Toh 276The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “Not Forsaking the Buddha”

Summary

This discourse takes place while the Buddha Śākyamuni is on Vulture Peak Mountain with a large community of monks, along
with numerous bodhisattvas. Ten of the bodhisattvas present in the retinue have become discouraged after failing to attain dhāraṇī
despite exerting themselves for seven years. The bodhisattva Undaunted therefore requests the Buddha to bestow upon them an
instruction that will enable them to generate wisdom. In response, the Buddha reveals the cause of their inability to attain
dhāraṇī—a specific negative act they performed in the past—and he goes on to explain the importance of respecting Dharma teachers
and reveal how these ten bodhisattvas can purify their karmic obscurations.

Acknowledgements

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was
produced by Laura Dainty. Andreas Doctor compared the 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

Not Forsaking the Buddha takes place at Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha, where the
Buddha is accompanied by a large community of monks and numerous bodhisattvas. Ten of these bodhisattvas have recently turned
away from the teaching because they have failed to make progress despite exerting themselves for seven years. However, a
devoted bodhisattva called Undaunted requests the Buddha to give these ten bodhisattvas an instruction that will enable them
to generate insight and wisdom. In response, the Buddha relates the past events that caused these bodhisattvas’ inability to
make spiritual progress: in a distant past, in another world, these ten bodhisattvas had wrongly accused another Dharma
teacher of having flawed discipline. As a result of this negative act, for many lifetimes afterward they were reborn in the
lower realms. Only after suffering in the lower realms for a long time had they purified enough of their former negative
action to once again attain human rebirth and go forth as monks. Still, due to the lingering obscuration created by their
former negative act, they were unable to obtain any results from their practice for seven hundred lifetimes. Now, however, the
Buddha explains that if they chant a certain dhāraṇī and train for one week by recalling the qualities of the buddhas, their
remaining obscurations will be purified. The bodhisattvas practice accordingly and are finally able to make progress on the
path. Following this instruction, the Buddha completes the discourse by explaining several other bodhisattva trainings that
further support spiritual progress and secure the welfare of beings.

The potential obstacles and pitfalls that practitioners of all levels may encounter on their path
are mentioned in many sūtras, particularly in the context of future degenerate times when the Dharma is in the process
of decline. Not many canonical texts, however, focus primarily on bodhisattvas who have become disheartened, as this one does.
Again, while many sūtras speak of the attainment of a stage of realization after which progress toward awakening becomes
irreversible, there are few concrete examples of what kinds of reversal bodhisattvas may face before they reach such an advanced
stage. The bodhisattvas described here provide such an example, although the surprising fact that they are described
nevertheless as “bodhisattva great beings” suggests that this term is not necessarily correlated with irreversibility.
This text is particularly valuable, too, for its detailed prescriptions for remedying and overcoming such reversals. In
these respects it has some features in common with one of the few other sūtras on a similar theme, Inspiring
Determination (Adhyāśayasaṃcodana, Toh
69).

To our knowledge, no Sanskrit version of this sūtra exists. In addition to the Tibetan translation the sūtra was
translated twice into Chinese. The first of these translations (Taishō 811) was produced sometime near the end of the third
century ce by the Indo-Scythian monk Dharmarakṣa (ca. 233–310 ce). With
this Chinese translation, we thus have a terminus ante quem for the composition
of this sūtra, which places it relatively early in the formative period of the literature of the Great Vehicle in India. The
second Chinese translation (Taishō 831) was produced in the early sixth century (ca. 508–535 ce) by
the prolific Indian translator Bodhiruci.

The Tibetan translation, according to the colophon, was produced by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman and
the Tibetan translator-editor Yeshé Dé. This suggests that the translation can be dated to the late eighth or early ninth
century, which is also supported by the text’s inclusion in the early ninth-century Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) catalog. In
producing this translation, we have based our work on the Degé Kangyur xylograph, while consulting the Comparative Edition
(dpe bsdur ma) and the Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

Not Forsaking the Buddha

Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was on Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha, together with a great saṅgha of
1,250 monks and eighty thousand bodhisattvas. At that time, the bodhisattva great being Aśokadatta was present in the
assembly, as were the bodhisattva great being Vanquisher of the Darkness of Sorrow, the bodhisattva great being Light of
Wisdom, the bodhisattva great being Roaring Thunder Cloud from Brahmā, the bodhisattva great being Glorious Blooming Flower of
Precious Qualities, the bodhisattva great being Born from the Lion’s Virtues and Moving with a Thunder Roar, the bodhisattva
great being Renowned Brilliant Light, the bodhisattva great being Aiming for Accomplishment of Limitless Wisdom Array, the bodhisattva great being Renowned Blooming Flower of
Limitless Precious Qualities, and the bodhisattva great being Intelligent Light of Insight Displaying Power.

These ten bodhisattva great beings who were present in the assembly had exerted themselves for seven years with the
aim of attaining dhāraṇī. However, although seven years had passed, they had not even attained mental equipoise, let alone
dhāraṇī. For seven years, they had avoided dullness and sleep and exerted themselves while sitting and walking. They had exerted
themselves in relinquishing all thoughts of desire. Nevertheless, they had not achieved their goal and had not attained
dhāraṇī; and thus, feeling discouraged, they had offered back their precepts and lapsed. All of them, having thus assented to
the shortcomings of householder life, had simply turned their backs on the teaching.

At that time, King Ajātaśatru was also present in the assembly. The Blessed One had already dispelled the king’s
regrets. With his regrets dispelled, for seven days the king had engaged in generosity and pardoned all prisoners. After
having engaged in generosity for seven days, the king had returned to the Blessed One, together with seventy million other
beings, to listen to the Dharma. The ten noble sons who had assented to the shortcomings of householder life and turned their
backs on the teaching had also come to the assembly.

At this point, the bodhisattva great being Undaunted also joined the assembly. He had attained dhāraṇī. For countless
eons he had possessed the acceptance of phenomena that is consistent with reality and had attained the acceptance that
phenomena are nonarising. He was endowed with various forms of eloquence. He was expert in accomplishing all gateways to
wisdom and the Dharma, and, in order to explain the Dharma, he was skilled concerning beings’ mindsets, intentions, and
interests.

The bodhisattva great being Undaunted rose from his seat, draped his shawl over one shoulder, knelt on his right knee,
and bowed with joined palms toward the Blessed One. He then said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, these ten noble sons
exerted themselves for seven years with the aim of attaining dhāraṇī, yet they did not accomplish their goal, and so they have
left the teaching and profess to having taken up the householder life. This being so, Blessed One, I beseech you to please
bestow upon these noble sons an instruction that will enable them to swiftly attain wisdom.”

The Blessed One replied to the bodhisattva great being Undaunted, “Noble son, these individuals have not heard the
Dharma discourse called Not Forsaking the Buddha, and so they have ended up forsaking the Buddha.
That is why these noble sons have failed to swiftly develop in their understanding.”

The bodhisattva great being Undaunted then addressed the following verses to the Blessed One:

“Illuminating Dharma King,

Sun of humans, I request you to teach

The conduct that bodhisattvas engage in —

Please explain that conduct.

“Your intelligence is immeasurable and exalted;

Unimpeded Buddha, your ten powers are unmatched.

You are free from the three realms of existence and beyond conceptual constructs—

Buddha, you have taught the stainless conduct of bodhisattvas.

“Master of immeasurable wisdom, I ask you.

Dispeller of doubts, I ask you.

Matchless Blessed One, I ask you.

What is the proper conduct of bodhisattvas?

“Victor, tamer of demons, Well-Gone One,

You liberate beings from all the afflictions.

You compassionately tame the afflictions and show the path to awakening;

Please explain that noble teaching.

“Your teaching is excellent in terms of its clarity, source, and relevance.

Tirelessly, you eliminate existence and overcome its states.

Excellent mendicant, your perfect speech dispels all doubts.

Victorious Well-Gone One, you teach all the modes of stainless conduct.

“Over hundreds of past lives, you accrued virtuous qualities.

You diligently dedicated all for the benefit and happiness of beings.

For long you relinquished jewels, elephants, and horses,

And the company of women and children as well.

“Delighting in patience and discipline, you ardently practiced the virtues of discipline.

You joyfully pursued intelligence and took on austerities and hardships.

In the pursuit of
good qualities, you endured hundreds of sufferings.

Victor, there is no doubt that you have attained all this.

“You are skilled in conduct and have relinquished all doubts.

You are free of the defects of the three stains and all faults.

You have entered all existences.

Protector, please explain the proper conduct of supreme awakening!”

The Blessed One then addressed the bodhisattva great being Undaunted: “Noble son, none of these ten bodhisattvas has
in fact forsaken the Buddha.”

The bodhisattva great being then asked, “Blessed One, what do you mean by saying that they have not forsaken the
Buddha?”

The Blessed One replied, “Noble son, in a bygone age, thirty eons ago, in a world called Mirage, a thus-gone one named
Roar of Vision appeared. In the period after this thus-gone one had passed into parinirvāṇa, these ten noble sons were born as
the sons of householders who were like great śāla trees. At that time, these ten noble sons commissioned the building of five
hundred monasteries. In each of those monasteries, a thousand monks resided. Noble son, at that time there was a Dharma teacher named
Pratibhānakūṭa who had attained dhāraṇī and was teaching the Dharma.

“Noble son, the Dharma teacher Pratibhānakūṭa would accomplish the eloquence of five thousand Buddhas while seated on
the Dharma seat, as eight hundred million gods applied themselves diligently in worshiping his body. Through just one of his
Dharma discourses, seventy thousand beings would be established in irreversible progress toward unexcelled and perfect
awakening, and ten thousand beings would attain the fruition of stream enterer.

“Noble son, at that time there was a king named Candradatta. He had great respect for the Dharma, and so he and five
hundred women venerated that Dharma teacher with song and music. He scattered many types of precious flowers over that monk,
anointed him with sandalwood ointment, and swathed him in five hundred brocades. Furthermore, the king venerated him with
every type of delightful service. In this way, he served that Dharma teacher with perfect offerings for seven days.

“However, those sons of householders accused that monk of flawed discipline. As that action ripened, they were born
in the hells for ninety thousand years. Then, for five hundred consecutive lifetimes they were born in the human realm as
ṣaṇḍhas, as barbarians, and into families with wrong views. After that, for six hundred lifetimes they were born blind and
mute. Then, for seven hundred lifetimes they went forth and remained ordained for the rest of their lives, but they died
without having attained dhāraṇī. That is the karmic obscuration veiling these noble sons.

“Noble son, you should therefore trust this and understand it. Having heard this Dharma discourse, you should never
speak of a Dharma teacher having flawed discipline, even if you witness it in person, let alone hear word of it.

“Noble son, if one person were to pluck out the eyes of all beings, and another were to take a disparaging view of a
Dharma teacher, the latter would commit an act of even graver negativity than the former. If one person were to bind all
beings in fetters, and another were to turn his back on meeting a Dharma teacher, the unmeritorious act committed by the former would be nowhere near even a hundredth part of the unmeritorious act committed by the latter. It would be nowhere near even a thousandth, or a one hundred thousandth
part. No number, fraction, quantity, analogy, or comparison would come close. Why is that? Because whoever denigrates a Dharma
teacher denigrates the Buddha. If you wish to honor the Buddha, you should honor a Dharma teacher. If you wish to worship the
Buddha, you should worship a Dharma teacher. If you wish to pay homage to the Buddha, you should pay homage to a Dharma
teacher.

“Why is that? It is because the state of omniscience arises from the bodhisattvas—and the blessed buddhas arise from
the bodhisattvas. Since that takes place on the basis of the bodhisattvas’ arousing of the mind of awakening, one should not
say that bodhisattvas are afflicted beings who indulge in pleasures. One should not say that they ever fail to observe pure
conduct. Although they are absorbed in the formless absorptions one should not say that they enter the formless states. Why
not? Because bodhisattvas do not take rebirth under the sway of afflictions; rather, bodhisattvas take rebirth through the
power of aspirations. They are beyond all childish behavior. If you wanted to point out the afflictions of a bodhisattva, it
would be no different from wanting to point out the physical form of space.

“Noble son, as an analogy, as the chief of all nāgas, the nāga king Anavatapta is counted as one of the nāgas.
Nevertheless, he is not afflicted by the three troubles of nāgas. What are the three ways in which he is not afflicted? Hot
sand does not fall on his head, he is never infested with vermin, and he is not subject to the terror of garuḍas. Noble son, these three
troubles of the nāgas do not afflict Anavatapta. Noble son, in
the same way, even though bodhisattva great beings may engage in frolicking and all manner of joys, it must be said that they
are not overcome by the desire, affliction, or suffering within the three existences.

“Noble son, as another analogy, there is a type of animal known as fisher that moves about in the
water and looks into the water but does not die there. Noble son, likewise, bodhisattva great beings may move about in cyclic
existence, but while engaging in the conduct of childish beings, they in fact pursue the conduct of wisdom. Having taken up
the Dharma, they do not become confused. They live alongside childish beings, but they do not experience the sufferings of the
three existences. Therefore, bodhisattva great beings will protect themselves.”

The Blessed One then spoke the following verses:

“If someone wishes to worship the Well-Gone One

And pay homage to him,

They should worship the Well-Gone One’s offspring here.

This is the supreme act of worshiping the victors.

“All my clothes, my alms bowl,
sitting mat,

Bedding, and walkway—

I give all of them

To those striving for awakening.

“All the buddhas, those supreme humans,

Have surely arisen from such beings.

So worship them in the very same way

As you would worship the buddhas.

“These are the guardians and adepts;

They give sight to those who are blind.

They show the path to those who are lost

And guide them to the deathless state.

“Even if beings were to joyfully give them

All types of wealth in a constant stream,

That would not be enough to match

Their beginning to rely on the mind of awakening.”

The bodhisattva great being Undaunted then addressed
the Blessed One: “Blessed One, is there an instruction through which these bodhisattvas can purify their karmic
obscuration?”

The Blessed One replied, “Yes, there is. Undaunted, these noble sons should go forth as monks and recite these dhāraṇī
mantra words:

syād yathedam: accha acchavati anāvile akleśe akṛte anāyūhe ave
aparajite bhavatu aṅgama yutājñāva prakṣipe nirgate ugrahe huhume cavale sade same samade yoti nayo
pariśodhi.

“Noble sons or daughters should recite these dhāraṇī mantra words. For seven days they should train in the absorption
of recalling the buddhas in a way that is free from grasping, free from settling, free from form, free from concepts, free
from sensory experience, free from diversion, free from action, free from contamination, free from indifference, free from the
five aggregates, and free from impatience. If they do that, they will encounter a thousand buddhas in the ten directions, and
they will be compelled to confess their faults.”

Accordingly, these noble sons went forth as monks and recited those secret mantra words. For seven days, free from
grasping and the rest, they exerted themselves by training in the absorption of recalling the buddhas. Thereby they came to
see the thousand buddhas and confessed their karmic obscuration. At that very point, these noble sons attained the dhāraṇī
called gateway to the wisdom that accomplishes all. They reduced their time in cyclic existence by thirty
eons, and were established in irreversible progress toward unexcelled and perfect awakening.

“Undaunted, the king Candradatta, who had worshiped that Dharma teacher, is now the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha Amitāyus. At that time, he was the king
Candradatta. The Dharma teacher Pratibhānakūṭa is now the thus-gone, worthy, and perfect buddha Akṣobhya. At that time, he was
the Dharma teacher Pratibhānakūṭa. The ten sons of householders like great śāla trees are now these noble sons. At that time,
they were the ten sons of householders like great śāla trees who accused the Dharma teacher Pratibhānakūṭa of having flawed
discipline.

“Therefore, noble son, no matter how bodhisattvas may be living, do not view them as mistaken, even at the cost of
your life. Why not? Because, noble son, there are four qualities that purify the awakening of bodhisattvas. What are those
four qualities? Training in emptiness, being free of animosity toward anyone, always gathering what is beneficial for
bodhisattvas, and authentically manifesting the gift of the Dharma without having thoughts of material gain. Noble son, these
four qualities purify the awakening of
bodhisattva great beings.”

The Blessed One then expressed these same points in the following verses:

“The victors have taught that interest in emptiness

Is the first path by which bodhisattvas are purified.

Those who remain constantly heedful of this

Will attain awakening and illuminate the world.

“Always being sincere toward all beings,

Never wishing to speak down to anyone,

And relinquishing pride and being patient with others—

This is the second path of purification.

“To give all pleasing and untainted objects

To those who strive for supreme awakening,

Without wishing for anything in return—

This is the third path to supreme awakening.

“When a compassionate person gives the Dharma

Constantly and correctly to others without hopes of material gain,

And keeps a loving heart with pure intention—

This is the fourth path of purification by the learned.

“Noble son, furthermore, bodhisattva great beings who apply themselves to dhāraṇī should stay in an isolated place.
They should go to listen to the Dharma. They should wear clean clothes. They should stay on their own. They should observe the
four types of conduct. They should have the wish and inclination to practice various forms of generosity toward Dharma
teachers. They should venerate the Three Jewels. They should not let others influence them. They should never feel
discouraged. They should cultivate diligence constantly, be unwavering, never part from the recollection of the buddhas, train
thoroughly in nonobservation and the lack of characteristics, and practice what they preach. They should faithfully supplicate the
buddhas. They should become skilled in confession, rejoicing, and dedication. They should not behave imprudently. They should
live in places that are free of danger, and where the teachers and masters are present. They should uphold what they have
been taught. They should apply these teachings without becoming weary.”

When the Blessed One gave this Dharma discourse, thirty thousand beings who had not previously given rise to the mind
of awakening now gave rise to the mind of awakening. Five thousand beings gained the pure vision of Dharma that is dust free
and stainless with regard to all phenomena. Thirty thousand bodhisattvas gained the acceptance that phenomena are
nonarising.

The Blessed One then said, “Hearing this Dharma discourse is something
that is cherished dearly by bodhisattva great beings. If one person, for as many eons as there are grains of sand in the
Ganges River, were to fill the trichiliocosm with the seven precious substances and present them as gifts to the Three Jewels,
while another person were to listen to this Dharma
discourse, the latter will have made the best choice. If one person, for a thousand eons, were to engage in the five
perfections excluding the perfection of insight, while another person were to listen to this Dharma discourse, the latter will
have made the best choice. If one person were to serve, venerate, respect, and worship a thousand buddhas in the morning, at
noon, and in the evening, while another were to listen to this Dharma discourse, the latter will have made the best
choice.

“Noble sons, it is for these reasons that I have entrusted you with this Dharma discourse, so that you may preserve
it, carry it, read it aloud, teach it, and copy it. You must preserve this teaching of mine, even at the cost of life and
limb.”

When the Blessed One had said this, the bodhisattva Undaunted, the other bodhisattvas, the monks, and the entire
retinue, as well as the world with its gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas, rejoiced and praised what the Blessed One had said.

This concludes the noble Great Vehicle sūtra “Not Forsaking the Buddha.“

Colophon

Translated, proofed, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Prajñāvarman, the chief editor and
translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, and others.

Notes

Bibliography

Aiming for Accomplishment of Limitless Wisdom Array

ye shes kyi bkod pa mtha’ yas pa bsgrub pa la sems pa
ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་བཀོད་པ་མཐའ་ཡས་པ་བསྒྲུབ་པ་ལ་སེམས་པ།

Born from the Lion’s Virtues and Moving with a Thunder Roar

seng ge’i yon tan las byung ba ’brug gi nga ros ’gro ba
སེང་གེའི་ཡོན་ཏན་ལས་བྱུང་བ་འབྲུག་གི་ང་རོས་འགྲོ་བ།

Glorious Blooming Flower of Precious Qualities

yon tan rin po che’i me tog kun du rgyas pa’i gzi brjid lta bu
ཡོན་ཏན་རིན་པོ་ཆེའི་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་དུ་རྒྱས་པའི་གཟི་བརྗིད་ལྟ་བུ།

Intelligent Light of Insight Displaying Power

shes rab kyi snang bas stobs pa bstan pa’i blo gros
ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་སྣང་བས་སྟོབས་པ་བསྟན་པའི་བློ་གྲོས།

Light of Wisdom

ye shes kyi ’od
ཡེ་ཤེས་ཀྱི་འོད།

Renowned Blooming Flower of Limitless Precious Qualities

yon tan rin po che mtha’ yas pa’i me tog kun du rgyas pa’i rnam par bsgrags pa grags pa
ཡོན་ཏན་རིན་པོ་ཆེ་མཐའ་ཡས་པའི་མེ་ཏོག་ཀུན་དུ་རྒྱས་པའི་རྣམ་པར་བསྒྲགས་པ་གྲགས་པ།

Renowned Brilliant Light

’od kyi gzi brjid rnam par bsgrags pa grags pa
འོད་ཀྱི་གཟི་བརྗིད་རྣམ་པར་བསྒྲགས་པ་གྲགས་པ།

Roar of Vision

rnam par gzigs pa’i nga ro
རྣམ་པར་གཟིགས་པའི་ང་རོ།

Roaring Thunder Cloud from Brahmā

tshangs pa las byung ba ’brug dbyangs sprin gyi nga ro
ཚངས་པ་ལས་བྱུང་བ་འབྲུག་དབྱངས་སྤྲིན་གྱི་ང་རོ།

Undaunted

bag tsha ba med par gnas pa
བག་ཚ་བ་མེད་པར་གནས་པ།

Vanquisher of the Darkness of Sorrow

mya ngan gyi mun pa thams cad nges par ’joms pa
མྱ་ངན་གྱི་མུན་པ་ཐམས་ཅད་ངེས་པར་འཇོམས་པ།

Yeshé Dé

ye shes sde
ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།

Mirage

smig sgyu can
སྨིག་སྒྱུ་ཅན།