Summary 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. Acknowledgements This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Lowell Cook produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process. Introduction The Dhāraṇī “Freedom from the Eight Great Perils” is a brief dhāraṇī (gzungs phran) that comprises 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. The number of eight deities is presumably significant in the context of the eight great perils, although the text never makes an explicit correlation. Following the homage comes the principal dhāraṇī, and the text then goes on to describe the benefits of dhāraṇīs in both general and specific terms. Generally, the text says, dhāraṇīs are taught by buddhas for the benefit of beings in the lower realms, while the specific dhāraṇī at hand can free its practitioner from the eight great perils. The eight great perils enumerated by this text differ from the more standard list of eight, or sometimes sixteen, perils (often translated as “fears”) described elsewhere throughout Buddhist literature. Here the eight great perils are the perils of the hell realm, the animal realm, the world of Yama, the hungry ghost realm, evil states, and birth, sickness, and death. A more common list of eight perils in Buddhist literature usually comprises the perils of lions, elephants, fire, snakes, robbers, waters, imprisonment, and demons. The text seems to be conscious of the fact that its perils are more spiritual perils than mundane dangers and distinguishes its unique eight perils with the qualifier “great.” Finally, the text then ends with a short dhāraṇī. Little is known about the historical transmission of this text and its dhāraṇī in India. The text appears in a fragmentary Dhāraṇī Compendium (Dhāraṇī­saṅgraha, MS 1680.8.3) from Nepal that is tentatively dated to the twelfth–thirteenth centuries ᴄᴇ. Like many other short dhāraṇīs of its type, Freedom from the Eight Great Perils was likely transmitted as one among many other dhāraṇīs (and related literature) in ritual compendia. In Tibet, this dhāraṇī never achieved any significant degree of popularity. It is listed in the two extant imperial catalogs, the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) and the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma). This, then, sets the terminus ad quem of the dhāraṇī’s Tibetan translation to no later than the early ninth century. However, given that the text is bereft of a colophon, we lack any details about who may have translated it. Herrmann-Pfandt notes that the dhāraṇī is included in a ritual manual from among the Dunhuang manuscripts (Pelliot Tibétain 49), but we were unable to locate the dhāraṇī in this manuscript. Freedom from the Eight Great Perils is present in at least twenty-six different Kangyur recensions, though there is little variation among the titles or texts. In the Degé Kangyur, the dhāraṇī appears twice, once in the Action tantra section (Toh 541) and once in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (Toh 931). In the fourteenth century ᴄᴇ, the main dhāraṇī and the closing dhāraṇī were reproduced together by Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) in his Grand Anthology of Dhāraṇīs from the Four Classes of Secret Mantra Tantras (gsang sngags rgyud sde bzhi’i gzungs rnams gcig tu bsdus pa’i gzungs ’bum chen mo). This would seem to indicate that the two dhāraṇīs are intended to be recited as one. Yet beyond this and other passing mentions, the text was never quoted or discussed at length in later Tibetan literature. There are no Chinese versions of this dhāraṇī recorded in the Taishō Buddhist canon. Our translation was produced based on the dhāraṇī as preserved in the Degé edition of the Kangyur. We additionally consulted variant readings as found in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur and the Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur. Beyond a few minor scribal differences, the two versions of Freedom from the Eight Great Perils from the Action tantra and Dhāraṇī Compendium sections are identical.

Summary 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. Acknowledgements This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha. The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation team. Lowell Cook produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Laura Goetz copyedited the text. Martina Cotter was in charge of the digital publication process. Introduction The Dhāraṇī “Freedom from the Eight Great Perils” is a brief dhāraṇī (gzungs phran) that comprises 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. The number of eight deities is presumably significant in the context of the eight great perils, although the text never makes an explicit correlation. Following the homage comes the principal dhāraṇī, and the text then goes on to describe the benefits of dhāraṇīs in both general and specific terms. Generally, the text says, dhāraṇīs are taught by buddhas for the benefit of beings in the lower realms, while the specific dhāraṇī at hand can free its practitioner from the eight great perils. The eight great perils enumerated by this text differ from the more standard list of eight, or sometimes sixteen, perils (often translated as “fears”) described elsewhere throughout Buddhist literature. Here the eight great perils are the perils of the hell realm, the animal realm, the world of Yama, the hungry ghost realm, evil states, and birth, sickness, and death. A more common list of eight perils in Buddhist literature usually comprises the perils of lions, elephants, fire, snakes, robbers, waters, imprisonment, and demons. The text seems to be conscious of the fact that its perils are more spiritual perils than mundane dangers and distinguishes its unique eight perils with the qualifier “great.” Finally, the text then ends with a short dhāraṇī. Little is known about the historical transmission of this text and its dhāraṇī in India. The text appears in a fragmentary Dhāraṇī Compendium (Dhāraṇī­saṅgraha, MS 1680.8.3) from Nepal that is tentatively dated to the twelfth–thirteenth centuries ᴄᴇ. Like many other short dhāraṇīs of its type, Freedom from the Eight Great Perils was likely transmitted as one among many other dhāraṇīs (and related literature) in ritual compendia. In Tibet, this dhāraṇī never achieved any significant degree of popularity. It is listed in the two extant imperial catalogs, the Denkarma (ldan dkar ma) and the Phangthangma (’phang thang ma). This, then, sets the terminus ad quem of the dhāraṇī’s Tibetan translation to no later than the early ninth century. However, given that the text is bereft of a colophon, we lack any details about who may have translated it. Herrmann-Pfandt notes that the dhāraṇī is included in a ritual manual from among the Dunhuang manuscripts (Pelliot Tibétain 49), but we were unable to locate the dhāraṇī in this manuscript. Freedom from the Eight Great Perils is present in at least twenty-six different Kangyur recensions, though there is little variation among the titles or texts. In the Degé Kangyur, the dhāraṇī appears twice, once in the Action tantra section (Toh 541) and once in the Compendium of Dhāraṇīs (Toh 931). In the fourteenth century ᴄᴇ, the main dhāraṇī and the closing dhāraṇī were reproduced together by Butön Rinchen Drup (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) in his Grand Anthology of Dhāraṇīs from the Four Classes of Secret Mantra Tantras (gsang sngags rgyud sde bzhi’i gzungs rnams gcig tu bsdus pa’i gzungs ’bum chen mo). This would seem to indicate that the two dhāraṇīs are intended to be recited as one. Yet beyond this and other passing mentions, the text was never quoted or discussed at length in later Tibetan literature. There are no Chinese versions of this dhāraṇī recorded in the Taishō Buddhist canon. Our translation was produced based on the dhāraṇī as preserved in the Degé edition of the Kangyur. We additionally consulted variant readings as found in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur and the Stok Palace manuscript Kangyur. Beyond a few minor scribal differences, the two versions of Freedom from the Eight Great Perils from the Action tantra and Dhāraṇī Compendium sections are identical.