Purification of Karmic Obscurations Sutra

The sutra known as Purification of Karmic Obscurations (Skt. Karmāvaraṇa­viśuddhi; Tib. ལས་ཀྱི་སྒྲིབ་པ་རྣམ་པར་དག་པ་, Wyl. las kyi sgrib pa rnam par dag pa) is found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Kangyur (Toh 218).

In this sutra a monk is brought before the Buddha by the bodhisattva Mañjushri to confess his seduction by a prostitute. In response, the Buddha explains the lack of inherent nature of all phenomena and the luminous nature of mind, and then explains how bodhisattvas purify obscurations by generating an altruistic mind and realizing the empty nature of phenomena. The Buddha asks Mañjushri about his own attainment of patient forbearance in seeing all phenomena as non-arising and recounts the tale of the monk Viradatta, who, many eons in the past, had engaged in an affair with a girl and killed a jealous rival before feeling strong remorse and, once the empty, non-existent nature of all phenomena had been explained to him, generated bodhicitta and attained patient forbearance in seeing all phenomena as non-arising.

English Translation

• Purification of Karmic Obscurations