This website is a resource to help with reading the Sutra of Golden Light. It is a part of a series on the Navagrantha, the nine most sacred texts of Mahāyāna Buddhism. 

Title, History, and Versions

In Sanskrit, the sūtra is known by several names, but it is most commonly referred to as the Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtra, the Sūtra of the Highest Golden Light. Some variations include Suvarṇabhāsottamasūtra, which translates the same way, and Suvarṇaprabhāsottamasūtrendrarājasūtra, the King of Kings Highest Golden Light Sūtra. It is most commonly referred to, however, as the Suvarṇaprabhāsasūtra, the Sūtra of the Golden Light. Early palm-leaf manuscripts of the Sanskrit sūtra are held by both the University of Cambridge and the Tōyō Bunkō Oriental Library in Japan. While these two have a common ancestor, the most common recension is one preserved in over 80 Central Asian Sanskrit fragments and hundreds of Nepalese manuscripts. The translation by Emmerick is based on J. Nobel’s edition, which is edited based on the Cambridge manuscript and incorporates notes from some subsequent editions. It has 19 chapters.

In Chinese, it is known as 金光明經 (Jin Guangming Jing, The Sūtra of the Golden Light, translated in 420 by Dharmakṣema), 合部金光明經 (Hebu Jin Guangming Jing, Collated Sūtra of the Golden Light, translated in 597 by Baogui, which collates material from translations by Paramārrtha and Jñānagupta), or 金光明最勝王經 (Jin Guangming Zuisheng Wang Jing, The Most Victorious King of Golden Light Sūtra, translated in 703 by Yijing). The last version is longer than the one we are using, at 31 chapters, which is the basis for Tibetan and some other north Asian translations.

There are three Tibetan versions. The first one is 21 chapters, but is quite close to the 19-chapter Sanskrit version, with the addition or subtraction of lines. The second is 29 chapters, but it has undergone minor changes; the additional chapters are likely from Chinese sources. The third translation is the above-mentioned 31-chapter translation from Chinese.

The Khotanese versions (Khotan is in the north-western part of modern-day China) appear to be from the earliest Sanskrit text, and date to the fifth century. The oldest fragments of this version correspond to the early Nepalese Sanskrit manuscripts. Later translations from Tibetan and Chinese also exist in Khotanese.

Regarding Western translations, the first were summaries in German or French (e.g., Schmidt and Burnouf). The first complete translation was Nobel’s translation of Yijing’s Chinese version. Emmerick’s is the first English translation. The Tibetan Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahāyāna Tradition translated the Tibetan 21-chapter version into English. This website is based on Emmerick's translation.

Themes

The Sutra of the Golden Light has the following themes, some of which are held in common with other Mahāyāna sūtras, and some of which are unique to it:

1.     Confession (recitation of the chapter on confession eliminates evil karma—moreover, the sūtra provides beings with many mantras and dhāraṇīs which can be used for various purposes.)

2.     Emptiness (the sūtra claims that, as this subject is dealt with at length elsewhere, e.g. in the Perfection of Wisdom, it will only be discussed briefly here, and it focuses mainly on the emptiness of the body and self).

3.     The ideal king (also played a role in early Japanese relationship to Buddhism, e.g. Prince Shōtoku took it to be a guide for kingship, and the sūtra was promoted by several state-sponsored annual rituals involving lecture and debate on the sūtra).

4.     Lifespan of the Buddha, eternity of the Buddha (Other versions discuss the Three Bodies—Essentially, the same claim as made in the Lotus Sūtra)

5.     Preacher and eloquence (employment of techniques similar to the Lotus Sūtra for teaching beings according to their requirements)

6.     Medicine (also illuminates early Indian medical practices)

7.     Self-sacrifice of the bodhisattva (recitation of the sūtra as a stand-in for self-sacrifice, as it is attaining the true “Dharma Body”).

Overview of Chapters

PART I. INTRODUCTORY SECTION

1. Introduction

PART II. MAIN DOCTRINAL SECTION
A. Foundational Doctrines

2. The Measure of Life of the Tathāgata

3. Confession

4. Abundance of Lotuses

5. Emptiness

B. Deities and Protectors

6. The Four Great Kings

7. Sarasvatī

8. Śrī

9. The Maintenance of the Names of Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

10. Dṛḍhā

11. Saṃjñāya

C. Edifying Narratives and Prophecies

12. Instruction Concerning Divine Kings

13. Susaṃbhava

14. The Refuge of the Yakṣas

15. The Prophecy Concerning the Ten Thousand Divine Sons

16. Healing Illnesses

17. Jalavāhana

18. The Tigress

PART III. PROPAGATION SECTION

19. The Praise of all the Tathāgatas