The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Discuss and learn about the traditional Mahayana scriptures, without assuming that any one school ‘owns’ the only correct interpretation.
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Nicholas Weeks
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The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Now available at the 84,000 site - no PDF yet: http://read.84000.co/#!ReadingRoom/UT22084-066-018/0
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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kirtu
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by kirtu »

Sadhu, sadhu, sadhu!

:namaste:

Kirt
Kirt's Tibetan Translation Notes

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche

"Most all-knowing Mañjuśrī, ...
Please illuminate the radiant wisdom spirit
Of my precious Buddha nature."
HH Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
odysseus
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by odysseus »

This is nice.

:reading:
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Heterodox Garden
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by Heterodox Garden »

I have been waiting many, many years for somebody more skillful than me to make an English translation of this!!!

I can't thank you enough!!!

:applause:
Recommended reading material of recent interest:
写経 仏典を訓読してみませんか
http://gallerynyoze.web.fc2.com/syakyo.html
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pueraeternus
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by pueraeternus »

Thanks Will.
"Men must want to do things out of their own innermost drives. People, not commercial organizations or chains of command, are what make great civilizations work. Every civilization depends upon the quality of the individuals it produces. If you over-organize humans, over-legalize them, suppress their urge to greatness - they cannot work and their civilization collapses."
- A letter to CHOAM, attributed to the Preacher
Nicholas Weeks
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Heterodox Garden wrote:I have been waiting many, many years for somebody more skillful than me to make an English translation of this!!!

I can't thank you enough!!!

:applause:
Your Gimello link is a great article :bow: Also the source - the Taiwan site - seems to have many English papers of interest.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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kirtu
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by kirtu »

We should organize a sutra reading of the Ākāśagarbha Sūtra.

Kirt
Kirt's Tibetan Translation Notes

"Even if you practice only for an hour a day with faith and inspiration, good qualities will steadily increase. Regular practice makes it easy to transform your mind. From seeing only relative truth, you will eventually reach a profound certainty in the meaning of absolute truth."
Kyabje Dilgo Khyentse Rinpoche.

"Only you can make your mind beautiful."
HH Chetsang Rinpoche

"Most all-knowing Mañjuśrī, ...
Please illuminate the radiant wisdom spirit
Of my precious Buddha nature."
HH Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
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dzogchungpa
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by dzogchungpa »

Speaking of Ākāśagarbha and the 84000 project:
https://www.facebook.com/PrayerForInternetPractice
There is not only nothingness because there is always, and always can manifest. - Thinley Norbu Rinpoche
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WuMing
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by WuMing »

Now the Sutra is available for download: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Many thanks to the 84000 project! :bow: :bow: :bow:
Life is great and death has to be just as great as life.
- Mike Tyson
People not only don't know what's happening to them, they don't even know that they don't know.
- Noam Chomsky
Nicholas Weeks
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

Bhagavān proclaimed:

The bodhisattva mahāsattva Ākāśagarbha’s meditative concentration is like
an ocean. This bodhisattva’s training is like Mount Meru, his primordial wisdom
like space, his vigor like wind, and his tolerance like a vajra. He is like a supreme
victory banner among all bodhisattvas. For voyagers to nirvāṇa, he is like a
captain. He is like a treasure of all the roots of virtue. For all who suffer, he is like
a wishing vase; for those engulfed in darkness, like the sun; for those who have
lost their way, like the moon; for the frightened, like Mount Meru; for those
severely tormented by the sickness of afflictions, like a medicinal elixir; for those
who have severed the roots of virtue and fallen, like a walking stick. For those
who make a living by weaving garlands, he is like a flower; for those who
observe vows, like a mirror; for those who have conscientiousness and modesty,
like clothing; for travelers to nirvāṇa, like a footbridge; for voyagers to the other
shore, like a boat; for travelers to the higher realms, like a staircase. For those
suffering from insults and slander, he is like a parasol; for those facing
opposition, like a lion; for the rains, like water; for those fighting against Māra,
like armor; for those who have mistaken the precepts, like the opening of their
eyes; for all harvests of the roots of virtue, like the earth. [F.266.b] For the sick he
is like a doctor; for the hungry, like grain; for the thirsty, like a water crystal;
for the exhausted, like a bed; for those in meditative concentration, like a fire
lens; for those who have entered the path to enlightenment, like a chariot; for
those playing in parks, like a pool; for those striving toward enlightenment, like
a rosary.
Last edited by Nicholas Weeks on Sun Oct 27, 2019 4:20 pm, edited 1 time in total.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
Nicholas Weeks
Posts: 4209
Joined: Mon Apr 06, 2009 4:21 am
Location: California

Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by Nicholas Weeks »

This son of noble family is like the fruition of the perfections, like a wishfulfilling
jewel for those on the tenth ground, like a wish-fulfilling tree for those
who have achieved the meditative concentration of brave progression. For all
who are engaged in negative views, he is like a weapon because he severs; for
those afflicted beings entangled in latent tendencies, he is like a vajra because he
overcomes. The demons cannot conquer him. For those of skillful means, he is
the measure of time; for primordial wisdom, he is discernment. For the entire
Buddhadharma, he is the abode; for pratyekas, like a garland; for all śrāvakas,
like the robes; for gods, like an eye; for humans, like a path; for those born in the
animal realm, a shelter; for pretas, a support; for hell beings, a protector. For
those sentient beings who receive donations, he transforms into a container; for
bodhisattvas, into a chariot. For all the tathāgata, arhat, perfectly complete
buddhas of the three times, this son of noble family is like a minister. He is the
gatekeeper of the city of Dharma. This son of noble family possesses the perfect
buddhas’ primordial wisdom complete with all adornments, including the
eighteen unique qualities of a buddha. This son of noble family is someone
whom all sentient beings, with the exception of the tathāgatas, should worship
with every supreme offering. Therefore, all of you who have gathered here
should now welcome him.
May all seek, find & follow the Path of Buddhas.
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tobes
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by tobes »

Thanks for bumping this, NW.

I haven't really encountered this text before; it is quite sublime.

:bow:
humble.student
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Re: The Ākāśagarbha Sūtra

Post by humble.student »

tobes wrote: Mon Nov 11, 2019 3:39 am Thanks for bumping this, NW.

I haven't really encountered this text before; it is quite sublime.

:bow:
The monograph "The Bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha (Kokūzō) in China and Japan" by De Visser is well worth reading.
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