Texts/Ratnagotravibhāga Mahāyānottaratantraśāstra/Root Verses/Verse I.94

Ratnagotravibhāga Root Verse I.94

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Verse I.94 Variations

अतोऽनागम्य बुद्धत्वं निर्वाणं नाधिगम्यते
न हि शक्यः प्रभारश्मी निर्वृज्य प्रेक्षितुं रविः

ato'nāgamya buddhatvaṃ nirvāṇaṃ nādhigamyate
na hi śakyaḥ prabhāraśmī nirvṛjya prekṣituṃ raviḥ

E. H. Johnston as input by the University of the West.

དེས་ན་སངས་རྒྱས་མ་ཐོབ་པར། །
མྱ་ངན་འདས་པ་མི་ཐོབ་སྟེ། །
འོད་དང་འོད་ཟེར་སྤངས་ནས་ནི། །
ཉི་མ་ལྟ་བར་མི་ནུས་བཞིན། །

Dege, PHI, 116

Therefore, without attaining buddhahood,
Nirvāṇa is not attained,
Just as it is impossible to see the sun
After its light and its rays are removed.

When the Clouds Part, Brunnhölzl, 392

不證諸佛身 涅槃不可得
如棄捨光明 日不可得見

http://cbetaonline.dila.edu.tw/en/T31n1611_p0836c17

Par conséquent, on n’atteint pas le nirvāṇa

Sans atteindre la bouddhéité,

De même qu’on ne peut voir le soleil

Sans sa lumière et ses rayons.

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

RGVV Commentary on Verse I.94

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Full Tibetan Commentary
Full English Commentary
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Therefore, without attaining buddhahood,

Nirvāṇa is not attained,

Just as it is impossible to see the sun

After its light and its rays are removed. I.94

{J59} Thus is the true nature of the inseparable qualities of the tathāgatas in this basic element that is endowed with the virtuous attributes whose nature it is to be associated with the [basic element since time] without beginning. Therefore, without realizing the tathāgatahood that is endowed with the vision of the prajñā and wisdom that are without attachment and obstruction, the realization of the dhātu of nirvāṇa, which is characterized by being the liberation from all obscurations, is not suitable to manifest, just as it is not [possible] to see the orb of the sun without seeing its light and its rays. Therefore, [the Śrīmālādevīsūtra] says the following:

Bhagavan, those who [distinguish] inferior and excellent phenomena do not attain nirvāṇa. Bhagavan, those for whom phenomena are equal attain nirvāṇa. Bhagavan, those for whom wisdom is equal, those for whom liberation is equal, and those for whom the vision of the wisdom of liberation is equal attain nirvāṇa. Therefore, Bhagavan, the dhātu of nirvāṇa is said to be of one taste and of equal taste. That is, {P110b} [it is of equal taste] as the taste of awareness and liberation.

ato'nāgamya buddhatvaṃ nirvāṇaṃ nādhigamyate//

na hi śakyaḥ prabhāraśmī nirvṛjya prekṣituṃ raviḥ//94//

yata evamanādi sāṃnidhyasvabhāvaśubhadharmopahite dhātau tathāgatānāmavinirbhāgaguṇadharmatvamato na tathāgatatvamasaṅgāpratihataprajñājñānadarśanamanāgamya sarvāvaraṇavimuktilakṣaṇasya nirvāṇadhātoradhigamaḥ sākṣātkaraṇamupapadyate prabhāraśmyadarśina iva sūryamaṇḍaladarśanam/ ata evamāha/ na hi bhagavan hīnapraṇītadharmāṇāṃ nirvāṇādhigamaḥ/ samadharmāṇāṃ bhagavan nirvāṇādhigamaḥ/ samajñānānāṃ samavimuktīnāṃ samavimuktijñānadarśanānāṃ bhagavan nirvāṇādhigamaḥ/ tasmādbhagavan nirvāṇadhāturekarasaḥ samarasa ityucyate/ yaduta vidyāvimuktiraseneti/

是故偈言

不證諸佛身 涅槃不可得 如棄捨光明 日不可得見 此偈明何義以如向說無漏法界中無始世界來諸佛法身中無漏諸法一切功德不相捨離以是義故遠離如來無障無礙法身智慧離一切障涅槃體相不可得見不可得證如離日光明無日輪可見以是義故聖者勝鬘經言法無優劣故得涅槃知諸法平等智故得涅槃平等智故得涅槃平等解脫故得涅槃平等解脫知見故得涅槃是故世尊說涅槃界一味等味謂明解脫一味故

Other English translations

Obermiller (1931)

Therefore, without the attainment of Buddhahood,

The (ultimate) Nirvāṇa cannot be reached,

Just as it is impossible to see the sun

Separated from its light and rays.

Takasaki (1966)

Therefore, without the acquisition of Buddhahood,

There is no attainment of Nirvāṇa,

Just as it is impossible to see the sun,

Avoiding its light and rays.

Fuchs (2000)

One will therefore not attain nirvana

without attaining the state of buddhahood.

Just as one could not see the sun

if one were to eliminate its light and its rays.

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