The Dhāraṇī of the Essence of the Six Perfections

This text consists of a series of homages‍—to Prajñāpāramitā and the Three Jewels‍—followed by the dhāraṇī itself and a list of its benefits. The dhāraṇī consists of homages to the three bodies of a buddha leading into the dhāraṇī proper, which is a mnemonic expression listing the six perfections and concluding with a statement about the emptiness of all phenomena. It is similar, in an abbreviated form, to a much longer and more inclusive mantra given by Kulika Puṇḍarīka in his Kālacakra commentary, the Explanatory Commentary on the Abridged Kālacakra, King of Tantras, That Conforms to the Root Tantra in Twelve Thousand Verses Called ‘Stainless Light’ (Vimala­prabhānāmamūla­tantrānusāriṇī­dvādaśasāhasrikālaghukāla­cakra­tantrarājaṭīkā; bsdus pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po dus kyi ’khor lo’i ’grel bshad, rtsa ba’i rgyud kyi rjes su ’jug pa stong phrag bcu gnyis pa dri ma med pa’i ’od ces bya ba; Toh 1347, folios 143.b.1–3). If there is a connection between the two texts beyond mere similarity, it remains unstated. No Sanskrit title is provided for this text, and its title is given on the basis of the Tibetan alone.1

This translation of the text into English relied primarily on the Degé recension while referring to variant readings in other recensions as noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and validated in the source texts‍—notably Narthang‍—as well as the Stok Palace and Phukdrak recensions.2 No previous translation of this text into a language outside the Tibetan sphere of influence is known. Meisezahl (1957) provides a diplomatic edition of the dhāraṇī as found in the Linden Museum Tibetan collection.