The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate” first enumerates the pure qualities of the thus-gone ones and then praises the merits of making offerings to them. This results in five advantages, and one also gains two quartets of beneficial factors and great respect among living beings. Placed between two longer dhāraṇīs, the names of sixty-seven buddhas who provide protection for the one venerating them are specified. A set of four verses describing the application and benefits of the spell concludes the text.
The text was translated from Tibetan and introduced by The Buddhapīṭha Translation Group (Gergely Hidas and Péter-Dániel Szántó).
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Torsten Gerloff edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate” is a middling-length specimen of dhāraṇī literature. It was revealed to the bodhisattva Viśuddhamati, without his having petitioned for a teaching, on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, otherwise a famous location for Mahāyāna revelations. The discourse begins with a description of the utter purity and limitless qualities of the thus-gone ones, whereby their worship, too, results in utterly pure and limitless merit. Such worship also results in a quintet of advantages, two quartets of beneficial factors: protection from worldly and otherworldly dangers, and universal respect, even from inanimate entities. The section following teaches a long dhāraṇī interspersed with a list of buddha names, sixty-seven in all, to which the practitioner should pay obeisance.1 Next, four stanzas accompanied by a shorter spell teach the benefits of the dhāraṇī. The text closes with the customary description of the retinue’s joy.
No Sanskrit text of this scripture has reached us, and we could not find any testimonies. This may suggest that the text was not too popular in India. The only trace of the dhāraṇī we could find is that in the retinue described at the beginning of the famous Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa, Vimalā is one of the personified dhāraṇīs present.2
The Tibetan translation is recorded in the imperial catalogs,3 but we could not locate any Dunhuang fragments. According to the colophon (which is missing in the Stok Palace Kangyur), the translation was made by Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Yeshé Dé, who also modified the translation according to “the new language,” i.e., the standard terms for translation as prescribed by the Imperial Council in the early ninth century. This text is also included in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus) section of the Degé Kangyur and other Tshalpa-lineage Kangyurs that include such a separate section.44
Apparently, no Chinese translation was ever made.
The English translation was made principally on the basis of the Tibetan translations of the text found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur. Some more important differences are pointed out in the notes.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!5
Thus have I heard at one time. The Blessed One resided on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha. Then the Blessed One said this to the bodhisattva Viśuddhamati: “A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his morality is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his meditative absorption is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his tolerance is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his beneficence is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his friendly kindness is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his compassion, joy, and equanimity are utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his liberation and insight and gnosis of liberation are utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his power, confidence, and other6 buddha-qualities are utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his omniscient gnosis is utterly pure.
“Thus, Viśuddhamati, if one honors a thus-gone one—who is utterly pure—with flowers, garlands, fragrance, parasols, banners, and so on, the sound of music, and unguents, then the limit of such a person’s heap of merits cannot be gauged, for the limit of that heap of merits is inexhaustible in the future, save for reaching nirvāṇa through whichever of the Three Vehicles. Why is that? Just as, Viśuddhamati, all the qualities of a thus-gone buddha have no measure, in the same way, making an offering to a thus-gone one is without measure, without limit; it is unfathomable, without parallel, uncountable, unquantifiable, and ineffable.
“Whosoever, Viśuddhamati, honors, extols, venerates, worships, and reveres a thus-gone one who is present, abiding, and remaining or at a later time, in the future, during the final five centuries,7 honors, extols, venerates, worships, and reveres a relic as small as a mustard seed of a thus-gone one who has departed into nirvāṇa—if such a person correctly concentrates the mind8 and makes the mind resolute toward awakening, bows, makes an obeisance, honors, extols, venerates, worships, reveres,9 beseeches, praises, and performs circumambulation, then they shall know five advantages. What are the five? (1) One will obtain excellent memory, (2) one will obtain excellent understanding, (3) one will be decent and modest, (4) one will swiftly come to behold a blessed buddha,10 and, (5) after seeing him, one will be faithful. This is the quintet of advantages one shall know.
“Then, in addition, one shall know four factors. What are the four? (1) Retaining each of the words taught by a thus-gone one, (2) practicing just as those words teach, (3) coming into the proximity of the blessed buddhas, and (4) being born swiftly into an utterly pure buddhafield. This is the quartet of factors one shall possess.
“If, Viśuddhamati, a bodhisattva is endowed with four factors, then neither Māra nor any devaputra of the clan of Māra shall hurt him. What are the four? (1) A mighty family, (2) taking to heart the blessed buddhas immediately after birth, (3) holding on to the True Dharma at subsequent times, and (4) being empowered constantly by the thus-gone ones, the worthy, fully awakened perfect buddhas. If, Viśuddhamati, a bodhisattva is endowed with this quartet of factors, then neither Māra nor a devaputra of the clan of Māra shall hurt him.
“If, Viśuddhamati, a person firmly established in the Vehicle of Bodhisattvas beholds a caitya of a thus-gone one and generates faith, places both knees on the ground, makes an obeisance, and generates an aspiration to the effect of ‘May I, too, attain a body of the kind that the Thus-Gone One has, adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great being!’ then, Viśuddhamati, the limit of this heap of merit cannot be put into words, for it is established in unsurpassed perfect awakening. Not even a king, Śakra, Brahmā, a śrāvaka, a pratyekabuddha, or an unsurpassed perfectly awakened buddha can diminish that heap of merit. Why is that? For, Viśuddhamati, that son or daughter of good family has firmly grasped an unfathomable heap of merit. Viśuddhamati, it is like this: For example, if a thus-gone one, an unsurpassed perfectly awakened buddha enters a city, or a temple,11 or a village, no matter whether that thus-gone one goes hither and thither, walks, stands, sits, or teaches the Dharma, in the great trichiliocosm there is no being—be they a god, a nāga, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a mahoraga, a human or nonhuman, a tree, a mountain, a cave, or a rock shelter—that does not bow to, make obeisance to, and bend toward where that thus-gone one is. And just as a thus-gone one is in possession of all roots of merit, those sons or daughters of good family may roam in villages, cities, market towns, provinces, and royal capitals, and beings will bow to them, make obeisance to them, and bend toward them.
“Obeisance to the blessed Amitābha! amitāmite prabhave mahāprabhe, prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati, I earnestly beseech the Blessed One to teach! I earnestly beseech the Blessed One to teach! tadyathā—mati mati mati mati mati mati mati mati mati mati, smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti, mahāsmṛti mahāsmṛti,12 O One Without Attachment, remove my ignorance! some some some some some some some some some some, saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya, śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi, let there be peace, let there be health, let there be no hindrances! prabhavati, mahāmatye, raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi.13
“One should also take the names of these blessed buddhas and bow to them. It goes like this: Blessed Ratnasambhava, blessed Ratnasūrya, blessed Ratnottara, blessed Ratnakaṭhina, blessed Ratnaketu,14 blessed Ratnārciṣmat, blessed Ratnabala, blessed Akṣobhya, blessed Amitābha, blessed Amitaghoṣa, blessed Duṣpradharṣa, blessed Anantakīrti, blessed Ratnaprabha, blessed Mahāsukhāpta, blessed Jyotiṣprabha, blessed Satyaghoṣa, blessed Vigatarogamala, blessed Śuklacandra, blessed Vimalaprabha, blessed Śuklasūrya, blessed Sūryaprabha, blessed Śuddhaprabha,15 blessed Anantaratna, blessed Ratnagarbha, blessed Ratnodbhava, blessed Candrapradīpa, blessed Padmasena, blessed Padmaghoṣa, blessed Padmottama, blessed Guṇottama,16 blessed Suvarṇaprabha, blessed Brahmeśvararāja, blessed Suvarṇasadṛśābha, blessed Suvarṇasambhava, blessed Nāgeśvararāja, blessed Puṣpa, blessed Sarvagandheśvararāja, blessed Mālārāja, blessed Dhīravīrasena,17 blessed Śastrakṣepa, blessed Śrīgarbhamaṇiratnābha, blessed Amitakalpaprabha, blessed Siṃhaghoṣa, blessed Siṃheśvararāja, blessed Mahābalavīryaniryāṇa, blessed Garbhābhibhava, blessed Dundubhirāja, blessed Candrottama, blessed Padmābhibhava, blessed Lokapradyota, blessed Agni, blessed Ghora, blessed Ratnanemi, blessed Satataparinirvṛta, blessed Vistīrṇamati, blessed Ratnāmitanirmāṇābha, blessed Sumerusadṛśavikrama, blessed Ratnottamapāṇi, blessed Ratnasamājaśrī, blessed Avivartacakraratnapadaśrī, blessed Samantavairocanaviśuddhiprāpta, blessed Sūryacandrapradīpa, blessed Meru, blessed Mahāmeru, blessed Sumeru, blessed Mahāsumeru, blessed Sumerusama.
“tadyathā—pata pata, dama dama, ghama ghama, svāhā.
“I pay obeisance to these and other blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the eastern quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the southern quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the western quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the northern quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the nadir. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the zenith. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the intermediate quarters. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace!
“tadyathā—vimale vimalākare vimalasaṃbhave svāhā, vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale, vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare, vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate.18
“tadyathā—kuṭi kuṭi kucchalo, ela ela, mutta, kotthālo, eriri rimṛti, svāhā.”
Thus spoke the Blessed One, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Viśuddhamati, together with the world of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas, was gladdened, and they praised the words of the Blessed One.
Here ends the noble dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
Translated and edited by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, as well as the great editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé. It has also been updated to the new language and finalized.
The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate” first enumerates the pure qualities of the thus-gone ones and then praises the merits of making offerings to them. This results in five advantages, and one also gains two quartets of beneficial factors and great respect among living beings. Placed between two longer dhāraṇīs, the names of sixty-seven buddhas who provide protection for the one venerating them are specified. A set of four verses describing the application and benefits of the spell concludes the text.
The text was translated from Tibetan and introduced by The Buddhapīṭha Translation Group (Gergely Hidas and Péter-Dániel Szántó).
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Torsten Gerloff edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate” is a middling-length specimen of dhāraṇī literature. It was revealed to the bodhisattva Viśuddhamati, without his having petitioned for a teaching, on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa, otherwise a famous location for Mahāyāna revelations. The discourse begins with a description of the utter purity and limitless qualities of the thus-gone ones, whereby their worship, too, results in utterly pure and limitless merit. Such worship also results in a quintet of advantages, two quartets of beneficial factors: protection from worldly and otherworldly dangers, and universal respect, even from inanimate entities. The section following teaches a long dhāraṇī interspersed with a list of buddha names, sixty-seven in all, to which the practitioner should pay obeisance.1 Next, four stanzas accompanied by a shorter spell teach the benefits of the dhāraṇī. The text closes with the customary description of the retinue’s joy.
No Sanskrit text of this scripture has reached us, and we could not find any testimonies. This may suggest that the text was not too popular in India. The only trace of the dhāraṇī we could find is that in the retinue described at the beginning of the famous Mañjuśriyamūlakalpa, Vimalā is one of the personified dhāraṇīs present.2
The Tibetan translation is recorded in the imperial catalogs,3 but we could not locate any Dunhuang fragments. According to the colophon (which is missing in the Stok Palace Kangyur), the translation was made by Jinamitra, Dānaśīla, and Yeshé Dé, who also modified the translation according to “the new language,” i.e., the standard terms for translation as prescribed by the Imperial Council in the early ninth century. This text is also included in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus) section of the Degé Kangyur and other Tshalpa-lineage Kangyurs that include such a separate section.44
Apparently, no Chinese translation was ever made.
The English translation was made principally on the basis of the Tibetan translations of the text found in the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs in the Degé Kangyur, in consultation with the Stok Palace Kangyur. Some more important differences are pointed out in the notes.
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas!5
Thus have I heard at one time. The Blessed One resided on Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa in Rājagṛha. Then the Blessed One said this to the bodhisattva Viśuddhamati: “A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his morality is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his meditative absorption is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his tolerance is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his beneficence is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his friendly kindness is utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his compassion, joy, and equanimity are utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his liberation and insight and gnosis of liberation are utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his power, confidence, and other6 buddha-qualities are utterly pure. A thus-gone one, Viśuddhamati, is utterly pure, for his omniscient gnosis is utterly pure.
“Thus, Viśuddhamati, if one honors a thus-gone one—who is utterly pure—with flowers, garlands, fragrance, parasols, banners, and so on, the sound of music, and unguents, then the limit of such a person’s heap of merits cannot be gauged, for the limit of that heap of merits is inexhaustible in the future, save for reaching nirvāṇa through whichever of the Three Vehicles. Why is that? Just as, Viśuddhamati, all the qualities of a thus-gone buddha have no measure, in the same way, making an offering to a thus-gone one is without measure, without limit; it is unfathomable, without parallel, uncountable, unquantifiable, and ineffable.
“Whosoever, Viśuddhamati, honors, extols, venerates, worships, and reveres a thus-gone one who is present, abiding, and remaining or at a later time, in the future, during the final five centuries,7 honors, extols, venerates, worships, and reveres a relic as small as a mustard seed of a thus-gone one who has departed into nirvāṇa—if such a person correctly concentrates the mind8 and makes the mind resolute toward awakening, bows, makes an obeisance, honors, extols, venerates, worships, reveres,9 beseeches, praises, and performs circumambulation, then they shall know five advantages. What are the five? (1) One will obtain excellent memory, (2) one will obtain excellent understanding, (3) one will be decent and modest, (4) one will swiftly come to behold a blessed buddha,10 and, (5) after seeing him, one will be faithful. This is the quintet of advantages one shall know.
“Then, in addition, one shall know four factors. What are the four? (1) Retaining each of the words taught by a thus-gone one, (2) practicing just as those words teach, (3) coming into the proximity of the blessed buddhas, and (4) being born swiftly into an utterly pure buddhafield. This is the quartet of factors one shall possess.
“If, Viśuddhamati, a bodhisattva is endowed with four factors, then neither Māra nor any devaputra of the clan of Māra shall hurt him. What are the four? (1) A mighty family, (2) taking to heart the blessed buddhas immediately after birth, (3) holding on to the True Dharma at subsequent times, and (4) being empowered constantly by the thus-gone ones, the worthy, fully awakened perfect buddhas. If, Viśuddhamati, a bodhisattva is endowed with this quartet of factors, then neither Māra nor a devaputra of the clan of Māra shall hurt him.
“If, Viśuddhamati, a person firmly established in the Vehicle of Bodhisattvas beholds a caitya of a thus-gone one and generates faith, places both knees on the ground, makes an obeisance, and generates an aspiration to the effect of ‘May I, too, attain a body of the kind that the Thus-Gone One has, adorned with the thirty-two marks of a great being!’ then, Viśuddhamati, the limit of this heap of merit cannot be put into words, for it is established in unsurpassed perfect awakening. Not even a king, Śakra, Brahmā, a śrāvaka, a pratyekabuddha, or an unsurpassed perfectly awakened buddha can diminish that heap of merit. Why is that? For, Viśuddhamati, that son or daughter of good family has firmly grasped an unfathomable heap of merit. Viśuddhamati, it is like this: For example, if a thus-gone one, an unsurpassed perfectly awakened buddha enters a city, or a temple,11 or a village, no matter whether that thus-gone one goes hither and thither, walks, stands, sits, or teaches the Dharma, in the great trichiliocosm there is no being—be they a god, a nāga, a yakṣa, a gandharva, an asura, a garuḍa, a kinnara, a mahoraga, a human or nonhuman, a tree, a mountain, a cave, or a rock shelter—that does not bow to, make obeisance to, and bend toward where that thus-gone one is. And just as a thus-gone one is in possession of all roots of merit, those sons or daughters of good family may roam in villages, cities, market towns, provinces, and royal capitals, and beings will bow to them, make obeisance to them, and bend toward them.
“Obeisance to the blessed Amitābha! amitāmite prabhave mahāprabhe, prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati prabhavati, I earnestly beseech the Blessed One to teach! I earnestly beseech the Blessed One to teach! tadyathā—mati mati mati mati mati mati mati mati mati mati, smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti smṛti, mahāsmṛti mahāsmṛti,12 O One Without Attachment, remove my ignorance! some some some some some some some some some some, saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya saumanasyam upanaya, śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi śikhi, let there be peace, let there be health, let there be no hindrances! prabhavati, mahāmatye, raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi raśmi.13
“One should also take the names of these blessed buddhas and bow to them. It goes like this: Blessed Ratnasambhava, blessed Ratnasūrya, blessed Ratnottara, blessed Ratnakaṭhina, blessed Ratnaketu,14 blessed Ratnārciṣmat, blessed Ratnabala, blessed Akṣobhya, blessed Amitābha, blessed Amitaghoṣa, blessed Duṣpradharṣa, blessed Anantakīrti, blessed Ratnaprabha, blessed Mahāsukhāpta, blessed Jyotiṣprabha, blessed Satyaghoṣa, blessed Vigatarogamala, blessed Śuklacandra, blessed Vimalaprabha, blessed Śuklasūrya, blessed Sūryaprabha, blessed Śuddhaprabha,15 blessed Anantaratna, blessed Ratnagarbha, blessed Ratnodbhava, blessed Candrapradīpa, blessed Padmasena, blessed Padmaghoṣa, blessed Padmottama, blessed Guṇottama,16 blessed Suvarṇaprabha, blessed Brahmeśvararāja, blessed Suvarṇasadṛśābha, blessed Suvarṇasambhava, blessed Nāgeśvararāja, blessed Puṣpa, blessed Sarvagandheśvararāja, blessed Mālārāja, blessed Dhīravīrasena,17 blessed Śastrakṣepa, blessed Śrīgarbhamaṇiratnābha, blessed Amitakalpaprabha, blessed Siṃhaghoṣa, blessed Siṃheśvararāja, blessed Mahābalavīryaniryāṇa, blessed Garbhābhibhava, blessed Dundubhirāja, blessed Candrottama, blessed Padmābhibhava, blessed Lokapradyota, blessed Agni, blessed Ghora, blessed Ratnanemi, blessed Satataparinirvṛta, blessed Vistīrṇamati, blessed Ratnāmitanirmāṇābha, blessed Sumerusadṛśavikrama, blessed Ratnottamapāṇi, blessed Ratnasamājaśrī, blessed Avivartacakraratnapadaśrī, blessed Samantavairocanaviśuddhiprāpta, blessed Sūryacandrapradīpa, blessed Meru, blessed Mahāmeru, blessed Sumeru, blessed Mahāsumeru, blessed Sumerusama.
“tadyathā—pata pata, dama dama, ghama ghama, svāhā.
“I pay obeisance to these and other blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the eastern quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the southern quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the western quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the northern quarter. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the nadir. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the zenith. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace! I pay obeisance to the blessed buddhas and their retinues, the guides who reside in the intermediate quarters. I beseech them to protect me and my retinue in health and peace!
“tadyathā—vimale vimalākare vimalasaṃbhave svāhā, vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale vimale, vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare vimalākare, vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate vimalasamudgate.18
“tadyathā—kuṭi kuṭi kucchalo, ela ela, mutta, kotthālo, eriri rimṛti, svāhā.”
Thus spoke the Blessed One, and the bodhisattva mahāsattva Viśuddhamati, together with the world of gods, humans, asuras, and gandharvas, was gladdened, and they praised the words of the Blessed One.
Here ends the noble dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
Translated and edited by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla, as well as the great editor-translator Bandé Yeshé Dé. It has also been updated to the new language and finalized.
Unfortunately, most of these names had to be reconstructed; we thus advise readers to exercise caution.
It is listed as no. 355 in the Denkarma (lhan kar ma, ldan kar ma), on which see Herrmann-Pfandt 2008, pp. 203–4; and no. 337 in the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma), on which see Kawagoe 2005, p. 20.
This text, Toh 871, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs, 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.
We are constrained to add this word, because the buddha-qualities are in fact a set that begins with power (of which there are ten) and confidence (of which there are four).
On this number and concept, see Yuyama 1992. “In the future” in certain contexts can also mean “during the last/latter time”; see Nattier 1991: pp. 91–94, 101–10, and 117.
Stok: “places his mind in equanimity” (sems mnyam par bzhag instead of Degé’s sems nye bar bzhag).
Stok transmits mahāsmṛti four times, not just twice. The Degé version of Toh 871, on the contrary, transmits mahāsmṛti thrice.
A tentative translation of the Sanskrit elements is as follows: “[...] O Boundless Among the Boundless, O Distinguished One, O One of Great Splendor, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, O Mighty One, [...] Namely, O Wish (or: O Intelligence), O Wish, O Wish, O Wish, O Wish, O Wish, O Wish, O Wish, O Wish, O Wish, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Recollection, O Great Recollection, O Great Recollection, [...] O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, O Soma, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, bring about gladness, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, O Crested One, [...] O Mighty One, O Great-Minded One (?), O Ray, O Ray, O Ray, O Ray, O Ray, O Ray, O Ray, O Ray, O Ray, O Ray.”
A tentative translation is as follows: “Namely, O Spotless One, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotlessly Emerged svāhā, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless One, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotless Accumulation, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen, O Spotlessly Arisen.”
I.e., the marks of a great person (mahāpuruṣalakṣaṇa), possibly including major, minor, and further auspicious marks.
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
A type of nonhuman being whose precise status is subject to different views, but is included as one of the six classes of beings in the sixfold classification of realms of rebirth. In the Buddhist context, asuras are powerful beings said to be dominated by envy, ambition, and hostility. They are also known in the pre-Buddhist and pre-Vedic mythologies of India and Iran, and feature prominently in Vedic and post-Vedic Brahmanical mythology, as well as in the Buddhist tradition. In these traditions, asuras are often described as being engaged in interminable conflict with the devas (gods).
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
Yeshé Dé (late eighth to early ninth century) was the most prolific translator of sūtras into Tibetan. Altogether he is credited with the translation of more than one hundred sixty sūtra translations and more than one hundred additional translations, mostly on tantric topics. In spite of Yeshé Dé’s great importance for the propagation of Buddhism in Tibet during the imperial era, only a few biographical details about this figure are known. Later sources describe him as a student of the Indian teacher Padmasambhava, and he is also credited with teaching both sūtra and tantra widely to students of his own. He was also known as Nanam Yeshé Dé, from the Nanam (sna nam) clan.
In Buddhist literature, this is an epithet applied to buddhas, most often to Śākyamuni. The Sanskrit term generally means “possessing fortune,” but in specifically Buddhist contexts it implies that a buddha is in possession of six auspicious qualities (bhaga) associated with complete awakening. The Tibetan term—where bcom is said to refer to “subduing” the four māras, ldan to “possessing” the great qualities of buddhahood, and ’das to “going beyond” saṃsāra and nirvāṇa—possibly reflects the commentarial tradition where the Sanskrit bhagavat is interpreted, in addition, as “one who destroys the four māras.” This is achieved either by reading bhagavat as bhagnavat (“one who broke”), or by tracing the word bhaga to the root √bhañj (“to break”).
A being who is dedicated to the cultivation and fulfilment of the altruistic intention to attain perfect buddhahood, traversing the ten bodhisattva levels (daśabhūmi, sa bcu). Bodhisattvas purposely opt to remain within cyclic existence in order to liberate all sentient beings, instead of simply seeking personal freedom from suffering. In terms of the view, they realize both the selflessness of persons and the selflessness of phenomena.
A high-ranking deity presiding over a divine world; he is also considered to be the lord of the Sahā world (our universe). Though not considered a creator god in Buddhism, Brahmā occupies an important place as one of two gods (the other being Indra/Śakra) said to have first exhorted the Buddha Śākyamuni to teach the Dharma. The particular heavens found in the form realm over which Brahmā rules are often some of the most sought-after realms of higher rebirth in Buddhist literature. Since there are many universes or world systems, there are also multiple Brahmās presiding over them. His most frequent epithets are “Lord of the Sahā World” (sahāṃpati) and Great Brahmā (mahābrahman).
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
A fully realized (“awakened”) being.
This term denotes the operational field of a specific buddha, spontaneously arising as a result of his altruistic aspirations.
The Tibetan translates both stūpa and caitya with the same word, mchod rten, meaning “basis” or “recipient” of “offerings” or “veneration.” Pali: cetiya.
A caitya, although often synonymous with stūpa, can also refer to any site, sanctuary or shrine that is made for veneration, and may or may not contain relics.
A stūpa, literally “heap” or “mound,” is a mounded or circular structure usually containing relics of the Buddha or the masters of the past. It is considered to be a sacred object representing the awakened mind of a buddha, but the symbolism of the stūpa is complex, and its design varies throughout the Buddhist world. Stūpas continue to be erected today as objects of veneration and merit making.
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
One of the four “immeasurables” of the Mahāyāna, known in early Buddhism as “pure abodes” (Skt.
An Indian preceptor from Kashmir who was resident in Tibet during the late eighth and early ninth centuries. He translated many texts in the Kangyur in collaboration with Bandé Yeshé Dé.
Indian term of address used by a teacher regarding a student. While originally related to family lineage, in Mahāyāna sūtras the term is also sometimes interpreted as implying that the person so addressed has entered the lineage of the buddhas, i.e., is a follower of the bodhisattva path.
The deities ruled over by Māra. The term can also refer to the devas in his paradise, which is sometimes identified with Paranirmitavaśavartin, the highest paradise in the realm of desire. This is distinct from the four personifications of obstacles to awakening, also known as the four māras (devaputramāra, mṛtyumāra, skandhamāra, and kleśamāra).
Use standard definition. (for “māra” as in a being of the māra class)
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
The final five hundred years in the period of decrease during an intermediate eon, in which the five degenerations are at their peak and the Buddha’s teachings have nearly disappeared.
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
One of the four “immeasurables” of the Mahāyāna, known in early Buddhism as “pure abodes” (Skt.
One of the four “immeasurables” of the Mahāyāna, known in early Buddhism as “pure abodes” (Skt.
One who has achieved perfect and complete awakening or buddhahood. Used of those who achieve buddhahood through the Great Vehicle, in contrast to the levels of realization achieved by śrāvakas or pratyekabuddhas.
A class of generally benevolent nonhuman beings who inhabit the skies, sometimes said to inhabit fantastic cities in the clouds, and more specifically to dwell on the eastern slopes of Mount Meru, where they are ruled by the Great King Dhṛtarāṣṭra. They are most renowned as celestial musicians who serve the gods. In the Abhidharma, the term is also used to refer to the mental body assumed by sentient beings during the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Gandharvas are said to live on fragrances (gandha) in the desire realm, hence the Tibetan translation dri za, meaning “scent eater.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
In Indian mythology, the garuḍa is an eagle-like bird that is regarded as the king of all birds, normally depicted with a sharp, owl-like beak, often holding a snake, and with large and powerful wings. They are traditionally enemies of the nāgas. In the Vedas, they are said to have brought nectar from the heavens to earth. Garuḍa can also be used as a proper name for a king of such creatures.
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
In the most general sense the devas—the term is cognate with the English divine—are a class of celestial beings who frequently appear in Buddhist texts, often at the head of the assemblies of nonhuman beings who attend and celebrate the teachings of the Buddha Śākyamuni and other buddhas and bodhisattvas. In Buddhist cosmology the devas occupy the highest of the five or six “destinies” (gati) of saṃsāra among which beings take rebirth. The devas reside in the devalokas, “heavens” that traditionally number between twenty-six and twenty-eight and are divided between the desire realm (kāmadhātu), form realm (rūpadhātu), and formless realm (ārūpyadhātu). A being attains rebirth among the devas either through meritorious deeds (in the desire realm) or the attainment of subtle meditative states (in the form and formless realms). While rebirth among the devas is considered favorable, it is ultimately a transitory state from which beings will fall when the conditions that lead to rebirth there are exhausted. Thus, rebirth in the god realms is regarded as a diversion from the spiritual path.
The Gṛdhrakūṭa, literally Vulture Peak, was a hill located in the kingdom of Magadha, in the vicinity of the ancient city of Rājagṛha (modern-day Rajgir, in the state of Bihar, India), where the Buddha bestowed many sūtras, especially the Great Vehicle teachings, such as the Prajñāpāramitā sūtras. It continues to be a sacred pilgrimage site for Buddhists to this day.
Indian term of address used by a teacher regarding a student. While originally related to family lineage, in Mahāyāna sūtras the term is also sometimes interpreted as implying that the person so addressed has entered the lineage of the buddhas, i.e., is a follower of the bodhisattva path.
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.” The Stok Palace Kangyur reads
In Buddhism more generally, merit refers to the wholesome karmic potential accumulated by someone as a result of positive and altruistic thoughts, words, and actions, which will ripen in the current or future lifetimes as the experience of happiness and well-being. According to the Mahāyāna, it is important to dedicate the merit of one’s wholesome actions to the awakening of oneself and to the ultimate and temporary benefit of all sentient beings. Doing so ensures that others also experience the results of the positive actions generated and that the merit is not wasted by ripening in temporary happiness for oneself alone.
Both knowing and directly accessing liberated knowing; the fifth of the five undefiled aggregates that are characteristic of noble ones.
Jinamitra was invited to Tibet during the reign of King Tri Songdetsen (khri srong lde btsan, r. 742–98 ᴄᴇ) and was involved with the translation of nearly two hundred texts, continuing into the reign of King Ralpachen (ral pa can, r. 815–38 ᴄᴇ). He was one of the small group of paṇḍitas responsible for the Mahāvyutpatti Sanskrit–Tibetan dictionary.
One of the four “immeasurables” of the Mahāyāna, known in early Buddhism as “pure abodes” (Skt.
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
A class of nonhuman beings that resemble humans to the degree that their very name—which means “is that human?”—suggests some confusion as to their divine status. Kinnaras are mythological beings found in both Buddhist and Brahmanical literature, where they are portrayed as creatures half human, half animal. They are often depicted as highly skilled celestial musicians.
In its most general sense, this term refers to the state of freedom from suffering and cyclic existence, or saṃsāra, that is the goal of the Buddhist path. More specifically, the term may refer to a category of advanced meditative attainment such as those of the “eight liberations.”
The name of a tathāgata in a list of sixty-seven contained in The Dhāraṇī “Immaculate.”
dri ma med pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Vimalādhāraṇī). Toh 517, Degé Kangyur vol. 88 (rgyud, na), folios 34.b–37.a.
dri ma med pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Vimalādhāraṇī). Toh 871, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folios 89.a–92.b.
dri ma med pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs (Vimalādhāraṇī). Skorupski 476, Stok Palace Kangyur vol. 102 (rgyud, da), folios 29.b–35.a.
Gaṇapati Sâstrî, T. The Âryamanjusrîmûlakalpa. Part 1. Trivandrum Sanskrit Series 70. Trivandrum: The Superintendent, Government Press, 1920.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Kawagoe, Eishin, ed. dKar chag ’Phang thang ma. Tōhoku Indo-Chibetto Kenkyū Sōsho 3. Sendai: Tohoku Society for Indo-Tibetan Studies, 2005.
Nattier, Jan. Once Upon a Future Time: Studies in a Buddhist Prophecy of Decline. Nanzan Studies in Asian Religions 1. Berkeley: Asian Humanities Press, 1991.
Yuyama, Akira. “pañcāśatī-, ‘500’ or ‘50’? –With special reference to the Lotus Sūtra–.” In The Dating of the Historical Buddha / Die Datierung des historischen Buddha, Part 2, edited by Heinz Bechert, Symposien zur Buddhismusforschung 4, 2, Abhandlungen der Akademie der Wissenschaften in Göttingen, Philologisch-historische Klasse. Dritte Folge, Nr. 194. Göttingen: Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 1992.
