Toh 58The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Teaching to Venerable Nanda on Entry into the Womb”

Summary

In The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the
Womb, the Buddha gives a detailed account to his half-brother Nanda of the
thirty-eight weeks of human gestation. The sūtra explains conception in terms of how the
antarābhava (the being in the state between death
in one life and birth in the next) enters the womb, and details the physical composition
of the embryo, the suffering of the newborn being, and the miseries experienced over the
course of a lifetime. Including as it does the most comprehensive ancient Indian account
of gestation, it was an important source for embryology in Tibetan medicine.

Acknowledgements

This translation was produced by Robert Kritzer, who also wrote the
introduction.

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

Introduction

The Garbhāvakrāntisūtra, The Sūtra on Entry into the Womb, describes the thirty-eight weeks of
human gestation. It discusses conception, the composition of the embryo, the gestation
period, the newborn being, the course of life and its sufferings, and the need to
practice for one’s own good and the good of others.

The section on conception is notable for its descriptions of a number
of defects of the womb that prevent the mother from conceiving. In this section, the
antarābhava (the being in the state between
death in one life and birth in the next) is said to have deluded thoughts about the
womb that it is entering. If the antarābhava’s karma is good, it thinks it is
entering, for example, a celestial palace. If the antarābhava has bad karma, it
imagines that it is entering an unpleasant place, like a hole at the bottom of a
wall.

The section on the composition of the embryo consists mainly of similes
showing that the embryo is not simply a combination of the father’s semen and the
mother’s blood. Rather, a collection of causes and conditions is required for rebirth
to occur.

The week-by-week account of the development of the embryo and fetus is the
longest section of the sūtra. In each week, new features, frequently initiated by
exotically named internal winds, are described. The account of the thirty-eighth week
describes the miscarriage of a fetus that has accumulated bad karma, a fate avoided by
a being whose karma is good.

The infant experiences great suffering as it emerges from the womb and is
washed for the first time. Shortly after birth, it is infested by 80,000 types of
“worm” (Skt. krimi, kṛmi; Tib. srin bu) that feed on various parts of its body, several
dozen of which are named. There are multiple references in other texts in the Kangyur
to the worms that are thought to infest and feed on the human body. There are detailed
accounts like the one found in the present text in The
Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma (Saddharmasmṛtyupasthāna) and The Sections of Dharma (Dharmaskandha), and there are passing references to these worms in,
for example, all of the long Perfection of Wisdom sūtras, such as The Transcendent Perfection of Wisdom in Ten Thousand Lines (Daśasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitā), which specifically refers to the eighty thousand types of
worm, and in The Play in Full (Lalitavistara) and The Inquiry of
Lokadhara (Lokadharaparipṛcchā).

Over the course of his or her life, the person is afflicted by various
illnesses and is subject to punishments including imprisonment, beatings, and
mutilations, as well as torments by supernatural beings, bad weather, hunger, and
thirst.

Thus, the sūtra emphasizes the suffering involved in gestation and birth and
throughout life, and it discourages activity that leads to rebirth. At the same time,
it presents medical or pseudo-medical information about embryology, and it was one of
the main sources for embryology in Tibetan medicine.

Except for several brief quotations in Abhidharma texts and the Yogācārabhūmi, the original Sanskrit text is not
extant. The
text has survived in three different translations in Chinese and in three Tibetan
translations. Two of the Tibetan translations were made from the Chinese, and one was
made from the Sanskrit. In terms of their content, these six surviving Chinese and
Tibetan versions fall into two main groups: shorter versions that consist of the
Buddha’s teaching to his younger half-brother Nanda on the subject of conception,
gestation, and childbirth, and longer versions that also provide a frame narrative
explaining that the teaching was given because Nanda, infatuated with his wife, had
been reluctant to take monk’s vows and needed to be convinced by the Buddha. As well
as adding much material not specifically related to conception, gestation, or
childbirth, the longer versions also contain more detail about conception and the
antarābhava than the shorter versions. The present translation is of one of the
shorter versions.

There are two different short versions, represented by two different Chinese
translations. The earlier of these was made in the late third or early fourth century
by Dharmarakṣa (Taishō 317) and does not appear to have been translated into Tibetan.
The later of these short-version translations was made in the early eighth century by
Bodhiruci as part of the Ratnakūṭa collection, and it is his Chinese translation
(Taishō 310–313) that was the source for the ninth-century translation into Tibetan as
part of the Tibetan Ratnakūṭa—the text (Toh 58) translated here.

There are also two different long versions. One was translated into Chinese in
the early eighth century by Yijing (Taishō 1451) as part of his translation into
Chinese of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. According to the Chinese catalog, Kaiyuan shijiao lu
開元釋教錄 (Taishō 2154.585c15–19), Bodhiruci inserted
Yijing’s translation from the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya into the Chinese Ratnakūṭa
collection (Taishō 310–314). This translation was, in turn, the source for the
translation in the Tibetan Ratnakūṭa (Toh 57), the text
immediately preceding the present one in the Kangyur. The second long version does not
exist in Chinese and is not an independent sūtra but is found embedded, like many
other passages that may originally have also circulated independently, in the
Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, specifically in the Kṣudrakavastu (The Chapter on Minor Matters of
Monastic Discipline, Toh 6). The Tibetan of the Kṣudrakavastu was translated directly from the Sanskrit
in the ninth century, and the passage within it that contains this teaching therefore
differs somewhat from the corresponding passage in Yijing’s translation (Taishō 1451)
in the Chinese Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya.

To reiterate, there is one Chinese translation of one of the two short
versions of the text, one Chinese translation of the second short version, and one
Chinese translation of the first long version. With respect to the Tibetan
translations in the Kangyur, there are also three versions of the text: the long and
short versions in the Ratnakūṭa (Toh 57 and 58), both translated from Chinese, and a
passage embedded in the Vinayakṣudrakavastu (Toh
6), which is a long version that was translated directly from Sanskrit instead of
Chinese. The details of this group of texts and their rather complex relationships are
set out in a table at the end of this introduction.

The present text, mngal du ’jug pa (Toh 58),
therefore, like the other Tibetan Ratnakūṭa version, mngal na
gnas pa (Toh 57), was translated into Tibetan from Chinese. However, there
are further complications. Early in the transmission of these texts to Tibet, as seen
in the early ninth-century Denkarma text inventory, as well as in the list compiled by Butön
prior to the appearance of the first Kangyurs, the Tibetan titles of the two texts
seem to have been switched by comparison with the Chinese: the text with the Tibetan
title mngal du ’jug pa, “Entry into the Womb,” is a
translation of the Chinese text (Taishō 310 [13]) with the title Chutai hui
處胎會, “Scripture on Dwelling in the Womb.” The text with
the Tibetan title mngal du gnas pa, “Dwelling in the
Womb,” is a translation of the Chinese text (Taishō 310 [14]) with the title Rutai jing
入胎經, “Sūtra on Entry into the Womb.” The Denkarma and
Butön, whose lists of Ratnakūṭa texts both follow the order of the Chinese Ratnakūṭa
closely in other respects, both differ from it in listing the longer of these texts
before the shorter. Presumably as a result of these early
lists, some Kangyurs, including the Degé, also include the two texts in the Ratnakūṭa
in the same reverse order, calling mngal du ’jug pa
(Toh 58), which is chapter 13 in the Chinese Ratnakūṭa, “chapter 14,” and mngal du gnas pa (Toh 57), which is chapter 14 in the
Chinese Ratnakūṭa, “chapter 13.” To avoid confusion, these two translations
are hereafter referred to as Toh 57 and Toh 58. Furthermore, in both the title and the
body of Chutai hui, the interlocutor is called
Ānanda. In Toh 58, he is always Nanda. There are some differences between Toh 58 and
Chutai hui and between Toh 57 and Rutai jing that suggest that the Tibetan translators had
Tibetan translations of other versions of the sūtra or access to Sanskrit
manuscripts.
However, the two Tibetan translations generally agree with the Chinese translations on
which they were based.

This is the first English translation of Toh 58. In translating it, I have
relied mainly on the Degé block print, while occasionally referring to other Kangyurs
as well as to Chutai hui and Toh 57.

TRANSLATIONS OF THE GARBHĀVAKRĀNTISŪTRA

##
Short versions

##
Long versions

710

Unknown (perhaps Chödrup)

ninth cent.

mngal du ’jug pa zhes bya ba’i chos kyi rnam
grangs (found in the Tibetan Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya Kṣudrakavastu), Toh 6 (’dul ba, tha)
Vidyākaraprabha, Dharmaśrībhadra, and Paljor (dpal ’byor)
ninth cent.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Teaching to the Venerable Nanda on Entry into the

Womb

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Bhagavān was staying in Śrāvastī, in the
Jetavana, Anāthapiṇḍada’s Park. Now at that time, the venerable Nanda rose from his
afternoon meditation and went to where the Buddha was seated together with five
hundred monks. Having paid respect with palms joined and having worshiped at the
Bhagavān’s feet, Nanda sat to one side. Then the Bhagavān spoke to the venerable Nanda
and the monks: “I have a teaching that is virtuous at the beginning, virtuous in the
middle, virtuous at the end, excellent in meaning, unadulterated, perfect, pure,
pristine, and conducive to pure behavior, namely, the Dharma teaching called Entry into the Womb. Listen well and remember it. I will
explain it and teach it to you.”

The venerable Nanda replied to the Bhagavān, saying, “I wish to hear what the
Bhagavān says,” after which the Bhagavān addressed the venerable Nanda as follows:

“Nanda, when sentient beings wish to enter a womb, if the causes and
conditions are complete, they will receive bodies; but if the causes and conditions
are not complete, they will not receive bodies.

“What does lacking conditions mean here? It means that
the mother and father both have a lustful thought; the antarābhava appears and desires the particular place of birth, but the
coming together of the
father and mother does not occur at the same time as that, whether early or late. Or
if the parents have various physical illnesses, there will not be entry into the womb.
If the mother’s womb is overwhelmed by wind, bile, phlegm, or blood; if its space is
filled with flesh; if it is filled with medicine; if its center is like barley; if it
is like an ant’s waist; if it is like a camel’s mouth; if
it is triangular like the hitch of a cart; if it is like the axle of a cart; if it is
like the opening of the hub of a cart; if it is like a leaf; if it is crookedly
twisted like cane wood; if the inside of the womb seems as though barley awn has grown
there; if semen and blood leak out in large amounts and do not stay there for even an
instant; if they leak downward; if the path of the womb is rough; if it is wide at the
top; if it is wide at the bottom; if it is crooked or not deep enough; if it bursts
open and leaks; if it is high or low, or short and narrow; or if the mother has
various illnesses, there will not be entry into the womb. If the parents’ lineage is
noble and they have great merit, while the antarābhava has little merit; or if the
antarābhava’s lineage is noble and it has great merit, while the parents have little
merit; or if both the parents and the antarābhava have merit but have not accumulated
the karma to come together, there will not be entry into the womb.

“This being so, when the antarābhava is about to enter the womb, at first two
distorted thoughts will arise. What are the two? When the two parents come together,
if the new being will be male, the antarābhava experiences desire for the mother and
experiences hatred of the father. And when the father’s fluid is discharged, the
antarābhava thinks, ‘This is my fluid.’ If the new being will be female, the
antarābhava experiences desire for the father and experiences hatred of the mother.
And when the mother’s
fluid is discharged, the antarābhava thinks, ‘This is my fluid.’ But if such thoughts
of desire and hatred do not arise, there will not be entry into the womb.

“Furthermore, Nanda, how will there be entry into the mother’s womb? If the
parents’ thoughts of desire arise, the mother’s fertile period is in order, the
antarābhava is present, the many previously mentioned problems are absent, and the
karmic conditions are complete, there will be entry into the womb. There are two types
of antarābhava who wish to enter the womb. What are the two? One lacking merit and one
having great merit. As for the one lacking merit, an idea arises, and when the
antarābhava sees the place where it is headed, it thinks in this way: ‘Now I have
encountered wind and cold and darkness and rain, the noise of many people, and many
powerful harm-doers.’ Terrified and panic stricken, it thinks, ‘Now I will enter a
grass hut,’ or ‘I will enter a leaf hut,’ or ‘I will enter a hidden place at the
bottom of a wall.’ Or it thinks, ‘I will enter a mountain or a thick forest,’ or ‘I
will enter a cave.’ Having given rise to various other notions, in accordance with
what it has seen, it will enter its mother’s womb.

As for the one with great merit, it too thinks in this way: ‘Now I have
encountered wind and cold and darkness and rain, the noise of many people, and many
powerful harm-doers.’ Terrified and panic stricken, it thinks, ‘I will ascend to the
top of a multistoried mansion,’ or ‘I will ascend to the top of a high roof,’ or it
thinks, ‘I will enter a celestial palace,’ or ‘I will sit on the throne.’ Having given
rise to various other notions, in accordance with what it has seen, it will enter its
mother’s womb.”

The Bhagavān continued, “Nanda, in this way, the antarābhava, when it first
enters the womb, is
called the kalala. Although a being
obtains a body relying on the impurity of the father and mother and past karma, the
body is not produced by that karma and the conditions of the father and mother
individually; rather, it is obtained due to the power of their coming together.

“Just as curdled milk filling a pot becomes butter due to the conditions of
human effort, a rope, and so forth, but the butter is not observed within those
conditions, the butter only coming to be due to the power of a combination of these
things, the same is true of the body of the kalala. Its body is produced in the womb
due to the power of causes and conditions.

“Nanda, as an analogy, when worms arise variously relying on green grass or
cow dung or jujubes or curdled milk, worms are not observed within each of these
individually. Rather, the worms arise due to the power of causes and conditions. When
worms arise, they become green, or yellow, or red, or white in color, according to
what they respectively rely on. Similarly, when this body arises due to the impurities
of the father and mother, if one searches for it within the conditions, it will not be
observed; but if the power of the coming together of the conditions is not obtained, a
body will not be properly obtained.

“When this body arises, its nature is not different from the four great
elements of the father and mother. That is, the earth element performs the function of
solidity. The water element performs the function of fluidity. The fire element
performs the function of heat. The wind element performs the function of lightness and
mobility. If those kalala bodies had only the earth element but did not have the water
element, they would be unable to cohere, just as dry flour or ashes are unable to be
grasped. If they had only the water element but did not have the earth element, they
would spill out and disperse, just as oil and water have no stability, since their
nature is slippery and moist. If they had only the earth and water elements but did
not have the fire element, they would become rotten and putrid, just like a piece of meat that
is put in the shade during the summer heat and is not struck by the sun’s rays. If
they had only the earth, water, and fire elements but no wind element, they would not
grow.

“As an analogy, a pastry maker or his skilled apprentice fries pastries, blows
with his breath, and, doing whatever needs to be done, makes their interiors hollow.
If there is no force of wind, they will not be finished. Similarly, since the four
great elements are established together, depending on and holding together one
another, the body of the kalala will be born due to the four great elements of the
father and mother and the wind of karma. In the same way, it should be understood that
the body of the kalala is not observed in the many individual conditions but is
properly obtained due to the power of a combination of conditions.

“Furthermore, Nanda, as an analogy, a pure new seed is well hidden, and it is
not eaten by insects. Not rotting, it is not burned or cracked, and it does not have
any holes. Someone finds a good field, namely, a fertile field, and plants the seed.
In one day, do a sprout, stalk, branch, leaf with its shade, flower, and fruit grow
and become complete?”

“Bhagavān, that is not the case.”

The Bhagavān continued, “Nanda, the body of the kalala similarly grows
gradually due to causes and conditions; the sense faculties are not complete all at
once. Therefore, if one searches for this body that arises from the father and mother
among these conditions, it will not be found. However, one should know that rebirth
will occur due to the force of the combination of causes and conditions.

“Furthermore, Nanda, as an analogy, a clear-eyed person takes a sunstone jewel
and places it in the sun. Since some dried dung is placed not far from the jewel, a
fire will start. The dried dung and the rays of the sun separately cannot start a
fire, but the force of causes and conditions not separated from one another starts the
fire. The body that arises from the father and mother is also like this. Accordingly, the body of
the kalala is called rūpa. Vedanā,
saṃjñā, saṃskāra, and vijñāna are called nāma.

“The moment the five skandhas
of nāma and rūpa are reborn, suffering is experienced. If I do not praise this moment,
how could I even consider praising a circling among existences over a long period of
time? If even a little filth stinks, how much more so a lot of filth? Therefore, who
would desire and be attached to the five upādānaskandhas of the body of the kalala?

“Furthermore, Nanda, this body spends thirty-eight weeks in the mother’s womb
before it emerges. In the first week, the being in the womb is called kalala. The features of its body begin to
appear for the first time. Resembling uncongealed yogurt, it is cooked inside for
seven days. After it is well cooked, the four great elements form gradually.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the second week, a karmic wind,
all-uniting, comes into existence. This very subtle wind
blows on the left and right sides of the mother’s torso and gradually causes features
of the body of the kalala to appear, its form like thick curds or coagulated butter.
It cooks inside the womb, and when it is well cooked, it becomes the body of the
arbuda. Thus, the four great
elements form gradually.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the third week, again a karmic
wind,
treasury opening
, comes into
existence. Due to the force of this wind, the arbuda gradually hardens and becomes a
peśī. Its form is short and
small, like a pestle for grinding medicine. It cooks inside the womb, and when it is
well cooked, the four great elements in this way grow gradually.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the fourth week, again a karmic
wind, internal differentiation, comes into
existence. Due to the force of this wind, the peśī becomes solid, its form like a grinding
stone. It cooks inside the womb, and when it is well cooked,
the four great elements gradually grow.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the fifth week, again a karmic
wind, collecting, comes into existence. The force of this wind,
by making the hardened embryo begin to develop legs and arms, divides the ghana
and gives rise to features of the two thighs, two
shoulders, and head. Just as when rain falls in the rainy season of summer and
produces branches and leaves on trees, in the same way, the force of karmic wind
causes the features of the body to appear.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the sixth week, again a karmic
wind,
food
, comes into existence. The force of this
wind gives rise to four features. What are the four? The four types of features are
the features of the two forearms and the two shanks.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the seventh week, again a karmic
wind, twister, comes into existence. The force of this wind gives
rise to four types of features, namely, the features of the two palms of the hands and
two soles of the feet. These features are very soft, like a mass of bubbles.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the eighth week, again a karmic
wind, reversing and turning, comes into existence. The force of
this wind gives rise to twenty features, namely, the features of the twenty digits of
the hands and feet. As for this, just as rain falling in the rainy season of summer
makes the branches and leaves on the trees gradually grow and increase, in the same
way, the force of karmic wind causes the features of the body to appear.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the ninth week, again a karmic
wind, separating, comes into existence. The force of this wind gives rise to
nine types of features. What are the nine? The features of the two eyes, the two ears,
the two nostrils, the mouth, and the places of excrement and urine are the nine types
of features.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the tenth week, again a karmic
wind, making firm, comes into existence. The force of this wind
makes the being in the womb firm and stable. Also at that time, a wind called
universal door arises. By blowing on the body of the being in
the womb, it causes the body to expand and fill, like a full leather bag.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the eleventh week, again a karmic
wind, adamantine, comes into existence. The force of this wind,
moving up and down in the being in the womb, causes holes to come forth in the body.
The force of this wind makes the mother sometimes happy, sometimes unhappy. Her nature
changes when she walks, stands, sits, and sleeps; she moves her legs and arms, and the
holes in the being in the womb gradually grow and increase; and black blood comes out
of its mouth. Filthy water also comes out of its nose. The wind turns away from the
faculties and then is pacified.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twelfth week, again a karmic
wind, crooked opening, comes into existence. The force of this
wind produces the large and small intestines within the left and right sides of the
body. They wind around eighteen times and adhere to the body in the same way that very
fine lotus roots or taut strings are attached to the earth. Also at that time, a wind
called fastened hair arises. Due to the force of this wind, one
hundred twenty joints and one hundred one vital points are established in the
body.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the thirteenth week, again a
karmic wind, making hungry and thirsty, comes into existence.
The force of this
wind weakens the body of the fetus and causes sensations of hunger and thirst to
arise. It causes the fetus to receive, through the navel and vital points of its body,
all the nutritional essence of what its mother eats and drinks, and to benefit from
it.”

Then the Bhagavān spoke in verse:

“As for the child, when it is living in its mother’s womb,

The mother benefits the fetus.

Therefore, its body and life are well established.

Gradually, it grows and increases.

What the mother eats and drinks

Benefits the fetus.

Gradually, it grows and increases.”

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the fourteenth week, again a
karmic wind, thread opening, comes into existence. The force of
this wind produces nine hundred ligaments and pulls together and covers the front and
back and left and right sides of the body.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the fifteenth week, again a karmic
wind,
lotus
, comes into existence. The force of this
wind produces twenty channels, and when the nutritional essence from food and drink
enters these channels, it benefits the body. What are the twenty? The front and back
and right and left sides of the body have five channels each. These channels also have
forty small branch channels each. Those channels have another one hundred branch
channels each. The front of the body has twenty thousand channels called
companion. The back of the body has twenty thousand channels called
strength. The left side of the body has twenty thousand
channels called
stability
. The right side of the body
has twenty thousand channels called
powerful
.
Therefore, eighty thousand large and small branch channels are produced in the body.
These channels also have various colors, namely, blue, yellow, red, and white, along
with the colors of butter, yogurt, and oil. Furthermore, the eighty thousand each have
roots. Each root has various openings, from one or two openings up to seven openings,
and each is connected to the pore of a bodily hair, just as a lotus root has many openings.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the sixteenth week, again a karmic
wind, nectar, comes into existence. The force of this wind opens
the nine orifices of its eyes, ears, nose, mouth, throat, and the area around the
heart in its chest. It makes the breath move in and out and up and down without
obstruction, and it makes whatever food and drink is eaten and drunk benefit the body,
properly enter the place where it accumulates, and come out below. Just as a potter or
a potter’s skilled apprentice, having carefully prepared the clay, places it atop a
wheel and, turning it up and down, succeeds in rendering it into the form of a pot,
this too is the same: the forces of the wind and good and bad karma gradually complete
the eyes and ears and so forth.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the seventeenth week, again a
karmic wind, yak face, comes into existence. The force of this
wind clarifies its two eyes and causes the ear and nose faculties, and so forth,
gradually to become fully mature. Just as one takes fine dirt, oil, or ashes and wipes
a mirror that is covered with dust, and it becomes clear, it should be known that, in
the same way, the force of this karmic wind blows on the eyes and so forth and makes
them completely clear.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the eighteenth week, again a
karmic wind, becoming firm, comes into existence. The force of
this wind causes its faculties gradually to become fully mature, clear, and purified.
Just as when the disks of the sun and moon are covered, obscured by clouds and mist,
and suddenly a harsh wind arises and blows on them, scattering them in the four directions and
making the orbs of the sun and moon totally clear, it should be known that, in the
same way, the force of this karmic wind, by blowing on the faculties, makes them
totally clear and purified.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the nineteenth week, the force of
a karmic wind again makes
the four faculties, namely, the eyes, ears, nose, and tongue, fully mature. At the
time when the being first entered the womb, it possessed three faculties, namely, the
body faculty, the life faculty, and the mind faculty. Thus, the faculties are now
completed.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twentieth week, again a karmic
wind, very solid, comes into existence. The force of this wind
makes various bones arise in its body. It produces twenty bones in the left leg, and
it produces twenty bones in the right leg. Furthermore, it produces four heel bones,
two calf bones, two kneecaps, two thigh bones, three bones each of the waist and
hips, eighteen bones of the spine, twenty-four ribs,
thirty chest bones, twenty bones of each hand, four forearm bones, two shoulder
bones, two jawbones, four bones of the head, and thirty-two tooth-root bones. To give
an analogy, a sculptor or a sculptor’s skilled apprentice, having first taken some
hard wood and then bound it with cord, makes shapes; and even though at that time he
has not yet applied clay, nevertheless, it is called a skeleton
sign. The time when the force of the karmic wind produces bones is like
this. Therefore, one should know that in those seven days, leaving out the small
bones, the large bones number two hundred.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-first week, again a
karmic wind,
proper production, comes into existence. The force of this
wind produces the flesh of the body of the being in the womb. One should know that,
just as a plasterer or a plasterer’s apprentice, having cleansed clay, plasters walls,
in the same way, the force of this karmic wind produces the flesh of its body.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-second week, again a
karmic wind, completely victorious, comes into existence. The
force of this wind produces the blood of its body.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-third week, again a
karmic wind, holding cleanly, comes into existence. The force of
this wind produces the skin of its body.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-fourth week, again a
karmic wind, holding clouds, comes into existence. The force of
this wind stretches out the skin of its body and gives it color.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-fifth week, again a
karmic wind, holding the city, comes into existence. The force of
this wind makes the flesh and blood of the body of the being in the womb increase and
gradually purifies it.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-sixth week, again a
karmic wind, completion of birth, comes into existence. The force
of this wind produces its hair, bodily hair, and nails, and connects them each
individually to the channels.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-seventh week, again a
karmic wind, crooked medicine, comes into existence. It is said
that, due to the force of this wind, the characteristics of its body gradually come
into existence.

“If, in a former life, it engaged in bad and nonvirtuous actions—for example,
not being charitable due to being stingy with and greedy for goods, and not listening
to the teachings of spiritual masters, such as parents, teachers, and gurus —due to the force of
those actions, it will obtain an undesirable body of one sort or another. If long and
heavy, fleshy and white, and supple bodies are considered attractive, it will obtain a
body that is short and thin, skinny and black, and hard. If short and thin, skinny and
black, and hard bodies are considered attractive, it will obtain a body that is long
and heavy, fleshy and white, and very supple. If bodily parts are considered
attractive because they are high, low, many, few, dense, or thin, it will not obtain a
body that has high, low, many, few, dense, or thin bodily parts. Moreover, it will be
deaf, blind, or dumb, move by crawling on its hands and feet, have impaired faculties,
or have speech that others do not wish to listen to; or it will obtain an ugly body,
like a preta. Since it obtains an undesirable body of one sort or another due to its
bad and nonvirtuous actions, not even its relatives and friends, to say nothing of
other people, wish to see it.

“If, in a former life, it engaged in the ten virtuous actions—for example,
being charitable and not being greedy or deceitful, and adopting with great conviction
the teachings of spiritual masters, such as parents, teachers, and gurus—due to those
causes and conditions, if it obtains a human body, it will not obtain a body that has
come into existence as a result of the bad and nonvirtuous actions explained above.
Instead, by obtaining a body endowed with various types of auspiciousness, and having
good qualities and an attractive countenance, it will be worthy of everyone’s wish to
listen to whatever it says. It should thus be understood that, due to the force of
virtuous actions, the being in the womb will obtain the most excellent result.

“Nanda, the body of this sort, if it is male,
squats on the
right side of the mother’s womb and, covering its face with both hands, faces the
mother’s spine. If it is female, it squats on the left side of the mother’s ribs and,
covering its face with both hands, faces the mother’s belly. It cooks beneath the
stomach and above the intestines. Boiling, it is bound in five places, as if it were
in a straw bag. If its mother eats too
much or eats too little, or if she eats food that is too sweet, or too harsh, or too
astringent, or too oily, or too salty, or too bitter, or too sour, or too cold, or too
hot, or, furthermore, if she engages in sexual activities, or moves violently, or
jumps, or sleeps too long, or sits too long, the being in the womb will experience
suffering. Therefore it should be understood that, at the time of living in the
mother’s womb, the fetus is tormented by many types of suffering such as those. If the
suffering of one who becomes human that I have briefly explained is like that, what
need is there to mention the suffering of beings born in hell, which is difficult to
compare to anything? What wise person would yearn for such a body in the ocean of
saṃsāra?

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-eighth week, eight
distorted perceptions will arise. What are the eight? They are these eight
perceptions: the perception of a vehicle, the perception of a penthouse, the
perception of a couch, the perception of a spring, the perception of a pond, the
perception of a river, the perception of a pleasure garden, and the perception of a
grove. These are the eight perceptions.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the twenty-ninth week, again a
karmic wind, flower garland, comes into existence. The force of
this wind makes the complexion of the being in the womb excellent and makes its features very clear.
Because all beings have engaged in different types of action in the past, they will
accordingly have various types of complexion. Some will be white, some will be black,
some will be neither white nor black, some will be blue, some will be rough and dry,
and some will be smooth. They will have complexion characteristics of these sorts.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the thirtieth week, again a karmic
wind, iron aperture, comes into existence. The force of this wind
increases the hair, bodily hair, and nails, and it clarifies white and black
complexions. These features will appear due to karmic conditions.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the thirty-first week through the
thirty-fifth week, the features of the body will grow, and the parts of the body will
gradually become enlarged and complete.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the thirty-sixth week, it gives
rise to a thought of emerging from the womb and becomes very unhappy.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the thirty-seventh week, five
undistorted perceptions will arise. What are the five? They are a perception of
dirtiness, the perception of a foul smell, the perception of a prison, the perception
of darkness, and the perception of emerging due to great weariness. The being in the
womb gives rise to these sorts of thoughts of great weariness.

“While the being in the mother’s womb is in the thirty-eighth week, again a
karmic wind, seized conditions, comes into existence. The force of this wind makes it turn over.
Furthermore, a wind called facing down arises. The being in the
womb, upside down, extends its two arms and gradually wishes to emerge from the womb.
If the being in
the womb accumulated karma in previous lives that would result in its dying in the
womb, it will be unable to turn over because its arms and legs become intertwined, and
it will die in its mother’s womb on account of its sinful, nonvirtuous karma. And at
that time, the mother, too, will experience great suffering or die. If, in previous
lives, it engaged in virtuous actions and accumulated the causes that would result in
a long life, when birth is imminent, both mother and child will be very happy and will
not have such suffering that results from sinful, nonvirtuous karma. When thirty-eight
weeks have passed and the being in the womb desires to emerge, it will experience
various sufferings when it first emerges. Therefore, it should be understood that
receiving this body is great suffering.

“When the infant first emerges from the womb—whether it is a son or a
daughter, as soon as it falls to the ground, whether it is taken in the hands, or
received in a cloth, or placed on a couch, or placed in a house, or placed on the
ground, or placed in the open, or placed in the sun, in winter or summer—when the
newborn body is touched by a cold or hot wind, it will experience great suffering. The
pain experienced by the infant due to being washed with hot water when it first
emerges from the womb is just like that of an ox, skinned alive, that brushes against
a wall or, falling on the bare ground, is eaten by insects. Alternatively, it is like
that of a man who is eaten by mosquitoes or is beaten with a whip. After being born,
the infant gradually grows larger and is nourished by milk mixed with blood that comes
from the mother’s body. I have previously taught this at length in other sūtras. Thus,
since this body is filthy and is formed from much suffering, what wise person would
desire this sort of body in saṃsāra?

“Furthermore, Nanda, a week after the infant emerges from the womb,
eighty thousand types of worm arise in the body and feed on it. There are two types of
worm called hair eater that live in and feed on the hair. Two
types of worm live in and feed on the eyes. There are four types of worm,
saddle horse,
having a palate,
provoking illness, and completion, that live
in and feed on the brains. There is a type of worm, black rice
leaf, that lives in and feeds on the ears. There is a type of worm,
treasury door, that lives in and feeds on the nose. There are
two types of worm, throwing and throwing
everywhere, that live in and feed on the lips. There is a type of worm,
needle lips, that lives in
and feeds on the tongue. There is a type of worm, sharp mouth,
that lives in and feeds on the root of the tongue. There is a type of worm,
perfect hand, that lives in and feeds on the palate. There
are two types of worm, webbed hand
and half
bent, that live in and feed on the palms of the hands. There are two
types of worm, upper arm and lower arm, that
live in and feed on the arms. There are two types of worm, having
iron and having near-iron, that live in and feed
on the throat. There are two types of worm, thunderbolt and
great thunderbolt, that live in and feed on the heart. There
are two types of worm, weak and weak mouth,
that live in and feed on the flesh. There are two types of worm,
colorful and renowned, that live in and
drink the blood. There are two types of worm, hero and
fragrance face, that live in and feed on the ligaments. There
are two types of worm,
low
and
face
down
, that live in and feed on the spine. There is a type of
worm, color of fat, that lives in and feeds on the fat. There is a type
of worm, color of bile, that lives in and feeds on the bile.
There is a type of worm, pearl, that lives in and feeds on the
liver. There is a type of worm, reed, that lives in and feeds on
the spleen. There are five hundred types of worm that live in and feed on the left
side: one hundred types called
moon
; one hundred
types called moon face; one hundred types called
moonlight; one hundred types called moonlight
face; and one hundred types called vast.
Furthermore, there are another five hundred types of worm, with names agreeing with
those above, that live in and feed on the right side. There are four types of worm,
slightly piercing, greatly piercing,
bone piercing, and bone face, that live
in and feed on the bones. There are four types of worm, greatly
white, slightly white, smell
power, and tiger path, that live in and feed on
the tendons. There are four types of worm, determined mind,
lion power, rabbit belly, and
clinging to desire, that live in and feed on the stomach.
There are two types of worm, hero and lord of
heroes, that live in and feed on the intestines. There are four types
of worm,
mouth
,
net mouth, mass mouth, and sparrow
mouth, that live in and feed on the urethra. There are four types of
worm,
action
, big action,

dust
, and small
bundle, that live in
and feed on the rectum. There are two types of worm, black face
and scary face, that live in and feed on the thighs. There are
two types of worm, leprous and slightly
leprous, that live in and feed on the knees. There is a type of worm, root of
madness, that lives in and feeds on the lower legs. There is a type of
worm, black head, that lives in and feeds on the feet.

“Nanda, I have now instructed you briefly about the eighty thousand types of
worm that inhabit this body, feeding on it day and night and making it physically weak
and badly complexioned, along with the various types of suffering from illnesses,
which gather in this body and also torment, strongly torment, and completely torment a
person’s mind—so that even if there were a skillful doctor, he would be confused, not
knowing how to treat these illnesses with any medicine. What wise person would desire
this sort of body in the ocean of saṃsāra?

“Furthermore, Nanda, from the time it is born until it is fully grown, this
body is sustained by clothing and food, and it becomes fully developed. Its lifespan
can be one hundred years, or it can be shorter than that. Those one hundred years will
add up to three hundred seasons, namely, spring, summer, and winter. Spring is the hot
season. Summer is the rainy season. Winter is the cold season. The three seasons have
four months each, so there are twelve months in one year, and twelve hundred months in
one hundred years; and if we differentiate the white face of the waxing moon and the
dark face of the waning moon, there are twenty-four hundred fortnights. Therefore,
there are thirty-six thousand days.

“In one day, a person eats twice; so, as for food, he will eat seventy-two
thousand times, and occasional missed meals are included in that number. As for those
missed meals, they are missed due to causes and conditions including illness,
drunkenness, intentional fasting, sleeping, playing around, being engaged in other
matters, and drinking mother’s milk. Since this sort of body, even if it can live for
a hundred years, will finally be destroyed, what wise person would desire this
sort of body in this ocean of saṃsāra?

“Furthermore, Nanda, there are two types of suffering with regard to taking
this body. What are the two? The many illnesses that are contained in the body are
called internal suffering. Harm caused by humans and nonhumans is
called external suffering.

“With respect to this, which conditions are called the many
illnesses that are contained in the body? Namely, maladies of the eye,
ear, nose, tongue, throat, teeth, chest, belly, arms, and legs, as well as wind
illness, mucous illness, insanity, consumption, shortness of
breath, lung disease, roughness of the urethra, itching, leprosy, swellings, thorbu, abscesses, pustules,
and elephantiasis, and various other types of illness are contained in the body.

“Furthermore, the above diseases can be divided into 101 bile diseases, 101
wind diseases, 101 phlegm diseases, and 101 diseases that arise from a combination of
wind, bile, and phlegm. Thus, the 404 diseases that afflict the body are called
internal suffering.

“Furthermore, external suffering damages the body. Namely, the body is
afflicted by various types of suffering, for example, being thrown into a narrow
prison, being beaten with whips, being fettered, and being bound; having an ear cut
off or the nose cut off, having an arm or a leg severed, or being beheaded; or,
unprotected by the gods, being harmed by hateful, inhuman demonic beings, or yakṣas,
or rākṣasas; or being devoured by vicious insects such as bees, mosquitoes, and biting
flies; or encountering cold, heat, hunger, thirst, wind, or rain. If the suffering of
humans is like this,
how much more so must be the suffering of lower beings? It is very difficult to
express.

“Therefore, it should be known that all these sorts of karmic retribution are
experienced due to the force of having engaged in sinful, nonvirtuous actions in a
previous life. If someone—for the sake of protection from harm by weapons—builds a
citadel, surrounds it with a moat, and tries to protect this body, nevertheless, wind,
rain, bees, mosquitoes, biting flies, and so forth will come to his house and harm
him, and the 404 diseases will cause internal and external afflictions. If one seeks
life’s necessities—such as food, drink, bedding, medicines for illness, fields,
pleasure gardens, houses, the seven great precious things such as gold and silver,
male slaves, female slaves, and carriages and horses—and if these do not suit one’s
fancy, they cause suffering. And if one obtains wealth and possessions, one is thrifty
due to stinginess and always protects them; and if one loses them by wasting them,
great suffering is produced.

“Nanda, in brief, as for this body consisting of the five upādānaskandhas,
there are no activities of moving, standing, sitting, or lying down that are not
suffering. If one walks for a long time without even a moment’s rest, suffering will
arise. Standing, sitting, and lying down, if done for a long time, will all be
suffering. If, after walking for a long time, there is a moment’s rest, even though a
notion of pleasure is produced, this is not really pleasure. If, after standing for a
long time, one sits for a moment, or if, after sitting for a long time, one lies down
for a moment, a false notion of pleasure is produced; however, since this is not
really pleasure, this
body consisting of the five upādānaskandhas should therefore be known to be wholly
suffering.

“People who—for their own sake, for the sake of another, or for the sake of
both self and other—become weary with such suffering and leave home to go forth into
homelessness, if they train correctly, will not fall short of the reality of the
liberation of nirvāṇa. And people who serve them by giving clothes, bedding, medicines
for illness, and requisites for living will also obtain, as karmic ripening, great
power and renown.”

The Bhagavān said, “Nanda, what do you think of this? Is rūpa permanent? Or is
it impermanent?”

The venerable Nanda replied to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, rūpa is impermanent.”

The Bhagavān said, “If it is impermanent, is it suffering? Or is it not
suffering?”

Nanda replied, “Rūpa is suffering.”

The Bhagavān said, “If what is impermanent and suffering is subject to
destruction, and if very learned noble śrāvakas hear this sort of teaching, would
they, understanding that the body consists of these sorts of rūpa, hold on to the
notions of I and mine?”

“Bhagavān, indeed not. In rūpa, there is no such thing as
I; there is no such thing as mine.”

“Furthermore, Nanda, what do you think of this? Are vedanā, saṃjñā, saṃskāra,
and vijñāna permanent? Or are they impermanent?”

The venerable Nanda replied to the Bhagavān, “Bhagavān, they are all
impermanent.”

The Bhagavān said, “If they are impermanent, are they suffering? Or are they
not suffering?”

The venerable Nanda replied, “Those four skandhas of this sort are called
suffering.”

The Bhagavān said, “If what is impermanent and suffering is subject to
destruction, and if very learned noble śrāvakas hear this sort of teaching, would they
hold on to the notion that these four skandhas in this body are I
and mine?”

“Bhagavān, indeed not. In the four skandhas, there is no such thing as
I; there is no such thing as mine.”

“Furthermore, Nanda, since that sort of I does not exist
in the past, present, or future, or internally or externally, and is not coarse or
fine, or good or bad, or close or far, none of those things is I
or mine. Therefore, Nanda, in this way, too, analyzing with
correct knowledge, one should know that things lack a self. Any very learned noble
śrāvaka, having analyzed in this way, when he generates weariness, will be liberated and will
obtain final, complete nirvāṇa. When he has thus trained correctly and actualized this
Dharma, he will have exhausted everything pertaining to
birth; and having practiced the celibate life and having done what was to be done, he
will not take up a subsequent birth.”

After the Bhagavān spoke this Dharma discourse, Nanda, freed from dust and
defilement, obtained the pure Dharma eye. The five hundred monks, detached from
phenomena, their defilements extinguished, had their minds liberated. After the
Bhagavān spoke, the many in attendance praised what the Bhagavān had said.

This concludes The Teaching to Venerable Nanda on
Entry into the Womb, the fourteenth of the one hundred thousand sections
of the Dharma discourse known as The Noble Great Heap of Jewels.

Notes

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

Chinese Sources

Secondary Sources

Outline of the Garbhāvakrāntisūtra

I.

Introduction

II. Conception

A.

Conditions for
entering the womb

B.

How a woman fails to
conceive

C.

How the being enters
the womb

III. The composition of the embryo

A.

B.

Simile of butter and
curdled milk

C.

Simile of grass, cow
dung, jujubes, and curdled milk and worms

D.

E.

Simile of a sweet
heated and blown into a shape like a lotus root

F.

Simile of
seeds

G.

Simile of setting dung
on fire with a crystal

IV. Gestation

A.

The essential nature
of birth is suffering

B.

The thirty-eight weeks
of gestation

V. The newborn being

A.

The sufferings of the
newborn being

B.

The 80,000 worms and
the damage they do to health

VI. The course of life and its sufferings

A.

B.

The number of meals
eaten in a lifetime

C.

Two types of
suffering

1.

Internal
diseases

2.

External
suffering

D.

VII.

The benefits of practice
for oneself and others

VIII.

Conclusion

all-uniting

kun sdud
ཀུན་སྡུད།

treasury opening

mdzod kha
མཛོད་ཁ།

internal differentiation

nang rab tu ’byed pa
ནང་རབ་ཏུ་འབྱེད་པ།

gathering together

yang dag par sdud pa
ཡང་དག་པར་སྡུད་པ།

food

zas
ཟས།

twister

’khyil bar byed pa
འཁྱིལ་བར་བྱེད་པ།

reversing and turning

separating

rnam par ’byed pa
རྣམ་པར་འབྱེད་པ།

making firm

sra bar byed pa
སྲ་བར་བྱེད་པ།

universal door

kun nas sgo
ཀུན་ནས་སྒོ།

adamantine

rdo rje
རྡོ་རྗེ།

crooked opening

yon po’i sgo
ཡོན་པོའི་སྒོ།

fastened hair

spu brgyus pa
སྤུ་བརྒྱུས་པ།

making hungry and thirsty

thread opening

skud pa’i sgo
སྐུད་པའི་སྒོ།

lotus

pad ma
པད་མ།

companion

sa ga
ས་ག

strength

stobs
སྟོབས།

stability

brtan pa
བརྟན་པ།

powerful

mthu dang ldan pa
མཐུ་དང་ལྡན་པ།

nectar

bdud rtsi
བདུད་རྩི།

yak face

’bri gdong
འབྲི་གདོང་།

becoming firm

brtan par ’gyur ba
བརྟན་པར་འགྱུར་བ།

very solid

shin tu sra ba
ཤིན་ཏུ་སྲ་བ།

skeleton sign

rus pa’i mtshan nyid
རུས་པའི་མཚན་ཉིད།

proper production

yang dag skyed pa
ཡང་དག་སྐྱེད་པ།

completely victorious

kun tu rgyal ba
ཀུན་ཏུ་རྒྱལ་བ།

holding cleanly

holding clouds

sprin ’dzin
སྤྲིན་འཛིན།

holding the city

grong khyer ’dzin
གྲོང་ཁྱེར་འཛིན།

completion of birth

skye ba mngon par grub
སྐྱེ་བ་མངོན་པར་གྲུབ།

crooked medicine

sman yon chen po
སྨན་ཡོན་ཆེན་པོ།

flower garland

me tog phreng ba
མེ་ཏོག་ཕྲེང་བ།

iron aperture

lcags kyi sgo
ལྕགས་ཀྱི་སྒོ།

seized conditions

thogs pa’i rkyen
ཐོགས་པའི་རྐྱེན།

facing down

kha thur du lta ba
ཁ་ཐུར་དུ་ལྟ་བ།

hair eater

skra la za ba
སྐྲ་ལ་ཟ་བ།

saddle horse

pa ha na
པ་ཧ་ན།

having a palate

rkan ldan
རྐན་ལྡན།

provoking illness

nad slong
ནད་སློང་།

completion

yongs su rdzogs pa
ཡོངས་སུ་རྫོགས་པ།

black rice leaf

sA lu nag po’i lo ma
སཱ་ལུ་ནག་པོའི་ལོ་མ།

treasury door

mdzod sgo
མཛོད་སྒོ།

throwing

’phen pa
འཕེན་པ།

throwing everywhere

kun tu ’phen pa
ཀུན་ཏུ་འཕེན་པ།

needle lips

khab mchu
ཁབ་མཆུ།

sharp mouth

kha rno
ཁ་རྣོ།

perfect hand

lag rdzogs
ལག་རྫོགས།

webbed hand

lag pa dra ba can
ལག་པ་དྲ་བ་ཅན།

half bent

phyed sgyur
ཕྱེད་སྒྱུར།

upper arm

dpung pa
དཔུང་པ།

lower arm

nye ba’i dpung pa
ཉེ་བའི་དཔུང་པ།

having iron

lcags can
ལྕགས་ཅན།

having near-iron

nye ba’i lcags can
ཉེ་བའི་ལྕགས་ཅན།

thunderbolt

rdo rje
རྡོ་རྗེ།

great thunderbolt

rdo rje chen po
རྡོ་རྗེ་ཆེན་པོ།

weak

dman pa
དམན་པ།

weak mouth

dman pa’i kha
དམན་པའི་ཁ།

colorful

kha dog ldan
ཁ་དོག་ལྡན།

renowned

grags ldan
གྲགས་ལྡན།

fragrance face

dri gtong
དྲི་གཏོང་།

low

mi mtho ba
མི་མཐོ་བ།

upside down

khas spub
ཁས་སྤུབ།

color of fat

tshil gyi kha dog
ཚིལ་གྱི་ཁ་དོག

color of bile

mkhris pa’i kha dog
མཁྲིས་པའི་ཁ་དོག

pearl

mu tig
མུ་ཏིག

Reed

’dam bu
འདམ་བུ།

moon

zla ba
ཟླ་བ།

moon face

zla ba’i kha
ཟླ་བའི་ཁ།

moonlight

bsil byed
བསིལ་བྱེད།

moonlight face

bsil byed gtong
བསིལ་བྱེད་གཏོང་།

vast

yangs pa
ཡངས་པ།

slightly piercing

cung zad ’bigs pa
ཅུང་ཟད་འབིགས་པ།

greatly piercing

cher ’bigs pa
ཆེར་འབིགས་པ།

bone piercing

rus pa ’bigs pa
རུས་པ་འབིགས་པ།

bone face

rus pa’i gdong
རུས་པའི་གདོང་།

greatly white

cher dkar ba
ཆེར་དཀར་བ།

slightly white

cung zad dkar ba
ཅུང་ཟད་དཀར་བ།

smell power

snum pa’i stobs
སྣུམ་པའི་སྟོབས།

tiger path

stag lam
སྟག་ལམ།

determined mind

mos pa’i yid
མོས་པའི་ཡིད།

lion power

seng ge’i stobs
སེང་གེའི་སྟོབས།

rabbit belly

ri bong lto
རི་བོང་ལྟོ།

clinging to desire

hero

dpa’ bo
དཔའ་བོ།

lord of heroes

dpa’ bo’i bdag po
དཔའ་བོའི་བདག་པོ།

mouth

mu kha
མུ་ཁ།

net mouth

dra ba kha
དྲ་བ་ཁ།

mass mouth

phung po’i kha
ཕུང་པོའི་ཁ།

sparrow mouth

bye’u kha
བྱེའུ་ཁ།

action

byed pa
བྱེད་པ།

big action

byed pa chen po
བྱེད་པ་ཆེན་པོ།

dust

phye ma
ཕྱེ་མ།

small bundle

po ta ra ka
པོ་ཏ་ར་ཀ

black face

gdong gnag
གདོང་གནག

scary face

leprous

mdze can
མཛེ་ཅན།

slightly leprous

mdze can chung ngu
མཛེ་ཅན་ཆུང་ངུ།

root of madness

myos pa’i rtsa ba
མྱོས་པའི་རྩ་བ།

black head

mgo nag
མགོ་ནག