notes

The cover of the booklet contains the inscription, upside down in the middle of the page:shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin. It also contains an inscription both upside down and in mirror-image at the bottom of the page, perhaps caused by another manuscript pressed against this page before the ink was dry. The inscription, read with the aid of an infrared image, may be read as follows:

"...phu dru(g)...med..nu(s)...
gsags...bsog dgu na(s) mtha' mu (sa) nyi shu...gi nang par pos...dus "

Mahāyāna sutra

Differs very little from the canonical version (1020).

prayers

A prayer associated with the ritual lighting of offering lamps. This text, which is without overtlyVajrayānaelements, is found in several other Dunhuang manuscripts. The similarly named sutra in thebka' 'gyur(1041) is not the same text.

References

prayers

A prayer toAvalokiteśvara, in the particular form calledSpyan ras gzigs dbang phyug yid bzhin 'khor lo(Avalokiteśvaracintāmāṇicakra). The deity is described seated on a moon disc and a jewelled lotus. He has six arms, which are said to liberate the six kinds of sentient beings. Two verses toward the end of the prayer make reference to arguablyVajrayānaconcepts:

‘ 46v.4/mtha' yas yon tan kun
rdzogs pas/ /bdud rtsi'i char ni rab tu 'bebs/ /sems nyid ldan pa'i dkyil 'khor
te/ /dkyil 'khor mnyam pa de bsgoms na/ /rtog pa'i mtshan ma mye skye'o/ /rtog pa
nyid ni byang chub te/ /myi gnas pa'i ye shes pas/
/dngos grub thams cad rdzogs par 'gyur/ ’ ‘Due to his perfection of limitless good qualities, a shower of nectar pours down. If you meditate on themaṇḍalaendowed with mind itself, the equality [of all]maṇḍalas, conceptual characteristics will not develop. Conceptualization itself is enlightenment. With the non-abiding wisdom allsiddhis will be perfected. ’

This text is found in several other Dunhuang manuscripts. Severalstotras in thebstan 'gyurhave similar titles, but all are different from this text. In addition, adhāraṇīassociated withAvalokiteśvaracintāmāṇicakrais found in thebka' 'gyur(370) and in theLdan dkar ma(343).

References

Mahāyāna treatise

The title is given in Tibetan and Sanskrit. The transcription of the Sanskrit title islo ka prad nya', but The Sanskrit equivalent forlo rgyusgiven in theMahāvyutpattiisprakriyā, notprajñā(see1445). There is a text in thebstan 'gyur(5587) calledLokaprajñapti('Jig rten gi bzhag pa), which shares certain characteristics with this text, but does does not appear to be directly related to it.

The text is a treatise, in question-and-answer format, on a number ofMahāyānatopics. The closing lines summarize the contents as follows:

"A teaching, [based] on the important sutras of thedharma, on the characteristics of the three jewels, the good qualities and the path of liberation, on seeing the [two] truths, on actions and the ripening of actions, [written] merely to oppose what is not in concordance with the pure scriptures. "

notes

This fragmentary text has been identified as part of thesgra sbyor bam po gnyis pa(see). The section represented here is the beginning of a glossary on the Sanskrit words which are to be found inmantras. The text contains five entries, the last being incomplete. Each entry begins with the Sanskrit term, then gives an example of amantrain which it appears, then defines the Sanskrit term in Tibetan, and then gives the Tibetan term. The Sanskrit terms treated here are:tantra,mantra,vidyā,dhāraṇīandmaṇḍala. The Tibetan equivalents given for these terms (excepting the fifth, which is the last and incomplete entry) are:sngags gi rgyud,gsang sngags,rig sngagsandgzung sngags.

References

Mahāyāna sutra

The final page of the booklet, much obscured but easily read from the infrared image, contains the opening lines of the sutra, identical to Item 2.

References