Toh 298Translated by Annie Bien under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha Annie Bien Yeshe Hegan Charles Hastings David Higgins Ryan Damron Laura Goetz Dr. John Canti Robert Thurman Paul Hackett Geshe Dorji Damdul Robert Beer Annie Bien Leslie Kriesel v 1.1.15 2021 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone. This work is provided under the protection of a Creative Commons CC BY-NC-ND (Attribution - Non-commercial - No-derivatives) 3.0 copyright. It may be copied or printed for fair use, but only with full attribution, and not for commercial advantage or personal compensation. For full details, see the Creative Commons license. An early mistake in the assigning of UT numbers within the 84000 project means that these ids diverge slightly from the standard logic. 2020-04-03 Toh 298 Degé Kangyur, vol. 71 (mdo sde, sha), folios 301.b–303.b 28/07/2023 12:32:59 Automated version increment 2.d 2.g 2.e 2.c 2.a v 1.0 2 final proofing Finalized, first published version. Finalized, first published version. Note added retrospectively based on date of status '1' Changed terminology of 2 gloss terms. Added line to acknowledgement Auto (TEI migration 2.0.0) Updated pending links Moved translation title from titleHon to titleMain Auto (TEI migration 2.1.5) "abbot" to "preceptor" in colophon and related Auto (update-contributors) Auto (update-contributors) Auto (update-contributors) Auto (script-increment-version-published) Auto (script-increment-version-published) Auto (remove-tid-from-back-list-items) Updated "Blissful One" to "Well-Gone One" Summary While the Buddha is dwelling in the Bamboo Grove monastery near Rājagṛha, together with a thousand monks and a host of bodhisattvas, King Prasenajit arises from his seat, bows at the Buddha’s feet, and asks him how to uphold the Dharma in his kingdom during times of conflict. In reply the Buddha instructs the king about the gaṇḍī, a wooden ritual instrument, and tells him how the sound of this instrument, used for Dharma practice in a temple or monastery, quells conflict and strife for all who hear it. He describes how to make, consecrate, and sound the gaṇḍī. He explains that the gaṇḍī symbolizes the Perfection of Insight and describes in detail the many benefits it confers. Acknowledgements This translation was produced by Annie Bien with the assistance of Dr. Robert Thurman, Dr. Paul Hackett, Geshe Dorji Damdul, and Robert Beer. The translator is also thankful to Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, Leslie Kriesel, Anming Karrer-Bien, Tarini Mehta, and Ven. Yeshe Choedup for their advice. The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Introduction While the Buddha is dwelling in the Bamboo Grove monastery near Rājagṛha, together with a thousand monks and a host of bodhisattvas, King Prasenajit rises from his seat, bows at the feet of the Buddha, and asks him how to uphold the Dharma in his kingdom during times of conflict. In reply the Buddha instructs the king about the gaṇḍī, For historical and ethnographical details concerning the gaṇḍī and its wide-ranging usage in Buddhist monasteries, see Helffer (1983), Hu-von Hinüber (1991), and Sobkovyak (2015). a wooden beam that is ritually struck to produce sound, In The Pali Text Society’s Pali-English Dictionary

Summary

While the Buddha is dwelling in the Bamboo Grove monastery near Rājagṛha,
together with a thousand monks and a host of bodhisattvas, King Prasenajit
arises from his seat, bows at the Buddha’s feet, and asks him how to uphold the
Dharma in his kingdom during times of conflict. In reply the Buddha instructs
the king about the gaṇḍī, a wooden ritual instrument, and tells him how the
sound of this instrument, used for Dharma practice in a temple or monastery,
quells conflict and strife for all who hear it. He describes how to make,
consecrate, and sound the gaṇḍī. He explains that the gaṇḍī symbolizes
the Perfection of Insight and describes in detail the many benefits it
confers.

Acknowledgements

This translation was produced by Annie Bien with the assistance of Dr. Robert
Thurman, Dr. Paul Hackett, Geshe Dorji Damdul, and Robert Beer. The translator
is also thankful to Khyongla Rato Rinpoche, Leslie Kriesel, Anming Karrer-Bien,
Tarini Mehta, and Ven. Yeshe Choedup for their advice.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

While the Buddha is dwelling in the Bamboo Grove monastery near Rājagṛha,
together with a thousand monks and a host of bodhisattvas, King
Prasenajit rises from his seat, bows at the feet of the Buddha, and asks him
how to uphold the Dharma in his kingdom during times of conflict. In reply
the Buddha instructs the king about the gaṇḍī, a wooden beam that
is ritually struck to produce sound, and
tells him how the sound of this instrument, used for Dharma practice in a temple
or monastery, quells conflict and strife for all who hear it. He then
describes how to make, consecrate, and sound the gaṇḍī. He explains that the
gaṇḍī symbolizes the Perfection of Insight and describes in detail the many
benefits it confers.

The gaṇḍī, sometimes misleadingly translated into English as “gong,” refers
to a wooden beam cut from specific trees to particular proportions. From as
early as the first century ce down to the present
day, it has been widely used in Buddhist monasteries as an instrument for
summoning monks to assembly. To hear
its sound is said to quell all disruptive thoughts, dispel obstacles, and
pacify all conflicts and negative forces. The role of the gaṇḍī in Buddhist
monastic life appears to have been quite varied, extending to both
nontantric and tantric forms of ritualism and daily life. As an example of
its diverse functions in the day-to-day monastic itinerary, the Vinayavastu classifies five different types or
uses of the gaṇḍī: the gaṇḍī for assembling monks, the gaṇḍī for meetings,
the gaṇḍī for death ceremonies, the gaṇḍī for renunciation, and the gaṇḍī
for emergencies.

There is to our knowledge no extant Sanskrit or Chinese version of The Gaṇḍī Sūtra. According to the colophon to the
Tibetan translations, it was translated into Tibetan by Dharmaśrībhadra and
Tsültrim Yönten and subsequently edited by Rinchen Zangpo, which dates the
Tibetan translation included in the Kangyur to the early
eleventh century ce. The text is, however, also
recorded in the Denkarma catalog of the Tibetan
imperial translations, so it appears that it was first translated from
Sanskrit into Tibetan by an unknown translator no later than the early ninth
century, as the Denkarma is dated to 812 ce. It
is not recorded in the Phangthangma catalog of Tibetan imperial
translations.

This English translation was prepared based on the
Tibetan translation in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative
Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur ma) and the
Stok Palace Kangyur.

The Translation

##
The Gaṇḍī Sūtra

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was dwelling in the Bamboo
Grove, in the Kalandakanivāpa near Rājagṛha, together with a great saṅgha of
a thousand monks and a great gathering of bodhisattvas. They were all worthy
ones. Their contaminations were exhausted, their duties fulfilled, their work
concluded, their burdens put down, their personal welfare attained, their
bonds to existence destroyed, and their minds fully liberated through
perfect knowledge.

At that time, King Prasenajit arose from his seat and went to meet the
Bhagavān. He bowed his head down at the feet of the Bhagavān and
addressed him with these words: “Bhagavān, in the future, during times of
conflict, all beings will have evil minds, quarrelsome minds filled with
desire, hatred, and delusion. While intensely coveting others’ possessions
and striving to devour one another, they will cause the previous period when
teachings were given by the Bhagavān to decline. They will cause the
abandonment of the true Dharma. They will go against the Buddha, the Dharma,
and those who are free of desire. Please teach a way to eliminate such
behavior so that beings may be strongly inclined to awakening.”

Thus entreated, the Bhagavān declared, “King, since you make this request
for the sake of the welfare of all beings, for their benefit and happiness,
and in order to protect the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, your inquiry
is excellent! Excellent! Therefore, listen closely and keep this in mind!
I will explain.”

Thereupon, the Bhagavān entered the meditative absorption called
resounding everywhere. When the Bhagavān entered
that meditative absorption, all hells were terminated. All those who had been filled with
hatred became free from their hatred and wholly devoted to the mind of
awakening.

Then the Bhagavān asked, “Prasenajit, did you see, or hear, or understand,
or realize?”

“Bhagavān, I saw! Well-Gone One, I saw. I comprehended, understood,
recognized, and realized!”

The Bhagavān said, “Prasenajit, this is the mother of all beings. She
gives birth to buddhas and bodhisattvas. She is venerated, worshiped,
contemplated, and cultivated by all hearers, solitary buddhas, and perfect
buddhas. Taking the form of the sound of the Perfection of Insight, she
nurtures all beings. She is the vanquisher of all non-Buddhists,
the pacifier of angry thoughts, the subduer of sinful thoughts, the
dispeller of hateful thoughts, the destroyer of deluded thoughts, and the
banisher of lustful thoughts. She is the protector of the mind of awakening,
the intensifier of the mind of buddhas, and the supporter for the genesis of
buddhas. She is the destroyer of all fights, quarrels, strife, conflicts,
miseries, and all those of bad character who contravene the monastic code.
She is the pacifier of sudden illness and death and of untimely death,
epidemics, and so forth. She is the subduer of foreign armies, destroyer of
Māra, and dispeller of torments. She is the extender of the fortunate era,
bestower of long life and freedom from disease, pacifier of the dread of
death, and intensifier of freedom and prosperity. To those who hear this and
rejoice, she bestows results, like a wish-fulfilling gem. The Mother, the
Perfection of Insight, is present in the form of the gaṇḍī.”

Having heard this, deep conviction rose in King Prasenajit, and he entreated
the Bhagavān: “Bhagavān, what is the size of this gaṇḍī? What is its
color? What are its specifications? How is it to be struck? By what is it to
be struck? At what time, on what occasion, and for how long should it be
struck? How should it be placed?”

Thus entreated, the Bhagavān declared:

“As for the wood you wish to use,

You should investigate with great effort:

Sandalwood, Bengal quince, bastard teak,

Sacred fig, and red sandalwood tree,

“Indian walnut, palmyra, kingshuk tree,

Aloe wood, false mangosteen,

Mango, walnut, myrobalan tree,

Tintisara, and aśoka.

“If all of these are absent,

You should try the mulberry tree.

King, if despite your efforts

None of these are present, do not make it.

“If made without measure and from bad wood,

The sound will not emerge when struck.

When such a Mother of the Buddhas is struck,

Harm will surely arise in the land.

“As for the monks in the temple,

Their minds will thus be discordant,

They will be afflicted with disease,

And there will be all sorts of quarrels.

“Non-Buddhists will be empowered

And māras will likewise come to the fore.

Due to many noxious nāgas,

Crops will fail.

“In that kingdom many beings

Will be destroyed.

Temples also will be destroyed,

And the Dharma will decline as well.

“Demonic gods will cause unruliness

Within the saṅgha of monks.

Thus, knowing all this well,

Proceed with careful inspection.

“As for measurements: the small ends should be eight fingers.

Make the main body eighty-four fingers.

Make it six fingers in breadth

And two fingers in height.

“Using the measurements of finger joints,

The measure to the four corners is two fingers.

The perfect balance is made very clear.

The two ends are like the head of a frog.

“After that, cut the striker

From the same wood block.

Measuring twelve fingers,

It is rounded and has mongoose heads at both ends.

“The size of the handle is also like that.

It should be very smooth and evenly ribbed.

Thus, it is meant to be struck.

Below, make a stand for it.

“Place it above the temple gate,

Or place it above the central gate.

As for its consecration,

It is the very stable Dharma body.

“It is unproduced, indestructible,

And primordially unborn virtue.

Having been consecrated as such,

The gaṇḍī’s eyes are opened.

“Next, having opened the gaṇḍī’s eyes,

One must strike it to increasingly produce sound

Throughout the temple,

As if adorned by seven nāgas.

“Thereafter, one should pay homage to the Three Jewels

And then strike the gaṇḍī.

One should then sound the cymbal three times

And beat the Dharma drums.

“Cleansing the gaṇḍī with flower-petal water

At mealtime, sunrise, and sunset,

Strike it three times at the three intervals.

When it is time for bathing, let it resound twice.

“It should be struck consecutively without hesitation

To prevent sudden harm

And likewise quarrels, disputes,

Lightning, and great devastation.

“It should be struck to invite the elders

And to pacify plagues and famines.

It should be struck constantly at all times

By monks and novices.

“During monthly purification,

It should be struck by laypeople as well.

All its qualities being complete,

It should be adorned by seven nāgas.

“O King, when throughout the land

That gaṇḍī resounds,

The year will be good there,

With splendor, fame, and all desirable things.

“There will be no fear of foreign armies,

And the crops will never fail.

With the wealth of the Buddha’s blessings,

Māras will be tamed there.

“The Dharma drum will thunder everywhere,

Right up to the summit of existence.

The worlds of hell and pretas

Will undoubtedly be destroyed.

“Everyone will have enduring conviction in the Buddha,

And everyone will be devoted to the Dharma.

There, the saṅgha will be disciplined,

And the wise will flourish as well.

“Lust, hate, and delusion

Will subside there.

The king will live long and uphold the Dharma,

And he will have every happiness.

“O King, in every temple,

When beating the Dharma drum,

Its sound will be renowned

In the pathways of peoples’ ears;

“Those who hear it four times a day

Will attain spiritual awakening.

Those who rejoice from the heart

Will undoubtedly be free.

“Hearing just once The Gaṇḍī Sūtra,

One will remember one’s former lives.

Where this best among sūtras is present,

That land will be prosperous.

“Those who observe it at all times,

Read it aloud, worship it,

And keep it in mind

Will be freed from evil.”

When the Bhagavān had said this, King Prasenajit paid his respects to the
Bhagavān repeatedly and then departed. When the Bhagavān had spoken
these words, the entire assembly, along with the world with its gods,
humans, asuras, garuḍas, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised what the Bhagavān had said.

This completes “The Gaṇḍī Sūtra.”

Colophon

It was translated by the Indian preceptor Dharmaśrībhadra and the monk-translator
Tsültrim Yönten, and edited and finalized by the monk and chief
editor-translator Rinchen Zangpo.

Notes

Bibliography

Awakening refers to the state of realization and
understanding possessed by a buddha regarding the nature of
things.

non-Buddhist
mu stegs pa
མུ་སྟེགས་པ།
tīrthika
Those of religious or philosophical orders that
were contemporary with the early Buddhist order, including Jains,
Jaṭilas, Ājīvikas, and Cārvākas. Initially, the
term tīrthika or tīrthya may
have referred to non-brahmanic ascetic orders. Tīrthika (“forder”)
literally translates as “one belonging to or associated with
(possessive suffix –ika) stairs
for landing or for descent into a river,” or “a bathing place,” or
“a place of pilgrimage on the banks of sacred streams”
(Monier-Williams). The term may have originally referred to temple
priests at river crossings or fords where travelers propitiated a
deity before crossing. The Sanskrit term seems to have undergone
metonymic transfer in referring to those able to ford the turbulent
river of saṃsāra (as in the Jain tīrthaṅkaras, “ford makers”), and
it came to be used in Buddhist sources to refer to teachers of rival
religious traditions. The Sanskrit term is closely rendered by the
Tibetan mu stegs
pa: “those on the steps (stegs pa) at the edge (mu).”

The name of a meditative absorption.

Kalandakanivāpa
bya ka lan da ka gnas pa
བྱ་ཀ་ལན་ད་ཀ་གནས་པ།
Kalandakanivāpa
A park outside Rājagṛha where the Buddha often
resided, within the Bamboo Grove (Veṇuvana). The Tibetan
rendering bya ka lan da ka makes it clear that the Tibetans
considered the kalandaka to be a kind of bird, while Sanskrit and
Pali sources generally agree that it is a kind of squirrel. It is
therefore likely that this word refers to the Indian flying
squirrel, Petaurista
philippensis.