Toh 307 — The Limits of Life
Āyuḥparyanta
Translated by Bruno Galasek with Lama Kunga Thartse Rinpoche under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
The Sūtra on the Limits of Life
F.139.a{S74} Homage to the Three Jewels!
Thus did I hear at one time.[1]{S75} The Bhagavān was staying in Śrāvastī, in Prince Jeta’s grove, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. There the Bhagavān addressed the monks: “Monks, do you wish to learn about the lifespans of beings?”
“Yes, Bhagavān, this is the right time for it! Sugata, the time is right for the Bhagavān to teach the monks the lifespans of living beings. Bhagavān, having heard the teaching from the Bhagavān, the monks will retain it.”
“Monks, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach.[2]
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the hell realms is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the maximum lifespan in the animal realm F.139.b is one eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, one day for the pretas corresponds to thirty days for humans. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, pretas have a lifespan of five hundred years by this way of calculating.[3] According to human years, this is fifteen thousand years. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at this time, the Bhagavān spoke these verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the eastern continent Pūrvavideha[10] is two hundred fifty years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the western continent Avaragodānīya[11] is five hundred years. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of human beings inhabiting the northern continent Uttarakuru[12] is one thousand years. Premature death does not occur.
“Why do the human beings who inhabit the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and not experience premature death?
“Monks, the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have no sense of mine and no notion of ownership, and their lifespan is predetermined. When they die and pass from there, they progress higher and higher,[13] and in the future they go to heaven. Monks, this is why the human beings inhabiting the continent Uttarakuru have a lifespan of one thousand years and do not experience premature death.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of the humans of the southern continent of Jambudvīpa[36] is not fixed; it varies.[37] More precisely, monks, the maximum lifespans of the humans of Jambudvīpa are unlimited, eighty thousand years, one hundred years, and ten years.[38]
“Monks, the lifespan at the present time of the humans of Jambudvīpa amounts to one hundred years.[39] Monks, presently those among the humans of Jambudvīpa who live long can reach an age of one hundred years, or a little more than that, when looked after with proper care.[40]
“Monks, during a lifespan of one hundred years, people undergo ten stages.[41]F.141.a At the first stage, they are infants, feeble and lying on their back. At the second stage they are children, disposed to playing. At the third stage, as youths, they chase after pleasure. At the fourth stage they are endowed with physical strength and strong enthusiasm. At the fifth stage they possess prudence and self-confidence.[42] At the sixth stage they are experienced and more given to reflection. At the seventh stage they practice religion with all their heart.[43] At the eighth stage they are venerable and people of distinction.
[44] At the ninth stage they are old, fragile, and weakened by age. At the tenth stage life is exhausted and only death remains.[45] Monks, in a hundred years, their lives undergo those ten stages.
“Monks, living for one hundred years, they live for one hundred times each the three seasons: one hundred winters, one hundred summers, and one hundred rains.[46] Living three seasons one hundred times each, they live for twelve months one hundred times: four months each of winters, four of summers, and four of rains. Living for twelve months one hundred times, they live for twenty-four times one hundred half-months, or two thousand four hundred half-months: eight half-months each of winters, eight half-months of summers, and eight half-months of rains. Living twenty-four times one hundred half-months, they live for thirty-six thousand days: twelve thousand days each of summer, winter, and rains.
“Living for thirty-six thousand days, they eat seventy-two thousand meals, except for when there is something that prevents them from eating.[47] These meal interruptions are as follows: when they are angry, they do not eat; when they suffer, they do not eat; when impoverished,[48] they do not eat; during fasting,[49] they do not eat; because of loss, they do not eat; because of gain, too, they do not eat; when sleeping, they do not eat; when drunk,F.141.b they do not eat; due to being drowsy, they do not eat. Thus, in sum, the meals that are eaten and the meals that are not eaten are altogether seventy-two thousand meals during one lifetime, including the milk from their mother that they have drunk.
{S79}
“Monks, I have expounded and itemized the lives of human beings in Jambudvīpa in terms of seasons, months, half months, days, meals, and even the interruptions to meals.[50]
“Monks, fifty human years corresponds to one day and night in the life of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the retinue of the Four Great Kings is five hundred divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is nine million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings[51] in the great hell Revival.[52][53] Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Revival is, by this way of calculating, five hundred years. In human years, this is 1 trillion 620 billion years. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, one hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three is one thousand divine years by this way of calculating. F.142.a According to human years, this is thirty-six million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, thirty-six million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Black Thread.[54] Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of beings in the great hell Black Thread is one thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 12 trillion 960 billion years.[55] Untimely death[56] does occur.” {S80}
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, two hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven Free from Strife is two thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 144 million years.[60] Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, one hundred forty-four million years—is one day and night for the beings in the great hell Crushing.[61] Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Crushing is two thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 103 trillion 680 billion years.[62] Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, four hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Joy. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Joy is four thousand divine years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 576 million {S81} years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, five hundred seventy-six million human years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings in the great hell Wailing.[67] Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Wailing is four thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 829 trillion 440 billion years.[68] Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, eight hundred human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of Delighting in Emanations is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 2 billion 304 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, 2 billion 304 million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing. Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Loud Wailing[71]F.143.a is eight thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 6 quadrillion 635 trillion 520 billion years.[72] Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, one thousand six hundred[76] human years corresponds to one day and night for the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations.[77] Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the devas of the Heaven of the Masters of Others’ Creations is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years, this is 9 billion 216 million years. Premature death does occur.
“This—that is, nine billion two hundred sixteen million years—corresponds to one day and night for the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat.[78] Since thirty such days constitute one month, and twelve such months constitute one year, the lifespan of the beings inhabiting the great hell Heat is sixteen thousand years by this way of calculating. According to human years this is 53 quadrillion 84 trillion 160 billion years.[79] Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, do you want to hear about the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell?”[84]
“Yes, Bhagavān, the time is right for that. Sugata, this is the right time for it. We, the monks, having heard the teaching from the Blessed One about the lifespan of beings that have been reborn in the Blistering Hell, will retain the teaching well.”[85]
“Monks, in that case, listen carefully and concentrate! I will teach. Monks, it is like this: Imagine a container[86] with a capacity of twenty khārī[87] that contains a full measure of twenty khārī of Kosalan sesame seeds and is filled to the brim with them.
{S83} Now imagine that someone were to remove a single seed from that container every hundred years.[88] I say, monks, that the contents of that container holding twenty khārīs of sesame seeds would quickly be emptied out completely by this method, but, monks, not so the lifespan of beings who have been reborn in the Blistering Hell.
“Twenty times the lifespan in the Blistering Hell is that in the Bursting Blister Hell.[89] Twenty times the lifespan in the Bursting Blister Hell is that in the Hell of Chattering Teeth. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Chattering Teeth is that in the Hell of Lamentation. Twenty times the lifespan in the Hell of Lamentation is that in the Cold Whimpering Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Cold Whimpering Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Blue Lotus Hell is that in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell. Twenty times the lifespan in the Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell is the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell.[90] Devadatta’s[91] partisan,[92] the monk Kokālika, because he felt anger toward[93] the monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana,[94] will be reborn in the Great Splitting Open Like a Lotus Hell with his own body.
“Therefore, monks, you should train the mind thus: not even toward the burnt stump of a tree should you generate an attitude of hatred, let alone toward a conscious being! You should train in that way, monks!”
Then, at this point, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:[96]
“Monks, the lifespan of beings inhabiting the great hell Intense Heat[100] is half an eon. Premature death does occur.”
Then, at that point, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:
“Monks, the lifespan of the beings in the great hell Incessant Torture[101] is one eon. Premature death does occur. This is where the fool Devadatta was reborn with his own body because he split the undivided Saṅgha[102] and, with evil intentions, drew the Tathāgata’s blood[103] and beat a nun, who was an arhantī, to death.”[104]
Then, at that time, the Bhagavān spoke the following verses:[105]
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Retinue[109] is half an eon. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Brahmā’s Ministers is three quarters of an eon.[110] Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Brahmā is one eon.[111] Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Radiance is two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Radiance is four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Luminous Radiance[112] is eight eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Limited Virtue[113] is sixteen eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Boundless Virtue[114] is thirty-two eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Perfect Virtue[115] is sixty-four eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Cloudless Heaven[116] is one hundred twenty-five eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven Born from Merit[117] is two hundred fifty eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Reward[118] is five hundred eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of both the Insentient Beings and the devas of the Unlofty Heaven[119] is one thousand eons.[120] Premature death does occur. {S87}
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in Sorrowless Heaven[121]F.145.a is two thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Sublime Vision[122] is four thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Heaven of Great Vision[123] is eight thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas in the Highest Heaven[124] is sixteen thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Space is twenty thousand eons.[125] Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of the Infinity of Consciousness is forty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Nothingness is sixty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, the lifespan of the devas belonging to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception is eighty thousand eons. Premature death does occur.
“Monks, from the hell Incessant Torture up to the Sphere of Neither Perception nor Non-perception—which, monks, is the peak of existence—these states respectively demarcate the upper and lower limits of the whole of existence. These states are the manifestation of existence. They are the places where living beings of the five rebirth-destinies come and go, live, die, and are reborn. Enough with the manifestation of existence![126] I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration.[127] Why is that? Because the manifestation of existence is suffering. Take, for instance, something that is impure: when even a little of it stinks, how much more so does a lot of it! In the same way, I do not speak with even the slightest praise of the manifestation of existence, however small it may be, however short in duration. Why is that? Because, monks, the manifestation of existence is suffering. Ordinary, worldly people, uneducated in the Dharma,[128] continually cycle again and again in the five rebirth-destinies;F.145.b again and again they rush to the hells, again and again to the animal realm, again and again to evil states, to unfortunate rebirth-destinies, to destruction. Therefore, monks, you should train in this way: ‘I shall strive to cut off the stream of existence at any point and not let saṃsāra unfold!’
Monks, you should train in this way!”
After the Blessed One had thus spoken, the monks were deeply overjoyed and rejoiced in the Blessed One’s words.
This concludes “The Sūtra on the Limits of Life.”Colophon
This was translated by the Indian preceptor Viśuddhasiṃha and the monk Gewé Pal. It was revised and finalized by the Indian preceptor Vidyākarasiṃha and the chief editor-translator Bandé Paltsek.
Notes
This is the standard sūtra beginning, which is missing in the Skt. edition of our text. We know from other Buddhist texts in Skt. that the formulaic beginning of sūtras may also be translated as, “This I have heard: At one time the Bhagavān was staying at…,” etc. (Skt. evam mayā śrutaṃ. ekaṃ samayaṃ bhagavā…, etc.) The matter continues to be debated by scholars. However, our translation follows the punctuation as found in the Tib. translation of the Āps, and in the majority of the Tib. translations of Skt. sūtras.
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. text additionally contains the monks’ reply: “ ‘Yes, master,’ the monks replied to the Bhagavān. Then the Bhagavān spoke to the monks thus: (evaṃ bhadanteti. te bhikṣavo bhagavataḥ pratyaśroṣuḥ. atha bhagavān tān bhikṣūn idam avocat; Matsumura 1998, 75).”
backAccording to the Tib. For a similar passage, cf. dwags po thar rgyan in Guenther 1971, 62. It is interesting to note that syntax and lexis in a parallel passage in the dwags po thar rgyan are very similar to that of the Āps: rgyal chen rigs bzhi’i tshe tshad ni gang yin pa de ni dmyal ba yang sos kyi nyin zhag gcig yin la | de sum cu la zla ba gcig| zla ba bcu gnyis la lor brtsis pa’i yang sos kyis rang lo lnga brgya thub bo | | mi lo ltar na bye ba phrag ’bum drug khri nyis stong yod do||. The Skt. locution appears to be idiomatic and is difficult to render literally in English (Matsumura 1989, 75, paragraph 4): tena rātri(ṃ)divasena tṛṃśad rāt[r]akeṇa māsena, dvādaśa māsakena saṃvatsareṇa, tayā saṃvatsara[ga]ṇanayā paṃca varṣaśatāni pretānām āyuṣaḥ pramāṇaṃ.
backFor the Skt. āśraya in the sense of “body,” cf. BHSD; the Tib. translation has lus (“body”), which is not attested as a standard translation equivalent for āśraya in the Mvy. For a similar passage in the Divyāvadāna describing the appearance of the pretas, see #UT22084-072-007-58.
backA similar passage describing the appearance of pretas can be found in the Divyāvadāna, tr. Rotman 2008, 47: “Soon five thousand pretas who looked like scorched wooden pillars, raised up skeletons covered with hair from head to toe, with stomachs like mountains and mouths like pinholes, surrounded Śroṇa Koṭikarṇa” (yāvat pañcamātraiḥ pretasahasrair dagdhasthūṇāsadriśair asthiyantravaducchritaih svakeśaromapraticchannaiḥ parvatodarasaṃnibaiḥ sūcīchidropamamukhair anuparivāritaḥ Śroṇaḥ Koṭīkarṇaḥ. Ed. Cowell & Neil 1886, 7).
backTib. kha gdangs gnam du lta, Skt. vidāritonmukhā (“with their mouths turned up and gaping”). The image that is being invoked here is perhaps that of extreme hunger that makes them gape their mouths and turn their faces upward in anxious expectation of any food or drink that might come their way.
backWe interpret the Skt. compound kapālapāṇayo (ghorāḥ) as a karmadhāraya here (see Matsumura 1989, 76, v. 2c). For the only other occurrence of this term in Skt. Buddhist texts that we have come across so far, see Mahāvadānasūtra, where it clearly means “having/carrying a bowl in his hand” (see Mahāvadānasūtra, 16, §36.6, passim). The Tib. reads somewhat differently and its meaning is unclear: gzugs mi sdug pa ’greng zhing thod pa thogs (“Their deformed bodies stand erect and they hold bowl[s]”). Lama Kunga Rinpoche suggests either of two interpretations of the Tib.: (1) They are holding (skull?-)cups or bowls in their hands (constantly searching for food?); or (2) some feature of ugliness—referring to the form of their foreheads?—is being described (but the wording in Tib. is obscure). In later Skt. kapālapāṇi is used as an epithet of Śiva.
backThe Tib. omits vyasana.
backThe Tib. translators changed the order of the pādas of the Skt. verses 2–4 (Matsumura 1989, pp. 75–76) from six lines (= 12 verse-quarters) with 12 syllables per line (= the Skt. meter vaṃśastha) to eight lines (= two verses?) with nine syllables each. The content, however, is mostly identical. My translation follows more closely the Tib. translation here.
backTib. shar gyi lus ’phags, “Majestic Body” (Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, 113). Skt. variant: Prāgvideha (so in AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html; see also BHSD, s.v.). We leave the names of the four great continents untranslated in the main body of the text since the original form of the words in Skt. Buddhist literature is not consistent. For extensive explanations on the Buddhist world system itself, see Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, pp. 107–47; for the AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html, see Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, ch. 3.
backTib. nub kyi ba lang spyod, “Bountiful Cow” (Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, 113). Variants of the name in Skt. and Pāli: Aparagoyāna, Goyānīya (Pāli), Aparagodānika, °godānīya (Mahāvastu), Godānīya (AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html), Avaragodānīya (Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya, Gilgit), Aparagoḍānī (Lalitavistara), Aparagodāni (Dharmasaṃgraha); see BHSD.
backTib. byang gi sgra mi snyan, “Unpleasant/Harsh Sound.” The Tib. translation of the Skt. uttarakuru derives from a folk etymology (Skt. nirukti): Skt. ku (-kuṃsita?) = Tib. ngan pa (“bad”) and Skt. ru (= rava) = Tib. sgra (“voice/sound”); cf. Mvy, s.v. uttarakuruḥ. The Skt. word, though, seems to have originated from the designation of an actual geographical location.
backThe Tib. khyad par du ’gro ba means literally, “they achieve distinction.” For the Skt. equivalent viśeṣagāmin, cf. the similar phrase at SN V 370: || Yañca khvassa cittaṃ dīgharattaṃ saddhāparibhāvitam sīla-suta-cāga-paribhāvitaṃ || tam uddhagāmi hoti visesagāmi || || 5. Seyyathāpi Mahānāma puriso sappikumbham vā telakumbham vā gambhīram udakarahadam ogāhetvā bhindeyya || tatra yā assa sakkharā vā kaṭhalā vā sā adho-gāmī assa || yañca khvassa tatra sappi vā telaṃ vā tam uddhaṃgāmī assa visesāgamī ||. Tr. Bhikkhu Bodhi 2000, 1808–9: “But his mind, which has been fortified over a long time by faith, virtue, learning, generosity, and wisdom—that goes upwards, goes to distinction. Suppose, Mahānāma, a man submerges a pot of ghee or a pot of oil in a deep pool of water and breaks it. All of its shards and fragments would sink downwards, but the ghee or oil there would rise upwards.”
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. is ambiguous (pāda b: āśaṃsanti dhanaṃ paraṃ). Matsumura (1989, 76) edited the manuscript reading parāṃ to param. But parāṃ is a possible genitive plural (see BHSG, 60, § 8.124.) which would match the Tib. translation. Matsumura’s edition means, “they hope for later riches.”
backMatsumura (1989, 76, note 3 to § [11]) gives the translation of the Chinese for this passage: “because they never accumulated positive actions, they will become low servants for others.”
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. pādas cd of this verse are missing.
backAccording to the Tib. The pādas 8 ab are missing in the Skt. The verse presents an interesting argument for analogy (Skt. upamāna) as a source of knowledge with reference to the law of karma: the law of karma is generalized so as to apply also to cases that are not apparent or directly perceptible (Skt. parokṣa).
backAll the four main and the eight intermediate continents of the world are inhabited by humans (except for Cāmara, which is said to be inhabited by the rākṣasas); see Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 455–57.
backCf. AN IV 396: 1. Tīhi bhikkhave ṭhānehi Uttarakurukā manussā deve ca Tāvatiṃse adhigaṇhanti Jambudīpake ca manusse. Katamehi tīhi? 2. Amamā apariggahā niyatāyukā visesabhuno Imehi kho bhikkhave tīhi ṭhānehi Uttarakurukā manussā deve ca Tāvatiṃse adhigaṇhanti Jambudīpake ca ma-nusse. “Bhikkhus, in three respects the people of Uttarakuru surpass the Tāvatiṃsa devas and the people of Jambudīpa. What three? (1) They are without selfishness and possessiveness; (2) their life span is fixed; and (3) their living conditions are exceptional. In these three respects the people of Uttarakuru surpass the Tāvatiṃsa devas and the people of Jambudīpa” (tr. Bhikkhu Bodhi 2012, 1277).
backCf. AKBh(P) https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html 269,24–269,25 on AK IV.116https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html: surūpatvaṃ yaśasvi vā | priyatā sukumārartusukhasparśāṅgatā tataḥ || AK IV.116 || varṇasampannaṃ dattvā surūpo bhavati | gandhasaṃpannaṃ dattvā yaśasvī bhavati | gandhavad yaśaso dikṣu vidhāraṇāt | rasasaṃpannaṃ dattvā priyo bhavati | rasa iva svāduḥ | sparśasaṃpannaṃ dattvā sukumārāṅgāś ca bhavati ṛtusukhasparśāni cāsyāṅgāni bhavanti yathā strīratnasya | “ ‘Whence results beauty, glory, love, tenderness (of youth), and a body with pleasant sensations, always perfectly adapted to the seasons.’ Beauty comes from giving perfect-colored objects; fame comes from giving perfect-smelling objects, since, like a fragrance, fame is carried into all directions. By giving perfect-tasting objects, one becomes loved, just as a sweet taste [is loved by all]. By giving (things) that are excellent in their tactile quality one becomes someone whose body is ever youthful and has pleasant sensations that are always perfectly adapted to the seasons [i.e., cool when it is hot and warm when it is chilly; cf. AKBh(P)(D)https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html, 743,23–25], like the jewel-like wife [of a universal monarch].”
backAccording to the Tib. The word order is different in the Skt. Pāda b is missing, and pāda c is incomplete.
backAccording to Skt. The Tib. is unclear: “Through the gleam of a light-causing gem they are always beautified. It is [also] that which allows them to digest their food.”
backAccording to the Tib., which permutes the order of the Skt. pādas bc.
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. speaks of the alābu, i.e., the bottle gourd (Lagenaria siceraria).
backLiterally, “after harvesting them, they can be eaten without having to prepare them.” The Tib. is slightly ambiguous, however: btso mi dgos par can mean “not needing to cook” or perhaps “not needing to prepare,” i.e., the fruits can be eaten “as is.” (cf. Jäschke, s.v. btso: “purification, refining; ser la tso tang ba ‘to refine gold’ (which term eventually is the same as ‘to boil’).” The Skt. apakṣalūnāṃ is obscure (a + prakṣalu, “without washing”?). Lama Kunga Rinpoche favors the translation “there is no need to wash them.”
backThe water with eight superior qualities is an Indian Buddhist trope. The eight qualities are cool, sweet, light, soft, clear, flavorsome, not upsetting to the stomach, and smooth in the throat.
backThe Tibetan and Chinese versions insert this extra stanza (cf. Matsumura 1989, 76, n. 13, [11]).
backAccording to the Tib. The verb rtse (= Skt. verbal root krīḍ) can have a sexual connotation, but it can also mean just “to frolic, play.”
backSkt. prathame yāme: traditionally, the night is subdivided into three periods of three hours each; cf. MW, s.v. yāma.
backAccording to the Tib. The Tib. translation brings out a causal relationship between pādas ab. The Skt. just reads, “A mother does not recognize her son. The idea of possession and ownership does not exist.” See Skt. verse 22, pādas ab: mātā puttraṃ na jānīte nāsti teṣāṃ parigrahaḥ.
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. is different: na śocaṃti pṛyair nāśaṃ, “They do not lament the death of a loved one.”
backD here reads bar ma don ni ’chi med pa, which seems to be scribal error. We follow the readings of the other Tib. editions and the critical ed. of Matsumura here and read bar ma dor ni ’chi med pa.
backAccording to the Tib. The syntax of the Skt. (pādas abc) is slightly different: “After they have spent one thousand human years there, they die, but not before their time” (āyur varṣasahasraṃ hi kṣapayitvāttra mānuṣaṃ | mriyaṃnte nāntareṇeti).
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. seems to suggest a reading, “Having spread and increased their glory, they will not be reborn among the devas” ((kṛtvā) ca vipulaṃ śriyaṃ).
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt., curiously, reads (verse 27c): deveṣu nopapadyate, “they will not be reborn among the devas.”
backThe Skt. text has the orthographic variant jambūdvīpa (in the secondary vṛddhi-formation jāmbūdvīpakā manuṣyā). The Tib. phonetically transcribes this name ’dzam bu’i gling; this (i.e., our) continent is named after the jambu tree (“rose apple”? But probably a mythical tree) that grows on it, and it is the only continent where bodhisattvas and cakravartins (universal monarchs) can be born. Cf. DPPN; Jamgön Kongtrul 2003, 112.
backThe lifespan of human beings in Jambudvīpa decreases and increases according to the kalpas. A more literal translation of the Skt. and Tib. would be, “Monks, for the human beings of Jambudvīpa, there exists increase as well as decrease [of the lifespan].”
backThe respective maximum lifespan depends on the current kalpa: In the first kalpa it is unlimited, in the last kalpa it is ten years (cf. AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html on AK III.78https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4089.html = Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 470). These numbers concur with the Pāli tradition; cf., e.g., Cakkavattisīhanādasutta (DN 26).
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. stresses “the present time” (etarhi) by placing it in sentence-initial position.
backThis is an idiomatic expression in Sanskrit Buddhist texts: samyaksukhena parihṛyamāna = Tib. legs par bde bar gnas na (cf. Avś: Speyer, I.194 = Vaidya, 88: samyak sukhena parihriyete); cf. also the Skt. idiom sukha-(sparśa-)vihara, “to be comfortable, to be at ease.”
backThe Tib. omits “during a lifespan of one hundred years” (varṣaśataṃ khalu jīvaṃ) and reads instead “Monks, with respect to the stages of life…” (dge slong dag ’tsho ba’i gnas skabs ni). The term avasthā (or daśā; Tib. ’tsho ba’i gnas skabs) is a technical term in Abhidharma literature denoting the different particular constellations (?) or states of the five skandhas within the chain of the twelve links of the formula of dependent arising (Skt. pratītyasamutpāda). Cf. Bronkhorst 2009, 94: “each of its twelve elements was a state (daśā or avasthā) of the five aggregates (skandha).” See also AKBh(P)https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html, p. 231,12–13 on AK IV,53 abhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4089.html, where Vasubandhu mentions a different set of avasthā: five stages of the embryo and five stages of a grown-up human being: pañca hi garbhāvasthāḥ | kalalārbudapeśīghanapraśākhāvasthāḥ | pañca jātāvasthāḥ | bālakumāravamadhyavṛddhāvasthāḥ.
backThe Tib. reads stobs dang ldan pa, rendering the Skt. pratibhānavān, which is very likely an error; the expected translation equivalent of pratibhāna would be spobs pa (cf. Mvy, s.v.).
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. text is corrupt here; although the meaning of the passage seems to be quite straightforward, the remaining Skt. fragment of the corresponding part of the sentence seems to have a different reading compared to the translation equivalent of the Tib. given in the Mvy: khong du chud pa, avabodha (see Mvy, s.v. avabodhaḥ; cf. Matsumura 1989, 78 [14]).
backAccording to the Skt. The Tib. reads, “In the eighth stage one is revered as an elder, and even kings show their respect” (gnas skabs brgyad pa ni rgyal pos bkur zhing rgan rabs su bkur ba yin no).
backAccording to the Skt. The Tib. reads, “At the tenth stage one has reached the end of life and is near to death” (gnas skabs bcu pa ni tshe’i mthar thug pa ste ’chir nye bar yin no).
backThe three seasons are a common trope in Indian Buddhist literature; cf. AKBh(P)https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html, 177,19–21 on AK III 88c–89dhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4089.html (= tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 475). Yaśomitra, the commentator of the AKBh, makes an interesting remark about this in his commentary, Sphuṭārthā Abhidharmakośavyākhyā: pravacane traya eva rtavo na yathā loke ṣaḍ iti. śiśiro hi śītasāmānyād dhemanta ity uktaḥ. vasanto ’py uṣṇasāmānyād grīṣma ity uktaḥ. śarad api vṛṣṭisāmānyād [Tib. 320.b] varṣā ity ukteti, “In Scripture, only three seasons [are mentioned], not six as there are in the world.”https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4092.html
backAccording to the Tib., but the passage is not entirely clear. The Skt. reads sārdhaṃ (bhaktāntarāyaiḥ) (Matsumura 1989: 78 [16]). The Tib. has ma gtogs par, which would rather correspond to Skt. vinā. Either way, the meaning here is all the meals, i.e., inclusive and/or exclusive of the times when one can or does not eat (i.e., the times in between meals as well as, and perhaps inclusive of, in-between meals). The Skt., on the other hand, as given above, may rather translate to “including that which one eats in between main meals.”
backAccording to the Tib., which is quite clear: phongs pa byung nas, “having become poor/when impoverished”; the Skt. is more ambiguous with the adjective kṛcchraprātaḥ, literally “being filled with difficulty (or pain, calamity, danger).”
backAccording to the Tib. (bsnyungs ba byas te ma zos pa). The Skt. manuscript is defective here. Twelve akṣaras are missing, along with a missing word or compound ending in -pano: apatarpaṇam (“fasting during illness”?). Cf. Negi, s.v. bsnyung ba. bsnyung gnas is a well-known fasting practice in Tibetan Buddhism centering on a manifestation of Avalokiteśvara.
backFor another account of the lifespans of beings in the desire realm, see AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html on AK III. https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4089.html pp.78–85 (English tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 470–74).
backHere and throughout according to the Tib. (de ni sems can dmyal ba chen po yang sos kyi nyin zhag gcig go). The Skt. translates literally to “This is one day and night in the great hell Revival.”
backThis hell derives its name from the fact that the beings reborn there must spend their time tied to one another and beating and killing each other. They are subsequently revived by a cold wind and then start all over again (see Guenther 1986, 57).
backFor detailed descriptions of the hells, explanations of their names, and the lifespan of beings in Gampopa’s dwags po thar rgyan, see Guenther 1986, 57–61.
backFrom Gampopa we learn that in this hell, beings wake up and find lines drawn with a black thread all over their bodies, which mark the places where flaming axes and saws will cut them into pieces (cf. Guenther 1986, 57).
backAccording to the Skt., which has the arithmetically correct number. The Tib. is unclear: lo bye ba phrag sa ya nyis ’bum dgu khri drug stong rtsa cu gnyis. The number of years mentioned in Gampopa’s dwags po thar rgyan (cf. Guenther 1986, p. 59) is identical with the Skt.: “twelve times one hundred thousand ten million years, and ninety-six thousand times ten million (= 12,960,000,000,000) years.”
backThe diction has changed in the Tib.: dus ma yin par ’chi ba ni yod do. The Skt. is the same as in the other paragraphs (asty antareṇa kālakriyā). According to Negi (Negi 2000, vol. 6, 2230, column II, s.v. dus ma yin pa’i ’chi ba), one would rather expect Skt. akāla-maraṇa.
backThe Skt. passive past participle drugdha has active meaning (lexicalized), cf. pw, s.v. druh.
backIn other words, people who openly neglect their religious duties and practice. The Skt. (pāda a) of this verse is defective. Matsumura (1998, 80 [23]) reads as the first word of the defective line adhura (= Tib. mi brtson pa?). Cf. BHSD, s.v. dhura: “burden,” esp. religious obligation or duty (corresponds to the Pāli gantha (“study of texts”), vipassanā (“reflection”), saddhā (“faith”), sīla (“moral discipline”), and paññā (“knowledge”)).
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. (pāda d) is unclear (+cakā nyatikā mṛṣāḥ).
backThe Skt. contains the arithmetically correct number. The Tib., however, deviates (lo bye ba phrag bcu bzhi dang | lo khri bzhi stong = ?).
backSee Guenther 1986, 57. The beings reborn there are pressed between mountains or iron plates, and their crushed bodies are revived again only to experience the same kind of suffering again until their time there is over.
backAccording to the Skt., which has the arithmetically correct number. The Tib. deviates (lo bye ba phrag sum ’bum drug khri brgyad stong rtsa gcig = ?). See Guenther 1986, 59: “this is ten million times ten million years and three hundred and sixty-eight thousand times ten million years.” Konchog Gyaltsen’s translation of Gampopa (1998, 99) has: “The life span in the Crushing hell is 2,000 years, which is similar to that of the Free-of-Combat devas. In human terms, this is equal to 103,680,000,000,000 years.”
backThreefold here means the actions carried out with body, speech, and mind.
backAccording to the Tib.
backAccording to the Tib. (ba lang, “cow, ox”) The Skt. manuscript has a lacuna here. Matsumura suggests reading balākān (“crane,” balāka). Cf. MW, s.v. balāka: “a kind of crane (the flesh of which is eaten).”
backAccording to the Tib. (bya gag), which may mean either waterfowl (e.g., ducks) or chickens or other kinds of (wild) birds hunted as game. The Skt. has kuk[k]uṭa (“chicken”). The Mvy lists Skt. vakaḥ, “heron, crane” (cf. MW), as the standard translation equivalent for bya gag.
backSee Guenther 1986, 58: “so named, because the inhabitants there utter terrifying cries.”
backThis is the arithmetically correct number according to the Skt. if we interpret the word nayuta as “one million” (= prayuta?): tad bhavati māṇuṣikayā gaṇanayā aṣṭau varṣakoṭīna(yutāny ekona)ttriṃśac ca varṣakoṭīśatasahasrāṇi [catuścatvāriṃ]śac ca varṣakoṭīsahasrāṇy āyuṣaḥ pramāṇaṃ (Matsumura 1989, 95, [28]). The Tib. seems to have listed the numbers of the numerical expression in a different order: lo bye ba phrag sa ya gnyis dang | bye ba phrag dgu ’bum bzhi khri bzhi stong dang | bye ba phrag brgyad (= 82.944 x 1010 or 29,440,080,000,000 years?). Cf. dwags po thar rgyan, 43: mi lo ltar na | bye ba phrag bye ba brgyad dang | bye ba phrag lnga ’bum bzhi dang | bye ba phrag sa ya lnga bzhi khri nyis stong yod do, which seems to suggest yet another number. See, however, Guenther’s tr. (Guenther 1986, 59): “eight million times ten million years and two million times ten million years and nine hundred and forty-four thousand times ten million years.” Cf. also the arithmetically correct number in Konchog Gyaltsen’s translation of the dwags po thar rgyan (Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 99): “829,440,000,000,000 years.”
backAccording to the Skt. The Tib. is unclear (gzhal lugs [L glugs] g.yo dang sgyu [L sgyur] byed mi). The Skt. words tūṭaka and vaṭika in pāda d are problematic. Vaṭika seems to be just a variant spelling for vātika, for which see MW: “m. a man of mere words, noisy talker, flatterer; m. a juggler or conjurer.” The word tūṭaka seems to be a misspelling of the Skt. kūṭaka, for which the PED gives the following meanings: “a trap, a snare; fig. falsehood, deceit,” etc., and MW: “mfn. false, untrue, deceitful […]; n. counterfeited objects (of a merchant).” The Skt. in pāda c reads na datto bhairavaṃ nādaṃ, which makes sense in this context. The Tib. translation does not seem to have picked up the negation (Skt. na) and reads, “And who use their voice to terrify others” (’jigs su rung ba’i sgra ’byin cing).
backThe comparative list of the dpe bsdur ma Kangyur edition gives two variant readings here: Yongle has gzhan la for gzhal (lugs?), and Choné, too, according to Matsumura’s critical edition, reads gzhan. We follow Yongle here.
backSee also Guenther 1986, 58; Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 99.
backAccording to the Skt., which has the arithmetically correct number. The Tib. reads bye ba phrag sa ya gsum dang bye ba phrag lnga ’bum khri nyis stong drug cu rtsa drug (≠ 663.552 x 1010). See also Konchog Gyaltsen (1998, 99): “6,635,520,000,000,000 years.”
backAccording to the Skt. The Tib. reads just “Wailing” (ngu ’bod).
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. reads viśvāsaghātaka (“traitor”), which is paraphrased in the Tib. translation.
backAccording to the Tib. (bskor ba’i khyim gyi nang chud nas). The Skt. of this pāda is defective. Matsumura’s reading is unclear (dahyante nta [xx] ruddhā); See Matsumura 1989, 82, [32].
backThe restored Skt. text (Matsumura 1989, 82) reads ṣo[ḍaśa varṣa]śatāni, “one thousand six hundred years.”
backSee also AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html on AK III.71ahttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4089.html and b, tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 466: “There are beings whose objects of desire are created by others but who themselves dispose of these objects created by others. These are the Paranirmitavaśavartins.”
backSee Guenther 1986, 58; Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 99, for descriptions of this hell.
backAccording to the Skt., which has the arithmetically correct number. The Tib. reads lo bye ba sa ya phrag brgyad dang | bzhi ’bum dang | lo bye ba phrag khri drug stong lnga brgya sum cu yod de (= 80,165,300,400,000?).
backAccording to the Tib. (rtag tu). This is not reflected in the Skt. The Skt. verse additionally contains śiṣṭais (a translation equivalent is missing in the Tib.): śramaṇān brāhmaṇān sādhūn mātaraṃ pitaraṃ tathā | saṃtāpayati yo śiṣṭais tapane sa prapadyate, “He who vexes the good ascetics and brahmins or his parents with leftover food (śiṣṭa?) will fall into [the great hell] Heat.”
backOur reading here follows the Degé edition (which reads gdung, “to torment, to scorch”) against the readings of Yongle, Lithang, Narthang, and Choné (Kangxi reads rdud), which all read rdung, “to strike, hit” (the Skt. equivalent for that would be kuṭṭayati, cf. Mvy, s.v.). The Tib. gdung byed pa corresponds roughly to the Skt. saṃtāpayati (one would perhaps expect yongs su gdung bar byed pa), which reflects the older name (Tib. gdung) of the hell Heat (Skt. tapana), which in later Tibetan translations is rendered tsha ba. See also the next verse, where we translated gdung byed ba as “inflicts pain.”
backThe Tib. reads dge slong (usually = bhikṣu/bhikṣuka; cf. Negi, s.v. dge slong). The Skt., however, has śramaṇa, which usually designates, together with brāhmaṇas, non-Buddhist practitioners (however, see also Beckwith 2015, ch. 2). The Mvy lists dge sbyong as possible translation equivalent for śramaṇa. Cf. also #UT22084-072-007-237.
backHere our translation follows the edition of Yongle and Kangxi instead of Degé, which reads las.
backHere starts an explanation of the so-called cold hells. According to Vasubandhu, the Skt. names of the cold hells indicate either the shape of the beings reborn in a particular hell or the noise that the denizens of a particular hell make (e.g., Skt. Hell of Chattering Teeth; see Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 459 and 473 on the lifespan in arbuda). According to Gampopa’s dwags po thar rgyan, the names indicate the kind of physical torment one experiences in them, e.g., in Blistering Hell (Skt. arbuda, Tib. chu bur can), blisters are said to appear on the skin and burst open due to the intense cold in this hell. Other names, like in Vasubandhu’s explanation, are clearly onomatopoeic (e.g., the Hell of Lamentation, Skt. hahava, Tib. kyi hud zer ba or Skt. huhuva, Tib. a chu zer ba). See Guenther 1986, 60–62; Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 101–3. For another version of this story including the concluding verses, see The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340, 3.366–3.374.
backSyntax according to the Tib.
backThe Tib. reads literally, “a khal bcu tshad nyi shu pa that fits khal bcu tshad nyi shu Kosalan sesame seeds.” It is not known what exactly this expression means, but it is clearly referring to some kind of container with fixed measurements. The equivalent in the Skt. text seems to be the word vāha, which here seems to refer to some sort of measuring cup with the dimension of one khārī (see the following notes #UT22084-072-007-212 and #UT22084-072-007-213).
backThe Tib. khal (Skt. khārī) is a Tibetan measure of capacity for commodities, especially barley, etc. (1 khal = 20 bre). According to Jäschke 1977, this constitutes “a bushel.” See also Goldstein 2001, s.v.: “a standard Tib. measure of volume, equal to about thirty pounds of barley.” According to MW, however, the ancient Indian measure of capacity, one khārī, equals 3 bushels, i.e., 4 pecks (= 2,150.42 cubic inches or 35.24 liters according to the American system, and equal to 2,219.36 cubic inches or 36.37 liters in the British Imperial System; see American Heritage Dictionary, s.v. bushel). See, however, Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 539, note 474: “Tib. khal = khāri”? and Guenther 1986: p. 61: “a sesame store containing eighty bushels.” According to Negi, the Skt. equivalent of Tib. khal brgyad bcu pa is viṃśatikhārika, which indicates that eighty khal in the Tib. system corresponds to twenty khārī of the Indian measurement system (see Negi 1993, vol. 1, 333). However, the Tib. translation of the Āps has khal bcu tshad nyi shu (“twenty of the 10-khal measure” or “twenty ten-bushel vessels”; see The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340, 3.372). Despite the uncertainties in both the Tib. and the Skt. readings (this passage has been restored by Matsumura based on parallel versions in other texts; see Matsumura 1989, 82 [37], note 1), we are using the Sanskrit terms in our translation. The uncertainties involved in determining the exact modern Western equivalents of these measurements seems even greater.
backTo get an idea of the dimensions spoken of here, the reader may be referred to Thomas 1874, 26–28: “2,867,200 ratis = 1,638,400 grains = 20 droṇas = 1 ¼ khārīs = l kumbha 17,920.” See also Crook & Osmaston 1994, 123–28 (the table on p. 124 states for contemporary Ladakh: 20 bre [= 1 khal] = 12–14 liters, 9–10 kg of barley).
backThe Tibetan says literally, “Just as are twenty Blistering Hells, so is one Bursting Blister Hell.” The English translations for the hahava and huhuva hells are Rotman’s (Rotman 2008, 378). For alternative English translations (based on the Tibetan) of the other cold hells, cf. Könchok Gyaltsen 1998, 100; see also Guenther 1986, 60–62 (which also contains a translation of our passage here relating the simile of the emptying of the sesame store). For other versions of the simile, see AKBh(P)https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html on AK III, 84https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4089.html, English tr. Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 459, 473; The Hundred Deeds, Toh 340, 3.372; Sn III.10 (Kokāliyasutta).
backAlmost verbatim parallels of this paragraph are found in AKBh(P)https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html 175, pp.19–24 = SN I 152 = AN V 173. For further references to the Chinese canon, see Matsumura 1989, 83, notes on [37], [38].
backWe follow Narthang lhas byin, Skt. Devadatta.
backFor Kokālika, cf. DPPN, s.v.
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. reads literally, “because he has defiled his mind in the presence of the monks Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana (śāriputtramaudgalyāyanayor bhikṣor antike cittaṃ pradūṣya).
backSee the Kokālikasutta for his story, Sn III.10, especially vv. 657–78 (Engl. = Norman 2001, pp. 85–87); AN V 171–74 and II 3; SN I 149ff; Netti132.
back“With his own body” here means without taking on a new form in the intermediate state between death and rebirth (Tib. bar ma do, Skt. antarābhava) or new skandhas after being reborn. The AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html explains, “Actions very grave (by intention and in scope) and complete (that is, “accumulated,” iv.12) ripen before death itself. Mara then felt a retribution in this life before feeling a retribution in hell. The text thus means that Mara was enveloped, while still alive, by the fires of hell” (Pruden 1988–90, vol. 2, 388).
backTranslation according to the Skt. unless noted otherwise. Other versions of the verses and the foregoing prose portion can also be found in the Pāli Kokāliyasutta, Sn III.10, vv. 657–61 (prose text and vv. 657–60 = SN I 152–54 (cf. AN V 170–74), and in the Uv VIII.2–6; Sn verses 661–62 = Dhp. 306, one hundred twenty-five; as well as in the Suvarṇavarṇāvadāna, Roy 1971, 314 (English tr. Rajapatirana 1974, 120).
backAccording to the Tib. The (Buddhist Hybrid) Skt. version of this verse is a pun on the Sanskrit word kali that is lost in the Tibetan translation. The Tibetan translators chose to render kali as sdig pa, literally, “sin.” The word kali is employed here twice in its two senses: “the losing throw at dice,” and “calamity” or “evil” (see Norman 2001, 292, note to Sn verse 659). The Skt. (in Matsumura’s restored version of the verse) means, “A small measure indeed is that unlucky throw of the dice, through which one loses one’s own wealth. That is a greater calamity, which consists in getting angry toward the Sugata (alpamāttro hy ayaṃ kalir / ya ihāksaiḥ svadhanaṃ parājayet / ayam attra mahattaraḥ kalir / yaḥ sugateṣu manaḥ pradūṣyet // 44 // See Matsumura 1986, 84).
backAccording to the Skt. and the Pāli. Cf. the parallel verses in the Sn (v. 660) and the Suvarṇavarṇāvadāna (Roy 1971, 313–14). The Skt. words arbuda and nirarbuda/nyarbuda here are numerals (= ten million and one hundred million, respectively; cf. MW and pw). See also Norman’s comment on this verse (Norman 2001, 292): “The names are not names of hells, but of numerals.” The number here expressed may be ten trillion thirty-six (and five?) million (10,000,036,000,000). But the numerals are ambiguous. For a parallel passage containing different numbers, see The Hundred Deeds (Toh 340), 3.364. The Tib. of pādas cd reads stong phrag brgyar ni chu bur rdol nas su | chu bur can du sum cu rtsa drug go. The Tib. translators seem to have interpreted chu bur rdol and chu bur can as designating the two cold hells: “(Those who abuse a noble being will go to hell.) After one hundred thousand [years? lives?] in the Bursting Blister Hell, they [will go] to the Blistering Hell for thirty-six [years? lives?].” However, the Tib. does not indicate a time unit (years? lives?). It is likely that the Tibetan translators were unfamiliar with the use of Skt. arbuda and nirarbuda as numerals. Rajapatirana seems to have taken the parallel passage in Suvarṇavarṇāvadāna as expressing the number of arbuda and nirarbuda hells, which is likely wrong (Rajapatirana 1974, 120): “For they are a hundred thousand Nirarbudas, and thirty-six and five Arbudas, to which hells he who blames an Ārya goes.”
backAccording to the Tib.: sdig pa’i sems kyis bden par mi smra ba || bdag nyid brlag cing dmyal bar ’phen par byed ||. The Skt. reads asatābhivadanti (pā)[pa]citta | narakān ātmavadhāya varddhayant(e), “Those who intend evil speak untruth. [Thus] they perpetuate hell and work for their own demise.” Matsumura compares a parallel verse in the Uv and notes its greater similarity to the Skt. Āps (see Matsumura 1989, 85, n. 21).
backGuenther 1986, 58: “(vii) Rab.tu tsha.ba (Pratāpana, Intense Heating Hell) is so called, because beings there are tormented in a very special way. When they have been burnt with molten metal so that no skin is left and while fire flames from the nine openings of the body, they are pierced through with three-spiked weapons from the anus and the soles of the feet to the head and shoulders: Some are boiled in a / Burning stream of molten bronze, / Others are impaled / On red-hot thorny iron stakes.” See also Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 98.
backGuenther 1986, 58, 59: “(viii) The torture of the denizens of the mNar.med (Avīci) hell consists in being thrust into huge iron kettles filled with molten (32a) bronze or copper from vast cauldrons and then being boiled over an unbearably hot fire. As has been written: Some are cast into iron kettles / Head down like the ingredients of rice soup. / Because of the uninterrupted pain this hell is called mNar.med (Avīci).” See also Konchog Gyaltsen 1998, 98.
backWe here read with Narthang and Lhasa: mthun pa. Cf. Mvy, s.v. samagraḥ, which is also the attested reading in our Skt. text.
backDevadatta’s intention was to kill the Buddha. The story of how Devadatta schemed to kill the Buddha in order to inherit his leadership of the Saṅgha is relayed in several Buddhist texts (for the Theravāda tradition see the entry on Devadatta in DPPN).
backAccording to the Tib. (dge slong ma dgra bcom pa bsad pas). The Skt. reads bhiksunīṃ vārhantīṃ ghātayitvā, “having slain a nun or an arhantī.” No such incident is mentioned in the extant Pāli canonical accounts about Devadatta. Neither the Skt. text nor the Tib. translation of the Āps mentions the name Utpalavarṇā. But this incident, the beating of the bhikkhunī and arhantī Utpalavarṇā by Devadatta, is well known from the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya, a comparatively late Vinaya; see Lamotte 1988, 657–59. On Devadatta and his murder of the nun Utpalavarṇā in connection with the “sins of immediate retribution” (ānantaryakarma), see Silk 2009, 236, n. 6. For a summary of the episode itself in the Mūlasarvāstivādavinaya, see Panglung 1981, 123.
backAlmost identical to the Āps verses 49–51 are the verses Uv VIII.7–9; the last line of verse 49 is missing in the Skt. of Uv. Verses similar to Āps 49 and 50 can be found in the different extant versions of the Dhammapada (Patna, Gandhārī); for references cf. Matsumura 1989, 85, note [44].
backBambusa bambos or Bambusa arundinacea. Translated according to the Tib. The Skt. reads (Matsumura 1989, 85 [44]): yaḥ [śā]sanam āryāṇāṃ arhatāṃ dharmajīvināṃ | pratikrośati durmedhā dṛṣṭiṃ niśṛtya pāpikāṃ | phalaṃ kaṇṭakaveṇur vā [phalat]y [ātmavadhāya saḥ || 49 ||, “He who, having resorted to evil views, scorns the teachings of the noble ones who live by the Dharma and are worthy of respect, cultivates the fruit that leads to his own destruction, like the fruit of the bamboo. (Cf. the variant readings: Dhp 164: phalāni kaṭṭhakasseva; GDhp 258 phalāṇi kaḍakaseva; and PDhp 316 phalāni kaṇṭakasseva, given in Matsumura 1989, 85, note on [44].) The bamboo plant is said to blossom and carry fruit very rarely, at large intervals. But when it does bear fruit, the whole plant or forest dies immediately thereafter. This is a well-known trope in Sanskrit Buddhist literature.
backAccording to the Skt. The Tib. made “those who live by the teaching of the noble ones” into the object of contempt instead of the teaching itself (’phags pa rnams kyis bstan pa yi | chos kyis ’os par ’tsho rnams la).
backThe Skt. (Matsumura 1989, 85) reads saced muñcet pratimuñced mu(ñ)camāno hi vadhyate | na tām āryā vimuṃcanti bālā muṃcanti pāpikān || 5 ||. The Tib. translation seems to have taken the different Skt. uses of the verbal root muc (“to liberate,” “to emit words”), in a different sense (cf. Matsumura 1989, 89: gal te smra na dge ba smra’i | sdig pa smras na rlag par ’gyur). We have followed the first two lines of another version of this verse found in Uv (Tib. and Skt.) that makes better sense; see Bernhard 1965: na ca mukte pramuñcet tāṁ muñcamāno hi bādhyate | naivam āryāḥ pramuñcanti muktā bālair hi pāpikā || 8.9 [189], Tib.: byis pa sdig can smra byed pa || smra ba’i tshe na ’ching ’gyur la || gal te smra na gzhan spong ba || de dag ’phags pa mi gsung ngo ||.
backDPPN, s.v. brahmaloka: “The term Brahmakāyikā-devā seems to be used as a class name for all the inhabitants of the Brahma-realms.” [AN I 210: Kathañ ca Visākhe upakkiliṭṭhassa cittassa upakkamena pariyodapanā hoti? Idha Visākhe ariyasāvako devatānussarati—santi devā Cātummahārājikā, santi devā Tāvatiṃsā, santi devā Yāmā, santi devā Tusitā, santi devā Nimmānaratino, santi devā Paranimmitavasavattino, santi devā Brahmakāyikā, santi devā tatuttariṃ.] In our text here, however, the brahmakāyikā devāḥ correspond to the brahmaparisajjā devā in the Theravāda canon instead of being a collective term. In the following, translations of the names of devas other than our own are stated in the notes; we have consulted Walshe 1995, 39; Samtani 2002, pp. 98–99; and Gethin 1998, 116.
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. reads kalpa āyuṣaḥ pramāṇaṃ, “one eon,” which is the same as in the AKBh(P)https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html on AK III.80https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4089.html; cf. AKBh(D), pp. 532ff. The Pāli scholastic tradition presents yet different numbers for the lifespans of the three Brahma-devas (cf. Gethin 1998, 117): brahma-pārisajjā: “⅓ aeon; brahma-purohitā ½ aeon; mahā-brahmā 1 aeon.”
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. reads addhyardhakalpa, “one and a half (elsewhere this is numeric) eons.”
backWalshe: “Devas of Streaming Radiance”; Samtani: they are so called “because they flash radiance in all directions, illuminating all locations.”
backWalshe: “Gods of Limited Glory”; Samtani: “devas of limited auspiciousness.”
backWalshe: “Gods of Unbounded Glory”; Samtani: “their auspiciousness is unlimited.”
backWalshe: “Gods of Refulgent Glory”; Samtani: “[These devas are] wholly auspicious”; Gethin: “Complete Beauty.”
backThis class of devas has no equivalent in the Pāli sources. Instead, the list of the Theravāda school has Vehapphalā devā following on the Śubhakṛtsnā devā (Pāli Subhakiṇṇā devā; Walshe: “Devas of Refulgent Glory”; Gethin: “Complete Beauty”). Samtani: “The devas [float] like clouds, never in contact with the earth. Hence they are Anabhrakā devas, the Cloudless Heaven devas.”
backNo Pāli equivalent. Samtani: “Gods of virtuous birth who take birth from imperturbable (āniñjya) karma. Their birth (prasava) is due to merit.” Cf. also Samtani 2002, 228, note 64.
backPāli Vehapphalā devā (Walshe: “Very Fruitful devas”; Gethin: “Heaven of Great Reward”). Samtani: “Gods destined to take birth in an ordinary place […], who nonetheless obtain the great and best reward.”
backAccording to the Tib. The Skt. has two separate paragraphs for the two categories, the asaṃjñā-satvāḥ and the avṛhā devāḥ (Matsumura 1989, 86, nos. [57] and [58] respectively) and gives different lifespans for each: five hundred and one thousand eons, respectively. The Skt. reads in English translation, “Precisely that—i.e., five hundred eons—is also the lifespan of the Insentient Beings. Premature death does occur. The lifespan of the devas of the Unlofty Heaven is one thousand years. Premature death does occur.” According to Matsumura (1989, 86, n. on [57]) the Chinese translation confirms the Sanskrit version.
backAccording to the Tib. The asaṃjñāsatvā are not listed in the Arv (Samtani 2002; Dharmachakra Translation Committee 2021). For abṛhā devāḥ, cf. Samtani: “not great” (for a more detailed description see Samtani 2002, 99: from this stage upward to Akaniṣṭha there are five Pure Abodes). For the term asaṃjñāsatvā—and the somewhat unsatisfactory translation “Unconscious beings”—see the discussion in the AKBhhttps://read.84000.co/translation/toh4090.html: Pruden 1988–90, vol. 1, 221–23.
backWalshe’s translation; Samtani: “The devas who acquire through special samādhi immunity from the searing heat of the defilements are called Atapā devas.”
backWalshe: “The Beautiful (or Clearly Visible) devas (Pāli sudassā devā). Gethin: “Lovely”; Samtani: “Those who through pure vision see rightly are [called] Sudṛśa devas.” The Tib. translation inverts these two levels of the Pure Abodes: according to Mvy (s.v. sudarśanāḥ), the Tib. word that here seems to render Skt. sudṛśa (= shin tu mthong ba in Āps) usually corresponds to Skt. sudarśana, while the Tib. gya nom snang gi lha rnams usually renders the Skt. sudṛśā devāḥ. The Arv gives the order as sudṛśa > sudarśana (which corresponds to the Skt. ed. of the Āps) and the Pāli, too, has first sudassā and next sudassī (see Walshe 1995, 39).
backWalshe: “Clear-Sighted devas” (Pāli: Sudassī devā). Samtani: “Gods in this realm are delightful in appearance.”
backWalshe’s translation (Pāli: akaniṭṭhā devā). Samtani: “There being no higher stage than this, the devas of this realm, being the eldest, are called the Akaniṣṭhā.”
backThe Skt. manuscript breaks off after ākā]śānaṃtyāyatanopagānāṃ. Matsumura provides his restoration of the Skt. text, based on the Tib. translation and the terminology found in Mvy 3107–13, in the notes on paragraph [63].
backTib. srid pa’i ’byung bas chog shes par gyis shig. Literally, “Be content with the manifestation of existence.” However, the meaning cannot be contentment here. The Buddha’s command is rather meant in the sense, “do not perpetuate saṃsāra any further.”
backThe Tibetan here may refer to a technical unit of time (Tib. de’i skad cig, Skt. tatkṣaṇa; in the order of magnitude of seconds) according to the Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma (cf. Rospatt 1995, 99).
back“In the Dharma” is added here for clarification.
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