Toh 323The Single Stanza

Summary

The Single Stanza is a praise to the Buddha in one
verse. It states that there is no ascetic equal to the Buddha, neither among the gods nor
in the ordinary world.

Acknowledgements

This text was translated by the Pema Yeshé Dé Translation Team. Giuliano Proença
translated the text from Tibetan into English and prepared the introduction, the glossary,
and the notes.

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

Introduction

The Single Stanza is a praise to the Buddha in one
verse. It states that there is no ascetic equal to the Buddha, neither among the gods
nor in the ordinary world.

The Single Stanza is quoted in the Mahāvibhāṣā, so it must have been composed by the third
century. It is cited in Vasubandhu’s Gāthāsaṃgrahaśāstra (Toh 4102), the Abhidharmakośabhāṣya (Toh 4090), and several other Abhidharma works, and it also appears in the Avadānaśataka (Toh 343). Moreover, there are two Indian
commentaries on The Single Stanza in the Tengyur, one
attributed to Vasubandhu and the other to Dignāga, which further attests to its importance.

Kano concludes that The Single Stanza was part of
a set of five texts used for recitation in India. Others in the set were The Dhāraṇī
of the Six Gates (Toh 141, 526, 916),
The Two Stanza Dhāraṇī (Toh 143, 611, 918),
The Four Stanzas (Toh 324), and The Prayer of Good Conduct (Toh
1095, 4377). Initially, these
five texts circulated individually. However, they had become popular in India as a set
by the time of Advayavajra or Ratnākaraśānti (eleventh century) and were later
incorporated into the dhāraṇī collections of Nepal.

The Sanskrit text of The Single Stanza is extant
in several manuscripts from Nepal. Gergely Hidas edited one of these manuscripts as part
of his edition of two dhāraṇī collections. Kazuo Kano has also published a critical
edition of the Sanskrit text of The Single Stanza, together with a Japanese
translation. The Sanskrit text aligns closely with the Tibetan translation of The Single Stanza.

The canonical version of The Single Stanza
closely matches the version found in the Tibetan translation of Vasubandhu’s commentary,
which is listed in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma catalogs.
Therefore, it is likely that the Tibetan translation of The Single
Stanza was also completed by the early ninth century. The
Single Stanza is found in the Sūtra section of the Kangyurs of the Tshalpa,
Thempangma, and mixed lines, and in that of the Phukdrak Kangyur. Some Western Tibetan
collections also include The Single Stanza. It is not known who translated The
Single Stanza into Tibetan, for neither the colophons nor Tibetan historical
works mention the translators.

The Tibetan scholar Tāranātha (1575–1634) composed a commentary on The Single Stanza as well as sequential commentaries on three of
the other five texts in the above-mentioned set, corroborating Kano’s view that these
texts were seen as related. The importance of The
Single Stanza and the other texts in the set for recitation is evident. In
Tibet, they are included in extracts from sūtra and tantra (gces btus), collected liturgical texts (chos spyod), collections of mantras and
dhāraṇīs for recitation, and collections of sādhanas. They are also sometimes mentioned
as texts for recitation in preliminary practices.

This English translation is based on the Degé print and Kano’s Sanskrit
edition, in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma), the Phukdrak and the Stok Palace manuscripts, as
well as Vasubandhu’s commentary on The Single Stanza.

The Translation

The Single Stanza

Homage to the
Three Jewels!

Foremost among humans, there is no other great ascetic like you,

Neither in the heavenly lands, in this world, in Vaiśravaṇa’s abode,

In the excellent abodes of the gods’ palaces, nor in the cardinal and intermediate
directions.

How could there be another one like you on this vast earth with its mountains and
forests?

Thus ends “The Single Stanza.”

Notes

Bibliography

Source Texts

Related Texts

Other References and Translations