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For studies of this topic see Burlingame 1917, Brown 1972, Thompson 1998, Yagi 2007, and Michaelis 2016 (p. 56, n. 18).
The deliberate transformation of sex, as described in this and a number of other sūtras, has been the subject of several scholarly studies. Two early studies are Paul 1979 (especially chapter 5), and Schuster 1981. Other discussions include those found in Peach 2002 and Young 2007. On Buddhist attitudes toward women and sexuality, more generally and in classical South Asia, one may also consult the collection edited by Cabezón 1992 and Cabezón’s monograph (2017).
These catalog entries are noted in Herrmann-Pfandt 2008 (p. 31, no. 54). See also Denkarma, 296.a.6.
Information on the Chinese translations can be found in Lewis R. Lancaster’s catalogue of the Korean Buddhist canon: http://www.acmuller.net/descriptive_catalogue/index.html [last accessed 19 Jan 2024].
The Degé Kangyur has yid du ’ong ba, which we interpret as yid du ’ong bar, as all four Chinese translations have some variation on “giving with joy.”
Among the Chinese translations, Taishō 310 (p. 961) and Taishō 336 (p. 2) say that one offers flowers, fruits, and fine powder, while Taishō 334 (p. 2) and Taishō 335 (p. 2) suggest that one crushes the lotus flowers, mixes them together to make a fine powder, and offers that to the Buddha’s stūpa and relics.
The Chinese translations all interpret this to mean “not feeling envy toward others’ virtues or possessions.”
Taishō 310 (p. 961) and Taishō 336 (p. 2) indicate that this means “not hiding one’s faults from one’s spiritual friends,” while Taishō 334 (p. 2) and Taishō 335 (p. 2) suggest it means “to be always sincere” toward them.
While Taishō 310 and Taishō 336 are similar to the Tibetan, Taishō 334 (p. 2) and Taishō 335 (p. 2) have “always upholding the precepts, meditative concentration, and wisdom.”
In Taishō 334 (p. 2) and Taishō 335 (p. 2), the first item listed here is absent and instead one finds “frequent recollection of the Buddha,” which is equivalent to the third item listed in the Tibetan, and for the third item Taishō 334 and Taishō 335 read “frequent recollection of the Dharma.”
In the dialogue and narrative events that follow, the four Chinese translations agree with and differ from each other and the Tibetan translation in various ways. However, for the most part, we have not noted the differences here. A full comparison among the different versions thus awaits further analysis.
As another example of the differences found between the different versions, Taishō 310 (p. 962) and Taishō 336 (p. 3) say more simply that there will be no women in that buddha realm, which is the apparent implication here in the Tibetan as well, while in Taishō 334 (p. 3) and Taishō 335 (p. 3) there is no mention made of Māra, the lower realms of rebirth, or women.
The term translated here as “objective basis” is dmigs pa (Skt. ālambana), a term that refers to the mental image that forms the basis for a perception or cognition. The point being made here is that such statements as “this is a man” or “this is a woman” involve an active perception of mental objects that are taken as real things, even though they do not have any objective basis in reality.
The single folio of the Sanskrit fragment begins with this sentence and runs to the end of the sūtra.
The various translations of this sūtra into Chinese and Tibetan often attest to different numbers of beings and eons, both previously as well as here. For example, Taishō 310 (p. 962) and Taishō 336 (p. 3) both have “a thousand eons,” while Taishō 334 (p. 4) and Taishō 335 (p. 5) both have “ten eons,” and the Sanskrit manuscript also has “ten eons.”
Following the Tibetan translation. The Sanskrit manuscript seems to say that their name will be Praṇidhānālaṅkāra or “Adornment of Vows,” though this is only a difference of two syllables from Pratibhānālaṅkāra, which would be the hypothetical reconstruction of the Sanskrit name from the Tibetan translation. Bodhiruci’s Chinese translation (Taishō 310 and 336) has 辯才莊嚴 (“Adornment of Eloquence”), which matches the Tibetan. By contrast, Dharmarakṣa’s much earlier translation (Taishō 334) has 莊飾預知人意 (“Adornment Foreseeing People’s Thoughts”), a name that appears with only slight variation in Kumārajīva’s subsequent translation (Taishō 335), which reads 莊飾豫知人意 and translates the same way (“Adornment Foreseeing People’s Thoughts”). It may be that the name in the Sanskrit bears some correlation to the earlier Chinese translations, but this is not entirely clear to us.
The Degé Kangyur also includes the same information at the beginning of the text. In the beginning, however, it is also referred to as a lung bstan (Skt. vyākaraṇa) or “prophecy” and specifies that it consists of “half a bampo,” a measurement of textual length used for the Tibetan translations. One “bampo” is usually said to contain about three hundred ślokas (see Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, p. xxix). Here, śloka too is used in the sense of a unit of textual measurement, usually referring to the number of syllables contained in the text, whether it is written in prose or verse. However, these measurements do not seem to be strictly fixed. For The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati, for example, the ldan kar ma, gives a length of two hundred ślokas and the ’phang thang ma one hundred and fifty ślokas. For a detailed study on this subject, see Leonard van der Kuijp 2009. The Sanskrit manuscript makes no reference to the Ratnakūṭa collection and concludes by saying, “The Mahāyāna sūtra entitled The Girl Sumati is concluded. May there be good fortune” (sumatir dārikā nāma mahāyānasūtraṃ samāptam || śubham astu ||).
The name by which five thousand monks will be known when they all become buddhas in the future, according to the Buddha in this sūtra.
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.
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”).
The term can be understood to mean “great courageous one” or "great hero,” or (from the Sanskrit) simply “great being,” and is almost always found as an epithet of “bodhisattva.” The qualification “great” in this term, according to the majority of canonical definitions, focuses on the generic greatness common to all bodhisattvas, i.e., the greatness implicit in the bodhisattva vow itself in terms of outlook, aspiration, number of beings to be benefited, potential or eventual accomplishments, and so forth. In this sense the mahā- is closer in its connotations to the mahā- in “Mahāyāna” than to the mahā- in “mahāsiddha.” While individual bodhisattvas described as mahāsattva may in many cases also be “great” in terms of their level of realization, this is largely coincidental, and in the canonical texts the epithet is not restricted to bodhisattvas at any particular point in their career. Indeed, in a few cases even bodhisattvas whose path has taken a wrong direction are still described as bodhisattva mahāsattva.
Later commentarial writings do nevertheless define the term—variably—in terms of bodhisattvas having attained a particular level (bhūmi) or realization. The most common qualifying criteria mentioned are attaining the path of seeing, attaining irreversibility (according to its various definitions), or attaining the seventh bhūmi.
An ideal monarch or emperor who, as the result of the merit accumulated in previous lifetimes, rules over a vast realm in accordance with the Dharma. Such a monarch is called a cakravartin because he bears a wheel (cakra) that rolls (vartate) across the earth, bringing all lands and kingdoms under his power. The cakravartin conquers his territory without causing harm, and his activity causes beings to enter the path of wholesome actions. According to Vasubandhu’s Abhidharmakośa, just as with the buddhas, only one cakravartin appears in a world system at any given time. They are likewise endowed with the thirty-two major marks of a great being (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), but a cakravartin’s marks are outshined by those of a buddha. They possess seven precious objects: the wheel, the elephant, the horse, the wish-fulfilling gem, the queen, the general, and the minister. An illustrative passage about the cakravartin and his possessions can be found in The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\23.3–\1\23.13.
Vasubandhu lists four types of cakravartins: (1) the cakravartin with a golden wheel (suvarṇacakravartin) rules over four continents and is invited by lesser kings to be their ruler; (2) the cakravartin with a silver wheel (rūpyacakravartin) rules over three continents and his opponents submit to him as he approaches; (3) the cakravartin with a copper wheel (tāmracakravartin) rules over two continents and his opponents submit themselves after preparing for battle; and (4) the cakravartin with an iron wheel (ayaścakravartin) rules over one continent and his opponents submit themselves after brandishing weapons.
The totality of things. Also used in this sūtra in the sense of the true nature of things in their totality.
A tathāgata of the future.
The name by which the bodhisattva Sumati will be known as a buddha in the future.
In this text, this set of factors is said to include discipline, insight, absorption, liberation, the vision of liberated wisdom, the perfection of generosity, the perfection of discipline, the perfection of patience, the perfection of diligence, the perfection of concentration, and the perfection of insight. However, usually they are listed as seven, namely remembrance, discrimination between teachings, diligence, joy, pliancy or serenity, absorption, and equanimity; these form a part of the thirty-seven factors of awakening.
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 highest heaven in the desire realm.
Jinamitra was invited to Tibet during the reign of King Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 742–98 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with the translation of nearly two hundred texts, continuing into the reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.
Same as Mañjuśrī with the epithet Kumārabhūta interpreted to mean that he is a “crown prince” of the Dharma, or that he is perpetually young in appearance, or both. See also Mañjuśrī.
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.
Same as Mañjuśrī with the epithet Kumārabhūta interpreted to mean that he is a “crown prince” of the Dharma, or that he is perpetually young in appearance, or both. See also Mañjuśrī.
Māra, literally “death” or “maker of death,” is the name of the deva who tried to prevent the Buddha from achieving awakening, the name given to the class of beings he leads, and also an impersonal term for the destructive forces that keep beings imprisoned in saṃsāra:
(1) As a deva, Māra is said to be the principal deity in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations (paranirmitavaśavartin), the highest paradise in the desire realm. He famously attempted to prevent the Buddha’s awakening under the Bodhi tree—see The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\221.1—and later sought many times to thwart the Buddha’s activity. In the sūtras, he often also creates obstacles to the progress of śrāvakas and bodhisattvas. (2) The devas ruled over by Māra are collectively called mārakāyika or mārakāyikadevatā, the “deities of Māra’s family or class.” In general, these māras too do not wish any being to escape from saṃsāra, but can also change their ways and even end up developing faith in the Buddha, as exemplified by Sārthavāha; see The Play in Full (Toh 95), \1\221.14 and \1\221.43. (3) The term māra can also be understood as personifying four defects that prevent awakening, called (i) the divine māra (devaputramāra), which is the distraction of pleasures; (ii) the māra of Death (mṛtyumāra), which is having one’s life interrupted; (iii) the māra of the aggregates (skandhamāra), which is identifying with the five aggregates; and (iv) the māra of the afflictions (kleśamāra), which is being under the sway of the negative emotions of desire, hatred, and ignorance.
The name of the buddha realm of the Tathāgata Duṣprasaha.
One of the principal śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha, paired with Śāriputra. He was renowned for his miraculous powers. His family clan was descended from Mudgala, hence his name Maudgalyāyana, “the son of Mudgala’s descendants.” Respectfully referred to as Mahāmaudgalyāyana, “Great Maudgalyāyana.”
Thirty-seven practices that lead the practitioner to the awakened state: the four applications of mindfulness, the four correct exertions, the four bases of supernatural power, the five masteries, the five powers, the eightfold path, and the seven branches of awakening.
The ancient capital of Magadha prior to its relocation to Pāṭaliputra during the Mauryan dynasty, Rājagṛha is one of the most important locations in Buddhist history. The literature tells us that the Buddha and his saṅgha spent a considerable amount of time in residence in and around Rājagṛha—in nearby places, such as the Vulture Peak Mountain (Gṛdhrakūṭaparvata), a major site of the Mahāyāna sūtras, and the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana)—enjoying the patronage of King Bimbisāra and then of his son King Ajātaśatru. Rājagṛha is also remembered as the location where the first Buddhist monastic council was held after the Buddha Śākyamuni passed into parinirvāṇa. Now known as Rajgir and located in the modern Indian state of Bihar.
The set of seven precious materials or substances includes a range of precious metals and gems, but their exact list varies. The set often consists of gold, silver, beryl, crystal, red pearls, emeralds, and white coral, but may also contain lapis lazuli, ruby, sapphire, chrysoberyl, diamonds, etc. The term is frequently used in the sūtras to exemplify preciousness, wealth, and beauty, and can describe treasures, offering materials, or the features of architectural structures such as stūpas, palaces, thrones, etc. The set is also used to describe the beauty and prosperity of buddha realms and the realms of the gods.
In other contexts, the term saptaratna can also refer to the seven precious possessions of a cakravartin or to a set of seven precious moral qualities.
The seven possessions of a cakravartin including the precious wheel, the precious elephant, the precious horse, the precious jewel, the precious woman, the precious steward, and the precious minister. In some forms of the list the steward or minister is variably replaced by the precious general (senāpatiratna; dmag dpon rin po che) or the precious sword (khaḍgaratna; ral gri rin po che). A more detailed description of these seven can be found in Toh 95, The Play in Full, 3.2–3.12. There is also a detailed description of the seven treasures and the corresponding causal conditions for obtaining them in Toh 4087, the Kāraṇaprajñapti, folio 111.b. The term should not be confused with seven precious substances, a set of seven precious stones or minerals, which is a term found elsewhere but also rendered rin po che sna bdun.
The Sanskrit term śrāvaka, and the Tibetan nyan thos, both derived from the verb “to hear,” are usually defined as “those who hear the teaching from the Buddha and make it heard to others.” Primarily this refers to those disciples of the Buddha who aspire to attain the state of an arhat seeking their own liberation and nirvāṇa. They are the practitioners of the first turning of the wheel of the Dharma on the four noble truths, who realize the suffering inherent in saṃsāra and focus on understanding that there is no independent self. By conquering afflicted mental states (kleśa), they liberate themselves, attaining first the stage of stream enterers at the path of seeing, followed by the stage of once-returners who will be reborn only one more time, and then the stage of non-returners who will no longer be reborn into the desire realm. The final goal is to become an arhat. These four stages are also known as the “four results of spiritual practice.”
One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).
Name of the young girl who is the protagonist of this sūtra and a great bodhisattva.
An Indian paṇḍiṭa resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries.
A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.
Similar in meaning to “words of truth” (bden pa’i tshig, satyavacana); the term refers to a true statement of intention that has wondrous consequences.
A householder and Sumati’s father in this sūtra.
The name of the eon in which the five thousand monks mentioned in this sūtra will become buddhas.
The Gṛdhrakūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir, in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras, especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.
True words, the formal statement of which can have a wondrous effect that confirms the truth of the statement.
’phags pa bu mo blo gros bzang mos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Toh 74, Degé Kangyur vol. 43 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 216.a–222.a.
’phags pa bu mo blo gros bzang mos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 43, pp. 639–35.
’phags pa bu mo blo gros bzang mos zhus pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 39 (dkon brtsegs, ca), folios 365.a–373.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.
Bodhiruci (菩提流支). Xu mo ti jing (須摩提經). Taishō 336, vol. 12, pp. 1–4.
Kumarajiva (鳩摩羅什). Fo shuo xu mo ti pu sa jing (佛說須摩提菩薩經). Taishō 335, vol. 12, pp. 1–5.
Dharmarakṣa (竺法護). Fo shuo xu mo ti pu sa jing (佛說須摩提菩薩經). Taishō 334, vol. 12, pp. 1–4.
Bodhiruci (菩提流支). Miao hui tong nü hui (妙慧童女會). Taishō 310, vol. 11, pp. 960–63.
84000. The Sūtra Teaching the Four Factors (Caturdharmanirdeśasūtra, chos bzhi bstan pa’i mdo, Toh 249). Translated by Adam Pearcey. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2019.
84000. The Four Factors (Caturdharmaka, chos bzhi pa, Toh 250). Translated by Adam Pearcey. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
84000. The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Āryacaturdharmakanāmamahāyānasūtra, ’phags pa chos bzhi pa zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo, Toh 251). Translated by Adam Pearcey. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.
84000. The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Vimalakīrtinirdeśa, dri med grags pas bstan pa, Toh 176). Translated by Robert A. F. Thurman. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2017.
84000. The Questions of Gaṅgottarā (Gaṅgottaraparipṛcchā, gang gA’i mchog gis zhus pa, Toh 75). Translated by Sophie McGrath, Laura Goetz, and David Fiordalis. Online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.
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The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati features an eight-year-old girl named Sumati, “Keen Intellect,” who asks the Buddha Śākyamuni a series of questions about what is necessary to gain a variety of positive outcomes, like a beautiful body and an auspicious, peaceful death. The Buddha replies by expounding a series of sets of four dharmas that a bodhisattva can cultivate to produce these outcomes. Sumati then promises to put them all into practice exactly as he has taught them. Her confidence prompts Maudgalyāyana and Mañjuśrī to question her motives and understanding. She responds with several acts of truth that confirm her aspiration to achieve awakening as a buddha and result in several wonders, including a great earthquake. Sumati’s dialogue with Mañjuśrī explores the nature of reality and the reality of gender, among other topics, and leads Sumati to transform herself into a man and confirm the conditions of her future awakening as a buddha. The Buddha then himself confirms not only her future awakening but also that of several monks in the audience.
The Dharmasāgara Translation Group, consisting of Raktrul Ngawang Kunga Rinpoche, Rebecca Hufen, Jason Sanche, and Utpala, produced a draft translation, compared the Tibetan with the four Chinese translations, and drafted the introduction. David Fiordalis then revised and edited their work and also compared the Tibetan with the extant Sanskrit fragment.
The translation was subsequently completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
In The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati, the reader encounters a young girl named Sumati, whose name means “keen intellect.” Throughout the sūtra, Sumati demonstrates her intelligence, maturity, and confidence. She first approaches the Buddha Śākyamuni while he is residing with a large assembly of monks and bodhisattvas on Vulture Peak near Rājagṛha. She asks him a series of questions about how to gain various advantages, all of which are described as outcomes of the practices of a bodhisattva. These include physical beauty, wealth, a united community, spontaneous rebirth in a pure buddha domain in the presence of a buddha, superhuman powers with which to travel to other buddha domains, and obtaining a peaceful, auspicious moment of death.
The Buddha responds to her questions with a series of answers in prose and verse in which he outlines various sets of four dharmas, with the word dharma here implying ethical guidelines, qualities, and truths as well as factors that contribute to one’s achievement of the stated goals of a bodhisattva. This part of the sūtra is reminiscent of other sūtras featuring sets of four dharmas, such as The Sūtra Teaching Four Factors (Toh 249), The Four Factors (Toh 250), and The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Toh 251). After the Buddha has finished his teaching, Sumati expresses the fervent aspiration to practice all these sets of dharmas just as the Buddha has articulated them.
Sumati’s confidence in making such a statement elicits a series of questions, first from Maudgalyāyana, the Buddha’s great disciple (mahāśravaka), and then from Mañjuśrī, the great bodhisattva. Maudgalyāyana first asks Sumati if she understands the gravity of her undertaking, which prompts Sumati to perform an “act of truth”, a kind of wondrous demonstration found in Indian and Buddhist literature whereby the truth of a statement produces a miracle or wonder. In this case, her act of truth causes an earthquake, divine flowers to fall from the sky, and divine music to be heard. This demonstration leads Maudgalyāyana to bow down before her out of respect.
Mañjuśrī then engages Sumati in dialogue, asking her a series of questions about her understanding of the Dharma that is reminiscent of other dialogues, such as those found in The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Toh 176) and The Questions of Gaṅgottarā (Toh 75). Sumati responds to Mañjuśrī’s questions with a deep understanding of the nature of reality. During the conversation, the Buddha informs Mañjuśrī that Sumati had been Mañjuśrī’s own teacher in a past life and had introduced him to the fact that things do not arise in truth. This elicits Mañjuśrī’s respect, but then he wonders why she is still female, which prompts Sumati to state, in effect, that male and female are nothing more than concepts with no objective basis in reality, and then she performs another act of truth whereby she transforms herself into an adult male monk.
This act of truth is followed by another similarly wondrous act by Sumati that serves to describe and confirm the conditions in which she will attain awakening as a buddha in the future. That she will do so is given further confirmation by the Buddha, who also gives prophecies of future awakening as buddhas to several monks in the audience who are inspired by Sumati’s example to dedicate their own merit to becoming buddhas. The sūtra then concludes with the Buddha exhorting Mañjuśrī and the rest of the audience to remember the sūtra, to recite it, to copy it, and to teach it to others in the future.
According to the colophon of the canonical Tibetan translation, it was made by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi and the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé. It is also referenced in the two earliest Tibetan catalogs of texts translated during the imperial period; the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) and the Denkarma (ldan/ lhan dkar ma). The Tibetan translation was therefore likely completed in the late eighth or early ninth century
In addition to the canonical Tibetan translation, a fragmentary Tibetan manuscript is preserved among the Dunhuang manuscripts (IOL Tib J 203). There is also a surviving fragment of a Sanskrit manuscript of this sūtra from Nepal, which is held in the library of the University of Cambridge (MS Or.131.1). There are four Chinese translations of the sūtra: Taishō 334 was translated by Dharmarakṣa between 265
Several translations of the sūtra have been made in English, mostly from Chinese. A complete translation of Taishō 310 was published by Diana Paul 1979 (pp. 201–11). An abridged translation of Taishō 310 is found in Chang 1983 (pp. 256–61). The sūtra has also been discussed and partly translated by Nancy Schuster 1981, also based on Taishō 310 and Taishō 336. There are also two anonymous English translations from Chinese published on the Lapis Lazuli Texts website: one of Taishō 310 and one of Taishō 336. A few parts of the Tibetan translation have also been discussed and translated into English by Paul Harrison and Christian Luczanits 2012 (pp. 116–17).
This translation is based on the canonical Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the comparative edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace edition. In the process, the four Chinese translations and the Sanskrit fragment were also consulted.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was residing on Vulture Peak at Rājagṛha together with a large community of twelve hundred and fifty monks and a large community of ten thousand bodhisattvas.
At that time, in the great city of Rājagṛha, there lived a girl named Sumati who was the daughter of the householder Ugra. She was about eight years old, had a graceful appearance, was beautiful and pleasant to behold, had a fine complexion, and was well proportioned. In the past, she had served the victors and generated roots of virtue. She had venerated many hundreds and thousands of millions and billions of buddhas and accumulated roots of virtue in the company of countless millions upon billions upon trillions of buddhas.
Together with her retinue, she went to Vulture Peak where the Bhagavān was residing and bowed down with her head at his feet. Then, after walking around the Bhagavān three times, keeping him on her right, she sat down in front of him and addressed him in verse:
The Bhagavān replied:
Thereupon the girl Sumati addressed the Bhagavān with these verses:
When she had said this, the Bhagavān replied to the girl Sumati, “Girl, your intention to ask the Tathāgata about this topic is excellent! It is excellent! Therefore, girl, listen carefully and pay close attention, and I will explain it to you.”
The girl Sumati replied, “Excellent, Bhagavān!” and she listened accordingly as the Bhagavān taught her:
“Girl, there are four dharmas, the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become beautiful. What are these four? They are (1) one does not act out of anger, even at an enemy; (2) one becomes established in love; (3) one desires the Dharma, and (4) one causes figures to be made of the tathāgatas. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become beautiful.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become very wealthy. What are these four? They are (1) giving at the right time, (2) giving without regret, (3) giving with joy, and (4) giving without expecting a result. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become very wealthy.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to have a united assembly. What are these four? They are (1) one abstains from divisive speech; (2) one causes beings with mistaken views to grasp the correct view properly and maintain it; (3) one preserves the true Dharma at the time of the destruction of the true Dharma; and (4) one causes beings to grasp properly and maintain the awakening of the buddhas. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to have a united assembly.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to be reborn spontaneously from a lotus of precious substances in the presence of the buddhas, the bhagavāns. What are these four? They are (1) offering handfuls of powders, blue lotus flowers, red lotuses, white water lilies, and white lotuses to a figure of the Tathāgata or a stūpa of the Tathāgata; (2) not giving rise to harmful thoughts toward others; (3) causing figures to be made of the Tathāgata seated on a lotus; and (4) having strong faith in the certainty of the awakening of the Buddha. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to be reborn spontaneously from a lotus of precious substances in the presence of the buddhas, the bhagavāns.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which enables a bodhisattva to go by means of superhuman powers from one buddha realm to another buddha realm. What are these four? They are (1) not interfering with others’ roots of virtue, (2) not interfering as others hear the Dharma, (3) offering butter lamps to the stūpas of the Tathāgata, and (4) cultivating meditative concentration. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which enables a bodhisattva to go by means of superhuman powers from one buddha realm to another buddha realm.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which makes a bodhisattva free from enemies. What are these four? They are (1) one relies upon spiritual friends without any deceit, (2) one does not covet roots of virtue, (3) one feels joy in others’ gains, and (4) one does not give rise to anger or spread criticism about any of the states or deeds of bodhisattvas. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which makes a bodhisattva free from enemies.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which gives weight to a bodhisattva’s words. What are these four? They are (1) doing what one says one will do, (2) not hiding one’s nature from friends, (3) listening to teachings without looking for faults, and (4) not slandering other teachers of the Dharma. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which gives weight to a bodhisattva’s words.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to face no hindrance from karma and also quickly realize purity. What are these four? They are (1) one fully takes up the three vows with the establishment of one’s ambition, (2) one does not disdain the profound sūtras, (3) one considers a bodhisattva who has conceived the aspiration for awakening for the first time to be none other than the Omniscient One, and (4) one cultivates love for all beings. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to face no hindrance from karma and also quickly realize purity.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to encounter none of Māra’s work. What are these four? They are (1) meditating on the sameness of all things, (2) undertaking heroic effort, (3) meditating on the recollection of the Buddha, and (4) dedicating the roots of virtue. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to encounter none of Māra’s work.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas a bodhisattva’s possession of which causes the Buddha to appear in the presence of that bodhisattva at the time of death and, at that time, to hear the Dharma from him, and also not to experience any suffering. What are these four? They are (1) fulfilling the wishes of others, (2) having great devotion, (3) gathering together a diverse array of the generosity of a bodhisattva, and (4) endeavoring to make offerings to the Three Jewels. Girl, these are the four dharmas a bodhisattva’s possession of which causes the Buddha to appear in the presence of that bodhisattva at the time of death and, at that time, to hear the Dharma from him, and also not to experience any suffering.
“About this, it can also be said:
After the Bhagavān had spoken thus, the girl Sumati said this to him: “Venerable Bhagavān, I want to train in the precepts of a bodhisattva exactly as you have taught them. Should I fail to practice even a single dharma from among these ten sets of four, exactly as you have taught them, Bhagavān, then I would be deceiving the figure of the Tathāgata.”
The elder, the great Maudgalyāyana, then spoke to the girl Sumati in this way: “Girl, given that the conduct of the bodhisattvas is difficult to comprehend, have you attained mastery over your mind when you take it upon yourself to act fully in this way?”
The girl Sumati replied to the venerable one, the great Maudgalyāyana, “By the truth and by these words of truth, Venerable Maudgalyāyana, that is, by the truth and the words of truth that I will realize all these dharmas, may this cosmos of a billion worlds shake in six different ways, may there be a shower of heavenly flowers, and may the sound of musical instruments spontaneously arise!”
Thereafter, as soon as the girl Sumati had made the truthful resolution, at that moment the cosmos of a billion worlds shook in six different ways, a shower of heavenly flowers fell, and the sound of musical instruments spontaneously arose.
“Venerable Maudgalyāyana,” she said, “by the truth and by these words of truth—that is, by the truth and by these words of truth to the effect that I will become a tathāgata in the future just like the present tathāgata, arhat, perfect and completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, and that in that buddha realm, Māra will not appear to me, not even the name of the lower realms of rebirth will arise there, and the faults of women will not exist there—may this assembly become golden in color!”
As soon as the girl Sumati uttered these words, at that same moment, the entire assembly became golden in color.
Thereafter, the great Maudgalyāyana, the highly respected one, arose from his seat, draped his upper robe on one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with his palms joined together in a gesture of respect, he bowed to the Bhagavān and said this to him, “I bow to all the bodhisattvas, Bhagavān, beginning with those who have conceived the aspiration for awakening for the first time.”
Thereupon, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta asked the girl Sumati, “Based upon which dharma, Sumati, did you make this truthful resolution?”
“Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “Since the dharmadhātu has no basis, nothing can be based upon it. Therefore, there is no question about it.”
“Sumati, to what does the term awakening refer?” Mañjuśrī་ asked.
“Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “the term awakening refers to a dharma that is not conceptualized.”
Mañjuśrī asked, “Sumati, to what does the term bodhisattva refer?”
Sumati replied, “Mañjuśrī, the term bodhisattva refers to a dharma that has the same nature as space.”
“Sumati,” Mañjuśrī asked, “did the Tathāgata also perform acts for the sake of awakening?”
“Just as a mirage or an echo acts for the sake of awakening,” Sumati replied, “the Tathāgata acted in the same way for the sake of awakening.”
“What were you thinking of, Sumati, when you said this?” Mañjuśrī asked.
“About this, Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “I was neither thinking nor not thinking of any dharma whatsoever.”
“If it is as you think, Sumati,” Mañjuśrī said, “then every childish being would be awakened.”
“What do you think, Mañjuśrī?” Sumati replied. “Do you see childish beings as different from the wise, and awakening too as different from them? If you wonder why I say this, it is because the dharmadhātu contains only one constituent element. When there is nothing to take up and nothing to cast away, there is nothing to superimpose on anything else.”
Mañjuśrī asked, “Sumati, how many understand the meaning of what you have said?”
Sumati replied, “Mañjuśrī, the number of those who understand the meaning of what I have said is equal in number to the minds and mental factors of illusory beings created by magic.”
“Sumati,” Mañjuśrī asked, “if illusory beings themselves do not even exist, how can their minds and mental factors exist?”
“Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “the dharmadhātu is neither existent nor nonexistent, and the Tathāgata is like that too.”
Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta then said this to the Bhagavān: “The extent to which the girl Sumati has an acceptance of the profound is truly marvelous, Bhagavān!”
“It is just so, Mañjuśrī. It is just as you have said,” replied the Bhagavān. “Within thirty eons from the time that the girl Sumati became well established on the path to perfect and complete awakening, I first conceived the aspiration for unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening. You, too, were introduced to the idea that things do not arise by this same girl, Sumati.”
At that point, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta rose from his seat, bowed to the girl Sumati, and spoke these words: “I am seeing my teacher after a long time.”
“Do not form a concept, Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied. “Why do I say this? It is because the acceptance of the fact that things do not arise is not something conceptual.”
Mañjuśrī asked, “Why has my teacher not yet transformed herself from her female body?”
“Mañjuśrī,” responded Sumati, “to say that ‘this is a woman’ or ‘this is a man’ implies an objective basis. However, your doubt should be removed. By the truth, that is, by the truth that I will become a tathāgata, a perfect and complete buddha in the future, may I become a man.”
As soon as the girl Sumati uttered these words her female body vanished and she was transformed into a man wearing saffron-colored monastic robes, who then spoke these words: “By the truth that when I attain awakening, ordinations will occur through my utterance of the words ‘Come, monk,’ and no Māra will exist in my buddha realm, not even the name of the lower realms will exist there, and the faults of women will also not exist there—by that truth, and by those words of truth, may my demeanor become just like the demeanor of a monk who has been ordained for thirty years.”
As soon as these words had been uttered, the demeanor of the bodhisattva Sumati became just like that of someone who had been ordained as a monk for thirty years.
“Mañjuśrī,” continued the bodhisattva Sumati, “by the truth and the words of truth—that beings in my buddha realm will have golden-colored bodies, food and drink will be acquired there merely by wishing for it, and the riches and enjoyments there will be just like those of the gods in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations; In that buddha realm, the three lower realms will not be included; and the trees there will be made of seven precious substances, it will be surrounded by jeweled lattices, ornamented with lotuses made of seven precious substances and with jeweled canopies spread above, and that it will be a superior realm at least equal to the buddha realm of Mañjuśrī—by that truth and by those words of truth, may this assembly become golden in color.”
As soon as the bodhisattva Sumati uttered these words, the entire assembly became golden in color.
At that point, the divine multitude of sky-dwelling gods exclaimed and informed each other in these words: “O, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sumati has just made an inspired utterance about the nature of the array of qualities of the buddha realm in which that bodhisattva will attain awakening!”
The Bhagavān then said to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, “Mañjuśrī, this bodhisattva Sumati will appear in the world as a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfect and complete buddha, perfect in knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a supreme trainer of those who are ready to be trained, a teacher to gods and humans, a bhagavān, a buddha named Essence of Splendorous and Precious Qualities.”
When the Bhagavān gave this Dharma discourse, three hundred million beings became established in the state of not turning back from unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening; eight hundred million gods purified the eye of Dharma with respect to things, so that it became spotless and free of impurities; and one hundred thousand beings had a direct realization of knowledge.
Around five thousand monks on the bodhisattva path, who wished not to turn back from the aspiration for awakening, realized the ambition of the bodhisattva Sumati and saw the greatness of the bodhisattva’s roots of virtue. So, all of them put their monastic robes on the body of the Bhagavān, and with their ambition directed toward unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening, they made the following dedication: “Bhagavān, may our roots of virtue be certain to lead to unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening.”
As soon as the monks dedicated their roots of virtue to unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening, after ninety eons of saṃsāra had passed and were left behind, they attained the state of not turning back from the unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening.
The Bhagavān also made a prophecy for all of them. He said, “After twelve eons, Mañjuśrī, over the course of a single eon, an eon called Vimalaprabhāsa, all these monks will awaken to unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening. They will do so in the buddha realm of the Tathāgata Duṣprasaha in the world system called Mārīcī. All of them will appear as tathāgatas in that world and will have a single name: Adornment of Eloquence.
“In that way, Mañjuśrī, this Dharma discourse will cause bodhisattva mahāsattvas and śrāvakas to become great in the possession of superhuman powers.
“Even if sons and daughters from good families who aspire for awakening practice the six perfections with skillful means for a thousand eons, Mañjuśrī, their accumulation of merit will not equal even a hundredth, a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, or a thousand billionth of the merit accumulated by those who write down this Dharma discourse or listen to it even once during a half-month period. No reckoning, calculation, analogy, or account would suffice to describe it. Therefore, Mañjuśrī, I am entrusting this Dharma discourse to you. You should take an interest in it. Such a sūtra has arisen from the vows of bodhisattvas from the past. Hold on to it in future times. Understand it thoroughly. Remember it. Teach it. Recite it. Demonstrate it. Expound it extensively to others.
“Consider this analogy, Mañjuśrī. So long as a cakravartin king is alive, the seven treasures will not cease to exist, but when a cakravartin king dies, the seven treasures will cease to exist. In the same way, Mañjuśrī, so long as a Dharma discourse like this one is practiced in this world, that is how long the seven precious constitutive factors of the awakening of the Tathāgata and all the principles of the qualities that are conducive to awakening will not cease to exist. When a Dharma discourse like this one ceases to exist, then the true Dharma will disappear. Therefore, Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should undertake heroic efforts to write down the words of a treasure of a sūtra like this one, to explain it, to remember it, to recite it, and to expound it extensively to others. This is my instruction. Do not feel regret in the future! This is my instruction to sons and daughters from good families who aspire for awakening.”
This is what the Bhagavān said, and the bodhisattva Sumati, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, the entire assembly, and the whole world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Bhagavān had said.
This concludes “The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati,” the thirtieth of the one hundred thousand chapters of the Dharma discourse known as “The Noble Great Heap of Jewels.”
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi, along with the chief editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, and others.
The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati features an eight-year-old girl named Sumati, “Keen Intellect,” who asks the Buddha Śākyamuni a series of questions about what is necessary to gain a variety of positive outcomes, like a beautiful body and an auspicious, peaceful death. The Buddha replies by expounding a series of sets of four dharmas that a bodhisattva can cultivate to produce these outcomes. Sumati then promises to put them all into practice exactly as he has taught them. Her confidence prompts Maudgalyāyana and Mañjuśrī to question her motives and understanding. She responds with several acts of truth that confirm her aspiration to achieve awakening as a buddha and result in several wonders, including a great earthquake. Sumati’s dialogue with Mañjuśrī explores the nature of reality and the reality of gender, among other topics, and leads Sumati to transform herself into a man and confirm the conditions of her future awakening as a buddha. The Buddha then himself confirms not only her future awakening but also that of several monks in the audience.
The Dharmasāgara Translation Group, consisting of Raktrul Ngawang Kunga Rinpoche, Rebecca Hufen, Jason Sanche, and Utpala, produced a draft translation, compared the Tibetan with the four Chinese translations, and drafted the introduction. David Fiordalis then revised and edited their work and also compared the Tibetan with the extant Sanskrit fragment.
The translation was subsequently completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
In The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati, the reader encounters a young girl named Sumati, whose name means “keen intellect.” Throughout the sūtra, Sumati demonstrates her intelligence, maturity, and confidence. She first approaches the Buddha Śākyamuni while he is residing with a large assembly of monks and bodhisattvas on Vulture Peak near Rājagṛha. She asks him a series of questions about how to gain various advantages, all of which are described as outcomes of the practices of a bodhisattva. These include physical beauty, wealth, a united community, spontaneous rebirth in a pure buddha domain in the presence of a buddha, superhuman powers with which to travel to other buddha domains, and obtaining a peaceful, auspicious moment of death.
The Buddha responds to her questions with a series of answers in prose and verse in which he outlines various sets of four dharmas, with the word dharma here implying ethical guidelines, qualities, and truths as well as factors that contribute to one’s achievement of the stated goals of a bodhisattva. This part of the sūtra is reminiscent of other sūtras featuring sets of four dharmas, such as The Sūtra Teaching Four Factors (Toh 249), The Four Factors (Toh 250), and The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra on the Four Factors (Toh 251). After the Buddha has finished his teaching, Sumati expresses the fervent aspiration to practice all these sets of dharmas just as the Buddha has articulated them.
Sumati’s confidence in making such a statement elicits a series of questions, first from Maudgalyāyana, the Buddha’s great disciple (mahāśravaka), and then from Mañjuśrī, the great bodhisattva. Maudgalyāyana first asks Sumati if she understands the gravity of her undertaking, which prompts Sumati to perform an “act of truth”, a kind of wondrous demonstration found in Indian and Buddhist literature whereby the truth of a statement produces a miracle or wonder. In this case, her act of truth causes an earthquake, divine flowers to fall from the sky, and divine music to be heard. This demonstration leads Maudgalyāyana to bow down before her out of respect.
Mañjuśrī then engages Sumati in dialogue, asking her a series of questions about her understanding of the Dharma that is reminiscent of other dialogues, such as those found in The Teaching of Vimalakīrti (Toh 176) and The Questions of Gaṅgottarā (Toh 75). Sumati responds to Mañjuśrī’s questions with a deep understanding of the nature of reality. During the conversation, the Buddha informs Mañjuśrī that Sumati had been Mañjuśrī’s own teacher in a past life and had introduced him to the fact that things do not arise in truth. This elicits Mañjuśrī’s respect, but then he wonders why she is still female, which prompts Sumati to state, in effect, that male and female are nothing more than concepts with no objective basis in reality, and then she performs another act of truth whereby she transforms herself into an adult male monk.
This act of truth is followed by another similarly wondrous act by Sumati that serves to describe and confirm the conditions in which she will attain awakening as a buddha in the future. That she will do so is given further confirmation by the Buddha, who also gives prophecies of future awakening as buddhas to several monks in the audience who are inspired by Sumati’s example to dedicate their own merit to becoming buddhas. The sūtra then concludes with the Buddha exhorting Mañjuśrī and the rest of the audience to remember the sūtra, to recite it, to copy it, and to teach it to others in the future.
According to the colophon of the canonical Tibetan translation, it was made by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi and the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé. It is also referenced in the two earliest Tibetan catalogs of texts translated during the imperial period; the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) and the Denkarma (ldan/ lhan dkar ma). The Tibetan translation was therefore likely completed in the late eighth or early ninth century
In addition to the canonical Tibetan translation, a fragmentary Tibetan manuscript is preserved among the Dunhuang manuscripts (IOL Tib J 203). There is also a surviving fragment of a Sanskrit manuscript of this sūtra from Nepal, which is held in the library of the University of Cambridge (MS Or.131.1). There are four Chinese translations of the sūtra: Taishō 334 was translated by Dharmarakṣa between 265
Several translations of the sūtra have been made in English, mostly from Chinese. A complete translation of Taishō 310 was published by Diana Paul 1979 (pp. 201–11). An abridged translation of Taishō 310 is found in Chang 1983 (pp. 256–61). The sūtra has also been discussed and partly translated by Nancy Schuster 1981, also based on Taishō 310 and Taishō 336. There are also two anonymous English translations from Chinese published on the Lapis Lazuli Texts website: one of Taishō 310 and one of Taishō 336. A few parts of the Tibetan translation have also been discussed and translated into English by Paul Harrison and Christian Luczanits 2012 (pp. 116–17).
This translation is based on the canonical Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the comparative edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace edition. In the process, the four Chinese translations and the Sanskrit fragment were also consulted.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was residing on Vulture Peak at Rājagṛha together with a large community of twelve hundred and fifty monks and a large community of ten thousand bodhisattvas.
At that time, in the great city of Rājagṛha, there lived a girl named Sumati who was the daughter of the householder Ugra. She was about eight years old, had a graceful appearance, was beautiful and pleasant to behold, had a fine complexion, and was well proportioned. In the past, she had served the victors and generated roots of virtue. She had venerated many hundreds and thousands of millions and billions of buddhas and accumulated roots of virtue in the company of countless millions upon billions upon trillions of buddhas.
Together with her retinue, she went to Vulture Peak where the Bhagavān was residing and bowed down with her head at his feet. Then, after walking around the Bhagavān three times, keeping him on her right, she sat down in front of him and addressed him in verse:
The Bhagavān replied:
Thereupon the girl Sumati addressed the Bhagavān with these verses:
When she had said this, the Bhagavān replied to the girl Sumati, “Girl, your intention to ask the Tathāgata about this topic is excellent! It is excellent! Therefore, girl, listen carefully and pay close attention, and I will explain it to you.”
The girl Sumati replied, “Excellent, Bhagavān!” and she listened accordingly as the Bhagavān taught her:
“Girl, there are four dharmas, the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become beautiful. What are these four? They are (1) one does not act out of anger, even at an enemy; (2) one becomes established in love; (3) one desires the Dharma, and (4) one causes figures to be made of the tathāgatas. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become beautiful.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become very wealthy. What are these four? They are (1) giving at the right time, (2) giving without regret, (3) giving with joy, and (4) giving without expecting a result. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to become very wealthy.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to have a united assembly. What are these four? They are (1) one abstains from divisive speech; (2) one causes beings with mistaken views to grasp the correct view properly and maintain it; (3) one preserves the true Dharma at the time of the destruction of the true Dharma; and (4) one causes beings to grasp properly and maintain the awakening of the buddhas. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to have a united assembly.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to be reborn spontaneously from a lotus of precious substances in the presence of the buddhas, the bhagavāns. What are these four? They are (1) offering handfuls of powders, blue lotus flowers, red lotuses, white water lilies, and white lotuses to a figure of the Tathāgata or a stūpa of the Tathāgata; (2) not giving rise to harmful thoughts toward others; (3) causing figures to be made of the Tathāgata seated on a lotus; and (4) having strong faith in the certainty of the awakening of the Buddha. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to be reborn spontaneously from a lotus of precious substances in the presence of the buddhas, the bhagavāns.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which enables a bodhisattva to go by means of superhuman powers from one buddha realm to another buddha realm. What are these four? They are (1) not interfering with others’ roots of virtue, (2) not interfering as others hear the Dharma, (3) offering butter lamps to the stūpas of the Tathāgata, and (4) cultivating meditative concentration. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which enables a bodhisattva to go by means of superhuman powers from one buddha realm to another buddha realm.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which makes a bodhisattva free from enemies. What are these four? They are (1) one relies upon spiritual friends without any deceit, (2) one does not covet roots of virtue, (3) one feels joy in others’ gains, and (4) one does not give rise to anger or spread criticism about any of the states or deeds of bodhisattvas. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which makes a bodhisattva free from enemies.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which gives weight to a bodhisattva’s words. What are these four? They are (1) doing what one says one will do, (2) not hiding one’s nature from friends, (3) listening to teachings without looking for faults, and (4) not slandering other teachers of the Dharma. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which gives weight to a bodhisattva’s words.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to face no hindrance from karma and also quickly realize purity. What are these four? They are (1) one fully takes up the three vows with the establishment of one’s ambition, (2) one does not disdain the profound sūtras, (3) one considers a bodhisattva who has conceived the aspiration for awakening for the first time to be none other than the Omniscient One, and (4) one cultivates love for all beings. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to face no hindrance from karma and also quickly realize purity.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to encounter none of Māra’s work. What are these four? They are (1) meditating on the sameness of all things, (2) undertaking heroic effort, (3) meditating on the recollection of the Buddha, and (4) dedicating the roots of virtue. Girl, these are the four dharmas the possession of which causes a bodhisattva to encounter none of Māra’s work.
“About this, it can also be said:
“Girl, there are four dharmas a bodhisattva’s possession of which causes the Buddha to appear in the presence of that bodhisattva at the time of death and, at that time, to hear the Dharma from him, and also not to experience any suffering. What are these four? They are (1) fulfilling the wishes of others, (2) having great devotion, (3) gathering together a diverse array of the generosity of a bodhisattva, and (4) endeavoring to make offerings to the Three Jewels. Girl, these are the four dharmas a bodhisattva’s possession of which causes the Buddha to appear in the presence of that bodhisattva at the time of death and, at that time, to hear the Dharma from him, and also not to experience any suffering.
“About this, it can also be said:
After the Bhagavān had spoken thus, the girl Sumati said this to him: “Venerable Bhagavān, I want to train in the precepts of a bodhisattva exactly as you have taught them. Should I fail to practice even a single dharma from among these ten sets of four, exactly as you have taught them, Bhagavān, then I would be deceiving the figure of the Tathāgata.”
The elder, the great Maudgalyāyana, then spoke to the girl Sumati in this way: “Girl, given that the conduct of the bodhisattvas is difficult to comprehend, have you attained mastery over your mind when you take it upon yourself to act fully in this way?”
The girl Sumati replied to the venerable one, the great Maudgalyāyana, “By the truth and by these words of truth, Venerable Maudgalyāyana, that is, by the truth and the words of truth that I will realize all these dharmas, may this cosmos of a billion worlds shake in six different ways, may there be a shower of heavenly flowers, and may the sound of musical instruments spontaneously arise!”
Thereafter, as soon as the girl Sumati had made the truthful resolution, at that moment the cosmos of a billion worlds shook in six different ways, a shower of heavenly flowers fell, and the sound of musical instruments spontaneously arose.
“Venerable Maudgalyāyana,” she said, “by the truth and by these words of truth—that is, by the truth and by these words of truth to the effect that I will become a tathāgata in the future just like the present tathāgata, arhat, perfect and completely awakened Buddha Śākyamuni, and that in that buddha realm, Māra will not appear to me, not even the name of the lower realms of rebirth will arise there, and the faults of women will not exist there—may this assembly become golden in color!”
As soon as the girl Sumati uttered these words, at that same moment, the entire assembly became golden in color.
Thereafter, the great Maudgalyāyana, the highly respected one, arose from his seat, draped his upper robe on one shoulder, knelt on his right knee, and with his palms joined together in a gesture of respect, he bowed to the Bhagavān and said this to him, “I bow to all the bodhisattvas, Bhagavān, beginning with those who have conceived the aspiration for awakening for the first time.”
Thereupon, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta asked the girl Sumati, “Based upon which dharma, Sumati, did you make this truthful resolution?”
“Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “Since the dharmadhātu has no basis, nothing can be based upon it. Therefore, there is no question about it.”
“Sumati, to what does the term awakening refer?” Mañjuśrī་ asked.
“Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “the term awakening refers to a dharma that is not conceptualized.”
Mañjuśrī asked, “Sumati, to what does the term bodhisattva refer?”
Sumati replied, “Mañjuśrī, the term bodhisattva refers to a dharma that has the same nature as space.”
“Sumati,” Mañjuśrī asked, “did the Tathāgata also perform acts for the sake of awakening?”
“Just as a mirage or an echo acts for the sake of awakening,” Sumati replied, “the Tathāgata acted in the same way for the sake of awakening.”
“What were you thinking of, Sumati, when you said this?” Mañjuśrī asked.
“About this, Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “I was neither thinking nor not thinking of any dharma whatsoever.”
“If it is as you think, Sumati,” Mañjuśrī said, “then every childish being would be awakened.”
“What do you think, Mañjuśrī?” Sumati replied. “Do you see childish beings as different from the wise, and awakening too as different from them? If you wonder why I say this, it is because the dharmadhātu contains only one constituent element. When there is nothing to take up and nothing to cast away, there is nothing to superimpose on anything else.”
Mañjuśrī asked, “Sumati, how many understand the meaning of what you have said?”
Sumati replied, “Mañjuśrī, the number of those who understand the meaning of what I have said is equal in number to the minds and mental factors of illusory beings created by magic.”
“Sumati,” Mañjuśrī asked, “if illusory beings themselves do not even exist, how can their minds and mental factors exist?”
“Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied, “the dharmadhātu is neither existent nor nonexistent, and the Tathāgata is like that too.”
Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta then said this to the Bhagavān: “The extent to which the girl Sumati has an acceptance of the profound is truly marvelous, Bhagavān!”
“It is just so, Mañjuśrī. It is just as you have said,” replied the Bhagavān. “Within thirty eons from the time that the girl Sumati became well established on the path to perfect and complete awakening, I first conceived the aspiration for unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening. You, too, were introduced to the idea that things do not arise by this same girl, Sumati.”
At that point, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta rose from his seat, bowed to the girl Sumati, and spoke these words: “I am seeing my teacher after a long time.”
“Do not form a concept, Mañjuśrī,” Sumati replied. “Why do I say this? It is because the acceptance of the fact that things do not arise is not something conceptual.”
Mañjuśrī asked, “Why has my teacher not yet transformed herself from her female body?”
“Mañjuśrī,” responded Sumati, “to say that ‘this is a woman’ or ‘this is a man’ implies an objective basis. However, your doubt should be removed. By the truth, that is, by the truth that I will become a tathāgata, a perfect and complete buddha in the future, may I become a man.”
As soon as the girl Sumati uttered these words her female body vanished and she was transformed into a man wearing saffron-colored monastic robes, who then spoke these words: “By the truth that when I attain awakening, ordinations will occur through my utterance of the words ‘Come, monk,’ and no Māra will exist in my buddha realm, not even the name of the lower realms will exist there, and the faults of women will also not exist there—by that truth, and by those words of truth, may my demeanor become just like the demeanor of a monk who has been ordained for thirty years.”
As soon as these words had been uttered, the demeanor of the bodhisattva Sumati became just like that of someone who had been ordained as a monk for thirty years.
“Mañjuśrī,” continued the bodhisattva Sumati, “by the truth and the words of truth—that beings in my buddha realm will have golden-colored bodies, food and drink will be acquired there merely by wishing for it, and the riches and enjoyments there will be just like those of the gods in the Heaven of Making Use of Others’ Emanations; In that buddha realm, the three lower realms will not be included; and the trees there will be made of seven precious substances, it will be surrounded by jeweled lattices, ornamented with lotuses made of seven precious substances and with jeweled canopies spread above, and that it will be a superior realm at least equal to the buddha realm of Mañjuśrī—by that truth and by those words of truth, may this assembly become golden in color.”
As soon as the bodhisattva Sumati uttered these words, the entire assembly became golden in color.
At that point, the divine multitude of sky-dwelling gods exclaimed and informed each other in these words: “O, the bodhisattva mahāsattva Sumati has just made an inspired utterance about the nature of the array of qualities of the buddha realm in which that bodhisattva will attain awakening!”
The Bhagavān then said to Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, “Mañjuśrī, this bodhisattva Sumati will appear in the world as a tathāgata, an arhat, a perfect and complete buddha, perfect in knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, a supreme trainer of those who are ready to be trained, a teacher to gods and humans, a bhagavān, a buddha named Essence of Splendorous and Precious Qualities.”
When the Bhagavān gave this Dharma discourse, three hundred million beings became established in the state of not turning back from unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening; eight hundred million gods purified the eye of Dharma with respect to things, so that it became spotless and free of impurities; and one hundred thousand beings had a direct realization of knowledge.
Around five thousand monks on the bodhisattva path, who wished not to turn back from the aspiration for awakening, realized the ambition of the bodhisattva Sumati and saw the greatness of the bodhisattva’s roots of virtue. So, all of them put their monastic robes on the body of the Bhagavān, and with their ambition directed toward unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening, they made the following dedication: “Bhagavān, may our roots of virtue be certain to lead to unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening.”
As soon as the monks dedicated their roots of virtue to unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening, after ninety eons of saṃsāra had passed and were left behind, they attained the state of not turning back from the unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening.
The Bhagavān also made a prophecy for all of them. He said, “After twelve eons, Mañjuśrī, over the course of a single eon, an eon called Vimalaprabhāsa, all these monks will awaken to unsurpassable, perfect, and complete awakening. They will do so in the buddha realm of the Tathāgata Duṣprasaha in the world system called Mārīcī. All of them will appear as tathāgatas in that world and will have a single name: Adornment of Eloquence.
“In that way, Mañjuśrī, this Dharma discourse will cause bodhisattva mahāsattvas and śrāvakas to become great in the possession of superhuman powers.
“Even if sons and daughters from good families who aspire for awakening practice the six perfections with skillful means for a thousand eons, Mañjuśrī, their accumulation of merit will not equal even a hundredth, a thousandth, a hundred thousandth, or a thousand billionth of the merit accumulated by those who write down this Dharma discourse or listen to it even once during a half-month period. No reckoning, calculation, analogy, or account would suffice to describe it. Therefore, Mañjuśrī, I am entrusting this Dharma discourse to you. You should take an interest in it. Such a sūtra has arisen from the vows of bodhisattvas from the past. Hold on to it in future times. Understand it thoroughly. Remember it. Teach it. Recite it. Demonstrate it. Expound it extensively to others.
“Consider this analogy, Mañjuśrī. So long as a cakravartin king is alive, the seven treasures will not cease to exist, but when a cakravartin king dies, the seven treasures will cease to exist. In the same way, Mañjuśrī, so long as a Dharma discourse like this one is practiced in this world, that is how long the seven precious constitutive factors of the awakening of the Tathāgata and all the principles of the qualities that are conducive to awakening will not cease to exist. When a Dharma discourse like this one ceases to exist, then the true Dharma will disappear. Therefore, Mañjuśrī, bodhisattva mahāsattvas should undertake heroic efforts to write down the words of a treasure of a sūtra like this one, to explain it, to remember it, to recite it, and to expound it extensively to others. This is my instruction. Do not feel regret in the future! This is my instruction to sons and daughters from good families who aspire for awakening.”
This is what the Bhagavān said, and the bodhisattva Sumati, Mañjuśrī Kumārabhūta, the entire assembly, and the whole world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised what the Bhagavān had said.
This concludes “The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati,” the thirtieth of the one hundred thousand chapters of the Dharma discourse known as “The Noble Great Heap of Jewels.”
Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi, along with the chief editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, and others.