Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha Sūtra Project

[Zhen Li]

I felt that it would be nice to have an English translation of the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha. I began translating the Sanskrit about a week ago and finished the first chapter today. To render it into English verse will take some time so I decided I will first create a prose version, and then gradually work on a verse version that will match the Sanskrit. This way, at least, English readers can read the contents. This is intended for easy reading by practitioners and isn't necessarily intended as an academic or critical translation.

It can be found here.

The artwork will all be original AI generations and I aim to have an illustration for each chapter.

At some point it would be nice to make a thorough introduction and maybe a light commentary for each chapter, but for now I will try to signpost each chapter with section headings and have a short summary on the contents page.

[Svalaksana]

Thanks you so much for your translation efforts, Zhen Li. They are most appreciated. I also intend to buy your publications in a near future.

[Aemilius]

There is a translation by Mithun Howladar | Karandavyuha Sutra, 2018. He writes in his introduction to the text:

" Dr. Buddhadev Bhattacharya prepared a critical bilingual (Sanskrit-Tibetan) edition of the text last year and published it in an international publisher. He took help from Tibetan sources. He edited this text of 6 Tibetan manuscripts and 5 Sanskrit manuscripts preserved in the Asiatic Society, Kolkata. The Dege edition and the critical edition of Kangyur were therefore my main sources. Sanskrit manuscripts do not necessarily reflect the original form of a text, even if they are in the original language, because they have their accumulation of omissions and additions that have occurred over the centuries to when a Tibetan or Chinese translation has been made. It has not yet been a critical edition of all the Sanskrit manuscripts available, but I have consulted three Sanskrit editions, the most important being a palm leaf manuscript from the Cambridge University Library, which was written at the beginning of the second millennium ahead development of the Devanāgarī script. It is notable for being closer to the Tibetan. Easier but less representative of the original text modification access are Sāmaśrami 1872 and 1962 Vaidya edition which is strictly based on Sāmaśrami. Sāmaśrami is available in the online Sanskrit texts project of the Theosophical Network and the Vaidya is openly available on the Internet. To complete the translation of some difficult passages, l also refer to the fragments of the Gilgit manuscript, although they were not easily accessible. The English translation of Silfung Chens into English from the Chinese was interesting in its correspondence with these editions.

However, as noted above, there were a number of points on which to rely on Sanskrit to complete missing elements, words, members of a list and sometimes complete sentences, although it is possible that some of them were added later to improve the flow and clarity sometimes embarrassing narrative of Sūtra. When the Tibetan translation was modified in favor of Sanskrit, the annotations indicate that this is the case.

An important goal was readability, so the syntax does not necessarily reflect that of the Tibetan or Sanskrit versions. For instance, an active construction may be used instead of a passive construction found in the original. First and third person inconsistencies have been resolved and, as noted above, the names are repeated when, in the opposite case, the reader can lose track of who is speaking and to whom the text refers. Fortunately, this will make reading the Sūtra in English less demanding than trying to do it in Tibetan or Sanskrit."

The work is in the Wisdom Library https://www.wisdomlib.org/buddhism/book ... yuha-sutra

[Zhen Li]

There is a translation by Mithun Howladar | Karandavyuha Sutra, 2018. He writes in his introduction to the text:

The Kāraṇḍavyūha and the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha are entirely different texts. The former is prose and the latter is entirely in verse—hence why I said my version is in prose and will be put into verse later to better suit the Sanskrit original.

Please take a look at the first chapter of the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha and compare to the opening of the Kāraṇḍavyūha for just a sample of how different the two texts are.

When we get into the second chapter, we will start to see some overlaps between the two texts, but they end up going in different directions.

Honestly, the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha is like a Buddhist purāṇa on the theme of Avalokiteśvara (in the manner of the Viṣṇupurāṇa or others). It is also very similar to the middle-period of development of the Svayambhūpurāṇa. As for the Kāraṇḍavyūha there's also a translation by Peter Alan Roberts and Tulku Yeshi, and in the interest of expanding the English Buddhist canon I try not to repeat stuff that has already been done.

[Javierfv1212]

There is a translation by Mithun Howladar | Karandavyuha Sutra, 2018. He writes in his introduction to the text:

The Kāraṇḍavyūha and the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha are entirely different texts. The former is prose and the latter is entirely in verse—hence why I said my version is in prose and will be put into verse later to better suit the Sanskrit original.

Please take a look at the first chapter of the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha and compare to the opening of the Kāraṇḍavyūha for just a sample of how different the two texts are.

When we get into the second chapter, we will start to see some overlaps between the two texts, but they end up going in different directions.

Honestly, the Guṇakāraṇḍavyūha is like a Buddhist purāṇa on the theme of Avalokiteśvara (in the manner of the Viṣṇupurāṇa or others). It is also very similar to the middle-period of development of the Svayambhūpurāṇa. As for the Kāraṇḍavyūha there's also a translation by Peter Alan Roberts and Tulku Yeshi, and in the interest of expanding the English Buddhist canon I try not to repeat stuff that has already been done.

Very interesting indeed, I initially assumed they were the same text

Does this text also contain the mantra of avalokiteshvara?

[Zhen Li]

Does this text also contain the mantra of avalokiteshvara?

Not in the Lokesh Chandra edition that I'm using, it only inter-textually refers to it as the "six syllable mahāvidyā" or "mahāmantra." It is interesting how the sūtra assumes knowledge of the Kāraṇḍavyūha, but is definitely not a repeat of the contents in verse form.

[Javierfv1212]

Gotcha, that's very interesting. It makes me think of how many texts are probably still out there that we don't know of.

A while back I created the wiki page "Sanskrit Buddhist literature" and have been updating it from time to time. I'm always surprised when I discover something new to add to it.

[Zhen Li]

Chapter 2 is now up.

A brief excerpt:

Being requested, that Bhagavān, the Lord of the Dharma, the Jina, having looked upon Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, said this:

He who is the glorious and greatly wise, Noble Avalokiteśvara, the Bodhisattva Mahāsattva, the Lord of all Worlds, who bears the instructions of the Jina Amitābha, who is compassionate, has come from the Sukhāvatī World System to rescue beings. Now, he is in Avīci Hell, where he ripens beings; having seen them, he came to rescue them by stretching out his hands. His rays touched all beings in that hell and made them happy; having done that, they came out of there and shone everywhere. Here have come these rays, born of that Lord of the World. Thus, this Mahāsattva, who has a great wealth of merit, has also come here to rescue evil beings.

Having heard this teaching by the Lord of Sages, that son of the Sugata, the wise Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin, was amazed. Having seen that Bhagavān, the Lord of Sages, he was astonished and thus asked about the magnanimity of the Lord of the World's merit:

O Bhagavān! In Avīci Hell, there is a great fire that blazes constantly. Its very bright flame is known not to have waves (vīci). How then does that Mahāsattva, the Lord of the World, endowed with compassion, enter there to rescue beings, O Lord of the World? Where its earth has an encircling rampart, there are great pits of fire with blazing firebrands, and there, a great cauldron filled with oil is placed. In it, beings of base mind and evil suffer endlessly. They are boiled for innumerable and incalculable days and nights, and those rough beings are tortured and remain with their limbs torn out. Thus, those beings suffering unbearable pain reap their evil deeds and continue to be tormented. And so, how and from where does that Mahāsattva, Lokanātha, the son of the Jina, enter there and save and embrace them? O Bhagavān! Having explained all this in detail for those who wish for it, please awaken us!

Thus requested by that wise bodhisattva, the Bhagavān beheld that Mahāsattva and taught him thus:

Listen carefully, O Mahāsattva, and with concentration! If you wish to hear about the magnanimity and power of the Lord of the World, I shall tell you for the benefit of the world:

Just as a lord of the earth, a king, a cakravartin, lord of men, endowed with great royal power and great enthusiasm, at springtime, when everywhere is adorned with flowers, enters a very delightful great garden, delightfully: thus, that Lord of the Triple World, nobly endowed with merit and power, having beheld it, entered Avīci, and shone brightly there. His body had no change, only bliss, great joy, great delight and rejoicing. When that Lord of the Triple World emitted rays from his own body, they emerged from Avīci, with illumination. Then, first, Avīci Hell, with great flames and firebrands, became cool, with great bliss, and the limbs [of beings there] instantly became calm. The guardian Yama, having seen this, became agitated and distressed and wondered what ill-omen arose there. Having said:

What deva or mighty demon approached there?

They went all around to see. There they saw him, of divine form and great splendour, with gentle form and good limbs, adorned with divine ornaments. They saw him endowed with great majesty and adorned with a matted hair crown, and having seen, they stood amazed. Then, that lord of all guardians, the Lord of the World, the son of the Jina, gazed shining and emitting pure rays.

When that lord of bodhisattvas and worlds entered there, a great lotus emerged, shining brightly. He stood there, resting on a lotus made of the seven jewels, and his water pot burst and the fires [of hell] there also were calmed. There, amidst the firewood, appeared a lake, and those evil beings were touched by his light, freed from the feeling of suffering and endowed with great bliss. Gladdened, and with faith, they looked at that lord. Having beheld him, they quickly approached him joyfully with palms joined, and having bowed to his lotus-like feet, they praised him and eulogised him respectfully.

Then, all those beings, having completely abandoned their crimes, with pure limbs and stainless minds, went to Sukhāvatī. And having gathered in Sukhāvatī, they all rejoiced and always sought refuge in the Lord of Sages, Amitābha. Having borne the vow of conduct for awakening, they practice for the world's benefit.

[Buddha's Dancer]

There is a translation by Mithun Howladar | Karandavyuha Sutra, 2018. He writes in his introduction to the text:

Newari (Nepalese) Mahayana Buddhism is almost an entirely separate religion with its own enormous collection and style of eso- and exoteric texts all by itself, featuring for example as the person said several scriptures resembling in style the Hindu puranas. Hence the text under consideration here is not from that mainland Indian corpus you are referring to.

[Zhen Li]

There is a translation by Mithun Howladar | Karandavyuha Sutra, 2018. He writes in his introduction to the text:

Newari (Nepalese) Mahayana Buddhism is almost an entirely separate religion with its own enormous collection and style of eso- and exoteric texts all by itself, featuring for example as the person said several scriptures resembling in style the Hindu puranas. Hence the text under consideration here is not from that mainland Indian corpus you are referring to.

Still, it's worth noting that 95% of the texts used in Newar Buddhism are still Indian in origin. A few of these texts that appeared in Nepal around the 14th to 15th centuries.

There has been a suggestion (though there's no evidence) that Vanaratna might have been involved in the composition of some of these texts.