The Vaiḍūryaprabha Dhāraṇī
Toh 505
Degé Kangyur, vol. 87 (rgyud ’bum, da), folios 284.a–286.a
- Jinamitra
- Dānaśīla
- Śīlendrabodhi
- Bandé Yeshé Dé
- Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna
- Tsültrim Gyalwa
Imprint
First published 2024
Current version v 1.0.6 (2024)
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Table of Contents
Summary
The Vaiḍūryaprabha Dhāraṇī contains a short dhāraṇī given by the Seven Thus-Gone Ones that can be recited to purify karmic obscurations, cure illnesses, and prevent all manner of unnatural deaths and harmful circumstances.
Acknowledgements
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. Adam C. Krug produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Ryan Damron edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.
The generous sponsorship of May, George, Likai and Lillian Gu, which helped make the work on this translation possible, is most gratefully acknowledged.
Introduction
The Vaiḍūryaprabha Dhāraṇī is the third and final complete work within the cycle of texts in the Kangyur that are directly related to the tradition of the medicine buddha Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharāja and the group of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones of which he is a member. The teaching was given by the Buddha Śākyamuni and the Seven Thus-Gone Ones in a medicine hall (sman gyi gnas) at the request of the bodhisattva Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta.
The prescribed practice consists in reciting a series of homages along with the dhāraṇī itself. The homage is to the Seven Thus-Gone Ones as well as to Śākyamuni, the goddess Prajñāpāramitā, and a number of bodhisattvas and divine lay practitioners such as Brahmā and Śakra. Also included in the homage are the twelve yakṣa generals who are formally bound to Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha, as described in The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones1 and The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Blessed Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha.2
The text begins with Śākyamuni entering into an absorption that draws in the Seven Thus-Gone Ones so that they are present before his assembly. After Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta requests a dhāraṇī from them, Śākyamuni utters the homage and then the Seven Thus-Gone Ones recite the dhāraṇī itself in unison. The entire assembly then makes offerings to the Seven Thus-Gone Ones and circumambulates them. The Seven Thus-Gone Ones then disappear, and the text concludes with the Buddha Śākyamuni’s instructions for performing a purification ritual using The Vaiḍūryaprabha Dhāraṇī.
There is no known Sanskrit or Chinese witness for this text. The colophon to the Tibetan translation notes that it was first translated during the Tibetan imperial period by the Indian scholars Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Śīlendrabodhi together with the Tibetan translator Bandé Yeshé Dé, but there is no record of this translation in either of the Tibetan imperial catalogs of translated works. The colophon also tells us that this early translation was updated and finalized in the mid-eleventh century by Atīśa Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna and Tsültrim Gyalwa at Tholing Serkang in Western Tibet.
This translation is based on the Tibetan translation in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) of the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) of the Kangyur and the Stok Palace Kangyur. The dhāraṇī cited in the text is rendered as it appears in the Degé version of the Tibetan translation, with only minor emendations made for clarity.
Text Body
Vaiḍūryaprabha Dhāraṇī
That Activates the Power of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Absorption
The Translation
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was present in a medicine hall with a large saṅgha of monks and a large saṅgha of bodhisattvas. At that time, the Blessed One entered the absorption called invitation to the buddha field. As soon as he did this, the entire trichiliocosm shook and an immeasurable rain of divine sandalwood powder and flowers fell from the sky. The Seven Thus-Gone Ones and their retinues arrived in this world system and sat on lion thrones that had sprung up due to their previous roots of virtue. They were surrounded by all manner of bodhisattvas as well as gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, kings, ministers, brahmins, and householders.
Then, through the Buddha’s power, Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta rose from his seat, placed his palms together, and addressed them, saying, “Thus-Gone Ones, please consider my request. Please purify all beings’ misdeeds, cure all their illnesses, and fulfill all their hopes. Please tell us the names of these blessed thus-gone ones and the dhāraṇī that has been blessed by their previous aspirations.”
The Blessed One expressed his approval of Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, saying, “Good, Mañjuśrī, [F.284.b] good. Listen well, focus your attention, and I will explain.”
“Very well, Blessed One,” said Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta, who listened just as the Blessed One had said. The Blessed One spoke the following words:
All the thus-gone ones then spoke the words of the dhāraṇī in a single melodious voice:
namo ratnatrayāya | namo bhagavate apratihatabhaiṣajyarājāya | tadyathā |
oṁ sarvatathāgata hūṁ ghume ghume imini mihi mati mati saptatathāgatasamādhyadhiṣṭhite atimate pāle pāpaṃ śodhani sarvapāpaṃ nāśaya mama buddhe buddhottame ume kume buddhakṣetrapariśodhani dhameni dhame meru meru meruśikhare sarvākālamṛtyunivāraṇi buddhe subuddhe buddhādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhitena rakṣantu me sarvadeva same asame samanvāharantu me sarvabuddhabodhisattvā śame śame praśamantu me sarvetyupadrāvavyādhayaḥ pūrāṇī supūrāṇī [F.285.b] pūraya me sarvāśāme vaiḍūryapratibhāse sarvapāpaṃ kṣayaṅkari svāhā |
oṁ bhaṣajye bhaiṣajye mahābhaiṣajye samudgate svāhā
As the names of the thus-gone ones and this dhāraṇī were pronounced, a great light shone, the vast earth shook, and miraculous emanations appeared. The assemblies gathered there made offerings of perfume and incense to the thus-gone ones, expressed their approval, and circumambulated them seven times. The Seven Thus-Gone Ones then disappeared.
Blessed Śākyamuni then spoke: “Any son or daughter of good family who upholds, carries, recites, and makes offerings to this dhāraṇī and the names of the thus-gone ones will be cleansed. They will cleanse the directions and maintain the eightfold noble path.5
“With supreme compassion6 for all beings, they should begin on the full moon during Viśākhā. They should make an image of the thus-gone ones, fast on the eighth, fourteenth, and fifteenth days, and then recite the dhāraṇī forty-nine, one thousand and eight, or forty-nine thousand times while offering flowers, incense, perfume, lamps, garlands, music, parasols, banners, and flags three times per day and three times per night.
“When they do, the thus-gone ones will direct their attention toward them and all the bodhisattvas will think of them. Brahmā, Śakra, the Four Great Kings, and the great nāga lay practitioners will protect them, and they will be guarded by all the vajra-wielding yakṣa generals. All of their karmic obscurations will be purified, including the five acts with immediate retribution and so forth. They will not contract any illnesses, will have a long life, [F.286.a] and will avoid any kind of unnatural death. Death, enemies, dangers of the wilderness, conflict, arguments, and disputes will all be pacified. They will not be enthralled by any enemy, and anything they wish for will be fulfilled.”
At that point Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta addressed the Blessed One, saying, “Blessed One, what is the name of this Dharma discourse? How should it be remembered?”
“Mañjuśrī,” the Blessed One replied, “this Dharma discourse should be known as The Dhāraṇī of Vaiḍūryaprabha That Activates the Power of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Absorption. It should be known as Pulverizing and Purifying all Karmic Obscurations. It should be known as Displaying the Emanations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones.”
When the Blessed One said this, Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta and the entire assembly rejoiced and praised the words of the Blessed One.
This concludes “The Noble Dhāraṇī of Vaiḍūryaprabha That Activates the Power of the Thus-Gone Ones’ Absorption.”
Colophon
This was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Śīlendrabodhi along with the great editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé. It was later updated and finalized according to the new translation guidelines by the Indian preceptor Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna and the monk Tsültrim Gyalwa at Tholing Serkang.
Notes
Bibliography
Tibetan and Sanskrit Sources
’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i ting nge ’dzin gyi stobs bskyed pa bai DUr+ya’i ’od ces bya ba’i gzungs (Āryatathāgatabaiḍūryaprabhanāmabaladhanasamādhidhāraṇī). Toh 505, Degé Kangyur vol. 87 (rgyud ’bum, da), folios 284.a–286.a.
’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i ting nge ’dzin gyi stobs bskyed pa bai DUr+ya’i ’od ces bya ba’i gzungs (Āryatathāgatabaiḍūryaprabhanāmabaladhanasamādhidhāraṇī). 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, pp. 841–49.
’phags pa de bzhin gshegs pa’i ting nge ’dzin gyi stobs bskyed pa bai DUr+ya’i ’od ces bya ba’i gzungs. Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 101 (rgyud, tha), folios 326.b–330.a.
Phangthangma (dkar chag ’phang thang ma). Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.
pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos 'gyur ro cog gi dka' chag. Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Sikṣāsamuccaya. GRETIL edition input by Jens Braarvig, July 31, 2020.
Translations
84000. The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Blessed Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha (Āryabhagavānbhaiṣajyaguruvaiṣūryaprabhasya pūrvapraṇidhānaviśeṣavistāranāma mahāyānasūtra, Toh 504). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. 2021.
84000. The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones (Āryasaptatathāgatapūrvapraṇidhānaviśeṣavistāranāma mahāyānasūtra, Toh 503). Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. 2021.
Reference Works
Chandra, Lokesh. Dictionary of Buddhist Iconography Volume 2. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 2000.
Davidson, Ronald M. “Studies in Dhāraṇī Literature III: Seeking the Parameters of a Dhāraṇī-piṭaka, the Formation of the Dhāraṇīsaṃgrahas, and the Place of the Seven Buddhas.” In Scripture: Canon::Text:Context: Essays Honoring Lewis Lancaster, edited by Richard K. Payne, 119–80. Berkeley: Institute of Buddhist Studies and BDK America, 2015.
Edgerton, Franklin. Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Grammar and Dictionary. 2 vols. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1953.
Lohia, Sushama. Lalitavajra’s Manual of Buddhist Iconography. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture and Aditya Prakashan, 1994.
Monier-Williams, Monier. A Sanskrit–English Dictionary: Etymologically and Philologically Arranged with Special Reference to Cognate Indo-European Languages. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2005.
Negi, J. S. Tibetan–Sanskrit Dictionary (bod skad dang legs sbyar gyi tshig mdzod chen mo). 16 vols. Sarnath: Central Institute of Higher Tibetan Studies, 1993–2005.
Glossary
Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language
Attested in source text
This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.
Attested in other text
This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.
Attested in dictionary
This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.
Approximate attestation
The attestation of this name is approximate. It is based on other names where the relationship between the Tibetan and source language is attested in dictionaries or other manuscripts.
Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.
Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering
This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.
Source unspecified
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asura
- lha ma yin
- ལྷ་མ་ཡིན།
- asura
Avalokiteśvara
- spyan ras gzigs
- སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས།
- avalokiteśvara
Bandé Yeshé Dé
- ban+de ye shes sde
- བནྡེ་ཡེ་ཤེས་སྡེ།
- —
Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha
- sman gyi lha bai DUr+ya’i ’od
- སྨན་གྱི་ལྷ་བཻ་ཌཱུརྱའི་འོད།
- bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabha
Bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharāja
- sman gyi bla bai DUr+ya’i ’od kyi rgyal po
- སྨན་གྱི་བླ་བཻ་ཌཱུརྱའི་འོད་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- bhaiṣajyaguruvaiḍūryaprabharāja AO
Blessed Buddha
- sangs rgyas bcom ldan ’das
- སངས་རྒྱས་བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- —
Blessed One
- bcom ldan ’das
- བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས།
- bhagavat
bodhisattva
- byang chub sems dpa’
- བྱང་ཆུབ་སེམས་དཔའ།
- bodhisattva
Brahmā
- tshangs pa
- ཚངས་པ།
- brahmā
brahmin
- bram ze
- བྲམ་ཟེ།
- brāhmaṇa
Cooling
- rab tu bsil byed
- རབ་ཏུ་བསིལ་བྱེད།
- —
Dānaśīla
- dA na shI la
- དཱ་ན་ཤཱི་ལ།
- dānaśīla
Dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna
- dI baM ka ra shri dz+nyA na
- དཱི་བཾ་ཀ་ར་ཤྲི་ཛྙཱ་ན།
- dīpaṅkaraśrījñāna
eightfold noble path
- ’phags pa’i lam yan lag brgyad
- འཕགས་པའི་ལམ་ཡན་ལག་བརྒྱད།
- āryāṣṭāṅgamārga AD
five acts with immediate retribution
- mtshams med pa lnga
- མཚམས་མེད་པ་ལྔ།
- pañcānantarya AD
Four Great Kings
- rgyal po chen po bzhi
- རྒྱལ་པོ་ཆེན་པོ་བཞི།
- caturmahārāja
gandharva
- dri za
- དྲི་ཟ།
- gandharva
garuḍa
- nam mkha’ lding
- ནམ་མཁའ་ལྡིང་།
- garuḍa
Glorious King Supreme in His Lack of Sorrow
- mya ngan med mchog dpal gyi rgyal po
- མྱ་ངན་མེད་མཆོག་དཔལ་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- aśokottamaśrīrāja RS
god
- lha
- ལྷ།
- deva
He Whose Mind Dispels All Darkness
- mun pa mun nag thams cad nges par ’joms pa’i blo gros
- མུན་པ་མུན་ནག་ཐམས་ཅད་ངེས་པར་འཇོམས་པའི་བློ་གྲོས།
- —
householder
- khyim bdag
- ཁྱིམ་བདག
- gṛhapati
invitation to the buddha field
- sangs rgyas kyi zhing bskul ba
- སངས་རྒྱས་ཀྱི་ཞིང་བསྐུལ་བ།
- —
Jinamitra
- dzi na mi tra
- ཛི་ན་མི་ཏྲ།
- jinamitra
King of Supernatural Perception Who Revels in the Exalted Mind of the Sea of Dharma
- chos rgya mtsho mchog gi blos rnam par rol pa mngon par mkhyen pa’i rgyal po
- ཆོས་རྒྱ་མཚོ་མཆོག་གི་བློས་རྣམ་པར་རོལ་པ་མངོན་པར་མཁྱེན་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- dharmasāgarāgramativikrīḍitābhijñārāja RS
King Resplendent Untarnished Jewel of Striking Color Who Has Perfect Conduct
- gser bzang dri med rin chen snang brtul zhugs grub pa’i rgyal po
- གསེར་བཟང་དྲི་མེད་རིན་ཆེན་སྣང་བརྟུལ་ཞུགས་གྲུབ་པའི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- suvarṇabhadravimalaratnaprabhāsavratasiddhirāja RS
King Roaring Sea of Renown in the Dharma
- chos bsgrags rgya mtsho’i dbyangs kyi rgyal po
- ཆོས་བསྒྲགས་རྒྱ་མཚོའི་དབྱངས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- dharmakīrtisāgaraghoṣarāja RS
King Roaring Splendor of Mastery Who Is Adorned with Lotuses, the Moon, and Jewels
- rin po che dang zla ba dang pad+mas rab tu brgyan pa mkhas pa gzi brjid sgra dbyangs kyi rgyal po
- རིན་པོ་ཆེ་དང་ཟླ་བ་དང་པདྨས་རབ་ཏུ་བརྒྱན་པ་མཁས་པ་གཟི་བརྗིད་སྒྲ་དབྱངས་ཀྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- ratnacandrapadmavibhūṣitakuśalatejonirghoṣarāja RS
King Who Holds the Peak of Great Mount Meru
- lhun po chen po’i rtse ’dzin rgyal po
- ལྷུན་པོ་ཆེན་པོའི་རྩེ་འཛིན་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- —
kinnara
- mi’am ci
- མིའམ་ཅི།
- kinnara
Mahāmaudgalyāyana
- maud gal gyi bu chen po
- མཽད་གལ་གྱི་བུ་ཆེན་པོ།
- mahāmaudgalyāyana
mahoraga
- lto ’phye chen po
- ལྟོ་འཕྱེ་ཆེན་པོ།
- mahoraga
Mañjuśrīkumārabhūta
- ’jam dpal gzhon nur gyur pa
- འཇམ་དཔལ་གཞོན་ནུར་གྱུར་པ།
- mañjuśrīkumārabhūta
Prajñāpāramitā
- shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin ma
- ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་མ།
- prajñāpāramitā
Śakra
- brgya byin
- བརྒྱ་བྱིན།
- śakra
Śākyamuni
- shAkya thub pa
- ཤཱཀྱ་ཐུབ་པ།
- śākyamuni
Śāriputra
- shA ri’i bu
- ཤཱ་རིའི་བུ།
- śāriputra
Śīlendrabodhi
- shI len+dra bo d+hi
- ཤཱི་ལེནྡྲ་བོ་དྷི།
- śīlendrabodhi
Sucintitacintin
- bsam pa legs par rnam par sems pa
- བསམ་པ་ལེགས་པར་རྣམ་པར་སེམས་པ།
- sucintitacintin AA
Suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja
- mtshan legs par yongs bsgrags dpal gyi rgyal po
- མཚན་ལེགས་པར་ཡོངས་བསྒྲགས་དཔལ་གྱི་རྒྱལ་པོ།
- suparikīrtitanāmadheyaśrīrāja AO
Tholing Serkang
- tho ling gser khang
- ཐོ་ལིང་གསེར་ཁང་།
- —
thus-gone one
- de bzhin gshegs pa
- དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
- tathāgata
Tsültrim Gyalwa
- tshul khrims rgyal ba
- ཚུལ་ཁྲིམས་རྒྱལ་བ།
- —
twelve great yakṣa generals
- gnod sbyin gyi chen po bcu gnyis
- གནོད་སྦྱིན་གྱི་ཆེན་པོ་བཅུ་གཉིས།
- —
Unfailing Might
- rnam par gnon pa don yod
- རྣམ་པར་གནོན་པ་དོན་ཡོད།
- —
Vajrapāṇi
- lag na rdo rje
- ལག་ན་རྡོ་རྗེ།
- vajrapāṇi