The Samādhirāja Sūtra (King of Samādhis Sūtra) or Candrapradīpa Sūtra (Moonlamp Sūtra) is a Buddhist Mahayana sutra. Some scholars have dated its redaction from the 2nd or 3rd century CE to the 6th century (the date of the earliest manuscript found), but others argue that its date just cannot be determined. The Samādhirāja is a very important source for the Madhyamaka school and it is cited by numerous Indian authors like Chandrakirti, Shantideva and later Buddhist authors.Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, pp. viii, 11. Ann Arbor.Regamey, Constantin (1938). Philosophy in the Samādhirājasūtra: Three Chapters From the Samādhirājasūtra, p. 3. Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. According to Alex Wayman, the Samādhirāja is "perhaps the most important scriptural source for the Madhyamika."Tatz, Mark (1972). Revelation in Madhyamika Buddhism, p. 4. M.A.Thesis, University of Washington. The Samādhirāja is also widely cited in Tantric Buddhist sources, which promote its recitation for ritual purposes.Tatz, Mark (1972). Revelation in Madhyamika Buddhism, p. 12. M.A.Thesis, University of Washington. A commentary to the sutra, the Kīrtimala (Tibetan: grags pa'i phreng ba), was composed by the Indian Manjushrikirti and this survives in Tibetan.Tatz, Mark (1972). Revelation in Madhyamika Buddhism, p. 3. M.A.Thesis, University of Washington.
Title The text is commonly known as the King of Samadhis Sutra (Samādhirājasūtra, Tib. ting nge 'dzin gyi rgyal po'i mdo), and it is also known as the Moon Lamp Sutra (Skt. Candrapradīpa Sutra, Tib. zla ba sgron me’i mdo) after the main bodhisattva in this sutra.Pearcey, Adam (2005). A Mini Modern Mahāvyutpatti: A Glossary of Tibetan-Sanskrit Terms for Translators. Third Edition. Lotsawa School Source: (accessed: Wednesday April 29, 2009), p.17
The full Tibetan title in the Kanjur is:
’phags pa chos thams cad kyi rang bzhin mnyam pa nyid rnam par spros pa ting nge ’dzin gyi rgyal po zhes bya ba theg pa chen po’i mdo Sanskrit: Ārya-sarvadharma-svabhāvasamatā-vipañcita-samādhirāja-nāma-mahāyānasūtra In English, this long title may be translated as The Noble Mahāyāna Sūtra “The King of Samādhis, the Revealed Equality of the Nature of All Phenomena” (Roberts) or "the samadhi that is manifested as the sameness of the essential nature of all dharmas," (Luis and Gomez) or "the Mahayana discourse that is called the king of samadhi, as received from the samadhi elaborated as the sameness in their essence of all phenomena" (Skilton).Skilton, Andrew T. (2002). "State or statement? Samadhi in some early Mahayana Sutras", The Eastern Buddhist 34.2, 51-93.
The Chinese have preferred Yueh-teng san-mei ching, corresponding to *Candrapradīpa-samādhisūtra (Moon Lamp Samadhi Sutra).Luis O. Gomez and Jonathan A. Silk, Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts. Ann Arbor 1989 pgs 15
History and Texts
Peter Alan Roberts writes that "it is impossible to be sure when this work first appeared in writing; indeed, the sūtra is very likely a compilation of earlier shorter works. None of the complete extant Sanskrit manuscripts can be dated to earlier than the sixth century." However, he also notes that it is cited in the Sūtrasamuccaya (c. 4th century or later) and also may have been referenced to by Asanga (4th century). Gomez and Silk write that "an educated guess is that the text took form between the second century C.E., when it is generally believed Madhyamaka thought emerged as a distinct philosophical tradition, and the sixth century, the date of the Gilgit manuscript, the earliest extant recension of the text. This does not mean that the text was not in existence in some form before the second century."Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, p. 14. Ann Arbor. They also note that a Chinese translation of the text by An Shigao (fl. mid-second century CE) is recorded in Chinese sutra catalogues.
Andrew Skilton writes that this large sutra is probably a composite work which "bears certain affinities with the Prajñāpāramitā literature and other early Mahayana scriptures".Skilton, Andrew T. (1999). '"Four Recensions of the Samadhiraja Sutra." Indo-Iranian Journal 42, 335-336. He also writes that there were various recensions and versions of this sutra in circulation in India.
According to Roberts, "at least two shorter independent works that may have existed earlier appear to have been incorporated into the King of Samadhis Sutra." These are:
The Mahāprajñāsamādhisūtra (The Sūtra of the Samādhi of Great Wisdom), also called the Mañjuśrībodhisattvacāryā (The Bodhisattva Conduct of Mañjuśrī). This was translated into Chinese by Shih Sien-kung (420–479). This sutra which focuses on the six perfections corresponds to chapters 27–29 in the Tibetan King of Samadhis, with the only difference being that Mañjuśrī has been replaced with Candraprabha. Chapter 36 of the Tibetan translation also seems to have circulated as an independent sutra. The King of Samadhis was translated into Chinese by Narendrayaśas (517–589), an Indian monk from Orissa, who titled it The Sūtra of the Samādhi of the Lamp of the Moon (月燈三昧經, Taishō 639). Two other Chinese translations include an alternative version of the equivalent of the sixth fascicle by Xiangong (逮慧三昧經, The Attainment of Wisdom Samādhi Sūtra) and an alternative translation of the equivalent of the seventh fascicle by Xiangong (文殊師利菩薩十事行經, The Ten Practices of Mañjuśrī Bodhisattva Sūtra).
Fragments from three Central Asian Sanskrit manuscripts of the sutra have been found. They date to the fifth or sixth centuries. A Tibetan translation was made in the ninth century by Śīlendrabodhi and Chönyi Tsultrim (Dharmatāśīla). This Tibetan version is longer than the earlier Chinese translation and is divided into forty chapters. The Chinese edition meanwhile is in ten fascicles (juans 卷).
A complete Indian Sanskrit manuscript was discovered near Gilgit in 1938 which has been dated to the sixth century. According to Roberts, this text is "significantly shorter than the Tibetan translation, with fewer verses and prose passages." Other Sanskrit manuscripts which have been found in Nepal are longer and closer to the Tibetan translation, some Nepalese versions even contain material not found in the Tibetan. The Sanskrit versions of the sutra are mostly composed in Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit (BHS) or strongly influenced by BHS.
A Sanskrit version of the sutra was published in Devanagari along with an English summary of the chapters in 1941 by Nalinaksha Dutt.Dutt, Nalinaksha, Litt, D., editors (1941). Gilgit Manuscripts Vol. II, Calcutta Oriental Press. According to Gomez and Silk, "Dutt's edition is wanting in more than one respect. It is, unfortunately, at its best a conflation of manuscripts, at its worst a reconstruction from the Tibetan."Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, p. 41. Ann Arbor. They also note that a more recent edition by P. L. Vaidya (1961) is "equally problematic" since it is "essentially a copy of Dutt's edition" with some modifications by the author.Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, p. 42. Ann Arbor. They finally add that "a more rigorous task has been accomplished by Seiren Matsunami."
Content and themes The King of Samādhis Sūtra is written in mixed prose and verse. Gomez and Silk outline the main stylistic form of the sutra's chapters (this analysis uses the long version found in the Tibetan translation and some Sanskrit mss) as follows:Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, p. 29. Ann Arbor.
Five chapters-I, X, XIV, XV and XL form the "main narrative or backbone of the text, that is, the events surrounding the Buddha's meeting with Candraprabha." Various chapters which contain avadanas or purvayogas (mainly stories of past lives of the Buddha) are found inserted throughout the sutra, these are chapters II, V, VIII, XVI, XX, XXI, XXIX, XXXIII, XXXIV, XXXV and XXXVII. The bulk of the text (24 chapters) contain mostly expository prose and verse.
The King of Samādhis The King of Samādhis Sūtra claims its main theme is a samādhi (which is the "King of Samādhis") that is the key to all virtues of the Buddhas and bodhisattvas and is thus "the single dharma [ekadharmena] that summarizes all teachings and practices".Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, pp. 15-16, 30. Ann Arbor. This samādhi is called "the samādhi that is manifested as the sameness of the essential nature of all dharmas" (sarva-dharma-svabhavā-samatā-vipañcita-samādhi).Gomez, Luis O; Silk, Jonathan A. (1989) Studies in the Literature of the Great Vehicle: Three Mahayana Buddhist Texts, pp. 15-16. Ann Arbor. Skilton notes that this samādhi is the main subject of the sutra. While Gomez and Silk take vipañcita to mean 'manifested', Skilton interprets the term as "elaborated", and sees this samādhi as (at least partly) a kind of literary theme which is explained and elaborated upon in the sutra.
The sutra begins at Vulture Peak, where the main bodhisattva in this sutra, Candraprabha, asks the Buddha how to acquire certain important qualities of the Buddhas. The Buddha replies that there is "one single dharma" which leads to these virtues. The Buddha first describes the samadhi called "the elaboration of the sameness in their essence of all phenomena" through the following short statement: "his mind is equable towards all beings, his mind is beneficial, his mind is sympathetic, his mind is not inclined to retaliation, his mind is not vexatious."
Silk and Gomez write that the Samādhirāja uses the term "samādhi" in a very broad way. This supreme samādhi "is at the same time the cognitive experience of emptiness, the attainment of the attributes of buddhahood, and the performance of a variety of practices or daily activities of a bodhisattva—including service and adoration at the feet of all buddhas." The Samādhirāja also uses the term to refer to itself, equating the sutra with samādhi and emptiness.
The sutra then goes on to list over three hundred descriptions of this samadhi, such as: restraint of body, speech and mind, "purity of actions", "going completely beyond supports," "comprehension of the aggregates", "indifference towards the bases of consciousness", "withdrawal from the sense-fields," "abandonment of craving," "direct realization of non-arising," "friendliness," "sweetness," good conduct, lack of aversion and attachment, knowledge of the Truths, the teaching, the analytical knowledges, knowledge of "the divisions of words and syllables," and so on.
Skilton argues that the list is explicitly introduced as being the samadhi itself, while the Chinese translations suggests that they are aspects or benefits of the samadhi. According to Skilton, the sutra uses the term "samadhi" here to refer to the list of terms itself and he argues that this usage is also found in other Mahayana texts. He also lists various passages from the sutra which speak of "hearing", "memorizing", "reciting," and "holding in one's hand" the samadhi taught in this sutra. Skilton argues that these passages show that the term samadhi must be referring to a text (i.e. the list of over 300 items).