Mahāyāna — Northern Canon · Prajñāpāramitā Collection

Toh 19The Noble Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika”

Pāli / Sanskrit:Kauśikaprajñāpāramitā

📖3,288 words · ~13 min read

Summary

Summary The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” is a condensed prajñāpāramitā sūtra in which the Buddha summarizes the various meanings of the perfection of wisdom. In particular, the Buddha equates the characteristics of the perfection of wisdom with the characteristics of all phenomena, the five aggregates, the five elements, and the ten perfections. In this way, the sūtra places particular emphasis on the nonduality of conventional phenomena and emptiness.

Full translation (English)

Summary

The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” is a condensed
prajñāpāramitā sūtra in which the Buddha summarizes the various meanings of the perfection
of wisdom. In particular, the Buddha equates the characteristics of the perfection of
wisdom with the characteristics of all phenomena, the five aggregates, the five elements,
and the ten perfections. In this way, the sūtra places particular emphasis on the
nonduality of conventional phenomena and emptiness.

Acknowledgements

The Tibetan version of this sūtra was translated into English by Daigengna Duoer,
Caley Smith, and Taryn Sue. Special thanks to Geshe Lobsang Dargye for his advice on
difficult portions of the text. Wiesiek Mical produced the English translation of the
Sanskrit sūtra based on the diplomatic edition of the Sanskrit manuscript. The
translations and the introduction were subsequently edited and revised by the 84000
editorial team.

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

Introduction

In The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika,”
the
Buddha Śākyamuni offers a teaching to Śakra, chief of the gods, whom in this sūtra he
addresses by the epithet Kauśika. The Buddha summarizes the various meanings of the
perfection of wisdom and equates the characteristics of the perfection of wisdom with
the characteristics of all phenomena, the five aggregates, the five elements, and the
ten perfections. The sūtra places particular emphasis on the nonduality of
conventional phenomena and emptiness, and culminates in a list of the eighteen kinds
of emptiness.

The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” is a brief
text barely four Tibetan folios in length and, just as in the case of The Heart Sūtra (Prajñāpāramitāhṛdaya, Toh 21), this prajñāpāramitā scripture also
incorporates elements of both sūtra and tantra (in the form of mantra). It has
therefore been variously classified in the Tibetan Kangyur, where it is included in
both the Perfection of Wisdom section and the Tantra section.

The figure of Kauśika/Śakra also features as an important interlocutor in the
larger prajñāpāramitā sūtras, and The Perfection of Wisdom
“Kauśika” presents a short summary of some of the elements found in those
larger sūtras. Nevertheless, there does not appear to be a direct relationship between
The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” and the dialogues
with Kauśika that appear elsewhere in the prajñāpāramitā sūtras.

Notably, the last part of the teaching contains a concluding verse that also
appears verbatim in The Vajra Cutter Sūtra (Vajracchedikā, Toh 16) and two further verses
that match the opening homage in Nāgārjuna’s Fundamental Treatise
on the Middle Way (Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Toh 3824).

Since there is no colophon to the Tibetan translation of this sūtra, we cannot
say who translated The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika”
into Tibetan. The title, however, is found in both the Denkarma and Phangthangma
imperial catalogs, so we do know that the sūtra was translated into Tibetan at least
by the early ninth century.

In addition to the Tibetan translation, the sūtra also exists in Sanskrit and
Chinese. The extant Sanskrit text is a Central Asian manuscript that was edited by
Conze (1956) and later reprinted by Vaidya (1961). The dating of the Sanskrit text is uncertain,
but, as noted by Conze, it largely patterns with the Chinese translation that can be
dated to the late tenth or early eleventh century ce. This suggests a
relatively late date for the extant Sanskrit manuscript, perhaps even later than the
Tibetan translation. Unlike
the Tibetan translation, which only contains a single mantra at the conclusion of the
teaching, the Sanskrit text (and the Chinese translation) ends with several additional
mantras that likely represent later accretions. For the reader’s convenience, we have
in the appendices included a diplomatic edition of the Sanskrit text and a complete
English translation from the Sanskrit.

The colophon to the Chinese translation (Taishō
249) notes that the
sūtra was translated on imperial command by Dānapāla (Shihu 施護, ?–1017 ce), an Indian scholar-monk from
Uḍḍiyāna who translated over one hundred works into Chinese. Just like the Sanskrit text, the Chinese translation
has a slightly different textual structure and content than the Tibetan, and in the
endnotes we have noted major differences between the Tibetan and Chinese
versions.

As well as Conze’s edition of the Sanskrit manuscript and Vaidya’s reprint of
that edition, an English translation by Conze with a brief introduction was published
in 1973, and a French translation by Driessens in 1996.

The present translation is based on the Tibetan version in the Degé Kangyur,
in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur
ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript. The Tibetan text was also compared
to the Sanskrit as well as the Chinese translation.

The Translation

The Noble

Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika”

Homage to
all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing at Vulture Peak in
Rājagṛha together with a great saṅgha of monks and many hundreds of thousands of
bodhisattvas, all of whom were youthful.

Then the Blessed One addressed Śakra, lord of the gods: “Kauśika, this is the
meaning of the perfection of wisdom: Do not view the perfection of wisdom as being
two. Nor is it not two. It is neither a mark nor not a mark. It is neither something
to adopt nor something to abandon. It is neither increasing nor decreasing; neither
polluted nor not polluted; neither purified nor not purified; neither abandoned nor not abandoned; neither remaining nor not
remaining; neither to be applied nor not to be applied; neither connected nor not connected; neither a condition nor not a
condition; neither a dharma
nor not a
dharma; neither suchness
nor not suchness;
and neither the limit of reality nor not the limit of reality.

“Similarly, Kauśika, the meaning of the perfection of wisdom is as follows: As
all phenomena are fundamentally sameness, the perfection of wisdom is itself sameness.
As all phenomena are profound, the perfection of wisdom is profound. As all phenomena are isolated, the perfection of wisdom is
isolated. As all phenomena are immovable, the perfection of wisdom is
immovable. As all phenomena are without thought, the perfection of wisdom is without
thought. As all phenomena are free of fear, the
perfection of wisdom is free of fear. As all phenomena are free of anxiety, the
perfection of wisdom is free of anxiety. As all phenomena are of one taste,
the perfection of wisdom is of one taste. As all phenomena are unborn, the perfection
of wisdom is unborn. As all phenomena are unceasing, the perfection of wisdom is
unceasing. As all phenomena are like space, the perfection of wisdom is like
space.

“As form is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. Similarly, as
feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness are boundless, the
perfection of wisdom is boundless. As the earth element is boundless, the perfection
of wisdom is boundless. Similarly, as the water element, the fire element,
the wind element, the space element, and the element of consciousness are boundless,
the perfection of wisdom is boundless. As Mount Sumeru is boundless, the perfection of
wisdom is boundless. As the ocean is boundless,
the perfection of wisdom is boundless.

“As vajra
is the same, the perfection of wisdom is the same. As all phenomena are
undifferentiated, the perfection of wisdom is undifferentiated. As the
essential nature of all phenomena is beyond apprehending, the essential nature of the
perfection of wisdom is beyond apprehending. As all phenomena are the same in lacking
anything to be dispelled, the perfection of wisdom is the same in lacking anything to
be dispelled. As all phenomena are without anything to undertake,
the perfection of wisdom is without anything to undertake. As all phenomena are inconceivable,
the perfection of wisdom is inconceivable.

“Similarly, as the perfection of giving, the perfection of discipline, the
perfection of patience, the perfection of effort, the perfection of concentration, the
perfection of wisdom, the perfection of means, the perfection of aspiration, the
perfection of power, and the perfection of gnosis
are purified of the three spheres and thus boundless, the perfection of wisdom is
boundless.

“The so-called
perfection of wisdom consists of eighteen kinds of emptiness. They are internal
emptiness, external emptiness, internal and external emptiness, emptiness of
emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness of conditioned phenomena,
emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, emptiness transcending extremes, emptiness without beginning or end, emptiness of
anything to be given up, emptiness of
nature, emptiness of all phenomena, emptiness of
self-characteristics,
emptiness
of nonapprehension, emptiness of nonexistence,
emptiness of essential nature, and emptiness of the essential nature of
nonexistence.

“In short, such emptiness is called the perfection of
wisdom.

“Like a star, a cataract, a lamp,

A magical illusion, a dew drop, a water bubble,

A dream, a flash of lightning, and a cloud —

View conditioned things in this way.

Oṁ namobhagavatyai āryaprajñāpāramitāyai.Oṁ dhī hrī śrī śruti smṛti mati gativijaye svāhā.

“Neither ceasing nor born,

Neither annihilated nor eternal,

Neither many nor one,

Neither coming nor going,

“Peaceful, because elaborations are pacified—

To the one who teaches this dependent origination,

To the perfect Buddha,

The best of speakers, I prostrate.”

The Blessed One having spoken thus, Venerable Śāradvatīputra,
Śakra, the lord of the gods, and the monks, bodhisattvas, and the world with its gods,
humans, asuras, and gandharvas
rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.

Thus concludes The Perfection of Wisdom
“Kauśika”.

Notes

Bibliography

Primary Sources:

Secondary Sources:

Appendices

Translation from Sanskrit

The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika”

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas.

Then the Blessed One addressed Śakra, lord of the gods: “Kauśika, this is the
meaning of the perfection of wisdom: the perfection of wisdom should be viewed as
being neither two nor not two; neither with marks nor without marks; neither
life-bringing nor life-removing; neither increasing nor decreasing; neither polluted
nor not polluted; neither purified nor not purified; neither abandoned nor not
abandoned; neither remaining nor not remaining; neither to be applied nor not to be
applied; neither connected nor not connected; neither with conditions nor without
conditions; neither a dharma nor not a dharma; neither suchness nor not suchness; and
neither the limit of reality nor not the limit of reality.

“Similarly, Kauśika, the meaning of the perfection of wisdom is as follows: As
all phenomena are the same, the perfection of wisdom is the same. As all phenomena are
isolated, the perfection of wisdom is isolated. As all phenomena are immovable, the
perfection of wisdom is immovable. As all phenomena are without thought, the
perfection of wisdom is without thought. As all phenomena are free of fear, the
perfection of wisdom is free of fear. As all phenomena are free of anxiety, the
perfection of wisdom is free of anxiety. As all phenomena are of one taste, the
perfection of wisdom is of one taste. As all phenomena are unborn, the perfection of
wisdom is unborn. As all phenomena are unceasing, the perfection of wisdom is
unceasing. As all phenomena are like space, the perfection of wisdom is like
space.

“As form is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is boundless. Similarly, as
feelings, perceptions, mental formations, and consciousness are boundless, the
perfection of wisdom is boundless. As the earth element is boundless, the perfection
of wisdom is boundless. Similarly, as the water element, the fire element, the wind
element, the space element, and the element of consciousness are boundless, the
perfection of wisdom is boundless. As Mount Sumeru is boundless, the perfection of
wisdom is boundless. As the ocean is boundless, the perfection of wisdom is
boundless.

“As vajra is the same, the perfection of wisdom is the same. As all phenomena
are undifferentiated, the perfection of wisdom is undifferentiated. As the essential
nature of all phenomena is beyond apprehending, the essential nature of the perfection
of wisdom is beyond apprehending. As all phenomena are the same in lacking anything to
be dispelled, the perfection of wisdom is the same in lacking anything to be
dispelled. As all phenomena are without anything to undertake, the perfection of
wisdom is without anything to undertake. As all phenomena are inconceivable, the
perfection of wisdom is inconceivable.

“Similarly, as the perfection of giving, the perfection of discipline, the
perfection of patience, the perfection of effort, the perfection of concentration, and
the perfection of wisdom are purified of the three spheres and thus boundless, the
perfection of wisdom is boundless.

“The so-called perfection of wisdom consists of eighteen kinds of emptiness.
They are internal emptiness, external emptiness, internal and external emptiness,
emptiness of emptiness, great emptiness, ultimate emptiness, emptiness of conditioned
phenomena, emptiness of unconditioned phenomena, emptiness transcending extremes,
emptiness without beginning or end, emptiness of anything to be given up, emptiness of
nature, emptiness of self-characteristics, emptiness of all phenomena, emptiness of
nonapprehension, emptiness of nonexistence, emptiness of essential nature, and
emptiness of both nonexistence and essential nature.

“This briefly explains the perfection of wisdom.

“Like a star, a cataract, a lamp,

A magical illusion, a dew drop, a water bubble,

A dream, a flash of lightning, and a cloud—

View conditioned things in this way.

“Neither ceasing nor born,

Neither annihilated nor eternal,

Neither many nor one,

Neither coming nor going,

“The dependent origination

Free from elaborations and auspicious

Was taught by the perfect Buddha.

I salute him, the best of speakers.

“Homage to all Three Jewels in the ten directions and the three times—past,
future, and present! Homage to the blessed Perfection of Wisdom, who resembles all the
tathāgatas and is empowered and celebrated by all the tathāgatas!

“O wisdom, great wisdom, the splendor of wisdom! You bring the light of wisdom
and dispel ignorance. O accomplished one, well accomplished, who is now being
accomplished! O blessed lady, beautiful in every limb, fond of your
devotees! With your hand
extended, you grant comfort. Succeed, succeed! Awaken, awaken! Shake, shake! Move,
move! Make the sound, make the sound! Do not tarry, O blessed lady!

“Homage to the bodhisattva of great compassion, the great being who arises
from Dharma! Homage to Perfection of Wisdom! The mantra is:

You who are endowed with the qualities of the Sage, the quality
of attracting [disciples], the qualities of liberation, the qualities of being kind to
beings, the qualities of trustworthiness, the qualities of following close
behind, the quality of attracting [others] by virtue,
the qualities that reach everywhere, the qualities that are perfect and complete at
all times, svāhā!