The Dhāraṇī of the Buddha’s Essence | 84000 Translating the Words of the Buddha

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This text, Toh 855, and all those contained in this same volume (gzungs ’dus, e), are listed as being located in volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur by the Buddhist Digital Resource Center (BDRC). However, several other Kangyur databases‍—including the eKangyur that supplies the digital input version displayed by the 84000 Reading Room‍—list this work as being located in volume 101 . This discrepancy is partly due to the fact that the two volumes of the gzungs ’dus section are an added supplement not mentioned in the original catalog, and also hinges on the fact that the compilers of the Tōhoku catalog placed another text‍—which forms a whole, very large volume‍—the Vimalaprabhānāmakālacakratantraṭīkā (dus ’khor ’grel bshad dri med ’od, Toh 845), before the volume 100 of the Degé Kangyur, numbering it as vol. 100, although it is almost certainly intended to come right at the end of the Degé Kangyur texts as volume 102; indeed its final fifth chapter is often carried over and wrapped in the same volume as the Kangyur dkar chags (catalog). Please note this discrepancy when using the eKangyur viewer in this translation.

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Two sets of folio references have been included in this translation due to a discrepancy in volume 88 (rgyud ’bum, na) of the Degé Kangyur between the 1737 par phud printings and the late (post par phud) printings. In the latter case, an extra work, Bodhimaṇḍasyālaṃkāralakṣadhāraṇī (Toh 508, byang chub snying po’i rgyan ’bum gyi gzungs), was added as the second text in the volume, thereby displacing the pagination of all the following texts in the same volume by 17 folios. Since the eKangyur follows the later printing, both references have been provided, with the highlighted one linking to the eKangyur viewer.

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Tibetan: dbang phyug chen po dka’ thub bzang po la sogs pa. This translation interprets dbang phyug chen po and dka’ thub bzang po as two separate deities, the Śaiva godhead Maheśvara and Suvrata (also rendered as munisuvrata), the twentieth Jain arhat of the present descending period of the cosmic cycle (avasarpiṇī). The reader should note that it is possible to interpret the term dka’ thub bzang po/suvrata as an epithet for Maheśvara, but this is likely not the correct interpretation in this case. The setting for this text, Śuddhāvāsa, is the highest heavenly realm of existence that, in Buddhist traditions, is accessed by attaining the fourth and highest level of meditative absorption (dhyāna, bsam gtan). This places the setting at the zenith of reality, which various Śaiva traditions identify with the Maheśvara form of Śiva. It is also the realm in which the Jain traditions locate those arhats who, like Suvrata/Munisuvrata, have ascended to the highest reality where they await the arrival of the next Tīrṭhāṅkara and final liberation. In this work, the point of listing the two divine beings that occupy the highest level of reality in the Śaiva and Jain traditions is both to identify them among the worldly deities occupying the highest level of saṃsāra that can carry on the Buddha’s teaching after his parinirvāṇa and to place them in a position that is subordinate to the Buddha himself.

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The Dhāraṇī of the Buddha’s Essence is structured as a dialogue between the Buddha and a retinue of gods from the Śuddhāvāsa realm. The dialogue revolves around the Buddha’s parinirvāṇa and the role that the gods of Śuddhāvāsa can play in continuing to guide beings in his absence until the next tathāgata appears in the world. The Dhāraṇī of the Buddha’s Essence is then introduced as the specific instruction that the gods of Śuddhāvāsa should preserve and propagate after Śākyamuni has departed. The Buddha then provides a list of benefits that members of the saṅgha can accrue by reciting this dhāraṇī.

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The translators’ colophon tells us that The Dhāraṇī of the Buddha’s Essence was translated by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla along with the Tibetan translator Yeshé Dé (ca. eighth and ninth centuries). The text appears in the Phangthangma imperial Tibetan inventory of translated works among the collection of various dhāraṇī. In the Denkarma inventory’s list of dhāraṇī, there are two texts entitled The Buddha’s Essence (’phags pa sangs rgyas kyi snying po), and while neither of them matches the full title of the present work, the second mention is the more likely to correspond to it judging by the recorded length of the text (thirty-eight ślokas); the first record (fifty-five ślokas) probably corresponds to another, slightly longer text with a similar title, The Dhāraṇī Discourse on the Buddha’s Essence (’phags pa sangs rgyas kyi snying po zhes bya ba’i gzungs kyi chos kyi rnam grangs, Toh 514, 854). These works appear alongside each other in the Degé Kangyur in both the Tantra Collection (rgyud ’bum) and the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (gzungs ’dus).

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The Translation The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Buddha’s Essence Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas. Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was seated upon a lion throne in a seashore grove surrounded on all sides by the forest that was the Buddha’s domain. There, he taught the Dharma to a retinue of gods that had gathered around and paid their respects to him. The Blessed One addressed the gods of the Śuddhāvāsa realm such as Maheśvara, Suvrata, and the rest, saying, “Gods, listen well, pay attention, and I will teach. The Thus-Gone One, in order in future times to gather a fourfold retinue, look after them, care for them in all manner of ways, and cause them to advance, to bring those who possess all the teachings and their meanings to perfection, and to bring all who are properly established in the Great Vehicle to specific attainment in all its aspects, teaches and explains the dhāraṇī discourse called The Buddha’s Essence. You should retain it and, both now and in future times after I have passed into parinirvāṇa, teach and explain it to all members of the fourfold retinue who are properly established in the Great Vehicle. Never forsake it, and always teach it and promote it. As long as there are beings who are destitute and affected by the obscurations, you should preserve the teaching of the Thus-Gone One for them, teach it, and promote it.” The gods replied, “Blessed One, we will do just that. We will sincerely and perfectly carry out the Thus-Gone One’s command.” The Blessed One addressed them, saying, “Gods, this is the Dharma discourse called The Buddha’s Essence: tadyathā amale nirmale sarvākārārthapariprāpte asamantasarvakunākāre tryadhvāsaṅgānāvṛte samantadaśadiśaparipūrṇajñāne sarvāsaṅgadarśanaprāpte sarvadharmam aviśataparipūrṇe sarvākārasaṅgasamanvite samantāpra tihatateje tryadhvadaśasu dikṣupariprāptārthe śānta-prāśanta-upaśānta-samaśānta-vimokṣānuprāpte supratibuddhadharmadhātu atyantasunisrite sarvākāraniḥsaraṇa anavaśeṣaparaṅgate vipramukta asaṁyoga viprayoga-sthite dharmate gaganasama-prakṛtipariśuddha-nirmale asamanta-tryadhvānugata-suprāpte pūrvānta-aparanta madhyatryadhvasamantānuprapte anavaśeṣa parijñāprahana-bhavana-sakṣātkriyaparamaparaṅgate yathāvati tathākāri sarvākārasaṁpanne sarvākāramahā maitrimahākaruṇā sarvākārasamasagrahānuprāpte “Gods, this is the dhāraṇī discourse called The Buddha’s Essence. If noble sons or daughters from the fourfold community who are properly established in the Great Vehicle wear it on their bodies, recite it well, and uphold it, they will never give rise to inferior mental states. The Thus-Gone One will likewise remain with them, seated above the crowns of their heads. Some will certainly see the Buddha, some will hear him teach, some will become Dharma teachers, and some will gain the dhāraṇī power of not forgetting. Students who are on the path will never have that path interrupted, and they will have a continual stream of Dharma teachers. They will understand everything, never forget it, and be only one birth away from awakening. With those qualities, they will gain the power of retaining the entire ocean of knowledge. They will receive all the attainments, beginning with acceptance of the fact that phenomena do not arise up to becoming fully liberated, perfect buddhas who are free from obscurations. You gods will understand the meaning of my teachings in this lifetime. You should teach it and promote it among the sons and daughters of the lineage. Do not cast it aside, do not forsake it, and do not forget it!” The gods responded, “Blessed One, we shall do just as you have said. We will teach and explain the Blessed One’s dhāraṇī discourse called The Buddha’s Essence to the fourfold assembly, without hesitation, in its entirety. We will teach it and promote it among noble sons and daughters. It will be just as the Thus-Gone One has said. We will fully comprehend the Thus-Gone One’s holy Dharma, and for the noble sons and daughters will be of great meaning and something of great benefit.” The Blessed One replied, “That is why you gods must do as I have said. This is the teaching that I give to you.” After the Blessed One had spoken, the gods of the Śuddhāvāsa realm such as Maheśvara and Suvrata, along with the entire assembly, praised the Blessed One’s words. This concludes “The Dhāraṇī of the Buddha’s Essence.” Colophon This work was translated and edited by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Dānaśīla along with the great editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé. It was then corrected according to the new translation guidelines and then finalized.

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Notes

Glossary

Bibliography

Summary

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Summary

Acknowledgements

Introduction