The Tantra of the Blue-Clad Blessed Vajrapāṇi
Mantra
Toh 498
Degé Kangyur, vol. 87 (rgyud ’bum, da), folios 158.a–167.a
- Celu
- Phakpa Sherab
Imprint
Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Group
under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
First published 2013
Current version v 3.29.12 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
In the Kangyur and Tengyur collections there are more than forty titles centered on the form of Vajrapāṇi known as the “Blue-Clad One,” a measure of this figure’s great popularity in both India and Tibet. This text, The Tantra of the Blue-Clad Blessed Vajrapāṇi, is a scripture that belongs to the Conduct tantra (Caryātantra) class, the third of the four categories used by the Tibetans to organize their tantric canon. It introduces the practice of Blue-Clad Vajrapāṇi, while also providing the practitioner with a number of rituals directed at suppressing, subduing, or eliminating ritual targets.
Acknowledgments
This translation was produced by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. Catherine Dalton and Andreas Doctor translated the text, with assistance from Ryan Damron and Wiesiek Mical.
This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
Text Body
Mantra
Then the Blessed One, the Vajra Holder, taught this chapter on mantra for the sake of living beings:
“Oṃ nīlāmbaradhara vajrapāṇi hūṃ hūṃ phaṭ.
This was the eighth chapter on mantra from “The Tantra of the Vajra in the Underworld.”
Colophon
The translation was completed by the Kashmiri scholar Celu and the Tibetan translator Phakpa Sherab.
Bibliography
Tibetan Texts
bcom ldan ’das phyag na rdo rje gos sngon po can gyi rgyud ces bya ba (Bhagavannīlāmbaradharavajrapāṇitantranāma). Toh 498, Degé Kangyur vol. 87 (rgyud ’bum, da), folios 158a.6–167a.3.
bcom ldan ’das phyag na rdo rje gos sngon po can gyi rgyud ces bya ba. 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. 87, 469–90.
Secondary Sources
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Davidson, Ronald M. Indian Esoteric Buddhism: A Social History of the Tantric Movement. New York: Columbia University Press, 2002.
Isaacson, Harunaga. “Observations on the Development of the Ritual of Initiation (abhiṣeka) in the Higher Buddhist Tantric Systems.” In Hindu and Buddhist Initiations in India and Nepal, edited by Astrid Zotter and Christof Zotter, 261–80. Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2010.
Mayer, Robert. “The Importance of the Underworlds: Asuras’ Caves in Buddhism, and Some Other Themes in Early Buddhist Tantras Reminiscent of the Later Padmasambhava Legends.” Journal of the International Association for Tibetan Studies 3 (December 2007): 1–31.
Williams, Paul. Buddhist Thought: A Complete Introduction to the Indian Tradition. London: Routledge, 2000.