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Although a title Mahāyāna Sūtra “Advice to a King” is found in the Denkarma, this refers to the advice to King Prasenajit (Toh 221). This can be ascertained because it is listed there as having 160 ślokas. Denkarma, fol. 229.a; Hermann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 102–3.
As Peter Skilling notes, both texts appear seemingly “out of nowhere” in the Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line. Skilling 2021, pp. 410 and 430.
blon po zla ba bzang po. According to Negi’s Tibetan-Sanskrit Dictionary, zla ba bzang po is elsewhere attested as a translation for Sucandra as the name of a king and a householder. Skilling also uses Sucandra, but makes note of the fact that a minister under Bimbisāra’s son Ajātaśatru may have been called Candraprabha, so the name could also be a rendering of that. For further discussion, see Skilling 2021, p. 571, n. 920.
gyad chen po’i ’degs pa zhes bya ba rbad de rdo shin tu che ba bcom ldan ’das la ’phangs so. This might also be rendered “the Malla known as Heavy Lifter…” The Malla were a prominent clan or people during the time of the Buddha, whose name, malla (Tib. gyad), literally means “athlete,” “wrestler,” or “strongman.” The term rbad, which is attested elsewhere as a translation of prerita (“to dispatch,” “urge,” or “impel”), indicates that the king dispatched this strongman to throw the rock. Skilling translated the passage differently: “the king picked up a huge rock dubbed ‘rock that no one but a muscleman can lift,’ and hurled it at the Fortunate One.”
These first five lines reprise a common theme on impermanence found across many texts. For a similar set of oppositions, see, for example, The Exemplary Tales of Śrīsena (Toh 349), 1.107. Similar verses are also found in the Vinayavastu (The Chapter on Going Forth, Toh 1-1, 1.264, 4.361, 4.401) and Udānavarga, and in the Pali Dīgha Nikāya. For references see Skilling 2021, p. 571, n. 922.
snod kyi ’jig rten ’di yang mi rtag la/ bcud ki sems can yang mi rtag go. These lines play on the Tibetan expression for the world, snod bcud, lit. “vessel and contents,” which is a condensation of the Buddhist pairing of bhājanaloka, the “container-world” of inanimate things, and sattvaloka the “world of animate beings.”
In Tibetan, the Buddha’s replies are henceforth in nine-syllable meter with a light caesura or hiatus usually after the fourth syllable of each line, and no obvious parsing into verses.
As alluded to in many canonical works, the end of an eon is said to be marked by a threefold destruction of the world by fire, wind, and water.
so bya nya sdod ’dra. In Tibetan, so bya, or “watchman-bird,” is listed in dictionaries as a “large black bird which eats fish.” Skilling translates it as “heron,” which fits well with the image of a bird standing still waiting for its prey. Although black herons are not native to India or Tibet, the black color has some relevance for the simile here, so it has been included in the translation.
sems can ’di kun. While sems can refers to all “sentient beings,” the intended referents here, with life spans of up to a hundred years, are clearly humans.
tshod ’dzin pa yang mi ’jigs sbyin med pas. Skilling translates: “Even if someone can predict our death, he cannot grant us any immunity.”
Translation tentative. Tib. skad cig tshe las ’thun pa nye gzhi rnams// ’gron po gnas ’thun tsam ste so sor ’gro. Skilling has: “After a brief life shared with one’s relatives in one’s home town, one goes one’s separate way, like a traveler who leaves behind a pleasant stopping place.”
yul dang mkhar, lit. “land and fortress.” According the Mahāvyutpatti, the Tibetan mkhar was used to translate the Sanskrit koṭṭa, also meaning “fortress,” “stronghold,” or “castle.”
Translation tentative. Tib. kha cig lcags mkhar khang pa sbrum mar rdung. Here we follow Skilling’s translation, which apparently reads sbrum as an orthographic error for ’bru. Normally sbrum ma means “a pregnant woman.” At a later point, the text speaks more directly of enduring the sensation of being crushed while “in the womb” (mngal na), so this could also be an allusion to that.
bdag nyid gar ’gro gtol med bar do ’byung. Skilling translates: “You have no idea where to go, and you’re at your tether’s end.” We suggest that the term bar do here refers here to the liminal or intermediate state (antarābhava) between births.
bde legs phun sum tshogs pa. Both Thubten Kalzang and Peter Skilling give “the perfection of well-being.”
mya ngan ’das pa zhi ba bde ba’i mchog. For this line, we have adopted the words of Peter Skilling’s elegant translation.
las su gzhan don ’ba’ zhig spyod byed cing. Here, the Yongle and Peking editions of the Kangyur have the alternate reading lus su, which Skilling favors in his translation: “still in a body, one acts solely for others’ benefit” (Skilling 2021, p. 426).
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).
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.
The account in this sūtra of the conversion of Bimbisāra into a follower of the Buddha’s teachings only after the Buddha and his community were well established at Prince Jeta’s Grove, is somewhat at odds with other, better-known accounts of the Buddha’s relationship with this important and long-lived Magadhan king. The Play in Full (Toh 95, Lalitavistara), for example, narrates their meeting much earlier in the Buddha’s life story. What is clear is that Bimbisāra would become an important royal patron for the early Buddhist community. King Bimbisāra of Magadha was a contemporary of the Buddha Śākyamuni (according to some sources he was born on the same day) whose capital was at Rājagṛha, and he was among the most important royal patrons of the Buddha and his early community. As such, he features frequently in Buddhist literature.
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.
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.
An Indian paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
A sense of disenchantment and weariness with the world that is preliminary to seeking nirvāṇa. The Pali term is nibbidā. This can also carry a sense of disgust and revulsion or indifference towards the world of material things and sense pleasures. Connected with the term skyo ba (“dissatisfaction”).
A sense of distress or anxiety that gives rise to disillusionment and weariness with the world. Connected with the term yid ’byung ba (“disillusionment”).
The four main outer elements of earth, water, fire, and air.
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
Meaning “action” in its most basic sense, karma is an important concept in Buddhist philosophy as the cumulative force of previous physical, verbal, and mental acts, which determines present experience and will determine future existences.
The bardo or intermediate state between death and rebirth.
The lord of death who, in Indian mythology, judges the dead and rules over the hell and preta realms.
“Lord of Death” is typically another name for King Yama (Skt. yamarāja; Tib. gshin rje rgyal po), the deity who judges the dead and rules over the hell realms of the underworld. Here the lord of death is identified as Māra (Tib. bdud).
An ancient Indian kingdom that lay to the south of the Ganges River in what today is the state of Bihar. Magadha was the largest of the sixteen “great states” (mahājanapada) that flourished between the sixth and third centuries ʙᴄᴇ in northern India. During the life of the Buddha Śākyamuni, it was ruled by King Bimbisāra and later by Bimbisāra's son, Ajātaśatru. Its capital was initially Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir) but was later moved to Pāṭaliputra (modern-day Patna). Over the centuries, with the expansion of the Magadha’s might, it became the capital of the vast Mauryan empire and seat of the great King Aśoka.
This region is home to many of the most important Buddhist sites, including Bodh Gayā, where the Buddha attained awakening; Vulture Peak (Gṛdhrakūṭa), where the Buddha bestowed many well-known Mahāyāna sūtras; and the Buddhist university of Nālandā that flourished between the fifth and twelfth centuries ᴄᴇ, among many others.
Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:
(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\221.1—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\221.14 and \1\221.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputramāra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.
In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).
According to ancient Buddhist cosmology, this is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.
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.
One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.
They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, \1\22.1281– \1\22.1482.
See “Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park.”
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.
A state of involuntary existence conditioned by afflicted mental states and the imprint of past actions, characterized by suffering in a cycle of life, death, and rebirth. On its reversal, the contrasting state of nirvāṇa is attained, free from suffering and the processes of rebirth.
The name of King Bimbisāra’s minister in this story.
A collective name for the three lower realms in which migratory beings can be reborn: the hell, preta, and animal realms.
The lord of death who, in Indian mythology, judges the dead and rules over the hell and preta realms.
“Lord of Death” is typically another name for King Yama (Skt. yamarāja; Tib. gshin rje rgyal po), the deity who judges the dead and rules over the hell realms of the underworld. Here the lord of death is identified as Māra (Tib. bdud).
rgyal po la gdam pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo (Rājadeśanāmamahāyānasūtra). Toh 214, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 207.a–210.a.
rgyal po la gdam pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 62, pp. 550–59.
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.
84000. The Exemplary Tales of Śrīsena (Śrīsenāvadāna, dpal gyi sde’i rtogs pa brjod pa, Toh 349). Translated by Lokākṣi Translator Group. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
84000. Advice to a King (2) (Rājadeśa, rgyal po la gdams pa, Toh 215). Translated by the Sakya Pandita Translation Group. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
84000. The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, rgya cher rol pa, Toh 95). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2013.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Skilling, Peter. Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2021.
Thubten Kalsang Rinpoche, Bhikkhu Nagasena, and Bhikkhu Khantipale. “Rajadesananama—Mahayana Sutra I (The Discourse on the Great Way named Instructions to a King).” In Three Discourses of the Buddha, 1–11. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1973.
Discerning that the time is right to train King Bimbisāra, the Buddha Śākyamuni goes to Magadha, along with his entourage. The king is hostile at first but when his attack on the Buddha is thwarted and a verse on impermanence is heard, he becomes respectful. In the discourse that ensues, the Buddha tells the king that it is good to be disillusioned with the world because saṃsāra is impermanence and suffering. He then elaborates with a teaching on impermanence followed by a teaching on suffering. When the king asks where, if saṃsāra is so full of suffering, well-being is to be found, the Buddha responds with a short exposition on nirvāṇa as the cessation of all suffering and the cause for supreme happiness. Moved by his words, the king decides that he will renounce worldly concerns and seek nirvāṇa. The Buddha praises the king and concludes the teaching with the potent refrain, “When one is attached, that is saṃsāra. When one is not attached, that is nirvāṇa.”
Translated and introduced by George FitzHerbert, in consultation with a draft translation by Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Chodrungma Kunga Chodron of the Sakya Pandita Translation Group.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. David Fiordalis edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Advice to a King (1), which carries the alternative colophon title “Advice to King Bimbisāra,” is a poetic discourse on the value of understanding impermanence and the nature of suffering as the key to unlocking the prison of saṃsāra. In concise and direct language, it evokes the fragility and impermanence of human life, points out the futility of worldly accomplishments, and describes in detail the inevitable sufferings of saṃsāra in the six realms of rebirth. The teaching concludes with refrains on nirvāṇa as the cessation of suffering and the supreme happiness.
The text is one of three sūtras (Toh 214, 215, and 221) included in Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line under the identical title The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Advice to a King.” The present sūtra (Toh 214) consists of advice given to Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha. The sūtra that immediately follows it in the Degé Kangyur (Toh 215) consists of advice to Udayana, the king of Vatsa. Finally, a longer sūtra in the next volume of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 221) presents advice to Prasenajit, the king of Kośala.
Only the third of these three (Toh 221) is attested in either Sanskrit or Chinese, while both the present text, Advice to King Bimbisāra (Toh 214), and Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa (Toh 215) have no known Sanskrit or Chinese witnesses and exist only in Tibetan. In their colophons, both of these sūtras are attributed to the translators Dānaśīla and Bandé Yeshé Dé, who were active during the height of Tibetan imperial patronage of Buddhism in the late eighth and early ninth centuries
King Bimbisāra of Magadha, whose capital was at Rājagṛha, was a contemporary of the Buddha Śākyamuni (according to some sources he was born on the same day) and he was among the most important royal patrons of the Buddha and his early community. As such, he features frequently in Buddhist literature. As Skilling notes, however, the framing narrative of Advice to King Bimbisāra “is strikingly out of step with the received tradition” concerning this king’s relationship with the Buddha. Other sources, such as the Vinaya literature and the biography of the Buddha titled The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95), suggest that the king first met the Buddha while the latter was still a wandering mendicant and was impressed by him even then. In contrast, this text has the Buddha going to meet King Bimbisāra, apparently for the first time, only after the Buddha’s community was already established at Prince Jeta’s Grove (under the patronage of King Prasenajit of Kośala), and it portrays King Bimbisāra rudely rebuffing him at first. This unusual framing story raises further questions about the textual history of this sūtra. Such questions notwithstanding, at the heart of the sūtra is an eloquent, concise, and forceful teaching on impermanence, suffering, karma, and the promise of peace.
There have been two previous English translations of Advice to King Bimbisāra: an early, loose translation published in 1973 by Thubten Kalzang Rinpoche et al., and a richly annotated and fine translation by Peter Skilling published in 2021. This English translation was made from the Tibetan as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with variants recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma).
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, with a large community of monks and a community of many bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One declared to his audience, “Since the time has now come for King Bimbisāra to be trained, we must go to Magadha.” He then departed, gliding through the sky like a king of swans along with his entourage.
When the minister Sucandra saw this, he said to his king, “Lord, the Buddha and his entourage are approaching our land. We should adorn the city to pay our respects.”
“There is no one in Jambudvīpa greater than I,” replied the king, inflated with his own arrogance, “so to whom should I pay my respects?”
Then the Buddha and his entourage sat down on seats laid out at the gates of King Bimbisāra’s palace. When the king came to know that the Blessed One and his entourage were thus seated, he called on a wrestler known as a heavy lifter to throw a huge rock at the Blessed One. From the sound of that rock flying through the air came a voice that proclaimed:
On hearing this, King Bimbisāra became respectful and went before the Buddha with his palms joined. When he had taken a seat, the Blessed One said, “Great King, take interest in the Dharma, take it in, request for it to be taught, and be disillusioned.”
The king inquired, “Blessed One, with what should I be dissatisfied and disillusioned?”
“Be dissatisfied and disillusioned with saṃsāra,” replied the Blessed One.
“Why should I be dissatisfied and disillusioned with saṃsāra?” asked the king.
“Because saṃsāra is impermanence and suffering,” he replied.
“How is saṃsāra impermanence, Blessed One?” inquired the king.
“This container, the world, is impermanent, and its contents, sentient beings, are also impermanent,” replied the Blessed One.
“How is this container, the world, impermanent?” asked the king.
The Blessed One replied:
“How are the contents, sentient beings, impermanent?” asked the king.
The Blessed One replied:
King Bimisāra asked, “Blessed One, what are the sufferings of beings in saṃsāra?”
The Blessed One replied,
Then the king asked, “Blessed One, if saṃsāra is so much suffering, then where is well-being to be found?”
The Blessed One replied, “Nirvāṇa is perfect well-being.”
“How is it perfect well-being?” asked the king.
The Blessed One answered,
When the Blessed One had spoken, King Bimbisāra became disillusioned with saṃsāra, discarded his royal power like spittle in the dust, and set his mind on accomplishing nirvāṇa.
Then the Blessed One said:
After the Blessed One had spoken, everyone, King Bimbisāra and the rest, rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
This concludes the Mahāyāna sūtra “Advice to King Bimbisāra.”
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptor Dānaśīla and Bandé Yeshé Dé.
Discerning that the time is right to train King Bimbisāra, the Buddha Śākyamuni goes to Magadha, along with his entourage. The king is hostile at first but when his attack on the Buddha is thwarted and a verse on impermanence is heard, he becomes respectful. In the discourse that ensues, the Buddha tells the king that it is good to be disillusioned with the world because saṃsāra is impermanence and suffering. He then elaborates with a teaching on impermanence followed by a teaching on suffering. When the king asks where, if saṃsāra is so full of suffering, well-being is to be found, the Buddha responds with a short exposition on nirvāṇa as the cessation of all suffering and the cause for supreme happiness. Moved by his words, the king decides that he will renounce worldly concerns and seek nirvāṇa. The Buddha praises the king and concludes the teaching with the potent refrain, “When one is attached, that is saṃsāra. When one is not attached, that is nirvāṇa.”
Translated and introduced by George FitzHerbert, in consultation with a draft translation by Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Chodrungma Kunga Chodron of the Sakya Pandita Translation Group.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. David Fiordalis edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Advice to a King (1), which carries the alternative colophon title “Advice to King Bimbisāra,” is a poetic discourse on the value of understanding impermanence and the nature of suffering as the key to unlocking the prison of saṃsāra. In concise and direct language, it evokes the fragility and impermanence of human life, points out the futility of worldly accomplishments, and describes in detail the inevitable sufferings of saṃsāra in the six realms of rebirth. The teaching concludes with refrains on nirvāṇa as the cessation of suffering and the supreme happiness.
The text is one of three sūtras (Toh 214, 215, and 221) included in Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line under the identical title The Mahāyāna Sūtra “Advice to a King.” The present sūtra (Toh 214) consists of advice given to Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha. The sūtra that immediately follows it in the Degé Kangyur (Toh 215) consists of advice to Udayana, the king of Vatsa. Finally, a longer sūtra in the next volume of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 221) presents advice to Prasenajit, the king of Kośala.
Only the third of these three (Toh 221) is attested in either Sanskrit or Chinese, while both the present text, Advice to King Bimbisāra (Toh 214), and Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa (Toh 215) have no known Sanskrit or Chinese witnesses and exist only in Tibetan. In their colophons, both of these sūtras are attributed to the translators Dānaśīla and Bandé Yeshé Dé, who were active during the height of Tibetan imperial patronage of Buddhism in the late eighth and early ninth centuries
King Bimbisāra of Magadha, whose capital was at Rājagṛha, was a contemporary of the Buddha Śākyamuni (according to some sources he was born on the same day) and he was among the most important royal patrons of the Buddha and his early community. As such, he features frequently in Buddhist literature. As Skilling notes, however, the framing narrative of Advice to King Bimbisāra “is strikingly out of step with the received tradition” concerning this king’s relationship with the Buddha. Other sources, such as the Vinaya literature and the biography of the Buddha titled The Play in Full (Lalitavistara, Toh 95), suggest that the king first met the Buddha while the latter was still a wandering mendicant and was impressed by him even then. In contrast, this text has the Buddha going to meet King Bimbisāra, apparently for the first time, only after the Buddha’s community was already established at Prince Jeta’s Grove (under the patronage of King Prasenajit of Kośala), and it portrays King Bimbisāra rudely rebuffing him at first. This unusual framing story raises further questions about the textual history of this sūtra. Such questions notwithstanding, at the heart of the sūtra is an eloquent, concise, and forceful teaching on impermanence, suffering, karma, and the promise of peace.
There have been two previous English translations of Advice to King Bimbisāra: an early, loose translation published in 1973 by Thubten Kalzang Rinpoche et al., and a richly annotated and fine translation by Peter Skilling published in 2021. This English translation was made from the Tibetan as found in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with variants recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma).
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at Prince Jeta’s Grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park, with a large community of monks and a community of many bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One declared to his audience, “Since the time has now come for King Bimbisāra to be trained, we must go to Magadha.” He then departed, gliding through the sky like a king of swans along with his entourage.
When the minister Sucandra saw this, he said to his king, “Lord, the Buddha and his entourage are approaching our land. We should adorn the city to pay our respects.”
“There is no one in Jambudvīpa greater than I,” replied the king, inflated with his own arrogance, “so to whom should I pay my respects?”
Then the Buddha and his entourage sat down on seats laid out at the gates of King Bimbisāra’s palace. When the king came to know that the Blessed One and his entourage were thus seated, he called on a wrestler known as a heavy lifter to throw a huge rock at the Blessed One. From the sound of that rock flying through the air came a voice that proclaimed:
On hearing this, King Bimbisāra became respectful and went before the Buddha with his palms joined. When he had taken a seat, the Blessed One said, “Great King, take interest in the Dharma, take it in, request for it to be taught, and be disillusioned.”
The king inquired, “Blessed One, with what should I be dissatisfied and disillusioned?”
“Be dissatisfied and disillusioned with saṃsāra,” replied the Blessed One.
“Why should I be dissatisfied and disillusioned with saṃsāra?” asked the king.
“Because saṃsāra is impermanence and suffering,” he replied.
“How is saṃsāra impermanence, Blessed One?” inquired the king.
“This container, the world, is impermanent, and its contents, sentient beings, are also impermanent,” replied the Blessed One.
“How is this container, the world, impermanent?” asked the king.
The Blessed One replied:
“How are the contents, sentient beings, impermanent?” asked the king.
The Blessed One replied:
King Bimisāra asked, “Blessed One, what are the sufferings of beings in saṃsāra?”
The Blessed One replied,
Then the king asked, “Blessed One, if saṃsāra is so much suffering, then where is well-being to be found?”
The Blessed One replied, “Nirvāṇa is perfect well-being.”
“How is it perfect well-being?” asked the king.
The Blessed One answered,
When the Blessed One had spoken, King Bimbisāra became disillusioned with saṃsāra, discarded his royal power like spittle in the dust, and set his mind on accomplishing nirvāṇa.
Then the Blessed One said:
After the Blessed One had spoken, everyone, King Bimbisāra and the rest, rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
This concludes the Mahāyāna sūtra “Advice to King Bimbisāra.”
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptor Dānaśīla and Bandé Yeshé Dé.