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The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara (2): Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā (Ewing, B.)
This is an English translation of the Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchāsūtra (D154) by Benjamin Ewing. Edited by Andreas Doctor. Published by 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
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Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchāsūtra
The Derge Kangyur contains three sūtras entitled The Questions of the Naga King Sagara (Skt. Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchā; Tib. ཀླུའི་རྒྱལ་པོ་རྒྱ་མཚོས་ཞུས་པ་, Lu gyalpo gyatsö shyüpa, Wyl. Klu'i rgyal po rgya mtshos zhus pa). They can be distinguished by their length, one being quite long (Toh 153), one medium-length (Toh 154), and one very short (Toh 155).
- The first text (Toh 153) "begins with a miracle that portends the coming of the Nāga King Sāgara to Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha. The nāga king engages in a lengthy dialogue with the Buddha on various topics pertaining to the distinction between relative and ultimate reality, all of which emphasize the primacy of insight into emptiness. The Buddha thereafter journeys to King Sāgara’s palace in the ocean and reveals details of the king’s past lives in order to introduce the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. In the nāga king’s palace in the ocean, he gives teachings on various topics and acts as peacemaker, addressing the ongoing conflicts between the gods and asuras and between the nāgas and garuḍas. Upon returning to Vulture Peak, the Buddha engages in dialogue with King Ajātaśatru and provides Nāga King Sāgara’s prophecy."
- The medium-length text (Toh 154) "presents a discourse given by the Buddha Shakyamuni on the importance of considering the effects caused by actions. At the start of his teaching, the Buddha remarks how the variety of forms that exist, and in fact all phenomena, come about as the result of virtuous and non-virtuous actions. By understanding this law of cause and effect and by taking great care to engage in virtue, one will avoid rebirth in the lower realms and enter the path to perfect awakening. In the rest of his discourse he explains in great detail the advantages of engaging in each of the ten virtues and the problems associated with not engaging in them."
- In the shortest text (Toh 155), "the Buddha explains to a nāga king and an assembly of monks that reciting the four aphorisms of the Dharma is equivalent to recitation of all of the 84,000 articles of the Dharma. He urges them to make diligent efforts to engage in understanding the four aphorisms (also called the four seals), which are the defining philosophical tenets of the Buddhist doctrine: (1) all compounded phenomena are impermanent; (2) all contaminated phenomena are suffering; (3) all phenomena are without self; (4) nirvāṇa is peace." (Source: Rigpawiki.org and 84000)
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Sāgaranāgarājaparipṛcchāsūtra (1 of 3)
The Questions of the Nāga King Sāgara begins with a miracle that portends the coming of the Nāga King Sāgara to Vulture Peak Mountain in Rājagṛha. The nāga king engages in a lengthy dialogue with the Buddha on various topics pertaining to the distinction between relative and ultimate reality, all of which emphasize the primacy of insight into emptiness. The Buddha thereafter journeys to King Sāgara's palace in the ocean and reveals details of the king’s past lives in order to introduce the inexhaustible casket dhāraṇī. In the nāga king's palace in the ocean, he gives teachings on various topics and acts as peacemaker, addressing the ongoing conflicts between the gods and asuras and between the nāgas and garuḍas. Upon returning to Vulture Peak, the Buddha engages in dialogue with King Ajātaśatru and provides Nāga King Sāgara's prophecy. (Source: 84000)
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