Toh 646Dhāraṇī Tế Độ Quỷ Đói Miệng Lửa (Toh 646)

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.

Acknowledgements

Translated by Paul G. Hackett 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

The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for
the Preta Flaming Mouth is one of two
closely related texts found together in the Degé
Kangyur in which the Buddha teaches a
dhāraṇī and associated food offering ritual to
relieve pretas of their sufferings. The other text is The
Bali Ritual to Relieve the Female Preta Flaming
Mouth (Toh 647/1079). These texts have had a significant
legacy for the ritual traditions of Buddhist Asia,
serving as foundations for the traditions of giving
compassionate food offerings to alleviate the
suffering of spirits and ghosts. The present text is
the longer of the two, corresponding (though not
precisely matching) Amoghavajra’s Chinese
translation in the Chinese canon (Taishō 1313).

As with most dhāraṇīs, little is known about the
early Indic history of this text, and there does not
appear to be an extant Sanskrit version. A Chinese
translation by Amoghavajra (不空) was made between 757 and 770 ce
(Taishō 1313), an English
translation of which, along with an introduction,
has been published by Charles Orzech.

A Dunhuang manuscript (IOL Tib J 349) of The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for the Preta
Flaming Mouth is nearly identical in
content to the version preserved in the various
Tibetan Kangyurs and may reflect the source from
which the canonical version was taken.
Unfortunately, this manuscript is missing its final
folio, which might have contained a colophon with
translator attribution and other information. None of the
canonical versions, either, have colophons that identify
the translators.

Although neither text sheds any light on the
possible Indian origins of the practice or any
indication that they were derived from any other
text in the canon, the two texts clearly present a
variation on the same story and prescribed ritual,
though using different language. Given the close
resemblance between the Tibetan and Chinese versions
(Toh 646 with Taishō 1313, and Toh 647 with Taishō
1314), it is possible that both Tibetan texts were
translated from Chinese. Lye (2003) questions this,
however, pointing to the fact that the preta who
appears in Toh 647 is explicitly identified as
female (yi
dags mo) while no such gender
identification is found in Taishō 1314.

The proper rendering of the Sanskrit name of
this preta—given here as “Flaming Mouth” (kha nas me
’
bar ba) —remains
unresolved. Although no Sanskrit title for the text is given
in the Narthang, Yongle, or Degé recensions, Sanskrit titles
provided in the Lithang, Kangxi, and Choné recensions
render the name of the preta as “Mukhāgnijvāla.” These titles,
however, appear to be reconstructions
back-translated from the Tibetan. In the
Chinese versions, the name of the preta is
translated as Yankou (燄口 or
焰口, “Flaming Mouth”) in Taishō 1313,
and as Mianran (面燃,
“Burning Face”) in Taishō 1314, which it has been
suggested could correspond to the putative Sanskrit
Jvālāmukha or Ulkāmukha. It remains unclear
whether in this text this is a proper name referring to the
specific preta who appears in the narrative, or a
more generic identifier for a class of pretas
(“those with flames coming from their mouths”).
Fire and flames are indeed a relatively common—but by no means
constant—secondary feature of descriptions of pretas in
the canonical literature, the primary features being hunger,
thirst, and pain, suffered both because of terrible physical deformities
and because of being deprived of all but the most minimal or disgusting
means of sustenance. The Sanskrit Jvālāmukha and Tibetan
kha ’bar ma, as well as being the name of various minor
deities in a range of tantras, is more specifically in the Guhyagarbhatantra
and other tantras of the Nyingma tradition the name of the
nirmāṇakāya sage (Muni) who manifests in the realm of the pretas, one of six such
Munis corresponding to the six realms and numbered among the one hundred
peaceful and wrathful deities of the maṇḍala.

As shown by Lye (2003), the story recounted here
has had a major legacy in Chinese Buddhism, since it
is treated as the origin myth for the Yuqie yankou
(瑜伽燄口) rite at the heart of
the Ghost Festival celebrated annually in the
seventh month of the Chinese calendar. In Tibetan
Buddhism, its legacies are found in a variety of
rites that involve making torma (Skt. bali, Tib.
gtor
ma) offerings to the pretas, in which
the dhāraṇī given in the sūtra is employed. Many such rites involve the
invocation or visualization of Avalokiteśvara, just as
some of the related practices in Chinese tradition may
incorporate the bodhisattva Guanyin. The
offering rite explicitly based on this text,
including the evocation of the four tathāgatas,
clearly had considerable popularity in Tibet since
early times. In the thirteenth century, it is
mentioned by Sakya Paṇḍita (1182–1251) as an example
of a ritual inaccurately performed by
Tibetans.

Contents of the Text

Following a preamble that provides the context
and impetus for the teaching, the core of the text
is the proclamation of a mantra dhāraṇī and a
description of its use. The mantra dhāraṇī here, unlike some cryptic mantras and
dhāraṇīs in other texts, is in intelligible
Sanskrit: “nāmaḥ
sarvatathāgatāvalokite oṃ sambhara sambhara
hūṃ” (“Homage
to the One With the Gaze of All Tathāgatas!
Oṃ bring them
together, bring them! Hūṃ!”). Though the object of
the imperative verb sambhara (“bring them together”) is not explicit, similar
dhāraṇīs include “all pretas” (sarvapretān) in the
formula, which can be assumed to be the case here as
well. Thus
this dhāraṇī is phrased as a call to the pretas to
gather to partake of bali being offered to them.

The Dhāraṇī of Refuge for
the Preta Flaming Mouth is found twice in
the Degé Kangyur, once in the Tantra section (Toh
646) and once in the Dhāraṇī section (Toh 1080).
This English translation was made from the recension
found in the Tantra section, with reference to the
variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition
(dpe bsdur ma)
and the Dunhuang manuscript (IOL Tib J 349). The
Sanskrit names of the tathāgathas were deciphered
with reference to the Chinese version (Taishō 1313).
A translation of this text into French was made by
Léon Feer and published in 1883, which was consulted
for comparison following initial translation into
English.

The Translation

The Dhāraṇī “Giving Refuge to the

Preta Flaming Mouth”

At one time, the
Bhagavān was teaching the Dharma to an entourage
consisting of the monastic saṅgha and a limitless
number of bodhisattvas at the monastic hermitage in
Kapilavastu. At that time, the venerable Nanda
remained at a distance, having been contemplating
and memorizing the Dharma. That evening, in the
later part of the night, a very frightening preta
called Flaming Mouth, with a hideous appearance,
frail, withered, with flames coming from its mouth,
its throat as thin as a needle, with dishevelled
hair, with long sharp fingernails and teeth, came
before Nanda, and said to Nanda: “You! Seven days
from now,
your life will end, and you will be reborn in the
realm of the pretas!”

Having heard what the preta had said, Nanda
became very afraid, and responded to the preta,
saying, “What can be done about being reborn in the
realm of the pretas when my time here is finished,
so that I might be liberated from this impending
suffering?”

To see that preta called Flaming Mouth, hideous,
frail and withered, with flames coming from its
mouth, its throat as thin as a needle, with
disheveled hair, and long, sharp fingernails and
teeth, and to hear such unpleasant and unwelcome
words, was enough to send shivers through Nanda’s
body, and in terror he then rose from where he had
been sitting, and quickly went to where the Bhagavān
was.

Arriving in the presence of the Bhagavān, Nanda
fell before him, touching the five points of his
body to the ground. Then, after prostrating with his
head to the feet of the Bhagavān, with his body
trembling, he implored the Bhagavān, “I beseech you
to grant me final relief from being tormented by
this suffering!”

He continued, “I was off at a distance, having
been contemplating the Dharma, when a preta called
Flaming Mouth said to me, ‘You! Seven days from now,
your life will end, and you will be reborn in the
realm of the pretas!’ When I asked, ‘What can be
done about this, so that I might be liberated from
the sufferings of the preta realm?’ the preta said
to me, ‘If you make bali offerings to pretas as
numerous as the hundred thousand million billion
grains of sand of the river Ganges, and offer the
finest food to each and every one of the many
hundreds of thousands of brahmins and ṛṣis and so
on, then your life will be long.’ If I am to provide
this, Bhagavān, how can I prepare so much food for
so many pretas, brahmins, ṛṣis, and so forth?”

“Do not let this frighten you,” said the
Bhagavān to Nanda. “I
have a method by which you may prepare food and many
balis for pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand
million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges,
and brahmins and ṛṣis and so forth. So do not let
this upset you.”

Then the Bhagavān said to Nanda, “I have a
mantra dhāraṇī called the power of
all-conquering rays of light by which all are
brought under the influence of immeasurable
radiance. When anyone utters
this dhāraṇī, there will be food and the finest bali
for pretas as numerous as the hundred thousand
million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges,
and the many brahmins and ṛṣis and so forth, so that
each and every one of those pretas and others will
receive seven portions of food weighed according to
Magadhan measures.

“Nanda, when I was a brahmin in
a previous life, I
heard this dhāraṇī from the bodhisattva
Avalokiteśvara and the tathāgata called
Vaśavartiguṇa, and by the power of that dhāraṇī,
countless pretas and many ṛṣis were each given bali
and food, and those that had been born in the realm
of the pretas were liberated from their suffering
and were reborn as gods in the upper realms.

The Bhagavān then uttered this
mantra dhāraṇī to Nanda:

The Bhagavān said to Nanda, “Any son of
good family or daughter of good family who wishes to
lengthen their life, or improve and increase their
merit, or who wishes to quickly bring to completion
the perfection of giving, should recite this dhāraṇī
constantly in the morning, or even at all times.
Then their life will not be cut short.

“Pour clean water into a clean vessel, then add
a little bit of cooked grains, meal, or pastry, and
so forth. Then place your right hand over the top of
the vessel and, having sanctified it seven times
with this dhāraṇī, you
should invoke the names of the four tathāgatas as
follows:

“Homage to the Tathāgata Prabhūtaratna! By the
blessings from invoking the name of the Tathāgata
Prabhūtaratna, may all those pretas overcome the
nonvirtuous karma of having been miserly in their
numerous previous lives, and may their collection of
merit be brought to completion!

“Homage to the Tathāgata Surūpa! By the blessings
from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Surūpa, may
those many pretas overcome their hideous appearance
and may they take on a marvelous form and
attributes!

“Homage to the Tathāgata Vipulagātra! By the blessings
from invoking the name of the Tathāgata Vipulagātra,
may the thirst of many pretas be dispelled and may
they be satisfied. May they be led to places where
offerings are being made, and may they be allowed to
eat to their satisfaction!

The Bhagavān told Nanda, “Sons of good family,
and so on, after the blessing of having invoked the
names of these four tathāgatas, should snap their
fingers three times. Then,
taking the bali vessel in their outstretched arms,
they should pour it out on to clean ground. If one
makes bali offering in this manner, each and every
one of the pretas who arrive from the four
directions, as numerous as the hundred thousand
million billion grains of sand of the river Ganges,
will receive seven portions weighed according to
Magadhan measures. These pretas will be led to and
allowed to eat as much food as they wish, and will
leave the realms of the pretas behind, and be reborn
as gods in the upper realms.

“Nanda, if any monks or nuns, or male or female
lay devotees, when giving an offering to a preta,
consistently sanctify the food by means of this
dhāraṇī, they will bring immeasurable merit to
completion. As that merit is indistinguishable from
the merit of making offerings to a hundred thousand
million billion buddhas, they will have long life,
merit, and luster; be born with strength that will
only increase; complete roots of virtue; no
nonhuman yakṣas, rākṣasas, or
horrible pretas will be able to endanger them or
inflict harm on them; and they will have an
immeasurable radiance for others.

“Someone who wishes to make offerings to
brahmins and ṛṣis should fill a single vessel with
the purest food, recite this dhāraṇī mantra seven
times, and scatter the food in a clean river. That
will cause it to become the most supreme foodstuffs
of the gods. The brahmins and ṛṣis, as they receive
the food infused with mantra, will delight in each
and every previous individual offering that has been
offered with mantra, and will ripen the merit
of those roots of virtue that have been cultivated,
each of them in accord with the others, will all at
the same time make the prayer, ‘May this person have
long life, vitality, and power, and may they be
comfortable and happy!’

“Any monk or nun, or male or female lay
devotee, who wishes to make offerings to the Buddha, the
Dharma, and the Saṅgha should recite this mantra
dhāraṇī twenty-one times over incense, flowers, and
the best of food, and then offer them to the Three
Jewels. The food offered by a son of good family or
a daughter of good family, having become the
foodstuffs of the gods, will become offerings to the
Buddha, the Dharma, and the Saṅgha in all the
worldly realms of the ten directions. Those who make
such offerings will be endowed with the merit of
praising, praying, and rejoicing, and will be
constantly praised and watched over by the buddha
bhagavāns. They will be constantly guarded and
protected by many gods, and the perfection of giving
will be brought to
completion.

This completes the Dhāraṇī “Giving Refuge
to the Preta Flaming Mouth.”

Notes

Bibliography

Tibetan

Chinese

Western Languages

mantra dhāraṇī

gzungs sngags
གཟུངས་སྔགས།

Magadhan
measure

yul dbus ’gyur tshal gyi bre tshad ma
ཡུལ་དབུས་འགྱུར་ཚལ་གྱི་བྲེ་ཚད་མ།