Grihapatiratna, Gṛhapatiratna, Grihapati-ratna: 1 definition

Introduction:

Grihapatiratna means something in Buddhism, Pali. If you want to know the exact meaning, history, etymology or English translation of this term then check out the descriptions on this page. Add your comment or reference to a book if you want to contribute to this summary article.

The Sanskrit term Gṛhapatiratna can be transliterated into English as Grhapatiratna or Grihapatiratna, using the IAST transliteration scheme (?).

In Buddhism

Mahayana (major branch of Buddhism)

[«previous next»] — Grihapatiratna in Mahayana glossary
Source: Wisdom Library: Maha Prajnaparamita Sastra

Gṛhapatiratna (गृहपतिरत्न) refers to the “treasurer-jewel”, according to Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra (chapter 22, v2).—Accordingly, “The Bodhisattva-mahāsattva has an entourage consisting only of Bodhisattvas.—[Those who surround the bodhisattva of the ninth ground (sādhumatī-bhūmi)] are wise men, good men who, from lifetime to lifetime have accumulated merit. In the present passage, the Buddha himself says that the entourage is composed solely of Bodhisattvas. Thus, it is said in the Pou-k’o-sseu-yi king [Acintyasūtra, or Gaṇḍavyūha) that Kiu-p’i-ye (Gopiyā or Gopā) was a great Bodhisattva. The whole entourage is in the level of the non-regressing Bodhisattvas. These Bodhisattvas, by the magical power of the concentration of means, change into men or women and together form the entourage of the Bodhisattva of the ninth ground]. They are like the treasurer-jewel [i.e., gṛhapatiratna] of a Cakravartin king: he is a Yakṣa or an Asura, but he takes the form of a man in order to work with men”.

Note: Gṛhapatiratna, rendered here by the characters kiu-che-pao, is the sixth of the seven jewels of a Cakravartin king. This was not strictly speaking a ‘householder’ but a treasurer, as certain Chinese translations suggest: tien-tsang-pao, cheou-tsang-tche-pao, tchou-tsang-pao. Dīgha (II p. 176) and Majjhima (III p. 175) attribute to him supernatural powers: [“tassa kammavipākajaṃ dibbaṃ cakkhu pātubhavati yena nidhiṃ passati sassāmikam pi assāmikam pi”]—“There appears in him a divine eye by which he finds the treasures which may or may not have a possessor”.

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context information

Mahayana (महायान, mahāyāna) is a major branch of Buddhism focusing on the path of a Bodhisattva (spiritual aspirants/ enlightened beings). Extant literature is vast and primarely composed in the Sanskrit language. There are many sūtras of which some of the earliest are the various Prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

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