The short aspiration The Auspiciousness of the Three Families consists of three benedictory verses lauding the lords of the three families, Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi, as expressions of the auspiciousness of the Sugata’s body, speech, and mind.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Bruno Galasek-Hul produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Auspiciousness of the Three Families is found in the Dedication-Aspiration section (bsngo smon shis brjod) of the Degé Kangyur, the final subsection of the Tantra section, which contains dedication and aspiration prayers along with expressions of auspiciousness. This short aspiration consists of three benedictory verses of four lines each that laud the lords of the three families, Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi, as expressions of the auspiciousness of the Sugata’s body, speech, and mind, respectively. All three verses share a general structure, including an identical final line that serves as a refrain invoking the auspiciousness of the Sugata’s body, speech, and mind as a source of good fortune and blessings. These verses show significant similarity with another set of three verses bearing the same title—The Auspiciousness of the Three Families [2] (Toh 825/4417)—that extol the qualities of the three families by highlighting slightly different aspects of the same family lords.
The Auspiciousness of the Three Families is found only in the Kangyur editions belonging to the Tshalpa (tshal pa) branch.1 It is found twice in the Degé Kangyur, in the Dedication-Aspiration section (Toh 823) and the Dhāraṇī section (Toh 1106).222 It is also found in the Degé Tengyur (Toh 4418).3 None of the three nearly identical versions has a colophon, nor is a text with this title listed in the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) or Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) catalogs of translations made during Tibet’s Imperial Period (eighth–ninth century).
This English translation is based on the Degé edition and was prepared in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur.
“The Glorious Auspiciousness of the Three Families” is completed.
The short aspiration The Auspiciousness of the Three Families consists of three benedictory verses lauding the lords of the three families, Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi, as expressions of the auspiciousness of the Sugata’s body, speech, and mind.
This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Bruno Galasek-Hul produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Auspiciousness of the Three Families is found in the Dedication-Aspiration section (bsngo smon shis brjod) of the Degé Kangyur, the final subsection of the Tantra section, which contains dedication and aspiration prayers along with expressions of auspiciousness. This short aspiration consists of three benedictory verses of four lines each that laud the lords of the three families, Mañjuśrī, Avalokiteśvara, and Vajrapāṇi, as expressions of the auspiciousness of the Sugata’s body, speech, and mind, respectively. All three verses share a general structure, including an identical final line that serves as a refrain invoking the auspiciousness of the Sugata’s body, speech, and mind as a source of good fortune and blessings. These verses show significant similarity with another set of three verses bearing the same title—The Auspiciousness of the Three Families [2] (Toh 825/4417)—that extol the qualities of the three families by highlighting slightly different aspects of the same family lords.
The Auspiciousness of the Three Families is found only in the Kangyur editions belonging to the Tshalpa (tshal pa) branch.1 It is found twice in the Degé Kangyur, in the Dedication-Aspiration section (Toh 823) and the Dhāraṇī section (Toh 1106).222 It is also found in the Degé Tengyur (Toh 4418).3 None of the three nearly identical versions has a colophon, nor is a text with this title listed in the Denkarma (ldan kar ma) or Phangthangma (’phang thang ma) catalogs of translations made during Tibet’s Imperial Period (eighth–ninth century).
This English translation is based on the Degé edition and was prepared in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Degé Kangyur.
“The Glorious Auspiciousness of the Three Families” is completed.
This text, Toh 1106, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs, waM), are listed as being located in volume 101 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room—list this work as being located in volume 102. This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text—which forms a whole, very large volume—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.
The Auspiciousness of the Three Families is found only in the Choné, Degé, Golden, Narthang, and Qianlong Tengyurs (see Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies, University of Vienna, accessed November 27, 2025).
Toh 823 uniquely lists a short form of the text’s title after the translator’s homage, which we have omitted here. Toh 1106 includes both the Sanskrit and Tibetan titles in the expected location before the translator’s homage. Toh 4418 lacks a title.
Toh 4418 here and in the following two verses adds dam pa: bkra shis dam pa des ni, “through this perfect auspiciousness….”
One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.
Here, he is the representative of the lotus family and an expression of the Sugata’s speech.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A title often used for Mount Meru, which according to ancient Buddhist cosmology is the great mountain forming the axis of the universe. At its summit is Sudarśana, home of Śakra and his thirty-two gods, and on its flanks live the asuras. The mount has four sides facing the cardinal directions, each of which is made of a different precious stone. Surrounding it are several mountain ranges and the great ocean where the four principal island continents lie: in the south, Jambudvīpa (our world); in the west, Godānīya; in the north, Uttarakuru; and in the east, Pūrvavideha. Above it are the abodes of the desire realm gods. It is variously referred to as Meru, Mount Meru, Sumeru, and Mount Sumeru.
Mañjuśrī is one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha” and a bodhisattva who embodies wisdom. He is a major figure in the Mahāyāna sūtras, appearing often as an interlocutor of the Buddha. In his most well-known iconographic form, he is portrayed bearing the sword of wisdom in his right hand and a volume of the Prajñāpāramitāsūtra in his left. To his name, Mañjuśrī, meaning “Gentle and Glorious One,” is often added the epithet Kumārabhūta, “having a youthful form.” He is also called Mañjughoṣa, Mañjusvara, and Pañcaśikha.
Here, he is the representative of the tathāgata family and an expression of the Sugata’s body.
One of the standard epithets of the buddhas. A recurrent explanation offers three different meanings for su- that are meant to show the special qualities of “accomplishment of one’s own purpose” (svārthasampad) for a complete buddha. Thus, the Sugata is “well” gone, as in the expression su-rūpa (“having a good form”); he is gone “in a way that he shall not come back,” as in the expression su-naṣṭa-jvara (“a fever that has utterly gone”); and he has gone “without any remainder” as in the expression su-pūrṇa-ghaṭa (“a pot that is completely full”). According to Buddhaghoṣa, the term means that the way the Buddha went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su) and where he went (Skt. gata) is good (Skt. su).
Three buddha families—tathāgata, vajra, and lotus—into which esoteric Buddhist deities can be classified.
The Tibetan literally means “the three rare and precious ones,” the Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha—the three objects of Buddhist refuge.
Vajrapāṇi means “Wielder of the Vajra.” In the Pali canon, he appears as a yakṣa guardian in the retinue of the Buddha. In the Mahāyāna scriptures he is a bodhisattva and one of the “eight close sons of the Buddha.” In the tantras, he is also regarded as an important Buddhist deity and instrumental in the transmission of tantric scriptures.
Here, he is the representative of the vajra family and an expression of the Sugata’s mind.
rigs gsum gyi bkra shis. Toh 823, Degé Kangyur vol. 96 (rgyud, wa), folios 261.b–262.a.
rigs gsum gyi bkra shis (Trikulamaṅgala). Toh 1106, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs, waM), folio 275.b.
rigs gsum gyi bkra shis kyi tshigs su bcad pa. Toh 4418, Degé Tengyur vol. 207 (sna tshogs, nyo), folio 350.b.
rigs gsum gyi bkra shis. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 96, p. 874.
