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Here and in the next two paragraphs we see the use of iti peyālam, the deliberate scribal practice of omitting repetitive material previously given in full in the same text.
The karmic implications of killing a person with high spiritual accomplishment are considered heavier than those of patricide alone would be.
The phrase “eight portions of the relics” (Tib. sku gdung gi brgyad cha) appears to describe the apportioning of the Buddha Śākyamuni’s relics after his passing. As described in The Mahāparinirvāṇa Sūtra, Śākyamuni’s relics were divided among eight kings who each lay claim to them after the parinirvāṇā of the Buddha (For a translation of the Pali version, see Walshe 1995, pp. 275–77). To satisfy them, Mahāmaudgalyāyana divided the relics into eight portions so that the kings could enshrine them in their own lands. Because this would have happened after the Buddha’s passing, and because Ajātaśatru’s death is believed to post-date the Buddha's parinirvāṇā, the passage here is taken as prophetic.
King of Magadha who was initially hostile to the Buddha before later becoming his devoted follower.
The Indian gooseberry (Phyllanthus emblica).
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.
The fourth and final attainment of śrāvakas, this term refers to a person who has relinquished all their afflictive emotions and will enter nirvāṇa without remainder upon their death.
The king of Magadha and a great patron of the Buddha. His birth coincided with the Buddha’s, and his father, King Mahāpadma, named him “Essence of Gold” after mistakenly attributing the brilliant light that marked the Buddha’s birth to the birth of his son by Queen Bimbī (“Goldie”). Accounts of Bimbisāra’s youth and life can be found in \1\2The Chapter on Going Forth (Toh 1-1, Pravrajyāvastu).
King Śreṇya Bimbisāra first met with the Buddha early on, when the latter was the wandering mendicant known as Gautama. Impressed by his conduct, Bimbisāra offered to take Gautama into his court, but Gautama refused, and Bimbisāra wished him success in his quest for awakening and asked him to visit his palace after he had achieved his goal. One account of this episode can be found in the \1\2sixteenth chapter of The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara). There are other accounts where the two meet earlier on in childhood; several episodes can be found, for example, in \1\2The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340, Karmaśataka). Later, after the Buddha’s awakening, Bimbisāra became one of his most famous patrons and donated to the saṅgha the Bamboo Grove, Veṇuvana, at the outskirts of the capital of Magadha, Rājagṛha, where he built residences for the monks. Bimbisāra was imprisoned and killed by his own son, the prince Ajātaśatru, who, influenced by Devadatta, sought to usurp his father’s throne.
The central axis of a stupa.
A Tibetan translator active in the early ninth century.
A cousin of the Buddha Śākyamuni who broke with him and established his own community. His tradition was still continuing during the first millennium ᴄᴇ. He is portrayed as engendering evil schemes against the Buddha and even succeeding in wounding him. He is usually identified with wicked beings in accounts of previous lifetimes.
Acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages; they are (1) killing one’s master or father, (2) killing one’s mother, (3) killing an arhat, (4) maliciously drawing blood from a buddha, and (5) causing a schism in the saṅgha.
A Tibetan translator active in Tibet in the late eighth to early ninth century.
The western continent in Buddhist cosmology.
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.
One of the first Buddhist monasteries, located in a park outside Śrāvastī, the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kośala in northern India. This park was originally owned by Prince Jeta, hence the name Jetavana, meaning Jeta’s grove. The wealthy merchant Anāthapiṇḍada, wishing to offer it to the Buddha, sought to buy it from him, but the prince, not wishing to sell, said he would only do so if Anāthapiṇḍada covered the entire property with gold coins. Anāthapiṇḍada agreed, and managed to cover all of the park except the entrance, hence the name Anāthapiṇḍadasyārāmaḥ, meaning Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. The place is usually referred to in the sūtras as “Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park,” and according to the Saṃghabhedavastu the Buddha used Prince Jeta’s name in first place because that was Prince Jeta’s own unspoken wish while Anāthapiṇḍada was offering the park. Inspired by the occasion and the Buddha’s use of his name, Prince Jeta then offered the rest of the property and had an entrance gate built. The Buddha specifically instructed those who recite the sūtras to use Prince Jeta’s name in first place to commemorate the mutual effort of both benefactors.
Anāthapiṇḍada built residences for the monks, to house them during the monsoon season, thus creating the first Buddhist monastery. It was one of the Buddha’s main residences, where he spent around nineteen rainy season retreats, and it was therefore the setting for many of the Buddha’s discourses and events. According to the travel accounts of Chinese monks, it was still in use as a Buddhist monastery in the early fifth century ᴄᴇ, but by the sixth century it had been reduced to ruins.
The northern continent in Buddhist cosmology.
A measure of distance. The exact distance can vary according to different sources; however, it is generally said to be between six and fourteen kilometers.
A kingdom on the banks of the Ganges (in the southern part of the modern-day Indian state of Bihar), whose capital was at Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was the dominant kingdom in north-central India and is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, Nālandā, and its capital Rājagṛha.
The third of the four attainments of śrāvakas, this term refers to a person who will no longer take rebirth in the Desire Realm (kāmadhātu), but either be reborn in the Pure Abodes (śuddhāvāsa) or reach the state of an arhat in their current lifetime.
The second of the four attainments of śrāvakas, this term is used for those who will take only one more rebirth before attaining nirvāṇa.
Indra’s palace on the summit of Sumeru.
Nirvāṇa, the state beyond sorrow, denotes the ultimate attainment of liberation, the permanent cessation of all suffering and the afflicted mental states that cause and perpetuate suffering, along with all misapprehension with regard to the nature of reality. As such, it is the antithesis of cyclic existence. Three types of nirvāṇa are identified: (1) the residual nirvāṇa where the person is still dependent on conditioned psycho-physical aggregates, (2) the non-residual nirvāṇa after an arhat or buddha has passed away, when the conditioned psycho-physical aggregates have ceased, and (3) the non-abiding nirvāṇa transcending the extremes of phenomenal existence and quiescence. Parinirvāṇa generally refers to the non-residual attainment.
Those who attain buddhahood through their own contemplation as a result of progress in previous lives, but who are born in a time when a buddha’s doctrine is no longer available in the world and so remain either in solitude or among peers, without teaching the path to liberation to others.
The lord of the gods in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three (trāyastriṃśa). Alternatively known as Indra, the deity that is called “lord of the gods” dwells on the summit of Mount Sumeru and wields the thunderbolt. The Tibetan translation brgya byin (meaning “one hundred sacrifices”) is based on an etymology that śakra is an abbreviation of śata-kratu, one who has performed a hundred sacrifices. Each world with a central Sumeru has a Śakra. Also known by other names such as Kauśika, Devendra, and Śacipati.
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.”
During the life of the Buddha, Śrāvastī was the capital city of the powerful kingdom of Kośala, ruled by King Prasenajit, who became a follower and patron of the Buddha. It was also the hometown of Anāthapiṇḍada, the wealthy patron who first invited the Buddha there, and then offered him a park known as Jetavana, Prince Jeta’s Grove, which became one of the first Buddhist monasteries. The Buddha is said to have spent about twenty-five rainy seasons with his disciples in Śrāvastī, thus it is named as the setting of numerous events and teachings. It is located in present-day Uttar Pradesh in northern India.
The first of the four attainments of śrāvakas, this term refers to a person who has entered the “stream” of practice that leads to nirvāṇa.
The largest universe described in Buddhist cosmology. This term, in Abhidharma cosmology, refers to 1,000³ world systems, i.e., 1,000 “dichiliocosms” or “two thousand great thousand world realms” (dvisāhasramahāsāhasralokadhātu), which are in turn made up of 1,000 first-order world systems, each with its own Mount Sumeru, continents, sun and moon, etc.
Queen to Bimbisāra and mother to Ajātaśatru.
The eastern continent in Buddhist cosmology.
An Indian paṇḍita active in Tibet in the early ninth century.
Name of Ajātaśatru in the state of a pratyekabuddha as prophesied by the Buddha.
An Indian paṇḍita active in Tibet in the late eighth to early ninth century.
’phags pa sgra chen po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (āryamahāraṇanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 208, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 109.a–111.b.
’phags pa sgra chen po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (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. 293–99.
’phags pa sgra chen po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok 84. Stok Palace Kangyur (stog pho brang bris ma). Leh: smanrtsis shesrig dpemzod, 1975–80, vol. 60 (mdo sde, ta), folios 325.a–328.b.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Pad dkar bzang po. mdo sde spyi’i rnam bzhag. Edited by mi nyag mgon po. Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2006.
Walshe, Maurice, trans. The Long Discourses of the Buddha: A Translation of the Dīgha Nikāya. New York: Wisdom Publications, 1995.
The Buddha’s disciple Ānanda is on an alms round in Śrāvastī when he notices an immaculate palace. He wonders whether it would be more meritorious to offer such a palace to the monastic community or to enshrine a relic of the Buddha within a small stūpa. He poses this question to the Buddha who describes how the merit of the latter far exceeds any other offerings one could make. The reason the Buddha cites for this is the immense qualities that the buddhas possess.
Translated by the Subhashita Translation Group. The translation was produced by Lowell Cook, who also wrote the introduction. Benjamin Ewing edited the translation and introduction.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Great Rumble is a short Mahāyāna sūtra that details the benefits to be derived from the construction and worship of stūpas and statues of the buddhas. The sūtra begins in Śrāvastī where Ānanda is on an alms round and notices an immaculate palace. He wonders whether it would be more meritorious to offer such an enormous palace to the monastic community or to enshrine buddha relics within tiny stūpas and create miniature statues of the buddhas. He poses this question to the Buddha, who responds that the latter would be of greater merit due to the immeasurable qualities of the buddhas. The Buddha’s answer asserts the superiority of buddhas over stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and arhats—those who have attained the four results of the śrāvaka path. It also emphasizes the benefits to be gained generally from the creation and worship of stūpas.
In his reply, the Buddha proposes scenarios in which greater and greater gifts to the saṅgha can be made, yet the answer remains the same—enshrining relics in stūpas or creating statues of the buddhas will always be more meritorious. The repetitiveness here is characteristic of the sūtra literature which has its origins in the oral tradition. When the sūtras were committed to writing, the South Asian scribes deliberately omitted repetitive material and marked elided sections with the phrase iti yāvad … iti peyālam, a scribal insertion indicating passages that have already been given in full previously in the text, and which are understood to be repeated in full each time the iti peyālam was inserted. This technique served as a means for conserving scribal resources such as palm leaves, ink, and other media. In the Tibetan translation, the elided section is marked with the first and last words of the passage, framed with the phrases ces/zhes bya nas … ces/zhes bya ba’i bar du, “from (phrase X) up to (phrase Y).” That convention has been followed in this English translation, where such passages have been marked with ellipses.
The language of grand scales used throughout the sūtra serves to express the inexpressible qualities of the buddhas and to calculate the incalculable amount of merit gained from venerating them. This is made concrete when the Buddha tells the story of Ajātaśatru, who became the king of Magadha by murdering his father, the king Bimbisāra. He was also involved in creating a schism in the saṅgha and plotting to kill the Buddha with Devadatta, the Buddha’s cousin, who is depicted in Buddhist literature as envious of the Buddha and his teachings. Though Ajātaśatru later reformed to become a devout disciple of the Buddha, this sūtra notes that he was to be briefly reborn in the hells, since patricide is one of the five misdeeds of immediate retribution. Ajātaśatru would nevertheless be freed from this state, and he was prophesied by the Buddha to become a pratyekabuddha by the name of Vijayasena. Again, the sūtra implies that Ajātaśatru’s worshiping of the Buddha and his immeasurable qualities in the form of relics lightens his otherwise weighty negative karma.
The title of the sūtra appears to be derived from a moment at the close of the discourse, when the ground shakes in six different ways as a testament to the power of the Buddha’s teaching. At that point Ānanda asks how the sūtra should be remembered, and the Buddha replies that it can be titled either The Drum of Amṛta or The Great Rumble, titles that seem to reflect the sound of the earth quaking.
The Great Rumble survives only in Tibetan translation; there are no extant Sanskrit witnesses, nor was it translated into Chinese. The translation presented here is based on the version preserved in the Degé Kangyur, which was supplemented with reference to variant readings in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace Kangyurs. The Great Rumble is listed in the Phangthangma and Denkarma catalogues, the two extant scriptural catalogs from the Imperial Period (629–841
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying with a large saṅgha of monks in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. At dawn, the venerable Ānanda donned his lower and upper robes, took up his alms bowl, and went to Śrāvastī on his alms round. As he was making his alms round through Śrāvastī, the venerable Ānanda noticed a palace with its interior and exterior swept and polished, its doors bolted shut, and its windows shuttered. Seeing this, he thought to himself, “What if someone were to build a palace like this one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Between these two, whose merit would increase the most?”
Returning from his alms round in Śrāvastī, the venerable Ānanda ate his food. As he was abstaining from any subsequent food, he put away his alms bowl and robes, and washed his feet. He then went before the Blessed One, bowed his head at his feet, and sat to one side.
Seated to one side, the venerable Ānanda addressed the Blessed One: “Master, at dawn I donned my lower and upper robes, took up my alms bowl, and went to Śrāvastī on my alms round. As I went through Śrāvastī, Master, I noticed a palace with its interior and exterior swept and polished, its doors bolted shut, and its windows shuttered. Seeing this, I thought to myself, ‘What if someone were to build a palace like this one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Between these two, whose merit would increase the most?’ This is the issue I present to the Blessed One.”
“Excellent, Ānanda. Excellent indeed,” responded the Blessed One to the venerable Ānanda. “Ānanda, you have asked, ‘What if someone were to build a palace like that one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Between these two, whose merit would increase the most?’ Your question is excellent and well articulated, and your inquiry virtuous. This being so, Ānanda, listen well and keep in mind what I am about to teach.
“Ānanda, what if someone were to build a palace like that one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Ānanda, the merit of the former would not even come close to a hundredth of the merit of the latter. It would not even come close to a thousandth, a hundred-thousandth, any number or fraction, or anything comparable or relative to that. Why? Because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities: they possess immeasurable discipline, immeasurable samādhi, immeasurable insight, immeasurable liberation, and the immeasurable wisdom and vision of liberation.
“Ānanda, what if all of Jambudvīpa, measuring seven thousand leagues in length and breadth, were filled with stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, arhats, and pratyekabuddhas, just like rice paddies, sesame fields, bamboo groves, reed groves, or sugar cane groves? And what if someone offered them as many robes, alms, sets of bedding, curative medicines, and other supplies as they desired for as long as they lived and then, when they all had passed into parinirvāṇa, created stūpas and venerated them with canopies, cymbals, banners, perfumes, incense, garlands, powders, and ointments? What if someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Ānanda, the merit of the former would not even come close to a hundredth of the merit of the latter. It would not even come close to a thousandth, or a hundred-thousandth, any number or fraction, or anything comparable or relative to that. Why? Because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities: they possess immeasurable discipline, immeasurable samādhi, immeasurable insight, immeasurable liberation, and the immeasurable wisdom and vision of liberation.
“Ānanda, the same may be said of the eastern continent of Videha, measuring eight thousand leagues in length and breadth,” including everything stated above, from “were filled with stream enterers…” up to “…wisdom and vision of liberation.
“Ānanda, the same may be said of the western continent of Godānīya, measuring nine thousand leagues in length and breadth,” including everything stated above, from “were filled with stream-enterers…”
“Ānanda, the same may be said of the northern continent of Kuru, measuring ten thousand leagues in length and breadth,” including everything stated above, from “were filled with stream-enterers…”
“Ānanda, Śakra’s Palace of Victory is supported by eighty-four thousand pillars, each of which is made of exquisite blue beryl. Ānanda, the Palace of Victory is covered in gold dust, sprinkled with sandalwood water, decorated with golden lattice, and encircled with golden chimes. Ānanda, what if someone were to fill the trichiliocosm only with palaces like the Palace of Victory and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa…” and so forth as above.
“Ānanda, after Ajātaśatru, son of Vaidehī and king of Magadha, murders his father who is a stream enterer, and has engaged in the virtuous acts praised by the buddhas to fervently respect, venerate, serve, worship, honor, and supplicate the eight portions of the relics as a way of worshiping the relics of the Thus-Gone One, he will be reborn once in the hells, where those actions, those roots of virtue, and those past wholesome deeds will free him and prevent him from regressing to lower rebirth for the next twenty eons. He will then shave his head and beard, don the saffron robes, and go forth from his home into homelessness. He will manifest the state of a pratyekabuddha and become known as Vijayasena the pratyekabuddha. Why? Because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities: they possess immeasurable discipline, immeasurable samādhi, immeasurable insight, immeasurable liberation, and the immeasurable wisdom and vision of liberation.
“You should understand, Ānanda, it is because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities that the result of worshiping them is also immeasurable.”
As this Dharma discourse was being taught, the vast earth began to quake in six ways: the east rose as the west sank, the west rose as the east sank, the south rose as the north sank, the north rose as the south sank, the center rose as the borders sank, and the borders rose as the center sank.
The venerable Ānanda then asked the Blessed One, “What is the name of this Dharma discourse, Blessed One? How should I remember it?”
The Blessed One replied, “Ānanda, remember this Dharma discourse as The Drum of Amṛta. You may also remember it as The Great Rumble.”
The venerable Ānanda then praised and rejoiced in what the Blessed One had taught. He bowed at the Blessed One’s feet and circumambulated him three times before leaving the Blessed One’s presence.
This completes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Great Rumble.”
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Viśuddhasiṃha and the translator Bandé Gewa Pal. It was edited and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the chief-editor and translator Bandé Devacandra.
The Buddha’s disciple Ānanda is on an alms round in Śrāvastī when he notices an immaculate palace. He wonders whether it would be more meritorious to offer such a palace to the monastic community or to enshrine a relic of the Buddha within a small stūpa. He poses this question to the Buddha who describes how the merit of the latter far exceeds any other offerings one could make. The reason the Buddha cites for this is the immense qualities that the buddhas possess.
Translated by the Subhashita Translation Group. The translation was produced by Lowell Cook, who also wrote the introduction. Benjamin Ewing edited the translation and introduction.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Great Rumble is a short Mahāyāna sūtra that details the benefits to be derived from the construction and worship of stūpas and statues of the buddhas. The sūtra begins in Śrāvastī where Ānanda is on an alms round and notices an immaculate palace. He wonders whether it would be more meritorious to offer such an enormous palace to the monastic community or to enshrine buddha relics within tiny stūpas and create miniature statues of the buddhas. He poses this question to the Buddha, who responds that the latter would be of greater merit due to the immeasurable qualities of the buddhas. The Buddha’s answer asserts the superiority of buddhas over stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, and arhats—those who have attained the four results of the śrāvaka path. It also emphasizes the benefits to be gained generally from the creation and worship of stūpas.
In his reply, the Buddha proposes scenarios in which greater and greater gifts to the saṅgha can be made, yet the answer remains the same—enshrining relics in stūpas or creating statues of the buddhas will always be more meritorious. The repetitiveness here is characteristic of the sūtra literature which has its origins in the oral tradition. When the sūtras were committed to writing, the South Asian scribes deliberately omitted repetitive material and marked elided sections with the phrase iti yāvad … iti peyālam, a scribal insertion indicating passages that have already been given in full previously in the text, and which are understood to be repeated in full each time the iti peyālam was inserted. This technique served as a means for conserving scribal resources such as palm leaves, ink, and other media. In the Tibetan translation, the elided section is marked with the first and last words of the passage, framed with the phrases ces/zhes bya nas … ces/zhes bya ba’i bar du, “from (phrase X) up to (phrase Y).” That convention has been followed in this English translation, where such passages have been marked with ellipses.
The language of grand scales used throughout the sūtra serves to express the inexpressible qualities of the buddhas and to calculate the incalculable amount of merit gained from venerating them. This is made concrete when the Buddha tells the story of Ajātaśatru, who became the king of Magadha by murdering his father, the king Bimbisāra. He was also involved in creating a schism in the saṅgha and plotting to kill the Buddha with Devadatta, the Buddha’s cousin, who is depicted in Buddhist literature as envious of the Buddha and his teachings. Though Ajātaśatru later reformed to become a devout disciple of the Buddha, this sūtra notes that he was to be briefly reborn in the hells, since patricide is one of the five misdeeds of immediate retribution. Ajātaśatru would nevertheless be freed from this state, and he was prophesied by the Buddha to become a pratyekabuddha by the name of Vijayasena. Again, the sūtra implies that Ajātaśatru’s worshiping of the Buddha and his immeasurable qualities in the form of relics lightens his otherwise weighty negative karma.
The title of the sūtra appears to be derived from a moment at the close of the discourse, when the ground shakes in six different ways as a testament to the power of the Buddha’s teaching. At that point Ānanda asks how the sūtra should be remembered, and the Buddha replies that it can be titled either The Drum of Amṛta or The Great Rumble, titles that seem to reflect the sound of the earth quaking.
The Great Rumble survives only in Tibetan translation; there are no extant Sanskrit witnesses, nor was it translated into Chinese. The translation presented here is based on the version preserved in the Degé Kangyur, which was supplemented with reference to variant readings in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and Stok Palace Kangyurs. The Great Rumble is listed in the Phangthangma and Denkarma catalogues, the two extant scriptural catalogs from the Imperial Period (629–841
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying with a large saṅgha of monks in Śrāvastī, in Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s park. At dawn, the venerable Ānanda donned his lower and upper robes, took up his alms bowl, and went to Śrāvastī on his alms round. As he was making his alms round through Śrāvastī, the venerable Ānanda noticed a palace with its interior and exterior swept and polished, its doors bolted shut, and its windows shuttered. Seeing this, he thought to himself, “What if someone were to build a palace like this one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Between these two, whose merit would increase the most?”
Returning from his alms round in Śrāvastī, the venerable Ānanda ate his food. As he was abstaining from any subsequent food, he put away his alms bowl and robes, and washed his feet. He then went before the Blessed One, bowed his head at his feet, and sat to one side.
Seated to one side, the venerable Ānanda addressed the Blessed One: “Master, at dawn I donned my lower and upper robes, took up my alms bowl, and went to Śrāvastī on my alms round. As I went through Śrāvastī, Master, I noticed a palace with its interior and exterior swept and polished, its doors bolted shut, and its windows shuttered. Seeing this, I thought to myself, ‘What if someone were to build a palace like this one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Between these two, whose merit would increase the most?’ This is the issue I present to the Blessed One.”
“Excellent, Ānanda. Excellent indeed,” responded the Blessed One to the venerable Ānanda. “Ānanda, you have asked, ‘What if someone were to build a palace like that one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Between these two, whose merit would increase the most?’ Your question is excellent and well articulated, and your inquiry virtuous. This being so, Ānanda, listen well and keep in mind what I am about to teach.
“Ānanda, what if someone were to build a palace like that one and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Ānanda, the merit of the former would not even come close to a hundredth of the merit of the latter. It would not even come close to a thousandth, a hundred-thousandth, any number or fraction, or anything comparable or relative to that. Why? Because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities: they possess immeasurable discipline, immeasurable samādhi, immeasurable insight, immeasurable liberation, and the immeasurable wisdom and vision of liberation.
“Ānanda, what if all of Jambudvīpa, measuring seven thousand leagues in length and breadth, were filled with stream enterers, once-returners, non-returners, arhats, and pratyekabuddhas, just like rice paddies, sesame fields, bamboo groves, reed groves, or sugar cane groves? And what if someone offered them as many robes, alms, sets of bedding, curative medicines, and other supplies as they desired for as long as they lived and then, when they all had passed into parinirvāṇa, created stūpas and venerated them with canopies, cymbals, banners, perfumes, incense, garlands, powders, and ointments? What if someone else were to either create a statue of the Thus-Gone One the size of a thumb, or take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa and place it within a stūpa with a dome the size of an amalaki fruit, insert a central pole the size of a needle, and affix to it a canopy the size of a jujube leaf? Ānanda, the merit of the former would not even come close to a hundredth of the merit of the latter. It would not even come close to a thousandth, or a hundred-thousandth, any number or fraction, or anything comparable or relative to that. Why? Because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities: they possess immeasurable discipline, immeasurable samādhi, immeasurable insight, immeasurable liberation, and the immeasurable wisdom and vision of liberation.
“Ānanda, the same may be said of the eastern continent of Videha, measuring eight thousand leagues in length and breadth,” including everything stated above, from “were filled with stream enterers…” up to “…wisdom and vision of liberation.
“Ānanda, the same may be said of the western continent of Godānīya, measuring nine thousand leagues in length and breadth,” including everything stated above, from “were filled with stream-enterers…”
“Ānanda, the same may be said of the northern continent of Kuru, measuring ten thousand leagues in length and breadth,” including everything stated above, from “were filled with stream-enterers…”
“Ānanda, Śakra’s Palace of Victory is supported by eighty-four thousand pillars, each of which is made of exquisite blue beryl. Ānanda, the Palace of Victory is covered in gold dust, sprinkled with sandalwood water, decorated with golden lattice, and encircled with golden chimes. Ānanda, what if someone were to fill the trichiliocosm only with palaces like the Palace of Victory and offer it to the saṅgha of monks throughout the four directions, while someone else were to take a relic the size of a mustard seed after a thus-gone one’s parinirvāṇa…” and so forth as above.
“Ānanda, after Ajātaśatru, son of Vaidehī and king of Magadha, murders his father who is a stream enterer, and has engaged in the virtuous acts praised by the buddhas to fervently respect, venerate, serve, worship, honor, and supplicate the eight portions of the relics as a way of worshiping the relics of the Thus-Gone One, he will be reborn once in the hells, where those actions, those roots of virtue, and those past wholesome deeds will free him and prevent him from regressing to lower rebirth for the next twenty eons. He will then shave his head and beard, don the saffron robes, and go forth from his home into homelessness. He will manifest the state of a pratyekabuddha and become known as Vijayasena the pratyekabuddha. Why? Because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities: they possess immeasurable discipline, immeasurable samādhi, immeasurable insight, immeasurable liberation, and the immeasurable wisdom and vision of liberation.
“You should understand, Ānanda, it is because the thus-gone, worthy, and completely perfected buddhas possess these immeasurable qualities that the result of worshiping them is also immeasurable.”
As this Dharma discourse was being taught, the vast earth began to quake in six ways: the east rose as the west sank, the west rose as the east sank, the south rose as the north sank, the north rose as the south sank, the center rose as the borders sank, and the borders rose as the center sank.
The venerable Ānanda then asked the Blessed One, “What is the name of this Dharma discourse, Blessed One? How should I remember it?”
The Blessed One replied, “Ānanda, remember this Dharma discourse as The Drum of Amṛta. You may also remember it as The Great Rumble.”
The venerable Ānanda then praised and rejoiced in what the Blessed One had taught. He bowed at the Blessed One’s feet and circumambulated him three times before leaving the Blessed One’s presence.
This completes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Great Rumble.”
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Viśuddhasiṃha and the translator Bandé Gewa Pal. It was edited and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the chief-editor and translator Bandé Devacandra.