of the Dharma is equivalent to
recitation of all of the 84,000 articles of the Dharma. He urges them to make
diligent efforts to engage in understanding the four aphorisms (also called
the four seals), which are the defining philosophical tenets of the Buddhist
doctrine: (1) all compounded phenomena are impermanent; (2) all
contaminated phenomena are suffering; (3) all phenomena are without self;
(4) nirvāṇa is peace.
ac. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
ac.1 Translated by the Sakya Pandita Translation Group (Tsechen Kunchab Ling
Division), comprising Venerable Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Reverend
Dr. Chodrung Kunga Chodron.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision
of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
i. INTRODUCTION
i.1 In the Tibetan canon there are three sūtras entitled The Questions of the Nāga
King Sāgara (Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā): a long version (Toh 153),1 one of middle
length (Toh 154),2 and a short sūtra (Toh 155).3 They have quite different
contents and are all to be found in a group of sūtras in the Kangyur entitled
“The Questions of…” (…paripṛcchā), including The Questions of Brahmā, The
Questions of Mañjuśrī, The Questions of an Old Lady, and several others. There is
also another nāga king whose questions were the occasion for a sūtra in this
group, entitled The Questions of the Nāga King Anavatapta (Anavataptanāgarāja-
paripṛcchā), Toh 156.4
i.2 The text translated here is the shortest of the three Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā
sūtras. The Buddha’s teaching of this very brief sūtra to an assembly of
monks is presumed—from the title —to be in response to a question or
questions put to him by a king of the supernatural beings known as nāgas,
serpents who guard the Dharma, although in this sūtra the questions
themselves are not explicitly stated. The Buddha explains that recitation of
the four aphorisms of the Dharma is equivalent to recitation of all of the
84,000 articles of the Dharma, and that they constitute the inexhaustible
doctrine of the bodhisattvas. The four are:

i.3 all compounded phenomena are impermanent (anitya);

all contaminated phenomena are suffering (duḥkha);
all phenomena are without self (anātman);
nirvāṇa is peaceful/peace (śānta/śānti).

i.4 These four aphorisms, or tenets —also called the four seals —are central to
Buddhist philosophy and characterize the Buddhist view of the nature of
reality. The Buddha stated that any doctrine characterized by these four seals
is genuinely in accord with the philosophical view of Buddhism, just as a
document purportedly written by a king that has the proper seals is known
as genuine. Because the concepts of anitya(tva), duḥkha, anātman, and nirvāṇa
 are central to the Buddhist philosophical view, over the centuries, countless
commentaries and elaborations on these concepts have been written by
scholars from every Buddhist tradition.5 Various sūtras and commentaries
focus on one, two, three, or all four of the concepts.6
i.5 Indian texts speak of the four aphorisms of the Dharma as well as of the
four seals. The Sanskrit of the four aphorisms can be extracted from
Vasubandhu’s commentary to verse XVIII.80 of the Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra of
Asaṅga (fifth century ᴄᴇ):

i.6 sarvasaṃskārā anityāḥ (all compounded phenomena are impermanent);

sarvasaṃskārā duḥkhāḥ (all compounded phenomena are suffering);
sarvadharmā anātmānaḥ (all phenomena are without self);
śāntaṃ nirvāṇaṃ (peaceful is nirvāṇa).7

i.7 The same four aphorisms are listed and described in chapter 17 of Asaṅga’s
Bodhisattvabhūmi.8 The only minor difference in these formulations of them,
compared to the four aphorisms as set out in the present sūtra, is that here
the second aphorism does not speak of “all contaminated phenomena,” but
simply “all compounded phenomena.”9
i.8 Although this sūtra’s Sanskrit original is no longer extant, the colophon to
the Tibetan translation of the sūtra tells us that it was translated from
Sanskrit to Tibetan by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the Tibetan
editor-translator Yeshé Dé (ye shes sde). We can thus infer that this sūtra was
translated from Sanskrit to Tibetan sometime during the late eighth to early
ninth century.
i.9 This sūtra is also included in the Chinese Buddhist canon (Taishō 599).10
Both the Tibetan and Chinese versions of the sūtra are very similar in their
brevity, meaning, and story line, although there are a few minor differences
between them.11 A twelfth-century fragment containing this sūtra in the
Tangut, or Xixia,12 language was discovered, among other pieces of the
Tangut canon, at Khara-khoto along the ancient Silk Road by the British
explorer Sir Aurel Stein during his 1913–16 journey.13 Now in the British
Museum, the Tangut version is very close to the Chinese version, indicating
that it was likely translated from the Chinese.14
i.10 There are two other notable English translations from the Tibetan: one by
Geshe Lhakdor in 2010 for a workshop presented at the India Habitat Centre
in Delhi under the auspices of the Foundation for Universal Responsibility,15
and the most recent translation by Peter Skilling, along with helpful notes, in
his 2021 anthology Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras.16
i.11 The present translation from Tibetan is based on the version in the Degé
(sde dge) Kangyur, with reference to the differences between this and various
other versions noted in the Pedurma (dpe bsdur ma) comparative edition of
the Degé Kangyur.
 The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra
The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara
1. The Translation
1.1 [F.205.a] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

1.2 Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān [F.205.b] was dwelling at the
place of the nāga king Sāgara together with a great assembly of 1,250
bhikṣus as well as a multitude of bodhisattva mahāsattvas. At that time the
Bhagavān said to the nāga king Sāgara:

1.3 “Lord of the nāgas, if one utters these four aphorisms of the Dharma, in
uttering them one is expressing all of the 84,000 articles of the Dharma. What
are the four? They are as follows:
1.4 “To fully engage in understanding the inexhaustible doctrine of the
bodhisattva mahāsattvas that all compounded phenomena are impermanent;
to fully engage in understanding the inexhaustible doctrine of the
bodhisattva mahāsattvas that all contaminated phenomena are suffering; to
fully engage in understanding the inexhaustible doctrine of the bodhisattva
mahāsattvas that all phenomena are without self; and to fully engage in
understanding the inexhaustible doctrine of the bodhisattva mahāsattvas
that nirvāṇa is peace.17
1.5 “Lord of the nāgas, if one utters these four aphorisms of the Dharma, in
uttering them one is expressing all of the 84,000 articles of the Dharma.”

1.6 When the Bhagavān had spoken in this way, the bhikṣus and bodhisattvas
rejoiced and greatly praised the teachings of the Bhagavān.

1.7 This completes The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra, “The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara.”
c. Colophon
c.1 Translated and finalized by the Indian preceptor Surendrabodhi and the
senior editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.
ab. ABBREVIATIONS
C Choné Kangyur
D Degé Kangyur
K Peking Kangyur
N Narthang Kangyur
T Taishō Tripiṭaka (Chinese Buddhist canon)
n. NOTES
n.1 See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Questions of the Nāga
King Sāgara (1) (https://read.84000.co/translation/toh153.html) (Toh 153), 84000:
Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.

n.2 See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Questions of the Nāga
King Sāgara (2) (https://read.84000.co/translation/toh154.html) (Toh 154), 84000:
Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.

n.3 They correspond respectively to the Chinese translations Taishō 598, 601,
and 599.

n.4 See Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans., The Questions of the Nāga
King Anavatapta (https://read.84000.co/translation/toh156.html) (Toh 156), 84000:
Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.

n.5 For a modern presentation in English, see Khyentse 2007.

n.6 Stanley 2009, pp. 149–54.

n.7 Sanskrit in Lévi 1907, 1911, tome I, p. 149. For an English translation, see
Jamspal et al. 2004 (the commentary is to verse XVIII.81 in that translation).
Note that saṃskāra / ’du byed in these contexts and in the four seals is not
being used to mean “formative factors” or “karmic conditioning,” but seems
to be used in the same sense as saṃskṛta / ’dus byas, i.e., “compounded
phenomena.” Edgerton had noticed this usage of saṃskāra. See Edgerton
1985, s.v. saṃskāra, saṃskṛta. Cf. also Jamspal et al. 2004, who translate the term
as “creations.”

Sanskrit in Dutt 1978 and Wogihara 1978. For a recent English translation,
n.8 see Engle 2016, pp. 454–63.
n.9 Note that the Pāli Dhammapada includes the first three concepts in verses
277, 278, and 279: sabbe saṅkhārā aniccā’ ti...sabbe saṅkhārādukkhā’ ti...sabbe saṅkhārā
anattā’ ti....

n.10 The Chinese version was translated during the Tang dynasty by Yijing (635–
713; his name is also variously transliterated as I-Tsing, I-Ching, and Yi-
Tzing). An English translation of the Chinese version by an unattributed
translator is posted on the internet by Fodian (see bibliography).

n.11 On Yijing, see Keown 2004.

n.12 The Western Xia (Xixia), or Tangut Empire (1038–1227), was a Buddhist
empire located in what are now the Chinese provinces of Ningxia, Gansu,
Eastern Qinghai, and Northern Shaanxi, as well as parts of Xinjiang and
Inner Mongolia. It was known as Minyak (mi nyag) in Tibetan. The Tanguts
adopted Buddhism from both Chinese and Tibetan sources. The language,
which has its own very elaborate script, has been partially deciphered by
modern scholarship.

n.13 Grinstead 1967.

n.14 Nie 2007.

n.15 Lhakdor 2010.

n.16 Skilling 2021, pp. 235–46.

n.17 DNK: zhi ba (“peace/peaceful”) C: zhes bya (“known as”).

b. BIBLIOGRAPHY
’phags pa klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Ārya-
sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchānāmamahāyanasūtra), Toh 155, Degé Kangyur vol. 58
(mdo sde, pha), folios 205.a–205.b.

’phags pa klu’i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa 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 sdur 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. 58, pp. 557–58.

Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra, Fo wei hai long wang shuo fa yin jing

(佛為海⿓王說法, “The Dharma-Seal Sūtra Spoken by the Buddha for the
Nāga King Sāgara”). Taishō 599 (http://tripitaka.cbeta.org/T15n0599%20).

The Dharma-Seal Sutra Spoken by the Buddha for Ocean Dragon King. (English
translation from Chinese). Retrieved October 12, 2011, from fodian.net.
(http://www.fodian.net/world/0599.html)

Dhammapada. Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: Selangor Buddhist Vipassana Society,

2004.

Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Questions of the Nāga King

Sāgara (2) (https://read.84000.co/translation/toh154.html) (Sāgaranāgarāja-
paripṛcchā, Toh 154). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.

— — —, trans. The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (1)

(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh153.html) (Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā, Toh
153). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.

— — —, trans. The Questions of the Nāga King Anavatapta

(https://read.84000.co/translation/toh156.html) (Anavataptanāgarājaparipṛcchā,
Toh 156). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Dutt, Nalinaksha, ed. Bodhisattvabhūmiḥ. Patna: K. P. Jayaswal Research
Institute, 1978.

Edgerton, F. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass,

1985.

Engle, Artemus B., trans. The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed Enlightenment: A

Complete Translation of the Bodhisattvabhūmi. Tsadra Foundation Series.
Boston: Snow Lion, 2016.

Grinstead, E.D. “The Dragon King of the Sea.” The British Museum Quarterly 31
(3/4, 1967): 96–100.

Jamspal, L. et al. The Universal Vehicle Discourse Literature

(Mahāyānasūtrālaṃkāra) by Maitreyanātha/Āryāsaṅga Together with its
Commentary (Bhāṣya) by Vasubandhu. Translated from the Sanskrit, Tibetan,
and Chinese by L. Jamspal, R. Clark, J. Wilson, L. Zwilling, M. Sweet, R.
Thurman. Tanjur Translation Initiative. Treasury of Buddhist Sciences
Series. New York: American Institute of Buddhist Studies at Columbia
University, 2004.

Keown, D. (2004). “I-Ching.” In A Dictionary of Buddhism. Retrieved 12, 2011,

from encyclopedia.com. (http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/I-
Ching.aspx# 1-1O108:Iching-full)

Khyentse, Dzongsar Jamyang. What Makes You Not a Buddhist. Boston:

Shambhala Publications, 2007.

Lévi, Sylvain. Asaṅga. Mahāyāna-Sūtrālaṃkāra, Exposé de la doctrine du grand

véhicule selon le système Yogācāra, édité et traduit par Sylvain Lévi. Bibliothèque
de l’École des Hautes Études, sciences historiques et philologiques,
fascicules 159 et 190, Tome I - Texte (1907), Tome II - Traduction,
introduction, index (1911). Paris: Librairie Honoré Champion, 1907, 1911.

Lhakdor, Geshe. (2010). Short Sutra on the Four Seals. The Foundation for
Universal Responsibility of His Holiness the Dalai Lama
(www.furhhdl.org). Retrieved October 12, 2011, from furhhdl.org.
(http://www.furhhdl.org/files/Short%20Sutra%20on%20the%20Four%2
0Seals.pdf)

Nie Hongyin 聂鸿 (2007). “Ying zang xixiawen ‘Hai long wang jing’ kaobu”
(英藏西夏⽂《海⻰王经》考补). In Ningxia Shehui Kexue 宁夏社会科学, Social
Sciences in Ningxia 1: 90–92. Retrieved October 12, 2011, from Social
Sciences in Ningxia. (http://hk.plm.org.cn/e_book/xz-5439.pdf)

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

Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2021.
Stanley, D. P. The Threefold Formal, Practical, and Inclusive Canons of Tibetan
Buddhism in the Context of a Pan-Asian Paradigm. Unpublished doctoral
dissertation. University of Virginia, 2009.

Wogihara, Unrai, ed. Bodhisattvabhūmiḥ. Reprint edition. Tokyo: Sankibo

Buddhist Book Store, 1978.
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 bhikṣu
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.2 compounded phenomena

’du byed

འ་ད།
saṃskāra

g.3 contaminated phenomena

zag pa dang bcas pa

ཟག་པ་དང་བཅས་པ།
sāsrava
The phenomena of saṃsāra. Contaminated phenomena are those influenced
by the defilements (kleśa, nyon mongs) and karma. Thus, e.g., even virtues that
are under the influence of defilements, like ignorance, are categorized as
contaminated in this way.

g.4 four aphorisms of the Dharma

chos kyi mdo bzhi

ས་་མ་བ།
dharmoddānacatuṣṭaya
The main topic of this sūtra; known also in Tibetan by the synonym bka’ rtags
kyi phyag rgya bzhi (“the four seals of the [Buddha’s] teaching”), in Sanskrit
caturmudrā (“the four seals”) or dṛṣṭinimittamudrā (“the seals that are the
marks of the [Buddhist] view”).

g.5 four seals

phyag rgya bzhi

ག་་བ།
caturmudrā
 A synonym for the “four aphorisms of the Dharma,” q.v. Often seen in
Tibetan in the expanded form bka’ rtags kyi phyag rgya bzhi (“the four seals of
the [Buddha’s] teaching”), the nearest Sanskrit equivalent being dṛṣṭinimitta-
mudrā (“the seals that are the marks of the [Buddhist] view”).

g.6 impermanent
mi rtag pa

་ག་པ།
anitya

g.7 Nāga King Sāgara

klu’i rgyal po rgya mtsho

་ལ་་་མ།
sāgaranāgarāja
Name of a king of a race of supernatural serpents who protect the doctrine.

g.8 nirvāṇa
mya ngan las ’das pa

་ངན་ལས་འདས་པ།
nirvāṇa
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the
Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a
general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states
(kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in
cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering
has permanently ceased.

More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type
of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in
which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent
on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the
end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates
cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa
without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned
element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates.
(3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from
that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The
 buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which
transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace.
This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.

g.9 peaceful
zhi ba

་བ།
śānta · śānti

g.10 suffering
sdug bsngal ba

ག་བལ་བ།
duḥkha
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The first of the four truths of the noble ones. The term “suffering” includes
all essentially unsatisfactory experiences of life in cyclic existence, whether
physical or mental. These comprise (1) the suffering of suffering, i.e., the
physical sensations and mental experiences that are self-evident as suffering
and toward which spontaneous feelings of aversion arise; (2) the suffering of
change, i.e., all experiences that are normally recognized as pleasant and
desirable, but which are nonetheless suffering in that persistent indulgence
in these always results in changing attitudes of dissatisfaction and boredom;
and (3) the suffering of the pervasive conditioning underlying the round of
birth, aging, and death.

g.11 without self

bdag med pa

བདག་ད་པ།
anātman