Asian Literature and Translation

ISSN 2051-5863

‘Turning the Wheel of the

Teaching’:
A translation of Aśvaghoṣa’s
Buddhacarita Canto 15 from a recently
rediscovered Sanskrit manuscript

Dhivan Thomas Jones

doi: 10.18573/alt.50

Vol 8, No. 1, 2021

Item accepted September 2021

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0

International License(CC-BY-NC-ND) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
© Dhivan Jones
‘Turning the Wheel of the Teaching’:
A translation of Aśvaghoṣa’s Buddhacarita Canto 15 from a
recently rediscovered Sanskrit manuscript

Introduction

The Buddhacarita, or ‘Life of the Buddha’, is a long poem (mahākāvya) written in about the
2nd c. CE by Aśvaghoṣa, a Brahman convert to Buddhism, who came from Sāketa in north-west
India.1 It was thought that only the first fourteen cantos of the Buddhacarita had survived in the
original Sanskrit, amounting to half of the complete work. E.H Johnston (1936) published an
edition of those first fourteen cantos of the Buddhacarita that remains the standard today.2 It is
based on a Nepalese manuscript from which some palm leaves were missing, leaving gaps in cantos
1 and 14. Johnston went on, however, to translate not only the extant Sanskrit of the Buddhacarita,
but also the missing stanzas from cantos 1 and 14 from the surviving 13th c. Tibetan translation,
which had been edited by Friedrich Weller (1926). He also made a translation, from the Tibetan
translation together with a translation into Chinese, of cantos 15–28. More recently, Patrick Olivelle
(2008) has made a new, more literary, translation of Johnston’s Sanskrit edition and additions,
ending with stanza 31 of Canto 14, describing the night of the Buddha’s Awakening. Olivelle then
gives a summary of the remaining fourteen cantos, based on Johnston’s translation. But, as Johnston
explains, the Chinese translation is a very free paraphrase, while the Tibetan translation is often
corrupt and ambiguous.3 The poetry is lost.
The rediscovery, therefore, of the Sanskrit stanzas of Canto 15 of the Buddhacarita is a
cause for celebration among lovers of Sanskrit literature. The Japanese scholar Kazunobu Matsuda
(2020), working with Jens-Üwe Hartmann, has recently identified the whole canto embedded in a
Sanskrit manuscript of the Tridaṇḍamālā, attributed to Aśvaghoṣa. This manuscript was preserved
in sPos khang monastery in Tibet (200 kms southwest of Lhasa), copied from an original which was
brought there from India by Atīśa. The manuscript was photographed by Giuseppe Tucci and
Rāhula Sāṅkṛtyāyana in the 1930s, and, despite parts of the photographs being out of focus,
Matsuda has managed to identify almost all of the Sanskrit characters with more or less certainty.
While Matsuda has made a translation into Japanese, I offer below a translation of the Sanskrit text
of Buddhacarita Canto 15 into English.
Scholars have shown how Aśvaghoṣa drew on a range of canonical materials for his
biography, while re-imagining character and dialogue for the sake of art.4 While Canto 15 appears
to draw on materials preserved in the Pāli Ariyapariyesanā Sutta and Dhammacakkappavattana
Sutta, further research would be needed to identify his precise sources. A summary of Canto 15 is

1
Aśvaghoṣa’s other surviving work is Saundarananda, ed. & trans. Johnston (1932), and trans. Covill
(2007) as Handsome Nanda.
2
Replacing a previous edition by Cowell (1893).
3
Johnston (1936: 6); the Chinese translation has recently been translated into English by Willemen (2009);
and for a more positive account of Sanskrit-Chinese translation strategies in relation to the Buddhacarita see
Lettere (2015).
4
See Johnston (1936), Eltschinger (2012; 2013; 2014; 2020), Li (2019), and the bibliography by Eltschinger
and Yamabe (2018).

47
as follows. The newly-awakened Buddha is on the road to Vārāṇasī (1). He meets Upaga, who asks
about his teacher (2–3). The Buddha replies (4–12) that he has no teacher, that he is Awakened, that
he is going to teach the Dharma, as he vowed to do many lifetimes previously, as an expression of
altruistic concern. Upaga is impressed and sceptical at the same time (13). The Buddha reaches
Vārāṇasī (also called Kāśi) and enters the Deer Park (14–15). His former companions see him and
decide to be friendly despite his abandoning the life of austerity (16–18). As he approaches they
cannot help but respond with respect (19–21). The Buddha, however, reprimands them for using his
old family name (Gautama), for now that he is Awakened it is no longer appropriate (22–3). The
ascetics are baffled, since to them the Buddha has given up the ascetic life (24–6). The Buddha
explains how neither an ordinary life of sensual desire, nor the ascetic life of austerity, can possibly
lead to insight (27–33). He has discovered a middle way (34), and the eightfold path (35–6). The
Buddha teaches them the four noble truths (37–8), the nature of unsatisfactoriness (duḥkha) (39–
40), and the role of the conception of self (ātman), of the root faults (doṣas) and of past actions
(karma) in maintaining conditioned existence (41–3). He describes nirvāṇa (44–5) and his
attainment of Awakening (46–50), and Kauṇḍinya gains insight (51). The concluding stanzas praise
Kauṇḍinya and then describe how news of the turning of the Wheel of the Dharma travels through
the universe (52–8).
My translation consists in two parallel translations, the first in verse and the second in prose,
corresponding to two different translation strategies. The prose is a literal word-by-word translation
which intends to convey the syntactic texture and wide-ranging vocabulary of Aśvaghoṣa’s Sanskrit
in a readable English version. However, such a translation is at the cost of the poetic qualities of the
kāvya. Hence, the verse translation renders Aśvaghoṣa’s gāthās a pāda at a time. Sanskrit poetry
relies on metre, that is, on patterns of long and short syllables. Stanzas 1–51 of Canto 15 are in a
triṣṭubh metre called upajāti, which Aśvaghoṣa handles with consummate skill. In English poetry
since the time of Milton, blank verse (unrhymed iambic pentameter) has been used to convey
philosophical narrative in a dignified register not too removed from ordinary speech. Hence I have
rendered Aśvaghoṣa’s upajāti into a loose blank verse. The closing stanzas of Canto 15 are in a
more elaborate metre called praharṣiṇī, which I have put into an unrhymed ballad metre.

References

Covill, Linda, trans. 2007. Handsome Nanda by Aśvaghoṣa. Clay Sanskrit Library. New York: New
York University Press/JJC Foundation.
Cowell, E.B., ed. 1893. The Buddhacarita or Life of the Buddha by Asvaghosha. Oxford: Anecdota
Onoxiensia.
Eltschinger, Vincent. 2012. ‘Aśvaghoṣa and His Canonical Sources II – Yaśas, the Kāśyapa
Brothers and the Buddha’s Arrival in Rājagṛha (Buddhacarita 16.3–71)’. Journal of the
International Association of Buddhist Studies 35 (1–2): 171–224.
———. 2013. ‘Aśvaghoṣa and His Canonical Sources (III): The Night of Awakening
(Buddhacarita 14.1–87)’. Journal of Indian Philosophy 41: 167–94.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-018-9376-0.
———. 2014. ‘Aśvaghoṣa and His Canonical Sources I: Preaching Selflessness to King Bimbisāra
and the Magadhans (Buddhacarita 16.73– 93)’. Journal of Indian Philosophy 41: 167–94.
https://doi.org/DOI 10.1007/s10781-013-9178-3.
———. 2020. ‘Aśvaghoṣa and His Canonical Sources: 4. On the Authority and the Authenticity of
the Buddhist Scriptures’. In Archaeologies of the Written: Indian, Tibetan, and Buddhist

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 Studies in Honour of Cristina Scherrer-Schaub, edited by Vincent Tournier, Vincent
Eltschinger, and Marta Sernesi, 127–69. Napoli: Unior Press.
Eltschinger, Vincent, and Nobuyoshi Yamabe. 2018. ‘A Bibliography of Aśvaghoṣa’. Journal of
Indian Philosophy 47: 383–404. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-018-9367-1.
Johnston, E.H. 1932. The Saundarananda, or Nanda the Fair, by Aśvaghoṣa. London: Oxford
University Press.
———. 1936. Aśvaghoşa’s Buddhacarita or, Acts of the Buddha. Lahore: University of the Panjab.
Lettere, Laura. 2015. ‘Translation as Innovation in Literature: The Case of a Sanskrit Buddhist
Poem Translated into Chinese’. Open Linguistics 1: 376–85. https://doi.org/DOI
10.1515/opli-2015-0008.
Li, Shenghai. 2019. ‘The Nirvāṇa of the Buddha and the Afterlife of Aśvaghoṣa’s Life of the
Buddha’. Journal of Indian Philosophy 47: 361–82. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10781-019-
09384-3.
Matsuda, Kazunobu. 2020. ‘Sanskrit Text and Japanese Translation of the Buddhacarita Canto 15’
(ブッダチャリタ第 15 章「初転法輪」−梵文テキストと和訳−). The Bulletin of the
Association of Buddhist Studies 25: 27–46.
Olivelle, Patrick, trans. 2008. Life of the Buddha by Aśvaghoṣa. Clay Sanskrit Library. New York:
New York University Press/JJC Foundation.
Weller, Friedrich. 1926. Das Leben Des Buddha: Tibetisch Und Deutsch. Leipzig: E. Pfeiffer.
Willemen, Charles, trans. 2009. Buddhacarita: In Praise of Buddha’s Acts. BDK English Tripiṭika
Series. Berkeley: BDK America. https://bdkamerica.org/product/buddhacarita-in-praise-of-
buddhas-acts/.

Translation: Buddhacarita Canto 15: ‘Turning the Wheel of the Teaching’

The Sanskrit text below is reproduced with the kind permission of Kazunobu Matsuda. The (round)
and [square] brackets indicate increasing uncertainty in his readings. I have accessed Matsuda’s
notes in Japanese with the help of online translation tools. In the two stanzas (37 and 42) where
some akṣaras (letters) are illegible, I have made conjectures, given in footnotes. I am grateful to an
anonymous ALT reviewer for helpful suggestions that have improved the translation.

taṃ śāntam ojasvinam āptakāryaṃ Tranquil yet vigorous, his task fulfilled,
prayāntam ekaṃ bahuneva sārdham | alone yet moving as if with many –
kaścin niśāmyādhvani bhikṣudharmā observing this monk-like traveller, Upaga,
savismayaḥ prāñjalir ity uvāca || 1 || 5 amazed, spoke as follows, with folded hands:

1. Observing on the road that peaceful one who was vigorous, whose task had been achieved, who
was moving forward alone as if together with many, resembling a monk, someone [i.e. Upaga]
spoke the following, amazed, with hands pressed together:

sattveṣu sakteṣu yathāsy asaktaḥ “Among compulsive beings you are uncompelled,
calendriyāśveṣu jitendriyāśvaḥ | like a tamed horse among nervous wild beasts.

5
The first 51 gāthās are in upajāti metre (consisting in 11 syllables per pāda, ¯ ˘ ¯ ¯ ˘ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ). In the
verse translation I respond with blank verse (consisting of unrhymed iambic pentameters).

49
śaṅke namasyo ’si śaśāṅkakalpa I think that, like the moon, you deserve respect,
prajñārasasyātirasasya tṛptaḥ || 2 || full up with wisdom’s pleasing, juicy taste.

2. “You are unattached among living beings who are attached, like a horse whose faculties have
been won over among horses whose faculties are trembling. I think you are like the moon in being
deserving of respect, in being satisfied with the very tasty taste of wisdom.

vaktrasya te dhīra yathā prasādaḥ “The way your face is radiant, brave sir, and how
karoṣi caiśvaryam ihendriyāṇām | you exercise control over your senses,
nūnaṃ kṛtārtho ’si maharṣibhākṣa you must have reached your goal, great bull-eyed one.
kas te gurur brūhi yato ’si siddhaḥ || 3 || But who’s your teacher? Tell me, how did you succeed?”

3. “Brave sir, according to the radiance of your face, and how you make control of your senses here,
certainly you are one whose aim is achieved, great bull-eyed one. Who is your teacher, tell me, how
have you succeeded?”

taṃ so ’bravīn nāsti mamānuśāstā “I have no instructor,” the Buddha said,

mānyo na me kaścana nāvamānyaḥ | “and no-one do I venerate nor despise.
svayaṃbhuvaṃ mām avagaccha dharme Know me to be independent in the Dharma,
nirvāṇam āpannam atulyam anyaiḥ || 4 || attained to an incomparable nirvāṇa.

4. He said this: “I have no instructor. I do not esteem nor despise anyone. Know me to be
independent in respect of the Dharma. The quenching I have attained is not equalled by others.

yataś ca boddhavyam abuddham anyair “What others could awaken to but have not,
buddhaṃ mayā kṛtsnam ato ’smi buddhaḥ | I have wholly understood, so I am Buddha.
kleśāś ca yasmād abhinirjitā me And I have mastered the afflictions, so
tasmāj jinaṃ mām upagāvagaccha || 5 || you should know me as the Master, Upaga.

5. “Because others have not awakened to what is to be awakened to, but I have completely
awakened to it, therefore I am the Awakened One. And because I am completely victorious over the
afflictions, therefore, Upaga, you should know me as the victor.

vārāṇasīm [eṣa ca] saumya yāmi “My friend, I go to Varanasi, there

tatrāhaniṣye ’mṛtadharmabherīm | to beat the Dharma-drum of deathlessness,
ārtasya duḥkhair jagato hitāya for the well-being of the suffering world,
na mānahetor na yaśaḥsukhāya || 6 || not because of pride, nor for the bliss of fame.

6. “And, friend, I am going to Vārāṇasī. There I will beat the kettle-drum of the Dharma of the
deathless state, for the well-being of the world oppressed by sufferings, not because of pride nor for
the enjoyment of fame.

tīrṇo jagattārayitā bhaveyaṃ “For this was my vow, many ages past,
sattvāni muktaḥ parimocayeyam | having seen the suffering of the living world:
ity ārtam ālokya hi jīvalokaṃ ‘Once crossed over, I will help the world cross too,
mamābhavat pūrvam iyaṃ pratijñā || 7 || and I will free living beings, once freed.’

50
7. “For this was my vow in the past, having seen the oppression which is the world of life: ‘Crossed
over, I will be the one who makes the world cross over; liberated, I will liberate living beings.’

kiṃ citram ātmānam ihaikam eva “How strange that people in this world gain wealth
yad vārayed artham [avāpya] kaścit | then hide themselves away! The truly rich,
mahājanaṃ yas tv animīlitākṣaṃ obtaining what is special, distribute it
viśeṣam āsādya vibharti so ’rthyaḥ || 8 || to all and sundry who have unclosed eyes.

8. “How strange that someone in this world, having obtained wealth, should hide themselves away
on their own; but the truly wealthy person is [someone] who, having found the distinctive state,
distributes [it to] the population whose eyes are not closed.

yo hi sthalastho naram uhyamānaṃ “That person is not good, who, stood on dry ground,
noddhartum icchen na sa sādhurūpaḥ | does not want to rescue someone carried off;
labdhvā nidhiṃ yaś ca janaṃ daridraṃ and short-sighted is the one who gains wealth,
nārthena yuñjyād avicakṣaṇaḥ saḥ || 9 || but does not share their riches with the poor.

9. “For the one who, stood on dry ground, would not want to rescue a person being carried along
[by a flood] is not a good person; and the one who gets rich but does not provide poor people with
wealth is not a clear-sighted person.

svasthena rogābhihato hi yuktaṃ “It’s only right for one returned to health
cikitsituṃ hastagatauṣadhena | to heal the sick with herbs that come to hand.
nistīrṇamārgeṇa tatho[papannam The right course for those on the wrong road is
ājñā]tum unmārgagatāya mārgaḥ || 10 || to learn who’s made the journey, knows the way.

10. “For it is appropriate for one who has beaten disease with health to treat [others] using herbal
medicines that are to hand. Likewise, it is the right course for one gone on the wrong road to notice
one who has achieved the completion of the journey.

tathā hi dīpaḥ kurute prakāśaṃ “For just as a lamp creates illumination

na caiva taddhetukam eti rāgam | but not the colours that the light throws up,
buddhas tathā jñānamayaṃ prakāśaṃ likewise a Buddha’s radiance, made of knowledge,
karoti tasmāc ca na rāgam eti || 11 || shows up a passion-tinged world it did not make.

11. “For just as a lamp creates illumination and does not spread colouration because of that,
likewise an Awakened One makes a radiance composed of knowledge and from that does not
spread the colouring of passion.

dhruvaṃ hi kāṣṭhe yathā hutāśanaḥ “As surely as the wind dwells in the sky,
samīraṇaḥ khe salilaṃ pṛthivyām | as fire lives in the wood, and water flows
tadvan munīnāṃ niyato ’vabodho on earth, likewise at Gaya the sages must
gayeṣu vai kāśiṣu dharmavādaḥ || 12 || awaken, then at Kāśi teach the Dharma.”

51
12. “For just as it is certain that there is fire in wood, wind in the sky, and water in the earth,
likewise it is destined that the Awakening of the sages occurs at Gaya, and the teaching of the
Dharma at Kāśi [i.e., Vārāṇasī].”

aho hi nāmety upago ’bhi[vādya “Incredible!” said Upaga. With words of thanks,
yatheccham u](tsṛjya) [tato jagāma] | he begged to take his leave, and went his way,
muhur muhur vismayaphulladṛṣṭir his eyes wide with amazement, delightedly
jātaspṛho buddham avekṣyamāṇaḥ || 13 || gazing at the Buddha again and again.

13. “Well, well,” said Upaga, and with words of thanks he took his leave agreeably and went from
that place, again and again looking at the Buddha with appreciation, his eyes wide with amazement.

tato muniḥ kāśipurīṃ krameṇa Then, gradually, the sage saw Kāśi ahead,
vasvokasārapratimāṃ dadarśa | resembling the city of Indra himself,
sakhīm ivāliṅgya samāgatāṃ tāṃ and saw the Ganges, Varaṇā and Asī
bhāgīrathīṃ caiva vārāṇasīṃ ca || 14 || converging, embracing it like friends.

14. Then, gradually, the sage saw the city of Kāśi, resembling Vasvokasāra [the city of Indra] and
the [rivers] Bhāgīrathī [= Ganges] as well as the Varaṇā and Asī which converged and embraced
[the city] like friends.

sa kokilonnāditavṛkṣaṣaṇḍaṃ Shining with brilliance and burning with power,

maharṣijuṣṭaṃ mṛgadāvam eva | he went into the deer-park like the sun,
jvalan prabhāve[na ca tejasā] ca an old grove of trees filled with cuckoos’ calls,
vai [kāśan ā]ditya iva prapede || 15 || where yogis and seers liked to meditate.

15. He entered the deer-park, a grove of trees full of cuckoos’ calls frequented by great seers, like
the sun, shining with brilliance and burning with power.

kauṇḍinya[gotro] ’tha mahāhvayaś ca The five renunciates – Kauṇḍinya with

bāṣpāśvajidbhadrajitas tathaiva | Mahānāma, Aśvajit, Bhadrajit
taṃ bhikṣavaḥ pañca nirīkṣya dūrāt and Vāṣpa – seeing him coming from afar
parasparaṃ vākyam idaṃ jajalpuḥ || 16 || discussed together just what they would say:

16. Then the five renunciates – he of the Kauṇḍinya clan, and the one called ‘Great’ [i.e.
Mahānāma], with Bāṣpa [i.e. Vāṣpa], Aśvajit and Bhadrajit – having observed him from afar,
discussed together this statement:

sukhātmako gautama eṣa bhikṣur “Here comes the renunciate Gautama,

abhyeti tasmāt tapaso nivṛttaḥ | a hedonist, who quit his austerities.
naivābhigamyaḥ khalu nābhivādyo We’ll neither welcome nor address him, for
bhagnapratijño hi na mānanārhaḥ || 17 || a vow-breaker does not deserve respect.

17. “This renunciate Gautama is approaching, one whose life consists in pleasure, who has given up
this life of austerity. We certainly should neither welcome nor address him, for a vow-breaker does
not deserve respect.

52
sa[ced bhaved āsisiṣuḥ kadāci]t “But if he were to want to sit with us,
prajñapyatām āsanam etad asmai | a place should be made ready for him here.
yasmai hi kasmaicid upāgatāya We holy men are not above the need
nātithyam arhanti na kartum āryāḥ || 18 || to offer hospitality to guests.”

18. “But if he were at any time to want to sit down, a seat should be prepared for him here. For
noble beings [like us] are not allowed to not offer hospitality to whomever has arrived.”

kṛtvā kriyākāram athopaviṣṭās Decisions now made, those renunciates

te bhikṣavaś copayayau ca buddhaḥ | stayed seated while the Buddha walked across.
yathā yathā copasasarpa tāṃs tu But then, the closer that he drew to them,
tathā tathā te bibhiduḥ pratijñām || 19 || the more they started breaking their own pledge –

19. Having made an agreement, those renunciates remained seated, and the Buddha then
approached, but the closer that he drew near to them, the more they broke their promise.

kaścit tu jagrāha tato ’sya vāsaḥ Someone reached out to take his outer robe,
pātraṃ tathānyaḥ praṇipatya dadhre | another bowed down low, then took his bowl;
kaści[d babhājāsanam arghyam a]smai someone showed him to the very best place,
pādyaṃ tathānyāv upaninyatuś ca || 20 || and the others brought water to wash his feet.

20. Someone took from him his outer robe, another having bowed respectfully carried his bowl.
Someone presented to him the seat reserved for special guests, and the other two brought water to
wash his feet.

evaṃ prakārāṃ bahumānayuktāṃ Like this, they did him every kind of honour
sarvāṃ pracakrur guruvṛttim asmai | as for a guru, filled with deep respect.
gotrābhidhānaṃ tu na tatyajus te But still they used his old family name.
tān sānukampo bhagavān uvāca || 21 || The Blessed One told them, in a kindly way:

21. In this way, filled with great esteem they rendered to him every kind of conduct suitable for a
religious teacher.6 But they did not disregard his clan-name [i.e. Gautama]. The compassionate
Blessed One spoke to them:

mā bhikṣavo vocata pūrvavṛttyā “Renunciates, don’t irreverently call

mānārham arhantam agauraveṇa | an Arhat, owed respect, by their old name.
mānāpamānau khalu me samānau Respect and disrespect are the same to me,
yuṣmāṃs tv apuṇyād vinivartayāmi || 22 || but I would dissuade you from doing wrong,

6
In a footnote, Matsuda (2020: 34 n.16) suggests the alternative reading prakārān… bahumānayuktān,
which would require the translation: ‘In this way, they rendered to him all kinds [of actions] filled with great
esteem and the conduct suitable for a religious teacher [the guru].’

53
22. “Renunciates, do not address one who is deserving respect, who is a Worthy One, in a way that
was previously suitable, through lack of reverence. It is true that both respect and disrespect are
alike to me, but I turn you away from unmeritorious [actions].

evaṃ hi lokasya hitāya buddhaṃ “for the wretch who calls the Buddha by name –
sarveṣu bhūteṣu samapravṛttam | who helps all beings, for the welfare of the world –
nāmnā vaded yas sa gurūpamardād injures the guru who is like his father,
ucchedadharmā pitarīva duṣṭaḥ || 23 || and cuts off the source of his own support.”

23. “For in this way, the wretch who would address by name an Awakened One, who, for the
welfare of the world, is active for the sake of all living beings equally, has his support cut off
because of the injury to the religious teacher, as if to his father.”

ity evam uktā vadatāṃ vareṇa Like this, the best of teachers addressed them,
maharṣiṇā te karuṇātmakena | the great seer, with a compassionate heart.
pratyūcur īṣatsmayamānavaktrā Confused and incompetent, those reprobates
mohād asaṃbhāvanayā ca bhraṣṭāḥ || 24 || replied with proud faces and scornful smiles:

24. In this way the best of teachers, the great seer whose nature is compassion, spoke to them. With
proud faces, slightly smiling, the reprobates replied from confusion and with a lack of competence:

nābudhyathā gautama tena tāvat “You told us, Gautama, that no insight came
tapaḥprakarṣeṇa pareṇa tattvam | from your intense former austerities.
sukhe sthito duṣkarasādhyam arthaṃ Devoted to pleasure, why then do you say
tvaṃ nāma paśyer iti ko ’tra hetuḥ || 25 || you understand a goal so hard to achieve?”

25. “Gautama, you admit that you did not awaken to reality through that previous intense austerity.
What is the reason therefore that you, who are devoted to pleasure, say that you can understand a
goal that is to be accomplished with difficulty?”

evaṃ yadā naiva tathāgatasya Since those renunciates just disbelieved in

te bhikṣavaḥ śraddadhur arthatattvam | the Realised One’s actual state, and thought
bodheś ca mārgaṃ vividus tato ’nyaṃ a different way led to Awakening,
mārgaṃ tato mārgavid ity uvāca || 26 || the knower of the way explained it to them thus:

26. Since those renunciates in this way simply disbelieved in the tathāgata’s actual state, but
considered that the way to Awakening was other than that, then the knower of the way explained
the way thus:

ātmaklamaṃ bālajanābhipannaṃ “Consider thus the weary fugitive,

saṅgaṃ tathā cendriyagocareṣu | the fool embracing the sensual world:
etāv ubhau paśyata doṣavantau see this and yours as faulty alternatives,
pakṣāv amārgāv amṛtāgamasya || 27 || and not as ways of nearing the deathless state.

54
27. “Please consider thus the foolish person, who is weary and overwhelmed, being in association
with the domains of the senses – [please consider] both these alternatives [i.e. austerity and
indulgence] as having faults and as not being ways of approaching the deathless state.

śarīrakhedai[r hi tapo’bhi](dhā)naiḥ “For when the heart is tortured and disturbed

paryākule cetasi bādhyamāne | by the bodily pain called ‘austerities’,
na jātu vinded api lokasaṃjñām one can barely know the ordinary world,
atīndriyaṃ kiṃ bata tattvamārgam || 28 || let alone the way to the transcendent truth.

28. “For, when a disturbed mind is being tormented with the physical fatigue which is called
‘austerity’, one will never gain a clear awareness even of ordinary experience, let alone the way to a
reality beyond the senses.

yathā hi dīpena na vārisekair “Just as nocturnal darkness starts to fade,

naiśan tamo nāśam ihābhyupaiti | not through sprinkled water, but with coming light,
jñānāgninājñānatamas tathaiva likewise the darkness of ignorance ends,
praṇāśam abhyeti na kāyakhedaiḥ || 29 || not through bodily pain, but with insight’s fire.

29. “For just as the nightly darkness begins to end here on earth with [the arrival of] the light, not
through the [ritual] sprinkling of water, likewise the darkness of ignorance comes to an end with the
fire of knowledge, not through physical fatigue.

kāṣṭhaṃ vibhindaṃś ca vipāṭayaṃś ca “Hacking and chopping at wood is no way

naivāgnim āpnoti [yathāgnikāmaḥ] | to make fire, but whirling a firestick is.
tad eva [mathnan labhate] (’bhyupāyād) Likewise, one gains the deathless state by means
[yo]gāt tathāpnoty amṛtaṃ na khedāt || 30 || of meditation, not through bodily pain.

30. “Just as one who, wanting fire, cuts up and splits open firewood does not in fact obtain fire,
[but] only one who whirls [the firestick] gains possession of it, likewise one obtains the deathless
state due to meditation as a means, not due to [physical] fatigue [as a means].

kāmeṣv anartheṣu na cāpi sakto “Someone attached to meaningless desires,

rajastamobhyām abhibhūtacetāḥ whose heart is overcome by dust and dark,
śakto ’rthanītāv api siddhim āptuṃ cannot succeed even in business life,
prāg eva vairāgyavidhau viruddhe || 31 || much less in the converse life of dispassion.

31. “One devoted to meaningless sensual pleasures and with a heart that is overcome by both
passion and darkness is not capable of obtaining success even in managing their affairs – how much
less [capable of obtaining success] in the opposite, which is a dispassionate way of life.

yathā hi rogābhihatasya jantor “A person unwell, afflicted and sick,

naivāsty apathyānnabhujaś cikitsā | who eats the wrong food will never be cured,
ajñānarogābhihatasya tadvat likewise those unwell with sick ignorance,
kāmeṣu saktasya kutaḥ praśāntiḥ || 32 || yet hooked on desire – how will they find peace?

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32. “For just as there is no medical treatment for a person who is struck down with sickness [but]
who eats unwholesome food, likewise for one struck down with the sickness of ignorance [but] who
is devoted to sensual pleasures, how [can there be] restful peace?

[yathā] (ca vahne)[ḥ pa]vaneritasya “As there is no peace while a wind-borne fire
śuṣkāśayasthasya na śāntir asti | lies low and stays in waiting where it’s dry,
cittasya rāgānugatasya tadvat so there is no peace while the heart pursued
kāmāśayasthasya na śāntir asti || 33 || by passion lies low but stays among desires.

33. “And just as there is no peace while a fire that has been spread by the wind remains in a place
which is dry, likewise there is no peace while the mind which is attended by passions remains in a
place of sensual pleasures.

antāv imau tena vivarjayitvā “I turned away from both of these extremes
madhyena mārgo ’dhigato mayānyaḥ | and found a different path, the middle way,
atyantaduḥkhopaśamasya netā a safe, secure, benign and healthy way,
kṣemaḥ śivaś caiva nirāmayaś ca || 34 || which brings the relaxation of endless stress.

34. “Abandoning these two extremes, I have discovered another way, through the middle, which
leads to the pacification of perpetual suffering, which gives security, and is both benevolent and
wholesome.

saṃdarśa[nāditya](ruci)prakāśo “It shines with the sun of perfect vision, and

viśuddhasaṃkalpa[rathopanīta]ḥ | is drawn by the chariot of pure intention.
[samyaksamāvādi]tavāgvihāraḥ Dwelling in the utterance of perfect speech,
śubhakriyārāmasabhābhirāmaḥ || 35 || it delights in the garden of lovely acts.

35. “[The way] is the radiant splendour of the sun of [perfect] vision; it is drawn by the chariot of
purified [perfect] intention; it has its dwelling in perfect, clearly uttered speech; [and] it is the
delightful garden lodgings of beautiful action.

agarhitājīvamahāsubhikṣaḥ “Abundant alms are its blameless livelihood,

samyakprayogaprabalānuyātraḥ | perfect application its powerful chaperone.
sarvatra samyaksmṛtiguptiguptaḥ Its wall and guard are perfect mindfulness,
samādhiśayyāsanavāsabhūmiḥ || 36 || its land, house, seat and bed are meditation.

36. “Its magnificent, excellent means of subsistence is a blameless livelihood; its very powerful
retinue is perfect application; at all times and places it is protected by the fortification of perfect
mindfulness; [and] its ground, its house, its posture [and] its bed is meditative integration.

ity uttamo ’ṣṭāṅga ihaiṣa panthā “The eightfold path is thus the best in the world
nirvāhako mṛtyujarāmayebhyaḥ | for saving us from sickness, age and death.
saṃ – ⏑ – – kṛtasarvakāryo 7 Completing it, with what there is to do all done,

7
I have replaced the missing akṣaras so that the pāda reads: saṃsādhitas taṃ kṛtasarvakāryo, with the aid of
the Tibetan translation (gaṅ las draṅs nas) via Johnston and Matsuda p.38 n.23.

56
nāmutra caiveha punaḥ [prayāti] || 37 || one does not go from this world to the next.

37. “Thus in this world this supreme eightfold path is what conveys [us] from death, old age and
disease. One who has completed it [and] has done everything that is to be done does not journey
onward in this world and in the other world again.

[kṛtsnam i]daṃ duḥkham idaṃ nimittam “In sum, ‘This is pain, and this is its cause,
ayaṃ nirodho ’sya ca mārga eva | this is its ending, and the way to it.’
ity aśrute dharmavidhāv apūrvaṃ Thus, in a form of truths not heard before,
cakṣur vimokṣāya mamodapādi || 38 || vision arose that led to liberation.

37. “In sum, ‘This is unsatisfactoriness, this is the cause, this is the cessation, and finally [this is]
the way to that [cessation]’: in this way, as regards a framework of teachings which no-one had
previously heard, vision arose for my liberation.

jātir jarā vyādhir atho vipattiḥ “Birth, ageing, illness and adversity,
priyātyayo vipriyasaṃprayogaḥ | the absence of the loved, relying on the unloved,
aprāptir arthasya ca kāṃkṣitasya and not getting those good things that we want:
nānāvidhaṃ duḥkham idaṃ paraiti || 39 || these are the varied kinds of pain we endure.

39. “The state of being born, old age, sickness and adversity; the absence of what is loved, the
relationship with the unloved, and the non-attainment of the aim that one wished for – these are the
various kinds of unsatisfactory things one encounters.

kāmātmano vā(pi jit)ātmano vā “Whether seeking pleasure or self-controlled,

śarīriṇo vā(py a)śarīriṇo vā | whether your body is earthly or divine,
yā nirguṇā ca kvacana pravṛttiḥ lacking virtue, thrown into life somewhere:
[samāsa]tas tat samavaita duḥkham || 40 || you should know that this, in short, is pain.

40. “Whether one is given to desire, or has a controlled character, whether one has a body or does
not have a body, you must completely understand that being thrown into existence somewhere,
without good qualities, in short, is unsatisfying.

śāntārccir alpo ’pi yathā hi vahnir “Just as a fire, though small and burning low,
naivoṣṇabhāvaṃ sahajaṃ jahāti | does not give up innately being hot,
śāntāpi sūkṣmāpi tathātmasaṃjñā likewise the sense of self, though subtle and calm,
duḥkhātmikety eva suniścitaṃ me || 41 || is at the core of pain – of this I’m sure.

41. “For just as fire, though small [and] with peaceful flames, does not give up being innately hot,
likewise the conception of the [core] self, though peaceful and subtle, is – I am very certain about
this – the core of unsatisfactoriness.

doṣāṃs tu rāgaprabhṛtīn vicitrān “Know that the many kinds of faults cause pain,
karmāṇi doṣaprabhavāni caiva | including passion, hate, confusion, and
duḥkhasya hetuṃ niyataṃ ⏑ – ×, those faults produced by karma, just as seed

57
⏓ – ⏑ – – mbu yathāṅkurasya || 42 || 8 and season, earth and rain bring forth new growth.

42. “But you should know that the diverse faults beginning with passion, as well as the faults that
are produced by actions, are the invariable cause of unsatisfactoriness, just as seed [and] season,
soil [and] water [are the invariable cause] of new growth.

bhavaprabandhe divi vāpy adho vā “Existence in heaven or hell has its cause
rāgādayo doṣagaṇā hi hetuḥ | in passion, hatred and confusion; and
nikṛṣṭamadhyottamacitratāyāḥ karma is the root of rebecoming in base
karmāṇi citrāny api tatra tatra || 43 || 9 or mid or best realms, here and there.

43. “The group of faults starting with passion is the cause [of unsatisfactoriness] in the continuity of
states of existence either in heaven or in hell, and actions are the roots of the variedness of vile,
middling and supreme [states of existence] here and there.

doṣakṣayān nāsti bhavaprabandhaḥ “Becoming’s wheel stops with the ending of the faults,
karmakṣayaś cen na ca duḥkham asti | and if karma ceases then pain is no more.
sato hi yasmāt samudeti yo ’rtho A thing arises due to what exists,
nodeti tasmād asataḥ sa [bhūyaḥ] || 44 || but from that not existing, does not arise.

44. “Due to the ending of faults there is no [more] continuity of states of existence, and if there is
the ending of actions then there is no [more] unsatisfactoriness. For, that thing which is a process of
becoming arises from that which already exists, and does not arise from that which does not exist.

[yasmin na jātir na jarā na mṛtyu]r “In which there is no birth, old age or death,
nāgnir na bhūr nāmbu na khaṃ na vāyuḥ | no earth or water, fire or wind or space –
anādimadhyāntam ahāryam āryaṃ know this as cessation, the noble state,
tam akṣaraṃ citta śivaṃ nirodham || 45 || the deathless, without start, middle or end.

45. “You should know cessation to be that in which there is no birth, no ageing, no death, no fire,
no earth, no water, no space, no wind, which is without beginning, middle or end, unaltering, noble,
imperishable [and] peaceful.

aṣṭāṅgiko yo vihitaḥ sa mārgaḥ “There is no other means to attain it than

so ’syābhyupāyo ’dhigamāya nānyaḥ | the way with its eight distinct parts. The world
adarśanād asya pathasya lokās walks in circles from not seeing this path,
tathaiva bhrātraiva paribhramanti || 46 || as people do when meeting with their friends.

8
I replace the missing akṣaras to make the following pādas: duḥkhasya hetuṃ niyataṃ avaita |
bījartubhūmembu yathāṅkurasya, again based on the Tibetan translation (ji ltar sa chu sa bon dus rnams
myu gu’i bzhin) via Johnston and Matsuda p.39 n.26.
9
I have translated according to a reading of pada d as karmāṇi mūlāny api tatra tatra, as this appears to be
what the Tibetan translators saw (according to Johnston’s translation and Matsuda p.39 n.27) and provides a
better sense.

58
46. “There is no other means for its attainment than the way which is divided into eight parts.
Because of not seeing this path, people walk in circles just as [they do] with a group of friends.

duḥkhaṃ parijñeyam idaṃ praheyo “About this, I came to the following thought:
hetur nirodha[s tv api] sākṣikāryaḥ | ‘This pain is to be fully known, its cause
mārgas tathaivaiṣa ca bhāvanīya to be abandoned, its cessation must
iti pravṛttā mama buddhir atra || 47 || be realised, and the way to it matured.’

47. “A thought occurred to me about this matter like this: ‘Unsatisfactoriness here is to be fully
understood; the cause is to be given up; the cessation is to be personally experienced; and likewise
this way is to be developed.’

duḥkhaṃ parijñātam idaṃ prahīṇo “About this, insight and vision came to me:
hetus tathā sākṣikṛto nirodhaḥ | ‘This pain has now been fully known, its cause
mārgas tathaivāsya ca bhāvito ’yam has been abandoned, its cessation thus
iti pravṛttaṃ mama cakṣur atra || 48 || experienced, and the way to it mature.’

48. “Vision occurred to me about this matter like this: ‘Unsatisfactoriness here has been fully
understood; the cause has been given up; the cessation has been personally experienced; and
likewise the way to it has been developed.’

yāvac ca nādrākṣam imāni tathyāny “So long as I had not seen perfectly
āryāṇi catvāri padāni samyak | these four noble truths, I could not claim
tāvan na mukto ’ham ihety avocaṃ to yet be liberated here, nor did
kṛtārthatāṃ cātmani nāpy apaśyam || 49 || I see within myself my aim achieved.

49. “To the extent that I had not completely investigated these four true [and] noble topics, I did not
say, ‘I am now released’, and neither did I perceive in myself the accomplishment of my aim.

imāni satyāni yadā tv abudhye “But when I’d woken to these noble truths,
buddhvā ca kartavyam akārṣam artham | and having done so, done what was to be done,
tadā vimukto ’ham ihety avocaṃ I then claimed to be liberated, and
kṛtārthatām ātmani cāpy apaśyam || 50 || within myself I saw my aim achieved.”

50. “But when I had awakened to these [four] truths, and having awakened to them, I had
accomplished the goal to be accomplished, then I said ‘I am liberated in this world’, and I also
perceived in myself the accomplishment of my aim.”

ity evam asminn abhidhīyamāne And as the great compassionate seer gave
maharṣiṇā kāruṇikena dharme | his teaching to his five friends in this way,
avāpa cakṣuḥ śuci nīrajaskaṃ Kauṇḍinya as well as a hundred deities
kauṇḍinyagotraḥ śataśaś ca devāḥ || 51 || obtained the pure, passionless eye of truth.

51. While this teaching was being given in this way by the great seer who was full of compassion,
he of the Kauṇḍinya clan and hundreds of deities attained the pure and passion-free vision [of the
truth].

59
taṃ śāntaṃ niyatam avāptasarvakāryaṃ To that quiet man, whose task had been
assuredly achieved,
sarvajño vṛṣabha ivāraṭan babhāṣe | the all-wise one, all knowing, spoke,
and bellowed like a bull,
ājñāsīr iti sa vaco ’bravīd mahātmā “So have you understood?” And that
great-hearted man replied,
sādhv ājñāsiṣam aham uttamāṃ matiṃ te || 52 || 10 “Indeed, indeed, I’ve understood
your excellent intent.”

52. The omniscient one spoke loudly like a bull to that peaceful one whose whole task had certainly
been achieved: “Have you understood?”. That magnanimous one, speaking, answered, “Indeed, I
have understood your excellent intention.”

sādhv ājñāsiṣam aham ity atas tu loke And from the time Kauṇḍinya said,
“Indeed I’ve understood,”
kauṇḍinyas tadupapadaṃ babhāra gotram | he bore the name Ājnāta as
his worldly epithet.
śiṣyāṇāṃ paramaguros tathāgatasya He took his place as eldest son,
the first disciple of
jyeṣṭhatvaṃ samadhijagāma caiva dharme || 53 || the Buddha, who had now become
preceptor and guru.

53. And from the time that Kauṇḍinya said “Indeed, I have understood” he bore that name [i.e.
“Kauṇḍinya-Who-Has-Understood” (Ājñāta-Kauṇḍinya)] as his epithet in the world, and in the
religious life, he obtained the status of eldest son among the disciples of the tathāgata, the supreme
religious teacher.

taṃ śabdaṃ dharaṇidharā niśāmya yakṣā The yakṣas who maintain the earth,
when they had heard that cry,
nirghoṣaṃ vipulam udairayāṃbabhūvuḥ | raised up a shout that echoed right
around the living world –
sādhv etat paramadṛśā pravartitaṃ vai “Well done! The man of furthest vision
has indeed begun
bhūtānām amṛtagamāya dharmacakram || 54 || to turn the Dharma Wheel so all
may taste the deathless state.

54. Hearing that sound, the nature-spirits (yakṣas) who maintain the earth raised the great shout,
“Well done! The one of most excellent vision has indeed set turning this Wheel of the Teaching so
that living beings may go to the deathless state!

10
The remaining stanzas of this canto are in praharṣiṇī metre (consisting of 13 syllables per pāda, ¯ ¯ ¯ ˘ ˘ ˘
˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ˘ ¯ ). In the verse translations, I respond with unrhymed ballad metre (consisting of verses of
alternating iambic tetrameters and trimeters).

60
śīlāraṃ śamadamanemi dhīviśālaṃ “Its spokes and rim are virtue and calm,
with wisdom in the gaps.
hrīkīlaṃ smṛtimativairyavīryanābhi | Its hub is mindful energy,
with shame its axle-pin.
gāṃbhīryād avitathataḥ sudeśitatvāt Because of its profundity
and well-directness,
trailokye sthiram avivartyam anyaśāstraiḥ || 55 || it holds firm in the threefold world,
not to be turned aside.”

55. “Its spokes are virtuous conduct, its rim is [meditative] tranquility and self-control, the spaces
[between spokes and rim] are wisdom.11 Its axle-pin is ethical sensitivity [and] its hub is
mindfulness, intention, strength and energy. Because of its profundity, because of its lack of
falsehood, [and] because of its being well-directed [or, well-taught], it holds steady in the three
worlds [and] is not to be turned aside by the teachings of others.”

yakṣebhyo dhvanim upalabhya bhūdharebhyaḥ From earth, and where the yakṣas live,
that sound went on its way
khe cakrur vibudhagaṇās tam eva ghoṣam | to gods in groups that thronged the sky,
who shouted it again.
śrutvaivaṃ tridivaparaṃparābhir uccair Like this, the sound was heard and said
through each and every heaven,
ābrahmaṃ bhavanam upāruroha śabdaḥ || 56 || rising up until it reached
the dwelling of Brahmā.

56. Having heard the sound from the earth-dwelling nature-spirits, groups of deities in the sky made
the same announcement. Having gone in the same way through the successions of lofty heavens, the
shout went up to the dwelling of Brahmā.

śrutvā ca tridivanivāsino maharṣes Some self-possessed heaven-dwellers,

hearing from the sage
trailokyaṃ calam iti kecid ātmavantaḥ | about this shaking triple world,
its transitoriness,
citreṣu na ca viṣayeṣu rāgam īyuḥ no longer sought fulfilment in
the objects of the sense,
saṃvegāt tribhuvana eva śāntim īyuḥ || 57 || but from a sense of urgency
found peace in the universe.

57. And some of the self-possessed beings living in the heavens, hearing from the great seer that the
triple world was transitory, did not resort to passion among the manifold sense-objects, but rather
from urgency obtained peace in regard to the three worlds.

11
The word viśāla would appear to be an adjective meaning ‘breadth’. But, as Matsuda’s note (p.42 n.31) on
this stanza suggests (via online translation), we should expect a noun representing part of a wheel. I hence
take viśāla, in the sense of ‘spacious’, to refer to the spaces between the spokes and the rim of the wheel.

61
ity evaṃ divi bhuvi ca pravṛttamātre And as the Dharma Wheel was turned,
in heaven and on earth,
lokānāṃ parama[śivā]ya dharmacakre | for the welfare and the happiness
of beings in the worlds,
khād vyabhrāj jalam apatat sapuṣpavarṣaṃ the rain fell from a cloudless sky
with a shower of flowers,
bherīś ca tridivanivāsino ’bhijaghnuḥ || 58 || and heaven’s blessed residents
struck up on kettle-drums.

58. Thus, in this way, right after the Wheel of the Teaching had been set turning in heaven and on
earth for the highest happiness of the worlds, rain fell from a cloudless sky, together with a shower
of flowers, and the inhabitants of heaven beat kettle-drums.

62