聖觀自在菩薩功德讚

I take refuge in Avalokiteśvara, the Most Victorious

The mark of the full moon, beautiful, appears upon the Lotus

Able to bestow Fearlessness upon sentient beings

Now I extol that Merit and Virtue

All Wholesome Dharmas are complete and perfect

Upon the head He wears the crown of the Great Wisdom of the Buddhas

Adorned with merit, the Most Supreme Honored One

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer (Padmapāṇi)

Both cheeks full and round, of white-and-rosy hue

The mark of the nose high and straight, truly noble and majestic

Teeth like white jade (white as snow) set close and even

The two eyeteeth straight and perfectly complete

The Brahma Voice clear and most profound

All who hear it give rise to love and reverence

Whenever He expounds in every language

Gentle, kind, wholesome, and truly sweet

Ever using the power of the skillful means of Great Compassion

He delivers all suffering sentient beings

A Teacher who benefits Himself and benefits others

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

His two eyebrows resemble the new crescent moon

His bodily form is like the color of purple-gold

Strung with every jewel for His adornment

All who behold Him never tire of the sight

He spreads a deerskin to make His seat

He is the Honored One among the host of the Victorious and Self-Mastered

Every part and feature of His body is perfectly round and full

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

Fine and supremely wondrous silk forms His sash

Maṇi precious jewels form His earrings

In the place adorned with jewels, both Worldly and World-Transcending

The Most Supreme, Self-Mastered, the Most Honored and Victorious

All His wholesome merits are complete and full

He is the Great Dharma King of the World

Able to open every kind of Gate of Skillful Means

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

Sentient beings, whose sinful karma is as countless as dust

For measureless kalpas more shall ever revolve in saṃsāra

The Bodhisattva ever gives rise to a Mind of Skillful Means

Transforming and delivering them, leading them back to the assembly of Wisdom

Emitting the light of Loving-Kindness and Compassion that shines upon all

Bringing the Most Supreme Dharma to sentient beings

Causing every sentient being to realize Bodhi

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

However many the Great Avīci Hells there be

The Bodhisattva, in His Loving-Kindness and Compassion, manifests His body and comes

Demolishing those realms without remainder

The wardens of hell and Yama give rise to fear

The various sentient beings who undergo that karma

All are freed from suffering, and their sins are wiped away

He is able to use the Fire of Wisdom to burn up the evil realms

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

Complete in Wisdom, Compassion, Conduct, Vow, and Power

He manifests His body within the Desire Realm and the Form Realm

In the Dharma of Self-Mastery, benefiting the multitude of beings

The retinue of Yama all rejoice

Demolishing every realm of sinful karma

Causing all suffering and affliction never to arise again

Sentient beings, freed from suffering, attain coolness and ease

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

Now I extol and praise the Great Holy One

His form and features most victorious, with which nothing can compare

Unobstructed, Self-Mastered, the Honored One of the Three Realms

He bestows upon all sentient beings Fearlessness (no longer subject to anything to be feared)

He delivers sentient beings from the sea of suffering

He severs the roots of the affliction of the three poisons

And causes them all to abide in peace and joy

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

Each and every one of the host of Hungry Ghosts

With tiny throats and huge gullets, with foul-smelling bodies

Such kinds are numberless beyond count

Day and night they are ever tormented by the suffering of hunger and thirst

Because the fire of hunger and thirst manifests and oppresses them

Devouring one another, they give rise to suffering and affliction

The Bodhisattva, by the Power of His Vow of Loving-Kindness and Compassion

Manifests His body and comes there to rescue and relieve them

First He transforms forth every kind of food and drink

Causing them to be filled and satisfied, their bodies made strong

Then again He expounds the Gate of the True Dharma

So that all are freed from every suffering and affliction

The Bodhisattva, by the skillful means of Compassion and Wisdom

Is able to enter every kind of being in all the realms

And there performs the work of benefiting and gathering in sentient beings

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

His body bears the Great Maṇi precious jewel

Which ever pours forth wondrous and pure radiance

Shining upon all the dark places of the World

Its light eclipses the Sun and Moon, so that they cannot appear

All the multitudes of Yakṣas and Rākṣasas

Relying upon the radiance that shines forth, all take refuge

He contemplates the minds of sentient beings and severs their doubts

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

The host of the Mighty Asura Kings

Fierce in strife and hard to subdue

The Bodhisattva also manifests within that realm

By skillful means He preaches the Dharma to deliver them

Having heard that Dharma, their doubts are ended

Each and every one gives rise to a Mind of Loving-Kindness and Goodness

He is able to grant the Most Supreme Gate of the Wondrous Dharma

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

The Bodhisattva roams about the heavenly realms

Entering the palace of the Heavenly Son of the One Wondrous Soul

Conforming and adapting by skillful means, He opens the Gate of Transformation

That heaven had no means of giving (nothing to bestow)

At that time the Heavenly Son gave rise to suffering and affliction

The Bodhisattva then manifested for his sake Precious Wealth (riches and jewels)

Causing the Heavenly Son to possess a Mind of Giving

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

Each and every one of the multitude given to Greed and Desire

Ever scorched and burned by the fire of affliction

Upon beholding the Wholesome Majesty of the Bodhisattva

They are at once able to turn their Minds and reflect upon the True Dharma

The World is brimful of Greed, Hatred, and Delusion

Reverently they bow their heads and pay homage to the Great Holy Honored One

The affliction of the three poisons is wiped away

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

The realm of sentient beings is without shore or bound

Insects, ants, and frogs are beyond all measure

The Bodhisattva also uses His Mind of Loving-Kindness and Compassion

Everywhere bringing skillful means to transform and deliver them

At the time when the World is stricken with hunger and famine

He at once transforms forth food to rescue the multitude of beings

Or He puts a stop to that very Mind of hunger and thirst

Therefore I take refuge in the Lotus-Bearer

If He sees sentient beings out upon the great sea

Whose boats and rafts are wrecked and about to sink and drown

The Bodhisattva, in His Loving-Kindness and Compassion, manifests as a horse

So that they may grasp and cling to Him and cross over

When sentient beings sail their boats out upon the great sea

The Bodhisattva, as He wills, commands the wind to blow

Whether favorable or adverse, He rescues sentient beings

And causes them all swiftly to be freed from fear

The Bodhisattva has departed from the three realms (the Triple World)

Perfecting the Dharma-Gate of Samādhi

And yet again is able to gather in and transform sentient beings

As many as Empty Space, without shore or bound

The Bodhisattva has departed from every kind of fear

That is: the Rākṣasa with the Bhūta

The Piśāca with the Ḍākinī

The deluding demons, all the multitudes of evil ghosts

Great floods, great fires, and robbers and bandits

Tigers, wolves, sorcerer-worms, and weapons of war

Sicknesses, poisons, and evil incantations

And even punishments and every kind of binding and fetter

The Bodhisattva, having Himself swiftly departed from these

Yet again, for the sake of all sentient beings

Acts as the Great Teacher who benefits Self and others

In Great Compassion, Most Victorious, without fear

The Bodhisattva is complete in all Pure Conduct (Brahma-caryā)

Like the sun and the moon that shine upon the World

Humans and gods extol and praise the Great Holy Honored One

This is the Most Supreme, True Pure Conduct

The Bodhisattva ever abides in Samādhi

With boundless Merit and Virtue as His support

Conforming and adapting by skillful means as His dwelling

He takes up His abode upon Mount Potala

That mountain is lofty, vast, and most wondrous

Adorned with every kind of precious treasure

And there too are precious trees beyond all number

Of the Tilaka kind and the Campaka

Strange and rare birds perch upon them

Ever sending forth wondrous and pure sounds

Thus adorned is the place where the Holy One resides

To reverence and behold it shall bring forth blessings

Kubera and Varuṇa

Together with Yama, these three Gods

The Gandharva King (Gandharva-rāja) and the Asura King (Asura-rāja)

The Yakṣa King (Yakṣa-rāja) with the various Dragon Kings (Nāga-rāja)

And even the Bhūtas together with every kind

Whether Gods (Deva) or Spirits (Devatā), all the kings (Nara-rāja)

Day and night give rise to a Mind of reverence

Taking refuge and extolling the True Holy One

Having thus extolled that assembly

All that they Desire (whatever they wish for) accords with their Minds

Increasing Great Blessings, masses of joy, and lifespan

Valiant and diligent, complete in awesome virtue

Halting and removing measureless suffering and affliction

Even in their dreams they give rise to no fear

And even at the moment of death, when lifespan comes to its end

The Bodhisattva manifests His body and comes to comfort them

The sea of the merit and virtue of Avalokiteśvara

Is measureless and boundless, without end

Were one to use a hundred tongues throughout a thousand kalpas

To extol and praise it could never be exhausted

PRAISE OF THE MERIT AND VIRTUE OF THE HOLY AVALOKITEŚVARA BODHISATTVA (End)