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In the Tantra section of the Degé Kangyur, The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth (Toh 646) comes first, followed by The Bali Ritual to Relieve the Female Preta Flaming Mouth (Toh 647). However in the Dhāraṇī section, in which both texts are also found, the order is reversed, so that the (marginally shorter) The Bali Ritual to Relieve the Female Preta Flaming Mouth (Toh 1079) comes first, followed by the The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth (1080).
This text, Toh 1080, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs, wam), are listed as being located in volume 101 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 102. 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.
In both Chinese versions, the interlocutor is Ānanda (阿難). Since Ānanda was the attendant to the Buddha, it is unusual to find him described as being away from the Buddha in the middle of the night, as found in the narrative here. Many narratives about pretas have Maudgalyāyana as chief protagonist; this is the case for the first five of the ten stories about pretas in the Avadānaśataka. None of the ten much resemble the present story, and none feature either Nanda or Ānanda, although in one Nandaka is the intermediary. See Rotman (2021), pp. 73–131.
Lye (2003), p. 227. For further discussion of the Chinese and Tibetan translations, see Lye (2003), pp. 226–31.
In the other text, Toh 647/1079, the Tibetan rendering of the epithet is kha ’bar ma, and the preta is specifically identified as female. Nevertheless (and disregarding this gender difference), both versions have a very similar meaning, and given the presumed common source of the narrative and the likelihood that the same original Sanskrit (or possibly Chinese) epithet could easily have been translated into Tibetan in different ways, we have used “Flaming Mouth,” to render both.
Sakya Paṇḍita writes in his sdom gsum rab dbye (Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes, in the translation of Jared Rhoton): “Furthermore, there are numerous mistaken practices here in the midst of the snowy mountains of Tibet. I have witnessed practices in which the names of the four Tathāgatas were recited in prologue to the ‘Burning mouth’ oblation. This, too, does not agree with the sūtras. In the sūtra the recitation of the four names follows the recitation of the mantra.” He also cautions that when making food offerings to pretas, the food should not be placed in water (despite the apparent instruction contained in this text), because this causes them great torment. When making food offerings to pretas, he says, the food should be offered in balls of hand-squeezed dough. See Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltshen (2002), p. 140.
See, for example, the Balimālika (Toh 3771: gtor ma’i phreng ba): oṁ suru suru prasuru prasuru tara tara bhara bhara sambhara sambhara santarpaya santarpaya sarvapretānī [sic] svāhā ||
In the Chinese of Taishō 1313 (trans. Orzech 1996), the four tathāgathas are each introduced with a line of transcribed Sanskrit: “namo bhagavata prabhūtaratnāya tathāgatāya…namo bhagavata surūpāya tathāgatāya…namo bhagavata vipulagātrāya tathāgatāya…namo bhagavata abhayaṃkarāya tathāgatāya.” Aside from Prabhūtaratna, it is only from this source that the Sanskrit names of the other three tathāgatas is attested, and their identity and significance remains unclear. Muller’s Digital Dictionary of Buddhism suggests they might be homologized with more well-known buddhas associated with the four cardinal directions. For example, that the tathāgata Surūpa/Surūpakāya (妙色身如來) might be another name for the buddha Akṣobhya, that Vipulagātra/Vipulakāya (廣博身如來) might be another name for the tathāgata Mahāvairocana, and citing Nakamura, that Abhayakara/Abhayaṃkara (離怖畏如來) might be another name for the buddha Śākyamuni; however, in the last case such an identity would not make sense in this context.
In Toh 647, “the day after tomorrow” (gnangs). In the Chinese (Taishō 1313, Taishō 1314), “in three days.” Orzech (1996), p. 281; Lye (2003), p. 418.
gzi brjid tshad med pa’i dbang du gyur pa’i ’od zer rnam par rgyal ba’i shugs zhes bya ba. Cf. the name of the same dhāraṇī in Toh 647 is given as thams cad du ‘od dang ldan pa rgyal chen shugs ldan ’od ces bya ba (the great powerful light that illumines everything).
There is a certain amount of variation of the spelling of this name in different recensions of the text. The Dunhuang manuscript and the Degé, Peking, and Choné recensions of the Kangyur read sku ’byam klas, while the Stok Palace recension provides the homophonous reading sku ’jam klas, and the Narthang and Phukdrak recensions read sku ’dzam klas.
In the Chinese version (Taishō 1313), “seven times.” Orzech (1996), p. 282; Lye (2003), p. 422.
mi ma yin pa (Skt. *amanuṣya), following the reading in the Narthang and Urga recensions. Other recensions, including the Degé, read “humans and nonhumans” (mi dang mi ma yin pa). However, protections from humans typically require different methods. The Narthang reading also agrees with the Chinese version (Taishō 1313), in which no humans are mentioned. The term amanuṣya is often seen as a modifier in such lists of nonhuman beings.
Name of a tathāgata; lit. “without fear.”
A major śrāvaka disciple and personal attendant of the Buddha Śākyamuni during the last twenty-five years of his life. He was a cousin of the Buddha (according to the Mahāvastu, he was a son of Śuklodana, one of the brothers of King Śuddhodana, which means he was a brother of Devadatta; other sources say he was a son of Amṛtodana, another brother of King Śuddhodana, which means he would have been a brother of Aniruddha).
Ānanda, having always been in the Buddha’s presence, is said to have memorized all the teachings he heard and is celebrated for having recited all the Buddha’s teachings by memory at the first council of the Buddhist saṅgha, thus preserving the teachings after the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa. The phrase “Thus did I hear at one time,” found at the beginning of the sūtras, usually stands for his recitation of the teachings. He became a patriarch after the passing of Mahākāśyapa.
One of the “eight close sons of the Buddha,” he is also known as the bodhisattva who embodies compassion. In certain tantras, he is also the lord of the three families, where he embodies the compassion of the buddhas. In Tibet, he attained great significance as a special protector of Tibet, and in China, in female form, as Guanyin, the most important bodhisattva in all of East Asia.
A food offering made to a deity or spirits; such an offering may be varied and elaborate, or may be simple uncooked food.
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”).
The expression brahmacārya (tshangs pa lha’i spyod pa) refers to the conduct of a student in training and encompasses a wide range of activities including moral restraint in general (including celibacy, refraining from killing and harming beings, etc.), devotion to academic studies and religious practices, as well as the simplification of one’s lifestyle in regard to food, lodging, and so forth.
A member of the highest of the four castes in Indian society, which is closely associated with religious vocations.
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.
Name of the preta who accosts Nanda in this narrative.
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 Śākya capital, where Siddhārtha Gautama was raised.
A male (upāsaka) or female (upāsikā) practitioner who has taken vows to uphold the five precepts.
A quantity of food measured using a basket or container (Tib. bre) of a specific size, as designated by custom in the kingdom of Magadha.
A type of dhāraṇī.
One of the two chief śrāvaka disciples of the Buddha. He was “foremost in supernormal powers” and had frequent encounters with pretas.
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.
The concept of skillful or expedient means is central to the understanding of the Buddha’s enlightened deeds and the many scriptures that are revealed contingent on the needs, interests, and mental dispositions of specific types of individuals. It is, therefore, equated with compassion and the form body of the buddhas, the rūpakāya.
According to the Great Vehicle, training in skillful means collectively denotes the first five of the six perfections when integrated with wisdom, the sixth perfection. It is therefore paired with wisdom (prajñā), forming the two indispensable aspects of the path. It is also the seventh of the ten perfections. (Provisional 84000 definition. New definition forthcoming.)
This term can refer to the hut of an ascetic, or a cloister/college for monastics.
The term bhikṣu, often translated as “monk,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist monks and nuns—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity.
In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a monk follows 253 rules as part of his moral discipline. A nun (bhikṣuṇī; dge slong ma) follows 364 rules. A novice monk (śrāmaṇera; dge tshul) or nun (śrāmaṇerikā; dge tshul ma) follows thirty-six rules of moral discipline (although in other vinaya traditions novices typically follow only ten).
The main protagonist in this text. Nanda was the younger half-brother of Prince Siddhārtha (the Buddha Śākyamuni); his mother was Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī, Siddhārtha Gautama’s maternal aunt. He became an important śrāvaka disciple of the Buddha.
Nephew of the lay patron Anāthapiṇḍada of Śrāvastī. Nandaka became an important śrāvaka disciple of the Buddha, “foremost in teaching.”
The term bhikṣuṇī, often translated as “nun,” refers to the highest among the eight types of prātimokṣa vows that make one part of the Buddhist assembly. The Sanskrit term bhikṣu (to which the female grammatical ending ṇī is added) literally means “beggar” or “mendicant,” referring to the fact that Buddhist nuns and monks—like other ascetics of the time—subsisted on alms (bhikṣā) begged from the laity. In the Tibetan tradition, which follows the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya, a bhikṣuṇī follows 364 rules and a bhikṣu follows 253 rules as part of their moral discipline.
For the first few years of the Buddha’s teachings in India, there was no ordination for women. It started at the persistent request and display of determination of Mahāprajāpatī, the Buddha’s stepmother and aunt, together with five hundred former wives of men of Kapilavastu, who had themselves become monks. Mahāprajāpatī is thus considered to be the founder of the nun’s order.
First of the six perfections, sometimes translated as “generosity.”
Name of a tathāgata; lit. “abundant riches.”
One of the five or six classes of sentient beings, into which beings are born as the karmic fruition of past miserliness. As the term in Sanskrit means “the departed,” they are analogous to the ancestral spirits of Vedic tradition, the pitṛs, who starve without the offerings of descendants. It is also commonly translated as “hungry ghost” or “starving spirit,” as in the Chinese 餓鬼 e gui.
They are sometimes said to reside in the realm of Yama, but are also frequently described as roaming charnel grounds and other inhospitable or frightening places along with piśācas and other such beings. They are particularly known to suffer from great hunger and thirst and the inability to acquire sustenance. Detailed descriptions of their realm and experience, including a list of the thirty-six classes of pretas, can be found in The Application of Mindfulness of the Sacred Dharma, Toh 287, 2.1281– 2.1482.
A class of nonhuman beings that are often, but certainly not always, considered demonic in the Buddhist tradition. They are often depicted as flesh-eating monsters who haunt frightening places and are ugly and evil-natured with a yearning for human flesh, and who additionally have miraculous powers, such as being able to change their appearance.
The Gaṅgā, or Ganges in English, is considered to be the most sacred river of India, particularly within the Hindu tradition. It starts in the Himalayas, flows through the northern plains of India, bathing the holy city of Vārāṇasī, and meets the sea at the Bay of Bengal, in Bangladesh. In the sūtras, however, this river is mostly mentioned not for its sacredness but for its abundant sands—noticeable still today on its many sandy banks and at its delta—which serve as a common metaphor for infinitely large numbers.
According to Buddhist cosmology, as explained in the Abhidharmakośa, it is one of the four rivers that flow from Lake Anavatapta and cross the southern continent of Jambudvīpa—the known human world or more specifically the Indian subcontinent.
An ancient Indian spiritual title, often translated as “sage” or “seer.” The title is particularly used for divinely inspired individuals credited with creating the foundations of Indian culture. The term is also applied to Śākyamuni and other realized Buddhist figures.
Name of a tathāgata; lit. “perfect form.”
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.
The Buddha, Dharma, and Saṅgha—the three objects of Buddhist refuge. In the Tibetan rendering, “the three rare and supreme ones.”
Name of a tathāgata.
Name of a tathāgata; lit. “vast body.”
A class of nonhuman beings who inhabit forests, mountainous areas, and other natural spaces, or serve as guardians of villages and towns, and may be propitiated for health, wealth, protection, and other boons, or controlled through magic. According to tradition, their homeland is in the north, where they live under the rule of the Great King Vaiśravaṇa.
Several members of this class have been deified as gods of wealth (these include the just-mentioned Vaiśravaṇa) or as bodhisattva generals of yakṣa armies, and have entered the Buddhist pantheon in a variety of forms, including, in tantric Buddhism, those of wrathful deities.
yi dags kha nas me ’bar skyabs mdzad pa zhes bya ba’i gzungs. Toh 646, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud, ba), folios 130.a.—132.b.
yi dags kha nas me ’bar ba la skyabs mdzad pa’i gzungs. Toh 1080, Degé Kangyur vol. 101 (gzungs, wam), folios 242.b–245.a.
yi dags kha nas me ’bar skyabs mdzad pa zhes bya bai gzungs. bka’ ’gyur (dpe bsdur ma) [Comparative Edition of the Kangyur], krung go’i bod rig pa zhib ’jug ste gnas kyi bka’ bstan dpe sdur khang (The Tibetan Tripitaka Collation Bureau of the China Tibetology Research Center). 108 volumes. Beijing: krung go’i bod rig pa dpe skrun khang (China Tibetology Publishing House), 2006–9, vol. 91, pp. 475–83.
yi dags mo kha ’bar ma dbugs dbyung ba’i gtor ma’i cho ga. Toh 647, Degé Kangyur vol. 91 (rgyud, ba), folios 132.b–134.a.
yi dags kha nas ’bar ba la skyabs mdzad pa’i gzungs. IOL Tib J 349. British Library, London. Accessed through The International Dunhuang Project: The Silk Road Online.
Asaṅga. byang chub sems dpa’i sa (Bodhisattva-bhūmi). Toh. 4037, Degé Tenygur vol. 129 (sems tsam, wi), folios 1b.1-213a.7.
Denkarma (pho brang stod thang ldan dkar gyi chos kyi ’gyur ro cog gi dkar chag). Toh 4364, Degé Tengyur vol. 206 (sna tshogs, jo), folios 294.b–310.a.
Fo shuo guan pu xian pu sa xing fa jing 佛說觀普賢菩薩行法經, Taishō 277. English translation (as The Sutra On All-Embracing Goodness Bodhisattva) in Tiantai Lotus Texts, translated by Tsugunari Kubō and Joseph M. Logan, 43–82. Berkeley: Bukkyō Dendō Kyōkai America, 2013.
Choying Tobden Dorje, trans. Gyurme Dorje. The Complete Nyingma Tradition from Sutra to Tantra, Books 15 to 17: The Essential Tantras of Mahāyoga (2 vols). Boulder: Snow Lion, 2016.
Feer, Léon. “Dharani pour échapper au preta de la bouche duquel sort un feu brûlant.” In Fragments extraits du Kandjour, 442–47. Annales du Musée Guimet 5. Paris: Ernest Leroux, 1883.
Herrmann-Pfandt, Adelheid. Die lHan kar ma: ein früher Katalog der ins Tibetische übersetzten buddhistischen Texte. Vienna: Verlag der österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, 2008.
Hun Yeow Lye. “Feeding Ghosts: A Study of the Yuqie Yankou Rite.” PhD diss., University of Virginia, 2003.
Lalou, Marcelle. “Les Textes Bouddhiques au Temps du Roi Khri-srong-lde-bcan.” Journal Asiatique 241 (1953): 313–52.
Muller, A. Charles, ed. Digital Dictionary of Buddhism. Edition of 03/05/2021.
Orzech, Charles D. “Saving the Burning-Mouth Hungry Ghost.” In Religions of China in Practice, edited by Donald S. Lopez. Jr., 278–83. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1996.
Roberts, Peter Alan, trans. The White Lotus of the Good Dharma (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka, Toh 113). 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha, 2018.
Rotman, Andy. Hungry Ghosts. Somerville: Wisdom Publications, 2021.
Sakya Pandita Kunga Gyaltshen, tr. Jared Douglas Rhoton. A Clear Differentiation of the Three Codes: Essential Distinctions among the Individual Liberation, Great Vehicle, and Tantric Systems: the sDom gsum rab dbye and six letters. Albany: State University of New York Press, 2002.
The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth recounts the nocturnal encounter of the monk Nanda with a gruesome preta (“hungry ghost”) who predicts his imminent death. After recounting his experience to the Buddha, he is taught a dhāraṇī and an associated food offering ritual to allay the sufferings of pretas and avert his prophesied fate.
Translated by Paul G. Hackett and edited by members of the 84000 editorial team.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth is one of two closely related texts found together in the Degé Kangyur in which the Buddha teaches a dhāraṇī and associated food offering ritual to relieve pretas of their sufferings. The other text is The Bali Ritual to Relieve the Female Preta Flaming Mouth (Toh 647/1079). These texts have had a significant legacy for the ritual traditions of Buddhist Asia, serving as foundations for the traditions of giving compassionate food offerings to alleviate the suffering of spirits and ghosts. The present text is the longer of the two, corresponding (though not precisely matching) Amoghavajra’s Chinese translation in the Chinese canon (Taishō 1313).
As with most dhāraṇīs, little is known about the early Indic history of this text, and there does not appear to be an extant Sanskrit version. A Chinese translation by Amoghavajra (不空) was made between 757 and 770
A Dunhuang manuscript (IOL Tib J 349) of The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth is nearly identical in content to the version preserved in the various Tibetan Kangyurs and may reflect the source from which the canonical version was taken. Unfortunately, this manuscript is missing its final folio, which might have contained a colophon with translator attribution and other information. None of the canonical versions, either, have colophons that identify the translators.
The closely related text, The Bali Ritual to Relieve the Female Preta Flaming Mouth (Toh 647/ 1079) is listed in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) imperial catalog compiled in the early ninth century
Although neither text sheds any light on the possible Indian origins of the practice or any indication that they were derived from any other text in the canon, the two texts clearly present a variation on the same story and prescribed ritual, though using different language. Given the close resemblance between the Tibetan and Chinese versions (Toh 646 with Taishō 1313, and Toh 647 with Taishō 1314), it is possible that both Tibetan texts were translated from Chinese. Lye (2003) questions this, however, pointing to the fact that the preta who appears in Toh 647 is explicitly identified as female (yi dags mo) while no such gender identification is found in Taishō 1314.
The proper rendering of the Sanskrit name of this preta—given here as “Flaming Mouth” (kha nas me’ bar ba)—remains unresolved. Although no Sanskrit title for the text is given in the Narthang, Yongle, or Degé recensions, Sanskrit titles provided in the Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné recensions render the name of the preta as “Mukhāgnijvāla.” These titles, however, appear to be reconstructions back-translated from the Tibetan. In the Chinese versions, the name of the preta is translated as Yankou (燄口 or 焰口, “Flaming Mouth”) in Taishō 1313, and as Mianran (面燃, “Burning Face”) in Taishō 1314, which it has been suggested could correspond to the putative Sanskrit *Jvālāmukha or *Ulkāmukha. It remains unclear whether in this text this is a proper name referring to the specific preta who appears in the narrative, or a more generic identifier for a class of pretas (“those with flames coming from their mouths”). Fire and flames are indeed a relatively common—but by no means constant—secondary feature of descriptions of pretas in the canonical literature, the primary features being hunger, thirst, and pain, suffered both because of terrible physical deformities and because of being deprived of all but the most minimal or disgusting means of sustenance. The Sanskrit Jvālāmukha and Tibetan kha ’bar ma, as well as being the name of various minor deities in a range of tantras, is more specifically in the Guhyagarbhatantra and other tantras of the Nyingma tradition the name of the nirmāṇakāya sage (Muni) who manifests in the realm of the pretas, one of six such Munis corresponding to the six realms and numbered among the one hundred peaceful and wrathful deities of the maṇḍala.
As shown by Lye (2003), the story recounted here has had a major legacy in Chinese Buddhism, since it is treated as the origin myth for the Yuqie yankou (瑜伽燄口) rite at the heart of the Ghost Festival celebrated annually in the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. In Tibetan Buddhism, its legacies are found in a variety of rites that involve making torma (Skt. bali, Tib. gtor ma) offerings to the pretas, in which the dhāraṇī given in the sūtra is employed. Many such rites involve the invocation or visualization of Avalokiteśvara, just as some of the related practices in Chinese tradition may incorporate the bodhisattva Guanyin. The offering rite explicitly based on this text, including the evocation of the four tathāgatas, clearly had considerable popularity in Tibet since early times. In the thirteenth century, it is mentioned by Sakya Paṇḍita (1182–1251) as an example of a ritual inaccurately performed by Tibetans.
Following a preamble that provides the context and impetus for the teaching, the core of the text is the proclamation of a mantra dhāraṇī and a description of its use. The mantra dhāraṇī here, unlike some cryptic mantras and dhāraṇīs in other texts, is in intelligible Sanskrit: “nāmaḥ sarvatathāgatāvalokite oṃ sambhara sambhara hūṃ” (“Homage to the One With the Gaze of All Tathāgatas! Oṃ bring them together, bring them! Hūṃ!”). Though the object of the imperative verb sambhara (“bring them together”) is not explicit, similar dhāraṇīs include “all pretas” (sarvapretān) in the formula, which can be assumed to be the case here as well. Thus this dhāraṇī is phrased as a call to the pretas to gather to partake of bali being offered to them.
Accompanying the expression of this dhāraṇī is an invocation of four tathāgatas whose names appear to connote features of the enlightened state: Abundant Riches (prabhūtaratna; rin chen mang; 多寶), Perfect Form (surūpa; gzugs dam pa; 妙色身), Expansive Body (vipulagātra; sku ’byam klas; 廣博身), and Fearless (abhayakara; ’jigs pa dang bral ba; 離怖畏). Only the first of these tathāgatas, Prabhūtaratna, is readily identifiable. This is the tathāgata who appears in the eleventh chapter of the Lotus Sūtra (The White Lotus of the Good Dharma; Saddharmapuṇḍarīka; dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po Toh 113). There, the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna arises before the assembly in his stūpa and commends the Buddha Śākyamuni on teaching the Lotus Sūtra, the means by which he had attained enlightenment eons earlier. Of possibly greater significance, however, the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna also appears in The Sutra of Meditating on the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (佛說觀普賢菩薩行法經, Taishō 277), a text found in the Chinese canon—but without Tibetan parallel—that is considered the concluding part of The Threefold Lotus Sūtra. In that text, the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna is associated with purification practices to avoid rebirth in the lower realms, which is a theme similar to the focus of this text.
Following the invocation of the four tathāgatas, several rituals for the mantra dhāraṇī’s compassionate deployment in different situations are briefly described. The text concludes with an admonition to memorize and teach the practice.
The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth is found twice in the Degé Kangyur, once in the Tantra section (Toh 646) and once in the Dhāraṇī section (Toh 1080). This English translation was made from the recension found in the Tantra section, with reference to the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Dunhuang manuscript (IOL Tib J 349). The Sanskrit names of the tathāgathas were deciphered with reference to the Chinese version (Taishō 1313). A translation of this text into French was made by Léon Feer and published in 1883, which was consulted for comparison following initial translation into English.
At one time, the Bhagavān was teaching the Dharma to an entourage consisting of the monastic saṅgha and a limitless number of bodhisattvas at the monastic hermitage in Kapilavastu. At that time, the venerable Nanda remained at a distance, having been contemplating and memorizing the Dharma. That evening, in the later part of the night, a very frightening preta called Flaming Mouth, with a hideous appearance, frail, withered, with flames coming from its mouth, its throat as thin as a needle, with dishevelled hair, with long sharp fingernails and teeth, came before Nanda, and said to Nanda: “You! Seven days from now, your life will end, and you will be reborn in the realm of the pretas!”
Having heard what the preta had said, Nanda became very afraid, and responded to the preta, saying, “What can be done about being reborn in the realm of the pretas when my time here is finished, so that I might be liberated from this impending suffering?”
The preta replied to Nanda, “If tomorrow you make bali offerings to pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and offer a Magadhan measure of food to each and every one of the many hundreds of thousands of brahmins and ṛṣis, and make offerings for my sake to the Three Jewels, then your life will be long, and I will be freed from the sufferings of the preta realm, and will be reborn as a god in the upper realms.”
To see that preta called Flaming Mouth, hideous, frail and withered, with flames coming from its mouth, its throat as thin as a needle, with disheveled hair, and long, sharp fingernails and teeth, and to hear such unpleasant and unwelcome words, was enough to send shivers through Nanda’s body, and in terror he then rose from where he had been sitting, and quickly went to where the Bhagavān was.
Arriving in the presence of the Bhagavān, Nanda fell before him, touching the five points of his body to the ground. Then, after prostrating with his head to the feet of the Bhagavān, with his body trembling, he implored the Bhagavān, “I beseech you to grant me final relief from being tormented by this suffering!”
He continued, “I was off at a distance, having been contemplating the Dharma, when a preta called Flaming Mouth said to me, ‘You! Seven days from now, your life will end, and you will be reborn in the realm of the pretas!’ When I asked, ‘What can be done about this, so that I might be liberated from the sufferings of the preta realm?’ the preta said to me, ‘If you make bali offerings to pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and offer the finest food to each and every one of the many hundreds of thousands of brahmins and ṛṣis and so on, then your life will be long.’ If I am to provide this, Bhagavān, how can I prepare so much food for so many pretas, brahmins, ṛṣis, and so forth?”
“Do not let this frighten you,” said the Bhagavān to Nanda. “I have a method by which you may prepare food and many balis for pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and brahmins and ṛṣis and so forth. So do not let this upset you.”
Then the Bhagavān said to Nanda, “I have a mantra dhāraṇī called the power of all-conquering rays of light by which all are brought under the influence of immeasurable radiance. When anyone utters this dhāraṇī, there will be food and the finest bali for pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and the many brahmins and ṛṣis and so forth, so that each and every one of those pretas and others will receive seven portions of food weighed according to Magadhan measures.
“Nanda, when I was a brahmin in a previous life, I heard this dhāraṇī from the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and the tathāgata called Vaśavartiguṇa, and by the power of that dhāraṇī, countless pretas and many ṛṣis were each given bali and food, and those that had been born in the realm of the pretas were liberated from their suffering and were reborn as gods in the upper realms.
“Nanda, remember this dhāraṇī! It will increase your merit and even your lifespan when you are reborn.”
The Bhagavān then uttered this mantra dhāraṇī to Nanda:
nāmaḥ sarvatathāgatāvalokite oṁ sambhara sambhara hūṁ
The Bhagavān said to Nanda, “Any son of good family or daughter of good family who wishes to lengthen their life, or improve and increase their merit, or who wishes to quickly bring to completion the perfection of giving, should recite this dhāraṇī constantly in the morning, or even at all times. Then their life will not be cut short.
“Pour clean water into a clean vessel, then add a little bit of cooked grains, meal, or pastry, and so forth. Then place your right hand over the top of the vessel and, having sanctified it seven times with this dhāraṇī, you should invoke the names of the four tathāgatas as follows:
“Homage to the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, may all those pretas overcome the nonvirtuous karma of having been miserly in their numerous previous lives, and may their collection of merit be brought to completion!
“Homage to the Tathāgata Surūpa! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Surūpa, may those many pretas overcome their hideous appearance and may they take on a marvelous form and attributes!
“Homage to the Tathāgata Vipulagātra! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Vipulagātra, may the thirst of many pretas be dispelled and may they be satisfied. May they be led to places where offerings are being made, and may they be allowed to eat to their satisfaction!
“Homage to the Tathāgata Abhayakara! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Abhayakara, may all be free from all the fears of the many pretas, and may all the realms of the pretas be pacified!”
The Bhagavān told Nanda, “Sons of good family, and so on, after the blessing of having invoked the names of these four tathāgatas, should snap their fingers three times. Then, taking the bali vessel in their outstretched arms, they should pour it out on to clean ground. If one makes bali offering in this manner, each and every one of the pretas who arrive from the four directions, as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, will receive seven portions weighed according to Magadhan measures. These pretas will be led to and allowed to eat as much food as they wish, and will leave the realms of the pretas behind, and be reborn as gods in the upper realms.
“Nanda, if any monks or nuns, or male or female lay devotees, when giving an offering to a preta, consistently sanctify the food by means of this dhāraṇī, they will bring immeasurable merit to completion. As that merit is indistinguishable from the merit of making offerings to a hundred thousand million billion buddhas, they will have long life, merit, and luster; be born with strength that will only increase; complete roots of virtue; no nonhuman yakṣas, rākṣasas, or horrible pretas will be able to endanger them or inflict harm on them; and they will have an immeasurable radiance for others.
“Someone who wishes to make offerings to brahmins and ṛṣis should fill a single vessel with the purest food, recite this dhāraṇī mantra seven times, and scatter the food in a clean river. That will cause it to become the most supreme foodstuffs of the gods. The brahmins and ṛṣis, as they receive the food infused with mantra, will delight in each and every previous individual offering that has been offered with mantra, and will ripen the merit of those roots of virtue that have been cultivated, each of them in accord with the others, will all at the same time make the prayer, ‘May this person have long life, vitality, and power, and may they be comfortable and happy!’
“Moreover, that person, in terms of seeing and hearing in accordance with these intentions, will be completely pure, have unmistaken knowledge, and living the superior life of a brahmacārya will achieve complete perfection. Furthermore, as the merit would be like that of making offerings to buddha bhagavāns equal in number to the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, all the proponents of false teachings will be unable to do them harm.
“Any monk or nun, or male or female lay devotee, who wishes to make offerings to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha should recite this mantra dhāraṇī twenty-one times over incense, flowers, and the best of food, and then offer them to the Three Jewels. The food offered by a son of good family or a daughter of good family, having become the foodstuffs of the gods, will become offerings to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha in all the worldly realms of the ten directions. Those who make such offerings will be endowed with the merit of praising, praying, and rejoicing, and will be constantly praised and watched over by the buddha bhagavāns. They will be constantly guarded and protected by many gods, and the perfection of giving will be brought to completion.
“Nanda, commit this to memory in accordance with the Dharma. In order that all sentient beings may see and hear it, you should teach it extensively, and you will obtain immeasurable merit.”
This completes the Dhāraṇī “Giving Refuge to the Preta Flaming Mouth.”
The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth recounts the nocturnal encounter of the monk Nanda with a gruesome preta (“hungry ghost”) who predicts his imminent death. After recounting his experience to the Buddha, he is taught a dhāraṇī and an associated food offering ritual to allay the sufferings of pretas and avert his prophesied fate.
Translated by Paul G. Hackett and edited by members of the 84000 editorial team.
The translation was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.
The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth is one of two closely related texts found together in the Degé Kangyur in which the Buddha teaches a dhāraṇī and associated food offering ritual to relieve pretas of their sufferings. The other text is The Bali Ritual to Relieve the Female Preta Flaming Mouth (Toh 647/1079). These texts have had a significant legacy for the ritual traditions of Buddhist Asia, serving as foundations for the traditions of giving compassionate food offerings to alleviate the suffering of spirits and ghosts. The present text is the longer of the two, corresponding (though not precisely matching) Amoghavajra’s Chinese translation in the Chinese canon (Taishō 1313).
As with most dhāraṇīs, little is known about the early Indic history of this text, and there does not appear to be an extant Sanskrit version. A Chinese translation by Amoghavajra (不空) was made between 757 and 770
A Dunhuang manuscript (IOL Tib J 349) of The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth is nearly identical in content to the version preserved in the various Tibetan Kangyurs and may reflect the source from which the canonical version was taken. Unfortunately, this manuscript is missing its final folio, which might have contained a colophon with translator attribution and other information. None of the canonical versions, either, have colophons that identify the translators.
The closely related text, The Bali Ritual to Relieve the Female Preta Flaming Mouth (Toh 647/ 1079) is listed in the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) imperial catalog compiled in the early ninth century
Although neither text sheds any light on the possible Indian origins of the practice or any indication that they were derived from any other text in the canon, the two texts clearly present a variation on the same story and prescribed ritual, though using different language. Given the close resemblance between the Tibetan and Chinese versions (Toh 646 with Taishō 1313, and Toh 647 with Taishō 1314), it is possible that both Tibetan texts were translated from Chinese. Lye (2003) questions this, however, pointing to the fact that the preta who appears in Toh 647 is explicitly identified as female (yi dags mo) while no such gender identification is found in Taishō 1314.
The proper rendering of the Sanskrit name of this preta—given here as “Flaming Mouth” (kha nas me’ bar ba)—remains unresolved. Although no Sanskrit title for the text is given in the Narthang, Yongle, or Degé recensions, Sanskrit titles provided in the Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné recensions render the name of the preta as “Mukhāgnijvāla.” These titles, however, appear to be reconstructions back-translated from the Tibetan. In the Chinese versions, the name of the preta is translated as Yankou (燄口 or 焰口, “Flaming Mouth”) in Taishō 1313, and as Mianran (面燃, “Burning Face”) in Taishō 1314, which it has been suggested could correspond to the putative Sanskrit *Jvālāmukha or *Ulkāmukha. It remains unclear whether in this text this is a proper name referring to the specific preta who appears in the narrative, or a more generic identifier for a class of pretas (“those with flames coming from their mouths”). Fire and flames are indeed a relatively common—but by no means constant—secondary feature of descriptions of pretas in the canonical literature, the primary features being hunger, thirst, and pain, suffered both because of terrible physical deformities and because of being deprived of all but the most minimal or disgusting means of sustenance. The Sanskrit Jvālāmukha and Tibetan kha ’bar ma, as well as being the name of various minor deities in a range of tantras, is more specifically in the Guhyagarbhatantra and other tantras of the Nyingma tradition the name of the nirmāṇakāya sage (Muni) who manifests in the realm of the pretas, one of six such Munis corresponding to the six realms and numbered among the one hundred peaceful and wrathful deities of the maṇḍala.
As shown by Lye (2003), the story recounted here has had a major legacy in Chinese Buddhism, since it is treated as the origin myth for the Yuqie yankou (瑜伽燄口) rite at the heart of the Ghost Festival celebrated annually in the seventh month of the Chinese calendar. In Tibetan Buddhism, its legacies are found in a variety of rites that involve making torma (Skt. bali, Tib. gtor ma) offerings to the pretas, in which the dhāraṇī given in the sūtra is employed. Many such rites involve the invocation or visualization of Avalokiteśvara, just as some of the related practices in Chinese tradition may incorporate the bodhisattva Guanyin. The offering rite explicitly based on this text, including the evocation of the four tathāgatas, clearly had considerable popularity in Tibet since early times. In the thirteenth century, it is mentioned by Sakya Paṇḍita (1182–1251) as an example of a ritual inaccurately performed by Tibetans.
Following a preamble that provides the context and impetus for the teaching, the core of the text is the proclamation of a mantra dhāraṇī and a description of its use. The mantra dhāraṇī here, unlike some cryptic mantras and dhāraṇīs in other texts, is in intelligible Sanskrit: “nāmaḥ sarvatathāgatāvalokite oṃ sambhara sambhara hūṃ” (“Homage to the One With the Gaze of All Tathāgatas! Oṃ bring them together, bring them! Hūṃ!”). Though the object of the imperative verb sambhara (“bring them together”) is not explicit, similar dhāraṇīs include “all pretas” (sarvapretān) in the formula, which can be assumed to be the case here as well. Thus this dhāraṇī is phrased as a call to the pretas to gather to partake of bali being offered to them.
Accompanying the expression of this dhāraṇī is an invocation of four tathāgatas whose names appear to connote features of the enlightened state: Abundant Riches (prabhūtaratna; rin chen mang; 多寶), Perfect Form (surūpa; gzugs dam pa; 妙色身), Expansive Body (vipulagātra; sku ’byam klas; 廣博身), and Fearless (abhayakara; ’jigs pa dang bral ba; 離怖畏). Only the first of these tathāgatas, Prabhūtaratna, is readily identifiable. This is the tathāgata who appears in the eleventh chapter of the Lotus Sūtra (The White Lotus of the Good Dharma; Saddharmapuṇḍarīka; dam pa’i chos pad ma dkar po Toh 113). There, the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna arises before the assembly in his stūpa and commends the Buddha Śākyamuni on teaching the Lotus Sūtra, the means by which he had attained enlightenment eons earlier. Of possibly greater significance, however, the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna also appears in The Sutra of Meditating on the Bodhisattva Samantabhadra (佛說觀普賢菩薩行法經, Taishō 277), a text found in the Chinese canon—but without Tibetan parallel—that is considered the concluding part of The Threefold Lotus Sūtra. In that text, the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna is associated with purification practices to avoid rebirth in the lower realms, which is a theme similar to the focus of this text.
Following the invocation of the four tathāgatas, several rituals for the mantra dhāraṇī’s compassionate deployment in different situations are briefly described. The text concludes with an admonition to memorize and teach the practice.
The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth is found twice in the Degé Kangyur, once in the Tantra section (Toh 646) and once in the Dhāraṇī section (Toh 1080). This English translation was made from the recension found in the Tantra section, with reference to the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and the Dunhuang manuscript (IOL Tib J 349). The Sanskrit names of the tathāgathas were deciphered with reference to the Chinese version (Taishō 1313). A translation of this text into French was made by Léon Feer and published in 1883, which was consulted for comparison following initial translation into English.
At one time, the Bhagavān was teaching the Dharma to an entourage consisting of the monastic saṅgha and a limitless number of bodhisattvas at the monastic hermitage in Kapilavastu. At that time, the venerable Nanda remained at a distance, having been contemplating and memorizing the Dharma. That evening, in the later part of the night, a very frightening preta called Flaming Mouth, with a hideous appearance, frail, withered, with flames coming from its mouth, its throat as thin as a needle, with dishevelled hair, with long sharp fingernails and teeth, came before Nanda, and said to Nanda: “You! Seven days from now, your life will end, and you will be reborn in the realm of the pretas!”
Having heard what the preta had said, Nanda became very afraid, and responded to the preta, saying, “What can be done about being reborn in the realm of the pretas when my time here is finished, so that I might be liberated from this impending suffering?”
The preta replied to Nanda, “If tomorrow you make bali offerings to pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and offer a Magadhan measure of food to each and every one of the many hundreds of thousands of brahmins and ṛṣis, and make offerings for my sake to the Three Jewels, then your life will be long, and I will be freed from the sufferings of the preta realm, and will be reborn as a god in the upper realms.”
To see that preta called Flaming Mouth, hideous, frail and withered, with flames coming from its mouth, its throat as thin as a needle, with disheveled hair, and long, sharp fingernails and teeth, and to hear such unpleasant and unwelcome words, was enough to send shivers through Nanda’s body, and in terror he then rose from where he had been sitting, and quickly went to where the Bhagavān was.
Arriving in the presence of the Bhagavān, Nanda fell before him, touching the five points of his body to the ground. Then, after prostrating with his head to the feet of the Bhagavān, with his body trembling, he implored the Bhagavān, “I beseech you to grant me final relief from being tormented by this suffering!”
He continued, “I was off at a distance, having been contemplating the Dharma, when a preta called Flaming Mouth said to me, ‘You! Seven days from now, your life will end, and you will be reborn in the realm of the pretas!’ When I asked, ‘What can be done about this, so that I might be liberated from the sufferings of the preta realm?’ the preta said to me, ‘If you make bali offerings to pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and offer the finest food to each and every one of the many hundreds of thousands of brahmins and ṛṣis and so on, then your life will be long.’ If I am to provide this, Bhagavān, how can I prepare so much food for so many pretas, brahmins, ṛṣis, and so forth?”
“Do not let this frighten you,” said the Bhagavān to Nanda. “I have a method by which you may prepare food and many balis for pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and brahmins and ṛṣis and so forth. So do not let this upset you.”
Then the Bhagavān said to Nanda, “I have a mantra dhāraṇī called the power of all-conquering rays of light by which all are brought under the influence of immeasurable radiance. When anyone utters this dhāraṇī, there will be food and the finest bali for pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, and the many brahmins and ṛṣis and so forth, so that each and every one of those pretas and others will receive seven portions of food weighed according to Magadhan measures.
“Nanda, when I was a brahmin in a previous life, I heard this dhāraṇī from the bodhisattva Avalokiteśvara and the tathāgata called Vaśavartiguṇa, and by the power of that dhāraṇī, countless pretas and many ṛṣis were each given bali and food, and those that had been born in the realm of the pretas were liberated from their suffering and were reborn as gods in the upper realms.
“Nanda, remember this dhāraṇī! It will increase your merit and even your lifespan when you are reborn.”
The Bhagavān then uttered this mantra dhāraṇī to Nanda:
nāmaḥ sarvatathāgatāvalokite oṁ sambhara sambhara hūṁ
The Bhagavān said to Nanda, “Any son of good family or daughter of good family who wishes to lengthen their life, or improve and increase their merit, or who wishes to quickly bring to completion the perfection of giving, should recite this dhāraṇī constantly in the morning, or even at all times. Then their life will not be cut short.
“Pour clean water into a clean vessel, then add a little bit of cooked grains, meal, or pastry, and so forth. Then place your right hand over the top of the vessel and, having sanctified it seven times with this dhāraṇī, you should invoke the names of the four tathāgatas as follows:
“Homage to the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna, may all those pretas overcome the nonvirtuous karma of having been miserly in their numerous previous lives, and may their collection of merit be brought to completion!
“Homage to the Tathāgata Surūpa! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Surūpa, may those many pretas overcome their hideous appearance and may they take on a marvelous form and attributes!
“Homage to the Tathāgata Vipulagātra! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Vipulagātra, may the thirst of many pretas be dispelled and may they be satisfied. May they be led to places where offerings are being made, and may they be allowed to eat to their satisfaction!
“Homage to the Tathāgata Abhayakara! By the blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Abhayakara, may all be free from all the fears of the many pretas, and may all the realms of the pretas be pacified!”
The Bhagavān told Nanda, “Sons of good family, and so on, after the blessing of having invoked the names of these four tathāgatas, should snap their fingers three times. Then, taking the bali vessel in their outstretched arms, they should pour it out on to clean ground. If one makes bali offering in this manner, each and every one of the pretas who arrive from the four directions, as numerous as the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, will receive seven portions weighed according to Magadhan measures. These pretas will be led to and allowed to eat as much food as they wish, and will leave the realms of the pretas behind, and be reborn as gods in the upper realms.
“Nanda, if any monks or nuns, or male or female lay devotees, when giving an offering to a preta, consistently sanctify the food by means of this dhāraṇī, they will bring immeasurable merit to completion. As that merit is indistinguishable from the merit of making offerings to a hundred thousand million billion buddhas, they will have long life, merit, and luster; be born with strength that will only increase; complete roots of virtue; no nonhuman yakṣas, rākṣasas, or horrible pretas will be able to endanger them or inflict harm on them; and they will have an immeasurable radiance for others.
“Someone who wishes to make offerings to brahmins and ṛṣis should fill a single vessel with the purest food, recite this dhāraṇī mantra seven times, and scatter the food in a clean river. That will cause it to become the most supreme foodstuffs of the gods. The brahmins and ṛṣis, as they receive the food infused with mantra, will delight in each and every previous individual offering that has been offered with mantra, and will ripen the merit of those roots of virtue that have been cultivated, each of them in accord with the others, will all at the same time make the prayer, ‘May this person have long life, vitality, and power, and may they be comfortable and happy!’
“Moreover, that person, in terms of seeing and hearing in accordance with these intentions, will be completely pure, have unmistaken knowledge, and living the superior life of a brahmacārya will achieve complete perfection. Furthermore, as the merit would be like that of making offerings to buddha bhagavāns equal in number to the hundred thousand million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges, all the proponents of false teachings will be unable to do them harm.
“Any monk or nun, or male or female lay devotee, who wishes to make offerings to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha should recite this mantra dhāraṇī twenty-one times over incense, flowers, and the best of food, and then offer them to the Three Jewels. The food offered by a son of good family or a daughter of good family, having become the foodstuffs of the gods, will become offerings to the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha in all the worldly realms of the ten directions. Those who make such offerings will be endowed with the merit of praising, praying, and rejoicing, and will be constantly praised and watched over by the buddha bhagavāns. They will be constantly guarded and protected by many gods, and the perfection of giving will be brought to completion.
“Nanda, commit this to memory in accordance with the Dharma. In order that all sentient beings may see and hear it, you should teach it extensively, and you will obtain immeasurable merit.”
This completes the Dhāraṇī “Giving Refuge to the Preta Flaming Mouth.”