Toh 597, Toh 984 — The Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī

Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇī

Translated by Patrick Lambelet and Caley Smith under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

The Noble Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī That Purifies All Lower Rebirths

F.243.bF.120.a Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.

There was a god called Supratiṣṭhita, seated in the divine assembly hall, Sudharmā, among the gods of the Heaven of the Thirty-Three; he lived in a great palace, where he was surrounded by the finest divine pleasures and a great harem of divine maidens playing and singing songs.

That night, after he had indulged in those divine pleasures, he heard a voice say, “God Supratiṣṭhita, your death will occur in one week. After you die, you will be born in Jambudvīpa, where you will undergo seven rebirths. After undergoing the seventh rebirth, you will be born as a hell being. When you are eventually born as a human, you will be poor and blind.”

When the god heard that voice, he became terrified and anguished, and his hairs stood on end. In great haste, he went to Śakra, Lord of the Gods, and prostrated at his feet. He wailed miserably, sobbed, and addressed Śakra, Lord of the Gods, saying, “Lord of the Gods, please listen. Today, Lord of the Gods, I was surrounded by my harem of divine maidens, and after we had enjoyed divine pleasures, played, and indulged in bliss, I heard a voice saying, ‘God Supratiṣṭhita, your death will occur in one week. After you die, you will be born in Jambudvīpa, where you will undergo seven rebirths. After undergoing the seventh rebirth, you will be born as a hell being. When you are eventually born as a human, F.244.a you will be poor and blind.’ Lord of the Gods, what am I to do?”^[1]

When he heard what the god Supratiṣṭhita said, Śakra, Lord of the Gods, F.120.b was astonished. He thought about the seven rebirths that this god was going to experience and sat there in silence. He saw those seven rebirths—birth as a pig, a dog, a fox, a monkey, a venomous snake, a vulture, and a crow—and saw the filthy things he would consume. When Śakra, Lord of the Gods, saw those seven births, he thought, “Alas, if this god is going to experience this unbearable, great suffering, who but the thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened Buddha will be his refuge, support, and last resort?”

That evening at dusk, Śakra, Lord of the Gods, gathered various kinds of perfumes, flowers, incense, clothing, ornaments, and so forth, approached the Blessed One in the Jetavana monastery,^[2] prostrated at the Blessed One’s feet, circumambulated him seven times, performed a great offering, sat before the Blessed One, and told the Blessed One in detail about Supratiṣṭhita’s seven rebirths.

As soon as Śakra, Lord of the Gods, had told the Blessed One about those seven rebirths, brilliant rays of light emerged from the Blessed One’s uṣṇīṣa, illuminated every place throughout the ten directions where there was a world system, returned, and entered the Blessed One’s mouth.^[3] Then the Blessed One smiled at Śakra, Lord of the Gods, and spoke these words:

“Lord of the Gods, the crown victory dhāraṇī that has been consecrated by the Tathāgata purifies all lower rebirths, F.244.b destroys all births characterized by obscurations and suffering, thoroughly purifies the hell realms, F.121.a animal realms, and the Realm of the Lord of Death, and sets beings on the path to higher rebirth.

“Lord of the Gods, as soon as the crown victory dhāraṇī that purifies all lower rebirths is heard, it destroys the many different types of suffering related to the obscurations. One will obtain a stream of completely pure births, and in each of those lifetimes one will remember one’s previous lives. One will go from one buddha land to another and one god realm to another until one reaches the thirty-second god realm.^[4]

“Lord of the Gods, as soon as that dhāraṇī is uttered, any god whose lifespan has been exhausted will have their lifespan extended;^[5] the perfectly pure bodily, verbal, and mental karma they have accumulated by maintaining contact with the higher realms^[6] will allow them to remain, and the tathāgatas will watch over them and^[7] constantly protect, guard, and preserve them. All the bodhisattvas will think about them as well.

“Just reciting it will lead all the hell realms, the animal realm, the Realm of the Lord of Death, and the preta realm to dry up, disintegrate, and be scattered, cleared, and emptied. The doors to all the buddha fields, god realms, and realms of the bodhisattvas will be opened for them, and they can enter whichever they wish.”

At that point Śakra, Lord of the Gods, addressed the Blessed One, saying, “Blessed One, please proclaim that dhāraṇī and explain its benefits for the life force of beings.” F.245.aF.121.b

Then, the Blessed One understood what Śakra, Lord of the Gods, had requested and bestowed the following dhāraṇīs:^[8]

“Lord of the Gods, the crown victory dhāraṇī that completely purifies all lower rebirths completely purifies all bad deeds, actions, and obscurations. It leads to the path of higher rebirth and utterly destroys all lower rebirths. As many buddhas as there are grains of sand in eighty-eight trillion Gaṅgā Rivers have taught, blessed, and rejoiced in this dhāraṇī, and it is sealed by the wisdom mudrā of all the tathāgatas. It was taught in order to place all beings on the path that leads to higher rebirths, to bring back those who have fallen into lower rebirths, and to liberate all those in painful and frightening existences: hell beings, those born into the animal realm, those in the Realm of the Lord of Death, and all others who have plunged into the ocean of suffering.

“Similarly, this dhāraṇī has been given to Jambudvīpa to benefit beings who have a short lifespan and little fortune, who are despised, and who have strayed from the path.

“Lord of the Gods, you should take this dhāraṇī and proclaim it to the god Supratiṣṭhita. After you proclaim it, you should urge him to chant it, recite it, contemplate it, meditate upon it, and recollect it, and to worship, uphold, and master it.

“Thus, for the benefit, assistance, and happiness of the gods residing in all the god realms F.122.b and the beings of Jambudvīpa, I entrust to you the mudrās and mantras related to this dhāraṇī. Lord of the Gods, you must keep it well!

“Lord of the Gods, as soon as this dhāraṇī is heard, the karmic obstructions one has amassed over one hundred thousand eons will be utterly purified.^[19] Know that one will no longer take any of the various births in the hell realms, the animal realm, F.246.a the Realm of the Lord of Death, the realm of the pretas, and the realm of the asuras. Likewise, one will not be born into the class of creatures such as yakṣas, rākṣasas, bhūtas, piśācas, pūtanas, kaṭapūtanas, apasmāras, dogs, tortoises, snakes, fierce wild animals, birds, bees, flies, reptiles, and ants.

“Instead, one will meet with the tathāgatas, be born into the family of the bodhisattvas, or be born into a prominent family such as a brahmin family that is like a great sāl tree, a kṣatriya family that is like a great sāl tree, a householder family that is like a great sāl tree, or a merchant family that is like a great sāl tree.

“Lord of the Gods, the power of this dhāraṇī will allow one to obtain great and completely pure rebirths until one finally reaches the seat of awakening.

“Lord of the Gods, this dhāraṇī is extremely powerful, beneficial, potent, virtuous, and auspicious.

“Lord of the Gods, this dhāraṇī called the crown victory of the tathāgatas, which completely purifies all lower rebirths, has been set forth for the benefit of beings.

“Lord of the Gods, consider the utterly stainless precious jewel that is the heart of the sun, completely pure like space, luminous, and blazing with light. F.123.a This dhāraṇī will render beings devoid of stains just like that jewel. Consider also the perfectly stainless gold from the Jambu River that is pure, perfectly resplendent,^[20] and utterly lovely. Lord of the Gods, great beings such as those are as utterly and completely pure as that gold, and they will continue to be reborn like that from one lifetime to the next.

“Lord of the Gods, wherever this dhāraṇī is taught—and particularly wherever it is written down,^[21] read aloud, recited, chanted, F.246.b worshiped, studied, listened to, and upheld—all rebirths will be thoroughly purified, and all rebirths in the hell realms will cease.

“Lord of the Gods, this dhāraṇī should be written down and hung from the top of a flagstaff. It should be placed on a high mountain, on top of a tall building, or on top of the life pillar of a caitya.^[22] Śakra, should any monk or nun, layman or laywoman, or any other son or daughter of noble family see it, live near it, pass under its shadow, or be touched by a breeze carrying a particle of dust from this dhāraṇī when it is hung from the top of a flagstaff, all of that being’s evil deeds will be purified,^[23] Śakra, and they will no longer have any fear of going to the lower realms. They will not be born as a hell being, they will not be born in the animal realm, they will not be born in the Realm of the Lord of Death, they will not be born as a preta, and they will not be born among the asuras. Lord of the Gods, know that such a being has been prophesied by all the tathāgatas and will never turn back from unsurpassed, complete, perfect awakening.

“Lord of the Gods, a being who worships and honors it, F.123.b who adorns it with flowers, incense, perfumes, flower garlands, scented salves, parasols, banners, pendants, and ornaments—not to mention builds a caitya at a crossroads, places this dhāraṇī there, and joins their palms together or prostrates or circumambulates it—you should know, Śakra, that this being is indeed a great being! Know them to be a child of the tathāgatas. Know them to be an abode of the Dharma. Know them to be a caitya of the tathāgatas.”

Then, as that evening passed and dawn began to break, Dharmarāja Yama arose, went before the Blessed One, worshiped the Blessed One with divine flowers, cloth, F.247.a ornaments, and other things, and respectfully circumambulated the Blessed One seven times. Then he touched the Blessed One’s feet and said, “Blessed One, this dhāraṇī is very powerful. It is very beneficial. Blessed One, I will also continually pursue the benefit of those beings, and I will always remain here to protect and defend them.^[24] I will turn those beings away from all hell realms. Blessed One, I will do what I know is right, and I will not do what I know is not right.”

Then the Four Great Kings circumambulated the Blessed One three times and said to him, “Blessed One, please give an extensive explanation of the detailed rite for this dhāraṇī and the way to perform the rite.”

The Blessed One then addressed the Four Great Kings, “Listen, and I will explain the way to perform the rite of this dhāraṇī.

“To help a being with a short lifespan, a son or daughter of noble family F.124.a should bathe on the full moon day and recite the dhāraṇī 1,008 times. The depleted lifespan of that being will be restored. They will become free from illness, all their obscurations will be purified, and they will be completely freed from all lower rebirths, such as that of a hell being.

“One can even recite this dhāraṇī in the ear of any bird or living being that has taken an animal birth and know that this will be their very last lower rebirth.

“If one does the same thing for someone who is extremely ill, even when the doctors have determined that things have taken a turn for the worse, they will be completely freed from their illness and be cut off from all lower rebirths. When they die, they will be born in the realm of Sukhāvatī. Know that this very life is their last birth from a womb. From one lifetime to the next, they will only take miraculous birth from the center of a lotus, and they will always remember the succession of their past lives. F.247.b

“For any being who has committed negative deeds and has died, recite the dhāraṇī over white mustard seeds twenty-one times and scatter these over their bones. Even if they have been born as a hell being, in the animal realm, in the Realm of the Lord of Death, as a preta, or in some other lower rebirth, the power of this dhāraṇī will free them from those lower rebirths, and they will be reborn as a god.

“Whoever recites this dhāraṇī completely twenty-one times each day will become worthy to receive offerings from great worldly beings. Their lifespan will increase, they will be free from illness, they will be happy, they will always be joyful, and they will attain the great nirvāṇa. F.124.b From there they will travel to many different buddha fields and meet the tathāgatas in each one. Those tathāgatas will reassure them and issue prophecies of their awakening. In each of those buddha fields, they will illuminate the entire world.^[25]

“Lord of the Gods,^[26] this method will liberate all beings from all rebirths as hell beings and so forth. It will completely purify their lower rebirths, and they will have long lives.

“Lord of the Gods, go teach and proclaim this dhāraṇī to the god Supratiṣṭhita,^[27] and in seven days, Lord of the Gods, all the god Supratiṣṭhita’s rebirths will be purified, he will have a long life, and he will become extremely powerful.”

Śakra, Lord of the Gods, took this teaching from the Tathāgata, went to Supratiṣṭhita’s abode, F.248.a and gave this dhāraṇī to the god Supratiṣṭhita. That god diligently practiced this dhāraṇī for six days and six nights, and on the seventh day all his wishes were fulfilled. He was liberated from the lower realms, he was established on the path to the higher realms, and he obtained a long life. Then he proclaimed the following meaningful statement: “How wonderful is the Buddha! How wonderful is the Dharma! How wonderful is it that a dhāraṇī such as this exists in the world! I have been liberated from the great fear!”

This concludes “The Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī That Purifies All Lower Rebirths.”

Colophon

This was translated, edited, and finalized by the Indian preceptors Jinamitra and Surendrabodhi and the chief editor and translator Bandé Yeshé Dé.

Notes

Sanskrit ’haṃ katham parimucyeyam, “How might I be released from these things?”
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The Tibetan does not mention Jetavana, but the Sanskrit has yena jetavane vihāre.
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The Sanskrit witness consulted for this translation preserves the alternate reading punar evāgatya bhagavantaṃ triḥ pradakṣiṇīkṛtya bhaga vataḥ mukhadvārṃ praviṣṭā (“three rays returned [and] circumambulated the Blessed One”).
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It is not entirely clear what this refers to. According to the Abhidharmakośa, there are six levels of gods in the desire realm (kāmadhātu), seventeen in the form realm (rūpadhātu), and four in the formless realm (ārūpyadhātu/ārūpadhātu), totaling twenty-seven. It may refer to the Heaven of the Thirty-Three, but the Tibetan versions, as well as the Sanskrit, all say “the thirty-second.”
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This translation follows the Sanskrit witness, which reads devendra bhāṣitamātrāyāṃ gatāyuṣaś ca devaputraḥ punar api dīrghāyuṃ pratilabhate. The Tibetan witnesses do not include the term devaputraḥ and indicate that the dhāraṇī can perform this function for anyone who recites it.
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The English term “realms” has been added to the translation for the sake of clarity and assumes that the term bde ba in the Tibetan witnesses refers to the “higher realms” (bde ’gro). It is possible, however, to interpret this phrase to mean simply maintaining contact with “pleasant things.”
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The Sanskrit witness reads sarvadevatā cāsya rakṣāvaraṇaguptim kurvanti, which indicates that the nominative agent of this phrase is all the tutelary deities and not the tathāgatas.
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Of the collection of uṣṇīṣavijayā dhāraṇī texts in the Kangyurs, only this text preserves the reading gzungs ’di dag, which notes that the long dhāraṇī that follows is in fact a collection of several separate dhāraṇīs.
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This opening homage to the Three Jewels is included here only in Toh 597, the version of the text in the Action Tantra section of the Degé Kangyur, and is not present in Toh 984, the supposedly duplicate reiteration in the Dhāraṇī section. Moreover, it is only in the Degé Kangyur that the dhāraṇī in the Action Tantra version includes this homage; it does not appear in the Action Tantra recensions in the Yongle, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs.
An opening homage to the Three Jewels, namo ratna trayāya, is added here in Toh 597, the version of the text in the Action Tantra section of the Degé Kangyur, but is not present here in Toh 984 in the Dhāraṇī section despite this version supposedly being a duplicate reiteration of Toh 597. Moreover, it is only in the Degé Kangyur that the dhāraṇī in the Action Tantra version includes that phrase of homage; it does not appear in the Action Tantra recensions in the Yongle, Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace Kangyurs.
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The phrase uṣṇīṣavijāyāpariśuddhe follows here in the Yongle and Kanxi Kangyur versions of this text, in Hidas’ Sanskrit edition, and in Toh 595, 596, and 598.
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mama is not present in Hidas’ edition of the Sanskrit manuscripts.
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Hidas’ edition reads sarvatathāgatamātre, a plausible variant unattested in Tibetan sources.
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suvajre is not present in Hidas’ edition of the Sanskrit manuscripts.
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Yongle and Kanxi here read sadame, while Hidas’ edition of the Sanskrit manuscripts has mama sadā. In Toh 595 and 598 the phrase reads kāyapariśuddhir bhavatu | me sadā sarvagatipariśuddhiś ca.
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This is the anomalous phrase mentioned in the introduction at #UT22084-090-041-212. In place of the reading samantān mocaya mocaya | ādhiṣṭhāna here in the Degé of Toh 597 and in the equivalent texts in the Lithang and Cone Kangyurs, the supposedly duplicate reiteration of this text in the Dhāraṇī section, Toh 984, instead reads sarvatathāgatasamaya ādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite. The Sanskrit manuscripts as edited by Hidas read sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite. However, in other Kangyurs, including the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace, the phrase is omitted altogether. See also #UT22084-090-041-209.
This is the anomalous phrase mentioned in the introduction at #UT22084-090-041-212. In place of the reading sarvatathāgatasamaya ādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite here in Toh 984 in the Dhāraṇī section of the Degé, the Toh 597 version of the text in the Action Tantra section instead reads samantān mocaya mocaya | ādhiṣṭhāna, as do the equivalent texts in the Lithang and Cone Kangyurs. The Sanskrit manuscripts as edited by Hidas read sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite. However, in other Kangyurs, including the Narthang, Lhasa, and Stok Palace, the phrase is omitted altogether. See also #UT22084-090-041-209.
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māṃ is absent in Hidas’ Sanskrit edition.
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At this point in most versions of the dhāraṇī comes the phrase samantān mocaya mocaya which, while it is absent here in the Degé text of Toh 597, the version of this work in the Action Tantra section, is present in Toh 984, the supposedly duplicate reiteration in the Dhāraṇī section, as well as in the Stok Palace Kangyur, and in the Sanskrit manuscripts according to Hidas’ edition; in the Narthang and Lhasa Kangyurs it reads samantā mocaya mocaya. The phrase (in one or other of these two spellings) is also present in all other canonical versions of the dhāraṇī in this group of texts—with the exception of the heavily abridged version in the Phukdrak Kangyur (see #UT22084-090-041-214). See also #UT22084-090-041-207; one could speculate that this phrase might possibly have been displaced at some point by a scribal error.
The phrase here samantān mocaya mocaya is absent at this point in the Degé text of Toh 597 in the Action Tantra section, despite this version, Toh 984, being its supposedly duplicate reiteration. The same phrase is also present in the Stok Palace Kangyur, and in the Sanskrit manuscripts according to Hidas’ edition; in the Narthang and Lhasa Kangyurs it reads samantā mocaya mocaya. In one or other of these two spellings it is also present in all other canonical versions of the dhāraṇī in this group of texts—with the exception of the heavily abridged version in the Phukdrak Kangyur (see #UT22084-090-041-214). See also #UT22084-090-041-207; one could speculate that this phrase might possibly have been displaced at some point by a scribal error.
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Hidas has translated the dhāraṇī based on his edition, and rather than retranslate it, we give his translation here. Substantive variants between the Sanskrit basis for his translation and the Degé have been noted above. “Oṁ veneration to the glorious Buddha distinguished in all the Three Worlds. Namely, oṁ bhrūṃ bhrūṃ bhrūṃ, purge, purge, purify, purify, O Unequalled Enveloping Splendor Sparkle Destiny Sky, O the One of Purified Nature, O the One Purified by the Topknot Victory, let all Tathāgatas consecrate me with consecrations of the nectar of the excellent Sugata’s words along with great seals and mantrapadas, oṁ bring, bring, O the One who Nourishes Life, purge, purge, purify, purify, O the One Purified by Sky Nature, O the One Purified by the Topknot Victory, O the One Impelled by Thousand Rays, O the One Beholding all Tathāgatas, O the One Fulfilling the Six Perfections, O Mother of all Tathāgatas, O the One Established in the Ten Stages, O the One Empowered by the Empowerment of the Heart of all Tathāgatas, oṁ O Seal, O Seal, O Great Seal, O the One Purified by the Firmness of the Vajra Body, O the One Purged of all Obscurations Resulting from Actions, turn back for me O Life-purged One, O the One Empowered by the Empowerment of the Vow of all Tathāgatas, oṁ muni muni, mahāmuni, vimuni vimuni, mahāvimuni, mati mati, mahāmati, mamati, sumati, O the One Purified by Truth and the True Goal, O the One Purged by a Burst Open Mind, oṁ he he, triumph triumph, succeed succeed, recollect recollect, manifest manifest, expand expand, O the One Empowered by the Empowerment of all Buddhas, oṁ O Pure One, O Pure One, O Awakened One, O Awakened One, O Vajra, O Vajra, O Great Vajra, O Vajra-essence, O Victory-essence, O Triumph-essence, O Vajra-flame-essence, O Vajra-born, O Vajra-produced, O Vajra, O the One with a Vajra, let my body become a vajra and that of all beings, let there be body-purification for me and purification of all destinies, O the One Empowered by the Empowerment of the Heart of all Tathāgatas, let all Tathāgatas provide encouragement, oṁ awake awake, succeed succeed, awaken awaken, wake up, wake up, liberate liberate, release release, purge purge, purify purify, liberate completely, O the One Purified by an Enveloping Ray, O the One Empowered by the Empowerment of the Heart of all Tathāgatas, oṁ O Seal O Seal, O Great Seal, O Great Seal and Mantrapada svāhā” (Hidas 2020, p. 154).
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Note that from this point until where it is indicated below, in Unebe’s transcription there does not appear to be any corresponding Sanskrit text.
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Reading mnyen pa as *snigdha.
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Degé here adds ’dzin pa (“upheld”), but this term is repeated later in the list, so we follow the Lithang and Choné Kangyurs, which omit the first instance.
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mchod rten gyi srog shing gi steng du. This reading differs in Toh 594, where we find the alternate reading mchod rten gyi nang du (“inside a caitya”). Either reading would be appropriate.
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Technically the final verb mi ’byung (“will not come about”) applies both to the evil deeds of the beings and their fears of lower rebirths, so this line could be translated as “all the evil deeds of that being will not come about,” i.e., they will stop performing evil deeds. However, given the context of the wider passage, we find it more likely that the passage means that their evil deeds will be purified, and so we have translated it accordingly.
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The implication here is of course that Yama, the Lord of the Realm of the Dead, will defend and protect those beings who are connected with this dhāraṇī and will not send them to lower rebirths.
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The parallels between this text and Toh 594 end here.
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The Phukdrak (phug brag) Kangyur manuscript contains a significant variant at this point beginning with the phrase phyag rgya bcings pa ni on folio 6.b.3. This line corresponds to the instructions for forming the mudrā for this dhāraṇī that appear in Toh 594, which do not appear in any of the other versions of Toh 597.
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This translation follows the reading lha’i bu shin tu brtan pa in the Stok Palace Kangyur. The Degé reads lha’i bu blo gros shin tu brtan pa.
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