Toh 579The Dhāraṇī of the Essence of the Six Perfections

Summary

The text presents a simple dhāraṇī in the form of a mnemonic expression consisting of
homages to the three bodies of a buddha, the six perfections, and their
underlying philosophical understanding. The benefits of the dhāraṇī are also
listed.

Acknowledgements

This publication was completed under the patronage and supervision of
84000: Translating the Words of the Buddha.

The text was translated, edited, and introduced by the 84000 translation
team. Paul G. Hackett produced the translation and wrote the introduction. Rory
Lindsay edited the translation and the introduction, and Dawn Collins copyedited
the text. Sameer Dhingra was in charge of the digital publication process.

Introduction

This text consists of a series of homages—to Prajñāpāramitā and the
Three Jewels—followed by the dhāraṇī itself and a list of its benefits. The
dhāraṇī consists of homages to the three bodies of a buddha leading into the
dhāraṇī proper, which is a mnemonic expression listing the six perfections
and concluding with a statement about the emptiness of all phenomena. It is
similar, in an abbreviated form, to a much longer and more inclusive mantra
given by Kulika Puṇḍarīka in his Kālacakra commentary, the Explanatory
Commentary on the Abridged Kālacakra, King of Tantras, That Conforms to
the Root Tantra in Twelve Thousand Verses Called ‘Stainless
Light’ (Vimalaprabhānāmamūlatantrānusāriṇīdvādaśasāhasrikālaghukālacakratantrarājaṭīkā;
bsdus pa’i rgyud kyi rgyal po dus kyi ’khor
lo’i ’grel bshad, rtsa ba’i rgyud kyi rjes su ’jug pa stong phrag bcu
gnyis pa dri ma med pa’i ’od ces bya ba; Toh 1347, folios 143.b.1–3). If there is a connection between the
two texts beyond mere similarity, it remains unstated. No Sanskrit title is
provided for this text, and its title is given on the basis of the Tibetan
alone.

This translation of the text into English relied primarily on the
Degé recension while referring to variant readings in other recensions as
noted in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur
ma) and validated in the source texts—notably Narthang—as
well as the Stok Palace and Phukdrak recensions. No previous translation of this text into a language outside the
Tibetan sphere of influence is known. Meisezahl (1957) provides a diplomatic
edition of the dhāraṇī as
found in the Linden Museum Tibetan collection.

The Translation

Homage to the Noble Mother, Prajñāpāramitā. Homage to the Buddha. Homage to
the Dharma. Homage to the Saṅgha.

namo dharmakāya saṃbhogakāya
nirmāṇakāya | tadyathā | dānapāramitā śīlapāramitā kṣāntipāramitā
vīryapāramitā dhyānapāramitā prajñāpāramitā sarvadharmaśunyatā
svāhā |

By taking this up, one will retain the six perfections, and emptiness
will have been established in one’s mind. When one verbally recites this
constantly, one will understand all the aphoristic and extensive
teachings,
one will purify the five deeds of immediate retribution, and one will also
overcome all bad views.

Notes

Bibliography