Abhisamayalamkara with Vrtti and Aloka Vol. 4
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Books/Abhisamayalamkara with Vrtti and Aloka Vol. 4
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Abhisamayālaṃkāra with Vṛtti and Alokā: Vṛtti by Arya Vimuktisena, Ālokā by Haribhadra; Vol. 4: Fifth to Eighth Abhisamayas
Book
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Description
This is the last of four volumes completing the translation of Maitreya's Ornament for the Clear Realizations as explained in Arya Vimuktisena's Commentary and Haribhadra's Light. The Ornament is a brief explanation of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in Twenty-five Thousand Lines (the Large Sutra), and, according to Haribhadra, the version in Eight Thousand Lines as well. (Sparham, translator's introduction, xiii)
Citation
Sparham, Gareth, trans. Abhisamayālaṃkāra with Vṛtti and Alokā: Vṛtti by Arya Vimuktisena, Ālokā by Haribhadra; Vol. 4: Fifth to Eighth Abhisamayas. Fremont, CA: Jain Publishing Company, 2012.
Table of contents
- Acknowledgementsvii
- Translator's Introductionxiii
- Abbreviationsxxvii
- PART I: Commentary on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra
- Chapter Five: Culmination Clear Realization3
- Chapter Six: Serial Clear Realization55
- Chapter Seven: Clear Realization in a Single Instant61
- Chapter Eight: Dharma Body67
- Chapter Nine: Conclusion107
- Notes to Part I115
- PART II: Light for the Abhisamayālaṃkāra
- Chapter Five: Culmination Clear Realization133
- 5.21 Māra's Deeds137
- 5.22 The Good Friend147
- 5.23 Śakra157
- 5.24 Conceit161
- 5.25 Training167
- 5.26 Like Illusion173
- 5.27 The Core185
- 5.28 Avakīrṇa-kusuma201
- 5.29 Approach223
- Chapter Six: Serial Clear Realization241
- Chapter Seven: Single Instant Clear Realization243
- Chapter Eight: Dharma Body247
- 8.30 Sadā-prarudita267
- 8.31 Dharmodgata285
- 8.32 Entrusting311
- Notes to Part II317
- Additional Bibliography327
- Errata329
Interconnections
2 Partial translation of
The Āryāṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāvyākhyānābhisamayālaṃkārāloka (Tib. Shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa brgyad stong pa'i bshad pa/ mngon par rtogs pa'i rgyan gyi snang ba, "Illumination of the Ornament of Realization"), also known as the Abhisamayālaṃkārālokā, is a commentary by Haribhadra (Tib. Seng ge bzang po; late 8th century), an Indian paṇḍita active under the Pāla emperor Dharmapāla. It works by taking Maitreya's Abhisamayālaṃkāra—traditionally read as an outline of the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras' structure—and showing where each of its categories is being taught within the actual text of the Aṣṭasāhasrikāprajñāpāramitāsūtra, making it at once a commentary on the sūtra and one of the traditional twenty-one Indian commentaries on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra. It is distinct from Haribhadra's other, better-known work in that same set of 21, the Sphuṭārthā ("Clear Meaning"), which instead explains the Abhisamayālaṃkāra,'s verses directly, without correlating them to any one sūtra's wording. This commentary was translated into Tibetan by Rinchen Zangpo, with a subsequent revision involving Atiśa Dīpaṃkaraśrījñāna and a further translation by Ngok Loden Sherab.
This is a commentary (vārttikā, a gloss/sub-commentary on verses) by Vimuktisena on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra, read in relation to the Pañcaviṃśatisāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā (the Perfection of Wisdom in 25,000 Lines). It is a distinct work from Vimuktisena's better-known Abhisamayālaṃkāravṛtti—the two share overlapping subject matter and root-text focus, but are catalogued separately, with different Sanskrit titles (-vṛtti vs. -kārikāvārttikā) and, notably, different translators.
Per its colophon, the Tibetan translation was commissioned by Jetsun Jangchub Ö and carried out by the Nepali paṇḍita Śāntibhadra together with the Tibetan translator 'Bro Seng-dkar Gelong Śākya Ö, an 11th-century figure also known for translating tantric and epistemological works by Vajragarbha, Ratnākaraśānti, and Jñānaśrīmitra. The colophon further records the text's length as 5,400 ślokas. (Source: BDRC and AIBS).
3 Other volumes
Maitreya's Abhisamayālaṃkāra is the most widely studied book in Tibet, where it was brought from India many centuries ago. It is used in all the monasteries to teach the path to Buddhahood, in accordance with the Perfection of Wisdom Sutras. It teaches this in outline form, so it requires a commentary to be understood. The oldest extant commentary is Arya Vimuktisena's Vṛtti. Haribhadra, the most influential Indian commentator, drew upon this to write his Ālokā. Virtually all of the many famous Tibetan teachers who wrote their own commentaries on the Abhisamayālaṃkāra relied on Haribhadra as their primary source. This is the first of four volumes. (Source Accessed July 26, 2026)
This second of four volumes includes translations of chapters two ("Knowledge of Paths") and three ("All knowledge") of Maitreya's Ornament for the Clear Realizations as explained in Arya Vimuktisena's Commentary and Haribhadra's Light. The Ornament is a very brief, but nonetheless insightful, explanation of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra, mainly of the version in Twenty-five Thousand Lines. According to Haribhadra, it is also a self-conscious explanation of the Eight Thousand. (Sparham, translator's introduction, ix)
This is the third of four volumes of translations of Maitreya's Ornament for the Clear Realizations as explained in Ārya Vimuktisena's Commentary and Haribhadra's Light. The Ornament is a brief explanation of the Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in Twenty-five Thousand Lines, and, according
to Haribhadra, the version in Eight Thousand Lines as well. (Sparham, translator's introduction, ix)
