Toh 312, Toh 628, Toh 1093 — The Mahāsūtra “On Entering the City of Vaiśālī”
Vaiśālīpraveśamahāsūtra
Translated by the Bhaiṣajyavastu Translation Team under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
The Noble Mahāsūtra
Entering the City of Vaiśālī
F.157.bF.63.aF.256.bF.257.a Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas!
Thus did I hear at one time: The Blessed One was residing in Nāḍikā, at the Impenetrable Dwelling Place.[1] The Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda,F.63.b let us proceed to the city of Vaiśālī.”
“Let us do so, O Honored One,” replied the venerable Ānanda, assenting to what the Blessed One had said.
Thereupon the Blessed One, traveling through the country of Vṛji, arrived in Vaiśālī. In Vaiśālī, he stayed in Āmrapālī’s grove.
At that time the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “Ānanda, go to the city of Vaiśālī, place your foot on the threshold of the city gate, and utter these mantras F.158.a and these verses:
“ ‘The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, has spoken.[3] This is the wish of all buddhas. It is the wish of all pratyekabuddhas. It is the wish of all arhats. It is the wish of all those undergoing training. It is the wish of all śrāvakas. It is the wish of all who speak words of truth. It is the wish of the Dharma.[4] It is the wish of Kāmeśvara. It is the wish of Brahmā. It is the wish of Pratyekabrahman. It is the wish of Indra. It is the wish of the gods. It is the wish of the lord of the demigods. It is the wish of all demigods. It is the wish of the servants of the demigods. It is the wish of all bhūtas:
“ ‘The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, has spoken.
“ ‘Do not stay. The epidemic should cease.
“ ‘The Buddha, the Great God, the God of Gods, the Supreme God, has arrived. The gods including Indra, the gods including Brahmā, the gods including Īśāna, the gods including Prajāpati, and the Four Protectors of the World have come. Hundreds of thousands of gods, lords of the demigods, and hundreds of thousands of demigods have also come. Hundreds of thousands of bhūtas who have faith in the Blessed One F.64.a have also come for the sake of all living beings, and they have come to bring great harm to you; so:
“ ‘Disperse quickly. Those of you who have hateful thoughts, may you be destroyed. Those who have loving thoughts, who do not wish to sin but wish to protect beings, F.158.b stay and take on physical form.[8] The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, has spoken.
“ ‘Sumu sumu | sumu sumu sumu | sumuru sumuru | sumuru sumuru | sumuru sumuru | sumuru sumuru | muru muru | muru muru | muru muru | muru muru | miri miri | miri miri | miri miri miri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murūrīti | riri riri riri | rīrī rīrī rīrīti | miri miri miriti | hisi miri miriti | mirisi sīsīmī | kaṅkarā karakata | kaṅkarā karakacā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā F.258.a kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkaro titi kuriśo | kaṅkara kaṅkariśi | ririri ririri | hiritaphu svā | ripu ripu | ripu ripu | ripu ripu | ripu ripu | nāthā nānā | thā thā | ripu ripu | nāthātha | nirgacchata nirgacchata | ripu ripu | nirgacchata palāyāta | ripū ripū pālāyata |[9]
“ ‘The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, whose wish is to benefit all living beings, who abides in love, who is compassionate, who abides in joy, and who abides in equanimity, has arrived.
“These mantras, which were proclaimed to all the gods and all the bhūtas through the Buddha’s supreme wisdom and truth, will accomplish their purpose. The following verses[11] will accomplish their purpose:
To these instructions, the venerable Ānanda replied, “I will do so, O Honored One.”
He went to Vaiśālī as the Blessed One had instructed and, placing his foot on the threshold of the city gate, uttered these mantras and these verses:[19]
“The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, has spoken.[21] This is the wish of all buddhas. It is the wish of all pratyekabuddhas. It is the wish of all arhats. It is the wish of all those undergoing training. It is the wish of all śrāvakas. It is the wish of all who speak words of truth. It is the wish of all the Dharmas.[22] It is the wish of Kāmeśvara. It is the wish of Brahmā. It is the wish of Pratyekabrahman. It is the wish of Indra. It is the wish of the gods. It is the wish of the lord of the demigods. It is the wish of all demigods. F.65.b It is the wish of the servants of the demigods. It is the wish of all bhūtas.
“The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, has spoken.
“Do not stay. The epidemic should cease.
“The Buddha, the Great God, the God of Gods, the Supreme God, has arrived. The gods including Indra, the gods including Brahmā, the gods including Īśāna, F.259.b the gods including Prajāpati, and the Four Protectors of the World have come. Hundreds of thousands of gods, lords of the demigods, and hundreds of thousands of demigods have also come. Hundreds of thousands of bhūtas who have faith in the Blessed One have also come for the sake of all living beings, and they have come to bring great harm to you; so:
“Disperse quickly. Those of you who have hateful thoughts, may you be destroyed. Those who have loving thoughts, who do not wish to sin but wish to protect beings, stay and take on physical form.[23] The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, has spoken.
“Sumu sumu | sumu sumu sumu | sumuru sumuru | sumuru sumuru | sumuru sumuru | sumuru sumuru | muru muru | muru muru | muru muru | muru muru | miri miri | miri miri | miri miri miri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murumiri | murumiri murūrīti | riri riri riri | rīrī rīrī rīrīti | miri miri mirīti | hisi miri miriti | mirisi sīsīmī | kaṅkarā karakata | kaṅrakara karakaca | kaṅkara kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā F.66.a kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | F.160.b kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkarā kaṅkarā | kaṅkaro tīti kuriśo | kaṅkara kaṅkariśi | ririri ririri | tiritaphu svā | riphu riphu | riphu riphu | riphu riphu | riphu riphu | nāthā nānā | thā thā | ripū ripū | nāthāthā | nirgacchata nirgacchata | ripu ripu | nirgacchata palāyāta | ripū ripū palayātā |[24]
“The Buddha, who has compassion for the world, whose wish is to benefit all living beings, F.260.a who abides in love, who is compassionate, who abides in joy, and who abides in equanimity, has arrived.
“These mantras, which were proclaimed to all the gods and all the bhūtas through the Buddha’s supreme wisdom and truth, will accomplish their purpose. The following verses will accomplish their purpose:
Colophon
Translated, edited, and established by the Indian paṇḍita Surendrabodhi and the principal editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.[30]
Notes
In the Tibetan of this mahāsūtra version, the setting is rendered as ’dam bu’i khrod na gzings pa’i ’dug gnas, something of a conundrum for the translator. In the Bhaiṣajyavastu version this opening is absent, but according to its narrative the dialog that follows can be surmised to have taken place at the Giñjakāvasatha at Nādikā, a village near Pāṭaliputra (present-day Patna, in Bihar). To summarize personal communications with Peter Skilling: The Sanskrit Nādikā is attested in passages of the Mahāparinirvāṇasūtra that parallel parts of the Bhaiṣajyavastu, but in the Tibetan of the latter Nādikā is rendered as sgra can, perhaps meaning “a place with noise,” and in other texts sgra sgrogs (similar in meaning) and chu bo can (“having a river”); these renderings are all based on Skt. √nad (“roar”) and its derivative nadī (“river”). Given that Nādikā has several variant spellings in the Pali texts, it is plausible—given the weight of the evidence from these other texts—that ’dam bu’i khrod could be a Tibetan rendering of the same place name, based instead on Skt. naḍa (“reed,” Tib. ’dam bu), sometimes spelt nala or nada; this is also supported by the fact (Yao, personal communication) that the rendering of Nādikā as 販葦聚落 in the Chinese translation of the Kṣudrakavastu (Taishō 1451) is also based on reference to reeds. As for the building or dwelling (gzings pa’i ’dug gnas), this Tibetan rendering may or may not correspond to the Giñjakāvasatha of other texts, a name sometimes interpreted from Pali sources as meaning a “brick building,” but with inconclusive evidence. The Tibetan here, gzings pa, according to Negi, may translate the Sanskrit gahana (“impenetrable,” “thicket”) but does not allow the name to be matched with any certainty to the Giñjakāvasatha or any other known place name. The whole phrase is found as a setting in only one other Kangyur text, a dhāraṇī called lcags mthu nag po (Toh 763https://read.84000.co/translation/toh763.html). In Karmavajra’s commentary (see Introduction #UT22084-072-012-25), the place is given instead as ’dam bu’i khrod na gzigs pa’i ’dug gnas, i.e., the same primary locality but “the Dwelling Place of Seeing” as the secondary one. The commentary provides no explanation of the name but goes on to describe it, in tantra style, as a measureless palace at the center of Vaiśālī made by the gods, asuras, and other nonhuman beings.
backThere are many variants between the extant Tibetan texts in the mantras transliterated from Sanskrit, and in particular between the present Mahāsūtra version and the Bhaiṣajyavastu version. Here, the spelling and number of word repetitions reproduces the Degé Kangyur version in the Tantra section. Variants are fully documented in Skilling (1994–97), vol. 1, pp. 564–607 and 696–738.
backHere the Chinese translation of the Bhaiṣajyavastu transliterates the entire passage down to “Muñcata muñcata,” whereas the Tibetan translates it.
backPlural (chos rnams) in the Bhaiṣajyavastu version.
back“Disperse! Disperse! Disperse! Disperse!”
back“Move! Move!”
back“Depart! Depart! Depart! Depart!”
backThe Bhaiṣajyavastu version here, instead of lus la yang ’jug par gyis shig, has dgongs pa la yang ’jug par gyur cig (“engage in the intention”).
backSee #UT22084-072-012-72; the divisions in the long mantra have been introduced to facilitate recitation rather than to reproduce the “word” breaks and punctuation in the source text.
back“Depart quickly!”
backThe full set of verses that follows is also found as a separate, standalone text, The Verses of Well-Wishing in the Sūtra on Entering the City of Vaiśālī (Toh 816https://read.84000.co/translation/toh816.html in the Kangyur and Toh 4406https://read.84000.co/translation/toh4406.html in the Tengyur).
backTib. don grub (“accomplished goals”) could also be taken as the Buddha’s name at birth, Siddhārtha.
backIn the Bhaiṣajyavastu version, it is the Dharma that is described as “alluring” (yid ’phrog) rather than the Buddha.
backTib. tshogs kun. Although the words could be interpreted in a more general sense, according to Skilling this stanza refers to the Buddha’s resolution of the schism in the saṅgha in Śrāvastī (see Skilling 1994–97, vol. 2, p. 595).
backThis stanza and the preceding one are also found as the third and fourth stanzas of the verse passage in the Dhvajāgra-mahāsūtra (Toh 292), in the Pañcarakṣa text Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñi (Toh 559), and in the Mahāvastu (see Skilling 1994–97, vol. 2, p. 426).
backThe Chinese Bhaiṣajyavastu and the Mahāmantrānusāriṇī lack these two verses (“Surrounded by … Should be gone from this city”). The newly identified Sanskrit Bhaiṣajyavastu fragments tally with the line “Those who have thoughts of anger … should stay.”
backThis six-line stanza is also found in the Pañcarakṣa text Mahāmāyūrīvidyārājñi (Toh 559), in the Bhadrakarātrīsūtra (Toh 313, at 1.13), and in the version of the Upasenasūtra found in the Vinayavibhaṅgha (Toh 3https://read.84000.co/translation/toh3.html). Some of the lines, in Sanskrit and Pali, are found in inscriptions and in other forms all over Asia. For details see Skilling (1994–97), vol. 2, p. 596.
backThis stanza is also found in the Mahāsamāja-mahāsūtra (Toh 653https://read.84000.co/translation/toh653.html) and, in the Mūlasarvāstivādin Vinaya, in the Vinayakṣudrakavastu (Toh 6https://read.84000.co/translation/toh6.html) and in the Chapter on Going Forth (Pravrajyāvastu, Toh 1-1, at 4.258), as well as in the version of the present text in the Chapter on Medicines (Bhaiṣajyavastu, Toh 1-6, 3.297).
backThe Chinese Bhaiṣajyavastu does not repeat the mantras and verses as the Tibetan versions do, but only states 咸依上法 (“everything accords with the above method”). Here the newly discovered Sanskrit Bhaiṣajyavastu fragments (Yao, 2013 and 2015) tally with the Chinese concerning this lack of repetition.
backSee #UT22084-072-012-57.
backSee #UT22084-072-012-59.
backHere chos thams cad, a difference compared to the initial passage, #UT22084-072-012-58 which simply reads chos, and to the Bhaiṣajyavastu version (see #UT22084-072-012-60).
backAs before (see #UT22084-072-012-72), the Bhaiṣajyavastu version here, instead of lus la yang ’jug par gyis shig, has dgongs pa la yang ’jug par gyur cig (“engage in the intention”).
backThere are some minor differences, reproduced here, in the exact spelling of some elements of this second version of the mantra compared to the first. See also #UT22084-072-012-74.
backSee #UT22084-072-012-87.
backSee #UT22084-072-012-93.
backThe Chinese Bhaiṣajyavastu and Mahāmantrānusāriṇī lack these two verses (“Surrounded by … Should be gone from this city”). The newly identified Sanskrit Bhaiṣajyavastu fragments tally with the line “Those who have thoughts of anger … should stay.”
backSee #UT22084-072-012-103.
backSee #UT22084-072-012-105. In the Bhaiṣajyavastu, this verse is followed by the statement: “When Ānanda had spoken these words, there by the blessed buddhas’ power of buddhahood, and the gods’ power of the gods, the epidemic was quelled.”
backThis translators’ colophon is not present in the versions of the text in the General Sūtra section of the Tshalpa Kangyurs. It is, however, found in the versions of the text found in the Tantra sections of all Kangyurs and in the versions in the Dhāraṇīs section in the Degé and Qianlong Peking, but not in the Berlin, Choné, or Lithang Kangyurs.
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