菩提場所說一字頂輪王經

Chapter Eleven: The Empowerment of the Aparājita (Invincible One)

At that time the World-Honored One regarded Vajrapāṇi, Lord of Secrets, and again addressed him in verse, saying:

In the ages of the future yet to come

Sentient beings will be of little diligence

Filled with arrogance, anger, and delusion

Taking no weariness or disgust in worldly toil

Not relying upon the ritual rules

While cultivating the practice of mantra.

Such a one who recites and upholds,

Performing homa to empower himself,

The māras will ever harass and disturb him,

So that he cannot reflect or think clearly.

Using the vidyā to aid his accomplishment,

In vain are all his labors squandered.

Therefore one should reflect in this way:

The ordinary worldling speaks in such a manner.

Because I wish to remove all obstacles,

And to drive away all kinds of māras,

I now proclaim the great vidyā mantra.

Already spoken by all the Buddhas before,

For the benefit of all sentient beings,

This is the Aparājita (Invincible) Vidyā.

If a person constantly recalls and recollects it,

Employing it according to the proper time,

All the various māra-obstacles that beset him

Shall be entirely destroyed and cleansed away.

Then he proclaimed the mantra phrases.

At that time Vajrapāṇi,

The Lord of Secrets, the Yakṣa,

Gave rise to a heart of great joy,

And bowed his head in reverence to the World-Honored One.

"The adornment of the wisdom of Great Enlightenment,

This is the Invincible One.

It is the dhāraṇī; I beg to hear it."

Then the World-Honored One proclaimed the Great Aparājita Dhāraṇī:

– Namo ratnatrayāya. Namo sarva-buddha-bodhisattvebhyaḥ, tadyathā: Niṇi niṇi niṇa-vare tayānavare taya-gata-sahā-jate sarva-buddha-niṇe-vidte amukhva apratihate abaranidte virāgi vidta-naga-bhāye vimalonidra-sara-vebhavate-ye kamile nāyidte nora, dhigame satdyānira-kule māra-vara-vinā-śaniśā-ciyā mudni satte-jasvare nāvirye-ḍa lakṣ, lakṣa mama sarva-parivam, sarvadā sarva-kavam rajacuro-naka-xuriya-śanivik tasaṃha-jiyā-kṣa-sari-sare bhanji-vasaṃ dhava-nāga-yakṣa lakṣa rakṣa bhanji-tiri-ti-piśā-ca-bhu-ta apasmara puṭana, kaṭa-puṭana ka-khu-lak-ya o-saṭara-kame tra-kṛti-dyā karmaṇa-mantra yuga-tsulkda, yuga-da-cini yu o-tsuha-ra sarva-sa-yā nadṣṭu-banadra-man-bat-save bayate-bhyeu. Namo svatu te bhagavate o-nadra-tibida nirini-niri-ratna-kura-sama-śrīte niri-niri akāśa-dhātu-tsale khiri khiri sarva-tathāgatari-yā-śra-kalaṃ-kara-buti-ni-vinab-vidyāriya-bha-rahaṃma tathāgata-nogate viśva-tinti-yā-vara-bara-bara-kra-me namo bhagavate barani-te lakṣa lakṣa mama sarva-nadṣṭu-banadra-vebhā-yā-tibhyeu svāhā.

By proclaiming this dhāraṇī,

The whole world hears it all.

This is the Great Aparājita,

Able to destroy every māra,

Able to increase one's strength,

Abiding in the form of samādhi.

It is called the Invincible One.

I now proclaim the great heart-vidyā;

Its power is truly majestic and fierce,

In no way different from the mantra above.

The World-Honored One proclaimed the heart-vidyā:

– Namo sapta-nāṃ samyak-sambuddha-koṭīnāṃ sa-śrava-ka-saṃghānāṃ sarva-merā-bhayate-tanāṃ vipaśina satihā-sara-yatsa-śi-khinā-satdya-viśva-bobat-ra-cinyāya-cevaṃ-khada-kutsona-vare-natsa-kanaka-muni-śikṣa-yā-kāśa-batsa-veṇora-tibhaka-ciyā-saṃha-tsani-rini-yeḍa-svasa-tibhavatu mama sarva-satva-nanyā-sarva-bhayu-banadra-vebhyeu tadyathā, jaye vijaye jayanti vijayanti ajitaṃ-jaye jayanti-ye anite abaranidte mara-cinyā-bramanani-ye svāhā.

By proclaiming this heart-mantra,

It is the Worthy One of Right and Equal Enlightenment,

And the Seven Buddha-World-Honored-Ones

Extol all of its merits.

Therefore is the great vidyā proclaimed,

For the benefit of those who cultivate the practice.

Throughout all the world-systems

The six modes of quaking are stirred,

And all the palaces of the māras

Likewise all quake and tremble.

Vajrapāṇi, these mantra-phrases and verses are spoken by all the Buddhas for the benefit of sentient beings. Lord of Secrets, if one upholds and recites the Cakravartī Mantra or any of the other mantras, and uses this mantra to empower a knotted cord, or to knot the corner of the kāṣāya robe, or to knot one's topknot, or writes it upon birch-bark and wears it about the neck or upon the arm, that person shall swiftly attain accomplishment.

The Chief Deity (the bhagavān) will swiftly manifest before him, whether he recites and reads it or whether he reflects upon it. Vajrapāṇi! I do not see any of the hosts of māras, śramaṇas, or brāhmaṇas — if there be this mantra to protect and aid — whether impure or pure, whether human or non-human, whether sons of māra, or Piśācas, or Vināyakas, or Yakṣas, or Kumbhāṇḍas or Rākṣasas, or any other kinds of sentient beings — who could again create obstacles or calamities.

Therefore one should reflect thus: "This is the Aṭakāvatī palace; none may enter it." If there be one who transgresses against the mantra and the practitioner, that is to commit an offense against the very lineage, the clan, the kin, and the friends of the Vajra Family, who shall not pardon such a one. Vajrapāṇi! This mantra possesses great majestic power; in all undertakings it brings protection.

The Worthy of Offerings, the Universally Rightly Enlightened One has given it his sanction, and all the Bodhisattvas have given it their sanction.

Chapter Twelve: The Trainings

At that time, when the World-Honored One had come to know all the world-systems, and had removed all obstacles, he again addressed the Bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi, saying: "Vajrapāṇi, if there be a good son or good daughter, a bhikṣu or a bhikṣuṇī, who wishes to cultivate the inconceivable mudrā-samādhi of the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa, all must keep the disciplinary rules of each precept. Thus, the practitioner must first enter the maṇḍala, receive the threefold refuge, give rise to the bodhi-mind, accomplish the ten wholesome deeds, must guard them carefully, draw near to and serve the good and wise teacher, constantly cultivate the six recollections, contemplate the dharma-realm's own-nature as being like empty space, and must enter the realm of Prajñāpāramitā.

In all the contemplative practices let him be ever attentive and undistracted, acting in accordance with the practices that the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas have performed; in a secluded place, not begrudging body and life, at the three periods constantly and fully receiving the threefold refuge, giving rise to the bodhi-mind, guarding the disciplinary rules, and, having heard the profound and subtle Dharma of the Buddha, mindfully cultivating the practice, following the four means of embracing (the four saṃgraha-vastu).

Before the Stūpa of the Tathāgata let him build the maṇḍala; in the mantra ritual rules let him ever be diligent, keeping body, speech, and mind ever pure, without greed, without arrogance, not given to much talk, not given to confused distraction; toward all sentient beings let him give rise to a heart of loving-kindness and reverence, and clearly understand the secret intent of the Tathāgata. I now speak briefly: the practitioner must ever be courageous and diligent.

If he wishes to cultivate the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa mantra or any of the other mantras, all is as stated above, and all the merits shall be accomplished. As is stated in the Vaipulya Sūtra concerning the mantra-practices, one should cultivate accordingly, abiding in the Bodhisattva disciplinary rules so as to protect and uphold oneself." He further addressed Vajrapāṇi: "Just as in the practice of the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa mantra one attains accomplishment, the body becomes like the rising sun, of pure gold; the jeweled necklaces, the bracelets and bangles are all of the color of Jambū-river gold; the various adornments upon the body are complete; the body is clad in heavenly garments; the marks of excellence are all complete;

and the body has a hundred-thousand rays of light like the sun, surpassing all other kinds of charcoal-fire glow."

Furthermore, Vajrapāṇi! Having accomplished the Vidyādhara-Ṛṣi (the sage who upholds the vidyā), all sentient beings who behold him are filled with joy, just as the wish-fulfilling tree is able to fulfill all the things one seeks. Furthermore, having accomplished the Cakravartī Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa, the Bodhisattva in the hell-realms rains down all manner of foods and drinks of the heavenly realms, and is able to bestow upon all kinds of sentient beings whatever they need and lack, so that all that they seek is fully obtained.

I speak briefly: those others possess great majestic virtue; one who accomplishes the Uṣṇīṣa-Cakravartī mantra is able to fulfill all things he wishes and desires — the moment the thought arises, it is fully obtained. Moreover, having become a Cakravartī, even the Bodhisattvas of the ten grounds dare not disobey his command. Vajrapāṇi!

The Single-Syllable Cakravartī mantra is the king among all mantras, the sovereign of all the great mantras; if one is able to cultivate the practice, it destroys all obstacles and calamities, destroys the karmas that cause falling into the evil destinies. One who accomplishes this mantra has all the spiritual powers fully complete; in but the blink of an eye he ascends to the Akaniṣṭha Heaven; all the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Śrāvakas joyfully praise him; he has all the Bodhisattva practices complete; he comes and goes with sovereign mastery throughout all the world-systems, and among all sentient beings, according to their kind, he uses all manner of sounds to expound the Dharma.

Even if one were to speak only briefly of the accomplishment of these supreme and vast undertakings, the immeasurable, boundless sentient beings of the world-systems could not be exhausted in the telling. Then the Tathāgata again spoke a verse, saying:

The self-nature of all things is entirely empty,

Like a precious jewel that shines forth its own light,

Like the blue lotus blossoming upon the pond,

Transcending the mire, complete in all its colors.

That one surpasses the mantras of the world;

The mantra of Viṣṇu cannot equal it.

At that time the World-Honored One again addressed Vajrapāṇi, Lord of Secrets, and spoke a verse, saying:

I speak briefly of the common method,

The secret of one who works upon the earth.

First perform the preliminary practice (the pūrva-sevā):

This is the supreme undertaking.

Of regions, three kinds are spoken:

The moist and the dry —

Both should employ high and arid ground,

Places where the gods abide.

This is the supreme land.

Of the middle kind, three sorts are spoken;

The wise one should examine and contemplate them:

The pure and the not-pure, these two;

And the heavenly-marvelous has three kinds.

Within each and every one of these kinds,

Each kind is further divided into three.

Springs, ponds, seas, mountains and crags —

These attain the supreme accomplishment.

Complete in the virtue of pure-yet-not-pure,

This is called the middling accomplishment.

If it be a charnel-ground (śmaśāna) land,

It is a place that is not pure.

This method, in every place,

Has three kinds of accomplishment.

Evil kings, bandits, and famine —

Such a place one should not dwell in.

Where the practitioner meets obstacle and calamity,

This land too one should not dwell in.

Where rains, heat, and cold are too excessive,

This place too one should keep far from.

At the three periods one should recite,

Thereby nourishing the mind and intention;

One must fully keep the three periods.

Chapter Thirteen: Homa

He again addressed Vajrapāṇi:

If one is far removed from the secret method,

There is no way to attain accomplishment.

Within this scriptural teaching,

For the sake of accomplishment it is spoken.

The hearth of the secret homa

Must be performed in concealment.

For pacification (śāntika) there are three kinds;

In a single hearth one should not perform them.

If in a single hearth one performs homa,

The homa-hearth must be —

If one performs the hearth for subjugation (abhicāraka),

One should not perform pacification in it.

Just as when a vessel holds poison

And milk poured therein is surely spoiled,

So examine carefully the three kinds,

And thus speak of the three sorts of hearth.

For the other methods too it is said

The hearth must be distinguished;

Accordingly one should use it,

And there must be no error or transgression.

One should use kuśa grass,

And use it together with cream of milk,

Udumbara and divine wood (deva-dāru),

And the various trees that yield sap.

Again use turmeric-fragrance (kuṅkuma);

At the three periods perform the homa,

Because one wishes to make pacification.

To obtain all manner of benefit and ease,

If it be the various medicines,

One should use black sesame oil,

Mixed with honey and burned therein,

Taking palāśa wood,

And using also white mustard seed,

Performing homa, which is praised.

Within the three kinds of method,

In all use ghee for the homa.

At that time the World-Honored One Śākyamuni, Śākyamuni, addressed Vajrapāṇi, Lord of Secrets, saying that within the Dharma of the King of Teachings one cultivates the practice for the benefit of sentient beings. He again spoke a verse, saying:

I proclaim this mantra,

Complete with all manner of majestic virtue.

Cultivate the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa King,

And all the mantra incantations,

The immeasurable Great Vidyādhara,

And the Buddha-Eye and all the vidyās,

Accomplishing all the meanings and benefits,

Together with all the mudrās and seals.

I have spoken of it before:

The common king of mantras,

For the sake of those who seek accomplishment,

Guarding all kinds of fruit-rewards.

I now speak again of the mudrās and seals,

Because one wishes to attain accomplishment:

The common Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa mudrā.

The two hands interlace within and clasp together into a fist; the two middle fingers join their tips, bent at the upper joint. The Common All-Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa mudrā is able to accomplish all undertakings of meaning and benefit.

Because one is able to behold this mudrā,

It is just as if one beheld the Buddha.

The Yakṣas hard to subdue,

The Nāgas and the hosts of Asuras,

All the kinds of Rākṣasas —

By the majestic virtue of this mudrā,

All of them flee away.

This is the great mantra,

The heart of all the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣas:

– Namo samanta-buddhānāṃ. Uṭra-ro-manda svāhā.

He again spoke a verse, saying:

If one is able to behold this mudrā,

One straightway attains peace and joy.

The kings and rulers among worldly folk,

By this attain benefit.

If one wishes to seek benefit,

It is decided that all shall be obtained.

If one obtains this mudrā-seal,

All sufferings are removed and dispelled.

By this Root Mudrā of all the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣas one performs all undertakings, and the practitioner protects all his faculties.

Using the root mudrā, moving the middle fingers back and forth, this is the Mudrā of Welcoming and Inviting; all is as stated before, and each and every one has its mantra. Forming the root mudrā, transform it everywhere over the incense, flowers, burning incense, lamps, foods and drinks — for all of these use this mudrā.

Again, using the above mudrā, the two middle fingers are made into the shape of a ring; this is the Mudrā for Inviting the Fire-God (Agni); the mantra is as before. If one is sending off the Fire-God, use the mudrā pointing outward and flick it open — this is the Mudrā for Sending Off the Fire-God. Again, as for the Mudrā for Discriminating Affairs of the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa, bend the right middle finger at the upper joint and press it against the upper joint upon the face of the left middle finger — this is the Vikiraṇa Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa (the Uṣṇīṣa that Crushes and Destroys).

It is able to perform the works of the Vidyādhara,

It is able to perform all undertakings,

Protecting the body and binding the boundaries —

For all of these it is employed.

Again, as for the Common mudrā, the right middle finger is bent at the third joint and placed into the crease of the first joint of the left middle finger.

It is able to purify one's dwelling-place.

Using this Vikiraṇa-Uṣṇīṣa,

If one wishes to seek accomplishment,

Form the mudrā to protect the dwelling-place.

Shift the left finger as above,

And use the mudrā to protect the place.

This is the heart of the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa.

Again use the Vikiraṇa-Uṣṇīṣa

In order to consecrate (abhiṣeka) one's own crown.

This mudrā one should constantly employ.

If a person obtains this mudrā,

Use it to purify the chamber,

Or whenever one is bathing and cleansing,

One must also employ it.

One shall not be beset by any obstacle,

Because of reciting this mantra.

Before and after, use it thus;

The samaya of the principal division —

In all use the mudrā in this way.

The one who cultivates the mantra

Shall not be beset by māra-obstacle.

In this Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa teaching,

The Buddha has instructed thus.

As above, the two middle fingers are placed upon the back of the hand like a ring.

This is the Aparājita (the Invincible One),

Able to destroy all sins.

As was stated above,

It is able to remove all evil dreams,

Able to accomplish auspicious undertakings.

One should use this great mudrā;

In walking, standing, lying, and sitting,

For one's own person use it,

For it is able to remove every kind of obstacle.

Now I have spoken only briefly;

To speak of it at length is truly immeasurable.

I speak briefly here.

The one who cultivates the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa,

Together with the Buddha-Eye mantra,

Together seeks the siddhi.

All within the assembly —

I speak as stated above.

By cultivating the mantras one attains liberation;

All the Tathāgatas and Bodhisattvas

Obtain every peace and joy and meaning and benefit,

Increasing their diligence and their strength.

Sentient beings should resolutely cultivate the practice,

And must remove all doubts.

Therefore, O Vajrapāṇi,

Listen well, and I shall speak for your sake.

I have spoken briefly of the corresponding meaning;

This is the secret method of the mantra.

At the three periods, perform homa using divine wood (deva-dāru),

Sesame oil together with ghee and milk blended together.

Recite with joy the Mantra-King,

And one should proclaim the accomplished Mantra-Lord.

The accomplishment of recitation and of homa —

These three kinds I shall now set forth.

In this, each and every one must be followed accordingly.

The cultivation of recitation has three kinds:

Body, speech, and mind, spoken in order before and after,

Used to attain all that is sought.

Again, three kinds are spoken which one ought to know:

Coming and going in the heavens above, and beneath the earth.

For the one who would accomplish there are three kinds;

For cultivating the three sorts and the three kinds,

Accomplishing such things as wealth and riches.

Therefore one strives with effort to recite,

And according to the siddhi is courageous and brave.

Because one seeks all to be accomplished,

One must follow the method to perform the practices.

Right view, great compassion, seeking liberation —

For such a one, accomplishment is not difficult at all.

In the present life one obtains every peace and joy,

And in the life to come is certain to attain liberation.

From of old, many have attained accomplishment

By cultivating the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa Great Vidyādhara.

I too once cultivated the Buddha-Uṣṇīṣa King.

At that time the World-Honored One Śākyamuni Tathāgata, using the Buddha-Eye, beheld the immeasurable, boundless world-systems, and again addressed Vajrapāṇi in verse, saying:

The methods have all been fully spoken,

The disciplinary rules together with the ritual rules,

That which is able to act and that which is acted upon.

Within this teaching of the Dharma

One should cultivate the practice.

This is the Holy Amṛta,

The Kuṇḍalī Vidyārāja (the King of Vidyās),

Used for all three divisions.

I proclaim the method of ritual rules;

One should gather and cultivate accordingly.

By the power of the mantra,

All obstacles are destroyed.

The Vidyārāja Sūtra states

The mudrā-seal of the Wrathful King;

The ritual rules contained therein

Are all to be used according to this.

One should not eat mixed foods,

Radishes and tree-mushrooms;

One should not anoint the body with oil,

Nor is one permitted to eat oil,

Nor any of the impure foods —

In the scriptures all are forbidden to be eaten.

One who would seek the siddhi

Must first purify the body,

Using the Aparājita Vidyā,

And must employ the five purifications (pañca-gavya),

In each half-month,

As the scriptures have stated;

All must cultivate the practice.

Here I have spoken briefly;

Within the scriptures it is taught.

This is not the extensive exposition.

All the Tathāgatas

Proclaim the Dharma-nature of the mantra.

The Buddhas and Bodhisattvas

Have cultivated it and have proclaimed it,

Abiding in the form of the mantra,

Journeying through all the worlds,

Extensively expounding all the meanings and benefits.

For the sake of those of little wisdom

They proclaim all the merits.

I now speak but a little,

Merely to offer praise.

Even were a hundred thousand kalpas exhausted,

The merits of the Cakravartī,

The Vidyādhara of all the Dharma-natures,

Are merits beyond all conception,

Without attainment, without exhaustion.

If one obtains this King of Teachings,

That person is equal to the Tathāgata,

And equal to all the Bodhisattvas;

The gods and asuras revere and pay homage,

And the mind never falls back or regresses.

He ever obtains the things stated above.

In former lives he has cultivated the practice,

Making bodhi his provision.

Therefore, O Lord of Secrets,

He possesses the power of great majestic spirit,

Obtaining a body ever pure.

To encounter this King of Teachings

Is to obtain all things,

And to realize the fruit of the Honored One of the Two-Legged (the Buddha).

When the Buddha had finished speaking this sūtra, Vajrapāṇi, Lord of Secrets, together with the great Bodhisattvas, bhikṣus, worldly beings, devas, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, and the rest, having heard the Buddha's words, all rejoiced and faithfully received and reverently practiced them.

THE SŪTRA OF THE SINGLE-SYLLABLE UṢṆĪṢA-CAKRAVARTĪ-KING SPOKEN AT THE BODHI-MAṆḌALA

FASCICLE THE FIFTH

THE END