Toh 730Đà-la-ni Tôn Quý "Lời Thề Riêng của Tārā" (Toh 730)

Summary

The Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise” is a short
dhāraṇī invoking the goddess Tārā.

Acknowledgements

Translated by Samye Translations under the guidance
of Phakchok Rinpoche. The translation and introduction were produced by Stefan Mang and reviewed and edited by Ryan
Conlon.

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

Introduction

The Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise” is, as
the title suggests, framed as a promise made by the goddess Tārā. Tārā, whose name can be translated as “Savior,” is revered in diverse
Buddhist communities as a deity who quickly responds to the needs of all in the face of worldly and spiritual dangers.

The worship of Tārā in India can be traced back to at least the sixth
century, and since that time the goddess has gained increasingly important status in the Buddhist pantheon. Tibetan histories recount that worship
and practice of the deity Tārā was introduced to Tibet as early as the seventh century via a sandalwood statue brought by the
Nepalese princess Bhṛkuṭī as dowry for her marriage to the Tibetan king Songtsen Gampo. While a few texts dedicated to Tārā were translated in
the following centuries, it is believed that
the worship of Tārā did not take firm root in Tibet until the eleventh century, when it was actively promoted by Atīśa.

The Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise” can be
divided into two parts: the dhāraṇī and a statement of its benefits. The dhāraṇī itself was not translated into
Tibetan but was instead preserved in transliterated Sanskrit. The Tibetan text lacks a colophon, so the Tibetan translators
and editors of the dhāraṇī remain unidentified.

This work is cataloged in the Degé Kangyur as part of a cycle of eight Kriyātantra (bya rgyud) texts (Toh
724–731) dedicated to the goddess Tārā. The dhāraṇī recorded here is also preserved in Butön Rinchen Drup’s (bu ston rin chen grub, 1290–1364) Dhāraṇī Collection (gzungs bsdus) from his Collected Works (gsung ’bum), and is found in a short Sanskrit ritual manual collected in the Sādhanamālā and preserved in Tibetan translation as The Instructions on the
Ritual of Blessed Āryatārā from the Essence of Amitābha Tantra (Amitābhagarbhatantre
bhagavatyāryatārāyāḥ kalpoddeśaḥ, Toh 3501).
The colophon to the Tibetan translation states that this
dhāraṇī is an extract from The Supreme Vajra Tantra (rdo rje mchog
gi brgyud), while the colophon to Toh 3501 and the Sanskrit witness in the Sādhanamālā state that it comes from the Amitābhagarbhatantra. There are, however, no extant texts with either of these
titles.

In attempting to establish the text of the dhāraṇī presented here, we
have consulted the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma) Kangyur and Butön’s Dhāraṇī Collection. The texts preserved in the Sādhanamālā
edition and in the Tengyur are generally similar to each other, but they differ in a few significant ways from the dhāraṇī
found in the present text. Our own rendering, therefore, is based on the best available Kangyur readings but also includes
conjectures informed by the Sādhanamālā text and related Sanskrit manuscripts. The English
translation of the verses following the dhāraṇī are based on the Tibetan version in the Degé Kangyur collection, in
consultation with the variant readings recorded in the Comparative Edition (dpe bsdur ma)
Kangyur.

The Translation

The Noble Dhāraṇī

Tārā’s Own Promise

Homage to Noble Tārā!

Tārā proclaimed The Dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own
Promise”:

tad yathā | oṁ tāre tārāyai hūṁ
hūṁ hūṁ samayasthite bhara bhara sarvābharaṇavibhūṣite padme padme mahāpadmāsanasthite hasa hasa trailokyavarade sarvadevadānavapūjite smarāhi bhagavati tāre smarāhi bhagavatas tathāgatasya purataḥ samayaṃ dhara dhara mahāsattvāvalokite
maṇikanakavicitrābharaṇe | oṁ vilokāya (insert name)
bhagavati tāre hrīṁ hrīṁ hrīṁ phaṭ svāhā |

By merely recalling this dhāraṇī all dangers will be eliminated, all
accomplishments will be attained, and all sentient beings will be brought under control. On the eighth or fifteenth day of the moon, make vast offerings to Noble Tārā
and then recite this dhāraṇī until you perceive Tārā directly. Whatever you desire will be given to you, and all boons will be
granted. If you are not given these things, I will have committed the five acts with immediate retribution; but otherwise,
immeasurable benefits will come.

This was extracted from The Supreme Vajra
Tantra.

This concludes the noble dhāraṇī “Tārā’s Own Promise.”

Notes

Bibliography

Primary Sources

Secondary Sources

five acts with immediate retribution
mtshams med pa lnga
མཚམས་མེད་པ་ལྔ།
pañcānantarya
Acts for which one will be reborn in hell immediately after death, without any intervening stages;
they are (1) killing one’s master or father, (2) killing one’s mother, (3) killing an arhat, (4) maliciously drawing
blood from a buddha, and (5) causing a schism in the saṅgha.

617–650; a famous king from Tibet’s Imperial Period.