Introduction 1: (A Single Supreme Emanational Buddha-body)

[Commentary (111.3-170.1):]

The third aspect (of the natural maṇḍala of the ground—see p. 331) concerns the establishment of all dharmas by the nature of spirituality (i.e. the emanational body), which is arrayed as the lamp of the world, without moving from reality.^[1] It Includes an overview and an interlinear commentary.

[Overview (111.5-133.6)]

This comprises both the tradition of the common vehicles and that of the uncommon vehicles. The former (111.6-130.5) has three aspects which are with reference to a single supreme emanational buddha-body,^[2] namely, the initial cultivation of the mind in supreme enlightenment, the intermediate accumulation of the provisions over three "countless" aeons,^[3] and the final attainment of buddha-hood in accordance with the twelve deeds.

[i. As to the first (the cultivation of enlightened mind):]

Countless aeons ago when the Buddha Mahākāśyapa appeared in the world, this Buddha (of ours), Śākyamuni, was known as the boy Bhāskara, the son of a potter. Offering a parasol, a pair of shoes and five hundred cowrie shells, as his flowers (of a offering), he cultivated an (enlightened) attitude, saying:^[4]

O Sugata, may I achieve the buddha-body
Similar to yours, however it appears.
And also your retinue, lifespan, fields,
And your supreme noble marks,
However they may appear.

Similarly, when the Buddha Ratnāṅga (dkon-mchog yan-lag) appeared in the world, he was known as Prajñābhadra. the merchant’s son, and cultivated the (enlightened mind). And when the Buddha Roca ('od-mdzes) appeared in the world, he became the king Kuśala who cultivated the (enlightened mind).

[ii. As for the second (his accumulation of provisions over three "countless" aeons):]

Then, during the first "countless" aeon, he perfected the experience of the two provisions, which derived from the possessive condition of fifty-five thousand buddhas, beginning with the Buddha Dhṛtarāṣṭra; and he actualised the path of provisions and the path of connection.^[5]

As he said in the Basic Transmission of the Vinaya (T. 1):

When I came into being during the first "countless" aeon,
I made offerings to buddhas
Totalling fifty-five thousand in number—
Beginning with the guide Dhṛtarāṣṭra
Until the sage Indradvaja.
At that time I was not disillusioned (with saṃsāra).

During the second "countless" aeon, he made offerings to sixty-six thousand buddhas starting with the Buddha Sādhurūpa (legs-mdzad), and thus perfected the (bodhisattva) levels from the first to the seventh.^[6]

The above text also says:

Beginning with the Buddha Sādhurūpa
Until the guide Vipaśyin.
I made offerings to Buddhas
Totalling sixty-six thousand in number.
At that time I was not disillusioned (with saṃsāra).

During the third (“countless” aeon), he multiplied the basic virtues derived from seventy-seven thousand buddhas, from Dīpaṃkara to Kāśyapa, and thus actualised the three pure (bodhisattva) levels.^[7]

The same text says, concerning this:

Beginning with the Buddha Dīpaṃkara
Until the Conqueror Kāśyapa,
I made offerings to buddhas
Totalling seventy-seven thousand in number.
At that time I was not disillusioned (with saṃsāra).

During these (aeons), he mastered the three trainings, and he perfected the six transcendental perfections in accordance with the two provisions.^[8]

It says in the Ornament of the Sūtras of the Greater Vehicle (T. 4040):

When the conquerors have mastered the three trainings
They correctly explain the six transcendental perfections.
The first (training) comprises three (perfections).
While the last two (trainings) comprise one (perfection) each.
The one (remaining perfection) is comprised in all three (trainings).

Thus, the trio of liberality, moral discipline and patience are gathered together (respectively) as the cause, essence and branch of the training of superior moral discipline; meditative concentration is gathered in the training of (superior) mind; and discriminative awareness in the training of superior discriminative awareness. Perseverence is an aid for all three (superior trainings).

Now the five (transcendental perfections) from liberality to meditative concentration (are accumulated) as (the provision of) skillful means; whereas discriminative awareness is the discriminative awareness without duality, i.e. the genuine provision of pristine cognition. Through these two (provisions), the twofold obscuration of conflicting emotions and the knowable is purified,

[iii. As for the third (his attainment of Buddha-hood in accordance with the twelve deeds):]

Pious attendants hold that ordinary persons are bound by all manner of fetters, but that some of keenest acumen in their final birth attain Buddhahood.

In (the Treasury of the Abhidharma, T. 4089), a text of the sublime elder (Vasubandhu) it is said:

Though they are not sublime.
Parents, invalids, teachers of religion.
And the Bodhisattva in his last rebirth
Are said to be worthy beyond measure.^[9]

According to those who make the causal phase of the greater vehicle into the path, on the other hand, Buddhahood is first attained in the pure abode of Akaniṣṭha, or in the abode of mighty Īśvara; and starting from then, Buddhahood is revealed in Jambudvīpa.^[10]

It says in the Sūtra of the Awakening of the Doctrine and its Rapture (chos-dang longs-spyod mngon-par byang-chub-pa'i / sangs-rgyas-pa'i mdo):

Residing above the pure abodes.
In the supreme and pleasant Akaniṣṭha,
Adorned with diverse gemstones,
The perfect Buddha attained Buddhahood,
And an emanation attained Buddhahood here.^[11]

Concerning this mode (of emanation) which has been revealed, the sublime Nāgārjuna has said:^[12]

Those who are swayed by compassion
Act to demonstrate their departure (from Tuṣita),
Their birth, display (of youthful prowess).
Departure from the palace, and the practice of austerity.
Their great enlightenment, and the subjugation of Mara’s host.
The turning of the doctrinal wheel.
And similarly the passing into (final) nirvāṇa.

In this respect, among these twelve deeds,^[13] the first five and the last are called mundane deeds because they are demonstrated in conformity with mundane perception: whereas the others are explained to be supramundane deeds. Actually, however, they are all exclusively supramundane deeds, and are here described accordingly:

[Departure From Tuṣita:]

Now, the first is the deed which transfers consciousness from the Tuṣita heaven. Once (the Bodhisattva)^[14] had perfected (the provisions) over three "countless" aeons, he took birth as the holy divine prince Śvetaketu in the abode of Tuṣita.

At that time he was aroused by the following words which emerged through the sound of divine music:^[15]

Powerful in your recollection of many provisions
(Accumulated) through a hundred merits.
O infinite intelligence, illuminator of discriminative awareness.
Peerless, mighty and vast in artistic crafts.
Consider the prophetic declaration of Dīpaṃkara.

Thereupon, he sat on the lion throne in the exalted palace of the doctrine and proclaimed to the divine princes who were equal in fortune:^[16]

Friends. twelve years from now I shall proceed to Jambudvīpa. Your Vedic deliberations should be narrated to the blind creatures in Jambudvīpa.

At this injunction, some of the divine princes said:^[17]

That place is ignoble. Just now Jambudvīpa is being agitated by six teachers who are eternalistic extremists.^[18] Despite your arrival there, beings will not turn to the truth and the abode of Tuṣita Itself will become unpleasant.

Then the Bodhisattva replied:^[19]

Let the music play!

He said that he would instruct those eternalistic extremists. Illustrating that he would vanquish them, as it were, by a mightier blow of his conch shell. It is claimed that he made his departure, exhorting Maitreya to be his own regent and having made five considerations: Considering continent, he became an inhabitant of Jambudvīpa, controlled by deeds. Considering time, he chose (the age when) there was a lifespan of one hundred years. Prior to that (age) there would be a lesser degree of disillusionment (with saṃsāra), so that even if the doctrine were taught it would not be understood. And subsequently there would be a greater degree of wrong views so that even if (the doctrine) were taught, beings would not turn to the truth. Considering family, between the royal class (kṣatriya) and the priestly class (brahman) which are held to be supreme by living creatures, he chose on this occasion the family of Ikṣvāku because it was supreme among royal families. Considering father, he chose King Śuddhodana; and considering mother, he chose the beautiful Māyādevī, who had been the father and mother of all the buddhas during the Auspicious Aeon (Bhadrakalpa); and he saw that both of them had taken birth in Kāpilavastu. Then, he taught a hundred and eight approaches to the appearance of the doctrine called "refining the transference of consciousness at death."^[20] He said for instance that among these faith was an approach to the appearance of the doctrine through which the sullied mind would be clarified. Thereupon, there were some divine princes who cultivated their minds in enlightenment, and some who became receptive to the uncreated doctrine.^[21] There were also others who obtained the Immaculate eye of the doctrine.

At that time a shower of flowers fell knee-deep, and the Bodhisattva said:^[22]

At a time when the guide, or lion-like one
Transfers consciousness at death
From the supreme abode of Tuṣita,
The pure gods should be told
To abandon all carelessness.
All the many divine pleasures that there are
And all glories that emerge through mental conception
Totally emerge from the cause of virtuous deeds.
And they are the outcome of virtuous deeds.
Let them remember with gratitude that
This past virtue will cease.
Whereupon they will experience the suffering of non-virtue.
And then fall into evil existences, one at a time.

And he said:^[23]

Friends, through which guise should I proceed to Jambudvīpa?

Some said in response that it was proper to go as Brahmā, Śatakratu, and so forth. But there was a divine prince, Ugratejas, who said:

That suggestion is inappropriate because it is biased. You would do well to emanate and go forth in accordance with the following words from the Vedas of the Brahmans:

The sacred elephant, large and supreme in physical form,
Has six tusks and is draped with a golden net.
The head is painted deep red, and beautified.
With cheeks dripping fine (saliva) and noble form.

In conformity with this description, on the fifteenth or fullmoon day of Vaiśākha, the last spring month. his mother dreamt that he entered the womb from her right side, while she was observing a purificatory fast. She said to his father:^[24]

I felt that a snow or silver coloured elephant with six tusks
With legs bedecked and head painted red and pleasant,
With noble gait, and perfect body firm as a vajra,
A supreme elephant, passed within me.

The Bodhisattva transformed the womb into a celestial palace, and acted on behalf of limitless living beings.^[25]

[The Deed of Taking Birth:]

Then. when ten months had passed, in the grove of Lumbinī, he emerged naturally from the right side of his mother, and was bathed by Gods and Nāga kings. Brahmā and Śatakratu began to raise him in a fold of white silk, but he said:^[26]

Depart, you gods, because I am purer.

Without being lifted up, he came forth of his own accord, and took seven steps in each of the four directions, saying:

I am supreme in this world.

At words such as these, the Gods praised him, saying:^[27]

The learned make obeisance to you, lord of bipeds.
Who at birth walked seven steps on this great earth.
Saying, "I am supreme in this world".
The learned made obeisance to you.

At that time, in the forest flowers bloomed, and all worlds were filled with great light. Five hundred Śākya youths including Ananda were also born, as were five hundred foals including Kaṇṭhaka, and four sons in four petty kingdoms, namely, Bimbisāra the son of King Mahāpadma in Magadha, Prasenajit the son of King Ānandabrahmadatta in Kosala, Varāloka the son of King Ānantanemi in Takṣaśīla, and Udāyī the son of King Śatasena in Badsala.^[28]

Then, these signs were revealed to a brahman who prophetically declared that if he were not ordained as a renunciate he would become a universal monarch, but that if he were ordained he would become a buddha. At that time he was named Sarvārthasiddha, "All-Aims Accomplished"; and he was also named Śākyamuni, "Sage of the Śākyas", because he appeared as a sage among the Śākya youths.

Then. there was a Ṛṣi named Asita or Niṣkleśa (nyon-mongs med) as who lived on the slopes of Mount Sumeru. Seeing these extraordinary omens, he beheld them with his supernormal cognitive powers and came to know that they were omens relating to the prince Sarvārthasiddha. He arrived at the palace through miraculous power and saw the marks (of his buddha-body). in response to an inquiry from the king, the sage replied:

Did you previously show these marks to other learned men?

The king responded:

Yes, I did. It is predicted that he will become a universal monarch.

Then the Ṛṣi responded:

The sophistic lords of the earth will be bewildered.
When he enters into debate he will not become a universal monarch.
This supreme conqueror of defects
Will become a self-born buddha for the sake of living beings.

Seven days after the Bodhisattva was born in this manner, his mother passed away. But, tended by thirty-two nurses including Prajāpatl, he became (full-grown) as a lotus resting on a great lake.

[Proficiency in the Arts:]

Then he went into the presence of the master of letters Sarvamitra, Kṛmivarman, and others, under whom he completed (the study of) writing, archery, and artistic crafts. It was then that the Śākya youths competed (in trials of) strength. Devadatta slew an elephant, striking it with the palm of his hand, Nanda threw the corpse outside the city, and the Bodhisattva raised it by the tail with his big toe, and cast it outside the seven enclosures of the city, the seven moats, seven rows of sal trees, and so forth.

The defile (where it landed) became known as "Elephant’s Defile" (glang-po-che'i gshongs).

At that time, the gods praised him, saying:^[29]

The mighty elephant moved like a stone—
Raising the mighty elephant with his big toe,
He hurled it far outside this city.
Beyond seven enclosures and seven moats.
This is undoubtedly a master of supreme learning.
He will cast corporeal beings who possess the power of pride
Far outside the city of saṃsāra.
By the power of his discriminative awareness.

Similarly, when they had competed in the craft (of archery), there were (as targets) seven cauldrons, seven rows of trees, and seven iron walls, among which Devadatta pierced one, Nanda pierced two, and the Bodhisattva pierced them all. On the spot where his arrow alighted. water sprung forth, endowed with the eight qualities (of pure water) and it became known as the "Arrow-Born Well" (mda'-chu khron-pa skyes).

[Enjoyment With A Retinue of Queens:]

He married the giris of the Śākyas, namely Gopā with her retinue of twenty thousand, Mṛgajā with her retinue of twenty thousand, and Yaśodharā with her retinue of twenty thousand—sixty thousand queens in all. Then, he continued to live in the palace.

At that time, the following verses emerged through the sound of divine music:^[30]

In the past you made the following prayer of aspiration:
"Having seen sentient beings filled with suffering.
May I assist their supreme spiritual and temporal well-being
As a protector, refuge and sanctuary of living beings".
Remember your former conduct, foremost in virtue.
And your aspiration to benefit living beings;
Then depart swiftly from this holy city.

[Departure From The Palace:]

Travelling around the city in its four directions. the Bodhisattva perceived the suffering of birth. old age, sickness, and death; and directing his intention towards the enlightened attributes of liberation, he wished to become a renunciate. The four gates of the palace were patrolled by the army, who would not permit him to go outside. However, riding upon Kaṇṭhaka, whose hooves were supported by the four (guardian) kings, he approached the Sacred Stūpa (mchod-rten rnam-dag), where he cut off his own hair and became a renunciate.^[31] Then he revealed how the contemplation of nothing-at-all and the contemplation which reaches the pinnacle of existence are actualised, (respectively) in Rājagrha under the guidance of Udraka Rāmaputra, and in Vaiśālī under Ārāḍa Kālāma.^[32]

[Austerity:]

Then he went to the banks of the Nairañjana River and practised austerity for six years. During the first two years he ate a single grain of rice. During the middle two years he ate a single sesame seed; and during the last two years he drank a single drop of water.

At that time the gods aroused him, saying:^[33]

This lord of humane, son of the Śākyas,
Has not completed his deliberations.
And his very purpose is unfulfilled.
The three worlds suffer without protection.
Will this protector not then pass away?

At these words, he arose from that (austere posture) and set out to find the abode of vajra-like contemplation.^[34] On the road, the merchant's daughter Sujātā served him with milk drawn from eight cows, which had previously been drawn from five hundred cows and boiled.

In this way, the colour of his body became golden, and he dedicated her merit as follows:^[35]

May whatever merit there is in this pleasant offering
Long achieve all the purposes of this lord of humans
Endowed with supreme intelligence
Until all illustrious purposes are achieved.

[Reaching The Point Of Enlightenment:]

Then, on the road, the grass merchant Svāstika offered him grass (soft) as a peacock's throat. On he went until he reached that place where the Point of Enlightenment (Bodhimaṇḍa) is situated, i.e. the Indestructible Seat (Vajrāsana) and Bodhi Tree which were Immeasurably adorned by bejewelled gods.^[36]

Then, seated on a grass mat, he made this firm vow:^[37]

Let this body of mine dry up.
Let this heap of skin and bone decay.
I will not move from this position
'Til the enlightenment, hard to gain.
After so many aeons, be attained.

[Subjugation of Māra:]

Then (the Bodhisattva) emanated from his hair-ringlet (ūrṇākeśa) the rays of light which are called "the subduer of Māra's host". The King of Māras then dreamt one hundred and eight dreams—an auspicious vase fell, a victory banner broke, and so forth. When he beheld these, he learned that the Bodhisattva would attain Buddha-hood.

He arrived at the Indestructible Seat, and said:^[38]

The time has not arrived for you to attain Buddhahood.

Whereupon the Bodhisattva replied:

Since I have completed the two provisions during "countless" aeons, the time has arrived for me to attain Buddha-hood. Pay heed that it was by just one offering that you became the King of Māras.

At these words, Māra said:

You bear witness to the ephemeral offering I made here,
But you have no witness here yourself.
Without a witness you have already lost.
Whatever it is you say!

The Bodhisattva responded:

This earth is the support of all beings.
She is just and impartial to animate and Inanimate alike.
O Earth, come be my witness here!

As soon as he had spoken, the Goddess of the Earth exclaimed:

It is fitting because this son of the enlightened family has perfected a multitude of provisions. 1 can count the whole earth into atomic particles, but I cannot estimate the number of heads and limbs sacrificed by him on behalf of sentient beings.

Shamed by these words, Māra returned to his own domain, where he mustered an army one thousand trillion strong; and he caused a great barrage of missiles to descend on the Bodhisattva.

Accordingly it says in the Sūtra of Renunciation (T. 301):

With one head, two heads, three heads,
And as many as one thousand heads,
(The host of Māra) multiplied.

At that time, (the Bodhisattva) remained equipoised in the contemplation of loving kindness, so that the mass of missiles fell as a shower of flowers and the harsh noises became melodious songs.

Then the gods said:^[39]

The causal basis of Māra has been subdued by the power of loving kindness.
The missiles, when hurled, turned into flowers.

And:

The King of the Śākyas saw that things which dependently arise
Are without independent existence.
Because he indeed possesses a sky-like mind
The host of demons and their army could not oppress him.

Furthermore, Mara’s daughters attempted to seduce (the Bodhisattva) but he transformed them into old women, whereupon they implored his forgiveness.

[Enlightenment:]

Then he became equipoised in the vajra-like contemplation. At dawn when the drum (of victory) was about to be beaten, he actualised the contemplation in which (the corruption of saṃsāra) is known to have ceased, and that in which it is known not to recur. He obtained the three kinds of awareness or enlightenment of the buddhas.^[40]

At that time, the gods praised him, saying:^[41]

This lion among creatures has subdued Māra.
He has actualised the concentrations of the Teacher,
And obtained the ten powers and three kinds of awareness.
At which all fields of the ten directions have trembled.

Then he remained for seven weeks without speaking the doctrine. During the first week, he remained without interrupting his meditative posture. During the second week, he subdued Jambu-dvīpa, which was near. During the third week he subdued the trichiliocosm afar. During the fourth he gazed at the Tree itself with unclosing eyes. During the fifth he departed for the abode of Mucilinda, king of nāgas. During the sixth he subdued spiritual beings; and during the seventh he was offered honey by the merchants Trapuṣa and Bhallika in a grove near the Tree of Liberation (i.e. the Bodhi Tree).

Thereat, the four (guardian) kings offered him a begging bowl, which he accepted, saying:

May these two merchants find
Advantage and great profit.

After giving this benediction, he remained there, without speaking the doctrine. He thought:^[42]

I have found a nectar-like doctrine.
Profound, calm, simple, luminous and uncompounded.
If I teach it, no-one will understand;
I will remain right here in the forest in silence.

[Turning the Doctrinal Wheel:]

Thereupon, Brahmā arrived and made the following request:^[43]

Having accomplished the maṇḍala of supreme great pristine cognition,
You emanate rays of light in the ten directions.
The lotus of your intelligence blooms
Through rays of pristine cognition.
O sun among teachers, why do you remain indifferent today?
Pray beat the great drum of genuine doctrine.
And blow swiftly the conch of genuine doctrine.
Pray raise the staff of genuine doctrine.
And kindle the lamp of genuine doctrine.

But he said nothing in response to this request. Again, Brahmā summoned Śatakratu and, approaching (the Buddha), offered a golden wheel with a thousand spokes.

He made the following request:^[44]

Arise, victor in battle.
And emanate discriminative awareness’s light
In the darkness of the world.
Pray reveal your doctrine, O Sage,
Which is most satisfying of all.

And Śatakratu offered a precious gemstone, with the request:^[45]

Like the full-moon released by Rāhu,
Your mind is liberated, O Sage.
Arise, victor in battle,
And with discriminative awareness’s light
Dispel the darkness of the world.

Thereupon, the Buddha said:^[46]

Brahmā, having subdued all the badness of ego.
And having been realised with great difficulty,
This doctrine is not easily realised
By one ensnared by attachment to rebirth.

But Brahmā again made the following request:^[47]

Formerly in this country of Magadha
You made contact with the impure tainted doctrine.
Please open the portal of nectar-like (instruction).
And explain the immaculate doctrine.
Without a mote (of obscuration).

The Buddha replied:^[48]

Brahmā, I will open the portal of nectar-like instruction
For those who live in Magadha,
Who are attentive, faithful and wise.
Non-violent and constantly attentive to the doctrine.

In this way, he assented.

Instantly the word that the Tathāgata had agreed to turn the doctrinal wheel was heard as far away as Akaniṣṭha, and then a congregation took place.

The sods who were of supreme existence asked where the doctrinal wheel would be turned, and they were told:^[49]

In Vārāṇasī—there I made sixty-six thousand sacrificial offerings.
That sacred Vārāṇasī is the abode of the Ṛṣis of the past.
Therefore in that supreme abode which is called Ṛṣi,
The sacred wheel will be turned.

With these words he set out.

Then, in that vicinity, a thousand thrones of precious gemstones emerged. Circumambulating three, he sat upon the fourth. He turned the doctrinal wheel of the four truths for his five noble companions and eighty thousand gods so that they actually realised the truth and the five noble companions obtained the result of arhatship. Then, at Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa) he turned the wheel (of doctrine) that is free from characteristics for the sake of bodhisattvas, great pious attendants and so forth. Then in the abodes of gods, nāgas and so forth, he turned the final wheel of definitive ultimate truth.^[50]

Now, according to the first category of transmitted precepts, one is delivered from saṃsāra chiefly through renunciation and the application of an antidote, in conformity with the gradual perception through which a beginner enters on the path. According to the intermediate (transmitted precepts), the purpose is to refute the clinging to those doctrines of the path and so forth as an antidote through which saṃsāra is abandoned. And according to the final (transmitted precepts), this reality which abides as the fundamental nature of all that is knowable is directly expressed. He also taught (these transmitted precepts) through the three piṭakas, the three trainings, and the greater & lesser vehicles.^[51]

[The Final Deed:]

In his eightieth or eighty-second year, (the Buddha) is claimed to have passed into nirvāṇa, next to a pair of sal trees in Kuśinagara.

That this occured in his eightieth year is stated in the following passage from the Great Treasury of Detailed Exposition (bye-brag-tu bshad-pa'i mdzod chen-mo):^[52]

The Sage, supreme being.
Lived for one year each
At (Vārāṇasī), the site of the wheel of the doctrine,
And at Vaiśālī, Makkolam, and the god realms,
Aṭavī and Caityagiri, Venupura, as well as Sāketa,
Śiśumāra Hill and Kauśambī,
And the city of Kapilavāstu.
He passed two years in the Jvālinī Cave,
Three years in Bhaiṣajyavana,
Five years in Rājagṛha,
Six years practising austerity.
And twenty-four years in Śrāvastī.
He had spent twenty-nine years in the palace.
So it was that the Conqueror,
The supreme and holy Sage,
Passed into nirvāṇa at the age of eighty.
To those meritorious places
Where the Omniscient One resided,
I make obeisance at all times.
Bowing reverently with body, speech and mind.

Furthermore, it was in order to train the majority of those requiring training who held to eternalism that his intention passed into final nirvāṇa during the last watch of the night as the full moon was setting. After the funeral pyre had been Ignited, it is explained that the relics were divided into eight parts; and four tooth-relics were appropriated by different potentates.

It is said in the Transmissions of the Vinaya (Vinayāgama. T. 1-7):^[53]

Among the eight measures of relics
From his Buddha-body endowed with discernment.
Seven were acquired for worship by the inhabitants of Jambuvdvīpa.
And one measure of these supreme remains
Was worshipped by the king of the Nāga city Rāvaṇa.
Amons the four tooth-relics of this supreme being
The first was worshipped in the mundane world of Trayatriṃśa,
The second in the pleasant city of Gandhāra,
The third in the land of the king of Kaliṅga,
And the fourth tooth-relic of this supreme being
Was worshipped by the king of the Nāga city Rāvaṇa.
King Aśoka who lives in Pāṭaliputra
Has vastly increased the seven stūpas.
Mightily, too, he has adorned this earth
With manifest objects of prayer.
So it was that the relics of this Buddha-body
Endowed with discernment
Were worshipped most reverently
By the lords of Gods, Nāgas and Humans.
And by the masters of Humans, Nāgas and Yakṣas.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

On this function of dharmakāya see above, Ch. 1, note 23

[2]:

In the present case, Śākyamuni.

[3]:

A “countless” aeon (grangs-med bskal-pa) is a specific temporal dimension, enumerated in Abhidharmakośa at 10 [59]. See R. Kloetzli, Buddhist Cosmology, pp. 113ff.

[4]:

N. L.

[5]:

On sambhāramārga and prayogamārga, see below, pp. 506-507, and e.g., Sgam-po-pa, The Jewel Ornament Liberation. pp.

[6]:

On the first to seventh levels, from which regression is possible, see below, pp. 964-968; also Sgam-po-pa, op. cit., pp. 239-248.

[7]:

On the three pure levels, i.e. the eighth to the tenth, which are those of non-regression, see below, pp. 964-968, and Sgam-po-pa, op. cit., pp. 248-252.

[8]:

On the three trainings and six transcendental perfections, see below, notes 62 and 69. The two provisions are those of merit (puṇyasambhāra) and pristine cognition (jñānasambhāra).

[9]:

Abhidharmakośa. Ch. 4, v. 118.

[10]:

On this assertion, see above, pp. 357ff.

[11]:

Cf. Laṅkāvatāra. Ch. 10, v. 38ab & 39cd.

[12]:

N. L.

[13]:

Concerning the enumeration of twelve deeds (mdzad-pa bcu-gnyis). see below, pp. 495-496; also NSTB, Book 2, Pt. 1, pp. 18-40.

[14]:

I.e. Śākyamuni before his enlightenment at the bodhimaṇḍa. on which see also below, note 36.

[15]:

Lalitavistara. II. v. 1.

[16]:

Lalitavistara, III, 8-10.

[17]:

Lalitavistara, III.

[18]:

I.e the following six contemporaries of Śākyamuni: Vardhamāna, Sañjaya, Ajita Keśakambalin, Pūrāṇa Kāśyapa, Maskarīputra Gosāla, and Kakuḍa Kātyāyana.

[19]:

Lalitavistara, III.

[20]:

These dharmālokamukha are enumerated in Lalitavistara. IV. PP. 23-25.

[21]:

Sanskrit anutpattikadharmakṣānti: Lalitavistara. IV, 1. 17.

[22]:

Lalitavistara. IV, v. 1-3.

[23]:

Lalitavistara. V, p. 20, 1. 11-20.

[24]:

Lalitavistara. vi, v. 1.

[25]:

See NSTB, Book 2, Pt. 1, p. 20. Cf. Lalitavistara. VI.

[26]:

Lalitavistara. VII.

[27]:

Lalltavistara. VII.

[28]:

On these kingdoms and personalities, see HBI, Chs. 1-2, pp. 1-25. and A. Csoma de Körös, The Life and Teaching of Buddha, p. 27.

[29]:

Lalitavistara. XII, v. 17-18.

[30]:

Lalitavistara. XIII, v. 1-3.

[31]:

According to HBI, p. 346, the Sacred Stūpa (mchod-rten rnam-dag) is located near Rāmagrāma, east of Kapilavastu. For another opinion, however, see NSTB, Book 2, Pt. 1, notes.

[32]:

Lalitavistara. XVI and XVII; also NSTB, Book 2, Pt. 1. These contemplations are associated with the formless realms at the summit of existence in saṃsāra. See NSTB, Book 1, pp. 7b-11b.

[33]:

Lalitavistara. XVIII.

[34]:

Refer to Abhidharmakośa, Vol 2, pp. 966-970, in which Yaśomitra compares this vajropamasamādhi to a diamond drill which pierces all because it pierces all dispositions.

[35]:

Lalitavistara. XVIII.

[36]:

Lalitavistara. XIX-XX. The term bodhimaṇḍa refers to the outer place and time at which Śākyamuni attained enlightenment, i.e. the Vajrāsana at Bodh Gayā; and also to the inner bodhimand a or Akaniṣṭha realm, and the secret bodhimaṇḍa or vajrakāya.

[37]:

Lalitavistara. XIX, v. 57.

[38]:

Lalitavistara. XXI, v. 87-88.

[39]:

Lalitavistara. XXI.

[40]:

These three kinds of awareness (traividyatā, Tibetan rig-pa gsum) are the three higher supernormal cognitive powers (abhijñā), viz. knowledge of past lives, of the transference of consciousness at death and rebirth, and of the cessation of corruption. On the ten powers (daśabala). see above, pp. 384-5, note 62.

[41]:

Lalitavistara. XXII, v. 2; and for the account of his seven weeks silence, ibid., XXIV.

[42]:

Lalitavistara. XXV, v. 1.

[43]:

Lalitavistara. XXV, v. 9 and 11.

[44]:

Lalitavistara. XXV, v. 18.

[45]:

Lalitavistara. XXV, v. 17.

[46]:

Lalitavistara, XXV.

[47]:

Lalitavistara. XXV, v. 21.

[48]:

Lalitavistara. XXV, v. 34.

[49]:

Lalitavistara. XXV, v. 35ac and 36d.

[50]:

On the distinctions between these three promulgations, see NSTB. Book 1, Pt. 3.

[51]:

On the three pl takas, the three trainings and the classifications of the vehicle, see NSTB, Book 1, Pt. 1, pp. 16a-28a.

[52]:

The complete text of the Mahāvibhāṣa is extant only in its Chinese translation (Taishb 1545). On this quotation, cf. NSTB, Book 2, Pt. 1, p. 40.

[53]:

On the traditions connected with the original reliquaries and relics mentioned in this quotation, see HBI, pp. 24-25; A. Bareau, Recherches sur la Biographie du Buddha. II.II, pp. 308-323: I.B. Horner, Chronicle of the Buddhas. p. 98; and J.F. Fleet, “The tradition about the Corporeal Relics of Buddha” in JRAS, 1906, no. 2. pp. 655-671. 881-913: and 1907, no. 1, pp. 341-364.