The Array of the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya
༄༅། །དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ་མི་འཁྲུགས་པའི་བཀོད་པ།
The Array of the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya
Akṣobhyatathāgatasya vyūhaḥ
· Toh 50 ·
Degé Kangyur, vol. 40 (dkon brtsegs, kha), folios 1.b–70a
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha is a global non-profit initiative to translate all the Buddha’s words into modern languages, and to make them available to everyone.
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Akṣobhya
mi ’khrugs pa
མི་འཁྲུགས་པ།
akṣobhya (Attested Dictionary)
Literally “unperturbed” or “immovable.” The buddha of the eastern buddhafield of Abhirati. As detailed in this sūtra, the name was given to a monk when he made his bodhisattva resolutions and was retained when he attained full awakening. The name refers to Akṣobhya’s firmness of resolve in his commitments as a bodhisattva and his ability to remain unperturbed in his interactions with sentient beings.
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1.54
“Then, Śāradvatīputra, the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Great-Eyes gave this prophecy to the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣobhya: ‘Noble son, at a certain time in the future, you will become a thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha, endowed with perfect wisdom and conduct, a well-gone one, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed guide who tames beings, a teacher of gods and men, the buddha known as Blessed One Akṣobhya.’ By analogy, Śāradvatīputra, it was like the prophecy that the thus-gone one Dīpaṅkara made when he foretold that I would attain unsurpassed and perfect awakening.
1.79
“Śāradvatīputra, it was through his adoption of such steadfast great perseverance that the bodhisattva mahāsattva Akṣobhya fully awakened to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, and is now known as the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya who presently resides, lives, and flourishes, teaching the Dharma, in the world system known as Abhirati.
2.46
“Furthermore Śāradvatīputra, similar lotuses bloom in each of the world systems of the great trichiliocosm to which the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya travels in order or teach the Dharma. In whatever region or world system the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya sends forth his emanations, by the power of his awakening, similar lotuses appear there as well. As a result, Śāradvatīputra, all the world systems of the great trichiliocosm are constantly adorned with thousand-petalled golden lotuses like these.
3.3
“Also, Śāradvatīputra, there are very few noble sons in that buddhafield who settle for the fruit of stream-entry, or the fruit of being a once-returner, or the fruit of being a non-returner. By analogy, Śāradvatīputra, it is like how even lazy people who are present here during my own Dharma teachings will reach stream-entry within seven lifetimes, but they will not reach higher attainments. Similar to those present at my own teachings who will reach stream-entry within seven lifetimes, noble sons present at the Dharma teachings of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya who do not reach the fruit of becoming a worthy one in that very sitting will, by means of that first Dharma teaching alone, reach the fruit of stream-entry, with the second Dharma teaching will achieve the fruit of being a once-returner, with the third Dharma teaching will achieve the fruit of being a non-returner, and with the fourth Dharma teaching will reach the fruit of becoming a worthy one.
3.6
“Śāradvatīputra, the so-called ‘excellence of remaining in the essence of purity’ is a verbal designation for the saṅgha of śrāvaka worthy ones of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya who are free from contaminations, who are devoid of afflictive emotions, who have mastery, whose minds are thoroughly liberated, whose wisdom is thoroughly liberated, who are thoroughbreds, great elephants, who have performed their duties, accomplished their goals, removed their burdens, achieved their purposes, who have exhausted the fetters that bind them to existence, who having liberated their minds through true knowledge, and have attained sublime perfection through the mastery over all mental states—for the most part as meditators on the eight liberations. That too, Śāradvatīputra, is an excellent array of the śrāvaka saṅgha of śrāvakas in the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya.
4.3
“Unlike the Dharma teachings that I give here, Śāradvatīputra, the Dharma teachings given by the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya are immeasurable and countless. By comparison, the Dharma teachings that I give here do not even come close to a hundredth, or a thousandth, or a billionth, or a ten billionth, or a trillionth, or a quintillionth—no number, fraction, enumeration, analogy, or illustration can even come close—of those Dharma teachings. Śāradvatīputra, even compared to all the Dharma teachings that will be taught by the bodhisattva mahāsattva Maitreya after he fully awakens to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood, or compared to all the Dharma teachings taught by every blessed buddha of the Fortunate Eon, the Dharma teachings taught by the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya are immeasurable and countless. By comparison, all the Dharma teachings imparted by all the blessed buddhas of the Fortunate Eon will not even come close to a hundredth part of those Dharma teachings, nor a thousandth, a billionth, a ten billionth, a trillionth, or a quintillionth—no number, fraction, enumeration, analogy, or illustration can even come close—of them.
4.14
“Śāradvatīputra, all bodhisattvas who, after dying and transmigrating from this world or from any other world, have taken, are taking, or will take rebirth in the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya, will receive a prophecy as being irreversible from unsurpassed and perfect awakening.
4.19
There is a particular variety of gold that is just its pure essence, free from any pebbles, grit, stone or dust, that has been refined through double smelting. After refining, it is made into different kinds of ornaments and worn on the body. Similarly, Śāradvatīputra, all bodhisattva mahāsattvas in the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya abide in the pure essence. Śāradvatīputra, it should be known that bodhisattva mahāsattvas assembled in the buddhafield of the thus-gone Akṣobhya are pure.
5.2
Knowing what the venerable Śāradvatīputra was thinking, the Blessed One said to him, “Śāradvatīputra, on the day that the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya passes completely beyond suffering in the great parinirvāṇa, in order to demonstrate the Dharma to beings in the world systems of the great trichiliocosm, the Thus-Gone One will issue forth numerous physical emanations of himself, and each of those emanated bodies of the Thus-Gone One will likewise teach the Dharma to sentient beings, so that infinitely more sentient beings will be tamed by his Dharma than had already been tamed before. Among those beings, some will be tamed according to the śrāvaka vehicle, some according to the pratyekabuddha vehicle, and some will be tamed according to the Unsurpassed Vehicle of the Ten Powers.
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Unsurpassed Vehicle of the Ten Powers
stobs bcu’i theg pa bla na med pa
སྟོབས་བཅུའི་ཐེག་པ་བླ་ན་མེད་པ།
A synonym for the Mahāyāna, “the Great Vehicle” or the way of bodhisattvas. The ten powers refers to the ten powers of a thus-gone one. They are (1) knowing what is possible and what is impossible; (2) knowing the results of actions or the ripening of karma; (3) knowing the various inclinations of sentient beings; (4) knowing the various elements; (5) knowing the supreme and lesser faculties of sentient beings; (6) knowing the paths that lead to all destinations of rebirth; (7) knowing the concentrations, liberations, absorptions, equilibriums, afflictions, purifications, and abidings; (8) knowing previous lives; (9) knowing the death and rebirth of sentient beings; and (10) knowing the cessation of the defilements.
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5.3
“Śāradvatīputra, at the time of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya’s great parinirvāṇa, he will prophesy that the bodhisattva mahāsattva known as Gandhahastin will reach unsurpassed and perfect awakening. He will declare, ‘Seven days after the disappearance of my sublime Dharma, you, sublime being, will fully awaken to unsurpassed and perfect buddhahood here in this world system of Abhirati. You will become a thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha, endowed with perfect wisdom and conduct, well-gone, a knower of the world, an unsurpassed subduer of beings, a teacher of gods and men, a blessed buddha known as Golden Lotus.’ Śāradvatīputra, the excellent array of qualities of the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Golden Lotus will be just like the excellent array of qualities of the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy perfect buddha Akṣobhya. Śāradvatīputra, the excellent array of the saṅgha of śrāvakas and the excellent array of the assembly of bodhisattvas of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Golden Lotus will be just like the excellent array of the saṅgha of śrāvakas and the excellent array of the assembly of the bodhisattvas of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya, without any addition or omission.
5.22
“Śāradvatīputra, the disappearance of the sublime Dharma of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya will not be caused by Māra and the māra deities, nor will the disappearance of his sublime Dharma be caused by the śrāvakas of the blessed ones. Rather, Śāradvatīputra, the yearning to hear the sublime Dharma will decline among humans. With diminished yearning, they will not go before dharmabhāṇaka monks who recite the Dharma. Since they do not go before them, they will not hear the sublime Dharma. Since they do not hear the sublime Dharma, they will not practice. Since they do not practice, they will not attain higher qualities. And the monks who recite the Dharma, being aware of the decreased interest among people, will not give Dharma teachings. In this way, Śāradvatīputra, his sublime Dharma will gradually disappear.”
6.14
“Śāradvatīputra, the roots of virtue for attaining unsurpassed and perfect awakening cannot be measured. Śāradvatīputra, even if beings were to gather them up and fill containers as vast as the sky, they would never be able to exhaust them. Śāradvatīputra, the roots of virtue for attaining unsurpassed and perfect awakening cannot be measured with any kind of container, for their container, Śāradvatīputra, is omniscience itself.
6.22
“As a result of this, Śāradvatīputra, when a noble son or noble daughter hears the name of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya and having learnt it and reflected upon it, creates a thousand images of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya seated on an arrangement of lotuses atop an elephant throne, then, when the time of their death arrives, the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya will appear before them, surrounded by his saṅgha of śrāvakas and attended by his assembly of bodhisattvas, and they will behold the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya seated in front of them. When they see him, they will be filled with joy, they will not forget him, they will meet their time of death without mental distraction, and having met the time of death in this way, they will be reborn in the world system of Abhirati, the buddhafield of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya. When any noble son or noble daughter who creates the quality of generosity in this way reaches the time of death, they will behold the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya and, having seen him, all their misdeeds will be purified, and they will be reborn in that buddhafield.
6.55
“Similarly, Śāradvatīputra, this Dharma discourse that proclaims the qualities of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya will come to be in the hands of bodhisattvas. Śāradvatīputra, bodhisattva mahāsattvas who listen to this Dharma discourse that proclaims the qualities of the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya and, having heard it, retain it, uphold it, read it aloud and, thoroughly comprehending it, teach it widely and correctly to others, and practice the yoga of the ultimate in unsurpassed and perfect awakening, will become irreversible.”
6.75
Thereupon, the gods of the desire realm and the brahmā deities bowed with their palms joined towards the eastern direction, where the blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya abides. They prostrated and repeated three times, “The blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Śākyamuni has expounded here the Dharma discourse that proclaims the qualities of Akṣobhya, a blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha in another world system. We pay homage to that blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya. We pay homage to that blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha Akṣobhya. We pay homage.”
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i.8
The Array of the Thus-Gone One Akṣobhya is among the earliest Mahāyāna Buddhist scriptures to have been translated into Chinese. Therefore, it is an important early witness to the development of the Mahāyāna. Its literary style, with extensive formulaic repetition, is suggestive of oral transmission in the hands of dharmabhāṇakas, and its content indicates a primary audience of monastic communities that included both followers of the śrāvaka and bodhisattva vehicles. A Chinese translation of the scripture was made during the Han Dynasty sometime between 178 and 186 ᴄᴇ by the pioneering Yüeh-chih translator, Lokakṣema (Taishō 313).
i.9
The flourishing of a Mahāyāna tradition associated with the buddha Akṣobhya and his eastern buddhafield Abhirati in this early period is further attested by the recent discovery of what appears to be a related Akṣobhya sūtra among the birch bark scrolls in the Kharoṣṭhī language of the so-called Bajaur Collection which have been dated to the first two centuries ᴄᴇ. The discovery of this Gāndhārī scroll adds further weight to the suggestions made by Jean Dantinne (1983) and Jan Nattier (2000), that the Akṣobhyavyūhasūtra may represent a significant “missing link” for understanding the early development of what came to be known as Pure Land Buddhism in East Asia. The most important sūtra for Pure Land Buddhism is undoubtedly the Sukhāvativyūhasūtra (Toh 49). This text represents a parallel Mahāyāna scripture—also translated into Chinese by Lokakṣema—which describes the wonders of the western buddhafield of Amitābha and it has had an enormous influence on the devotional traditions of East Asian as well as Tibetan Buddhism. Like the Sukhāvativyūha, the Akṣobhyavyūha was also translated again into Chinese in the early eighth century by the south Indian monk Bodhiruci and his team as part of the full translation of the Mahāratnakūṭa (Heap of Jewels) collection (Taishō 310). An abridged English translation of Bodhiruci’s Chinese version is included in the anthology published by Garma C. Chang (1983). A French translation of the first half of the text was also published in the same year by Dantinne.
