佛說聖多羅菩薩經

Thus have I heard. At one time the Buddha was dwelling upon Mount Gandhamādana (Fragrant Intoxication), in the palace of the Gandharva King Pañcaśikha (Five Topknots) — a place where every kind of music sounded forth, with lutes and song issuing wondrous, subtle tones.

At that time the World-Honored One was seated within the great palace, together with the assemblies of Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas who had come to attend — and there were also assemblies of Great Saints gathered together, namely the assemblies of Śrāvakas, both those still in training and those beyond training, together with immeasurable and boundless gods, nāgas, yakṣas, gandharvas, asuras, garuḍas, kinnaras, mahoragas, humans, non-humans, and so forth.

There were also immeasurable and boundless Accomplished Holders of Wisdom (Vidyādhara), Holders of the Vajra, the Vajra-Holders (Vajrapāṇi), with hundreds of thousands of the assembly of the Red Wrathful Kings (Hūṃ Krodha-rāja), and the Wisdom Kings (Vidyārāja)…

There were also every kind of assembly of the Holders of Wisdom, and the Jeweled-Topknot Buddha-Crown Wheel-Turning Kings (Ratnaśikha Buddhoṣṇīṣa Cakravartin).

There were also the Mother of Constellations and Planets, the Mothers of Ghosts, the Ghost Kings, together with the gods Indra (Śakra), Brahmā, Maheśvara, Nārāyaṇa, the Self-Mastery-of-Joy God, the Great Black God (Mahākāla), the Youth God, Yāma, the Water God (Varuṇa), the Wind God (Vāyu), the Four Heavenly Kings, and the Five-Powered Ṛṣis (Sages)… — all came to attend the assembly, made vast offerings, surrounded Him in attendance, and with palms joined paid reverent homage.

At that time the World-Honored One amid the assembly was like Mount Sumeru appearing upon the great ocean. Then the Gandharva King, together with 7,200,000 Gandharva women, performing every kind of music, came to the place of the Buddha, bowed their heads in worship at the feet of the Buddha, circumambulated the Buddha three times, then withdrew and sat to one side, and with palms joined, facing the Buddha, addressed Him, saying:

"World-Honored One! Now I wish to hear of matters of benefit. I pray the World-Honored One will expound them for my sake. That Holy Tārā Bodhisattva is indeed the Loving-Kindness Mind of all the Buddhas, the Tathāgatas; she is the GREAT WISDOM KING, the Supremely Victorious Subduer of Māra; she is the Great Holder of Wisdom; she is the Great Wheel-Turning King possessed fully of great power, profound, deep, and vast. I pray that the World-Honored One, out of compassion for me, together with the gods, humans, asuras, and so forth — that all beings may obtain benefit and peaceful joy — will expound the 108 Names of the Holy Tārā Bodhisattva."

Then the World-Honored One, having accepted the words of the Gandharva King Pañcaśikha, praised him, saying:

"Excellent! Excellent, Gandharva King! That you are able to ask the Tathāgata about such a meaning, causing the gods, humans, and all the assembled multitude to gain great benefit and to attain peace and joy — you should listen attentively! Reflect well upon it! Now, for your sake, I shall expound it in order."

Then that Gandharva King, having heard the Buddha, at once believed, accepted, and listened. At that time the World-Honored One, for the sake of that Gandharva King and all the assembly, first proclaimed the Holy Tārā Bodhisattva Dhāraṇī, which is:

1. Namo samanta-nardhibhyaḥ (Na-mô tam-mãn-đa na-lị-thủy-tỳ-dược)

2. Sarva-tathāgatebhyo (Tát-lị-phộc đát-tha-nga-đế-tỳ-du)

3. Arhadbhyaḥ (A-la-hạt-nột-tỳ-dược)

4. Samyak-sambuddhebhyaḥ (Tam-miệu Tam-một-đề-tỳ-dược)

5. Namo bhagavatyai (Na-mô bà-nga-phộc-đới-duệ)

6. Āryatārāyai (A-lị-dã đa-la-duệ)

7. OṂ — Sarva-tathāgata (ÁN — Tát-lị-phộc đát-tha-nga-đa)

8. Tathāgata, bhūta, koṭi (Đát-tha-đa, Bộ-đa, cổ-trí)

9. Pariśuddhe, buddhe, sarva-tathāgata (Ba-lị Thú-đề, một-đề, Tát-lị-phộc đát-tha-nga-đa)

10. Sarva-dharmatā (Tát-lị-phộc đạt-lị-ma-đa)

11. Gagana, amala, viśuddha, dharmate (Nga-nga-na, A-mạt-la, vĩ Thú-đà, đạt-lị-ma-đế)

12. Mahā-naya, parivare, svāhā. (Ma-hạ na-dã, ba-lị phộc-lị, sá-ha.)

When the World-Honored One had proclaimed this Dhāraṇī, He then, for the sake of the Gandharva King and all the assembly, expounded the 108 Names of Tārā Bodhisattva, and spoke verses, saying:

This Tārā Bodhisattva

Originally arises from the syllable A (狣).

Or she gives rise to the various marks of action,

Neither arising nor ceasing;

That mark is like empty space.

Because of the nature of empty space she arises,

In accord with response, she manifests Her original nature;

One mark and many marks without obstruction,

Her form-marks manifest boundlessly.

Of a single, pure essence — wholesome and serene,

She ever manifests marks of magical transformation.

Secret Words, Words of Truth,

Embracing the principle of the Great Truth,

She ever practices the conduct of truth,

Bestowing the state of fearlessness,

Tranquil, ever dispelling anger.

She departs from the dreadful sufferings,

Skillfully breaking the cage of afflictions,

Able to loosen (untie) the bonds of the Three Existences (the bondage of the three realms),

So that one departs forever from the ocean of suffering.

She is able to accomplish the Dharma of attainment,

For self and others both attain it;

She points out the Supreme Dharma,

The Sovereign King of Total Retention (Dhāraṇī),

And also arises from Total Retention,

Bestowing the Total Retention of Great Meaning,

Corresponding to Great Self-Mastery,

Fully endowed in the correspondence of mind and intent.

It is not a mark of correspondence,

Yet the mark of correspondence does not depart;

Her settled intent is ever unmoving,

And amid movement she is ever still and serene.

She ever dwells upon a lotus throne,

And also arises from the lotus flower;

Her pure eyes are like blue lotuses,

Forever becoming the eyes of sentient beings.

Pure and most excellently wondrous,

With kindly eyes (eyes gentle and good) she gazes upon sentient beings;

The Buddha-eye of undefiled wisdom (free of leakage),

Fully endowed with Great Compassion, single and pure.

She ever gives rise to the mind of Great Compassion,

Ever practices the conduct of Great Compassion,

And also arises from Great Compassion,

Pitying those hard to subdue.

With compassion she descends upon all,

However many sufferings and torments there be,

She removes suffering and causes gladness;

The sweet ambrosial flavor (amṛta) of the Dharma-gift,

Rescuing from suffering, granting peaceful joy,

Making cool and clear the ocean of suffering;

She is called the Mother of Self-Mastery.

She illuminates everywhere all the realms,

Her countenance radiant and resplendent.

All jeweled gems and the crown of her hair

Are bright, pure, and perfectly complete.

Maṇi jewels and gem ornaments adorn her,

Her hair bound up in a deep blue-green hue,

Coiled like a shell, spiraling to the right,

Adorning the Unconditioned Essence.

She causes the unwholesome to become wholesome;

All vows are perfectly fulfilled.

Her body's adornment is beyond compare;

Of Good Intent and Good Resolve (Sugata),

Tranquil, ever in peaceful joy,

The Great Bliss of Wish-Fulfilling Penetration.

The Six Recollections, complete with the Six Penetrations,

She has attained the Pāramitās,

Skillfully expounds the Dharma of the Four Truths (the Four Noble Truths),

With Great Eloquence opening up delusion.

Amid the ocean of suffering and magical transformation,

She manifests the marks of magical transformation,

Grasping the sword to break the afflictions —

Bow, arrow, and trident,

Bowl, staff, and spear,

The Tomara, the Śakti (lance),

The single Naḍāgrā vajra —

Fully wielding every kind of weapon and implement.

When she gazes upon the place where the arrow is held,

She bestows fearlessness upon all (the absence of all fear),

Her hand hurling the vajra-pestle,

Manifesting Unobstructed Penetration.

She is able to subdue the enemy armies,

Displaying banners and manifesting marks of triumph.

Endowed with the power of great Wisdom,

She skillfully breaks the valiant armies,

Scattering the darkness of the afflictions,

Crushing utterly the foe of Māra and enmity,

Like the Sun (Sūrya) dispelling the gloom.

This is the Supreme, the Most Victorious.

She skillfully crosses the ocean of saṃsāra,

The Supreme Great Auspiciousness;

In ultimate reality she abides in the One Truth alone.

Hearing her Name, her praise spreads everywhere.

She ever gives, receives, reveres, and vows.

Conquering herself, she also conquers others,

Ever practicing the Gift of Joy (Joyful Giving).

Of subtle, wondrous, supreme tranquility,

This is the Wisdom of the Tathāgata.

The Wish-Fulfilling Jewel she holds up everywhere,

Upholding fully the marks of the Precepts (Śīla),

By means of the Precepts practicing the Right Path.

Her Brahmā-voice is most subtle and wondrous,

The Supreme Sound throughout the three times;

A single resonance, subtle and wondrous,

Like the Great Treasury of Empty Space.

She skillfully gives rise to all the worlds,

The unrivaled object of reliance;

The Three Vehicles are the place of reliance.

Relying on practice, she practices the Three Vehicles,

Teaching the Three Vehicles' liberation;

The Buddhas rely upon the Three Vehicles.

Five faces and likewise five eyes,

Relying on the Five Wisdoms, the Nature is born.

In Perfect Enlightenment she accomplishes Bodhi —

This is the Great Right Path.

All the manifold marks,

Her pure and wondrous body,

All in accord with response manifest and arise,

Illuminating the world like the constellations and planets.

She herself is able to reach the other shore,

And also skillfully ferries others across,

At will transforming into hundreds of thousands.

She skillfully gathers in all the wholesome meanings,

Fully endowed with hundreds of thousands of merits.

With a single purity she transforms the world,

Skillfully relinquishing (casting away) all wealth and treasure,

Every kind of mark of magical transformation —

The Great Self-Mastery of the World.

The Auspicious One among the Heavenly Honored Ones,

Holding the wondrous blue lotus,

Endowed with Precepts, Giving, and all the vows,

Delighting in the wholesome, ever serene.

The flame-light of Wisdom, great and pure,

Cleanses away all evil hindrances.

For all those lords of Māra

She rescues from peril, granting peaceful joy.

Her mind, even and impartial, beyond compare,

Removes utterly all strife and contention.

The Sovereign Mother of the lords of the bhūtas,

Said to be the King of Yakṣas,

She manifests her body as a great Nāga,

Complete with a hundred heads and a thousand eyes,

A hundred tongues, with marks of great ferocity,

Her mind of Fearlessness, true and real,

Endowed with hundreds of thousands of victorious kinds.

The Earth God, skillfully Upholding the World (guarding the World),

Ever joyful, with words of fearlessness,

Removing utterly disease, plague, and poison.

Her great halo of light, subtle and wondrous,

Without defilement, ever pure and clear —

The Mother of all the World,

Upholding the Dharma, benefiting the World,

The Supremely Victorious Consecrated King (Abhiṣeka).

Having done what was to be done,

Endowed with the ten Pāramitās,

She ever abides in the ten stages (Bhūmis),

Her Treasury revealing the ten Dharma-vehicles,

The ten principles of the Great Truth,

Abiding in the ten Vajra phrases,

Displaying the ten Dharma-realms,

The ten Wisdoms dispelling the gloom and darkness.

With the eye of Avalokiteśvara, Beholder of the World's Self-Mastery,

Endowed with form-marks great and wondrous,

Equal to empty space, boundless,

Or she manifests as the Word-Penetrating Ṛṣi.

Endowed with the Precepts, with marks of self-mastery,

Her body free of desire, worthy of offerings (arhat),

Ever at peace upon the Path of Tranquil Stillness.

The Perfectly Enlightened One has praised

This Tārā Bodhisattva.

When the World-Honored One had finished speaking these Verses, He said to the Gandharva King and all the assembly:

"These are the 108 Names of Tārā Bodhisattva — which I have expounded for your sake — and you should single-mindedly receive and uphold the 108 Names of Tārā Bodhisattva together with the Dhāraṇī — which the Buddhas of the past have spoken and the Buddhas of the future will speak, for the benefit of all sentient beings.

If there be a good son or virtuous woman who gives rise to a mind of utmost sincerity — and in the pure morning, whether for their own sake or for the sake of others, recites the 108 Names together with the Dhāraṇī of Tārā Bodhisattva, even reciting it silently (in silent recollection) — or uses four pieces of white silk to make a ground upon which to paint her image — or upon a clean wall, according to the method, using the supreme and wondrous colors, paints the image of the Bodhisattva — or uses sandalwood to make an image of the Bodhisattva — with a pure mind carrying it out as they wish — and thereafter, before the image of the Bodhisattva, sets forth every kind of offering, and three times a day, with palms joined, performs worship, and according to the method,

with utmost sincerity contemplates and visualizes, reciting these 108 Names together with this Dhāraṇī — then this Tārā Bodhisattva, possessed of great power, supreme and auspicious, will, when one seeks the extinction of one's sins, skillfully break the armies of Māra, and is able to break through to the attainment of the Dharma for one who dwells in either the initial good or the intermediate good.

If, furthermore, there be a person who gives rise to a mind of utmost sincerity and upholds the recitation a single time, then all auspicious matters, wealth and nobility, together with the attainment of the Dharma for that person, in accordance with their Original Vow, will be obtained, forever without obstruction; and they will be personally protected by the Sages and Saints — and they will further be guarded by the assemblies of gods, nāgas, yakṣas, Śakra and Brahmā, the World-Protectors, Nārāyaṇa, Maheśvara, the Lord of the Mother-Ghosts, the Great Black God (Mahākāla), Vināyaka, the Self-Mastery-of-Joy God… and even to be guarded by the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, Pratyekabuddhas, Śrāvakas, all the Wrathful Kings, and the Great Majestic Wisdom Kings… — all of whom will speak these words:

"Excellent! Excellent, good man and good woman! You have already fulfilled the conduct of the Buddhas and Bodhisattvas; you shall be born into the Buddha-field of Sukhāvatī (the Land of Ultimate Bliss — Sukhāvatī)."

At that time, the Gandharva King Pañcaśikha, joyful and exultant, gave rise to a mind of faith and reverence. Then, rising from his seat, he removed every kind of object adorning his body — jewels and treasures, maṇi gems, pearls, silver and gold, and priceless garlands of necklaces — and offered them to the Buddha; and with palms joined, reverently gazing upon the World-Honored One, he spoke verses, saying:

Excellent! World-Honored One!

Well-Gone One, most extraordinary! (Strange and wondrous!)

Ever using the Mind of Compassion

To rescue and protect all beings,

And being able, for my sake

Together with the assembly,

To speak the true meaning

Of this Supreme One.

Then, when the World-Honored One had finished speaking this Sūtra — the Bodhisattva-mahāsattvas, the Śrāvakas, the Holders of Wisdom, the Great Wrathful Lords, all the Wisdom Kings, the assemblies of gods and nāgas, together with the Gandharva King Pañcaśikha, hearing what the Buddha had spoken, were greatly joyful, and faithfully received it and reverently practiced it.

THE SŪTRA SPOKEN BY THE BUDDHA OF THE HOLY TĀRĀ BODHISATTVA (The End)