Praise of the Thirty-Five Sugatas

Ornamented with Precious Names

In Praise of the Thirty-Five Sugatas

by Ārya Mātṛceṭa

In the language of India: Sugata-pañca-triṃśata-ratna-nāma-māla-stotraṃ
In the language of Tibet: bde bar gshegs pa sum cu rtsa lnga'i bstod pa mtshan rin po ches spras pa

Homage to the Three Jewels.

Homage to the Buddha, foremost.
Homage to the Dharma, the protector.
Homage to the great Saṅgha.
In these three I go for refuge always.

In this troubled time of the five degenerations,
Which all buddhas would struggle to tame,
You became awakened through ardent diligence—
Homage to Buddha Śākyamuni. (1)

Through vajra-like samādhi,
You attained the supreme awakened heart.
Your vajra heart conquers hordes of demons—
Homage to Vajra Conqueror. (2)

The light blazing from your jeweled form
Pacifies the suffering of the lower realms
And strikes terror into the heart of demons—
Homage to Blazing Jewel. (3)

Just as the great sovereign nāga
Quenched the continents with rain,
You showered the whole universe with Dharma—
Homage to Sovereign King of Nāgas. (4)

Hero, this teaching of yours
Terrifies demons and extremists and
Brings your followers to omniscience—
Homage to Leader of Heroes. (5)

You compassionately cultivated altruism,
And on giving up your own life,
Felt the perfect joy of one resurrected—
Homage to Glorious Joy. (6)

You illuminate reality for the wise,
Ripen the mindstreams of the middling,
And incinerate the afflictions of the lowly—
Homage to Flaming Jewel. (7)

Equal in fortune to all buddhas,
You took birth to illuminate all directions
With the light of Dharma wisdom—
Homage to Exquisite Moonlight. (8)

A halo of radiant light surrounds your form;
One can never gaze at you enough.
Fortunate are those who see you—
Homage to Meaningful To Behold. (9)

Your body, speech, and mind are supreme jewels.
Your immaculate, unelaborate awakening
Dispels the pain and torment of wanderers—
Homage to Jewel Moon. (10)

With the water of the stainless holy Dharma
You first purified yourself,
Then purified others most supremely—
Homage to Stainless Glory. (11)

In wholly dedicating the accumulations
Of your meritorious actions to all beings,
You, Sage, gave a teaching—
Homage to Glorious Benefactor. (12)

Perfect knowledge and conduct are yours.
The Brahmin declared you to be Brahmā,
Such knowledge and conduct do you wield—
Homage to Brahmaṇa. (13)

You cultivated the four feet of Brahmā,
Attained the supreme fruition of a Brahmacarin,
And Brahmā himself asked you to teach—
Homage to Gift of Brahmā. (14)

You took up austerities and yogic methods
Purely and with sincerity, and
Washed away afflictions and harmful deeds—
Homage to Water Deity. (15)

Worldly folk made offerings to the nāga Bliss Giver,
Who made offerings to the great nāga Never Warm.
That water god then offered to you—
Homage to God of the Water Deities. (16)

As all guides have offered to you,
And you are uniquely and utterly peaceful,
You enact the glory of all wanderers—
Homage to Glorious Goodness. (17)

The afflictions that oppose you
Exert great force, yet you cool them all,
Like a store of sandalwood—
Homage to Glorious Sandalwood. (18)

No one can bear to rival
Your radiant majesty, Victor.
It is like gazing at the circle of the sun—
Homage to Infinite Majesty. (19)

When the Sage’s light burst forth,
It humbled the arrogant
And inspired the meek—
Homage to Glorious Splendour. (20)

Ah! The peace of nirvāṇa!
One like you, with a heart of compassion,
Has attained mastery and gone to bliss—
Homage to Glory Without Sorrow. (21)

You have relinquished craving
And become supreme among guides.
Your great strength outshines all—
Homage to Son Without Craving. (22)

Supremely endowed with all aspects,
Your beauty outshines all others and
Your awakened marks have blossomed—
Homage to Glorious Flowers. (23)

The entire world is suffused by your light
And your melodious voice of Brahmā—
Homage to Shimmer of Brahmā,
True Knowing. (24)

Utter bliss, free from attachment,
Blooms within those touched by your light—
Homage to Shimmer of Lotuses,
True Knowing. (25)

The light rays of your merit, Sage,
Satisfy the wants and needs of all wanderers
And, especially, bestow the wealth of nobility—
Homage to Glorious Wealth. (26)

Through your mastery in mindfulness,
You are unobstructed and all-knowing.
You dispel the poverty of all who recollect you—
Homage to Glorious Mindfulness. (27)

Sage, you turned the wheel of dharma, and
Your banner of renown flew in the three worlds.
Your qualities are beyond number—
Homage to Renowned Glory. (28)

Through attaining supreme strength and power,
You defeated the followers of the dark side
And Indra bowed his head at your feet—
Homage to Victory over King Indra’s Banner. (29)

You bested logicians who proclaim existence
With your vajra of wisdom, subtle and fine,
Like a lion against an elephant—
Homage to Glorious Hero. (30)

You defeated afflictions of self and other,
So there is no one superior in glory to you.
You battled the Lord of Desire, and won—
Homage to Perfect Victor in Battle. (31)

You guide the way for all who traverse
The great path, the only way forward,
And quell fears of demons and lower realms—
Homage to Transcendent Victory. (32)

Through your astonishing magic, Sage,
You sent forth untold millions of emanations
Which appeared to each disciple—
Homage to Appearing to All. (33)

You pulled extremists back to liberation
And pushed peace-loving śrāvakas
Up to your own supreme level—
Homage to Courageous Lotus Jewel. (34)

Your precious gems evoke the accumulation of merit,
And your lotus seat, the full accumulation of wisdom.
You reside as the spontaneously present three kāyas—
Homage to King of the Mountain. (35)

Through reciting this praise, ornamented with
The precious names of the Thirty-Five Tathāgatas,
May my own conduct be just like
The conduct of the powerful Sages.

“Ornamented with Precious Names, in Praise of the Thirty-five Sugatas” was composed by Ācārya Mātṛceṭa.

| Samye Translations (trans. Monica Thunder and Peter Woods). With many thanks to Khenpo Karma Gyurme for kindly providing suggestions and clarifications.

Bibliography

Tibetan Edition

Mātṛceṭa. bde bar gshegs pa sum cu rtsa lnga'i bstod pa mtshan rin po ches spras pa. Toh 1142. sde dge bstan 'gyur. Vol. 1 (bstod tshogs, ka): folios 102b3-104a4.

Version: 1.3-20240524