The Twelve Buddhas | 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha

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This text, Toh 853, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, e), are listed as being located in volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases‍—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room‍—list this work as being located in volume 101. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text‍—which forms a whole, very large volume‍—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.

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Two sets of folio references have been included in this translation due to a discrepancy in volume 88 (rgyud ’bum, na) of the Degé Kangyur between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings. In the latter case, an extra work, Bodhimaṇḍasyālaṃkāralakṣadhāraṇī (Toh 508, byang chub snying po’i rgyan ’bum gyi gzungs), was added as the second text in the volume, thereby displacing the pagination of all the following texts in the same volume by 17 folios. Since the eKangyur follows the later printing, both references have been provided, with the highlighted one linking to the eKangyur viewer.

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D (Toh 273, Toh 511, Toh 853), S: yid la bya. The phrase “direct your attention toward him” (yid la bya, manaskāryaḥ) is suspect since it breaks with the pattern that is repeated for all the other tathāgatas in this sequence. The Tibetan may possibly preserve a scribal error in the Sanskrit here that read some form of manas + kṛ (yid la bya) instead of the namas + kṛ (phyag bya’o) that appears in all other phrasings of the sequence of the twelve buddhas in this text. Nevertheless, we have translated this instance as yid la bya to accurately reflect the Tibetan.

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D (Toh 273, Toh 511): ’dod pa ji bzhin mya ngan ’da’; D (Toh 853): ’dod pa zhi bzhin mya ngan ’da’. This translation follows the reading in D (Toh 273, Toh 511). The Negi dictionary (p. 2620.1) notes that ’dod pa ji bzhin is a translation of the Sanskrit abhipriya, and Edgerton (p. 54.2) provides an example where the term is used as an adjective meaning “quite agreeable.” This translation opts instead to read ’dod pa ji bzhin as a Tibetan translation of the Sanskrit yathākāma. The variant in D (Toh 853) translates “pacify all desire, and attain nirvāṇa,” which does not make sense given the fact that the subject of the verse has already attained awakening.

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Jambudvīpa

’dzam bu gling
འཛམ་བུ་གླིང་།
jambudvīpa

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.

King of Jewels

rin chen rgyal po
རིན་ཆེན་རྒྱལ་པོ།
maṇirāja

The abbreviated name of a tathāgata who presides over the buddhafield Full of Pearls. The name of a bodhisattva. The full name of this tathagata in this work is King of Jewels Devoid of Desire Whose Supreme Emanation Has Arisen from the Expanse of Phenomena, Who Is Ornamented by Boundless Sunlight from the Top of His Crown Protuberance and by an Aspiration Like Moonlight, Whose Body Is Bedecked and Elegantly Ornamented with Offerings of Excellent Perfumes, Who Has a Body Like a Lotus Flower Lovely as a Resplendent Blue Beryl Gemstone, the Light of the Good Qualities of Whom Are as Beautiful as a Glorious Pure Sky Free of Dust.

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Maitreya

byams pa
བྱམས་པ།
maitreya

The bodhisattva Maitreya is an important figure in many Buddhist traditions, where he is unanimously regarded as the buddha of the future era. He is said to currently reside in the heaven of Tuṣita, as Śākyamuni’s regent, where he awaits the proper time to take his final rebirth and become the fifth buddha in the Fortunate Eon, reestablishing the Dharma in this world after the teachings of the current buddha have disappeared. Within the Mahāyāna sūtras, Maitreya is elevated to the same status as other central bodhisattvas such as Mañjuśrī and Avalokiteśvara, and his name appears frequently in sūtras, either as the Buddha’s interlocutor or as a teacher of the Dharma. Maitreya literally means “Loving One.” He is also known as Ajita, meaning “Invincible.”

For more information on Maitreya, see, for example, the introduction to Maitreya’s Setting Out (Toh 198).

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Māra

bdud
བདུད།
māra

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), 21.1‍—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), 21.14 and 21.43. (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.

Rājagṛha

rgyal po’i khab
རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཁབ།
rājagṛha

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.

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Victory Banner King

rgyal mtshan rgyal po
རྒྱལ་མཚན་རྒྱལ་པོ།

The abbreviated name that the bodhisattva Incomparable/Stainless is prophesied to adopt when he takes his place as the tathāgata presiding over the buddhafield Full of Pearls after the tathāgata King of Jewels passes into parinirvāṇa. The full name of this tathagata in this work is Victory Banner King Whose Light Rays Illuminate All the World Realms in the Ten-Directional Unimpeded Circular Maṇḍala, Adorned with Completely Illuminating Sunlight, Endowed with a Space-Like Body Resembling Youthful Varuṇa, the Light of the Sun, a Moon Flower, and a Beautiful Golden Lotus.

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The Twelve Buddhas opens at Rājagṛha with a dialogue between the Buddha Śākyamuni and the bodhisattva Maitreya about the eastern buddhafield of a buddha whose abbreviated name is King of Jewels. This buddha prophesies that when he passes into complete nirvāṇa, the bodhisattva Incomparable will take his place as a buddha whose abbreviated name is Victory Banner King. Śākyamuni then provides the names of the remaining ten tathāgatas, locating them in the ten directions surrounding Victory Banner King’s buddhafield Full of Pearls. After listing the full set of names of these twelve buddhas and their directional relationship to Victory Banner King, the Buddha Śākyamuni provides an accompanying mantra-dhāraṇī and closes with a set of thirty-seven verses outlining the benefits of remembering the names of these buddhas.

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The Twelve Buddhas opens in Rājagṛha, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is accompanied by a large gathering of monks and bodhisattvas. The Buddha begins with a description of the eastern buddhafield Full of Pearls, where there resides a buddha whose long name could be abbreviated as King of Jewels. After King of Jewels is identified to Maitreya and the assembly, the Buddha Śākyamuni explains that whoever remembers this buddha’s name will renounce cyclic existence. We are told that King of Jewels has prophesied that once he attains parinirvāṇa and his teachings have faded from the world, the bodhisattva Incomparable will succeed him as a buddha whose name (in abbreviated form) is Victory Banner King. The Buddha Śākyamuni then names the buddhas who will populate the buddhafields surrounding that of Victory Banner King in the ten directions, instructs the audience to remember their names and prostrate to them, and outlines the form of a sixfold service for their worship. He describes the benefits that accrue from reciting the names of these twelve buddhas, and then teaches a verse aspiration and a dhāraṇī to be recited in order to attain the results of the practice. The text ends with a set of thirty-seven verses describing the benefits of bearing the names of the twelve buddhas in mind.

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There are no available Sanskrit versions of this text. The first Chinese translation of this text was completed by Jñānagupta in 587 ᴄᴇ (Taishō 1348) and the second was produced by Yijing in 711 ᴄᴇ (Taishō 1349). The translator’s colophon to the Tibetan translation tells us that The Twelve Buddhas was translated by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla along with the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé (c. eighth century). The text is listed as a sūtra in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma royal Tibetan catalogues of translated works, which tells us that the Tibetan translation was completed prior to the compilation and publication of the Denkarma catalogue in 812 ᴄᴇ.

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This translation was completed in consultation with the versions of the text from the General Sūtra Section (mdo sde), the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum), and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus) of the Degé Kangyur in conjunction with the text as it appears in the Stok Palace Kangyur and the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). The only notable variant between these versions of the text is that the witnesses in the General Sūtra Section of the Degé and in the Stok Palace Kangyur refer to the bodhisattva prophesied to become the next buddha presiding over the buddhafield Full of Pearls by the name Stainless (dri med) instead of the more common name Incomparable (’dra ba med). The dhāraṇī in this text is rendered in Sanskrit transliteration based on the Degé, with significant variants noted. A tentative English translation of the dhāraṇī is also provided in a note.

The Translation The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra The Twelve Buddhas Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas. Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing on Vulture Peak at Rājagṛha with a great saṅgha of one thousand two hundred and fifty monks and a great saṅgha of twelve thousand bodhisattvas that included the bodhisattva Ajita and others. The Blessed One addressed the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, saying, “Maitreya, to the east of this buddhafield, past as many buddhafields as there are grains of dust in ten inexpressible billions of buddhafields, there is a world system called Full of Pearls. In that buddhafield there is a tathāgata, arhat, completely perfect buddha named King of Jewels Devoid of Desire Whose Supreme Emanation Has Arisen from the Expanse of Phenomena, Who Is Ornamented by Boundless Sunlight from the Top of His Crown Protuberance and by an Aspiration Like Moonlight, Whose Body Is Bedecked and Elegantly Ornamented with Offerings of Excellent Perfumes, Who Has a Body Like a Lotus Flower Lovely as a Resplendent Blue Beryl Gemstone, the Light of the Good Qualities of Whom Are as Beautiful as a Glorious Pure Sky Free of Dust. He nurtures and teaches the Dharma to the beings who live there. Whoever remembers the name of that victorious one will renounce cyclic existence for a great eon that consists of eons equal to the number of grains of dust in Jambudvīpa. “That tathāgata issued the following prophecy about the bodhisattva great being Incomparable: “ ‘As soon as the tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha King of Jewels Devoid of Desire Whose Supreme Emanation Has Arisen from the Expanse of Phenomena, Who Is Ornamented by Boundless Sunlight from the Top of His Crown Protuberance and by an Aspiration Like Moonlight, Whose Body Is Bedecked and Elegantly Ornamented with Offerings of Excellent Perfumes, Who Has a Body Like a Lotus Flower Lovely as a Resplendent Blue Beryl Gemstone, the Light of the Good Qualities of Whom Are as Beautiful as a Glorious Pure Sky Free of Dust passes into parinirvāṇa and his teachings fade away, the bodhisattva Incomparable will attain unsurpassed, perfect, completely manifest awakening. He will appear in the world as a tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha endowed with perfect knowledge and conduct, a sugata, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide who tames beings, a teacher of gods and humans known as the blessed buddha Victory Banner King Whose Light Rays Illuminate All the World Realms in the Ten-Directional Unimpeded Circular Maṇḍala, Adorned with Completely Illuminating Sunlight, Endowed with a Space-Like Body Resembling Youthful Varuṇa, the Light of the Sun, a Moon Flower, and a Beautiful Golden Lotus.’ “You should also remember the name of the tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha of the quarter to the east from there called Stainless Light of the Entire Array, and you should recite it and prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddha of the southern quarter called Thought Adorned with Eloquence, and you should direct your attention toward him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the western quarter called Renowned Victor Crowned with a Clear Moon, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the northern quarter Manifesting an Array of Flowers, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the southeastern quarter called Light Maker, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the southwestern quarter called Renowned Supreme Jewel Crown, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the northwestern quarter called Fearless and All-Seeing, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the northeast quarter called Bristling with Fearless Confidence, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the nadir called Throat of the Yawning Lion, and you should prostrate to him. You should also remember the name of the tathāgata of the zenith called Fearless King Majestic Golden Radiance, and you should prostrate to him. “Maitreya, sons or daughters of the lineage with sincere faith should recite the names of these twelve tathāgata, arhat, perfect and complete buddhas, and over the course of ten days as they confess all their misdeeds, they should rejoice in all roots of virtue. They should make requests to all the buddhas, supplicate all the buddhas, and dedicate all these roots of virtue by dedication to the expanse of phenomena. “All their misdeeds will be exhausted and all their karmic obscurations will be purified. “Later, they will obtain the excellent conditions of a buddhafield with a vast array of good qualities, the excellent conditions of the fearlessnesses, the excellent conditions of the marks of an awakened being, the excellent conditions of a saṅgha of bodhisattvas, the excellent conditions of the dhāraṇīs, and the excellent conditions of meditative concentrations. “In the immediate, they will have the support of the excellent conditions of a pure buddhafield in accordance with their aspirations, and the excellent conditions of a spiritual teacher. Their progress toward unsurpassed complete and perfect awakening will not fall back and will never be lost. As they take rebirth in cyclic existence, they will have the support of the excellent conditions of good looks and wealth, the excellent conditions of family line, the excellent conditions of social standing, the excellent conditions of family traits, the excellent conditions of appearance, and the excellent conditions of having a retinue of people around them who are of similar disposition. “On this topic, it is said: “In all lifetimes, No matter where they are reborn, They will be a joyful sight, a bringer of joy, Radiant, have great influence, And have abundant wealth. “They should recite the mantra words of this dhāraṇī: tadyathā akhe makhe samantamukhe sautiyukte nirukte prabhe samayoge citavivarte ame khame madane vivarte samantaguṇe satyārame yukte prayukte hili mili masale ānale came aciṭi aciṭi coce arahe bahudche māyugrahe hemavati jyotivati dharmaciti cyutapaṅke avikṣepe radhikṣa me skandhavibhakte Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas. With the blessing of the Buddha, may these mantra words be accomplished. “On this topic, it is said: “The six hundred million sages Who dwell in the ten directions Will pay heed to those Who bear these dhāraṇī verses in mind. “In all their rebirths They will encounter a spiritual teacher, And whatever little virtue they possess Will accomplish all their goals. “Those who bear these dhāraṇī verses in mind Will see the buddhas seated In the center of lotuses before them And be wise, fortunate, and take miraculous birth. “Their recollection, intellect, understanding, Devotion, and insight will increase. They will understand all they have studied, And their understanding of all they have studied will not diminish. “Those who recite the names Of these world protectors Will be free from all lower rebirths And quickly proceed to the higher realms; “There they will realize The supreme meditative concentrations and dhāraṇīs, And they will attain supreme awakening. Compared to filling a thousand million buddhafields “With gold and making offerings with it, Those who bear the names Of these tathāgatas in mind Will have a much greater heap of merit. “They will always remember their past lives. When they practice the conduct of a bodhisattva, They will abandon all unfree states, And the exquisite emergence of buddhas is achieved. “They will serve the perfect buddhas. They will obtain unsurpassed faith. They will express their faith in the buddhas And make supreme offerings to them. “Delighted by the emergence of buddhas, They shall see them and have faith in these teachers. They will see these lamps that illuminate the world And make excellent offerings to them. “Those who bear these names in mind Will be free from cyclic existence For innumerable millions of eons And quickly attain awakening. “If they bear these names in mind For a total of seven days and nights, The extensive vision of whoever sees these guides Will be purified. “Those who bear the names Of the world protectors in mind Will be worthy of veneration Wherever they might take rebirth. “Those who bear these names in mind Will not fall into disrepute For unimaginable millions of eons, But will be famous throughout all worlds. “Those who bear these names in mind Will be honored by the gods For many eons And quickly attain awakening. “Those who bear these names in mind Will not lack faith or lose insight, Will give up deviation and deceit, And will always see the buddhas. “Those who bear these names in mind Will always be protected By gods, gandharvas, the nāga lords, Garuḍas, asuras, and guhyakas. “They will have excellent bodily forms and names And will be born into wealthy households. They will be generous to all beings And will be brave, magnanimous, and selfless. “For many millions of eons, They will always have the pleasant scent Of divine red sandalwood, And their breath will have the scent of perfume. “Those who bear these names in mind Shall be endowed with the melodious voice of Brahmā For millions of eons And maintain the status of a Dharma king. “Those who bear these names in mind Will have divine bodies, And great riches will spring from the many-million petals Of the lotus of the seven royal treasures. “Those who bear these names in mind Will never find themselves Without fathers, mothers, siblings, loved ones, And a multitude of good people. “If a woman has borne the names Of these great sages in mind, She will be freed from her feminine form And become an intelligent man. “After attaining the next human rebirth, She will attain unsurpassed awakening, Turn the wheel of the Dharma, And easily attain nirvāṇa. “Those who bear these names in mind Cannot be harmed By weapons, poison, Fire, kings, or criminals. “The thoughts of those Who bear these names in mind Will never be troubled By Māra, mounted on his chariot with his retinue. “Human beings who bear The names of these buddhas in mind Can course through space Across infinite millions of buddhafields. “After making offerings to the buddhas who teach there, They must fearlessly petition them. The victors will understand their wishes And issue prophecies of their awakenings. “After they receive prophecies From those buddha lords, They will be exceedingly joyful And have no doubt in the Victor’s teaching. “Those who bear these names in mind Will hear the profound Dharma From all the world protectors And retain all they have heard. “Then they will perfect All the perfections and the grounds, The four types of fearlessness, the powers, And the major and minor marks. “They will go to the field Of one of those buddhas. They will realize unsurpassed, perfect, Complete awakening and become a buddha. “A buddha could describe These and the other qualities Of any man or woman Who bears these names in mind for an entire eon. “People who heed this teaching And learn about these excellent qualities Should bear the names of these renowned Perfect buddhas in mind. “Anyone who hears the names Of these buddhas who are glorious by nature, Who are world protectors, supreme among human beings, And celestial kings in the course of an eon, “And those who hear and learn their names Will be moved by devotion, Will develop great insight into all things, And will become supreme among human beings. “What wise, insightful person, Having learned the names of these great sages And heeded this teaching, Would not bear them in mind?” After the Blessed One had spoken, the bodhisattva great being Maitreya, the entire retinue of monks and bodhisattvas, and the whole world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas were delighted and praised his words. This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Twelve Buddhas.” Colophon This text was translated and edited by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla along with the chief editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé and then finalized. It was later revised according to the new language reform and then finalized.

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Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Abbreviations

Summary

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Summary

Acknowledgements

Introduction