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Of the four types of dhāraṇīs described by the fourth-century scholar-yogi Asaṅga—Dharma dhāraṇīs (dharmadhāraṇī; chos kyi gzungs), meaning dhāraṇīs (arthadhāraṇī; don gyi gzungs), mantra dhāraṇīs (mantradhāraṇī; gsang sngags kyi gzungs), and bodhisattva patience dhāraṇīs (bodhisattvakṣāntilābhāyadhāraṇī; byang chub sems dpa’ bzod pa ’thob par byed pa’i gzungs)—this text falls into the category of dharmadhāraṇīs, which enable one to retain knowledge of words—Dharma teachings—that have been heard. Cf. Grounds of Bodhisattvas (Bodhisattvabhūmi; byang chub sems dpa’i sa; Toh 4037, folio 144.a). A discussion of various classifications of dhāraṇīs is given in Pagel 2007.
This text, Toh 939, 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.
This dhāraṇī is difficult to translate but can be tentatively rendered into English as follows: “It is thus: oṃ. O Vaiśravaṇa, turn the wheel of the Dharma of the Sage, the Dharma of summation, the Dharma of liberation, and the Dharma of constant benefit. This is the Dharma of complete activity, the Dharma beyond all measure, the Dharma of protecting all equally. May auspiciousness abound.”
This dhāraṇī translates as “oṃ. To the wisdom that is heard, contemplated, and victorious. dhiḥ. To that which is to be upheld. May auspiciousness abound.”
In Meisezahl’s manuscript, there is an additional dhāraṇī, which reads oṃ prajñāpāramitā bala svāhā.
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.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa gzung bar ’gyur ba’i gzungs. Toh 583, Degé Kangyur vol. 90 (rgyud, pha), folio 204.a.
shes rab kyi pha rol tu phyin pa stong phrag brgya pa gzung bar ’gyur ba’i gzungs. Toh 939, Degé Kangyur vol. 100 (gzungs ’dus, e), folio 282.a.
pha rol tu phyin pa bcu thob par ’gyur ba’i gzungs (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. 90, pp. 661–62.
Meisezahl, Richard O. “Die tibetischen Handschriften und Drucke des Linden-Museums in Stuttgart.” Tribus 7 (1957): 1–166, 101–2 (item 71 566, Nr. 2).
Pagel, Ulrich. Mapping the Path: Vajrapadas in Mahāyāna Literature. Tokyo: The International Institute for Buddhist Studies, 2007.
This text presents two dhāraṇīs for the retention of The Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in One Hundred Thousand Lines.
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. Paul G. Hackett produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
This text presents two dhāraṇīs for the retention of The Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in One Hundred Thousand Lines. The first of these dhāraṇīs does not appear to be contained in any canonical tantra, although it is shared in common with The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines”. Regarding the second dhāraṇī, a mantra closely resembling it is found in The Ornament for the Vajra Essence Tantra. In addition, this dhāraṇī text is reproduced in its entirety in Abhayākāragupta’s Main Path to Awakening.
This translation of the text into English relied primarily on the Degé recension while making reference to variant readings in other recensions as noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and validated in the source texts—notably Narthang. No previous translation of this text into a language outside the Tibetan sphere of influence is known. Meisezahl (1957) provides a diplomatic edition of the dhāraṇī found in the Linden Museum Tibetan collection, where it is accompanied by a third dhāraṇī.
This text presents two dhāraṇīs for the retention of The Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in One Hundred Thousand Lines.
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. Paul G. Hackett produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.
This text presents two dhāraṇīs for the retention of The Perfection of Wisdom Sūtra in One Hundred Thousand Lines. The first of these dhāraṇīs does not appear to be contained in any canonical tantra, although it is shared in common with The Dhāraṇī of “The Perfection of Wisdom in One Hundred Thousand Lines”. Regarding the second dhāraṇī, a mantra closely resembling it is found in The Ornament for the Vajra Essence Tantra. In addition, this dhāraṇī text is reproduced in its entirety in Abhayākāragupta’s Main Path to Awakening.
This translation of the text into English relied primarily on the Degé recension while making reference to variant readings in other recensions as noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) and validated in the source texts—notably Narthang. No previous translation of this text into a language outside the Tibetan sphere of influence is known. Meisezahl (1957) provides a diplomatic edition of the dhāraṇī found in the Linden Museum Tibetan collection, where it is accompanied by a third dhāraṇī.