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A radiant divine being appears before the Buddha shortly before dawn and asks a series of questions, in the form of riddles, about how best to live a good life. The Buddha’s responses constitute a concise and direct teaching on some of the core orientations and values of Buddhism, touching on the three poisons, the virtues of body, speech, and mind, and providing wisdom for daily life.
While staying in Śrāvastī, the Buddha is approached by an unnamed “divine being,” who inquires as to what behavior merits rebirth in the higher realms. In response, the Buddha explains, in a series of concise and powerful verses, that abandoning each of the ten nonvirtues—killing, taking what is not given, sexual misconduct, telling lies, slander, harsh words, idle talk, covetousness, ill will, and wrong views—and embracing their opposites, the ten virtues, will lead to rebirth in the higher realms.
The Sūtra of the Moon (2) is a short text that presents a Buddhist description of a lunar eclipse. On one occasion, while the Buddha is residing in Campā, the moon is covered by Rāhu, lord of the asuras, which causes an eclipse. The god of the moon asks the Buddha for refuge, after which the Buddha urges Rāhu to release the moon. Seeing this, Bali, another lord of the asuras, asks Rāhu why he did so. Rāhu explains that if he had not released the moon, his head would have split into seven pieces. Thereafter, Bali utters a verse praising the emergence of buddhas. Besides being included in the Kangyur, in the Chinese Āgamas, and the Pali Nikāyas, The Sūtra of the Moon (2) was included in collections of texts recited for protection.
While the Buddha is residing in Śrāvastī, Ānanda approaches and asks about the karmic results of virtuous activities such as sweeping and offering a maṇḍala, and he asks what kinds of actions will not be wasted in saṃsāra but lead to nirvāṇa. The Buddha responds to each activity in turn and then explains several virtuous activities that will lead to positive results, particularly those directed toward the Buddha, Dharma, or Saṅgha. He then compares increasingly vast offerings made to arhats, the saṅgha of monks, and others to the construction of a miniature stūpa the size of a gooseberry for a fully awakened buddha who has passed into parinirvāṇa, declaring the latter offering to be the more meritorious.
While residing in Nyagrodha Park in Kapilavastu, the Buddha meets an emaciated, long-haired brahmin named Vasiṣṭha. When the Buddha asks Vasiṣṭha why he looks this way, Vasiṣṭha explains that it is because he is observing a month-long fast. The Buddha then asks him if he maintains the eightfold observance of the noble ones, prompting an exchange between the two about what the eightfold observance entails and how much merit is to be gained by maintaining it. After outlining the eightfold observance, the Buddha tells Vasiṣṭha that there is far more merit to be had in maintaining it, even just once, than there is to be gained by making offerings. At the end of the sūtra, Vasiṣṭha takes refuge in the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha, and he pledges to maintain the eightfold observance and practice generosity in tandem.
In this short sūtra, the Buddha first instructs the monks to carry the ringing staff and then provides a brief introduction to its significance. In response to Venerable Mahākāśyapa’s queries, the Buddha gives a more detailed explanation of the attributes of the staff and the benefits that can be derived from holding it. In the course of his exposition, he also elucidates the rich symbolism of its parts, such as the four prongs and the twelve rings. Finally, the Buddha explains that while the ringing staff is carried by all buddhas of the past, present, and future, the number of prongs on the staff might vary.
The Rite for the Protocols Associated with Carrying the Ringing Staff is a short text that deals with the practical matters relating to the use of the mendicant’s staff known in Sanskrit as a khakkhara, or “rattling staff.” It begins with a simple ritual during which a Buddhist monk ceremoniously takes up the ringing staff in front of his monastic teacher. The text then provides a list of twenty-five rules governing the proper use of the staff. The rules stipulate how a Buddhist monk should or should not handle it in his daily life, especially when he goes on alms rounds and when he travels.
The Sūtra of the Wheel of Dharma contains the Buddha’s teaching to his five former spiritual companions on the four truths that he had discovered as part of his awakening: (1) suffering, (2) the origin of suffering, (3) the cessation of suffering, and (4) the path leading to the cessation of suffering. According to all the Buddhist traditions, this is the first teaching the Buddha gave to explain his awakened insight to others.
In The Exposition of Karma, the Buddha presents to the brahmin youth Śuka Taudeyaputra a discourse on the workings of karma. This is enlivened by many examples drawn from the rich heritage of Buddhist narrative literature, providing a detailed analysis of how deeds lead to specific consequences in the future. For the Buddhist, this treatise answers many questions pertaining to moral causation, examining specific life situations and their underlying karmic causes and emphasizing the key role that intention plays in the Buddhist ethic of responsibility.
In Transformation of Karma the Buddha is staying in Prince Jeta’s Grove in Śrāvastī, where he is visited by the brahmin youth Śuka, who asks the Blessed One to explain the reason why living beings appear so diversely. The Buddha answers Śuka’s question with a discourse on various categories of actions as well as rebirth and the actions leading to it. The discourse presents fifty-one categories of actions, followed by explanations of the negative consequences of transgressing the five precepts observed by all Buddhists, the advantages gained through caitya worship, and the meritorious results of specific acts of generosity.
The sūtra The Hundred Deeds, whose title could also be translated as The Hundred Karmas, is a collection of stories known as avadāna—a narrative genre widely represented in the Sanskrit Buddhist literature and its derivatives—comprising more than 120 individual texts. It includes narratives of Buddha Śākyamuni’s notable deeds and foundational teachings, the stories of other well-known Buddhist figures, and a variety of other tales featuring people from all walks of ancient Indian life and beings from all six realms of existence. The texts sometimes include stretches of verse. In the majority of the stories the Buddha’s purpose in recounting the past lives of one or more individuals is to make definitive statements about the karmic ripening of actions across multiple lifetimes, and the sūtra is perhaps the best known of the many works in the Kangyur on this theme.
As the Buddha teaches the Dharma to the fourfold saṅgha on Vulture Peak Mountain, the brahmin and wandering mendicant Dīrghanakha approaches and questions the Buddha about his doctrine concerning the incontrovertible relationship between karma and its effects in the world. He then poses a series of ten questions regarding the karmic causes of certain attributes of the Buddha, from his vajra body to the raised uṣṇīṣa on his crown. The Buddha responds to each question with the cause for each attribute, roughly summing up the eight poṣadha vows and the ways he observed them in the past. Dīrghanakha drops his staff and bows to the Buddha, pledging to take refuge in the Three Jewels and maintain the eight poṣadha vows.
In the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, a god has reached the end of his life. He foresees his rebirth as a pig and calls out to the Buddha to save him. The Buddha prompts him to seek refuge in the Three Jewels and, as a result, the god finds himself reborn into a wealthy family in Vaiśālī. In this life as a child named Jñānaka, he encounters the Buddha once more and invites him and his monks for a midday meal. The Buddha prophesies to Ānanda that the meritorious offering made by Jñānaka will eventually lead the child to awaken as the buddha known as King of Foremost Knowing.
In The Exemplary Tale About a Sow, the Buddha recounts the earlier events surrounding a god in Trāyastriṃśa heaven who foresaw that he would be reborn as a pig in Rājagṛha. At the encouragement of Śakra, this god, in the final moments of agony before his death, took refuge in the Three Jewels and thereby attained rebirth in the even higher Tuṣita heaven. The story thus illustrates the liberative power of taking refuge in the Three Jewels, as befittingly expressed in the concluding verses of this short avadāna.
在本經中，釋迦牟尼佛與多位菩薩就了悟空性與菩薩行，尤其是與忍辱波羅蜜之間的關係，作了一系列的開示。文中闡述了空性見（一切內外諸色，亦即五蘊所成之一切現象，其自性皆空）的諸多含義。此外，經中對種種外道苦行亦有詳細描述，並強調菩薩投生於五濁剎土以利益其土衆生的重要性，以及在這個剎土修行是成就菩薩道的最高目標。
In Śrāvastī, at Prince Jeta’s Grove, several elder monks in the Buddha’s assembly cannot agree on which human quality is most valuable and beneficial: beauty, diligence, artistry, or insight. They ask the Buddha, who replies that merit, which gives rise to all the qualities they have noted, is of most benefit to beings. To illustrate this point, he tells the story of a past life in which he was born as Puṇyabala, with four older brothers who were each named after their most prized quality: Rūpabala, Vīryavanta, Śilpavanta, and Prajñāvanta. In an ensuing contest to determine which quality produces the best outcomes in real life, Puṇyabala wins, and through his merit is granted dominion over much of the world. The Buddha then goes on to tell the story of his even earlier lifetime as Dyūtajaya, during which he developed the intention to attain buddhahood through the accumulation of merit.
In this discourse, the Buddha Śākyamuni describes his past life as King Śrīsena of Ariṣṭa, a bodhisattva renowned for his unstinting generosity and spiritual resolve. In that life, a sage orders his disciple to ask King Śrīsena for his beautiful wife, Jayaprabhā. Out of compassion, King Śrīsena gives his wife to the disciple. Śakra, lord of the gods, then claims that King Śrīsena is also able to give away his own body. The other gods have doubts about this, so to prove his point, Śakra disguises himself as an old brahmin whose lower body has been eaten by a tiger, and then asks King Śrīsena to gift him his own lower body. With altruistic motivation, King Śrīsena agrees to the request and orders carpenters to saw him in half. He offers the bottom half to the brahmin, whose body is magically made whole again. King Śrīsena claims he has felt no regrets and by the power of his words, his own body is restored. During this ordeal, Śakra has kept the king alive and carefully monitored his reactions. Observing nothing but pure altruism, Śakra then confirms that the king is a true bodhisattva who is capable of the highest acts of generosity. With this past life story, the Buddha illustrates the kinds of personal sacrifice a bodhisattva will make to attain awakening, even when these go against the protestations of those closest to him.
Teaching the Causes and Results of Good and Ill describes karmic cause and effect. The discussion begins with Ānanda, who asks the Buddha why beings—particularly human beings—undergo such a wide range of experiences. The Buddha replies that one’s past actions, whether good or ill, bring about a variety of positive and negative experiences. To this effect, he offers numerous vivid examples in which results in this current lifetime parallel actions from a past life. Emphasis is placed on the object of one’s actions, such as the Saṅgha or the Three Jewels. The discourse concludes with the Buddha describing the benefits associated with the sūtra and listing its alternative titles, while the surrounding audience reaps a host of miraculous benefits.
Teaching the Causes and Results of Good and Ill describes karmic cause and effect. The discussion begins with Ānanda, who asks the Buddha why beings—particularly human beings—undergo such a wide range of experiences. The Buddha replies that one’s past actions, whether good or ill, bring about a variety of positive and negative experiences. To this effect, he offers numerous vivid examples in which results in this current lifetime parallel actions from a past life. Emphasis is placed on the object of one’s actions, such as the Saṅgha or the Three Jewels. The discourse concludes with the Buddha describing the benefits associated with the sūtra and listing its alternative titles, while the surrounding audience reaps a host of miraculous benefits.
In this scripture the Buddha Śākyamuni travels miraculously from Rājagṛha with a large retinue of bodhisattvas, hearers, gods, and other beings to the Central Asian region of Khotan, which in this discourse has not yet been established as a kingdom but is covered by a great lake. Once there, the Buddha foretells how this will be the site of a future land called Virtue, which will contain a blessed stūpa called Gomasalaganda. The Buddha proceeds to explain to his retinue the excellent qualities of this land, foretelling many future events, and instructing his disciples how to guard and protect the land for the sake of beings at that time. At the end of his teaching, the Buddha asks the hearer Śāriputra and the divine king Vaiśravaṇa to drain the lake, thus diverting the water and rendering the land ready for future habitation.
The Summary of Empowerment is considered to be the only extant portion of the root text of the Kālacakratantra. According to the Buddhist tantric tradition, the Sekkodeśa was transmitted by the Buddha in his emanation as Kālacakra, to Sucandra, the first king of Śambhala. The text’s 174 verses cover a wide range of topics. After a short introduction to the eleven empowerments that constitute a gradual purification of the aggregates, body, speech, mind, and wisdom, the treatise turns to the so-called “sixfold yoga.” It begins by teaching meditation on emptiness via the contemplation of various signs, such as smoke or fireflies. Following the description of the control of winds and drops within the body’s channels and cakras, along with the signs of death and methods of cheating death, the text goes on to describe the three mudrās—karmamudrā, jñānamudrā, and mahāmudrā. After a concise criticism of cause and effect, the text concludes by describing six kinds of supernatural beings closely related to the Kālacakratantra, along with their respective families.
As its title suggests, this tantra is specifically concerned with the proper interpretation, or “resolution,” of the highly esoteric or “secret” imagery and practices associated with deity yoga in both its development and completion stages as described in the Yoginītantra class of tantras.
Equal to the Sky belongs to a series of texts known as the rali tantras, which are primarily associated with the Cakrasaṃvara system but incorporate themes that are also prominent in the Hevajra and Kālacakra systems. The tantra presents a discourse in which the Buddha addresses three types of ḍākinī, explains their true natures, and correlates them with the practitioner’s physical and subtle body.
The Hevajra Tantra is one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class. Its teachings are delivered by the deity Hevajra in response to questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, but is primarily concerned with the innate state, which is cultivated through initiation, the stages of meditation practice, and above all the sequence of the four joys. The Hevajra Tantra was and continues to be studied and practiced widely, and has inspired a vast corpus of commentarial, meditation, and ritual literature.
The Hevajra Tantra is one of the most important and renowned tantras of the Yoginī class. Its teachings are delivered by the deity Hevajra in response to questions variously asked by the bodhisattva Vajragarbha, the goddess Nairātmyā, or collectively by the yoginīs of the Hevajra maṇḍala. The tantra covers a range of esoteric topics, but is primarily concerned with the innate state, which is cultivated through initiation, the stages of meditation practice, and above all the sequence of the four joys. The Hevajra Tantra was and continues to be studied and practiced widely, and has inspired a vast corpus of commentarial, meditation, and ritual literature.
Written around the tenth or the eleventh century ce, in the late Mantrayāna period, The Tantra of Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa represents the flowering of the Yoginītantra genre. The tantra offers instructions on how to attain the wisdom state of Buddha Caṇḍamahāroṣaṇa through the practice of the four joys.
In the Kangyur and Tengyur collections there are more than forty titles centered on the form of Vajrapāṇi known as the “Blue-Clad One,” a measure of this figure’s great popularity in both India and Tibet. This text, The Tantra of the Blue-Clad Blessed Vajrapāṇi, is a scripture that belongs to the Conduct tantra (Caryātantra) class, the third of the four categories used by the Tibetans to organize their tantric canon. It introduces the practice of Blue-Clad Vajrapāṇi, while also providing the practitioner with a number of rituals directed at suppressing, subduing, or eliminating ritual targets.
The Detailed Account of the Previous Aspirations of the Seven Thus-Gone Ones opens in Vaiśālī, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with a saṅgha of eight thousand monks, thirty-six thousand bodhisattvas, and a large gathering of gods, spirit beings, and humans. As Śākyamuni concludes his teaching, the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī rises from his seat and requests that the Buddha give a Dharma teaching that will benefit all the human and nonhuman beings who are present in the assembly. Specifically, he asks Śākyamuni to teach them about the previous aspirations of seven buddhas, their buddhafields, and the benefits that those buddhas can bring to beings who live in the final five hundred years, when the holy Dharma is on the verge of disappearing. Śākyamuni agrees to this request and proceeds to give a detailed account of the previous aspirations of those seven buddhas to benefit beings who are veiled by karmic obscurations, tormented by illnesses, and plagued by mental anguish and suffering.
A Mantra for Incanting Medicines When Administering Them is a short work that pays homage to the Three Jewels and the Medicine Buddha, and provides a mantra to be used for incanting medicines.
世尊应一婆罗门邀请前往其家中受午餐供养，途中见到一座古老的朽塔，状若土堆。世尊告金刚手菩萨言，此塔之中藏有蕴含一切如来加持心之陀罗尼密印法要。世尊复言，此塔实为殊妙大宝塔，由于众生缺乏福德之故，显现为古朽土堆。世尊继而称叹书写、读诵、供奉此经典之功德，并列舉出将此经放置于塔中或佛像中的种种利益。当世尊诵此陀罗尼时，破败古塔当即重现出往日的光辉。
The Dhāraṇī Endowed with the Attributes of All the Buddhas details a brief exchange between the Buddha and the four guardian kings of the world, that is, the four divine beings who rule over the cardinal directions in the Indian Buddhist tradition. Pursuant to a description of the fears that plague mankind, the Buddha declares that he will provide remedies for them. Invoking the presence of numberless buddhas in the limitless world systems described in Buddhist cosmology, the Buddha and the four kings provide several mantras of varying lengths meant for daily recitation, with the stated benefits not only of averting all manner of calamities—untimely death, illness, and injury chief among them—but of attracting the attention and blessings of all the buddhas and bodhisattvas, and ensuring good health and benefit for the practitioner and all beings.
The Ritual Dhāraṇī “The Essence of Dependent Arising” is a short tantra that teaches a rite using the ye-dharmā formula, a Buddhist dhāraṇī that encapsulates the doctrine of dependent arising, to achieve worldly aims. These include curing disease and alleviating symptoms, controlling the weather and protecting harvests, and increasing one’s intelligence.
The events recounted in The King of the Array of All Dharma Qualities take place outside Rājagṛha, where the Buddha is residing in the Bamboo Grove together with a great assembly of monks, bodhisattvas, and other human and non-human beings. At the request of the bodhisattvas Vajrapāṇi and Avalokiteśvara, the Buddha teaches his audience on a selection of brief but disparate topics belonging to the general Mahāyāna tradition: how to search for a spiritual friend and live in solitude, the benefits of venerating Avalokiteśvara’s name, the obstacles that Māra may create for practitioners, and warnings on how easy it is to lose one’s determination to be free from saṃsāra. The sūtra also includes two dhāraṇīs that the Buddha and Vajrapāṇi teach in turn, along with details of their benefits and Vajrapāṇi’s ritual recitation instructions. Throughout the text, the Buddha repeatedly insists on the importance and benefits of venerating and propagating this teaching as well as those who teach it.
The Noble King of Spells, the Dhāraṇī of Agrapradīpa presents six distinct dhāraṇī formulas that can be used for protection from threatening forces and illness, to facilitate the path to awakening, and to bring the practitioner into harmony with other beings. As the Buddha Śākyamuni resides at Jeta Grove near the city of Śrāvastī, he is visited by two bodhisattvas sent as emissaries by the Buddha Agrapradīpa, who resides in a distant buddhafield named Infinite Flowers. These bodhisattvas present the first of the six dhāraṇīs as an offering to Śākyamuni from Agrapradīpa. Inspired by their example, additional dhāraṇīs are then presented: one each by Maitreya and Mañjuśrī, two by Śākyamuni himself, and a final formula recited by the Four Great Kings. After the presentation of each dhāraṇī, the Buddha tells Ānanda of the rarity of such dhāraṇīs and describes the benefits that accrue from their recitation.
The Great Dhāraṇī is a short but seemingly important and popular text. It was revealed to Ānanda, who visited the Buddha after having finished his rainy season retreat in the city of Sāketaka, even without his asking for a teaching. The Blessed One narrates that he himself had heard the dhāraṇī he will now teach from former buddhas and praises its rarity and magnificent powers. The dhāraṇī proclaimed is in fact a series of dhāraṇīs, three or four depending on which version of the text we look at. The first three are incrementally more powerful, as their effects are to unveil more and more former births. Otherwise, their general role is to protect from untimely death, illness, inimical sorcery, and harm from supernatural beings. A sorry fate is predicted for those beings who might wish to resist their power.
In this famous scripture, known popularly as The Heart Sūtra, the Buddha Śākyamuni inspires his senior monk Śāriputra to request instructions from the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara on the way to practice the perfection of wisdom. Avalokiteśvara then describes how an aspiring practitioner of the perfection of wisdom must first understand how all phenomena lack an intrinsic nature, which amounts to the realization of emptiness. Next, Avalokiteśvara reveals a brief mantra that the practitioner can recite as a method for engendering this understanding experientially. Following Avalokiteśvara’s teaching, the Buddha offers his endorsement and confirms that this is the foremost way to practice the perfection of wisdom.
The Dhāraṇī “Freedom from the Eight Great Perils” is a succinct dhāraṇī consisting of four sections: the homage, the dhāraṇī, the benefits, and a closing dhāraṇī. The opening homage is made to eight deities—seven buddhas and one bodhisattva—presumably correlating to the eight great perils. Following the primary dhāraṇī the text describes the benefits of dhāraṇīs, namely freeing beings from the eight great perils. Distinct from the standard enumeration of the eight great perils or “fears,” the eight great perils here are those of the hell realm, the animal realm, the world of Yama, the hungry ghost realm, evil states, and birth, sickness, and death. The text closes with a shorter dhāraṇī.
Spoken by Mañjuśrī Himself provides an incantatory practice taught by Mañjuśrī. The dhāraṇī has two sections: the first extols Mañjuśrī as a tathāgata, an arhat, and a perfectly awakened buddha, and the second invokes a bhagavatī who is praised as an illuminator and supplicated for protection.
Mañjuśrī’s Sworn Oath provides instruction in an incantatory practice focused on Mañjuśrī, in the form of a vidyā that Mañjuśrī himself pronounces. The vidyā unfolds in a series of forceful imperatives suggestive of battle, conquest, and celebration, and after enunciating it, Mañjuśrī explains that its recitation will lead to virtuosity in the memorization of scriptural verses. The benefits of recitation are then enumerated in more detail, relative to the number of times it is recited and whether the recitation is accompanied by ritual performance. As indicated by the title, Mañjuśrī then swears an oath to assure the vidyā’s efficacy, pledging to take on the karmic burden of the five misdeeds with immediate retribution should its promised benefits fail to ensue.
Mañjuśrī’s Promise begins without preamble with a Sanskrit praise text in the form of a dhāraṇī that resembles other traditional encomiums that exult in the purity, grace, and triumph of bodhisattvas. The scripture then enumerates the benefits accrued by a single recitation of this dhāraṇī, which include the purification of evil deeds accumulated over eons, and the many rewards for its extensive recitation, namely erudition, exceptional powers of memorization, and finally the sight of the body of Mañjuśrī himself.
The Epithets of Mañjuśrī is a concise scripture consisting of a salutation to Mañjuśrī that highlights the qualities of his speech, a thirty-six-syllable Sanskrit dhāraṇī, and a one-sentence statement of the benefit accrued by twenty-one recitations thereof.
Mañjuśrī’s Increasing of Insight and Intelligence is a short dhāraṇī scripture centered on the figure of Mañjuśrī. It opens with a salutation to the Three Jewels, followed by the Sanskrit dhāraṇī proper, and concludes with an enumeration of the benefits accrued by its memorization. These include the swift attainment of intelligence, a melodious voice, and a beautiful appearance. It also extols physical contact with the material text, which is said to enable recollection of one’s former lives. The scripture concludes with a brief statement of the benefits accrued by extensive recitation, which culminate in beholding the very face of Mañjuśrī.
The Procedure for Mañjuśrī's Single-Syllable Mantra is a pithy text extolling an exceedingly secret and potent single-syllable mantra. Following a note regarding its universal efficacy, the remaining portion of the text outlines ritual applications for the remediation of specific ailments through the consecration of common items as sacral implements in rites of healing.
The Blessed One’s Praise of Sharp Mañjuśrī is a praise in twelve verses that describes in detail the physiognomy, ornamentation, vestments, and general splendor of Mañjuśrī’s various manifestations as a bodhisattva and as a tathāgata.
This scripture is a praise to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī. The eight maidens indicated by the title may be inferred as each speaking a different verse, together providing a range of perspectives.
The Perfection of Wisdom “Kauśika” is a condensed prajñāpāramitā sūtra in which the Buddha summarizes the various meanings of the perfection of wisdom. In particular, the Buddha equates the characteristics of the perfection of wisdom with the characteristics of all phenomena, the five aggregates, the five elements, and the ten perfections. In this way, the sūtra places particular emphasis on the nonduality of conventional phenomena and emptiness.
The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light has held great importance in Buddhism for its instructions on the purification of karma. In particular, much of the sūtra is specifically addressed to monarchs and thus has been significant for rulers—not only in India but also in China, Japan, Mongolia, and elsewhere—who wished to ensure the well-being of their nations through such purification. Reciting and internalizing this sūtra is understood to be efficacious for personal purification and also for the welfare of a state and the world. In this sūtra, the bodhisattva Ruciraketu has a dream in which a prayer of confession emanates from a shining golden drum. He relates the prayer to the Buddha, and a number of deities then vow to protect it and its adherents. The ruler’s devotion to the sūtra is emphasized as important if the nation is to benefit. Toward the end of the sūtra are two well-known narratives of the Buddha’s previous lives: the account of the physician Jalavāhana, who saves and blesses numerous fish, and that of Prince Mahāsattva, who gives his body to a hungry tigress and her cubs. This is the longest version of The Sūtra of the Sublime Golden Light preserved in the Kangyur. It comprises thirty-one chapters and was translated into Tibetan primarily from Yijing’s Chinese translation in the early ninth century.
The Quintessence of the Peahen is a short text consisting of a series of dhāraṇīs and an accompanying ritual. The recitation and practice are said to bring protection from dangers and illnesses. The text is essentially an extract of the famous dhāraṇī The Great Peahen (Mahāmāyūrī).
The Noble Queen of Incantations: The Great Amulet, one of five texts that constitute the Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection, has been among the most popular texts used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. As its title suggests, The Great Amulet prescribes the use of amulets into which the incantation is physically incorporated. These devices are then worn around the neck or arm, attached to flags, interred in stūpas and funeral pyres, or otherwise used anywhere their presence is deemed beneficial. Wearing or encountering the incantation promises a range of effects, including the prevention and healing of illness, the conception and birth of male offspring, and control over the world of nonhuman spirit entities. The text also protects against consequences of negative deeds, delivering evildoers from negative rebirths and ensuring their place among the gods. The promise of augmenting merit even extends in one passage to an increase of mindfulness and liberation from saṃsāra.
The Sūtra of Great Cool Grove, one of five texts that constitute the Pañcarakṣā scriptural collection, has been among the most popular texts used for pragmatic purposes throughout the Mahāyāna Buddhist world. This sūtra promises protection for the Buddha’s “four communities”—monks, nuns, laymen, and laywomen—against a range of illnesses and obstacles originating from the hosts of spirit entities who reside in remote wilderness retreats. The text centers specifically on threats of illness posed by the capricious spirit world of “nonhumans,” known collectively as grahas or bhūtas, who feed off the vitality, flesh, and blood of members of the Buddhist spiritual community engaging in spiritual practice at those remote hermitages. The sūtra is proclaimed by the Four Great Kings, each of whom reigns over a host of bhūtas, with the goal of quelling the hostile forces who assail those diligently practicing the Buddha’s teachings. Also included are ritual prescriptions for properly performing the sūtra and descriptions of the many benefits that ensue.
This text presents a spell (vidyā) featuring the female deity Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess), which issues from the uṣṇīṣa of the Buddha Śākyamuni as he rests in samādhi among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The text details a litany of dangers, illness, and threats and provides spell formulas that can be recited to avert them. Sitātapatrā and her spell have enjoyed a long history and sustained popularity as a source of security against illness and misfortune, and her spell is widely used in contemporary Buddhist communities to this day.
This text presents a spell (vidyā) featuring the female deity Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess), which issues from the uṣṇīṣa of the Buddha Śākyamuni as he rests in samādhi among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three. The text details a litany of dangers, illness, and threats and provides a spell formula that can be recited to avert them. Sitātapatrā and her spell have enjoyed a long history and sustained popularity as a source of security against illness and misfortune, and her spell is widely used in contemporary Buddhist communities to this day.
This text presents a dhāraṇī featuring the female deity Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess) that provides a magical means to avert a litany of dangers, illness, and threats. Sitātapatrā and her spell have enjoyed a long history and sustained popularity as a source of security against illness and misfortune, and her spell is widely used in contemporary Buddhist communities to this day.
This text presents a dhāraṇī featuring the female deity Sitātapatrā (White Umbrella Goddess) that provides a magical means to avert a litany of dangers, illness, and threats. Sitātapatrā and her spell have enjoyed a long history and sustained popularity as a source of security against illness and misfortune, and her spell is widely used in contemporary Buddhist communities to this day.
The Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī with Its Ritual Manual is a short work in which the Buddha Amitāyus teaches the uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī along with its benefits and a number of short rites for its recitation.
The Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī with Its Ritual Manual is a short work in which the Buddha Amitāyus teaches the uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī along with its benefits and a number of short rites for its recitation.
The Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī with Its Ritual Manual is a short work in which the Buddha Amitāyus teaches the uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī along with its benefits and a short rite for its recitation.
The Noble Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī That Purifies All Lower Rebirths opens with an account of the god Supratiṣṭhita, who seeks the god Śakra’s advice after learning of his own impending death and rebirth in the lower realms. Realizing that the Tathāgata is the only true refuge from lower rebirth, Śakra goes to the Buddha, who explains to him the benefits of the Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī and a number of rituals related to it that can liberate Supratiṣṭhita and all beings from rebirth in the lower realms.
A Ritual Manual for the Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī is a short work in which the Buddha Amitāyus teaches the uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī along with its benefits and a number of short rites for its recitation.
The Dhāraṇī for a Caitya is a short manual on the ritual preparation for and casting of small caityas from clay. The ritual has three main parts: a description of the general transformative power of the dhāraṇī, the preparation rituals for the ground and clay, and rituals for the consecration of the cast images. The main dhāraṇī, with the name vimaloṣṇīṣa, “stainless uṣṇīṣa,” was widely used in central and northeast Asian Buddhism, especially in the context of purification, consecration, and inauguration rituals.
After an homage to Avalokiteśvara, the text begins abruptly with a dhāraṇī mantra. All the tathāgatas of the ten directions then praise Avalokiteśvara for expounding the dhāraṇī mantra and describe the benefits of the dhāraṇī. Avalokiteśvara is then praised by Maheśvara, his retinue, and all the bodhisattvas in the vajra maṇḍala who together recite the one hundred and eight names of Avalokiteśvara. After this eulogy, the buddha recommends praising Avalokiteśvara as a means to gain a variety of blessings and to understand the meaning of his one hundred and eight names.
This extremely brief text provides a mantra of the Buddha Aparimitāyus, thus seeming to confirm its existence as a mantra on its own as well as being part of the dhāraṇī contained in the most widely used version of The Aparimitāyurjñāna Sūtra.
The Buddha, while at the Jetavana in Śrāvastī, tells Mañjuśrī of a buddha realm far above the world, in which lives the Buddha Aparimitāyurjñāna. He states that those who recite, write, hear, and so on, the praise of this buddha, or make offerings to this text, will have numerous benefits, including a long life and a good rebirth. As vast numbers of buddhas recite it, the mantra, or dhāraṇī, of this buddha is repeated numerous times. This is the best known of the two versions of this sūtra in the Kangyur.
The Buddha, while at the Jetavana in Śrāvastī, tells Mañjuśrī of a buddha realm far above the world, in which lives the Buddha Aparimitāyurjñāna. He states that those who recite, write, hear, and so on, the praise of this buddha, or make offerings to this text, will have numerous benefits, including a long life and a good rebirth. As vast numbers of buddhas recite it, the mantra, or dhāraṇī, of this buddha is repeated numerous times. This is the lesser known of the two versions of this sūtra in the Kangyur, but possibly represents the earlier translation.
The Dhāraṇī “Thousandfold” is a short text consisting of a dhāraṇī and a passage about its application and benefits. Particular emphasis is placed on the time of death, the eradication of karmic obscurations, and obtaining rebirth in a pure land. In spite of its brevity, the text was popular in many parts of Buddhist Asia, especially from the seventh century onward.