Part 2 - Hearing the twelve-membered speech of the Buddha

Sūtra (cf. Pañcaviṃśati, p. 31, l. 4–8; Śatasāhasrikā, p. 100, l. 8–14). – Furthermore, O Śāriputra, the bodhisattva-mahāsattva must practice the perfection of wisdom if he wishes to hear, recite, conserve and retain the twelve-membered speech of the Buddha, preached in the ten directions by the Buddhas, namely: 1) sūtra, 2) geya, 3) vyākaraṇa, 4) gāthā, 5) udāna, 6) nidāna, 7) avadāna, 8) ityuktaka, 9) jātaka, 10) vaipulya, 11) adbhutadharma, 12) upadeśa; whether or not this speech has been heard by the śrāvakas (Punar aparaṃ Śāriputra yat kiṃcid daśasu dikṣu buddhair bhagadbhir bhāṣitaṃ dvādaśāṅgaṃ buddhavacanaṃ yadidaṃ sūtraṃ geyaṃ vyākaraṇaṃ gāthā udānaṃ nidānaṃ avadānaṃ ityuktakaṃ jātakaṃ vaipulyaṃ adbhūtadharmaā upadeśaḥ, yac ca śrāvakaiḥ śrutaṃ vā na śrutaṃ vā tat sarvaṃ śrotukāmena vācayitukāmenodgrahahītukāmena dhārayitukāmena bodhisattvena mahāsattvena prajñāpāramitāyāṃ śikṣitavyam).

Śāstra. –

Above (p. 2272F) the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra spoke of the bodhisattva “wanting to hear the teachings given in the ten directions by the Buddhas and, to this end, practicing the perfection of wisdom”. Here it is a matter of these teachings, the ‘twelve-membered speech of the Buddha’ (dvādaśāṅgaṃ buddhavacanam).^[1]