The five aggregates of form, feeling, perception, formation, and consciousness. On the individual level, the five aggregates refer to the basis upon which the mistaken idea of a self is projected. They are referred to as the “bases for appropriation” (Skt. upādāna), insofar as all conceptual grasping arises on the basis of these aggregates.
A disciple of the Buddha.
“Not Able to Be Harmed by Others”; a previous buddha.
It refers to arts and crafts generally; in the context of this sūtra, it is also used to describe skill in arts and crafts, and has been also been rendered as such.
A showy tree (Saraca indica) of the family Leguminosae of tropical Asia that is cultivated for its orange scarlet flowers and is used to decorate temples.
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).
In this text, attachment is one of the three factors at odds with the true Dharma because it impedes generosity and thus destroys merit.
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”).
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).
“Power of Splendor,” Puṇyabala’s father.
Not being conscientious. In this text, carelessness is one of the three factors at odds with the true Dharma because it impedes generosity and thus destroys merit.
Often translated “element,” commonly in the context of the eighteen elements of sensory experience (the six sense faculties, their six respective objects, and the six sensory consciousnesses), although the term has a wide range of other meanings. Along with the aggregates (Skt. skandha) and the sense bases (Skt. āyatana), one of the three major categories in the taxonomy of phenomena in the sūtra literature.
Enthusiasm for virtue. One of the six perfections, the seven limbs of awakening, the five abilities, the four bases of magical power, and the five powers.
“Winner at Dice,” a previous life of Prince Puṇyabala and the Buddha himself. Also called King Jaya.
In this text, it is a description of the ultimate and quasi-synonymous with nirvāṇa.
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).
The four means of enticement are (1) generosity, (2) kind words, (3) consistency between words and deeds, and (4) helpful actions.
Effect, result, fruit.
The first of the six or ten perfections, often explained as the essential starting point and training for the practice of the others. In this text, it exemplifies merit, the most prized quality of human beings.
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology included among the six heavens of the desire realm. It is characterized by freedom from difficulty.
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, counted among the six heavens of the desire realm. Its inhabitants magically create the objects of their own enjoyment, and also dispose of them themselves.
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).
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, highest of the six heavens of the desire realm. The inhabitants enjoy objects created by others, then dispose of them themselves.
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, lowest of the six heavens of the desire realm. It is located on the slopes of Mount Meru and ruled by the Four Great Kings.
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology, the second heaven of the desire realm. It is located above Mount Meru and reigned over by Indra, otherwise known as Śakra, and thirty-two other gods.
One of the standard epithets of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
This term here refers to the knowledge or wisdom gained through study, contemplation, and meditation.
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.
Meaning “action” in its most basic sense, karma is an important concept in Buddhist philosophy as the cumulative force of previous physical, verbal, and mental acts, which determines present experience and will determine future existences.
The court priest in the Buddha’s father’s kingdom, who predicted the Buddha’s awakening. He became one of the Buddha’s five companions in asceticism. They renounced him when he abandoned asceticism but after his awakening they became his pupils. Kauṇḍinya was the first to convert to being his pupil and was the first of his pupils to become an arhat. Also called “Kauṇḍinyagotra” and “Ājñātakauṇḍinya.”
“One who belongs to the Kuśika lineage.” An epithet of the god Śakra, also known as Indra, the king of the gods in the Trāyastriṃśa heaven. In the Ṛgveda, Indra is addressed by the epithet Kauśika, with the implication that he is associated with the descendants of the Kuśika lineage (gotra) as their aiding deity. In later epic and Purāṇic texts, we find the story that Indra took birth as Gādhi Kauśika, the son of Kuśika and one of the Vedic poet-seers, after the Puru king Kuśika had performed austerities for one thousand years to obtain a son equal to Indra who could not be killed by others. In the Pāli Kusajātaka (Jāt V 141–45), the Buddha, in one of his former bodhisattva lives as a Trāyastriṃśa god, takes birth as the future king Kusa upon the request of Indra, who wishes to help the childless king of the Mallas, Okkaka, and his chief queen Sīlavatī. This story is also referred to by Nāgasena in the Milindapañha.
“Illuminating,” the name Prince Puṇyabala receives when he is coronated as a king.
The father of the Buddha.
Another name for King Yama (Skt. yamarāja; Tib. gshin rje rgyal po), the deity who judges the dead and rules over the hell realms of the underworld.
Literally “Lord of Desire.” Name of Kubera/Vaiśravaṇa, who presides over the Desire Realm.
The mother of the Buddha.
The Mahāvastu or “Great Chapter” is a lengthy work of the Lokottaravāda (Proponents of the Supramundane) subsect of the Mahāsāṃghika (Great Saṅgha) tradition, which some scholars have regarded as a precursor of Mahāyāna Buddhism. It is written in mixed Sanskrit, Pāli, and Prakrit and is regarded as the earliest Sanskrit biography of the Buddha. The work belongs to the Vinayapiṭaka and in fact describes itself as a historical preface to the Buddhist monastic codes (Skt. vinaya). In this regard, it does correspond loosely to the Mahāvagga section of the Khandhaka in the Pāli Vinayapiṭaka. Over half the text comprises avadānas and jatakas (some having no Pāli antecedent), which tell of past lives of the Buddha when he was a bodhisattva on the path to awakening.
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.
In Sanskrit and Pāli, lit. “Maker of Death”; a demon in Buddhism who is the personification of evil and spiritual death. He notoriously assailed the future Buddha as he sat beneath the Bodhi tree and similarly impedes the spiritual progress of Buddhist practitioners in general.
One of the Buddha’s two principal monastic disciples.
In this text, merit is established as the most prized possession of human beings, more than good looks, diligence, artistry, and insight. In Buddhism more generally, merit refers to the wholesome tendencies imprinted in the mind as a result of positive and skillful thoughts, words, and actions that ripen in the experience of happiness and well-being. According to the Mahāyāna, it is important to dedicate the merit of one’s wholesome actions to the benefit of all sentient beings, ensuring that others also experience the results of the positive actions generated.
In Mahāyāna doctrine, bodhicitta refers to the resolve to attain awakening for the benefit of all beings and can also refer to the awakened mind itself.
In this text, miserliness is one of the three factors at odds with the true Dharma because it impedes generosity and thus destroys merit.
The great mountain at the center of the universe, according to ancient Indian cosmology. At its summit lies Sudarśana city, home of Śakra (Indra) and his thirty-two gods.
A class of nonhuman beings who live in subterranean aquatic environments, where they guard wealth and sometimes also teachings. Nāgas are associated with serpents and have a snakelike appearance. In Buddhist art and in written accounts, they are regularly portrayed as half human and half snake, and they are also said to have the ability to change into human form. Some nāgas are Dharma protectors, but they can also bring retribution if they are disturbed. They may likewise fight one another, wage war, and destroy the lands of others by causing lightning, hail, and flooding.
The attainment of nirvāṇa without any remainder of the physical and mental aggregates.
According to Alexander Cunningham, one paṇa “was a handful of cowrie shells, usually reckoned as 80.” (See Cunningham 1996, p. 1.)
One of the four divine pleasure gardens.
Puṇyabala’s garden.
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福力太子因縁經 Fuli taizi yinyuan jing, Taishō 173.3.42a816–436a26.
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