by Red Pine
ten powers . There are different lists of these powers, but typical is the one that includes a knowledge or mastery of right and wrong, karma, meditation, the senses, desires, natures, directions, past lives, divine sight and passionlessness.
ten samadhis . These include universal light, subtle light, travel to all buddhalands, purification of the mind, knowledge of the past, light of wisdom, knowledge of adornments, differentiation of beings, the Dharma Realm, and unimpeded teaching.
ten-stage path of the lineage of sages .This is a conception of spiritual lineages found in Prajnaparamita literature. It begins with the “dry-wisdom” stage and ends with the “pratyeka-buddha,”“bodhisattva,” and “buddha” stages.
tendencies . The Sanskrit is gunas. These are viewed as permanent and as combining to form objects of sensation, which are impermanent.
tetralemma . The four possibilities: x or y, both x and y, neither x nor y.
thirty-seven elements of enlightenment . The Sanskrit is bodhi–pakshsa. These are often linked together using the earth to represent the nature of reality, the seeds as the four subjects of mindfulness, the planting of the seeds as the four right exertions, the sprouting of the seeds as the four supernatural abilities, the sending down of roots as the five psychic faculties, the sending forth of stems and leaves as the five spiritual powers, the flowers as the seven constituents of enlightenment, and the fruit as the eightfold noble path.
thirty-two attributes . This is the number of marks associated with every buddha, such as long earlobes and arms and a swastika on the chest.
three continuities . The Sanskrit is tri–samtati. These include greed, anger and delusion. Also known as the three poisons, they are responsible for the continuity of suffering and existence.
three means to knowledge .These three are used in Samkhya epistemology and include accepted authority, inference or reasoning, and direct experience.
three modes of non-reality .The Sanskrit is tri–asvabhava. These include form, life and reality. This term does not appear in the Lanka.
three modes of reality . The Sanskrit is tri–svabhava. They include imagined, dependent and perfected reality.
three paths/vehicles . The Sanskrit is tri–yana. These normally include the two lesser paths of the Hinayana, namely those of the shravakas and pratyeka-buddhas, and the greater path of the Mahayana of bodhisattvas. However, in the Lankavatara, the Buddha says there is one path for gods and Bhrama, one for shravakas and pratyeka-buddhas and one for tathagatas.
three poisons . The Sanskrit is tri–visha. These include delusion, desire and anger. They are often depicted as a pig, a chicken and a snake, respectively.
three realms . Meant to cover all forms of existence in any world, these include the realm of desire (of which there are five or six kinds of existence), the realm of form (of which there are four or more heavens), and the formless realm (of which there are also four heavens or levels).
three treasures . The different facets of Buddhism upon which practitioners rely. They include the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha.
threefold combination . This usually refers to a sensory power, a sensory domain and the form of sensory consciousness that arises when these meet.
threefold gate of liberation . The gate of emptiness, formlessness, intentionlessness (or effortlessness) which leads to buddhahood.
Tokhara . Ancient kingdom that included parts of Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan, more or less equivalent to the previous kingdom of Bactria.
Tokiwa, Gishin . Japanese scholar and translator of the Lankavatara from Gunabhadra s Chinese translation back into Sanskrit and also into English (the latter of which has yet to be made available to the public).
Tripitaka . The Buddhist Canon. Numbering a hundred or more volumes, there are different versions of this collection of scriptures in Chinese, Pali and Tibetan.
Tseng Feng-yi/Zeng Fengyi (c. 1570–1640) . Confucian scholar who was converted to Buddhism and who produced a number of commentaries on major sutras, including one of the Lankavatara on which many of my comments are based.
Tunhuang/Dunhuang . Major oasis on the Silk Road located where the Taklamakan Desert meets the Kansu Corridor.
T’ung-jun/Tongrun (1565–1624) . Ming-dynasty scholar-monk who produced a number of commentaries on major sutras. Among the commentaries I have used for the Lankavatara, his is the best.
Tushita Heaven . This heaven in the realm of desire above Mount Sumeru is where bodhisattvas are reborn prior to their final rebirth during which they attain buddhahood.
twelve nidanas . The links that make up the chain of dependent origination that begins with ignorance, memory, consciousness, name and form, sense organs and contact and ends with sensation, thirst, existence, birth, old age and death.
two kinds of affliction . These include the senses and what arises from them. It is on the basis of these that attachment to the two kinds of self exist.
two kinds of death . These include karmic death and transformation death, the latter of which is so subtle it is barely noticed.
two kinds of no-self . The absence of a self in persons or beings and the absence of self in dharmas or things.
two obstructions . These include passion and knowledge. Passion is the cause of karmic death. Knowledge is the cause of transformation death.
ultimate beginning . The Sanskrit is purvakoti. In the Lankavatara, this refers to transcendence of the dialectic that samsara and nirvana represent. In Zen parlance, one’s face before one was born.
ultimate reality . The Sanskrit is bhutakoti. In the Lankavatara, this refers to transcendence of the dialectic that samsara and nirvana represent. In Zen parlace, have a cup of tea.
unexcelled, perfect enlightenment . The Sanskrit is anuttara-samyak-sambodhi. The qualifiers “unexcelled” and “perfect”were added to distinguish the enlightenment of a buddha from the enlightenment claimed by other sects or by shravakas or pratyeka-buddhas.
unshakeable stage . The Sanskrit is acala-bhumi. Referring to the eighth stage of the bodhisattva path, it is that stage from which one cannot be shaken.
Vajrapani . The name of one of the three protective deities of every buddha. As his name indicates, he is usually depicted wielding a vajra, or thunderbolt.
Vasubandhu (fl. 380 A.D.) . Indian scholar-monk and the author of numerous treatises that helped establish the teachings of Yogacara Buddhism.
Vedas . The scriptures of the Brahmans.
Vimalakirti Sutra . Major sutra of Mahayana Buddhism centered around Manjushri’s visit to the sick layman, Vimalakirti, who represents the attainment of enlightenment outside the monastic order.
vinaya . That part of the Buddhist Canon that deals with moral discipline.
Wu Tse-t‘ien/ Wu Zitian (624–705) . Empress of the T’ang dynasty.
Wu-ming/Wuming (1910–2011). Former abbot of Taiwan’s Haiming Monastery.
Yang Hsuan-chih/Yang Xuanzhi (fl. 530) . Writer and Buddhist translator who compiled a record of Buddhist temples of Loyang (Lo-yang ch’ieh–lan–chi).
yakshas . Along with the rakshasas, with whom they are often confused, they were one of the ancient tribes of India.
Yin-shun/Yinshun (1905–2005) . Prominent Chinese scholar-monk and one of the few modern masters to specialize in Indian Buddhism, especially the Madhyamaka teaching of Nagarjuna.
Yogacara . This is Sanskrit for “practice of yoga.” Its application, however, is in reference to the school of Buddhism that began in the third and fourth centuries that focuses its attention on consciousness.
Yungning/Yongning Monastery . Largest Buddhist monastery in Loyang during the Northern Wei dynasty and home of several thousand foreign monks.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
The Sanskrit Text
The Lankavatara Sutra. Edited by Bunyiu Nanjio. Kyoto: Otani University Press, 1923.
Lankavatara Sutram: A Jewel Scripture of Mahayana Thought and Practice. Translated by Gishin Tokiwa. Kyoto: private publication,
2003.
Saddharmalankavatarasutra. Edited by P. L. Vaidya. Darbhanga: Mithila Institute, 1963.
The Chinese Text
. Translated by Gunabhadra in A.D. 443. Taisho (Revised) Tripitaka, vol. 16.
. Translated by Bodhiruchi in A.D. 513. Taisho (Revised) Tripitaka, vol. 16.
. Translated by Shikshananda et al. in A.D. 698–704. Taisho (Revised) Tripitaka, vol. 16.
. (paragraph-by-paragraph comparison of all three Chinese translations). Compiled by Yuan-k’o () in A.D. 1580, Hsutsangching (Supplement to the Tripitaka), vol. 1.
The Tibetan Text
hPhags-pa Lan-kar gCegs-pa Rin-po-chehi mDo-las Sans-rgyas Thams-cad-kyi gSun-gi Sninpo Shes-bya-bahi Lehu. Translated by Chos-grub c. A.D. 840. Peking edition: Sutra Division, (nu) 208–313.
hPhags-pa Lan-kar gCegs-pa Theg-pa chen-pohi mDo. Translated by Anonymous, date unknown. Peking edition: Sutra Division, (nu) 60–208.
Chinese Commentaries Used by the Translator
. T’ai-hsu. Published for free distribution by the Buddhist Education Foundation, Taiwan, 2000.
. Te-ch’ing, Hsutsangching (Supplement to the Tripitaka), vols. 25–26.
. Tseng Feng-yi, Hsutsangching (Supplement to the Tripitaka), vol. 26.
. T’ung–jun, Hsutsangching (Supplement to the Tripitaka), vol. 26.
. Yin-shun. Published by the Buddhist Compassion and Wisdom Service Center, Hong Kong, 1997.
English Translations
Suzuki, D. T. The Lankavatara Sutra: A Mahayana Text. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1932.
Tokiwa, Gishin. Lankavatara Sutram: A Jewel Scripture of Mahayana Thought and Practice. Kyoto: Private publication, 2003.
Reference Works Consulted
Buescher, Hartmut. The Inception of Yogacara-Vijnanavada. Vienna: Verlag der Oesterrichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Dictionary. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1970. Currently available from Motilal Banarsidass of New Delhi.
Forsten, Aucke D. Between Certainty and Finitude: A Study of Lankavatarasutra Chapter Two. Berlin: Lit Verlag, 2006. Currently available from Transaction Publishers of New Jersey.
Golzio, Karl-Heinz. Lankavatara-Sutra. Die makellose Wahrheit erschauen. Die Lehre von der hoechsten Bewusstheit und absoluten Erkenntnis. Bern: O. W. Barth bei Scherz, 1996.
Lindtner, Christian. “The Lankavatarasutra in Early Indian Madhyamaka Literature.” Copenhagen: Asiatische Studien 45/1 (1992): 244–279.
Lusthaus, Dan. Buddhist Phenomenology: A Philosophical Investigation of Yogacara Buddhism and the Ch’eng Wei-shih lun. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2002.
Monier-Williams, M. A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1899. Currently available from Motilal Banarsidass of New Delhi.
Nagao, Gadjin M. Madhyamika and Yogacara. Albany: SUNY Press, 1991.
Sharf, Robert. Coming to Terms with Chinese Buddhism: A Reading of the Treasure Store Treatise. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005.
Sho Fu. The Mind Seal: A Critical Examination of the Verses (Sagathakam) of the Lankavatara Sutra. Parker, CO: Outskirts Press, 2009.
Sutton, Florin Giripescu. Existence and Enlightenment in the Lankavatara-sutra: A Study in the Ontology and Epistemology of the Yogacara School of Mahayana Buddhism. Albany: SUNY Press, 1991.
Suzuki, D. T. An Index to the Lankavatara Sutra. Kyoto, The Sanskrit Buddhist Texts Publishing Society, 1934. Currently available from Munshiram Mano-harlal of New Delhi.
———. Studies in the Lankavatara Sutra. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1930. Currently available from Motilal Banarsidass of New Delhi.
Takasaki, Jikido. “Analysis of the Lankavatarasutra in Search of its Original Form.” In Indianisme et Bouddhisme: Melanges offerts a Mgr. Etienne Lamotte. Louvain-la-Neuve: Peters Publishers, 1980, 339–352.
Waldron, William S. The Buddhist Unconscious: The Alaya–Vijnana in the Context of Indian Buddhist Thought. London: RoutledgeCurzon, 2003.
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Table of Contents
Other works by Red Pine
Title Page
Preface
CHAPTER ONE: - KING RAVANA’S REQUEST
CHAPTER TWO: - MAHAMATI’S QUESTIONS I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
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XVI
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XVIII
XIX
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XXI
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XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
XXXII
XXXIII
XXXIV
XXXV
XXXVI
XXXVII
XXXVIII
XXXIX
XL
XLI
XLII
XLIII
XLIV
XLV
XLVI
XLVII
XLVIII
XLIX
L
LI
LII
LIII
LIV
LV
LVI
CHAPTER THREE: - MORE QUESTIONS LVII
LVII
LIX
LX
LXI
LXII
LXII
LXIV
LXV
LXVI
LXVII
LXVIII
LXIX
LXX
LXXI
LXXII
LXXIII
LXXIVIV
LXXV
LXXVI
LXXVII
LXXVIII
LXXIX
CHAPTER FOUR: - FINAL QUESTIONS LXXX
LXXXI
LXXXII
LXXXIII
LXXXIV
LXXXV
LXXXVI
LXXXVII
LXXXVIII
LXXXIX
XC
LANKAVATARA MANTRA
GLOSSARY
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Copyright Page
Table of Contents
Title Page
Other works by Red Pine
Preface
CHAPTER ONE: - KING RAVANA’S REQUEST
CHAPTER TWO: - MAHAMATI’S QUESTIONS
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
XIII
XIV
XV
XVI
XVII
XVIII
XIX
XX
XXI
XXII
XXIII
XXIV
XXV
XXVI
XXVII
XXVIII
XXIX
XXX
XXXI
XXXII
XXXIII
XXXIV
XXXV
XXXVI
XXXVII
XXXVIII
XXXIX
