Toh 357Lời Sấm Truyền Trên Núi Gośṛṅga (Sừng Bò)

Summary

In this scripture the Buddha Śākyamuni travels miraculously from Rājagṛha with a large
retinue of bodhisattvas, hearers, gods, and other beings to the Central Asian region of Khotan,
which in this discourse has not yet been established as a kingdom but is covered by a great lake.
Once there, the Buddha foretells how this will be the site of a future land called
Virtue, which will contain a blessed stūpa called Gomasalaganda. The Buddha
proceeds to explain to his retinue the excellent qualities of this land, foretelling many future
events, and instructing his disciples how to guard and protect the land for the sake of beings at
that time. At the end of his teaching, the Buddha asks the hearer Śāriputra and the divine king
Vaiśravaṇa to drain the lake, thus diverting the water and rendering the land ready for future
habitation.

Acknowledgements

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the guidance 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 introduction was written by Andreas Doctor and the
84000 editorial team.

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

Introduction

Overview

The Prophecy on Mount Gośṛṅga
is an account of the Buddha Śākyamuni
visiting the ancient Central Asian oasis state of Khotan, and prophesying its future as a
Buddhist kingdom. It is one of a number of canonical texts in the form of prophecies that
furnish Khotan with its Buddhist founding mythology. While other texts (detailed below) relate
how the Buddha prophesied key figures in Khotan’s founding, rule, and protection, this sūtra
provides an account of how the Buddha also established and blessed the landscape itself and
other physical features of the country.

More generally, the text belongs to a category of works that describe the spread of the
Buddhist teachings and their eventual decline. Whereas in many sūtras the term “prophecy”
(vyākaraṇa, which can also mean “revelation” or simply
“explanation”) is used in the specific sense of the Buddha predicting the future awakening to
buddhahood of a particular individual, in the titles of a few texts like the present one it
refers to prophecies of a more general kind.

The Narrative

Together with a large retinue of bodhisattvas, hearers, gods, and other beings, the
Buddha travels miraculously through the sky from Rājagṛha in India to Khotan, which in this
discourse has not yet been established as a country and at the outset remains covered by a giant
lake. Once there, the Buddha visits the lakeshore and the nearby Mount Gośṛṅga. Gośṛṅga means
“cow horn” in Sanskrit and the hill is said to have received this name due to having two pointed
peaks. From the top of Mount Gośṛṅga the Buddha foretells how this will be the site of a future
Buddhist land called Virtue, which will contain a stūpa known as Gomasalaganda and
a range of other sacred temples and monuments. The Buddha continues to explain to his retinue
the excellent qualities of this land, foretelling many future events, and instructing his
disciples how to guard and protect the land for the sake of beings at that time. At the end of
the discourse, the Buddha instructs the great hearer Śāriputra and the divine king Vaiśravaṇa to
drain the lake’s water by using their miraculous powers to crush one of the surrounding
mountains, thus diverting the water and rendering the land ready for future inhabitants.

Khotan and Tibet

The once great city-state of Khotan, called li
yul in Tibetan, is today called Hotan (or Hetian) and is located in China’s Xinjiang province.
An oasis kingdom on the southwest edge of the vast Taklamakhan desert that fills the Tarim
Basin, Khotan lies to the north of the Kunlun mountain range, which divides it from present-day
Ladakh to the southwest and from Western Tibet to the southeast. It was an important trade
center on the southern branch of the Silk Route, which from Kashgar followed the southern side
of the desert through Khotan and Shanshan to Lop Nor and Dunhuang. From the time of the emperor
Aśoka onwards Khotan
became an outpost of Indian culture and gradually, during the first millennium ce, a place where Chinese merchants, monks, and scholars encountered
Indian Buddhist doctrine, practices, and texts. It therefore had an important role in the
transmission of Buddhism to China and the rest of east Asia.

Tibetans, too, may have encountered some aspects of the Indian Buddhist traditions in
Khotan. Khotan was invaded by the Tibetans around the mid-seventh century ce at a time when, during the reigns of Songtsen Gampo and his successors, Tibetan
political and military power were expanding. Khotanese accounts of the time saw the arrival of
the Tibetans as destructive of Buddhist institutions there, and although the Tibetan court had
recently begun to adopt Buddhist culture it is likely that its influence had not yet reached the
far-flung army commanders. However, soon afterwards it appears that Tibetan occupation had
proved relatively benign to Khotan’s Buddhists, and for the next three centuries while Khotan
was twice subject to Tibetan administration the cultural
ties between Tibet and Khotan grew stronger. Indeed, some scholars attribute considerable importance
to Khotan in the establishment of Buddhism in Tibet. Khotanese monks seem to have been welcomed
in Tibet in the early eighth century by the Chinese queen of Tridé Tsukten, father of Trisong
Deutsen, and for several centuries even after the collapse of the Tibetan imperial power in the
mid-ninth century Tibetan and Khotanese monks and scholars were in frequent contact in Dunhuang
and other cultural centers in Central Asia.

The Sūtra in Khotanese and Tibetan Literature

A considerable range of Buddhist literature in Khotanese, mostly Mahāyāna texts and many
represented only by fragmentary manuscripts, has been identified. Khotanese was a Middle Iranian
form of the Indo-European language family that developed from the vernacular of the region and,
written in Brāhmī script, was used in Khotan for Buddhist texts from the sixth century ce onward. Many such texts must have circulated in Tibet as Buddhism took
root there, alongside texts in other Central Asian languages, Chinese, and increasingly—as the
great imperial period of translations gathered pace—in Sanskrit.

The text must have been first translated into Tibetan no later than the early ninth
century, since it is recorded in the Denkarma
and Phangthangma
inventories of Tibetan imperial translations. The sūtra may possibly have been known to the
Chinese monk Xuanzang (600–664 ce), who referenced the legends
contained in this text and associated works when writing about his travels through Khotan, which
he visited in the first half of the seventh century. Interestingly, however, while the sūtra
describes Khotan as a contested wilderness region sought after by various foreign powers, it
foretells a time when the area will gain peace, prosperity, and protection under the governance
of Tibetan and Chinese Buddhist kingdoms. At the time of Xuanzang’s visit, not very long before
the first Tibetan invasion of the country, it is unlikely that any Tibetan governance would have
been foreseen as either Buddhist or benevolent. If the sūtra itself existed in some earlier form
during the first half of the seventh century when the Buddhist rulers of Khotan were clinging to
power in the face of rising threats from neighboring foreign powers, including Tibet and China,
it is likely to have been adapted later to cast Tibet in a more favorable light. Any dating must
therefore remain speculative in the absence of corroborating evidence.

Apart from the Tibetan translation and its presumed Khotanese source text, now lost, the
sūtra is not known to exist in any other Asian language. It has no colophon to aid in
determining who translated it and from what language. However, given both its content and
Xuanzang’s testimony, it seems reasonable to assume that it came to Tibet from Khotan, and
indeed Chomden Rikpai Raltri, the great thirteenth century scholar of Narthang who was
instrumental in producing the first prototype Kangyur, includes it in a list of twenty canonical
works that he believed (with doubt in a few cases) to have been translated into Tibetan from
Khotanese.

Among these texts with a linguistic link to Khotan, a smaller number are works whose
content also focuses on Khotan. Included among them is this sūtra, as well as The Questions of Vimalaprabhā (Vimalaprabhaparipṛcchā, Toh 168), which
prophetically establishes the cast of characters who will play an important role in Khotan’s
history and links them to the Buddha’s lifetime in India. The princess Vimalaprabhā, bodhisattva
daughter of King Ajātaśatru of Magadha, receives a detailed prophecy of her future lives as a
series of important and powerful female figures in Khotan, and especially one life as the
formidable lady Rabngé—sister of the king of one neighboring country, widow of the king of
another, Buddhist nun, and protectress of Khotan. Also related to Khotan are two texts found in
the epistles section of the Tengyur: The Prophecy of the Arhat
Saṅghavardhana (Arhatsaṅghavardhanavyākaraṇa, Toh
4201) relates the future expulsion of Buddhist monks from Khotan and
the difficulties they will encounter as they travel through Tibet to India, while The Prophecy Concerning the Land of Khotan (li’i yul lung bstan pa, Toh 4202) also
relates Saṅghavardhana’s prophecy and then goes on to provide versions of the Buddha’s
prophecies to Vimalaprabhā, Vaiśravaṇa, and others, and of his visit to Khotan as recounted in
the present text, before detailing a long historical account of the country, its rulers, and its
people. Its title, confusingly but
understandably, has sometimes been used to refer to the present text in the Tibetan
literature.

The sūtra itself, and to a greater degree these other texts associated with it, are part
of a wider group of texts that focus on the spread, duration, and eventual decline of the
Buddha’s teachings, and have sometimes been termed “prophecies of decline” or “prophetic
histories.” Many of them include the term “prophecy” (vyākaraṇa) in their title, but unlike the majority of “prophecy”
sūtras in which an individual’s future awakening to buddhahood in another realm is proclaimed,
the prophecies in this group of texts are concerned with broader events in this world, may
contain warnings and advice on how to avoid the most negative outcomes, and recount events that
may range from the mythical to the historical. Curiously, mentions of Khotan feature in texts of
this genre more frequently than might be expected from its relatively modest historical profile,
and the Khotan texts make up a substantial portion of the group, suggesting that the theme may
have been especially popular in Central Asia. One example of the genre that references Khotan
but was probably not translated from a Khotanese source is the Sūryagarbha-mahāvaipulyasūtra (Toh 257) , which briefly tells the story of the Gomasalaganda stūpa that is
also found in the sūtra translated here.

The Text Interpreted as Applying to Nepal

One of the themes central to this text, of a lake being miraculously drained to open a
valley to habitation, is a recurrent legend common to several geographical locations, including
Kashmir as related in the Purāṇas, places in Tibet, and in particular the Kathmandu valley. The legend as
applied to the Kathmandu valley almost certainly had several other sources, but a tendency among
some Tibetan scholars specifically to locate this text in Nepal rather than Khotan appears to
have contributed significantly to the corresponding mythology of the Kathmandu valley, as
related in the much more recent Nepalese Svayambhūpurāṇa and
Vaṃśāvalī, leading to a widespread belief in both Tibet and
Nepal that the land described in this sūtra was—or at least could also be—Nepal, and that
Gośṛṅga was the hill at the western edge of the Kathmandu Valley on which the famous Svayambhū
stūpa rests.

This mistaken location of the narrative seems to have been due to a lack of complete
consensus among Tibetan authors as to what country the name Liyul (li yul, the usual Tibetan name for Khotan) actually refers. Evidence that some early Tibetan authors applied
the name Liyul to Nepal can be inferred from specific refutations of that notion by early
figures like Drolungpa, Sakya Paṇḍita, Chomden Rikpai Raltri, and Rendawa. Confirmation that it nevertheless
persisted into the twentieth century can be seen in the writings of the renowned Tibetan
traveler and scholar Gendun Chopel (1903–51), who felt the need to point out to his countrymen
that this identification is not correct and that the features of the country, as described in
this sūtra and the texts related to it, refer to Khotan.

Western Interest in Khotan and its Literature

The first scholar in the West to take an interest in Khotan seems to have been the
nineteenth century French Sinologist, Abel Rémusat, who in 1820 published a study of Chinese
texts about Khotan. W. Woodville Rockhill drew attention to the Tibetan texts on Khotan in his
Life of the Buddha, published in 1884, while Édouard Chavannes
and Sylvain Lévi published articles mentioning Khotanese texts in 1903 and 1905.

A few years earlier, in 1900, Sir Auriel Stein, the great explorer of Central Asia, set
out for Chinese Turkestan after learning of discoveries of Kharoṣṭhī manuscripts in Kuchā and
Khotan through the writings of Émile Senart and Rudolf Hoernle. In 1907, Stein published a full
account of his archaeological findings together with a wealth of geographical, historical, and
linguistic observations, identifying and describing the sacred geography and architecture
mentioned in this sūtra.

Stein’s initial work on the Tibetan texts was subsequently developed further by
Frederick Thomas, culminating in the publication in 1935 of complete English translations of
this text and of the other closely associated texts mentioned above, The
Questions of Vimalaprabhā (Toh 168), The Prophecy of the Arhat
Saṅghavardhana (Toh 4201) and The Prophecy Concerning the Land
of Khotan (Toh 4202), along with extracts from some other related works.

More recently, in 1967, Ronald Emmerick published translations of the two parts of
The Prophecy Concerning the Land of Khotan (Toh 4202). He also
published translations of other Khotanese works and a guide to Khotanese literature. A useful
article by Sam van Schaik published in 2016 summarizes published studies on Khotanese literature
in general and on Khotanese works discovered at Dunhuang, including studies by Karashima,
Kumamoto, Skjaervø, van Schaik, and Zhang and Rong.

This English translation was prepared based on the Tibetan translation in the Degé
Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (Tib. dpe bsdur
ma) and the Stok Palace Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra

The Prophecy on Mount Gośṛṅga

Homage to the blessed Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Buddha Śākyamuni, the god of gods who had attained
perfect awakening through the ripening of
merit
accumulated over three countless eons and then brought disciples throughout the various regions
of Jambudvīpa to maturity, was
residing in Rājagṛha, at the place of the mighty great sages, in the direction of the Vaiśalī region. He was there together with a great retinue of many bodhisattvas,
such as the bodhisattva great being noble Maitreya; one thousand two hundred and fifty great
hearers, such as the elders Śāriputra and Maudgalyāyana; many gods such as Brahmā and Śakra;
many world protectors such as the divine king Vaiśravaṇa; many great nāga kings; many mighty
yakṣas; many gandharvas, such as the gandharva king Pañcaśikha; many kinnaras such as the
kinnara king Delightful; and many human kings of the Jambudvīpa continent, such as King
Bimbisāra.

At that moment, the Buddha Śākyamuni, the god of gods, had a premonition and foresaw the
future of a land called Virtue,
and thus he said to his vast retinue, “Noble children, in the north on the shore of River Goma,
near Mount Gośṛṅga, is the palace of the mighty great sages—a stūpa called Gomasalaganda. There
are deeds that must, without doubt, be performed there. Now the time to travel there has
come.”

The Blessed Buddha, the god of gods, together with most of his retinue then rose up into
the sky. The gandharva king Pañcaśikha and countless other gandharvas played many divine
instruments in front, and the kinnara king Delightful and many other kinnaras made offerings
from above as the Blessed Buddha was praised in enchanting tunes and divine voices. In the midst
of that retinue and their homage he proceeded to Mount Gośṛṅga. Having arrived there, the
Blessed Buddha, the god of gods, stood facing north and gazed for a long time at the large
ocean-like lake. With his body
upright, he immersed himself in many billions of meditative absorptions of the thus-gone ones.
After three countless eons, he had actualized the conduct, aspirations, and merit of a buddha. Right
then, the Blessed Buddha, the god of gods, blessed Mount Gośṛṅga, the land of
Virtue, and everything else from the golden base all the way up to the peak of
existence. He granted it protection, purified it, established auspiciousness, secured its
boundaries, engaged in recitation, and
performed virtue.

The Blessed Buddha, the god of gods, then announced to the entire retinue, “Mount
Gośṛṅga, along with the Gomasalaganda stūpa—the palace of the blessed ones—and this land of
Virtue constitute insignia, distinctions, hallmarks, and distinctive features
of all the blessed buddhas of the excellent eon. It is for that reason that this land is called
Virtue.”

The Blessed Buddha, the god of gods, next prophesied the coming of all the meritorious
and virtue-performing kings, the faithful ones endowed with the Dharma, the patrons, and all the
people of Khotan yet to appear in the land of Virtue, Virtuous Castle, as well as
the individual saṅgha enclaves, temples, and hermitages.

At this point, the Blessed One told the bodhisattvas, “Noble children, you must also by
all means bless this place so that, in the future, beings here may swiftly attain the utterly
sublime and so that they will accomplish meditative absorption.”

Having said these words, the Blessed One retreated slightly from the lake shore.
Immediately he was seated cross-legged upon a throne arranged at the peak of Mount Gośṛṅga.
Facing west, he looked toward the Gomasalaganda stūpa, the palace of the blessed ones. At that moment, twenty thousand
bodhisattvas from other world systems and many sages endowed with the five superknowledges
arrived together before the Blessed One. Having arrived, they prostrated to the Gomasalaganda
stūpa, the palace of the blessed ones, and went there to take refuge. They also prostrated and
went for refuge to the Blessed Buddha and his retinue, and then stood together to one side.

At that moment the Blessed Buddha was aware that the majority of the retinue had
gathered, so he addressed the retinue: “Previously in this excellent eon four blessed ones
appeared and they too blessed this Gomasalaganda stūpa as well as this country. In the future,
during this excellent eon, one thousand and one buddhas will appear, and they too will all come
here with their retinues and bless this Gomasalaganda stūpa and this country. They will secure
its boundaries and establish auspiciousness and virtue. Now the time has come for me too to
bless it, so I will do so.”

The Blessed Buddha, the god of gods, now rested in the meditative absorption called
the presence of present buddhas and countless other absorptions of the
thus-gone ones. At that time, the bodhisattva Mahāsthāmprāpta, nurturer of those who are
resting in absorption and engaged in the concentrations, sat in front of the Buddha Kāśyapa’s
stūpa. He blessed that area so that in the future people would construct an image of him in that
region. Likewise, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, who engages in vast aspirations,
blessed the ground on Mount Gośṛṅga where a temple called Relinquishing was to appear, so that
all those who come to that place could fulfill their aims. Likewise, the bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, who has strength that
is as immeasurable as space, blessed the area where a temple called Relinquishing the
Personality was to appear, so that it could become a place of worship. Likewise, the bodhisattva
noble Avalokiteśvara, who is endowed with great compassion, blessed the ground where a temple
called Radiant was to appear, so that the attainments could be accomplished there. Likewise, the
bodhisattva Maitreya, who is endowed with constant love, blessed the ground where a temple
called Visimonya was to appear, so that he could reside there. Likewise, the bodhisattva
Kṣitigarbha, who has impeccable conduct, blessed the ground where a temple called Wisdom
Mountain was to appear, so that that place would be worthy of homage. Likewise, the bodhisattva
Bhaiṣajyarāja, who possesses an unlimited ability to liberate beings to be trained, blessed the
ground where a temple called Vanoco was to appear, so that the attainments could be accomplished
there. Likewise, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra, who possesses great miraculous powers, blessed
the ground where a temple called Sustaining the Saṅgha was to appear, so that the attainments
could be accomplished there.

In this way, the Blessed Buddha, the other bodhisattvas, and all of the great worthy
ones blessed the ground for all the temples, parks, and hermitages that were to appear
throughout the land of Khotan so that they would be as beautiful, delightful, prosperous, and enchanting as the full moon encircled by the
constellations of stars, orbiting through a clear sky.

While the Blessed Buddha was present at Mount Gośṛṅga, all the bodhisattva great beings
and the great worthy ones projected an array of light rays that illuminated the entire land of
Khotan. At that very moment, three hundred and fifty-three lotuses emerged from the vast lake
there. Inside each of these lotuses appeared the bodies of buddhas and bodhisattvas glowing with
light. At that moment, the gods, seeing these signs—signs the likes of which they had never seen
before—inquired of the Blessed Buddha as to their meaning.

The Blessed One replied, “Noble children, the appearance of these three hundred and
fifty-three lotuses containing the bodies of the buddhas and bodhisattvas is a portent that in
the future, when this land manifests, there will appear here, equal in number to these lotuses,
hermitages and temples where the gong will be struck. This is a portent that in all of these
places—the places where the land has been blessed by bodhisattva great beings, great hearers,
and the array of projected light rays, and where I have blessed the Gomasalaganda stūpa, the
palace of the thus-gone ones, and this land of Virtue—faithful patrons will all
fashion images of the Buddha and others, and that whoever arrives in these places will
accomplish all their wishes.”

At this point, the gods rose from their seats and asked the Blessed One, “Respected
Blessed One, at what point in time will this land appear? Who will be its founders? Esteemed Blessed One, it is now a
wilderness with an abundance of water, so who will be the founders, and how?”

The Blessed One replied, “Noble children, listen. One hundred years after my nirvāṇa,
there will appear in China a king called Cayang, who will have a thousand sons. He will order
each of his sons to search for a piece of virgin land. Later on, he will hear that in the west
there is a hill called Gośṛṅga and a land containing the Gomasalaganda stūpa, the palace of the
thus-gone ones, which have been blessed by many thus-gone ones. Hearing this, he will think,
‘Oh, if only I had another son, I would send him to cultivate that land, which has been blessed
by so many buddhas.’ At that time, that Chinese king will request Vaiśravaṇa to grant him a son.
But Vaiśravaṇa will grant him a son of King Aśoka, here in Jambudvīpa. This
boy will have an excellent body, a beautiful appearance, and he will be a delight to the eyes.
For this boy, a breast will appear from the ground and, through the strength of his previous
merits and roots of virtue, he will suckle this breast. As a result, he will become known by the
name Suckler of the Earth Breast. He will mature quickly, and his father, the Chinese king, will
confer royal power upon him, bestow upon him a mass of wealth, and assign most of the ministers
as his servants. The prince Suckler of the Earth Breast, together with a senior minister called
Jangsho and many soldiers, will then leave China and come to this land. Arriving here, they will
cultivate the land and, in order to found the country, Prince Suckler of the Earth Breast will
name the place Land of Suckler of the Earth Breast.

“At that time, many Indian people will travel here from the west and request to become
subjects of King Suckler of the Earth Breast. Thus, that single kingdom will contain various
people. The Chinese senior
minister Jangsho, together with others, will then gradually found both Chinese and Indian
villages, towns, and markets. In that way, King Suckler of the Earth Breast and his descendants
will rule over these lands for many generations. Each of these kings will, in turn, build
hermitages and temples and offer them irrigation water, subjects, and counsel. Some of them will
even go forth as monks themselves. Some of them will have their sons and daughters go forth.
Some of them will allow countless numbers of their subjects to go forth. In this land, there
will appear many people with the nature of bodhisattvas, who will constantly gather roots of
virtue and engage in meritorious deeds based on the Three Jewels. In this way, King Suckler of
the Earth Breast will establish this land.

“Each time a buddha appears, this land will appear and flourish. Why is it that, while
other lands deteriorate and then remain empty and desolate for a long time, the land
Virtue is adorned and beautified by people each time a buddha appears? It is
because this land is the dwelling place of the saintly great sage, the domain of the thus-gone
ones, the locale of the Gomasalaganda stūpa, which is near Mount Gośṛṅga and on the banks of the
River Goma. This stūpa is called Gomasalaganda in the sūtras. In ordinary parlance, however, it
is called ‘On the Bank of River Goma.’ Thus, for as long as that stūpa called On the Bank of
River Goma, as well as Kāśyapa’s stūpa, flourish and are sites of worship, the land of
Virtue will also flourish and prosper. Whenever these two stūpas fall into
decline, this land will also fall into decline and become empty.”

Having heard the Blessed One’s explanation, the retinue of gods gathered there gained great faith and veneration
for the Gomasalaganda stūpa and Mount Gośṛṅga. They bowed down to the Blessed Buddha and went to
him to take refuge. Then, in the Blessed One’s presence they made this aspiration: “At that
time, may we take birth in that land within eminent families and guard the Well-Gone One’s
teaching so that the righteous laws of the land never weaken!”

At that moment the Blessed One addressed the divine king Vaiśravaṇa, the bodhisattva
great being Perceptive, the god of gods Ajita, the nāga king Gṛhadāha, the god Song of the Sky,
the god Golden Garland, the goddess Hook Bearer, and the goddess Stable: “Noble children, I
entrust to you the Gomasalaganda stūpa, Mount Gośṛṅga and its land, together with my teachings
and my offspring. Be sure to guard them, protect them, nurture them, and pay homage to them! I
entrust to you the monarchs of this land, the governing ministers, and all the patrons who act
in accord with the Dharma. Protect them accordingly! I also entrust to you this discourse that
describes Mount Gośṛṅga, so you must propagate and spread it! If at some point this land is
endangered and ravaged by fire, water, or foreign armies, if you read this discourse, or recite
it, pay homage to it, reflect upon it, and meditate upon it, the destructive forces afflicting
this land will be pacified.

“In the future, due to the ripening of sentient beings’ former actions, the Sumpa and
Tibetan people will come to this land. At that time, you must propound this discourse, for when
they hear this discourse, then through its inherent power and the blessings of the gods, those
faithless people will not
devastate the land but rather feel remorse. In the future, the Chinese will also come to this
land. At that time, you must propound this discourse, for upon hearing it, they will give rise
to faith, and through the strength of their faith, they will not inflict any harm on this land.
Rather, they will grant it protection and engage in meritorious deeds. This being so, this
discourse will be of benefit for this land. There are so many other benefits of this discourse,
but it is not possible to mention them all in a short time. Therefore, I entrust this discourse
to you.”

Vaiśravaṇa and the other gods, the nāga king, and the goddesses together with their
retinues stood up. They kneeled down before the Blessed One and with their palms joined,
exclaimed, “Respected Blessed One, we place the Blessed One’s commandment on the crown of our
heads!” They then continued, “Just as the Teacher, the Blessed One, has instructed, we will
guard the Gomasalaganda stūpa, Mount Gośṛṅga, and its land. We will guard the Well-Gone One’s
teaching, the monarchs who act in accord with the Dharma, those who have gone forth, governors
who act in accord with the Dharma, patrons who act in accord with the Dharma, and all those
engaged in meritorious deeds. Blessed One, for as long as the Three Jewels are venerated in this
land and for as long as the governors rule the land in accord with the Dharma and do not protect
those who act in ways contrary to the Dharma, we will be able to guard this land. To ensure that
this discourse may remain in the land of Khotan for a long time, we will make sure that the
kings and ministers in the border regions surrounding Khotan hear that the Blessed One has
taught this discourse at Mount Gośṛṅga for the benefit of the land of Khotan. We will make sure
that they receive it in their hands and that their minds are transformed.

“Blessed One, when the Three Jewels are no longer venerated in this land and when those
who act in ways contrary to the Dharma are protected here, our splendor and might will decline
so that we are no longer able to guard this land. Why? Because our might and splendor grow from
the Well-Gone One’s teaching, from the land being correctly governed in accord with the Dharma,
and from the roots of virtue engendered through meritorious deeds.”

Right then, the Blessed Buddha rose from his seat and from the edge of the peak of Mount
Gośṛṅga he gazed toward the Gomasalaganda stūpa. Repeatedly—twice, thrice—he blessed the
Gomasalaganda stūpa, the domain of the thus-gone ones, as well as Mount Gośṛṅga and the whole
region. He thus suffused the entire land of Khotan and all the countless beings dwelling in the
lake there with light rays and great compassion. The light rays and his great compassion quelled
all the sufferings of those beings dwelling in the water, freed them from anger and resentment,
imbued them with loving kindness, and endowed them with the happiness of the gods. In that very
instant, an uncountable number of those beings changed lives and were reborn as gods and humans.
They acquired the seed for awakening, and their progress toward awakening became
irreversible.

The Blessed One then called out to the gods three times and addressed them thus: “Noble
children, these pledges of yours will not be fulfilled without perseverance. Noble children, I
entrust to you this teaching of mine for which I underwent hardships for three countless eons. I
also entrust to you the Gomasalaganda stūpa and its land. Guard them closely. All of you, in whatever you do,
should recall me, retain and protect the teachings, and thereby closely guard all those who have
gone forth under this teaching. Why, you may wonder? Some householders might gather roots of
virtue and create vast amounts of merit each day for a hundred years, yet this would not amount
to even one percent of the merit of someone who abides by the teachings for just a single day
after going forth. Why is that? Because all of the buddhas, who are equal in number to the
grains of sand in the Ganges River, have first given up their life as householders and gone
forth, and attained awakening through that lifestyle.

“I too—having completed the six perfections, attained the tenth level, and entered my
last life in cyclic existence—left the royal compound at midnight and went to the forest. From
the forest I sent my mount to my father, the king. I then cut off my hair with my sword and gave
hunters my fine, priceless clothes in exchange for saffron-colored Dharma robes. Donning those
Dharma robes, I paid homage to all the buddhas of the three times, went to them for refuge, and
then assumed the lifestyle of one who has gone forth. All of the gods then paid homage to
me, went to
me for refuge, and followed my lead. Thus, I too attained perfect awakening through that
lifestyle. For this reason, understand that the Well-Gone One’s teaching is sublime. Understand
that to go forth is to possess merit. In this world it has never been seen or heard that someone
with the trappings of a householder attained the states of a worthy one, a self-realized buddha,
or unsurpassable awakening; such states are only attained by going forth. The sublime lifestyle
of one who has gone forth is an object of veneration by all the gods and others in this
world.”

All of the gods and goddesses now rose from their seats and pledged to the Blessed
Buddha in unison, “Respected
Blessed One, we will do as the Blessed One has instructed. We will not intentionally transgress
your instructions. Here in this land we will fully guard, nurture, and uphold the Buddha’s
teaching and the stūpa that is the domain of the thus-gone ones. Blessed One, please endow us
with strength! Why? Because in the future age of conflict, many enemies, faithless people, and
adversaries who have yet to gain the special quality of faith in the Well-Gone One’s teaching
will come to this blessed land and persistently attempt to destroy the teaching.”

The Blessed One then expressed his approval to the gods, saying, “Sublime beings,
excellent! Excellent! I have blessed this land and due to those blessings its boundaries have
been secured. In the future age of conflict, great armies of the Sumpa people, different clans
of Drugu people, people from Hor, and other faithless people will come to destroy this land. At
that time, blessed images of thus-gone ones will arrive here from other lands and they will
guard the land’s borders. Through the strength of that merit, this land will never be completely
destroyed. Many bodhisattvas, gods, and mighty nāgas will follow these images and they will help
avert harm in many regions. Enemies will be unable to destroy the land. From Blissful Castle an
image of the thus-gone Source of Bliss will appear. It will then reside at Koshé Castle and
thereby guard the borders of the land. In the northern lands, an image called Shenazha of the
thus-gone Shenazha will emerge from underground and guard the land’s borders. An image of the
Thus-Gone One, called Kiulang, will appear and reside in the eastern region at Sand Castle and
guard the land’s borders. An image of the Thus-Gone One, called Chisé, will appear and remain in
front of Kāśyapa’s stūpa on Mount Gośṛṅga in the north. It will generate roots of virtue for the
monks living in hermitages there and will guard the Thus-Gone One’s teaching and the land’s
borders. In Virtuous Castle, an image of the Thus-Gone One, called Abiding in the Royal Palace,
will remain in the Kasadizé market and guard Virtuous Castle and the borders of its land. King
Yola will discuss plans to build a castle on the land called Nyomonya. There, an image of the
Thus-Gone One, called Chugönpana, will abide and guard Virtuous Castle and the borders of its
land.

“In Dinadzya Temple a cast image of the thus-gone Dīpaṅkara will arrive. This image will be the
first cast image made in Jambudvīpa. People will name this image ‘the circulating Dīpaṅkara.’ It
will become an example for all other cast images made throughout Khotan and it will guard the
Well-Gone One’s teaching and the land. Moreover, an image of the thus-gone Prabhūtaratna will
come to the center of the land and secure the boundaries in all ten directions. For as long as
images of the thus-gone ones abide in the various directions and are venerated, this land will not be destroyed. If the
people born in this land, or people from other lands feel heartfelt faith and devotion for these
images of the thus-gone ones, feel deeply inspired by them, and think, “These images of the
thus-gone ones have come here to guard this land,” the images will benefit them as if they were
the Buddha in person. Why? Because these images are blessed by me and by all the buddhas of the
three times.

“Furthermore, a large image of me will be brought to this land by chariot. It will be
installed in Virtuous Castle and be taken as a major object of veneration. As a result, wealthy
merchants from other lands in all directions will come here and all negative forces will be
pacified. Two hundred and eight images of the thus-gone ones, together with the Kāśyapa stūpa,
will appear in this land. Each of them will display great miracles, purify the grave misdeeds of
sentient beings, and dispel negative forces.

“If it so happens that some negative forces and causes of fear and terror do appear in
this land, people should resort to the five regions for the sake of the country. If the king, or
the ministers and governors of the land wish to create merit through the Well-Gone One’s
teachings in order to free the land from fear, they should create merit at Tsarma Temple. Why?
Because the faith and correct view of the people of this land are born in that temple. If at
some point the king, or the ministers and governors of Khotan are faced with many kinds of
negative forces, they should circumambulate Mount Gośṛṅga—that place where in the past the
perfect buddhas were seated. If
the people of this land wish to purify their negative karma, they should make confessions before
the Gomasalaganda stūpa. Why? Because this stūpa is like the buddha in person; whoever
circumambulates it, or venerates it with flowers, incense, song, or music can diminish even the
five deeds with immediate retribution, not to mention other negative acts. If the king,
ministers, and governors of this land wish to take a vow of great discipline, they should take
such a vow from the saṅgha at
Mount Gośṛṅga, where the Thus-Gone One’s image called Chisé and
the Kāśyapa stūpa are. Why? Because in this land, perfect Dharma conduct and
impeccable discipline will arise there. If some people in this land find themselves facing grave
privation, they should go
for refuge to the noble saṅgha living at Mount Gośṛṅga. Thereby they will be freed from their
privation. Why? Because many thousands of people will gain liberation in that locale and it will
remain until the end of time and not disappear. For these reasons, Mount Gośṛṅga, the
Gomasalaganda stūpa, and its land are the site where the thus-gone ones assemble.”

At that moment, twenty thousand bodhisattvas arrived from the buddha realms in the ten
directions. They bowed toward the Blessed One with palms joined, and in a single voice said,
“Blessed One, we too will sustain and guard this land and the Thus-Gone One’s domain of
activities here in a variety of ways. For as long as the Well-Gone One’s
teachings and the Three Jewels remain, and for as long as the kings, ministers, and others
maintain discipline, have faith, and rule the land in accord with the Dharma, we will not
forsake this land. We will
continue to come here and, assuming whatever behavior and attire may be appropriate, we will
fully ripen vast merit in a great number of beings, generate within them the wish to attain
buddhahood, help them rest in concentration and absorption, and establish them irreversibly in
buddhahood. In order to take these kinds of rebirth, some will take birth in the royal line,
some will go forth into homelessness, while still others will assume the attire of
householders.”

The Blessed One replied, “Noble children, excellent! Excellent! Noble children, may you
gain the strength to do this—to ensure that all sentient beings within this land, the domain of
all the buddhas of the Excellent Eon, proceed irreversibly to buddhahood!”

The gods Vaiśravaṇa and Ajita, together with all of the other gods present, then said to
the Blessed One, “Blessed One, please imbue these bodhisattva great beings with strength so that
they may guard this land. Blessed One, through your blessings and power we too will guard the
thus-gone ones’ domain and this land that has been blessed. We will not let it disappear. We
will exert ourselves in this with great perseverance. If wild people, such as the faithless
Drugu, or if armies from Hor and Sumpa come here, we will cause infighting between them, incite
discord within their own troops, and make them perish. Alternatively, to ensure that they do not
come here under any circumstances, so that they are unable to destroy the Thus-Gone One’s
teachings, we will cause them to fall under the control of others. If Chinese armies come here,
we will inspire them with faith, and ensure that they bring benefit to this land and in the
future create great virtue through performing meritorious deeds here. When at some point they inflict harm upon the
beings of this land, we will once more engender faith in them and ensure that they comprehend
this discourse. When in the future they seek control over the objects of the Three Jewels, seize
power, and cause harm to meritorious beings, at that time we will empower and dispatch many of
the yakṣas in our retinue—those who have faith as well as some who lack faith—to ensure that
prolonged decline occurs in that country, and that they experience famine, disease, and attacks
from foreign armies that make them unable to destroy this
land.
Even if they should plunder any wealth from the land of Khotan, we shall ensure that it brings
them bad luck. Whichever country they visit, we will ensure that they are met not with
hospitality but with rebellion. We will ensure that their governors and military leaders face
decline. It should be known that it will be the same for the Tibetan army. When the land is
ruled and protected in harmony with the Dharma, we will nurture it and make it victorious.
However, when the Well-Gone One’s teaching is destroyed and the people of the land are harmed,
we will ensure that the army will be riven by internal strife and that the military leaders will
suffer a great decline. As for the
details, it will occur just as already explained.

“In the future, there will be some kings and ministers of this land who will be full of
deceit. They will have little merit and no faith. They will lust insatiably after the property of the Three Jewels. They will contravene the
rules of the country. They will pursue grandeur without paying attention to their wealth, and
they will oppose those with merit by discrediting them. They will be shameless, flawed, and
insatiable when it comes to sensual pleasures. They will feel offended by those who have gone
forth. When these things happen
we will drive them out from this land and expel them to other inferior lands. In these ways, we
will sustain and guard this land.

“Blessed One, in the future, during the age of conflict, there will appear demonic
beings who will seek to destroy this land. These evildoers will be powerful. They will cause
beings throughout the lands to lose their faith. There will be many of them—gods, nāgas, yakṣas,
and rākṣasas—all with wicked and savage minds. If we are unable to bring these beings under our
control, to what means should we turn?”

“Noble children,” the Blessed One replied, “do not be disheartened. Why not? In this
world of the four continents there live many bodhisattvas, mighty gods, nāgas, and yakṣas who
have attained the levels. Make elaborate offerings to them with a gentle state of mind, and at
blessed places, such as the Gomasalaganda stūpa and the Tsarma Temple, you should resound a
great number of the extensive Great Vehicle discourses, such as the Perfection of Wisdom, the Great Assembly, the Ornaments of the Buddhas, and the Heap of
Jewels. Bodhisattvas on the ten levels—such beings with power and might— from other
lands will then come to this land. Here they will let beings savor the taste of the Dharma and
ensure they do not transgress the commitments of the thus-gone ones of the three times. They
will guard the domain and the land of the buddhas of the Excellent Eon. They will also guard the
people and teachings in this land.

“Moreover, in the future, the king of this land Virtue will grow weak, and
this infirmity will render him unable to rule the land independently. As a result, the king will
seek protection from other faithful monarchs, such as the Tibetan and Chinese kings, and they
will proceed to protect the land. Why? Because in the future, the Three Jewels will be present and widely venerated in the
lands of China and Tibet. Those lands will also become the abodes of bodhisattva great beings.
The people in those lands will pursue the path of great awakening, have faith in the Great
Vehicle, and exert themselves in meditative absorption. Through their power and might, the
people of Khotan and the Three Jewels will not be destroyed.

“All of you sublime beings, you must also by all means ensure that the kings and
ministers of Tibet and China pay service to the Gomasalaganda stūpa and this land of
Virtue. You must cause them to perform extensive virtue through meritorious
acts. When people from this land travel to foreign border lands where people lack faith, you
must relieve them of their suffering and ensure their easy return to their homeland. Thus, you
should transform their minds so they come to adopt the correct view and take delight in merit.
Through the strength of these roots of virtue, sublime beings, your roots of virtue, and your
luster, splendor, and retinues will increase and you will draw closer and closer to buddhahood.
Repay the kindness of the instructions of the thus-gone ones of the three times! In this way,
the people of this land will adopt the bodhisattva deeds that make them irreversible. They will
possess compassion and truth. They will be generous, free of jealousy and resentment, have
gratitude, delight in the Dharma, have the correct view, be free of all wrong views, and be
gentle-minded. Because of this they shall be called people from the land of Virtue.
Even the castle in this land will be filled with loving and gentle-minded people and adorned
with several stūpas and temples.
For that reason, the castle is called Virtuous Castle.

“When faithless beings, hostile and antagonistic, come here from other lands, their
minds will be transformed simply by touching the sand in this region and by partaking of the
food grown in this land. They will become gentle, mild, and loving, free of anger and
resentment. They will develop faith and they will not perform misdeeds in this land. Such are
the numerous qualities of this land.”

The Blessed Buddha, having previously blessed the land three times, now emitted light
rays infused with great compassion, which purified the minds of all of the beings there who were
living in the water and filled them with happiness. The light then re-emerged from the water and
spread out in all the buddha realms in the ten directions. The light rays then returned and
merged with the light rays of the places blessed by the bodhisattva great beings, the light rays
of the places blessed by the great hearers, and the light rays of the images of the thus-gone
ones seated upon the lotuses that had emerged upon the lake. At that point, the rays exploded
upward into the atmosphere, covering the sky above, and a rain of divine flowers showered down
upon the entire land of Khotan.

As these divine flowers touched one another, sounds of the following gateways of Dharma
rang out: the names of Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha; the correct view; insight; discipline; roots
of virtue; the austerities performed by the thus-gone ones; their aspirations; the bodhisattvas’
miraculous feats and the ways they ripen sentient beings; the four results of spiritual
practitioners: stream enterer, once-returner, non-returner, and worthy one; escape from the
existences of the three realms;
the three gateways of liberation; destruction of the karmic formations; the applications of
mindfulness; the truths of noble ones; the bases of miraculous absorption; concentration; the
means of attracting disciples; correct discrimination; the four formless attainments; the purity
of the faculties; and all the teachings that are in accord with the factors of awakening.

Moreover, there also arose sounds pertaining to the pure mind; the branches of
awakening; the noble path; the attainments; the strength of the spiritual levels; great
compassion and love; dependent origination; dispelling doubt; proceeding irreversibly toward
buddhahood; meditative absorption; clear realization; acceptance that phenomena are unborn; the
distinct qualities; the transformation into buddhahood; the impermanent, unsatisfactory,
selfless, and empty; the unproduced; the unborn; the unmistaken; the limit of reality; the
realization of nonconceptual wisdom that is implicit in buddha nature; the domain of the
personally realized self-awareness of practitioners; and the sufferings of birth, aging, parting
from what is dear, encountering what is disliked, and being unable to fulfill one’s desires.

Moreover, the following sounds occurred: “within the five aggregates there is no
sentient being, nor any soul, person, or life-force”; “the truth of phenomena is that all things
are without birth, without cessation, without permanence, without annihilation, without coming,
and without going”; “the lineage of the Three Jewels”; “blessings”; and “the delusion of the
five types of beings is like a dream, and the formations of cyclic existence are like a prison,
and like an illusion, a mirage, a reflection of the moon in water, and an echo.” Moreover, the
following other sounds occurred: “faith”; “clear realization”; “diligence”; “the path of the ten
virtuous deeds”; “disenchantment with saṃsāra”; and hundreds, as well as thousands of other such
sounds.

All of the many assembled retinues, as well as the bodhisattvas who had arrived there
from various other places, the gods and nāgas living on the earth, and the celestial gods and
yakṣas, were all filled with wonder and rapture and they gained confidence in those sounds of
gateways of Dharma.

In order to facilitate their understanding, the bodhisattva great being
Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta then asked the Blessed One, “Blessed One, for what purpose was this great
miracle displayed?”

The Blessed One replied in a voice like that of Brahmā, “Mañjuśrī, these gateways of
Dharma, which yield great blessings, were taught for the benefit of those who are to be born in
the land of Virtue and for the benefit of the fourfold retinue. Through these
gateways of Dharma, bodhisattvas will purify their faculties and consciousness with only a
little hardship and a little effort and they will come to directly realize these gateways of
Dharma. Beings of the future, from young children upward, will take joy in the realization of
the Dharma and they will talk about these gateways of Dharma even in their games. Such sentient
beings, by developing their faculties in this way, will purify the eye of Dharma and will
thereby behold the bodies of the thus-gone ones. Purifying the ear of Dharma, they will hear and
receive the Dharma. Their minds will be freed from all the formations and phenomena in saṃsāra.
With such minds, they will exert themselves in virtue here in this blessed wilderness, or they
will live on Mount Gośṛṅga and will all gain realization there. Evil Māra himself will be unable
to harm them, let alone anyone else. It is like this. Even if the gods were to penalize and
punish the retinues of yakṣas, gandharvas, or kinnaras, if these beings were to take shelter at
the Gomasalaganda stūpa and Mount Gośṛṅga, the gods would be unable to see them. Even if they
should happen to see them, their minds would become peaceful. For this reason, Mount Gośṛṅga and
the Gomasalaganda stūpa are an asylum, a sanctuary, and a haven. They are worthy of homage by beings
living in other worlds. Simply to feel faith upon hearing the names of the Gomasalaganda stūpa,
Mount Gośṛṅga, the land of Virtue, Virtuous Castle, and the blessed hermitages will
purify grave misdeeds.”

The Blessed One then told venerable Śāriputra and Vaiśravaṇa, “Noble sons, you two go
and cut down Sha Mountain and transfer this large lake into the Gyisho River in
the north. Thus, without harming any beings living in the water, you must guard and demarcate
this land.”

The great hearer Śāriputra and Vaiśravaṇa said in response, “We shall do as you
instruct.” Then they flew miraculously through the sky in the direction of Sha Mountain.
Śāriputra held in his hand a staff and Vaiśravaṇa held a spear, and with these they cleaved Sha
Mountain into two, picked up the pieces, and placed them down in the west. Thus, they created a
large riverbank through which the lake with all the animals living therein was diverted into the
Gyisho River. In this manner, the Gomasalaganda stūpa, Mount Gośṛṅga, and the
land of Khotan were brought into being.

At this point, the Blessed One entrusted the Gomasalaganda stūpa and the other places to
the eight bodhisattva great beings such as noble Avalokiteśvara and Maitreya, the twenty
thousand bodhisattvas, the sages, the eight great gods such as Vaiśravaṇa and Gṛhadāha, and the
remaining retinue of thirty-five thousand five hundred beings. All of the gods also accepted
this entrustment. The Blessed One bestowed it accordingly.

When the Blessed One had thus spoken, the entire assembly rejoiced and praised what the
Blessed One had said.

This completes The Noble Great Vehicle Sūtra “The Prophecy on Mount
Gośṛṅga.”

Notes

Abbreviations

KY

Yongle (g.yung lo) Kangyur

K
Kangxi Kangyur

Bibliography

Primary Sources in Tibetan

Secondary Sources

Abiding in the Royal Palace

rgyal po’i pho brang gnas
རྒྱལ་པོའི་ཕོ་བྲང་གནས།

Cayang

ca yang
ཅ་ཡང་།

Chisé

phyi se
ཕྱི་སེ།

Chomden Rikpai Raltri

bcom ldan rigs pa’i ral gri
བཅོམ་ལྡན་རིགས་པའི་རལ་གྲི།

Chugönpana

cu gon pa na
ཅུ་གོན་པ་ན།

Delightful

yid ’ong
ཡིད་འོང་།

Drugu

gru gu
གྲུ་གུ

Golden Garland

gser gyi phreng ba can
གསེར་གྱི་ཕྲེང་བ་ཅན།

Hook Bearer

lcags kyu can
ལྕགས་ཀྱུ་ཅན།

Hor

hor
ཧོར།

Jangsho

jang sho
ཇང་ཤོ།

King Yola

rgyal po yo la
རྒྱལ་པོ་ཡོ་ལ།

Kiulang

ki’u lang
ཀིའུ་ལང་།

Perceptive

’du shes can
འདུ་ཤེས་ཅན།

Shenazha

she na zha
ཤེ་ན་ཞ།

Song of the Sky

nam mkha’i dbyangs
ནམ་མཁའི་དབྱངས།

Source of Bliss

bde ba’i ’byung gnas
བདེ་བའི་འབྱུང་གནས།

Stable

gnas can
གནས་ཅན།

Suckler of the Earth Breast

sa las nu ma nu
ས་ལས་ནུ་མ་ནུ།

Sumpa

sum pa
སུམ་པ།

Blissful Castle

mkhar bde ba can
མཁར་བདེ་བ་ཅན།

Dinadzya Temple

gtsug lag khang di na dzya
གཙུག་ལག་ཁང་དི་ན་ཛྱ།

Goma

go ma
གོ་མ།

Gomasalaganda

go ma sa la gan da
གོ་མ་ས་ལ་གན་ད།

Gyisho River

gyi sho gtsang po
གྱི་ཤོ་གཙང་པོ།

Kasadizé

tshong ’dus ka sa di ze
ཚོང་འདུས་ཀ་ས་དི་ཟེ།

Khotan

li yul
ལི་ཡུལ།

Koshé Castle

mkhar ko shed
མཁར་ཀོ་ཤེད།

Land of Suckler of the Earth Breast

sa las nu ma nu’i yul
ས་ལས་ནུ་མ་ནུའི་ཡུལ།

Mount Gośṛṅga

ri glang ru
རི་གླང་རུ།

Nyomonya

nyo mo nya
ཉོ་མོ་ཉ།

Radiant

’od can
འོད་ཅན།

Relinquishing

spong byed
སྤོང་བྱེད།

Relinquishing the Personality

’jig tshogs spong byed
འཇིག་ཚོགས་སྤོང་བྱེད།

Sand Castle

mkhar phye ma
མཁར་ཕྱེ་མ།

Sha Mountain

sha’i ri
ཤའི་རི།

Sustaining the Saṅgha

dge ’dun skyong
དགེ་འདུན་སྐྱོང་།

Tsarma Temple

gtsug lag khang tshar ma
གཙུག་ལག་ཁང་ཚར་མ།

Vanoco

ba no co
བ་ནོ་ཅོ།

Virtue

dge ba
དགེ་བ།

Virtuous Castle

mkhar dge ba can
མཁར་དགེ་བ་ཅན།

Visimonya

bi si mo nya
བི་སི་མོ་ཉ།

Wisdom Mountain

ye shes ri
ཡེ་ཤེས་རི།