Discover Our Latest Translations

The Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī is a collection of six dhāraṇīs that can be recited to cure and protect oneself from various illnesses, the influence of demonic beings, and, in one case, to revive the recently deceased.

The Vaiḍūryaprabha Dhāraṇī contains a short dhāraṇī given by the Seven Thus-Gone Ones that can be recited to purify karmic obscurations, cure illnesses, and prevent all manner of unnatural deaths and harmful circumstances.

In this Mahāyāna sūtra, a group of the Buddha’s most eminent śrāvaka disciples are collecting alms in the city of Rājagṛha when they arrive at the palace of King Ajātaśatru. There, the king’s daughter Aśokadattā, who is seated on an ornate throne, neither rises from her seat to greet them nor pays them any form of respect. Outraged by her rudeness, the king chastises her. The girl is unrepentant, and in a series of elegant verses she explains to her father the superiority of the bodhisattva path, which renders such obeisance to śrāvakas inappropriate. The eminent śrāvaka disciples then engage the girl in debate, but each in turn is silenced by the eloquence and confidence of her replies, by which she deconstructs their questions based on her knowledge of the emptiness of all phenomena. Having thus impressed them, she descends from her throne and serves them humbly with food and drink. They then all go together to Vulture Peak, where the Buddha prophecies her future full awakening.

The Buddha instructs his monks on how to overcome their fears by recollecting the qualities of the Buddha through a set of epithets. This is likened to how Śakra rallies his celestial troops with the sight of his military crest insignia. The sūtra concludes with verses summarizing the teaching and also recommending the recollection of the Dharma and Saṅgha. This is the shorter of two Mahāsūtras with the same title and similar themes.

A group of merchants from Vaiśālī, preparing to travel to Takṣaśilā, learn that the Buddha is staying nearby at the Kūṭāgāraśālā and offer the Buddha and his monks a midday meal. The Buddha teaches them how to overcome the fears of the wilderness by recollecting the Buddha, Dharma, or Saṅgha, comparing it to how the military crest insignias of Śakra, Īśāna, and Varuṇa respectively embolden the devas in their battles against the asuras. The sūtra concludes with the Buddha offering the merchants verses of benediction for a safe journey. This is the longer of two Mahāsūtras with the same title and similar themes but adressed to different audiences.

While staying in Śrāvastī, the Buddha gives a short teaching on five ways in which gifts are given and discusses the karmic results of giving them.

This brief dhāraṇī text presents a translation and transliteration of the well-known Sanskrit ye dharma formula, the essence of the Buddha’s teachings on dependent arising. The text also describes several benefits of reciting this dhāraṇī, including the purification of negative actions.

The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem includes a short dhāraṇī and instructions to polish a gemstone while reciting the dhāraṇī, and to imagine that this results in a rain of offering substances, which the reciter should then offer.

This text presents a single dhāraṇī to enable the retention of the Avataṃsakasūtra.

This text presents two dhāraṇīs for the retention of The Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in One Hundred Thousand Lines.

This text presents a single dhāraṇī for the attainment of the ten perfections.

This text presents a series of dhāraṇīs for the attainment of each of the perfections.

The text presents a simple dhāraṇī in the form of a mnemonic expression consisting of homages to the three bodies of a buddha, the six perfections, and their underlying philosophical understanding. The benefits of the dhāraṇī are also listed.

This short philosophical discourse opens with the Buddha described as unmoving from the true nature of things. Although at this time he has no thought of teaching the Dharma, different members of the audience nevertheless believe that they have heard a teaching. On the basis of their differing perceptions, five distinct philosophical views concerning the true nature of things come to be held by different members of the audience. When Mañjuśrī, who is also in the audience, becomes aware that they are harboring these different understandings, he asks the Buddha why such different views have arisen, whether they are equally valid, and whether such differences will be a matter of dispute in the future.

In Verses for Prasenajit, the Buddha proclaims the benefits of constructing, beautifying, maintaining, and worshiping the stūpas and images of awakened beings who have passed away.