co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

The Dhāraṇī that Praises the Qualities of the Immeasurable One contains a short dhāraṇī mantra praising the tathāgata Amitābha and brief instructions on the benefits that result from its recitation.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

Translated by the Dharmachakra Translation Committee under the supervision of Chökyi Nyima Rinpoche. The translation was produced by Adam Krug then checked against the Tibetan and edited by Ryan Damron.

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

i.

Introduction

i.­1

The Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One consists of a short dhāraṇī praising Buddha Amitābha and a brief description of the benefits one accrues by reciting this dhāraṇī. These benefits range from the purification of negative deeds to having visions of the bodhisattva Maitreya, the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara, and the buddha Amitābha himself. The Sanskrit term for the English “immeasurable” (aparimita) that appears in the title of this work can be interpreted as referring both to the Buddha Amitābha as “The Immeasurable One” and to the fact that the qualities that Amitābha possesses are themselves “immeasurable.” The phrase “The Immeasurable One” is used here to give coherence to the title in English, but the reader is invited to entertain the dual significance of the term when reading or reciting the text‍—that Amitābha is both immeasurably vast and possesses immeasurable qualities.1

i.­2

A Sanskrit version of this work is to our knowledge no longer extant. The text seems to have been translated from Sanskrit into Tibetan no later than the early ninth century, as its title is recorded in the Denkarma2 and Phangthangma3 Tibetan imperial translation catalogs. However, the Tibetan translation does not contain a colophon, so further details surrounding its translation into Tibetan are unknown. A Chinese translation of the text (Taishō 934) was completed by a certain Faxian (whose identity is surrounded with uncertainty) sometime between 989 and 999 ᴄᴇ.4

i.­3

This brief scripture is missing from some Kangyur collections but appears twice in others.5 Its title does not appear in any of the Kangyur collections that belong purely to the Thempangma (them spangs ma) lineage. However, the Kangyur collections that belong to the Tshalpa (tshal pa) lineage include it twice, while the mixed lineage and independent collections include it either twice or only once. In the Degé Kangyur it appears in both the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum, Toh 679) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus, Toh 851).6 The dhāraṇī mantra featured in the text is also included in Butön Rinchen Drup’s (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) Collection of Dhāraṇī of the Four Classes of Secret Mantra.7

i.­4

This English translation is based on the Degé Kangyur version of Toh 679 in consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma). In addition, we have compared Toh 679 to Toh 851 (Degé and Comparative Edition) and accounted for all significant differences in the notes. The dhāraṇī is rendered in Sanskrit diacritics following the Tibetan transliteration in the Tantra Collection of the Degé Kangyur (Toh 679), with major variants between Toh 679 and Toh 851 noted. An English translation of the dhāraṇī is also provided in a note.

Text Body

The Noble Dhāraṇī
Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One
1.

The Translation

[F.64.a]


1.­1

Homage to the Three Jewels.


1.­2

namo ratna­trayāya namo bhagavate amitabhāya tathāgatāya arhate saṃyak­sambuddhāya |
tadyathā oṃ amite amitodbhave amita­saṃbhave amita­vikrānte amita­gamini gagana­kīrti­kare8 sarva­kleśa­kṣayaṃ­kare9 svāhā |10

1.­3

The ritual instructions for this dhāraṇī are as follows: Reciting it once purifies the karmic obscurations that you have accumulated over one hundred thousand eons. If you recite it three times a day every day, all your misdeeds will be purified, and you will obtain the roots of virtue generated by one thousand buddhas. If you recite it twenty-one times it will purify the four root downfalls.11 If you recite it one hundred thousand times you will have a vision of Noble Maitreya. If you recite it two hundred thousand times you will have a vision of Noble Avalokiteśvara. If you recite it three hundred thousand times you will have a vision of the tathāgata Amitābha. Since the additional benefits are innumerable, this is only a brief summary.

1.­4

This concludes “The Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One.”

n.

Notes

n.­1
We have translated the title of this text based on the Sanskrit title provided in the Tibetan text (aparimitaguṇānuśāṁsa). Here we have interpreted the Sanskrit compound to reflect the internal syntax *aparimitasya guṇānām anuśaṁsaḥ. A literal translation of the Tibetan title (yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa) might be Immeasurable Praising of Qualities. If the Tibetan title were to reflect our reading of the Sanskrit compound aparimitaguṇānuśāṁsa it would have to be emended to dpag tu med pa’i yon tan bsngags pa. Ultimately, the decision to follow the reading reflected in the Sanskrit title was supported by the fact that the dhāraṇī itself is clearly addressed to the buddha Amitābha. Translating the title based on the Tibetan would obscure the fact that the title is a reference to Amitābha, not just a generic sense of “immeasurable qualities.”
n.­2
Denkarma folio 303.a.6; see also Herrmann-Pfandt (2009), p. 238.
n.­3
dkar chag ’phang thang ma (2003), p. 30.
n.­4
For details about this translation and the inconclusive identification of Faxian (法賢), see Lancaster, “K 1224i,” Korean Buddhist Canon, 2018.
n.­6

This text, Toh 851, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, e), are listed as being located in volume 100 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 101. 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.

n.­7
See Butön Rinchen Drup (1965–1971), vol. ma, p. 258.a.7–258.b.3.
n.­8
This reading is attested in Toh 851 as well as the Yongle, Narthang, and Lhasa (Zhol) editions of the Kangyur. Toh 679 reads gagana­kīrti­kari.
n.­9
This reading is attested in the Kangxi (Peking) edition of the Kangyur. Toh 679 and Toh 851 read sarva­kleśa­kṣayaṃ­kari.
n.­10
Translation: “I pay homage to the Three Jewels. I pay homage to the thus-gone, worthy, perfect buddha‍—the blessed Amitābha with the following: Oṃ infinite one who arises from the infinite, whose nature is infinite, whose stride is infinite, whose range is infinite, who grants renown vast as the sky, who brings an end to all the afflictions, svāhā.”
n.­11
The translation here follows the Yongle, Kangxi (Peking), Narthang, and Lhasa (Zhol) editions of the Kangyur, which read ltung ba rtsa ba’i bzhi po.
b.

Bibliography

Source Texts

’phags pa yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa (Aparimita­guṇānuśāsa­nāma­dhāraṇī). Toh 679, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud ’bum, ba), folio 223.a.

’phags pa yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa (Aparimita­guṇānuśāsa­nāma­dhāraṇī). Toh 851, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folio 64.b.

’phags pa yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa (Aparimita­guṇānuśāsa­nāma­dhāraṇī). 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), 2006–2009, vol. 91, pp. 821–23.

’phags pa yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa (Aparimita­guṇānuśāsa­nāma­dhāraṇī). 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), 2006–2009, vol. 97, pp. 161–63.

Reference Works

Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub). “gsang sngags rgyud sde bzhi’i gzungs ’bum.” In The Collected Works of Bu-Ston, edited by Lokesh Candra, vol. 16, pp. 21–576. Śata-Piṭaka Series. New Delhi: International Academy of Indian Culture, 1965–1971.

dkar chag ’phang thang ma. Beijing: mi rigs dpe skrun khang, 2003.

Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.

Lancaster, Lewis R. The Korean Buddhist Canon: A Descriptive Catalogue.

University of Vienna Resources for Kanjur and Tanjur Studies. Universität Wien and FWF.

Yoshimuri, Shyuki. The Denkar-Ma: An Oldest Catalogue of the Tibetan Buddhist Canons. Kyoto: Ryukoku University, 1950.

g.

Glossary

Types of attestation for names and terms of the corresponding source language

AS

Attested in source text

This term is attested in a manuscript used as a source for this translation.

AO

Attested in other text

This term is attested in other manuscripts with a parallel or similar context.

AD

Attested in dictionary

This term is attested in dictionaries matching Tibetan to the corresponding language.

AA

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.

RP

Reconstruction from Tibetan phonetic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the Tibetan phonetic rendering of the term.

RS

Reconstruction from Tibetan semantic rendering

This term is a reconstruction based on the semantics of the Tibetan translation.

SU

Source unspecified

This term has been supplied from an unspecified source, which most often is a widely trusted dictionary.

g.­1

Amitābha

  • ’od dpag med
  • འོད་དཔག་མེད།
  • amitābha

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The buddha of the western buddhafield of Sukhāvatī, where fortunate beings are reborn to make further progress toward spiritual maturity. Amitābha made his great vows to create such a realm when he was a bodhisattva called Dharmākara. In the Pure Land Buddhist tradition, popular in East Asia, aspiring to be reborn in his buddha realm is the main emphasis; in other Mahāyāna traditions, too, it is a widespread practice. For a detailed description of the realm, see The Display of the Pure Land of Sukhāvatī, Toh 115. In some tantras that make reference to the five families he is the tathāgata associated with the lotus family.

Amitābha, “Infinite Light,” is also known in many Indian Buddhist works as Amitāyus, “Infinite Life.” In both East Asian and Tibetan Buddhist traditions he is often conflated with another buddha named “Infinite Life,” Aparimitāyus, or “Infinite Life and Wisdom,”Aparimitāyurjñāna, the shorter version of whose name has also been back-translated from Tibetan into Sanskrit as Amitāyus but who presides over a realm in the zenith. For details on the relation between these buddhas and their names, see The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra (1) Toh 674, i.9.

g.­2

Avalokiteśvara

  • spyan ras gzigs dbang phyug
  • སྤྱན་རས་གཟིགས་དབང་ཕྱུག
  • avalokiteśvara

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

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.

g.­3

four root downfalls

  • ltung ba bzhi
  • ལྟུང་བ་བཞི།
  • catvāra prapāta

The four root downfalls are roughly synonymous with the pham pa bzhi (catvāra pārājika), or the four transgressions that require expulsion from the monastic community. These four transgressions are applicable to the maintenance of monastic and lay vows alike, though their interpretations might differ depending on context. The four transgressions are: (1) violating the vow of chastity (mi tshangs pa spyod pa, abrahmacarya); (2) stealing/taking what is not given (mi byin par len pa, adattadāna); (3) taking a life (srog gcod pa, prāṇātipāta); and (4) lying (rdzun du smra ba, mṛṣāvāda).

g.­4

Maitreya

  • byams pa
  • བྱམས་པ།
  • maitreya

An important bodhisattva in the Mahāyāna pantheon who is considered to currently reside in Tuṣita and awaits rebirth in the human realm as the next buddha of the current age.

g.­5

roots of virtue

  • dge ba’i rtsa ba
  • དགེ་བའི་རྩ་བ།
  • kuśalamūla

The roots of virtue are of three types: absence of desire (ma chags pa, alobha), absence of anger (zhe sdang med pa, adveṣa), and absence of bewilderment (gti mug med pa, amoha). These three give rise to all wholesome qualities and hence they are called “roots.”

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84000. The Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One (Aparimita­guṇānuśāṁsa­dhāraṇī, yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa’i gzungs, Toh 851). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023. https://84000.co/translation/toh851.Copy
84000. The Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One (Aparimita­guṇānuśāṁsa­dhāraṇī, yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa’i gzungs, Toh 851). Translated by Dharmachakra Translation Committee, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023, 84000.co/translation/toh851.Copy
84000. (2023) The Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One (Aparimita­guṇānuśāṁsa­dhāraṇī, yon tan bsngags pa dpag tu med pa’i gzungs, Toh 851). (Dharmachakra Translation Committee, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh851.Copy
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