༄༅། །དཔལ་དག་ིས་ས་པ།

The Questions of Śrīvasu

Śrīvasuparipṛcchā
 འཕགས་པ་དཔལ་དག་ིས་ས་པ་ས་་བ་ག་པ་ན་ ་མ།
’phags pa dpal dbyig gyis zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Questions of Śrīvasu”

Śrīvasuparipṛcchānāmamahāyānasūtra

· Toh 162 ·
Degé Kangyur, vol. 59 (mdo sde, ba), folios 139.b–143.b

ᴛʀᴀɴsʟᴀᴛᴇᴅ ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴛɪʙᴇᴛᴀɴ ʙʏ

· Surendrabodhi · Prajñāvarman · Bandé Yeshé Dé ·
 Translated by the Ratnaśrī Translation Group
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

First published 2021

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co. TABLE OF CONTENTS
ti. Title
im. Imprint
co. Contents
s. Summary
ac. Acknowledgements
i. Introduction
tr. The Translation
1. The Questions of Śrīvasu
c. Colophon
n. Notes
b. Bibliography
g. Glossary
s. SUMMARY
s.1 The Buddha is approached by the young merchant Śrīvasu, who requests
instruction on how to live his life as a novice bodhisattva. The Buddha is
pleased and offers some pithy advice regarding the bodhisattva path that
encapsulates the main altruistic aims and practices of the Great Vehicle. He
states that foremost among the bodhisattva’s daily practices are taking
refuge in the Three Jewels, practicing the six perfections, and dedicating all
resulting merit to the attainment of awakening for oneself and others.
ac. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
ac.1 This sūtra was translated from Tibetan into English under the supervision of
His Holiness the Drikung Kyabgön Chetsang by Khenpo Konchok Tamphel
and the Ratnaśrī Translation Group, Dehradun, India, 2013.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
i. INTRODUCTION
i.1 In The Questions of Śrīvasu, the Buddha is approached by a young merchant
named Śrīvasu, who requests instruction on how to live his life as a novice
bodhisattva. Delighted by this request, the Buddha offers some pithy advice
regarding the bodhisattva path that neatly summarizes the principal
altruistic aims and practices of the Great Vehicle. Beginning with venerating
the Three Jewels and rejoicing in their awakened activities, the beginner
bodhisattva is advised to cultivate the mind of awakening, i.e., the resolve to
attain awakening for the sake of all beings, which is the basis of all Great
Vehicle practice. With this altruistic outlook, the Buddha tells Śrīvasu, the
aspiring bodhisattva should engage in all the virtuous activities prescribed
within the framework of the six perfections and other disciplines central to
the Great Vehicle. These cause all wholesome states of mind to blossom in
the bodhisattva, and all negative thoughts to wither, bringing the
bodhisattva ever closer to the realization of awakening. At the conclusion of
the teaching, we learn that the audience has included a prince, the son of a
certain King Sindhugiri of Darada, an ancient kingdom in the Gilgit region of
larger Kashmir. The prince, who is not named, is so moved by the teaching
that he goes before the Buddha and expresses his aspiration to attain
awakening, while vowing to henceforth live by the principles that the
Buddha has outlined.
i.2 The Questions of Śrīvasu belongs to the general sūtra section of the
Kangyur, where it forms part of an important subgenre of sūtras that have
“question” (paripṛcchā) in their titles and that convey central Buddhist
teachings within the format of a dialogue, usually between a buddha and
one or more interlocutors.
i.3 There is no extant Sanskrit version of this sūtra, but the Tibetan canonical
translation is found in all Kangyurs. It was included in the Denkarma1 and
Phangthangma2 inventories of Tibetan imperial translations, so we can
establish that it was first translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than
the early ninth century, as the Denkarma is usually dated to 812 ᴄᴇ. The
present translation was based mainly on Tibetan versions preserved in the
Degé Kangyur and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur, but
certain amendments were made based on variant readings recorded in the
Stok Palace Kangyur version.
The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra
The Questions of Śrīvasu
1. The Translation
[F.139.b]

1.1 Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

1.2 Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was in the Ṛṣivadana in the
Deer Park at Vārāṇasī, together with a gathering of bodhisattvas and a great
assembly of hearers, when a merchant son named Śrīvasu arrived from the
city of Vārāṇasī. He walked to where the Blessed One was, and after bowing
his head at the Blessed One’s feet, offering prostrations, and making three
circumambulations, he sat to one side.
1.3 Then, with his hands folded, the merchant son Śrīvasu bowed in front of
the Blessed One [F.140.a] and asked, “Blessed One, how many thus-gone
ones, worthy ones, fully awakened ones have passed and gone?”
1.4 The Blessed One said, “Merchant son, innumerable and countless thus-
gone ones, worthy ones, fully awakened ones have passed and gone; that is,
as many as there are grains of sand in the Ganges river.”
1.5 The merchant son Śrīvasu asked, “Blessed One, how many thus-gone
ones, worthy ones, fully awakened ones will be born and appear? How
many thus-gone ones, worthy ones, fully awakened ones are alive and
present now?”
1.6 The Blessed One said, “Merchant son, innumerable and countless thus-
gone ones, worthy ones, fully awakened ones will be born and appear; that
is, as many as there are grains of sand in the Ganges river. Merchant son,
innumerable and countless thus-gone ones, worthy ones, fully awakened
ones are alive and present now; that is, as many as there are grains of sand
in the Ganges river.”
1.7 When the Blessed One had spoken thus, the merchant son Śrīvasu asked
him, “Blessed One, if a hundred people, a thousand people, a hundred
thousand people attained perfect awakening by having striven diligently in
the past, then, Blessed One, why would I not attain the same if I were to
 strive diligently? Since I have not yet understood, I request you, Blessed
One, to think of me with your kind heart and show me properly what novice
bodhisattvas should do, what they should dwell upon, and what they
should practice.”
1.8 At this request, the Blessed One said to the merchant son Śrīvasu,
“Excellent, merchant son, excellent. [F.140.b] Your thought is beautiful and
your eloquence virtuous. Therefore, merchant son, listen carefully and keep
this in your mind, as I tell you what novice bodhisattvas should do, what
they should dwell upon, and what they should practice.”
1.9 “Excellent, Blessed One,” said the merchant son Śrīvasu, and he listened
to the Blessed One.

1.10 The Blessed One then said to him, “Merchant son, thinking with full
attention,3 novice bodhisattvas should never give up venerating and
honoring the Three Jewels three times each day, turning their whole mind to
that from the depth of their hearts and the very marrow of their bones.
1.11 “Moreover, thinking with full attention, novice bodhisattvas should never
give up their oath to take refuge in the Three Jewels three times each day,
turning their whole mind to that from the depth of their hearts and the very
marrow of their bones.
1.12 “Moreover, merchant son, thinking with full attention, novice
bodhisattvas should never give up praying three times every day that all the
world systems may never be without the Three Jewels, turning their whole
mind to that from the depth of their hearts and the very marrow of their
bones. They should never give up praying three times that the Three Jewels
may remain in all the world systems for many eons. They should never give
up praying three times that the Dharma may be taught to all sentient beings
in all world systems for many eons. They should never give up praying three
times that all sentient beings in all world systems may generate the mind of
awakening within the Three Vehicles according to their ability, strength, and
aspiration. They should never give up praying three times that all their roots
of virtue may swiftly and promptly [F.141.a] be completed so that all sentient
beings in all world systems may be liberated. They should never give up
praying three times that all sentient beings in all world systems may attain
the three types of awakening. They should never give up praying three
times that all sentient beings in all world systems who have taken birth in
the lower realms may be rescued from the lower realms. They should never
give up praying three times that all sentient beings in all world systems may
abandon all unwholesome actions. They should never give up praying three
times that they may be rid of all fear, suffering, unhappiness, and strife. They
 should never give up rejoicing three times in the roots of virtue of all the
buddhas of the past, present, and future, in those of all bodhisattvas, solitary
buddhas, noble hearers and so forth, and in those of all sentient beings.
1.13 “Also, merchant son, thinking with full attention, novice bodhisattvas
should make the aspiration, three times every day, to attain perfect
awakening, turning their whole mind to it from the depth of their hearts and
the very marrow of their bones. They should never give up criticizing their
own unwholesome actions, deploring and renouncing them, while desiring
and taking up all virtuous actions. They should never give up praying that,
life after life, they may serve and attend to the Three Jewels, engage in
virtuous conduct that is totally pure, complete the collection of merit for
perfect awakening, achieve all the qualities of a buddha, [F.141.b] turn the
wheel of the Dharma, and teach the Dharma for many eons.
1.14 “Also, merchant son, novice bodhisattvas should not harm their parents.
They should not harm their children, wives, male servants, female servants,
laborers, employees, friends, ministers, relatives, or elders. Rather, they
should always give them whatever they wish for, as much as they possibly
can.
1.15 “Also, merchant son, novice bodhisattvas should abide by the five
precepts and practice in remaining firm and steadfast in them. In case they
are not able to practice all five precepts, they should practice four, three, two,
or at least one of them. If they cannot practice even one precept, but engage
in this or that nonvirtuous action, they should only do so when forced to for
some reason, and should do so with a purpose, with a mind that is without
craving and aggression, with a mind that is not lax, careless, and attached to
what is pleasant. They should not engage in the ten nonvirtuous actions
under the power of anger, under the power of resentment, or under the
power of taking joy or delight in them. When they are about to engage in
them, they should criticize and denounce them. While they are engaging in
them, they should criticize and denounce them. When they have finished
engaging in them, they should criticize and denounce them, and they should
confess them individually and renounce them.
1.16 “When they engage in any wholesome, virtuous action, they should do so
with a fervent and powerful mind. Not remaining content and satisfied, not
being lax and careless, they should engage in the action unimpededly with a
mind empowered by faith, joy, sincerity, and delight. [F.142.a] When they are
about to engage in such an action, they should then turn their whole mind to
it from the depth of their hearts and the very marrow of their bones and,
thinking with full attention, completely dedicate it to unsurpassed and
perfect awakening in order to liberate all sentient beings, to free them, to
 bring them relief, to help them pass beyond sorrow, to help them accomplish
the state of omniscience, and to enable them to attain all the qualities of a
buddha.
1.17 “Turning their whole mind, from the depth of their hearts and the very
marrow of their bones, to all their virtuous actions of the past, present, and
future, and thinking of them with full attention they should bring them all
together and rejoice in them. They should rejoice with the most excellent
rejoicing, with the best, the foremost, the highest, the very highest, sublime,
and supreme rejoicing that is unequaled, equal to the unequaled, equal to
space, and equal to nirvāṇa. After rejoicing, they should offer that act of
virtue to the buddhas, bodhisattvas, solitary buddhas, and hearers and,
having offered it, share it with all sentient beings. Three times a day, they
should make this dedication to unsurpassed and perfect awakening in order
to liberate all sentient beings, free them, bring them relief, help them pass
beyond sorrow, help them accomplish all the qualities of a buddha, and
enable them to attain the state of omniscience.
1.18 “Even while enjoying various kinds of goods such as garments from Kāśī
and incense of sandalwood and aloeswood, and even while enjoying the
five sense pleasures, [F.142.b] while traveling, or while engaging in any
activity or pursuit, they should always solely and unceasingly remember
their strong wish, devotion, desire, and aspiration for unsurpassed and
perfect awakening. They should contemplate and meditate on it and do so
repeatedly. By doing so, the intent on unwholesome, nonvirtuous actions
becomes loosened, lessened, diminished, attenuated, and feeble, while the
intent on wholesome, virtuous actions becomes adamant, fervent, strong,
firm, and great.
1.19 “When the intent on unwholesome, nonvirtuous actions becomes
loosened, lessened, diminished, attenuated, feeble, and nonexistent, and as
the intent on wholesome actions that are roots of virtue becomes adamant,
the intention to meet with beings in the realms of existence does not wane.
For they completely rid themselves of all harming, killing, binding, and
violence, and they apply themselves to removing, stopping, and quelling the
forms of suffering that endless sentient beings in endless world systems
endlessly experience, having accumulated them since beginningless time.
These are the suffering of birth, aging, sickness, and death; the suffering of
meeting with what is unpleasant and being separated from what is pleasant;
the suffering of not having what one wants; the suffering of gods, humans,
asuras, animals, pretas, and hell beings; and the suffering of attachment,
aversion, and ignorance.
1.20 “Because they have a mind of loving kindness and a mind of great
compassion, because they wear the great armor and have set out in the Great
Vehicle, and because they are devoted to the vast teachings of the Buddha
and are ensuring that the lineage of [F.143.a] the Buddha, the Dharma, and
the Saṅgha will not be broken, their unwholesome, nonvirtuous actions
decrease and diminish until they are fully attenuated, and their wholesome,
virtuous actions increase until they become boundless. Thus, their
accumulation and cultivation of the bodhisattva intention becomes perfectly
complete, as it becomes firm and solid like a diamond.
1.21 “Thus, merchant son, in this life, in the next life, and for many lives
thereafter, novice bodhisattvas gradually and incrementally decrease and
diminish their unwholesome, nonvirtuous actions until there are none; they
increase their wholesome, virtuous actions until these become boundless;
and they accumulate and cultivate their bodhisattva intention. By the
ripening of their wholesome and virtuous actions, they will quickly attain
unsurpassed and perfect awakening.”

1.22 Now at that time, from the country of Darada, the son of King Sindhugiri of
Darada had come to Vārāṇasī to see the Blessed One and to offer him his
homage and veneration, and he was seated not far from the Blessed One. At
this moment, the son of King Sindhugiri rose from his seat, draped his upper
robe over one shoulder, placed his right knee on the ground, and with his
hands folded bowed to the Blessed One and said, “You have spoken well,
Blessed One! You have spoken well, Sugata! Blessed One, when one makes
the request for the mind of awakening, turning one’s whole mind to it from
the depth of one’s heart and the very marrow of one’s bones and thinking of
it with full attention, then to the extent that one makes the request and
expresses it three times, Blessed One, [F.143.b] the accumulations that bring
perfect awakening will increase, grow, accumulate, and become incalculable.
And if this bodhisattva intention becomes firm and solid like a diamond
when one accumulates, cultivates, and accomplishes it, how much more so
will it when one exerts oneself even more and never gives up striving!
1.23 “Blessed One, I too, turning my whole mind to it from the depth of my
heart and the very marrow of my bones, and thinking of it with full attention,
I give rise to the aspiration for perfect awakening in order to liberate all
sentient beings, free them, bring them relief, help them completely pass
beyond sorrow, help them accomplish all the qualities of a buddha, and
enable them to attain the state of omniscience. Over and over, hundreds of
times, endlessly, I will make the aspiration for unsurpassed and perfect
awakening so that I may become a buddha who liberates sentient beings
 who have not crossed the ocean of saṃsāra, frees those who are not free,
brings relief to those who have no relief, and helps those who have not
passed beyond all sorrow to completely pass beyond all sorrow.”
1.24 Thereupon, following his lead, the merchant son Śrīvasu gave rise in just
the same way to the aspiration for unsurpassed and perfect awakening.

1.25 When the Blessed One had given this teaching, the merchant son Śrīvasu,
the son of the king of Darada, the bodhisattvas, the monks, and the world
with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas all rejoiced and praised what
the Blessed One had said.

1.26 This concludes the noble Great Vehicle sūtra “The Questions of Śrīvasu.”
c. Colophon
c.1 Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Surendrabodhi
and Prajñāvarman, and the chief editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé and
others.
n. NOTES
n.1 Denkarma, folio 299.a.7. See also Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 106, no. 199.

n.2 Phangthangma, p. 16.

n.3 Here and in subsequent parallel passages we have followed the Stok Palace
Kangyur reading sems thams cad kyis bsams nas (sarvacetasā samanvāhṛtya),
which is attested in many translations instead of the grammatically
problematic Degé reading sems can thams cad kyis. The expression could also
be translated “focusing with all their heart/mind.”
b. BIBLIOGRAPHY
dpal dbyig gyis zhus pa. Toh 162, Degé Kangyur vol. 59 (mdo sde, ba), folios
139.b–143.b.

dpal dbyig gyis zhus pa. 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. 59, pp. 374–85.

dpal dbyig gyis zhus pa. S 261, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 79 (mdo sde, sa), folios
171.b–177.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

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

Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma/ sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa). Beijing:
mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
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 asura
lha ma yin

་མ་ན།
asura
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
 A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views,
but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification
of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said
to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the
pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature
prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in
the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as
being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).

g.2 blessed one

bcom ldan ’das

བམ་ན་འདས།
bhagavān
An epithet of the Buddha. The Tibetan rendering can be explained as “one
who has conquered the four māras and is endowed with the six excellent
qualities.”

g.3 bodhisattva
byang chub sems dpa’

ང་བ་མས་དཔའ།
bodhisattva
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic
intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels
(daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic
existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking
personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the
selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.

g.4 Darada
da ra da

ད་ར་ད།
darada
The ancient kingdom of the Darada people in the Gilgit region of larger
Kashmir.

g.5 Deer Park

ri dags kyi nags

་དགས་་ནགས།
 mṛgadāva
The forest outside of Vārāṇasī where the Buddha first taught the Dharma.

g.6 five precepts

bslab pa’i gzhi lnga

བབ་པ་ག་།
pañcaśikṣā
Five trainings for all vehicles in general: avoiding killing, stealing, sexual
misconduct, lying, and taking intoxicants (alcohol, etc.).

g.7 gandharva
dri za

་ཟ།
gandharva
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies,
sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically
to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the
Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who
serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the
mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state
between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances
(gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning
“scent eater.”

g.8 Ganges
gang gA

གང་།
gaṅgā
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.9 hearer
nyan thos

ཉན་ས།
śrāvaka
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the
verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the
Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of
the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own
liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the
wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering
inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no
independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate
themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing,
followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more
time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into
the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are
also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”

g.10 Kāśī
ka shi

ཀ་།
kāśī
Another name for Vārāṇasī or Benares, a city known for its fine garments
and embroidery.

g.11 mind of awakening

byang chub sems

ང་བ་མས།
bodhicitta
Refers to the aspiration for oneself and others to attain spiritual awakening
in order to live a life of maximum benefit to all beings.

g.12 Prajñāvarman
 pradz+nyA barma

་བ།
prajñāvarman
An Indian Bengali preceptor resident in Tibet during the late eighth and
early ninth centuries. Arriving in Tibet on an invitation from 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 collection.

g.13 preta
yi dags

་དགས།
preta
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born
as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the
departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the
pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly
translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓⿁ e
gui.

They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also
frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or
frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are
particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to
acquire sustenance.

g.14 Ṛṣivadana
drang srong smra ba

ང་ང་་བ།
ṛṣivadana
A place in the Deer Park (Mṛgadāva) outside Vārāṇasī where the Buddha
Śākyamuni first turned the wheel of Dharma. The name, meaning “speech of
ṛṣis (sages or seers),” may refer to a story that in this same place during the
time of the previous Buddha, Kāśyapa, five hundred seers (in some versions
pratyekabuddhas) uttered prophecies and attained nirvāṇa on hearing that
the Buddha Śākyamuni was to come. Also known as Ṛṣipatana.

g.15 Sindhugiri
sin du gi ri
 ན་་་།
sindhugiri
Lit. “The Mountain of Sindhu.” A king of the ancient Darada kingdom, which
lay in the Gilgit region of larger Kashmir, the mountainous area through
which the river Indus (Sindhu) flows.

g.16 six perfections

pha rol tu phyin pa drug

ཕ་ལ་་ན་པ་ག
ṣaṭpāramitā
The trainings of the bodhisattva path: generosity (dāna, byin pa), discipline
(śīla, tshul khrims), patience or acceptance (kṣānti, bzod pa), diligence or effort
(vīrya, brtson ’grus), meditative concentration (dhyāna, bsam gtan), and insight
(prajñā, shes rab).

g.17 solitary buddha

rang sangs rgyas

རང་སངས་ས།
pratyekabuddha
One who, in their last birth in saṃsāra, attains the realization of the
selflessness of the person and a partial realization of the selflessness of
phenomena, by observing the suchness of all that arises through
interdependence on their own, without relying on a teacher.

g.18 Śrīvasu
dpal dbyig

དཔལ་དག
śrīvasu
Lit. “Splendor and Wealth.” A young merchant from Vārāṇasī.

g.19 sugata
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.20 Surendrabodhi
su ren+dra bo d+hi

་་་།
surendrabodhi
An Indian preceptor actively involved in translation in Tibet during the late
eighth and early ninth centuries.

g.21 ten nonvirtuous actions

mi dge ba bcu

་ད་བ་བ།
daśākuśala
Ten unethical and harmful behaviors. They consist of actions of the body
(killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct), speech (lying, slandering, harsh
words, and gossip), and the mind (covetousness, harmful intent, and wrong
view).

g.22 Three Jewels

dkon mchog gsum

དན་མག་གམ།
triratna
The Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. In the Tibetan rendering, “the
three rare and excellent ones.”

g.23 three types of awakening

byang chub gsum

ང་བ་གམ།
tribodhi
The awakening of a worthy one, the awakening of a solitary buddha, and the
awakening of a buddha.

g.24 Three Vehicles

 theg pa gsum

ག་པ་གམ།
triyāna
The vehicles of the hearers, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattvas.

g.25 thus-gone one

de bzhin gshegs pa

་བན་གགས་པ།
tathāgata
One who has attained ultimate awakening through the path of suchness that
transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa. An epithet of the Buddha.

g.26 Vārāṇasī
bA rA Na sI

་་ཎ་།
vārāṇasī
Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:
Also known as Benares, one of the oldest cities of northeast India on the
banks of the Ganges, in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. It was once the capital of
the ancient kingdom of Kāśi, and in the Buddha’s time it had been absorbed
into the kingdom of Kośala. It was an important religious center, as well as a
major city, even during the time of the Buddha. The name may derive from
being where the Varuna and Assi rivers flow into the Ganges. It was on the
outskirts of Vārāṇasī that the Buddha first taught the Dharma, in the location
known as Deer Park (Mṛgadāva). For numerous episodes set in Vārāṇasī,
including its kings, see The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340.

g.27 worthy one

dgra bcom pa

ད་བམ་པ།
arhat
A person who has accomplished the final fruition of the path of the hearers
and is liberated from saṃsāra. The Tibetan rendering, “foe destroyer,” can be
explained as “one who has destroyed and defeated the four māras.”