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The Prayer of Good Conduct is a widely recited aspiration prayer in Mahāyāna Buddhism, expressing the desire to worship all buddhas and pursue enlightenment for the benefit of all beings. Its first twelve verses, covering homage, offering, confession, and more, are central to Tibetan Buddhist practices and have been translated into many languages.

The Dhāraṇī “Cloud of Offerings” includes a short dhāraṇī along with its rite. The dhāraṇī is used to make extensive offerings to the buddhas and bodhisattvas. Its recitation purifies evil and brings virtue to the reciter, such that he or she will be protected and, at the time of death, will take rebirth in Sukhāvatī.

Recollecting the Names of the Buddha Ratnaśikhin includes a short dhāraṇī and the brief statement that if it is recited at the time of death, one will avoid lower rebirth and be reborn in the Heaven of the Thirty-Three.

Recollecting the Common Essence of the Tathāgatas includes a short dhāraṇī and a brief statement on the benefit of its recitation for the purpose of purifying karmic obscurations.

Recollecting the Name of Moonlight contains the dhāraṇī of the Buddha Moonlight. The benefits of recollecting the Buddha Moonlight’s name every morning after rising are that one will remember all one’s lives of the past forty thousand kalpas, one will not fall into the lower realms after death, and one will attain the attributes of awakening.

The Dhāraṇī “The Essence of Vairocana” honors the Three Jewels, Buddha Vairocana, and bodhisattva Ākāśagarbha, containing their respective dhāraṇī. Reciting it offers protection from various dangers, including weapons, poison, and epidemics, and grants the attainment of the samādhi known as stainless light.

This short dhāraṇī contains the essence mantra of Śākyamuni. After a formulaic homage to the Buddha Śākyamuni, his essence mantra is presented followed by a description of the benefits of its recitation.

The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Eight Goddesses is a teaching that was given by the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī on a set of dhāraṇīs that corresponds to an eight-goddess maṇḍala. The text consists of material extracted from the work that precedes it in the Degé Kangyur, the Vajra­pāṇyabhiṣeka.

Born to the wealthy Licchavī couple Vimalakīrti and Vimalā, Candrottarā speaks in verse at birth and radiates golden light. Besieged by suitors, she takes purification vows, receives a miraculous vision, and rises into the air to teach on the futility of desire. Leading the crowd to the Buddha, she impresses Śāriputra and the bodhisattvas with her wisdom, prompting the Buddha to smile and predict her future awakening.

In The Past Endeavor of Kanakavarṇa, the Buddha recounts a past life as King Kanakavarṇa, who selflessly offered his last food during a famine to a pratyekabuddha. This act miraculously ended the famine and ultimately led to the king's perfect awakening as the Buddha Śākyamuni.

In The Prophecy of Dīpaṅkara, the Buddha narrates the famous story of how, in a former life as a brahmin ascetic many eons ago, he first received the prophecy of his future awakening. This story of the young brahmin ascetic Megha’s encounter with the former Buddha Dīpaṅkara is here told to illustrate for Ānanda the importance of not being complacent about one’s roots of virtue.

In the middle of the night, while the Buddha Śākyamuni is immersed in meditation, Brahmā, lord of the Sahā world, appears before him and asks him how bodhisattvas can quickly achieve full awakening. In response, the Buddha gives a teaching on mindfulness of the body. The following morning, when Brahmā has departed, the Buddha relays his teaching to the monks.

In Vidyutprāpta’s Questions, the bodhisattva Vidyutprāpta asks the Buddha how to guide others to enlightenment while remaining aware of the emptiness of all phenomena. The Buddha explains five “treasures” that enable a bodhisattva to teach the Dharma without attachment, culminating in the treasure of the Dharma—knowledge of the true nature of dharmas and skill in explaining this to ordinary beings.

The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2], the fourth of the “five beak dhāraṇīs,” is a rare Degé Kangyur scripture on weather control. In Indra’s Rock Cave, the Buddha teaches Śakra a dhāraṇī to guard against asuras, protect the Dharma, and ensure proper rainfall for abundant harvests.

The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak, one of the “five beak dhāraṇīs,” is a rare scripture in the Degé Kangyur on weather control. Set in Indra’s Rock Cave, it features the Buddha teaching Śakra a wrathful dhāraṇī for protecting the Dharma, along with ritual instructions and an exhortation for secrecy.