The Sūtra of Queen Śrīmālā Who Had the Lion's Roar (Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanāda-sūtram)
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The Sūtra of Queen Śrīmālā Who Had the Lion's Roar (Śrīmālādevīsiṃhanāda-sūtram)
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Description
Of all the Buddhist texts which teach the principle known as the Tathāgatagarbha, none is as popular as this sutra. Queen Śrīmālā, the central figure in the text, represents a portrait of the ideal Buddhist laywoman as a teacher and philosopher who is committed to assisting all beings through the supreme teaching of the Tathāgatagarbha.
The text emphasizes total devotion to the Tathāgatagarbha or Buddha nature which is the means for universal salvation (Ekayāna). Each individual has this potential Buddha within his or her mind but must nurture and develop the awareness of this potentiality so that one may "give birth" or realize this nature of the Buddha. This theory of Buddha nature or Tathāgatagarbha became increasingly popular in China and Japan, particularly in Zen Buddhism where the notion of universal Buddha mind (Busshin) was identified with the mind that understands Emptiness (mushin).
The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā Who Had the Lion’s Roar inspired first the Indian royal patronesses of Buddhism and then the court ladies in China and Japan. The popularity of this text undoubtedly was due not only to the portrayal of a woman as both a compassionate and helping human being, but also as an example of a human being in her struggle to exist and understand the world in freedom.
Although the text is no longer available in Sanskrit, fragments are cited in other Buddhist Sanskrit texts, attesting to the text's wide circulation throughout India at one time. In addition, both the Chinese and Tibetan collections of scripture have preserved redactions of the text. Commentaries on the Śrīmālā Sutra are extant only in Chinese and Japanese. According to the Chinese commentator Chi-tsang, monks at one time studied and composed commentaries in this sutra in great numbers from the time of the North-South dynastic periods through the Sui (that is, from approximately 440-618 of the common era).
Gunabhadra, the central Indian Tripiṭaka master (ca. 394-468) who translated the older of the two Chinese redactions (one of which was the source of the following translations), was a Central Indian scholar who departed for Canton in 435 via Ceylon, bringing the first Buddhist idealist (Vijñānavādin) texts with him. His translations of these texts were virtually neglected until the late Wei dynasty, when Ratnamati, Bodhiruci, and others came to China to translate texts from the same school of thought. He translated, among others, the Great Dharma Drum (Mahābherihārakaparivarta), which is a Tathāgatagarbhan text, and the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtram and Laṇkāvatāra-sūtram, both considered Vijñānavādin in doctrine.
Queen Śrīmālā and her historicity still remain obscure. In other Buddhist literature she is sometimes identified with King Prasenajit's wife, Mallikā, instead of with his daughter as described in the Śrīmālā sutra. According to the Sarvāstivādin books of discipline (Vinaya) which are preserved in the Chinese, Śrīmālā was the daughter of a village administrator who was raised by the king. Because she loved to pick flowers for her hair, she was known as Śrīmālā, which means "Beautiful Flower Garland." One day when King Prasenajit was visiting her guardian, Śrīmālā, through her foresight, ordered the palace gates closed during the period of his stay. Later, King Prasenajit discovered that his enemies had attempted to seize the palace and assassinate him but had failed in their plot because of Śrīmālā. He immediately asked her to be his queen, and she accepted. From that time on, Queen Śrīmālā compassionately ruled over the kingdom with her husband.
In the following sutra Queen Śrīmālā, with her eloquence or "lion's roar," receives the prediction that she will become a Buddha, and all of her kingdom subsequently practices according to the Buddha's teaching. (Paul, "Introduction to Selections from The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā Who Had the Lion's Roar," 289–91)
The text emphasizes total devotion to the Tathāgatagarbha or Buddha nature which is the means for universal salvation (Ekayāna). Each individual has this potential Buddha within his or her mind but must nurture and develop the awareness of this potentiality so that one may "give birth" or realize this nature of the Buddha. This theory of Buddha nature or Tathāgatagarbha became increasingly popular in China and Japan, particularly in Zen Buddhism where the notion of universal Buddha mind (Busshin) was identified with the mind that understands Emptiness (mushin).
The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā Who Had the Lion’s Roar inspired first the Indian royal patronesses of Buddhism and then the court ladies in China and Japan. The popularity of this text undoubtedly was due not only to the portrayal of a woman as both a compassionate and helping human being, but also as an example of a human being in her struggle to exist and understand the world in freedom.
Although the text is no longer available in Sanskrit, fragments are cited in other Buddhist Sanskrit texts, attesting to the text's wide circulation throughout India at one time. In addition, both the Chinese and Tibetan collections of scripture have preserved redactions of the text. Commentaries on the Śrīmālā Sutra are extant only in Chinese and Japanese. According to the Chinese commentator Chi-tsang, monks at one time studied and composed commentaries in this sutra in great numbers from the time of the North-South dynastic periods through the Sui (that is, from approximately 440-618 of the common era).
Gunabhadra, the central Indian Tripiṭaka master (ca. 394-468) who translated the older of the two Chinese redactions (one of which was the source of the following translations), was a Central Indian scholar who departed for Canton in 435 via Ceylon, bringing the first Buddhist idealist (Vijñānavādin) texts with him. His translations of these texts were virtually neglected until the late Wei dynasty, when Ratnamati, Bodhiruci, and others came to China to translate texts from the same school of thought. He translated, among others, the Great Dharma Drum (Mahābherihārakaparivarta), which is a Tathāgatagarbhan text, and the Saṃdhinirmocana-sūtram and Laṇkāvatāra-sūtram, both considered Vijñānavādin in doctrine.
Queen Śrīmālā and her historicity still remain obscure. In other Buddhist literature she is sometimes identified with King Prasenajit's wife, Mallikā, instead of with his daughter as described in the Śrīmālā sutra. According to the Sarvāstivādin books of discipline (Vinaya) which are preserved in the Chinese, Śrīmālā was the daughter of a village administrator who was raised by the king. Because she loved to pick flowers for her hair, she was known as Śrīmālā, which means "Beautiful Flower Garland." One day when King Prasenajit was visiting her guardian, Śrīmālā, through her foresight, ordered the palace gates closed during the period of his stay. Later, King Prasenajit discovered that his enemies had attempted to seize the palace and assassinate him but had failed in their plot because of Śrīmālā. He immediately asked her to be his queen, and she accepted. From that time on, Queen Śrīmālā compassionately ruled over the kingdom with her husband.
In the following sutra Queen Śrīmālā, with her eloquence or "lion's roar," receives the prediction that she will become a Buddha, and all of her kingdom subsequently practices according to the Buddha's teaching. (Paul, "Introduction to Selections from The Sutra of Queen Śrīmālā Who Had the Lion's Roar," 289–91)
Interconnections
1 Full translation of
One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Ratnagotravibhāga, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha. It includes mention of important concepts related to the teachings on buddha-nature, such as the single vehicle and the four perfections, or transcendent characteristics, of the dharmakāya. It also mentions the notion that buddha-nature, which is equated with mind's luminous nature, is empty of adventitious stains but not empty of its limitless inseparable qualities. In his commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga, Asaṅga quotes this sūtra more than any other source text. In particular, it is considered a source for the fifth of the seven vajra topics, enlightenment.
1 Scholarship on
One of the more prominent sūtra sources for the Ratnagotravibhāga, this text tells of the story of Śrīmālādevī taking up the Buddhist path at the behest of her royal parents based on a prophecy of the Buddha. It includes mention of important concepts related to the teachings on buddha-nature, such as the single vehicle and the four perfections, or transcendent characteristics, of the dharmakāya. It also mentions the notion that buddha-nature, which is equated with mind's luminous nature, is empty of adventitious stains but not empty of its limitless inseparable qualities. In his commentary on the Ratnagotravibhāga, Asaṅga quotes this sūtra more than any other source text. In particular, it is considered a source for the fifth of the seven vajra topics, enlightenment.
