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E. Steinkellner
Samdhinirmocanasūtra
III.
In addition to these still extant commentaries we come across a number of titles of works evidently lost. They all come from the old catalogues of Han kar and 'Phan than and they share the fate of having been lost by the time Bu ston was compiling his lists. A survey is nevertheless useful, not only for clarity's sake but also because their very existence increases once more our suspicions with regard to the importance of this particular Sūtra's tradition for the period of our interest.
n. 9) and it is indeed hard to evaluate the syntactical peculiarities in this pas. sage.
I would like to acknowledge my sincere gratitude to PER KVÆRNE who took the trouble to read my draft translation in Sopron, and to HELGA UEBACH and JAMPA PANGLUNG who proposed valuable changes and alternative interpretations even later (letter of Sept. 15th 1987). Some of their advice I did not follow, thus the mistakes in the proposed translation remain my own. "Whoever, in fulfilling his individual intentions, aims at transcendental completion, whoever aims at worldly success, whoever aims at being an expert in words (sgra) and writing (yi ge'i 'bru), (and) whoever aims at knowing in accordance with valid cognitions the characteristics of all factors of existence (chos) and (aims) at other (achievements ?), (for such persons) there is no way beyond hearing, considering and meditating on the teaching of the Tathāgata.
(Someone may say:) "The cognition of (people) like me is limited and obscured with regard to (a teaching which is) deep and vast, and endless as the holy words of the Buddha, the Venerable one. While to declare, therefore, that (I should) learn to understand the intended meaning (of these holy words) appears to be impossible since (my attempt to understand would be) like the endeavour to cross the great ocean with the skill of a grey-duck (bya gag), why do (you) say that (I should) overrate myself?
(Answer:) When we see the valid cognitions (tshad mar byed pa) (as instances of authority) in everyday life and the four methods (rigs pa bzi) to be found (as such instances) in the noble Gons pa res par 'grel pa'i mdo, even writing down ('bri bar yan)* these (following) explanations is something inconceivable. Since I became aware of the manner in which Sans rgyas (!??) and others, the upholders of wrong beliefs (mu stegs can), deceive the people with their respective self-fabrications and teach (them ?) as valid (tshad ma) while the worldly people do not believe in accordance with the precious valid cognitions of a correct revelation (bka' yan dag pali tshad ma), would I conceal the valid cognition for the holy words (gsun rab) I would turn away from the three jewels and offend ('khus par)* the living beings. Therefore, when I became continuously anxious with regard to (this prospect) intolerable like a piece of awn that has entered the eye, I wrote this treatise) only as a case of exhoration for the learned." * These emendations and readings were proposed by UEBACH and PANGLUNG.
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