Summary

After his attainment of buddhahood, the Buddha Śākyamuni is present in many locations simultaneously. The Ten Bhūmis takes place two weeks after his enlightenment, while he is sitting silently in meditation in the central palace in the highest paradise of the desire realm. Countless bodhisattvas have assembled there. Through the power of the Buddha, the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha enters samādhi and is blessed by countless buddhas, also named Vajra­garbha, to give a Dharma teaching to the bodhisattvas. In response to the questions of the bodhisattva Vimukti­candra, Vajra­garbha describes successively the ten bhūmis of a bodhisattva. Countless bodhisattvas arrive and report that this same event is occurring simultaneously in the highest paradises of all other worlds. The Buddha is pleased by Vajra­garbha’s teaching.

Acknowledgements

Translated from the Tibetan, with reference to the Sanskrit, by Peter Alan Roberts. The Tibetan reviewer was Tulku Yeshi. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The generous sponsorship of Shakya Dewa and family, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

A Multitude of Buddhas

The Ten Bhūmis is chapter 31 in the 45-chapter Tibetan version of A Multitude of Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka). This is often referred to by its shortened Sanskrit title, Avataṃsaka, and has been translated from the Chinese by Thomas Cleary as The Flower Ornament Scripture. The Ten Bhūmis is one of the most important chapters in A Multitude of Buddhas because its presentation of the ten bhūmis has become the standard presentation in Mahāyāna Buddhism of a bodhisattva’s progress toward buddhahood.

During the course of A Multitude of Buddhas, we find that the Buddha Śākyamuni who lived in our world is just one of countless manifestations of the Buddha Vairocana. Śākyamuni is even referred to as the Buddha Vairocana. Moreover, Śākyamuni is simultaneously present in various locations in our universe‍—at the Bodhi tree, in the Trāya­striṃśa paradise of Śakra on the summit of Sumeru, in the Yāma and Tuṣita paradises high above Sumeru, and in the highest paradise in the realm of desire‍—the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise. Not only is he said to be simultaneously present in all those locations in our world, but he also has similar simultaneous presences in countless other worlds. All these appearances of Śākyamuni, and the gathering of the vast assemblies whom they teach, are the result of prayers he made while he was the Buddha Vairocana. In fact, according to A Multitude of Buddhas, Vairocana is even the source of all buddhas everywhere, and all the bodhisattvas listening to their teachings were pupils of Vairocana in the past.

This depiction of Śākyamuni as an emanation of Vairocana has its precedent in a sūtra that was never translated into Tibetan: the Brahma­jāla­sūtra, which introduces the Buddha Vairocana as the source of ten billion Śākyamunis simultaneously existing in various worlds. The Buddha Vairocana would also later become the central buddha in such tantric traditions as Shingon Buddhism of Japan, which is based particularly on the Vairocanābhisambodhi Tantra.

Almost all the sūtras that make up A Multitude of Buddhas are set in the time when the Buddha Śākyamuni was still remaining silent following his enlightenment and had not yet taught. He is therefore a silent presence in all these different locations. As he does not speak, the teachings are given in his presence by such bodhisattvas as Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. An exception to this is the final chapter, the well-known Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra, which takes place later in the Buddha’s life at the Jetavana Monastery in Śrāvastī. However, even in that sūtra the Buddha enters a state of meditation, and the teachings are given by others, primarily in South India, far from the physical location of Śākyamuni.

Overview of The Ten Bhūmis

The Ten Bhūmis states that the discourse is taking place during the second week after the Buddha’s enlightenment, and that the teachings occur in the palace of Vaśavartin, the lord of the deities in the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise. The assembly is composed of the deities dwelling in that paradise, together with bodhisattvas from countless worlds. The teaching is given by the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha in response to questions from the bodhisattva Vimukti­candra, who is the only bodhisattva listed in the introduction whose name does not end in garbha.

Vajra­garbha appears among the lists of bodhisattvas present in other Kangyur texts and is the interlocutor in such sūtras as the Ghanavyūha and the Daśa­cakra­kṣiti­garbha­sūtra. In particular, he is the Buddha’s interlocutor in the Hevajra Tantra.

The ten bhūmis are one of the groups of ten that are a frequent motif in A Multitude of Buddhas. For example, these teachings are said to occur within the Buddha Vairocana’s realm of activity, which is composed of ten vast universes. Several of its individual sūtras also present a set of ten qualities as their principal subjects: for example, the titles of chapters 15, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, and 40 are respectively ten vihāras (“abodes”), ten practices, ten treasures, ten bhūmis, ten samādhis, ten clairvoyances, ten kinds of patience, and ten kāyas (“bodies”) of the Buddha. Within The Ten Bhūmis itself, each of the ten bhūmis is described through successive lists of ten qualities. The Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, the earliest of which were compiled earlier than The Ten Bhūmis, teach just six perfections of generosity, correct conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. The Ten Bhūmis, however, in accord with A Multitude of Buddhas’ emphasis on groups of ten, and in correlation with the ten bhūmis, contains the first appearance in Mahāyāna texts of the ten perfections, adding the four perfections of skillful method, prayer, strength, and knowledge.

The Doctrine of the Ten Bhūmis

The word bhūmi can mean “ground,” “level,” “stage,” and so on, but as the term ten bhūmis has become familiar to a Buddhist readership, the Sanskrit term has been retained rather than privileging one of the English translations.

The sūtras of the pre-Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions had already described distinct stages of spiritual development, primarily those of stream entrant, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat. A stream entrant will attain nirvāṇa within seven (or fourteen) lifetimes. A once-returner will only be reborn in the desire realm once more. A non-returner will be reborn in the Śuddhāvāsa paradises in the form realm and attain nirvāṇa there. Finally, the arhat will enter nirvāṇa upon death. Moreover, there are the progressive stages of the four dhyānas, which, although often referred to, are not considered to lead on their own to liberation from saṃsāra. Additionally, there are the five paths of accumulation, juncture, insight, meditation, and the stage of no-more-training, which, as we will see below, were adapted by the Mahāyāna tradition.

The Perfection of Wisdom sūtras presented two alternative descriptions of the stages of spiritual development: seven bhūmis and thirteen vihāras, which are correlated in subsequent commentarial works including the Bodhisattva­bhūmi. A Multitude of Buddhas, however, teaches ten bhūmis as in the chapter translated here, and ten vihāras in the twentieth chapter, The Ten Abodes of Bodhisattvas.

The Mahāyāna commentarial tradition adapted and developed the earlier teaching of the five paths mentioned above, and these became as widely established as the teaching of the ten bhūmis. The five paths have been correlated with the ten bhūmis: the first two precede the first bhūmi, and the third is equivalent to the first bhūmi, the fourth to the other nine bhūmis, and the fifth to buddhahood.

Influence of The Ten Bhūmis

There are other sūtras that specifically list these ten bhūmis, indicating the direct influence of The Ten Bhūmis, such as the Samādhi­rāja­sūtra, Saṃdhi­nirmocana, Ratna­megha, Ghana­vyūha, and Dharma­saṃgīti­sūtra. Perhaps the earliest commentarial witness to the influence of The Ten Bhūmis is the Ratnāvalī of Nāgārjuna. Other early Mahāyāna sūtras and commentaries show no such influence from The Ten Bhūmis. The Laṅkāvatāra­sūtra, for example, only mentions seven bhūmis. Similarly, in the commentarial tradition, one finds that in the Bodhisattva­bhūmi, which is the fifteenth section of the Yogācārabhūmi, only the seven bhūmis and the thirteen vihāras are taught. The authorship of the Yogācārabhūmi is attributed in China to Maitreya­nātha and in Tibet to his successor, Asaṅga. However, it is probably a compilation from various authors. In contrast, in the Mahāyāna­sūtrālaṃkāra, which is also attributed to Maitreya­nātha, the ten bhūmis are specifically presented.

The principal commentary to The Ten Bhūmis was written in the fourth century by Asaṅga’s successor and half-brother, Vasubandhu. That commentary was itself the subject of a commentary by Sūryasiddha, who claims that the meaning of the sūtra was revealed solely to Asaṅga, who subsequently transmitted it only to Vasubandhu. These texts do not concern themselves with the introductory section of the sūtra, but a commentary on the introduction was written in the eighth century by Śākyabodhi.

The ten bhūmis are found in many important later Indian Buddhist texts, such as Candrakīrti’s seventh-century Madhyamakāvatāra, and they became a central part in the presentation of the higher stages of the path in Tibet, featuring prominently in lamrim (“stages of the path”) texts.

The Translation of The Ten Bhūmis into Chinese and Tibetan

The Ten Bhūmis first existed as an independent sūtra. Dharmarakṣa from Dunhuang translated this and other sūtras that are chapters in A Multitude of Buddhas into Chinese in the third century ᴄᴇ. The first commentary on it in Chinese had already been composed by 394 ᴄᴇ. In India, Vasubandhu composed his commentary on the sūtra in its independent form, and the sūtra still exists as an independent sūtra in Sanskrit manuscripts.

In the early fifth century, The Ten Bhūmis was translated a second time into Chinese under the direction of the Indian Buddhabhadra (359–429 ᴄᴇ), but this time as a chapter in A Multitude of Buddhas, which in that version was composed of thirty-four sūtras. The translation was completed in 420 ᴄᴇ from a manuscript that had been brought in 392 by Chi Faling from the Buddhist kingdom of Yengchen in Xinjiang, where the sūtra was considered one of the kingdom’s treasures.

According to Chinese legend, A Multitude of Buddhas was preserved in three versions by a nāga king in his realm. The longest had verses as numerous as the atoms in thirteen universes. The middle length version had 1,200 chapters with 498,800 verses, and the shortest form had 48 chapters and 100,000 verses. Nāgārjuna then went to the nāga realm and brought back the shortest version to the human world. However, there is no version of the sūtra in 100,000 verses and 48 chapters.

Paramārtha (499–569) was an Indian monk who came to China in the sixth century and translated Buddhist texts into Chinese. In his writings he states that A Multitude of Buddhas was also called the Bodhisattva­piṭaka. Copies of this sūtra in the Dunhuang caves do indeed bear the title Bodhisattva­piṭaka Buddhāvataṃsaka.

Queen Wu (690–704) of the Tang dynasty, on hearing that there was a version of A Multitude of Buddhas in Khotan that was longer than that of the previous Chinese translations, sponsored its translation under the direction of the Khotanese Śikṣānanda (652–710). It was completed in 699, with the queen supplying a preface and titles. This version was composed of thirty-nine sūtras with The Ten Bhūmis as its twenty-sixth sūtra or chapter. It was this seventh-century version of A Multitude of Buddhas that became the basis for the Huayan School of Chinese Buddhism, huayan being the Chinese translation of avataṃsaka as “flower garland.” In the ninth century, Śīladharma made a new translation in China of The Ten Bhūmis.

A Multitude of Buddhas was translated into Tibetan in the early ninth century. The Tibetan version, even longer than the Chinese, is composed of forty-five sūtras with The Ten Bhūmis as its thirty-first sūtra, or chapter.

In the Chinese version of A Multitude of Buddhas, The Ten Bhūmis retains the traditional beginning of a sūtra: “Thus did I hear…” and so on. However, the version translated into Tibetan was further adapted into being a chapter in a longer work by omitting the traditional opening and by transferring a part of its introduction to its conclusion. Therefore, the Tibetan version of this sūtra begins abruptly.

The Sanskrit Versions

The Sanskrit text referred to for this translation is based on Johannes Rahder’s 1926 edition of the prose passages, which was itself based on two manuscripts from the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, two manuscripts from Cambridge University Library, one manuscript from the Royal Asiatic Society in London, one manuscript from the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta, and one manuscript from the Royal Library in Nepal. For the verses, the Sanskrit referred to is a 1931 edition, which is an amalgamation of Rahder’s work with Shinryu Susa’s edition based on one manuscript from the Imperial University Library in Kyoto and another from the Imperial University Library in Tokyo.

The Sanskrit version of The Ten Bhūmis is written with numerous nonclassical Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) features and vocabulary. In particular, the verses are written in a form of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit that has stronger Prakrit features. They favor the -u ending for the nominative case, where it would be -a in Sanskrit, -e in the ancient northeastern dialect, and -o in that of the northwest (and its continuation in Pali). It is sometimes the case that the verses of a sūtra are older than the prose sections that accompany them. In Sūryasiddha’s commentary, he even mentions the view of some scholars that the verses had been corrupted in form and meaning. The difference between the Sanskrit used in the verses and prose sections is not evident in either the Tibetan or this English translation.

The Translation into Tibetan

The Ten Bhūmis is the thirty-first chapter in the Tibetan version of A Multitude of Buddhas and is located in the second of the four Kangyur Multitude of Buddhas volumes. It comprises fascicles 13–21 of the original 115 bundles that constitute the entire sūtra in the Sanskrit manuscript. A Multitude of Buddhas was translated into Tibetan by Yeshé Dé, Jinamitra, and Surendrabodhi during the reign of King Ralpachen (r. 815–36). The former two translators had been working at Samyé Monastery since the reign of King Trisong Detsen (r. 742–98), but Surendrabodhi came to Tibet only after King Ralpachen came to the throne. Therefore, this translation was made sometime between 815 and 836.

In addition to the translation of the sūtra in the Kangyur, most of the sūtra, but not its verses or introduction, appears in Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, in which each passage is followed by an explanation. Vasubandhu’s commentary was presumably translated into Tibetan at some time following the translation of the sūtra. The translators of the commentary were Yeshé Dé, Kawa Paltsek, Prajñāvarman, and Mañjuśrī­garbha. Even though Yeshé Dé was involved in translating both the sūtra and the commentary, the translation in the commentary is of a better quality than that in the Kangyur, which does not appear to have been revised in the light of the translation of the commentary. There are some passages in the translation of the commentary that repeat the Kangyur version word for word, but the majority of the translation differs and is more accurate. The witness of the Sanskrit manuscripts, together with the contents of the Chinese translation, verify that the version in the translation of the commentary is more accurate and preserves certain phrases, or sometimes even entire sentences, that are missing in the Kangyur version, either as a result of omissions in a Sanskrit manuscript that was used as a source or through errors made during the centuries when the translation was preserved only in handwritten copies. This translation into English has been made by generally favoring the version translated within the commentary, with any dissimilarities from the Kangyur version annotated.

Accompanying Yeshé Dé as translator of the commentary was Kawa Paltsek. He had been among the first group to take monastic ordination in the 770s when he was a young man, but he was still active during Ralpachen’s reign and worked with Dānaśīla, who came to Tibet after 815. Another co-translator of the commentary was Prajñāvarman. He was a Bengali who had come to Tibet during Trisong Detsen’s reign and was a prolific translator of Sanskrit texts into Tibetan. He also authored Sanskrit works that were translated into Tibetan and are contained in the Tengyur. The co-translator Mañjuśrī­garbha is a lesser-known figure; he is recorded as being involved in only three translations, two of which are the two commentaries on The Ten Bhūmis.

Sūryasiddha, who wrote the second commentary, A Commentary on the Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, is an otherwise unknown author who lived sometime between the fourth and ninth centuries. This commentary was translated by three of the translators of the Vasubandhu commentary: Prajñāvarman, Kawa Paltsek, and Mañjuśrī­garbha. Yeshé Dé is noticeable by his absence, and Kawa Paltsek has taken over his role of chief editor. It is possible, but by no means certain, that this dates to a time after Yeshé Dé’s passing, which occurred during Ralpachen’s reign. Yeshé Dé’s funerary stūpa is in the environs of Samyé Monastery, where he had spent so many years working on translations. When passages from Vasubandhu’s commentary were found verbatim in Sūryasiddha’s commentary, the translators simply repeated the earlier translation they had made with Yeshé Dé.

The introductory section of the sūtra was not commented upon in either of those two commentaries, but the eighth-century Yogatantra master Śākyabodhi filled this commentarial gap with his A Commentary on the Introduction to the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, which was translated into Tibetan by Kawa Paltsek and Prajñāvarman and was a useful reference for this translation.

Notes on the Translation

We have translated the title Buddhāvataṃsaka as A Multitude of Buddhas. The title avataṃsaka is derived from avataṃsa. In Classical Sanskrit, avataṃsa describes a garland or any circular ornamentation. For example, karṇāvataṃsa (ear avataṃsa) means “earring.” One Tibetan translation of buddhāvataṃsaka is “the Buddha’s earring” (sangs rgyas kyi snyan gyi gong rgyan). A kusumāvataṃsa (flower avataṃsa) is a flower garland that is worn by a person, hence another Tibetan translation of buddhāvataṃsaka is “the Buddha’s garland,” using an obscure archaic word with various spellings (rmad ga chad, rma ga chad, or rmag chad). Thomas Cleary, translating into English from the Chinese Huayan, calls it Flower Ornament. However, in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, avataṃsaka means “a great number,” “a multitude,” or “a collection.” Therefore, we have the Tibetan version of the title as A Multitude of Buddhas (sangs rgyas phal po che). phal po che is used elsewhere in the Kangyur to translate Classical Sanskrit words meaning “multitude,” such as nicaya; or, for example, mahat janakāya (“a great assembly of beings”) is translated as skye bo phal po che. Although sangs rgyas phal po che is the title given to the sūtra in all Kangyurs, some Kangyurs, such as Degé, Urga, and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), which is based on Degé, have the title The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra Entitled Buddha Garlands (sangs rgyas rma ga chad) at the conclusion of each fascicle. Perhaps this is the residue of an initial translation, before the title was revised. The Mahāvyutpatti dictionary, compiled by those engaged in the translation of this sūtra, gives phal po che for avataṃsaka, and neither rma ga chad nor its variant forms appear anywhere in that dictionary. This variant title rma ga chad is not found in the conclusion of the chapters in the Lhasa, Stok Palace, Narthang, Lithang, and Shelkar Kangyurs. This translation follows the example of those Kangyurs.

Whatever the original intended meaning of the title, the Tibetan translation as phal po che (“multitude”) is not inappropriate, as A Multitude of Buddhas depicts a multitude of buddhas, including a multitude of Śākyamunis that are all emanations of the Buddha Vairocana.

The sūtra is divided into ten bhūmis, and within each bhūmi there are sets of ten qualities. This has been made evident by the insertion of numbers, as otherwise it might escape attention.

The Tibetan translators appear to have either made unusual choices in the interpretation of the verses in particular, or they may have been using a manuscript with unusual variants. They occasionally translated the same Sanskrit word differently and translated different Sanskrit words with the same Tibetan word. For example, in one passage that in the English translation forms one paragraph, the Tibetan word gnas was used to translate ālaya, niketa, and the suffix -ka. This has caused certain passages in Tibetan to be comparatively obscure, as the specificity of the Sanskrit has been lost.

For this translation, when the Sanskrit words in the prose and accompanying verses correspond, then the English has also been made to match, which the Tibetan translation did not always do.

The use of numbers is unusual in the sūtra. Niyuta and koṭi, “a million” and “ten million” respectively, are usually translated as sa ya and bye ba. However, niyuta or nayuta in BHS can also mean “a hundred thousand million,” which is translated into Tibetan as khrag khrig. The Tibetan translation of the sūtra, however, translates niyuta as “ten million” (bye ba) and koṭi as “a hundred thousand million” (khrag khrig).

There are certain Sanskrit terms translated by words that have a generally known meaning in Tibetan that does not match their context in this sūtra. For example, pratibha here means “brilliance of mind” or “eloquence,” but it is translated as spobs pa. While the Tibetan definitions of this word include shes rab (“wisdom”) and smra nus (“ability to speak,” “eloquence”), this word is primarily defined and known as meaning “confidence,” but this is not the intended meaning here. Adhiṣṭhāna is used in the sūtra to mean “a basis” or “support,” as in the Mahāvyutpatti dictionary’s gzhi or rten. The Tibetan translation uses byin rlabs (“blessing”). Abhiṣekha (literally “sprinkling”) was translated into Tibetan as dbang skur. Both the Sanskrit and Tibetan are known in the West as referring to “empowerment” or “initiation” in the context of tantra, but in this sūtra, as elsewhere in Sanskrit, it specifically refers to the consecration of a crown prince to become a king: the consecration of the bodhisattva by the buddhas, the final stage of the path to buddhahood, is presented as being analogous to the consecration of a crown prince.

As for the use of pronouns, “he” is frequently used in referring to a bodhisattva in the translation, as the Sanskrit pronoun is specifically male, for in the context of a number of Mahāyāna sūtras and commentaries the advanced bodhisattva, like a buddha, has to be male.

There are numerous lists of qualities, often in sets of tens. The groupings of these qualities are clear in Sanskrit, but in the Tibetan version it is unclear where one set ends and the other begins. In this translation the lists have been separated by formatting, and each successive quality has been numbered.

Synopsis of The Ten Bhūmis

The Ten Bhūmis begins with a description of the Buddha’s presence at the palace of Vaśavartin in the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise, where bodhisattvas from countless other universes, including the bodhisattvas Vajra­garbha and Vimukti­candra, have gathered.

Through the power of the Buddha, Vajra­garbha enters a samādhi called the radiance of the Mahāyāna, and as a result, an inconceivable number of buddhas, all of whom are named Vajra­garbha, appear to him and bless him. They say that because of the prayers he made in the past, the Buddha Vairocana is now manifesting in the form of Śākyamuni in various locations. The buddhas named Vajra­garbha place their hands on the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha’s head, giving him a blessing that will enable him to give a teaching that will enable bodhisattvas to ascend through the ten bhūmis.

Vajra­garbha comes out of that samādhi and addresses the assembled bodhisattvas. He lists the names of the ten bodhisattva bhūmis, which he says are taught by all buddhas, and then remains silent.

Vimukti­candra, on behalf of all the assembled bodhisattvas, asks Vajra­garbha why he does not teach these ten bhūmis. He assumes Vajra­garbha does not do so because beings will not believe the teaching, but Vimukti­candra states that this is an assembly of highly realized bodhisattvas who will believe what Vajra­garbha teaches.

Vajra­garbha answers that he did indeed remain silent out of compassion for lesser beings who would reject the teaching, because this rejection would cause them to be reborn in the lower realms.

Vimukti­candra repeats his request, stating that the teaching of the ten bhūmis is essential for attaining buddhahood, from the very beginning of the path to its conclusion, just as the alphabet is crucial for all writing.

At this point, a ray of light accompanied by hundreds of thousands of light rays shines from Śākyamuni’s ūrṇā hair, the coil of white hair between his eyebrows. The light rays illuminate all worlds everywhere and darken the realms of the māras. All buddhas everywhere are illuminated. These buddhas in turn shine light rays from their own ūrṇā hairs, illuminating all worlds; in particular, the Buddha Śākyamuni and the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha form an assembly hall of light in the sky above them. From that assembly hall of light comes a voice instructing Vajra­garbha to teach the ten bhūmis.

First Bhūmi

Vajra­garbha begins with a description of the initial motivation to attain buddhahood, which leads to the first bhūmi, Perfect Joy. He describes the nature of the joy experienced upon attaining that bhūmi, and also the other qualities that are gained, which are presented as sets of ten qualities. He contrasts these qualities with the suffering of beings, which is the result of the consecutive phases of dependent origination. The bodhisattva on the first bhūmi has compassion for these beings, performs great acts of generosity, and learns all that needs to be learned in this world. Many buddhas appear to him, and he serves the buddhas and ripens beings, as he will do on each successive bhūmi.

The qualities of each bhūmi are expressed by an analogy referring to gold, and the first bhūmi is said to be like refined gold.

From among the ten perfections, the bodhisattva on the first bhūmi practices the perfection of generosity. Like a caravan leader who must first learn about the route on which he will lead others, he learns about all ten bhūmis.

Vajra­garbha concludes by stating that this is just a brief description of the first bhūmi, as a full description would take eons. He adds that the bodhisattvas on the first bhūmi become rulers of Jambudvīpa, become supreme among humans, and use this position to benefit humans. In a single instant they gain twelve qualities, such as the ability to see a hundred buddhas, manifest a hundred bodies, cause a hundred worlds to shake, and so on. This set of twelve qualities will be described for each bhūmi, with the number of buddhas, and so on, becoming progressively greater.

Vajra­garbha repeats this teaching in verse.

At the conclusion of the teaching, the assembled bodhisattvas rise into the air, scatter flower petals, and praise Vajra­garbha.

Second Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the second bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of thought that enable the bodhisattva to reach the second bhūmi, which is called Stainless. The bodhisattva on the second bhūmi practices the ten good actions and avoids the ten bad actions. He contemplates the results of bad and good actions, which range from rebirth in the lower realms to the attainments of a bodhisattva. He resolves to bring beings onto the path of good actions, to liberation from saṃsāra, and to enlightenment.

The bodhisattva on the second bhūmi is like gold that has had all impurities removed by green vitriol.

From among the ten perfections, he practices the perfection of good conduct. Bodhisattvas on the second bhūmi become cakravartin kings who rule all four continents and use their power to lead beings onto the path of good actions. In each instant they see a thousand buddhas, illuminate a thousand worlds, causes a thousand worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas let fall clouds of flowers and praise Vajra­garbha.

Third Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the third bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of mental orientation that enable the bodhisattva to ascend to the third bhūmi, which is called Shining. The bodhisattva on the third bhūmi contemplates the wisdom of the buddhas and how its absence causes beings to suffer in saṃsāra. The bodhisattva therefore diligently works to enable beings to practice meditation and attain wisdom so that they will be liberated. He practices generosity with diligence. He is so devoted to the Dharma that he would jump into a pit of fire in order to receive just one word of the Buddha’s teaching. He is diligent in cultivating the four dhyānas and the four formless states. He obtains miraculous powers such as clairvoyance, the ability to remember millions of previous lifetimes, and the ability to know what karma sentient beings have accumulated.

The bodhisattva on the third bhūmi is like gold perfected by a skilled goldsmith.

Of the ten perfections, he primarily practices the perfection of patience. Most of the bodhisattvas on the third bhūmi become an Indra, the deity of the paradise on the summit of Sumeru, a paradise that exists in every world of four continents. In each instant the bodhisattva sees a hundred thousand buddhas, illuminates a hundred thousand worlds, causes a hundred thousand worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas scatter flowers on Vajra­garbha and praise him. Vaśavartin scatters jewels and praises Vajra­garbha’s teaching.

Fourth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the fourth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten attainments through insight into the Dharma that enable a bodhisattva to ascend to the fourth bhūmi, which is called Brilliance. Upon attaining this bhūmi, the bodhisattva becomes a member of the family of the buddhas. He develops the five powers, the five strengths, the four bases of miraculous powers, and the factors for enlightenment, including the noble eightfold path. He eliminates the view of self.

The bodhisattva on the fourth bhūmi is like gold that has been made into supreme jewelry.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of diligence. Most of the bodhisattvas on the fourth bhūmi become a Suyāma, the deity who is the lord of a Yāma paradise. In each instant the bodhisattva sees ten million buddhas, illuminates ten million worlds, causes ten million worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas scatter flowers on Vajra­garbha and praise him. Vaśavartin and his deities scatter flowers on the Buddha and praise Vajra­garbha’s teaching.

Fifth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the fifth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes ten kinds of sameness of thought that enable the bodhisattva to ascend to the fifth bhūmi, which is called Difficult to Conquer. The bodhisattva on the fifth bhūmi attains various kinds of wisdom, and seeing that beings are in a state of ignorance, he has compassion for them. He is wise in worldly knowledge such as mathematics, medicine, poetry, music, history, architecture, and so on, through which he brings happiness to beings.

The bodhisattva on the fifth bhūmi is like gold adorned with white coral.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of meditation. Most of the bodhisattvas on the fifth bhūmi become a Saṃtuṣita, the deity who is the lord of a Tuṣita paradise. In each instant the bodhisattva sees ten billion buddhas, illuminates ten billion worlds, causes ten billion worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas scatter flowers and jewels upon the Buddha, and the deities scatter garlands, parasols, banners, and so on upon the Buddha and praise the teaching.

Sixth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the sixth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of equality of phenomena that enable a bodhisattva to ascend to the sixth bhūmi, which is called Manifested. The bodhisattva on the sixth bhūmi attains the wisdom that sees the twelve phases of dependent origination and has compassion for beings who are under the power of dependent origination. He attains the three doors to liberation.

The bodhisattva on the sixth bhūmi is like gold adorned with beryl.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of wisdom. Most of the bodhisattvas on the sixth bhūmi become a Sunirmita, the deity who is the lord of a Nirmāṇarati paradise. In each instant the bodhisattva sees a trillion buddhas, illuminates a trillion worlds, causes a trillion worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed deities scatter clouds of incense and light and praise the teaching.

Seventh Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the seventh bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of engagement with the path that enable a bodhisattva to ascend to the seventh bhūmi, which is called Gone Far. The bodhisattva on the seventh bhūmi apprehends countless worlds, buddhas, and eons, the thoughts and motivations of countless beings, and so on. All the factors for enlightenment are complete in each instant, and he has pure bodhisattva conduct. Nevertheless, he cannot be said to be completely free of the kleśas, because he still desires buddhahood. He attains cessation in each instant, but instead of merging into that cessation he takes rebirth in the three realms and engages in worldly activities in order to benefit beings.

The bodhisattva on the seventh bhūmi is like gold adorned with every jewel.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of skill in methods. Most of the bodhisattvas on the seventh bhūmi become a Vaśavartin, the deity who is the lord of a Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise, the highest paradise in the desire realm. In each instant the bodhisattva sees a quintillion buddhas, illuminates a quintillion worlds, causes a quintillion worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed deities scatter banners, parasols, jewelry, and so on as offerings to the Buddha and the bodhisattvas, and they sing praises of the buddhas.

Eighth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the eighth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the acceptance of the birthlessness of phenomena through which a bodhisattva attains the eighth bhūmi, which is called Unwavering. The bodhisattva on the eighth bhūmi has no conceptuality. He sees the suffering of beings and therefore strives for enlightenment like a person trying to wake himself from a nightmare. He has no dualistic effort or dualistic engagement in any kind of activity. He has knowledge of all universes, the elements, and atoms. He takes birth in countless universes, taking on whatever form is necessary to guide beings.

The bodhisattva on the eighth bhūmi is like a golden adornment on the head or throat of a ruler of Jambudvīpa.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of aspiration. Most of the bodhisattvas on the eighth bhūmi become a Brahmā, a ruler of a billion-world universe, who teaches the perfections to beings. In each instant the bodhisattva sees as many buddhas as there are atoms in a million universes, illuminates as many worlds as there are atoms in a million universes, causes as many worlds to shake as there are atoms in a million universes, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

Millions of realms shake, and light from the Buddha illuminates all realms. The bodhisattvas, Vaśavartin, and the deities make offerings, and goddesses sing praises to bodhisattvas.

Ninth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the ninth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten qualities through which a bodhisattva attains the ninth bhūmi, Perfect Understanding. The bodhisattva on the ninth bhūmi has perfect knowledge of all kinds so that he can guide beings in various ways. He can teach simultaneously in all worlds and in all languages. He can cause all sounds to be the teaching of the Dharma and all Dharma teachings to come from one syllable. He can answer the simultaneous questions of all beings in the universe at the same time.

The bodhisattva on the ninth bhūmi is like a gold adornment on the head or throat of a cakravartin who rules the four continents.

From among the ten perfections, he primarily practices the perfection of strength. Most of the bodhisattvas on the ninth bhūmi become a great Brahmā, a ruler of two universes, who teaches the perfections to beings. In each instant, the bodhisattva sees as many buddhas as there are atoms in countless millions of universes, illuminates as many worlds as there are atoms in countless millions of universes, causes to shake as many worlds as there are atoms in countless millions of universes, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

A million deities from the form realm, the bodhisattvas, Vaśavartin, and the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin deities make offerings to the Buddha, and goddesses sing praises to the Buddha.

Summary

After his attainment of buddhahood, the Buddha Śākyamuni is present in many locations simultaneously. The Ten Bhūmis takes place two weeks after his enlightenment, while he is sitting silently in meditation in the central palace in the highest paradise of the desire realm. Countless bodhisattvas have assembled there. Through the power of the Buddha, the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha enters samādhi and is blessed by countless buddhas, also named Vajra­garbha, to give a Dharma teaching to the bodhisattvas. In response to the questions of the bodhisattva Vimukti­candra, Vajra­garbha describes successively the ten bhūmis of a bodhisattva. Countless bodhisattvas arrive and report that this same event is occurring simultaneously in the highest paradises of all other worlds. The Buddha is pleased by Vajra­garbha’s teaching.

Acknowledgements

Translated from the Tibetan, with reference to the Sanskrit, by Peter Alan Roberts. The Tibetan reviewer was Tulku Yeshi. Emily Bower was the project manager and editor.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The generous sponsorship of Shakya Dewa and family, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.

Introduction

A Multitude of Buddhas

The Ten Bhūmis is chapter 31 in the 45-chapter Tibetan version of A Multitude of Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka). This is often referred to by its shortened Sanskrit title, Avataṃsaka, and has been translated from the Chinese by Thomas Cleary as The Flower Ornament Scripture. The Ten Bhūmis is one of the most important chapters in A Multitude of Buddhas because its presentation of the ten bhūmis has become the standard presentation in Mahāyāna Buddhism of a bodhisattva’s progress toward buddhahood.

During the course of A Multitude of Buddhas, we find that the Buddha Śākyamuni who lived in our world is just one of countless manifestations of the Buddha Vairocana. Śākyamuni is even referred to as the Buddha Vairocana. Moreover, Śākyamuni is simultaneously present in various locations in our universe‍—at the Bodhi tree, in the Trāya­striṃśa paradise of Śakra on the summit of Sumeru, in the Yāma and Tuṣita paradises high above Sumeru, and in the highest paradise in the realm of desire‍—the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise. Not only is he said to be simultaneously present in all those locations in our world, but he also has similar simultaneous presences in countless other worlds. All these appearances of Śākyamuni, and the gathering of the vast assemblies whom they teach, are the result of prayers he made while he was the Buddha Vairocana. In fact, according to A Multitude of Buddhas, Vairocana is even the source of all buddhas everywhere, and all the bodhisattvas listening to their teachings were pupils of Vairocana in the past.

This depiction of Śākyamuni as an emanation of Vairocana has its precedent in a sūtra that was never translated into Tibetan: the Brahma­jāla­sūtra, which introduces the Buddha Vairocana as the source of ten billion Śākyamunis simultaneously existing in various worlds. The Buddha Vairocana would also later become the central buddha in such tantric traditions as Shingon Buddhism of Japan, which is based particularly on the Vairocanābhisambodhi Tantra.

Almost all the sūtras that make up A Multitude of Buddhas are set in the time when the Buddha Śākyamuni was still remaining silent following his enlightenment and had not yet taught. He is therefore a silent presence in all these different locations. As he does not speak, the teachings are given in his presence by such bodhisattvas as Mañjuśrī and Samantabhadra. An exception to this is the final chapter, the well-known Gaṇḍavyūha Sūtra, which takes place later in the Buddha’s life at the Jetavana Monastery in Śrāvastī. However, even in that sūtra the Buddha enters a state of meditation, and the teachings are given by others, primarily in South India, far from the physical location of Śākyamuni.

Overview of The Ten Bhūmis

The Ten Bhūmis states that the discourse is taking place during the second week after the Buddha’s enlightenment, and that the teachings occur in the palace of Vaśavartin, the lord of the deities in the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise. The assembly is composed of the deities dwelling in that paradise, together with bodhisattvas from countless worlds. The teaching is given by the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha in response to questions from the bodhisattva Vimukti­candra, who is the only bodhisattva listed in the introduction whose name does not end in garbha.

Vajra­garbha appears among the lists of bodhisattvas present in other Kangyur texts and is the interlocutor in such sūtras as the Ghanavyūha and the Daśa­cakra­kṣiti­garbha­sūtra. In particular, he is the Buddha’s interlocutor in the Hevajra Tantra.

The ten bhūmis are one of the groups of ten that are a frequent motif in A Multitude of Buddhas. For example, these teachings are said to occur within the Buddha Vairocana’s realm of activity, which is composed of ten vast universes. Several of its individual sūtras also present a set of ten qualities as their principal subjects: for example, the titles of chapters 15, 26, 27, 30, 31, 33, 34, 35, and 40 are respectively ten vihāras (“abodes”), ten practices, ten treasures, ten bhūmis, ten samādhis, ten clairvoyances, ten kinds of patience, and ten kāyas (“bodies”) of the Buddha. Within The Ten Bhūmis itself, each of the ten bhūmis is described through successive lists of ten qualities. The Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, the earliest of which were compiled earlier than The Ten Bhūmis, teach just six perfections of generosity, correct conduct, patience, diligence, meditation, and wisdom. The Ten Bhūmis, however, in accord with A Multitude of Buddhas’ emphasis on groups of ten, and in correlation with the ten bhūmis, contains the first appearance in Mahāyāna texts of the ten perfections, adding the four perfections of skillful method, prayer, strength, and knowledge.

The Doctrine of the Ten Bhūmis

The word bhūmi can mean “ground,” “level,” “stage,” and so on, but as the term ten bhūmis has become familiar to a Buddhist readership, the Sanskrit term has been retained rather than privileging one of the English translations.

The sūtras of the pre-Mahāyāna Buddhist traditions had already described distinct stages of spiritual development, primarily those of stream entrant, once-returner, non-returner, and arhat. A stream entrant will attain nirvāṇa within seven (or fourteen) lifetimes. A once-returner will only be reborn in the desire realm once more. A non-returner will be reborn in the Śuddhāvāsa paradises in the form realm and attain nirvāṇa there. Finally, the arhat will enter nirvāṇa upon death. Moreover, there are the progressive stages of the four dhyānas, which, although often referred to, are not considered to lead on their own to liberation from saṃsāra. Additionally, there are the five paths of accumulation, juncture, insight, meditation, and the stage of no-more-training, which, as we will see below, were adapted by the Mahāyāna tradition.

The Perfection of Wisdom sūtras presented two alternative descriptions of the stages of spiritual development: seven bhūmis and thirteen vihāras, which are correlated in subsequent commentarial works including the Bodhisattva­bhūmi. A Multitude of Buddhas, however, teaches ten bhūmis as in the chapter translated here, and ten vihāras in the twentieth chapter, The Ten Abodes of Bodhisattvas.

The Mahāyāna commentarial tradition adapted and developed the earlier teaching of the five paths mentioned above, and these became as widely established as the teaching of the ten bhūmis. The five paths have been correlated with the ten bhūmis: the first two precede the first bhūmi, and the third is equivalent to the first bhūmi, the fourth to the other nine bhūmis, and the fifth to buddhahood.

Influence of The Ten Bhūmis

There are other sūtras that specifically list these ten bhūmis, indicating the direct influence of The Ten Bhūmis, such as the Samādhi­rāja­sūtra, Saṃdhi­nirmocana, Ratna­megha, Ghana­vyūha, and Dharma­saṃgīti­sūtra. Perhaps the earliest commentarial witness to the influence of The Ten Bhūmis is the Ratnāvalī of Nāgārjuna. Other early Mahāyāna sūtras and commentaries show no such influence from The Ten Bhūmis. The Laṅkāvatāra­sūtra, for example, only mentions seven bhūmis. Similarly, in the commentarial tradition, one finds that in the Bodhisattva­bhūmi, which is the fifteenth section of the Yogācārabhūmi, only the seven bhūmis and the thirteen vihāras are taught. The authorship of the Yogācārabhūmi is attributed in China to Maitreya­nātha and in Tibet to his successor, Asaṅga. However, it is probably a compilation from various authors. In contrast, in the Mahāyāna­sūtrālaṃkāra, which is also attributed to Maitreya­nātha, the ten bhūmis are specifically presented.

The principal commentary to The Ten Bhūmis was written in the fourth century by Asaṅga’s successor and half-brother, Vasubandhu. That commentary was itself the subject of a commentary by Sūryasiddha, who claims that the meaning of the sūtra was revealed solely to Asaṅga, who subsequently transmitted it only to Vasubandhu. These texts do not concern themselves with the introductory section of the sūtra, but a commentary on the introduction was written in the eighth century by Śākyabodhi.

The ten bhūmis are found in many important later Indian Buddhist texts, such as Candrakīrti’s seventh-century Madhyamakāvatāra, and they became a central part in the presentation of the higher stages of the path in Tibet, featuring prominently in lamrim (“stages of the path”) texts.

The Translation of The Ten Bhūmis into Chinese and Tibetan

The Ten Bhūmis first existed as an independent sūtra. Dharmarakṣa from Dunhuang translated this and other sūtras that are chapters in A Multitude of Buddhas into Chinese in the third century ᴄᴇ. The first commentary on it in Chinese had already been composed by 394 ᴄᴇ. In India, Vasubandhu composed his commentary on the sūtra in its independent form, and the sūtra still exists as an independent sūtra in Sanskrit manuscripts.

In the early fifth century, The Ten Bhūmis was translated a second time into Chinese under the direction of the Indian Buddhabhadra (359–429 ᴄᴇ), but this time as a chapter in A Multitude of Buddhas, which in that version was composed of thirty-four sūtras. The translation was completed in 420 ᴄᴇ from a manuscript that had been brought in 392 by Chi Faling from the Buddhist kingdom of Yengchen in Xinjiang, where the sūtra was considered one of the kingdom’s treasures.

According to Chinese legend, A Multitude of Buddhas was preserved in three versions by a nāga king in his realm. The longest had verses as numerous as the atoms in thirteen universes. The middle length version had 1,200 chapters with 498,800 verses, and the shortest form had 48 chapters and 100,000 verses. Nāgārjuna then went to the nāga realm and brought back the shortest version to the human world. However, there is no version of the sūtra in 100,000 verses and 48 chapters.

Paramārtha (499–569) was an Indian monk who came to China in the sixth century and translated Buddhist texts into Chinese. In his writings he states that A Multitude of Buddhas was also called the Bodhisattva­piṭaka. Copies of this sūtra in the Dunhuang caves do indeed bear the title Bodhisattva­piṭaka Buddhāvataṃsaka.

Queen Wu (690–704) of the Tang dynasty, on hearing that there was a version of A Multitude of Buddhas in Khotan that was longer than that of the previous Chinese translations, sponsored its translation under the direction of the Khotanese Śikṣānanda (652–710). It was completed in 699, with the queen supplying a preface and titles. This version was composed of thirty-nine sūtras with The Ten Bhūmis as its twenty-sixth sūtra or chapter. It was this seventh-century version of A Multitude of Buddhas that became the basis for the Huayan School of Chinese Buddhism, huayan being the Chinese translation of avataṃsaka as “flower garland.” In the ninth century, Śīladharma made a new translation in China of The Ten Bhūmis.

A Multitude of Buddhas was translated into Tibetan in the early ninth century. The Tibetan version, even longer than the Chinese, is composed of forty-five sūtras with The Ten Bhūmis as its thirty-first sūtra, or chapter.

In the Chinese version of A Multitude of Buddhas, The Ten Bhūmis retains the traditional beginning of a sūtra: “Thus did I hear…” and so on. However, the version translated into Tibetan was further adapted into being a chapter in a longer work by omitting the traditional opening and by transferring a part of its introduction to its conclusion. Therefore, the Tibetan version of this sūtra begins abruptly.

The Sanskrit Versions

The Sanskrit text referred to for this translation is based on Johannes Rahder’s 1926 edition of the prose passages, which was itself based on two manuscripts from the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris, two manuscripts from Cambridge University Library, one manuscript from the Royal Asiatic Society in London, one manuscript from the Asiatic Society of Bengal in Calcutta, and one manuscript from the Royal Library in Nepal. For the verses, the Sanskrit referred to is a 1931 edition, which is an amalgamation of Rahder’s work with Shinryu Susa’s edition based on one manuscript from the Imperial University Library in Kyoto and another from the Imperial University Library in Tokyo.

The Sanskrit version of The Ten Bhūmis is written with numerous nonclassical Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) features and vocabulary. In particular, the verses are written in a form of Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit that has stronger Prakrit features. They favor the -u ending for the nominative case, where it would be -a in Sanskrit, -e in the ancient northeastern dialect, and -o in that of the northwest (and its continuation in Pali). It is sometimes the case that the verses of a sūtra are older than the prose sections that accompany them. In Sūryasiddha’s commentary, he even mentions the view of some scholars that the verses had been corrupted in form and meaning. The difference between the Sanskrit used in the verses and prose sections is not evident in either the Tibetan or this English translation.

The Translation into Tibetan

The Ten Bhūmis is the thirty-first chapter in the Tibetan version of A Multitude of Buddhas and is located in the second of the four Kangyur Multitude of Buddhas volumes. It comprises fascicles 13–21 of the original 115 bundles that constitute the entire sūtra in the Sanskrit manuscript. A Multitude of Buddhas was translated into Tibetan by Yeshé Dé, Jinamitra, and Surendrabodhi during the reign of King Ralpachen (r. 815–36). The former two translators had been working at Samyé Monastery since the reign of King Trisong Detsen (r. 742–98), but Surendrabodhi came to Tibet only after King Ralpachen came to the throne. Therefore, this translation was made sometime between 815 and 836.

In addition to the translation of the sūtra in the Kangyur, most of the sūtra, but not its verses or introduction, appears in Vasubandhu’s Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, in which each passage is followed by an explanation. Vasubandhu’s commentary was presumably translated into Tibetan at some time following the translation of the sūtra. The translators of the commentary were Yeshé Dé, Kawa Paltsek, Prajñāvarman, and Mañjuśrī­garbha. Even though Yeshé Dé was involved in translating both the sūtra and the commentary, the translation in the commentary is of a better quality than that in the Kangyur, which does not appear to have been revised in the light of the translation of the commentary. There are some passages in the translation of the commentary that repeat the Kangyur version word for word, but the majority of the translation differs and is more accurate. The witness of the Sanskrit manuscripts, together with the contents of the Chinese translation, verify that the version in the translation of the commentary is more accurate and preserves certain phrases, or sometimes even entire sentences, that are missing in the Kangyur version, either as a result of omissions in a Sanskrit manuscript that was used as a source or through errors made during the centuries when the translation was preserved only in handwritten copies. This translation into English has been made by generally favoring the version translated within the commentary, with any dissimilarities from the Kangyur version annotated.

Accompanying Yeshé Dé as translator of the commentary was Kawa Paltsek. He had been among the first group to take monastic ordination in the 770s when he was a young man, but he was still active during Ralpachen’s reign and worked with Dānaśīla, who came to Tibet after 815. Another co-translator of the commentary was Prajñāvarman. He was a Bengali who had come to Tibet during Trisong Detsen’s reign and was a prolific translator of Sanskrit texts into Tibetan. He also authored Sanskrit works that were translated into Tibetan and are contained in the Tengyur. The co-translator Mañjuśrī­garbha is a lesser-known figure; he is recorded as being involved in only three translations, two of which are the two commentaries on The Ten Bhūmis.

Sūryasiddha, who wrote the second commentary, A Commentary on the Commentary on the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, is an otherwise unknown author who lived sometime between the fourth and ninth centuries. This commentary was translated by three of the translators of the Vasubandhu commentary: Prajñāvarman, Kawa Paltsek, and Mañjuśrī­garbha. Yeshé Dé is noticeable by his absence, and Kawa Paltsek has taken over his role of chief editor. It is possible, but by no means certain, that this dates to a time after Yeshé Dé’s passing, which occurred during Ralpachen’s reign. Yeshé Dé’s funerary stūpa is in the environs of Samyé Monastery, where he had spent so many years working on translations. When passages from Vasubandhu’s commentary were found verbatim in Sūryasiddha’s commentary, the translators simply repeated the earlier translation they had made with Yeshé Dé.

The introductory section of the sūtra was not commented upon in either of those two commentaries, but the eighth-century Yogatantra master Śākyabodhi filled this commentarial gap with his A Commentary on the Introduction to the Sūtra of the Ten Bhūmis, which was translated into Tibetan by Kawa Paltsek and Prajñāvarman and was a useful reference for this translation.

Notes on the Translation

We have translated the title Buddhāvataṃsaka as A Multitude of Buddhas. The title avataṃsaka is derived from avataṃsa. In Classical Sanskrit, avataṃsa describes a garland or any circular ornamentation. For example, karṇāvataṃsa (ear avataṃsa) means “earring.” One Tibetan translation of buddhāvataṃsaka is “the Buddha’s earring” (sangs rgyas kyi snyan gyi gong rgyan). A kusumāvataṃsa (flower avataṃsa) is a flower garland that is worn by a person, hence another Tibetan translation of buddhāvataṃsaka is “the Buddha’s garland,” using an obscure archaic word with various spellings (rmad ga chad, rma ga chad, or rmag chad). Thomas Cleary, translating into English from the Chinese Huayan, calls it Flower Ornament. However, in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit, avataṃsaka means “a great number,” “a multitude,” or “a collection.” Therefore, we have the Tibetan version of the title as A Multitude of Buddhas (sangs rgyas phal po che). phal po che is used elsewhere in the Kangyur to translate Classical Sanskrit words meaning “multitude,” such as nicaya; or, for example, mahat janakāya (“a great assembly of beings”) is translated as skye bo phal po che. Although sangs rgyas phal po che is the title given to the sūtra in all Kangyurs, some Kangyurs, such as Degé, Urga, and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), which is based on Degé, have the title The Mahāvaipulya Sūtra Entitled Buddha Garlands (sangs rgyas rma ga chad) at the conclusion of each fascicle. Perhaps this is the residue of an initial translation, before the title was revised. The Mahāvyutpatti dictionary, compiled by those engaged in the translation of this sūtra, gives phal po che for avataṃsaka, and neither rma ga chad nor its variant forms appear anywhere in that dictionary. This variant title rma ga chad is not found in the conclusion of the chapters in the Lhasa, Stok Palace, Narthang, Lithang, and Shelkar Kangyurs. This translation follows the example of those Kangyurs.

Whatever the original intended meaning of the title, the Tibetan translation as phal po che (“multitude”) is not inappropriate, as A Multitude of Buddhas depicts a multitude of buddhas, including a multitude of Śākyamunis that are all emanations of the Buddha Vairocana.

The sūtra is divided into ten bhūmis, and within each bhūmi there are sets of ten qualities. This has been made evident by the insertion of numbers, as otherwise it might escape attention.

The Tibetan translators appear to have either made unusual choices in the interpretation of the verses in particular, or they may have been using a manuscript with unusual variants. They occasionally translated the same Sanskrit word differently and translated different Sanskrit words with the same Tibetan word. For example, in one passage that in the English translation forms one paragraph, the Tibetan word gnas was used to translate ālaya, niketa, and the suffix -ka. This has caused certain passages in Tibetan to be comparatively obscure, as the specificity of the Sanskrit has been lost.

For this translation, when the Sanskrit words in the prose and accompanying verses correspond, then the English has also been made to match, which the Tibetan translation did not always do.

The use of numbers is unusual in the sūtra. Niyuta and koṭi, “a million” and “ten million” respectively, are usually translated as sa ya and bye ba. However, niyuta or nayuta in BHS can also mean “a hundred thousand million,” which is translated into Tibetan as khrag khrig. The Tibetan translation of the sūtra, however, translates niyuta as “ten million” (bye ba) and koṭi as “a hundred thousand million” (khrag khrig).

There are certain Sanskrit terms translated by words that have a generally known meaning in Tibetan that does not match their context in this sūtra. For example, pratibha here means “brilliance of mind” or “eloquence,” but it is translated as spobs pa. While the Tibetan definitions of this word include shes rab (“wisdom”) and smra nus (“ability to speak,” “eloquence”), this word is primarily defined and known as meaning “confidence,” but this is not the intended meaning here. Adhiṣṭhāna is used in the sūtra to mean “a basis” or “support,” as in the Mahāvyutpatti dictionary’s gzhi or rten. The Tibetan translation uses byin rlabs (“blessing”). Abhiṣekha (literally “sprinkling”) was translated into Tibetan as dbang skur. Both the Sanskrit and Tibetan are known in the West as referring to “empowerment” or “initiation” in the context of tantra, but in this sūtra, as elsewhere in Sanskrit, it specifically refers to the consecration of a crown prince to become a king: the consecration of the bodhisattva by the buddhas, the final stage of the path to buddhahood, is presented as being analogous to the consecration of a crown prince.

As for the use of pronouns, “he” is frequently used in referring to a bodhisattva in the translation, as the Sanskrit pronoun is specifically male, for in the context of a number of Mahāyāna sūtras and commentaries the advanced bodhisattva, like a buddha, has to be male.

There are numerous lists of qualities, often in sets of tens. The groupings of these qualities are clear in Sanskrit, but in the Tibetan version it is unclear where one set ends and the other begins. In this translation the lists have been separated by formatting, and each successive quality has been numbered.

Synopsis of The Ten Bhūmis

The Ten Bhūmis begins with a description of the Buddha’s presence at the palace of Vaśavartin in the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise, where bodhisattvas from countless other universes, including the bodhisattvas Vajra­garbha and Vimukti­candra, have gathered.

Through the power of the Buddha, Vajra­garbha enters a samādhi called the radiance of the Mahāyāna, and as a result, an inconceivable number of buddhas, all of whom are named Vajra­garbha, appear to him and bless him. They say that because of the prayers he made in the past, the Buddha Vairocana is now manifesting in the form of Śākyamuni in various locations. The buddhas named Vajra­garbha place their hands on the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha’s head, giving him a blessing that will enable him to give a teaching that will enable bodhisattvas to ascend through the ten bhūmis.

Vajra­garbha comes out of that samādhi and addresses the assembled bodhisattvas. He lists the names of the ten bodhisattva bhūmis, which he says are taught by all buddhas, and then remains silent.

Vimukti­candra, on behalf of all the assembled bodhisattvas, asks Vajra­garbha why he does not teach these ten bhūmis. He assumes Vajra­garbha does not do so because beings will not believe the teaching, but Vimukti­candra states that this is an assembly of highly realized bodhisattvas who will believe what Vajra­garbha teaches.

Vajra­garbha answers that he did indeed remain silent out of compassion for lesser beings who would reject the teaching, because this rejection would cause them to be reborn in the lower realms.

Vimukti­candra repeats his request, stating that the teaching of the ten bhūmis is essential for attaining buddhahood, from the very beginning of the path to its conclusion, just as the alphabet is crucial for all writing.

At this point, a ray of light accompanied by hundreds of thousands of light rays shines from Śākyamuni’s ūrṇā hair, the coil of white hair between his eyebrows. The light rays illuminate all worlds everywhere and darken the realms of the māras. All buddhas everywhere are illuminated. These buddhas in turn shine light rays from their own ūrṇā hairs, illuminating all worlds; in particular, the Buddha Śākyamuni and the bodhisattva Vajra­garbha form an assembly hall of light in the sky above them. From that assembly hall of light comes a voice instructing Vajra­garbha to teach the ten bhūmis.

First Bhūmi

Vajra­garbha begins with a description of the initial motivation to attain buddhahood, which leads to the first bhūmi, Perfect Joy. He describes the nature of the joy experienced upon attaining that bhūmi, and also the other qualities that are gained, which are presented as sets of ten qualities. He contrasts these qualities with the suffering of beings, which is the result of the consecutive phases of dependent origination. The bodhisattva on the first bhūmi has compassion for these beings, performs great acts of generosity, and learns all that needs to be learned in this world. Many buddhas appear to him, and he serves the buddhas and ripens beings, as he will do on each successive bhūmi.

The qualities of each bhūmi are expressed by an analogy referring to gold, and the first bhūmi is said to be like refined gold.

From among the ten perfections, the bodhisattva on the first bhūmi practices the perfection of generosity. Like a caravan leader who must first learn about the route on which he will lead others, he learns about all ten bhūmis.

Vajra­garbha concludes by stating that this is just a brief description of the first bhūmi, as a full description would take eons. He adds that the bodhisattvas on the first bhūmi become rulers of Jambudvīpa, become supreme among humans, and use this position to benefit humans. In a single instant they gain twelve qualities, such as the ability to see a hundred buddhas, manifest a hundred bodies, cause a hundred worlds to shake, and so on. This set of twelve qualities will be described for each bhūmi, with the number of buddhas, and so on, becoming progressively greater.

Vajra­garbha repeats this teaching in verse.

At the conclusion of the teaching, the assembled bodhisattvas rise into the air, scatter flower petals, and praise Vajra­garbha.

Second Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the second bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of thought that enable the bodhisattva to reach the second bhūmi, which is called Stainless. The bodhisattva on the second bhūmi practices the ten good actions and avoids the ten bad actions. He contemplates the results of bad and good actions, which range from rebirth in the lower realms to the attainments of a bodhisattva. He resolves to bring beings onto the path of good actions, to liberation from saṃsāra, and to enlightenment.

The bodhisattva on the second bhūmi is like gold that has had all impurities removed by green vitriol.

From among the ten perfections, he practices the perfection of good conduct. Bodhisattvas on the second bhūmi become cakravartin kings who rule all four continents and use their power to lead beings onto the path of good actions. In each instant they see a thousand buddhas, illuminate a thousand worlds, causes a thousand worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas let fall clouds of flowers and praise Vajra­garbha.

Third Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the third bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of mental orientation that enable the bodhisattva to ascend to the third bhūmi, which is called Shining. The bodhisattva on the third bhūmi contemplates the wisdom of the buddhas and how its absence causes beings to suffer in saṃsāra. The bodhisattva therefore diligently works to enable beings to practice meditation and attain wisdom so that they will be liberated. He practices generosity with diligence. He is so devoted to the Dharma that he would jump into a pit of fire in order to receive just one word of the Buddha’s teaching. He is diligent in cultivating the four dhyānas and the four formless states. He obtains miraculous powers such as clairvoyance, the ability to remember millions of previous lifetimes, and the ability to know what karma sentient beings have accumulated.

The bodhisattva on the third bhūmi is like gold perfected by a skilled goldsmith.

Of the ten perfections, he primarily practices the perfection of patience. Most of the bodhisattvas on the third bhūmi become an Indra, the deity of the paradise on the summit of Sumeru, a paradise that exists in every world of four continents. In each instant the bodhisattva sees a hundred thousand buddhas, illuminates a hundred thousand worlds, causes a hundred thousand worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas scatter flowers on Vajra­garbha and praise him. Vaśavartin scatters jewels and praises Vajra­garbha’s teaching.

Fourth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the fourth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten attainments through insight into the Dharma that enable a bodhisattva to ascend to the fourth bhūmi, which is called Brilliance. Upon attaining this bhūmi, the bodhisattva becomes a member of the family of the buddhas. He develops the five powers, the five strengths, the four bases of miraculous powers, and the factors for enlightenment, including the noble eightfold path. He eliminates the view of self.

The bodhisattva on the fourth bhūmi is like gold that has been made into supreme jewelry.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of diligence. Most of the bodhisattvas on the fourth bhūmi become a Suyāma, the deity who is the lord of a Yāma paradise. In each instant the bodhisattva sees ten million buddhas, illuminates ten million worlds, causes ten million worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas scatter flowers on Vajra­garbha and praise him. Vaśavartin and his deities scatter flowers on the Buddha and praise Vajra­garbha’s teaching.

Fifth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the fifth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes ten kinds of sameness of thought that enable the bodhisattva to ascend to the fifth bhūmi, which is called Difficult to Conquer. The bodhisattva on the fifth bhūmi attains various kinds of wisdom, and seeing that beings are in a state of ignorance, he has compassion for them. He is wise in worldly knowledge such as mathematics, medicine, poetry, music, history, architecture, and so on, through which he brings happiness to beings.

The bodhisattva on the fifth bhūmi is like gold adorned with white coral.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of meditation. Most of the bodhisattvas on the fifth bhūmi become a Saṃtuṣita, the deity who is the lord of a Tuṣita paradise. In each instant the bodhisattva sees ten billion buddhas, illuminates ten billion worlds, causes ten billion worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed bodhisattvas scatter flowers and jewels upon the Buddha, and the deities scatter garlands, parasols, banners, and so on upon the Buddha and praise the teaching.

Sixth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the sixth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of equality of phenomena that enable a bodhisattva to ascend to the sixth bhūmi, which is called Manifested. The bodhisattva on the sixth bhūmi attains the wisdom that sees the twelve phases of dependent origination and has compassion for beings who are under the power of dependent origination. He attains the three doors to liberation.

The bodhisattva on the sixth bhūmi is like gold adorned with beryl.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of wisdom. Most of the bodhisattvas on the sixth bhūmi become a Sunirmita, the deity who is the lord of a Nirmāṇarati paradise. In each instant the bodhisattva sees a trillion buddhas, illuminates a trillion worlds, causes a trillion worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed deities scatter clouds of incense and light and praise the teaching.

Seventh Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the seventh bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten kinds of engagement with the path that enable a bodhisattva to ascend to the seventh bhūmi, which is called Gone Far. The bodhisattva on the seventh bhūmi apprehends countless worlds, buddhas, and eons, the thoughts and motivations of countless beings, and so on. All the factors for enlightenment are complete in each instant, and he has pure bodhisattva conduct. Nevertheless, he cannot be said to be completely free of the kleśas, because he still desires buddhahood. He attains cessation in each instant, but instead of merging into that cessation he takes rebirth in the three realms and engages in worldly activities in order to benefit beings.

The bodhisattva on the seventh bhūmi is like gold adorned with every jewel.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of skill in methods. Most of the bodhisattvas on the seventh bhūmi become a Vaśavartin, the deity who is the lord of a Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin paradise, the highest paradise in the desire realm. In each instant the bodhisattva sees a quintillion buddhas, illuminates a quintillion worlds, causes a quintillion worlds to shake, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

The overjoyed deities scatter banners, parasols, jewelry, and so on as offerings to the Buddha and the bodhisattvas, and they sing praises of the buddhas.

Eighth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the eighth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the acceptance of the birthlessness of phenomena through which a bodhisattva attains the eighth bhūmi, which is called Unwavering. The bodhisattva on the eighth bhūmi has no conceptuality. He sees the suffering of beings and therefore strives for enlightenment like a person trying to wake himself from a nightmare. He has no dualistic effort or dualistic engagement in any kind of activity. He has knowledge of all universes, the elements, and atoms. He takes birth in countless universes, taking on whatever form is necessary to guide beings.

The bodhisattva on the eighth bhūmi is like a golden adornment on the head or throat of a ruler of Jambudvīpa.

From the ten perfections he primarily practices the perfection of aspiration. Most of the bodhisattvas on the eighth bhūmi become a Brahmā, a ruler of a billion-world universe, who teaches the perfections to beings. In each instant the bodhisattva sees as many buddhas as there are atoms in a million universes, illuminates as many worlds as there are atoms in a million universes, causes as many worlds to shake as there are atoms in a million universes, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

Millions of realms shake, and light from the Buddha illuminates all realms. The bodhisattvas, Vaśavartin, and the deities make offerings, and goddesses sing praises to bodhisattvas.

Ninth Bhūmi

Vimukti­candra asks Vajra­garbha to teach the ninth bhūmi. Vajra­garbha describes the ten qualities through which a bodhisattva attains the ninth bhūmi, Perfect Understanding. The bodhisattva on the ninth bhūmi has perfect knowledge of all kinds so that he can guide beings in various ways. He can teach simultaneously in all worlds and in all languages. He can cause all sounds to be the teaching of the Dharma and all Dharma teachings to come from one syllable. He can answer the simultaneous questions of all beings in the universe at the same time.

The bodhisattva on the ninth bhūmi is like a gold adornment on the head or throat of a cakravartin who rules the four continents.

From among the ten perfections, he primarily practices the perfection of strength. Most of the bodhisattvas on the ninth bhūmi become a great Brahmā, a ruler of two universes, who teaches the perfections to beings. In each instant, the bodhisattva sees as many buddhas as there are atoms in countless millions of universes, illuminates as many worlds as there are atoms in countless millions of universes, causes to shake as many worlds as there are atoms in countless millions of universes, and so on.

Vajra­garbha repeats the teaching in verse.

A million deities from the form realm, the bodhisattvas, Vaśavartin, and the Para­nirmita­vaśa­vartin deities make offerings to the Buddha, and goddesses sing praises to the Buddha.