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Candraprabha_(Gakkō_Bosatsu,_Moonlight_Bodhisattva)_sculpture,_Tōdai-ji,_Nara,_Nara.html" "title="Tōdai-ji.html" ;"title="Candraprabha (Gakkō Bosatsu, Moonlight Bodhisattva) sculpture, Tōdai-ji">Candraprabha (Gakkō Bosatsu, Moonlight Bodhisattva) sculpture, Tōdai-ji, Nara, Nara">Nara The National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) is an " independent federal agency of the United States government within the executive branch", charged with the preservation and documentation of government and historical records. It i ...

. Candraprabha is the Buddha's main interlocutor in the ''Candrapradīpa.'' The ''Samādhirāja Sūtra'' (''King of Samādhis Sūtra'') or ''Candrapradīpa Sūtra'' (''Moonlamp Sūtra'') is a Buddhist Mahayana sutras, Mahayana sutra. Some scholars have dated its redaction from the 2nd or 3rd century CE to the 6th century (the date of the earliest manuscript found), but others argue that its date just cannot be determined. The ''Samādhirāja'' is a very important source for the

Madhyamaka Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhist ...

school and it is cited by numerous Indian authors like

Chandrakirti Chandrakirti (; ; , meaning "glory of the moon" in Sanskrit) or "Chandra" was a Buddhist scholar of the madhyamaka school and a noted commentator on the works of Nagarjuna () and those of his main disciple, Aryadeva. He wrote two influential w ...

Shantideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; mn, Шантидэва гэгээн; vi, Tịch Thiên) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka philo ...

and later Buddhist authors.Regamey, Constantin (1938). ''Philosophy in the Samādhirājasūtra: Three Chapters From the Samādhirājasūtra,'' p. 3. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. According to

Alex Wayman Alex Wayman (January 11, 1921 – September 22, 2004) was a Tibetologist and Indologist and worked as a professor of Sanskrit at Columbia University. He was of Jewish background.Amanda Porterfield, ''The Transformation of American Religion : The Sto ...

, the ''Samādhirāja'' is "perhaps the most important scriptural source for the

Madhyamika Mādhyamaka ("middle way" or "centrism"; ; Tibetan: དབུ་མ་པ ; ''dbu ma pa''), otherwise known as Śūnyavāda ("the emptiness doctrine") and Niḥsvabhāvavāda ("the no ''svabhāva'' doctrine"), refers to a tradition of Buddhist ...

."Tatz, Mark (1972). ''Revelation in Madhyamika Buddhism,'' p. 4. M.A.Thesis, University of Washington. The ''Samādhirāja'' is also widely cited in

Tantric Buddhist Vajrayāna ( sa, वज्रयान, "thunderbolt vehicle", "diamond vehicle", or "indestructible vehicle"), along with Mantrayāna, Guhyamantrayāna, Tantrayāna, Secret Mantra, Tantric Buddhism, and Esoteric Buddhism, are names referring t ...

sources, which promote its recitation for ritual purposes''.''Tatz, Mark (1972). ''Revelation in Madhyamika Buddhism,'' p. 12. M.A.Thesis, University of Washington. A commentary to the sutra, the ''Kīrtimala'' (Tibetan: ''grags pa'i phreng ba''), was composed by the Indian

Manjushrikirti Manjushrikirti or ''Manjughoshikirti'' (Skt. ''Mañjuśrīkīrti''; ; ) in a name which refers to different figures in History of Buddhism in India, Indian Buddhism. Buddhist scholars Mañjuśrīkīrti is the name of a student of Chandrakirti ...

and this survives in Tibetan.

Title

The text is commonly known as the ''King of Samadhis Sutra'' (''Samādhirājasūtra'', Tib. ''ting nge 'dzin gyi rgyal po'i mdo''), and it is also known as the ''Moon Lamp Sutra'' (Skt. ''Candrapradīpa Sutra'', Tib. ''zla ba sgron me’i mdo'') after the main bodhisattva in this sutra. The full Tibetan title in the Kanjur is: * ’phags pa chos thams cad kyi rang bzhin mnyam pa nyid rnam par spros pa ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo * Sanskrit: Ārya-sarvadharma-svabhāvasamatā-vipañcita-samādhirāja-nāma-mahāyānasūtra * In English, this long title may be translated as The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The King of Samādhis, the Revealed Equality of the Nature of All Phenomena” (Roberts) or "the samadhi that is manifested as the sameness of the essential nature of all dharmas," (Luis and Gomez) or "the Mahayana discourse that is called the king of samadhi, as received from the samadhi elaborated as the sameness in their essence of all phenomena" (Skilton).Skilton, Andrew T. (2002). "State or statement? Samadhi in some early Mahayana Sutras", ''The Eastern Buddhist'' 34.2, 51-93. The Chinese have preferred ''Yueh-teng san-mei ching'', corresponding to ''*Candrapradīpa-samādhisūtra'' (''Moon Lamp Samadhi Sutra'').

History and Texts

Peter Alan Roberts writes that "it is impossible to be sure when this work first appeared in writing; indeed, the sūtra is very likely a compilation of earlier shorter works. None of the complete extant Sanskrit manuscripts can be dated to earlier than the sixth century." However, he also notes that it is cited in the '' Sūtrasamuccaya'' (c. 4th century or later) and also may have been referenced to by

Asanga Asaṅga (, ; Romaji: ''Mujaku'') ( fl. 4th century C.E.) was "one of the most important spiritual figures" of Mahayana Buddhism and the "founder of the Yogachara school".Engle, Artemus (translator), Asanga, ''The Bodhisattva Path to Unsurpassed ...

(4th century). Gomez and Silk write that "an educated guess is that the text took form between the second century C.E., when it is generally believed Madhyamaka thought emerged as a distinct philosophical tradition, and the sixth century, the date of the Gilgit manuscript, the earliest extant recension of the text. This does not mean that the text was not in existence in some form before the second century."Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) ''Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts,'' p. 14. Ann Arbor. They also note that a Chinese translation of the text by An Shigao (fl. mid-second century CE) is recorded in Chinese sutra catalogues. Andrew Skilton writes that this large sutra is probably a composite work which "bears certain affinities with the '' Prajñāpāramitā'' literature and other early Mahayana scriptures".Skilton, Andrew T. (1999). '"Four Recensions of the Samadhiraja Sutra." ''Indo-Iranian Journal'' 42, 335-336. He also writes that there were various recensions and versions of this sutra in circulation in India. According to Roberts, "at least two shorter independent works that may have existed earlier appear to have been incorporated into the ''King of Samadhis Sutra''." These are: * ''The Mahāprajñāsamādhisūtra'' (''The Sūtra of the Samādhi of Great Wisdom''), also called the ''Mañjuśrībodhisattvacāryā'' (''The Bodhisattva Conduct of Mañjuśrī''). This was translated into Chinese by Shih Sien-kung (420–479). This sutra which focuses on the six perfections corresponds to chapters 27–29 in the Tibetan ''King of Samadhis'', with the only difference being that Mañjuśrī has been replaced with Candraprabha. * Chapter 36 of the Tibetan translation also seems to have circulated as an independent sutra. The ''King of Samadhis'' was translated into Chinese by Narendrayaśas (517–589), an Indian monk from

Orissa Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of Sch ...

, who titled it ''The Sūtra of the Samādhi of the Lamp of the Moon'' (月燈三昧經, Taishō 639). Two other Chinese translations include an alternative version of the equivalent of the sixth fascicle by Xiangong (逮慧三昧經, ''The Attainment of Wisdom Samādhi Sūtra'') and an alternative translation of the equivalent of the seventh fascicle by Xiangong (文殊師利菩薩十事行經, ''The Ten Practices of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva Sūtra''). Fragments from three Central Asian Sanskrit manuscripts of the sutra have been found. They date to the fifth or sixth centuries. A Tibetan translation was made in the ninth century by Śīlendrabodhi and Chönyi Tsultrim (Dharmatāśīla). This Tibetan version is longer than the earlier Chinese translation and is divided into forty chapters (while the Chinese is divided into ten chapters). A complete Indian Sanskrit manuscript was discovered near

Gilgit Gilgit (; Shina: ; ur, ) is the capital city of Gilgit–Baltistan, Pakistan. The city is located in a broad valley near the confluence of the Gilgit River and the Hunza River. It is a major tourist destination in Pakistan, serving as a h ...

in 1938 which has been dated to the sixth century. According to Roberts, this text is "significantly shorter than the Tibetan translation, with fewer verses and prose passages." Other Sanskrit manuscripts which have been found in

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

are longer and closer to the Tibetan translation, some Nepalese versions even contain material not found in the Tibetan. The Sanskrit versions of the sutra are mostly composed in

Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) is a modern linguistic category applied to the language used in a class of Indian Buddhist texts, such as the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. BHS is classified as a Middle Indo-Aryan language. It is sometimes called "Bu ...

(BHS) or strongly influenced by BHS. A Sanskrit version of the sutra was published in

Devanagari Devanagari ( ; , , Sanskrit pronunciation: ), also called Nagari (),Kathleen Kuiper (2010), The Culture of India, New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, , page 83 is a left-to-right abugida (a type of segmental Writing systems#Segmental syste ...

along with an English summary of the chapters in 1941 by

Nalinaksha Dutt Nalinaksha Dutt (1893–1973), was an Indian scholar of Buddhism, professor of Sanskrit and Pali at the University of Calcutta and chaired The Asiatic Society, among other representative functions, as Vice-President of the Maha Bodhi Society. H ...

. According to Lopez and Silk, "Dutt's edition is wanting in more than one respect. It is, unfortunately, at its best a conflation of manuscripts, at its worst a reconstruction from the Tibetan." They also note that a more recent edition by P. L. Vaidya (1961) is "equally problematic" since it is "essentially a copy of Dutt's edition" with some modifications by the author.Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) ''Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts,'' p. 42. Ann Arbor. They finally add that "a more rigorous task has been accomplished by Seiren Matsunami."

Content and themes

The ''King of Samādhis Sūtra'' is written in mixed prose and verse. Gomez and Silk outline the main stylistic form of the sutra's chapters (this analysis uses the long version found in the Tibetan translation and some Sanskrit mss) as follows: * Five chapters-I, X, XIV, XV and XL form the "main narrative or backbone of the text, that is, the events surrounding the Buddha's meeting with Candraprabha." * Various chapters which contain

avadana Avadāna (Sanskrit; Pali cognate: '' Apadāna'') is the name given to a type of Buddhist literature correlating past lives' virtuous deeds to subsequent lives' events. Richard Salomon described them as "stories, usually narrated by the Buddha, ...

s or purvayogas (mainly stories of past lives of the Buddha) are found inserted throughout the sutra, these are chapters II, V, VIII, XVI, XX, XXI, XXIX, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV and XXXVII. * The bulk of the text (24 chapters) contain mostly expository prose and verse.

The King of Samādhis

The ''King of Samādhis Sūtra'' claims its main theme is a

samādhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditation, meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ash ...

(which is the "King of Samādhis") that is the key to all virtues of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and is thus "the single dharma kadharmenathat summarizes all teachings and practices".Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) ''Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts,'' pp. 15-16, 30. Ann Arbor. This samādhi is called "the samādhi that is manifested as the sameness of the essential nature of all dharmas" (''sarva-dharma-svabhavā-samatā-vipañcita-samādhi'').Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) ''Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts,'' pp. 15-16. Ann Arbor. Skilton notes that this samādhi is the main subject of the sutra. While Gomez and Silk take vipañcita to mean 'manifested', Skilton interprets the term as "elaborated", and sees this samādhi as (at least partly) a kind of literary theme which is explained and elaborated upon in the sutra. The sutra begins at

Vulture Peak The Vulture Peak (Pali: गिज्झकूट, Sanskrit: गृद्धकूट), also known as the Holy Eagle Peak or Gridhakūta (or Gādhrakūta), was the Buddha's favorite retreat in Rajagaha (now Rajgir, or Rajagrih). It was the scene ...

, where the main bodhisattva in this sutra, Candraprabha, asks the Buddha how to acquire certain important qualities of the Buddhas. The Buddha replies that there is "one single dharma" which leads to these virtues. The Buddha first describes the samadhi called "the elaboration of the sameness in their essence of all phenomena" through the following short statement: "his mind is equable towards all beings, his mind is beneficial, his mind is sympathetic, his mind is not inclined to retaliation, his mind is not vexatious." Silk and Gomez write that the ''Samādhirāja'' uses the term "samādhi" in a very broad way. This supreme samādhi "is at the same time the cognitive experience of

emptiness Emptiness as a human condition is a sense of generalized boredom, social alienation and apathy. Feelings of emptiness often accompany dysthymia, depression (mood), depression, loneliness, anhedonia, wiktionary:despair, despair, or other mental/em ...

, the attainment of the attributes of buddhahood, and the performance of a variety of practices or daily activities of a bodhisattva—including service and adoration at the feet of all buddhas." The ''Samādhirāja'' also uses the term to refer to itself, equating the sutra with samādhi and emptiness. The sutra then goes on to list over three hundred descriptions of this samadhi, such as: restraint of body, speech and mind, "purity of actions", "going completely beyond supports," "comprehension of the aggregates", "indifference towards the bases of consciousness", "withdrawal from the sense-fields," "abandonment of craving," "direct realization of non-arising," "

friendliness Friendship is a relationship of mutual affection between people. It is a stronger form of interpersonal bond than an "acquaintance" or an "association", such as a classmate, neighbor, coworker, or colleague. In some cultures, the concept of ...

," "sweetness," good conduct, lack of aversion and attachment, knowledge of the Truths, the teaching, the analytical knowledges, knowledge of "the divisions of words and syllables," and so on. Skilton argues that the list is explicitly introduced as being the samadhi itself, while the Chinese translations suggests that they are aspects or benefits of the samadhi. According to Skilton, the sutra uses the term "samadhi" here to refer to the list of terms itself and he argues that this usage is also found in other Mahayana texts. He also lists various passages from the sutra which speak of "hearing", "memorizing", "reciting," and "holding in one's hand" the samadhi taught in this sutra. Skilton argues that these passages show that the term samadhi must be referring to a text (i.e. the list of over 300 items). Gomez and Silk meanwhile write that the list contains "the virtues or extraordinary qualities" and "the merits and powers" of the samadhi, which they describe as a deep meditative state (which is the typical meaning of the term samadhi in Indian Buddhism). They also write that "it is not clear whether the terms or epithets are meant as definitions or descriptions or if they are attributes of the samadhi, its causes or effects."Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) ''Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts,'' p. 18. Ann Arbor. On the other hand, Constantin Regamey argues that this samadhi (i.e. this list) is "the subject of the concentration, a verbal formula to be meditated upon." He thinks that this was to be done by repeating the formula in a similar manner to a

dharani Dharanis ( IAST: ), also known as ''Parittas'', are Buddhist chants, mnemonic codes, incantations, or recitations, usually the mantras consisting of Sanskrit or Pali phrases. Believed to be protective and with powers to generate merit for the B ...

.Regamey, Constantin (1938). ''Philosophy in the Samādhirājasūtra: Three Chapters From the Samādhirājasūtra,'' pp. 21-22. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. He also notes that the recommendation found throughout the sutra to read, recite and learn this samadhi indicate how important this list of terms was for the authors of the sutra. After listing the various qualities or descriptions of the samadhi, the Buddha urges Candraprabha to practice and "preserve the samadhi" which refers to preserving the text in memory or in written form as well as a variety of spiritual exercises associated with the Indic term samadhi. This practice of "preserving the samadhi" is said to lead to many merits, which are outlined in the sutra. Another element of this samadhi is a kind of mindfulness of the Buddha (''

buddhānusmṛti Buddhānusmṛti (Sanskrit; Pali: Buddhānussati), meaning "Buddha-mindfulness", is a common Buddhist practice in all Buddhist traditions which involves meditating on the virtues of the Buddha, mainly Gautama Buddha as the meditation or contemplat ...

''). The Buddha also explains how all phenomena are to be seen as being without essence, like a dream or a magic show, which is the "essential nature of all phenomena" (''sarva-dharma-svabhavā)''. In a later passage from chapter 4 of the sutra, Candraprabha asks the Buddha for a definition of "samadhi", the Buddha responds:

Young man, the term samadhi is being used; that is to say: comprehension of the mind; not a state of rebirth; knowledge of non rebirth; the state of having laid aside one’s burden; knowledge of the Tathagatas; ... the protection of secret spells, harmlessness, the state of not oppressing those who are well behaved, the state of possessing subtle speech, the state of being free from the entire threefold world system, acceptance in conformity with emptiness in respect of all dharmas,, a state of intense desire for the knowledge of the All Knowing; the term samadhi is being used thus, young man. Correct and not incorrect practice (avi/pratipatti) in respect of such items (dharmas) as these—it is this, young man, for which the term samadhi is used.

Influence

Mark Tatz calls the sutra's thought "early Madhyamika" and "closely rooted in the Perfection of Wisdom." Gomez and Silk note that even though the ''Samādhirāja'' has been seen as a

school text by some scholars, "the sutra's doctrinal position cannot be described accurately as unambiguously Mādhyamika" and is instead an "eclectic and universalistic, so that it would be pointless to attempt to box it in some general category." Whatever the case, the ''Samādhirāja'' was a very important and authoritative text for Mādhyamika scholars in India (while it was ignored in

Yogacara Yogachara ( sa, योगाचार, IAST: '; literally "yoga practice"; "one whose practice is yoga") is an influential tradition of Buddhist philosophy and psychology emphasizing the study of cognition, perception, and consciousness through t ...

) and its doctrines have "a strong leaning towards a philosophic position that can be described as akin to that of the Madhyamaka." The sutra is cited by

Candrakīrti Chandrakirti (; ; , meaning "glory of the moon" in Sanskrit) or "Chandra" was a Buddhist scholar of the madhyamaka school and a noted commentator on the works of Nagarjuna () and those of his main disciple, Aryadeva. He wrote two influential w ...

(7th century) twenty times in his '' Prasannapadā,'' and it is also cited in his ''

Madhyamakāvatāra The ''Madhyamakāvatāra'' () is a text by Candrakīrti (600–c. 650) on the Mādhyamaka school of Buddhist philosophy. Candrakīrti also wrote an auto-commentary to the work, called the ''Madhyamakāvatārabhasya.'' It is traditionally conside ...

.'' Indeed, Gomez and Silk write that "Candrakīrti quotes it so frequently in his ''Prasannapadā'' that one can construe many of his comments on Nagarjuna's ''Karikas'' as comments on the sutra, at least in the sense that they place the sutra within a wider interpretive context." Another important Madhyamaka author,

Śāntideva Shantideva (Sanskrit: Śāntideva; ; ; mn, Шантидэва гэгээн; vi, Tịch Thiên) was an 8th-century CE Indian philosopher, Buddhist monk, poet, and scholar at the mahavihara of Nalanda. He was an adherent of the Mādhyamaka phil ...

quotes the sutra twenty times in his ''Śikṣasamuccaya.'' The sutra is also cited by

Śāntarakṣita (Sanskrit; , 725–788),stanford.eduŚāntarakṣita (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)/ref> whose name translates into English as "protected by the One who is at peace" was an important and influential Indian Buddhist philosopher, particul ...

in his '' Madhyamakālaṃkāra'', by

Kamalaśīla Kamalaśīla (Skt. Kamalaśīla; Tib. པདྨའི་ངང་ཚུལ་, Pemé Ngang Tsul; Wyl. pad+ma'i ngang tshul) (c. 740-795) was an Indian Buddhist of Nalanda Mahavihara who accompanied Śāntarakṣita (725–788) to Tibet at th ...

in his ''

Bhāvanākrama The Bhāvanākrama (Bhk, "cultivation process" or "stages of meditation"; Tib. , ) is a set of three Buddhist texts written in Sanskrit by the Indian Buddhist scholar yogi Kamalashila (c. 9th century CE) of Nalanda university.Adam, Martin T. Med ...

'' (''Stages of Meditation''), by Prajñākaramati in his ''Bodhisattvacaryāvatārapañjikā (A Commentary on

Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra The ''Bodhisattvacaryāvatāra'' or ''Bodhicaryāvatāra'' ( sa, बोधिसत्त्वाचर्यावतार; Tibetan: བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའི་སྤྱོད་པ་ལ་འཇུག་པ་ ''b ...

)'' as well as by Atiśa Dīpankara,

Vimalamitra Vimalamitra () was an 8th-century Indian Buddhist monk. His teachers were Buddhaguhya, Jñānasūtra and Śrī Siṃha. He was supposed to have vowed to take rebirth every hundred years, with the most notable figures being Rigzin Jigme Lingpa, ...

, and Jñānaśrīmitra (fl. 975-1025 C.E.)''.'' Two Indian commentaries on the ''Samādhirāja'' are known, one of which is

's ''Kīrtimala'' (''Garland of Fame,'' Toh 4010; P 5511).

Chandragomin Chandragomin (Skt. Candragomin) was an Indian Buddhist lay scholar and poet from the Varendra region of Eastern Bengal. The Tibetan tradition believes challenged Chandrakirti. According to the Nepalese tradition, Chandragomin's student was Rat ...

(c. 5th to 7th-century CE) also wrote a commentary, which has not survived.Tatz, Mark (1972). ''Revelation in Madhyamika Buddhism,'' p. 10. M.A.Thesis, University of Washington. The ''Samādhirāja'' remained a popular source in the Tantric Age, and it is cited in numerous Buddhist tantric works, some of which also promote its recitation. Roberts writes that "the ''Maṇḍala Rite of Cakrasamvara'' says that four sūtras should be recited, one in each of the four main directions around the maṇḍala. The sūtras are the '' Prajñāparāmitā'' (Perfection of Wisdom in Eight Thousand Verses); ''Gaṇḍavyūha'' (Array of Trees), which is the last chapter of the '' Avataṃsaka''; '' Laṅkāvātara'' (Entry into Laṅka); and ''Samādhirāja'' (King of Samādhis)''.'' Similarly, the '' Mañjuśrīmūlakalpa'' teaches the recitation of the ''Samādhirāja'' for two ritual occasions: for a consecration ceremony for a painted scroll (pata) and for a western door of a tantric

mandala A mandala ( sa, मण्डल, maṇḍala, circle, ) is a geometric configuration of symbols. In various spiritual traditions, mandalas may be employed for focusing attention of practitioners and adepts, as a spiritual guidance tool, for e ...

. The sutra remains influential in Nepalese Buddhism, where it is one of the nine principal Mahayana texts (the "nine Dharmas") in that tradition, which include the four texts cited above as well as the '' Saddharmapuṇḍarīka'' (The White Lotus of the Good Dharma), '' Lalitavistara'' (The Play in Full), '' Tathāgataguhyaka'' (The Secret of the Tathāgatas), '' Suvarṇaprabha'' (The Golden Light), and '' Daśabhūmika'' (The Ten Bhūmis)''.Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) ''Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts,'' p. 11. Ann Arbor.'' In

East Asian Buddhism East Asian Buddhism or East Asian Mahayana is a collective term for the schools of Mahāyāna Buddhism that developed across East Asia which follow the Chinese Buddhist canon. These include the various forms of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, and Vi ...

, the ''Samādhirāja'' was never really very popular and is seldom quoted or commented upon''.''

In Tibet

According to Gomez and Silk, "although it is questionable how much the sutra itself was read in Tibet, it is often cited in Tibetan philosophical literature, probably mostly on the basis of quotations found in Indian texts." In Tibet, the ''King of Samādhis Sūtra'' was studied by the

Kadampa 300px, Tibetan Portrait of Atiśa The Kadam school () of Tibetan Buddhism was an 11th century Buddhist tradition founded by the great Bengali master Atiśa (982-1054) and his students like Dromtön (1005–1064), a Tibetan Buddhist lay master. ...

school of Atiśa (980–1054), for whom it was an important source. One of his students, Nagtsho Lotsawa, translated the commentary to this sutra, the ''Kīrtimālā'' (''The Garland of Fame''), by the Indian Mañjuśrīkīrti. The ''Samādhirāja'' is often cited as an important source for ''śamatha'' instructions by the

Kagyu The ''Kagyu'' school, also transliterated as ''Kagyü'', or ''Kagyud'' (), which translates to "Oral Lineage" or "Whispered Transmission" school, is one of the main schools (''chos lugs'') of Tibetan (or Himalayan) Buddhism. The Kagyu lineag ...

tradition, particularly via commentary by

Gampopa Gampopa Sönam Rinchen (, 1079–1153) was the main student of Milarepa, and a Tibetan Buddhist master who codified his own master's ascetic teachings, which form the foundation of the Kagyu educational tradition. Gampopa was also a doctor and ...

, although Andrew Skilton notes that the sūtra itself does not contain much meditation instruction. It is asserted in the

tradition that the ''Samādhirājasūtra'' predicted the dharma activity of Gampopa and the

Karmapa The Karmapa (honorific title '' His Holiness the Gyalwa'' ��ྒྱལ་བ་, Victorious One''Karmapa'', more formally as ''Gyalwang'' ��ྒྱལ་དབང་ཀརྨ་པ་, King of Victorious Ones''Karmapa'', and informally as the ' ...

s. The modern Kagyu lama,

Thrangu Rinpoche Thrangu Rinpoche ( ) was born in 1933 in Kham, Tibet. He is deemed to be a prominent tulku (reincarnate lama) in the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism, the ninth reincarnation in his particular line. His full name and title is the ''Very Venerabl ...

, has published an extensive commentary on this sutra. The ''Samādhirāja'' is also widely cited by

Gelug file:DalaiLama0054 tiny.jpg, 240px, 14th Dalai Lama, The 14th Dalai Lama (center), the most influential figure of the contemporary Gelug tradition, at the 2003 Kalachakra ceremony, Bodh Gaya, Bodhgaya (India). The Gelug (, also Geluk; "virtuous ...

authors.

Tsongkhapa Tsongkhapa ('','' meaning: "the man from Tsongkha" or "the Man from Onion Valley", c. 1357–1419) was an influential Tibetan Buddhist monk, philosopher and tantric yogi, whose activities led to the formation of the Gelug school of Tibetan Budd ...

quotes the sūtra thirteen times in his ''Lamrim Chenmo''. His student Khedrup Jé also cites it widely in his works. Khedrup sees this sutra as the most important of the Madhyamaka sutras after the Perfection of Wisdom sutras. Roberts also writes that "the sūtra is also much quoted in the best known commentarial works of the great scholars of all traditions, including several of the early

Sakya The ''Sakya'' (, 'pale earth') school is one of four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism, the others being the Nyingma, Kagyu, and Gelug. It is one of the Red Hat Orders along with the Nyingma and Kagyu. Origins Virūpa, 16th century. It depic ...

masters,

Longchenpa Longchen Rabjam Drimé Özer (), commonly abbreviated to Longchenpa (1308–1364, an honorific meaning "The Vast Expanse") was a Tibetan scholar-yogi of the Nyingma school ('Old School') of Tibetan Buddhism. According to tibetologist David Germ ...

, Minling Terchen, and

Drikung Drikung Kagyü or Drigung Kagyü ( Wylie: 'bri-gung bka'-brgyud) is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyü lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa (1079-1153) w ...

Chökyi Trakpa, as well as those of later authors like Jamgön Kongtrul, Mipham,

Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo Jamyang Khyentse Wangpo (, 1820–1892), also known by his tertön title, Pema Ösel Dongak Lingpa, was a renowned teacher, scholar and tertön of 19th-century Tibet. He was a leading figure in the Rimé movement. Having seen how the Gelug instit ...

, and Jigme Tenpai Nyima."

Buton Buton (also Butung, Boeton or Button) is an island in Indonesia located off the southeast peninsula of Sulawesi. It covers roughly 4,727 square kilometers in area, or about the size of Madura; it is the 129th largest island in the world and I ...

cites it numerous times in his ''History of Buddhism'' (''chos'' byung'').

English Translations

The following list contains English translations of various chapters of the sutra (and one full translation). *The first four chapters have been translated by Luis O. Gomez and Jonathan A. Silk. *The fourth, sixth, seventh and ninth chapters were translated by John Rockwell in an MA thesis at Naropa Institute. *The eleventh chapter was translated by Mark Tatz in his MA thesis at the University of Washington (1972). *The eight, nineteenth and twenty-second chapters were translated by Konstanty Regamey. * Peter A. Roberts translated the entire sutra at 84000.co translation site, 2018.

Quotations

Dudjom Rinpoche Kyabje Dudjom Jigdral Yeshe Dorje (, THL ''Düjom Jikdrel Yéshé Dorjé'') was known as Terchen Drodül Lingpa and as Dudjom Rinpoche (10 June 1904 – 17 January 1987). He is considered by many Tibetan Buddhists to be from a line of importan ...

(1904–1987), a prominent

Nyingma Nyingma (literally 'old school') is the oldest of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. It is also often referred to as ''Ngangyur'' (, ), "order of the ancient translations". The Nyingma school is founded on the first lineages and transl ...

lama, quotes the following passage from the ''Samādhirāja Sūtra'':

In thousands of world systems
The sūtras which I have explained
Differ in words and syllables but have the same meaning.
It is impossible to express them all,
But if one meditates deeply on a single word,
One comes to meditate on them all.
All the buddhas, as many as there are,
Have abundantly explained phenomena.
But if those skilled in meaning
Were to study only the phrase:
''All things are emptiness''
The doctrine of the Buddha would not be scarce.

Constantin Regamey translates a passage from the ''Samadhiraja Sutra'' discussing the Dharmakaya:

...the Body of the Tathagata .e. Buddhashould be defined as … having its essence identical with Space, invisible, surpassing the range of vision – thus is the Absolute Body to be conceived. Inconceivable, surpassing the sphere of thought, not oscillating between bliss and suffering, surpassing the illusory differentiation, placeless, surpassing the voice of those aspiring to the Knowledge of Buddhi, essential, surpassing passions, indivisible, surpassing hatred, steadfast, surpassing infatuation, explained by the indications of emptiness, unborn, surpassing birth, eternal from the standpoint of common experience, undifferentiated in the aspect of Nirvana, described in words as ineffable, quiescent in voice, homogenous with regard to conventional Truth, conventional with regard to the Absolute Truth – Absolute according to the true teaching.Regamey, Constantin (1938), ''Philosophy in the Samadhirajasutra'', Nakładem Towarzystwa Naukowego Warszawskiego. Reprint: Motilal Banarsidass, 1990, pp. 86-88

Notes

External sources

Rangjung Dorje (root text); Venerable Khenchen Thrangu Rinpoche (commentary); Peter Roberts (translator) (2001). ''Transcending Ego - Distinguishing Consciousness from Wisdom (Wylie: rnam shes ye shes ‘byed pa).''
accessed: Wednesday April 1, 2009)
''Philosophy in the Samādhirājasūtra: three chapters from the Samādhirājasūtra'' By Constantin Regamey @ Google Books
{{Buddhism topics Mahayana sutras Vaipulya sutras