Toh 598 — A Ritual Manual for the Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī
Uṣṇīṣavijayādhāraṇīkalpa
Translated by Catherine Dalton under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha
Crown Victory of All Tathāgatas:
A Ritual Manual for The Uṣṇīṣavijayā Dhāraṇī
F.248.a Homage to Uṣṇīṣavijayā.
[1]Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was residing in Sukhāvatī. The blessed, thus-gone, worthy, perfectly awakened Buddha Amitāyus was staying joyfully in the grove of the excellent secret palace, Dharma Proclamation.[2] He said to the bodhisattva, the great being, Noble Avalokiteśvara, “Child of noble family, there are beings who suffer, are afflicted with diseases, and have short lifespans.
To help them, one should uphold this dhāraṇī called the crown victory of all tathāgatas and teach it extensively to others for the sake of long life.”
Then the bodhisattva, the great being, Avalokiteśvara arose from his seat, joined his palms, F.248.b and said to the Blessed One, “Blessed One, please teach the dhāraṇī called the crown victory of all tathāgatas. Well-Gone One, please teach it!”
Then the Blessed One looked upon the circle of his perfect[3] retinue, entered the samādhi called the splendor beheld everywhere, and pronounced this dhāraṇī called the crown victory of all tathāgatas:
“oṁ namo bhagavate sarvatrailokyaprativiśiṣṭāya buddhāya te namaḥ |
tadyathā | oṁ bhrūṁ bhrūṁ bhrūṁ | śodhaya śodhaya | viśodhaya viśodhaya | asamasamantāvabhāsaspharaṇagatigaganasvabhāvaviśuddhe[4] | abhiṣiñcantu māṃ sarvatathāgatāḥ sugatavaravacanāmṛtābhiṣekair mahāmudrāmantrapadaiḥ | oṁ[5] āhara āhara mama[6] āyuḥsandhāraṇi | śodhaya śodhaya | viśodhaya viśodhaya | gaganasvabhāvaviśuddhe | uṣṇīṣavijāyapariśuddhe | sahasraraśmisañcodite | sarvatathāgatāvalokini | ṣaṭpāramitāparipūraṇi | sarvatathāgatamāte[7] | daśabhūmipratiṣṭḥite | sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭḥite | oṁ[8] mudre mudre mahāmudre | vajrakāyasaṃhatanapariśuddhe | sarvakarmāvaraṇaviśuddhe | pratinivartaya mamāyurviśuddhe | sarvatathāgatasamayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | oṁ muni muni mahāmuni | vimuni vimuni mahāvimuni | mati mati mahāmati | mamati mamati[9] mahāmamati| sumati sumati mahāsumati[10] | tathatābhūtakoṭipariśuddhe | visphuṭabuddhiśuddhe | oṁ[11] he he | jaya jaya | vijaya vijaya | smara smara | sphara sphara | sphāraya sphāraya | sarvabuddhādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | oṁ[12] śuddhe śuddhe | buddhe buddhe | vajre vajre mahāvajre | suvajre | vajragarbhe | jayagarbhe | vijayagarbhe | vajrajvālagarbhe | vajrodbhave | vajrasambhave | vajre | vajrini | vajram bhavatu me śarīraṃ sarvasatvānāñ ca kāyapariśuddhir bhavatu | me sadā[13] sarvagatipariśuddhiś ca[14] | sarvatathāgatāś ca māṃ[15] samāśvāsayantu | oṁ[16] budhya budhya | siddhya siddhya | bodhaya bodhaya | vibodhaya vibodhaya | mocaya mocaya | vimocaya vimocaya | F.249.a śodhaya śodhaya | viśodhaya viśodhaya | samantān mocaya mocaya | samantaraśmipariśuddhe | sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite | oṁ[17] mudre mudre mahāmudre | mahāmudrāmantrapadaiḥ svāhā.[18]
“Child of noble family, this dhāraṇī of the crown victory of all tathāgatas is the destroyer[19] of the great cudgel of death, the purifier, the destroyer of evil deeds. Anyone who wants a long lifespan should read this dhāraṇī aloud following the rite that I will explain here.
“Smear a wide clearing on the ground with earth and substances derived from a cow. Sprinkle it with saffron-infused water. Adorn it with a canopy[20] above, and let that hang down. At the center draw[21] an elaborately ornamented eight-spoked wheel with white powder. At the center of that is Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Natural Essence. Then, install these tathāgatas on each of the spokes of the wheel in order, starting in the east: Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Sky-Like Feast Gathering, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Essence of the Earth, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Essence of Jewels, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from Nutritious Food, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Boundless Essence, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Essence of Splendor, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Sound of a Drum, and Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from a Breeze.
“Draw a sixteen-petaled lotus directly on the outside of this and install, on each petal and in proper order, the following tathāgatas arisen from the sixteen drops: Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from Inner Emptiness,[22] Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from Outer Emptiness, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from Outer and Inner Emptiness, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Emptiness, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from Ultimate Emptiness, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Compounded Phenomena, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Uncompounded Phenomena, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from Beginningless and Endless Emptiness, F.249.b Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Nonrejection, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Natural Emptiness, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of All Phenomena, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Own-Characteristics, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of the Unobserved, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Nonentities, Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Own-Essence, and Uṣṇīṣa Arisen from the Emptiness of Own-Essence of Nonentities.
“Make a maṇḍala with seats for the tathāgatas and offer them whatever flowers are in season. Set up a throne in the upper half of it and place upon it a caitya of Vairocanagarbha in a water vessel. Also place there a piece of paper or a leaf with the syllables of the mantra and the practitioner’s name on it and a vase filled with water.
“Place four vases in the four directions surrounding the lotus and decorate them with silken tassels, parasols, and pennants. To the east place the goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā Who Conquers All Obstacles. In the south is the goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā Who Conquers Death. In the west is the goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā Who Conquers Afflictive Emotions. In the north is the goddess Uṣṇīṣavijayā Who Conquers Illnesses of the Aggregates. In the southeast is Life-Granting Vajra Garland. In the southwest is Mahāmāyā. In the northwest is Golden Light. In the northeast is Life-Granting Golden Garland.
“Fill four vessels with perfumed water, hang flower garlands on them, and place them there also. Around these draw three images with colored powder. In the first line arrange one thousand molded images made with wet clay that is free from hairs and the like. If one thousand are not possible, it is essential to set out at least one hundred. Make offerings in the four directions with utmost honor and respect.
“A dharmabhāṇaka who maintains a vow F.250.a not to speak any other words should recite this dhāraṇī. Each time they recite the dhāraṇī, they should make offerings to the head of the caitya and consecrate it. After reciting one thousand times, they should wave their hand at the head of the central caitya and make offerings of flowers, incense, lamps, scented water, food offerings, and so forth. One thousand of each of these offerings should be arranged in lines around the caitya. Make sure that the line of lamps burns without being blown out by the wind for as long as it takes to finish the rite, and maintain equipoise and strict purity.
“If the rite is performed in this way, a lifespan of seven days will thereby become seven years, a lifespan of seven years will become a supremely long life, one will be free from illness and live for a hundred years, and one will never meet an untimely death. If one follows some other procedure to perform the rite, it will not work.”
This was the first chapter.[23]Colophon
This ritual manual was translated in Glorious Tharpa Ling Temple by the learned Lotsāwa Neten Palkyi Nyima Gyaltsen Sangpo following the instructions of the genuine spiritual friend, the sublime monk and unparalleled teacher of the Vinaya Piṭaka, Ne’u Khenpo.
Notes
The first part of this text through the presentation of the dhāraṇī itself is parallel with the opening passages of Toh 594, Toh 595, and Toh 596, though the latter text has made a number of emendations that improve upon some readings from Toh 594 and Toh 595, while making others even less smooth and more complicated. This opening section of the present text both lacks a line slip error that was transmitted in each of the three other works in this group of four, and also shows evidence of having been edited. In the present text the dhāraṇī itself has also been edited, with vowel sandhi applied between words, which has not been done in any other recensions of the dhāraṇī in this group of parallel texts.
backchos yang dag par sdud pa’i phug chen po’i khang bzangs kyi tshal. The Sanskrit in the closely parallel text edited by Hidas reads dharmasaṃgītimahāguhyaprāsāde (Hidas 2020, p. 152). The Tibetan phrase is awkward, and it seems that there may have been some textual corruption. What has been rendered in Tibetan as phug seems to be guhya in the Sanskrit parallel; perhaps the Tibetan translators were reading guhā—which does translate to phug—rather than guhya. Although we cannot be sure that the surviving Sanskrit witnesses represent the older reading, they provide a more coherent reading than the one in our Tibetan witnesses, so we have translated this word following the Sanskrit, rather than the Tibetan witness.
backthams cad dang ldan pa.
backThe phrase uṣṇīṣavijāyāpariśuddhe follows here in in Toh 595, 596, and 598, and in Hidas’ Sanskrit edition.
backThis oṁ is not found in Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984.
backmama is not present in Hidas’ edition of the Sanskrit manuscripts.
backHidas’s edition of the Sanskrit reads sarvatathāgatamātre, a plausible variant unattested in Tibetan sources.
backThis oṁ is not found in Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984.
backThis repetition of mamati is absent in the Narthang and Stok Palace versions of Toh 598.
backThe passage mamati mamati mahāmamati| sumati sumati mahāsumati is unique to Toh. 598. Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984, as well as Hidas’ Sanskrit edition, all read mamati | sumati.
backThis oṁ is not found in Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984.
backThis oṁ is not found in Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984.
backThere is some variation in this phrase across the Tibetan and Sanskrit sources. Toh 594, 596, and 597 read sadā me; Toh 595, 598 (this text), and Toh 984 read me sadā; and Hidas’ Sanskrit edition has mama sadā. The meaning is the same in all cases.
backHidas’s Sanskrit edition includes sarvatathāgatahṛdayādhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite here. There is significant variation at this point across the Tibetan and Sanskrit sources. Please see the corresponding passage of the dhāraṇī in Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984 for the variants reported in those texts.
backmāṃ is absent in Hidas’ Sanskrit edition.
backThis oṁ is not found in Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984.
backThis oṁ is not found in Toh 594, 595, 596, and 597/984.
backHidas 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).
backThe Tibetan text reads ’dzin pa (“holder”), while the parallel Sanskrit text edited by Hidas reads -nivāraṇī (“destroyer”) (Hidas 2020, p. 153). Moreover, three of Hidas’ Sanskrit witnesses here read -harā, also meaning “destroyer” (ibid., p. 161n142). Given the lack of sense in the Tibetan passage and the consistency of meaning in the Sanskrit witnesses, this translation follows the Sanskrit reading.
backThis translation is based on the reading bla bres following the Narthang and Lhasa Kangyurs rather than the reading bla res from the Degé.
backLiterally “place” (gdab). Below, the verb ’bri (“draw”) is used, so we have used “draw” to translate gdab here as well.
backThe sixteen uṣṇīṣa buddhas listed here are named after the sixteen emptinesses, the classical set of sixteen types of emptiness described in many Mahāyāna philosophical texts.
backSee #UT22084-090-042-8 and #UT22084-090-042-156.
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