Toh 167The Sūtra of the Questions of Vikurvāṇarāja
Pāli / Sanskrit:Vikurvāṇarājaparipṛcchāsūtra
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The Sutra of the Questions of the King of Transformational Mastery
Background
The Sutra of the Questions of the King of Transformational Mastery (Vikurvāṇarājaparipṛcchāsūtra) is an important scripture in the Northern Mahāyāna tradition, preserved in the Tibetan Kangyur. This sutra is often presented in the form of a dialogue between the Buddha, the Blessed One, and a king who possesses the power of transformation (Vikurvāṇarāja, meaning “the king with miraculous powers of transformation”).
The setting of the sutra is that the Buddha appears in a sublime place, often in a kingdom or a heavenly realm, where kings, bodhisattvas, and other sentient beings assemble to listen to the Dharma. The King of Transformational Mastery asks profound questions concerning the nature of phenomena, ultimate reality, and the path of practice of bodhisattvas. This sutra reflects the Mahāyāna Buddha’s method of teaching, according to which all sentient beings have the capacity to become buddhas.
Main Content
The Sutra of the Questions of the King of Transformational Mastery focuses on explaining profound aspects of the Buddha Dharma, especially emptiness of inherent nature (śūnyatā) and the relative nature of all phenomena. The title of the king refers to the mind’s unobstructed capacity for transformation, suggesting that this sutra may offer instruction on the wisdom of mind according to the tradition of Dharmatā or Yogācāra.
The specific contents of this sutra have not been fully translated in modern sources, but according to the context of the Tibetan Kangyur, the sutra may explore such themes as: (1) the unborn and unceasing nature of dharmas; (2) the equivalence of buddhas and all sentient beings in their potential for buddhahood; (3) the path of practice of bodhisattvas through the pāramitās; and (4) the subtle means that buddhas use to teach different kinds of sentient beings.
Meaning for Practice
For practitioners of the Northern Mahāyāna tradition, the Sutra of the Questions of the King of Transformational Mastery bears profound meaning in recognizing the innately lucid nature of the mind.
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