Toh 731 — Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers

Tārāṣṭaghoratāraṇī

Translated by Samye Translations under the patronage and supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha

The Noble Sūtra

Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers

F.222.b Homage to the Three Jewels.

Homage to the venerable lady Tārā.

Homage to the Blessed Śākyamuni.

Thus did I hear at one time. The Blessed One was dwelling in the realm of gods atop Mount Meru. At that time, the goddess Tārā, who was in the assembly, spoke the following words:

“Now that you have reached this jewel-like higher realm,

You should understand actions and their results:

Adhere to the good and abandon the bad,

For those who engage in evil actions F.223.a

Will plunge downward when they pass from this world.

“Animals, dull and mute, devour one another.

They climb and descend, up and down, on an abysmal path of toil.

Terrified and afraid, they tremble in panic,

As their dreadful suffering defies imagination.

“Pretas suffer from hunger and thirst, their bodies deformed.

If food and drink should appear, it is guarded by others,

And even if they consume a little, it turns into fire and swords.

Their suffering from hunger and thirst defies imagination.

“Those beings who are born in the hell realms

Are powerlessly led by Yama’s henchmen.

Burned and boiled, they are sliced asunder by swords;

Their suffering from heat and cold is unbearable.

“Thus, those who commit evil deeds in this life

Are committing a great injury to themselves.

They will be tormented by intense suffering for many eons,

With no chance to escape and no means of enduring it.

“Keep this clearly in mind, and understand the results of actions.

Otherwise you will sow your own unbearable suffering and lament.

Even others will be frightened by the terrible din of your agonized screams,

For these kinds of sufferings are beyond imagination!

“Whoever understands such grave faults

Will abandon the causes of the three lower realms.

Wherever evil manifests, subtle or coarse,

Act swiftly by way of body, speech, and mind.

“You will then be happy and offer help to all beings.

You will give up attachment, aversion, and ignorance and strengthen the root of compassion.

You will practice virtue, striving avidly with body, speech, and mind,

And endeavor in this most profound quintessence.^[1]

“The fruit of a flower overcome by frost,

Although cultivated, will produce no sprouts.

Likewise, those who transgress their vows and entertain doubts

May practice the most profound of vidyāmantras,

Thinking, ‘Blessings will come,’ but this is impossible—

Their efforts amount to meaningless hardship.

“Their vidyāmantra becomes like the prattle of common folk,

And their absorption resembles the musings of a child.

But if people without fault practice vidyāmantras, F.223.b

They shall swiftly accomplish whatever they desire.

“Minute though it is, the seed of the banyan tree

Well moistened with water and manure

In seven months can grow as much as a league.

If there can be so much change in outer matter,

What need to speak of accomplishing knowledge with knowledge?

The inner change of luminosity is beyond all measure.

“If one relies on a merchant who knows the way

And sets out to sea in an excellent ship,

One will find whatever riches are desired

And sail smoothly back to one’s home.

“If one relies on love, compassion, joy, and equanimity

And practices virtue endowed with the mind of awakening,

One will set out on a truly perfect path

And be sure to reach the land of wisdom.

“When an arrow is released from a person’s fingers,

It has certainly been shot, even if one thinks otherwise.

When a person fully comprehends the meaning of reality,

The other shore has been reached, even if one thinks otherwise.

“Once the aspects of conduct are naturally perfected,

The fruit of buddhahood will undoubtedly be attained.

When the pristine nature of reality is realized,

There is no self, no life force, and also no termination of life force.

There is no action and no ripening of action.

The extremes are abandoned, and one is liberated.

“In order for you to realize that goal,

Devotedly recite this quintessence as I proclaim it.

If you do, the evil deeds of three incalculable eons will be eradicated,

The three lower realms and all the suffering of saṃsāra will be purified,

And the obscurations will be cleared away.

The meaningful quintessence is as follows:

oṁ, bodhisattva great lady, goddess, please protect us!^[2]

oṁ nama āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya mahāsattvāya mahākāruṇikāya |^[3]tadyathā |^[4]

oṁ tāre tuttāre ture sarvaduṣṭān praduṣṭān mama kṛte jambhaya stambhaya mohaya bandhaya hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā |^[5]

nama āryāvalobhayā narā bodhisattvā mahāsattvāni adhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite mama sarvakarmāvaraṇa svabhāvaśuddhe F.224.a viśuddhe śodhaya viśodhaya hūṁ phaṭ svāhā |^[6]

“Then the goddess, who is herself

The embodiment of buddhahood, is praised:^[7]

“ ‘Lady who acts with immense compassion for the good of beings—

You have all the major and minor marks and are bedecked with precious substances.

Your smile is ravishing, your countenance is joyful,

And your eyes are like flax blossoms.

“ ‘Your ears are like blossoming trumpet flowers.

Your nose is like a lotus bud.

Your mouth is like a mallow in full bloom.

You have a sparkling body and the figure of a young maiden.

“ ‘Your speech is like a kalaviṅka bird, proclaiming the Dharma.

Your compassionate mind guards all beings with love.

Your left hand holds a lotus, for you are unstained by saṃsāra’s flaws.

Your right hand grants protection to all beings to fulfill their aims.

“ ‘You are seated on the sun and moon of method and wisdom.

Venerable lady Tārā, we take refuge in you!

Protect us from the great abyss of saṃsāra!

“ ‘As we circle within the six transmigrations,

May you secure us with your noose of great compassion.

As we go astray into the three lower realms,

May you place us on a path free from straying.

“ ‘As we are born into families with wrong views,

Please introduce us to teachers who possess the mind of awakening,

Lest we encounter unwholesome teachers.

“ ‘You protect from the eight dangers—

Lions, elephants, fire, snakes,

Robbers, waters, infectious diseases, and demons.

We pay homage to you!

In this world and in others as well,

Protect us from these eight dangers!

“ ‘Until we have reached our goal, the other shore,

May we make the ten perfections of generosity, moral conduct,

Patience, diligence, concentration, insight,

Method, aspiration, strength, and wisdom

Our inseparable allies!’

“Sons and daughters of noble family should write down this teaching, read it, recite it, understand it, contemplate it correctly, and explain it extensively to others.” F.224.b

At her words, the whole assembly rejoiced and offered praise.

This completes the sūtra “Venerable Lady Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers.”^[8]

Notes

Quintessence (hṛdaya, snying po) here refers to a dhāraṇī that is considered to encapsulate the essence of a deity, in this case Tārā.
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The first part of this dhāraṇī is an homage to Tārā. Since the Tibetan translators chose to render this part into Tibetan, it is also translated into English here.
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The second part of this dhāraṇī presents a standard homage to Avalokiteśvara. We have amended namo to nama following the homage as given in the Vajratārāsādhanas in the Sādhanamālā (see e.g. Bhattacharyya 1925, p. 178) and The Dhāraṇī of Tārā. A tentative translation of it is as follows: “oṁ! Homage to Noble Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva mahāsattva, the great compassionate one!”
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Tadyathā, literally “it is like this,” is used to indicate the beginning of a mantra.
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The third part of this dhāraṇī is a request to Tārā to dispel obstacles. This part is found as an independent dhāraṇī in, for example, the Sādhanamālā as the mantra of Vajratārā (Bhattacharyya 1925, p. 178), The Dhāraṇī of Tārā, and elsewhere (Beyer 1978, pp. 280–281). A tentative translation of it is as follows: “It is like this: oṁ! Deliverer! Savior! Swift One! Crush, suppress, confound, restrain all the wrong and evil beings for me! hūṁ hūṁ hūṁ phaṭ phaṭ phaṭ svāhā!”
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The fourth part of this dhāraṇī is a request to Tārā to purify one’s obscurations. We have amended the first two beginning syllables mama to nama following the dhāraṇī as given in Butön’s Dhāraṇī Collection (gzungs bsdus) in his Collected Works (gsung ’bum). The remaining part of the dhāraṇī appears to be corrupted. The letters bha and ka are very similar and often confused in old Newar and other scripts, so āryāvalobha- probably was originally āryāvaloka-. This is probably a reference to Āryāvalokiteśvara, whose name might have been followed by the standard bhodhisattvo mahāsattvaḥ. A tentative translation is as follows: “Homage to you, [Tārā,] empowered with the blessing of Noble Avalokita, the great bodhisattva mahāsattva! Purify, completely purify, cleanse, and completely cleanse all my karmic obscurations! hūṁ phaṭ svāhā!”
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This is a tentative rendering of the phrase: de nas sangs rgyas nyid kyis su/ /lha mo nyid la rab tu bstod.
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The title listed here differs from the title given on the first page as “Noble” (’phags ma) is missing. Instead, “Venerable Lady” (rje btsun ma) is added. The Comparative Edition notes that the Lithang and Choné versions add yang zhus ste/te skar to the end of the colophon (p. 601). The phrase could be rendered as “re-edited and sorted.”
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