Derge Kangyur/Tengyur e-text, Esukhia/Barom edition — public domain (mechanical reproduction)
The provided fragment of the Sugatadṛṣṭigītikā (The Song of the Sugata’s View) serves as the formal opening of a Tibetan translation of an Indian Buddhist work. The text begins with the standard bilingual titling convention, providing the name in both Sanskrit and Tibetan, followed by a traditional prostration to the Three Jewels: the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha. The fragment concludes by establishing the primary soteriological objective of the work, which is the liberation of the practitioner from the cycle of birth, cessation, and suffering. Based on this opening, the text commits the reader to a path of spiritual liberation framed within the traditional Indo-Tibetan Buddhist paradigm of escaping saṃsāra. The structure is introductory, moving from formal identification to devotional homage and finally to the statement of intent.
Provenance
About this text
A treatise seeking liberation from birth, cessation, and suffering, the Sugatadṛṣṭigītikā (The Song of the Sugata’s View) originates from the Indian Buddhist tradition. It is attributed to the author Dāmapa. The work is preserved in the classical Tibetan period within the Tengyur, specifically in volume ཟི, where it extends over two pages. It is situated within the General Unexcelled Yoga Tantra Works collection. The text enacts a devotional and soteriological process, beginning with prostrations to the Three Jewels—the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha—and asserting the realization of the ultimate reality through the honoring of the Sugata. A scholar or serious reader consults this work today to examine the specific path toward spiritual liberation and the realization of the ultimate as framed by Dāmapa.
Cite thisAnuvāda, “A Song of the View of a Sugata” (Toh 2349), machine draft, 2026.https://naxiai.com/tibetan/works/toh2349
Summary & commentary
Significance
This work is significant as it represents the transmission of Indian Buddhist philosophical views into the Tibetan canon. Its focus on liberation from birth and suffering places it within the broader tradition of Buddhist soteriology and the pursuit of the 'view' (dṛṣṭi) as a means of enlightenment.
Structure
Passages
Section
Description
1
Introduction
Contains the bilingual title, homage to the Three Jewels, and the statement of the work's purpose regarding liberation.
Themes
Soteriology (1)
Devotion (1)
Summary, significance and provenance note generated by gemma4:31b from the translation and the catalogue record.
In the language of India: Sugatadṛṣṭigītikā-nāma. In the language of Tibet: Bde-gshegs-kyi lta-ba’i glu zhes bya-ba (The Song of the Sugata’s View). Homage to the Three Jewels!
To the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha,
I prostrate to them in every way.
To liberate from birth, cessation, and suffering,
The Dhamapa speaks.
By honoring the Sugata upon my crown,
I have realized that very ultimate reality.
In the temple of the four divine abodes,
Here I go forth into the religious life.
Having fully comprehended all phenomena,
The Dhamapa speaks.
By honoring the Sugata upon my crown,
I have realized that very ultimate reality.
Just as Mount Meru and a heap of grass
Are weighed upon a scale,
So too, how could all external things
Ever equal this view?
The Dhamapa speaks.
By honoring the Sugata upon my crown,
I have realized that very ultimate reality.
Having cast aside the precious jewel,
Who would take up a piece of glass?
When the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha are examined,
They are said to be the two truths.
The Dhamapa speaks.
By honoring the Sugata upon my crown,
I have realized that very ultimate reality.
The Song of the Sugata’s View, composed by the master Dhamapa, is hereby complete.
Translation status: Not among 84000's published translations, and not in progress there. Translations published elsewhere have not been searched for, so one may exist. (source: 84000 catalogue + registry; checked 2026-11-10).
Set in Newsreader and EB Garamond; Tibetan in Noto Serif Tibetan; Chinese in Noto Serif SC.