Kangyur — Tantras – page 3
626 texts · page 3 of 7 (texts 201–300)
Toh 638: The Dhāraṇī-mantra of the One Hundred and Eight Names of Vajrapāṇi
Toh 639: The Noble One Hundred and Eight Names of Youthful Mañjuśrī Accompanied by His Dhāraṇī-Mantra
Summary One Hundred and Eight Names of Youthful Mañjuśrī Accompanied by His Dhāraṇī-Mantra is a text notably combining two genres of Buddhist literature: the dhāraṇī and the stotra or praise text. As a praise text, it may be further categorized within the subgenre of praises of one hundred and eight names. The text opens with homage and praise to the buddhas of the ten directions and two brief praises to Mañjuśrī. Then Mañjuśrī himself articulates a Sanskrit dhāraṇī, which precipitates miracles and prompts the assembled gods to praise him by way of reciting a litany of his hundred and eight names. Upon its conclusion, Mañjuśrī expresses his pleasure, whereupon the Tathāgata expounds the dhāraṇī’s benefits, blesses the gods who spoke the hundred and eight names in praise, and lastly explains in considerable detail the practice of the praise’s recitation and the benefits thereof.
Toh 640: The Dhāraṇī-mantra of the One Hundred and Eight Names of Sarvanīvaraṇaviṣkambhin
Toh 641: The Dhāraṇī-mantra of the One Hundred and Eight Names of Kṣitigarbha
Toh 643: The Noble Dhāraṇī “Maitreya’s Pledge”
Summary The Dhāraṇī “Maitreya’s Pledge” is a short dhāraṇī centered on Maitreya, the bodhisattva who will, as alluded to in this text, awaken as the next buddha in our world. Its dhāraṇī consists of a root mantra, heart mantra, and auxiliary heart mantra and is followed by Maitreya’s vow to benefit beings. The benefits of the dhāraṇī range from receiving prophecies for awakening to acquiring one’s desired material enjoyments. Since these benefits also extend to animals, the text advocates reciting its dhāraṇī so that animals may hear it as well.
Toh 645: The Dhāraṇī, The Production of Ambrosia
Toh 646: The Dhāraṇī “Giving Refuge to the Preta Flaming Mouth”
Summary The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta Flaming Mouth recounts the nocturnal encounter of the monk Nanda with a gruesome preta (“hungry ghost”) who predicts his imminent death. After recounting his experience to the Buddha, he is taught a dhāraṇī and an associated food offering ritual to allay the sufferings of pretas and avert his prophesied fate.
Toh 648: The Dhāraṇī for Overcoming Hindrances
Toh 650: The Dhāraṇī for Developing Insight
Toh 651: The Dhāraṇī for Retaining What One Hears
Toh 652: The Dhāraṇī of the Bodhisattva Supreme Conqueror
Toh 654: The Dhāraṇī of the Ocean of Dharma
Toh 655: The Dhāraṇī which Removes Hindrances
Toh 659: The Dhāraṇī, The Questions of the Nāga King Tejasvin
Toh 660: The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the Grahas”
Homage to the blessed noble Mother of the Grahas.
Toh 661: The Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the Grahas”
Summary The Dhāraṇī “The Mother of the Grahas” contains instructions for a dhāraṇī recitation practice that will bring an end to any negative influences from the celestial grahas and protect beings from harm. These dhāraṇī instructions are part of the broader popular tradition for performing offerings to appease and gain the favor of the celestial grahas that remain widespread across South Asia and the South Asian diaspora to the present day.
Toh 662: The Dhāraṇī of Vasudhārā
Toh 664: The Practice of the Dhāraṇī of Vasudhārā
Toh 665: The Noble Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati
Summary The Buddha teaches The Heart Mantra of Gaṇapati to Ānanda at Vulture Peak. He recites the mantra, then gives a brief account of the protective benefits accrued by its daily recitation.
Toh 666: The Tantra of Great Gaṇapati
Summary The Tantra of Great Gaṇapati is a work in fifteen chapters that detail offering rites, mantra recitation practices, and meditation practices for propitiating various forms of the elephant-headed deity Gaṇapati.
Toh 667: The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla
Summary The Tantra of Glorious Mahākāla opens with Hayagrīva summoning Mahākāla from his abode in the palace called Joyous, located in a sandalwood grove in the great southeastern charnel ground, Aṭṭahāsa. This prompts the great king Virūpakṣa to request that Hayagrīva teach the rites and practices related to Mahākāla. Hayagrīva then delivers a series of instructions on the propitiation and worship of Mahākāla and rituals for destroying the enemies of the Buddhist teachings.
Toh 668: The Noble Dhāraṇī of Glorious Mahākāla
Summary The Dhāraṇī of Glorious Mahākāla opens at the Vajra Seat under the Bodhi tree in Bodhgayā shortly after the Buddha Śākyamuni has defeated Māra and his demonic horde and attained awakening. As Śākyamuni sits under the Bodhi tree, Mahākāla approaches him, prostrates at his feet, sits to one side, and offers to give him a vidyā , or “spell,” as a gift. Mahākāla then pronounces his vidyā and tells Śākyamuni that it can be used to prevent diseases and ward off potentially harmful spirit beings. The text then concludes with Mahākāla’s promise to Śākyamuni to act as a guardian of temples and maṇḍalas and to protect the Three Jewels.
Toh 669: The Noble Mahākāla Dhāraṇī: A Cure for All Diseases and Illnesses
Summary The Mahākāla Dhāraṇī: A Cure for All Diseases and Illnesses is a short work that contains a Mahākāla dhāraṇī recitation practice for removing illness from various parts of the body. The dhāraṇī progresses through a list of body parts, invoking Mahākāla to free each region from illness and disease.
Toh 670: The Dhāraṇī of Devī Mahākālī
Summary The Dhāraṇī of Devī Mahākālī opens at the Bodhi tree in Bodhgayā shortly after the Buddha Śākyamuni has attained perfect awakening. As Śākyamuni sits at the base of the Bodhi tree, Devī Mahākālī circumambulates him three times and offers a vidyā , or “spell,” in homage at the Blessed One’s feet. Śākyamuni then expresses his wish that Mahākālī’s vidyā be used to bind all beings from the highest heaven down through the lowest hell of the desire realms.
Toh 671: The Sovereign Tantra “Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī”
Homage to glorious Vajrapāṇi, lord of vidyās and mantras.
Toh 671: The Sovereign Tantra “Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī”
Summary The Sovereign Tantra “Praises to Śrīdevī Kālī” opens in the Pāruṣyaka grove on the summit of Mount Sumeru, where the bodhisattva Vajrapāṇi has assembled with a large retinue of divine and demonic beings. Vajrapāṇi introduces the goddess Śrīdevī Kālī and implores the members of his retinue to make offerings to her and praise her. Twelve members of the assembly then praise Śrīdevī Kālī in turn, with each praise providing a fresh perspective on how the goddess’s physical features and virtuous qualities reflect her status as a distinctively Buddhist deity.
Toh 676: The Noble Dhāraṇī “Essence of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom”
Summary The Dhāraṇī “Essence of Immeasurable Longevity and Wisdom” opens at a pool by the Ganges, where the Buddha Śākyamuni is seated with five hundred monks and a great saṅgha of bodhisattvas. The Buddha begins with a short set of verses on the Buddha Aparimitāyus, who dwells in the realm of Sukhāvatī, telling the gathering that anyone who recites Aparimitāyus’ name will be reborn in that buddha’s realm. He then provides a unique description of Sukhāvatī, followed by instructions for two practices, related to the text’s dhāraṇī, that can grant rebirth in Sukhāvatī in the next life.
Toh 677: The Dhāraṇī-mantra of Amitābha
Toh 679: Noble Dhāraṇī Praising the Qualities of the Immeasurable One
Summary The Dhāraṇī that Praises the Qualities of the Immeasurable One contains a short dhāraṇī mantra praising the tathāgata Amitābha and brief instructions on the benefits that result from its recitation.
Toh 681: The Web of Lotuses, the Root Tantra of Avalokiteśvara
Toh 683: The Dhāraṇī, The Essence of Amoghapāśa
Toh 684: The Dhāraṇī, The Questions of Nārāyaṇa
Toh 685: The Dhāraṇī of Nāgadatta, The Essence of the Nāgas
Toh 687: The Dhāraṇī, Fulfilling the Six Perfections of Amoghapāśa
Toh 688: Dhāraṇī of the Ten Grounds
Toh 691: The Dhāraṇī of the Thousand-Armed, Thousand-Eyed Avalokiteśvara
Toh 692: The Dhāraṇī, The Wish-Fulfilling Wheel of Avalokiteśvara
Toh 693: The Dhāraṇī of the Eleven Faced Avalokiteśvara
Toh 694: The Dhāraṇī, The Essence of the Spell of Eleven-Faced Avalokiteśvara
Toh 696: The Dhāraṇī of Avalokiteśvara
Toh 697: The Dhāraṇī of Nīlakaṇṭha
Toh 698: The Dhāraṇī, Undeterred Through Compassion
Toh 699: The Dhāraṇī of Samantabhadra
Toh 701: The Lotus Diadem Tantra
Toh 702: The Siṃhanāda Tantra
Summary The Siṃhanāda Tantra is a short tantra that teaches the long mantra and a short practice of the form of Avalokiteśvara called Siṃhanāda, “Lion’s Roar.”
Toh 703: The Dhāraṇī of Noble Avalokiteśvara Siṃhanāda
Toh 704: The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda
Summary The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda , also known as The Dhāraṇī of Siṃhanāda’s Promise , is a short work that teaches a dhāraṇī of Avalokiteśvara’s form as Siṃhanāda, “Lion’s Roar,” and gives a short instruction for using it to cure illness.
Toh 707: Dhāraṇī for a Beautiful Slender Physique
Toh 710: The Dhāraṇī Known as “The Thousandfold”
Toh 713: The Dhāraṇī, Training in the Thousand Verses
Toh 714: The Dhāraṇī, Training in the Thousand Verses
Toh 715: The Dhāraṇī, Training in the Thousand Verses
Toh 716: The Dhāraṇī, Training in the Three Thousand Verses
Toh 717: The Dhāraṇī for Not Forgetting
Toh 718: The Dhāraṇī for Developing Insight
Toh 719: The Dhāraṇī for Developing Insight
Toh 720: The Dhāraṇī for Retaining What One Hears
Toh 723: A Summary of the Benefits of the Dhāraṇī of Avalokitśvara
Toh 724a: The Subsequent Tantra of Tārā of the Upswept Tresses
Toh 725: The Noble Dhāraṇī “The Mother of Avalokiteśvara”
Summary In this short sūtra, the bodhisattva Samantabhadra asks the Buddha to reveal The Mother of Avalokiteśvara , a powerful dhāraṇī that helps practitioners progress on the path to awakening. The Buddha grants his request and relates how he had himself received the dhāraṇī. Samantabhadra then speaks the dhāraṇī, after which the Buddha states its benefits.
Toh 726: The Tantra on the Origin of All Rites of Tārā, Mother of All the Tathāgatas
Summary In this scripture of the Action Tantra genre, the Buddha gives instructions to the bodhisattva Mañjuśrī on the rituals and mantras associated with the goddess Tārā. The tantra includes a description of Tārā, a nine-deity maṇḍala and related initiations, and a litany of ritual practices associated with the four activities.
Toh 729: The Noble Dhāraṇī of Tārā
Summary The Dhāraṇī of Tārā is a short dhāraṇī that invokes the goddess Tārā, seeking her intervention in the face of obstacles and negative forces.
Toh 730: The Noble Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise”
Summary The Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise” is a short dhāraṇī invoking the goddess Tārā.
Toh 732: The Noble Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī
Summary The Yaśovatī Dhāraṇī is a collection of six dhāraṇīs that can be recited to cure and protect oneself from various illnesses, avert the influence of demonic beings, and, in one case, to revive the recently deceased.
Toh 733: The Dhāraṇī of Avalokiteśvara Hayagrīva
Toh 736: The Noble Dhāraṇī of Parṇaśavarī
Summary The Dhāraṇī of Parṇaśavarī is a short dhāraṇī dedicated to the piśācī Parṇaśavarī, who is renowned in Buddhist lore for her power to cure disease, avert epidemics, pacify strife, and otherwise protect those who recite her dhāraṇī from any obstacles they may face.
Toh 737: The Dhāraṇī of Pratyaṅgirā, the Powerful
Toh 743: The Noble Dhāraṇī “Purifying All Karmic Obscurations”
Summary The Dhāraṇī “Purifying All Karmic Obscurations” is a relatively brief text consisting of a short dhāraṇī and a passage about its applications and benefits. Most applications have to do with death and funerary rituals, as the text provides many methods to aid the departed toward a favorable rebirth.
Toh 744: The Tantra of Vajrapātāla
Toh 746: The Great Tantra of Supreme Knowledge
Toh 747: The Great Sovereign Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra
Summary The Bhūtaḍāmara Tantra is a Buddhist esoteric manual on magic and exorcism. The instructions on ritual practices that constitute its main subject matter are intended to give the practitioner mastery over worldly divinities and spirits. Since the ultimate controller of such beings is Vajrapāṇi in his form of Bhūtaḍāmara, the “Tamer of Spirits,” it is Vajrapāṇi himself who delivers this tantra in response to a request from Śiva. Notwithstanding this esoteric origin, this tantra was compiled anonymously around the seventh or eighth century ce , introducing for the first time the cult of its titular deity. Apart from a few short ritual manuals ( sādhana ), this tantra remains the only major work dedicated solely to Bhūtaḍāmara.
Toh 748: The Dhāraṇī of Blue-clad Vajrapāṇi
Toh 749: The Eight Names of Vajrapāṇi Along With the Mantra
Toh 751: The Dhāraṇī, The Palace on the Peak of the Great Vajra Meru
Toh 752: The Dhāraṇī of Vajrājita, who is Bewildering Like Fire
Toh 753: The Dhāraṇī, Unimpeded Minute Vajras
Toh 755: The Dhāraṇī, The Fourfold Essence of Kuṇḍalyamṛta
Toh 756: The Mantra Praising the Wrathful King Bhurkuṃkūṭa
Toh 758: The Practice of the Tantra of Vajraśṛṅkhala
Toh 760: The Dhāraṇī of Vajralohatuṇḍa
Toh 761: The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]
Summary The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1] is the third of the “five beak dhāraṇīs” ( mchu sde lnga , Toh 759–763) and among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather control practices. In Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain, Śakra requests the Buddha for the wrathful means with which to protect the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha then recites the dhāraṇī of the iron beak along with a short discourse on its efficacy, ritual instructions for weather control, and an exhortation for secrecy.
Toh 761: The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [1]
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Toh 762: The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2]
Summary The Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2] is the fourth of the “five beak dhāraṇīs” ( mchu sde lnga , Toh 759–763) and among the few scriptures in the Degé Kangyur concerned with weather control practices. In Indra’s Rock Cave on Vaidehaka Mountain, Śakra requests the Buddha for a teaching with which to guard against the asuras and protect the Buddhist teachings. The Buddha then recites the dhāraṇī formula in two parts along with a brief nāga subduing, weather control ritual. The benefits of the performance of this text include keeping the Buddhist teachings and practitioners safe from harm and ensuring proper rainfall for bountiful harvests.
Toh 762: The Noble Dhāraṇī of the Iron Beak [2]
Homage to all buddhas and bodhisattvas.
Toh 764: The Dhāraṇī of Maṇibhadra
Toh 767: Tantra of the Supreme Dancer of the Yakṣas
Toh 768: The Dhāraṇī of Jambhalaśrī
Toh 769: The Beneficent Dhāraṇī of the Compassionate Jambhalajalendra
Toh 772: The Dhāraṇī of Mekhalā
Toh 774: The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem
Summary The Dhāraṇī of the Polished Gem includes a short dhāraṇī and instructions to polish a gemstone while reciting the dhāraṇī, and to imagine that this results in a rain of offering substances, which the reciter should then offer.