One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
One of the three gateways of liberation, along with emptiness and absence of wishes.
One of the three gateways of liberation, along with emptiness and absence of marks.
In a general sense, samādhi can describe a number of different meditative states. In the Mahāyāna literature, in particular in the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras, we find extensive lists of different samādhis, numbering over one hundred.
In a more restricted sense, and when understood as a mental state, samādhi is defined as the one-pointedness of the mind (cittaikāgratā), the ability to remain on the same object over long periods of time. The Drajor Bamponyipa (sgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa) commentary on the Mahāvyutpatti explains the term samādhi as referring to the instrument through which mind and mental states “get collected,” i.e., it is by the force of samādhi that the continuum of mind and mental states becomes collected on a single point of reference without getting distracted.
See “five acts with immediate results.”
The process of karma, afflictions of the mind, and suffering.
King of Magadha and son of king Bimbisāra. He reigned during the last ten years of the Buddha’s life and about twenty years after. He overthrew his father and through invasion expanded the kingdom of Magadha. After his father’s death, he became tormented with guilt and regret, converted to Buddhism, and supported the Buddha and his community.
A nāga king; a member of the Buddha’s retinue.
Lit. “Unobstructed.” One of the ten great śrāvaka disciples, famed for his meditative prowess and superknowledges. He was the Buddha's cousin—a son of Amṛtodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana—and is often mentioned along with his two brothers Bhadrika and Mahānāma. Some sources also include Ānanda among his brothers.
An optional set of practices that monastics can adopt in order to cultivate greater detachment. The list of practices varies in different sources. When thirteen practices are listed, they consist of (1) wearing patched robes made from discarded cloth rather than from cloth donated by laypeople, (2) wearing only three robes, (3) going for alms, (4) not omitting any house while on the alms round rather than begging only at those houses known to provide good food, (5) eating only what can be eaten in one sitting, (6) eating only food received in the alms bowl rather than more elaborate meals presented to the Saṅgha, (7) refusing more food after indicating one has eaten enough, (8) dwelling in the forest, (9) dwelling at the root of a tree, (10) dwelling in the open air using only a tent made from one’s robes as shelter, (11) dwelling in a charnel ground, (12) being satisfied with whatever dwelling one has, and (13) sleeping in a sitting position without ever lying down.
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
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).
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
A householder in the Buddha Dīpaṅkara’s time.
The world in the distant past inhabited by the Buddha Invincible Banner of Victory.
In this text, the bodhisattva collection refers to the realization of all phenomena as well as the qualities of ordinary beings, learning, that which is beyond learning, hearers, solitary buddhas, bodhisattvas, and buddhas.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
A collective name for the first three heavens of the form realm, which correspond to the first concentration (dhyāna): Brahmakāyika, Brahmapurohita, and Mahābrahmā (also called Brahmapārṣadya). These are ruled over by the god Brahmā. According to some sources, it can also be a general reference to all the heavens in the form realm and formless realm. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
One of the physical marks of a buddha, a hair that is coiled up between the eyebrows.
A god from the Heaven of Joy.
The hell into which King Ajātaśatru will be briefly reborn. Also called White Lotus.
The arising of beings explained as a chain of causation involving twelve interdependent links or stages.
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
The term dhāraṇī is in some sūtras both a mnemonic formula and the ability of realized beings to retain (√dhṛ) any teachings in their transmundane memory. In its most general use it is as understood in the context of the Dhāraṇī genre and Mahāyāna Buddhism, where it refers to divinely revealed prayer formulas dedicated to a particular deity and typically including homage, praise, supplication, exhortation to act, and, most importantly, mantras of the deity. There is also the specific sense of “retention” 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 in this way, even shorter mantras can be designated as dhāraṇī.
A bodhisattva in Mañjuśrī’s retinue.
The buddha who preceded Śākyamuni and gave him the prophecy of his buddhahood.
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
The emancipation of form observing form, the emancipation of the formless observing form, the emancipation of observing beauty, the emancipation of infinite space, the emancipation of infinite consciousness, the emancipation of nothing whatsoever, the emancipation of neither the presence nor the absence of perception, and the emancipation of cessation.
Hoping for happiness, fame, praise, and gain and fearing suffering, insignificance, blame, and loss.
In the context of Buddhist philosophy, one way to describe experience in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, smell, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; and mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).
This also refers to the elements of the world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added, and the sixth is consciousness.
A bodhisattva in Mañjuśrī’s retinue.
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
One of twenty-five bodhisattvas in Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta’s retinue at the outset of this sūtra.
A buddha realm to the east, of the Buddha Resounding Glory.
The monk in the distant past who was the greatest in terms of insight under the Buddha called He Who Outshines All.
A buddha in a past eon.
The name of the householder Immersed in Joy when he becomes a buddha in the future.
The set of practices that lead to awakening, traditionally listed as thirty-seven.
A royal palace in the distant past.
Acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages; the five are murdering one’s father, murdering one’s mother, killing a worthy one, shedding the blood of a buddha, and creating a schism in the saṅgha.
Divine sight, divine hearing, the ability to know past and future lives, the ability to know the minds of others, and the ability to produce miracles.
A merchant during the time of the Buddha Invincible Banner of Victory.
Love, compassion, joy, and equanimity.
Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahārājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).
Generosity, kind talk, meaningful actions, and practicing what one preaches.
The four truths that the Buddha transmitted in his first teaching: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path to the cessation of suffering.
A bodhisattva in Mañjuśrī’s retinue.
ma skyes dgra’i ’gyod pa bsal ba (Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana). Toh 231, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 211.b–268.b.
ma skyes dgra’i ’gyod pa bsal ba. 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. 62, pp. 3–313.
ma skyes dgra’i ’gyod pa bsal ba. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 73 (mdo sde, za), folios 266.b–351.a.
dkar chag ’phang thang ma. Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Harrison, Paul, and Jens-Uwe Hartmann (1998). “A Sanskrit Fragment of the Ajātaśatru-kaukṛtya-vinodanā-sūtra.” In Sūryacandrāya: Essays in Honour of Akira Yuyama, edited by Paul Harrison and Gregory Schopen, 67–86. Swisttal-Odendorf: Indica et Tibetica Verlag, 1998.
Harrison, Paul, and Jens-Uwe Hartmann (2000). “Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodanāsūtra.” In Buddhist Manuscripts Volume I, edited by Jens Braarvig et al., 167–216. Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection Oslo: Hermes, 2000.
Harrison, Paul, and Jens-Uwe Hartmann (2002). “Another Fragment of the Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodanāsūtra.” In Buddhist Manuscripts Volume II, edited by Jens Braarvig et al., 45–50. Manuscripts in the Schøyen Collection. Oslo: Hermes, 2002.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Miyazaki, Tensho (2008). “Background to the Compilation of Chapter 4 of the Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodanasūtra: Was Chapter 4 Originally a Separate Text?” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies 56, no. 3 (2008): 1110–13.
Miyazaki, Tensho (2012). Ajase ō kyō no kenkyū: Sono hensan katei no kaimei wo chūshin toshite [A Study of the Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana: Focusing on the Compilation Process]. Bibliotheca Indologica et Buddhologica 15. Tokyo: Sankibo Press, 2012.
Miyazaki, Tensho (2013). “Future Lives of King Ajātaśatru in Chapter XI of the Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana: With Special Attention to Its Similarities with the Account of the Prophecy That King Ajātaśatru Will Become a Pratyekabuddha in Other Buddhist Texts.” Acta Tibetica et Buddhica 6 (2013): 1–19.
Silk, Jonathan. “Chinese Sūtras in Tibetan Translation: A Preliminary Survey.” Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology 21 (2020): 227–46.
Shingan, Shaku. The King Ajātaśatru Sūtra: A Translation of the Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana Sūtra from the Chinese of Lokakṣema Together with Three Short Sūtras on Ajātaśatru. Kamakura, 2022.