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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 “out of nowhere” in the Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line. Skilling 2021, pp. 410 and 430.
For an English translation, see Bodhi 2000, pp. 1197–99. Another story featuring an encounter between the monk Piṇḍolabhāradvāja and the king is also found in the early Pali commentary on the Sutta Nipāta (see Bodhi 2017, pp. 1021–22), and a series of stories about him and his wives are found in the commentary on the Pali Dhammapada, on which see Burlingame 1921, pp. 247–93. Burlingame notes (p. 51) that versions of these tales are also told in the commentaries on the Aṅguttara and Majjhima Nikāyas, and in the Visuddhimagga.
Particularly in The Detailed Explanations of Discipline (Vinayavibhaṅga, Toh 3) as well as The Finer Points of Discipline (Vinayakṣudrakavastu, Toh 6).
D: bad sa la; N: bad sa. As Skilling notes (See Skilling 2021, pp. 572–73, n. 942.), bad sa la here refers to Vatsa, not Vaiśāli. as suggested in Thubten Kalzang et al.
gser can. Skilling suggests Kanakāvatī, which is also the name of a city in the distant past in a story in the Divyāvadāna, but we have not yet been able to trace whether this is an attested translation equivalent for gser can. For more on the term, see Skilling 2021, p. 573, n. 943.
mda’ ste’u kha nya rnga ma. Skilling notes that the term corresponds to the Sanskrit kṣurapra, listed in Apte’s Practical Sanskrit-English Dictionary as an “arrow with a sharp, horseshoe-shaped head” and translates accordingly. The Tibetan uses the analogy of a crescent-shaped fishtail (nya rnga ma), rather than a horseshoe, to describe the arrowhead, and so we have opted for a rendering closer to the Tibetan. The term ste’u kha nya rnga is also found in a list of weapons in Upholding the Roots of Virtue (Toh 101, 7.102) which has been translated there as “bhalla arrows.”
de la dmigs nas mu stegs lnga rnams ’jug. “Rival tradition” is our translation of mu stegs (Skt. tīrthika), though it remains unclear to us precisely what is meant here. The Yongle and Peking Kangyurs here read lha (“god”) instead of lnga (“five”), and Skilling gives slight preference to this alternate reading. He translates, “If you resort to a self, then you fall in with the heterodox and the gods,” but also notes his uncertainty about the best reading in his notes on this passage.
As Skilling points out, the term ming (Skt. nāman), “name,” may refer here to consciousness and the three other mental aggregates, since the next line refers to the body. Nāmarūpa, “name and form,” is a common way that Buddhist texts refer to the person as an aggregation of mental and physical components.
The essentially pure nature of mind is obscured and afflicted by various psychological defilements, which destroy the mind’s peace and composure and lead to unwholesome deeds of body, speech, and mind, acting as causes for continued existence in saṃsāra. Included among them are the primary afflictions of desire (rāga), anger (dveṣa), and ignorance (avidyā). It is said that there are eighty-four thousand of these negative mental qualities, for which the eighty-four thousand categories of the Buddha’s teachings serve as the antidote.
Kleśa is also commonly translated as “negative emotions,” “disturbing emotions,” and so on. The Pāli kilesa, Middle Indic kileśa, and Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit kleśa all primarily mean “stain” or “defilement.” The translation “affliction” is a secondary development that derives from the more general (non-Buddhist) classical understanding of √kliś (“to harm,“ “to afflict”). Both meanings are noted by Buddhist commentators.
Aversion in all its forms. One of the three poisons (Tib. dug gsum, Skt. triviṣa) that, along with desire and delusion, perpetuate the sufferings of cyclic existence. In its subtle manifestation as aversion, it obstructs the correct perception of forms, and in its extreme manifestations as anger and fear, it is characteristic of the hells.
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.
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”).
Fifth of the six perfections.
Dhyāna is defined as one-pointed abiding in an undistracted state of mind, free from afflicted mental states. Four states of dhyāna are identified as being conducive to birth within the form realm. In the context of the Mahāyāna, it is the fifth of the six perfections. It is commonly translated as “concentration,” “meditative concentration,” and so on.
An Indian paṇḍita who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
In distinction to the rūpakāya, or form body of a buddha, this is the eternal, imperceivable realization of a buddha. In origin, it was a term for the presence of the Dharma, and has become synonymous with “true nature.”
Second of the six perfections.
Morally virtuous or disciplined conduct and the abandonment of morally undisciplined conduct of body, speech, and mind. In a general sense, moral discipline is the cause for rebirth in higher, more favorable states, but it is also foundational to Buddhist practice as one of the three trainings (triśikṣā) and one of the six perfections of a bodhisattva. Often rendered as “ethics,” “discipline,” and “morality.”
The mental object or image in an act of perception, an act that involves the creation of a false duality between the perceiver and what is perceived. It can be connected with the false perception of a self and combated by the application of the idea of nonself.
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.
The five constituents of a living entity: form, sensation, perception, mental formations, and consciousness.
Third of the six perfections.
A term meaning acceptance, forbearance, or patience. As the third of the six perfections, patience is classified into three kinds: the capacity to tolerate abuse from sentient beings, to tolerate the hardships of the path to buddhahood, and to tolerate the profound nature of reality. As a term referring to a bodhisattva’s realization, dharmakṣānti (chos la bzod pa) can refer to the ways one becomes “receptive” to the nature of Dharma, and it can be an abbreviation of anutpattikadharmakṣānti, “forbearance for the unborn nature, or nonproduction, of dharmas.”
The family name of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
The first of the six or ten perfections, often explained as the essential starting point and training for the practice of the others.
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.
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 idea that persons and all phenomena have no permanent self or essence that exists and does not change. Can also refer in this text to the technique, application, or rehearsal of this idea in a meditative practice.
The strong, deeply ingrained belief or perception that persons and all phenomena have a permanent self or essence that exists and does not change. The term ’dzin pa (Skt. grāha) means “grasping,” and is used both for grasping material things as well as the act of perceiving or conceiving mental objects.
The fourth of the six perfections, it is also among the seven branches of enlightenment, the five abilities, the four bases of magical power, and the five powers.
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.
A substantial, self-subsistent entity within beings or things, or the intrinsic reality of things, or the intrinsic identity of things, that is permanent and nonrelative. The Buddha’s teaching, in contrast to that of other spiritual traditions, holds as a key tenet that the presumed existence of such a ‘self’ (in Mahāyāna thought, in things as well as in beings) is habitual but mistaken, and is the basis of suffering and delusion. Its absence (nonself) can be realized by investigation.
The practice of the bodhisattva, which consists of giving, morality, patience, effort, concentration, and wisdom.
A king contemporary with the Buddha, here referred to as “Udayana, the king of Vatsa” (bad sa la’i rgyal po ’char byed). The same name is known in a variety of Tibetan renderings as shar ba (Toh 1) and ’char ba (Toh 543) and ’char ka (Toh 340).
Also known as Benares, one of the oldest cities of northeast India on the banks of the Ganges, in modern-day Uttar Pradesh. It was once the capital of the ancient kingdom of Kāśi, and in the Buddha’s time it had been absorbed into the kingdom of Kośala. It was an important religious center, as well as a major city, even during the time of the Buddha. The name may derive from being where the Varuna and Assi rivers flow into the Ganges. It was on the outskirts of Vārāṇasī that the Buddha first taught the Dharma, in the location known as Deer Park (Mṛgadāva). For numerous episodes set in Vārāṇasī, including its kings, see \1\2The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340.
One of the sixteen great kingdoms of ancient India south of Kośala that was ruled by Udayana during the Buddha’s time. Its capital was Kauśāmbī.
A gem or jewel that grants the fulfillment of all one could desire.
rgyal po la gdams pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo [Rājadeśanāmamahāyānasūtra] Toh 215, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 210.a–211.b.
po la gdams pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo [Rājadeśanāmamahāyānasūtra]. 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. 560–65.
Mahāvyutpatti with sGra sbyor bam po gñis pa. Bibliotheca Polyglotta, University of Oslo. Input by Jens Braarvig and Fredrik Liland, 2010. Last accessed November 2, 2023.
84000. Advice to a King (2) (Rājadeśa, rgyal po la gdams pa, Toh 214). Translated by George FitzHerbert and the Sakya Pandita Translation Group. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
84000. The Hundred Deeds (Karmaśataka, las brgya pa, Toh 340). Translated by Dr. Lozang Jamspal and Kaia Fischer. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
84000. King Udayana of Vatsa’s Questions (Udayanavatsarājaparipṛcchā, bad sa’i rgyal po ’char byed kyis zhus pa, Toh 73). Translated by Ben Ewing and Lowell Cook. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
84000. Upholding the Roots of Virtue (Kuśalamūlasaṃparigraha, dge ba’i rtsa ba yongs su ’dzin pa, Toh 101). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Adval, Niti. The Story of King Udayana. Chowkhamba Sanskrit Studies, LXXIV. Varanasi: Chowkhamba Publications, 1970.
Apte, Vaman Shivaram. The Practical Sanskrit–English Dictionary. Poona: Shiralkar, 1890. Electronic version at Cologne Digital Sanskrit Dictionaries.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2017). The Suttanipāta: An Ancient Collection of the Buddha’s Discourses Together with Its Commentaries. Boston: Wisdom.
Bodhi, Bhikkhu (2000). The Connected Discourses of the Buddha. Boston: Wisdom.
Burlingame, Eugene. Buddhist Legends: Translated from the Original Pali Text of the Dhammapada Commentary, Part 1. Harvard Oriental Society, Vol. 28. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1921.
Carter, Martha L. “The Mystery of the Udayana Buddha.” Supplement No. 64. Annali di Istituto Universitario Orientale 50.3 (1970): 1–42.
Panglung, Jampa Losang. Die Erzählstoffe Des Mūlasarvāstivāda-Vinaya Analysiert Auf Grund Der Tibetischen Übersetzung. Studia Philologica Buddhica Monograph Series III. Tokyo: Reiyukai, 1981
Rotman, Andy. Divine Stories: Divyāvadāna Part 2. Boston: Wisdom, 2017.
Skilling, Peter. Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-five Sutras. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2021.
Thubten Kalzang Rinpoche, Bhikkhu Nagasena, and Bhikkhu Khantipale. “Rajadesananama-Mahayana Sutra II (The Discourse on the Great Way named Instructions to a King).” In Three Discourses of the Buddha, 13–18. Dharamsala: Library of Tibetan Works and Archives, 1973.
While giving teachings at Vārāṇasī, the Buddha Śākyamuni discerns that the time is right to train King Udayana of Vatsa. When he meets the king, who at the time is embarking on a military expedition, the king flies into a rage and tries to kill the Buddha with an arrow. However, the arrow circles in the sky, and a voice proclaims a verse on the dangers of anger and warfare. Hearing this verse, the king pays homage to the Buddha, who explains that an enemy far greater than worldly opponents is the affliction of perceiving a self, which binds one to saṃsāra. He uses a military analogy to explain how this great enemy can be controlled by the combined arsenal of the six perfections and slayed by the arrow of nonself. When the king asks what is meant by “nonself,” the Buddha replies in a series of verses that constitute a succinct teaching on all persons and all things being without a self.
A draft translation by Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Chodrungma Kunga Chodron of the Sakya Pandita Translation Group was revised by George FitzHerbert and edited by David Fiordalis and Andreas Doctor.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Advice to a King (2), which carries the alternative colophon title Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa, is a concise and poetic discourse on the futility of anger and warfare, and on the liberating power of realizing the truth of emptiness—that all persons and all things lack any enduring self.
This 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 215) consists of advice given to Udayana, the king of Vatsa. The sūtra that immediately precedes it in the Degé Kangyur (Toh 214), consists of advice to Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha. Finally, a longer sūtra in the next volume of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 221) presents advice to King Prasenajit, the king of Kośala.
Only the third of these three (Toh 221) is attested in either Sanskrit or Chinese, while both Advice to King Bimbisāra (Toh 214) and the present text Advice to King Udayana 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
Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa features a short dialogue between the Buddha Śākyamuni and King Udayana, framed by a short story of the king’s conversion. King Udayana was a contemporary of the Buddha and king of Vatsa, one of the sixteen “great kingdoms” (mahājanapada) of ancient northern India, the capital of which was at Kauśāmbī.
This king (also known as Udayin or in Pali as Udena) is well known in Buddhist literature, and in Sanskrit literature more broadly where he is found as the romantic hero of many legends and dramas, including two plays attributed to Bhāsa, one of the earliest Indian playwrights. A story of this king’s conversion to the teachings of the Buddha by the monk Piṇḍolabhāradvāja is told in a similar form in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340) and in the Pali Saṃyutta Nikāya. He and his two chief wives also feature as the main characters in the frame story of King Udayana of Vatsa’s Questions (Toh 73), which is included in the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa) collection. Stories about him are also found in the Discipline (Vinaya) section of the Tibetan Kangyur, and in the extracanonical Divyāvadāna collection of stories. Narratives about King Udayana are also found in Chinese Buddhist texts, including one story, also told by Xuanzang in the travelogue of his journey to India, which attributes to him the commissioning of the first-ever image of the Buddha.
The sūtra translated here tells a different tale of King Udayana’s conversion that is not, to our knowledge, found in other sources. Here, the Buddha encounters King Udayana while the latter is embarking on a military expedition to subdue a neighboring city. Initially, the king is angered by the inauspicious appearance of a mendicant at such a time, and he tries to kill the Buddha with an arrow. But the arrow balks, spins in the sky, and a voice then rings out with a verse on the dangers of anger, whereupon the king becomes respectful toward the Buddha and a dialogue ensues. Other stories about King Udayana, including the sūtra mentioned above, King Udayana of Vatsa’s Questions (Toh 73), feature him shooting arrows that are thwarted from reaching their intended target.
After the king pays homage, the Buddha first queries the king’s proclivity for warfare, informing him that all his conflicts are futile since they only lead to suffering in this life and lower rebirths in the next. He then explains that worldly enemies are trifling when compared to the greater enemy, namely the affliction of perceiving a self, which is the root of saṃsāra. When the king asks how this great enemy can be countered, the Buddha uses a military analogy to present the practice of the six perfections. This, he says, will enable the king to fell the great enemy of perceiving a self with the “arrow of nonself.” When the king asks what the Buddha means by “nonself” in this context, the Buddha replies with a condensed teaching regarding persons and indeed all phenomena as having no self, after which the king embraces his teaching.
Two prior English translations of the sūtra have been published. An early, loose translation was published in 1973 by Thubten Kalzang Rinpoche et al., and a richly annotated and fine translation by Peter Skilling was 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. When the Blessed One was teaching the Dharma to his retinues in the great city of Vārāṇasī, he saw that the time had come to train Udayana, the king of Vatsa. So, along with his retinues, he departed for Vatsa.
When he encountered Udayana, the king of Vatsa, the king was setting out with his four armies to conquer the great city called Place of Gold. However, King Udayana became angry. “Such an inauspicious encounter!” he exclaimed. “I should kill him!” And with this he drew a sharp, fishtail-headed arrow and released it at the Blessed One. However, the arrow spun in the sky and a voice rang out, proclaiming:
On hearing these words, King Udayana became devoted to the Blessed One, prostrated, and sat down to one side.
Then the Blessed One said, “Great King, conflict and fighting lead to exhaustion, both here, now, and later in the lower realms, so why do you always do nothing but fight and create conflict?”
“Gautama,” replied the king, “no matter whom I fight, I never experience defeat. Since I am always victorious, I am inclined toward fighting and warfare.”
The Blessed One said, “Great King, these are lesser foes. Great King, there is another enemy, far greater and more hostile than them.”
“Who is that enemy?” asked the king.
The Blessed One replied, “This great enemy is called the affliction of perceiving a self.”
The king said, “Please explain. What is this enemy like?”
The Blessed One replied:
The king asked, “How can one fight this great enemy?”
The Blessed One replied:
The king said, “Please explain what you mean by ‘nonself.’ ”
The Blessed One replied:
The king said, “Previously, up until now, I have seen enemies where there were none, and I have been tormented by anger. Now that I have recognized the true enemy, I will be devoted to nonself to fight that enemy.”
“Great King, excellent,” said the Blessed One. “You have vanquished the enemy of perceiving a self.”
Thus spoke the Blessed One, and King Udayana of Vatsa and the others rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
This completes the Mahāyāna sūtra “Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa.”
Translated, edited and finalized by the Indian preceptor Dānaśīla and Bandé Yeshé Dé.
While giving teachings at Vārāṇasī, the Buddha Śākyamuni discerns that the time is right to train King Udayana of Vatsa. When he meets the king, who at the time is embarking on a military expedition, the king flies into a rage and tries to kill the Buddha with an arrow. However, the arrow circles in the sky, and a voice proclaims a verse on the dangers of anger and warfare. Hearing this verse, the king pays homage to the Buddha, who explains that an enemy far greater than worldly opponents is the affliction of perceiving a self, which binds one to saṃsāra. He uses a military analogy to explain how this great enemy can be controlled by the combined arsenal of the six perfections and slayed by the arrow of nonself. When the king asks what is meant by “nonself,” the Buddha replies in a series of verses that constitute a succinct teaching on all persons and all things being without a self.
A draft translation by Khenpo Kalsang Gyaltsen and Chodrungma Kunga Chodron of the Sakya Pandita Translation Group was revised by George FitzHerbert and edited by David Fiordalis and Andreas Doctor.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
Advice to a King (2), which carries the alternative colophon title Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa, is a concise and poetic discourse on the futility of anger and warfare, and on the liberating power of realizing the truth of emptiness—that all persons and all things lack any enduring self.
This 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 215) consists of advice given to Udayana, the king of Vatsa. The sūtra that immediately precedes it in the Degé Kangyur (Toh 214), consists of advice to Bimbisāra, the king of Magadha. Finally, a longer sūtra in the next volume of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 221) presents advice to King Prasenajit, the king of Kośala.
Only the third of these three (Toh 221) is attested in either Sanskrit or Chinese, while both Advice to King Bimbisāra (Toh 214) and the present text Advice to King Udayana 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
Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa features a short dialogue between the Buddha Śākyamuni and King Udayana, framed by a short story of the king’s conversion. King Udayana was a contemporary of the Buddha and king of Vatsa, one of the sixteen “great kingdoms” (mahājanapada) of ancient northern India, the capital of which was at Kauśāmbī.
This king (also known as Udayin or in Pali as Udena) is well known in Buddhist literature, and in Sanskrit literature more broadly where he is found as the romantic hero of many legends and dramas, including two plays attributed to Bhāsa, one of the earliest Indian playwrights. A story of this king’s conversion to the teachings of the Buddha by the monk Piṇḍolabhāradvāja is told in a similar form in The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340) and in the Pali Saṃyutta Nikāya. He and his two chief wives also feature as the main characters in the frame story of King Udayana of Vatsa’s Questions (Toh 73), which is included in the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa) collection. Stories about him are also found in the Discipline (Vinaya) section of the Tibetan Kangyur, and in the extracanonical Divyāvadāna collection of stories. Narratives about King Udayana are also found in Chinese Buddhist texts, including one story, also told by Xuanzang in the travelogue of his journey to India, which attributes to him the commissioning of the first-ever image of the Buddha.
The sūtra translated here tells a different tale of King Udayana’s conversion that is not, to our knowledge, found in other sources. Here, the Buddha encounters King Udayana while the latter is embarking on a military expedition to subdue a neighboring city. Initially, the king is angered by the inauspicious appearance of a mendicant at such a time, and he tries to kill the Buddha with an arrow. But the arrow balks, spins in the sky, and a voice then rings out with a verse on the dangers of anger, whereupon the king becomes respectful toward the Buddha and a dialogue ensues. Other stories about King Udayana, including the sūtra mentioned above, King Udayana of Vatsa’s Questions (Toh 73), feature him shooting arrows that are thwarted from reaching their intended target.
After the king pays homage, the Buddha first queries the king’s proclivity for warfare, informing him that all his conflicts are futile since they only lead to suffering in this life and lower rebirths in the next. He then explains that worldly enemies are trifling when compared to the greater enemy, namely the affliction of perceiving a self, which is the root of saṃsāra. When the king asks how this great enemy can be countered, the Buddha uses a military analogy to present the practice of the six perfections. This, he says, will enable the king to fell the great enemy of perceiving a self with the “arrow of nonself.” When the king asks what the Buddha means by “nonself” in this context, the Buddha replies with a condensed teaching regarding persons and indeed all phenomena as having no self, after which the king embraces his teaching.
Two prior English translations of the sūtra have been published. An early, loose translation was published in 1973 by Thubten Kalzang Rinpoche et al., and a richly annotated and fine translation by Peter Skilling was 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. When the Blessed One was teaching the Dharma to his retinues in the great city of Vārāṇasī, he saw that the time had come to train Udayana, the king of Vatsa. So, along with his retinues, he departed for Vatsa.
When he encountered Udayana, the king of Vatsa, the king was setting out with his four armies to conquer the great city called Place of Gold. However, King Udayana became angry. “Such an inauspicious encounter!” he exclaimed. “I should kill him!” And with this he drew a sharp, fishtail-headed arrow and released it at the Blessed One. However, the arrow spun in the sky and a voice rang out, proclaiming:
On hearing these words, King Udayana became devoted to the Blessed One, prostrated, and sat down to one side.
Then the Blessed One said, “Great King, conflict and fighting lead to exhaustion, both here, now, and later in the lower realms, so why do you always do nothing but fight and create conflict?”
“Gautama,” replied the king, “no matter whom I fight, I never experience defeat. Since I am always victorious, I am inclined toward fighting and warfare.”
The Blessed One said, “Great King, these are lesser foes. Great King, there is another enemy, far greater and more hostile than them.”
“Who is that enemy?” asked the king.
The Blessed One replied, “This great enemy is called the affliction of perceiving a self.”
The king said, “Please explain. What is this enemy like?”
The Blessed One replied:
The king asked, “How can one fight this great enemy?”
The Blessed One replied:
The king said, “Please explain what you mean by ‘nonself.’ ”
The Blessed One replied:
The king said, “Previously, up until now, I have seen enemies where there were none, and I have been tormented by anger. Now that I have recognized the true enemy, I will be devoted to nonself to fight that enemy.”
“Great King, excellent,” said the Blessed One. “You have vanquished the enemy of perceiving a self.”
Thus spoke the Blessed One, and King Udayana of Vatsa and the others rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.
This completes the Mahāyāna sūtra “Advice to Udayana, King of Vatsa.”
Translated, edited and finalized by the Indian preceptor Dānaśīla and Bandé Yeshé Dé.