Toh 841-2Homage to Brahmā and Other Sages, Deities, Nāgas, and Human Bodhisattvas
Pāli / Sanskrit:Amṛtarasāyana [Toh.]
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The Sutra of Homage to Brahma and the Sages, Deities, Dragon Spirits, and Human Bodhisattvas
Context
The sutra Amṛtarasāyana (The Stream of Immortality) is recorded in the Northern Tibetan Transmission as a fundamental sutra of the Mahayana Buddhadharma tradition. This sutra is not a detailed Dharma discourse, but a sutra of homage — a sacred form of practice intended to accumulate merit through respectful orientation of the mind toward the Three Jewels and the sacred beings present throughout the universe.
In the Northern Tibetan tradition, sutras of homage (Tib: phyag 'tshal ba'i mdo) play an important role in daily practice. They are not only expressions of reverence, but also means for transforming consciousness and building a harmonious connection with the entire universe as it manifests as deities, bodhisattvas, and other beings.
Main Content
This sutra first pays homage to Brahma — a high deity within the religious systems received and transformed by Buddhism. In Northern Tibetan Mahayana thought, Brahma is regarded as an altruistic bodhisattva, an embodiment or spiritual force contributing to the prophecy and protection of the Buddhadharma in the world.
The sutra continues by paying homage to the “sages” (rsi) — practitioners who have attained advanced insight, “sages” regarded as teachers of humanity in pre-Buddhist times or in other ages. In the Mahayana context, they are bodhisattvas or practitioners who have cultivated the path of the Buddhadharma.
The “deities” to whom homage is paid include the entire assembly of divine beings who protect the Buddhadharma, from external gods to exalted bodhisattvas such as Manjusri, Samantabhadra, and others. The “dragon spirits” (nagas) — spirit beings living beneath the waters, regarded as protectors of the Dharma and close followers of the Buddha — also receive homage. Finally there are the “human bodhisattvas” — practitioners in human bodies, true and diligent ones on the path of bodhicitta.
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