The Sutra of Queen Srimala's Lion's Roar
Post 2: Introduction, part 2.
One Vehicle Sutras:
Each of the One Vehicle Sutras has a focus or main line of teaching presenting the perspective of the One Vehicle. For example, the Lotus Sutra, generally considered to be the earliest sutra unequivocally declaring the One Vehicle, emphasizes there is only One Vehicle, not two, not three, expedient means (upaya), and faith. The Lankavatara Sutra emphasizes the psychological aspects of One Vehicle Buddha Dharma bringing together such teachings as the 8 Consciousnesses, the 3 Own Beings, and the 5 Dharmas, as well as many others to demonstrate the Mind-only and necessity of having “one’s own realization” that everything is a manifestation of Mind. The Avatamsaka Sutra reveals the cosmic dimensions of the inconceivability of the One Vehicle through the grandure of religious literature and the scope of symbolism such that re a single particle of dust is seen reflecting the entire universe. Queen Srimala’s Lion’s Roar Sutra emphasizes the One Vehicle as the Acceptance of the Real Dharma that recognizes the One Vehicle is the Dharmakaya of the Tathagata, and, while not being encyclopedically comprehensive, it presents the One Vehicle view of several of the most basic features of Buddha Dharma: the Four Noble Truths, Emptiness, Tathagatagarbha, the Dharmakaya of the Tathagata, Nirvana, etc., and proclaims that “the three vehicles exactly are the One Vehicle.”
Here are the core sutras of the One Vehicle’s Third Turning of the Wheel of Dharma:
1. The Sutra of the White Lotus of the Real Dharma (Saddharmapundarika Sutra, usually shortened to The Lotus Sutra);
2.The Great Comprehensive Buddha Flower Garland Sutra (Mahavaipulya Buddha Avatamsaka Sutra, also known widely by its shortened Chinese name Huayan Sutra);
3. The Sutra of Union With Deliverance (Samdhinirmocana Sutra);
4.The Sutra of Queen Srimala’s Lion’s Roar (Śrīmālā Siṃhanāda Sūtra)
5. The Sutra of the Mahayana’s Great Full-Nirvana (Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra, usually shortened to The Mahayana Nirvana Sutra or just Nirvana Sutra);
6. The Sutra of the Taking Up and Turning of the Great Drum (Mahābherīhārakaparivarta Sutra; shortened to The Great Dharma Drum Sutra or Great Drum Sutra);
7. The Sutra of the Treasure of Going Down to Lanka (Lankavatararatna Sutra, usually shortened to Lankavatara Sutra);
8. The Sutra of the Diamond Samadhi (Vajrasamadhi Sutra);
9. The Sutra of the Root Karma of the Bodhisattva’s Gem Necklace;
10. The Non-regressing Wheel Sutra (Avaivartikacakra Sutra);
11. The Finger Garland Maker Sutra (Angulimalika Sutra); and
12. The Surangama Sutra (Shurangama Sutra).
Related Sutras (These sutras do not specifically name the One Vehicle, but their content is either transitional between the 2nd to 3rd Turnings of the Dharma Wheel, such as the Vimalakirti, or content of the 3rd turning presenting important aspects of the teachings intended to be a synthesis in response to the 2nd Turning’s antithesis.)
13. The Sutra of the Instructions of Vimalakirti (Vimalakirtinirdesa Sutra);
14. The Great Comprehensive Inner-Tathagata Sutra (Mahavaipulya Tathagatagarbha Sutra);
15. The Sutra of Not Increasing, Not Decreasing (*Anūnatvâpūrṇatva-nirdeśa-parivarta); and
16. The Sutra of Immeasurable Meanings ();
Important Treatises Related to the One Vehicle and Queen Srimala’s Sutra (I include some lengthier comments here as these treatises may be mostly unknown to English readers but do relate directly to Queen Srimala’s Sutra.)
14. Discerning the Jewel Family of the Ultimate One Vehicle (Ratnagotravibhaga Uttara Ekayana), attributed to Sāramati in the Chinese tradition, Sanskrit translated into Chinese by Ratnamati in 511 C.E.; an alternate title uses “Mahayana” instead of “Ekayana.” English translation by Jikido Takasaki in his A STUDY ON THE RATNAGOTRAVIBHAGA (UTTARATANTRA). The purpose of this treatise is to survey, collect, and interpret the meaning of the tahtagatagarbha, i.e., the Inner-Tathagata, and to that end it cites many sutras and treatises speaking about the tathagatagarbha, and it cites Queen Srimala’s Sutra more than any other source. The problem that is created by this Treatise is that because of its focus on tathagatgarbha rather than on the One Vehicle and because its primary source is Queen Srimala’s Sutra, it is largely responsible for the misunderstanding of all later scholars who mislabel Queen Srimala’s Sutra as a “Tathagatagarbha text” because of its prominent role in the first tathagatagarbha treatise, when the central teaching of the Queen Srimala’s Sutra is the One Vehicle and not the tathagatagarbha.
15. Treatise on the Great Vehicle's Arousing of Faith (Mahayana Sraddhotpada Shastra), attributed to the honor name, Ashvaghosa, translated from the Sanskrit to Chinese by Paramartha in 553 C.E. and by Śikṣānanda between 695-700. While not specifically mentioning the term “One Vehicle” and using the label “Great Vehicle” instead, this treatise is essentially a summary outline of the One Vehicle as presented in the Sutra of Queen Srimala’s Lion’s Roar and the Lankavatara Sutra. Other indications of the One Vehicle are found in the content such as in this opening passage:
“That which is the Mind’s True Suchness, is exactly the characteristic of the great unity of the One Dharma-realm and the Dharma Gate’s essence. That which is designated the Nature of the Mind is unborn and undying. There is differentiation of all the various things only by relying on erroneous thinking. If one is free from erroneous recollecting, then one is without the whole objective realm of characteristics. This is because all things have already come from the root free from the characteristics of verbal expressions, free from the characteristics of names and words, and free from the characteristics of the mind’s conditions, and in the absolute equality they are without the transformations of existence and are unable to be destroyed. Because there is only the One Mind, it is called True Suchness.”
16. The Mountain Doctrine: Ocean of Definitive Meanings (ri chos nges don rgya mtsho) by the Tibetan master Dol-bo-ba Shay-rap-gyel-tsen (1292–1361, English translation from the Tibetan by Jeffrey Hopkins. Alternate translations of the title: The Ocean of Definitive Meaning of Mountain Dharma and Ocean of Definitive Meaning: A Teaching for the Mountain Hermit. The honorific “Dol-Bo-Ba or Dolpopa” means “the Buddha from Dol-Bo/Dolpo.” Dolboba was the chief Tibetan exponent of the teaching of the ultimate "emptiness of other" (shentong) that was primarily derived from Queen Srimala’s Sutra. Dolboba also wrote a commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga. His treatise on the Ocean of Definitive Meanings is a comprehensive review of the Third Turning of the Dharma Wheel which he termed “The Great Middle Way.” Dolboba quoted extensively from the Sutra of Queen Srimala’s Lion’s Roar along with most of the other important One Vehicle Sutras. He did not use the term “One Vehicle” and instead substituted the terms the “Great Middle” or “Great Middle Way” for the One Vehicle teachings of these Sutras and the tantras that support his thesis regarding the Great Middle Way’s position on emptiness, sunyata. Queen Srimala’s Lion’s Roar is a central source for the development of Dolboba’s Great Middle and “other emptiness” teachings that Tsongkaba and the Gelugba traditions reject in favor of the Second Turning teachings of Madhyamaka.
Synopsis of the Structure and Contents of the Sutra:
The titles are all found in the Entrustment section following Section 15. They are listed in reverse order with the 15 Section titles said first, followed by the 3 subtitles for the 3 parts, and last the title of the whole sutra. I’ve stated the subtitle of the Sutra by combining the 3 subtitles of the 3 parts of the Sutra.
Title:
THE SUTRA OF QUEEN ŚRĪMĀLĀ’S LION’S ROAR
Wherein Is Articulated The Severance Of All Doubts, The Certainty Of The Clear Meaning, And The Entrance To The Way Of The One Vehicle.
PART ONE: THE SEVERANCE OF ALL DOUBTS
Sec. 1: Praising the Virtuous Merit of the Tathagata’s True Reality and Primary-Meaning
Sec. 2: The Inconceivably Great Proclamations
Sec. 3: The Great Resolutions That Embrace All Resolutions
This first part, in Section 1, tells the narrative of how Queen Srimala instantly severed all doubts upon receiving the letter from her parents and honors the Buddha with verses of praise, recognition, and reverence. The Buddha then gives Srimala the hightest recogntion a bodhisattva can receive in the prediction of her future Buddhahood and the name she will receive.
In Section 2, Srimala proclaims the ten individualized personal vows as the proclamations that all predicted Bodhisattvas make.
In Section 3, Srimala declares her Three Great Resolutions to gain the knowledge of the Real Dharma, to proclaim the Real Dharma to all beings, and to protect and maintain the Real Dharma at all costs.
PART TWO: CERTAINTY OF THE CLEAR MEANING
Sec. 4: Articulating the Inconceivable Acceptance of the Real Dharma
Part 2 is comprised of only the one Section 4. The “clear meaning” (了義) in the title of Part 2 affirms that the 3rd Turning Sutras, and this Sutra specifically, are to be considered nitartha scriptures that present the Buddha Dharma clearly, directly, definitively, finally, and without further need of “interpretation” as contrasted with the Sutras of the 1st and 2nd Turnings that are neyartha scriptures considered to be unclear or partial and to require further clarification by interpretations. Here, “interpretation” is used in a technical sense and does not mean merely helping understanding by expounding on the scripture and its symbols and metaphors. As the meaning of music or poetry is to be understood without intellectual interpretation, so too are the 3rd Turning scriptures to be understood directly without the need of intellectual interpretation. This framework sees the First Turning sutras as the initial thesis of the Buddha Dharma, the Second Turning sutras as the responsive antithesis of the Buddha Dharma, and the Third Turning sutras as the final clarifying (了) synthesis of the Buddha Dharma that does not negate the 1st and 2nd Turnings but brings them into harmony.
Section 2 delineates the fundamental importance of the Acceptance of the Real Dharma by highlighting that Acceptance of the Real Dharma is the Great Resolution that includes the infinity of possible resolutions, “as the sands of the Ganges,” that may be made. It then presents several metaphors for comprehending its importance in the Buddha Dharma; states that the one who receives and Accepts the Real Dharma is the Real Dharma, and is not separate from the Real Dharma. and identifies the Six Paramitas, the renunciation of body, life, and riches, Dharma Friendship, and the great strength of the Buddha’s seeing and knowing are each the same as Acceptance of the Real Dharma.
PART THREE: ENTRANCE TO THE WAY OF THE ONE VEHICLE
Sec. 5: Articulating the Entrance to the One Vehicle
Sec. 6: Articulating the Boundless Noble Truths
Sec. 7: Articulating the Inner Tathagata
Sec. 8: Articulating the Dharma-body
Sec. 9: Articulating the Concealed True Reality of the Meaning of Emptiness
Sec. 10: Articulating the One Truth
Sec. 11: Articulating the One Refuge That Is Always Abiding in Hidden Ease
Sec. 12: Articulating the Inversions of True Reality
Sec. 13: Articulating the Concealment of The Clear And Pure Mind of One’s Own Nature
Sec. 14: Articulating the Tathagata’s True Children
Sec. 15: Articulating the Lion’s Roar of Queen Srimala
[Entrustment]
Part 3 shows the remaining sections comprise the Way of the One Vehicle. Each section takes up some aspect of the Buddha Dharma and introduces the One Vehicle perspective on that topic. The sections are not self-contained chapters, but merely introduce a topic and then the topic is returned to in subsequent sections for clarification. The topics are from the Three Vehicles and they are synthesizes accordingly by the One Vehicle. Again, this is not an exhaustive discussion of all the topics possible, but merely an outline of the important topics, like the Four Noble Truths, Nirvana, Emptiness, Tathagatagarbha, Dharmakaya, etc.
Section 5 is the longest section of the whole Sutra, and compared to it, Sections 6 to 15 are short. Section 5 begins by stating that Acceptance of the Real Dharma is essentially the Great Vehicle that contains the Two Vehicles, not a separate Third Vehicle. There is discussion of how Nirvana is to be correctly viewed and how the kinds of afflictions relate to Nirvana and knowledge. The afflictions are further defined as being of two kinds, the four “abiding state afflictions” and the “arising and ascended afflictions.” The four abiding-state afflictions give birth to all the arising and ascended afflictions as many as the sands of the Ganges. But beneath or behind the four abiding-state afflictions is the abiding-state of ignorance that is fundamental to the four, “is a very great force,” and is immeasurably more difficult to conquer. The Arhats, Independent-Awakened One, and the Bodhisattvas of lower accomplishment can eliminate the four abiding-state afflictions, but cannot eliminate the abiding-state of ignorance. The Bodhisattvas of great power can perceive the problem of the abiding-state of ignorance and work directly to eliminate it, but only a Buddha can finaly succeed in eliminating it, and this is described as true liberation and Nirvana without any remainder. At this point the section proclaims that all vehicles eventually enter the Buddha Vehicle, thus the Three Vehicles are exactly the One Vehicle. Srimala declares with the approval of the Buddha, “The Dharma that articulates the Way of the One Vehicle attains the ultimate Dharma-body. On top of that, there is nothing more than articulating the Dharma-body of the One Vehicle.”
Section 6 introduces the 1st Turning topic of the Four Noble Truths and begins the clarification of them from the perspective of the One Vehicle that includes the recognition of the distinction of the dualistically perceived Noble Truths and the non-dually perceived Noble Truths.
After introducing the historically first topic of Buddha Dharma in the previous section, the short Section 7 introduces the most recent topic to enter the Buddha Dharma, the Inner-Tathagata and states that the Innder-Tathagata articulates the meaning of the Noble Truths as both are extremely profound, minutely subtls, and difficult to know, and are not the field of thinking and calculating.
Section 8 then introduces the Dharma-body and reveals that it is the Dharma-body that goes beyond the store of immeasurable afflictions while the Inner-Tathagata remains entangled in them. It them circles back to the Noble Truths and presents the distinction of the contrived and uncontrived Noble Truths. Like the superficial identity of Clark Kent as the mundane alter ego of Kal-el, Superman, the sutra then describes that the Inner-Tathagata is the perceived alter identity of the true identity of Dharma-body when the Dharma-body is not perceived as separate from and free from the store of afflictions.
Section 9 then introduces the topic of emptiness and says that the knowledge of the Inner-Tathagata is the Tathagata’s knowledge of emptiness. This section establishes the famous distinction between the “empty Inner-Tathagata” and the “non-empty Inner-Tathagata” that became the infamous debate in Tibetan Buddhism between “self-nature emptiness” (rangtong) verses “other emptiess” (shentong).
Section 10 again circles back to the Four Noble Truths and declares three (the 1st, 2nd, and 4th) to be in the realm of constructedness without constancy, while the third truth of the extinction of suffering, is unconstructed and constant, thus is the One Truth and One Refuge.
Section 11 states that this One Truth is the primary-meaning (paramartha) that is the ultimate One Refuge always abiding in hidden ease.
Section 12 introduces the topic of the Four Inverted Views of ordinary people and the Four Correct Views shared by the 1st and 2nd Turnings and describes how they are correct teachings in relation to conditioned things, but are incorrect in relation to the Dharma-body of the Tathagata due to the bifurcated conceptualization of the Three Vehicles that are unable to see the ultimate and primary meaning beyond conditioned things. This section describes the knowledge of the Four Paramitas of the Dharma-body of the Tathagata as constancy, ease, self, and purity which are true when applied to the Dharma-body but false when applied to conditioned things.
Section 13 articulates how the clear and pure mind of one’s own nature is concealed in the misperceptions of birth and death, samsara. The Inner-Tathagata is described as if it has two feet with one standing in the conditioned activity of birth and death while the other is not standing within the appearances of conditioned activity. It is because the Inner-Tathagata has one foot in each realm that a person can become wearied of birth and death and have the intuition to seek Nirvana. Then is raised the essential question of how afflictions can stain the pure mind when afflictions do not “contact” the mind. Only the Buddha’s true eye and true knowledge can fathom this completely, others must take it on faith.
Section 14 then introduces the notion of the True Children of the Buddha and describes three categories of people who deserve the recognition: (1) those who accomplish on their own the knowledge of the extremely profound Dharma; (2) those who follow the teachings of others and are able to accomplish the knowledge of the Dharma; and (3) those who do not by themselves comprehend the variously profound Dharma and believe they can’t know, yet who revere and reflect on the Tathagata nonetheless. For all others who turn their back on the Real Dharma, they may become children of the Tathagata if they use the power of the King of Dharma and the Devas to discipline and nurture their seeds.
Section 15 states the Buddha’s approval of Queen Srimala and her articulation of the One Vehicle, and then he leaves. Afterwards the Queen converts all the women of the kingdom and her husband the King converts all the men of the kingdom.
Section 15 is followed by the untitled but traditional section of every sutra where the Buddha entrusts the teaching of the sutra to preserve it for future generations. I've given it the title "Entrustment." Here, the Buddha entrusts the Sutra to Deva Sakra to propagate among the Devas and to Ananda to propagate among humans. Deva Sakra asks the Buddha how they should honor and maintain it, and the Buddha then delineates the names of the 15 sections, 3 parts, and title of the Sutra. Deva Sakra and Ananda received the Sutra and it ends with them joyously respecting and practicing it.
A Few Comments on My Translation Style:
As stated above, there is no such thing as a “perfect” translation, and the corollary is that there is no agreement as to a single “correct” translation of most terms or texts, only more or less valid translations. One of my pet peeves with English translations of the Buddhist texts is when a Chinese or Sanskrit word is rendered with different English words, and then the same English word may be used for different Sanskrit or Chinese words. This leaves the English reader adrift and confused without any way to know which Sanskrit or Chinese terms are being used in the original and without knowing why the translator is using and altering the terms that way. For example, the English words “true” and “truth” might be used in translating the different words 法 dharma, 實, 真, 正 sam, samyak, or 諦 satya, but the English reader would not know which. Therefore, to avoid this problem I have some basic rules of translation that I adhere to as much as possible.
For each Chinese word, I routinely prefer to use only one English word, unless the context makes it certainly necessary to use more. However, for every major English word, there is only one Chinese word that it translates. Thus, the reader can determine which Chinese term is being used by the English word. So, while the context may at times require that different English words are used for the same Chinese word, there will never be an instance where one English word refers to more than one Chinese word, with the main exceptions of pronouns and prepositions that are used for clarification, often where there is no Chinese word in the text for the pronoun or preposition which is only implied.
Where an English word or term is used for an important Sanskrit term, the Sanskrit term is italicized and put in parentheses in the first instance of use (and sometimes thereafter), and the English word or phrase will be listed in the Glossary.
In the spectrum of translation between the most literal and the most liberal, I try to strike a balance, as every translator does, yet I intentionally lean towards the literal as my way of remaining faithful to the original text and its concrete symbols and metaphors. If the text says “monkey mind,” then I don’t feel the need to present that to the reader as “confused thinking” as some kind of assistance in understanding it. Virtually all idioms are understandable if they are rendered in the original folk imagery, e.g., a donkey is stubborn, and a person boiling is mad. Where an idiom or image is not understandable with a little effort by the reader, then the reader will need to consult a footnote or the glossary for further clarification. Unfortunately, for this blog edition, the footnotes and glossary will not be available.
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