“Subhūti, immediately after the bodhisattva great being Sadāprarudita had attained those six million gateways of meditative stability, he saw the lord buddhas accompanied by hosts of bodhisattvas and surrounded by the community of monks, teaching this same perfection of wisdom, in these very ways, in these very terms, in these very words, and in these very letters, in the world systems of the great trichiliocosm of the ten directions—east, south, west, north, the intermediate directions, the zenith, and the nadir—numerous as the grains of sand of the river Gaṅgā, just as I, accompanied by hosts of bodhisattvas and surrounded by the community of monks, am now teaching the Dharma of the perfection of wisdom in these very ways, in these very terms, in these very words, and in these very letters, in this world system of the great trichiliocosm. By attaining inconceivable dhāraṇīs, he acquired learning as vast as the oceans. In all his lives he was never again separated from the buddhas. In all his lives, he was reborn in those world systems where the lord buddhas were present, and he listened to the Dharma in the actual presence of the lord buddhas. At the very least, even in his dreams he was never separated from the vision of the buddhas. He would hear the Dharma and was never separated from the sight of bodhisattvas. He abandoned all states lacking freedom, and possessed the freedoms and opportunities.”

Then the Blessed One said to the venerable Ānanda, “You should know, Ānanda, as this formulation explains, that the perfection of wisdom facilitates the attainment of omniscient gnosis. Therefore, Ānanda, all bodhisattva great beings who want to attain omniscient gnosis should practice this perfection of wisdom.”

Then he said to Ānanda, “In order to benefit bodhisattva great beings, you, Ānanda, should take up this perfection of wisdom. Uphold it, recite it, master it, and teach it extensively to others. Ānanda, this perfection of wisdom should be heard, taken up, upheld, recited, mastered, chanted, taught, explained, repeated, and cultivated by bodhisattva great beings. Through the blessing of the tathāgatas, at the very least, it should be clearly written down, and offerings should be made to it with flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, unguents, powders, clothing, parasols, victory banners, ribbons, and many rows of butter lamps on all sides. It should be served, honored, venerated, worshiped, revered, and respected. This is my admonition. If you ask why, Ānanda, it is because the unsurpassed, complete enlightenment of bodhisattva great beings depends on the perfection of wisdom. Ānanda, do you think that your teacher is the Tathāgata?”

“Blessed Lord, he is my teacher!” replied Ānanda.

The Blessed One then said to the venerable Ānanda, “The Tathāgata is your teacher, Ānanda! You have conducted yourself, Ānanda, with physical acts of loving kindness that are pleasant and never unpleasant, with verbal acts of loving kindness that are pleasant and never unpleasant, and with mental acts of loving kindness that are pleasant and never unpleasant. Therefore, Ānanda, just as you have acted with loving kindness, empathetic joy, and reverence toward me while I am alive in this present incarnation, after I have passed away, you should similarly act toward this perfection of wisdom. Ānanda, I entrust and transmit this to you for the second time and for the third time. Come what may, you should ensure that this perfection of wisdom does not vanish. Ānanda, as long as this perfection of wisdom remains in the world, you should know that for that long the tathāgatas will also be present. You should know that for that long the tathāgatas will teach the Dharma. Ānanda, you should know that those beings who listen to this perfection of wisdom, and who take up, uphold, recite, master, chant, teach, repeat, question, serve, honor, respect, worship, revere, and venerate it, presenting it with diverse offerings—flowers, incense, perfume, garlands, unguents, clothing, powders, parasols, victory banners, ribbons, and rows of butter lamps on all sides—will never be separated from the sight of the buddhas. They will never be separated from hearing the Dharma.

“Ānanda, you should know that those beings will be the servants of the tathāgatas!”

When the Blessed One had joyfully spoken these words, the venerable Ānanda, the venerable Śāradvatīputra, the venerable Mahā­maudgalyāyana, the venerable Mahākāśyapa, the venerable Pūrṇa Maitrāyaṇīputra, the venerable Mahākātyāyana, the venerable Aniruddha, the venerable Revata, the venerable Rāhula, and all four assemblies, along with mundane beings including gods, humans, and asuras, rejoiced in the words spoken by the Blessed One.

It is said in the original Jangpa manuscript:

This [Tibetan translation of] The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines has been edited twice on the basis of the original “gold manuscript,” which had been [commissioned as] a commitment of the spiritual mentor Nyanggom Chobar, and it has also been edited on the basis of the manuscript kept at Yerpa. Since it is extant, scribes of posterity should copy [the text] according to this version alone.

In the [recast] version of The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines [Toh 3790] that was edited by master Haribhadra, and in some [other] manuscripts, the text ends with the seventy-first chapter entitled “Unchanging Reality.” In certain [other] manuscripts, including the original (phyi mo) [Toh 9], there are seventy-six chapters, with the addition of the [seventy-second] chapter entitled “Distinctions in the Training of a Bodhisattva,” the [seventy-third] chapter entitled “The Attainment of the Manifold Gateways of Meditative Stability by the Bodhisattva Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fourth] chapter entitled “Sadāprarudita,” the [seventy-fifth] chapter entitled “Dharmodgata,” and the [seventy-sixth] chapter entitled “Entrustment.” This accords with earlier accounts and the authentic records of teachings received. Insofar as there are distinctions in the translation of these five later chapters, I have seen a few manuscripts where the terminology is slightly dissimilar, although there are no differences in meaning.

In general, throughout the present text there are all sorts of unique allusions and variations in the elaboration of the points that are expressed. In particular, in the chapter entitled “The Introductory Narrative,” there are some passages where the text corresponds to The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines.

OṂ SVĀSTI

Respectfully served by Indra, mighty lord of the gods, and others, The supreme guides, best of humankind, embodying the three buddha bodies, Are supreme in liberation, the path of liberation, and the provisions— Objects of homage for all embodied beings and lord protectors.

In the perspective of the divine path where emptiness and compassion are indivisible, May the conquerors and their heirs again bestow excellent merits, Causing a downpour of nectar of spiritual and temporal well-being From the dense accumulating clouds of enlightened activity!

The supreme source of the marvelous attributes of existence and quiescence, Monarch of supreme eloquence who reigns over needs and wants, Is a manifestly high support, like the pinnacle of a victory banner— May this supreme support enhance the glory of the Buddhist teaching!

Although the sequences of the manifold vehicles are infinite Owing to distinctions between disciples, who are low and high, They are subsumed in the three definitive piṭakas, Among which are the profound middle turning precepts Concerning the absence of defining characteristics.

Among these, the billion-line version extant in the domain of the gandharvas, The ten-million-line version extant in the domain of Śatakratu, And the hundred-thousand-line version extant in the domain of hooded nāgas Were established as the long, middle-length, and abridged versions of the extensive text.

The twenty-five-thousand-line, eighteen-thousand-line, and ten-thousand-line versions Are known as the long, middle-length, and abridged versions of the intermediate text. Many scholars profess that the eight-thousand-line version and the verse summation Are respectively the abridged and extremely abridged texts.

Alternatively, the versions in one hundred thousand lines, Twenty-five thousand lines, and eight thousand lines Are respectively known as the long, medium, and short texts. Among these, the long version fell as a downpour of kingly power, Inexhaustible as an offering lamp for living beings, without partiality.

In order that the excellent merit of the teaching and living beings might yet again increase, Lord [Tenpa Tsering], who bestows the good fortune of resources For the sustenance of spacious Degé— A great community endowed with the ten virtuous actions— Instantly opened countless doors of the inexhaustible treasure-store of space, Containing the gems of the twenty-five-thousand-line version—it was a wondrous springtime.

Acting in service of the entire teaching impartially, Stealing the pride of the mighty long-living [gods], In the great palace of Lhundrubteng, A seminary triumphant over all directions, Bastion of the twofold tradition [of sūtra and tantra] Enveloped by the white parasol of the glorious Sakya school, During the water tiger year, also known as Śubhakṛta, At the time when the youthful face of the Jyeṣṭha moon made her appearance, Her surface resembling translucent crystal, He completed this task with two hundred and fifty elite [wood] carvers Through the excellence of meritorious circumstances.

By this virtuous action I dedicate merit That king [Tenpa Tsering] might have a long life and stable rule, Sustaining the spacious kingdom with the bliss of the perfect age, And that living beings, exemplified by those with auspicious connections, Might attain the rank of liberation, the four buddha bodies!

At the time when the carving of the xylographs of this very text, along with those of the Multitude of the Buddhas (Buddhāvataṃsaka), was completed, in the presence of King Tenpa Tsering, the ruler of Degé, the beggar monk Tashi Wangchuk composed these verses at Sharkha Dzongsar Palace, where the wood-carving workshop was based. May they be victorious!

ye dharmā hetuprabhavā hetun teṣāṃ tathāgato bhavat āha teṣāṃ ca yo nirodho evaṃ vādī mahāśramaṇaḥ [ye svāhā]

“Whatever events arise from causes, the Tathāgata has told of their causes, and the great ascetic has also taught their cessation.”