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Boucher 2006, p. 24; Nanjio 1884, p. 40. Nanjio noted that this is largely identical to the Tibetan.
In the Denkarma it is included among the “Miscellaneous Sūtras” (mdo sde sna tshogs). Denkarma, folio 298.a; Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. 72.
Upatiṣya (Tib. nye rgyal) is another name for Śāriputra, and Kolita (Tib. pang nas skyes) for Maudgalyāyana. They were the Buddha’s “supreme” pair of students: Upatiṣya in terms of knowledge, Kolita in terms of magical power.
Tib. chos gos ngan pa ’chang ba. It is unclear whether this is meant as an additional name in the list (as the Tibetan syntax would suggest) or if it is an adjective for either the preceding or subsequent figure. It is not attested as a name of one of the Buddha’s disciple s and has been deliberately rendered ambiguously here.
This set of verses are in nine-syllable meter in Tibetan, as compared to the seven-syllable meter used elsewhere throughout this text.
Following D bsam gtan zhi la. K, S, and Y: bsam gtan bzhi la (“in the four concentrations”).
The story of how Mahākāśyapa was absent from the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa and arrived several days later is told in sources in the Pali canon and in the Saṅghabhedavastu.
In this sentence the phrase yongs su mya ngan las ’da ba, which is found four times in the sentence, has been translated first as “complete nirvāṇa,” then as “parinirvāṇa,” and then, reflecting the literal meaning of the Tibetan, as “pass completely beyond suffering.”
The bodhisattva’s name (Skt. sucintitārtha, Tib. don legs par sems pa) could be translated as “with good purpose.”
In the Tibetan, the narrative continues here in seven syllable verse, as with the child’s speech.
This is a reference to the parricide committed by King Ajātaśatru, who killed his own father King Bimbisāra. Parricide is one of the five heinous crimes of immediate retribution. See Radich 2011.
Tib. byis pa’i byis pa ni. The term byis pa, translated in the previous verse as “child,” could equally be translated as “foolishness” or “childishness.”
This and the following verse refer to the life story (jātaka) of the Buddha Śākyamuni’s previous incarnation as Viśvantara (Pali vessantara, Tib. thams cad sgrol or dri med kun ldan).
Tib. sems mtha’ yas pa rjes su ’jug pa dang / ye shes zab mo’i rjes su ’jug pa dang / snying po dang ldan pa’i ting nge ’dzin la rjes su sgom pa. An absorption called sāravatī (Skt. sāravatīnāmasamādhi, Tib. snying po dang ldan pa zhes bya ba’i ting nge ’dzin) literally “having a core,” is listed in the Mahāvyutpatti.
Translation tentative. Tib. sems ’di thams cad dag las log gyur pa’i/ rjes su rab tu ’jug pas sems zhes bya.
Tib. dmigs med, the same as the bodhisattva’s name. It could also be translated as “beyond objectifying perception,” “objectless,” or “beyond apprehension.”
Tib. rgyal ba. Here the child seems to be referring to the thus-gone one Resting in the Branches of Awakening.
Translation tentative. skad cig ’di nyid ma thal bar ’jig rten gyi khams de dang / sangs rgyas kyi zhing de nas gnyis lhan cig mi [L -mi] ’grogs par ’phags te dong ngo. We have read ’phags here as a translation of abhi+ud+√gam.
We have not identified these three enumerations: gnas lnga, gnas bcu, and nye ba’i skyon bcu gnyis.
Translation tentative. Following C, K, L, N, and Y: lus lan stong du brtags. D, J, and S read lugs lan stong du brtags, possibly “cast and recast a thousand times.”
We have not identified this list of eight qualities: yan lag brgyad la mkhas pa’i mi stong.
Tib. phung po gnyis dang theg pa gsum. In this instance the “three vehicles” likely refers to those of the śrāvakas, solitary buddhas, and bodhisattvas. The “two categories” (or “two heaps”) have not been identified.
Following D: zang zing med pa’i chos ’phags pa dgra bcom pa nyid mngon sum du byed par ’gyur ro. N, L and S: chos thams cad (“the realization of all phenomena being immaterial”).
Tib. zhang blon dang zhang blon gyi g.yog gnyug ma. It is unusual to find the term zhang blon (lit. “uncle-minister”) in a translated text. The rank or title of zhang blon was used in imperial Tibet for the powerful ministers drawn from the aristocratic clans or families of the emperors’ wives. It is not clear what its Sanskrit correlate would be.
Following H: rab tu ’dud par ’os pa zhes bya ba. D: rab tu mdung bar ’os pa. L and S: rab tu gdud pa.
The term gyad, which precedes some of the names in this list, literally means “athlete” or “champion.” Given the setting in the Malla kingdom (Tib. gyad yul), it indicates that they are members of the Malla clan.
Tib. mchog zung yang bu nyid yin. mchog zung literally means “excellent pair” and is often found in reference to the Buddha’s two main disciple s.
Tib. dge ’dun dkon mchog, literally “Saṅgha jewel,” referencing the Saṅgha as one of the Three Jewels.
Tib. dbang bsgyur tshangs pa la sogs. In the context of this condensed list of heavens, the term dbang bsgyur (Skt. vaśavartin) here appears to be a highly abbreviated form of the full name of the Heaven of Mastery over Others’ Emanations, the highest of the heavens of the desire realm, while tshangs pa (Skt. brahmā) appears to denote the deities of the Brahmā heavens of the form realm.
Tib. brang ’gro chen po. In other contexts this term, which literally means “those that go on their chests” or “snakes,” refers to mahoragas, but here it refers to nāgas.
Translation tentative. Tib. tshangs pa ngan spong gtsug tor can. Here Bhṛgu (ngan spong) and Śikhin (gtsug tor can) appear to be names of brahmās.
Following S: nyal ba mtshon cha rnam dag gis/ /yong su gshags nas sad pa na. D reads gshegs rather than gshags; H and N read bsad rather than sad.
Tib. kun dga’ bo bzang po dang / dpal sgra zin ’di gnyis bcol cing yongs su gtad do zhes phyag gis dge slong de dag gi lag tu gtad do. The primary meaning of gtad is “press.” The implication here is that he conferred responsibility, as in the translation here of yong su gtad as “invested.”
Here the Tibetan uses the same phrase as is elsewhere translated here as “will pass into parinirvāṇa” (Tib. yongs su mya ngan las ’da’). We have chosen to translate it here, when referring to these other monks, as “pass completely beyond suffering.”
Translation tentative. Reading gzhan gang dag la skyob ’gyur shing for D, L, and S: gzhan gang bdag la skyob ’gyur shing (“what others will protect me?”).
Translation tentative. tshad med bsam gyis mi khyab pa’i/ /’jig rten khams su rnam bltas na/ /gang gi phyir ni ’dir bsdad pa’i/ /sems can ’ga’ yang ma mthong ngo.
Reading phyag ring po che for D, L, and S: phyag rin po che. This emendation better reflects the wording found in lists of the eighty minor marks of a buddha.
While not elaborated here, this may reference a set of eight rdo rje’i tshig (vajrapadas), or “adamantine statements,” as enumerated in The Absorption That Encapsulates All Merit (Sarvapuṇyasamuccayasamādhisūtra, Toh 134), 2.73. In that sūtra, eight vajrapadas are delivered by the Thus-Gone Vimalakīrtirāja to the sage Uttara—a previous incarnation of Śākyamuni—along with several other enumerations of Dharma topics and the eponymous absorption itself. See also Harrison 2003, p. 128.
Together, these three states are known as the “three doors to liberation” (Skt. trīṇi vimokṣamukhāni), and each has a correlate absorption. For emptiness (stong pa nyid, śūnyatā), the “emptiness absorption” (śūnyatāsamādhi); for signlessness (mtshan ma med pa, animitta), the signless absorption (ānimittasamādhi); and for wishlessness (smon pa med pa, apraṇihita), the “wishless absorption” (apraṇihitasamādhi). See Deleanu 2000, p. 74.
Tib. skye bu’i mthu; Skt. puruṣakāra: more literally “human intervention,” which stands in juxtaposition to fate or divine intervention.
“With understanding, he discovered the way things are. Knowing beings’ abilities, He teaches causes and conditions. He has a deep love for beings. “The omniscient one removes our pain. He nourishes us, he gives us the cure. The perfect Buddha has tamed us. He has shown us how to transcend suffering. “Our eyes, our lamp, Will very soon pass away. Who then will liberate millions of beings From the torment of being continuously revived? “He is the great physician who removes all pain, The sustainer of all that lives, Who nourishes beings And ensures an end to bad rebirth.” The Blessed One then took a place at the edge of the Great Black Line Hell and radiated a great light that lit up the beings living there, releasing many thousands of them and sending them to the higher realms. In the same way, he released many thousands of beings from the Great Crushing Hell, the Wailing Hell and the Great Wailing Hell, the Hell of Heat, and the Hell of Intense Heat. He sent them to the higher realms and established them on the path that transcends suffering.
Translation tentative. Tib. bgrang ba’i tshul gyis mthong lags ni don dam par ni ma mthong lags so.
This enumeration of eight buddhas of the past—with the addition of Śākyamuni making nine—is unusual. The last three buddhas are also found in the more widely-attested scheme of the seven buddhas that was common in early Buddhism. All nine, including the first five (in the same order as here) are found in the fragmentary Gandhārī version of the “Many Buddhas Sūtra,” as translated by Salomon (2018, p. 284). Five of the buddhas in this list, though in different order, are also included in an enumeration of eleven buddhas in The Stem Array (Gaṇḍavyūha, Toh 44-45), 29.6.
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.
The bodhisattvas’ realization that all phenomena are unproduced and empty. It sustains them on the difficult path of benefiting all beings so that they do not succumb to the goal of personal liberation. Different sources link this realization to the first or eighth bodhisattva level (bhūmi).
The king of Magadha and son of King Bimbisāra and his queen Vaidehī, he reigned during the last ten years of the Buddha’s life and for about twenty years after. While he was a prince, he became friends with Devadatta, who convinced him to usurp his father’s throne. After he had his father imprisoned and killed, he was tormented by guilt and regret and converted to Buddhism. Thereafter he supported the Buddhist community and the compilation of the Buddha’s teachings during the First Council.
A member of the Malla clan who worships the Buddha at his parinirvāṇa.
A close śrāvaka disciple of the Buddha.
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 nāga king whose domain is Lake Anavatapta. According to Buddhist cosmology, this lake is located near Mount Sumeru and is the source of the four great rivers of Jambudvīpa. It is often identified with Lake Manasarovar at the foot of Mount Kailash in Tibet.
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.
A member of the Malla clan who worships the Buddha at his parinirvāṇa.
A general term applied to spiritual practitioners who live as ascetic mendicants. In Buddhist texts, the term usually refers to Buddhist monastics, but it can also designate a practitioner from other ascetic/monastic spiritual traditions. In this context śramaṇa is often contrasted with the term brāhmaṇa (bram ze), which refers broadly to followers of the Vedic tradition. Any renunciate, not just a Buddhist, could be referred to as a śramaṇa if they were not within the Vedic fold. The epithet Great Śramaṇa is often applied to the Buddha.
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).
Literally “The Ascended,” the fourth of eight named buddhas of the past (with the addition of Śākyamuni making nine) in The Four Boys’ Absorption. It has been assumed that this is a variant Tibetan spelling of a buddha of the past whose attested Sanskrit name is elsewhere found in Tibetan as mthor ’phags pa (The Chapter on Medicines [Bhaiṣajyavastu, Toh 1-6], e.g., 9.1506) and shin tu mtho bar gshegs pa (The Stem Array [Gaṇḍavyūha, Toh 44-45], 28.15–28.18), among other variants.
A fully awakened being; when spelled with a capital letter it refers to the Buddha Śākyamuni, one of the Three Jewels, unless another buddha is specified.
One of four words that emanate from every pore of the bodhisattva child Without Reference who arrives at the scene of the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. See “buddha.”
See also “buddha.”
A fully awakened being; when spelled with a capital letter it refers to the Buddha Śākyamuni, one of the Three Jewels, unless another buddha is specified.
One of four words that emanate from every pore of the bodhisattva child Without Reference who arrives at the scene of the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. See “buddha.”
See also “buddha.”
See “bad rebirth.”
The three lower rebirths, into the realms of hell beings, pretas, and animals.
The bamboo grove near Rājagṛha where the Buddha regularly stayed and gave teachings. It was situated on land donated by King Bimbisāra of Magadha. It was the first of several landholdings donated to the Buddhist community during the time of the Buddha.
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
A buddha to the south, from whose buddha field, the world called Ratnavyūha, the bodhisattva child Thoroughly at Peace comes.
An epithet of the Buddha.
In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering has permanently ceased.
More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates. (3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace. This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.
See “pass into nirvāṇa.”
In Sanskrit, the term nirvāṇa literally means “extinguishment” and the Tibetan mya ngan las ’das pa literally means “gone beyond sorrow.” As a general term, it refers to the cessation of all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence, as well as to the state in which all such rebirth and suffering has permanently ceased.
More specifically, three main types of nirvāṇa are identified. (1) The first type of nirvāṇa, called nirvāṇa with remainder (sopadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), is the state in which arhats or buddhas have attained awakening but are still dependent on the conditioned aggregates until their lifespan is exhausted. (2) At the end of life, given that there are no more causes for rebirth, these aggregates cease and no new aggregates arise. What occurs then is called nirvāṇa without remainder ( anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa), which refers to the unconditioned element (dhātu) of nirvāṇa in which there is no remainder of the aggregates. (3) The Mahāyāna teachings distinguish the final nirvāṇa of buddhas from that of arhats, the nirvāṇa of arhats not being considered ultimate. The buddhas attain what is called nonabiding nirvāṇa (apratiṣṭhitanirvāṇa), which transcends the extremes of saṃsāra and nirvāṇa, i.e., existence and peace. This is the nirvāṇa that is the goal of the Mahāyāna path.
The term is used interchangeably in this text with “pass into parinirvāṇa” to refer to the Buddha passing away.
A deity from the Brahmā realms.
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 being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
The collected teachings of the Great Vehicle or Mahāyāna.
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.)
See “seven branches of awakening.”
A fully awakened being; when spelled with a capital letter it refers to the Buddha Śākyamuni, one of the Three Jewels, unless another buddha is specified.
One of four words that emanate from every pore of the bodhisattva child Without Reference who arrives at the scene of the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. See “buddha.”
See also “buddha.”
In this text, the world system in which a particular buddha has appeared.
In Buddhist usage, a general term for non-Buddhist religious mendicants, often paired with parivrājakas in stock lists of followers of heretical movements.
One who abstains from sexual activity as a religious observance.
See “celibate renunciate.”
One who abstains from sexual activity as a religious observance.
See “celibate renunciate.”
A “thousandfold universe,” also called a “small chiliocosm” (sāhasracūḍiko lokadhātu), consisting of a thousand worlds each made up of their own Mount Meru, four continents, sun, moon, and god realms.
See also “community.”
Though often specifically reserved for the monastic community, this term can be applied to any of the four Buddhist communities—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—as well as to identify the different groups of practitioners, like the community of bodhisattvas or the community of śrāvakas. It is also the third of the Three Jewels (triratna) of Buddhism: the Buddha, the Teaching, and the Community.
Name of a people or clan in Northern India during the Buddha’s lifetime. The literal meaning of gyad in Tibetan is “athlete,” “strong man,” or “champion.”
One of the sixteen great countries (mahājanapada) of Northern India during the Buddha’s lifetime, with Kuśinagara as its capital. See also “Malla.”
See “country of the Mallas.”
The five crimes of immediate retribution, acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages: killing an arhat, killing one’s mother, killing one’s father, creating schism in the saṅgha, and maliciously drawing blood from a tathāgata’s body.
A monk who trained under the buddha Flawless Eye. A previous life of the bodhisattva child Without Reference.
The cousin and adversary of the Buddha Śākyamuni. Devadatta befriended Ajātaśatru and convinced him to usurp the throne of his father Bimbisāra.
The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.
The buddha of the past who prophesied the future awakening of the Buddha Śākyamuni. The first of eight named buddhas of the past (with the addition of Śākyamuni making nine) in The Four Boys’Absorption.
See “hearer.”
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”
The eight great hot hells are usually listed as the Reviving Hell, the Black Line Hell, the Crushing Hell, the Wailing Hell, the Great Wailing Hell, the Hell of Heat, the Hell of Intense Heat, and the Hell of Unceasing Torture.
A nāga king.
The eldest and most venerable among the monastic Buddhist disciples.
One of four words that emanate from every pore of the bodhisattva child Without Reference who arrives at the scene of the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa.
Emptiness denotes the ultimate nature of reality, the total absence of inherent existence and self-identity with respect to all phenomena. According to this view, all things and events are devoid of any independent, intrinsic reality that constitutes their essence. Nothing can be said to exist independent of the complex network of factors that gives rise to its origination, nor are phenomena independent of the cognitive processes and mental constructs that make up the conventional framework within which their identity and existence are posited. When all levels of conceptualization dissolve and when all forms of dichotomizing tendencies are quelled through deliberate meditative deconstruction of conceptual elaborations, the ultimate nature of reality will finally become manifest. It is the first of the three gateways to liberation.
A cosmic period of time, sometimes equivalent to the time when a world system appears, exists, and disappears. According to the traditional Abhidharma understanding of cyclical time, a great eon (mahākalpa) is divided into eighty lesser eons. In the course of one great eon, the universe takes form and later disappears. During the first twenty of the lesser eons, the universe is in the process of creation and expansion; during the next twenty it remains; during the third twenty, it is in the process of destruction; and during the last quarter of the cycle, it remains in a state of empty stasis. A fortunate, or good, eon (bhadrakalpa) refers to any eon in which more than one buddha appears.
A merchant in the city of Vārāṇasī, in whose household appears the bodhisattva child Without Reference.
One of the five “eyes” (pañcacakṣus) or higher perceptions of buddhas, it refers to the ability to see across great distances and through physical objects.
A member of the Malla clan who worships the Buddha at his parinirvāṇa.
The fearlessnesses of a buddha are usually counted as four and refer to the four assurances proclaimed by buddhas: fearlessness in declaring that one has awakened, that one has ceased all illusions, that one has taught the obstacles to awakening, and that one has shown the way to liberation.
khye’u bzhi’i ting nge ’dzin. Toh 136, Degé Kangyur vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 144.b–179.a.
khye’u bzhi’i ting nge ’dzin. 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. 56, pp. 390–483.
khye’u bzhi’i ting nge ’dzin. Stok 73, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 59 (mdo sde, nya), folios 212.a–263.b.
rgya cher rol pa (Lalitavistara) [The Play in Full]. Toh 95, Degé Kangyur vol. 46 (mdo sde, kha), folios 1.b–216.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee, 2013.
sdong pos brgyan pa (Gaṇḍavyūha) [The Stem Array]. Toh 44-45, Degé Kangyur vols. 37–38 (phal chen, ga–a), folios 274.b (ga)–363.a (a). English translation in Roberts 2021.
sman gyi gzhi (Bhaiṣajyavastu) [The Chapter on Medicines]. Toh 1-6, Degé Kangyur vols. 1–3 (’dul ba, ka–ga), folios 277.b (ka)–50.a (ga). English translation in Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team 2021.
za ma tog bkod pa (Kāraṇḍavyūha) [The Basket’s Display]. Toh 116, Degé Kangyur vol. 51 (mdo sde, pa), folios 200.a–247.b. English translation in Roberts and Tulku Yeshi 2013.
sher phyin khri brgyad stong pa (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā) [The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines]. Toh 10, Degé Kangyur vols. 29–31 (shes phyin, khri brgyad, ka–ga), folios 1.a (ka)–206.a (ga). English translation in Sparham 2022.
bsod nams thams cad bsdus pa’i ting nge ’dzin (Sarvapuṇyasamuccayasamādhi) [The Absorption That Encapsulates All Merit]. Toh 134, Degé Kangyur vol. 56 (mdo sde, na), folios 70.b–121.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2016.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan[/lhan] dkar gyi chos ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Mahāvyutpatti (bye brag tu rtogs par byed pa chen po). Toh 4346, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (sna tshogs, co), folios 1.b–131.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team, trans. The Chapter on Medicines (Bhaiṣajyavastu, Toh 1-6). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Boucher, Daniel. “Dharmarakṣa and the Transmission of Buddhism to China.” Asia Major 19, nos. 1–2 (2006): 13–24.
Deleanu, Florin. “A Preliminary Study on Meditation and the Beginnings of Mahayana Buddhism.” 創価大学国際仏教学高等研究所年報 = Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University 3 (2000): 65–113.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Absorption of the Miraculous Ascertainment of Peace (Praśāntaviniścayaprātihāryasamādhi, Toh 129). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. The Absorption the Encapsulates All Merit (Sarvapuṇyasamuccayasamādhi, Toh 134). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016.
Dotson, Brandon. “ ‘Emperor’ Mu rug btsan and the ’Phang thang ma Catalogue.” Journal of the International Association of Tibetan Studies 3 (2007): 1–25.
Halkias, Georgios. “Tibetan Buddhism Registered: A Catalogue from the Imperial Court of ’Phang Thang.” The Eastern Buddhist 36, nos. 1 and 2 (2004): 46–105.
Harrison, Paul. “Mediums and Messages: Reflections on the Production of Mahāyāna Sūtras.” The Eastern Buddhist 35, no. 2 (2003): 115–51.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Nakamura, Hajime. Indian Buddhism: A Survey with Bibliographical Notes. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass Publishers, 1987.
Nanjio, Bunyiu. A Catalogue of the Chinese Translation of the Buddhist Tripitaka: The Sacred Canon of the Buddhists in China and Japan. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1884.
Radich, Michael. How Ajātaśatru Was Reformed: The Domestication of “Ajase” and Stories in Buddhist History. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies of the International College for Postgraduate Buddhist Studies, 2011.
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. The Stem Array (Gaṇḍavyūha, Toh 44-45). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Roberts, Peter Alan, and Tulku Yeshi, trans. The Basket’s Display (Kāraṇḍavyūha, Toh 116). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Salomon, Richard. The Buddhist Literature of Ancient Gandhāra. Classics of Indian Buddhism. Somerville: Wisdom, 2018.
Skilton, Andrew. “State or Statement? Samādhi in Some Early Mahāyāna Sūtras.” The Eastern Buddhist 34, no. 2 (2002): 51–93.
Sparham, Gareth, trans. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines (Aṣṭādaśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā, Toh 10). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2022.
C Choné
D Degé
H Zhol/Lhasa
J Lithang
K Peking (Kangxi)
L London (Shelkar)
N Narthang
S Stok Palace MS
Y Peking (Yongle)
The Four Boys’ Absorption narrates the Buddha Śākyamuni’s passing away (or parinirvāṇa) in the Yamakaśāla Grove near Kuśinagara. Ānanda has a portentous dream that is confirmed by the Buddha to be an indication that he will soon die. Widespread panic spreads through the various realms of this world system, and as gods and other beings converge on the forest grove near Kuśinagara, tragic scenes of mourning ensue. Then, when the Buddha lies down, the narrative suddenly shifts to recount how four bodhisattvas from distant buddha fields in the four directions are reborn as four infants in prominent households in the major cities of the Gangetic Plain, announce their intention to see the Buddha Śākyamuni, and with expansive entourages proceed to the forest grove in the country of the Mallas where the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa will take place. Their appearance is marked by various miracles, whereupon the Buddha explains their arrival and consoles his grieving followers with teachings on the limitless numbers of buddhas. He confers responsibility on his attendant Ānanda and his son Rāhula, and then manifests a variety of spectacular miracles. Toward the end of the sūtra, while still appearing to lie upon the lion couch, the Buddha visits the various hells and some god realms, where he sets countless beings on the path to awakening. The text culminates in his final passing.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. In a class at Kathmandu University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies’ MA program in Translation, Textual Interpretation, and Philology, the text was translated by Ellen Johannesen, Yaroslav Litovchenko, George Carvalho, Stefan Mang, Monica Thunder, and Nicholas Schmidt under the guidance of Ryan Damron. The translation was then completed by Nicholas Schmidt and checked against the Tibetan by Benjamin Collet-Cassart.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. George FitzHerbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Li Yu Hua, Zhu Yuan Guo, Rachel Zhou, and Grace Zhu.
The Four Boys’ Absorption is a Mahāyāna discourse that relates events surrounding the Buddha Śākyamuni’s passing away at the Yamakaśāla Grove near Kuśinagara in the country of the Mallas. It is much less well known than the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtras (Toh 119 and 120) or the classic account in the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya literature, and is unique in adding to the unfolding of those events the story of four young bodhisattvas who appear in the world at the same time and travel to the scene to witness the Buddha’s passing.
The sūtra begins with Ānanda relating a disturbing and portentous dream, which the Buddha confirms as signifying that his parinirvāṇa is indeed imminent. Tremendous lamentation and grieving ensues, not just among the humans present but also among the gods, nāgas, and other beings, who depart their various abodes to converge on the grove and see the Buddha for one last time.
The narrative then shifts away from scenes of intense mourning in the grove of śāla trees to four bodhisattvas who pass away in distant buddha fields in the four directions and are reborn in Jambudvīpa as the sons of prominent figures in four major cities of the Gangetic Plain. One appears in Rājagṛha as the son of King Ajātaśatru of Magadha, two as the sons of merchants in Śrāvastī and Vārāṇasī, and one as the son of a general in Vaiśālī. Each of the infants is able to speak as soon as they are born and announce their intention to hear the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni. They also deliver sermons on a variety of topics, in the case of Ajātaśatru’s son chastising the king for the terrible crime of having killed his own father. When the bodhisattva infants discover that the Buddha Śākyamuni is soon to pass away, they insist on going to him, and they set off with huge entourages toward Kuśinagara. Their spectacular arrival at the grove of śāla trees is accompanied by various miracles, whereupon the Buddha explains their arrival to his assembled followers, illustrating his knowledge of world systems far beyond our own, and he explains the liberating power of countless other buddhas.
Throughout this text, Ānanda is the primary interlocutor and protagonist, whose grief at the impending loss of his teacher cannot be assuaged. Ānanda’s grief affords Śākyamuni and several śrāvaka and bodhisattva disciples (including the four boys of the title) the opportunity to deliver teachings, mostly in verse, on the transitory and illusory nature of compounded phenomena. Besides this general theme of impermanence, a further theme in the text is the importance of developing roots of virtue before a living buddha, and also receiving a prophecy from him, in order to achieve awakening. In this regard, the Buddha consoles his followers with teachings that emphasize the infinite multiplicity of buddhas, whom he sees in all directions.
One of the literal meanings of the terms nirvāṇa and parinirvāṇa used throughout this text to refer to the Buddha’s death, are “extinguished.” In light of this, it is notable that on two occasions in this sūtra similes are used that liken the Buddha’s imminent passing to a fire going out once its fuel is used up, and on one occasion to a fire being doused by water. The term nirvāṇa was translated into Tibetan as mya ngan ’das, the literal meaning of which is “passed beyond suffering,” so this connotation in the Sanskrit is otherwise lost.
The “absorption” mentioned in the title of this sutra is not explicitly referred to or defined in the text itself. The term absorption (Skt. samādhi, Tib. ting nge ’dzin) normally refers to a peaceful meditative state wherein the senses are collected into a concentrated state of mind, but it can also at times signify a list of concepts and terms that together function as a literary unit. As Andrew Skilton has noted, absorption in the Mahāyāna context is also frequently associated with the magical powers obtained through familiarization with various meditative states. The “absorption” of the four boys, then, is perhaps best understood here as a general descriptor related to the four boys, whose miracles serve as evidence of their advanced spiritual realization, which the Buddha extols at length.
No Sanskrit version or fragment of the text is to our knowledge extant, either independently or in the form of confirmable quotations. The text was translated into Chinese twice: the first translation was completed in 269
According to the colophon to the Tibetan translation, the sūtra was translated into Tibetan by the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman together with the Tibetan translator Bandé Yeshé Dé and others, indicating that the translation was made from Sanskrit during the height of Tibetan imperial sponsorship of Buddhism in the late eighth and or early ninth century. This dating is confirmed by the text’s inclusion in both the early ninth-century Phangthangma and Denkarma imperial catalogs.
The text, with its emotive narrative of the parinirvāṇa and its eloquent teachings, has many interesting and idiosyncratic features, such as an unusual enumeration of eight buddhas of the past (nine including Śākyamuni). However, its influence on later tradition has been limited, and it does not appear to have been widely remarked upon in either the Tibetan scholarly tradition or modern western scholarship.
This translation, to our knowledge the first English translation to be published, was prepared from the Tibetan as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variants noted in the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. Where variant readings have been preferred over the Degé edition, or where variants offer plausible alternatives, this has been recorded in the notes. The Chinese translations have not, as yet, been consulted.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. At the time of his parinirvāṇa, the Blessed One was resting between a pair of śāla trees in the Yamakaśāla Grove near Kuśinagara, in the country of the Mallas. At this time, Venerable Ānanda went to see the Blessed One. When he came into his presence, he joined his palms together and then stood there looking at the Blessed One with his eyes wide open. The Blessed One asked Venerable Ānanda, “Son of Gautama, why are you looking at the Thus-Gone One with your eyes wide open?”
Venerable Ānanda replied, “Blessed One, I had a terrifying dream last night, a premonition of the Thus-Gone One’s parinirvāṇa, so terrifying that it made the hairs of my body stand on end. Blessed One, ever since this dream I have been worried that the Blessed One may soon pass into parinirvāṇa, and because of this I have been miserable, unhappy, and pained by sorrow.”
The Blessed One said, “Son of Gautama, what was this terrifying dream of yours, portending the Thus-Gone One’s parinirvāṇa?”
The Blessed One also asked this to Venerable Ānanda in verse:
Venerable Ānanda replied to the Blessed One in verse:
At that moment, the gods of the pure abodes; Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world; Māra’s son Sārthavāha; Śakra, lord of the gods; and the Four Great Kings all saw, in their respective realms, signs portending the parinirvāṇa of the Blessed One. Each escorted by retinues of more than eighty billion gods, they went to where the Blessed One was. When they arrived, they bowed their heads to the feet of the Blessed One, and in unison they cried out in despair—moaning, sobbing, and lamenting—and spoke these verses to Venerable Ānanda:
The Blessed One then spoke these verses to Venerable Ānanda and all the assembled gods:
Thus he spoke, and Venerable Ānanda again addressed the Blessed One in verse:
The Blessed One replied, “Son of Gautama, all composite things are impermanent, so do not be upset, let them go!”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses for the sake of Venerable Ānanda:
At that time, Venerable Aniruddha was at the summit of Sumeru teaching the Dharma to the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Venerable Aniruddha, who possessed pure divine sight that far surpassed that of a human, could see that the gods, renowned as the mightiest of the mighty, were disappearing from their palaces. He could hear, too, the gods’ powerful cries of lament, and he watched as his own audience thinned. Venerable Aniruddha focused his mind, and with his divine sight he looked closely at the world. The gods and their entourages were in a state of anxiety, giving up on their sense pleasures and departing somewhere in great haste. Venerable Aniruddha saw those who had reached farther and farther away from the summit of the king of mountains—some who were one hundred leagues distant, some two hundred leagues, some three hundred leagues, some four hundred leagues, and some five hundred leagues away—and some who had fallen into the ocean, though such beings could not be harmed nor injured, let alone killed.
Like those at the summit of Sumeru, all those beings living on Sumeru, the king of mountains—gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas—were struck with grief when they heard of the Blessed One’s parinirvāṇa. “Blessed Śākyamuni,” they cried, “king among lords of the Śākyas, who reached perfection countless millions of eons ago, whose roots of virtue are utterly pure, will today, in the country of the Mallas, before a pair of śāla trees, pass without grasping, into parinirvāṇa. Today, the eye of this world with its gods, shall close!” they cried, and they journeyed toward Kuśinagara, traveling with such haste that the peaks of Sumeru, the king of mountains, shook and trembled; traveling with such haste that Sumeru, the king of mountains, along with its oceans, quaked and roiled so violently that those at the summit of Sumeru, the king of mountains, fell into the ocean.
Then Venerable Aniruddha, still seated at the summit of Sumeru, let out a great cry and spoke these verses:
At the very moment Venerable Aniruddha finished speaking these verses, through the Buddha’s power, all the monks and nuns and male and female lay devotees in the world, the four communities who revered the Blessed One—except for Mahākāśyapa and his entourage, and 224 monks—exclaimed, “This is our last chance to see the Blessed One!” and departed for that grove of śāla trees in the country of the Mallas.
Also at the very moment Venerable Aniruddha finished speaking these verses, all beings throughout this great trichiliocosm, the prescient gods and goddesses; the nāgas, elderly nāgas, and nāginīs; the yakṣas, the yakṣīs, and their young; the piśācas, old piśācas, and young piśācas, male and female; beings as numerous as the stars—asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans—all with their eyes filled with tears, in grief, sobbed and lamented, crying out over and over again. Suffering and distraught, pierced by grief, they threw their arms in the air and sobbed.
Some wrung their hands as they wept. Some bumped their heads together, gazing into each other’s faces as they wept. Some, mouths agape, emitted wretched roars of anguish and, losing their senses, their faces pale, their arms and legs flailing, wept. Some just gazed at one another as they wept. Some banged their heads. Some struck their heads with both hands, hurting themselves physically. Some rolled their eyes and heaved with sobs, howling and crying out in pain, their knees shaking, as if the palms of their hands had been scorched. “Alas, Buddha! Alas, Buddha!” they cried, woeful and destitute, tears streaming down their faces. Rubbing their eyes with the palms of their hands and clawing at their faces, they howled in anguish. Stricken by grief, they cried out in pain.
Many millions of other beings let out great cries as they read aloud while choked with tears. Some, with their palms pressed together, moaned as they read aloud in tears. Some, scorched by the fire of grief, held their heads in their right hands as they moaned. Others, physically ravaged, likewise held their heads in their left hands as they groaned. Some beat their arms, their faces pallid, drained of color, and miserable with grief as they cried out.
Then the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and their entourages, grieving and lamenting, proceeded to where the Blessed one was and, entering the presence of the Blessed One, threw themselves on the ground like trees being felled. Some bowed to the Blessed One’s two feet. Some let out great roars of anguish. Some rolled on the ground while crying out in pain. Some, on entering the presence of the Blessed One, threw their arms in the air and exclaimed, “Alas, Buddha! Alas, Buddha! Alas, protector! Alas, compassionate one, who loves and protects all beings! Alas, refuge and last resort of the three realms, who watches over all beings! Alas, supporter of the unsupported! This world will be barren, all beings will be blind! The rare and precious Buddha will be no more!”
Joining hands, they lovingly grieved together as if mourning the death of their mother. They grieved as if mourning the death of their father, the death of their brother, or the death of their son, crying out over and over, “Alas, protector! Alas, virtuous friend, your speech is so gentle to hear, with the strength of a lion, of an elephant, of the greatest bull! Alas, nectar-like teacher!”
Some leapt into the air, struck themselves, and, falling back to the ground, rolled back and forth on the ground, crying out pitifully from the core of their beings.
Venerable Ānanda then fainted and crashed to the ground like a felled tree. Regaining consciousness, he placed both his hands on the ground in front of the Blessed One and, gazing into his face, spoke these verses:
The Blessed One then said to Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, son of Gautama, have I not taught you from the very beginning that everything dear and pleasing is in no way permanent? Son of Gautama, all composite things are deceptive, like dreams, illusions, mirages, or drops of dew. All composite things are impermanent, son of Gautama, so do not grieve over what happens. Do not cry and wail. Son of Gautama, in the final hours of this night, the Thus-Gone One will pass into final and complete nirvāṇa, and with this parinirvāṇa that defeats all imputations, this parinirvāṇa that equals the unequaled, he will pass completely beyond suffering. So, Son of Gautama, go and set out the Thus-Gone One’s lion couch between a pair of śāla trees, with its head to the east so that he shall face north, with his back to the south while lying on his right side.”
Then Venerable Ānanda, crying and weeping, choked with sobs, with tears streaming down his face, set out the Blessed One’s lion couch between a pair of śāla trees. And when he had finished preparing the Blessed One’s lion couch, he spoke these verses:
Then Venerable Aniruddha spoke to Venerable Ānanda in verse:
Venerable Ānanda replied to Venerable Aniruddha in verse:
Aniruddha replied:
Then the Blessed One rose from his seat and, escorted by an entourage of many trillions of gods, humans, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, kinnaras, mahoragas, asuras, and garuḍas, went to that pair of śāla trees, and when he arrived, he lay down upon the lion couch, on the right side of his body. As soon as the Blessed One had lain down upon the lion couch, the gods made all kinds of divine flowers rain from the sky, scattered many celestial powders, and played hundreds of thousands of heavenly instruments. Humans, too, saying this was the last time they would look upon the blessed Thus-Gone One, made offerings of flowers, fragrant powders, perfumes, ointments, and music from the human world.
As soon as the Blessed One had lain down on his right side upon the lion couch, between the pair of śāla trees, at that moment, right then, at that very instant, a hundred million buddha fields away to the east, in the world called Precious and Melodious, the buddha field of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Siṃhanādeśvara, a bodhisattva great being called Sucintitārtha passed away and was reborn in the city of Rājagṛha, miraculously appearing in the lap of Vaidehī’s son, King Ajātaśatru of Magadha, as his son. As soon as he was born, he spoke up, and he spoke with purpose:
The Four Boys’ Absorption narrates the Buddha Śākyamuni’s passing away (or parinirvāṇa) in the Yamakaśāla Grove near Kuśinagara. Ānanda has a portentous dream that is confirmed by the Buddha to be an indication that he will soon die. Widespread panic spreads through the various realms of this world system, and as gods and other beings converge on the forest grove near Kuśinagara, tragic scenes of mourning ensue. Then, when the Buddha lies down, the narrative suddenly shifts to recount how four bodhisattvas from distant buddha fields in the four directions are reborn as four infants in prominent households in the major cities of the Gangetic Plain, announce their intention to see the Buddha Śākyamuni, and with expansive entourages proceed to the forest grove in the country of the Mallas where the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa will take place. Their appearance is marked by various miracles, whereupon the Buddha explains their arrival and consoles his grieving followers with teachings on the limitless numbers of buddhas. He confers responsibility on his attendant Ānanda and his son Rāhula, and then manifests a variety of spectacular miracles. Toward the end of the sūtra, while still appearing to lie upon the lion couch, the Buddha visits the various hells and some god realms, where he sets countless beings on the path to awakening. The text culminates in his final passing.
This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. In a class at Kathmandu University’s Centre for Buddhist Studies’ MA program in Translation, Textual Interpretation, and Philology, the text was translated by Ellen Johannesen, Yaroslav Litovchenko, George Carvalho, Stefan Mang, Monica Thunder, and Nicholas Schmidt under the guidance of Ryan Damron. The translation was then completed by Nicholas Schmidt and checked against the Tibetan by Benjamin Collet-Cassart.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. George FitzHerbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The translation of this text has been made possible through the generous sponsorship of Li Yu Hua, Zhu Yuan Guo, Rachel Zhou, and Grace Zhu.
The Four Boys’ Absorption is a Mahāyāna discourse that relates events surrounding the Buddha Śākyamuni’s passing away at the Yamakaśāla Grove near Kuśinagara in the country of the Mallas. It is much less well known than the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtras (Toh 119 and 120) or the classic account in the Mūlasarvāstivāda vinaya literature, and is unique in adding to the unfolding of those events the story of four young bodhisattvas who appear in the world at the same time and travel to the scene to witness the Buddha’s passing.
The sūtra begins with Ānanda relating a disturbing and portentous dream, which the Buddha confirms as signifying that his parinirvāṇa is indeed imminent. Tremendous lamentation and grieving ensues, not just among the humans present but also among the gods, nāgas, and other beings, who depart their various abodes to converge on the grove and see the Buddha for one last time.
The narrative then shifts away from scenes of intense mourning in the grove of śāla trees to four bodhisattvas who pass away in distant buddha fields in the four directions and are reborn in Jambudvīpa as the sons of prominent figures in four major cities of the Gangetic Plain. One appears in Rājagṛha as the son of King Ajātaśatru of Magadha, two as the sons of merchants in Śrāvastī and Vārāṇasī, and one as the son of a general in Vaiśālī. Each of the infants is able to speak as soon as they are born and announce their intention to hear the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni. They also deliver sermons on a variety of topics, in the case of Ajātaśatru’s son chastising the king for the terrible crime of having killed his own father. When the bodhisattva infants discover that the Buddha Śākyamuni is soon to pass away, they insist on going to him, and they set off with huge entourages toward Kuśinagara. Their spectacular arrival at the grove of śāla trees is accompanied by various miracles, whereupon the Buddha explains their arrival to his assembled followers, illustrating his knowledge of world systems far beyond our own, and he explains the liberating power of countless other buddhas.
Throughout this text, Ānanda is the primary interlocutor and protagonist, whose grief at the impending loss of his teacher cannot be assuaged. Ānanda’s grief affords Śākyamuni and several śrāvaka and bodhisattva disciples (including the four boys of the title) the opportunity to deliver teachings, mostly in verse, on the transitory and illusory nature of compounded phenomena. Besides this general theme of impermanence, a further theme in the text is the importance of developing roots of virtue before a living buddha, and also receiving a prophecy from him, in order to achieve awakening. In this regard, the Buddha consoles his followers with teachings that emphasize the infinite multiplicity of buddhas, whom he sees in all directions.
One of the literal meanings of the terms nirvāṇa and parinirvāṇa used throughout this text to refer to the Buddha’s death, are “extinguished.” In light of this, it is notable that on two occasions in this sūtra similes are used that liken the Buddha’s imminent passing to a fire going out once its fuel is used up, and on one occasion to a fire being doused by water. The term nirvāṇa was translated into Tibetan as mya ngan ’das, the literal meaning of which is “passed beyond suffering,” so this connotation in the Sanskrit is otherwise lost.
The “absorption” mentioned in the title of this sutra is not explicitly referred to or defined in the text itself. The term absorption (Skt. samādhi, Tib. ting nge ’dzin) normally refers to a peaceful meditative state wherein the senses are collected into a concentrated state of mind, but it can also at times signify a list of concepts and terms that together function as a literary unit. As Andrew Skilton has noted, absorption in the Mahāyāna context is also frequently associated with the magical powers obtained through familiarization with various meditative states. The “absorption” of the four boys, then, is perhaps best understood here as a general descriptor related to the four boys, whose miracles serve as evidence of their advanced spiritual realization, which the Buddha extols at length.
No Sanskrit version or fragment of the text is to our knowledge extant, either independently or in the form of confirmable quotations. The text was translated into Chinese twice: the first translation was completed in 269
According to the colophon to the Tibetan translation, the sūtra was translated into Tibetan by the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman together with the Tibetan translator Bandé Yeshé Dé and others, indicating that the translation was made from Sanskrit during the height of Tibetan imperial sponsorship of Buddhism in the late eighth and or early ninth century. This dating is confirmed by the text’s inclusion in both the early ninth-century Phangthangma and Denkarma imperial catalogs.
The text, with its emotive narrative of the parinirvāṇa and its eloquent teachings, has many interesting and idiosyncratic features, such as an unusual enumeration of eight buddhas of the past (nine including Śākyamuni). However, its influence on later tradition has been limited, and it does not appear to have been widely remarked upon in either the Tibetan scholarly tradition or modern western scholarship.
This translation, to our knowledge the first English translation to be published, was prepared from the Tibetan as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variants noted in the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur. Where variant readings have been preferred over the Degé edition, or where variants offer plausible alternatives, this has been recorded in the notes. The Chinese translations have not, as yet, been consulted.
[B1] Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. At the time of his parinirvāṇa, the Blessed One was resting between a pair of śāla trees in the Yamakaśāla Grove near Kuśinagara, in the country of the Mallas. At this time, Venerable Ānanda went to see the Blessed One. When he came into his presence, he joined his palms together and then stood there looking at the Blessed One with his eyes wide open. The Blessed One asked Venerable Ānanda, “Son of Gautama, why are you looking at the Thus-Gone One with your eyes wide open?”
Venerable Ānanda replied, “Blessed One, I had a terrifying dream last night, a premonition of the Thus-Gone One’s parinirvāṇa, so terrifying that it made the hairs of my body stand on end. Blessed One, ever since this dream I have been worried that the Blessed One may soon pass into parinirvāṇa, and because of this I have been miserable, unhappy, and pained by sorrow.”
The Blessed One said, “Son of Gautama, what was this terrifying dream of yours, portending the Thus-Gone One’s parinirvāṇa?”
The Blessed One also asked this to Venerable Ānanda in verse:
Venerable Ānanda replied to the Blessed One in verse:
At that moment, the gods of the pure abodes; Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world; Māra’s son Sārthavāha; Śakra, lord of the gods; and the Four Great Kings all saw, in their respective realms, signs portending the parinirvāṇa of the Blessed One. Each escorted by retinues of more than eighty billion gods, they went to where the Blessed One was. When they arrived, they bowed their heads to the feet of the Blessed One, and in unison they cried out in despair—moaning, sobbing, and lamenting—and spoke these verses to Venerable Ānanda:
The Blessed One then spoke these verses to Venerable Ānanda and all the assembled gods:
Thus he spoke, and Venerable Ānanda again addressed the Blessed One in verse:
The Blessed One replied, “Son of Gautama, all composite things are impermanent, so do not be upset, let them go!”
The Blessed One then spoke these verses for the sake of Venerable Ānanda:
At that time, Venerable Aniruddha was at the summit of Sumeru teaching the Dharma to the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Venerable Aniruddha, who possessed pure divine sight that far surpassed that of a human, could see that the gods, renowned as the mightiest of the mighty, were disappearing from their palaces. He could hear, too, the gods’ powerful cries of lament, and he watched as his own audience thinned. Venerable Aniruddha focused his mind, and with his divine sight he looked closely at the world. The gods and their entourages were in a state of anxiety, giving up on their sense pleasures and departing somewhere in great haste. Venerable Aniruddha saw those who had reached farther and farther away from the summit of the king of mountains—some who were one hundred leagues distant, some two hundred leagues, some three hundred leagues, some four hundred leagues, and some five hundred leagues away—and some who had fallen into the ocean, though such beings could not be harmed nor injured, let alone killed.
Like those at the summit of Sumeru, all those beings living on Sumeru, the king of mountains—gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, and mahoragas—were struck with grief when they heard of the Blessed One’s parinirvāṇa. “Blessed Śākyamuni,” they cried, “king among lords of the Śākyas, who reached perfection countless millions of eons ago, whose roots of virtue are utterly pure, will today, in the country of the Mallas, before a pair of śāla trees, pass without grasping, into parinirvāṇa. Today, the eye of this world with its gods, shall close!” they cried, and they journeyed toward Kuśinagara, traveling with such haste that the peaks of Sumeru, the king of mountains, shook and trembled; traveling with such haste that Sumeru, the king of mountains, along with its oceans, quaked and roiled so violently that those at the summit of Sumeru, the king of mountains, fell into the ocean.
Then Venerable Aniruddha, still seated at the summit of Sumeru, let out a great cry and spoke these verses:
At the very moment Venerable Aniruddha finished speaking these verses, through the Buddha’s power, all the monks and nuns and male and female lay devotees in the world, the four communities who revered the Blessed One—except for Mahākāśyapa and his entourage, and 224 monks—exclaimed, “This is our last chance to see the Blessed One!” and departed for that grove of śāla trees in the country of the Mallas.
Also at the very moment Venerable Aniruddha finished speaking these verses, all beings throughout this great trichiliocosm, the prescient gods and goddesses; the nāgas, elderly nāgas, and nāginīs; the yakṣas, the yakṣīs, and their young; the piśācas, old piśācas, and young piśācas, male and female; beings as numerous as the stars—asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, and nonhumans—all with their eyes filled with tears, in grief, sobbed and lamented, crying out over and over again. Suffering and distraught, pierced by grief, they threw their arms in the air and sobbed.
Some wrung their hands as they wept. Some bumped their heads together, gazing into each other’s faces as they wept. Some, mouths agape, emitted wretched roars of anguish and, losing their senses, their faces pale, their arms and legs flailing, wept. Some just gazed at one another as they wept. Some banged their heads. Some struck their heads with both hands, hurting themselves physically. Some rolled their eyes and heaved with sobs, howling and crying out in pain, their knees shaking, as if the palms of their hands had been scorched. “Alas, Buddha! Alas, Buddha!” they cried, woeful and destitute, tears streaming down their faces. Rubbing their eyes with the palms of their hands and clawing at their faces, they howled in anguish. Stricken by grief, they cried out in pain.
Many millions of other beings let out great cries as they read aloud while choked with tears. Some, with their palms pressed together, moaned as they read aloud in tears. Some, scorched by the fire of grief, held their heads in their right hands as they moaned. Others, physically ravaged, likewise held their heads in their left hands as they groaned. Some beat their arms, their faces pallid, drained of color, and miserable with grief as they cried out.
Then the gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, and their entourages, grieving and lamenting, proceeded to where the Blessed one was and, entering the presence of the Blessed One, threw themselves on the ground like trees being felled. Some bowed to the Blessed One’s two feet. Some let out great roars of anguish. Some rolled on the ground while crying out in pain. Some, on entering the presence of the Blessed One, threw their arms in the air and exclaimed, “Alas, Buddha! Alas, Buddha! Alas, protector! Alas, compassionate one, who loves and protects all beings! Alas, refuge and last resort of the three realms, who watches over all beings! Alas, supporter of the unsupported! This world will be barren, all beings will be blind! The rare and precious Buddha will be no more!”
Joining hands, they lovingly grieved together as if mourning the death of their mother. They grieved as if mourning the death of their father, the death of their brother, or the death of their son, crying out over and over, “Alas, protector! Alas, virtuous friend, your speech is so gentle to hear, with the strength of a lion, of an elephant, of the greatest bull! Alas, nectar-like teacher!”
Some leapt into the air, struck themselves, and, falling back to the ground, rolled back and forth on the ground, crying out pitifully from the core of their beings.
Venerable Ānanda then fainted and crashed to the ground like a felled tree. Regaining consciousness, he placed both his hands on the ground in front of the Blessed One and, gazing into his face, spoke these verses:
The Blessed One then said to Venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, son of Gautama, have I not taught you from the very beginning that everything dear and pleasing is in no way permanent? Son of Gautama, all composite things are deceptive, like dreams, illusions, mirages, or drops of dew. All composite things are impermanent, son of Gautama, so do not grieve over what happens. Do not cry and wail. Son of Gautama, in the final hours of this night, the Thus-Gone One will pass into final and complete nirvāṇa, and with this parinirvāṇa that defeats all imputations, this parinirvāṇa that equals the unequaled, he will pass completely beyond suffering. So, Son of Gautama, go and set out the Thus-Gone One’s lion couch between a pair of śāla trees, with its head to the east so that he shall face north, with his back to the south while lying on his right side.”
Then Venerable Ānanda, crying and weeping, choked with sobs, with tears streaming down his face, set out the Blessed One’s lion couch between a pair of śāla trees. And when he had finished preparing the Blessed One’s lion couch, he spoke these verses:
Then Venerable Aniruddha spoke to Venerable Ānanda in verse:
Venerable Ānanda replied to Venerable Aniruddha in verse:
Aniruddha replied:
Then the Blessed One rose from his seat and, escorted by an entourage of many trillions of gods, humans, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, kinnaras, mahoragas, asuras, and garuḍas, went to that pair of śāla trees, and when he arrived, he lay down upon the lion couch, on the right side of his body. As soon as the Blessed One had lain down upon the lion couch, the gods made all kinds of divine flowers rain from the sky, scattered many celestial powders, and played hundreds of thousands of heavenly instruments. Humans, too, saying this was the last time they would look upon the blessed Thus-Gone One, made offerings of flowers, fragrant powders, perfumes, ointments, and music from the human world.
As soon as the Blessed One had lain down on his right side upon the lion couch, between the pair of śāla trees, at that moment, right then, at that very instant, a hundred million buddha fields away to the east, in the world called Precious and Melodious, the buddha field of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Siṃhanādeśvara, a bodhisattva great being called Sucintitārtha passed away and was reborn in the city of Rājagṛha, miraculously appearing in the lap of Vaidehī’s son, King Ajātaśatru of Magadha, as his son. As soon as he was born, he spoke up, and he spoke with purpose: