co.

Table of Contents

s.

Summary

s.­1

This text consists of a short dhāraṇī said to encompass The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines (Toh 9) and the benefits of its recitation.

ac.

Acknowledgements

ac.­1

The text was translated from Tibetan by the Buddhapīṭha Translation Group (Gergely Hidas and Péter-Dániel Szántó).

ac.­2

The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. Andreas Doctor edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process.

i.

Introduction

i.­1

This text consists of a short dhāraṇī said to encompass The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines1 and the benefits of its recitation.

i.­2

Such short texts served a variety of purposes, the primary one being that by reciting them one could acquire the positive karmic benefits of reciting an entire, sometimes extremely long, text. On a practical level, the recitation of these short texts also served as an equivalent to the recitation of the parent text, should a prescribed ritual so require.

i.­3

We could not find this text transmitted in Sanskrit. A very similar dhāraṇī is transmitted in The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika.”2 The text otherwise lacks both a Sanskrit title and a translator’s colophon.

i.­4

This 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 (gzungs ’dus)3 in the Degé Kangyur in consultation with the Sanskrit as contained in The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika.”

Text Body

The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines”
1.

The Translation

[F.280.b]


1.­1

Homage to the Blessed Lady, the Mother Perfection of Wisdom.


1.­2

tadyathā‍—oṃ prajñe mahāprajñe4 prajñāvabhāse prajñāvalokite5 sarva­dharmān­dhakāra­vidhamane6 siddhe susiddhe sidhyantu māṃ7 bhagavati sarvajñānasaṃdhāre8 bhagavati vatsale9 prasāritahaste10 mama sukara siddhi siddhi buddha buddha11 kampa kampa pāla pāla dhara dhara vara vara garja garja āgaccha āgaccha bhagavati mā [F.281.a] vilamba svāhā!12

1.­3

By upholding this, one will have upheld The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines.13 All karmic obscurations will be purified.

1.­4

Here ends “The Dhāraṇī of ‘The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines.’ ”

n.

Notes

n.­1
Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā (shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa, Toh 9). See The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines.
n.­2
Kauśika­prajñā­pāramitā (Toh 19), ap1.­14.
n.­3

This text, Toh 933, 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.

n.­4
We adopted the reading of the Kauśika here, as the Tibetan prajñāprajñe did not seem satisfactory.
n.­5
Our conjectured reading for the Tibetan prajñāvalokati. The Kauśika has prajñālokakāri.
n.­6
Small corrections have been applied to this reading. The Tibetan has sarvadharmāndhakarabhidhamani (Degé Tantra version) or sarvadharmāndhakāravidhamani (Degé Compendium of Dhāraṇīs version). The Kauśika has ajñānavidhamane.
n.­7
The Kauśika has sidhyamane, which seems to be corrupt.
n.­8
A small correction to the Tibetan reading sarvajñānasandhari. The Kauśika has sarvāṅga­sundari (“beautiful in all limbs”). It is not inconceivable that the Tibetan reading is a distant corruption of this version.
n.­9
Our conjecture for the Tibetan bhagavati vadchela/vacchela. The Kauśika has bhaktivatsale (perhaps bhaktavatsale, “loving to the devoted”?). It is not inconceivable that the Tibetan reading is a distant corruption of this version.
n.­10
Our conjectured reading for the Tibetan prasaradhehasta, which is nonsensical. The Kauśika has a slightly better but still not satisfactory prasārahaste.
n.­11
The Kauśika has sidhya sidhya budhya budhya instead; this is possibly the better reading.
n.­12
A tentative translation of the dhāraṇī is as follows: “It is thus‍—Oṁ O Wisdom, O Great Wisdom, O One with the Splendor of Wisdom, O One Seen with Wisdom (or, according to the Kauśika version, “O One Who Produces the Light of Wisdom”), O One Who Destroys All Obscurations of the Dharma, O Accomplished One, O Well-Accomplished One, may I succeed. O Splendid One, O One Who Upholds All Knowledge, O Blessed Lady, O Kind One, O One with an Extended Hand, be an accomplisher of good for me. Succeed, succeed, awakened, awakened (or, according to the Kauśika, “awaken, awaken”), shake, shake (or “be compassionate”), protect, protect, uphold, uphold, cover, cover, roar, roar, come, come, O Blessed Lady, do not delay svāhā.”
n.­13
Instead of what we translate here as “to uphold” in order to capture the ambiguity of the original, Tatakaragupta, when discussing a similar dhāraṇī said to encapsulate The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines (see The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines,” Toh 576/932), is more explicit when he replaces the verb with kaṇṭhasthīkṛ (“to place it in one’s throat”), which is the Sanskrit idiom for “to learn by heart.” He also spells out the benefit as the “meritorious karmic fruit” (puṇyaphala) of memorizing the parent text. This sentence is then followed by a fascinating short discussion, which merits quoting in full: “Surely, this is an exaggeration! No, one should not say this. For countless thus-gone ones have empowered this dhāraṇī to serve as a method for gaining the equipment of merit for women, immature people, and simpletons, as well as for learned people whose minds are confused, just like the pole of a snake-charmer[, which is prepared by the expert snake charmer to be effective even when he is no longer present,] for removing poison; however, it is not a method for gaining the knowledge conveyed by The [Perfection of Wisdom in] One Hundred Thousand Lines. This should be understood to apply in other cases [i.e., where the text is abbreviated into a dhāraṇī] as well” (nanv atyuktir eveti. na caitad vaktavyam. yataḥ strībālamūrkhān paryākulitamatīn paṇḍitān praty api puṇya­saṃbhāra­sādhana­tvenāsaṃkhyeyatathāgatair adhiṣṭhiteyaṃ dhāriṇī, yathā viṣaharatvena gāruḍikaṃ stambhaḥ; na tu lakṣāpratipādita­jñāna­sādhanatvena. evam anyatrāpi boddhavyaḥ).
b.

Bibliography

Tibetan Sources

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu pa’i gzungs (Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­dhāraṇī). Toh 577, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folio 203.a.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu pa’i gzungs (Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­dhāraṇī). Toh 933, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs, e), folios 280.b–281.a.

sher phyin kau shi ka (Kauśika­prajñā­pāramitā). Toh 19, Degé Kangyur vol. 19 (shes rab sna tshogs, ka), folios 142.a–143.b. English translation The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” 2023.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa’i gzungs (Śatasāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­dhāraṇī). Toh 576, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folios 202.b–203.a; Toh 932, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs, e), folio 280.b. English translation The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines” 2024.

shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa (Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā). Toh 9, Degé Kangyur vols. 26–28 (nyi khri, ka–ga), folios 1.b (ka)–381.a (ga). English translation The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines 2023.

Secondary Sources

84000. The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines” (Śatasāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­dhāraṇī, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa’i gzungs, Toh 576, 932). Translated by the Buddhapīṭha Translation Group (Gergely Hidas and Péter-Dániel Szántó). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024.

‍—‍—‍—. The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines (Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa, Toh 9). Translated by the Padmakara Translation Group. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

‍—‍—‍—. The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” (Kauśika­prajñā­pāramitā, sher phyin kau shi ka, Toh 19). Translated by the UCSB Buddhist Studies Translation Group. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2023.

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

Blessed Lady

  • bcom ldan ’das ma
  • བཅོམ་ལྡན་འདས་མ།
  • bhagavatī AO
g.­2

dhāraṇī

  • gzungs
  • གཟུངས།
  • dhāraṇī AS

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The term dhāraṇī has the sense of something that “holds” or “retains,” and so it can refer to the special capacity of practitioners to memorize and recall detailed teachings. It can also refer to a verbal expression of the teachings‍—an incantation, spell, or mnemonic formula‍—that distills and “holds” essential points of the Dharma and is used by practitioners to attain mundane and supramundane goals. The same term is also used to denote texts that contain such formulas.

g.­3

equipment of merit

  • bsod nams kyi tshogs
  • བསོད་ནམས་ཀྱི་ཚོགས།
  • puṇyasaṃbhāra AO

The progressive increase of virtuous karma. One of the two factors that come together in creating momentum toward a practitioner’s spiritual awakening, the other being the accumulation or equipment of wisdom.

g.­4

karmic obscuration

  • las kyi sgrib pa
  • ལས་ཀྱི་སྒྲིབ་པ།
  • karmāvaraṇa AO

Persistent physical, mental, or emotional obstacles to spiritual progress caused by past deeds.

g.­5

Perfection of Wisdom

  • shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa
  • ཤེས་རབ་ཀྱི་ཕ་རོལ་ཏུ་ཕྱིན་པ།
  • prajñāpāramitā AO

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

The sixth of the six perfections, it refers to the profound understanding of the emptiness of all phenomena, the realization of ultimate reality. It is often personified as a female deity, worshiped as the “Mother of All Buddhas” (sarva­jina­mātā).

g.­6

thus-gone one

  • de bzhin gshegs pa
  • དེ་བཞིན་གཤེགས་པ།
  • tathāgata AO

Definition from the 84000 Glossary of Terms:

A frequently used synonym for buddha. According to different explanations, it can be read as tathā-gata, literally meaning “one who has thus gone,” or as tathā-āgata, “one who has thus come.” Gata, though literally meaning “gone,” is a past passive participle used to describe a state or condition of existence. Tatha­(tā), often rendered as “suchness” or “thusness,” is the quality or condition of things as they really are, which cannot be conveyed in conceptual, dualistic terms. Therefore, this epithet is interpreted in different ways, but in general it implies one who has departed in the wake of the buddhas of the past, or one who has manifested the supreme awakening dependent on the reality that does not abide in the two extremes of existence and quiescence. It is also often used as a specific epithet of the Buddha Śākyamuni.

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84000. The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines” (Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­dhāraṇī, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa’i gzungs, Toh 933). Translated by Buddhapīṭha Translation Group. Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024. https://84000.co/translation/toh933.Copy
84000. The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines” (Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­dhāraṇī, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa’i gzungs, Toh 933). Translated by Buddhapīṭha Translation Group, online publication, 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2024, 84000.co/translation/toh933.Copy
84000. (2024) The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in Twenty-Five Thousand Lines” (Pañca­viṃśatisāhasrikā­prajñā­pāramitā­dhāraṇī, shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag nyi shu lnga pa’i gzungs, Toh 933). (Buddhapīṭha Translation Group, Trans.). Online publication. 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. https://84000.co/translation/toh933.Copy
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