The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist

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In this sutra, The Prophecy for Bhadra the Illusionist (Skt. Bhadramāyākāravyākaraṇa; Tib. ་མ་མཁན་བཟང་པོ་ལུང་བསྟན་པ།, Wyl. sgyu ma mkhan bzang po lung bstan pa) while the Buddha Shakyamuni is residing at Vulture's Peak Mountain, in the nearby city of Rajagṛiha the accomplished illusionist Bhadra hatches a scheme to humiliate the Buddha and disprove his omniscience in order to win over the people of Magadha. The failure of Bhadra’s plan, in which he conjures the illusion of a resplendent courtyard that, to his dismay, cannot be undone, culminates in a series of surreal and magnificent visions that convince Bhadra of the superiority of the Buddha’s powers. This sutra presents a colourful and often humorous narrative and contains teachings on illusion, emptiness, and the distinction between the illusionist’s mundane abilities and the Buddha’s miraculous display. The Buddha also teaches Bhadra forty-three sets of four qualities that together constitute the bodhisattva path.[1]

Text

The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the Heap of Jewels section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 65

References

  1. 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha.