佛說聖佛母小字般若波羅蜜多經

Thus indeed have I heard: At one time, the World-Honored One was dwelling upon the summit of Mount Gṛdhrakūṭa (Vulture Peak). At that time, there were one thousand two hundred and fifty great bhikṣus, a hundred thousand koṭi nayutas of bodhisattvas, a hundred thousand koṭi nayutas[1] of Brahmā Kings, Śakra, the World-Protecting devas, and assemblies of devas, nāgas, and the rest, who reverently surrounded the Buddha.

The World-Honored One was sitting cross-legged[2] upon the lion throne of the Auspicious Jewel Treasury. At that time, the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara rose from his seat, bared his right shoulder, placed his right knee upon the ground, gazed upon the World-Honored One without ever blinking, joined his palms reverently, and with rejoicing and exultation, bowed his head and face at the feet of the Buddha and said:

"O World-Honored One! I pray that you would expound for me the Sūtra of the Small-Syllable Prajñāpāramitā. Moreover, may you cause sentient beings who hear this Dharma to obtain great merit and virtue; may all their karmic hindrances surely be eliminated, and may they in the future swiftly accomplish Unsurpassed Bodhi. If there be any sentient being who arouses a sincere mind, and who upholds, reads, and recites this dhāraṇī, then whatever they pray for shall certainly be accomplished, and they shall not encounter the calamities of Māra."

Thereupon, the World-Honored One said to the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara:

"Excellent! What you have said is most fine! Excellent! Excellent! O good man! Because you exert your whole heart in this way for the sake of sentient beings, you shall surely cause them to obtain peace, joy, and long life.

"O good man! Sincerely listen, for I shall now expound the Sūtra of the Small-Syllable Prajñāpāramitā. If sentient beings hear this Dharma, they shall certainly obtain great merit and virtue, all their karmic hindrances shall be eliminated, and they shall swiftly realize Unsurpassed, Perfect, Complete Bodhi. If there be any sentient being who arouses the mind to uphold this dhāraṇī, then there shall be no deeds of Māra, and all shall be accomplished."

The great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara addressed the Buddha:

"O World-Honored One! Today the Well-Gone One expounds this sūtra because he wishes to cause sentient beings to obtain peace and bliss."

At that moment, the World-Honored One straightaway entered the samādhi of the Liberation of All Sentient Beings, and then emerging from that samādhi, from the white hair-tuft between his brows he emitted a hundred thousand koṭi nayutas of rays of light. That great light shone everywhere, reaching all the lands of all the Buddhas, and immeasurable sentient beings, through the shining of that light, all swiftly realized Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi; all the sentient beings in the various hells obtained peace and joy; all the lands of all the Buddhas quaked with the six kinds of trembling; and moreover there were supremely sublime sandalwood incense, aloeswood incense, and powdered incense scattered upon the Buddha as an offering.

When the World-Honored One expounded this Sūtra of Prajñāpāramitā, all the great bodhisattvas aroused the mind of equanimity, aroused the mind of compassion, were mindful of bringing benefit to others, aroused the mind that departs from all transgressions and hindrances, aroused the mind that performs all manner of benefits, and aroused the mind of Prajñāpāramitā.

Thereupon, the World-Honored One said to the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara:

"All of you, listen attentively, for now I shall expound for you the dhāraṇī of the Holy Buddha-Mother Small-Syllable Prajñāpāramitā:

"Nā-mô xá-kiết-dã, mẫu-nẵng-duệ, đát-tha-nga-đa-dã, lật-hát-đế, tam-ma-dược-ngật-tam-một-đà-dã, đát-nễ-dã-tha, mẫu-ninh mẫu-ninh, ma-ha mẫu-nẵng-duệ, sa-phạ-hạ."

The Buddha said to the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara:

"All the Buddhas, through this dhāraṇī of the Holy Buddha-Mother Small-Syllable Prajñāpāramitā, attained Anuttarā-samyak-saṃbodhi. I too, through this dhāraṇī of the Holy Buddha-Mother Small-Syllable Prajñāpāramitā, accomplished Unsurpassed, Perfect, Complete Bodhi. In ages past, there was a Buddha named Śākyamuni Tathāgata, and through that Buddha I came to hear this Dharma. That Buddha said: 'All the Buddhas of the three periods of time, through this Dharma, became Buddhas.'"

The Buddha said to the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara:

"Now I shall bestow upon you a prediction! Hereafter you shall be born into the human realm and accomplish the Way of Buddhahood, with the name Universally-Radiating Luminous Auspicious Jewel-Peak King Tathāgata, Worthy of Offerings, Perfectly and Completely Enlightened. Having heard such a wondrous Dharma, you should uphold it, read and recite it, or copy it, or cause others to copy it, contemplate and clearly understand it, expound its meaning for all people and all sentient beings to hear, and instruct them to copy this sūtra. Thereafter, upholding, reading, and reciting it within the home, then in a future life one shall swiftly accomplish Unsurpassed, Perfect, Complete Bodhi. At that time, all the Tathāgatas shall together seal and certify you.

"Today I shall once more expound for you the Prajñāpāramitā Dhāraṇī:

"Đát-nễ-dã-tha, án, nhã-dã nhã-dã, bát-nạp-ma, tị-át-phạ-minh, tát-la tát-lí-chỉ, vĩ-lí vĩ-lí, vĩ-la vĩ-lí, xí-lí xí-lí, nễ-phạ-đa-nỗ, bá-la-nan, một-độ-đa-la-nĩ, bố-la-nĩ, bố-la-dã, ba-nga-phạ-đế, tát-lật-phạ-thương, ma-ma, bố-la-dã, tát-lật-phạ, tát-đát-phạ, nan-tả, tát-lật-phạ yết-lật-ma, phạ-la-noa-nan, vĩ-thú-đà-dã, vĩ-thú-đà-dã, một-đà-địa-sắt-xá, ninh-nẵng, sa-phạ-ha."

The Buddha said to the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara:

"This supremely wondrous dhāraṇī Dharma of Prajñāpāramitā is the Mother of all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas. If any sentient being is able to hear this Dharma, then all their transgressions and hindrances shall be utterly extinguished. As for the merit and virtue of this Dharma, even were all the Buddhas and bodhisattvas to speak of it for a hundred koṭis of kalpas, they could not exhaust it. If anyone is able to uphold, read, and recite this dhāraṇī, then they shall together enter the maṇḍala and receive the consecration (abhiṣeka)[4]. If they uphold all the dhāraṇīs, then all shall be accomplished."

The bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara addressed the Buddha:

"O World-Honored One! Why do you once more expound this Prajñāpāramitā Dhāraṇī?"

The World-Honored One said:

"Because I have compassion for all sentient beings who have little skillful means and are indolent, I therefore expound this Prajñāpāramitā Dhāraṇī, so that sentient beings may uphold, read, and recite it, or themselves copy it, or cause others to copy it. All such sentient beings shall swiftly realize Unsurpassed Bodhi. So it is! So it is! It is for this reason that the World-Honored One has so skillfully expounded the Prajñāpāramitā Dhāraṇī."

At that time, the great bodhisattva Noble Avalokiteśvara again addressed the Buddha:

"O World-Honored One! This Dharma is truly unprecedented. O World-Honored One! This Dharma is truly unprecedented. The Well-Gone One, the World-Honored One, in his great loving-kindness, because he wishes to rescue and aid all sentient beings who have little skillful means and are indolent, and because he wishes them to obtain benefit, peace, and joy, has therefore expounded this wondrous Dharma."

When the World-Honored One had finished expounding this sūtra, the great śrāvakas, the great bodhisattvas, and all the worldly devas, humans, asuras, gandharvas, and the rest, having heard the Buddha expound the Dharma, all rejoiced, believed and accepted it, practiced accordingly, and having bowed their heads at the feet of the Buddha, departed.

Notes:

[1] Nayuta 那庾多 (Skt: Nayuta): also called Nayuta, Nayuda, or Nayut, the name of a numerical count, equivalent to one koṭi (ức). One koṭi has three grades: one hundred thousand, one million, and ten million. Therefore the determination of the count of a nayuta is likewise not the same.

[2] Cross-legged (Skt: Nyaṣīdat-paryaṅkam ābhujya): the full lotus posture (kiết già phu tọa): a sitting posture with the legs folded, the two legs crossed, with the two soles of the feet turned upward and placed upon the two thighs. This is the most stable manner of sitting. There are two kinds: the Māra-Subduing posture and the Auspicious posture.

[3] Samādhi 三摩地 (Skt: Samādhi): the mind concentrated single-pointedly upon an object, without dullness or agitation; one of the seventy-five dharmas of the Abhidharma-kośa, one of the one hundred dharmas of the Yogācāra (Vijñaptimātratā).

[4] Consecration 灌頂 (Skt: Abhiṣecanī): a rite in which water is poured upon the head, practiced in ancient India. When a king ascended the throne and when a crown prince was installed, the royal preceptor would pour the waters of the four seas upon the crown of the head to bestow blessings.