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There are many examples of this genre in the Tibetan canon, perhaps the most famous being the stories of the “twin miracle” (yamakaprātihārya) and the “great miracle” (mahāprātihārya), both of which are represented in the Tibetan Kangyur within the compiled text of the Vinayakṣudrakavastu (Toh 6). We would also direct readers interested in this subject to The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Toh 186), particularly the introduction to the English translation, which discusses the topic of the supernatural powers and, at i.10, provides a list of sūtras in which miraculous display (cho ’phrul) play an important role. See Buddhavacana Translation Group 2016b.
Six other Mahāyāna sūtras (Toh 184, Toh 248, Toh 249, Toh 250, Toh 251, and Toh 252) discuss “accomplishing four factors” (chos bzhi sgrub pa or bzhi pa sgrub pa), containing lists of fourfold sets, but the presentation is not consistent across these texts, nor are any of them consistent with the list of four factors presented here. It is interesting to note that Toh 252 also contains forty-three sets of four as in this sūtra.
Fiordalis (2008) gives a detailed analysis of the term prātihārya (“miraculous power”) and how its eventual three-part categorization relates to the conversion process of many of the Buddha’s disciples. In the Khotanese version of this sūtra, the Buddha is said to ultimately convert Bhadra with the miraculous power of instruction rather than the miraculous power of magical display, as in the Tibetan and Chinese, because he is too intelligent for the latter. This echoes Vasubandhu’s discussion of the superiority of the miraculous power of instructions in his Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (Toh 4090), although he does acknowledge its effectiveness for drawing possible converts (Fiordalis [2008], pp. 31–57, 62–86, and 180–81).
Dhammapadaṭṭhakathā; see Burlingame 1921, p. 92. See also “Dhammapada Verses 58 and 59: Garahadinna Vatthu,” tipitaka.net, accessed June 19, 2021. For a comparison between the story of Sirigutta and Garahadinna and the story of Bhadra, see Fiordalis 2008, pp. 178–79.
The first occurs in Nāgārjuna’s Sūtrasamuccaya (Toh 3934, folio 198.a), which quotes the twenty-seventh set of four at 1.135 and which is in turn included in Ratnākaraśānti’s commentary, the Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣyaratnālokālaṅkāra (Toh 3935, folio 315.b). The second is the Pravacanaratnākhyānaśākyavaṁśāvalī (Toh 4357, folio 285.b), an early treatise by the Tibetan scholar Paltsek (dpal brtsegs), who quotes many of the sets of four, beginning with the first set at 1.109.
Āryalaṅkāvatāranāmamahāyānasūtravṛttitathāgatahṛdayālaṁkāranāma (Toh 4019, folio 56.a).
These are the three types of miraculous power (trividhaprātihārya, cho ’phrul rnam pa gsum).
In both Chinese versions Bhadra does not refer to the Buddha here with this epithet but rather refers to him less honorably as “the renunciant Gautama” (瞿曇沙門).
This refers to one of the thirty-two marks of a great being that appear on the body of a buddha or cakravartin king. Having a body “well proportioned like a banyan tree” (chu zheng gap pa) or as the Sanskrit (nyagrodhaparimaṇḍala) describes “[a body whose limbs form] a perfect circle like a banyan tree [when extended].” This is listed as the twentieth of the thirty-two marks in the Mahāvyutpatti.
This corresponds to the one of the thirty-two marks of a great being. Having an “ūrṇā hair between the eyebrows” (urṇākeśa) is listed as the fourth of the thirty-two marks in the Mahāvyutpatti.
This resembles one of the thirty-two marks of a great being. Having “dark blue eyes with eyelashes like a cow” ( abhinīlanetragopakṣmā) is listed as the fifth of the thirty-two marks in the Mahāvyutpatti.
This corresponds to the first of the thirty-two marks of a great being. Having “a protrusion on the crown of the head” (uṣṇīṣaśiraskatā) is listed as the first of the thirty-two marks in the Mahāvyutpatti. Additionally, it is said of this mark of a great being that his crown protuberance extends infinitely into space, so not even Brahmā can see the end of it.
Taishō 324: “a voice with eight qualities” (八部音). “Eight” corresponds to the mark of a great being found in the list of thirty-two marks in the Dīghanikāya II, 18. Taishō 310 agrees here with the Tibetan in listing “sixty” qualities. In the Mahāvyutpatti, the “voice of Brahmā” (brahmasvara) is listed as the thirteenth of the thirty-two marks.
This anecdote about whether the Buddha will discern the trap as proof of his omniscience is a prominent theme that also appears in the Khotanese version of the story and in the narrative of Sirigutta and Garahadinna found in the Dhammapada (see Introduction i.14). However, this sentence is omitted in Taishō 310.
Tib. sgyu ma’i za ma tog gis, i.e. Bhadra’s accumulated collection of magical powers of illusion. Since the term “basket” does not appear in the Chinese or anywhere else in the Tibetan source, it is possible that the Tibetan is misreading māyākaraṇḍena (“with his basket of illusions”) for māyākaraṇḍena (“performing his illusions”).
Tib. dus mkhyen (*kālajñā), he is a “knower of the time.” This implies that the Buddha in his omniscience knows it is the opportune time to accept Bhadra’s invitation.
Taishō 324: 不起法忍 (“acceptance that phenomena are unborn,” Skt. anutpattikadharmakṣanti). Here kṣanti (“acceptance”) is expected but is omitted in Taishō 310 and the Tibetan.
There is an interesting anecdote here in the Khotanese version of the narrative, in which Aniruddha takes the place of Maudgalyāyana as the interlocutor raising warnings about Bhadra’s intentions. Aniruddha then asks the Buddha to show them up and break their pride by means of the Buddha’s miraculous power of magical display. The Buddha declines and instead gives a brief explication of his three types of miraculous power: The miraculous power of magical display is useful for impressing those of lesser intelligence, but Bhadra, who is highly intelligent and shows potential, will only be impressed by the Buddha’s instruction, referring to the most profound miraculous power of instruction. For a translation of this passage, see Emmerick 1968, p. 23. See also Fiordalis 2008 for an analysis of the three miraculous powers and their role in the process of conversion (pp. 31–38 and 71–86) in addition to their representation in The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist (pp. 180–81).
Tib. rlung gi dkyil ’khor. Here the term maṇḍala is used to delimit a particular instantiation of an amorphous or boundless abstraction like the wind element. Each of the winds then named is referred to as a “maṇḍala of wind,” which in the context of this list of named winds we have translated simply as “wind.”
rnam par ’thor byed ces bya ba. This strong, sharp, gusty wind is called vairambha in Sanskrit and verambha in Pali. Its many mentions in Buddhist literature are discussed by Skilling 2021, pp. 304–8.
bcom ldan ’das gdugs tshod lags pa’i dus dang tshod la bab na da gdugs tshod la bab par dgongs su gsol. Bhadra’s language here and elsewhere (see n.60 and n.61) is humorously circuitous and elaborate. In the Tibetan this is represented in the repetitions of the syllables gdugs, dus, tshod, and babs. We have attempted to represent some of this comical wordplay through alliteration and maintaining repetitions when it does not interfere with the meaning and coherence of the text.
D: bgam pa; Go.: mga’ ma; K and Y: dga’i ba. We have assumed here that bgam pa (“evaluation”) is likely a corruption of bka’ ba (“words”). Although bgam pa is conceivable here, it makes less sense coming from the voice of the faithful. The other Kangyur recensions are nonsensical, and bka’ ba is corroborated by the parallel Chinese in Taishō 310, which has 師子吼 (siṃhanāda, “lion’s roar,” i.e., the Buddha’s teachings). This reading is also in agreement with Régamey 1990, p. 69, n. 181.
D: yang ’di lta ste/ las kyi sgyu mas sprul pa yin no. As discussed in the introduction (i.8), one of the key objectives of this teaching is to demonstrate illusion (Skt. māyā, Tib. sgyu ma) as a simile for the ephemerality or lack of inherent nature of all phenomena. The phrase ’di lta ste (Skt. tadyathā), “like this,” could also be translated as “thus,” in which case these examples would not be presented as similes but would imply that the phenomena taken here as examples are illusions, though such a reading could still be taken as metaphorical.
D: bldag pa dag. Literally, food to be licked without the use of a utensil, which could imply a soup, powdered food, etc. We have chosen to translate the term as “nectar” since it is uncertain what type of food the Sanskrit source may have referred to, but it is presumed to be another sort of delectable food or drink.
Taishō 310 helps clarify the meaning here: “Food is illusory. Recipients, too, are illusions. When a giver comprehends their equality, his giving may be called pure” (知食是幻化 受者亦復然 了此平等時 乃名為淨施).
D: tshad mar gyur p gsungs nas ni/ /de la bdud kyi gting mi dpogs. In the Tibetan, it is not entirely clear how the third line of verse connects to the fourth. This translation has been emended in corroboration with the Chinese. Taishō 310: 如來所成就 幻術無窮盡 一切諸天魔 莫能知邊際 (“The illusion of the Tathāgata is inexhaustible; all the gods and māras are unable to know its bounds”).
The name of this samādhi is translated from Taishō 310 (念佛三昧) and Taishō 324 (佛意三昧). The Tibetan reads dad pa rjes su dran pa’i ting nge ’dzin (“the samādhi called recollecting faith”). The Chinese better fits the context here, and it is possible that the Tibetan contains a misreading of buddha for sraddhā.
Tib. ye shes dang / chags pa med pa’i spyod. Here the Chinese reads “unimpeded wisdom”: Taishō 310, 無礙智; Taishō 324, 慧無礙.
D: des pa. We have interpreted the Tibetan as des pa (peśala) rather than nges pa as reported in the Pedurma edition (p. 66) for D, as the character cannot be distinguished with certainty from the Degé scans. des pa matches the context and is corroborated by S and Taishō 310.
“For the sake of” is corroborated by Taishō 324: 人 而不捨行 (“the conduct that does not forsake people”).
For the third line of this verse we are following Taishō 310: 亦無有生滅. The Tibetan de dang ye shes med par mi ’gyur de is obscure (“they do not become without wisdom”). It is possible the Tibetan translators mistook the Skt. ajāta for ajñāna.
The second line of this verse is translated from the Chinese, Taishō 310: 現象馬軍陣 and Taishō 324: 現有象馬. The Tibetan sems pa yong min de la nga rgyal med is obscure.
“Phenomenality” is translated from Go., K, Y, and S, which add chos su, extending the line beyond the meter. This is omitted in D and the other Kangyur recensions, but we have chosen to include it as it clarifies the meaning and is corroborated by the Chinese.
Both Chinese sources add 戒 (Skt. śila, “discipline”), which along with samādhi and insight completes the set of the three trainings (Skt. śikṣātraya); additionally, “liberation” (Skt. vimukti) and “vision of liberating of wisdom” (Skt. vimuktijñānadarśana), which appear in the following two lines of the verse, complete the set of five undefiled aggregates (Skt. pañcānāsravaskandha).
For the word “foolish,” we have interpreted the Tibetan term stobs (“strength”) as a misreading of the Sanskrit bāla (meaning “immature” or “childish”) as bala. This is corroborated by the Chinese, Taishō 310: 凡夫 (“worldly people”) and Taishō 324: 愚癡 (“foolish”).
D: gnas yong su dag pa. We have interpreted the Tibetan gnas (“dwelling” or “basis”) to be a misreading of the Skt. āśaya as āśraya. Although āśrayapariśuddhi could be applicable here and the term does appear in other contexts (cf. The Perfection of Wisdom in Eighteen Thousand Lines, 73.64, “thoroughly purified basis”), āśaya (“intention”) makes more sense in the context here and is corroborated by Taishō 310: 意樂.
D: bsam gtan zlog pa. Translation tentative. In correlation to Taishō 310, 修習禪定而不隨生, this seems to refer to practicing the concentrations without being reborn in the form and formless realms.
D: ’gyod pa kun nas ldang ba gnon pa; Taishō 310: 者於惡作 事應預防護 (“preventing regretful misdeeds”).
D: skyed; H and N: bskyed. We have interpreted (b)skyed (“create/generate”) to be an error for skrod (“dispel”); as Régamey suggests, it could be a misreading of samudghāṭa for samudgata (1990, p. 91, n. 436). This reading is supported by the Chinese and the later context found in this text at 1.132.
Following D: mnyan pa. H, K, N, S, and Y have mnyam pa, which would read “they do not fear the equal, immeasurable Buddhadharma.” Neither of the Chinese sources corroborate this variant.
“Fixity” (nges pa, niyata, sometimes translated as “certainty”) most likely refers to the “fixity of the ultimate” (yang dag pa nyid du nges pa, samyaktvaniyata), which is the predestination for entering the personal nirvāṇa sought in the śrāvaka and pratyekabuddha vehicles. This is corroborated by the Chinese of Taishō 310, which for this item reads 曾不求證二乘涅槃 (“never seeking to realize the nirvāṇa of the two vehicles”).
D: skad cig gcig gis (Skt. *ekakṣaṇa). Taishō 310 reads 以一梵音 (“with a single Brahmā voice”; Skt. *ekabrahmasvareṇa): “With a single Brahmā voice, I will teach the essence of the Dharma to the innumerable beings of the trichiliocosm” (三千大千世界無量衆生。以一梵音演諸法要。).
sems can gyi spyod pa. We have taken the Tibetan to be a misreading of the Sanskrit samyakcaryā as sattvacaryā. This is corroborated by both the Chinese sources. It is also possible that an original Sanskrit sattvacaryā read as “conduct of goodness” and the Tibetan translators instead interpreted this as “conduct of beings.”
D: chos thams cad bdag med pa’i tshig dang yi ge mi zad par shes nas chags pa med cing thogs pa med par ston pas ston par byed pa. This is an unusual wording for the third and fourth correct discernments (pratisaṃvid), although the meaning is still in accord with the typical definition found in other sources. See glossary entry for “four correct discernments.”
Here as well as earlier (n.27), Bhadra exhibits some wordplay in the rhythmic repetition of de zhin nyid and de bzhin gshegs pa, which would correspond to tathatā and tathāgata in the underlying Sanskrit. For the purpose of comprehensibility, we have kept these terms distinct and have made use of pronouns to make the sentence terse. However, an alternative translation that attempts to represent these phonetic repetitions by translating these terms “thusness” and “Thus-Gone One” respectively would read, “And I will proclaim the thusness of the Thus-Gone One just as the Thus-Gone One teaches thusness by means of the thusness of the Thus-Gone One, which does not deviate from thusness, the thusness that is indivisible, the thusness free of any imperfection, the nonconceptual thusness, the unborn thusness, and the uncompounded thusness.”
Here there is another instance of Bhadra’s wordplay, with repeated conjugates of the verbal root √jñā (shes): saṃjñā (’du shes), parijñā (yongs su shes pa), and jñāna (ye shes).
This is implied to be in the absolute sense; Taishō 310 indicates this point more explicitly: “Although there is no Dharma that may be called nirvāṇa, in order to bring others to realize the Dharma that attains nirvāṇa, he teaches nirvāṇa” (亦無少法名爲涅槃。 然爲證得涅槃法故説於涅槃。).
An attainment of effortless insight into emptiness—the realization that all phenomena are unborn (anutpāda) and empty of intrinsic nature (niḥsvabhāva). This acceptance supports bodhisattvas on the arduous path of returning through innumerable rounds of rebirth in order to benefit beings without being tempted by the goal of personal liberation. This attainment only occurs on the bodhisattva levels and is variously said to occur on the first and eighth bodhisattva levels.
The five aggregates that make up phenomenal existence are form, feeling, perception, formations, and consciousness. On the individual level the five aggregates refer to the basis onto which the mistaken idea of a self is projected.
King of Magadha and son of King Bimbisāra. When he was a prince, he became friends with the Buddha Śākyamuni’s cousin Devadatta, who convinced him to have his father killed and become king instead. After his father’s death, he was tormented with guilt and regret, converted to Buddhism, and supported the compilation of the Buddha’s teachings during the First Council.
A buddha prophesied to appear in the future. This prophecy will be given to the bodhisattva Resounding Voice by the future buddha Vikurvāṇarāja.
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
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.
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
Known as “Bhadra the illusionist,” he was a powerful magician of Rājagṛha whose attempts to fool the Buddha go awry in The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist.
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 high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
A collective name for the first three heavens of the form realm, which correspond to the first concentration (dhyāna): Brahmakāyika, Brahmapurohita, and Mahābrahmā (also called Brahmapārṣadya). These are ruled over by the god Brahmā. According to some sources, it can also be a general reference to all the heavens in the form realm and formless realm. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
The omniscience seeing both how things are ultimately and how they manifest in their variety. The buddha eye is also included in the “five eyes.”
The way to full awakening, equivalent to the Mahāyāna or Great Vehicle.
Refers to a calm state without thought, or the meditative practice of calming the mind to rest free from the disturbance of thought. One of the two basic forms of Buddhist meditation, the other being transcendent insight (Skt. vipaśyanā, Tib. lhag mthong).
Literally “wanderer,” refers to a religious mendicant; in Buddhist texts this term is often paired with parivrājaka in stock lists of followers of non-Buddhist ascetic traditions. In some cases, Tibetan sources will give this term as a translation of mīmāṃsaka, a member of the Mīmāṃsā school. However, this is likely a confusion with the similarly spelled dpyod pa ba, which correctly translates the Sanskrit meaning of mīmāṃsaka as “examiner” or “investigator.”
A bodhisattva in the Buddha’s retinue.
Designates both the mental state of deep concentration and the meditative practices leading to it. These states are characterized by a gradual withdrawal of consciousness from external sense data. Two broad distinctions are made: rūpāvacaradhyāna, or the meditative concentration associated with the form realm, and ārūpyāvacaradhyāna, or the meditative concentration associated with the formless or immaterial realm. Each of the two dhyānas is subdivided into four stages. This kind of mental concentration by itself does not lead to lasting insight, but it is generally regarded as a prerequisite—a state of mental concentration from which it is possible to cultivate insight, destroy the mental afflictions, and attain liberation. Fixation on dhyāna by itself can be said to lead to rebirth in the form or formless realm.
In reference to buddhas and bodhisattvas, nirmāṇa refers to the miraculous power of the buddhas, and bodhisattvas at a certain stage of spiritual development, to project emanations in order to develop and teach beings. In The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist, the same term is used both for the Buddha’s emanations and the conjurations that Bhadra magically creates through his power of illusion. While the sūtra makes a qualitative distinction between the two (see 1.16), it is uncertain whether the same Sanskrit term underlies the Tibetan term sprul pa.
See “conjuration.”
In the context of Buddhist philosophy, one way to describe experience in terms of eighteen elements (eye, form, and eye consciousness; ear, sound, and ear consciousness; nose, smell, and nose consciousness; tongue, taste, and tongue consciousness; body, touch, and body consciousness; and mind, mental phenomena, and mind consciousness).
This also refers to the elements of the world, which can be enumerated as four, five, or six. The four elements are earth, water, fire, and air. A fifth, space, is often added, and the sixth is consciousness.
See “four correct discernments.”
A bodhisattva in the Buddha’s retinue.
These are eighteen unique qualities possessed by a buddha. They are “unique” in the sense that they are only possessed by buddhas and not by any other type of being. There are slight variations in the wording and order of the eighteen items found among various sources. For three canonical works that list the eighteen, see The Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Toh 11) at \1\22.8, The Jewel Cloud (Toh 231) at \1\21.249, and Distinctly Ascertaining the Meanings (Toh 317) at \1\21.96.
Eighteen special features of a buddha’s behavior, realization, activity, and wisdom that are not shared by other beings. They are generally listed as: (1) he never makes a mistake, (2) he is never boisterous, (3) he never forgets, (4) his concentration never falters, (5) he has no notion of distinctness, (6) his equanimity is not due to lack of consideration, (7) his motivation never falters, (8) his endeavor never fails, (9) his mindfulness never falters, (10) he never abandons his concentration, (11) his insight (prajñā) never decreases, (12) his liberation never fails, (13) all his physical actions are preceded and followed by wisdom (jñāna), (14) all his verbal actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (15) all his mental actions are preceded and followed by wisdom, (16) his wisdom and vision perceive the past without attachment or hindrance, (17) his wisdom and vision perceive the future without attachment or hindrance, and (18) his wisdom and vision perceive the present without attachment or hindrance.
In reference to buddhas and bodhisattvas, nirmāṇa refers to the miraculous power of the buddhas, and bodhisattvas at a certain stage of spiritual development, to project emanations in order to develop and teach beings. In The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist, the same term is used both for the Buddha’s emanations and the conjurations that Bhadra magically creates through his power of illusion. While the sūtra makes a qualitative distinction between the two (see 1.16), it is uncertain whether the same Sanskrit term underlies the Tibetan term sprul pa.
See “conjuration.”
A bodhisattva in the Buddha’s retinue.
The name for our world system, the universe of a thousand million worlds, or trichiliocosm, in which the four-continent world is located. Each trichiliocosm is ruled by a god Brahmā; thus, in this context, he bears the title of Sahāṃpati, Lord of Sahā. The world system of Sahā, or Sahālokadhātu, is also described as the buddhafield of the Buddha Śākyamuni where he teaches the Dharma to beings.
The name Sahā possibly derives from the Sanskrit √sah, “to bear, endure, or withstand.” It is often interpreted as alluding to the inhabitants of this world being able to endure the suffering they encounter. The Tibetan translation, mi mjed, follows along the same lines. It literally means “not painful,” in the sense that beings here are able to bear the suffering they experience.
A bodhisattva in the Buddha’s retinue.
This refers to what occurs at the end of an arhat’s or a buddha’s life. When nirvāṇa is attained at awakening, whether as an arhat or buddha, all suffering, afflicted mental states (kleśa), and causal processes (karman) that lead to rebirth and suffering in cyclic existence have ceased, but due to previously accumulated karma, the aggregates of that life remain and must still exhaust themselves. It is only at the end of life that these cease, and since no new aggregates arise, the arhat or buddha is said to attain parinirvāṇa, meaning “complete” or “final” nirvāṇa. This is synonymous with the attainment of nirvāṇa without remainder (anupadhiśeṣanirvāṇa).
According to the Mahāyāna view of a single vehicle (ekayāna), the arhat’s parinirvāṇa at death, despite being so called, is not final. The arhat must still enter the bodhisattva path and reach buddhahood (see Unraveling the Intent, Toh 106, \1\27.14.) On the other hand, the parinirvāṇa of a buddha, ultimately speaking, should be understood as a display manifested for the benefit of beings; see The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Toh 186), \1\21.32.
The term parinirvāṇa is also associated specifically with the passing away of the Buddha Śākyamuni, in Kuśinagara, in northern India.
A bodhisattva in the Buddha’s retinue.
The five eyes are as follows: (1) the eye of flesh, (2) the divine eye, (3) the eye of insight (prajñā), (4) the Dharma eye, and (5) the buddha eye.
The name of our current eon, so-called because one thousand buddhas are prophesied to appear in succession during this time, Śākyamuni being the fourth and Maitreya the fifth.
Four aspects by which a bodhisattva or tathāgata makes correct discernment without making a mistake or confusing one phenomenon with another. The four are listed as (1) the correct discernment of meaning, (2) the correct discernment of Dharma, (3) the correct discernment of etymology or language (nirukti), and (4) the correct discernment of eloquence. See The Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Toh 11, 2.6). They are also sometimes referred to as the four correct discernments of a tathāgata (tathāgathacatuḥpratisaṃvid), which is the same set of four but refers specifically to the discernments of a tathāgata as opposed to those similarly possessed by bodhisattvas.
The four fearlessnesses (abhaya) or confidences (vaiśāradya) are assertions that a tathāgata makes with irrefutable certainty: that of being (1) awakened and knowing all phenomena, (2) knowing the exhaustion of all defilements, (3) correctly identifying all obstacles to liberation, and (4) revealing/actualizing the path that leads to liberation.
Four gods who live on the lower slopes (fourth level) of Mount Meru in the eponymous Heaven of the Four Great Kings (Cāturmahārājika, rgyal chen bzhi’i ris) and guard the four cardinal directions. Each is the leader of a nonhuman class of beings living in his realm. They are Dhṛtarāṣṭra, ruling the gandharvas in the east; Virūḍhaka, ruling over the kumbhāṇḍas in the south; Virūpākṣa, ruling the nāgas in the west; and Vaiśravaṇa (also known as Kubera) ruling the yakṣas in the north. Also referred to as Guardians of the World or World Protectors (lokapāla, ’jig rten skyong ba).
Refers to the four basic bodily activities: walking or going (caṅkrama/gamana), sitting or staying (niṣīdana/niṣadana), lying down (śayyā/śayana), and standing (sthāna/sthita).
This denotes the assemblies of fully ordained monks and nuns, along with laymen and laywomen.
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.
According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
Siddhārtha Gautama is the name of the Buddha Śākyamuni used prior to his awakening, and it is the name used by those who were not his followers. Gautama is his family name and means “Descendant of Gotama,” Gotama meaning “Excellent Cow.”
The Sanskrit pravrajyā literally means “going forth,” with the sense of leaving the life of a householder and embracing the life of a renunciant. When the term is applied more technically, it refers to the act of becoming a male novice (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or female novice (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma), this being a first stage leading to full ordination.
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
The world system in which Bhadra is prophesied to appear as a tathāgata in the future.
One of the heavens of Buddhist cosmology. Counted among the six heavens of the desire realm, it is traditionally located atop Mount Meru, just above the terrace of the abodes of the Four Great Kings. It is reigned over by Śakra and thirty-two other gods.
A magical illusion created by a conjurer or illusionist, or the power to create such an illusion. In the context of Buddhist literature, this is not considered to be a sleight of hand or visual trick but the actual appearance of something, such as an elephant or palace, created by magical means. Although this sort of magical illusion appears, it is unreal in the sense that there is no substantial basis for it beyond its magical appearance. In the Mahāyāna in particular, this sort of illusion (māyā created by magical means) is given as one example of how phenomena are empty and yet vividly appear; it is included in several lists of analogies for phenomena’s illusory nature.The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist uniquely describes the Buddha’s miraculous powers in comparison to the powers of Bhadra the illusionist, also describing the Buddha’s power with the term māyā; however, it is declared (1.16) that the Buddha’s māyā is superior to Bhadra’s, which is limited and incomplete.Also translated as “power of illusion.”
A conjurer, sorcerer, or magician who has the ability to create illusions. See Introduction i.8.
As the sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. In other translations it is sometimes rendered as “wisdom”; however, we have reserved this latter term for the translation of jñāna. In other contexts it refers to the mental factor responsible for ascertaining the specific qualities of a given object, or whether it should be taken up or rejected.
The quality of intelligence, inspiration, and confident knowledge that allows one to teach and talk in the most appropriate way, even for very long stretches of time.
The name of the southern continent in Buddhist cosmology, which can signify either the known human world, or more specifically the Indian subcontinent, literally “the jambu island/continent.” Jambu is the name used for a range of plum-like fruits from trees belonging to the genus Szygium, particularly Szygium jambos and Szygium cumini, and it has commonly been rendered “rose apple,” although “black plum” may be a less misleading term. Among various explanations given for the continent being so named, one (in the Abhidharmakośa) is that a jambu tree grows in its northern mountains beside Lake Anavatapta, mythically considered the source of the four great rivers of India, and that the continent is therefore named from the tree or the fruit. Jambudvīpa has the Vajrāsana at its center and is the only continent upon which buddhas attain awakening.
sgyu ma mkhan bzang po lung bstan pa (Bhadramāyākāravyākaraṇa). Toh 65, Degé Kangyur vol. 43 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 17.b.–36.a.
sgyu ma mkhan bzang po lung bstan pa. 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. 43, pp. 47–99.
sgyu ma mkhan bzang po lung bstan pa (Bhadramāyākāravyākaraṇa). Stok Palace Kangyur, vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 73.a.–100.b.
sgyu ma mkhan bzang po lung bstan pa (Bhadramāyākāravyākaraṇa). Go 08,02, Gondhla Collection vol. 8 (ca), folios 16.b–32.a.
chos bzhi pa (Caturdharmaka). Toh 250, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 59.b–60.b.
chos bzhi pa (Caturdharmaka). Toh 251, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 60.b–61.a.
chos bzhi bstan pa (Caturdharmanirdeśa). Toh 249, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 59.a–59.b. English translation in Pearcey 2019.
de bzhin gshegs pa’i gsan ba bsam gyis mi khyab pa bstan pa (Tathāgatacintyaguhyanirdeśa). Toh 47, Degé Kangyur vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ka), folios 100.a–203.a.
rten cing ’brel bar ’byung ba (Pratītyasamutpāda). Toh 212, Degé Kangyur vol. 62 (mdo sde, tsha), folios 125.a–125.b. English translation in Buddhavacana Translation Group 2016a.
rnam ’phrul rgyal pos zhus pa (Vikurvāṇarājaparipṛcchā). Toh 167, Degé Kangyur vol. 59 (mdo sde, ba), folios 175.b–219.b.
byang chub sems dpa’i spyod pa bstan pa (Bodhisattvacaryānirdeśa). Toh 184, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 96.b–105.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2020.
byang sems sor thar chos bzhi sgrub pa (Bodhisattvapratimokṣacatuṣkanirhāra). Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 46.b–59.a. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2024.
bzhi pa sgrub pa (Catuṣkanihāra). Toh 252, Degé Kangyur vol. 66 (mdo sde, za), folios 61.a–69.b. English translation in Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021.
sangs rgyas kyi stobs skyed pa’i cho ’phrul rnam par ’phrul pa bstan pa (Buddhabalādhānaprātihāryavikurvāṇanirdeśa). Toh 186, Degé Kangyur vol. 61 (mdo sde, tsa), folios 143.b–158.a. English translation in Buddhavacana Translation Group 2016b.
Asaṅga. rnal ’byor spyod pa’i sa las byang chub sems dpa’i sa (Yogācāryabhūmau bodhisattvabhūmi). Toh 4037, Degé Tengyur vol. 129 (sems tsam, wi), folios 1.a–213.a.
Daśabalaśrīmitra. dus byas dang ’dus ma byas rnam par nges pa (Saṃskṛtāsaṃskṛtaviniścaya). Toh 3897, Degé Tengyur vol. 108 (dbu ma, ha), folios 109.a–317.a.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Jñānavajra. lang kar gshegs pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo’i ’grel pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i snying po’i rgyan (Āryalaṅkāvatāranāmamahāyānasūtravṛttitathāgatahṛdayālaṁkāranāma). Toh 4019, Degé Tengyur vol. 122 (mdo ’grel, pi), folios 1.a–310.a.
Nāgārjuna. mdo kun las btus pa (Sūtrasamuccaya). Toh 3934, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 148.b–215.a.
Paltsek (dpal brtsegs). gsung rab rin po che’i gtam rgyud dang shAkya’i rabs rgyud (Pravacanaratnākhyānaśākyavaṁśāvalī). Toh 4357, Degé Tengyur vol. 204 (bstan bcos sna tshogs, co), folios 239.a–377.a.
Ratnākaraśānti. mdo kun las btus pa’i bshad pa rin po che snang ba’i rgyan (Sūtrasamuccayabhāṣyaratnālokālaṅkāra). Toh 3935, Degé Tengyur vol. 110 (dbu ma, ki), folios 215.a–334.a.
Vasubandhu. chos mngon pa’i mdzod kyi bshad pa (Abhidharmakośabhāṣya). Toh 4090, Degé Kangyur vol. 140 (mngon pa, ku), folios 26.b–258.a; vol. 141 (mngon pa, khu), folios 1.b–95.a.
Buddhavacana Translation Group, trans. (2016a). The Sūtra on Dependent Arising (Pratītyasamutpādasūtra, Toh 212). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016.
Buddhavacana Translation Group, trans. (2016b). The Teaching on the Extraordinary Transformation That Is the Miracle of Attaining the Buddha’s Powers (Buddhabalādhānaprātihāryavikurvāṇanirdeśa, Toh 186). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2016.
Burlingame, Eugene Watson, trans. Buddhist Legends. Part 2. Harvard Oriental Series 29. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921.
Buswell, Robert E., Jr., and Donald S. Lopez, Jr., eds. The Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2013.
Chang, Garma C. C., ed. A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras: Selections from the Mahāratnakūta Sūtra. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1983.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2020). Teaching the Practice of a Bodhisattva (Bodhisattvacaryānirdeśa, Toh 184). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2020.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2021). The Fourfold Accomplishment (Catuṣkanihāra, Toh 252). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2021.
Dharmachakra Translation Committee, trans. (2024). The Accomplishment of the Sets of Four Qualities: The Bodhisattvas’ Prātimokṣa (Bodhisattvaprātimokṣacatuṣkanirhāra, Toh 248). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
Emmerick, R. E., ed. and trans. The Book of Zambasta: A Khotanese Poem on Buddhism. New York: Oxford University Press, 1968.
Fiordalis, David. “Miracles and Superhuman Powers in South Asian Buddhist Literature.” PhD diss., University of Michigan, 2008.
Lapis Lazuli Texts. “Mahāratnakūṭa: 21. Bhadra the Magician.” Accessed April 2, 2024.
Pearcey, Adam, trans. The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra, Toh 249). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
Pearcey, Adam, trans. (2023a). The Four Factors (Caturdharmakasūtra, Toh 250). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
Pearcey, Adam, trans. (2023b). The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Āryacaturdharmakanāmamahāyānasūtra, Toh 251). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
Régamey, Konstanty. The Bhadramāyākāravyākaraṇa. First Indian edition. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990.
Skilling, Peter. Questioning the Buddha: A Selection of Twenty-Five Sutras. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2021.
C Choné (co ne) Kangyur
D Degé (sde dge) Kangyur
F Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur
Go. Gondhla Collection
H Lhasa (zhol) Kangyur
J Lithang (li thang) Kangyur
K Peking (pe cin) or “Kangxi” Kangyur
N Narthang (snar thang) Kangyur
S Stok Palace (stog pho brang bris ma) Kangyur
Taishō 310 7th–8th century Chinese translation by Bodhiruci (菩提流志)
Taishō 324 3rd–4th century Chinese translation by Dharmarakṣa (竺法護)
U Urga (ku re) Kangyur
Y Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur
While the Buddha Śākyamuni is residing at Vulture Peak Mountain, in the nearby city of Rājagṛha the accomplished illusionist Bhadra hatches a scheme to humiliate the Buddha and disprove his omniscience in order to win over the people of Magadha. The failure of Bhadra’s plan, in which he conjures the illusion of a resplendent courtyard that, to his dismay, cannot be undone, culminates in a series of surreal and magnificent visions that convince Bhadra of the superiority of the Buddha’s powers. This sūtra presents a colorful and often humorous narrative and contains teachings on illusion, emptiness, and the distinction between the illusionist’s mundane abilities and the Buddha’s miraculous display. The Buddha also teaches Bhadra forty-three sets of four qualities that together constitute the bodhisattva path.
This sūtra was translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group. Celso Wilkinson, Lopon Damchoe Wangmo, and Laura Goetz produced the translation from the Tibetan. We are very grateful to William Giddings who provided us with a comparative translation from the Chinese as well as consultation regarding several difficult points.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. George FitzHerbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist contains a colorful and often humorous narrative. Shades of this narrative, in which a powerful magician attempts to humiliate the Buddha Śākyamuni and winds up the fool, are also found in the Pali Buddhist tradition, and the appeal of this particular story as Buddhism spread through Central Asia is apparent in its loose retelling in Khotanese literature. Its central theme is the Buddha’s miraculous powers, here compared to the lesser powers of an illusionist named Bhadra. The sūtra is an emblematic example of adbhutadharma, or “account of miraculous events,” one of the nine or twelve classic categories of the Pali and Sanskrit sūtras. The latter portion of the text, in which the Buddha prophesies Bhadra’s future awakening, exemplifies the genre of vyākaraṇa, or “prophecy,” as expressed in the sūtra’s title.
The sūtra opens at Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha, where the Buddha is residing with his saṅgha of monks and bodhisattvas. Down in the city, the accomplished illusionist Bhadra hatches a plan to test and humiliate the Buddha in order to win over the people of Magadha. Bhadra approaches the Buddha and offers to host him for the midday meal the following day. His plan is to expose the Buddha, since if the Buddha does not know his malicious intentions, it will prove the Buddha’s lack of omniscience. Over the course of the night, Bhadra conjures up the illusion of a resplendent courtyard filled with food and drink and servants. Just then, the Four Great Kings appear and ask for permission to create a second courtyard in which to offer a meal to the Buddha, and then Śakra and his host of gods ask if they may create a third. Bhadra grants them permission but begins to grow apprehensive. Then, when he tries to unravel his illusory display, he cannot. Śakra explains that since even a tiny offering to a buddha will inevitably lead to nirvāṇa, Bhadra’s offering cannot be withdrawn.
In the morning, the Buddha and his retinue proceed as planned to the reception in the city, whereupon Bhadra, seeing how the Buddha is revered by the gods, feels remorse for his initial devious intentions. Through the Buddha’s power, Bhadra, Śakra, and the Four Great Kings each simultaneously perceive the Buddha seated at their own conjured courtyards. Bhadra, defeated, bows to the Buddha and confesses his intentions, and the assembly partakes of the illusory feast.
The Buddha then conjures a series of visions in order to train Bhadra, beginning with three householders who show him how the Buddha can be in many places at once. The visions increase in intensity until Bhadra sees nothing but the Buddha everywhere he looks, at which point he attains samādhi. Bhadra again repents and asks the Buddha a series of questions, to which the Buddha responds with a teaching on illusion and emptiness.
Later, Bhadra again visits the Buddha at Vulture Peak Mountain and requests that he explain the bodhisattva path. The Buddha responds with a teaching in which he enumerates forty-three sets of four qualities that characterize the path of bodhisattvas. The Buddha then smiles, and when Ānanda asks why, he responds with a prophecy about Bhadra’s future awakening. Bhadra then takes refuge in the Buddha, proclaiming that the Buddha teaches the Dharma while undifferentiated from suchness (Skt. tathatā, Tib. de bzhin nyid). When questioned by Ānanda, Bhadra elaborates on his statement in riddle-like language. Ānanda replies that while Bhadra once bewildered others with his illusions, now he bewilders them with his wisdom. Bhadra counters that the Buddha himself is also a bewilderer—he teaches that there is no self, but does so using terminology like “sentient beings,” and he does not perceive birth and death, yet still he speaks of it.
Bhadra then requests to go forth as a monk, and the Buddha instructs Maitreya to perform the ceremony. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha giving Bhadra the prophecy, referenced in the sūtra’s title, regarding his future full awakening.
“Illusion” in this sūtra translates the Sanskrit māyā (Tib. sgyu ma) and refers, literally or by analogy, to a magical illusion, which is insubstantial by nature but appears before the eyes due to the magical abilities of a magician or illusionist. The term māyā also carries the connotation of “deceit,” “trickery,” or “deception”; for instance, it is listed as one of over fifty mental events (Skt. caitta, Tib. sems byung) in both the Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika and Yogācāra systems of Abhidharma, where it refers to the volition to deceive or manipulate others or to fraudulently boast about one’s spiritual attainment.
A māyākāra (literally “illusion maker”) is akin to a street magician who performs a spectacle of magic tricks before a crowd in order to turn a profit or boost their own influence and reputation. In the context of Buddhist literature, however, these magic tricks are more than just sleight of hand: the illusionist creates incredible magical spectacles of elephants, thrones, marvelous pavilions, and so forth that, while insubstantial in nature, visually appear before the eyes of its spectators, who are thus deceived into taking these conjurations as real and solid things. In truth, however, these appearances, like a hologram or a projection of light, have no tangible substance. While the illusions of an illusionist are considered real magic, that is to say, they are created from supernatural abilities acquired through meditative concentration or other spiritual disciplines, such magical abilities are considered a sort of mundane, worldly magic, particularly in comparison to the abilities resulting from genuine spiritual attainment, and even more so to the realization of an arhat or a buddha.
Such magical illusion is often referred to in early Buddhist sources as a metaphor for the illusory or insubstantial and momentary nature of phenomena. Phenomena are described as being like illusions, which initially appear to be solid and real but under close scrutiny and examination are impermanent, dependent, and transient. From the perspective of the Mahāyāna, they lack an inherent nature (Skt. niḥsvabhāva, Tib. rang bzhin med pa). Like magical illusions, phenomena lack any substantiality beyond the spectacle. Within the Mahāyāna, “illusion” was regularly included in conventional lists of eight or ten similes for how phenomena lack an inherent nature.
While illusionists are frequently mentioned in this context throughout the Kangyur, The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist is unique in that the illusionist is the central figure and interlocutor of the entire sūtra. The story is set up to accomplish two things regarding the theme of magical illusion: one, it establishes the superiority of the Buddha’s miraculous power over the limited and mundane magic of Bhadra the illusionist, and two, it retains and elaborates upon the metaphorical understanding whereby all phenomena are considered to be magical illusions.
In this sūtra, as elsewhere, the term illusion carries a pejorative connotation. Even though Bhadra is said to have great powers, his power of illusion is only ever referred to using the term māyā (Tib. sgyu ma) or the term nirmita/nirmāna (Tib. sprul pa, “conjuration”), while the Buddha’s supernatural power is usually referred to as prātihārya (Tib. cho ’phrul, “miraculous display”). However, at one point in the sūtra, when Maudgalyāyana attempts to warn him of Bhadra’s trickery, the Buddha responds by comparing his own power to that of Bhadra, using the same word, māyā, for both, yet he explains that while Bhadra’s power of illusion is “limited” (phyogs gcig pa), his own is “pure” (yang dag pa). Since the Buddha has fully and completely realized the insubstantial nature of all phenomena and the truth that phenomena are primordially unborn, his power to create illusions, which are in this way no different from ordinary perceived reality, is unlimited.
At the climax of the story, the inspired and newly converted Bhadra gives a short discourse on the ultimate nature of phenomena using the convoluted language that has characterized his speech at various points throughout the text. When Ānanda teases Bhadra for the bewildering language with which he expresses the Dharma, he audaciously turns the accusation back onto the Buddha himself, referring to the Buddha as the “great bewilderer.” He justifies this by pointing out that while teaching selflessness, the Buddha speaks using terms like “sentient beings,” and while denying the birth and death of all phenomena, he nevertheless often refers to birth and death. This is an important summation of the narrative, which once again returns to its theme of juxtaposing Bhadra’s mundane powers of illusion with the miraculous displays of the Buddha. In some ways, the Buddha’s powers bewilder his followers, too, such as when he creates emanations of himself earlier in the narrative to simultaneously receive offerings from Bhadra, Śakra, and the Four Great Kings. From the ultimate view, the Buddha’s teachings may appear deceptive, because he teaches using conventional terminology for phenomena. This, however, is a form of skillful means, since he knows that all phenomena ultimately lack inherent nature.
So, although Bhadra’s initial use of powers of illusion to deceive, trick, and swindle people is presented here with a conventional negative connotation, the power to deceive through illusion is not necessarily considered in a negative light in this discourse. Rather, illusion serves as an instructive symbol that illustrates the relative and insubstantial nature of phenomena. The Buddha’s miraculous displays, while being at one level no different from the illusionist’s conjurations, do not have the same negative connotations, because they are always done with an intention to inspire and teach. In this way, conjuring illusions is an example of skillful means. Such illusions illustrate the true nature of reality; their source is not mundane sorcery but a quality of awakening, demonstrating the realization of suchness as the true nature of reality.
The theme of conversion via the display of supernatural power is often encountered in Buddhist literature. The narrative of this sūtra echoes a similar story in the Pali canon: the episode of Sirigutta and Garahadinna attributed to Buddhaghosa in his commentary on the Dhammapada. There, as in The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist, the Buddha knowingly walks into a trap set by the non-Buddhist ascetic Garahadinna (in revenge for being victim to the same trap set by the Buddhist Sirigutta), although in this case the trap is not a magical illusion but a simple trench filled with live coals thinly disguised by the mats that Garahadinna expects the Buddha to sit on. When the Buddha sits down, however, the mats and coals become lotus flowers on which the Buddha and his saṅgha take their seats.
A Khotanese version of the Bhadra story contained within an untitled collection of Buddhist texts (date uncertain) has been translated into English by Ronald Emmerick. This version contains a narrative loosely parallel to that found in the Tibetan, although it paraphrases or leaves out most of the doctrinal elements.
The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist is quoted several times in the Tengyur. In two cases, one or more of the sets of four qualities of bodhisattvas are cited, and in the case of Jñānavajra’s commentary on the Sūtra on the Descent into Laṅkā (Toh 107), the superiority of the Buddha’s miraculous power is addressed.
According to the colophon, The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist was translated into Tibetan by the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan Yeshé Dé, which dates the translation to the late eighth or early ninth century. This is confirmed by its inclusion in the imperial catalogs: the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) lists it under the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa) and under the category of four hundred and thirty śloka or one bampo; in the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) it is not listed as a Heap of Jewels text but in another section of texts all containing one and a half bampos (bam po phyed dang gnyis). This is not unusual, as there are only nine texts listed under the Heap of Jewels in this catalog.
While there is no extant Sanskrit original, there are two translations found in the Chinese Tripiṭaka. The earlier Chinese version was made by Dharmarakṣa (竺法護) in the third or fourth century
An English translation of the Tibetan text was published in 1938 by Konstantin Régamey, who included a complete edition of the Tibetan with reference to the Chinese translations. An abridged translation of Bodhiruci’s Chinese by C. C. Garma Chang is included in A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras (1983). An anonymous translation from the Chinese, also of Bodhiruci’s translation, can be found online.
This English translation follows the Degé Kangyur wherever possible. When a variant reading has been preferred, this is explained in an endnote. In addition to the two Chinese translations, the Tibetan of the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), the Gondhla collection (thirteenth–fourteenth centuries), and the Stok Palace Kangyur have also been consulted.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling at Vulture Peak Mountain near Rājagṛha together with a saṅgha of 1,250 monks and five thousand renowned bodhisattva mahāsattvas—renowned for having attained the superknowledges, the retentions, the miraculous power of magical display, and acceptance that phenomena are unborn—such as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Siṃha, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Siṃhamati, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Fine Sandalwood, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sārathi, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāsārathi, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Prabhāśrī, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Radiant, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Endowed with Brilliant Light and Having a Melodious Voice, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Prabhāvyūha, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Clear Mind, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Essence of Beings, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Disciplined Charioteer of Beings, all the bodhisattva mahāsattvas of the Fortunate Eon, such as Maitreya, and other bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta and so forth.
Śakra, ruler of the gods, was also there with them. Brahmā, the lord of this world Endurance, was there, too, as were the Four Great Kings. Many gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, and mahoragas also surrounded them.
While the Blessed One was residing near the great city of Rājagṛha, kings, chief ministers, brahmins, householders, and people of the villages and countryside all paid respect, venerated, served, and made offerings to him. The Blessed One received robes, food, bedding, seats, and medicines to cure the sick. Extensive verses of praise further elevated the Blessed One’s fame and reputation.
Thus the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha accomplished in knowledge and conduct, the Sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the Blessed Buddha—the all-knowing and all-seeing one—knew all and saw all and was endowed with the ten strengths of a tathāgata, the four fearlessnesses of a tathāgata, and the four correct discernments. He was endowed with the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas, great loving-kindness, and great compassion. He was endowed with the unfailing buddha eye and the five eyes, and he had also gained miraculous powers: the miraculous power of foretelling, the miraculous power of instruction, and the miraculous power of magical display.
If he wished, he could suspend this trichiliocosm—including its cities, towns, lands, beings, and Mount Merus, encompassing everything up to the edges of the oceans and including the abodes of the gods, the horizons and depths, and the grasses, trees, and mountains—on the tip of a hair in space for an eon or even longer than an eon.
At that time, an illusionist named Bhadra lived in the city of Rājagṛha. He was highly versed in the treatises and secret mantra, a master of knowledge and craft, highly accomplished, successful, and famous. He was known as the greatest of all the illusionists and disciples of illusionists in Magadha, and by dint of his fame, he enthralled, bewildered, and deceived all the throngs of people in Magadha and converted them to his spectacular ways, except for those who had seen the truth, had faith, and followed the Dharma—the lay devotees, men and women. Through his illusions, he became powerful in the craft of bewilderment and acquired tremendous profits, respect, and verses of praise.
Bhadra the illusionist heard that the fame, renown, and verses of the Blessed One were superior and that he was known as the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha accomplished in knowledge and conduct, the Sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the Blessed Buddha, the all-knowing and all-seeing one who knows all and sees all, who is endowed with the ten strengths of a tathāgata, the four fearlessnesses of a tathāgata, and the four correct discernments and who is endowed with the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas, with great loving-kindness and great compassion, and with the unfailing buddha eye and the five eyes, and as one who has gained miraculous powers: the miraculous power of foretelling, the miraculous power of instruction, and the miraculous power of magical display. If he wished, he could suspend this trichiliocosm—including its cities, towns, lands, beings, and Mount Merus, encompassing everything up to the edges of the oceans and including the abodes of the gods, the horizons and depths, and the grasses, trees, and mountains—on the tip of a hair in space for an eon or for even longer than an eon.
When he heard this, he thought, “I have enthralled all the people of the land of Magadha, bewildered them, deceived them, and converted them to my spectacular ways. All the brahmins and great householders delight in my name. The tathāgata, the arhat, the complete and perfect Buddha is the only one I have yet to put to the test. Since I have not yet bewildered and deceived him, I must go immediately to the tathāgata, the arhat, the complete and perfect Buddha. When I get there, I will put him to the test. If they see that I am able to bewilder and deceive him, all of Magadha will follow me alone, and I will be bolstered with even greater profits and respect.”
Then Bhadra the illusionist, impelled by his previous roots of virtue and by the power of the Buddha, left the city of Rājagṛha and went to where the Blessed One was at Vulture Peak Mountain. Upon arrival, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, shining with light brighter than a trillion suns, with a face more immaculate than a trillion moons, with a body well proportioned like the king of banyan trees, with an ūrṇā as clearly apparent as the sparkling of a stainless jewel, with lotus eyes as lustrous as a blue utpala in bloom, and with an uṣṇīṣa whose top could not be seen even by Brahmā, teaching the Dharma amid his retinue in a melodious voice endowed with the sixty qualities. Seeing this, seeing such a bodily form and hearing such awakened speech, Bhadra’s mind was calmed. Nonetheless, he thought, “I must test him at once, to find out for sure whether he is all-knowing and all-seeing or not.”
Then Bhadra the illusionist, bowing to the feet of the Blessed One and thinking to test him, said, “Please come tomorrow for the midday meal.” At the same time, he was also thinking, “Does he know my intentions or not? If he does know, then he will not come. But if he does not know, he will come.”
Knowing this, the Blessed One, for the sake of taming Bhadra the illusionist, and for the sake of taming the masses of the city of Rājagṛha, gave his assent to Bhadra the illusionist by remaining silent along with his saṅgha of monks.
Bhadra the illusionist thought, “Since my intention is to harm him and yet he has agreed, he must be neither all-knowing nor all-seeing.” Then Bhadra the illusionist bowed to the feet of the Blessed One and departed from his presence.
Then Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana said to the Blessed One, “The illusionist Bhadra is going to harm this saṅgha of monks using his basket of illusions.”
The Blessed One replied, “Maudgalyāyana, do not worry! I have been engaging in correct conduct since long ago, and being a tathāgata, I know the proper time. Not even the whole world with its gods can harm a tathāgata.
“Indeed, Maudgalyāyana, desire is what causes harm, anger is what causes harm, and ignorance is what causes harm. Since these, along with any latent tendencies, have been completely exhausted and forsaken by a tathāgata, who realizes that phenomena are primordially unborn, even the whole world with its gods cannot harm a tathāgata.
“Furthermore Maudgalyāyana, since the power of illusion of Bhadra the illusionist is limited, it is impure, while the power of illusion of a tathāgata is pure, since he is completely and manifestly awakened to all phenomena being like illusions.
“Maudgalyāyana, even if all those multitudes designated as belonging to the realm of beings were to possess powers of illusion like that of Bhadra the illusionist, this would not even come close to a hundredth of a tathāgata’s power of illusion; nor would it even come close to a thousandth, nor a trillionth. Nor would any such calculation, fraction, enumeration, or simile come close.
“Maudgalyāyana, what do you think? Is Bhadra the illusionist able to display this great trichiliocosm in its entirety, fully adorned with all its features?”
“No, he is not,” replied Maudgalyāyana.
The Blessed One continued, “If a tathāgata so wishes, he can display all the world systems as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges, fully adorned, on the mere tip of a hair. But even this would not show the full extent of a tathāgata’s power of illusion. Maudgalyāyana, in the ten directions there are the following maṇḍalas of wind: the wind called scattering; the wind called cutting asunder, which cuts the trichiliocosm asunder and, having cut it asunder, destroys it; the wind called dispersing and scattering, which moves about in the middle of the world; the wind called all-settling, which moves about at the summit of existence; the wind called destroying, which utterly destroys even Mount Meru, the king of mountains, let alone ordinary mountains; the wind called blazing, which arises during the conflagration of an eon and whose flames blaze all the way up to the Brahmā realms; the wind called consummating, which pacifies the fire at the eon’s conflagration; the wind called delighting, which completely covers the trichiliocosm with a lattice of clouds; the wind called sprinkling with water, which causes rain to descend during the conflagration of an eon; and the wind called completely drying, which completely dries that which has been destroyed by water.
“Maudgalyāyana, beginning with these maṇḍalas of wind, I could teach the Dharma for an eon or even longer than an eon, for there is no end to the Dharma taught by a tathāgata, beginning from the explanation of these maṇḍalas of wind.
“Maudgalyāyana, what do you think? Would the illusionist Bhadra be able to remain in those maṇḍalas of wind?”
“No, he would not,” replied Maudgalyāyana.
The Blessed One continued, “Maudgalyāyana, I would be able to abide inside all those maṇḍalas of wind, all the while performing the four normal activities. If the Tathāgata so wishes, he could make all those winds enter a single mustard seed, and still the mustard seed would not be destroyed. Indeed, he could let all the activities of all those winds be displayed inside the mustard seed, and yet they would neither collide with one another nor decrease.
“Maudgalyāyana, there is nothing like the nature of my power of illusion. Indeed, it is limitless.”
Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana and the entire assembly were amazed. They bowed their heads to the feet of the Blessed One and said together with one voice, “Blessed One, we are indeed fortunate! As the teacher possesses such superior magical power, such renown for being superior in might, and such superior power, we are indeed fortunate! Blessed One, those who hear of this miraculous display of the Tathāgata will be inspired. And being inspired, they will develop the mind intent on complete and perfect awakening, so they, too, will obtain excellent fortune!”
Then Bhadra the illusionist went to the great city of Rājagṛha, and that very night, in the sector of the great city of Rājagṛha where all the city’s refuse and unclean things were discarded, he conjured up a great reception courtyard adorned with silken streamers, parasols, victory banners, and raised silk flags. He conjured the ground so that it was as even as the palm of a hand, strewn with flowers, fragrant with excellent incense, and adorned with a canopy above.
Within that courtyard, he also conjured eight thousand exquisite trees replete with flowers and fruits. In front of all the exquisite trees he conjured lion thrones covered with many kinds of cotton cloth and adorned with all kinds of precious silk flags. He conjured four exquisite trees replete with flowers and fruits to both the left and right of each lion throne. He conjured fine dishes endowed with a hundred flavors for the Blessed One and the saṅgha of monks to enjoy. He also conjured five hundred attendants, all dressed in white and bedecked with all kinds of accoutrements.
As soon as Bhadra the illusionist had conjured up this banquet, the Four Great Kings, emanating as large bodies, came instantaneously to the illusionist Bhadra’s courtyard array and said to him, “Bhadra, you have invited the Tathāgata for tomorrow’s midday meal, and you have conjured such a courtyard for the Tathāgata to enjoy. You have done very well!
“Bhadra, please grant us permission to also make offerings to the Tathāgata, by displaying a second modest courtyard like this for the Blessed One to enjoy, to accompany yours!”
Bhadra the illusionist was utterly amazed and granted permission to the Four Great Kings, who then conjured a similar courtyard array for the Blessed One to enjoy.
Then Śakra, ruler of the gods, arrived together with thirty thousand gods at Bhadra’s courtyard array and said to him, “Bhadra, you have invited the Tathāgata for tomorrow’s midday meal, and you have conjured such a courtyard array for the Tathāgata to enjoy. You have done well! Bhadra, please grant us permission to also make offerings to the Tathāgata, by displaying a second modest courtyard like this for the Blessed One to enjoy, to accompany yours!”
Bhadra the illusionist, utterly amazed, granted permission to Śakra, ruler of the gods, whereupon Śakra, ruler of the gods, conjured an especially magnificent courtyard for the Blessed One to enjoy—larger even than the Vaijayanta Palace, the residence of the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three with the Pārijāta tree of paradise—a courtyard that eclipsed those of Bhadra the illusionist and the Four Great Kings.
Then Bhadra the illusionist thought, “If even gods such as these gather with such enthusiasm to make offerings and serve the Blessed One, he must be no ordinary being. It would not be appropriate to harm such an exalted being! Without a doubt, I must dispel my creation!”
Then Bhadra the illusionist attempted to dispel his conjurations and make them disappear. Invoking the power of all his secret mantras and vidyā mantras, he tried to get rid of them and make them disappear, but the fine dishes, the attendants, the courtyard, and the lion thrones all remained, appearing just as they had before. He was not able to dispel them, even with all his secret mantras and vidyā mantras. Completely amazed, he thought, “Up until now I could create illusions at will and make them vanish at will, but now I am unable to dispel this array made for the Tathāgata.”
Then Śakra, ruler of the gods, knowing fully what Bhadra the illusionist was thinking, said to him, “Bhadra, just as you are unable to dispel what you have created for the Tathāgata, so it is, Bhadra, for those who are able to generate even a few thoughts of the Tathāgata—their thoughts do not go away but remain a causal factor right up until their final nirvāṇa.”
Bhadra the illusionist was utterly delighted, and rejoicing, he became thoroughly overjoyed and blissful. So, that night passed with him urging the Blessed One to come for the midday meal, beseeching him, “Blessed One, when the midday meal in the middle of the day has arrived, please do kindly come for the midday meal!”
Early the next morning, the Blessed One donned his lower and upper robes, took up his offering bowl, gathered the saṅgha of monks, and, leading the saṅgha of monks, went to the great city of Rājagṛha, to the site of Bhadra the illusionist’s great courtyard. He then manifested a magical display such that Bhadra the illusionist was convinced that “the Tathāgata is seated at the array I have conjured,” the Four Great Kings were convinced that “the Tathāgata is seated at the array we have conjured,” and Śakra, ruler of the gods, was convinced that “the Tathāgata is seated at the array I have conjured.”
In the great city of Rājagṛha, word spread to others—non-Buddhists, carakas, parivrājakas, brahmins, and householders. Amazed, they rushed to the courtyard thinking, “Today the renunciant Gautama will be put to the test!”
The faithful living in the great city of Rājagṛha—monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen—likewise rushed to the gathered assembly thinking, “Today we will listen to the Tathāgata’s words, and we will also see a great miraculous display.”
Then Bhadra the illusionist, truly overcoming his pride, haughtiness, and arrogance, bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One and said, “Blessed One, I confess my wrongdoing—I invited the Tathāgata to come here with severely harmful intent. But then, Blessed One, I thought that it would be wrong to deceive such an exalted being by conjuring fine dishes, servants, lion thrones, and this courtyard. Realizing that this should not be done, I tried to dispel them but was unable to do so. Even by invoking the full force of all my secret mantras and vidyā mantras, I could not make them go away. It was no use, and all these fine dishes, servants, lion thrones, and courtyard arrangements remained just as they were.”
The Blessed One then said to Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, the amenities and enjoyments of all beings are also like this, illusory conjurations of karma. Bhadra, this saṅgha of monks is also like this, an illusory conjuration of the Dharma. Bhadra, I, too, am also like this, an illusory conjuration of wisdom. Bhadra, this entire trichiliocosm is also like this, the illusory conjuration of various manifest formations. Indeed Bhadra, all phenomena are like this, the illusory conjurations of masses of conditions.
“Nevertheless, Bhadra, when you know the time is right, you may offer these dishes and drinks, delectables and nectars, however they have been conjured.”
Then the servants conjured by Bhadra and the Four Great Kings and Śakra, ruler of the gods, along with his retinue, satisfied the Blessed One and the saṅgha of monks with the conjured dishes and drinks, delectables, and nectars.
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa spoke the following verse:
Mahāmaudgalyāyana said:
Śāriputra said:
Subhūti said:
Ānanda said:
The bodhisattva Pinnacle of Light said:
The bodhisattva Prabhāvyūha said:
The bodhisattva Siṃha said:
The bodhisattva Siṃhamati said:
The bodhisattva Maitreya said:
Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta said:
Then the Blessed One, using his powers to thoroughly tame Bhadra the illusionist, conjured a householder, who came into the courtyard and asked Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Forget it, Bhadra! Do not say that! The Tathāgata, with his saṅgha of monks, is receiving the midday meal at King Ajātaśatru’s court.”
Then, through the power of the Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, with the saṅgha of monks, receiving the midday meal at King Ajātaśatru’s court.
The Blessed One then conjured a second householder, who came into the courtyard and asked Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Forget it! Do not say that! The Tathāgata, with his saṅgha of monks, is on the parivrājaka street collecting alms.”
Then, through the power of the Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, with the saṅgha of monks, collecting alms on the parivrājaka street.
The Blessed One then conjured another householder, who came into the courtyard and asked Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Bhadra, forget it! Do not say that! The Tathāgata is in the physician’s grove teaching the Dharma to the fourfold retinue.”
Then, through the power of the Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata in the physician’s grove teaching the Dharma to the fourfold retinue.
Śakra, ruler of the gods, then approached Bhadra the illusionist and asked, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Bhadra, forget it! Do not say that! The Tathāgata is in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, in front of the Pārijāta tree, teaching the Dharma to the gods of the Thirty-Three.”
Then Bhadra also saw the Tathāgata in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, teaching the Dharma in front of the Pārijāta tree.
Then on all the leaves and all the flowers on every tree that Bhadra the illusionist had conjured, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, adorned with the marks of a great being and encircled by the saṅgha of monks. On each of the lion thrones that he had conjured and on the lion thrones that the Four Great Kings had conjured, he saw the Tathāgata, adorned with the marks of a great being and encircled by the saṅgha of monks. Everywhere in the great city of Rājagṛha, in every building, house, and palace, on every path and road, he saw the Tathāgata, adorned with the marks of a great being.
And in front of every tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw himself bowing and confessing his faults, and wherever else Bhadra the illusionist looked, in every corner of his field of vision, he saw nothing but the Tathāgata. He was utterly delighted and, rejoicing, became overjoyed and blissful.
Through that very feeling of joy and bliss, he attained the samādhi called recollecting the Buddha. As soon as he emerged from that samādhi, he joined his palms together and, seated before the Blessed One, spoke these verses:
The Blessed One responded to Bhadra the illusionist with these verses:
While the Buddha Śākyamuni is residing at Vulture Peak Mountain, in the nearby city of Rājagṛha the accomplished illusionist Bhadra hatches a scheme to humiliate the Buddha and disprove his omniscience in order to win over the people of Magadha. The failure of Bhadra’s plan, in which he conjures the illusion of a resplendent courtyard that, to his dismay, cannot be undone, culminates in a series of surreal and magnificent visions that convince Bhadra of the superiority of the Buddha’s powers. This sūtra presents a colorful and often humorous narrative and contains teachings on illusion, emptiness, and the distinction between the illusionist’s mundane abilities and the Buddha’s miraculous display. The Buddha also teaches Bhadra forty-three sets of four qualities that together constitute the bodhisattva path.
This sūtra was translated by the Kīrtimukha Translation Group. Celso Wilkinson, Lopon Damchoe Wangmo, and Laura Goetz produced the translation from the Tibetan. We are very grateful to William Giddings who provided us with a comparative translation from the Chinese as well as consultation regarding several difficult points.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. George FitzHerbert edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist contains a colorful and often humorous narrative. Shades of this narrative, in which a powerful magician attempts to humiliate the Buddha Śākyamuni and winds up the fool, are also found in the Pali Buddhist tradition, and the appeal of this particular story as Buddhism spread through Central Asia is apparent in its loose retelling in Khotanese literature. Its central theme is the Buddha’s miraculous powers, here compared to the lesser powers of an illusionist named Bhadra. The sūtra is an emblematic example of adbhutadharma, or “account of miraculous events,” one of the nine or twelve classic categories of the Pali and Sanskrit sūtras. The latter portion of the text, in which the Buddha prophesies Bhadra’s future awakening, exemplifies the genre of vyākaraṇa, or “prophecy,” as expressed in the sūtra’s title.
The sūtra opens at Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha, where the Buddha is residing with his saṅgha of monks and bodhisattvas. Down in the city, the accomplished illusionist Bhadra hatches a plan to test and humiliate the Buddha in order to win over the people of Magadha. Bhadra approaches the Buddha and offers to host him for the midday meal the following day. His plan is to expose the Buddha, since if the Buddha does not know his malicious intentions, it will prove the Buddha’s lack of omniscience. Over the course of the night, Bhadra conjures up the illusion of a resplendent courtyard filled with food and drink and servants. Just then, the Four Great Kings appear and ask for permission to create a second courtyard in which to offer a meal to the Buddha, and then Śakra and his host of gods ask if they may create a third. Bhadra grants them permission but begins to grow apprehensive. Then, when he tries to unravel his illusory display, he cannot. Śakra explains that since even a tiny offering to a buddha will inevitably lead to nirvāṇa, Bhadra’s offering cannot be withdrawn.
In the morning, the Buddha and his retinue proceed as planned to the reception in the city, whereupon Bhadra, seeing how the Buddha is revered by the gods, feels remorse for his initial devious intentions. Through the Buddha’s power, Bhadra, Śakra, and the Four Great Kings each simultaneously perceive the Buddha seated at their own conjured courtyards. Bhadra, defeated, bows to the Buddha and confesses his intentions, and the assembly partakes of the illusory feast.
The Buddha then conjures a series of visions in order to train Bhadra, beginning with three householders who show him how the Buddha can be in many places at once. The visions increase in intensity until Bhadra sees nothing but the Buddha everywhere he looks, at which point he attains samādhi. Bhadra again repents and asks the Buddha a series of questions, to which the Buddha responds with a teaching on illusion and emptiness.
Later, Bhadra again visits the Buddha at Vulture Peak Mountain and requests that he explain the bodhisattva path. The Buddha responds with a teaching in which he enumerates forty-three sets of four qualities that characterize the path of bodhisattvas. The Buddha then smiles, and when Ānanda asks why, he responds with a prophecy about Bhadra’s future awakening. Bhadra then takes refuge in the Buddha, proclaiming that the Buddha teaches the Dharma while undifferentiated from suchness (Skt. tathatā, Tib. de bzhin nyid). When questioned by Ānanda, Bhadra elaborates on his statement in riddle-like language. Ānanda replies that while Bhadra once bewildered others with his illusions, now he bewilders them with his wisdom. Bhadra counters that the Buddha himself is also a bewilderer—he teaches that there is no self, but does so using terminology like “sentient beings,” and he does not perceive birth and death, yet still he speaks of it.
Bhadra then requests to go forth as a monk, and the Buddha instructs Maitreya to perform the ceremony. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha giving Bhadra the prophecy, referenced in the sūtra’s title, regarding his future full awakening.
“Illusion” in this sūtra translates the Sanskrit māyā (Tib. sgyu ma) and refers, literally or by analogy, to a magical illusion, which is insubstantial by nature but appears before the eyes due to the magical abilities of a magician or illusionist. The term māyā also carries the connotation of “deceit,” “trickery,” or “deception”; for instance, it is listed as one of over fifty mental events (Skt. caitta, Tib. sems byung) in both the Sarvāstivāda-Vaibhāṣika and Yogācāra systems of Abhidharma, where it refers to the volition to deceive or manipulate others or to fraudulently boast about one’s spiritual attainment.
A māyākāra (literally “illusion maker”) is akin to a street magician who performs a spectacle of magic tricks before a crowd in order to turn a profit or boost their own influence and reputation. In the context of Buddhist literature, however, these magic tricks are more than just sleight of hand: the illusionist creates incredible magical spectacles of elephants, thrones, marvelous pavilions, and so forth that, while insubstantial in nature, visually appear before the eyes of its spectators, who are thus deceived into taking these conjurations as real and solid things. In truth, however, these appearances, like a hologram or a projection of light, have no tangible substance. While the illusions of an illusionist are considered real magic, that is to say, they are created from supernatural abilities acquired through meditative concentration or other spiritual disciplines, such magical abilities are considered a sort of mundane, worldly magic, particularly in comparison to the abilities resulting from genuine spiritual attainment, and even more so to the realization of an arhat or a buddha.
Such magical illusion is often referred to in early Buddhist sources as a metaphor for the illusory or insubstantial and momentary nature of phenomena. Phenomena are described as being like illusions, which initially appear to be solid and real but under close scrutiny and examination are impermanent, dependent, and transient. From the perspective of the Mahāyāna, they lack an inherent nature (Skt. niḥsvabhāva, Tib. rang bzhin med pa). Like magical illusions, phenomena lack any substantiality beyond the spectacle. Within the Mahāyāna, “illusion” was regularly included in conventional lists of eight or ten similes for how phenomena lack an inherent nature.
While illusionists are frequently mentioned in this context throughout the Kangyur, The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist is unique in that the illusionist is the central figure and interlocutor of the entire sūtra. The story is set up to accomplish two things regarding the theme of magical illusion: one, it establishes the superiority of the Buddha’s miraculous power over the limited and mundane magic of Bhadra the illusionist, and two, it retains and elaborates upon the metaphorical understanding whereby all phenomena are considered to be magical illusions.
In this sūtra, as elsewhere, the term illusion carries a pejorative connotation. Even though Bhadra is said to have great powers, his power of illusion is only ever referred to using the term māyā (Tib. sgyu ma) or the term nirmita/nirmāna (Tib. sprul pa, “conjuration”), while the Buddha’s supernatural power is usually referred to as prātihārya (Tib. cho ’phrul, “miraculous display”). However, at one point in the sūtra, when Maudgalyāyana attempts to warn him of Bhadra’s trickery, the Buddha responds by comparing his own power to that of Bhadra, using the same word, māyā, for both, yet he explains that while Bhadra’s power of illusion is “limited” (phyogs gcig pa), his own is “pure” (yang dag pa). Since the Buddha has fully and completely realized the insubstantial nature of all phenomena and the truth that phenomena are primordially unborn, his power to create illusions, which are in this way no different from ordinary perceived reality, is unlimited.
At the climax of the story, the inspired and newly converted Bhadra gives a short discourse on the ultimate nature of phenomena using the convoluted language that has characterized his speech at various points throughout the text. When Ānanda teases Bhadra for the bewildering language with which he expresses the Dharma, he audaciously turns the accusation back onto the Buddha himself, referring to the Buddha as the “great bewilderer.” He justifies this by pointing out that while teaching selflessness, the Buddha speaks using terms like “sentient beings,” and while denying the birth and death of all phenomena, he nevertheless often refers to birth and death. This is an important summation of the narrative, which once again returns to its theme of juxtaposing Bhadra’s mundane powers of illusion with the miraculous displays of the Buddha. In some ways, the Buddha’s powers bewilder his followers, too, such as when he creates emanations of himself earlier in the narrative to simultaneously receive offerings from Bhadra, Śakra, and the Four Great Kings. From the ultimate view, the Buddha’s teachings may appear deceptive, because he teaches using conventional terminology for phenomena. This, however, is a form of skillful means, since he knows that all phenomena ultimately lack inherent nature.
So, although Bhadra’s initial use of powers of illusion to deceive, trick, and swindle people is presented here with a conventional negative connotation, the power to deceive through illusion is not necessarily considered in a negative light in this discourse. Rather, illusion serves as an instructive symbol that illustrates the relative and insubstantial nature of phenomena. The Buddha’s miraculous displays, while being at one level no different from the illusionist’s conjurations, do not have the same negative connotations, because they are always done with an intention to inspire and teach. In this way, conjuring illusions is an example of skillful means. Such illusions illustrate the true nature of reality; their source is not mundane sorcery but a quality of awakening, demonstrating the realization of suchness as the true nature of reality.
The theme of conversion via the display of supernatural power is often encountered in Buddhist literature. The narrative of this sūtra echoes a similar story in the Pali canon: the episode of Sirigutta and Garahadinna attributed to Buddhaghosa in his commentary on the Dhammapada. There, as in The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist, the Buddha knowingly walks into a trap set by the non-Buddhist ascetic Garahadinna (in revenge for being victim to the same trap set by the Buddhist Sirigutta), although in this case the trap is not a magical illusion but a simple trench filled with live coals thinly disguised by the mats that Garahadinna expects the Buddha to sit on. When the Buddha sits down, however, the mats and coals become lotus flowers on which the Buddha and his saṅgha take their seats.
A Khotanese version of the Bhadra story contained within an untitled collection of Buddhist texts (date uncertain) has been translated into English by Ronald Emmerick. This version contains a narrative loosely parallel to that found in the Tibetan, although it paraphrases or leaves out most of the doctrinal elements.
The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist is quoted several times in the Tengyur. In two cases, one or more of the sets of four qualities of bodhisattvas are cited, and in the case of Jñānavajra’s commentary on the Sūtra on the Descent into Laṅkā (Toh 107), the superiority of the Buddha’s miraculous power is addressed.
According to the colophon, The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist was translated into Tibetan by the Indian scholars Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman and the Tibetan Yeshé Dé, which dates the translation to the late eighth or early ninth century. This is confirmed by its inclusion in the imperial catalogs: the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) lists it under the Heap of Jewels (Ratnakūṭa) and under the category of four hundred and thirty śloka or one bampo; in the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) it is not listed as a Heap of Jewels text but in another section of texts all containing one and a half bampos (bam po phyed dang gnyis). This is not unusual, as there are only nine texts listed under the Heap of Jewels in this catalog.
While there is no extant Sanskrit original, there are two translations found in the Chinese Tripiṭaka. The earlier Chinese version was made by Dharmarakṣa (竺法護) in the third or fourth century
An English translation of the Tibetan text was published in 1938 by Konstantin Régamey, who included a complete edition of the Tibetan with reference to the Chinese translations. An abridged translation of Bodhiruci’s Chinese by C. C. Garma Chang is included in A Treasury of Mahāyāna Sūtras (1983). An anonymous translation from the Chinese, also of Bodhiruci’s translation, can be found online.
This English translation follows the Degé Kangyur wherever possible. When a variant reading has been preferred, this is explained in an endnote. In addition to the two Chinese translations, the Tibetan of the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), the Gondhla collection (thirteenth–fourteenth centuries), and the Stok Palace Kangyur have also been consulted.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling at Vulture Peak Mountain near Rājagṛha together with a saṅgha of 1,250 monks and five thousand renowned bodhisattva mahāsattvas—renowned for having attained the superknowledges, the retentions, the miraculous power of magical display, and acceptance that phenomena are unborn—such as the bodhisattva mahāsattva Siṃha, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Siṃhamati, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Fine Sandalwood, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sārathi, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Mahāsārathi, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Prabhāśrī, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Radiant, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Endowed with Brilliant Light and Having a Melodious Voice, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Prabhāvyūha, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Clear Mind, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Essence of Beings, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Disciplined Charioteer of Beings, all the bodhisattva mahāsattvas of the Fortunate Eon, such as Maitreya, and other bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta and so forth.
Śakra, ruler of the gods, was also there with them. Brahmā, the lord of this world Endurance, was there, too, as were the Four Great Kings. Many gods, nāgas, yakṣas, asuras, garuḍas, gandharvas, kinnaras, and mahoragas also surrounded them.
While the Blessed One was residing near the great city of Rājagṛha, kings, chief ministers, brahmins, householders, and people of the villages and countryside all paid respect, venerated, served, and made offerings to him. The Blessed One received robes, food, bedding, seats, and medicines to cure the sick. Extensive verses of praise further elevated the Blessed One’s fame and reputation.
Thus the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha accomplished in knowledge and conduct, the Sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the Blessed Buddha—the all-knowing and all-seeing one—knew all and saw all and was endowed with the ten strengths of a tathāgata, the four fearlessnesses of a tathāgata, and the four correct discernments. He was endowed with the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas, great loving-kindness, and great compassion. He was endowed with the unfailing buddha eye and the five eyes, and he had also gained miraculous powers: the miraculous power of foretelling, the miraculous power of instruction, and the miraculous power of magical display.
If he wished, he could suspend this trichiliocosm—including its cities, towns, lands, beings, and Mount Merus, encompassing everything up to the edges of the oceans and including the abodes of the gods, the horizons and depths, and the grasses, trees, and mountains—on the tip of a hair in space for an eon or even longer than an eon.
At that time, an illusionist named Bhadra lived in the city of Rājagṛha. He was highly versed in the treatises and secret mantra, a master of knowledge and craft, highly accomplished, successful, and famous. He was known as the greatest of all the illusionists and disciples of illusionists in Magadha, and by dint of his fame, he enthralled, bewildered, and deceived all the throngs of people in Magadha and converted them to his spectacular ways, except for those who had seen the truth, had faith, and followed the Dharma—the lay devotees, men and women. Through his illusions, he became powerful in the craft of bewilderment and acquired tremendous profits, respect, and verses of praise.
Bhadra the illusionist heard that the fame, renown, and verses of the Blessed One were superior and that he was known as the tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha accomplished in knowledge and conduct, the Sugata, the knower of the world, the unsurpassed guide who tames beings, the teacher of gods and humans, the Blessed Buddha, the all-knowing and all-seeing one who knows all and sees all, who is endowed with the ten strengths of a tathāgata, the four fearlessnesses of a tathāgata, and the four correct discernments and who is endowed with the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas, with great loving-kindness and great compassion, and with the unfailing buddha eye and the five eyes, and as one who has gained miraculous powers: the miraculous power of foretelling, the miraculous power of instruction, and the miraculous power of magical display. If he wished, he could suspend this trichiliocosm—including its cities, towns, lands, beings, and Mount Merus, encompassing everything up to the edges of the oceans and including the abodes of the gods, the horizons and depths, and the grasses, trees, and mountains—on the tip of a hair in space for an eon or for even longer than an eon.
When he heard this, he thought, “I have enthralled all the people of the land of Magadha, bewildered them, deceived them, and converted them to my spectacular ways. All the brahmins and great householders delight in my name. The tathāgata, the arhat, the complete and perfect Buddha is the only one I have yet to put to the test. Since I have not yet bewildered and deceived him, I must go immediately to the tathāgata, the arhat, the complete and perfect Buddha. When I get there, I will put him to the test. If they see that I am able to bewilder and deceive him, all of Magadha will follow me alone, and I will be bolstered with even greater profits and respect.”
Then Bhadra the illusionist, impelled by his previous roots of virtue and by the power of the Buddha, left the city of Rājagṛha and went to where the Blessed One was at Vulture Peak Mountain. Upon arrival, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, shining with light brighter than a trillion suns, with a face more immaculate than a trillion moons, with a body well proportioned like the king of banyan trees, with an ūrṇā as clearly apparent as the sparkling of a stainless jewel, with lotus eyes as lustrous as a blue utpala in bloom, and with an uṣṇīṣa whose top could not be seen even by Brahmā, teaching the Dharma amid his retinue in a melodious voice endowed with the sixty qualities. Seeing this, seeing such a bodily form and hearing such awakened speech, Bhadra’s mind was calmed. Nonetheless, he thought, “I must test him at once, to find out for sure whether he is all-knowing and all-seeing or not.”
Then Bhadra the illusionist, bowing to the feet of the Blessed One and thinking to test him, said, “Please come tomorrow for the midday meal.” At the same time, he was also thinking, “Does he know my intentions or not? If he does know, then he will not come. But if he does not know, he will come.”
Knowing this, the Blessed One, for the sake of taming Bhadra the illusionist, and for the sake of taming the masses of the city of Rājagṛha, gave his assent to Bhadra the illusionist by remaining silent along with his saṅgha of monks.
Bhadra the illusionist thought, “Since my intention is to harm him and yet he has agreed, he must be neither all-knowing nor all-seeing.” Then Bhadra the illusionist bowed to the feet of the Blessed One and departed from his presence.
Then Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana said to the Blessed One, “The illusionist Bhadra is going to harm this saṅgha of monks using his basket of illusions.”
The Blessed One replied, “Maudgalyāyana, do not worry! I have been engaging in correct conduct since long ago, and being a tathāgata, I know the proper time. Not even the whole world with its gods can harm a tathāgata.
“Indeed, Maudgalyāyana, desire is what causes harm, anger is what causes harm, and ignorance is what causes harm. Since these, along with any latent tendencies, have been completely exhausted and forsaken by a tathāgata, who realizes that phenomena are primordially unborn, even the whole world with its gods cannot harm a tathāgata.
“Furthermore Maudgalyāyana, since the power of illusion of Bhadra the illusionist is limited, it is impure, while the power of illusion of a tathāgata is pure, since he is completely and manifestly awakened to all phenomena being like illusions.
“Maudgalyāyana, even if all those multitudes designated as belonging to the realm of beings were to possess powers of illusion like that of Bhadra the illusionist, this would not even come close to a hundredth of a tathāgata’s power of illusion; nor would it even come close to a thousandth, nor a trillionth. Nor would any such calculation, fraction, enumeration, or simile come close.
“Maudgalyāyana, what do you think? Is Bhadra the illusionist able to display this great trichiliocosm in its entirety, fully adorned with all its features?”
“No, he is not,” replied Maudgalyāyana.
The Blessed One continued, “If a tathāgata so wishes, he can display all the world systems as numerous as the grains of sand in the Ganges, fully adorned, on the mere tip of a hair. But even this would not show the full extent of a tathāgata’s power of illusion. Maudgalyāyana, in the ten directions there are the following maṇḍalas of wind: the wind called scattering; the wind called cutting asunder, which cuts the trichiliocosm asunder and, having cut it asunder, destroys it; the wind called dispersing and scattering, which moves about in the middle of the world; the wind called all-settling, which moves about at the summit of existence; the wind called destroying, which utterly destroys even Mount Meru, the king of mountains, let alone ordinary mountains; the wind called blazing, which arises during the conflagration of an eon and whose flames blaze all the way up to the Brahmā realms; the wind called consummating, which pacifies the fire at the eon’s conflagration; the wind called delighting, which completely covers the trichiliocosm with a lattice of clouds; the wind called sprinkling with water, which causes rain to descend during the conflagration of an eon; and the wind called completely drying, which completely dries that which has been destroyed by water.
“Maudgalyāyana, beginning with these maṇḍalas of wind, I could teach the Dharma for an eon or even longer than an eon, for there is no end to the Dharma taught by a tathāgata, beginning from the explanation of these maṇḍalas of wind.
“Maudgalyāyana, what do you think? Would the illusionist Bhadra be able to remain in those maṇḍalas of wind?”
“No, he would not,” replied Maudgalyāyana.
The Blessed One continued, “Maudgalyāyana, I would be able to abide inside all those maṇḍalas of wind, all the while performing the four normal activities. If the Tathāgata so wishes, he could make all those winds enter a single mustard seed, and still the mustard seed would not be destroyed. Indeed, he could let all the activities of all those winds be displayed inside the mustard seed, and yet they would neither collide with one another nor decrease.
“Maudgalyāyana, there is nothing like the nature of my power of illusion. Indeed, it is limitless.”
Venerable Mahāmaudgalyāyana and the entire assembly were amazed. They bowed their heads to the feet of the Blessed One and said together with one voice, “Blessed One, we are indeed fortunate! As the teacher possesses such superior magical power, such renown for being superior in might, and such superior power, we are indeed fortunate! Blessed One, those who hear of this miraculous display of the Tathāgata will be inspired. And being inspired, they will develop the mind intent on complete and perfect awakening, so they, too, will obtain excellent fortune!”
Then Bhadra the illusionist went to the great city of Rājagṛha, and that very night, in the sector of the great city of Rājagṛha where all the city’s refuse and unclean things were discarded, he conjured up a great reception courtyard adorned with silken streamers, parasols, victory banners, and raised silk flags. He conjured the ground so that it was as even as the palm of a hand, strewn with flowers, fragrant with excellent incense, and adorned with a canopy above.
Within that courtyard, he also conjured eight thousand exquisite trees replete with flowers and fruits. In front of all the exquisite trees he conjured lion thrones covered with many kinds of cotton cloth and adorned with all kinds of precious silk flags. He conjured four exquisite trees replete with flowers and fruits to both the left and right of each lion throne. He conjured fine dishes endowed with a hundred flavors for the Blessed One and the saṅgha of monks to enjoy. He also conjured five hundred attendants, all dressed in white and bedecked with all kinds of accoutrements.
As soon as Bhadra the illusionist had conjured up this banquet, the Four Great Kings, emanating as large bodies, came instantaneously to the illusionist Bhadra’s courtyard array and said to him, “Bhadra, you have invited the Tathāgata for tomorrow’s midday meal, and you have conjured such a courtyard for the Tathāgata to enjoy. You have done very well!
“Bhadra, please grant us permission to also make offerings to the Tathāgata, by displaying a second modest courtyard like this for the Blessed One to enjoy, to accompany yours!”
Bhadra the illusionist was utterly amazed and granted permission to the Four Great Kings, who then conjured a similar courtyard array for the Blessed One to enjoy.
Then Śakra, ruler of the gods, arrived together with thirty thousand gods at Bhadra’s courtyard array and said to him, “Bhadra, you have invited the Tathāgata for tomorrow’s midday meal, and you have conjured such a courtyard array for the Tathāgata to enjoy. You have done well! Bhadra, please grant us permission to also make offerings to the Tathāgata, by displaying a second modest courtyard like this for the Blessed One to enjoy, to accompany yours!”
Bhadra the illusionist, utterly amazed, granted permission to Śakra, ruler of the gods, whereupon Śakra, ruler of the gods, conjured an especially magnificent courtyard for the Blessed One to enjoy—larger even than the Vaijayanta Palace, the residence of the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three with the Pārijāta tree of paradise—a courtyard that eclipsed those of Bhadra the illusionist and the Four Great Kings.
Then Bhadra the illusionist thought, “If even gods such as these gather with such enthusiasm to make offerings and serve the Blessed One, he must be no ordinary being. It would not be appropriate to harm such an exalted being! Without a doubt, I must dispel my creation!”
Then Bhadra the illusionist attempted to dispel his conjurations and make them disappear. Invoking the power of all his secret mantras and vidyā mantras, he tried to get rid of them and make them disappear, but the fine dishes, the attendants, the courtyard, and the lion thrones all remained, appearing just as they had before. He was not able to dispel them, even with all his secret mantras and vidyā mantras. Completely amazed, he thought, “Up until now I could create illusions at will and make them vanish at will, but now I am unable to dispel this array made for the Tathāgata.”
Then Śakra, ruler of the gods, knowing fully what Bhadra the illusionist was thinking, said to him, “Bhadra, just as you are unable to dispel what you have created for the Tathāgata, so it is, Bhadra, for those who are able to generate even a few thoughts of the Tathāgata—their thoughts do not go away but remain a causal factor right up until their final nirvāṇa.”
Bhadra the illusionist was utterly delighted, and rejoicing, he became thoroughly overjoyed and blissful. So, that night passed with him urging the Blessed One to come for the midday meal, beseeching him, “Blessed One, when the midday meal in the middle of the day has arrived, please do kindly come for the midday meal!”
Early the next morning, the Blessed One donned his lower and upper robes, took up his offering bowl, gathered the saṅgha of monks, and, leading the saṅgha of monks, went to the great city of Rājagṛha, to the site of Bhadra the illusionist’s great courtyard. He then manifested a magical display such that Bhadra the illusionist was convinced that “the Tathāgata is seated at the array I have conjured,” the Four Great Kings were convinced that “the Tathāgata is seated at the array we have conjured,” and Śakra, ruler of the gods, was convinced that “the Tathāgata is seated at the array I have conjured.”
In the great city of Rājagṛha, word spread to others—non-Buddhists, carakas, parivrājakas, brahmins, and householders. Amazed, they rushed to the courtyard thinking, “Today the renunciant Gautama will be put to the test!”
The faithful living in the great city of Rājagṛha—monks and nuns, laymen and laywomen—likewise rushed to the gathered assembly thinking, “Today we will listen to the Tathāgata’s words, and we will also see a great miraculous display.”
Then Bhadra the illusionist, truly overcoming his pride, haughtiness, and arrogance, bowed his head to the feet of the Blessed One and said, “Blessed One, I confess my wrongdoing—I invited the Tathāgata to come here with severely harmful intent. But then, Blessed One, I thought that it would be wrong to deceive such an exalted being by conjuring fine dishes, servants, lion thrones, and this courtyard. Realizing that this should not be done, I tried to dispel them but was unable to do so. Even by invoking the full force of all my secret mantras and vidyā mantras, I could not make them go away. It was no use, and all these fine dishes, servants, lion thrones, and courtyard arrangements remained just as they were.”
The Blessed One then said to Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, the amenities and enjoyments of all beings are also like this, illusory conjurations of karma. Bhadra, this saṅgha of monks is also like this, an illusory conjuration of the Dharma. Bhadra, I, too, am also like this, an illusory conjuration of wisdom. Bhadra, this entire trichiliocosm is also like this, the illusory conjuration of various manifest formations. Indeed Bhadra, all phenomena are like this, the illusory conjurations of masses of conditions.
“Nevertheless, Bhadra, when you know the time is right, you may offer these dishes and drinks, delectables and nectars, however they have been conjured.”
Then the servants conjured by Bhadra and the Four Great Kings and Śakra, ruler of the gods, along with his retinue, satisfied the Blessed One and the saṅgha of monks with the conjured dishes and drinks, delectables, and nectars.
Then the elder Mahākāśyapa spoke the following verse:
Mahāmaudgalyāyana said:
Śāriputra said:
Subhūti said:
Ānanda said:
The bodhisattva Pinnacle of Light said:
The bodhisattva Prabhāvyūha said:
The bodhisattva Siṃha said:
The bodhisattva Siṃhamati said:
The bodhisattva Maitreya said:
Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta said:
Then the Blessed One, using his powers to thoroughly tame Bhadra the illusionist, conjured a householder, who came into the courtyard and asked Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Forget it, Bhadra! Do not say that! The Tathāgata, with his saṅgha of monks, is receiving the midday meal at King Ajātaśatru’s court.”
Then, through the power of the Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, with the saṅgha of monks, receiving the midday meal at King Ajātaśatru’s court.
The Blessed One then conjured a second householder, who came into the courtyard and asked Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Forget it! Do not say that! The Tathāgata, with his saṅgha of monks, is on the parivrājaka street collecting alms.”
Then, through the power of the Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, with the saṅgha of monks, collecting alms on the parivrājaka street.
The Blessed One then conjured another householder, who came into the courtyard and asked Bhadra the illusionist, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Bhadra, forget it! Do not say that! The Tathāgata is in the physician’s grove teaching the Dharma to the fourfold retinue.”
Then, through the power of the Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata in the physician’s grove teaching the Dharma to the fourfold retinue.
Śakra, ruler of the gods, then approached Bhadra the illusionist and asked, “Bhadra, what are you doing?”
“I am offering the midday meal to the renunciant Gautama,” Bhadra replied.
“Bhadra, forget it! Do not say that! The Tathāgata is in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, in front of the Pārijāta tree, teaching the Dharma to the gods of the Thirty-Three.”
Then Bhadra also saw the Tathāgata in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, teaching the Dharma in front of the Pārijāta tree.
Then on all the leaves and all the flowers on every tree that Bhadra the illusionist had conjured, Bhadra the illusionist saw the Tathāgata, adorned with the marks of a great being and encircled by the saṅgha of monks. On each of the lion thrones that he had conjured and on the lion thrones that the Four Great Kings had conjured, he saw the Tathāgata, adorned with the marks of a great being and encircled by the saṅgha of monks. Everywhere in the great city of Rājagṛha, in every building, house, and palace, on every path and road, he saw the Tathāgata, adorned with the marks of a great being.
And in front of every tathāgata, arhat, complete and perfect Buddha, Bhadra the illusionist saw himself bowing and confessing his faults, and wherever else Bhadra the illusionist looked, in every corner of his field of vision, he saw nothing but the Tathāgata. He was utterly delighted and, rejoicing, became overjoyed and blissful.
Through that very feeling of joy and bliss, he attained the samādhi called recollecting the Buddha. As soon as he emerged from that samādhi, he joined his palms together and, seated before the Blessed One, spoke these verses:
The Blessed One responded to Bhadra the illusionist with these verses: