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The Pali canon emerged in written form around the first century
For online links to all three Pali texts along with English translations, see the Bibliography.
Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Pelliot Sanskrit: petit fragment 83. Pauly (1960, pp. 519–24) provides a transcription of the fragment and reproduces a passage from Speyer’s edition of the Avadānaśataka, which is supplemented with notes detailing variant readings of the fragment.
Oriental Department of the State Library at Berlin, SHT 24f. See Waldschmidt (1965), pp. 16–17, n. 24.
In the ninth story, there is no setting or conclusion given for The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme,” although it is referred to as a sūtra: bhagavān idaṃ sūtraṃ bhāṣate sma. In that version, the Buddha preaches the sūtra to brahmins and householders. See Speyer (1902–6), pp. 49–50. In the fifty-seventh story, only the setting is omitted, and the Buddha preaches it to monks, as found here in The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme.” See Speyer (1902–6), pp. 329–30.
For a Sanskrit edition, see Vaidya (1959), p. 95, and for an English translation, see Rotman (2008), p. 268.
The version that appears in the Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra, one of the Pañcarakṣā, suggests the teaching was considered to have a protective function. This would be in line with the Pañcarakṣā being seen as protective texts (Hartmann and Maue 1996, p. 149, n. 9).
Ekottarikāgama 21.1 (di yi de 第一徳). An English translation of this text from Chinese by Thích Huyên-Vi, Sara Boin-Webb, and Bhikkhu Pāsādika is available at SuttaCentral with the title Highest Faith.
For further information, see Resources for Kanjur and Tenjur Studies at Universität Wein (last accessed 30 May 2023).
Although the colophon is fragmentary, it begins as follows: agraprajñaptisūtrasyopadeśaḥ…, “instructions on The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme”…” See Waldschmidt (1965), p. 16.
Speyer (1902–6) edited the Sanskrit text of the Avadānaśataka based on four different Nepalese manuscripts. Manuscript B in Nepalese script, dated to 1645, is the common source for the other three. Vaidya (1958) published another edition based on Speyer’s.
Feer’s translation (1891) predates Speyer’s edition and is based on a single Nepalese manuscript.
The version that is found in the Avadānaśataka (Avś), and in its Tibetan translation (Toh 343) begins with this sentence.
Reading with Y, K, C, U and H: dge slong dag ’di gsum ni mchog tu gdags pa yin te, and Avś tisra imā bhikṣavo ’graprajñaptayaḥ. D here has the corrupt reading na in place of ni.
This refers to the category of beings abiding in the fourth and highest level of the formless realm. These are either the gods that abide there or persons who have reached this state through meditative equipoise. This state is also referred to as the “peak of existence” (Skt. bhavāgra; Tib. srid rtse) and is situated at the apex of saṃsāra. The beings there do not experience perceptions and yet cannot be said to be without perceptions.
Alternatively, this may be rendered “dispassion (i.e., being free of attachment) is the supreme Dharma.”
The phrase “the arhat, the completely perfect Buddha” is absent in Avś and its Tibetan translation (Toh 343).
According to Buddhist tradition, one who is worthy of worship (pūjām arhati), or one who has conquered the enemies, the mental afflictions (kleśa-ari-hata-vat), and reached liberation from the cycle of rebirth and suffering. It is the fourth and highest of the four fruits attainable by śrāvakas. Also used as an epithet of the Buddha.
One of the twelve types of the Buddha’s teaching (dvādaśāṅga). In this sense, the Sanskrit word avadāna means “exceptional feat” or “magnificent deed,” but in the context of the twelve types of buddhavacana the term came to refer to the narrative accounts of such deeds.
The famous Bamboo Grove in Rājagṛha where the Buddha regularly stayed and gave teachings. It was situated on land donated by King Bimbisāra of Magadha, and as such, was the first of several landholdings donated to the Buddhist community during the time of the Buddha.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
The Indic term buddha is used in Buddhism as an epithet for fully awakened beings in general and, more specifically, often refers to the historical buddha, Siddhārtha Gautama, also known as the Buddha Śākyamuni. The term buddha is the past participle of the Sanskrit root budh, meaning “to awaken,” “to understand,” or “to become aware.” Sometimes also translated here as “awakened one.”
The attainment of a buddha, who has gained total freedom from conditioned existence, overcome all tendencies imprinted on the mind as a result of a long association with afflicted mental states, and fully manifested all aspects of buddha body, speech, and mind. Also used to emphasize the superiority of buddhahood when contrasted with the achievement of the arhats and pratyekabuddhas. A samyaksaṃbuddha is considered superior by virtue of his compassionate activity, his omniscience, and his ten special powers.
When referring to phenomena or the constituents of experience, saṃskṛta usually means “conditioned.” But it can also mean “refined,” “adorned,” “ornamented,” “polished.” It seems that the text is here playing on the multivalence of the term in combination with the multivalence of the term “dharma.”
The term dharma conveys ten different meanings, according to Vasubandhu’s Vyākhyāyukti. The primary meanings are as follows: the doctrine taught by the Buddha (Dharma); the ultimate reality underlying and expressed through the Buddha’s teaching (Dharma); the trainings that the Buddha’s teaching stipulates (dharmas); the various awakened qualities or attainments acquired through practicing and realizing the Buddha’s teaching (dharmas); qualities or aspects more generally, i.e., phenomena or phenomenal attributes (dharmas); and mental objects (dharmas).
Literally “the dwelling place of kalandakas.” A location within the Bamboo Grove where the Buddha stayed. The alternative Sanskrit Kalandakanivāpa means “where food offerings are made to kalandakas.” It is said that the place was given its name by King Bimbisāra after he was rescued from a snake attack there. Pali sources suggest he was saved by the squawking of many kalandaka or flying squirrels. In Tibetan translation these were called “kalandaka birds” (bya).
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).
The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.
The result or maturation of karmic actions and the manifestation of their effects.
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.
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.”
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
When referring to phenomena or constituents of experience, asaṃskṛta usually means “unconditioned.” But it can also mean “unrefined,” “unadorned,” “unpolished.” It seems that the text is here playing on the multivalence of the term in combination with the multivalence of the term “dharma.”
The Sanskrit term means either “favorably disposed towards” or “having faith in.” The Tibetan term means “highly appreciating.”
mchog tu gdags pa’i mdo (Agraprajñaptisūtra). Toh 305, Degé Kangyur vol. 72 (mdo sde, sa), folios 130.b–131.b.
mchog tu gdags pa’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. 72, pp. 356–59.
gang po la sogs pa’i rtogs pa brjod pa brgya pa (Pūrṇapramukhāvadānaśataka). Toh 343, Degé Kangyur vol. 75 (mdo sde, aM), folios 1.b–286.b.
gsang sngags chen po rjes su ’dzin pa’i mdo (Mahāmantrānudhāriṇīsūtra) [Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra]. Toh 563, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud ’bum, pha), folios 150.b–156.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee (2016).
Aggapasādasutta. Pali Canon, Itivuttaka 90. Texts in Pali on SuttaCentral. For English translation, see Bhikkhu Sujato (2020), The Best Kinds of Confidence.
Aggappasādasutta. Pali Canon, Aṅguttara Nikāya 4.34. Texts in Pali on SuttaCentral. For English translation, see Bhikkhu Sujato (2018a), The Best Kinds of Confidence.
Cundīsutta. Pali Canon, Aṅguttara Nikāya 5.32. Texts in Pali on SuttaCentral. For translations, see Bhikkhu Sujato (2018b), With Cundī.
Appleton, Naomi, trans. Many Buddhas, One Buddha: A Study and Translation of Avadānaśataka 1-40. Sheffield: Equinox, 2020.
Bhikkhu Anālayo. Ekottarika-āgama Studies. Taipei: Dharma Drum Publishing Corporation, 2016.
Bhikkhu Sujato (2020), trans. The Best Kinds of Confidence (English translation of Aggapasādasutta Iti 90). SuttaCentral.
Bhikkhu Sujato (2018a), trans. The Best Kinds of Confidence (English translation of Aggapasādasutta AN 4.34). SuttaCentral.
Bhikkhu Sujato (2018b), trans. With Cundī (English translation of Cundīsutta AN 5.32). SuttaCentral.
Bingenheimer, Marcus. Studies in Āgama Literature with Special Reference to the Shorter Chinese Saṃyuktāgama. Taipei: Xinwenfeng, 2011.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra (Mahāmantrānudhāriṇīsūtra, Toh 563). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016.
Feer, Léon, trans. Avadāna-çataka: Cent Légendes (Bouddhiques). Annales du Musée Guimet 18. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1891.
Gabain, Annemarie von. Türkische Turfan-Texte VIII. Texte in Brāhmīschrift. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1954.
Hartmann, Jens-Uwe, and Klaus Wille. “Die nordturkistanischen Sanskrit-Handschriften der Sammlung Hoernle (Funde buddhistischer Sanskrit-Handschriften, II)” In Sanskrit-Texte aus dem buddhistischen Kanon: Neuentdeckungen und Neueditionen, 2. Folge, 9–63. Sanskrit-Wörterbuch der buddhistischen Texte aus den Turfan-Funden, Beiheft 4. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck und Ruprecht, 1992.
Hartmann, Jens-Uwe, and Dieter Maue. “Die indisch-türkische Bilingue TT VIII G.” In Turfan, Khotan und Dunhuang. Vorträge der Tagung „Annemarie v. Gabain und die Turfanforschung”, veranstaltet von der Berlin-Brandenburgischen Akademie der Wissenschaften in Berlin (9.-12. 12. 1994), edited by Ronald E. Emmerick, Werner Sundermann, Ingrid Warnke und Peter Zieme, 147–63. Berlin: Akademie-Verlag, 1996.
Pauly, Bernard. “Fragments Sanskrits de Haute Asie (Mission Pelliot).” Journal Asiatique 248 (1960): 509–38.
Rotman, Andy, trans. Divine Stories: Divyāvadāna Part 1. Boston: Wisdom Publications, 2008.
Speyer, Jacob S., ed. Avadānaśataka: A Century of Edifying Tales Belonging to the Hīnayāna. 2 vols. Biblioteca Buddhica 3. St. Petersburg: Académie Impériale des Sciences, 1902–6.
Vaidya, P.L. (1958), ed. Avadāna-Śataka. Buddhist Sanskrit Texts 19. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute.
Vaidya, P.L. (1959), ed. Divyāvadāna. Buddhist Sanskrit Texts 20. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute.
Waldschmidt, Ernst. Sanskrithandschriften aus den Turfanfunden, Teil 1. Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1965.
AN Aṅguttara Nikāya
Avś Speyer’s Sanskrit edition of the Avadānaśataka (1902–6), story 57
C Choné (co ne) Kangyur
D Degé (sde dge) Kangyur
EĀ Ekottarikāgama
Frgm Sanskrit fragment of the Agraprajñapti edited by Pauly (1960)
H Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur
Iti Itivuttaka
K Kangxi (pe cin) Kangyur
U Urga (phyi sog khu re) Kangyur
Y Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur
In The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme”, the Buddha, while spending the rainy season at the Bamboo Grove in Rājagṛha, teaches his saṅgha of śrāvakas that the Buddha is supreme among all beings, the Dharma of being free of attachment is supreme among all dharmas, and the Saṅgha is supreme among all communities and groups. Those who have faith in these three will be reborn as supreme among gods or humans.
This sūtra was translated by Giuliano Proença, who also prepared the introduction, glossary, and notes. The English translation and ancillary materials were proofread by Daniela Espíndola. Thanks to Karin Kerb for making otherwise unavailable bibliographical material accessible to us.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” is a short discourse set in the Bamboo Grove at Rājagṛha, in which the Buddha teaches that the Three Jewels are supreme: the Buddha is supreme among all beings, the Dharma of being free of attachment is supreme among all dharmas, and the Saṅgha is supreme among all communities and groups. In this way, the sūtra presents a declaration of faith in the Three Jewels. The Buddha also states that the reward of being well disposed toward the Three Jewels is rebirth as a supreme god or human.
Little is known about the history of The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” as an independent text in India, but the existence of similar texts in the Pali and Chinese canons testifies to its antiquity. The closest Pali parallel is the Aggappasādasutta (Iti 90), while the Aggappasādasutta (AN 4.34) and the Cundīsutta (AN 5.32) are also closely related. In the Aggappasādasutta (Iti 90), the Three Jewels are taught to be supreme, using similar language, and they are said therein to be the objects of the supreme kinds of confidence, faith, or favorable disposition.
The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” may have had a significant status in early Buddhist Central Asia, since we find Sanskrit fragments of the sūtra and its commentaries in a variety of manuscripts unearthed in present-day Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. In addition to an unpublished fragment in the Hoernle Collection, a fragment in the Pelliot Collection was published by Bernard Pauly.. The Turfan Collection also holds two fragments from commentaries on the sūtra: a Sanskrit fragment partially edited by Ernst Waldschmidt that includes the colophon, and an Old Turkish and Sanskrit bilingual fragment containing the beginning of a commentary on the sūtra.
A version of this teaching is also found in the Avadānaśataka, a Sanskrit anthology of avadānas, where this teaching appears almost in its entirety in two different passages (stories 9 and 57). The Tibetan translation of the Avadānaśataka is included in the Kangyur (Toh 343) and the wording in these passages is almost identical to the present sūtra. Moreover, an abridged form of this teaching is also contained in the Divyāvadāna as well as in the Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra (Toh 563, 1.45–1.47).
Several versions of The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” are extant in the Chinese Tripitaka: the closest version is found as part of the Ekottarikāgama (Zeng yi a han jing 增壹阿含經, Taishō 125). The Chinese translation of the Ekottarikāgama was, for the most part, completed by Zhu Fonian (竺佛念) in 384
The translators of The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” into Tibetan remain unidentified and the sūtra is not listed in any catalogs of the Tibetan imperial period. However, the striking similarity between the Tibetan of the sūtra and the version that appears in the Tibetan translation of the Avadānaśataka (Toh 343) suggests that these translations were unlikely to have been made independently of one another. The colophon of the Tibetan translation of the Avadānaśataka (Toh 343) states that it was translated by the scholars Jinamitra and Devacandra who were active in Tibet in the early ninth century. By extension therefore, the Tibetan translation of the The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” can perhaps also tentatively be dated to the early ninth century.
The sūtra is only found as an independent text in the Sūtra section of Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line, the Lhasa and Narthang Kangyurs, and in the Tholing Collection from Western Tibet. The Tibetan title of the text is the same in all Kangyurs included in the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma), mchog tu gdags pa’i mdo, while the Tholing Collection has ’phags pa mchog tu gdags pa’i mdo. Versions such as the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné, do not present the name of the text at the beginning. The Sanskrit title of the sūtra is missing in all versions. Nevertheless, the colophon of the abovementioned fragmentary Sanskrit commentary clearly refers to the sūtra using the title Agraprajñaptisūtra.
This English translation is based on the Degé Kangyur print of Toh 305, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and Pauly’s edition of the Sanskrit fragment. We also compared the Tibetan text line by line with the corresponding passages in the Avadānaśataka in both Sanskrit and Tibetan. The translators also consulted Léon Feer’s early French translation of the Avadānaśataka and Naomi Appleton’s more recent partial English translation of the same.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān, together with a saṅgha of śrāvakas, was staying at Kalandakanivāsa in the Bamboo Grove at Rājagṛha, observing the pledge to stay in retreat during the rains. Then the Bhagavān spoke to the monks:
“Monks, there are three declarations of what is supreme. What are the three? They are the declaration of the Buddha as supreme, the declaration of the Dharma as supreme, and the declaration of the Saṅgha as supreme.
“In this regard, what is the declaration of the Buddha as supreme? It is taught that among all beings—those without legs, with two legs, with four legs, or with many legs; those with form or without form; those with perception, without perception, or neither with perception nor without perception—the tathāgata, the arhat, the completely perfect Buddha is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward the Buddha are well disposed toward what is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward what is supreme should understand that the ripening thereof will always be as a supreme god among gods, or a supreme human among humans. This is called the declaration of the Buddha as supreme.
“What is the declaration of the Dharma as supreme? It is taught that among all dharmas, conditioned or unconditioned, the Dharma of being free from attachment is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward the Dharma are well disposed toward the supreme. Those who are well disposed toward what is supreme should understand that the ripening thereof will always be as a supreme god among gods, or a supreme human among humans. This is called the declaration of the Dharma as supreme.
“What is the declaration of the Saṅgha as supreme? It is taught that among all assemblies, gatherings, crowds, and retinues, the Saṅgha of śrāvakas of the tathāgata, the arhat, the completely perfect Buddha is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward the Saṅgha are well disposed toward the supreme. Those who are well disposed toward what is supreme should understand that the ripening thereof will always be as a supreme god among gods, or a supreme human among humans. This is called the declaration of the Saṅgha as supreme.”
After the Bhagavān had spoken thus, the monks rejoiced and praised his words.
Thus ends The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme.”
In The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme”, the Buddha, while spending the rainy season at the Bamboo Grove in Rājagṛha, teaches his saṅgha of śrāvakas that the Buddha is supreme among all beings, the Dharma of being free of attachment is supreme among all dharmas, and the Saṅgha is supreme among all communities and groups. Those who have faith in these three will be reborn as supreme among gods or humans.
This sūtra was translated by Giuliano Proença, who also prepared the introduction, glossary, and notes. The English translation and ancillary materials were proofread by Daniela Espíndola. Thanks to Karin Kerb for making otherwise unavailable bibliographical material accessible to us.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” is a short discourse set in the Bamboo Grove at Rājagṛha, in which the Buddha teaches that the Three Jewels are supreme: the Buddha is supreme among all beings, the Dharma of being free of attachment is supreme among all dharmas, and the Saṅgha is supreme among all communities and groups. In this way, the sūtra presents a declaration of faith in the Three Jewels. The Buddha also states that the reward of being well disposed toward the Three Jewels is rebirth as a supreme god or human.
Little is known about the history of The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” as an independent text in India, but the existence of similar texts in the Pali and Chinese canons testifies to its antiquity. The closest Pali parallel is the Aggappasādasutta (Iti 90), while the Aggappasādasutta (AN 4.34) and the Cundīsutta (AN 5.32) are also closely related. In the Aggappasādasutta (Iti 90), the Three Jewels are taught to be supreme, using similar language, and they are said therein to be the objects of the supreme kinds of confidence, faith, or favorable disposition.
The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” may have had a significant status in early Buddhist Central Asia, since we find Sanskrit fragments of the sūtra and its commentaries in a variety of manuscripts unearthed in present-day Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, China. In addition to an unpublished fragment in the Hoernle Collection, a fragment in the Pelliot Collection was published by Bernard Pauly.. The Turfan Collection also holds two fragments from commentaries on the sūtra: a Sanskrit fragment partially edited by Ernst Waldschmidt that includes the colophon, and an Old Turkish and Sanskrit bilingual fragment containing the beginning of a commentary on the sūtra.
A version of this teaching is also found in the Avadānaśataka, a Sanskrit anthology of avadānas, where this teaching appears almost in its entirety in two different passages (stories 9 and 57). The Tibetan translation of the Avadānaśataka is included in the Kangyur (Toh 343) and the wording in these passages is almost identical to the present sūtra. Moreover, an abridged form of this teaching is also contained in the Divyāvadāna as well as in the Great Upholder of the Secret Mantra (Toh 563, 1.45–1.47).
Several versions of The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” are extant in the Chinese Tripitaka: the closest version is found as part of the Ekottarikāgama (Zeng yi a han jing 增壹阿含經, Taishō 125). The Chinese translation of the Ekottarikāgama was, for the most part, completed by Zhu Fonian (竺佛念) in 384
The translators of The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” into Tibetan remain unidentified and the sūtra is not listed in any catalogs of the Tibetan imperial period. However, the striking similarity between the Tibetan of the sūtra and the version that appears in the Tibetan translation of the Avadānaśataka (Toh 343) suggests that these translations were unlikely to have been made independently of one another. The colophon of the Tibetan translation of the Avadānaśataka (Toh 343) states that it was translated by the scholars Jinamitra and Devacandra who were active in Tibet in the early ninth century. By extension therefore, the Tibetan translation of the The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme” can perhaps also tentatively be dated to the early ninth century.
The sūtra is only found as an independent text in the Sūtra section of Kangyurs of the Tshalpa line, the Lhasa and Narthang Kangyurs, and in the Tholing Collection from Western Tibet. The Tibetan title of the text is the same in all Kangyurs included in the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma), mchog tu gdags pa’i mdo, while the Tholing Collection has ’phags pa mchog tu gdags pa’i mdo. Versions such as the Yongle, Lithang, Kangxi, Narthang, and Choné, do not present the name of the text at the beginning. The Sanskrit title of the sūtra is missing in all versions. Nevertheless, the colophon of the abovementioned fragmentary Sanskrit commentary clearly refers to the sūtra using the title Agraprajñaptisūtra.
This English translation is based on the Degé Kangyur print of Toh 305, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and Pauly’s edition of the Sanskrit fragment. We also compared the Tibetan text line by line with the corresponding passages in the Avadānaśataka in both Sanskrit and Tibetan. The translators also consulted Léon Feer’s early French translation of the Avadānaśataka and Naomi Appleton’s more recent partial English translation of the same.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān, together with a saṅgha of śrāvakas, was staying at Kalandakanivāsa in the Bamboo Grove at Rājagṛha, observing the pledge to stay in retreat during the rains. Then the Bhagavān spoke to the monks:
“Monks, there are three declarations of what is supreme. What are the three? They are the declaration of the Buddha as supreme, the declaration of the Dharma as supreme, and the declaration of the Saṅgha as supreme.
“In this regard, what is the declaration of the Buddha as supreme? It is taught that among all beings—those without legs, with two legs, with four legs, or with many legs; those with form or without form; those with perception, without perception, or neither with perception nor without perception—the tathāgata, the arhat, the completely perfect Buddha is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward the Buddha are well disposed toward what is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward what is supreme should understand that the ripening thereof will always be as a supreme god among gods, or a supreme human among humans. This is called the declaration of the Buddha as supreme.
“What is the declaration of the Dharma as supreme? It is taught that among all dharmas, conditioned or unconditioned, the Dharma of being free from attachment is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward the Dharma are well disposed toward the supreme. Those who are well disposed toward what is supreme should understand that the ripening thereof will always be as a supreme god among gods, or a supreme human among humans. This is called the declaration of the Dharma as supreme.
“What is the declaration of the Saṅgha as supreme? It is taught that among all assemblies, gatherings, crowds, and retinues, the Saṅgha of śrāvakas of the tathāgata, the arhat, the completely perfect Buddha is supreme. Those who are well disposed toward the Saṅgha are well disposed toward the supreme. Those who are well disposed toward what is supreme should understand that the ripening thereof will always be as a supreme god among gods, or a supreme human among humans. This is called the declaration of the Saṅgha as supreme.”
After the Bhagavān had spoken thus, the monks rejoiced and praised his words.
Thus ends The Sūtra “Declaring What Is Supreme.”