The Sovereign Ritual of Amoghapāśa
Part 1

[V92] [B1] [A.1.b] [Ti.14] [F.1.b]

Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the great bodhisattva being!

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One stayed on Potala Mountain, in the palace of Avalokiteśvara adorned with various trees such as sal, tamāla, campaka, aśoka, and atimuktaka.13 He stayed there together with the congregation of eight thousand monks,14 surrounded and attended upon by nine hundred and ninety quadrillion crores of bodhisattvas and many hundreds of thousands of gods of the Pure Abode. He was explaining the Dharma, chiefly to the gods such as Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā. [F.2.a]

At that time, Noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva great being, rose from his seat, draped his upper garment over one shoulder, knelt with his right knee on the ground, and bowed toward the Blessed One with folded hands. Smiling, he said to the Blessed One, “Ninety-one eons ago, in the world sphere called Vilokitā, I obtained from the Tathāgata Lokendrarāja this heart essence of Amoghapāśa15 called Amogharāja.16 Through this heart essence, many thousands17 of gods of the Pure Abode, the chief of them being Īśvara and Maheśvara, were established in perfect supreme awakening, and I myself obtained tens of hundreds of thousands of samādhis, the most important being the display of unconfused knowledge. The place where this heart essence is introduced, O Blessed One, will be known as one where twelve thousand gods, headed by Īśvara, Maheśvara, and Brahmā, remain in order to guard, protect, and preserve it, and where the Blessed One remains, worshiped in the form of a caitya, and causes this heart essence, the unfailing cause of good fortune, to spread.

“Any being who hears this heart essence of Amoghapāśa, O Blessed One, will have roots of virtue planted in them by hundreds of thousands of millions of billions of buddhas. [F.2.b] O Blessed One, any follower of an evil doctrine who speaks ill of the noble ones, rejects the true Dharma, opposes the buddhas, the bodhisattvas, the śrāvakas, and the pratyekabuddhas, and is headed for the Avīci hell because of the offenses he commits will be stricken with remorse and will later [Ti.15] take up the conduct of restraint. If he occasionally fasts18 and recites this mantra, he will purify, exhaust, and purge his karma in this very life. He will thus exhaust the karma of fever that returns every day, or every two, three, four, or six days;19 the karma of sore eyes, earache, sinusitis, toothache, sore lips, tongue, or palate, chest pain, stomachache, back pain, or pain in the flanks [A.2.a] or in the limbs and extremities; the karma of asthma attacks, dysentery, problems with the hands, feet, or nose, headache, leprosy, white leprosy, black leprosy, scabies, lice, pus boils, fistula, or blisters; the karma of epilepsy or attacks by kākhordas or other evil spirits; and the karma of being killed, imprisoned, beaten, threatened, or falsely accused. In short, O Blessed One, he will completely remove any karma of physical or mental pain or of nightmares. How much more will this be true for beings who are pure and have faith and trust!

“My20 heart essence of Amoghapāśa, O Blessed One, will become the cause of virtue for any beings in the fourfold assembly or among the four castes, even the crafty and the guileful, who hear it, uphold, preserve, and propagate it, write it down, commission a copy of it, study it, recite it close to an animal’s ear, [F.3.a] or contemplate its words the way one should contemplate the Buddha, that is, without distraction, form, concepts, arising, duration, causality, stains, indifference, or the five skandhas. It will become the cause of virtue for any beings who visualize thousands of buddhas from the ten directions appearing before them and confess to them their wrongdoings … and so on up to21 ‘write this mantra in the form of a book and keep it safe in their homes.’ Even if, O Blessed One, as anyone learned would know, they listen to the heart essence because they fear their master, have to comply with someone else,22 or fear ridicule, the words of the heart essence will fall on their ears through the blessing of Noble Avalokiteśvara.

“As an analogy, O Blessed One, if a person swears or curses over sandalwood, camphor, or musk [Ti.16] and then grinds it on a stone and smears it on themselves, they should not think that the sandalwood, camphor, or musk will not make them fragrant due to the swearing or cursing. Rather, they will still be fragrant.23 Blessed One, the same is true for my heart essence of Amoghapāśa. As for any being who laughs at or makes fun of my heart essence of Amoghapāśa … and so on until ‘worships it, even if done with guile,’ for such unruly beings this heart essence will become the cause of virtue. Those for whom this heart essence arises become inseparable from it. It makes them fragrant with moral discipline, as they gather the accumulations of merit and wisdom through discipline and samādhi.

“As for any son or daughter of noble family, a monk or nun, a male or female lay practitioner, or anyone else [F.3.b] who performs, on the eighth day of the bright fortnight, a ritual fast dedicated to the heart essence of Amoghapāśa and recites the heart essence24 of Amoghapāśa seven times while refraining from conversation, such a person will see twenty-one beneficial, much-desired qualities. What are these twenty-one?

“They are as follows: (1) No disease [A.2.b] will occur in the body. Should it occur because of the power of karma, it will soon disappear. (2) One’s body will become smooth and beautiful. (3) One will be loved by many people. (4) One will be able to control one’s senses. (5) One will acquire things, and when one has thus accumulated wealth, (6) no thief will be able to take it. (7) One’s wealth cannot be burned by fire, borne away by flood, or forcefully seized by the king. (8) One’s endeavors will be successful. (9) There will be no danger from fire25 or water. (10) There will be no danger from wind or rain. (11) If one incants ash or water seven times with the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa and demarcates the borders of an area, thus delimiting the cardinal and intermediate directions and above and below, all calamities will be pacified. (12) No life-draining spirits will be able to steal one’s vitality. (13) One will be dear to and captivate all beings. (14) There will be no danger from enemies, and should such danger arise, it will soon fade away. (15) There will be no danger from nonhuman beings, (16) kākhordas, or (17) ḍākinīs. (18) No acute afflictions and their subsidiaries will arise. (19) One will not die by fire, weapons, or poison. [Ti.17] (20) The deities will stand by to guard, protect, and defend. (21) Wherever one may be born, one will never be separated from loving kindness, compassion, sympathetic joy, and equanimity. These are the twenty-one26 benefits that are highly desirable. [F.4.a]

“One will obtain, in addition, eight qualities. What are these eight? (1) At the time of one’s death, Noble Avalokiteśvara will appear before one in the garb of a monk. (2) One will die with ease. (3) One will not stray from the right view. (4) When dying, one’s hands and feet will not thrash about, one will not soil oneself with excrement, and one will not fall off the bed. (5) One will remain completely lucid. (6) One will not die face down. (7) One’s presence of mind will not fail. (8) One will be reborn in whatever buddha field one aspires to, and there one will not be separated from a virtuous friend.

“A serious practitioner should recite the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa three times, at the three junctions of the day, every day. He should avoid food that contains alcohol, meat, onions, leeks, or garlic, as well as stale food. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of sentient beings, he should teach to them the heart mantra of Amoghapāśa as part of a Dharma discourse. The teacher must not be tight fisted,27 as only those who are free from greed and jealousy can become bodhisattvas who bring benefit to beings; they attain the realization of the Buddha and are then counted among the bodhisattvas. Bodhi is said to be wisdom, and sattva is the means. Lest sentient beings not obtain these two qualities, may the Blessed One permit me to chant in front of the Tathāgata this heart mantra for the benefit, welfare, and happiness of the fourfold assembly and the others who commit evil.”28

The Blessed One then replied to the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, [A.3.a] [F.4.b] “Please recite it, O pure being, if you think that the time is right! The Tathāgata will happily assume the duties of a father toward the followers of the Bodhisattva Vehicle during the final period and the final time.”

The noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, his eyes unblinking, said to the Blessed One, “Please listen, O Blessed One, to my maṇḍala of liberation that is revered by all the bodhisattvas; listen for the welfare and happiness of many people, in order to embrace the world with compassion and to [Ti.18] benefit vast numbers of people!

“Homage to all the buddhas and bodhisattvas of the three times! Homage to all the past, present, and future pratyekabuddhas and congregations of noble śrāvakas! Homage to those who are set on and follow the right path! Homage to Śāradvatīputra! Homage to the bodhisattvas headed by Maitreya and to the hosts of great bodhisattvas! Homage to the noble Tathāgata Amitābha, the worthy one, the fully realized Buddha! Homage to the Three Jewels! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva great being of great compassion! The mantra is:

“He who completes the recitation will accomplish his activities. If he recites this mantra three times, he will purify the five acts of immediate retribution and every karmic obscuration.

“One should delimit a sacred area using water infused with ashes of aloe incense,55 mustard seeds, and pegs made of cutch tree56 wood. To cure any type of fever, one should use a thread, and for all other diseases use ghee, oil, or water, incanting them and then giving them to the patient. To destroy the kākhordas, one should use an incanted weapon, and for stomachache, a protection thread. To neutralize poison, one should use water with fresh salt,57 clay, or just water. If one suffers from eye ailments, one should tie an incanted white thread around one’s ear. If one has a toothache, one should use an incanted tooth stick made from oleander wood.58

“To delimit a large sacred area, one should incant a five-colored thread twenty-one times and tie it on the four pegs of cutch-tree wood nailed in the four corners. Using thread, water, or ashes affords protection against anything. For all types of epileptic seizures, one should use a five-colored thread; for all fevers, a white thread; and for all types of insects,59 ringworm, pus boils, and asthma attacks, a mixture of honey and black pepper. For eye ailments, one should use perfumed water, water with flame-of-the-forest,60 or water infused with licorice. For an earache one should use oil. In the case of quarrels, disputes, discord, disagreements, or false accusations, one should incant water and rinse one’s mouth with it.

“To protect a country, a kingdom, or a realm from an army,61 one should arrange ritual jars and, after donning clean white garments, offer a large pūjā. [F.6.a] If one recites the Amoghapāśa mantra over them, [Ti.20] there will be lasting peace. If one sprinkles them with incanted water, all beings will be protected. All misfortunes and calamities will cease for those afflicted by them if they smear on their chest sandalwood paste incanted twenty-one times. The karma of all the acts of immediate retribution will be purified if one recites the mantra continually. A homa of lotuses will ensure the protection of the house. A homa of sandalwood will ensure a means of livelihood for all beings and protect them against all bhūtas and grahas. [A.4.a]

“If one incants jayā,62 vijayā,63 nākulī,64 gandhanākulī,65 vāruṇī, abhayapāṇi, indrapāṇi,66 mahaleb cherry,67 tagara,68 cakrā, mahācakrā,69 viṣṇukrāntā,70 somarājī,71 or sunandā72 one hundred and eight times, makes it into a pill, wears it tied onto one’s head or arm, or ties it around a child’s neck or a woman’s waist, it will bring prosperity and pacify bad luck. With the pill tied on, one becomes protected in every way. One will not meet with fire or poison and will not be poisoned. If one is, it will not cause any distress and will soon go away. Using an incanted vine of araṇī,73 one can pacify grahas and arrest winds, hailstorms, and flooding. This heart mantra of Noble Avalokiteśvara can do anything, including producing the supreme accomplishment. If it is mastered, it can certainly accomplish these acts.

“The vidyā holder who wishes to accomplish this heart mantra should follow this procedure: Using uncontaminated paints and a piece of cloth, he should paint Noble Avalokiteśvara [F.6.b] in his form of a buddha74 and wearing the garb of Paśupati that includes a diadem upon his topknotted hair, a tunic of antelope skin, and all the ornaments. The painting should be done by a painter observing the ritual fast. The vidyā holder should then make a maṇḍala in front of it with cow dung, bestrew it with white flowers, and place eight jars filled with eight offerings there.75 He should also offer a bali made of another sixty-four articles, but without meat or blood. Burning incense of agarwood, he should recite the vidyā76 one thousand and eight times. He should fast for one day and night, or for three days, eat three white things, bathe77 three times a day, and wear clean clothes. Avalokiteśvara will then arrive in person and fulfill every wish.

“If he incants realgar or collyrium and anoints his eyes with the paste, he will become invisible, will be able to travel through space, [Ti.21] and will attain the samādhi called the display of unfailing knowledge. He will then act as he pleases and accomplish whatever he does.”

So spoke the Blessed Lord, the noble bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, his mind transported with joy. The gods of the Pure Abode, such as the great lord Brahmā Sahāmpati, rejoiced at his words.78