Eliminating Ajatashatru’s Remorse

Eliminating Ajatashatru’s Remorse (Skt. Ajātaśatrukaukṛtyavinodana; Tib. མ་སྐྱེས་དགྲའི་འགྱོད་པ་བསལ་བ།, Wyl. ma skyes dgra’i ‘gyod pa bsal ba) is a Mahayana sutra which narrates how the teachings of the bodhisattva Manjushri helped King Ajatashatru overcome the severe negative action of having killed his father, King Bimbisara. Through instruction, pointed questioning, and a display of miracles, Manjushri and his retinue of bodhisattvas show King Ajatashatru that the remorse he feels for his crime is in fact unreal, just as all phenomena are unreal. The sutra thus demonstrates Manjushri’s superiority in wisdom and the profound purification that comes from realizing emptiness.

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 216

• English translation: Eliminating Ajātaśatru’s Remorse