Verse I.18

Ratnagotravibhāga Root Verse I.18

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Verse I.18 Variations

ज्ञानदर्शनशुद्‍ध्या बुद्धज्ञानादनुत्तरात्
अवैवर्त्याद्‍भवन्त्यार्याः शरणं सर्वदेहिनाम्

jñānadarśanaśuddhyā buddhajñānādanuttarāt
avaivartyādbhavantyāryāḥ śaraṇaṃ sarvadehinām

E. H. Johnston as input by the University of the West.^[1]

ཡེ་ཤེས་གཟིགས་པ་དག་པས་ན། །
སངས་རྒྱས་ཡེ་ཤེས་བླ་མེད་ཕྱིར། །
འཕགས་པ་ཕྱིར་མི་ལྡོག་པ་ནི། །
ལུས་ཅན་ཀུན་གྱི་སྐྱབས་ཡིན་ནོ། །

Dege, PHI, 110

By virtue of this purity of the vision of wisdom,
The noble ones, who are irreversible
From unsurpassable buddha wisdom,
Are the refuge of all that lives.

When the Clouds Part, Brunnhölzl, 347. ^[2]

如實知見道見清淨佛智

故不退聖人能作眾生依

http://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/en/T31n1611_p0825a20

Comme leur vision de sagesse est pure

Et [proche de] l’insurpassable sagesse des bouddhas,

Les êtres sublimes qui ne régressent plus

Sont des refuges pour tous les êtres vivants.

Charrier, Christian and Patrick Carré. Traité de la Continuité suprême du Grand Véhicule. Plazac: Éditions Padmakara, 2019.

RGVV Commentary on Verse I.18

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By virtue of this purity of the vision of wisdom,

The noble ones, who are irreversible^[3]

From unsurpassable buddha wisdom,^[4]

Are the refuge of all that lives. I.18

Thus, this purity of the vision of the wisdom of bodhisattvas who dwell on the level of irreversibility is to be understood as being unsurpassable because it serves as the basis [or precursor]^[5] of the unsurpassable purity of the vision of tathāgata wisdom. {P84b} Or, [it is unsurpassable compared] to the other qualities of bodhisattvas, such as generosity and discipline. Since irreversible bodhisattvas are endowed with this [purity of vision], they represent the refuge of all sentient beings.^[6]

There is no mention of the jewel of the śrāvaka saṃgha after the jewel of the assembly of bodhisattvas because the [former] is not worthy of being venerated.^[7] Indeed, no learned ones who know the distinction between the qualities of bodhisattvas and śrāvakas would ever cast away the new moon of bodhisattvas with its disk of wisdom and compassion perfecting the vast accumulations of merit and wisdom for great awakening, which is engaged in illuminating the mind streams that consist of the multitudes of^[8] the basic elements of innumerable sentient beings and has entered the path that accords with approaching the full moon of the unsurpassable Tathāgata, {J17} and then pay homage to the śrāvakas [instead], who have reached the consummation of their limited wisdom, but [only] engage in illuminating their own mind streams, just as the forms of stars [illuminate only themselves]. Even those bodhisattvas who have given rise to [bodhi] citta for the first time, by virtue of its quality of being based on the purity of their intention to promote the benefit of others, outshine noble śrāvakas, who lack compassion and belong to the class of those who do not support others,^[9] though^[10] they have reached the perfect purity of immaculately observing [proper] discipline. {D83b} So how much more is this the case for the other qualities of bodhisattvas, such as the ten masteries? Indeed, it is to be said [here]:

Those who nourish discipline performed for their own sake, {P85a}

Devoid of compassion for sentient beings with bad discipline,

And possess the purity of the wealth of discipline [only for] their own nourishment—

Those noble ones are not called "those with pure discipline."

Those who give rise to supreme compassion for others

And adopt discipline support the livelihood of others,

Just like fire, wind, water, and earth.

They [truly] possess discipline, [but] others are [only] a likeness of that.

此明何義偈言

如實知見道見清淨佛智故不退聖人能作眾生依

此偈明何義又依初地菩薩摩訶薩證智清淨見道不退地乘能作見彼無上菩提清淨勝因應知偈言如實知見道見清淨佛智故此初地證智勝餘菩薩摩訶薩布施持戒等波羅蜜功德以是義故菩薩摩訶薩依如實見真如證智是故能與一切眾生天龍八部聲聞辟支佛等作歸依處偈言不退聖人能

作眾生依故

問曰以何義故不明歸依聲聞僧寶答曰菩薩僧寶功德無量是故應供以應供故合應禮拜讚歎供養聲聞之人無如是義以是義故不明歸依聲聞僧寶此明何義偈言

境界諸功德證智及涅槃諸地淨無垢滿足大慈悲生於如來家具足自在通果勝最無上是勝歸依義

此偈明何義略說菩薩十種勝義過諸聲聞辟支佛故何等為十一者觀勝二者功德勝三者證智勝四者涅槃勝五者地勝六者清淨勝七者平等心勝八者生勝九者神力勝十者果勝觀勝者謂觀真如境界是名觀勝偈言境界故功德勝者菩薩修行無厭足不同二乘少欲等是名功德勝偈言功德故證智勝者證二種無我是名證智勝偈言證智故涅槃勝者教化眾生故是名涅槃勝偈言涅槃故地勝者所謂十地等是名地勝偈言諸地故清淨勝者菩薩遠離智障是名清淨勝偈言淨無垢故平等心勝者菩薩大悲遍覆是名平等心勝偈言滿足大慈悲故生勝者諸菩薩生無生故是名生勝偈言生於如來家故神力勝者謂三昧自在神通等力勝是名神力勝偈言具足三昧自在通故果勝者究竟無上菩提故是名果勝偈言果勝最無上故此明何義有黠慧人知諸菩薩功德無量修習菩提無量無邊廣大功德有大智慧慈悲圓滿為照知彼無量眾生性行稠

林猶如初月唯除諸佛如來滿月菩薩摩訶薩知諸聲聞乃至證得阿羅漢道少智慧人無大悲心為照自身猶如星宿既如是知欲取如來大滿月身修菩提道而當棄捨初月菩薩起心禮拜供養其餘星宿聲聞辟支佛者無有是處此復何義明為利益一切眾生初始發起菩提之心諸菩薩等已能降伏不為利益他眾生身為自利益修持無漏清淨禁戒乃至證得阿羅漢果聲聞之人何況其餘得十自在等無量無邊功德菩薩摩訶薩而同聲聞辟支佛等少功德人無有是處以是義故經中偈言

若為自身故修行於禁戒遠離大慈心捨破戒眾生以為自身故護持禁戒財如是持戒者佛說非清淨若為他人故修行於禁戒能利益眾生如地水火風以為他眾生起第一悲心是名淨持戒餘似非清淨

Other English translations

Obermiller (1931) ^[11]

Through their immaculate Transcendental Intuition,

They (are near) to the Divine Wisdom of the Buddha.

Therefore the Saints that have attained the Irretrievable State

Are the refuge of all living beings.—

Takasaki (1966) ^[12]

Through the purity of their perception by wisdom,

It is superior as [being the same as] Buddha's Wisdom

Therefore, the Saints abiding in the irreversible state

Are [worthy of being] the refuge of all living beings.

Fuchs (2000) ^[13]

Their vision [of] primordial wisdom is pure

and [nears] unsurpassable buddha wisdom.

The noble ones who do not fall back

are therefore a refuge for all beings.

Textual sources

Commentaries on this verse

Academic notes

Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input
Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.
I follow Takasaki’s and Schmithausen’s emendation of MB and J avaivartyād to avaivartyā, which is confirmed by VT (fol. 11v5) avivartyā.
The translation of I.18bc follows Schmithausen’s relating buddhajñānād anuttarāt to avaivartyā, which is confirmed by VT (fol. 11v5) anuttarād buddhajñānād avivartyā āryā bhavanti. However, lines I.18bc could also be read as "Buddha wisdom is unsurpassable. Therefore, the irreversible noble ones . . . ,"which is suggested by DP sang rgyas ye shes bla med phyir / ’phags pa phyir mi ldog pa ni / and RGVV’s comments on these lines.
J upaniṣad ("cause" or "basis").
Note that RGVV speaks of only two qualities of the irreversible bodhisattva saṃgha—the wisdom of suchness and the wisdom of variety. However, many Tibetan commentaries count six qualities in Uttaratantra I.13–18, which are subsumed under the two categories of the qualities of awareness and liberation (just as with the eight qualities of the Buddha and the dharma, these two categories are then counted as two additional qualities of the saṃgha). The qualities of awareness are (1) the wisdom of suchness, (2) the wisdom of variety, and (3) wisdom’s being internal. The qualities of liberation are (4)–(5) being pure of both afflictive and cognitive obscurations and (6) being endowed with unsurpassable qualities.
As Takasaki (1966a, 177n35) points out, C inserts here a verse on the bodhisattva saṃgha’s being superior to the śrāvaka saṃgha in ten points (this verse is not contained in DP either, but it may have been present in a different Sanskrit manuscript). Accordingly, bodhisattvas are superior in terms of their (1) perception of objects, (2) qualities, (3) attainment, (4) nirvāṇa that is attained after having liberated all beings, (5) bhūmis, (6) purity, (7) perfect compassion regarding all beings as equal, (8) birth in the family of tathāgatas due to that birth’s being ultimately unborn, (9) perfect masteries, supernatural knowledges, and so on, and (10) unsurpassable fruition of supreme awakening.
DP omit the phrase "the mind streams that are the multitudes of . . ." (gaṇasaṃtāna°).
J ananyapoṣigaṇyam; Pāli anaññaposin refers to the homeless mendicant who does not maintain a family and entertains no passion.
I follow MB °niṣṭhāgatam apy āryaśrāvakam (confirmed by DP mthar phyin par gyur pa yang) against J °niṣṭhāgatam āryaśrāvakam.
Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.
Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.
Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.

[1] Digital Sanskrit Buddhist Canon Unicode Input

[2] Brunnhölzl, Karl. When the Clouds Part: The Uttaratantra and its Meditative Tradition as a Bridge between Sūtra and Tantra. Boston: Snow Lion Publications, an imprint of Shambhala Publications, 2014.

[3] I follow Takasaki’s and Schmithausen’s emendation of MB and J avaivartyād to avaivartyā, which is confirmed by VT (fol. 11v5) avivartyā.

[4] The translation of I.18bc follows Schmithausen’s relating buddhajñānād anuttarāt to avaivartyā, which is confirmed by VT (fol. 11v5) anuttarād buddhajñānād avivartyā āryā bhavanti. However, lines I.18bc could also be read as "Buddha wisdom is unsurpassable. Therefore, the irreversible noble ones . . . ,"which is suggested by DP sang rgyas ye shes bla med phyir / ’phags pa phyir mi ldog pa ni / and RGVV’s comments on these lines.

[5] J upaniṣad ("cause" or "basis").

[6] Note that RGVV speaks of only two qualities of the irreversible bodhisattva saṃgha—the wisdom of suchness and the wisdom of variety. However, many Tibetan commentaries count six qualities in Uttaratantra I.13–18, which are subsumed under the two categories of the qualities of awareness and liberation (just as with the eight qualities of the Buddha and the dharma, these two categories are then counted as two additional qualities of the saṃgha). The qualities of awareness are (1) the wisdom of suchness, (2) the wisdom of variety, and (3) wisdom’s being internal. The qualities of liberation are (4)–(5) being pure of both afflictive and cognitive obscurations and (6) being endowed with unsurpassable qualities.

[7] As Takasaki (1966a, 177n35) points out, C inserts here a verse on the bodhisattva saṃgha’s being superior to the śrāvaka saṃgha in ten points (this verse is not contained in DP either, but it may have been present in a different Sanskrit manuscript). Accordingly, bodhisattvas are superior in terms of their (1) perception of objects, (2) qualities, (3) attainment, (4) nirvāṇa that is attained after having liberated all beings, (5) bhūmis, (6) purity, (7) perfect compassion regarding all beings as equal, (8) birth in the family of tathāgatas due to that birth’s being ultimately unborn, (9) perfect masteries, supernatural knowledges, and so on, and (10) unsurpassable fruition of supreme awakening.

[8] DP omit the phrase "the mind streams that are the multitudes of . . ." (gaṇasaṃtāna°).

[9] J ananyapoṣigaṇyam; Pāli anaññaposin refers to the homeless mendicant who does not maintain a family and entertains no passion.

[10] I follow MB °niṣṭhāgatam apy āryaśrāvakam (confirmed by DP mthar phyin par gyur pa yang) against J °niṣṭhāgatam āryaśrāvakam.

[11] Obermiller, E. "The Sublime Science of the Great Vehicle to Salvation Being a Manual of Buddhist Monism." Acta Orientalia IX (1931), pp. 81-306.

[12] Takasaki, Jikido. A Study on the Ratnagotravibhāga (Uttaratantra): Being a Treatise on the Tathāgatagarbha Theory of Mahāyāna Buddhism. Serie Orientale Roma 33. Roma: Istituto Italiano per il Medio ed Estremo Oriente (ISMEO), 1966.

[13] Fuchs, Rosemarie, trans. Buddha Nature: The Mahayana Uttaratantra Shastra. Commentary by Jamgon Kongtrul and explanations by Khenpo Tsultrim Gyamtso. Ithaca, N. Y.: Snow Lion Publications, 2000.

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