Toh 731The Noble Sūtra “Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers”

Summary

In this sūtra, the goddess Tārā warns the gods of the desire realm about
the miseries of saṃsāra and offers a pithy Dharma teaching to free them from
harm. Tārā begins by vividly portraying the various kinds of suffering endured
by beings in each of the six realms of saṃsāra and then points out the futility
of reciting mantras without maintaining pure conduct. She goes on to encourage
the listeners to engage in virtue, which puts an end to saṃsāra, and she bestows
on them a dhāraṇī that will help them to achieve this goal, a praise of her qualities, and a request for her divine
protection that they should recite. Finally, she enjoins the audience to read and practice the
teaching and share it with others.

Acknowledgements

Translated by Samye Translations under the
guidance of Phakchok Rinpoche. The translation and introduction were produced by
Stefan Mang and Peter Woods, and edited by Oriane Lavolé.

This translation has been completed under the patronage and supervision
of 84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

Introduction

While the Buddha is dwelling on top of Mount Meru, along with the
goddess Tārā and an assembly of gods, Tārā warns the divine gathering about
the various kinds of suffering endured by beings in each of the six realms
of saṃsāra. She explains that the fate of each being is the result of past
negative actions and that virtuous conduct is the only way to avoid
suffering in the future. Tārā describes the path to liberation using a
series of evocative metaphors and also offers a sacred dhāraṇī as a means to help
others achieve liberation from saṃsāra. She also outlines for recitation a
praise of her myriad qualities, in particular of her ability to
protect beings from the eight dangers. Finally, she encourages the
audience to read, practice, and share this teaching widely.

The sūtra can be divided into three sections: (1) a concise teaching
given by Tārā on the suffering of saṃsāra and the virtuous practices that
will eradicate such suffering and lead to fortunate states; (2) a
dhāraṇī that practitioners can employ as a method for advancing toward
liberation; and (3) a praise to be recited to Tārā.
In this third section, Tārā is praised as an
awakened protectress and requested to keep those who petition her safe from the eight
dangers. These dangers are identified in this text as lions, elephants,
fire, snakes, robbers, waters, infectious diseases, and demons. These final
verses, in which Tārā’s ability to protect beings from the eight dangers is
described, are thus what lend the text its title.

There is to our knowledge no extant Sanskrit version of this sūtra,
nor is there a Chinese version recorded in the Taishō Buddhist Canon. It is
also not found in the Denkarma (ldan dkar
ma) or Phangthangma (’phang thang
ma) Tibetan imperial translation inventories. The translation has no colophon, so we do not know who the translators were, nor do we have knowledge of any other circumstances surrounding the translation into Tibetan.

The text has previously been introduced and translated into English
by Martin Willson. The English translation presented
here is based on the Tibetan version in the Degé Kangyur, in
consultation with the
Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma)
and the Lhasa Kangyur edition.

The Translation

The Noble Sūtra

Tārā Who Protects from the Eight Dangers

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

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.

“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,

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!

oṁ nama āryāvalokiteśvarāya bodhisattvāya
mahāsattvāya mahākāruṇikāya |

tadyathā |

nama āryāvalobhayā narā bodhisattvā mahāsattvāni
adhiṣṭhānādhiṣṭhite mama sarvakarmāvaraṇa svabhāvaśuddhe viśuddhe śodhaya viśodhaya hūṁ phaṭ
svāhā |

“Then the goddess, who is herself

The embodiment of buddhahood, is praised:

“ ‘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,

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.”

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

This completes the sūtra “Venerable Lady Tārā Who Protects
from the Eight Dangers.”

Notes

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

mallow

ha lo
ཧ་ལོ།

trumpet flower

ug chos
ཨུག་ཆོས།

realm of gods atop Mount Meru

ri rab kyi steng lha’i gnas
རི་རབ་ཀྱི་སྟེང་ལྷའི་གནས།