Toh 841-3Homage to the Blessed One, the Great King of Non-Duality

Exposition of the Sutra Homage to the Blessed One, the Great King of Nonduality

Background

The sutra Prajñābhagavānmahārāja (Homage to the Blessed One, the Great King of Nonduality) belongs to the Northern Transmission canon, an important work in the Tibetan Buddhist canon compiled over many centuries. The Kangyur (Bka'gyur), or "Translated Words of the Buddha," is a collection of scriptures taught directly by Buddha Shakyamuni, translated and solemnly annotated by Tibetan and Indian masters.

This sutra stands within the Mahayana tradition, where Wisdom (Prajñā) is regarded as the heart of liberation. In particular, the concept of "Nonduality" — indicating the absence of a twofold division between subject and object, self and phenomena — is foundational to Mahayana Buddhist philosophy, especially in the Madhyamaka and Yogācāra traditions. The title "Great King" applied to Supreme Wisdom evokes the image of a sovereign king ruling over the realm of cognition and awakening, transcending all prapañca — the artificial concepts that divide reality.

Main Content

Within the structure of the title, the act of "Homage" first expresses a method of spiritual practice. This is not merely a verbal formula for acts of bowing; rather, it is the complete turning of the mind toward Prajñā — Supreme Wisdom, the wisdom that is self-luminous and has no distinct form of its own.

"The Blessed One" (Bhagavān) is a title of Buddha Shakyamuni, the one who has perfectly accomplished all merit and wisdom. Yet here Bhagavān also alludes to the essence of Prajñāpāramitā — Supreme Perfection of Wisdom — the eternal Dharmakāya of all buddhas.

"Nonduality" (advaita) is the fundamental teaching emphasizing that the mind of the Buddha (buddha nature) and the minds of sentient beings, in their profound nature, are not two different things but a single reality obscured by ignorance.