Toh 78The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita”

Summary

In The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita,
the sūtra’s interlocutor, Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, asks the Buddha Śākyamuni
whether there might be other buddhas in other realms whose names carry the power
to produce awakening. The Buddha responds that there are, in fact, buddhas whose
names are so efficacious that simply by remembering them, the disciple will be
awakened. The Buddha then names the buddhas of the ten directions, their worlds
and eons, and the specific effects that knowing each of their names will have on
disciples with faith.

Acknowledgements

This text was translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under
the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. Benjamin Ewing translated the text
from Tibetan into English and wrote the introduction. Andreas Doctor compared
the draft translation with the original Tibetan and edited the text.

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

Introduction

The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita is primarily
concerned with the benefits that arise from remembering the names of various
buddhas in different realms. Like many sūtras, this scripture begins with an
interlocutor raising a question to the Buddha Śākyamuni. In this case it is the
bodhisattva Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, who asks whether there are buddhas whose very
names carry such transformative power as to elevate the beings who hear these
names to buddhahood. Śākyamuni replies that there are ten buddhas whose names
hold such power. The sūtra continues with the Buddha naming and describing these
buddhas and their realms, as well as declaring the specific effects that
knowledge of their names ensures. The buddhas are described as residing in each
of the ten directions and, while some of their names appear in other sūtras,
most of them appear to be unique to this scripture, as are the names of their
realms.

The notion that a disciple can become destined for awakening merely by
recalling the names of buddhas who live in other realms appears in a number of
Great Vehicle sūtras. In the Tibetan Kangyur these sūtras are found scattered
throughout the sūtra collections. While a number of organizing principles were
employed when the editors of the Kangyur structured this collection, the texts
concerned with the liberating effects of the names of various buddhas were,
however, not grouped based on this subject matter but instead were dispersed
throughout the sūtra collections following other editorial priorities.

While The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita
is a member of the Ratnakūṭa collection, a slightly different version of this
sūtra also appears in the general sūtra section under the title The Ten Buddhas. These two
texts are identical in most respects, but in several instances the names of the
various world systems, eons, and buddhas differ, sometimes in part, sometimes
entirely. The summary verses, which appear after each presentation of the
individual buddhas, are also, for the most part, different in the two texts.
Interestingly, although both texts attest to having been translated into Tibetan
by the same group of people, it appears that the inclusion of The Ten Buddhas into the canon may have occurred at a
later time, since The Questions of
Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita is listed in the earliest catalog of Tibetan
translations, the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma),
while The Ten Buddhas is not. Regardless of these historical uncertainties, both of these
sūtras are good representatives of the genre of Great Vehicle literature in
which the virtues embodied in the names of the buddhas are extolled and declared
to guarantee a future awakening for all who remember them.

The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita is no longer
extant in Sanskrit but is included in the Chinese canon. It was translated into Chinese
sometime between 706 and 713 ce by Bodhiruci (d.
727), a renowned translator from South India (who is not to be confused with
another famous Indian translator of the same name who was active in China two
centuries earlier). This Bodhiruci is responsible for translating much of the
Ratnakūṭa collection, among other texts. In Tibet
The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita was among
the many Great Vehicle sūtras that were brought into the country in the late
eighth and early ninth centuries, during the imperial period in which the
majority of the sūtras in the Tibetan canon were translated. The translation is
attributed to the well-known Indian scholars Prajñāvarman and Jinamitra, along
with the prolific Tibetan chief editor-translator Yeshé Dé. The English
translation presented here was based primarily on the Tibetan Degé edition, in
consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript
edition.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Questions of Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita

Homage to all buddhas and
bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing at Vulture
Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha together with a great assembly of one thousand two
hundred fifty monks and many thousands of bodhisattvas. Included in the
assembly at that time was a bodhisattva great being, a Licchavi prince from
the city of Vaiśālī named Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita. The bodhisattva great being
Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita rose from his seat, draped his upper robe over one
shoulder, and knelt with his right knee on the ground. With joined palms, he
bowed toward the Blessed One and inquired, “If the Blessed One would grant
me the opportunity to request instruction, I would like to ask a question of
the honored, blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha.”

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being
Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, “Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, do ask the thus-gone, worthy,
perfect Buddha whatever you wish. Then I will address your questions and set
your mind at ease.”

The bodhisattva great being Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita then asked the
Blessed One, “Blessed One, are there presently blessed buddhas residing
alive and well in other world systems whose names, when remembered, cause
noble sons and daughters to swiftly and
fully awaken to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood?”

“Very good, Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita,” the Blessed One responded to the
bodhisattva great being Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, “very good!
Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, your motivation for asking this question of the
Thus-Gone One is to benefit and bring happiness to many beings now and in
the future. You have asked this question out of love for the world and to
benefit, help, and bring happiness to bodhisattvas, gods, and humans. Very
good, Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita! Therefore, Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, listen well and
pay attention. I will explain it to you.”

“Blessed One, I shall do that!” said the bodhisattva great being
Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, and he listened as the Blessed One had instructed.

The Blessed One said, “Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the east of here is
a world system known as Arrayed with the Qualities of All Phenomena. There
the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Array of Immense Precious Qualities
Like the King of Splendor currently resides, alive and well. That eon is
known as Gathering of Complete Abundance. There, the lifespan of sentient
beings is immeasurable. That blessed one’s full retinue of bodhisattvas is
also innumerable. When faithful noble sons and daughters remember the name
of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Array of Immense Precious
Qualities Like the King of Splendor,
sixty thousand eons of wandering in cyclic existence are negated.

“From their next lives onward, they will attain the dhāraṇī called
unhindered teaching. They will be provided with the
eloquence of the blessed buddhas in a
hundred million buddhafields. When they teach the Dharma, they will have no
trepidation. Regarding this, it is said:

“ ‘Those who speak this buddha’s name

Will quickly manifest these qualities.

For them, even better things will occur,

And unsurpassed awakening will not be difficult.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the south of here is a world system known
as Arrayed with Precious Qualities. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect
Buddha King of Splendor Arrayed with the Glory of Precious Qualities
currently resides, alive and well. That eon is known as Flourishing
Qualities. The faithful noble sons and daughters who remember the name of
the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha King of Splendor Arrayed with
the Glory of Precious Qualities will, immediately in their next lives,
attain the absorption known as the sun disk’s universal
illumination. They will also attain an array of the
immeasurable qualities of the buddhafields. Immediately in their next lives
they will attain the thirty-two marks of a great being. They will be born
into the buddhafield of their aspiration prayers. Since for them only a
single rebirth remains, they will fully awaken to unexcelled and perfect
buddhahood. They will also achieve unceasing eloquence. Regarding this, it
is said:

“ ‘Those who speak this buddha’s name

Will manifest inconceivable absorptions.

They will attain bodies endowed with the thirty-two marks,

And they will be just one rebirth away from awakening.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the west of here is a world system known
as Free of All Misery and Darkness. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect
Buddha Glorious Array of Eloquence in All Teachings currently resides, alive
and well. That eon is known as Beautiful Śākya. The faithful noble sons and
daughters who remember the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect
Buddha Glorious Array of Eloquence in All Teachings will not meet their
deaths because of a blade. Furthermore, they will not meet their deaths
because of poison, water, or fire, and they will have a miraculous rebirth.
Immediately in their next lives they will attain the dhāraṇī called one
hundred powers. Regarding this, it is said:

“ ‘Those who speak this buddha’s name

Will not perish by fire,

Or by blade, water, or poison;

They will have only miraculous rebirths.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the north of here is a world system known
as Free of Darkness and Gloom. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha
Intelligence Arrayed with Immeasurable Eloquence currently resides, alive
and well. That eon is known as Holding Great Renown. The faithful noble sons
and daughters who remember the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy,
perfect Buddha Intelligence Arrayed with Immeasurable Eloquence will please tens of billions of buddhas.
They will attain the dhāraṇī called following
everywhere, as well as the dhāraṇī known as
inexhaustible casket, and will subsequently fully
awaken to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood. They will not be born into the
three lower realms. They will liberate all beings in the lower realms of
whichever buddhafields they are born into as they engage in the conduct of
bodhisattvas. They will never regress in their progress toward unexcelled
and perfect buddhahood. Regarding this, it is said:

“ ‘Those who speak the name of this buddha

Will have incalculable qualities

And will undoubtedly attain buddhahood.

Without a doubt, dhāraṇīs will arise for them.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the southeast of here is a world system
known as Very Beautiful Array. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha
King of the Sound of a Thousand Thunderclaps currently resides, alive and
well. That eon is known as Emergence of Qualities. The faithful noble sons
and daughters who remember the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy,
perfect Buddha King of the Sound of a Thousand Thunderclaps will,
immediately in their next lives, attain the fourfold fearlessness, the four
bases of miraculous powers, and great love, as well as great compassion.
They will attain the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas. They will
attain the array of qualities just as they are in the buddhafield of the
Thus-Gone One Amitāyus. Following a female birth, they will be born into the body of a man. Regarding this,
it is said:

“ ‘Any bodhisattvas who remember this victor’s name

Will always attain these qualities

And inconceivably many others.

Those bodhisattvas will behold many buddhas.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the southwest of here is a world system
known as Immeasurable Array. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha
Glorious Supremely Golden Light resides, alive and well. That eon is known
as Creation of All Qualities. The faithful noble sons and daughters who
remember the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Glorious
Supremely Golden Light please ninety million blessed buddhas just by hearing
that name. They will attain the absorption known as elevating all
beings to greatness. Why is it called elevating all
beings to greatness? When a noble son or daughter rests in
this absorption, subsequently teaches the Dharma, and attains the nature of
that absorption while teaching the Dharma, it brings happiness to all beings
within the world systems of a great trichiliocosm. For example, this is just
like how all beings in the buddhafield of the thus-gone, worthy, perfect
Buddha Manojña attain happiness together, and how all the beings in the
lower realms there are freed, and how after being freed from the lower
realms they attain the bodies of gods and humans and are certain to attain
unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.
Regarding this, it is said:

“ ‘Those who remember the name Glorious Supremely Golden Light

Will, in all lives, have no trouble becoming

Mighty lords with glorious and radiant appearances.

Their minds will become unobstructed and limitless.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the northwest of here is a world system
known as Free of Evil Deeds. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha
King of Splendor with Many Glorious Appearances resides, alive and well.
That eon is known as Flourishing of Householders. The faithful noble sons
and daughters who remember the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy,
perfect Buddha King of Splendor with Many Glorious Appearances will,
immediately in their next lives, attain the dhāraṇī called array
of immeasurable eloquence. With little effort, they will come
to possess the array of qualities of the buddhafield of the thus-gone,
worthy, perfect Buddha Amitāyus. They will hear the discourses of eight
hundred million buddhas and remember them. Regarding this, it is said:

“ ‘Those who remember the glorious name of this victor

Will gain boundless life and understanding of the Dharma

In the buddhafield of Amitāyus.

With just a single rebirth remaining, they will awaken to perfect
buddhahood.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, to the northeast of here is a world system
known as Transcending All Misery. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect
Buddha He Who Attained Awakening after Countless Millions of Eons resides,
alive and well. That eon is known as
Array of Eloquence. The faithful noble sons and daughters who remember the
name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha He Who Attained
Awakening after Countless Millions of Eons will, immediately in their next
lives, attain the excellent eloquence of speech endowed with the sixty
qualities, and they will attain the development of roots of virtue before
eight hundred million buddhas. Regarding this, it is said:

“ ‘Endowed with the excellent sixty qualities of speech,

As well as an understanding that is perfected,

They will attain the inconceivable merit

Of worshiping eighty million victors.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, above here is a world system known as
Splendor Arrayed with Immeasurable Qualities. There the thus-gone, worthy,
perfect Buddha Array of Light Constantly Proclaiming Pure Gold and Space
abides, alive and well. That eon is known as Attaining the Immeasurable. The
faithful noble sons and daughters who remember the name of the blessed,
thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Array of Light Constantly Proclaiming Pure
Gold and Space purify an immeasurable aggregate of discipline. They also
purify an immeasurable aggregate of absorption, an immeasurable aggregate of
insight, an immeasurable aggregate of liberation, and an immeasurable
aggregate of liberated wisdom vision. They will also progress through the
levels. They will attain speech that is worthy of being accepted. They will attain excellent eloquence free
from hesitation. They will swiftly and fully awaken to unexcelled and
perfect buddhahood. They will understand the symbols of letters and sounds.
They will attain lofty castes and exalted lineages. They will attain the
five superknowledges. They will remember their former lives. They will
attain the eighteen unique qualities of the buddhas. Regarding this, it is
said:

“ ‘Those who remember the supreme name of this victor

Will attain perfect speech endowed with the eight aspects,

And they will never be reborn where there is no buddha.

Such individuals will awaken to buddhahood without hindrance.’

“Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, below here is a world system known as
Delighting in Inseparability. There, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha
Splendorous Light Manifesting in the Manner of All Phenomena abides, alive
and well. That eon is known as Gathering of Wisdom. The faithful noble sons
and daughters who remember the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy,
perfect Buddha Splendorous Light Manifesting in the Manner of All Phenomena
will, immediately in their next lives, attain the dhāraṇī called
accomplishing buddhahood. With just one rebirth
remaining, they will fully awaken to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood. They
will hear the Dharma teachings of ninety million buddhas, and, upon hearing
them, they will remember them all. Regarding this, it is said:

“ ‘Those who remember the name of this buddha

Will hear the teachings of ninety million buddhas,

Will have just one birth remaining,

And will fully awaken to unexcelled and perfect buddhahood.’ ”

Then the bodhisattva great being Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, as well as the
bodhisattva great being Eloquent Voice Endowed with All Precious Qualities,
attained dhāraṇī. Eighty million bodhisattvas attained the level of
progressing irreversibly toward unexcelled and perfect awakening, and thirty
thousand gods and humans aroused the mind set upon unexcelled and perfect
awakening.

After the Blessed One said those words, the bodhisattva great being
Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, the entire assembly, and the world with its gods,
humans, asuras, and gandharvas rejoiced and praised the Buddha’s words.

This concludes The Questions of
Guṇaratnasaṅkusumita, the thirty-fourth of the one hundred thousand sections of the Dharma discourse known as The Noble Great Heap of Jewels.

Colophon

Notes

Bibliography

The name of an eon in which the Buddha He Who
Attained Awakening after Countless Millions of Eons resides.

The name of an eon in which the Buddha Array of
Light Constantly Proclaiming Pure Gold and Space abides.

The name of an eon in which the Buddha Glorious
Array of Eloquence in All Teachings resides.

The name of an eon in which the Buddha Glorious
Supremely Golden Light resides.

dhāraṇī
gzungs
གཟུངས།
dhāraṇī
This term is used in various ways. For instance,
it refers to the mental capacity of not forgetting, enabling one in
particular to cultivate positive forces and to ward off negativity.
It is also very commonly used as a term for mystical verses similar
to mantras, the usage of which will grant a particular power.

The name of an eon in which the Buddha King of
the Sound of a Thousand Thunderclaps resides.

The name of an eon in which the Buddha King of
Splendor with Many Glorious Appearances resides.

The name of an eon in which the Buddha Array of
Immense Precious Qualities Like the King of Splendor resides.

The name of an eon in which the Buddha
Intelligence Arrayed with Immeasurable Eloquence resides.

The eight qualities of a buddha’s voice are
variously presented. According to the Pāli Mahāgovindasutta (Dīghanikāya 19) a buddha’s voice is fluent,
intelligible, sweet, audible, sustained, distinct, deep, and
resonant.

The name of an absorption.

The name of a buddha in the eastern
direction.

Array of Light Constantly Proclaiming Pure Gold and Space
gser bzang po dang nam mkha’ nges par sgrogs pa
bkod pa’i ’od
གསེར་བཟང་པོ་དང་ནམ་མཁའ་ངེས་པར་སྒྲོགས་པ་བཀོད་པའི་འོད།

The name of a buddha in the above
direction.

A bodhisattva.

The name of a buddha in the western
direction.

The name of a buddha in the southwestern
direction.

He Who Attained Awakening after Countless Millions of Eons
bskal pa bye ba grangs med par byang chub yang
dag par bsgrubs pa
བསྐལ་པ་བྱེ་བ་གྲངས་མེད་པར་བྱང་ཆུབ་ཡང་དག་པར་བསྒྲུབས་པ།

The name of a buddha in the northeastern
direction.

The name of a buddha in the northern
direction.

King of Splendor Arrayed with the Glory of Precious Qualities
yon tan rin chen dpal bkod pa’i gzi brjid kyi
rgyal po lta bu
ཡོན་ཏན་རིན་ཆེན་དཔལ་བཀོད་པའི་གཟི་བརྗིད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ་ལྟ་བུ།

The name of a buddha in the southern
direction.

The name of a buddha in the northwestern
direction.

The name of a buddha in the southeastern
direction.

Splendorous Light Manifesting in the Manner of All
Phenomena
chos thams cad kyi tshul la rnam par ’phrul pa’i
gzi brjid kyi ’od
ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་ཀྱི་ཚུལ་ལ་རྣམ་པར་འཕྲུལ་པའི་གཟི་བརྗིད་ཀྱི་འོད།

The name of a buddha in the below
direction.

The name of a world system in the southern
direction.

The name of a world system in the eastern
direction.

The name of a world system in the below
direction.

The name of a world system in the western
direction.

The name of a world system in the northern
direction.

The name of a world system in the northwestern
direction.

The name of a world system in the southwestern
direction.

The name of a world system in the above
direction.

The name of a world system in the northeastern
direction.

The name of a world system in the southeastern
direction.