The name of Maitreya before his awakening.
One of the Buddha’s first five disciples.
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
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).
A brahmin into whose family Ajita was born.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
The three heavens of Brahmā in the form realm. Subordinates of Brahmā dwell in the first, attendants and officials dwell in the second, and the third and highest heaven is Mahābrahmā or “Great Brahmā.”
A king of the Brahmā heavens in the form realm.
The term dhāraṇī — in some sūtras a mnemonic formula and also the ability of realized beings to retain (√dhṛ) in their transmundane memory any teachings — refers, in its most general use, to dhāraṇīs as understood in the context of the Dhāraṇī genre and Mahāyāna Buddhism. Such dhāraṇīs are divinely revealed prayer formulae that are dedicated to a particular deity and typically include homage, praise, supplication, exhortation to act, and, most importantly, the heart mantra or mantras of the deity. The specific meaning of “retention” is also present in this inasmuch as dhāraṇīs, once obtained, are never lost but stay with the person who obtained them. They function as doors (dhāraṇīdvāra) or access points (dhāraṇīmukha) to infinite qualities of buddhahood. When they are regarded to function as such, even shorter mantras can be designated as dhāraṇī.
A method, often in the form of a spell, that leads to the infinite qualities of awakening.
A divine nectar, panacea against death.
One of four māras or demonic forces that hinder progress on the path.
Gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas.
A reference to the practice of a lay disciple (Skt. upāsaka) who ordinarily observes the five precepts, taking all eight vows for the fortnightly fast (Skt. upavāsa).
A secondary series of identifying physical features of a great being.
Fifth of the five great kings.
The five great deities of the Heaven of Joy. In the Tibetan translation, they are specified as kings.
Second of the five great kings.
The present eon, in which one thousand buddhas will appear.
The four aspirations of bodhisattvahood defined variously in East Asian Mahāyāna works.
Monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen.
The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.
For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.
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.”
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
Name of a dhāraṇī.
Tuṣita (or sometimes Saṃtuṣita), literally “Joyous” or “Contented,” is one of the six heavens of the desire realm (kāmadhātu). In standard classifications, such as the one in the Abhidharmakośa, it is ranked as the fourth of the six counting from below. This god realm is where all future buddhas are said to dwell before taking on their final rebirth prior to awakening. There, the Buddha Śākyamuni lived his preceding life as the bodhisattva Śvetaketu. When departing to take birth in this world, he appointed the bodhisattva Maitreya, who will be the next buddha of this eon, as his Dharma regent in Tuṣita. For an account of the Buddha’s previous life in Tuṣita, see The Play in Full (Toh 95), 2.12, and for an account of Maitreya’s birth in Tuṣita and a description of this realm, see The Sūtra on Maitreya’s Birth in the Heaven of Joy, (Toh 199).
Third of the five great kings.
A particularly fine type of gold deposited in the Jambū river, sometimes said to be remains of the fruits from the rose-apple trees growing there which fall into the river and are consumed.
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.
The length of a year as experienced by a sentient being born on Jambudvīpa in the desire realm.
See “Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park.”
Fourth of the five great kings.
The area of Vārāṇasī where Maitreya (as Ajita) is said to have been born.
A type of gem, presumably red as in the blossoms of the kiṃśuka tree.
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
The first buddha in the present Fortunate Eon.
This name is transcribed from the Chinese 牢度跋提. We have been unable to determine the meaning of this name, or a Sanskrit equivalent. In the Chinese, this figure is described as a “great god” rather than a “great king.”
A male lay devotee.
A female lay devotee.
A unit of distance.
Name of a dhāraṇī.
Seat of a buddha or royal throne.
One of the principal disciples of the Buddha, known for his ascetic practice.
The maternal aunt and adoptive mother of the Buddha as well as the first woman to be ordained.
Literally “great serpents,” mahoragas are supernatural beings depicted as large, subterranean beings with human torsos and heads and the lower bodies of serpents. Their movements are said to cause earthquakes, and they make up a class of subterranean geomantic spirits whose movement through the seasons and months of the year is deemed significant for construction projects.
The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”
For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).
Flowers of the heavenly Mandārava tree, whose blossoms often rain down in salutation of buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.
A close disciple of the Buddha, famous for his mastery of supranormal powers.
’phags pa byang chub sems dpa’ byams pa dga’ ldan gnam du skye ba blangs pa’i mdo. Toh 199, Degé Kangyur, vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 296.b–303.a.
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