Toh 716The Dhāraṇī, Training in the Three Thousand Verses
Pāli / Sanskrit:[no Sanskrit title]
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An Explanation of the Dhāraṇī Sūtra—Training in the Three Thousand Verses
Context
The Dhāraṇī Sūtra, Training in the Three Thousand Verses (Toh 716), is contained in the Kangyur, the Vajrayāna treasury of the Buddhadharma comprising the highest tantric teachings. In the tantric tradition, dhāraṇī is not merely an incantatory formula or secret mantra; it is the preservation, recollection, and protection of the Dharma teachings within the practitioner’s mind.
This sūtra is arranged in three thousand verses, reflecting the triadic structure of Buddhist thought—the three vehicles or the three bodies (Dharmakāya, Saṃbhogakāya, and Nirmāṇakāya). The choice of the number three thousand is likewise not accidental: it symbolizes the perfection and completeness of the Dharma teaching, for three thousand corresponds to the three-thousandfold great-thousand world system described in the Lotus Sūtra (Saddharmapuṇḍarīka).
Main Content
This dhāraṇī training scripture focuses on methods for remembering, protecting, and assimilating tantric teachings through systematically arranged verses. Its purpose is not mechanical memorization, but the undertaking of a profound process of cultivation in which each verse becomes an instrument for activating innate wisdom (prajñapti) and purifying the mind.
In Vajrayāna Tantra, dhāraṇīs are “secret keys”—verbal formulas empowered through rituals and meditation. When practicing these verses, students are not merely recalling a book but activating the energy centers (cakras) within the subtle body, particularly through the union of sound (mantra), image (yantra), and mind (citta).
The three thousand verses may be divided into sections: verses concerning the nature of the Buddhadharma, verses concerning practices (sādhana), and verses concerning protection and liberation. Each verse is a jewel in the treasury of the Dharma, and by practicing the whole, students receive the transmission (abhiṣeka) of all three treasures—the trikāya of the Buddha.
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