The Questions of Pratibhanamati

The subject matter of this sutra, The Questions of Pratibhanamati (Skt. Pratibhānamatiparipṛcchā; Tib. སྤོབས་པའི་བློ་གྲོས་ཀྱིས་ཞུས་པ།, Wyl. spobs pa’i blo gros kyis zhus pa) is indicated by the alternative title suggested by the Buddha himself in its conclusion: The Teaching That Clarifies Karma. In the opening section, the merchant Pratibhanamati, concerned about the state of society and what will become of the sangha in times to come, requests the Buddha Shakyamuni for a teaching that offers moral guidance to future beings. With the Buddha’s encouragement, he asks what actions lead to rebirth in ten different human and non-human states. The Buddha answers with descriptions of the actions associated with each of these states and the effects they will bring.

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The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Kangyur, Toh 151.

• English translation: The Questions of Pratibhanamati