Toh 170The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman”

Summary

During an alms round in Vārāṇasī, the Buddha Śākyamuni encounters a
brahmin woman by the name of Śrīmatī. Inspired by the Buddha’s majestic and
graceful presence, Śrīmatī inquires about the teaching he gave at nearby Deer
Park. In response, the Buddha reprises the teaching on how the twelve links of
dependent origination lead to suffering and how their cessation leads to the end
of suffering. Śrīmatī then asks about the nature of ignorance, the first of the
twelve links. The Buddha offers a profound response and raises the distinction
between ultimate truth and conventional teaching. At this, Śrīmatī makes the
aspiration that she too may turn the many wheels of Dharma just as the Buddha
has done. The Buddha then smiles and prophesies her eventual awakening. The
sūtra concludes with the Buddha describing Śrīmatī’s virtuous deeds in past
lives, in which she had venerated each of the six previous buddhas.

Acknowledgements

Translation by the Subhashita Translation Group, produced by Lowell Cook
with assistance from Benjamin Ewing.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. George FitzHerbert edited the
translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina
Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.

Introduction

The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin
Woman presents a dialogue between the Buddha Śākyamuni and a
brahmin woman called Śrīmatī whom he encounters while collecting alms in the
city of Vārāṇasī. Inspired by the Buddha’s graceful presence, Śrīmatī asks
him about the teachings he gave at nearby Deer Park. In response, the Buddha
relates his teaching on the twelve links of dependent origination and how
the cessation of suffering can be brought about by putting an end to
ignorance, the first of the twelve links. This teaching is found in very
similar wording in many sūtras, but the present sūtra is notable in setting
the discourse soon after the first sermon and in nearby Vārāṇasī. Moreover,
in this Mahāyāna sūtra, the teaching on the twelve links is combined, in
response to Śrīmatī’s questions on the nature and ontological status of
ignorance, with a discourse on emptiness that touches on the distinction
between ultimate and conventional truth. The sūtra further describes the
teachings given by the Buddha in terms of the different ways in which the
wheel of Dharma can be characterized.

This is one of several Mahāyāna sūtras in the Kangyur in which the
Buddha’s main interlocutor is a high-status laywoman. Others include The Questions of the Girl Vimalaśraddhā (Toh
84),  The Questions of
Vimaladattā (Toh 77), The Lion’s Roar of Śrīmālādevī (Toh 92), The Sūtra of Aśokadattā’s Prophecy (Toh
76),
The Questions of Vimalaprabhā (Toh 168),
The Prophecy Concerning Strīvivarta, (Toh
190),
and The Prophecy of Kṣemavatī (Toh
192). Laywomen of low social
status are the main interlocutors in The Inquiry of the Girl Sumati (Toh 74),  The Questions of Gaṅgottara (Toh 75),  The Questions of an Old Lady (Toh
171),
The Miraculous Play of Mañjuśrī (Toh 96),  The Sūtra of
the Girl Candrottarā’s Prophecy (Toh 191), and The City Beggar Woman (Toh 205). As is typical in these narratives, in The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman, at the
end of the discourse, Śrīmatī’s sincere aspiration to achieve awakening and
teach the Dharma in the future causes the Buddha to smile one of his
magnificent smiles. The Buddha’s smile is followed by a prophecy concerning
Śrīmatī’s future awakening.

The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin
Woman was clearly extant in early Buddhist Central Asia since a
long Sanskrit quotation from it can be found in Gupta Brahmi script on a
Bactrian copper scroll inscription that probably dates to the fifth century
ce. This scroll, the Śrīmatībrāhmaṇīparipṛcchā, as identified by Melzer (2006),
is currently held in the Schøyen Collection, Oslo.

The sūtra was translated into Tibetan in the late eighth or early
ninth century ᴄᴇ by the master translator Yeshé Dé along with Surendrabodhi
and Prajñāvarman, during the height of the Tibetan imperial sponsorship of
Buddhism. It is listed in both the Denkarma (ldan
kar ma) and Phangthangma (’phang thang
ma) imperial catalogs.

A Japanese translation, along with a reconstructed Sanskrit text,
was produced in two parts by Goshima (2001, 2002). An English translation of the sūtra along
with an introduction was recently published by Peter Skilling (2021).

This English translation was made from the Tibetan as preserved in
the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the
Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the
Stok Palace Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra

The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was staying at
Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near Vārāṇasī, with an assembly of some seven hundred
monks and many bodhisattva great beings. At dawn, the Blessed One donned his
upper and lower robes, picked up his alms bowl, and went on an alms round
through Vārāṇasī together with his attendant monk, the venerable
Ānanda, and the bodhisattva great being
Ajita.

As the Blessed One went steadily through the city of Vārāṇasī
gathering alms, he arrived at the house of a brahmin woman by the name of
Śrīmatī. As the Blessed One stayed to one side waiting for alms, Śrīmatī the
brahmin woman saw from afar that the Blessed One was
beautiful and inspiring, his senses at peace, and his heart at peace. He was
gentle. He had arrived at tranquility; he had arrived at supreme
tranquility. He was serene, peaceful, and well guarded. His senses were
tamed and, without a trace of wickedness, he glowed with a fine complexion.
Still and clear like a lake, elevated and unshakable like a golden offering
post, he was unmoving, and due to the splendor of his attainment, he blazed,
shone, and glowed with brilliance. Seeing this, Śrīmatī
the brahmin woman was inspired and went to him. She paid homage at the feet
of the Blessed One and the bodhisattva great being Ajita. “Welcome, Blessed
One,” she said, bowing toward the Blessed One with joined palms. “Welcome.
Please be seated on the seat we have set out for you.”

The Blessed One and the bodhisattva great being Ajita took their
respective seats. Seeing that the Blessed One and the bodhisattva great
being Ajita were comfortably seated, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman bowed toward
the Blessed One with joined palms and said, “Blessed One, I have heard that
the Blessed One turned the wheel of Dharma at Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near the
city of Vārāṇasī. Blessed One, what Dharma did the Blessed One teach?”

The Blessed One answered Śrīmatī the brahmin woman, “Śrīmatī, it is
this: Through the condition of ignorance, there are
formations. Through the condition of formations, there is consciousness.
Through the condition of consciousness, there is name and form. Through the
condition of name and form, there are the six sense sources. Through the
condition of the six sense sources, there is contact. Through the condition
of contact, there is sensation. Through the condition of sensation, there is
craving. Through the condition of craving, there is grasping. Through the
condition of grasping, there is becoming. Through the condition of becoming,
there is rebirth. Through the condition of rebirth, there is old age and
death, as well as sorrow, misery, suffering, mental anguish, and agitation.
In this way, only great heaps of suffering come about.

“With the cessation of ignorance, formations cease. With the
cessation of formations, consciousness ceases. With the cessation of
consciousness, name and form cease. With the cessation of name and form, the
six sense sources cease. With the cessation of the six sense sources,
contact ceases. With the cessation of contact, sensation ceases. With the
cessation of sensation, craving ceases. With the cessation of craving,
grasping ceases. With the cessation of grasping, becoming ceases. With the
cessation of becoming, rebirth ceases. With the cessation of rebirth, old age
and death, as well as sorrow, misery, suffering, mental anguish, and
agitation, cease. In only this way will the great heap of suffering
cease.

“This, Śrīmatī, is the wheel of Dharma that has never before been
rightfully turned in the world by any mendicant, brahmin, god, demon, or
brahmā, but was turned by the Thus-Gone One here at Ṛṣipatana Deer Park near
the city of Vārāṇasī.”

Śrīmatī the brahmin woman asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, is
ignorance something internal or something external?”

The Blessed One responded, “It is neither, Śrīmatī.”

“Blessed One, if ignorance is neither internal nor external, then
how does something nonexistent act as a condition for formations? Are there
any phenomena that are beyond this world, Blessed One?”

“There are not, Śrīmatī.”

“Blessed One, does ignorance have features?”

“It does not, Śrīmatī,” the Blessed One replied. “Ignorance comes
about in a false manner, Śrīmatī; it does not come about in a true manner.
Ignorance comes about in a mistaken manner, Śrīmatī; it does not come about
in an unmistaken manner.”

“Blessed One, if ignorance is nonexistent then where do formations
come from? And where does suffering come from? Blessed One, let me share an
analogy. If a banyan tree has no roots, how do its boughs, leaves, and
branches develop? In a similar manner, Blessed One, if ignorance has not
come into being and is not existent, how can it act as the condition for
formations?”

“Indeed, Śrīmatī,” replied the Blessed One, “all phenomena are empty
of inherent characteristics. Nevertheless, childish, ordinary beings
who lack learning, knowledge, and realization bring about the formation of
karma. Through this karma, cyclic existence manifests, and due to cyclic
existence, these beings end up experiencing suffering. But there is no one
who forms karma nor is there any act of manifesting cyclic existence. This
is the ultimate nature of phenomena. However, Śrīmatī, thus-gone, worthy,
and perfect buddhas, being concerned with how beings can realize the
ultimate nature, resort to convention to teach beings the Dharma. However,
Śrīmatī, convention is not true. Why not? Because there is no one to
comprehend it and no act of coming to understand it.

“Take the following analogy, Śrīmatī. The Thus-Gone One projects an
emanation of himself which then, in turn, projects an emanation of itself.
The emanation projected by the Thus-Gone One is hollow, that is, of a false
and deceptive nature. The emanation projected by the emanation is also
hollow, that is, of a false and deceptive nature. In a similar manner,
Śrīmatī, that which conditions phenomena is hollow, that is, of a false and
deceptive nature. The conditioned phenomena are also hollow, that is, of a
false and deceptive nature.”

“It is so,” she replied. “The Blessed One has turned the wheel of
emptiness, the wheel of emancipation, the wheel of certainty, the wheel of
inconceivability, the wheel unturned, the wheel of the incomparable, the
wheel just as it is, the wheel of birthlessness, the wheel of the unreal,
and the wheel of the absence of characteristics.”

Then Śrīmatī the brahmin woman took a handful of sandalwood powder,
sprinkled it on the Blessed One’s feet, and said, “Blessed One, by this root
of virtue, may I too in the future turn the wheel of Dharma in that way—the
wheel of emptiness, the wheel of emancipation, the wheel of certainty, the
wheel of inconceivability, the wheel unturned, the wheel of the
incomparable, the wheel just as it is, the wheel of birthlessness, the wheel
of the unreal, and the wheel of the absence of characteristics.”

At this, the Blessed One smiled. As is the
nature of the blessed buddhas when they smile, as he smiled, lights of many
colors—blue, white, red, crimson, and the colors of crystal and
silver—streamed from his mouth, filling and illuminating worlds without end
all the way up to the Brahmā realms, before returning, circling
the Blessed One three times, and dissolving into the crown of his
head.

Then the bodhisattva great being Ajita said to the Blessed One,
“Blessed One! Thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddhas do not smile without
cause and condition. What, then, are the causes and conditions for your
smile?”

“Ajita,” he replied, “did you see Śrīmatī the brahmin woman take a
handful of sandalwood powder and sprinkle it on the Blessed One’s feet?”

“I did, Blessed One. I saw it, Well-Gone One.”

“Ajita,” the Blessed One continued, “through her roots of virtue,
this brahmin woman will not fall back into the lower realms for eight
hundred and forty million eons. She will honor, venerate, respect, and
worship sixty-four thousand buddhas. She will listen to the Dharma from
them, she will retain what she hears, and she will fully master the true
Dharma. She
will greatly worship the thus-gone ones who are present and those who have
passed into parinirvāṇa. She will place countless, innumerable beings in the
state of awakening. In a future life, during the eon known as Self-Luminous,
she will appear in this great trichiliocosm as a thus-gone, worthy, and
perfect buddha known as Luminous Dharma, whose lifespan will be equal to a
thousand eons, and, after working for the benefit of countless, innumerable
beings, she will pass into parinirvāṇa—the expanse of nirvāṇa without any
remainder of the aggregates.”

Then the bodhisattva great being Ajita asked the Blessed One, “Did
Śrīmatī the brahmin woman previously possess other roots of virtue?”

“She did, Ajita,” he replied. “In her desire for unsurpassed and
perfect awakening, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman, in a previous life as a woman,
offered a garland of flowers to the Thus-Gone One Vipaśyin. She also offered
robes to the Thus-Gone One Śikhin and went forth as a renunciant in his
teaching, practiced the holy life for a thousand years, and questioned that
blessed one on profound topics. She offered food to the Thus-Gone One
Viśvabhū and his assembly of hearers, serving them to their satisfaction.
She scattered atimuktaka flowers before the Thus-Gone One Krakucchanda and
from that blessed one received the five basic precepts. To the Thus-Gone One
Kanakamuni she offered garments, meals, bedding, curative medicines, and
supplies throughout his life. That blessed one partook of her meals for two
months and she also offered him a pair of sandals. In her desire for
unsurpassed and perfect awakening, she threw a golden rosary before the
Thus-Gone One Kāśyapa and made the aspiration, ‘Until I am prophesied to
reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening, I will not inhabit any other form
than that of a woman.’ These, Ajita, are the past roots of virtue of Śrīmatī
the brahmin woman.”

After the Blessed One had spoken thus, the bodhisattva great being
Ajita, Śrīmatī the brahmin woman, and the world with its gods, humans,
asuras, and gandharvas all rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had
said.

This concludes the noble Mahāyāna sūtra “The Questions of Śrīmatī the Brahmin Woman.”

Colophon

Translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors
Surendrabodhi and Prajñāvarman, the editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, and
others.

Notes

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Western Languages