Teaching How All Phenomena Are without Origin

Teaching How All Phenomena Are without Origin (Skt. Sarvadharmāpravṛttinirdeśa; Tib. ཆོས་ཐམས་ཅད་འབྱུང་བ་མེད་པར་བསྟན་པ།, Wyl. chos thams cad ’byung ba med par bstan pa) — a Mahayana sutra in which the bodhisattva Siṃhavikrantagamin asks the Buddha a series of questions about emptiness and the non-dual view in which the seeming difference between subject and object has been left behind. The Buddha responds with a discourse in verse identifying the nature of phenomena as the single principle of emptiness.

Later, he teaches the bodhisattva about the dangers of judging the behaviour of other bodhisattvas, and the dangers of making any imputations about phenomena at all—explaining that both stem from ill-founded preconceptions that are transcended with spiritual awakening.

In an ensuing discussion with Manjushri, the Buddha further connects many standard Buddhist concepts and categories to the non-dual view that all phenomena are unborn and without intrinsic nature. Lastly, a god is instructed in the knowledge that overcomes the duality of various opposites, and Manjushri concludes the sutra by revealing the circumstances of his time as a beginning bodhisattva.

Text

Fragments of a Sanskrit version of this sutra have survivedand have been translated into English by Jens Braarvig, who also published a Sanskrit edition that includes parallel passages of the Tibetan and Chinese translations.

Translations

The Tibetan translation of this sutra can be found in the General Sutra section of the Tibetan Dergé Kangyur, Toh 180.

• English translation: Teaching How All Phenomena Are without Origin

There are also two translations of this sutra into Chinese by Kumarajiva and Jñanagupta.