Nagarjuna’s Treatise on the Ten Grounds Volume ll

Back Matters

Notes

1 Although it is common to see the Sanskrit title of this work reconstructed in English academic articles as Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā-śāstra, this based on its Chinese title, Shizhu piposha lun (十住毘婆沙論), "Ten Grounds Vibhāṣā Treatise." Akira Hirakawa, in Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary (Tokyo: Reiyūkai Hatsubaimoto Innātorippusha, 1997) reconstructs this title as simply Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā, probably because he recognized that the lun (論) or "treatise" in the Chinese title was only ever intended by Kumārajīva and other translators to notify the Chinese reader that a vibhāṣā is a kind of treatise. That is to say, he most likely did not intend it as a translation of the Sanskrit word śāstra.

2 Joseph Walser writes in his article "Nāgārjuna," in John Powers, ed., The Buddhist World (London; New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group, 2016), p. 498: "Of two things we can be fairly certain. First, according to two sixth-century catalogues of Buddhist texts translated into Chinese, Dharmarakṣa translated a work called the Treatise Commentary on the Sutra of Ten Stages (Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣa-śāstra) in 265 C.E. that he ascribes to Nāgārjuna."

3 Although the Taishō edition of this text restarts the chapter numbering after Chapter 27 by designating Chapter 28 as "Chapter 1," I instead follow the chapter numbering of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions of the Chinese Buddhist canon, all of which number this treatise as consisting of a series of thirty-five continuously numbered chapters. The apparent rationale for the Taishō edition's restarting the numbering at Chapter 28 is to call the reader's attention to the fact that the first twenty-seven chapters are at least nominally devoted to explaining the first ground whereas the final eight chapters constitute a new section consisting of Nāgārjuna's explanation of the second ground. In any case, the reader should be aware that headings of these sorts for the most part originate with the Chinese translation team, not with the Indian text. 4 This condensed description of each chapter borrows from and expands upon a very similar Chinese-language narration found in "A Simplified Introduction to the Daśabhūmika Vibhāṣā" (十住毘婆沙論簡介) by the Chinese Buddhist monk Hou Guan of the Fuyan Buddhist Studies Institute (福嚴佛學院, 釋厚觀, 09/18/2001), http://www.fuyan.org.tw/main_edu/1521-00c.doc, accessed July 2018. 5 These "four bases of meritorious qualities" are truth, relinquishing, quiescence, and wisdom.

6 The four lineage bases of the āryas (catur-āryavaṃśa) are delighting in mere sufficiency in clothing, delighting in mere sufficiency of food and drink, delighting in 379

Notes

mere sufficiency of bedding, and delighting in the severance [of evil] and the cultivation [of goodness]. 7 I translate here as "monastic preceptor" and "monastic Dharma teacher" what the Kumārajīva text retains in transliteration as upādhyāya and ācārya respectively. 8 In this translation, "good spiritual friend" and "good spiritual guide" are alternative renderings for the same Chinese terms (善知識) and Sanskrit (kalyāṇamitra). "Good spiritual friend" is used to refer to those companions on the spiritual path who support one's adherence to the teachings. "Good spiritual guide" is used to refer to spiritual friends who also serve as mentors upon whom one relies for spiritual guidance as one cultivates the path.

9 The Lokāyata school of ancient Indian philosophy is a materialist doctrine the founding of which is often attributed to Bṛhaspati who is thought to have lived around 1000 B.C.E.

10 11 12 13 14 15 16 Given the readings in the immediately preceding passage and in the verse which follows below, for consistency's sake, I emend the Taishō reading of da zang (大藏), "great treasuries," here in favor of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions reading of guangda zang (廣大藏), "vast treasuries."

I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring on sensibility grounds the Song, Yuan, and Ming editions' guang shuo (廣說), "extensive explanation," to the Taishō edition's guang (廣), "extensive."

I translate here as "benefactors" what the Kumārajīva text retains in transliteration as "dānapati."

To correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' zengshang man (增上慢), "overweening pride," to the Taishō edition's untranslatable zengshang man (憎上慢).

Although the arrangement of the Taishō text does not make this clear, it is obvious that these first four five-character phrases form a quatrain upon which the following paragraph comments. Hence I have formatted the text accordingly. This most likely refers to the Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra preserved in the Taishō canon as the Banzhou sanmei jing (般舟三昧經; T.418:902c23-919c5). Paul Harrison has produced a translation of this text for the BDK English Tripiṭaka Series, in the volume entitled The Pratyutpanna Samādhi Sutra/The Śūraṅgama Samādhi Sutra (Moraga, CA: BDK America, Inc., 1998), pp. 1-107.

I emend the reading of the text here (but still keep the emendation in brackets since there are no supporting variants in any of the other editions), this to correct an obvious scribal error wherein the name of the third of these "four bases of meritorious qualities" is missing from this sentence. The missing "basis" here is mie (滅), "quiescence" (upaśamādhiṣṭhāna).

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Notes

17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 These four bases of meritorious qualities (四功德處: 諦, 捨, 滅, 慧; satyādhiṣṭhāna, tyāgādhiṣṭhāna, upaśamādhiṣṭhāna, prajñādhiṣṭhāna; truth, relinquishment [generosity], quiescence, and wisdom) are brought up repeatedly in this and other Nāgārjunian treatises, sometimes in slightly varying order and sometimes, as in the present case, with the Chinese translation using slightly variant terminological choices for one of the four list components.

"Arms appearing like golden gate bars" is a rather obscure simile that I have never encountered. The Song, Yuan, Ming, Gong editions have chan (鋋), which would be the equally obscure "like golden spears."

To correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' sheng (生), "growth," to the Taishō edition's zhu (主), "ruler."

The "reply that sets aside the question" is one of polite refusal to provide an answer, not because the answer is not known, but because the question involves a false premise making the query absurd on the face of it, because providing the answer would only promote endless frivolous and fruitless speculation on the part of the questioner (as with the fourteen imponderables), or because providing an answer would in no way serve the goal of spiritual liberation.

More specifically, the component lists comprising the thirty-seven wings of enlightenment are: the five faculties, the five powers, the seven limbs of bodhi, the eightfold path, the four stations of mindfulness, the four right efforts, and the four foundations of psychic power.

"Foes" refers here to the three poisons, i.e., the afflictions. An arhat has completely destroyed them. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi points out that this pronouncement references the word play in the word arahant, where it is explained that they are those who are enemy (ari) destroyers (hanta).

Perhaps due to corruption of the manuscript at some point in its long history, the following list contains only seventy-four of the eighty secondary characteristics. The saṃkakṣikā is the monastic's robe that is worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm.

The nivāsana is the monastic's skirt-like inner robe.

The saṃghāṭī is the monastic's outer robe.

"Eight kinds of āryas" usually refers to those eminences who reside at the four candidate stages and the four realization stages on the śrāvaka vehicle path. The first is candidate for stream-entry and the eighth is the fully realized arhat. Garuḍa birds prey on young dragons, hence the mention that, at least when attending Dharma teachings by buddhas, they manage to remain uncharacteristically free of any mutual hostility.

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Notes

29 30 31 32 33 34 35 Although the Taishō text has xiang (相), "appearance," here it is as an often encountered and more or less standard short-form abbreviation for xiang (想), "thought." Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that this is a stock description of the Buddha's teaching of the Dharma as found in the suttas of the Nikāyas, as for example: ādikalyāṇaṃ majjhe kalyāṇaṃ pariyosāne kalyāṇaṃ sātthaṃ sabyañjanaṃ, etc., and sandiṭṭhiko akālika ehipassiko opanayako paccattaṃ veditabbo viññūhi.

Kumārajīva transliterated rather than translated these fruits of the path (srota-āpanna, sakṛdāgāmin, anāgāmin) that, with the exception of arhat, I have elected to translate. The emendation proposed by the 2009 edition of CBETA (和>知) involving a supposed graphic-similarity scribal error is itself erroneous and irrelevant. This verse simply restates an idea clearly articulated late in Chapter 18 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I, p. 303): "Through not allowing estrangement to occur among other beings or among one's relatives, and through being able to cause those who have become estranged to be reunited, one acquires the mark of male genital ensheathment. Due to having [planted the karmic causes that result in] this mark, one acquires many disciples." See 65b18-20: 能善調人不令眾生親里遠離. 若有乖離還令和合故得陰藏相. 有是相故多得弟子.

"Genital ensheathment" of course also associates with transcendence of sensual desire and, as an incidental implication, that there may therefore be no biological sons via which the patrilineal lineage might continue.

Here, the metaphoric interpretation points out that it is the pure wisdom eye (pure by virtue of an absence of attachments) that leads to the continuance of the lineage of the buddhas, this because it is a buddha's wise teachings flowing from his possession of the wisdom eye that beget "the sons of the Buddha," i.e., the bodhisattvas who will themselves become the buddhas of the future who carry on his Dharma lineage. These are eight voice qualities possessed only by the buddhas: (1) extremely fine, (2) gentle, (3) appropriate, (4) possessed of venerable wisdom, (5) non-feminine, (6) unmistaken, (7) deep and far-reaching, and (8) inexhaustible. These are discussed at length in Section 59 of A Sequential Explanation of the Initial Gateway into the Dharma Realm (法界次第初門, T.1925:697a15-b20) composed by the famous meditation master and immensely prolific Tiantai hermeneutic school exegete Zhiyi (沙門釋智顗, a.k.a. 陳隋國師智者大師).

Because the received text's listing of these forty exclusive dharmas presents them in a somewhat different order than occurs as they are actually presented and discussed in the text, I reorder and renumber them here to follow the actual order of their presentation. I do so based on the usually factual assumption that the section titles and preliminary lists in translations of Sanskrit texts are for the most part not part of the original text, but rather are added by the Sanskrit-to-Chinese translator to assist the reader, or, in this case, perhaps by the editors and scribes in Kumārajīva's translation bureau. For those interested in the erroneously ordered and numbered list found here in the received text, it is as follows:

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36 37 38 39 40 Notes

1. Sovereign mastery of the ability to fly; 2. [The ability to manifest] countless transformations; 3. Boundless psychic powers of the sort possessed by āryas; 4. Sovereign mastery of the ability to hear sounds; 5. Immeasurable power of knowledge to know others' thoughts; 6. Sovereign mastery in [training and subduing] the mind; 7. Constant abiding in stable wisdom;

8. Never forgetting;

9. Possession of the powers of the vajra samādhi; 10. Thorough knowing of matters that are unfixed; 11. Thorough knowing of matters pertaining to the formless realm's meditative absorptions;

12. The completely penetrating knowledge of all matters associated with eternal cessation;

13. Thorough knowing of the nonform dharmas unassociated with the mind; 14. The great powers pāramitā;

15. The [four] unimpeded [knowledges] pāramitā; 16. The pāramitā of perfectly complete replies and predictions in response to questions;

17. Perfectly complete implementation of the three turnings in speaking Dharma; 18. Their words are never spoken without a purpose; 19. Their speech is free of error;

20. Invulnerability to harm by anyone; 21. They are the great generals among all āryas; 22-25. They are able to remain unguarded in four ways; 26-29. They possess the four fearlessnesses; 30-39. They possess the ten powers;

40. They possess the unimpeded liberations. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This is a category in Sarvāstivāda Abhidharma (not in the Theravāda Abhidhamma), which indicates the author is familiar with the Sarvāstivāda system."

"Without a purpose" here is literally "empty" (in the sense of "in vain" or "fruitlessly"). Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Aṅguttara Nikāya 7:58. The four are: conduct of body, speech, and mind, and livelihood." To correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' neng (能), "able to," to the Taishō edition's suo (所), "that which." Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Aṅguttara Nikāya, Sevens, no. 40 (see also Sixes, no. 24):

Bhikkhus, possessing seven qualities, a bhikkhu exercises mastery over his mind and is not a servant of his mind. What seven? Here, (1. a bhikkhu is skilled in 383

Notes

41 42 43 44 45 46 concentration; (2. skilled in the attainment of concentration; (3. skilled in the duration of concentration; (4. skilled in emergence from concentration; (5. skilled in fitness for concentration; (6. skilled in the range of concentration; and (7. skilled in resolution regarding concentration. Possessing these seven qualities, a bhikkhu exercises mastery over his mind, and is not a servant of his mind. This appears to be yet another instance of Kumārajīva's use of xing (性), usually translated as "nature," as a translation for dhātu, which is more ordinarily translated into Sino-Buddhist Classical Chinese as jie (界), "realm." Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "In the above [passage: 諸相諸觸諸覺諸念亦 知起知住知生知滅], 相 is clearly another instance of the confusion between 相 and 想 so common in Chinese texts. The Pāli part parallel has saññā. See the end of Majjhima Nikāya 123, where the Buddha says he knows "the arising, persistence, and passing away of vedanā, saññā, and vitakka."

In response to my earlier draft translation of emo (惡魔) here as "evil demon," Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: Here there is no doubt that 惡魔 is none other than the infamous Māra, a particular individual, not just any "evil demon." See Samyutta Nikāya 4:24, "Seven Years of Pursuit":

On one occasion the Blessed One was dwelling at Uruvelā on the bank of the river Nerañjarā at the foot of the Goatherd's Banyan Tree. Now on that occasion Māra the Evil One had been following the Blessed One for seven years, seeking to gain access to him but without success….

Then Māra the Evil One, in the presence of the Blessed One, recited these verses of disappointment:

There was a crow that walked around

A stone that looked like a lump of fat.

"Let's find something tender here," [he thought,]

"Perhaps there's something nice and tasty."

But because he found nothing tasty there,

The crow departed from that spot.

Just like the crow that attacked the stone,

We leave Gotama disappointed.

These five are past dharmas, present dharmas, future dharmas, unconditioned dharmas (referred to below as "those that transcend the three periods of time"), and ineffable dharmas.

I emend the text here to correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' san (三), "three," to the Taishō text's er (二), "two." The rationale for the emendation is evident in the paragraph's discussion of "three" dharmas that are "strung together," not merely "two." I have made the same emendation here as in the previous note. 384

Notes

47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that this incident involving the elephant named Nālagiri is described in the Vinaya, Cullavagga II 194 foll. of the Pali Text Society's Pāli edition. As described later in the text, "The twelve dhūta austerities" are: Adopting the dharma of dwelling in a forest hermitage; Obtaining one's food through the almsround; Wearing robes made of cast-off rags;

[Taking one's daily meal in but] a single sitting; Always sitting to sleep, [never lying down]; Having taken the meal, not accepting food or drink at the wrong times; Possessing only a single set of three robes; Wearing only an animal hair robe;

Laying out one's sitting mat wherever one happens to be; Dwelling at the foot of a tree;

Dwelling out in the open (lit., "on empty ground"); Dwelling in a charnel field.

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "In the Pāli these are laid out as parallel descriptive terms. The Pāli actually has nine synonymous terms. See Aṅguttara Nikāya 1:174." Based on Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi's very sensible suggestion that "quiescent cessation" (寂滅) is probably here as elsewhere simply a somewhat opaque sounding Sino-Buddhist translation of "nirvana," I have rendered it as such throughout this entire passage as well as in other places throughout the text where the context demands it. I have been unable to find a Sanskrit antecedent for this Chinese transliteration of a type of ṛṣi, a pisuo (脾娑) ṛṣi. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi suggests that this may be a transliteration of viśvarśi (viś ṛṣi).

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that one can find approximate Pāli canon parallels at Majjhima Nikāya 110.4, Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, p. 892, and Aṅguttara Nikāya 3:3.

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The story of Ciñcā the brahmin girl occurs in the Dhammapada Commentary, commenting on verse 176. See Burlingame, Buddhist Legends III 19 foll."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "In the Pāli Canon, this incident is referred to in Udāna Section 38."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The incident is at Saṃyutta Nikāya 4:18 (Pali Text Society ed. I 113-14)."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The story is in the Pāli Vinaya in Cullavagga, chapter 7; Pali Text Society ed II 194-96." Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This [story] is at the beginning of the Pārājika chapter of the Vinaya."

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Notes

58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "His departure from the Sangha and denunciation of the Buddha are mentioned at the beginning of Majjhima Nikāya 12. Majjhima Nikāya 105 is spoken to him, and his arguments with the Buddha about arahants are at Dīgha Nikāya 23."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Aṅguttara Nikāya 7:58: Four things that the Tathāgata does not have to guard: conduct of body, speech, and mind, and livelihood." "The upoṣadha dharma" is a reference to spiritual purification, in particular the two days of the month when monastics recite the precepts and the days of the month in which pious laypeople voluntarily take on a semi-monastic level of moral precept observance.

This is verse 183 of the Dhammapada.

The first four lines here correspond to Dhammapada 361.

This corresponds to verse 362 of the Dhammapada.

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Aṅguttara Nikāya 5:181 foll.: 'Bhikkhus, there are these five kinds of forest dwellers. What five? (1) One who becomes a forest dweller because of his dullness and stupidity; (2) one who becomes a forest dweller because he has evil desires, because he is driven by desire; (3) one who becomes a forest dweller because he is mad and mentally deranged; (4) one who becomes a forest dweller, [thinking]: "It is praised by the buddhas and the buddhas' disciples"; (5) and one who becomes a forest dweller for the sake of fewness of desires, for the sake of contentment, for the sake of eliminating [defilements], for the sake of solitude, for the sake of simplicity. The fifth is pronounced the best.'" Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "I think the author here is referring to the Buddha's hesitation, immediately after his enlightenment, about going out and teaching the Dharma. See Majjhima Nikāya 26.19, Saṃyutta Nikāya 6:1, etc." Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This is at Majjhima Nikāya 26.22-23. Interestingly the author here takes a similar perspective on sarvajñatā as the Thera vāda commentaries, that knowledge arises when the Buddha directs his attention to some issue (āvajjanapaṭibaddhaṃ buddhassa bhagavato ñāṇaṃ), in contrast to the later Mahāyāna view that the Buddha perpetually knows everything simultaneously." The second part of the Chinese text's title, "Forty Dharmas Exclusive to Buddhas: The Exclusive Dharma of Thoroughly Knowing What Is Unfixed," is misleading because "the exclusive dharma of thoroughly knowing what is unfixed" only describes the first few pages of this long chapter that in fact discusses all of the remaining exclusive dharmas (nos. 10-40). I have therefore dropped this misleading phrase from the chapter title. One should be aware that these chapter titles almost certainly do not originate with Nāgārjuna but rather with Kumārajīva's translation team. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The above corresponds to Majjhima Nikāya no. 136."

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Notes

69 70 Commenting on the corresponding passages as preserved in the Pāli canon, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The Pāli sutta with the simile of the raft mentions all four fruits (Majjhima Nikāya 22; see the end). But the proposition about one of two fruits occurs in a number of other suttas, such as the Satipaṭṭhāna Sutta (see end of Majjhima Nikāya 10)."

Regarding this Ekottara Āgama's Shejiali Sutra (舍迦梨經), I have so far been unable to locate the Sanskrit for its title.

71 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi comments:

The above corresponds to Aṅguttara Nikāya 10:217 (also 10:218). Note that there are three modes in which the karmic results may be received, in both the Pāli and Chinese versions: in the present life (現受報), upon rebirth (that is, the next life, 生受), or in a subsequent life (after the next one, 後受).

Here is the Pāli followed by my English rendering:

72 73 74 75 217. Nāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sañcetanikānaṃ kammānaṃ katānaṃ upacitānaṃ appaṭisaṃviditvā byantībhāvaṃ vadāmi. Tañca kho diṭṭheva dhamme upapajje vā apare vā pariyāye. Na tvevāhaṃ, bhikkhave, sañcetanikānaṃ kammānaṃ katānaṃ upacitānaṃ appaṭisaṃveditvā dukkhass'antakiriyaṃ vadāmi. "Bhikkhus, I do not say that there is a termination of volitional kamma that has been done and accumulated so long as one has not experienced [its results], and that may be in this very life, or in the [next] rebirth, or on some subsequent occasion. But I do not say that there is making an end of suffering so long as one has not experienced [the results of] volitional kamma that has been done and accumulated."

Again, I have so far been unable to find the Sanskrit name for this transliterated title, Ekottara Āgama's Afuluo Sutra.

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The Pāli parallel is Majjhima 58: Abhayarājakumāra Sutta." These "three groups" refers to the tri-skandha (三聚) as that term is used to categorize the karmic destinies of beings. Those who are "definitely deviant" or "erroneous" are definitely bound to be unsuccessful in reaching enlightenment whereas those who are "definitely righteous" or "correct" are definitely bound to succeed in becoming enlightened. In his Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa, in commenting on a passage in the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra that brings up the topic of these three groups, Nāgārjuna points out that it is the ability or inability to destroy the inverted views that is pivotal in determining one's position in this threefold categorization. It is those who may or may not encounter the karmic conditions enabling the destruction of these inverted views who are categorized as "indefinite." (See T.1509:647c27-648a1.) These four "repositories of Dharma" (Dharma-piṭaka) are identified by Nāgārjuna in his Mahāprajñāpāramitā-upadeśa as (1) the Sutra-piṭaka, (2) the Vinaya-piṭaka, (3) the Abhidharma-piṭaka, and (4) the Kṣudraka-piṭaka (T.1509:143c23-25). 387

Notes

76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 These are "delectable absorptions" (āsvādana-samādhi), which are characterized by the arising of extremely pleasurable meditation states to which the unskilled or unwise meditator is vulnerable to becoming attached.

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The Pāli parallel is the opening passage of Dīgha Nikāya no. 14, almost verbatim the same."

I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring on sensibility grounds the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' ci jing (此經), "this sutra," to the Taishō edition's jing ci (經此), "sutra this."

The sutra to which this text refers is obviously the Ten Grounds Sutra on which Nāgārjuna's Shizhu piposha lun comments. This topic of the expansiveness of the Buddha's knowledge and vision is treated at great length in the sutra itself. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The names of pratyekabuddhas are mentioned in Majjhima Nikāya 116. I would posit the following equivalents" [for a few of the pratyekabuddhas mentioned here]:

無垢 = Ariṭṭha

華相 = Tagarasikhī

喜見 = Piyadassī.

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "Parallel to the above is Aṅguttara Nikāya 6:62 Section 6: (6) "Then, Ānanda, having encompassed his mind with my own mind, I understand some person thus: 'Wholesome qualities and unwholesome qualities are found in this person.' On a later occasion, having encompassed his mind with my own mind, I understand him thus: 'This person does not have even a mere fraction of a hair's tip of an unwholesome quality. This person possesses exclusively bright, blameless qualities. He will attain nibbāna in this very life.'" Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "[This passage is found] in Majjhima Nikāya 12." Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The following passage comes toward the end of Majjhima Nikāya 12."

This long paragraph beginning with "Supposing…" has the appearance of language quoted from a sutra. However, having failed to locate it, I frame it here as simply Nāgārjuna's amplification of the meaning of the immediately preceding passage, which Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi recognized as having a Pāli analogue in Majjhima Nikāya 12.

Potaliputta is the name as recorded in the Pāli canon. I'm not sure about the Sanskrit for this name.

The name Samiddhi is as recorded in the Pāli canon; Sanskrit uncertain. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that the following passage is found in the beginning of Majjhima Nikāya 136.

Rāhula was the Buddha's son; Devadatta was someone intent on killing the Buddha. 388

Notes

88 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi suggest that this passage may be alluding to Aṅguttara Nikāya 4:111, "Kesi the Horse Trainer."

89 This refers to satkāyadṛṣṭi.

90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 Again, although in these last two cases, the Chinese is literally "gain the path" (得道), per Hirakawa, Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary, p. 451, column 2, this corresponds to: "bodhi, abhisaṃbuddha, saṃbodhi-prāpta." Franklin Edgerton, Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1953), in turn suggests "becoming perfectly enlightened" for abhisambuddhana (p. 58, column 2).

Although brahmacarya (梵行) generally refers to celibate spiritual practice, it may just as well be thought of as "the holy life" or "the spiritual life." Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that this scriptural quote "is found in many places in the Nikāyas: e.g., beginning of Majjhima Nikāya 148: Bhagavā etadavoca—'dhammaṃ vo, bhikkhave, desessāmi ādikalyāṇaṃ majjhe kalyāṇaṃ pariyosānakalyāṇaṃ sātthaṃ sabyañjanaṃ, kevalaparipuṇṇaṃ parisuddhaṃ brahmacariyaṃ pakāsessāmi."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "In the Pāli suttas, the second wonder is being able to declare another person's thoughts." For the three wonders, see Aṅguttara Nikāya 3:60: "There are, brahmin, these three kinds of wonders. What three? The wonder of psychic potency, the wonder of mind-reading, and the wonder of instruction (iddhipāṭihāriyaṃ ādesanāpāṭihāriyaṃ anusāsanī-pāṭihāriyaṃ; also at Dīgha Nikāya 11.3-8, I 212-14). The second is explained thus: There is one who…declares: 'Your thought is thus, such is what you are thinking, your mind is in such and such a state.' And even if he makes many declarations, they are exactly so and not otherwise." I have been unable to locate either the Sanskrit or Pāli antecedents for the titles of these scriptures, Poheti and Uttara. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi also notes: "I'm not sure of the references here. Perhaps the former is the Potaliya Sutta, Majjhima Nikāya 54, but I'm not sure."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "[The Pāli canon analogue for] the following is at Majjhima Nikāya 12 and Aṅguttara Nikāya 4:8."

I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring on sensibility grounds the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' wei wei (微畏), "slightest fear," to the Taishō edition's shi (是), "this."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that the analogue passage in the Pāli canon is found at Dīgha Nikāya no. 20.

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Majjhima Nikāya 115 and Aṅguttara Nikāya 1:277."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The above, too, is in Majjhima Nikāya 115 and Aṅguttara Nikāya 1:284 foll."

Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "On this, see Majjhima Nikāya 45, 46." 389

Notes

100 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This may be an allusion to Aṅguttara Nikāya 5:28." 101 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This may be an allusion to Aṅguttara Nikāya 5:27." 102 This is a concept with numerous similar alternative explanations, most of which refer to the immense amount of merit and time required to acquire the thirty-two marks and eighty minor characteristics of a buddha's body and finally achieve buddhahood. This is discussed in greater detail in Nāgārjuna's commentary on the Great Perfection of Wisdom Sutra, T.25:57b5-27.

103 Nārāyaṇa is a powerful celestial eminence regarded as a Dharma protector in Buddhism. 104 As is quite common with the syntax of multi-line Classical Chinese verses, this quatrain requires the rearrangement of its lines to produce a sensible and naturally flowing statement in English.

105 "Eight classes in four pairs" (四雙八輩) refers to the four preliminary phases and four fruition stages on the individual liberation path of the śrāvaka disciples. 106 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "見聞覺知 = Pāli diṭṭhaṃ, sutaṃ, mutaṃ, viññātaṃ, where mutaṃ is explained as things sensed through the other three sense faculties: smell, taste, and touch."

Hence, in "seen, heard, sensed, and known" (per Hirakawa's Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary: dṛṣṭa-śruta-mata-jñāta or dṛṣṭa-śruta-mata-vijñāta), "sensed" (mata) refers to the sensory function of the olfactory, gustatory, and tactile sense faculties. Therefore this series is intended to refer to the functions of all six sense faculties and their corresponding consciousnesses.

107 To correct an apparent scribal error very likely originating in homophony, I emend the reading of the text here, preferring on sensibility grounds the homophonous de (得), "achieved," of the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions to the Taishō text's de (德), "qualities."

108 "Five characteristics" here is slightly ambiguous. It could refer particularly to the five types of desire which together constitute the first of the five hindrances (visible forms, sounds, smells, tastes, and touchables; or wealth, sex, fame, food, and leisure). Alternatively, it may be intended to refer to all five of the "five hindrances" that must be eliminated to access deep states of meditation (desire, ill will, lethargy and sleepiness, excitedness and regretfulness, and afflicted doubtfulness). 109 To correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' li (力), "power," to the Taishō edition's fen (分), "portion."

110 I am not sure precisely what Nāgārjuna intended by "the six categories of meanings associated with the forty exclusive dharmas," set forth in his preceding praise verses. 111 The Sanskrit antecedent of shixiang (實相) in Kumārajīva translations is usually dharmatā, i.e., the true nature of all dharmas; i.e., śūnyatā; i.e., the utter absence of inherent existence in any and all phenomena.

390

Notes

112 To correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' shen (深), "deep" or "profound," to the Taishō edition's ran (染), "defiled." Nāgārjuna's discussion of this line corroborates the correctness of the emendation. 113 When translated into Chinese, "Tathāgata" means "Thus Come One." 114 Again, this most likely refers to the Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra preserved in the Taishō canon as the Banzhou sanmei jing (般舟三昧經, T.418:902c23-919c5). 115 "Overweening pride," zeng shang man (增上慢), corresponds to the Sanskrit adhimāna. 116 To correct an obvious graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' zeng (增), "increase," to the Taishō edition's zeng (憎), "detest."

117 "Characteristic sign" refers here to any of the signs associated with three sequential levels of practice described at the very beginning of this chapter: 1. The thirty-two marks and eighty secondary characteristics of a buddha's form body;

2. The Dharma body of the buddhas;

3. The true character [of all dharmas], i.e., "emptiness of inherent existence" (śūnyatā). This "emptiness of inherent existence" is evidenced by: (A) their being merely composite constructs of subsidiary conditions; (B) their being merely evanescently transient states in a chain of serial causality; and (C) their being mere names attached to (A) and (B) to which one falsely imputes individual reality. 118 To correct an obvious graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' zhai (齋), "ritual purification," to the Taishō edition's qi (齊), "uniform." Also, "precepts of abstinence" refers here to aṣṭāṅgasamanvāgataṃ upavāsaṃ, the laity's formal acceptance and observance of the practice of upholding the eight precepts that include celibacy and not eating after midday. One observes this enhanced level of lay precept practice either continuously or on the eighth, fourteenth, fifteenth, twenty-third, twenty-ninth, and thirtieth days of each lunar month. 119 This reference to laypeople staying in a monastery probably refers to the not uncommon practice of allowing laypeople to live in separate quarters on monastery grounds when they are continuously training in these eight lay precepts for a predetermined period of time.

120 I translate here as "monastic preceptor" and "monastic Dharma teacher" what the Kumārajīva text retains in transliteration as upādhyāya and ācārya respectively. 121 Kumārajīva retained the Sanskrit term for "benefactor" (dānapati), which I have opted to translate here.

122 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This is the practice of seeking alms at every door, without skipping over houses where the people do not give or give poor quality food." 391

Notes

The rationale for observing this "proper sequence" is that, since providing alms to monks and nuns produces karmic merit, one would not want to deny that opportunity to anyone.

123 If "unwholesome remorsefulness" seems somewhat opaque, this would refer first and foremost to regretting having done something good or regretting not having done something bad.

124 "Demolishing through separation" most likely refers to the "deconstructive analysis" involved in such contemplations as the contemplation of the thirty-two (or thirty-six) parts of the body, the nine stages of the decomposition of a rotting corpse, the whiteboned skeleton contemplation, etc. All of these contemplations serve as powerful antidotes to sensual desire.

125 This attainment of the sign of unloveliness refers to directly perceiving the unloveliness of sensually attractive physical forms so completely that the image of their unloveliness is retained even in the absence of the initially contemplated meditation object. This is often accomplished by deeply practicing the contemplations of the parts of the body, the stages of decomposition of a rotting corpse, or the white-boned skeleton. 126 Hirakawa, Buddhist Chinese-Sanskrit Dictionary, gives the Sanskrit as saṃrañjanīyaṃ dharmam. These six dharmas refer to mutual harmoniousness, respect, equality, and fairness in matters pertaining to body, speech, mind, precepts, views, and benefits received (food, robes, shelter, etc.).

127 These five bases of liberation (Skt. vimukty-āyatanāni) are five different circumstances under which, with or without the advantage of correct teaching from a qualified Dharma teacher or fellow practitioner, a practitioner may come to engage with and find success in cultivation, establish his mind in concentration, and then finally achieve liberation. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi refers us to Aṅguttara Nikāya 5:26 for the precise canonical explanation.

128 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi refers us to Aṅguttara Nikāya 9:29. 129 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi refers us to Aṅguttara Nikāya 8:80. 130 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi refers us to Aṅguttara Nikāya 8:80, noting that this is found in the second part of that sutta.

131 The "nine signs [of the deterioration of the corpse]" are the navasaṃjñā, for which Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi refers us to Aṅguttara Nikāya 9:16.

132 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi refers us to Aṅguttara Nikāya 8:30. 133 "No apprehensible reality" (無所得) refers to emptiness of inherent existence, i.e., there is nothing in or about these dhyāna absorptions that can be gotten at as ultimately real. 134 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "Items 43-45 are at Saṃyutta Nikāya 35:238, 'The Simile of the Vipers.'"

392

Notes

135 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This may also be in Saṃyutta Nikāya 35:238: 'The further shore, which is safe and free from danger': this is a designation for Nibbāna." 136 This appears to be a quotation from the Pratyutpanna-samādhi-sūtra. 137 "Compulsory karmic retributions" most likely refers here to heinous karmic offenses that entail immediate retribution during or at the end of this very life, such as patricide, matricide, killing an arhat, drawing the blood of a buddha, or causing a schism in the monastic sangha.

138 This statement seems contradictory. As such, I am not particularly confident that this sentence is not corrupted or that I have interpreted its intent correctly. 139 The immediately preceding Abhidharmic analytic categories are in some cases phrased so tersely in the Chinese as to be mildly obscure. Hence I may not have rendered all of them with definitively precise accuracy.

140 These eight verse lines are a verbatim quote from the very beginning of Chapter 3 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) on the characteristic features of the first bodhisattva ground (26a19-22).

141 Again, the first two of these five verses roughly correspond to the Kumārajīva and Buddhayaśas translation of the Ten Grounds Sutra (T.286:500b8-11). 142 As noted in Chapter 2 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I), again, biding (必定), "stage of certainty," is a translation of the Sanskrit avaivartika, the stage of irreversibility from which one can never again fall back in one's progress on the path. 143 These twenty verse lines are a verbatim quote from the very beginning of Chapter 2 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) on entry into the first of the ten bodhisattva grounds (23a23-b3).

144 Kumārajīva retained the Sanskrit sarvajña, which I have chosen here to translate as "all-knowledge."

145 With the exception of a minor phrase variation in the second of these twenty-eight lines, this is a verbatim quote from the opening lines of Chapter 4 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I), "On the Purification of the Ground" (28c24-29a8). 146 Each of these seven are clearly explained at the very beginning of Chapter 3 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I). 147 Again, these were "disbelief, breaking of precepts, having but little learning, covetousness, indolence, chaotic thoughts, and absence of wisdom." 148 The Chinese text here simply transliterates a Sanskrit term for "passport" as weipotuo (韋婆陀), which I prefer to translate.

149 At this point in Nāgārjuna's text, there is an interpolated note, most likely inserted by the Kumārajīva translation team: "The Chinese translation of the Sanskrit weituo (韋陀) is 'unopposed' and it means 'passport.'"

393

Notes

150 Again, "the five hindrances" is a reference to desire, ill will, lethargy and sleepiness, excitedness and regretfulness, and afflicted doubtfulness, hindrances that must be overcome in order to successfully enter deep states of meditation. 151 "[T]he other [forms of wisdom]" most likely refers to "wisdom that arises from contemplation" and "great wisdom," both of which were mentioned just above in discussing the metaphoric significance of firewood in this extended analogy that forms the basis of two-thirds of this chapter.

152 Zhengwei (正位), "right and fixed position," seems to usually correspond to the Sanskrit samyaktva-niyāma, for which Edward Conze and Gakujutsu Zaidan Suzuki, Materials for a Dictionary of the Prajñā pāramitā Literature (Tokyo: Suzuki Research Foundation, 1967), give "certainty to have got safely out of this world," or, in the case of samyaktva-niyata, "destined for salvation."

153 "Faculties" here is a reference to "the five root faculties" that once developed become "the five powers": faith, vigor, mindfulness, concentration, and wisdom. 154 I emend the reading per the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions to correct the Taishō edition's mistaken inclusion here of bu (不), "not." Absent this correction, the statement would result in the exact opposite of the obviously intended meaning. 155 This line could also be plausibly rendered as "the hazardous and bad road of samsara." 156 In other words, "This is tantamount to committing suicide [on the path to spiritual liberation]."

157 In this particular passage, especially following on the heels of his warning about "neglectfulness," Nāgārjuna is presenting a very close paraphrase of five verses from his own Bodhisaṃbhāra-śāstra, verses 24-28. I quote them here from my own complete translation of that treatise along with its early Indian commentary, Nāgārjuna's Guide to the Bodhisattva Path: Treatise on the Provisions for Enlightenment. The Bodhisaṃbhāra Śāstra by Ārya Nāgārjuna (Seattle: Kalavinka Press, 2009): 024

Until one develops the great compassion and the patiences, Even though he may have gained irreversibility,

The bodhisattva is still subject to a form of "dying"

Occurring through the arising of negligence.

025

The grounds of the Śrāvakas or the Pratyekabuddhas,

If entered, constitute "death" for him

Because he would thereby sever the roots

Of the bodhisattva's understanding and awareness.

026

At the prospect of falling into the hell-realms,

The bodhisattva would not be struck with fright.

394

Notes

The grounds of the Śrāvakas and the Pratyekabuddhas

Do provoke great terror in him.

027

It is not the case that falling into the hell realms

Would create an ultimate obstacle to bodhi.

If one fell onto the grounds of the Śrāvakas or Pratyekabuddhas, That would create an ultimate obstacle.

028

Just as is said of one who loves long life

That he is frightened at the prospect of being beheaded, So too the grounds of the Śrāvakas and Pratyekabuddhas

Should provoke in one this very sort of fear.

158 The Chinese translation preserved a shorthand rendering of the third hindrance (as "drowsiness") and fourth hindrance (as "excitedness"), for which I have supplied the standard complete rendering of these classic Indian Buddhist technical terms, the third and fourth of which are dual-component hindrances. 159 This is most likely referring to the fact that his adherence to moral virtue is not pursued in order to achieve rebirth in the heavens. 160 This most likely refers to preventing oneself from taking rebirth in the form realm heavens because they constitute an obstacle to cultivation of the bodhisattva path. 161 "Four means of attraction" refers to giving, pleasing words, beneficial actions, and joint endeavors.

162 The four immeasurable minds are kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. 163 See note 3 regarding the chapter numbering. (The Taishō edition calls this "Chapter One.")

164 As revealed by the discussion in the Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon's digitized edition of the of the Ten Grounds Sutra (P. L. Vaidya, ed., Daśabhūmikasūtram; hereafter DSBC) of the second bodhisattva ground, shi zhong xin (十種心) "ten types of resolute intentions" here and in the ensuing Shizhu piposha lun discussion correspond to the Sanskrit cittā śaya.

165 The DSBC Ten Grounds Sutra accords fairly closely with the Shizhu piposha lun order of this list of ten "resolute intentions" (cittāśaya) as it is presented in the following explanation. It records the Sanskrit antecedents as ṛjvāśaya (= ārjava?), mṛdvāśaya, karmaṇyāśaya, damāśaya, śamāśaya, kalyāṇāśaya, asaṃsṛṣṭāśaya, anapekṣāśaya, udārāśaya, māhātmyāśaya. 166 These six verses correspond to verses 12-17 of Nāgārjuna's Bodhisaṃbhāraśāstra. I quote them here from my own complete translation of that treatise along with 395

Notes

its early Indian commentary, Nāgārjuna's Guide to the Bodhisattva Path: Treatise on the Provisions for Enlightenment:

012

From the very beginning, the bodhisattva Should accord with the power of his abilities And use skillful means to instruct beings, Causing them to enter the Great Vehicle. 013

Even if one taught beings as numerous as the Ganges' sands So that they were caused to gain the fruit of arhatship, Still, by instructing but a single person to enter the Great Vehicle, One would generate merit superior to that. 014

Instructing through resort to the Śrāvaka Vehicle Or through resort to the Pratyekabuddha Vehicle Is undertaken where, on account of lesser abilities, Beings are unable to accept instruction in the Great Vehicle. 015

Where even when relying on Śrāvaka or Pratyekabuddha Vehicles In addition to the Great Vehicle teachings, There are those who still cannot accept any such instruction, One should strive to establish them in merit-creating situations. 016

If there be persons unable to accept

Instruction conducing either to the heavens or to liberation, Favor them through bestowing present-life benefits. Then, as befits one's powers, one should draw them in. 017

Where, with regard to particular beings, a bodhisattva Has no conditions through which to instruct them, He should draw forth the great kindness and compassion And should refrain from abandoning them. 167 To correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' guo (果), "resultant," to the Taishō edition's yi (異), "different." (The immediately following question in the ensuing text echoes this word choice and corroborates the validity of the emendation.)

168 Although this teaching seems to be addressed exclusively to men regarding their behavior vis-à-vis women, that is only because most women were illiterate at the time and never would have encountered this treatise outside of a lecture format where its universal applicability would have been made clear. 396

Notes

169 In Buddhist texts, "restricted orifice" refers to oral sex, anal sex, etc. 170 This "scattered or inappropriate speech" usually translates saṃbhinnapralāpa, which, in addition to the definitions mentioned here, is usually also interpreted to include "lewd, dirty, or off-color speech." This traditional subdefinition is implicitly and euphemistically referenced here a few lines below as one of the traditional meanings of "speech contrary to Dharma."

171 "Volition" (思) could be referring here to premeditation, i.e., deliberate intentionality. 172 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "Items sixteen and seventeen here correspond to functions relating to the four noble truths: the truth of the path is bhāvetabba, 'to be cultivated.' The truth of suffering is pariññeyya, 'to be well understood.'" 173 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "[This refers to] pahātabba: the function pertaining to the second noble truth."

174 I am not entirely sure about the accuracy of my translation of the following fourfold list. I may have misunderstood it or it may be slightly corrupted. 175 Because some of these listed distinctions seem contradictory, I am not confident that I have correctly rendered the intended meaning of the Abhidharmic technical terms here. It may also be the case that the text has become somewhat corrupted. 176 Because this would seem to be a contradiction, I am not sure I have translated this correctly. There are five instances of this same statement (with minor variations) in this chapter.

177 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The above [two cases] refer to two stages or degrees of an affliction: the stage of anuśaya, where it remains as a latent tendency; and the stage of obsession, where it arises and dominates the mind."

178 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This latter alternative presumably refers to abandoning the taking of life in world-transcendent (lokottara) states of mind." 179 This twelvefold list has become slightly corrupted at some point, but not irretrievably so. (As noted below, I correct the corruption by emendation.) As received, it duplicates the sixth member of the list, "For what is it a condition?" (與誰作緣?), and leaves out another member of the list that we encounter in the ensuing discussion, "What is the benefit?" (何利益?).

180 The received editions of this text mistakenly duplicate list item number 6 here as "8. For what is it a condition?" I have emended the text to correct this obvious scribal error by inserting the missing list item, "What is the benefit?" (何利益?), which is found in the ensuing discussion at 97a27-8.

181 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This may be alluding to a passage in the early sutras, see Aṅguttara Nikāya 6.63: 'It is volition, O monks, that I call karma. For having willed, one acts by body, speech, or mind.' Thus covetousness, etc., are here considered not to be karma (in the sense of actual action) because they are mental 397

Notes

182 183 states associated with or corresponding to volition rather than actions in their own right. The Theravāda Abhidhamma differs, considering covetousness, etc., both karma and paths of karma. They are mental karma (manokamma)."

The phrase "there is no fixed subjective agent [involved in its creation]" (無有定主) can refer to one or both of two ideas: (1) the absence of any sort of creator god involved in the creation of the world; or (2) the absence of any inherently existent "self" in oneself or in any of the other beings who collectively create all the causes and conditions for the creation, abiding, and destruction of the world, this through the causal power of their good and bad karmic deeds.

In referring to it as the "Nonextensive Heaven" (不廣天), Nāgārjuna uses an extremely rare name for this Avṛha Heaven. (There is only one other use of this name in the entire Taishō canon.) The more common Chinese name is "No Affliction Heaven" (無煩天). 184 See note 3 regarding chapter numbering. (The Taishō edition calls this "Chapter Two.") 185 In commenting on this line that I might otherwise translate as "and who always disbelieve that the world/is possessed of the dharma of stability and security—," Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "In Sanskrit and Pāli, -dharma/-dhamma is often used as a suffix to indicate 'having the nature of' or 'subject to.' Thus (P) sabbe sattā maraṇadhammā, 'all beings are subject to death/have the nature of dying.' I suspect that the Sanskrit original of this line used 'dharma' [法] in that function, thus [the sense of this may be] 'The world does not have a stable and secure nature.'" 186

"Śrāvaka" means, in essence, "auditor," i.e., "those who learn by listening." 187 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: The Pāli version, Aṅguttara Nikāya 1:328, Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, p. 121: "Bhikkhus, just as even a trifling amount of feces is foul smelling, so too I do not praise even a trifling amount of existence, even for a mere finger snap."

188 Nāgārjuna seems to be referring here to the pivotal importance of one's last thoughts at the moment of death that may so strongly influence whether or not one then enters good or bad rebirth circumstances.

189 To clarify, "what is unlovely, stinking, defiled, and ungrateful for kindnesses" is intended to refer to the human body.

190 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Saṃyutta Nikāya 35:28, Connected Discourses of the Buddha, p. 1143."

191 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This sequence is found in several places in the Nikāyas, especially in the Aṅguttara. See Aṅguttara Nikāya 10:1-4 and 11:1-4. Here, 厭 = nibbidā, which I render 'disenchantment,' while 離 is virāga, 'dispassion' or 'detachment.'"

192 Regarding Sīvalī, Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "尊者施曰羅. This is probably Ven. Sivali. Since 捨 can mean either 'generosity' or 'relinquishment,' the two connect Sivali's past-life merits with his special facility as a monk." 398

Notes

From G. P. Malasekhara, Dictionary of Pali Proper Names (London: J. Murray, 1937): "In Padumuttara Buddha's time he made the resolve to be pre-eminent among recipients of gifts, like Sudassana, disciple of Padum uttara. To this end he gave alms for seven days to the Buddha and his monks. In the time of Vipassī Buddha he was a householder near Bandhu matī. The people gave alms to the Buddha and the Order in competition with the king, and when they were in need of honey, curds and sugar, Sīvalī gave enough of these for sixty-eight thousand monks.… Sīvalī was declared by the Buddha (A.i.24). pre-eminent among recipients of gifts.… Sīvalī went to the Himālaya with five hundred others, to test his good luck. The gods provided them with everything. On Gandhamādana a deva, named Nāgadatta, entertained them for seven days on milk rice." Accessed online: http://www.palikanon.com/english/ pali_names/s/siivalii.htm.

193 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "Aṅguttara 4: 143: 'Bhikkhus, there are these four lights. What four? The light of the moon, the light of the sun, the light of fire, and the light of wisdom. These are the four lights. Of these four lights, the light of wisdom is foremost.'"

194 See note 3 regarding chapter numbering. (The Taishō edition calls this "Chapter Three.")

195 Although slightly ambiguous, their "twofold vows" most likely refers to their vows to accomplish both self-benefit and other-benefit, i.e., to become buddhas themselves while also facilitating the awakening of all other beings.

196 See the chapter-commencing verse, lines 1-2.

197 See the chapter-commencing verse, line 4.

198 As noted by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, here shan (善) does not have its somewhat more usual meaning of "goodness" (kuśala). Rather, as in many places in Kumārajīva translations, it serves here as an intensifying modifier. When modifying "purity," as in the "su" of suviśuddha, it would instead mean "thorough," "thoroughgoing," or "complete" purity.

199 See note 198 above for an explanation of this somewhat less usual use of the shan (善) in shan qingjing (善清淨).

200 Although not explicitly stated here, the "three types of purity" may refer to either (or both) of two explanations offered earlier in the sutra. Here are the two previous explanations:

1. In Chapter 5 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I), we had: "As for 'purity,' this means that one has completely developed the three types of purity, namely purity in physical actions, purity in verbal actions, and purity in mental actions."

2. In Chapter 28 specifically referring to the bodhisattva's practice of these ten courses of good karmic action on this second bodhisattva ground, the verse and the prose explanation immediately following read:

399

Notes

If a bodhisattva still at the border with the first ground employs three kinds of purity

to abide securely in the ten courses of good karmic action, he will then be able to bring forth decisive resolve. Once this bodhisattva comes to dwell on the second ground, he then distinguishes with utter clarity these ten good and bad courses of karmic action. Having come to know these matters, he applies three kinds of purity to his abiding in the ten courses of good karmic action, namely: He does not personally kill any being; He does not instruct others to kill any being; And he does not delight in the karmic offense of killing. 201 See the chapter-commencing verse, line 3. 202 See Chapter 5, "The Explanation of the Vows" (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I), wherein these ten "ultimate ends" that define the infinity of the bodhisattva vows are listed as follows: [Hence these vows are made:]

First, until the end of the realms of beings; Second, until the end of the realms of worlds; Third, until the end of the realms of empty space; Fourth, until the end of the Dharma realm; Fifth, until the end of the realm of nirvana; Sixth, until the end of the realms in which buddhas are born; Seventh, until the end of the realms of all buddhas' knowledge; Eighth, until the end of everything that can be taken as an object of mind; Ninth, until the end of the knowledge associated with the range of all buddhas' actions;

And tenth, until the end of the permutations of the knowledge of worldly dharmas. These are the ten [ways in which vows are] ultimately enduring. 203 See chapter-commencing verse, line 3. 204 See chapter-commencing verse, line 5. 205 This is clearly a reference to "the right and fixed position" (samyaktva-niyāma) wherein the bodhisattva becomes immune to the temptations of opting for the nirvana prized by adherents of the śrāvaka disciple vehicle and the pratyekabuddha vehicle. 206 See chapter-commencing verse, line 5. 207 See chapter-commencing verse, line 6. 208 See chapter-commencing verse, line 6. 209 See chapter-commencing verse, line 7. 400

Notes

210 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi points out that this "maintaining vigilance at all times throughout the first watch and the last watch of the night" is stock material in the early suttas that should not be misunderstood as referencing "achieving awakening" (覺悟) as such. See Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, pp. 212, 427, etc. 211 I prefer here to translate what the Kumārajīva text preserves as the transliterations of the Sanskrit for the perfections: "One first speaks of dāna-pāramitā, then śīlapāramitā, then kṣānti-pāramitā, then vīrya-pāramitā, then dhyāna-pāramitā, and then prajñā-pāramitā."

212 See chapter-commencing verse, line 8.

213 See chapter-commencing verse, line 9.

214 Having already made it clear in the above fivefold list that it is a good thing to disdain the dharmas of petty people and esteem the dharmas of great men, here one is reminded to still retain completely equal compassionate regard for the people themselves. 215 See chapter-commencing verse, line 10. ("[They] deeply cherish the wisdom of the buddhas….")

216 See chapter-commencing verse, lines 11-12.

217 See chapter-commencing verse, line 12.

218 See chapter-commencing verse, line 12.

219 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "For these, see Aṅguttara Nikāya 5:144, Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, pp. 761-762 along with note 1144. Paṭisambhidāmagga calls them 'powers of the noble ones' (ariy'iddhi)."

220 This is a reference to number four, "the psychic powers of the āryas." 221 See chapter-commencing verse, line 13.

222 See chapter-commencing verse, line 14.

223 A search of the Taishō canon indicates that in both cases (whether "dark" or "great"), these "four seals" refer to four levels of trustworthiness in determining whether or not any given teaching that one has received is to be trusted as truly originating with the Buddha.

224 See chapter-commencing verse, line 15.

225 See chapter-commencing verse, line 15.

226 See chapter-commencing verse, line 15.

227 See chapter-commencing verse, line 16.

228 I emend the text here to accord with four other editions by substituting 汝 for 如 to correct an apparent homophonic scribal error, this because the resulting reading is much more plausible than the extremely forced reading that retaining 如 would yield. 401

Notes

229 See chapter-commencing verse, line 17.

230 See chapter-commencing verse, line 18.

231 See chapter-commencing verse, line 19.

232 See chapter-commencing verse, line 20.

233 See chapter-commencing verse, lines 21-22.

234 See chapter-commencing verse, lines 23-24.

235 Although, per Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, the meaning of the Sanskrit word bhagavat is "possessing fortune, fortunate, prosperous, happy" or "glorious, illustrious, divine, adorable, venerable," in Buddhism it is one of the ten primary names of any and all buddhas that are intended to call to mind all of the Buddha's qualities including his perfect wisdom and virtue. The Chinese translation is "World-honored One" (世尊). Other common English translations (per the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism) are "Blessed One," "Exalted One," or "Lord." It is because of the wide range of connotations of the name that rather than translate the Chinese honorific, I usually prefer to simply use the now fairly common Sanskrit term "Bhagavat." (I do translate it in the following verse, however.) "Bhagavan" is essentially the same word that one encounters in other translations and other traditions as (again, per the Princeton Dictionary of Buddhism) bhagavān, bhagavad, bhagawan, and bhagwan. 236 "The fourteen ineffable dharmas" is a reference to the fourteen "unanswered" or "undeclared" (avyākṛta) dharmas.

237 See note 3 regarding the chapter numbering. (The Taishō edition calls this "Chapter Four.")

238 Although the language itself is not specific, the implicit reference is to extramarital relationships, perhaps voluntary, perhaps not.

239 I emend the text here (at 108a17, second character) by replacing the clearly erroneous bu (不), "not," with the doubtlessly intended xia (下), "lesser," to correct an obvious graphic-similarity scribal error not noticed in either Taishō or in any of its recorded alternate editions.

240 "Obsessed" (纏) corresponds to the Sanskrit paryavasthāna and refers to the active phase of entanglement by the afflictions.

241 "[T]he view of a real self in association with the body [or any of the other four aggregates]" (身見) corresponds to the Sanskrit satkāyadṛṣṭi.

242 243 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that, on the śrāvaka vehicle path, this severance via seeing the four truths occurs upon realizing stream-entry, whereas severance through meditative cultivation occurs on the three higher stages of the path to arhatship. What is referred to here as "the ninety-eight fetters" (九十八使) is elsewhere rendered somewhat more precisely as "the ninety-eight latent tendencies" (九十八隨眠, Skt. anuśaya), hence I translate accordingly.

402

Notes

244 I emend the reading here to correct a fairly obvious graphic-similarity scribal error by preferring on doctrinal sensibility grounds Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' hui (悔), "regret," to the Taishō edition's wu (侮), "to insult." 245 I have followed four other editions (Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong) in placing these four lines into verse format. The correctness of this couldn't be clearer, especially given the combination of even line length, context, and unavoidably obvious Chinese rhyming of the quatrain's third line with the first line and fourth line with the second line. 246 This very long quotation (two and a half pages, ending at the next set of stanza lines) corresponds fairly closely to a second ground passage in the Kumārajīva and Buddhayaśas Ten Grounds Sutra translation (T.286:505b5-c20) and also to the corresponding second ground passage in the Śikṣānanda translation of the Avataṃsaka-sūtra's "Ten Grounds" chapter (T.279:186a10-b22).

247 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This is a reference to the three wrong thoughts (vitarka): sensual thought, thought of ill will, and thought of harming." 248 The following passage corresponds quite closely with a long passage in the "Akṣayamati" chapter of the Mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra (in the Taishō canon's Chinese translation by Dharmakṣema in 413 C.E.: 大方等大集經卷第二十七 -無盡意菩薩品第十二之一;

T.397:189c27-190b10). However, that translation lists "sixty-seven" rather than the "sixty-five" to which Nāgārjuna refers in this treatise that was probably composed two centuries before Dharmakṣema's translation.

249 This aspect of moral virtue together with the next nine correspond to the ten courses of good karmic action.

250 251 This aspect of moral virtue together with the next two correspond to the Three Refuges. Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi points out that "things that accord with Dharma" (如法物) is probably best construed as "things obtained in accordance with the Dharma," because it directly corresponds to "yathādhammaṃ lābha" in the Pāli scriptures. 252 This aspect of moral virtue and the next three correspond to the four immeasurable minds.

253 This aspect of moral virtue together with the next five correspond to the six perfections. Here the first two perfections are listed in reverse order. 254 I emend the reading here to correct a fairly obvious graphic-similarity scribal error by preferring (due to issues of doctrinal sensibility and explicitly stated parallelism) the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' chang (常), "constantly," to the Taishō edition's dang (當), "should."

255 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This is referring to the abandoning of physical bad karma not included in the ten karmic paths, for, in the form realm, there is no killing, stealing, and sexual misconduct—indeed, there is no sexuality there, no private property, and the beings have fixed life spans. Since the three transgressions 403

Notes

are impossible there, there is no abandoning them; but minor types of unwholesome physical conduct might exist there, and one must abstain from these." 256 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi offers a clarifying note here with respect to bad karmic actions associated with speech in the form realm: "This [mention of scattered or inappropriate speech] is not just an example; apparently there is no lying, divisive speech, or harsh speech in the form realm, but there is scattered speech." 257 Brahmacarya, lit., "brahman conduct," refers to the celibate spiritual life. 258 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Aṅguttara Nikāya 7:50, Numerical Discourses of the Buddha, pp. 1038-1039. The sixth is different from the Pāli version." 259 As mentioned in the above note, the Pāli version of number six is different, as follows: "(6)…he does not recollect laughing, talking, and playing with women in the past…but he looks at a householder or a householder's son enjoying himself furnished and endowed with the five objects of sensual pleasure.…" 260 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi located what appears to be very nearly this same passage in the Mahāratnakūṭa collection (大寶積經), T.310:636c28.

261 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi located this passage in the Mahāvaipulya-mahāsaṃnipātasūtra (大方等大集經), T.397:190b11. 262 "Name and form" (名色 = nāmarūpa) is a reference to the five aggregates. 263 The Mahāvaipulya-mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra translation's version of this passage clarifies this sangha-related clause with "by cultivation of the unconditioned" (T.397:190b28: 不斷僧種, [17] 修無為故). Note 17 in that edition tells us that the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions reading has 以修 instead of just 修.

264 The Mahāvaipulya-mahāsaṃnipāta-sūtra translation's version of this passage is found at T.397:190c1.

265 See note 3 regarding the chapter numbering. (The Taishō edition calls this "Chapter Five.")

266 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi offers the following supplementary note on the austerities: Ten ascetic practices are mentioned in the Aṅguttara Nikāya at 5:181-90, each distinguished as fivefold in accordance with the reasons they are undertaken. In the Theravāda tradition, the standard list of ascetic practices is expanded to thirteen, described and analyzed in Visuddhimagga, Chapter 2. Ten agree with those in this chapter. They differ in that the Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā-śāstra includes two not in the Visuddhimagga system: wearing robes made of animal hairs, and not accepting drinks other than water after mid-day. The Visuddhimagga list includes three not in this Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā-śāstra: walking on alms round by going to every house, without skipping any (a narrowing of the ascetic practice of eating only food collected on alms round); eating only from the alms bowl (refusing the use of other plates and saucers); and refusing food brought after one has started 404

Notes

one's meal (but still within the time limits). The latter seems to be a different interpretation of the ascetic practice the Daśabhūmika-vibhāṣā-śāstra system interprets as refusing drinks after mid-day.

267 The Chinese text for this first reflection is ambiguous. It seems to allude to the idea that whatever one receives (or doesn't receive) on the almsround is a direct reflection of whether or not one has created enough merit, hence being able to continue in this is one's own responsibility and no one else's.

268 The implication here is that one should be willing to abandon any concerns for personal comfort as one vigorously pursues very rigorous bodhisattva path practices. 269 "Unimpeded reflections" here likely refers to such reflections as those devoted to deep understanding and realization of the three gates to liberation, the four immeasurables, the four bases of meritorious qualities, and the six perfections (as implied just below at 112a27-29).

270 Due to the requirements of sensibility, I emend the reading of the text here in accordance with the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions by adding a missing character, ji (及), before Taishō's shen (身) to produce jishen (及身), which I take here to mean "for one's entire life."

271 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "What is mentioned here are the three kinds of wholesome thought, namely, thought of renunciation, thought of non-ill will, and thought of non-harming. Note that chujue (出覺) is nekkhamma-vitakka, 'thought of renunciation.' See for example Majjhima Nikāya 19, on the three kinds of wholesome thought:

"Tassa mayhaṃ, bhikkhave, evaṃ appamattassa ātāpino pahitattassa viharato uppajjati nekkhammavitakko…abyāpādavitakko…pe…avihiṃsā vitakko." 272 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that this is Ugra, the subject of the Ugraparipṛcchā-sūtra, and that this passage can be found in the Mahāratnakūṭa-sūtra (大寶積經卷第八十二 , 郁伽長者會第十九), beginning at T.310:477c24.

273 "Six objects" likely refers to the "six recollections" (anusmṛti) of the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha, moral virtue, generosity, and the devas. 274 The relevant verse from Chapter 3 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I, p. 48; 27a15-18) is:

He is free of the fear of not surviving,

the fear of death, the fear of the wretched destinies, the fear of the Great Assembly's awesome virtue,

the fear of ill repute, and the fear of being disparaged. As for fear of imprisonment, shackles, and manacles,

and the fear of beatings or capital punishment,

given that he is free of a self or any possessions of self, how then could he have any such fears as these?

405

Notes

275 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that the Pāli parallel is Saṃyutta Nikāya 3:5. 276 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The Pāli parallel is Saṃyutta Nikāya 11:3. The author of this work is evidently very familiar with the Nikāyas/Āgama collections." 277 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "The Pāli parallel for this passage is the first part of Majjhima Nikāya Sutta 4"; see The Middle Length Discourses of the Buddha, pp. 102-103.

278 As noted earlier by Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi, again, this is Ugra, the subject of the Ugraparipṛcchā-sūtra. This particular passage can be found in the Mahāratnakūṭa-sūtra (大寶積經卷第八十二 , 郁伽長者會第十九), beginning at T.310:478a20.

279 "Difficulties" here is probably a reference to the eight difficulties of which the hells, animals, and hungry ghosts are the first three items in the list. 280 I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring on sensibility grounds the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' zhi (知), "to know," to the Taishō edition's hehe (和合), "to harmonize."

281 This is probably meant to refer to the four floods (Skt. catvāra oghāḥ, catur-ogha): sensual desire (kāmarāga), [craving for] continuing existence (bhava), ignorance (avidyā), and views (dṛṣṭi). These are identical to the "contaminants" (āsrava). 282 Again, the four lineage bases of the āryas (catur-āryavaṃśa) are (1) delighting in mere sufficiency in clothing, (2) delighting in mere sufficiency of food and drink, (3) delighting in mere sufficiency of bedding, and (4) delighting in the severance [of evil] and the cultivation [of goodness].

283 "Nature of dharmas" usually corresponds to the Sanskrit dharmatā. Still, although somewhat less likely, given that Kumārajīva very regularly uses xing (性) to translate dhātu, this might also be construed to mean "Dwelling in a forest hermitage refers to [realizing that] all realms together constitute the Dharma realm." 284 "The stations of rebirth to which they correspond" refers to rebirth in the heavens of the form realm.

285 I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring on sensibility grounds the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' ci yinyuan (此因緣), "these [special] circumstances," to the Taishō edition's yinyuan (因緣), "[special] circumstances." 286 A saṃghāvaśeṣa offense is a serious offense, such as touching a woman motivated by a thought of desire, that requires a meeting of the bhikṣu sangha to determine the disciplinary penalty. "Grave offense" here is a euphemism for sexual intercourse, a pārājika offense that entails expulsion from the monastic community. The third case, "transgressing against the precept and returning to lay life," refers to committing either of the above sorts of offenses and then voluntarily setting aside the robes, rather than waiting for the bhikṣu sangha's formal judgment on the matter. 287 These first two dhūta austerities just discussed at length were always (1) gaining one's sustenance from the almsround and (2) dwelling in a forest hermitage. 406

Notes

288 "Not accepting any beverage at the wrong time" means that that one does not accept any beverage but water outside of that very mealtime. "Wrong time" has the additional meaning of "not after midday." 289 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "When one first receives full ordination, the teacher explains the ideal form of the four requisites: using cast-off robes, food obtained on alms round, dwelling at the foot of a tree, and using cow's urine for medicine. Then he explains the more lenient alternatives. Thus chushou (初受), ['the initially received explanation'], refers to what was first explained at one's ordination." 290 To clarify, this in no way restricts standing or walking. It is entirely a matter of never lying down, not even during sleep.

291 Again, although it is not mentioned here, in addition to its otherwise referenced meanings, "at the wrong time" also means "not after midday."

292 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes that this zuo wo ju (坐臥具), senāsana, lit., "seats and beds," is a term of convenience for "a dwelling place."

293 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "This is an allusion to a sutra in which the Buddha says that "noise is a thorn for one attaining the first dhyāna." See Aṅguttara Nikāya 10:72: "Thorns":…(5) Noise is a thorn to the first jhāna. (6) Thought and examination are a thorn to the second jhāna. (7) Rapture is a thorn to the third jhāna. (8) In-andout breathing is a thorn to the fourth jhāna." 294 To correct an apparent graphic-similarity and/or homophonic scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' shang (尚), "even," to the Taishō edition's chang (常), "always." The correctness of the emendation is corroborated by the commentary in the next paragraph. 295 To correct an apparent omission, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring on sensibility grounds the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' insertion of an additional character, fo (佛), "Buddha," to begin this sentence. The emended reading then exactly echoes the text of the verse upon which this sentence comments. 296 I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring on sensibility grounds the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' yang (殃), "disastrous," to the Taishō edition's da (大), "great."

297 I emend the reading of the text here in accordance with the Song, Yuan, and Ming (but not Gong) editions by preferring on sensibility grounds tong (通), "understand," to the Taishō edition's song (誦), "recite."

298 See note 3 regarding the chapter numbering. (The Taishō edition calls this "Chapter Six.")

299 I emend the reading of the text here in accordance with the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions by preferring on sensibility grounds the inclusion of an apparently lost item of the often encountered rather standard list found later on in this same chapter that includes mingzhe jian (命者見), "the view of a life."

407

Notes

300 Again, even though this zuo wo ju (坐臥具) would seem to refer to "seats and beds," it is a hyperliteral translation of the Sanskrit senāsana, a term of convenience for "lodging" or "dwelling place."

301 Yet again, both here and directly below, Kumārajīva is translating xing (性), more usually "nature," as dhatu, usually "realms" or "elements." We know this both from context and from comparisons of his Ten Grounds Sutra translation with a much later Sanskrit edition of that sutra. This rendering of xing is somewhat inconsistently applied by the Kumārajīva translation team, hence we must rely on context sensibility to determine which Sanskrit antecedent is being referenced in any given passage. This line presents a perfect example of that inconsistency of usage, for it is used in both senses here, first as "elements," then as "nature."

302 "The six elements" (ṣaḍ-dhātu) are earth, water, fire, wind/air, space, and consciousness. 303 Regarding this statement that "the form aggregate is characterized by being assailed by what is painful," Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes:

如說色是苦惱相": There is a word play in the Pāli (and, presumably its Sanskrit counterpart) that [although successfully captured in this passage translated by Kumārajīva], wasn't reflected in the Chinese translation [of the Saṃyukta Āgama]. A Pāli sutta (Saṃyutta Nikāya 22:79) playfully tried to derive rūpa = material form from the verb ruppati, meaning something like "to be molested, to be assailed"—"assailed by cold, by heat, by hunger and thirst, etc." There is no real etymological connection between rūpa and ruppati, but the pun works. Here is the Pāli:

Kiñca, bhikkhave, rūpaṃ vadetha? Ruppatī ti kho, bhikkhave, tasmā "rūpan" ti vuccati. Kena ruppati? Sītenapi ruppati, uṇhenapi ruppati, jighacchāyapi ruppati, pipāsāyapi ruppati, ḍaṃsamakasavātātapa siriṃsapa samphassenapi ruppati.

The Chinese parallel is Saṃyukta Āgama 46 (雜阿含經, T.99:11b26-29: 若可閡可分, 是名色受陰. 指所閡, 若手, 若石, 若杖, 若刀, 若冷, 若暖, 若渴,

若飢, 若蚊, 虻, 諸毒虫, 風, 雨觸, 是名觸閡, 是故閡是色受陰).

304 To correct an apparent graphic-similarity scribal error, I emend the reading of the Taishō text here by preferring the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions' duo (墮), "to fall," to the Taishō edition's sui (隨), "to follow."

305 In Classical Chinese literature, zhi (直), "straight, direct, etc.," is interchangeable with zhi (值), "worth, value, etc.," and I have translated it accordingly here as this is clearly the meaning intended by the Kumārajīva translation team. 306 This very long verse is a nearly verbatim repetition of the verse found earlier in the treatise in Chapter 8 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I, 39c21-40a13). There are eight variant characters as noted in the following notes 307-308 and 310-311 (underlined characters).

408

Notes

307 The Chapter 8 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) version of this verse has "and is identical with whatever is possessed of signs" instead of "and is identical with whatever is an existent dharma" (即為是有相 instead of 即為是有法). 308 The Chapter 8 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) version of this verse has "Were one to relinquish all covetousness" instead of "Were one to relinquish all strategizing and attachments" (若捨諸貪著 instead of 若捨諸計著).

309 The Chapter 8 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) version of this verse has "There is someone who grasps and something that is grasped" instead of "It is the abandonment of grasping and whatever thing is grasped" (誰取取何事 instead of 離取取何事).

310 The Chapter 8 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) version of this verse has "whether as conjoined or separate, they are all entirely nonexistent" instead of "whether as conjoined or separate, they are all devoid of existence" (共離俱不有 instead of 共離俱無有).

311 The Chapter 8 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) version of this verse has "It is precisely because it is signless" instead of "It is precisely because it is synonymous with signlessness" (即為是無相 instead of 即名為無相).

312 These first two verse lines are referring to the four alternative propositions of the tetralemma: (1) it exists, (2) it does not exist, (3) it both exists and does not exist, and (4) it neither exists nor does not exist.

313 The Chapter 8 (Nāgārjuna's Treatise on the Ten Grounds, Volume I) version of this verse has a fairly nonconsequential variant for one of the characters in this line (先亦非寂滅 instead of 先來非寂滅).

314 The following passage corresponds to a section of the Great Jeweled Summit Sutra (大寶積經, T.310:636c17-29).

315 Xing (行), more usually "action(s)," refers here instead to saṃskāras, hence here the translation as "all conditioned things."

316 This verse and the very long passage that follow are also found in the Great Jeweled Summit Sutra (大寶積經, T.310:636a29-b29).

317 I emend the reading of the text here in accordance with the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Gong editions by preferring on sensibility grounds anwen (安隱), "peaceful and secure," to the Taishō edition's anle (安樂), "peaceful and happy"; the latter appears to be a result of scribal absentmindedness in reflexively repeating the immediately preceding concept, which would produce an unlikely redundancy. 318 See note 3 regarding the chapter numbering. (The Taishō edition calls this "Chapter Seven.")

319 Venerable Bhikkhu Bodhi notes: "See Aṅguttara Nikāya 8:19, [where this is listed as] one of the qualities of the ocean."

409