Toh 891The Noble Dhāraṇī of Āvaraṇaviṣkambhin

Summary

Acknowledgements

This text was translated and introduced by Catherine
Dalton and edited by members of the 84000 editorial team.

The translation was completed under the patronage and
supervision of 84000: Translating the Words of the
Buddha.

Introduction

Āvaraṇaviṣkambhin is referred to in this short
text as both a buddha and a bodhisattva. As a
bodhisattva, he is generally associated with the
removal of obscuration and evil deeds. He is also
one of eight bodhisattvas who appear together in
texts from the Guhyasamāja corpus and are referred
to as a group in later Tibetan tradition as the
“eight close sons” (nye ba’i sras brgyad) of the
Buddha Śākyamuni.

The present text is included in the Compendium
of Dhāraṇīs section of the Degé Kangyur and other
Tshalpa lineage Kangyurs that have a separate
dhāraṇī section. In the Tshalpa lineage Kangyurs
that do not contain a dhāraṇī section, it is placed
in the Tantra section. However, it is not included
in any Thempangma lineage Kangyurs. In fact, this
text is one of only twelve works from the Compendium
of Dhāraṇīs section of the Kangyurs that is not
duplicated in other sections, either as a sūtra or a
tantra. Like the few other texts in this unique
category, the present work may have been included in
some Kangyurs specifically due to its being part of
an earlier collection of dhāraṇīs and associated
ritual texts, which was later incorporated into the
Compendium of Dhāraṇīs. These collections, known in Sanskrit as
dhāraṇīsaṃgraha, appear in South Asia
as well as in Tibet—including at Dunhuang—and as
extracanonical Tibetan dhāraṇī collections.

The text lacks a translator’s colophon, so we do
not know when it was translated into Tibetan. It
does not appear in any of the imperial catalogs, nor
among the Dunhuang manuscripts. It also does not
appear to be extant in Sanskrit, nor to have been
translated into Chinese.

The Translation

The Noble

Dhāraṇī of

Āvaraṇaviṣkambhin

Homage to the Buddha.Homage to the Dharma.Homage to the Sangha.

Beginning with these lines of homage, the dhāraṇī of
noble Āvaraṇaviṣkambhin should be recited as follows.

If one recites this essence of the blessed,
thus-gone, worthy, perfect Buddha Āvaraṇaviṣkambhin
seven times, all evil deeds related to one’s body
will be purified and at the time of death one will
die happily.

oṃ
śvetavaravijaline svāhā

If one recites this essence of the bodhisattva
great being Āvaraṇaviṣkambhin seven times during the
day and seven times at night, the continuum of the
evil deeds that one has accumulated will be
purified, and at the time of death, one will not
experience strong pain as the vital energies are
interrupted. Instead, one will die happily.

oṃ sarva
āvaraṇaviskaṃbhine svāhā

If someone makes proper offerings of clean food
and the like to the buddhas and their offspring,
then at the time of death that person will be free
from illness and pain, and they will die happily.
After death, they will be born among the gods in the
Heaven of the Thirty-Three, in the Heaven Free from
Conflict, or in the Heaven of Joy, where they will
live happily.

Even if a monk or nun,

Or a male or female householder,

Does not observe the calendar phases or
astrology,

Nor bathe and observe purity strictures,

They will find success by maintaining this
vidyā.

Yet if someone has no interest in it,

They will never be successful.

Hence, one should be greatly committed to it.

Bibliography

Tibetan

Western Languages