Toh 273, Toh 511, Toh 853 — The Twelve Buddhas

Dvādaśabuddhaka

Translated by The Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Twelve Buddhas

F.18.bF.26.aF.35.bF.69.a^[1] 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. F.26.b 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, F.19.aF.36.a 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:^[2]

“ ‘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 F.69.b 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, F.27.a 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,^[3] the Light of the Sun, a Moon Flower,^[4] 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 F.19.bF.36.b called Stainless Light of the Entire Array,^[5] 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,^[6] and you should direct your attention toward him.^[7] 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 calledF.70.a 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,^[8] 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.F.27.b

“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 F.20.aF.37.a 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 F.70.b 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,^[9] 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 F.28.a samantamukhe sautiyukte nirukte prabhe samayoge citavivarte^[10] ame khame madane vivarte samantaguṇe^[11] satyārame yukte prayukte hili mili masale ānale came aciṭi aciṭi^[12] coce arahe bahudche^[13] māyugrahe hemavati jyotivati dharmaciti^[14] cyutapaṅke^[15] avikṣepe radhikṣa^[16] me skandhavibhakte^[17]

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 F.20.bF.37.b

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.^[18]F.71.a

“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. F.28.b

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. F.21.aF.38.a

“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 F.71.b 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 F.29.a 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.^[19]

“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 F.21.bF.38.b

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 F.72.a 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. F.29.b

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.^[20]F.22.aF.72.bF.39.a It was later revised according to the new language reform and then finalized.

Notes

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.
In the Toh 511 version of the text there is a slight discrepancy in the folio numbering between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings of the Degé Kangyur. Although the discrepancy is irrelevant here, further details concerning this may be found in note 8 of the Toh 511 version of this text.
In the Toh 511 version of the text there is a slight discrepancy in the folio numbering between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings of the Degé Kangyur. Although the discrepancy is irrelevant here, further details concerning this may be found in note 8 of the Toh 511 version of this text.
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D (Toh 511, Toh 853): ’dra ba med; D (Toh 273), S: dri med.
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D (Toh 273, Toh 511, Toh 853): chu lha gzhon nu; S: chu zla gzhon nu.
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D (Toh 511, Toh 853): zla ba’i me tog; D (Toh 273): zla ba’i me tog rin chen. This translation follows D (Toh 511, Toh 853). The variant in D (Toh 273) might translate as “a moon flower or gem” or perhaps “a precious moon flower.”
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D (Toh 273, Toh 511, Toh 853): bkod pa thams cad dri med ’od; S: bkod pa dri med ’od; J, K, N, K: bgrod pa thams cad dri med ’odY.
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D: spobs pa’i rgyan la dgongs pa; S: spobs pa’i rgyal la dgongs pa.
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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): ’jigs bral bag tsha ba mi mnga’ spu zing mi byed; D (Toh 511, Toh 853): ’jig bral bag tsha mi mnga’ spu zing mi byed.
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D (Toh 273, Toh 511, Toh 853), S: rigs phun sum tshogs pa dang / skye ba phun sun tshogs pa dang / rus phun sum tshogs pa dang. The translation combines these three “excellent conditions” (phun sum tshogs pa) into a single clause that takes rigs (kula) to indicate the actual family line, skyes ba (jāti) to indicate that family line’s social standing, and rus (gotra) to indicate the inherited family traits.
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D (Toh 273): citavivarte; D (Toh 511, Toh 853): cittacitte; S: cittacittarte.
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D (Toh 273): samantaguṇe; D (Toh 511, Toh 853): samantaguṇi.
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D (Toh 273): aciṭi aciṭi; D (Toh 511, Toh 853): aciti.
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D (Toh 273): bahudche; D (Toh 511, Toh 853): bahucche.
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D (Toh 273): dharmaciti; D (Toh 511): dharmacite; D (Toh 853): dharmacitte.
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D (Toh 511, Toh 853): cyutapaṅke; D (Toh 273): cyutavaṅgke.
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D (Toh 273): radhikṣa, D (Toh 511, Toh 853):radhṛkṣa.
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Tentative English translation: tadyathā akhe makhe, radiant one whose panoptic gaze is said to be fused with sunlight, whose thought is devoid of illusion, ame khame, for whom intoxicating illusion fused and performed while delighting in truth is entirely virtuous, hili mili masala ānale came aciṭi aciṭi coce, worthy one, bahudche, golden one bathed in light who bears māyu, who knows the Dharma, who is without impurity, unwavering, and furnished with a great host—deliver this to me!
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D (Toh 511, Toh 853): thos pa thams cad ’dzin mi nyams; thos pa rnams ni yongs mi nyams D 273.
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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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The colophon to D (Toh 273) ends here, with no mention of the text being revised.
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